The first and only Max Payne without Sam Lake being the main writer and it is pretty immediately felt. The gritty, noir feeling of the first two is replaced a somewhat sunny but still grungy setting as Max hangs up his leather jacket in Hoboken for a flak jacket in Sao Paulo. Dan Houser's writing for Max is still great and the story really grabs you starting in the third act but before that it felt like I was just being dragged along. The gameplay is solid but feels more limited due to the nature of Rockstar's somewhat realism in most there games. No longer is the one man army Max Payne who can carry 2 shotguns, 3 rifles, 4 pistols, and a holy plethora of grenades. You are now limited to 2 pistols and a rifle, the attention to detail is nice but really makes the game feel less fun. Bullet time remains and like everything else in this game feels weighty and visceral. My main complaint with this game however is that it almost feels more like a cover shooter then the power fantasy of the first two games, maybe its due to the age of Payne or Rockstar's commitment to realism but you are a lot more vulnerable and I found it a pretty frustrating shift in gameplay. Overall, Remedy's titles are the superior Max Payne games with their tone and gameplay but this game is still worth the playthrough.

Ended up playing this on a whim after it being in my backlog for so long, really glad I did. It's aged quite well, the visuals still hold up as does the unique level design. The writing is really great too, haven't laughed at a game this much in a long time. I think the pacing is a bit odd but I guess with a game that can be beaten in <10 hours it needs to ramp up pretty immediately. I think the end drags on a bit long but maybe that's just the effect of the Meat Circus on a players psyche....

....also its a shame the game peaks in the first minute with the introduction of dogen boole, love that guy.

I just think its impressive this game will turn out to be a better live service game than the Avengers. Not really sure how to score it yet, the core gameplay is pretty quick and not stressful which is perfect for its mobile format, and there doesn't seem to be predatory microtransactions. I can see myself getting addicted to this but that is exactly what I should've expected from former Hearthstone devs, thanks Ben Brode.

UPDATE:
Pretty comfortable leaving a score after the first season being completed. I got to level 50 on the battle pass- the game is great! However, with the progression slowing down after reaching the second pool I see myself playing less and less. But it is a fantastic mobile game.

Such a great game to break in my new Series S, one of the best I've played in the last two years. An amazing aesthetic and really great combat keeps this short adventure feeling fresh every encounter. That soundtrack too, you find yourself bopping your head without even realizing it. The story is weak, but serviceable enough, but the characters are really loveable and endearing. Ran excellently too, no noticeable frame drops even when its covered in enemies. I hope the inevitable sequel is able to follow something a bit closer to Devil May Cry's combat and reward you for actually varying your attacks, my major issue with this one is you can get max rank by just spamming the light attack combo over and over while cycling through your ally assists.

There has never really been anything quite like Alan Wake, this remaster proves it. This edition improves everything that Remedy did great the first time, the excellent use of lighting and use of environment to guide you through this twisting tale. I wish that the combat was improved as this game still contains the most unreliable dodge button in any video game ever. Due to this the game still feels somewhat aged and is pretty difficult to play due to this. The frustrating nature of the gameplay would make this game a hard recommend, however I still believe that this game is one of the pinnacles of game writing. It's bonkers how well the game is written and how much depth every little manuscript you pick up contains. If Remedy learns from Control I do believe the upcoming sequel could be their best game yet.

It's weird, dreadfully weird, enduringly weird, it doesn't work all the time, and it won't work for everyone, but it worked for me, and I feel very fortunate. From a presentation standpoint, it's perfect. The visuals, the score, and contains probably the best ensemble cast I've ever witnessed in a game (but how Mads and Norman got the nomination over Tommie I do not know). It took me a long time to finish- starting on pc, then restarting on PS5 with the new edition. But Kojima definitely crafted something so unlike anything I've ever played before that I feel like it's something you have to try at least once. I am so glad he is able to continue to make weird shit, and while Metal Gear was always somewhat based in reality Death Stranding throws proper nouns at you from the start and expects you to remember it all, and it rules for that. I hope he can continue to do this. Docked points because I cannot safely play this game with a beer in one hand without risking dropping all my cargo.