Top 50 Favorites: #25

A masterclass in medieval gothic pop style. I'll be honest, I thought this was just kind of okay when I first played it - a little mid of a remake in a way that feels hollow (even cheap), not unlike Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated. But boy does this thing know how to sit with you and settle right on in... you'd really have to try hard to forget any of these luxurious-looking levels (of course that would ultimately be a futile fight anyway). Sir Daniel is such a lovable lead character despite (perhaps - in part - because of) having zero audible lines of dialogue, and like the rest of this game is designed to soaring standards. There's also something satisfyingly squishy about the combat here, nothing beats busting out that big ole' mallet and going to town on zombies, imps, pumpkin plants, and fish monsters and whatnot. An aura of authenticity coats this entire thing corner-to-corner, what initially might seem thin ends up seeming so lovingly crafted - so lived-in. So charming and freakish, it's even a shade creepy at some points - it being hard to deduce whether that's unintentionally so or otherwise makes it even moreso imo. Essential adventure game that's refreshing in its simplicity. Love, love, love it.

Competent, not much else. Impressive for 1996 (especially the vast amount of racers they managed to cram onscreen without sacrificing a ton of performance, even surpassing a lot of the Mario Karts) but those deep-fried, chunky graphics haven't particularly aged that well (they honestly look sickly). The turbo system also kind of sucks but the magnetic grapple is pretty innovative and satisfying to use while snapping around corners. At first it's pretty neat to race on so many different terrains like this in one race, and there are a few really solid tracks but due to its horrid physics the difficulty is stupidly unforgiving to the point of being a chore. Just play Wipeout tbh.

Bland levels, bland roster, bland art style, bland music, bland gameplay. A competent product that I feel virtually nothing but apathy for - granted I don't care that much about the Smash games either, but come on... There's just no comparison here, those are (mostly) leagues better than this is despite it still being a capable clone on a base level. The PlayStation All-Stars comparisons are noted but I would say they're only founded in the sense that both feel like almost immediate abandonware despite being spearheaded by waves of gigantic IPs that have all the ingredients for what should have been a huge slam dunk. Otherwise Sony's attempt felt way more personalized than this shallow husk imo. Feels like a sixth-gen game and not in a good way, everything about this just screams chintzy. Crazy how even after all these post-launch fixes the sound mixing is still this bad.

Much like, say, a Telltale game this initially sweeps you off your feet with its rug pulls and personable characters before devolving into forced choice-driven sentimentality - sadness for the sake of sadness because making you feel like shit right at the buzzer is an 'easier' way for its story to be remembered than creating a fleshed-out, satisfying conclusion which is still 100% in the realm of possibility by that point in the narrative. Still, I don't want to downplay how aesthetically attractive and quirky this all is - (good) minigames inside of bigger games is one of my favorite features in a video game and this has a ton of fun ones; as expected with this company the variety on display is formidable. And the story is honestly great right up until its heel-skidding final moments. For sure still a good one, though Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons wipes the floor with this imo.

Top 50 Favorites: #49

A serene audiovisual spectacle - uses its pixelated pageantry not for cheap nostalgia points, but for honest-to-God authentic dreamscape texture. My biggest complaint - and make no mistake, this is certainly a complaint in this case - like with many games of this ilk, is that it's just too short (in this case almost feeling incomplete by its ending); and the add-ons - rather than more exceptional story levels - are instead just a bunch of creator tools. If that's your thing, that's probably really awesome - but personally I trust more talented people to make these sorts of levels rather than me fumbling to make my own. For reference, Hohokum is my favorite video game ever made - so naturally I was floored at the prospect of what that game's DLC in this game (two products with such wondrous, deeply emotive music directly connected to their visual auras during the creative process coming together) could have brought.... but instead it's just a bunch of lines and dings and shit that I don't know how to use. Obviously that is 100% a me problem, and does essentially very little to hinder my love for this overall - one of the most wholly original modern bit platformers ever painted onto a screen. Has the ability to transition naturally from 'calming stroll down a pleasant lane' to 'fuck fucking motherfuck goddammit how the fuck did I fucking die there??!?' with a sharp sense of control. Shame that such an auspicious vision like this hasn't spawned any sequels since, where imo it clearly deserves some. Beck, deadmau5, and some exemplary original tunes shine too brightly here to be forgotten.

