2024
Stellar Blade finally answers the question; What if a mobile gacha game came to console. For better or worse it stays true to its root, bringing the good parts of a mobile gacha game, but also brings its lack of depth. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time with Stellar Blade, even if most of that was collecting costumes without my credit card.
I just want to say the Demo is near perfect, and while I enjoyed the final game, the demo plays like an action game of the past. Which seems like a dream at this point. The final game features less compact level design and longer time between fights.
Stellar Blade presents itself as an action game. It succeeds, but the more I played the less I was satisfied. It has stellar combat, but is plagued with playstation exclusive fluff and awkward platforming that slows the experience.
The parry and dodge system is a lot of fun. Chaining parries to open a critical hit is always rewarding. The enemy variety is enough to keep you interested, but I feel you approach all enemies similarly. I also really enjoyed the bosses, especially the final boss rush. I wish there were more ways to express yourself in combat, especially for an action game. New weapons, meaningful combos, animation/jump canceling and more abilities to switch in to compliment your playstyle.
The combat feels heavy and responsive. All aspects of the game have very satisfying haptic feedback. Menus, walking, combat, and interacting.
I found the puzzle sections mindless fluff. I didn’t mind inputting passwords and some simple puzzles. However, there are sections where you have to move crates to solve puzzles and it just feels clunky and slow. The platforming sections are well-designed, but EVE feels like she is on ice, and slips around. With how good the combat feels, in contrast the rest of the game falls a bit flat.
I also wish the dialogue was easier to skip, and easier to access shop vendors.
The concept of the story is interesting, but never captures its premise. There are lots of plot holes, and inconsistencies, but it’s fun to turn off your brain and follow along.
The music was excellent! If anything I felt the game was missing an overall theme or direction, but I really enjoyed the music nonetheless.
Stellar Blade looks excellent and maintains strong performance. Shadows and animations were standout for me.
I really had a lot of fun with this title, even admist the fluff and modern videogame padding. Collecting costumes is my favourite thing to do, so to see an entire game based around that is awesome. As someone who loves Ninja Gaiden Black, and more classic pre-souls game design; I was hoping for more depth. Still, it was lots of fun and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a <40 hour costume collectathon that's fun to hack and slash through.
I just want to say the Demo is near perfect, and while I enjoyed the final game, the demo plays like an action game of the past. Which seems like a dream at this point. The final game features less compact level design and longer time between fights.
Stellar Blade presents itself as an action game. It succeeds, but the more I played the less I was satisfied. It has stellar combat, but is plagued with playstation exclusive fluff and awkward platforming that slows the experience.
The parry and dodge system is a lot of fun. Chaining parries to open a critical hit is always rewarding. The enemy variety is enough to keep you interested, but I feel you approach all enemies similarly. I also really enjoyed the bosses, especially the final boss rush. I wish there were more ways to express yourself in combat, especially for an action game. New weapons, meaningful combos, animation/jump canceling and more abilities to switch in to compliment your playstyle.
The combat feels heavy and responsive. All aspects of the game have very satisfying haptic feedback. Menus, walking, combat, and interacting.
I found the puzzle sections mindless fluff. I didn’t mind inputting passwords and some simple puzzles. However, there are sections where you have to move crates to solve puzzles and it just feels clunky and slow. The platforming sections are well-designed, but EVE feels like she is on ice, and slips around. With how good the combat feels, in contrast the rest of the game falls a bit flat.
I also wish the dialogue was easier to skip, and easier to access shop vendors.
The concept of the story is interesting, but never captures its premise. There are lots of plot holes, and inconsistencies, but it’s fun to turn off your brain and follow along.
The music was excellent! If anything I felt the game was missing an overall theme or direction, but I really enjoyed the music nonetheless.
Stellar Blade looks excellent and maintains strong performance. Shadows and animations were standout for me.
I really had a lot of fun with this title, even admist the fluff and modern videogame padding. Collecting costumes is my favourite thing to do, so to see an entire game based around that is awesome. As someone who loves Ninja Gaiden Black, and more classic pre-souls game design; I was hoping for more depth. Still, it was lots of fun and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a <40 hour costume collectathon that's fun to hack and slash through.
The Rising Tide brings more Final Fantasy XVI, with both the positives and negatives.
I really found myself enjoying the opening hours, and found the new areas to explore breathtaking. The new story is engaging, and the new combat abilities are fun to play around with.
Unfortunately, I found the soundtrack okay, the new primal fight underwhelming, and the new "arcade" mode a rehash of existing systems. Sidequests return in their all their FF14 glory, that is more mundane MMO fetch quests.
