The original Alan wake is arguably one of the first games to intimately push the gaming market to the modern the influence of its visual medium counterparts, TV and Cinema. There were many games before it that shattered boundaries between the two but Alan Wake implicitly structured and presented itself like a TV show.

Because of this, I think it's a perfect time to talk about the discourse that is the "moviegame". Alan Wake 2 is a game heavy on presenting it's story, and this is arguably more fleshed out then it's combat. And I want to defend that this is by no means a bad thing. In the year 2023 which has people questioning whether the year is the best year of game content in all of gaming history, with it's abundance of exceptional games. Alan Wake II stands at the top as easily the most impactful and expectedly memorable game, and this is largely due to the experience it provides.

A game is not only about systems and mechanics. It's about interaction and freedom and scope. And whilst I enjoyed the versatile movement of Spider-Man 2, or the clean platforming of Mario Wonder, I never once thought about or really cared about the world. In Alan Wake, I often found myself scrounging the environment for curiosities or spectacles, and each encounter, albeit rare. was enough to remove me from the comfort and force me to re-center, or leave me scrambling when I was overwhelmed. I felt immersed. I empathized with the dangers and the confusion. But I wholeheartedly enjoyed the whimsy that the game displays in it's characters and some of it's set pieces. This may have been helped by the tone which is one of my favorite avenues to explore, not quite cosmic but existential horror with heavy influences from David Lynch.

The game had my entire focus, only relaxing when the game suggested I do. Just like the original, listening to the manuscript and piecing things together was a joy. The marriage of Live Action and Game feels like it should no longer be a question (outside of FMVs anyway as those were always the exception). The gameplay is a big improvement on the original but also feels extremely true to the original. The game splits into two different playstyles with heavily diverging areas to explore.
This game was just everything I expected, but way more.

I like to rate my game based on the amount of criticisms I have rather then the positives because usually I enjoy game and therefore am quite biased to rating them too high but there's not much I can fault. The game is what it promises and more, the game is what it sets out to do.

Really my only issue could be that the mixing for the jump scares could be lower for non-jump scare enjoyers? Maybe the dodging could be a bit more lenient for group fights? I feel like I'm cherry picking.

A pretty neat game, with some fun movement options. let down by camera and a lack of mapping options.

A lack of mapping options is always fun until you get lost looking for the one room you rememer but don't remember how you got there. The camera issues are more self explanatory. Wall Kicking and hoping you have gained enough height to reach the edge with a backflip, wall riding around corners, or trying to land a jump with a drop ahead all cause headaches which never feel like your fault, an especially egregious issue when your gimmick is great movement

Overall a fun game to fit in between the heavy hitters but not a must-play

100%ed the game today, so I'm finally ready to review it.

Super Mario Wonder is the best Mario game since Yoshi's Island, and stands shoulder to shoulder with the best 2D platformers in Nintendo's catalog such as Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. It keeps a lot from the New Super Mario Bros. games while throwing away just as much. The lack of bah-bahs, a simplified moveset, and visuals that look like damn video game box art give everything a freshness as well as an overall feeling of renewal.

Mario platforming feels the best it ever has in Wonder, and on top of that we have Wonder Flowers, something you collect to turn levels all topsy turvy. I'm not going to explain them here, but these things are frickin incredible, and for the however many dozens of levels there are in the game, no idea is used more than 2-3 times (which is perfect because they're all extremely fun).

I would extend this constant introduction of new ideas to the new enemy types, because I think Wonder introduces like 30-50 new enemies and a lot of them are seen in only 2-3 levels max. Across the board, Super Mario Wonder is eager to please, and you feel it at every turn. Great pacing, too. It feels like a Super Mario World style adventure rather than something more rigid like a NSMB game, and Wonder regularly introduces short, easy levels to break up the longer ones. As for difficulty on the whole, a couple Real Platformer Difficulty levels but overall I found it fairly breezy.

Special mention given to the online mode, which is Mario by way of Dark Souls. Somewhat passive, somewhat active. The Search Party levels became fantastic when you introduce other players searching with you, and the "live ghosts" aspect created situations where me and strangers were helping each other through tough levels by planting standees for each other. If you haven't turned it on yet, I strongly recommend it.

Oh, and the badges too. I thought that would be an accessibility feature but the level design really makes most of them sing.

A couple minor gripes here and there, but mostly just nitpicks. I wish some of the new sound effects were a little less pronounced (specifically the jump). I felt like the game could have used maybe one more world, because it only took like 17-18 hours to fully 100% the game (though I strongly recommend doing so for reasons I won't spoil). On the other hand, that could just be wistfulness because I'm sad I ran out of Super Mario Wonder to play.

Super Mario Wonder is a tremendous accomplishment, a weird, silly refresh of the Mario formula that is constantly surprising up to the very last minute. It feels equal parts New Super Mario Bros., 3D World, and Odyssey, taking the best parts of each while carving its own path. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Don't normally jump back into DLC, but saw that it was a good value for $10. I'd agree with that assessment as the campaign took just over 5 hours to finish.

