Flameyboy928
473 Reviews liked by Flameyboy928
I'm not going to do the raid until contest mode is over, but even without that I'm having a great time with this expansion so far. The pale heart is probably my favorite destination now, there are so many fantastic looking areas, and it's fun to explore. Prismatic has been a lot of fun to buildcraft with, even if it could cause extreme balance problems. Some of the objectives after the campaign feel like a lot of busywork, and I'll always be upset how few exotics we have been getting per expansion lately, but that final mission and the ending were so well done. I'm very excited for the future, but if we are actually getting Destiny 3 then Bungie please don't take away my godslayer title I had to go through so many LFG groups.
Sally Face
2016
Don't forget to sally your face every morning before going to work! Otherwise... face, meet pavement, pavement, meet face. Sally Face has the tact of a podcaster and you can smell the same putrid odor through the screen. There is a marginal difference between Axe spray and whatever awaits in Sally Face, but a difference nonetheless. It's more interested in dangling a mystery in front of you than delivering a fun experience, ultimately deciding to to close up shop permanently while every worker was on active shift. I think I expertly performed every action to miss extra dialogue I could in episode 4, I've got a knack for this. Some of the things these fellas say are very surprising, so I really missed an opportunity to read gross conversations.
Sal Fischer is not like the other girls. He's a boy. Poor poor baby he went through so much š„ŗ he may or may not have Hatsune Miku chilling in the family tree. Let's see how the lack of a mother figure will impact this child. On the other end, how the lack of a father figure will impact his best friend. That would be Larry not Butz. mf Larry's nose should be considered a lethal weapon, he could have stabbed all these residents in a jiffy. He's a good guy though he won't do that. I thought it would be big enough to smell ghosts though, or bullshit, or anything but that damn bologna. Aside from him, there's a fat ass cat lmao and aside from that cat, Sal has a friend group. A woman, gay people and a black dude. He's meeting the Netflix quotas to a T. Good for him.
It's a game made on Unity by one guy. With that in mind, it still doesn't fare that well. There is nothing that would have matched the game's vibe as perfectly as fighting an eldritch monster midair by playing the guitar, following a cult doing its best to enjoy the game's age rating to the fullest. Kids these days. Anything but a job š All the complaints about episode 5 are pretty much true in my highly educated opinion. I feel the air leaving my lungs as the characters begin to yap the most generic sentences just to fill air. If this was done on purpose for the vibe, congratulations, if this was not done on purpose, congratulations (he believes in celebrating the work of independent creators). Actually, building a quick 3d project for 10 minutes of gameplay is pretty cool. The finale went through a few artstyles and none felt particularly out of place.
If you played this and think you ate, think carefully about what you've just eaten. Does it matter whether you knew what were the ingredients? Eh. Call it Google the way I have the Drive to choke on my plate. The episodes might almost work as standalones ngl. Don't jump in the middle obviously, although I don't think you can. I wonder what's the pipeline with Sally Face diehard fans btw but I have a feeling the fandom overlaps with Hetalia or some shit idk why. Well, lovely venture. Moral is never let an eboy in church again unless he's professionally trained for it. Nah even then. Never forget the bite of '88 it comes after 87 the previous number yep
Sal Fischer is not like the other girls. He's a boy. Poor poor baby he went through so much š„ŗ he may or may not have Hatsune Miku chilling in the family tree. Let's see how the lack of a mother figure will impact this child. On the other end, how the lack of a father figure will impact his best friend. That would be Larry not Butz. mf Larry's nose should be considered a lethal weapon, he could have stabbed all these residents in a jiffy. He's a good guy though he won't do that. I thought it would be big enough to smell ghosts though, or bullshit, or anything but that damn bologna. Aside from him, there's a fat ass cat lmao and aside from that cat, Sal has a friend group. A woman, gay people and a black dude. He's meeting the Netflix quotas to a T. Good for him.
It's a game made on Unity by one guy. With that in mind, it still doesn't fare that well. There is nothing that would have matched the game's vibe as perfectly as fighting an eldritch monster midair by playing the guitar, following a cult doing its best to enjoy the game's age rating to the fullest. Kids these days. Anything but a job š All the complaints about episode 5 are pretty much true in my highly educated opinion. I feel the air leaving my lungs as the characters begin to yap the most generic sentences just to fill air. If this was done on purpose for the vibe, congratulations, if this was not done on purpose, congratulations (he believes in celebrating the work of independent creators). Actually, building a quick 3d project for 10 minutes of gameplay is pretty cool. The finale went through a few artstyles and none felt particularly out of place.
If you played this and think you ate, think carefully about what you've just eaten. Does it matter whether you knew what were the ingredients? Eh. Call it Google the way I have the Drive to choke on my plate. The episodes might almost work as standalones ngl. Don't jump in the middle obviously, although I don't think you can. I wonder what's the pipeline with Sally Face diehard fans btw but I have a feeling the fandom overlaps with Hetalia or some shit idk why. Well, lovely venture. Moral is never let an eboy in church again unless he's professionally trained for it. Nah even then. Never forget the bite of '88 it comes after 87 the previous number yep
MultiVersus
2024
The fact that a game can release from a beta yet be more egregious abhorrent is quite the feat. The fact there are so many backwards decisions is quite insane. Like generally how the hell does this get through. The worst part is the lack of any substance whatsoever. Everything you liked is way worse, locking characters in the battle pass, making characters more expensive, locking characters out of training and local(fucking hell). Making the game slower and buggy as all hell. Getting killed at 20% cause this game does not understand smash at all. Well they also added this pve mode with requires amounts of grinding with boring ass minigames and difficulties that could be a bullshit. Also requiring characters or cosmetics that u don't own to play some(thanks game...) Also real telling when ur game crashes every 5 minutes or a game disconnects. Didn't have this issue last time, so why now. But hey we added free glemnuim in the pass, please forgive us. I refuse to believe this game was playtested at all, this game feels more like a mobile game than an actual game to put on the market for consoles/pc. It's truly baffling; how did warner think people were gonna react to his. I don't know how this game is gonna approve, if it does then good, but at this point of time. If the game failed me twice, I'm not hoping for a third times the charm.
This review contains spoilers
This review will include full spoilers for remake, rebirth, the original title and any and all spin-offs in the FF7 compilation.
Final fantasy 7 is a game that took me a while to truly come around to. Initially I believed the combat to be a slog with an ugly and outdated aesthetic and writing that had been so poorly translated with a confusing story on top of that.
But somewhere along the line, the Stockholm syndrome set in.
Joking aside, every time I've gone back to replay the original entry I've enjoyed it more and more. There is a pointed fierceness to the politics it engages in and how confidently it slams its hand down and forces you to take notice of themes like global warming, imposter syndrome, the feeling of not being in control and more.
The characters were all so unique and interesting with arcs you couldn't see coming. The eco-terrorist remains true to his cause of saving the planet, but realises that destroying the reactors that were sucking the life out of the planet was also endangering real human lives. He learns that he has to think bigger than his own self serving sense of justice and work with other people of the same ilk to make a much larger systemic impact.
The main character is your typical cool guy with big sword archetype with two love interests he has to choose between, except as the game goes on you come to see that this is a front for not knowing who he is or how to function on a day to day basis.
He constantly has panic attacks and doesn't know how to handle them, he stole his identity off a man he doesn't even recall and lives his life like he's going through the motions of what he thinks he should do.
But the point of his arc is that he doesn't need to do any of that, he learns who he is fundamentally as a person and accepts that he's a dork like the rest of his crew. He takes the love and friendship that was shown to him and uses that to bolster their way to the finish line.
To get to this point he had to experience the grief of losing a friend, someone incredibly close to him. And it wasn't something one could possibly process at the time, when it happens he and his friends are thrusted into a fight. Barely having the time to understand the events that took place.
Aerith has now returned to the planet. And while she's gone, her impact still remains.
I know all of this is extremely scattershot and messy, and that's because this review has been stewing in my head even since I beat the game.
