Since 2011, no title in the Dark Souls series has lived up to the enrapturing world of the premiere installment, Dark Souls takes elements from Zelda, Metroid, and beyond to craft one of the quintessential fantasy games, the oppressive difficulty and sedated travel speed forces you to get comfortable with this universe, and the ludonarrative excellence displayed by Fromsoftware, borne of this title, is yet to be matched. I'd be remiss to consider this title flawless, it deeply fails and descends in scope and design near the final act, but even within the muck, there are still beautiful and haunting displays of writing and visual design, and even in the face of that, my heart still wants to give it a 5, but a 4.5 will do.

Obviously, everyone should play Dark Souls, even if just for a little while.

Dark Souls 2 is a misunderstood work of art. Even setting mechanics aside (which are entirely competent and beyond enjoyable in my experience), this title is perhaps the most philsophically profound in the trilogy, and you just need to experience the catharsis it brings for yourself. While not reaching the iconic heights of other games published by Fromsoftware, Dark Souls 2 excels on a more subtle level, a level that seeked to subvert the very nature of the first titles premise no more than 3 years after the birth of the franchise.

You will find yourself at the foot of the castle, and you will not even know why, revel in that.

God of War: Ragnarok is exactly what everyone wished, yet no one imagined a game could be.

To take God of War 2018, the culmnation of modern and retro game design across genres, and say "You know what? Let's make it again, but this time, with 3x the ambition." is mindblowing. What was once a simple yet powerful narrative evolves into a realm-spanning, eon-long saga contained in one title, I would liken experiencing Ragnarok's story to watching Avengers: Infinity War AND Endgame back-to-back, or watching 2/3rds of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, by the end of the narrative, the beginning of the game felt like it was from a different title entirely, the writing is beyond impressive and it kept me hooked every step of the way, never, in any other game, has the story been so relatable and powerful that I genuinely felt myself wholly immersed and invested during boss fights, it wasn't just me watching Kratos stand up to those who wish to hurt his son, I, more than when playing any other game, felt truly emotionally heated during these exchanges, to me, fighting a boss wasn't just about completing a challenge, it was about proving that no one had the power to take Atreus away from his father. The writers awaken a part of you that you may not even know you had in you.

Unsurprisingly, Ragnarok is a blast to play, building upon the previous game's foundation perfectly and then adding even more mechanics that enhance and freshen the experience, never will I stop mentioning how utterly awesome it is to use the Blades of Chaos as a traversal tool, or how grotesquely masculine splitting men in half for your son is. Sidequests have been greatly improved from the original, which is incredible considering the original already excelled in this area, there are full character arcs and lore uncoveries in these optional adventures, and they are all a joy, it is unfathomable the amount of granular detail put into every inch of this experience.

Of course, once again, Santa Monica knocks it out of the park with their stellar graphical design and art direction, realms like Vanaheim and Ironwood truly inspire a sense of awe and immersion, they are dreams brought to life in explicit and intricate detail.

The scope of this game is undeniable, and with scope comes risk, Ragnarok accomplishes far more than its predecessor, but due to the increased scope, not absolutely everything this game attempts is accomplished perfectly, but any errors are so miniscule that I cannot even think of any in specific, it is the nature of such a complicated and diverse experience to fall every here and there, but ultimately, what it accomplishes compared to its predecessor is undeniably more impressive.

A review as long as this barely begins to scratch the surface of this magnificent experience, I truly mean magnificent, much like 2018, God Of War: Ragnarok is a stellar example of the potential video games have. This is not just a game, it is a living, breathing masterpiece.

9.5/10

"If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment... I would do it all over again."

The story of this game quickly became one of the most controversial ones ever told, but despite how much hatred it generated on people, it was all for the right reasons. Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross wrote a powerful and unforgettable tale that challenges the viewer in every way possible, but none of that is just for shock value or disrespects the original like so many people thought it did, but because they wanted to discuss human questions that have no moral easy answers. They knew this story would've pissed a lot of people off, and when the world finally played it they even questioned themselves if they did the right thing, but the reactions Part II caused proved that everything they we're trying to achieve was right. Druckmann and Halley told this story because they knew it was the right one to tell, the one that felt most loyal to what the first game was and also one that had so much to say, and they deserve an award for being this brave and sticking to their guts. There's no way to describe how hard they go on what they discuss without actually watching it, because they put their audience on an emotional test that dissects everything you believe as a person. And while sure it's a phenomenal looking game, probably the best one I've ever seen, and the gameplay is also top notch... That's not what stucked with me after finishing the game.

When the credits rolled I was deeply depressed by it, and I had so many extreme reactions and feelings throughout that I'll just never forget it. When the hardest thing to do in a game is not pushing the button itself, but doing what that button wants you to do story wise, you know you did something monumental. For me "Part II" achieved a groundbreaking status by pushing what Videogames could be as a piece of art, deliberately bringing an experience that is not necessarily fun throughout for a artful reason. I was forever changed after that experience back in 2020 and it'll never leave me, I learned so many things as a person and I still think about everything I felt during that original playthrough and all the later ones including this one. To me, "The Last of Us: Part II" is one of the bravest and most powerful stories ever told in any media, and that is the highest complement I can give to a piece of art. It's impossible to go through the journey of Ellie and Abby without feeling a lot and having something to say, and how amazing is that. I'll always be thankful that Naughty Dog gave us this experience, I can't wait to see how Druckmann and Craig Mazin are gonna adapt this in the HBO show, and I'll be there day one for the eventual Part III that just got confirmed at the end of the Grounded documentary included.

And as for this new PS5 version, the visual upgrades are very welcoming and noticeable but it is definitely a remaster that only slightly polishes what was already flawless. The DualSense capabilities are great, it looks absolutely breathtaking in native 4K HDR and the 30fps is consistent, but I only played that for the main campaign. The "Lost Levels" and little bonuses are nice for fans, the Grounded documentary is a must watch, but the thing we all wanted to see is the "No Return" mode and it does not disappoint. I've been having a blast with this mode, it always managed to keep things fresh, playing with all the characters is super cool and you can fully explore how dense and perfectly executed the combat and gameplay really is. I'm gonna keep playing this for awhile cause it's super fun and great for quick casual playthroughs. If you want a new version that really ups the visuals of the original game you're not gonna get that, but if you want the graphical upgrades and the extra content, alongside a great new mode to fully mess around with the exceptional gameplay... This is definitely worth the $10 dollar price point. It's the definitive version of the game and every fan should play this version whenever they feel like it's worth it.