Playing as Ada is made fun with her use of the grapple. In combat lets you fly toward the enemy to unleash a melee attack or can pull enemy shields away making them vulnerable.

I loved revisiting each area and seeing Leon's story play out from a different angle. Some other cool additions like case charms which can be purchased and equipped to give % bonuses for crafting.

Easy recommendation to anyone who enjoys RE, especially at the price tag!

Second time around with DS1 after a pretty limited Switch run at launch and what an absolute treat.

The loop of methodically exploring a new area the first time around to memorizing enemy placement and eventually unlocking a shortcut is never boring.

The different areas of the game are beautiful and full of little secrets along the way. I enjoyed seeing different characters out in the world and slowly learning more about the lore.

It is certainly a difficult game with a few bosses that spiked above the rest. However aside from a few frustrating moments, I loved the game from front to back.

Clocked in at 39 hours.

A true masterpiece.

I'm a lapsed, casual Souls player who has beaten about half the games in the series. After I struggled with DS remastered and the Demon's Souls remake, I figured I was done with this series, and I only pre-ordered Elden Ring after the incredible reviews it got.

60 hours later, I've beaten the game. Elden Ring is a masterclass in open world and RPG design. The map is gigantic, yet quality of content is never compromised. The repeated activities are fun, and nothing feels samey. The boss fights are wonderful even by the standards of the series, and the open structure encourages a less confident player like me to experiment and dig deeper into these games than I ever have before.

Example: I'm a sword and shield guy in Souls, but with Elden Ring I actually felt encouraged to do a more interesting build (strength focused greatswords). It sounds tiny, but seeing just a little bit of expansion in my playstyle makes me want to go back to Demon's Souls and try a magic build.

Elden Ring is welcoming and yet probably the most difficult one of these I've played yet. The game is just so good I don't mind fighting a big guy on the beach for the 40th time. You try, and you persevere.

An all-timer kind of game, maybe.

I liked this about as much as I liked Horizon Zero Dawn. Some really strong sci fi storytelling that really made me care about the universe, and the environments are really something else. However, I played on Story difficulty because the combat and Assassin’s Creed open world were fairly bland to me, and I just wanted to see the main story play out. Also, half of the story beats were told through characters just talking to each other — this game has a big “show don’t tell” problem.

Without spoilers, it has a much better second half than first half.

I recommend it on sale for anyone who wants more Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s a decent video game, but there’s not much special about it and it doesn’t make a strong case for being $70.

Spoiler Free review: Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the best Pokémon game since whatever one was your favorite as a kid.

Every aspect of this game is extremely thoughtful and ambitious, including a heavily revamped battle system, a wonderful series of open worlds, reinvented Pokédex cataloging, and interesting action mechanics. Together, these things ensure there’s no downtime once you pass the tutorial.

It’s ambitious and earnest enough that despite some small setbacks in the form of a long tutorial and less-than-perfect draw distance (a huge improvement over Sword and Shield at least), I don't think any less of PL:A. It’s dozens of hours of pure fun.

It’s so much fun that I, a grown man with a job, caught ‘em all over the course of 5 or 6 days. When I wasn’t playing, I was thinking about playing. Every part of Pokémon Legends: Arceus works beautifully, and I fully believe this game will be remembered as a classic.

Really good Zelda-like with Souls elements that takes you back to the time when games were cryptic and obtuse. Exploration and discovery are a masterclass. My critiques are with the combat (it feels clunky) and the pacing, which feels a little weird. You almost feel like there should be another area or two.

I think folks who play this should try Death’s Door, and vice versa. I personally prefer Death’s Door, but people could very justifiably feel the opposite (both are great games). A really fun dozen or so hours on Game Pass.

Good enough that I beat it in two days! Great Kirby outing — likely my favorite yet. Takes a lot of cues from Mario 3D Land/World in that it’s a 3D platformer space that utilizes 2D-style platformer design. The big new features, Mouthful Mode and copy ability level ups, are grand slams. I would argue this is the most fun Kirby has ever been, and will likely turn some Kirby naysayers into believers.

Cons: I played on Wild Mode (the harder difficulty) and Im not sure I actually even died once on a normal level. Came close a couple times though. It alleviates a lot of Kirby pain points, but the stuff you might not love about Kirby is still here; namely, its a pretty easy game and the levels are a bit too long for their own good sometimes (Crash 4’s problem). Also, the game loses some steam in the second half when it stops throwing major new features at you.

Even with these critiques, I strongly recommend Forgotten Land. You can see a lot of foundational ideas here that will create a truly magnificent game with a bit of iteration. As it stands, it’s “merely” great to excellent.

Other observations:
-The Nier Automata-style worlds are so cool to look at.
-Reminds me of New Pokemon Snap and Metroid Dread where it takes 10-15 hours to beat but is extremely dense with content.