141 reviews liked by Alef
This was a solid game. It has issues, but I still enjoyed myself.
The combat was pretty fun. I liked the available moves and how you had to vary them to combat certain enemies/bosses. The enemies in this game had interesting designs and all were sufficiently different than each other giving the game a lot of variety. The bosses were good, they weren't super difficult though. The one I had trouble with the most was King Darius who I had around ten tries against. For all of the other bosses, I beat them on my first try or at most my 3rd try. Some other standouts were the Orod, Vahram, and Azhdaha fights.
The movement in the game is fluid at times with some slight jank. I like the platforming and find it to be more challenging than some of the bosses at times. Some platforming sections took me many tries, but it was pretty satisfying once I did them. There is the jankiness though. Sometimes spikes creep out over edges when they shouldn't.
The story is the weakest part of the game. I didn't find any of the characters interesting. I wasn't impressed by any of their performances either. I know the story isn't the focal point of a game like this, but it is still part of it.
Overall the game was fun, but it's not the shining example of the genre.
The combat was pretty fun. I liked the available moves and how you had to vary them to combat certain enemies/bosses. The enemies in this game had interesting designs and all were sufficiently different than each other giving the game a lot of variety. The bosses were good, they weren't super difficult though. The one I had trouble with the most was King Darius who I had around ten tries against. For all of the other bosses, I beat them on my first try or at most my 3rd try. Some other standouts were the Orod, Vahram, and Azhdaha fights.
The movement in the game is fluid at times with some slight jank. I like the platforming and find it to be more challenging than some of the bosses at times. Some platforming sections took me many tries, but it was pretty satisfying once I did them. There is the jankiness though. Sometimes spikes creep out over edges when they shouldn't.
The story is the weakest part of the game. I didn't find any of the characters interesting. I wasn't impressed by any of their performances either. I know the story isn't the focal point of a game like this, but it is still part of it.
Overall the game was fun, but it's not the shining example of the genre.
Duck Game
2014
Duck Game is a blast to play with friends. It's fast-paced and is so easy to keep playing over and over again. The competition is fun and everyone has a chance to win at least one game, there's skill involved but that doesn't guarantee anything. If you are looking for a competitive game, but don't want the seriousness of something like a fighting game, this is a good game to try.
Helldivers 2
2024
I have been trying to get this game over the hump of 4 stars in my head for a good while now. I finally did it when I looked through my favorite games list and really thought about my opinions on some of the older, more nostalgic games from my childhood. I fought back and forth about what was better than what. There was a lot of movement and paradigm shifts.
At least for now, this game gets bumped up to a 4.5 (along with two other previously 4-star games that I like more than this one). I am extremely invested in this game. I may not play it every hour of every day, but I do think about it a lot. I have done things for this game that I haven't for others. I have joined the official Discord server, bookmarked web resources about the game, and subscribed to a YouTube channel that keeps progress on the war. I even have a phone app that details what is happening in-game. The game is so much fun and is even better with friends. The stratagems all feel cool and have a unique way to use them. The enemies are challenging, but still satisfying to beat. The galactic war aspect is what's keeping me enthralled and I love how it is designed to make it feel like everyone is participating toward a mission.
My only negative is that once you find your build there isn't a lot of incentive to deviate from it. I settled into a loadout rather early and haven't changed it since. Rarely, I will do it if the mission dictates it, but otherwise no. I would like to see something that causes you to change equipment, but the dominant strategy exists for a reason. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Overall, this was a surprise hit for me. I don't usually want these games, let alone fall in love with them like I have. I am glad I took a chance on it and can fairly say that this will (probably) be my game of the year.
At least for now, this game gets bumped up to a 4.5 (along with two other previously 4-star games that I like more than this one). I am extremely invested in this game. I may not play it every hour of every day, but I do think about it a lot. I have done things for this game that I haven't for others. I have joined the official Discord server, bookmarked web resources about the game, and subscribed to a YouTube channel that keeps progress on the war. I even have a phone app that details what is happening in-game. The game is so much fun and is even better with friends. The stratagems all feel cool and have a unique way to use them. The enemies are challenging, but still satisfying to beat. The galactic war aspect is what's keeping me enthralled and I love how it is designed to make it feel like everyone is participating toward a mission.
