One of my very favourite games of all time. To avoid incoherent gushing, I’m just going to list all the things I love about this game. Most of this applies both to the base game and Iceborne.

- The combat, deliberately paced, and fine tuned to perfection. Your moves don’t come out instantly, so you have to be thoughtful and deliberate in how you fight, figure out what’s safe, what’s risky, find openings, or try to create openings yourself. Monsters move more frenetically than in prior entries, it isn’t as easy to bait out the easy to punish moves anymore. Apparently a somewhat divisive change, but I like it because it encourages you to engage more with the monsters, take risks, duck and weave and try to create your own openings. The monsters still have their tells and reads, they’re still learnable, just harder to cheese. The feedback on your hits is satisfying as well, with the beefy sound effects and a satisfying hitlag when you’re hitting weak spots, like it’s taking time to cut through a target, especially gratifying when you’re playing great sword.
- The gear grind. With a carefully balanced power creep from beginning to endgame that keeps you constantly moving forward, and tons of skills and build options to toy with once you reach the endgame, even easier now with the reworked armour skill system. And since your loot drops are the materials to craft gear rather than the gear itself, you’re always making some progress towards your next upgrade, never getting screwed over by RNG, at least not until you have to hunt rubies and mantles, but thankfully the game has systems that make their acquisition easier. Not to mention the gear itself, new and returning, all looks top notch (aside from...I’ll get to that).
- 14 different weapon types. The weapon roster almost feels like a video game weapon hall of fame. You got Cloud’s great sword, Sephiroth’s longsword, Arthas’ hammer, the Lumen Sage’s glaive, Kratos’ dual blades, etc. Each of them is interesting, varied and fleshed out to a point where any one of them could be the lead of it’s own action game.
- The industry leading monster designs. Each creature is thought out with their own semi-realistic biology and behaviour. Just following them around the map on their routines is one of the most interesting things to do in this game, watching Anjanath chill on the cliffside with it’s sails out, or Odogaron dragging a carcass back to it’s den, or Zinogre howling at the moon, etc. But as well, each of them implements their biology into their fights, meaning it’s to your advantage to know them thoroughly, know how to counter each ability. Rathian poisoning you with her tail? Sever it and neuter her toxin. Barioth too fast for you? Break it’s arm spikes reducing it’s grip on icy surfaces. Nergigante keeps skewering you on it’s spikes? Be aggressive, break them before they can harden. There’s also knowledge of it’s spot on the food chain, what monsters to lure it towards that’ll wittle it down in a turf war. The decision of what equipment to bring, what element or status they’re strong or weak to, which do you have to watch out for. What items counter it. Each creature, new and returning, is like a brilliantly thought out action puzzle, all unique, engaging, thoughtful, it’s some peak boss design.
- The environments. Beautiful to look at, multilayered, dense with secrets, things to explore, and unlike a lot of video game environments that feel like just themed arenas or corridors, these places feel authentic and alive. They’ve also ramped up interactions with the environment. Many of the game’s monsters will lure you into areas where they can really take advantage and let loose with their abilities, but likewise there’s lots of options for you to take advantage of yourself. My favourite map has to be the Hoarfrost Reach from the Iceborne expansion. From the cozy coniferous forests at it’s base, to the precarious glacial shelves along the coast, to it’s frozen peaks, to the ice caverns underneath, to the breathtaking frozen magma formations that surround Velkhena’s lair, the map is just mesmerizing, not to mention it’s battle music is a series highlight.
- It’s fun loving personality. The game offers a ton of light hearted reprieve in the coziness of the village and it’s denizens, the felynes, always getting into slapstick shenanigans, speaking in cat puns, my favourite is the Seliana chef who threatens to whack you with her laddle should you fail to consume an adequate amount of her cooking, the endemic life hunting, how you can catch creatures in the wilds and let them loose in your customizable player home, all the little activities you can perform with other players in the gathering hub like arm wrestling, the suana, getting drunk, to all the event quests and the goofy shit you can earn from them. The game is just so full of charm and character, I love it.
- The community. One of the healthiest, friendliest fanbases that exists for an entertainment product. Incredibly welcoming to newcomers, always willing to explain the game’s systems, help people when they’re stuck. Playing this game’s multiplayer I have witnessed more superhero moments than in any other game, someone throwing their last lifepowder so the next hit doesn’t kill me, or runs out and shields a fireball for me while I’m stunned, or running out to whack me out of stun, putting thenselves in danger so I too have a chance to escape the big area sweeping ultimate attack. It’s the kind of social experience I play multiplayer games for and I’ve really yet to experience it anywhere else.
- It’s generosity. As a franchise, the series has always been honest and consumer focused, offering tons of free dlc, never trying to force exploitative monetization down our throats. Watching World double down on that generosity, offering new monsters, new Siege raids, these high production value collaborations with the likes of Final Fantasy XIV and The Witcher 3, in addition to the usual suite of event quests and gear, in contrast to other games like Destiny and Star Wars Battlefront II descending further into their cynicism was very much a wakeup call for me, a reminder when when you pay $60 you should get a complete product, your money’s worth and then some. The franchise has kind of been a beacon of hope for the AAA industry in my eyes because of that. I honestly want to hug Ryozo Tsujimoto for that comment he made about how paid lootboxes undermine games by making you pay to not play them.