I've struggled with how to format this for a while now and I think I'll just continue typing until I reach a mythical word limit.
Now with all the interesting stuff out of the way, let's talk about the remake project!
The first entry of which released in April 2020 to great buzz and critical reception.
Initially I played it back when I wasn't too into the FF7 universe so I thought it was a fine enough game. Second time round, after I combed through the universe, I felt a lot colder on it.
The pacing felt so elongated with plot points being few and far between, instead of staying true to the pulse of the original's environmental message it felt more obsessed with the style and aesthetic of the universe. Which had its pros, there are absolutely some stunning moments in that game and a lot of really good meat and potatoes boss fights.
Instead of adapting the original 1 to 1 it added a lot of the compilation content and meta ghost elements to spice things up. Neither of which I cared for, but at the very least admitted was a gutsy move. In an admittedly clumsy ending it you with the promise of an unknown journey, one where fate could be changed and exciting new possibilities.
This was my charitable reading of it leading into rebirth. So, how did they choose to execute their new vision?
Well, in truth, they didn't. Every single event that happened in the original happens here, but instead there will be an incredibly awkward scene shoved in to pretend like something is different.
Red XIII's backstory is interrupted to introduce these new beings who want the black materia. How will this factor into things? It doesn't, they are never brought up again.
Zack is alive in a different world and in that world events are intertwined and all over the place. What creative gameplay and story moments will come out of this?
Absolutely nothing. The Zack content is fed piecemeal, separated with long stretches of forgetting he's even a factor. Despite the fact that he's on the cover of the box.
There are a plethora of more examples I could site, but my point ultimately is that I have to accuse this remake series of one thing and one thing only.
Cowardice.
They are not confident in their new vision so they play it incredibly safe and spend the entire runtime saying and doing nothing of note. There aren't really any themes to this tale, it is full bombast all the time.
There are scenes that break through and manage to resonate, the aforementioned Red XIII backstory and Barret's history with Dyne. But these moments are few and far between, they have done themselves no favours with what that have chosen to adapt and how they adapted it.
Aside from those two cast members, everyone else is completely lost.
"What's that, cloud is acting like a lunatic again and pushed Tifa into a mako lake? Well whatcha gonna do, that's cloud for you!"
Moment after moment the characters need to act in unbelievable ways so we can go back to the open world format. And dear god, let's get to that why don't we?
A world with so much potential for thematic richness and they choose to make a checklist out of it, with two annoying and redundant characters there every step of the way to re-explain objectives to you like you're a toddler.
Ubisoft towers, combat challenges with the same three objectives over and over, some of the worst traversal I have ever played and absolutely no reason to explore the environment outside of the icons on the map. We did it, everyone. A new revolutionary take on the open world.
I understand that I'm coming off as petty and dismissive, if anyone reading enjoyed said content then honestly I am happy for you. I just struggle to see the point in it.
Why does there need to be so much copy and pasted content like this. If the answer is "To give you a chance to test out the combat" then I have bad news for you because the enemies facilitated in the open world die in what feels like two seconds. There is even a quest in Gongaga with Yuffie where you are tasked with fulfilling three objectives when fighting three enemies. But the problem is that you kill them so fast that it is actually dumb luck if you can even get two of these objectives done before the fight is over, let alone three.
Some moments of this legitimately do not feel play tested. Who wants to do a box throwing dungeon as Cait Sith? Who wants to try traversing Gongaga with the horrible feeling Chocobos? Who wants to avoid engaging with the themes of final fantasy vii so we can do a copious amount of minigames?
Minigames, there's a topic to discuss.
Even the people who love this game agree that this aspect it incredibly hit or miss. And while you may be expecting me to complain about them, I actually don't have an issue with this aspect of the game really.
Yes, there are too many that are shoved into the main story. Yes, some DO feel horrible to control. But at the very least, you're doing something new.
You're not completing a checklist, you're not going through a belaboured regurgitation of kingdom hearts. You are engaging in bite sized content you can pick up or put down.
I want to take the chance to celebrate my favourite minigame and what could be my favourite thing in the game as a whole come to think of it. And that's Queen's Blood.
It is a staggeringly well made card game with an incredible soundtrack that I never got sick of. The best chapter in the game is where they set you on a cruise boat and let you partake in an entire tournament where you can choose your opponents and there are like 7 different songs.
Speaking of music, that is also an unequivocally excellent aspect of this game. So many good compositions and reinterpretations of the old soundtrack, and the new songs are no slouch either.
While it's fairly uninspired game design to have a dog escort mission, it does come complete with two songs dedicated to Stamp the shinra propaganda dog. One for traversal and the other for combat. There is a lot of work put into the ost that I would never attempt to discredit.
However, I do have to pivot into a complaint.
Remember when I said the best chapter was the queen's blood tournament?
In a way I think that exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of this game.
Because short term? There is a lot of fun to be had.
If you focus on mainlining the content you like then there is a lot of fun banter and a joyous atmosphere to be had with hanging out with the characters and seeing what wacko minigame lies around the corner, not dissimilar to the Yakuza games.
However, when I say "short term" I do mean short term. Because viewed as a whole it is difficult to actually parse any type of forward momentum or themes this game has. I used "full of bombast" to describe this game and I want to elaborate on that.
It is not a game engaged with the original text of final fantasy vii, it is a game that uses the visuals and characters to present wacky moments in a world that feels more like a theme park than an actual place that is suffering.
The original presented a world that had been tainted by neglect and suffering. Everything is inefficient, so they suck up the resources from the planet to compensate. This only resulted in the world becoming emptier and colder every day.
Final Fantasy Vii was a sad game a lot of the time, it mourned
how easily people can mistreat the planet they inhabit and made a stance against that mindset.
Everywhere you went, you saw people suffering. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough gil.
Nothing was free and everything was tough, it was your job to upset the status quo and make an honest attempt to save what was left of the world before it was too late.
In Rebirth everyone is all smiles all the time. Planet suffering? What planet? Hey, why don't you run around as red and play some football? Come stay at the golden saucer that runs on the ever dying resources of the planet. Don't think about anything too taxing now!
Taxes, I wanted to get to that.
I think the number one thing that is indicative of how lazy the world building is just that, money.
Every inn, and I mean every inn, is completely free. You don't have to spend a cent of your gil once to sleep. This, to me, breaks the universe in two.
This is meant to be a society that is relying on the scraps of what's left to survive, no?
No, this is Disneyworld. Come look at the attractions.
The game almost shows its hand by having a cardboard cut-out of Rufus Shinra, because truly that is what this game is. A xerox of a xerox. A game that has no interest in making you re-evaluate how you effect the world around you but one filled with momentary whimsical distractions where they forget to drop the other shoe.
I have more to say but I think that's the greatest offence this game makes, it looses what was special about the original story and replaces it with cheap thrills.
It doesn't matter that there are 12 different worlds with 5 new timelines, what matters is an actual story. A worldview the creators wanted to communicate.
There is nothing like that here.
Mechanically there is fun to be had. Orchestrally it soars. You may have fun. But in the end, your life will be exactly the same as it was before you started.
The original endures through time.
Rebirth makes you endure it.
Final fantasy 7 is a game that took me a while to truly come around to. Initially I believed the combat to be a slog with an ugly and outdated aesthetic and writing that had been so poorly translated with a confusing story on top of that.
But somewhere along the line, the Stockholm syndrome set in.
Joking aside, every time I've gone back to replay the original entry I've enjoyed it more and more. There is a pointed fierceness to the politics it engages in and how confidently it slams its hand down and forces you to take notice of themes like global warming, imposter syndrome, the feeling of not being in control and more.
The characters were all so unique and interesting with arcs you couldn't see coming. The eco-terrorist remains true to his cause of saving the planet, but realises that destroying the reactors that were sucking the life out of the planet was also endangering real human lives. He learns that he has to think bigger than his own self serving sense of justice and work with other people of the same ilk to make a much larger systemic impact.