My only negative is that once you find your build there isn't a lot of incentive to deviate from it. I settled into a loadout rather early and haven't changed it since. Rarely, I will do it if the mission dictates it, but otherwise no. I would like to see something that causes you to change equipment, but the dominant strategy exists for a reason. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Overall, this was a surprise hit for me. I don't usually want these games, let alone fall in love with them like I have. I am glad I took a chance on it and can fairly say that this will (probably) be my game of the year.
Balatro
2024
I liked this. Every run feels unique with a gigantic amount of modifiers. There are so many different things to think about. You have card enhancements, editions, seals, decks, jokers, multipliers, consumables, hands, stakes, blinds, and tags that can all interact and affect each other. It's the perfect metagame. I can absolutely see how this game is addicting for some people. While I don't share that feeling and probably won't play this again, I still think this is a good game with a great game loop, and I wouldn't be surprised if this wins some Indie Game of the Year awards.
Balatro
2024
One of those concepts that's just so natural, it's surprising it hasn't been done already. Very addicting.
The movement is very good but I have some issues with the execution. The lack of a simple letter grade is an odd omission since the point goal of each level is very high and I never found myself quite reaching it. It would have been nice to receive some reward for my effort even if I didn't get what would qualify as an "S".
The game also feels somewhat at odds with itself. It's at its best when you can keep your combo going for a while but the levels don't seem designed to allow you to do that very well with platforms you have to wait for and the like. I assume you could speed past all of this if you were skilled enough but for me it was kind of annoying. Still, a pretty fun and charming experience.
The game also feels somewhat at odds with itself. It's at its best when you can keep your combo going for a while but the levels don't seem designed to allow you to do that very well with platforms you have to wait for and the like. I assume you could speed past all of this if you were skilled enough but for me it was kind of annoying. Still, a pretty fun and charming experience.
This wasn't as initially impactful for me as Remake was, but I like it more in hindsight. The story continues to be confusing and intruiging and I'm looking forward to seeing how it concludes. The characters and the interactions between them are still great as well, with new additions like Cait Sith and Dio (not Yuffie) being very welcome.
The combat encounters tend to be the main draw for me here. I feel like they nailed a great fusion of an action and turned based system. It flows super well and attacks are fun to pull off. The new additions of synergy attacks and parrying are also nice. The setpieces that accompany the larger battles are consistently a treat for the eyes and the music is amazing as well.
The overworld was a nice contrast from Remake, though it was nothing spectacular. The side content is mostly the same story as well and can get pretty tedious, though there are some standout quests that are very fun. The pacing of the main story held up for me more or less; it got kinda slow around the chapter 12 area, but it picked back up.
The combat encounters tend to be the main draw for me here. I feel like they nailed a great fusion of an action and turned based system. It flows super well and attacks are fun to pull off. The new additions of synergy attacks and parrying are also nice. The setpieces that accompany the larger battles are consistently a treat for the eyes and the music is amazing as well.
The overworld was a nice contrast from Remake, though it was nothing spectacular. The side content is mostly the same story as well and can get pretty tedious, though there are some standout quests that are very fun. The pacing of the main story held up for me more or less; it got kinda slow around the chapter 12 area, but it picked back up.
This review contains spoilers
An enjoyable but disappointing mixed bag of a sequel. Combat has some nice improvements with more focus on positioning and team attacks while just generally feeling smoother. Hawaii is nice enough for a new area but it lacks the chill atmosphere of Onomichi or Okinawa and the enemies around every corner combined with strange level scaling across the map make exploring kind of a pain. The dungeons are incredibly dull and I would much rather go through the same dungeon from 7 over and over than go through a bunch of identical square rooms connected by narrow hallways. The pacing is also very bizarre with the first half of the game going very slowly. On top of constantly being assaulted with tutorials it takes forever to unlock the job system and the lack of money means you're going to frequently come across systems and shops that all require a ton of cash that you can never hope to have until much later in the game. Substories are weirdly front-loaded so if you do them as they pop up then you'll really be missing a lot of that charming Yakuza levity in the latter half to make up for the main story's shortcomings. The substories are pretty fun though and I like how they took advantage of the Hawaiian setting with stuff like hijinks at the beach and being befriended by weebs. Dondoko island is also an extremely boring minigame and the fact that they force you to interact with it at all is really annoying.