The game isn’t flawless obviously. Lots of people have criticized how half the weapon designs in the game use this weird modular scales on bone or iron system in contrast to the series’ usual unique designs across the board (it didn’t bother me as much because most of my favourites made it back, but I sympathize with those whose didn’t). And the game doesn’t quite have the diversity of monster types other games had, no serpents, bugs, crabs, I would have loved to see something like Nerscylla in the Rotten Vale map. For me though, they’re negligible in the context of what this game is to me. It was my escape throughout several of the most tumultuous moments of my life, it reminded me what it’s like to be a part of a community, it revitalized my love of gaming when I thought it was doomed to cynicism, shot one of my favourite franchises up to AAA stardom. Following it’s lifecycle from the initial beta to the final title update for Iceborne was one of the most exciting, incredible gaming journeys I’ve ever been on. My love for this video game is something I can barely even put to words.

A short while ago I read that article about Naughty Dog and how they literally suppress use of the word “fun” within the studio. I think it paints a picture of a company so up its own ass, so out of touch with the medium they’re working in, and I think it stands in stark contrast to a game like Tekken, which is so unabashedly a video game above all else. It’s combat is refined and technical, yet accessible enough that a new player can jump in and jazz up combos on the spot. It’s got a full roster with all my favourites from Tekken 3 back. It’s full of customization options, side modes like the arcade mode, Devil Within (which isn’t as good as Tekken 3’s Tekken Force, but it’s still a fun little bonus) and it even comes with the first three Tekken games. It’s so full of content, creativity and fun-loving character, and I love it.












It was also neat of them to give the final boss a move that straight up just wins him the round, fucking Jinpachi with your fuckass stun and your fireball.

Try to think of yourself as around 6-7 years old playing this hot new fighting game that came out on the PlayStation after you had played the demo over and over again on the sampler disc that came with your console, you decide you're gonna finally brave through the arcade mode against the CPU that you're terrible at dealing with.

You do fine against the first several opponents, maybe struggle at some points, but you're moving along. You eventually fight the sub-boss, which could either be a bear, a muay thai kickboxer, or an infinite kicks spamming jerkward named "Lee" depending on who you picked. Your conflict is exhausting, but you eventually persevere against your unlockable rival. The loading screen suddenly becomes the piercing eyes of the final boss who awaits you, they are an asshole in a purple suit known as "Kazuya". He absolutely manhandles you, your world constantly getting rocked with sudden blows to the stomach that make you reel, and the sight of your body going flying from a dragon uppercut becomes commonplace. Your frustration grows, but the amazing music keeps you in the game. Through sheer force of will and youthful stubbornness, you finally defeat him. Whether it was through skill or luck, it doesn't matter. You Win!

...but the loading screen returns....with demonic red eyes staring a hole straight through you....

One last opponent awaits, they simply go by "DEVIL". The sight of a purple winged demon takes the place of Kazuya, whom slowly stands up from a kneeling position to glare at you while ominous sorrowful music fills the empty void that makes up the stage. A stage of pitch black darkness, with only a screen in the background playing back your fight in real time as it stretches into itself for infinity, all while his infernal sounding voice filter and lasers install fear into your heart.

Chills, every single time.

Okay, I understand games being hard, but why do they also have to be hostile?