The main character is your typical cool guy with big sword archetype with two love interests he has to choose between, except as the game goes on you come to see that this is a front for not knowing who he is or how to function on a day to day basis.
He constantly has panic attacks and doesn't know how to handle them, he stole his identity off a man he doesn't even recall and lives his life like he's going through the motions of what he thinks he should do.
But the point of his arc is that he doesn't need to do any of that, he learns who he is fundamentally as a person and accepts that he's a dork like the rest of his crew. He takes the love and friendship that was shown to him and uses that to bolster their way to the finish line.
To get to this point he had to experience the grief of losing a friend, someone incredibly close to him. And it wasn't something one could possibly process at the time, when it happens he and his friends are thrusted into a fight. Barely having the time to understand the events that took place.
Aerith has now returned to the planet. And while she's gone, her impact still remains.
I know all of this is extremely scattershot and messy, and that's because this review has been stewing in my head even since I beat the game.
I've struggled with how to format this for a while now and I think I'll just continue typing until I reach a mythical word limit.
Now with all the interesting stuff out of the way, let's talk about the remake project!
The first entry of which released in April 2020 to great buzz and critical reception.
Initially I played it back when I wasn't too into the FF7 universe so I thought it was a fine enough game. Second time round, after I combed through the universe, I felt a lot colder on it.
The pacing felt so elongated with plot points being few and far between, instead of staying true to the pulse of the original's environmental message it felt more obsessed with the style and aesthetic of the universe. Which had its pros, there are absolutely some stunning moments in that game and a lot of really good meat and potatoes boss fights.
Instead of adapting the original 1 to 1 it added a lot of the compilation content and meta ghost elements to spice things up. Neither of which I cared for, but at the very least admitted was a gutsy move. In an admittedly clumsy ending it you with the promise of an unknown journey, one where fate could be changed and exciting new possibilities.
This was my charitable reading of it leading into rebirth. So, how did they choose to execute their new vision?
Well, in truth, they didn't. Every single event that happened in the original happens here, but instead there will be an incredibly awkward scene shoved in to pretend like something is different.
Red XIII's backstory is interrupted to introduce these new beings who want the black materia. How will this factor into things? It doesn't, they are never brought up again.
Zack is alive in a different world and in that world events are intertwined and all over the place. What creative gameplay and story moments will come out of this?
Absolutely nothing. The Zack content is fed piecemeal, separated with long stretches of forgetting he's even a factor. Despite the fact that he's on the cover of the box.
There are a plethora of more examples I could site, but my point ultimately is that I have to accuse this remake series of one thing and one thing only.
Cowardice.
They are not confident in their new vision so they play it incredibly safe and spend the entire runtime saying and doing nothing of note. There aren't really any themes to this tale, it is full bombast all the time.
There are scenes that break through and manage to resonate, the aforementioned Red XIII backstory and Barret's history with Dyne. But these moments are few and far between, they have done themselves no favours with what that have chosen to adapt and how they adapted it.
Aside from those two cast members, everyone else is completely lost.
"What's that, cloud is acting like a lunatic again and pushed Tifa into a mako lake? Well whatcha gonna do, that's cloud for you!"
Moment after moment the characters need to act in unbelievable ways so we can go back to the open world format. And dear god, let's get to that why don't we?
A world with so much potential for thematic richness and they choose to make a checklist out of it, with two annoying and redundant characters there every step of the way to re-explain objectives to you like you're a toddler.
Ubisoft towers, combat challenges with the same three objectives over and over, some of the worst traversal I have ever played and absolutely no reason to explore the environment outside of the icons on the map. We did it, everyone. A new revolutionary take on the open world.
I understand that I'm coming off as petty and dismissive, if anyone reading enjoyed said content then honestly I am happy for you. I just struggle to see the point in it.
Why does there need to be so much copy and pasted content like this. If the answer is "To give you a chance to test out the combat" then I have bad news for you because the enemies facilitated in the open world die in what feels like two seconds. There is even a quest in Gongaga with Yuffie where you are tasked with fulfilling three objectives when fighting three enemies. But the problem is that you kill them so fast that it is actually dumb luck if you can even get two of these objectives done before the fight is over, let alone three.
Some moments of this legitimately do not feel play tested. Who wants to do a box throwing dungeon as Cait Sith? Who wants to try traversing Gongaga with the horrible feeling Chocobos? Who wants to avoid engaging with the themes of final fantasy vii so we can do a copious amount of minigames?
Minigames, there's a topic to discuss.
Even the people who love this game agree that this aspect it incredibly hit or miss. And while you may be expecting me to complain about them, I actually don't have an issue with this aspect of the game really.
Yes, there are too many that are shoved into the main story. Yes, some DO feel horrible to control. But at the very least, you're doing something new.
You're not completing a checklist, you're not going through a belaboured regurgitation of kingdom hearts. You are engaging in bite sized content you can pick up or put down.
I want to take the chance to celebrate my favourite minigame and what could be my favourite thing in the game as a whole come to think of it. And that's Queen's Blood.
It is a staggeringly well made card game with an incredible soundtrack that I never got sick of. The best chapter in the game is where they set you on a cruise boat and let you partake in an entire tournament where you can choose your opponents and there are like 7 different songs.
Speaking of music, that is also an unequivocally excellent aspect of this game. So many good compositions and reinterpretations of the old soundtrack, and the new songs are no slouch either.
While it's fairly uninspired game design to have a dog escort mission, it does come complete with two songs dedicated to Stamp the shinra propaganda dog. One for traversal and the other for combat. There is a lot of work put into the ost that I would never attempt to discredit.
However, I do have to pivot into a complaint.
Remember when I said the best chapter was the queen's blood tournament?
In a way I think that exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of this game.
Because short term? There is a lot of fun to be had.
If you focus on mainlining the content you like then there is a lot of fun banter and a joyous atmosphere to be had with hanging out with the characters and seeing what wacko minigame lies around the corner, not dissimilar to the Yakuza games.
However, when I say "short term" I do mean short term. Because viewed as a whole it is difficult to actually parse any type of forward momentum or themes this game has. I used "full of bombast" to describe this game and I want to elaborate on that.
It is not a game engaged with the original text of final fantasy vii, it is a game that uses the visuals and characters to present wacky moments in a world that feels more like a theme park than an actual place that is suffering.
The original presented a world that had been tainted by neglect and suffering. Everything is inefficient, so they suck up the resources from the planet to compensate. This only resulted in the world becoming emptier and colder every day.
Final Fantasy Vii was a sad game a lot of the time, it mourned
how easily people can mistreat the planet they inhabit and made a stance against that mindset.
Everywhere you went, you saw people suffering. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough gil.
Nothing was free and everything was tough, it was your job to upset the status quo and make an honest attempt to save what was left of the world before it was too late.
In Rebirth everyone is all smiles all the time. Planet suffering? What planet? Hey, why don't you run around as red and play some football? Come stay at the golden saucer that runs on the ever dying resources of the planet. Don't think about anything too taxing now!
Taxes, I wanted to get to that.
I think the number one thing that is indicative of how lazy the world building is just that, money.
Every inn, and I mean every inn, is completely free. You don't have to spend a cent of your gil once to sleep. This, to me, breaks the universe in two.
This is meant to be a society that is relying on the scraps of what's left to survive, no?
No, this is Disneyworld. Come look at the attractions.
The game almost shows its hand by having a cardboard cut-out of Rufus Shinra, because truly that is what this game is. A xerox of a xerox. A game that has no interest in making you re-evaluate how you effect the world around you but one filled with momentary whimsical distractions where they forget to drop the other shoe.
I have more to say but I think that's the greatest offence this game makes, it looses what was special about the original story and replaces it with cheap thrills.
It doesn't matter that there are 12 different worlds with 5 new timelines, what matters is an actual story. A worldview the creators wanted to communicate.
There is nothing like that here.
Mechanically there is fun to be had. Orchestrally it soars. You may have fun. But in the end, your life will be exactly the same as it was before you started.
The original endures through time.
Rebirth makes you endure it.
