Repetitive, sure, but then, what game isn't. And what Ryse Son of Rome lacks in variety it makes up for by being thirft and no nonsense. It is personal taste thing that I happen to adore linear on the rails action games. I like games that can be opened and closed in one sitting like a book or a film and don't jerk you around too much with side activities or cruft.

How a game goes about its repetitive actions is important too. The core loop is bloodthirsty and exciting and I never tire of seeing the same five execution animations especially the one where you cut a man's arm off. The game also has a one shot camera thing going on quietly between cutscenes that, perhaps highlighted by the camera movements during executions, I thought was neat and made feel like the game is on par with games like Hellblade and God of War.

I also adore the setting. More games set in Rome, thanks. More historical settings in general. So many games are made by people who want to escape to medieval or sci fi fantasy settings but I'd like to see more games explore Earth and human history. That shouldn't exclusively be Assassin's Creed's domain.

Ryse Son of Rome's biggest downfall though is that it doesn't do much with the setting. It could be Rome or Spartacus instead it's a big bowl of nothing. It sort becomes Michael Bay's Rome at times, giving you a glimpse at the the proposed Call of Duty Ancient Rome game might have been. But it's just very charmless and lacking in character. I played 80% of it one sitting and less than a day later I can't remember what the inciting incident for Marius' betrayal is. It's not necessarily a poorly written game, more underwritten to the point where the writing feels nonexistent.

I will say the lack of narrative ambition does, in a Doom, id Software kind of way, reinforce how nice and lean the gameplay is (even if the level design is more shiny and nice to gaze at than complex and interesting to play through). I will add the game finishes on a sequence that I think is better on the rails than it would be otherwise. You really feel the crushing weight of the game coming to an end with a very weary QTE sequence.

It's a short, nasty dope as hell looking AAA game. It's not extraordinary but it should have been the template for story driven AAA games for the last console generation instead of something derided as a tech demo and forgotten.

elevator pitch: the sopranos meets lovecraft
...and also mike patton

you'd think a video game with this concept would be some off-the-wall wacky shit that'd be impossible to take seriously, but it's a genuinely grounded and subtle mobster narrative front to back. almost nobody ever even mentions the darkness besides jackie, mike patton, and anyone about to have their hearts torn out by it

murder feels good. all the guns have a pretty nice oomph to them, and the combat-driven darkness powers are lots of fun, but what really stands out here is the world itself - it's remarkably detailed and freely explorable without feeling like every other shoehorned open world the AAA industry is so littered with. npcs frequently converse, tvs actually work and show things ranging from music videos to entire (hilariously badly compressed) public domain films. everything just feels totally authentic. really helps that jackie monologues and tells stories whenever you load into a new area. keeps things fresh, alive, and personal

game's short (1-2 sittings) but it's all killer and no filler. rpcs3 can handle it now too. so if you've got either a decent pc, a 360, or a ps3 then there's no excuse to pass this up

mike patton

A lateral upgrade. Speed and bouncy loose fun was decreased. For more tight slower crunchy Kombat. Krushing blows is a fantastic addition to the mortal Kombat formula with giving certain moves a hard punish with extra rewards or unique criterias. Fatal blows although long at least happen less now being once per game and only at low health. Storytelling still basic action stuff but is more entertaining even with it's more weird holes. DLC came in quick and fast. And man the guests characters are right up my alley. The kontent is even larger and varied but like the content itself is unfortunately half locked behind grind and live servers that need to be constantly connected to. Even if the fights are against ai. Hence why the same score. I love it but it really is a bag of chips. A good quick snack to eat but it gets empty kind quick. Tasty af tho. Also ultimate is the only way to buy it now and it's very cheap and great value a great novice fighting game that's got a great appeal to the casual market

There's rarely a better feeling in gaming than when you stare at a puzzle for what feels like eternity thinking, "this is literally impossible", to then suddenly having the solution click right in front of you, and you feel like a literal god. Fittingly, I think you do play a god in this game, a little ol' dog running around barking commands and leading souls into the afterlife (open to interpretation!).

It's a strange sci-fi-ish existential/spiritual plot overtop weird liminal architectural puzzles, full of platforming, movement via flow and direction, and even some surprising gameplay changes halfway through. I'll try not to spoil much, but once weapons get involved, I was really onboard. The puzzles, powerups, and terrain are constantly evolving and it's never stale, which is a huge plus for a puzzle game.

Humanity reminded me in several ways aesthetically of Tetris Effect and Rez, which makes sense since it's the same studio; it's very trippy, full of warpy ethereal music that ranges from peaceful and tranquil, to upbeat and frantic. But the gameplay itself reminded me in ways of a Frankenstein hodge podge of Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Command & Conquer, and even the hacking minigame in Bioshock (or... for 90's kids, Pipe Dream on Windows 95).

Now, for purists, you can go big brain and collect all the Goldy's (bonus golden dudes you can get in every level) and beat every level yourself. HOWEVER, the devs included solution videos for every level if you're so inclined. I did use these a few times, sometimes only when I knew I was on the right track, and sooo close to figuring it out, but just kept getting stuck or failing at a certain point. The videos don't show you how to get all the Goldy's though, so you'll have to resort to good ol' YouTube if you wanna get all of them.

I was able to do a lot of this on my own, but yeah some trophies needed for the Platinum here require you to do six specific challenges on six different levels, and I looked at guides for all but one (which I got without even trying somehow). This game ain't easy! But like I said at the start, when you do figure it out, man do you ever feel smart.

This was a very pleasant surprise and an experience that just kept getting better and more interesting; seriously, there's some really awesome combat stuff here that was so cool to partake in. Check this one out!

Last year had a day 1 PS+ release where you play as a cat, now we get one where we play as a dog. I'm hoping we get a rabbit game next year. Humanity is an imaginitive puzzle game that tasks you with leading people to a goal with the dog. It introduces new mechanics pretty regularly and when you think they're going to stop bring new direction commands, the game switches genres. It leans more towards an RTS by the end of the game. It has some pretty intersting progression even with optional unlocks for bring Goldies to the goal. These optional unlocks are mostly cosmetic but there's a few fun things to get that change gameplay such as a fast forward and restarting a level while keeping your direction commands. I don't like every mechanic such as the levels where you can't put down new commands after you start which I find a bit tedious. Although it's not a story focused game but the writing is actually pretty entertaining that supports a thematic cohesion for the chapters. It's a very solid puzzle game that's worth playing.

The future is the gift of the mind.
And your mind will bring about the future

Todos los momentos en los que no quería estrellar mi cabeza contra la pared han sido geniales.

Bueno, y en los que quería también.

Tener un modo x4 le vendría muy bien. A veces el x2 se hace demasiado lento al repetir algún nivel.

We got a cult hit on our hands. I can assure anyone who looked at the trailers for the game and went "hmm, interesting" will find great value in what this game provides. You play as a glowing doggo guiding idiots to safety in some of the most well-thought out puzzles I have seen in a video game in a long, long time. The devs clearly love & have the talent to pull off mild to galaxy brained mind teasers. It's nearly on the level of Baba is You when it comes to consideration of the game's mechanics and challenge. You will feel like a god figuring out some of the harder levels. Which if you ask me is kind of the point of this kind of puzzle game.

I haven't tried VR or any community maps but I plan on doing it eventually. Don't be shocked when you see Humanity ending up on a few game of the year lists. I can't recommend it enough.