Starting off this year with a Zelda game, as I have been wanting to play one before Tears of the Kingdom comes out in May, and I thought why not go with the one that I haven't played through since it had came out in 2011. I remember liking the game for the most part and not really enjoying the backtracking that the game has you do. Having played through this game again, most of the same problems I had with the game back in 2011 are still present, backtracking, the sky being a big open area filled with nothing of note, and lack of being able to track side quests being some the major complaints that have. But I still had a great time overall with this game as it is the last traditional Zelda game developed and it was just what I was looking to play. I would give this game a shot if you are looking to try it out, as there are great qualities to this game, such as the combat, the multiple temples, and how lively the characters are in the game itself.

I was not sure how the development team would add to Breath of the Wild and make it better. Things that comes to my mind was making the main dungeons of the game better and more variability in player creativity and combat. They addressed those issues and even expanded upon those ideas I had for the sequel. Much of what had made Breath of the Wild a great game, is back in full-force for this game as well. But there are two whole new areas to explore, the sky and the depths, along with all of Hyrule (which isn't the same as it was in the original). The story is REALLY good this time around, as in when it progresses, your brain starts to connect the pieces of what is going on, and it is just amazing to experience. I just wanted to get my base ideas down, and not really go to deep into the game (on the off chance someone reads this). In conclusion, if the first game did it for you, then this game is a must play. If you had problems with the first game, and wanted to like it. Then try this, as it has a very high chance of getting hooked to it.

Uncharted 4 is my first game in the series (minus the few times that I got to play multiplayer at a friends), and I feel that even though this the fourth game in the series it does a very good job of introducing players to the series. While also being a great conclusion to the story of Nathan Drake. Levels are semi-open with it being a mix of linear progression and open arenas. The linear part of the levels are made different it how it is progressed through, whether it would be a climbing challenge, a driving section, or a unique game-play section such as trying to the keys to a door off of a server at an auction or a sword fight. The open arena sections of the levels are made to be tackled by how ever the player feels they would like to take on the section. Wanna do it stealthy, go loud or do a mix of the both? Then go ahead, as that is how these sections were designed. If there were a few things that I found annoying, it would be the clunky feeling movement (it was really hard to make precise movements), there was also a weird audio glitch that happened whenever I would face away from an NPC no mater at what distance, but it was also inconsistent. So I found it annoying, and I assume that this is just a PS5 problem as I don't see anything being reported about this for PS4 users. Overall, great game would recommend for people who are looking for a good single-player third person shooter.

Out of all of the visual novels that I have played, one of the things that had stood out to me in comparison to others is how the game presents its scenes. They are framed in way to make it sort of seem like a show or other type of production. Instead of doing the usual but whatever character is talking on the screen with the text below it. One thing that confused me at first was the T.O.I system, as it is tied to how the story plays out. For instance to get Es' ending you need to read all of the articles presented to you until chapter 6, which is when the game then expects you to only read articles that Es has read. Stuff like this made me restart the game to see the ending that I had wanted to get, and I hoped that it would be made more obvious what events change based on what articles are read. Thankfully going through the game again is actually relatively quick thanks to the skip previously read text button. This visual novel is a must read for Blazblue fans, as it makes enough references to the main series to keep it connected but also have enough ideas to make it feel new.

This entry in the Xenoblade series surprised me as I didn't think that another one would be released on the switch, especially with the release of 2 other Xenoblade games on the system. I didn't have any high expectations for this game when it came out because I expect it to just as good as the other 2 on the switch. I came out of with the idea that it is not as good either of them, but that it not a bad thing as this is still a very solid entry. The story follows a group of Kevesi and Agnus soliders whose fates have intertwined and now must work together to help free the world from the war that has gone on between them, seemingly forever. The story eventually takes a much more different direction and gives each of the six characters a chance to shine. Even most of the side content that can be done withing the game actually contributes to the plot of the game, but there are of course the usual fetch quests and what-not. The only real negative that I can give the games story is that its pacing for the last chapter is terrible as it repeats story points alot and it actually takes a long time to get to the ending that players have been keyed in on what it would be two chapters ago. The combat has received a mass overhaul once again. The main function this time around is classes, either by playing through the main story or by completing hero quests throughout the game, players will come across more classes that they can use for the six main characters. Once a character masters a class they can then mix and match select moves from that classes onto other classes, leading to many combinations of movesets. Once again though I can only really have one negative for this as well, most of the classes are locked behind side quests, if there are players that only play through the main story quest they will receive a small fraction of the classes that the player can experiment with. They had also changed chain attacks to be THE main way that damage is done in this game. It charges up so quickly and is easy to understand that most boss battles are going to be taking place within the chain attack menus. You can't have chain attacks last almost forever like in the Xenoblade 2 and its expansion but the amount of times that one can use them more than makes up for it. Overall, Xenoblade 3 is a really good entry this time around. While not as good as the first and second ones, that doesn't mean that this game is bad. As its combat and cast of characters are what kept me coming back to finish the game.

This game was a bit of shock, as I did not necessarily have any interest in this game at first. I played it mainly because my friend group are huge Yakuza fans. After playing Yakuza 0, and mainly playing for the side content, I wasn’t too eager to hop in. But after finishing Like a Dragon, it really hit that Dragon Quest itch, while also being unique in its own to stand out from other RPG’s. Combat is fast, and the animations/style of the moves doesn’t make the battles become stale quickly. Each of the characters are a treat to hang out and talk to, with some highlights for me being Ichiban, Adachi and Zhao. Only complaints I really have is that this is another RPG that has a huge level spike in it around the half way mark, with the game basically telling you that you have to grind. It brings the story to a halt, in favor of having you fight more normal enemies for about another hour or two. This is also a complaint that I had with Yakuza 0 also but the movement in small places or making small adjustments still feels really clunky. But overall, recommend this game for any RPG fan.

Big improvement over the first game. This game (for Sonic at least) adds more moves to their arsenal. These extra moves with the emphasis on speed, make the game feel really good to play when the player can keep that speed going. But much like the first game the later half of the game is extremely punishing in the form of bottomless pits, poor enemy placement and some tough bosses. The music, graphics and animation quality have also been greatly improved upon from the original. Great game though overall, and if the game was not as difficult as it was near the end. I could see people talking about this being one of the best Sonic games.