Yeah, the boss can be hard, sure, but why does there also have to be stretches of spike traps and mantis sword bros and laser fuckmoths on the way to that boss because the save point is nowhere near that boss and every time you lose, you know, to LeArN tHe PaTtErnS and GeT bEtTeR or whatever, you have to traverse that path each and every time? Why does dying also mess with your coins? Sure, the bank feature might have been useful, if there was more than one! Why would I ever want to freely explore this place if it meant at any step I could bump into a boss or a bullshit Celeste spike corridor that will murder me and take away like a thousand of my coins because I also got murdered again on the way back to that boss? Why does difficulty have to be married to wasting my time? Why can’t the “consequence” of losing just be, you know, you can’t go any further until you win? Why do I need to be punished for the hubris of wanting to play Hollow Knight but not knowing how to do it exactly right the first time? Do you guys, I dunno, do you like that or something? Do you like games that are not just hard but also just give you the finger and laugh at you? Do you go on the switch store and be like hm, let’s see, what’s out there that’s not only challenging but also gives me a net negative amount of progress to effort? What’s out there that can actively mock my endeavors to experience something greater than myself all the way through by reminding me that I have limited time and then actively smashing that time right in front of me? Because I love that feeling, I really enjoy it and it makes me feel warm and cozy, I love it more than hot fudge sundaes, more than my girlfriend, more than even my own birthdays.

No no, that’s you, that’s what you sound like when you play Hollow Knight.

i really wish i enjoyed this game as much as everyone else does (or people said i would).

for a game described to me as "metroidvania with precision platforming meets Dark Souls," it really comes out feeling like less than a sum of those parts. in terms of the world design and exploration, the game is great at matching the joy of breaking into every tiny crevasse to find secrets and lore that Dark Souls does. the characters and lightly revealed lore that's steeped in mystery is great. the platforming is serviceable, but whenever the game decides to flip the switch to try and turn into Super Meat Boy (sometimes quite literally with buzzsaws) it feels very disjointed and out of place.

the combat (mainly by way of the bosses) by comparison feels like a chore. even by the end of the game when i had gotten a lot better at maneuvering in fights, most of the boss fights were not engaging or challenging beyond "hope you get the good pattern that allows you to heal". in addition to this, why not be more generous with benches in regards to boss placements?

it's small decisions like this that continued to baffle me as time went on. you get more movement options as the game unfolds, but trekking between areas connected by stags still feels arduous enough to dissuade me from wanting to explore more. i enjoy the lore of the stags, but would fast travelling between benches break the game so much to prevent it from being included?

it's things like this that makes me feel like the game is bloated. this may be a problem of playing the game now that there's 4 extra content patches (give players a way to play the launch version pleaseeeee), but there's just so much in the game that feels like Content For Content's Sake. the game like a love letter to the old metroidvanias the developers loved that has been weighed down by AAA games' addiction to More. i can see the mechanics (literally) taken 1-to-1 from Super Metroid, but i don't see the tightly crafted world, simplicity, or elegance of it. i see a checklist of things to waste time doing rather than a curated experience.

Despite everything, I ended up really enjoying this game. It is just too fun to be a bad game. Fundamentally it is a well built game. It just needed more time to cook. And I let it. I waited 2 years after launch to give it another chance. I always knew the game had the potential to be great.

There are only two things that really brings this down for me.
1. There are too many things to do.

It seems like a dumb complaint. Oh no! There is too much content! But, I think it is a real problem for games like this. I think that in a weird backwards way, it can end up making the world feel smaller. When you are doing the same things over and over again, the immersion is broken. You can tell they added all this stuff to pad out run time. And that leads to my second complaint.

2. The main story is too short and the ending feels unsatisfying

They had to add tons of repetitive stuff to distract from the fact that the main story is INCREDIBLY short. Because it is so short, it leads to the ending being very unsatisfying. Both in the way that it leaves you wanting more AND wanting more from the characters. There isn't enough character development for the main characters, let alone the side characters. Everyone is very charming, but I wanted more depth from all of them.

The game is incredibly fun to play. Infinitely replayable with the different playstyles and romance options. It is what saves the game in the end, and is why I have 150 hours in game with just one playthrough. And with it being a game, I would say the gameplay is the most important part.

This might be the hardest game ever for me to critique. It's good, it's original, Metroid fans adore it, and it's packed with content for the price, but I didn't have much fun with it. I found exploration to be a chore with a bizarre and unhelpful map system, in a world full of enemies too simple to be interesting and too uninteresting to be fun. The atmosphere and a couple breathtaking moments were enough to keep me playing until the end, which is more than I can say for most games in the genre at least. I guess it must be pretty good for someone who doesn't care for these games to think it was basically ok, but that doesn't mean I can personally say anything other than "it was basically ok".