Overall it's more FFXVI, a game I enjoyed. The price ¥2420, (about $15USD) fits for the amount of content, but I felt like there was lots of content I didn't ask for. I wish they had taken some feedback on board and played more to the games strengths.
I really found myself enjoying the opening hours, and found the new areas to explore breathtaking. The new story is engaging, and the new combat abilities are fun to play around with.
Unfortunately, I found the soundtrack okay, the new primal fight underwhelming, and the new "arcade" mode a rehash of existing systems. Sidequests return in their all their FF14 glory, that is more mundane MMO fetch quests.
Overall it's more FFXVI, a game I enjoyed. The price ¥2420, (about $15USD) fits for the amount of content, but I felt like there was lots of content I didn't ask for. I wish they had taken some feedback on board and played more to the games strengths.
2024
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a return to the "hardcore/cult classic" dark fantasy role-playing game. The power fantasy combat returns, combined with a thrilling world to explore. The game does not cohesively come together, much like the original. Which is a shame, but I'm already hopeful for a "Dark Arisen" expansion to further explore the combat.
Pros:
- Vast open world, that is rewarding and interesting to explore
- Gameplay and combat are excellent with lots of vocations
- The Pawn system remains one of the most innovative and unique game systems
- Voice acting and dialogue are excellent
Cons:
- Enemies quickly lose any threat to the player. The game stops feeling challenging quickly.
- Lack of monster and enemy variety
- Due to above, exploration loses it's thrill, and you mow through packs of weak enemies.
- Quest design does not complement fast-travel system, unless you read guides and plan ahead.
- Story has weak pacing, was short, and lacking depth.
- No Mystic Knight, Trickster was a complete mistake
- (Disclaimer: I'm no music expert) The OST was high-quality, but felt deprived of anything unique or emotional
Overall:
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a game that is fun to explore, with excellent combat and multiple vocaitons/party synergies to try. The pawn system returns, and the enemies from the original; but the player grows strong too quickly and outlevels the game/enemy design. The games looks really good, with improved UI over the first title. There are perfomance issues in towns, but I never had issues during combat. The story starts strong, but quickly falls off. The true ending was somewhat satsifying. They wanted to focus more on the story, but most of what I found interesting they used from the first game. I found the soundtrack largely forgetable. The original featuring "Into Free" by Bz was going to be hard to beat, but it feels like the ignored the originals electric guitars and unique OST which is a shame.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a fun dark fantasy adventure. The sense of adventure, and preparation is excellent. The combat and pawn system serve only to highten it. I'm definitely hoping they release expansions that focus on the combat, because that is the true strength of the game.
Pros:
- Vast open world, that is rewarding and interesting to explore
- Gameplay and combat are excellent with lots of vocations
- The Pawn system remains one of the most innovative and unique game systems
- Voice acting and dialogue are excellent
Cons:
- Enemies quickly lose any threat to the player. The game stops feeling challenging quickly.
- Lack of monster and enemy variety
- Due to above, exploration loses it's thrill, and you mow through packs of weak enemies.
- Quest design does not complement fast-travel system, unless you read guides and plan ahead.
- Story has weak pacing, was short, and lacking depth.
- No Mystic Knight, Trickster was a complete mistake
- (Disclaimer: I'm no music expert) The OST was high-quality, but felt deprived of anything unique or emotional
Overall:
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a game that is fun to explore, with excellent combat and multiple vocaitons/party synergies to try. The pawn system returns, and the enemies from the original; but the player grows strong too quickly and outlevels the game/enemy design. The games looks really good, with improved UI over the first title. There are perfomance issues in towns, but I never had issues during combat. The story starts strong, but quickly falls off. The true ending was somewhat satsifying. They wanted to focus more on the story, but most of what I found interesting they used from the first game. I found the soundtrack largely forgetable. The original featuring "Into Free" by Bz was going to be hard to beat, but it feels like the ignored the originals electric guitars and unique OST which is a shame.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a fun dark fantasy adventure. The sense of adventure, and preparation is excellent. The combat and pawn system serve only to highten it. I'm definitely hoping they release expansions that focus on the combat, because that is the true strength of the game.
Pros:
- Combat is fun, sessions was a unique and fun mechanic
- Enjoyed playing as all the cast members
- Lots of costumes to collect
- The upgrade systems for weapons, skills, and other mechanics is really good
Cons:
- Little to no quality of life across most aspects of the game
- Lots of wasted time in menus, battle, questing, traversing
- No way to check sidequests
- The game drags on a little too long and without the QoL it starts to feel like a drag
- Combat isn't particularly well balanced, on hard either feel too strong or too weak. Which is a shame because the few battles that they got right were lots of fun
Overall:
A fun, lighthearted JRPG to play on the switch. The story is uplifting and lightweight, the characters are interesting enough and the gameplay is decent for a relative of SMT. The only real downsides are the lack of quality of life features, and the way the game drags in most aspects; story, dungeons, travelling, etc. That being said the combat is fun, and I enjoyed the upgrade system. The music is nothing to write home about, especially from a game based around idols.
