Cardeeson
2023
“This story will eat us alive. This story is a monster.”
It finally clicked. Glimpses of the potential Remedy had to make a game like this definitely existed in Alan Wake 1 and Control, but this game feels like all the pieces came together in the way they needed to.
The lean into horror creates an amazing atmosphere of light and dark, the mix of live action is super cool, and the unique gameplay elements Saga and Alan have make both sides feel unique (even if I prefer the Saga sections a little bit). The sometimes vague puzzles small story gripes I have don’t even bother me that much, just because of how great everything surrounding it really is.
Seeing what they’ve done here makes me super excited for Control 2, and I hope Remedy can continue to make games as amazing as this.
It finally clicked. Glimpses of the potential Remedy had to make a game like this definitely existed in Alan Wake 1 and Control, but this game feels like all the pieces came together in the way they needed to.
The lean into horror creates an amazing atmosphere of light and dark, the mix of live action is super cool, and the unique gameplay elements Saga and Alan have make both sides feel unique (even if I prefer the Saga sections a little bit). The sometimes vague puzzles small story gripes I have don’t even bother me that much, just because of how great everything surrounding it really is.
Seeing what they’ve done here makes me super excited for Control 2, and I hope Remedy can continue to make games as amazing as this.
2011
While it’s simple and a little aged, I think Bastion is able to tell a good story in a unique way. It’s pretty crazy to see how far Supergiant Games has come when comparing this to Hades.
Fire Emblem Birthright disappoints me, plain and simple. It’s not terrible at its core, but it all gets bogged down by poor design and wasted ideas done much better in both earlier and later games.
The story is bad and tries way too hard to be serious, the characters feel mostly flat, the maps are too basic, and all the broken units make the difficulty very exploitable.
If you wanted to play a Fire Emblem game with branching paths done well just play Three Houses, if you’re ok with a bad story and just want great gameplay then play Engage, and if you really want to play one on the 3ds just play Awakening. Birthright just isn’t worth it.
The story is bad and tries way too hard to be serious, the characters feel mostly flat, the maps are too basic, and all the broken units make the difficulty very exploitable.
If you wanted to play a Fire Emblem game with branching paths done well just play Three Houses, if you’re ok with a bad story and just want great gameplay then play Engage, and if you really want to play one on the 3ds just play Awakening. Birthright just isn’t worth it.
Hotline Miami 2 is a game with a strange problem. The ambition, ideas, amazing soundtrack, and powerful ending definitely surpass the original, and with some retooling I can see myself thinking it’s the peak fiction some people claim it is. Unfortunately, the gameplay and foundation it’s built on is just worse than the original.
The level design feels sloppy, having areas waaay too big for a game like this making everything feel a lot more frustrating. It’s buggy and for every level I remember as good 3 others feel like I’m Sisyphus pushing a boulder. I’d still recommend you play Hotline Miami 2 just to make your own opinion on it, but to me while I see where it shines actually playing it feels like a step down from the first game.
The level design feels sloppy, having areas waaay too big for a game like this making everything feel a lot more frustrating. It’s buggy and for every level I remember as good 3 others feel like I’m Sisyphus pushing a boulder. I’d still recommend you play Hotline Miami 2 just to make your own opinion on it, but to me while I see where it shines actually playing it feels like a step down from the first game.
2024
Persona 3 Reload is an interesting remake to me, I played Portable not too long ago and while this version is definitely superior I’ve realized that even at its core Persona 3 is both amazing and flawed.
To start positives the game is so much smoother. I could handle the visual novel feel of portable but it was clearly inferior and seeing it all in a modern light is amazing. All the voice work is great, and Tartarus is a definite improvement. Going from tolerable in P3P to pretty fun with all the elements brought in from P5.
However there are some things that held Portable that are somehow still present here. The pacing is still bad, taking waaay too long to get good. The tweaks made to shuffle time make the game way easier, and there simply not enough things to do during the night with only 2 social links and social stats leveling up super fast.
Overall for a first timer, playing this version is 100% the way to go. I still wish it shook more things ups, and both of its sequels feel like better games but you can’t deny how perfectly it comes together by the end.
To start positives the game is so much smoother. I could handle the visual novel feel of portable but it was clearly inferior and seeing it all in a modern light is amazing. All the voice work is great, and Tartarus is a definite improvement. Going from tolerable in P3P to pretty fun with all the elements brought in from P5.
However there are some things that held Portable that are somehow still present here. The pacing is still bad, taking waaay too long to get good. The tweaks made to shuffle time make the game way easier, and there simply not enough things to do during the night with only 2 social links and social stats leveling up super fast.