This is one I bounced off a couple of years ago.
At the time I wasn't really into "movie games" or the like. I hit the first puzzle and called it quits because I thought it would be a waste of my time.
Flash forward to today, where I am older and wiser (and bored) I decide to give it another go.
And overall? I have to say I came out pleasantly surprised.
It's not a perfect game, but it is incredibly svelte and focused.
You can tell that there was a limited budget based off Senua being the only human character model and a lot of the characters from her past being represented with live action actors.
But in a way these limitations helped the experience for me because it caused me to entirely focus on Senua and her story.
And it's a pretty decent one at that. One that tackles complicated topics like grief, mental illness, isolation and abuse.
The way it tells its story is rather inspired as well. Details are drip fed bit by bit with a lot of space in between so you can ruminate on what you know so far.
The voices in Senua's head provide a great source of information and, more obviously, entertainment. Wearing a good pair of headphones and turning off subtitles really makes you feel like another voice in the chorus that is her head. There is an impressive amount of dialogue to pay attention to that is frequently overlapping which adds this layer of disorientation to the proceedings.
This game straddles three distinct genres: action, puzzles and horror.
First and foremost, the action.
Combat feels a lot more complete than I thought it would for the type of game this is. Realistically all it needed to do was be baseline adequate to help facilitate the story, but I think they made a valuable effort to make a pretty above average system for this experience.
It fits the game like a glove. Fighting an enemy is a 1 on 1 affair but a lot of the time there's multiple foes coming from every direction. It adds this sense of impossibility and working against the odds which mirror's Senua's quest rather well.
Enemies aren't tough to take down so the main challenge comes from positioning yourself in a way that you can react to their moves. The voices also help you out here, if an enemy is attacking from off screen you'll hear a call out from one of them.
A lot of the time games do this it can feel like a substitute for actually having a zoomed out camera, but I found it to be well suited here. After all, Senua is meant to be a person who can see the world in unique ways, and injecting that into the combat was a very smart move.
Speaking of Senua's ability to "See the world in unique ways."
Let's move onto the puzzles.
True to Senua's nature, the player can use her abilities to see patterns in the world around you. The most common usage of this is finding shapes in the environment in order to unlock doors. Other versions of this like viewing a fractured staircase from the right angle to rebuild it and archway door's which add/ remove objects in the environment.
I'm assuming this is where the game garnered the most criticism, and honestly I can see it.
Finding the right shape in the world can be repetitive. But they do admittedly use the gameplay to show instead of tell.
Instead of senua turning and monologing to the player "I can see things differently oh I'm so special" you experience it yourself. As the game goes on, it manages to vary up the format of "find shape" in some rather creative ways.
Namely, the third and final genre, horror.
This is one aspect I was really happy to see they utilized well.
As the game goes on and becomes more dower and grim, you progressively have to make your way through these dark and dreary nightmare scenarios. Such as senua's actual nightmares about her past, or even monsters you can't see but definitely hear.
There was one sequence where the visuals went incredibly blurry and dark where there were creatures all around senua and you can't make out exactly what they are. It was an incredibly effective little moment, namely because it happened entirely in gameplay. They never went back and showed you what those beings looked like also. It's true to the Lovecraftian mantra of the scariest concept being the unknown.
I'll use that to pivot to a complaint I had. While the game did an excellent job of maintaining horror by keeping the monsters out of sight, they do tend to show too much in other some cases.
There's a section where you're trapped in the dark with a torch, if you let the torch go out then this unknown monstrosity can see you and starts stalking you. I thought this was an extremely unnerving moment but unfortunately they show the beast soon after and it doesn't really match up to what your imagination can envision, because how could it?
That wasn't the only time I thought they could have held back on showing things. Senua's beloved "Dillion" is shown in live action and not only did that take away some of the poetry of her possibly not remembering what he looks like, but he also looked far too normal for the world he was supposed to inhabit.
Beard was well kept, clothes looked ironed and skin was too perfect for the Viking era this game is set in.
The other live action segments were usually better than that but they could have kept these characters off screen and purely focused on Senua's face while they were talking and I think it would have worked out better.
Where the visuals succeeded is definitely in terms of the art direction. There are some very gorgeous looking areas, some I would call "Wallpaper bait" in the best way possible.
The game wasn't afraid to look unappealing and sickly at times also. I realise the frequent use of filters may have been a bit overkill for people, but I thought they worked well in tandem with the voices to make an overall sense of ennui.
One final thing I'll praise is I ADORED how the game never tutorialized you on what the buttons did. It just let you figure it out on your own. No "Snake, press the action button to-" here which was appreciated, especially coming off 70 hours of a game rife with tutorials.
This was honestly exactly what I needed. A tight experience where every aspect worked together to tell a story.
I usually let games sit longer before I properly rate them so for now I'll just say that it was a worthwhile experience. Very good stuff.
At the time I wasn't really into "movie games" or the like. I hit the first puzzle and called it quits because I thought it would be a waste of my time.
Flash forward to today, where I am older and wiser (and bored) I decide to give it another go.
And overall? I have to say I came out pleasantly surprised.
It's not a perfect game, but it is incredibly svelte and focused.
You can tell that there was a limited budget based off Senua being the only human character model and a lot of the characters from her past being represented with live action actors.
But in a way these limitations helped the experience for me because it caused me to entirely focus on Senua and her story.
And it's a pretty decent one at that. One that tackles complicated topics like grief, mental illness, isolation and abuse.
The way it tells its story is rather inspired as well. Details are drip fed bit by bit with a lot of space in between so you can ruminate on what you know so far.
The voices in Senua's head provide a great source of information and, more obviously, entertainment. Wearing a good pair of headphones and turning off subtitles really makes you feel like another voice in the chorus that is her head. There is an impressive amount of dialogue to pay attention to that is frequently overlapping which adds this layer of disorientation to the proceedings.
This game straddles three distinct genres: action, puzzles and horror.
First and foremost, the action.
Combat feels a lot more complete than I thought it would for the type of game this is. Realistically all it needed to do was be baseline adequate to help facilitate the story, but I think they made a valuable effort to make a pretty above average system for this experience.
It fits the game like a glove. Fighting an enemy is a 1 on 1 affair but a lot of the time there's multiple foes coming from every direction. It adds this sense of impossibility and working against the odds which mirror's Senua's quest rather well.
Enemies aren't tough to take down so the main challenge comes from positioning yourself in a way that you can react to their moves. The voices also help you out here, if an enemy is attacking from off screen you'll hear a call out from one of them.
A lot of the time games do this it can feel like a substitute for actually having a zoomed out camera, but I found it to be well suited here. After all, Senua is meant to be a person who can see the world in unique ways, and injecting that into the combat was a very smart move.
Speaking of Senua's ability to "See the world in unique ways."
Let's move onto the puzzles.
True to Senua's nature, the player can use her abilities to see patterns in the world around you. The most common usage of this is finding shapes in the environment in order to unlock doors. Other versions of this like viewing a fractured staircase from the right angle to rebuild it and archway door's which add/ remove objects in the environment.
I'm assuming this is where the game garnered the most criticism, and honestly I can see it.
Finding the right shape in the world can be repetitive. But they do admittedly use the gameplay to show instead of tell.
Instead of senua turning and monologing to the player "I can see things differently oh I'm so special" you experience it yourself. As the game goes on, it manages to vary up the format of "find shape" in some rather creative ways.
Namely, the third and final genre, horror.
This is one aspect I was really happy to see they utilized well.
As the game goes on and becomes more dower and grim, you progressively have to make your way through these dark and dreary nightmare scenarios. Such as senua's actual nightmares about her past, or even monsters you can't see but definitely hear.
There was one sequence where the visuals went incredibly blurry and dark where there were creatures all around senua and you can't make out exactly what they are. It was an incredibly effective little moment, namely because it happened entirely in gameplay. They never went back and showed you what those beings looked like also. It's true to the Lovecraftian mantra of the scariest concept being the unknown.
