Buckshot Roulette opens on a grimy worn down bathroom with the sound of pulsing club music playing loudly through the door. The intense party atmosphere emphasizing the extreme highs and lows that comes with the game the dealer offers. Using a pump action to decide who's death comes quicker.

In the end the game feels very inspired. Providing you with a rich and dark atmosphere to enjoy. The dealer themselves provide a simple yet responsive personality. Saying little lines here and there and changing there expression if they get shot. The game in a span of an hour and a half brings out a soul in its atmosphere that is tense and final.

And its gameplay is fun as well! The simple system of roulette being upgraded with light upgrades such as health and later items. These pieces to the puzzle create enough depth to really engage for a solid couple hours. However I am rather thankful the experience is short. As the amount of luck required for long playthrough can get very grating.

BR is a game of chance. The slug's order in the gun is randomized, the number of slugs is randomized, even the items you get each new round is randomized. And while that may be best for the gun. The items are a different story.

Some items are certainly worse than others. The cigarettes are an obvious choice for best item, which give you an extra health point. That health point gives you leeway to play around and take more risks. Knowing that in the aggregate if you lose one of your 50/50's you can heal back without much risk. The next best items are the magnifying glass and the handcuffs, granting you in order the ability to see the round in the chamber and lock the dealer for an extra round. These abilities grant you extreme control over the gun letting you take low percentage scenarios with ease. The other items, beer can and saw, have some utility use being able to chamber a new round and do 2 damage. But they're inability to create guarantees make them situational.

And that's a problem for a game of chance. You can be in a situation where you lose the item draw and receive 4 handsaws or 3 beers and a handsaw and not have any real control over the gun. The game does try to give you advantages, always giving you the first turn. But it can be frustrating walking into a round. Seeing the items you have vs. the ones the dealer has. And knowing you are completely screwed no matter what you do.

Overall for a dollar and a quarter Buckshot Roulette is certainly worth a buy. You'll play it for 2 hours, die once or twice, get the good ending and the bad ending, and be satisfied. If you're looking for more than that by trying endless mode I think you'll be disappointed.

Choo-Choo Charles, unlike some gimmick mascot horror games that have come out as of late, does have some things to bring to the table. Its gameplay is largely smooth, its train system is innovative and fun, and in general the game doesn't feel like a slog to play. But there isn't much to sink your teeth into.

It's main baddie, charles, doesn't provide a significant threat for more than thirty minutes. By the time you get enough armor and damage upgrades you can very easily damage him enough to have him leave. And even when he does take you down the scrap loss is so minimal you practically use him showing up as a way to warp back to your train.

Not only that but anything not train related is awkward to play. The stealth system put into place when dealing with human enemies is shoddy at best. With no way for enemies to lose detection they follow you to the ends of the earth. The most optimal way I found to deal with them was to literally run them all the way outside and shoot them with my train's guns. Something that can take minutes at a time to do. Beats trying to get the stealth system to work.

There are side quests that seem reasonably interesting but most are simple fetch quests. The character's feel well acted and decently written. But it doesn't stop the concept from feeling utterly ridiculous. Making you quickly desensitize and skip through dialogue like a speed demon. The map overworld feels similar to an graphically amped up area of Skyrim. The music is dull, feeling like its genuinely trying but frankly feels flat. And finally the nail in the coffin, the models. Many of them ripped directly from asset stores gives the whole experience a cheap bland feel that fights against the games attempts to jar you with its main antagonist.

I wouldn't call Choo Choo Charles a truly horrendous game. And I wouldn't say that you wouldn't enjoy some bits of it. But I don't think its a truly good game and I think there are others that are much more worth your time.

Before opening my heart to the somber contemplative experience that is Silent Hill 2 I made a choice. I would not intake any relevant content or essays discussing SH2 before playing it. I reasoned that Silent Hill 2 was literally one of the best games ever made and ruining it with spoilers would hinder my experience. Its a philosophy that was founded on the game and something I kept up with very religiously which spread into almost all games I have on my backlog. Its funny thinking about it now after playing that even without playing it this wonderful wonderful game brought change to my life.