Overall for a first timer, playing this version is 100% the way to go. I still wish it shook more things ups, and both of its sequels feel like better games but you can’t deny how perfectly it comes together by the end.
Now that 2b’s dropped, I think I’ve played for long enough to say how I feel about Granblue Rising, and how much better it is compared to the original version.
While not a bad fighting game, lots of the original Granblue felt a bit clunky to me. From shallow mechanics to poor net code, I never got hooked enough to stay interested despite the potential it had. Rising is a different story though. Now it successfully balances being a simple game with some hidden depth, the net code is solid, and the cast feels diverse with lots of room to keep expanding.
Impressed is a good way to describe how I feel about Granblue Rising. Rather than falling into obscurity like Dnf Duel or (sadly) Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, it’s molded itself into a pretty great option for casuals, veterans, and gooners alike.
While not a bad fighting game, lots of the original Granblue felt a bit clunky to me. From shallow mechanics to poor net code, I never got hooked enough to stay interested despite the potential it had. Rising is a different story though. Now it successfully balances being a simple game with some hidden depth, the net code is solid, and the cast feels diverse with lots of room to keep expanding.
Impressed is a good way to describe how I feel about Granblue Rising. Rather than falling into obscurity like Dnf Duel or (sadly) Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, it’s molded itself into a pretty great option for casuals, veterans, and gooners alike.
As someone who loved the creative style of the CDI Zelda games, I’m honestly just surprised and happy this game exists.
It looks great, the cutscenes are still charming, it feels good to play, and there are lots of extra side quests and collectibles even with the shorter main campaign. There’s definitely some jank with the vague progression, instakill pits, and enemy swarming in the late game, but maybe that’s just committing to the bit. I still enjoyed Arzette and I hope this team does more with it in the future.
It looks great, the cutscenes are still charming, it feels good to play, and there are lots of extra side quests and collectibles even with the shorter main campaign. There’s definitely some jank with the vague progression, instakill pits, and enemy swarming in the late game, but maybe that’s just committing to the bit. I still enjoyed Arzette and I hope this team does more with it in the future.
2021
Psychonauts 2 does a great job doing exactly what it needed to as a sequel to an over 15 year old game. The controls and combat are better, the levels are consistently solid (the final level was actually good this time), and the story fits nicely in with everything else. I kinda wish they innovated a bit more cause this is pretty structurally similar to the first game, but I still had fun and I’m happy Double Fine got to make this.
2022
Signalis is probably a dream game for lovers of old school survival horror, and even without experience with this style I can tell how amazing it is in some- if not most areas.
The style is sooo good. The ps1 style polygons with sprites, draped in a bleak colors with bursts red and black fits so perfect with both the setting and narrative. I think the story surprised me the most, it gets a bit surreal but in a way that fits the themes nicely. The only parts that struggled to keep me invested were with the gameplay, I can deal with a limited inventory but the enemy swarming and one area where they take away your map gets really tedious.
I still think Signalis is definitely worth playing though, and I’ll try to play more games in this genre in the future.
The style is sooo good. The ps1 style polygons with sprites, draped in a bleak colors with bursts red and black fits so perfect with both the setting and narrative. I think the story surprised me the most, it gets a bit surreal but in a way that fits the themes nicely. The only parts that struggled to keep me invested were with the gameplay, I can deal with a limited inventory but the enemy swarming and one area where they take away your map gets really tedious.
I still think Signalis is definitely worth playing though, and I’ll try to play more games in this genre in the future.
While all the mainline Metal Gear Solid games are held in high regard, the legacy of this game feels the most unmatched. This acclaim is very much deserved, even if I have some small gripes with this game.
Like its predecessors the story is still amazing. I don’t think the themes of loyalty and perspective are as strong as 2, but the execution of said themes is arguably better than 2 so it still really works well.
The gameplay is where Snake Eater both truly shines, and shows some cracks. The sneaking and variety of ways you can do everything is really fun and impressive for a game on the ps2. I also commend the team for striving to innovate from the original formula, like hunting and the stamina bar, but some of the changes made for ‘realism’ don’t work for me. The camouflage system and cure system both feel forced. Sure it’s more realistic, but they don’t make the game any more fun.
Overall I think the hype for Snake Eater is 100% still deserved. I personally like 2 more but saying this is the best game in the series is definitely fair.
Like its predecessors the story is still amazing. I don’t think the themes of loyalty and perspective are as strong as 2, but the execution of said themes is arguably better than 2 so it still really works well.