- Combat is fun, sessions was a unique and fun mechanic
- Enjoyed playing as all the cast members
- Lots of costumes to collect
- The upgrade systems for weapons, skills, and other mechanics is really good
Cons:
- Little to no quality of life across most aspects of the game
- Lots of wasted time in menus, battle, questing, traversing
- No way to check sidequests
- The game drags on a little too long and without the QoL it starts to feel like a drag
- Combat isn't particularly well balanced, on hard either feel too strong or too weak. Which is a shame because the few battles that they got right were lots of fun
Overall:
A fun, lighthearted JRPG to play on the switch. The story is uplifting and lightweight, the characters are interesting enough and the gameplay is decent for a relative of SMT. The only real downsides are the lack of quality of life features, and the way the game drags in most aspects; story, dungeons, travelling, etc. That being said the combat is fun, and I enjoyed the upgrade system. The music is nothing to write home about, especially from a game based around idols.
A wonderfully Yakuza game, Like A Dragon 7 Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, dives further into the story of Kiryu. This game understands its goals, and delivers on them. All the things you love about the franchise, and more than you might have expected!
Pros:
- Excellent story with interesting characters.
- Final ~2 hours are a highlight for the entire series.
- Excellent Gameplay, Coliseum gives reason to enjoy it further.
- Large selection of side stories and minigames.
- Beautiful graphics and performance.
Cons:
- If rushing the story, it may feel like lots of filler content
- Side Stories are accepted via a menu, rather than by coincidence
- 25GB of uncompressed Cabret Club videos (Up to you if pro/con)
Overall:
Yakuza games are always full of emotional stories, hilarious side stories, and endless side content. Gaiden delivers on all aspects. The gameplay feels polished, with Agent style providing some extra fun moves to sling around. The Coliseum and its roster of characters lets you enjoy the brawler combat between turn-based mainline entries. The side stories and side content work together with to form fun game systems. The graphics are incredible, bringing Osaka to life. Performance is also good.
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is in many ways a spiritual successor to Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6 for me. If you are already deep in the franchise; don't worry this one is good. If you are new to the series I would still recommend Yakuza 0 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon. If you are pressed for time and want to prepare for Infinite Wealth, Gaiden is a good entry to quickly jump in and see what Yakuza is all about!
Pros:
- Excellent story with interesting characters.
- Final ~2 hours are a highlight for the entire series.
- Excellent Gameplay, Coliseum gives reason to enjoy it further.
- Large selection of side stories and minigames.
- Beautiful graphics and performance.
Cons:
- If rushing the story, it may feel like lots of filler content
- Side Stories are accepted via a menu, rather than by coincidence
- 25GB of uncompressed Cabret Club videos (Up to you if pro/con)
Overall:
Yakuza games are always full of emotional stories, hilarious side stories, and endless side content. Gaiden delivers on all aspects. The gameplay feels polished, with Agent style providing some extra fun moves to sling around. The Coliseum and its roster of characters lets you enjoy the brawler combat between turn-based mainline entries. The side stories and side content work together with to form fun game systems. The graphics are incredible, bringing Osaka to life. Performance is also good.
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is in many ways a spiritual successor to Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6 for me. If you are already deep in the franchise; don't worry this one is good. If you are new to the series I would still recommend Yakuza 0 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon. If you are pressed for time and want to prepare for Infinite Wealth, Gaiden is a good entry to quickly jump in and see what Yakuza is all about!
2023
Eternights is a sole developer passion project. While the game comes short a few times, it really feels like the main and only goal was to entertain the player, something modern games seem to lack. One of the first "Persona-Likes"; it takes the popular Social Sim element and combines it with hack and slash combat, and a zombie apocalpyse story. While the solo developer drawbacks are obvious while playing, it doesn't stop it from being fun.
Pros:
- Fun combat system, with decent supporting systems
- Social side is entertaining if lacking some depth and a bit cliche
- Game doesn't overstay its welcome
- Voice Acting (Japanese) was excellent
- 21:9 Support
Cons:
- Graphics are a bit janky, and while stylistic need a bit more polish
- The story is okay, but the pacing is subpar
- Social Activities don't feel time efficient or always worthwhile
- Music, enemy design, and level design are not noteworthy
- Characters need more depth
Overall:
Its important to note that while this game has lots of cons on paper, its still a fun game. While the pacing of the story is okay, it doesn't overstay its welcome and lets its gameplay, systems, characters and story run their course, ending just as they get boring.