The story is much less compelling than 7's and also suffers from strange pacing issues. The Kiryu section, while I really like what they did and believe it's what Gaiden should've been, really slows down the story and significantly distracts from the plot in Hawaii. Ebina and Bryce suffer from trying to share the villain role and both come out feeling under-cooked. Akane and Lani do disappointingly little despite being the objective of every group in the game. Eiji's heel-turn from helpful guy we knew for like 2 scenes to cartoon villain mastermind is way too abrupt and comical to take seriously. Yamai being one of the only weird and charismatic new characters and not becoming a party member is a huge missed opportunity. Tomizawa and Chitose are fine inclusions but Tomi does kind of overlap with Namba a bit too much. Everyone at least benefits from the new party bingo board system which allows for a lot of cute little mini conversations that make every party member even more endearing than they are already. I also really hate what they did with Saeko. I don't think she's obligated to like Ichiban or anything and his proposal was terrible but her choice to ghost him for a year just makes her purely unlikable. This was especially unnecessary since they really didn't have much romantic buildup in 7. The theme of redemption is also heavily used in every other JRPG so it wasn't too interesting. I wish someone would give me a dollar every time a JRPG villain was going to die and the hero saved them so they could serve their time instead.
...Well I have a tendency to focus on complaints but it was still a fun time overall.
The story is much less compelling than 7's and also suffers from strange pacing issues. The Kiryu section, while I really like what they did and believe it's what Gaiden should've been, really slows down the story and significantly distracts from the plot in Hawaii. Ebina and Bryce suffer from trying to share the villain role and both come out feeling under-cooked. Akane and Lani do disappointingly little despite being the objective of every group in the game. Eiji's heel-turn from helpful guy we knew for like 2 scenes to cartoon villain mastermind is way too abrupt and comical to take seriously. Yamai being one of the only weird and charismatic new characters and not becoming a party member is a huge missed opportunity. Tomizawa and Chitose are fine inclusions but Tomi does kind of overlap with Namba a bit too much. Everyone at least benefits from the new party bingo board system which allows for a lot of cute little mini conversations that make every party member even more endearing than they are already. I also really hate what they did with Saeko. I don't think she's obligated to like Ichiban or anything and his proposal was terrible but her choice to ghost him for a year just makes her purely unlikable. This was especially unnecessary since they really didn't have much romantic buildup in 7. The theme of redemption is also heavily used in every other JRPG so it wasn't too interesting. I wish someone would give me a dollar every time a JRPG villain was going to die and the hero saved them so they could serve their time instead.
...Well I have a tendency to focus on complaints but it was still a fun time overall.
Despite my positive rating, I have a lot of mixed feelings about Infinite Wealth, mainly because it was my most anticipated game for a very long time. That said, the gameplay has been perfected and I really enjoyed it as a game, not so much as a story.
Thematically, it raises some really engaging ideas about how criminals are destined to re-offend because society rejects them. As a parallel, it features a cult that preys on vulnerable people. Yet, these ideas are never reconciled. If the story was better, it would have explored the idea of how people rejected by society join cults to get a sense of community, but this never happened. It was pretty disappointing.
Not to mention, Sega and RGG REALLY have to let Kiryu go. The marketing suggested they were going to have cancer kill him off, but they predictably didn't have the balls to do so. Instead, the Kiryu portions of the game wax nostalgic about his past, essentially becoming what I dub the 'Kiryu Memberberries Game'. I didn't bother doing all of the Date rememberence bullshit because it felt very shallow and nostalgia-baity. I feel like Sega wants Kiryu to be some kind of immortal mascot like Sonic. Yet, they don't get that Sonic is a cartoon hedgehog. He CAN be immortal if you want him to be. Kiryu is meant to be a human! If Sega have their way, we'll be playing Yakuza 400 with Cyborg Kiryu.
Thematically, it raises some really engaging ideas about how criminals are destined to re-offend because society rejects them. As a parallel, it features a cult that preys on vulnerable people. Yet, these ideas are never reconciled. If the story was better, it would have explored the idea of how people rejected by society join cults to get a sense of community, but this never happened. It was pretty disappointing.
Not to mention, Sega and RGG REALLY have to let Kiryu go. The marketing suggested they were going to have cancer kill him off, but they predictably didn't have the balls to do so. Instead, the Kiryu portions of the game wax nostalgic about his past, essentially becoming what I dub the 'Kiryu Memberberries Game'. I didn't bother doing all of the Date rememberence bullshit because it felt very shallow and nostalgia-baity. I feel like Sega wants Kiryu to be some kind of immortal mascot like Sonic. Yet, they don't get that Sonic is a cartoon hedgehog. He CAN be immortal if you want him to be. Kiryu is meant to be a human! If Sega have their way, we'll be playing Yakuza 400 with Cyborg Kiryu.
