GamblersFallacy
2023
This game looks alright until you take a step back and realise just how little you're actually interacting with it. Disappointing.
2018
Great story, wonderful characterisation as always, and solid combat, although it's not quite up to the usual standards of the Like a Dragon series. Also, the tailing sequences flat out suck.
Inventive, imaginative, and utterly delightful, as well as surprisingly challenging. Play it. You won't be disappointed.
2023
Outstanding. An incredibly atmospheric survival horror game with a surprisingly compelling story and a focus on organic, mechanics-based gameplay.
Loses points because those god damn rats are incredibly irritating, and the ending, without wishing to spoil, feels like a damp squib.
Otherwise, Amnesia's got some teeth back, and you should definitely play this if you found A Machine for Pigs or Rebirth disappointing (as well you should).
Loses points because those god damn rats are incredibly irritating, and the ending, without wishing to spoil, feels like a damp squib.
Otherwise, Amnesia's got some teeth back, and you should definitely play this if you found A Machine for Pigs or Rebirth disappointing (as well you should).
Yeah, sorry. I don't really get this one. It's...fine? Combat is serviceable, traversal is great as ever, but I really wish this game would stop interrupting its superhero power fantasy to make me play as MJ in a watered-down version of The Last of Us, or to make me walk around admiring its graphics for fifteen minutes before I can continue.
Tears of the Kingdom is absolutely huge, and it's clear the game has been crafted with an incredible amount of love and care.
Sometimes, its sheer size threatens to become overwhelming, and it's certainly true that both the Sky and the Depths are a touch underwhelming, but when there's this much hand-crafted stuff to enjoy, it's hard to nitpick.
Put simply, a triumph, and a great followup to Breath of the Wild. Just don't go in expecting "classic Zelda".
Sometimes, its sheer size threatens to become overwhelming, and it's certainly true that both the Sky and the Depths are a touch underwhelming, but when there's this much hand-crafted stuff to enjoy, it's hard to nitpick.
Put simply, a triumph, and a great followup to Breath of the Wild. Just don't go in expecting "classic Zelda".
2015
Darkest Dungeon is a game with incredible presentation and surprisingly lacklustre gameplay.
Excessive randomness, tedious grind (even in the game's Radiant mode), and a feeling of repetition setting in around the mid-point meant I dropped this and won't be picking it up again. It's a real shame, because the aesthetic is top notch.
Excessive randomness, tedious grind (even in the game's Radiant mode), and a feeling of repetition setting in around the mid-point meant I dropped this and won't be picking it up again. It's a real shame, because the aesthetic is top notch.
2023
Frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
Sea of Stars is a very beautiful RPG with great visuals and some pretty subpar writing. The dialogue and story are underwhelming in the extreme.
Combat is initially fun, but it can't sustain a 25-30-hour experience, largely because it stays pretty one-note throughout.
I've heard a lot of praise for the music, but I didn't feel it was anything particularly special.
Don't go in expecting anything anywhere near the level of Chrono Trigger. Instead, expect a C-grade Golden Sun, and you'll likely have fun.
Sea of Stars is a very beautiful RPG with great visuals and some pretty subpar writing. The dialogue and story are underwhelming in the extreme.
Combat is initially fun, but it can't sustain a 25-30-hour experience, largely because it stays pretty one-note throughout.
I've heard a lot of praise for the music, but I didn't feel it was anything particularly special.
Don't go in expecting anything anywhere near the level of Chrono Trigger. Instead, expect a C-grade Golden Sun, and you'll likely have fun.
Geonosians. Droids. Super battle droids. Droids again. Super battle droids again. A spider droid. More super battle droids. Droidekas. Geonosians again for some reason. Trandoshan slavers (hey, that's diff-oh, they're just humanoids with guns and melee weapons). Super battle droids. Super battle droids. Super battle droids. Super battle droids.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that this game is -incredibly- repetitive and boring. I get the whole "tactical shooter" thing, and there are some solid ideas in here to that effect, but they're wasted on an overly linear, tedious slog of a campaign that never stops and takes the time to build the characters of your Republic commandos.