In my nightmares I saw that town after playing, Silent Hill. A jarring and oppressive fog hanging over its abandoned dilapidated streets, drawing lost souls to punish themselves for past wrongs. James Sunderland is one of those people. Opening on staring himself down in a mirror depressed and detached from reality. Looking at his face as if another person was watching him in the mirror. For the next ten hours you will feel confusion, empathy, frustration and finally a deep sadness following James as he fights for a faint hope that his late wife, Mary, may be alive somewhere in this broken town.

I spent a lot of time empathizing with James's journey. As a person who lost an important person in my life hearing his voice wake up and come alive again hearing any clues on Mary is heartbreaking. Seeing his depression over his past memories and his past actions is moving. The anger Mary shows in flashbacks I especially empathized with. People are not angels, and going through death can make the kindest souls you know violent bitter devils. I even empathized with James later revealed actions, in a way. When you watch a loved one die you realize what it takes to be there. Every day, struggling with knowing who this person was for you and what they are now. Trying every moment to give them hope in a hopeless situation. You live through their deterioration and fear and sadness. This next quote is a spoiler so skip over it if you'd like. But the line that Mary says in a flashback, "Please tell me it's going to be ok! Tell me I'm going to live!" brought me to tears.

And this experience doesn't get made without a damn good team. Akira Yamaoka creates one of the best soundtracks of all time layering the town in noisy uncomfortable grinding sounds and granting you somber melancholic tones throughout the experience. The sensation of going through Silent Hill is truly a terrifying experience that is somber and crunchy and oppressive and that doesn't happen without the inspired and ahead of its time soundtrack made by Yamaoka. Masahiro Ito's monsters are utterly gruesome, while there are few unique monsters in number each one is carefully created symbolizing various feelings James has manifested in macabre otherworldly creatures. And Masashi Tsuboyama builds a town that feels timeless and yet completely alien. The buildings of silent hill perfectly evoking that fear of being in a completely abandoned town fearing the unknown that is all around you.

What Silent Hill 2 brings out of you as a raw painful experience is worth your time. You will be afraid, you will feel pain, you will walk away satisfied. Because SH2 doesn't need to win with vibrant gameplay or gimmicks. All it needs to do is touch your heart and make you feel something. To the members of Team Silent who worked on this masterpiece. If you somehow read reviews on Backloggd and also read English. Thank you.

You made me happy.

Dredge is one of the now popular "chill games". Games that provide many different relaxed and easy minigames centered around a central theme or primary gameplay mechanic. Something popularized by survival games and simulator games and in my opinion is one of the most interesting fields of gaming ingenuity in the current era of gaming. Dredge continues that development by making a "chill" horror game.

Kinda feels antithetical doesn't it? How does a genre famous for its jump scares and tension also be chill? And how Dredge succeeds is by understanding that fundamentally making a game scary isn't just about freaking you out, it can also be about giving a sense of unease and making you uncomfortable.

Lets say you've been fishing for a bit, dredging up a few fish to sell and upgrade your fishing boat. Then, all of a sudden, you pull up this otherworldly disgusting creature. You think its disgusting and worthless but when you get back the fishermen not only likes it, but wants more. When nighttime comes you can hear the distant noises of something but you have no idea what it could be. This is the kind of atmosphere you can expect. A general light tension and unease that slowly grows through its entire playtime.

And that playtime is decently paced as well. With upgrades coming at a slow but steady pace and objectives simple enough to follow without too much thought. If you intend to just turn this game on and relax and get some dopamine that's definitely a part of it, its the kind of progression system you've come to expect from games like this.

But dredges failing really comes from this. It's game play really is just driving to a place, fishing up some stuff, and dodging some evils of the deep. If you were looking for some diversity from that you are out of luck. Not only that but the story line, while good at emphasizing the uncomfortable atmosphere, is light and rudimentary barring some small vignettes on various islands. You're free to disagree here, after all eldritch horror is about the unknown. But I think they're could have been a little more all around to really get this to something truly special.

