Ever since using Backloggd, I've begun taking mental notes while playing games for my reviews; I planned to bicker about difficulty and how frustrating Rain World is and take a stab at the vague ending as it first began, though as the final moments of the game unraveled (Ascension) I was gripped on a visceral level. I've never had anyone or anything understand my own experience of existentialism and how it's haunted me, Rain World is the first and only experience where I saw something so deeply apart of my mind be shown to me. It's indescribable, it's a violation and a comfort to have my mind exposed to myself like that. This game would have been a 3.5-4.5/5 if not for something so special, the ending brought out an appreciation not present before for the entirety of the experience.

I'm not a big fan of the world, have a professional GeoGuessr player try to nail a single random location and he'll be left trying to decipher which colorless, bland apartment complex he's staring at out of the hundreds that litter the city; there are exceptions to the overall bland map, the wedding venue comes to mind, though any sightseeing of the map outside of playing the missions directly with be disappointing. The world of Sleeping Dogs has a lot of charm, from your fellow law enforcement and gang members to shopkeepers, love interests, and the community as a whole. The side quests subvert your expectations and need to be enjoyed without a single spoiler. The story seems very standard until the halfway point where the cops become more questionable in their means and you're left second-guessing everything about what you're doing. The climax hit hard, your whole world is shattered and it's one of few climaxes in videogames that I've been shellshocked by.

Replay necessary, it's been years since I cleared Plague of Shadows though I fondly remember it. I beat Plague of Shadows on a road trip where we visited family, it's how I spent a good chunk of time while we were staying over. Seeing Plague Knight take Mona's hand in the end and dance with her after all the build-up was the highlight of the experience. I really enjoy Plague Knight's hypermobility, but I will have to replay to look at it more critically and see if it is well executed and not redundant and repetitive.

I was worried I would have to go back and get a better ending to save Shield Knight, the relief when she finally stumbled and laid beside Shovel Knight near the fire was immense and the scene was heartwarming. I am not sure how to comment on the difficulty given there are a lot of moments where a challenge feels impassible without taking damage, though difficulty is entirely circumvented by the relics (especially the Phase Locket) which makes it to where the game without relics is frustrating and the game with relics is mindless. Relics need an in-between, I don't want to trivialize all challenge and I don't want to miss out on the unique tools the game provides.