Dokkanojo
2007
Immensely innovative and fun, and still a great game to puzzle your way through.
If you spend a lot of time playing games on the NES )and not just the type that grace top XX lists), and then go back to Super Mario Bros., it's like a revelation. You're struck with the raw truth that, of course Super Mario Bros. was immensely well loved, nothing else before and very few things after really felt anywhere near as coherent and solid. The gap in controls is just immeasurable.
That's the exact same feeling Bloodstained gives. There are so many Metroidvanias now, and some very, very good ones, but it only took 5 seconds of Bloodstained to know that I was home, that this is how they're supposed to feel.
It's just right, in a way that can't really be conveyed. It has to be experienced.
That's the exact same feeling Bloodstained gives. There are so many Metroidvanias now, and some very, very good ones, but it only took 5 seconds of Bloodstained to know that I was home, that this is how they're supposed to feel.
It's just right, in a way that can't really be conveyed. It has to be experienced.
1996
If you have any forgiveness for where 3D camera controls were at the time (they were nowhere, FYI), it's genuinely quite an enjoyable game, and a real wonder at the time. It's no surprise that it set the pace for so many platformers of the era.
2011
I'm sure the gameplay is still quite fun, especially in co-op, but the writing sure has aged like milk.
Not quite as good as Resident Evil 7, but immensely fun all the same. The highs generally aren't as high (outside of the Beneviento house, which is top-tier, best-in-franchise level), and the lows are a bit lower, but it's so fun in the moment that it's really hard to notice or care.
It's a great game that will break you if you try to bend it. It has to be enjoyed how it wants to be enjoyed, but there's a lot that's very, very cool there for those that can adjust to its pace.
2015
It's perfect.
Sincerely, if it's a game you cannot vibe with, then Yakuza is a series you cannot vibe with, and that's okay. For anyone that has ever picked up what Yakuza is putting down, though, this is the one you want to get you all-in on the franchise.
Sincerely, if it's a game you cannot vibe with, then Yakuza is a series you cannot vibe with, and that's okay. For anyone that has ever picked up what Yakuza is putting down, though, this is the one you want to get you all-in on the franchise.
2017
It's very cool, there's nothing else quite like it, and it's best to leave yourself knowing just that and nothing more.
I appreciate Nintendo's commitment to trying something new, but it ultimately fell flat with me. It simply didn't have what I like from Zelda games, and what was there wasn't compelling enough to sway me towards enjoying it.
2020
A perfect popcorn game that it's almost impossible to put down until you're down. Immensely tight and refined in its mechanics and structure, it's a complete joy.
2015
It wears its influences and its heart on its sleeve, making it feel all the more genuine and charming. It's an absolute treat of a game, and every bit as worth experiencing as the games that influenced it.
2020
The vibes of the original are not fully preserved here, which is a downright shame, but I respect any effort to liberate games from the PlayStation 3 all the same. There's no real reason to avoid it, especially if you lack the means to play the original.
2009
An amazing intersection of PS2 design philosophy and sensibilities on the PS3's hardware. It's always unorthodox and obscure, mysterious and dangerous, and a game that even now feels full of endless possibilities.
2015
I'm not one for the general vibe it goes for a lot of the time, but it's impossible to deny that it absolutely knows how to build a mood, so much so that I ultimately don't mind the rather limited-feeling combat.
I very much respect what Dark Souls goes for, even if there are no shortage of design designs I dislike or disagree with. It's a largely enjoyable game that burdens the player with the weight of their decisions a bit too much, and I feel like the drop in quality in the last part of the game is just too stark to not leave me soured on it.