I'll use that to pivot to a complaint I had. While the game did an excellent job of maintaining horror by keeping the monsters out of sight, they do tend to show too much in other some cases.
There's a section where you're trapped in the dark with a torch, if you let the torch go out then this unknown monstrosity can see you and starts stalking you. I thought this was an extremely unnerving moment but unfortunately they show the beast soon after and it doesn't really match up to what your imagination can envision, because how could it?
That wasn't the only time I thought they could have held back on showing things. Senua's beloved "Dillion" is shown in live action and not only did that take away some of the poetry of her possibly not remembering what he looks like, but he also looked far too normal for the world he was supposed to inhabit.
Beard was well kept, clothes looked ironed and skin was too perfect for the Viking era this game is set in.
The other live action segments were usually better than that but they could have kept these characters off screen and purely focused on Senua's face while they were talking and I think it would have worked out better.
Where the visuals succeeded is definitely in terms of the art direction. There are some very gorgeous looking areas, some I would call "Wallpaper bait" in the best way possible.
The game wasn't afraid to look unappealing and sickly at times also. I realise the frequent use of filters may have been a bit overkill for people, but I thought they worked well in tandem with the voices to make an overall sense of ennui.
One final thing I'll praise is I ADORED how the game never tutorialized you on what the buttons did. It just let you figure it out on your own. No "Snake, press the action button to-" here which was appreciated, especially coming off 70 hours of a game rife with tutorials.
This was honestly exactly what I needed. A tight experience where every aspect worked together to tell a story.
I usually let games sit longer before I properly rate them so for now I'll just say that it was a worthwhile experience. Very good stuff.
This may never appear on my "favorite games" top 5.
However, this is one of those games that I will never not recommend to someone. Especially with headphones.
It's unreal.
However, this is one of those games that I will never not recommend to someone. Especially with headphones.
It's unreal.
Alan Wake II
2023
There's always a danger when making a follow-up to something that has become a little bit of a cult classic over the years that you lose what made the original entry so special but Remedy have deftly defied the odds, improving on all aspects of the first game. The shift to something a bit closer to survival horror (along with dual protagonists) was the perfect way to move the series forward, something that Remedy's penchant for mixing media in their storytelling dovetails neatly with.
Remedy themselves continue to be one of the most interesting big-budget studios out there, and their idiosyncratic narrative tendencies are perfect for the story they want to tell in Alan Wake II.
Remedy themselves continue to be one of the most interesting big-budget studios out there, and their idiosyncratic narrative tendencies are perfect for the story they want to tell in Alan Wake II.
At the beginning of this game there is a trigger warning for those that suffer from mental disorders like mental psychosis or schizophrenia and, I gotta say, I think those warnings are justified. This game was stressful to play. Gorgeous visuals, incredible acting performances, and flawlessly executed sound design lend to this games stress-inducing effectiveness.
The story is very powerful and was, obviously, carried by Senua's character. Her struggle with the darkness, her anger, her fear, her anxieties, and her loss were all so tragic and made for a compelling protagonist. Her performance by Melina Juergens might be the most impressive video game performance I've ever seen and that elevated the game to the next level.
As far as gameplay goes, Hellblade is 80% a walking sim with some puzzles and combat sprinkled in. If you're looking for fun gameplay, this is not a game I would recommend. They had some neat perspective altering puzzles, but other than that the puzzles didn't do anything particularly exciting. The combat was, however, much more appealing. I actually like the philosophy of having "simplistic" combat for a game like this; it didn't need to be anything more than it was. Walking sims work for me when they don't overstay their welcome, and at a tight 6 hours this game certainly did not.
Overall, this game is hard to recommend. It's very arthouse and niche. But to the right gamer this, this game is a masterclass in both storytelling and visual design philosophy.
The story is very powerful and was, obviously, carried by Senua's character. Her struggle with the darkness, her anger, her fear, her anxieties, and her loss were all so tragic and made for a compelling protagonist. Her performance by Melina Juergens might be the most impressive video game performance I've ever seen and that elevated the game to the next level.
As far as gameplay goes, Hellblade is 80% a walking sim with some puzzles and combat sprinkled in. If you're looking for fun gameplay, this is not a game I would recommend. They had some neat perspective altering puzzles, but other than that the puzzles didn't do anything particularly exciting. The combat was, however, much more appealing. I actually like the philosophy of having "simplistic" combat for a game like this; it didn't need to be anything more than it was. Walking sims work for me when they don't overstay their welcome, and at a tight 6 hours this game certainly did not.
Overall, this game is hard to recommend. It's very arthouse and niche. But to the right gamer this, this game is a masterclass in both storytelling and visual design philosophy.
The last time I had played Battle for Bikini Bottom (the original at least) was in 2019. According to my PS2 memory card, I had played this in 2010 prior to 2019. Back then, I never did 100% the game but I did beat it. 2019 though was the first time I 100%ed the game and I remember being so happy I finally did so since this was a game I liked a lot as a kid. I remember thinking it was great back then, but I wanted to see how I'd feel nowadays. While I don't think it's quite as good nowadays, it's still a really fun time overall.
I'd say the thing this game does best is replicating season 1-3 of SpongeBob. It doesn't always hit but when it does, this game is super funny and is basically just like those early seasons. There's a ton of callbacks to the show and references you'd only get if you've seen specific episodes. For a kid growing up on SpongeBob, this is basically like playing through a couple episodes of the show. Every voice actor from the show is here too, besides Mr. Krabs and Mermaid Man, and they don't half ass it. They bring their A game in every scene. However, going back to those two outliers, it's unfortunate they couldn't appear here. Mr. Krabs isn't too terrible, and the voice actor at least sounds like he's trying to replicate the character. Mermaid Man though is totally off and sounds pretty bad, I think. Even with those two being different tho, it's still super authentic to the show and a lot of fun seeing each scene be reminiscent of the show. The game also really replicates the world of SpongeBob well. The overworld of Bikini Bottom is done super well. You have all the main characters homes represented here. You have the Krusty Krab, the Chum Bucket. All the staple locations. The areas themselves also represent the show well. Rock Bottom, the Mermalair, Kelp Forest..even SpongeBob's Dream from that one season 1 episode appears. The characters, their dialogue and the world itself just perfectly represents the early seasons.
Getting into the gameplay itself, it's a collectathon and is basically mimicking a game like Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. While I don't think it's as good as either of those, for reasons I'll explain shortly, that type of game still works well in the SpongeBob universe. Instead of Stars or Jiggies, your main collectable in this game are golden spatulas. Thematically super fitting to the show, though I gotta say I never found them as satisfying to get as the aforementioned stars or jiggies. There's no jingle that plays, only a crowd cheering for the player (and SpongeBob's laugh if you're playing as him). It's just sort of a bummer since it never gave me a rush whenever I collected them like Mario 64 or Banjo did. Anyways, you collect these golden spatulas in each level alongside collecting any other assortment of collectables along the way. You have shiny objects which you get from tikis or the robots. These are used to spend on shiny object gates or to get golden spatulas from Mr. Krabs. Socks are a collectable that you can trade in to also get golden spatulas from Patrick. These are mostly easy to get but can be annoying in their placement depending on the stage. Some, mostly the first couple stage ones, require backtracking with abilities you get later on. This like barely happens at all though so if you're a Banjo Tooie hater, you might like this game. In fact, this game is maybe too linear for my liking. It's obviously no Tooie, but it's not even a Mario 64 or Kazooie in terms of its exploration. Very rarely will you travel off the beaten path to do a little side challenge but that's about it. I prefer the more open games I mentioned before for that reason, as it feels like you're being guided along a straight path most of the time. Still, what's here is mostly fun. The levels in general, besides being faithful to the show, are either pretty fun or harmless. The only two I didn't care for much were Mermalair and Kelp Forest. Both had songs that kinda got on my nerves and Kelp Forest is too dark a lot of the time and also has the worst slide in the game. My two favorite levels though, were Flying Dutchman's Graveyard and SpongeBob's Dream. I found neither annoying and they were both endgame levels so they were pretty fleshed out.