Fallout new Vegas’s little brother or sister or non-binary younger depending on your gender choice in game. Cyberpunk’s legacy is largely following the path New Vegas took upon its initial launch. With initial dislike due to a shoddy launch slowly growing more fond as modders and devolopers alike work to fix the game up and patch up the holes this ambitious game missed during its tumultuous development cycle. In fact I don’t doubt that just like new vegas younger generations of gamers will “re-discover” this game 5-10 years from now and proclaim it as an under appreciated masterpiece.

And while many of you will balk at that prediction I think that cyberpunk has some cards to earn that status. It’s writing works well to immerse you in its world. Using the setting of cyberpunk effectively from faction wars to slang to general tone. With CDPR’s famous side quests that are fun and engaging. They even improve in their dlc, phantom liberty, by providing you plenty of opportunities to simply shoot people during conversations along with other ways to change the quest based on your decisions. Plus with almost ten years of time on new vegas and not being hampered by Bethesda's awkward creation engine CDPR created a truly beautiful game with expressive characters and fun and dynamic gameplay.

What I believe cyberpunk loses on fallout new vegas is, frankly, it’s scale. The conflict on the Mojave is filled with moments that require you to consider the conflict from a macro perspective. With the legion moving in you must consider what is best for the Mojave, who’s vision serves it best and who you agree with more. In contrast cyberpunks tale is much more personal and focused. Following V as they struggle with there story facing a premature ending. I think this along with its fondly remembered dlc such as dead money and old world blues leaves me with the sensation that while CDPR’s game may grasp at new Vegas’s greatness. It never quite makes that mark.

With that all said, is cyberpunk worth your time? Absolutely. Gameplay is smooth and punchy. RPG mechanics are diverse and impactful to your gameplay experience. And story is thoughtful and emotional. It isn’t new vegas, but it’s close.

Booting up my ps2 and hearing the opening intro took me back to a time when I was 6 years old and playing a rented blockbuster copy on my original ps2 (truly the greatest console). The rudimentary graphics and the charmingly 90's voice of Spyro by Carlos Alazraqui bring you back to the time period rather quickly. And for its time Spyro the Dragon was a fun and fluid platformer.

Spyro's camera and movement controls are surprisingly fluid and easy to work with if a little tanky. The jumping feels floaty and the controls good but a little slow to respond. Even if it is considering that Mario 64 revolutionized 3d controls only 2 years before Spyro came out I think they pulled it off pretty well for the time.

The art style and music really hold up. The bright pastel textures look pretty despite the early ps1 graphics. And the music is happy and light making everything feel like one of the saturday morning cartoons you used to watch. And it has quite the playtime to boot! Featuring many levels with plenty of good gimmicks to keep you engaged and entertained.

Spyro is a classic game that deserves your attention. The playful acting. The childishly bright graphics. The fantastical music. And the endless platforming fun. I definitely recommend you give Spyro a try!

A common replay when I’m in a bad mood. I dunno why it’s not exactly a light hearted game when you understand it. Maybe it’s the easy to understand puzzle mechanics. Maybe the collection based gameplay fills my dopamine needy brain when I’m depressed. Maybe it’s the fun and sympathetic characters that are both love able and earnest. Bugsnax isn’t a game that will go in the history books or a list of top 100 universal best games. But it is a funny entertaining game with a dark secret worth playing.

A fun yet messy affair. Make note this review comes from a place of only finishing the main plot and mostly ignoring sub stories. I can say for a fact that if you like yakuza style plots and yakuza style combat you'll have a good time. Even without the diversity of later titles yakuza 3 still lets you feel the brutal crunchy street fighting that your familiar with. Plus we have to consider that this was the sequel to the original yakuza 1 and 2. In comparison to those this game is a massive step up.

Still the failing of this game in comparison to others is its sluggish and awkward pacing. Their will be moments where your really getting into its plot which I will not spoil and you are suddenly grinded to a halt to experience the struggles of Kiryu's orphanage. Which has a tendency to stop things to a crawl. I think you can enjoy them in the moment but the game struggles and fights with what side of the plot it wants to hang on. You can be in the middle of a pretty important story arc and suddenly you're stopped for ninety minutes to discuss how an orphan struggles being an orphan. With that in mind I think Yakuza 3 is still worth your time as an experience. Give it a shot if you got like... five to sixty hours to kill lol

I will give this singular game in the series one whole star. Mostly because the bird jumpscare on the crane was pretty good. Everything else is utterly garbage. Buggy and crappy graphics so poorly designed that a decent mid level pc chugs to sustain a drone remote with more pixels than 2B's ass. Gameplay that is designed to waste your time and get your steam time longer. Their are games that do not deserve to be played even if they're free, this is one of them.

