In the risk averse world of the modern game industry it is so rare to find a game that I can honestly say is a singular unique experience. This game checks that box in so many ways. while there are enemies both of the human and checks notes Ghostly oil monster variety these are hardly the main obstacle/challenge in the game. That would be traversing the rough terrain of this post apocalyptic world... And the 150 lbs. of supplies on your back that need to be delivered.

The gameplay loop is one that I have never experienced and while it has received the criticism of being a mailman simulator, it is so much more intricate than that. Every job is a gamble where you either risk taking too much stuff and overwhelming yourself, or not maximizing the profitability of each trip. You also have to carefully plot your route to avoid bandits and BT infested areas when possible and bring only the equipment that you think you will need. Bring too much and you further overburden yourself. Bring too little, and you might not be able to rappel down that cliff, or cross that lake, and may have to take a longer or more dangerous detour. In most games the journey between point A and B is just a hurdle that you rush through to get to the next quest or boss fight. In this game the boss fight is the journey.

Finally the soundtrack is simply stunning and seems to pop in just at the right time. The highlight of the game for me was right at the end of a long arduous journey, I walked up over the crest of a mountain and finally for the first time saw my destination on the horizon, a feeling of triumph washed over me as I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel and all of a sudden the song "Asylums For The Feeling" by the Silent Poets starts playing and it made the short jog down the hill to my destination feel somber and lonely yet hopeful and this perfectly encapsulated the tone of the game for me.

The resident evil remake train takes a significant step backwards on this one. The game is fine, and has plenty of good moments, but it's so short that it felt like it should have been DLC for RE2 remake but was instead a stand alone release with a $60 price tag. The level design seemed rushed, certain parts from the original game were cut for some reason, and the opening scene has a dream sequence that implies that Jill has something wrong with her, maybe is infected or is having hallucinations but this is never touched on again for the rest of the game. It's almost like the writers forgot they included that scene or something, genuinely confusing. Hopefully they redeem themselves with the soon to be released RE4 remake. Fingers crossed.

as with most JRPGs there is a lot of cringe dialogue, melodrama, and anime-isms that will turn some people off. However, if you are initially able to look past those quirks there is a rich complex story here set in a world that is so fun to explore with some of the best turn based combat you'll find... You might even begin to find these quirks endearing. This game isn't for everyone, I think all final fantasy games fit into this category tbh. But I genuinely loved this game as it was the first FF game I really invested a lot of time into and played to completion. I played FF7-9 at friends houses but never really got into them. However after playing FFX I went back and tried all of the older FF games out.

Some of the best sword fighting combat you'll find only bested by Sekiro: shadows die twice in my opinion. Story starts out quite compelling but begins to run out of steam during the final third of the game. However there is plenty of side missions and points of interest to keep you busy if you are in to that sort of thing. I usually am not, but this game is just so fun to play and beautiful that it held my interest until the end. However ,when I completed the story I didn't stick around to finish all the filler content.

I'll start by saying the art direction in this game is simply stunning and is accompanied by a beautiful musical score that comes in and out at the perfect time. The video game-ification of the 5 stages of grief was pretty interesting and I applaud the creativity.

However mechanically this game doesn't really do anything new and uses a lot of the well established design tropes that have been used for years to create emotional feelings through level design and gameplay, specifically present in this game is the steep ascents and sharp descents to create feelings of overcoming obstacles and hope, or despair and sadness respectively.

The gameplay is minimalist and somewhat uninspired which ends up hurting the final product significantly. While playing I kept hoping in the back of my mind that it would end soon because I just knew that the gorgeous style could only hide the lacking substance for so long and I didn't want to start disliking it. Thankfully the game is only 2-3 hours long so it doesn't overstay its welcome and the finale is rather powerful and ends on an optimistic note which I appreciated.