You can also play as both Patrick and Sandy, if you find a bus station in each level. They each have different abilities but basically, Patrick is strong and can throw heavy things while Sandy has a lasso she can glide with and can also swing from these lasso Texas things. Both characters change the gameplay up enough for it feel different and fun. Their move sets are simpler than SpongeBob's. His move set consists of a double jump, a bubble wand attack, a bubble butt stomp, a bubble helmet that shoots upwards, the bubble bowl which is a bowling ball you can throw to hit things and the cruise bubble which is this missile attack you can use to hit enemies or buttons from a far. Those last two abilities are ones you unlock as progress and I generally like the move set SpongeBob has. Only thing I wish he had was a movement ability. There's no long jump or talon trot here so he doesn't feel quite as fun to play as because of the lack of something like that.
Between each set of three levels, and also in some of the levels themselves, are the game's bosses. The bosses in the actual levels aren't that great imo but are fun references to the show at least. The main game's bosses you must defeat to proceed tho are actually pretty fun. They're more fleshed out and have cutscenes between phases. You also switch between characters between phases too, which again, changes up the gameplay somewhat. The final boss was definitely the best, it's a fun nod to SpongeBob's love for Karate and also to the anchor arm episode. But I also gotta give props to robot Patrick's fight. The atmosphere of the industrial park combined with the eerie music, always freaked me out a bit as a kid. Still does even now lol.
Speaking of the music, while I don't think it's that amazing overall, there are still some tracks I quite like. Jellyfish Fields is an upbeat classic, Industrial Park again is quite eerie but really good and the best track in the game is probably Flying Dutchman's Graveyard. That one just perfectly fits the level and also rocks on top of it. Like I said, there are some tracks I straight up don't like whether it's cuz the level annoyed me as a kid or I just don't like them in general, however the OST is still solid overall.
I will say, I never noticed how unpolished this game could be at times. Whether it's me clipping through a tiki that doesn't have hit detection, or the slide portions being really janky depending on how I jump, it's not as polished as thought it was back then. Still, this is super helpful to the speedrun community as the game has some well-known glitches and exploits that are actually super cool to see someone perform. I remember getting into these speedrun videos shortly before Rehydrated came out and being amazed I'm just now finding out about all them. Speaking of rehydrated, I'll just say one thing. Play this version, don't play Rehydrated for the love of god. It's so bad, the fucking warp boxes don't even animate.
One more thing I wanna mention before I end the review off, is the golden spatula warp feature. If you go into the menu, to the golden spatulas you've collected or have to collect still, you can take the taxi from the menu and warp to that location. Holy shit, this may be the best feature in this game. It's super convenient and frankly should be in more 3D Platformers lol.
This is a game I played as a kid and while I think it's not quite as good as once thought, and is not as good as Mario 64 (and definitely not as good as Banjo), it's still a fun time. It's not too long either so it's a game you can easily replay. Maybe I'd think lower of this game if I wasn't a SpongeBob fan or grew up with this, as it's just kind of an average 3D platformer, but it's still one of the best licensed games I've played because it represents the world of SpongeBob so well. Glad it holds up even to this day.
I'd say the thing this game does best is replicating season 1-3 of SpongeBob. It doesn't always hit but when it does, this game is super funny and is basically just like those early seasons. There's a ton of callbacks to the show and references you'd only get if you've seen specific episodes. For a kid growing up on SpongeBob, this is basically like playing through a couple episodes of the show. Every voice actor from the show is here too, besides Mr. Krabs and Mermaid Man, and they don't half ass it. They bring their A game in every scene. However, going back to those two outliers, it's unfortunate they couldn't appear here. Mr. Krabs isn't too terrible, and the voice actor at least sounds like he's trying to replicate the character. Mermaid Man though is totally off and sounds pretty bad, I think. Even with those two being different tho, it's still super authentic to the show and a lot of fun seeing each scene be reminiscent of the show. The game also really replicates the world of SpongeBob well. The overworld of Bikini Bottom is done super well. You have all the main characters homes represented here. You have the Krusty Krab, the Chum Bucket. All the staple locations. The areas themselves also represent the show well. Rock Bottom, the Mermalair, Kelp Forest..even SpongeBob's Dream from that one season 1 episode appears. The characters, their dialogue and the world itself just perfectly represents the early seasons.
Getting into the gameplay itself, it's a collectathon and is basically mimicking a game like Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. While I don't think it's as good as either of those, for reasons I'll explain shortly, that type of game still works well in the SpongeBob universe. Instead of Stars or Jiggies, your main collectable in this game are golden spatulas. Thematically super fitting to the show, though I gotta say I never found them as satisfying to get as the aforementioned stars or jiggies. There's no jingle that plays, only a crowd cheering for the player (and SpongeBob's laugh if you're playing as him). It's just sort of a bummer since it never gave me a rush whenever I collected them like Mario 64 or Banjo did. Anyways, you collect these golden spatulas in each level alongside collecting any other assortment of collectables along the way. You have shiny objects which you get from tikis or the robots. These are used to spend on shiny object gates or to get golden spatulas from Mr. Krabs. Socks are a collectable that you can trade in to also get golden spatulas from Patrick. These are mostly easy to get but can be annoying in their placement depending on the stage. Some, mostly the first couple stage ones, require backtracking with abilities you get later on. This like barely happens at all though so if you're a Banjo Tooie hater, you might like this game. In fact, this game is maybe too linear for my liking. It's obviously no Tooie, but it's not even a Mario 64 or Kazooie in terms of its exploration. Very rarely will you travel off the beaten path to do a little side challenge but that's about it. I prefer the more open games I mentioned before for that reason, as it feels like you're being guided along a straight path most of the time. Still, what's here is mostly fun. The levels in general, besides being faithful to the show, are either pretty fun or harmless. The only two I didn't care for much were Mermalair and Kelp Forest. Both had songs that kinda got on my nerves and Kelp Forest is too dark a lot of the time and also has the worst slide in the game. My two favorite levels though, were Flying Dutchman's Graveyard and SpongeBob's Dream. I found neither annoying and they were both endgame levels so they were pretty fleshed out.
You can also play as both Patrick and Sandy, if you find a bus station in each level. They each have different abilities but basically, Patrick is strong and can throw heavy things while Sandy has a lasso she can glide with and can also swing from these lasso Texas things. Both characters change the gameplay up enough for it feel different and fun. Their move sets are simpler than SpongeBob's. His move set consists of a double jump, a bubble wand attack, a bubble butt stomp, a bubble helmet that shoots upwards, the bubble bowl which is a bowling ball you can throw to hit things and the cruise bubble which is this missile attack you can use to hit enemies or buttons from a far. Those last two abilities are ones you unlock as progress and I generally like the move set SpongeBob has. Only thing I wish he had was a movement ability. There's no long jump or talon trot here so he doesn't feel quite as fun to play as because of the lack of something like that.
Between each set of three levels, and also in some of the levels themselves, are the game's bosses. The bosses in the actual levels aren't that great imo but are fun references to the show at least. The main game's bosses you must defeat to proceed tho are actually pretty fun. They're more fleshed out and have cutscenes between phases. You also switch between characters between phases too, which again, changes up the gameplay somewhat. The final boss was definitely the best, it's a fun nod to SpongeBob's love for Karate and also to the anchor arm episode. But I also gotta give props to robot Patrick's fight. The atmosphere of the industrial park combined with the eerie music, always freaked me out a bit as a kid. Still does even now lol.
Speaking of the music, while I don't think it's that amazing overall, there are still some tracks I quite like. Jellyfish Fields is an upbeat classic, Industrial Park again is quite eerie but really good and the best track in the game is probably Flying Dutchman's Graveyard. That one just perfectly fits the level and also rocks on top of it. Like I said, there are some tracks I straight up don't like whether it's cuz the level annoyed me as a kid or I just don't like them in general, however the OST is still solid overall.