If your five year old is jumping up and down telling you about pancreases and some weird red guy with dumb birthday hats on this head you are justified turning this game on. Morbid curiosity is the only reason I could see someone genuinely wanting to subject themselves to this.

Mascot horror isn't exactly a field that inspires confidence of quality. From the well known jump scares of Fnaf to the absolute wastes of time cash grabs like Garten of BanBan you don't have to go far to find utter garbage. Its thankful then that MFN is a pretty solid entry into the survival horror genre.

The quiet atmosphere and stellar art design are standout features of the game. With dark unused backlots and sets combined with the bright and loud puppets screaming and hollering provide an off putting and jarring atmosphere. The level design is well built to encourage scrounging giving you a solid experience turning your survival brain on and combing the maps for any advantage you can find. Not only that but figuring out the games combat, while annoying, can be satisfying in its own right.

The problems are pretty surface level and can be felt immediatly in your first hour. The gunplay is not accuracy based and relies on an rng damage system which is clunky and doesn't encourage repeat play. The constant shouting and yelling of the puppets works for the first hour but very quickly becomes annoying especially with some stages having 4-5 puppets all shouting at once.

I think I've debated for the last fifteen minutes whether MFN is a 3.5 or a 3. A part of me wishes I could give it a 3.25 but I think that's a cop out. Overall after thinking on it I'm settling on a 3. It's a good game and worth your time!

Bungie's masterpiece. The team behind the marathon series creates the final entry in the original halo trilogy and it does not disappoint. Marty O' donnell's soundtrack for halo 3 is a triumphant and bombastic send off to the trilogy. Art style is vibrant and articulate. And the story while thin works well in conjunction with all of the above to create a strong and emotive space opera that makes everything feel like grand drama. With excellent performances by Steve Downes, Keith David, Ron Pearlman and many more. The campaign is often forgotten for nostalgic memories of the multiplayer but it really was a hell of a production that still holds up to this day. The entire warthog run in this game always hits me right in the feels.

The multiplayer deserves a paragraph in and of itself. From the lan parties of halo 1 and 2 comes a multiplayer experience that was world class for its time. Its theater and forge mode allowed a new generation of Machinima to be created. And features like forge and custom games allowed for an infinite amount of game modes to be created. Not that you really needed it, the amount of modes bungie made and maps they designed kept you busy for days on end. Before Fortnite or Minecraft and their all in one monocultures there was Halo 3. A game that you could play for hours and hours on end and never get bored. Halo 3 was love, Halo 3 was life.

Many a time has this game been played by me. Many a times has it made me just that little bit happier. From the large and expansive levels. To the immersive sim elements. To the world famous voice lines. The script for this game is both hilarious yet thought provoking. The performance of Jay Anthony Franke, a literal QA tester for ion storm during development, has an awkward and earnest charm that makes it fun.

Weird I open with the acting but I guess it expresses my feelings toward the game. Despite some awkward realities such as, even for its time, bad graphics and awkward acting it holds this distinct charm. And its not like its gameplay is much of a slouch either!

The gunplay despite the awkward aim mechanics really starts to shine midway through the game. The small eccentricities in laser mechanics, darts alerting enemies. And of course the big one, explosives opening doors making the GEP gun the most silent way to take down Manderley. It's the most famous immersive sim for a reason.

And the famed map design. It's really not just liberty island. Every map has been carefully built to have as many options as humanly possible for each playthrough. With the exception of swimming (Warren Spector why) your skill choices will provide you benefits somewhere in the games many maps. And you'll need them as every map is huge in scope. Its desire to make you scrounge encourages you to explore ion storms extremely detailed maps. Really helping you get to know its little details one discovery at a time.

Their will never ever be another game like Deus Ex, it's a legendary experience you deserve to sit down and play through.