The combat is fun for a hack and slash. The game ends before the mechanics become boring, which is good because the combat and surrounding systems lack the depth for the game to continue further. The dodge system fully relies on looking for a flash of red, which means you spend less time watching enemies and more time waiting to dodge the flash of red from them.
The dungeons contain mini puzzles, that I found fun to solve. However if puzzle are not for you, they are easily solved on google in 2 minutes.
A short fun game. If you enjoy Persona, or hack and slash games you will definitely have a few fun hours. Personally I would wait for a sale, even though the game is fairly priced.
I am really looking forward to further projects from this developer, hopefully he can get a small team behind him. Eternights has a lot of potential here that just needs to be expanded on.
Pros:
- Fun combat system, with decent supporting systems
- Social side is entertaining if lacking some depth and a bit cliche
- Game doesn't overstay its welcome
- Voice Acting (Japanese) was excellent
- 21:9 Support
Cons:
- Graphics are a bit janky, and while stylistic need a bit more polish
- The story is okay, but the pacing is subpar
- Social Activities don't feel time efficient or always worthwhile
- Music, enemy design, and level design are not noteworthy
- Characters need more depth
Overall:
Its important to note that while this game has lots of cons on paper, its still a fun game. While the pacing of the story is okay, it doesn't overstay its welcome and lets its gameplay, systems, characters and story run their course, ending just as they get boring.
The combat is fun for a hack and slash. The game ends before the mechanics become boring, which is good because the combat and surrounding systems lack the depth for the game to continue further. The dodge system fully relies on looking for a flash of red, which means you spend less time watching enemies and more time waiting to dodge the flash of red from them.
The dungeons contain mini puzzles, that I found fun to solve. However if puzzle are not for you, they are easily solved on google in 2 minutes.
A short fun game. If you enjoy Persona, or hack and slash games you will definitely have a few fun hours. Personally I would wait for a sale, even though the game is fairly priced.
I am really looking forward to further projects from this developer, hopefully he can get a small team behind him. Eternights has a lot of potential here that just needs to be expanded on.
2023
If you are looking for a spiritual continuation of The Elder Scrolls or Fallout series, Starfield delivers! If you want to explore space in an immersive fashion, you may find yourself dissapointed.
To get the negatives out the way first, lets start with the exploration. Elden Ring is an excellent open world game which always showcases something new over the horizon. It always gives you a visual goal of something you want to play towards. Bethesda are the original kings of open world games. I still remember playing Oblivion for the first time on the Xbox 360, stepping out the sewers and seeing the open world before you. Starfield doesn't capture the open world feeling. While it still has interesting locations and stories to explore, the magic they inspired in a generation of video games is missing.
The story starts strong, but I felt it was short and towards the end rather lackluster. The companions are less interesting than previous titles, and the fact they all come from the same faction feels narrow. There are also no morally grey or straight out evil companions. This is a shame because Starfield accomdates roleplaying all morals well.
However, if you are looking for a fun RPG, with lots of roleplay and interesting substories and factions, Starfield delivers. A return to glory after Fallout 4, the return of dialogue options and meaningful character creation is excellent.
If you are looking for an immersive space sim, Starfield doesn't aim to deliver there. Otherwise, it's a fun game. I would rather be playing TES6, but hopefully the lessons they learn from Starfield only improve TES6. In the same sense the feedback from Fallout 4 is what makes Starfield so much fun.
To get the negatives out the way first, lets start with the exploration. Elden Ring is an excellent open world game which always showcases something new over the horizon. It always gives you a visual goal of something you want to play towards. Bethesda are the original kings of open world games. I still remember playing Oblivion for the first time on the Xbox 360, stepping out the sewers and seeing the open world before you. Starfield doesn't capture the open world feeling. While it still has interesting locations and stories to explore, the magic they inspired in a generation of video games is missing.
The story starts strong, but I felt it was short and towards the end rather lackluster. The companions are less interesting than previous titles, and the fact they all come from the same faction feels narrow. There are also no morally grey or straight out evil companions. This is a shame because Starfield accomdates roleplaying all morals well.
However, if you are looking for a fun RPG, with lots of roleplay and interesting substories and factions, Starfield delivers. A return to glory after Fallout 4, the return of dialogue options and meaningful character creation is excellent.