After you've somehow managed to make it through 8-10 hours of pointless repetition, the game can't even be bothered to end properly. Weak shooting, poor storytelling, and an overall feeling of "why bother?" make this one an easy miss.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that this game is -incredibly- repetitive and boring. I get the whole "tactical shooter" thing, and there are some solid ideas in here to that effect, but they're wasted on an overly linear, tedious slog of a campaign that never stops and takes the time to build the characters of your Republic commandos.
After you've somehow managed to make it through 8-10 hours of pointless repetition, the game can't even be bothered to end properly. Weak shooting, poor storytelling, and an overall feeling of "why bother?" make this one an easy miss.
This is a phenomenally overrated game.
It suffers from the typical AAA bloat endemic to many games nowadays, and it's also got this strange sense of half-hearted, unfinished jank to it. Story and gameplay feel completely disconnected in a way that's troubling and jarring.
The story itself is also pretty directionless; it lacks a strong core villain, which is probably Disney's fault. The final third of the game didn't just lose me, it jettisoned me into space, ensuring I'd never be on board with it again.
I dunno, I know this one's getting a lot of love, but I just can't see it. This game just feels so...meh to me.
It suffers from the typical AAA bloat endemic to many games nowadays, and it's also got this strange sense of half-hearted, unfinished jank to it. Story and gameplay feel completely disconnected in a way that's troubling and jarring.
The story itself is also pretty directionless; it lacks a strong core villain, which is probably Disney's fault. The final third of the game didn't just lose me, it jettisoned me into space, ensuring I'd never be on board with it again.
I dunno, I know this one's getting a lot of love, but I just can't see it. This game just feels so...meh to me.
A solid, if kinda unremarkable, Doom clone. Some cool stuff in here - fun platforming challenges, decent weaponry - but a very strange difficulty curve and a fairly forgettable story.
Bloated, overlong, and phenomenally mediocre in terms of mechanics. All of its good ideas are done before the first chapter is over, and that's all you're getting.
Do yourself a favour and go replay a good 3D platformer instead, because this is a waste of your time and money.
If you're really into the aesthetic, you might enjoy it, but personally, I hated it; very "teenage exercise book drawing before a Rasmus concert".
Do yourself a favour and go replay a good 3D platformer instead, because this is a waste of your time and money.
If you're really into the aesthetic, you might enjoy it, but personally, I hated it; very "teenage exercise book drawing before a Rasmus concert".
1988
Marginally less horribly difficult than other games in its series. If you played Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts and thought "I'd love this if I wasn't crying with rage", then give this a look.
Monstrously, disgustingly hard. If you think Souls games push you to your limit, then give this a go and prepare to weep amidst the broken ruins of your controller.
That disclaimer aside, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is probably the best game in the series. I hear there's a version swimming around out there with the slowdown removed, and if that were true, then it'd definitely be the way to play it, wink wink.
That disclaimer aside, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is probably the best game in the series. I hear there's a version swimming around out there with the slowdown removed, and if that were true, then it'd definitely be the way to play it, wink wink.
Let me preface this by saying I've got no issue with UGnG's murderous difficulty. I'm a huge Souls fan and I like the other games in the series just fine.
My gripe is with the backtracking elements of the game. They feel poorly-implemented and tacked-on, as though they were publisher-mandated rather than part of the original vision.
I hear Goku Makaimura Kai fixes these problems, but sadly, it's Japan-only, so I've only got this one to go on. UGnG doesn't work at all in my books; its frustrating trial-and-error gameplay gels incredibly poorly with the constant need to backtrack through levels to collect everything.
My gripe is with the backtracking elements of the game. They feel poorly-implemented and tacked-on, as though they were publisher-mandated rather than part of the original vision.
I hear Goku Makaimura Kai fixes these problems, but sadly, it's Japan-only, so I've only got this one to go on. UGnG doesn't work at all in my books; its frustrating trial-and-error gameplay gels incredibly poorly with the constant need to backtrack through levels to collect everything.