I will say, I never noticed how unpolished this game could be at times. Whether it's me clipping through a tiki that doesn't have hit detection, or the slide portions being really janky depending on how I jump, it's not as polished as thought it was back then. Still, this is super helpful to the speedrun community as the game has some well-known glitches and exploits that are actually super cool to see someone perform. I remember getting into these speedrun videos shortly before Rehydrated came out and being amazed I'm just now finding out about all them. Speaking of rehydrated, I'll just say one thing. Play this version, don't play Rehydrated for the love of god. It's so bad, the fucking warp boxes don't even animate.
One more thing I wanna mention before I end the review off, is the golden spatula warp feature. If you go into the menu, to the golden spatulas you've collected or have to collect still, you can take the taxi from the menu and warp to that location. Holy shit, this may be the best feature in this game. It's super convenient and frankly should be in more 3D Platformers lol.
This is a game I played as a kid and while I think it's not quite as good as once thought, and is not as good as Mario 64 (and definitely not as good as Banjo), it's still a fun time. It's not too long either so it's a game you can easily replay. Maybe I'd think lower of this game if I wasn't a SpongeBob fan or grew up with this, as it's just kind of an average 3D platformer, but it's still one of the best licensed games I've played because it represents the world of SpongeBob so well. Glad it holds up even to this day.
Waltz of the Wizard
2016
Cool concept, but the hand tracking is hit or miss on the Quest 2. Feels like it has gotten less consistent since the last time I played. Feels like a tech demo sandbox more than a game.
I think it was alright. As a game it's fine but within the Arkhamverse it's not that good. But the story and combat was enjoyable.
The Arkham Asylum (as a facility) has always fascinated me. So having a game that captures this feeling is amazing.
Batman: Arkham City
2011
It's really good, like really.
Inside
2016
fucked up and mysterious and you never get the answers. the controls are responsive, the atmosphere is dense and oppressive, it's everything you'd want and a solid recommendation from me.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the game I've had on my backlog for the longest amount of time and now that I've finished it not only am I relieved that it no longer holds that title, but I'm ashamed that it took me so long to play this absolute masterpiece of a game. From the moment I started the game exactly a week ago (yes, I played a 60-hour game in just a week) to when I saw the credits roll, I was hooked on this game and pulled into its world through its fantastic story, gameplay, setting, and most of all its characters.
A big part of what makes Red Dead Redemption 2 so great is its well-defined setting. First off, the game is incredible to look at and has some of the most detailed and realistic graphics in any modern game I've seen. Secondly the open world is far more diversified and interesting environmentally than it has any right being. Despite being a western story, the game does not limit itself to the basic homogenized setting of such stories (i.e. open prairies and vast deserts) and instead opts to be more unique with its areas and the reasons that the characters would find themselves in such areas. There are of course a few basic western setting areas but there's also a small southern town, a New Orleans like city and Bayou, a harsh mountain region, and a lush wooded area all of which, despite the proximity between them on the map seeming very small, feel separate in tone and environment and allows for an open world that feels natural and realistic. And finally, perhaps the most important strength of the world is just how much there is to do in it. Around every corner in RDR2 there are random encounters with rival gangs, strangers that need help, and side quests with writing that's just as good as the main storyline and it all makes for a world that's immensely enjoyable and rewarding to explore and one that truly feels alive.
It isn't just the setting that makes Red Dead 2 great though, the gameplay is also phenomenal. RDR2 allows the player to live out the fantasy of being a lawless outlaw in the wild west and every part of it is just great. Though there is plenty of variety in the gameplay here, I'd say the main gameplay loop that the story consists of are the shootouts and the horse riding. The shootout sections in RDR2 are incredibly simple and yet because of this manage to be extremely satisfying and enjoyable. These sections usually consist of you and your squad of men taking on a large number of enemies, but the lack of automatic weapons that can plow through these enemies keeps things engaging, relying much more on taking deliberate shots to your opponentās weak points like their head or heart and knowing when to take cover and heal. There's also the incredibly useful dead-eye mechanic in these fights that shows up as a meter and allows you to slow time for a few brief moments to take aim at enemy weak points directly for an instant kill. Add onto that slow motion effects whenever you get a really impressive shot on an enemy's weak point and a decent amount of weapon variety and you get some of the most satisfying and fun third person shooter mechanics in a game that I've played. The other main aspect of the gameplay is the riding/driving sections which provide a really nice break in the non-stop action of the rest of game. Though it seems like it should be an incredibly forgettable part of the game, hopping on your horse and just riding is where a lot of memorable moments of the game come from. The gameplay here is simple, simply tap the accelerate button to gallop continuously, or hold it down to slow down all the while keeping your horse's stamina and health up, but it's not so much the gameplay of it that's enjoyable here, more so the range of different atmospheres that this simple action can convey. Since riding is your way of getting to and from anywhere on the map the game has to do it's best to make it interesting and thankfully it does for the most part. Whether you're riding with the whole gang to perform a task, riding alongside another character and getting to understand them more, or riding alone and reflecting upon the weight of the story or your actions, these sections exceed by providing versatile gameplay and cinematic moments. Apart from this there are of course other things to do in the game, you can play games like poker, drive wagons or trains, do side quests, rob people, help strangers out, and just explore the world as a whole all of which have their own levels of nuance and fun to them. The game also has an honor system that adds meaning to your actions, playing like a true outlaw and robbing and killing anyone you please will catch up to you and make you look less favorable to townsfolk and local law officers, playing honorably and using discretion when you rob or kill leads to favor in this system and allows cheaper prices at shops and less bounty hunters and law officers to be actively hunting you. This system also has effects on the story and, based on side quests you do can do, can lead to entirely different character interactions and scenes in the story, adding even more weight to your actions and making how you play the game something you feel personally responsible for.
āBy 1899, the age of outlaws and gunslingers was at an end, America was becoming a land of lawsā¦ Even the west had mostly been tamed. A few gangs still roamed but they were being hunted down and destroyedā. In a few short but effective lines at the very opening screens of the game Red Dead Redemption 2 lays out exactly what kind of story it aims to tell and as it plays out you see exactly what itās talking about. Red Dead 2 is the story of the Van der Linde gang and itās downfall, more specifically itās about the people that make up this gang and how they interact, change, and cope with the events that transpire, but perhaps most importantly of all, itās the story of Arthur Morgan and the of his unyielding loyalty. At the beginning of the game we see the gang on the run and in the worst shape theyāve ever been, having lost several members to a job gone wrong and desperate to get away to the point of fleeing into the mountains in the middle of a violent snowstorm. Though eventually theyāre able to leave the mountains and set up camp somewhere else, this image of a desperate gang never really fades, as the gang try to succeed in making one big score so they can move back west and try to escape their oncoming downfall they only fall further, as a series of bad jobs pushes them further east away from the wild west and further into civilization that doesnāt tolerate them anymore. And yet despite these circumstances, RDR2 is not just a pure tragedy story, the sheer range of scenes and feelings is one of the best parts about the game. The sad moments are depressing, but thereās also happy moments of pure wholesomeness and joy, and insanely badass moments of pure triumph and action that makes my mouth water, and itās this range that gives RDR2 some of the most satisfying storytelling in a video game. Even despite their circumstances though the Van der Linde gang is like a family to one another, comprised of all sorts of people of different backgrounds. The game does a really good job of fleshing all of these characters out and making you care for them; everyone has a role to play in the gang and the story and through interacting with them at camp and during missions just adds layers onto the complexity of their characters. One of the most important characters in this story is Dutch Van der Linde, the silver-tongued leader of the gang who has the responsibility of getting them out of the mess, but as every plan he makes fails them and only brings pushes them further east he starts changing for the worse, becoming more desperate, reckless, and deceptive towards those who stand in his way and inciting dissension within the gang. The most important character though is none other than Arthur Morgan, the protagonist of the game and the one who undergoes the most change by the end of it. Arthur has been in the gang since he was a boy and is loyal to a fault, heās sort of the breadwinner of the gang and is the man to call to get the job done, but most importantly heās honorable, loyal to a fault, and good at heart and helps those who canāt help themselves, heās truly the example of a good man in a bad life and does everything he can to support the gang who he sees as family. As the story goes on heās the one who the audience views the changing of the world and gangās dynamic through, and as these things change so does Arthur turning from a loyal man who admires Dutch and does anything that needs to be done, to one unsure of the way things are going and receptive to the change the world is going through, aware that heāll probably die in this life and wanting to see things set right before he does. Iāve avoided spoilers here for as long as I can but there are some aspects of this game that cannot be talked about without spoiling things, so if you want to read the rest of this section click this link (https://pastebin.com/86sUXJSA). All of these things add up to make one of, if not the best story Iāve ever played through in a video game and one that needs to be experienced to be believed.