The gameplay is where Snake Eater both truly shines, and shows some cracks. The sneaking and variety of ways you can do everything is really fun and impressive for a game on the ps2. I also commend the team for striving to innovate from the original formula, like hunting and the stamina bar, but some of the changes made for ‘realism’ don’t work for me. The camouflage system and cure system both feel forced. Sure it’s more realistic, but they don’t make the game any more fun.
Overall I think the hype for Snake Eater is 100% still deserved. I personally like 2 more but saying this is the best game in the series is definitely fair.
2020
Ok I’ve definitely played enough of this game to say how I feel about, which isn’t a lot. This is just a fun rhythm game with lots of song variety, game modes, and tracks in general even without the insane amount of DLC’s. It’s just a pretty fun game.
Much like Alan Wake, Control strikes me as a game that some people really love while others don’t connect to it as much. That’s strangely where the links end for me though, since I think they’re very different games despite being made by the same studio AND being directly related.
The gameplay is really smooth. I like the enemy variety, gunplay, and all the powers you add to your kit. The setting also feels cool, balancing areas that purposely feel sterile with one filled with life, and the story does feel like it’s convoluted on purpose sometimes but I think works with all the theming.
My biggest gripe is surprisingly the progression of said story. It feels clunky with random side missions, and the main story concludes feeling rushed. I also hate the map system like it’s actually a nightmare in some areas to figure out how to get somewhere. So while I definitely liked Control, it holds itself back too much for it to be truly great.
The gameplay is really smooth. I like the enemy variety, gunplay, and all the powers you add to your kit. The setting also feels cool, balancing areas that purposely feel sterile with one filled with life, and the story does feel like it’s convoluted on purpose sometimes but I think works with all the theming.
My biggest gripe is surprisingly the progression of said story. It feels clunky with random side missions, and the main story concludes feeling rushed. I also hate the map system like it’s actually a nightmare in some areas to figure out how to get somewhere. So while I definitely liked Control, it holds itself back too much for it to be truly great.
2021
Alan Wake has always been a game that’s interested me even before its sequel came out. Some people have a real fondness for this game and after playing it I can see why even with the problems I have with it.
The game nails its atmosphere, the whole light vs darkness theme works pretty well, and the story gets pretty interesting by the end of it. The main thing that bogs everything down is the gameplay, it’s too repetitive and spammy with its enemies that only really vary in how long it takes for them to die (except for those really annoying teleporting guys).
Knowing this was an Xbox 360 game makes the technical stuff more impressive, but that doesn’t make the game any less mid.
The game nails its atmosphere, the whole light vs darkness theme works pretty well, and the story gets pretty interesting by the end of it. The main thing that bogs everything down is the gameplay, it’s too repetitive and spammy with its enemies that only really vary in how long it takes for them to die (except for those really annoying teleporting guys).
Knowing this was an Xbox 360 game makes the technical stuff more impressive, but that doesn’t make the game any less mid.
YIIK is impressively bad. I wanted to play it not only for the meme but also to understand why it’s so hated, and after 2 and half chapters I found my answer. It’s just not fun and bad.
This lack of enjoyment is entirely in the gameplay, the battles are dull and repetitive and take soooo long. I would have stuck it out if they were at least short, but every one felt like a waste of time. That’s not all though, the story is also way too messy. There are some neat ideas I guess? But it was also agonizingly slow and bogged down by uninteresting or frustrating characters.
If the I.V update actually fixes some of the main issues I might go back to it, but as of now I’d rather play anything else than spending more time on this.
This lack of enjoyment is entirely in the gameplay, the battles are dull and repetitive and take soooo long. I would have stuck it out if they were at least short, but every one felt like a waste of time. That’s not all though, the story is also way too messy. There are some neat ideas I guess? But it was also agonizingly slow and bogged down by uninteresting or frustrating characters.
If the I.V update actually fixes some of the main issues I might go back to it, but as of now I’d rather play anything else than spending more time on this.
Metal Gear Solid 2 might not be an objectively flawless game, but every complaint I can think of somehow connects to or gets mitigated by the themes it tackles. The gameplay improves on everything the first game had, the characters are still great, and the story is crazy ahead of its time with how it portrays AI and information access. I like the setting of Shadow Mosses a bit more than the one here and there are still some tedious parts, but as I said before those personal issues don’t hold much weight compared to how well Metal Gear Solid 2 explores it’s amazing narrative. I’m super excited to start the third game and it amazes me that it apparently gets better than this.