Ever so slightly misses the mark imo. For every step this game takes in the right direction I think it makes two more in the opposite direction. As a beat-em-up this is far from the repugnant trash heap I was led to believe, perfectly serviceable (if, of course, repetitive) with an eccentric control gimmick and an insane amount of meaty, splashy violence - I was honestly liking this for the majority of it (you can slide around in the enemy's blood like an ice rink, how cool is that?!). However, once they expect you to perform any amount of platforming it all falls apart. The control is beyond finnicky as it is, slippery as all hell even on plain surfaces - but the awkwardly fixed camera angle leads to trajectory with often zero sense of depth. You will fall off. Again and again. And again. So on and so forth.. Yeah... Not even on difficult obstacles either, just jumping across a small creek from a big lilypad frequently seems like an insurmountable task. There's a lot to like here, lots of these levels are lovingly designed with vibrant colors and fascinating ideas - and I dig that this smartly decided against fairytale satire, going more for just a quick hit of cartoon characters being sliced apart Happy Tree Friends-style like Jell-O. But man... it can be tough to sit through due to its overarching flaws.

Alright, time to finally address this - I honestly think this is only 'fine'. It's still a game that I would consider to be good, but come on... I get that we all grew up with this but imo this isn't even one of the best Resident Evil games, let alone one of the best games of ALL TIME. Even in the HD port these cripplingly archaic controls never feel good to use, especially for a game that - at times - requires pinpoint accuracy. The environments here are alright but everything feels like it's only two or three colors (mostly the same shade of brown and grey). It does reel you in for fits and starts, though for the most part it's baseline competent but not a whole lot else. You've still got the solid dynamic of rotten flesh metamorphoses up against unkillable babes and hunks which this series has always been so sharp with - and Leon certainly carries this whole thing, with his emo-haired gymnastics and corny quotes perfectly understanding the assignment here. Ada's relationship with him is still great and Ashley's uselessness you just can't help but find some entertainment value in. But otherwise... eh. I'm sure this was a revelation in its day but now it feels somewhat flat. I also blame this for ushering in the grey quicktime hell macho-shooter era that would nearly consume the following gaming generation. No idea why (the, in my opinion - and I'm perfectly fine standing alone in this - resoundingly superior) Resident Evil 6 gets all the flak when this is nearly just as wacky - did everyone forget about the exploding cow, Bollywood aerobics, and giant robot statue stuff?

Games I Like That Everybody Else Dislikes

Like the base game, dastardly short - this desperately, desperately should have been, like, ten levels instead of the three (3) we got (especially to make up for the base's cut-down main campaign). But no, this once again seems to be a product of rushed deadlines. Even still, there's just so much magic in these games - even in truncated form - that it's impossible not to feel that here also. The levels that did survive in this? They're really great. The new powerups are a blast, and this is a more loving trip down memory lane than the Wonderplane levels in Sackboy: A Big Adventure. And hey, we needed more content with these three sackfellows anyway (we still do, actually). Should have opened the door for the enticing promise of LBP story expansions in the future. Breezy and nostalgic, definitely worth the $5/6 bucks.

Top 50 Favorites: #8

"A lot of this isn't going to make sense to you, and I'm sorry about that."

Fate exists and it's a cruel motherfucker - memories as a beautiful watercolor painted with blood and tears. Best story writing ever in a video game, maybe in any piece of media/entertainment ever. Deals with how we cope not only with mortality, but with the inherent unfairness that exists in society - when the people we love most and who love us the most cause us the most pain (which is then enacted right back onto them). Unrelenting beauty and deep, bone-chilling melancholy in an inescapable dance to see which will have the biggest imprint on your life. Art design here is a knockout, this was the first game I played which really opened my eyes to the power of the eighth generation of gaming. So amazing that it eviscerated the "walking sim" genre of game in its tracks, because how the hell can you even compete with this? (Even goes the extra mile with an audacious tie-in to another one of my all-time favorite games). Impossible to forget. I love you but this is going to hurt like hell.

