Cfanj
2024
Me enjoying this game was not on my bingo card for this year.
I'm not a fan of deckbuilding, and have never considered myself a big fan of the game of poker; yet somehow, Balatro occupies my mind every minute I spend not playing it.
The roguelike mechanics are weaved into the gameplay loop in such an elegant way, that I find myself just playing run-after-run, some of those being utter failures, just to see what the game is going to throw at me next.
Incredibly simple to play despite it's dense complexity, Balatro is truly in a league of it's own.
I'm not a fan of deckbuilding, and have never considered myself a big fan of the game of poker; yet somehow, Balatro occupies my mind every minute I spend not playing it.
The roguelike mechanics are weaved into the gameplay loop in such an elegant way, that I find myself just playing run-after-run, some of those being utter failures, just to see what the game is going to throw at me next.
Incredibly simple to play despite it's dense complexity, Balatro is truly in a league of it's own.
2024
Enjoyed my first few hours - having a new take on a monster collecting game was a breath of fresh air, even if its design has some rough edges. Ultimately the uninspiring open world design left me wanting more.
Still feels very early access, which is totally okay considering that's where it's at in development, I'll revisit later to get a better sense of the full product. For now though, I don't have all that much interest in continuing my run.
Still feels very early access, which is totally okay considering that's where it's at in development, I'll revisit later to get a better sense of the full product. For now though, I don't have all that much interest in continuing my run.
Absolutely loved my short romp through the Village.
The pacing of this game is genius, revealing its true hand only after the player has experienced all of the marketing material, and what they expected the game to be. The four areas leaning into four different horror tropes were a blast, and the team really pulled off the vibe of a great horror anthology wrapped nicely within a 10 hour campaign.
The pacing of this game is genius, revealing its true hand only after the player has experienced all of the marketing material, and what they expected the game to be. The four areas leaning into four different horror tropes were a blast, and the team really pulled off the vibe of a great horror anthology wrapped nicely within a 10 hour campaign.
Enjoyed my time with Nier Replicant, though the gameplay loop is certainly starting to show its age, at least when it comes to story structure and exploration.
If you enjoyed Nier Automata, this game gives you an incredible amount of backstory you've missed and makes Automata that much more enjoyable.
Deserving of its status as a cult classic, but with some rough edges in pacing.
If you enjoyed Nier Automata, this game gives you an incredible amount of backstory you've missed and makes Automata that much more enjoyable.
Deserving of its status as a cult classic, but with some rough edges in pacing.
2021
Somehow, this was my first Metroid, and what a blast it was. Tight combat, incredibly fluid animation, and quick punchy navigation. I really enjoyed how well the game guides you through its web of level design with elegant use of locking mechanics and global environment changes. Bosses felt difficult, but fair. The only thing I could ask for is more - but the tight 10 hour experience shines incredibly bright with polish due to it's scale.
As a borderlands fan, BL3 was a rough time for me. The gameplay was fun, but in no way revolutionary, and the writing was terrible at best.
But Wonderlands feels like the breath of fresh air that the franchise needed. The tighter focus on a more streamlined campaign, mixed with how well fantasy meshes with borderland's theme-park style storytelling delivers the best campaign the series has seen since BL2.
At the end of the day, it does feel like a bit of a light reskin, like blood dragon is for FC3. But I'd much rather see more of this world than more apocalyptic wastelands filled with bandits screaming about meat. There's a lot of great changes here, and I keep wishing they pushed it further, but all things considered Tiny Tina's Wonderland is a fun romp through high fantasy with a group of friends.
But Wonderlands feels like the breath of fresh air that the franchise needed. The tighter focus on a more streamlined campaign, mixed with how well fantasy meshes with borderland's theme-park style storytelling delivers the best campaign the series has seen since BL2.
At the end of the day, it does feel like a bit of a light reskin, like blood dragon is for FC3. But I'd much rather see more of this world than more apocalyptic wastelands filled with bandits screaming about meat. There's a lot of great changes here, and I keep wishing they pushed it further, but all things considered Tiny Tina's Wonderland is a fun romp through high fantasy with a group of friends.
2022
This game, simply put, delivers on everything I want in a video game. My roughly 100 hours of time with this game has been a nonstop stream of tight combat, jaw dropping moments of surprise, exploration filled with intrigue and mystery, rich worldbuilding, and incredible boss encounters.
This game feels like Hidetaka Miyazaki's vision fully realized, and shines brighter than any of his previous titles, while pulling the best parts of each.
What a treat this was to experience at the same time as so many other people - I don't remember the last time I felt this way about a game (maybe BOTW?)
This game feels like Hidetaka Miyazaki's vision fully realized, and shines brighter than any of his previous titles, while pulling the best parts of each.
What a treat this was to experience at the same time as so many other people - I don't remember the last time I felt this way about a game (maybe BOTW?)