This review contains spoilers
Whenever I'm telling people what I like about Yakuza 5, I describe it as "a game that loves you". It's easily the most ambitious title in the series, with 5 characters each with their own unique location, not to mention all the side content. All this to boot with no DLC in which you'd need to purchase the right to play the section of Saejima in prison or something. Probably the biggest reason I love Yakuza 5 so much is because it bares its bones and gives you hundreds of hours worth of gameplay, just because it wanted to try to do so. For all this fun, you only needed to pay the admission once up front, and the carnival is all yours.
Infinite Wealth is about as ambitious, but unfortunately not nearly as charitable.
Now that I'm done with masturbating Yakuza 5 in the preamble, let's get into the nitty gritty. I'll start with the gameplay for Infinite Wealth. The gameplay is expanded upon in every brilliant way it could have been from Yakuza 7 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon), and all the little quality of life stuff adds up over time to create a gameplay experience that is both engaging and satisfying. This is probably my favorite gameplay loop from the series, I have zero qualms with the actual mechanics of the game, they improved so much from the last game that it's actually kind of hard to want to go back and play Yakuza 7 for me right now. Great work.
The story is really fun and has some of my favorite set pieces from the series, my personal favorite fight being against 3jima at their little oceanside shack. That being said though, man, Ichiban as a character is not taken as seriously as he was in his debut game. The plot with his mother was serious and I enjoy that he was able to see that through, but I think the focus on Kiryu in tandem really took a toll on Ichiban's plot, and in comparison Kiryu's story is so much more compelling. Hardly surprising though, when RGG is presented with Ichiban the newcomer alongside the legendary Dragon of Dojima, who do you think is going to get more attention? It feels as if Ichiban and Kiryu's stories are often working against each other as opposed to with one another. All of the life links and memoirs of a dragon stuff was amazing, but I'd really like to see Kiryu finally retired as a protaganist for good.
To close out this review, I want to touch on something I alluded to during the preamble. This game makes you purchase the ability to be able to do New Game+, as if it's a privilege. To be frank, this is absolutely a scam and unfortunately impacts my enjoyment of this game. This has no precedent in this series, as when you purchase a Yakuza game it should be a given you should be able to do a basic thing like new game +......for free, as controversial as that seems to be now. All my respect to the dev team for this game, the actual people who worked long, hard nights making it for me to be able to play. To the people at SEGA who actively devise new ways to shake down players for their extra cash, I hope you get tiger dropped.
Infinite Wealth is about as ambitious, but unfortunately not nearly as charitable.
Now that I'm done with masturbating Yakuza 5 in the preamble, let's get into the nitty gritty. I'll start with the gameplay for Infinite Wealth. The gameplay is expanded upon in every brilliant way it could have been from Yakuza 7 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon), and all the little quality of life stuff adds up over time to create a gameplay experience that is both engaging and satisfying. This is probably my favorite gameplay loop from the series, I have zero qualms with the actual mechanics of the game, they improved so much from the last game that it's actually kind of hard to want to go back and play Yakuza 7 for me right now. Great work.
The story is really fun and has some of my favorite set pieces from the series, my personal favorite fight being against 3jima at their little oceanside shack. That being said though, man, Ichiban as a character is not taken as seriously as he was in his debut game. The plot with his mother was serious and I enjoy that he was able to see that through, but I think the focus on Kiryu in tandem really took a toll on Ichiban's plot, and in comparison Kiryu's story is so much more compelling. Hardly surprising though, when RGG is presented with Ichiban the newcomer alongside the legendary Dragon of Dojima, who do you think is going to get more attention? It feels as if Ichiban and Kiryu's stories are often working against each other as opposed to with one another. All of the life links and memoirs of a dragon stuff was amazing, but I'd really like to see Kiryu finally retired as a protaganist for good.
To close out this review, I want to touch on something I alluded to during the preamble. This game makes you purchase the ability to be able to do New Game+, as if it's a privilege. To be frank, this is absolutely a scam and unfortunately impacts my enjoyment of this game. This has no precedent in this series, as when you purchase a Yakuza game it should be a given you should be able to do a basic thing like new game +......for free, as controversial as that seems to be now. All my respect to the dev team for this game, the actual people who worked long, hard nights making it for me to be able to play. To the people at SEGA who actively devise new ways to shake down players for their extra cash, I hope you get tiger dropped.
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