Dedicated a hundred or so painstaking hours to trying to understand this hulking monolith of MMO Discourse. Nigh impossible to believe a newcomer attuned to the niceties of FFXIV can find any enjoyment in this hamster wheel of hideous, thankless design, and bear asses. Either this is a piece of transgressive art I'm simply too stupid to appreciate, or just a radiant entry in a then budding 3D MMORPG genre with growing pains as noticeable as its ambitions. Thanks for paving the way for other, better games. Maybe in retail WoW they actually remembered to put the story IN the game.

Noticeably bloated and senselessly cruel, showing this to a newcomer pretty much requires the disclaimer that "you will die a lot, just try to use all of your bombs before that happens." If this were a slightly neater package; less repetitious segments, and perhaps updated to facilitate a health system rather than one of chugging endless coins in the virtual cabinet, it'd feel less like you're just being strung along for the ride. On the plus side, it's a fucking great ride - an avalanche of spectacle propped up with just about the right amount of feedback to tell you that you're the one controlling it. The final chapter is Thrillhouse incarnate.

Ultimately, a middling Source engine mod that came out at a time when there were a thousand other, better ones of its kind. Hard to beat the aesthetic, a wonderfully gritty sci-fi """cyberpunk??"" setting that if anything still feels fresh. Enjoyed skulking around empty servers and soaking in the unparalleled atmosphere. The maps genuinely feel haunted, detailed and littered with props and history; like teleporting into a forgotten world plagued by untold stories. Whatever sickness that once resided behind these metal walls managed to remove all life therein. I genuinely implore anyone to give this mod a shot just to create a solo server and explore the maps and soak in the vibes.

The game's biggest sin is commissioning Ed Harrison to create one of the best soundtracks ever, and then proceeds to just.... not use it natively? Servers outright had to enable a radio plugin to play the songs that were dormant in the directory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPUp2PiCYBY

A very short puzzle game with a quaint little story. It's cute! My biggest take away from Builder's Journey is complete and utter amazement at how stunningly rendered these Lego bricks are. Like looking at an actual, physical diorama - the bricks that compose every stage have their own imperfections and reflective qualities that make the game look completely Real, made even better when stages animate with brick-style liquid physics. Maybe the first actual case I've seen where Raytracing doesn't look like complete dog shit.

First Sega CD game I've ever played! I'm hardly familiar with the hardware or the CD expansion, but I'm still absolutely blown away by the production quality of the cutscenes in this. Fully thoughtful employment of a limited colour palette that never feels restrictive. I have a soft spot for 90's fantasy OVAs and Popful Mail is essentially a playable one of those. Which is to say, it's not GREAT, but charming and short enough to never outstay their welcome. Respect the absolute fucking nerve to just not bother with invincibility frames if nothing else. Can't sing praises for what feels a little too bog-standard as sidescrolling action, but I'm always here for a goofy powerhouse of production talent making something that feels uncompromisingly corny.

If u like Popful mail check out these OVAs if you haven't already!!;
-Mahou Gakuen Lunar! Aoi Ryuu no Himitsu
-Ruin Explorers
-Armored Dragon Legend Villgust
-Record of Lodoss War
-Dragon Half
-Ozanari Dungeon

I can't help but feel as though I owe a lot to the first PixelJunk Eden game. In 2008, it was the first arthouse title I'd ever bought; it played no small part in easing me into becoming more adventurous with the games I try - and what better game to do that than one where a goblin cultivates and expands their worldview to reach new heights.
This sequel doesn't do a lot to shake up the original formula, but features a greatly improved control scheme that allows the greenthumb audiovisual serenity to take centre stage, where it would originally fall victim to frustrations and lost progress. It has been pretty emotional skipping through these floating lantana fields while hearing familiar remixes to tunes I consider formative!
My sticking point would be my suspicion that this is essentially just a repackaging of the mobile game Eden Obscura, which brings to the forefront far too familiar to the mobile territory progression systems and clunky UIs. Where there was once a central hub that grew around you to connect to new garden zones is now a Level Select filled with gems and exp and skins and uuuuugh. It doesn't ruin anything of course, the encroaching shadow of The Phone consumes the best of us.

Played this for a few minutes on a complete whim because I was in the mood for a humble vidcon about a simulated aminal. Nothing mindblowing, but surprisingly cute! Pet games are essentially desktop toys where you throw objects into the digital pet's playpen as you watch them react with canned animations and stat ups. Dogz gba seems to revolve more around the player character living their life while a new pet has been introduced to their family, so you're doing daily child chores while balancing dog duties. This level of context to the game does wonders, and as a dogless child, I'd probably be all over it for the placebo effect tbh. Also, the sprites are adorable. I aww'd at every little thing my character did as I excitedly explored the house looking for interactibles.
Hand on heart believe that this game's exact formula but gr8ly expanded could be the next halo killer.

For a game about perspectives, its chic wordless storytelling fails to interrogate its cast or themes and leaves Moncage as simply a short puzzle box tightly wound with ingenious mechanics and gorgeous visuals. This is one of the most well-designed nifty tactile puzzle games I've played in a long time, frankly blowing games like Monument Valley and Assemble With Care out of the water - I only wish it sealed the deal by nailing the emotional impact it clearly sprang for, but it only opted in using well-worn symbols. We've all seen the Up intro please move on.