Top 50 Favorites: #2

Something special. Media Molecule's finest work as a developer in a career jam-packed with unforgettable gaming experiences. Every pixel of this game radiates the same comfort level as a warm log cabin in December, sitting in a soft chair with a mug of hot cocoa beside the fireplace. Makes your controller feel like a true magic utensil come to life, the gimmicks in this game genuinely made me feel like a kid again - "Ooh"-ing and "Ahh"-ing in giddy excitement with each new twist on the DualShock 4 (and your phone, which I highly recommend also using)'s utility. It really shows just how much Sony underutilized the PS Vita that all its features transferred over without compromise - nay, BETTER - from its original rendition. The sense of imagination here is so red-hot that it feels liable to beam out right off of your screen. Can't express enough how much I love this game, the dictionary definition of adventure. Comparing this to LittleBigPlanet, I feel, would be reductive - since this very much has its own unique identity - but it has more of that same 'energy' than that 2020 Sackboy game imo.

Top 50 Favorites: #6

"What if you don't feel at home anywhere?"
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"🎶Run and break the chain I hope to get away someday.🎶"

The Thin Blue Line. Question your own existence while roundhouse kicking triad members in the face and listening to The Drums. 110% amazing. Deeply depressed individuals hiding their insecurities behind violent power structures - a police badge being worn with the same intent as a gang tattoo. Such rich, complex characters on display - Wei Shen is an incredibly compelling lead in this and the supporting characters are all just as memorable. Strong themes of gender expectations, nationality/race, infatuation with tradition, oppressive hierarchies, thwarted masculinity, Chinese politics, etc. It's really impressive, plus the voice cast is stacked (Emma Stone, James Hong, Tom Wilkinson, Lucy Liu, and Tzi Ma among others). The gameplay is just as magnetizing - super content-heavy with tons of mission variety, fun minigames, rewarding collectibles, and one of the most exceptionally lively open worlds you'll ever play in. Driving through Hong Kong at night as Bonobo plays on the radio, drenched in the lights of roadside shops with a little bit of rain drizzle hitting... chef's kiss. Even the little number puzzles are a blast to run through. It's also (rightfully) totally inextricable from its kickass martial-arts-based melee combat system, which is a riot and a half to use. You can also jump from moving car to moving car!! Not just the best GTA clone, but one of the greatest video games ever made. Pork buns 4ever.

Alright, time to finally address this - I honestly think this is only 'fine'. It's still a game that I would consider to be good, but come on... I get that we all grew up with this but imo this isn't even one of the best Resident Evil games, let alone one of the best games of ALL TIME. Even in the HD port these cripplingly archaic controls never feel good to use, especially for a game that - at times - requires pinpoint accuracy. The environments here are alright but everything feels like it's only two or three colors (mostly the same shade of brown and grey). It does reel you in for fits and starts, though for the most part it's baseline competent but not a whole lot else. You've still got the solid dynamic of rotten flesh metamorphoses up against unkillable babes and hunks which this series has always been so sharp with - and Leon certainly carries this whole thing, with his emo-haired gymnastics and corny quotes perfectly understanding the assignment here. Ada's relationship with him is still great and Ashley's uselessness you just can't help but find some entertainment value in. But otherwise... eh. I'm sure this was a revelation in its day but now it feels somewhat flat. I also blame this for ushering in the grey quicktime hell macho-shooter era that would nearly consume the following gaming generation. No idea why (the, in my opinion - and I'm perfectly fine standing alone in this - resoundingly superior) Resident Evil 6 gets all the flak when this is nearly just as wacky - did everyone forget about the exploding cow, Bollywood aerobics, and giant robot statue stuff?