Xenoblade Chronicles is probably the japanese game with the most cliches and stereotyped things I've ever played. Seriously, the whole time I was playing it felt like I was watching some generic shounen anime that comes out all the time, with various tropes you've seen in exhaustion before, it was kind of nostalgic in a funny way, it reminded me a lot of when I used to watch a lot of seasonal anime as a teenager. I don't mind that kind of thing, really, one of my favorite games is Persona, which is extremely weeb and has many stereotypes and cliches of the genre, it's just that in the case of Xenoblade I feel that overall it's a game without much substance, it's quite shallow. I really can't get anything amazing out of it when it comes to the narrative or the characters, is a bit uninteresting most of the time.

But despite the simplicity of the story and characters and not very creative narrative choices, the story has its moments and a few characters are endearing and charismatic, I really liked Shulk, Dunban and Fiora (especially Fiora). I won't give too many details because I don't want to spoil anything, but I really liked the chemistry between the three of them and how the game works with their relationship, making it very believable that they are very close, it really is like a family, it's nothing extremely deep or complex, nor does it need to be, it's just captivating and well-developed and I liked it, and in the end it's hard not to get attached to the main characters. Not only that, but the atmosphere and soundtrack are simply incredible (this game didn't deserve Yoko Shimomura), so exploring the map was very relaxing and comfy, it really manages to convey the feeling of the immensity of that world and immerses you in it in a very pleasant way, and it's a very interesting world conceptually, I really thought the whole Bionis and Mechonis thing was super cool.

The combat is very fun and engaging too, although I didn't like the fact that the game gives you very little exp, forcing you to grind, and grinding in this game is a bit torturous since the main missions don't give you any exp and most of the side missions don't either. I did all the side missions that the game put in front of me before moving on to the main story and defeated literally every enemy that came my way, but it still wasn't enough and I found myself underleveled in most of the main boss fights, so all you can do is spend an abnormal amount of time killing enemies with a higher level than yours until you level up, classic grind moment and it's fucking boring.

I really hoped that I would finish this game and write a much longer and more interesting review, but it's just that there's not much to say about this game, but in the end it's a good game and it has its charm despite everything. I'm just disappointed, as I was expecting one of the best jrpg's ever made due to all the acclaim and praise from the fanbase, but it doesn't come close to being everything they say it is. I honestly think that the Xenoblade fans should play more games.

There are some really good things about this game, namely the setting, remaster visuals and a lot of the soundtrack, which helps in some hype cutscenes. Otherwise, there's offline MMO combat (not in a good way, the only saving grace being the future sight ability) and what I would call "the JRPG ever" plot, cast and protagonist. For a game of this length, it is very unambitious and doesn't try to be more than a battle shonen with JRPG tropes that you've seen before if you've played more than three previously, and Shulk preaches some stuff about facing the future despite future struggles that he should be literally the last person to be saying considering how often things go his way. It definitely isn't bad overall though, it just didn't impress me much, and the gameplay burnt me out so badly that I haven't touched the second game in over 2 years.

Metroid-vania? More like HOLLOW-vania, bitch! I'm still amazed that 3 dudes created all of this. It is, at the same time, an easy speed-running game and a easy I'm-f*cking-lost game. It's easy when you know what to do and where to go, but difficult for those who are still learning. And the atmosphere, the story hidden in the walls (uhm, literally) of the dead kingdom, that is what sells everything and make you FEEL the game, not just beat it. The combat is fluid and half of the bosses are really really good, and for the cheap price of 0€ you can battle them in a DLC.

I bought the physical copy for Switch and includes a quick guide with drawings and a thank-you letter. It's so awesome. The unique flaw the game has is the secret-good-juicy ending, because for you to see it you have to suffer the toughest and unfairest boss in the game. Still 10/10.

Two things I didn’t expect from this game:

1) Insanely difficult for multiple reasons.
2) Holy mother of FUN.

Didn’t think a platform world could provide so much exploration. Combat and movement are challenging but extremely rewarding and well done.

My expectations were high and Hollow Knight exceeded with flying colors.

(9.4/10)

This game is incredible. IMO the best Metroid-vania ever made with no exceptions, and also my favorite game to include souls-like elements, and yes that is counting Elden Ring.

Everything about this game from the atmosphere, to the fluid controls, to the gameplay to the bosses is just perfect.

The ONLY complaint I have is that some of the post-game content, like Godworld, is very tedious and frustrating. Yet even then, Nightmare King Grimm, one of the other post-game bosses, may be my favorite video game boss ever.

This game is a masterpiece and I do think everyone should enjoy it if they enjoy video games.