If you are looking for an immersive space sim, Starfield doesn't aim to deliver there. Otherwise, it's a fun game. I would rather be playing TES6, but hopefully the lessons they learn from Starfield only improve TES6. In the same sense the feedback from Fallout 4 is what makes Starfield so much fun.
A refreshing break from the god-slaying adventures of most JRPGS. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC really stands apart as a cozy and relaxing adventure. All aspects of the game work together to deliver a grounded and charming adventure that holds up almost 20 years after it's initial release.
Pros:
- A grounded, yet well paced story full of adventure
- Solid turn-based combat, enhanced by excellent battle systems
- A catchy and complementary soundtrack
- Awesome world-building and character development
- x6 TURBO mode on PC
Cons:
- Janky UI, difficult to navigate with little feedback
Overall:
The world of Trails in the Sky is always fun to explore, with a charm and coziness that really makes it standout. The standard turn-based combat is elevated by the supporting battle systems that allow for lots of customization and different strategies. The systems feel similar to Final Fantasy VIIs Materia. The art style remains timeless, but unfortunately the UI has aged quite poorly. After a few hours of gameplay you can navigate without too much pain, but it is a shame on an otherwise polished title. The delivery and pacing of the story are similar to a fantasy novel, but beautifully designed around letting the player explore at their own pace. The soundtrack is catchy, and really fits the theme of the game.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started playing. It has a really different pace to most games, but sometimes its nice to step away from non-stop action and spectacle and enjoy a more grounded and cozy game. I had fun playing this first chapter, of the first arc, of the Legend of Heroes games. Similar to One Piece the initial length of the series put me off, but immediately I understood why it's so popular. Now I'm glad there is so much to catch up on!
Pros:
- A grounded, yet well paced story full of adventure
- Solid turn-based combat, enhanced by excellent battle systems
- A catchy and complementary soundtrack
- Awesome world-building and character development
- x6 TURBO mode on PC
Cons:
- Janky UI, difficult to navigate with little feedback
Overall:
The world of Trails in the Sky is always fun to explore, with a charm and coziness that really makes it standout. The standard turn-based combat is elevated by the supporting battle systems that allow for lots of customization and different strategies. The systems feel similar to Final Fantasy VIIs Materia. The art style remains timeless, but unfortunately the UI has aged quite poorly. After a few hours of gameplay you can navigate without too much pain, but it is a shame on an otherwise polished title. The delivery and pacing of the story are similar to a fantasy novel, but beautifully designed around letting the player explore at their own pace. The soundtrack is catchy, and really fits the theme of the game.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started playing. It has a really different pace to most games, but sometimes its nice to step away from non-stop action and spectacle and enjoy a more grounded and cozy game. I had fun playing this first chapter, of the first arc, of the Legend of Heroes games. Similar to One Piece the initial length of the series put me off, but immediately I understood why it's so popular. Now I'm glad there is so much to catch up on!
2023
The developers often remarked this game was like a roller-coaster, and they weren't wrong. The game feels like riding the best roller-coaster you have ever been on, having the highest highs of any video game. The ride is so great you jump straight back in line for more. Here you wait for 2 hours chatting to your friends, and while sharing stories is interesting enough; all you want is to get back on the ride.
Pros:
- Graphics, Environments, Music, Quality are all exceptional and set the bar for AAA-titles
- Gameplay is fun, satisfying, and responsive; if at times a bit easy
- Voice Acting is the best ever seen in a videogame during the main story
- Spectacle is in a league of its own
Cons:
- Pacing. Some side quests, sections of the main quest, and dialogue feels like padding for no reason
- Not enough enemy variety, no ultimate endgame monsters, collectables, weapons, reasons to keep playing etc.
Conclusion:
An impressive game on all fronts, at times let down by some small issues. It's high points are unrivalled, and it tells a complex story and world within reasonable time. Personally, not having the full FF endgame with ultimate bosses, minigames and other fun activities is a shame.
Pros:
- Graphics, Environments, Music, Quality are all exceptional and set the bar for AAA-titles
- Gameplay is fun, satisfying, and responsive; if at times a bit easy
- Voice Acting is the best ever seen in a videogame during the main story
- Spectacle is in a league of its own
Cons:
- Pacing. Some side quests, sections of the main quest, and dialogue feels like padding for no reason
- Not enough enemy variety, no ultimate endgame monsters, collectables, weapons, reasons to keep playing etc.
Conclusion:
An impressive game on all fronts, at times let down by some small issues. It's high points are unrivalled, and it tells a complex story and world within reasonable time. Personally, not having the full FF endgame with ultimate bosses, minigames and other fun activities is a shame.
2007
Click the circle to the beat!
Literally ruined my life.
Literally ruined my life.