The experience I have had with this game over the last week has been a fantastic one and Iām sad to see it end, but Iām happy that I finally had it. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a triumph in every aspect, from itās fantastic setting, satisfying and hooking gameplay, and its truly unforgettable story, I have truly never played a game quite this perfect and Iām proud to call it not just one of my favorite games ever made, but also one of if not the best Iāve ever played.
A big part of what makes Red Dead Redemption 2 so great is its well-defined setting. First off, the game is incredible to look at and has some of the most detailed and realistic graphics in any modern game I've seen. Secondly the open world is far more diversified and interesting environmentally than it has any right being. Despite being a western story, the game does not limit itself to the basic homogenized setting of such stories (i.e. open prairies and vast deserts) and instead opts to be more unique with its areas and the reasons that the characters would find themselves in such areas. There are of course a few basic western setting areas but there's also a small southern town, a New Orleans like city and Bayou, a harsh mountain region, and a lush wooded area all of which, despite the proximity between them on the map seeming very small, feel separate in tone and environment and allows for an open world that feels natural and realistic. And finally, perhaps the most important strength of the world is just how much there is to do in it. Around every corner in RDR2 there are random encounters with rival gangs, strangers that need help, and side quests with writing that's just as good as the main storyline and it all makes for a world that's immensely enjoyable and rewarding to explore and one that truly feels alive.
It isn't just the setting that makes Red Dead 2 great though, the gameplay is also phenomenal. RDR2 allows the player to live out the fantasy of being a lawless outlaw in the wild west and every part of it is just great. Though there is plenty of variety in the gameplay here, I'd say the main gameplay loop that the story consists of are the shootouts and the horse riding. The shootout sections in RDR2 are incredibly simple and yet because of this manage to be extremely satisfying and enjoyable. These sections usually consist of you and your squad of men taking on a large number of enemies, but the lack of automatic weapons that can plow through these enemies keeps things engaging, relying much more on taking deliberate shots to your opponentās weak points like their head or heart and knowing when to take cover and heal. There's also the incredibly useful dead-eye mechanic in these fights that shows up as a meter and allows you to slow time for a few brief moments to take aim at enemy weak points directly for an instant kill. Add onto that slow motion effects whenever you get a really impressive shot on an enemy's weak point and a decent amount of weapon variety and you get some of the most satisfying and fun third person shooter mechanics in a game that I've played. The other main aspect of the gameplay is the riding/driving sections which provide a really nice break in the non-stop action of the rest of game. Though it seems like it should be an incredibly forgettable part of the game, hopping on your horse and just riding is where a lot of memorable moments of the game come from. The gameplay here is simple, simply tap the accelerate button to gallop continuously, or hold it down to slow down all the while keeping your horse's stamina and health up, but it's not so much the gameplay of it that's enjoyable here, more so the range of different atmospheres that this simple action can convey. Since riding is your way of getting to and from anywhere on the map the game has to do it's best to make it interesting and thankfully it does for the most part. Whether you're riding with the whole gang to perform a task, riding alongside another character and getting to understand them more, or riding alone and reflecting upon the weight of the story or your actions, these sections exceed by providing versatile gameplay and cinematic moments. Apart from this there are of course other things to do in the game, you can play games like poker, drive wagons or trains, do side quests, rob people, help strangers out, and just explore the world as a whole all of which have their own levels of nuance and fun to them. The game also has an honor system that adds meaning to your actions, playing like a true outlaw and robbing and killing anyone you please will catch up to you and make you look less favorable to townsfolk and local law officers, playing honorably and using discretion when you rob or kill leads to favor in this system and allows cheaper prices at shops and less bounty hunters and law officers to be actively hunting you. This system also has effects on the story and, based on side quests you do can do, can lead to entirely different character interactions and scenes in the story, adding even more weight to your actions and making how you play the game something you feel personally responsible for.
āBy 1899, the age of outlaws and gunslingers was at an end, America was becoming a land of lawsā¦ Even the west had mostly been tamed. A few gangs still roamed but they were being hunted down and destroyedā. In a few short but effective lines at the very opening screens of the game Red Dead Redemption 2 lays out exactly what kind of story it aims to tell and as it plays out you see exactly what itās talking about. Red Dead 2 is the story of the Van der Linde gang and itās downfall, more specifically itās about the people that make up this gang and how they interact, change, and cope with the events that transpire, but perhaps most importantly of all, itās the story of Arthur Morgan and the of his unyielding loyalty. At the beginning of the game we see the gang on the run and in the worst shape theyāve ever been, having lost several members to a job gone wrong and desperate to get away to the point of fleeing into the mountains in the middle of a violent snowstorm. Though eventually theyāre able to leave the mountains and set up camp somewhere else, this image of a desperate gang never really fades, as the gang try to succeed in making one big score so they can move back west and try to escape their oncoming downfall they only fall further, as a series of bad jobs pushes them further east away from the wild west and further into civilization that doesnāt tolerate them anymore. And yet despite these circumstances, RDR2 is not just a pure tragedy story, the sheer range of scenes and feelings is one of the best parts about the game. The sad moments are depressing, but thereās also happy moments of pure wholesomeness and joy, and insanely badass moments of pure triumph and action that makes my mouth water, and itās this range that gives RDR2 some of the most satisfying storytelling in a video game. Even despite their circumstances though the Van der Linde gang is like a family to one another, comprised of all sorts of people of different backgrounds. The game does a really good job of fleshing all of these characters out and making you care for them; everyone has a role to play in the gang and the story and through interacting with them at camp and during missions just adds layers onto the complexity of their characters. One of the most important characters in this story is Dutch Van der Linde, the silver-tongued leader of the gang who has the responsibility of getting them out of the mess, but as every plan he makes fails them and only brings pushes them further east he starts changing for the worse, becoming more desperate, reckless, and deceptive towards those who stand in his way and inciting dissension within the gang. The most important character though is none other than Arthur Morgan, the protagonist of the game and the one who undergoes the most change by the end of it. Arthur has been in the gang since he was a boy and is loyal to a fault, heās sort of the breadwinner of the gang and is the man to call to get the job done, but most importantly heās honorable, loyal to a fault, and good at heart and helps those who canāt help themselves, heās truly the example of a good man in a bad life and does everything he can to support the gang who he sees as family. As the story goes on heās the one who the audience views the changing of the world and gangās dynamic through, and as these things change so does Arthur turning from a loyal man who admires Dutch and does anything that needs to be done, to one unsure of the way things are going and receptive to the change the world is going through, aware that heāll probably die in this life and wanting to see things set right before he does. Iāve avoided spoilers here for as long as I can but there are some aspects of this game that cannot be talked about without spoiling things, so if you want to read the rest of this section click this link (https://pastebin.com/86sUXJSA). All of these things add up to make one of, if not the best story Iāve ever played through in a video game and one that needs to be experienced to be believed.
The experience I have had with this game over the last week has been a fantastic one and Iām sad to see it end, but Iām happy that I finally had it. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a triumph in every aspect, from itās fantastic setting, satisfying and hooking gameplay, and its truly unforgettable story, I have truly never played a game quite this perfect and Iām proud to call it not just one of my favorite games ever made, but also one of if not the best Iāve ever played.