An excellent platformer that tests your skill and perserverance. Admittedly I did not try to get all of the strawberries (still collected a little over 100) or attempt the B-Sides or C-Sides, but I may return to that one day. I have played it before but wanted to refresh myself. Still has great sprite art, music, and a story that genuinely made me cry a little bit because it's so sweet but really dives into how it feels to think of those moments where you're battling yourself. Genuinely fantastic game that everyone should play at some point.

I found BioShock to be a really interesting adventure and a lot of that has to do with the detailed worldbuilding of one of the most striking locations in video games, that being Rapture. Learning about its history and its eccentric personalities is a journey that was a pleasure to experience. But how does the game itself hold up? Well, besides being a little outdated in terms of graphical fidelity (which the game is almost 20 years old) and controls being a little strange from my previous experience with shooters (which I got used to), the gameplay itself I think holds up pretty well. I love me a game that lets you collect all of these weapons and tells you to go nuts, which is then compounded upon with the Plasmids as well as the Tonics and ADAM upgrade system. However, I found the game to be a little tedious at times, mainly at the endgame (although that's probably my fault for playing on Hard). If you're not a fan of dreary, dark and dank settings, this game is not for you and the only location I found that broke this trend was Arcadia. That's where the spoilers end, however, as this game is best experienced blind. If you've managed to avoid spoilers for this long, I reckon you should definitely give it a shot.

This is my first Resident Evil game, so I do not have previous franchise exposure to weigh this against. I have not played the original RE4 so I can't see how it stacks up as a remake. However, what I can tell you is that that doesn't matter and that this is a really fun game to experience. The combat is tense and engaging, as you scramble between furious shots and having to back away to reload or craft ammo and healing items. The characters are very likeable, I love the dynamic between Leon and Ashley and how they grow individually and as a duo stranded on this crazy ass cult island. I will say this is an action game mixed with horror elements rather than a straight horror game. There were a few moments that caught me off-guard but nothing that utterly shook me to my core. I don't see this as a downside because that's the kind of experience it set out to be. As a game of its own volition, it was nothing short of fantastic.

The Modern Warfare that started it all. I didn't grow up with the franchise at all so I don't really have any attachment or nostalgia to this game. I will say that I only played through the campaign and not the multiplayer because I've heard it's very dangerous to do so and Activision doesn't give enough of a shit to fix it. Overall, I thought the game was serviceable. I had some frustrating snags (granted I was playing on Hard mode, one step under Veteran) with the last couple of missions, which makes sense in terms of difficulty curve but I felt there were some deaths that weren't my fault. The story was pretty fun, I like the dynamic between the SAS unit specifically. General COD gameplay which I'm sure gets a bit more refined with the later entries.

A sequel that gets the time in the oven that the first one deserved. The single-player content alone blows the first one out of the water, but the refined gameplay mechanics and movesets also show the massive improvement this game is. While the story is pretty straightforward and kind of underwhelming and there have been some horror stories regarding jank and bugs, the game itself feels great to play and each character has been lovingly crafted to play exactly how you think they would alongside some extra sauce that makes them stand out from the rest of the cast. The roster is divisive, where people have good reason to be critical of the cuts made in favor of weird replacements but it's also combined with the fallout of a post-Ultimate world causing high expectations. I don't mind the roster personally but I don't judge others for their critiques. Online is really solid, like amazingly smooth. There are some really gross bugs that have caused me to lose some of my ranked points and those really blow. The additional Day 1 DLC is a bit scummy (like $20 for the DLC AND additional costumes for $10 is yeesh), but I will admit that I splurged because it was on sale and I wanted to support the devs. DLC characters are fun picks in a vacuum but as a package is pretty disappointing, especially since no new series are added or veterans return. To not end on a downer though, if you're looking for a new mascot platform fighter to mess around in, this is a good choice. And if you were burned by the first one and are skeptical, I can confirm that this game is good. I'd wait for it to go on sale though.

An intriguing puzzle game that holds a profound message. I knew going in that it radiated Stanley Parable energy (which I love), but I wasn't expecting the gameplay to be deeper than Stanley Parable's walking around. I would argue that the writing alone causes Stanley Parable to be excellent, but Superliminal takes it a step further by adding deeper gameplay to the mix. The story is a bit more in the background but it's still ties the concept together excellently. I love the idea of messing around with perspective from a mechanical standpoint and how it plays into the real themes of understanding other perspectives in your own life. Excellent game that hit me with the feels at the end.

I remember being weirdly hyped for this when it was fully announced and it felt rewarding to get a licensed game with some level of care and passion put into it. The gameplay is solid, the lineup of cars makes the inner 7-year-old in me froth at the mouth, and the amount of customization in there makes my head spin. However, loot boxes, not great online and heavy reliance on DLC is pretty much what killed long-term interest. And now that the sequel is out and is pretty much agreed to be the superior game, there really isn't a need to return to this one.