Look, I am a huge Bond fan (it's my favorite IP) so I have a strong bias here. It also doesn't help I have strong nostalgia for this game. Regardless, it's a damn good game for 2002. The shooting hasn't aged well, and it also had to follow up 2001's Halo: CE that revolutionized shooters (particularly the FPS) for consoles, but this game still holds up.

Zany plot with cheesy one liners, gadgets galore, one of the best levels in gaming (The Exchange) that allows you to tackle it however you want, some fun car chases, and a damn good scan of Brosnan makes this a must play for any Bond fan.

My biggest gripes are the frenetic pacing towards the end and the lack of checkpoints in the underwater mission. Seriously, just one checkpoint before the submarine fight would've done wonders. If you are playing this through an emulator, use those save states. Unfortunately, I did not have that luxury on my PS2 so just look up a walkthrough on how to cheese it so you don't waste an hour of your time like I did. Issues aside, I love this game.

Pillars of Eternity is an Obsidian RPG running at full steam. Set in the fantasy world of Eora, characters embark on a journey to combat the apocalyptic tale that is permeating throughout Dyrwood. With mature themes surrounded around a nationwide stillbirth pandemic across the nation, PoE finds interesting topics of the meaning of life that not many RPG’s (let alone games of all genres) have never explored.

The art style, in the spirit of classic CRPG’s such as Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment, is absolutely stunning and adds a wealth to the plethora of fantasy worlds in games that isn’t really explored anymore with a mix of dreary lands and mystical buildings blasting with color not seen in similar worlds such as Dragon Age or Elder Scrolls.

Though a bit flawed in some of its changes to the character leveling that most CRPG’s are known for (DND 2.5), this is a masterclass in fun yet challenging combat. Tyranny (another Obsidian CRPG game that was funded through Kickstarter) was my first foray into the genre, and I immediately gravitated towards this one for its complexity when compared to the more stripped down version of Tyranny. Though it can get a bit crazy in terms of difficulty spikes and readability, I found myself always having a great time. I did play through most of this on Normal but ended up changing to Easy towards the end due to this spike. I do put some of the blame on the game for having unneeded difficulty at times but I do believe my inexperience in the genre had something to do with it, too. Regardless, it’s really my only gripe with the game, and I have no shame in finishing this on Easy as it’s much more like Normal for more traditional RPG’s.

Obsidian is known for its deep storytelling, worldbuilding, and choice. With PoE, that is front and center. Throughout the 40+ hour experience, you will gather companions of many races and vastly different beliefs. Not only does this add flavor to your journey, but it adds a sense of depth when making choices. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t believe going completely against a companion’s belief with a story decision strips away your ability to have them around, it does make you think about that choice in terms of immersion. On paper, the ability for them to leave based on your decisions sounds cool, I believe having your cake and eating it too with this mechanic would make it far less infuriating and I am thankful for that.

PoE is a flawed masterpiece. It absolutely nails it in terms of storytelling, worldbuilding, art design, and player choice. It does stumble a bit with its combat in terms of readability during hectic fights, difficulty spikes, and its overly complicated changes to character leveling, but it never truly gets in the way of a combat system that is addicting from beginning to end. No game is perfect, but I would suggest this game for anyone who loves Obsidian games like Fallout: New Vegas and aren’t afraid to try something new. If it’s intimidating, I would go into this on Easy mode as again, from my playtime with the game, it feels much more like Normal in other games.

I have about 35 hours in this right now and I've shelved it. I couldn't put the first one down. Though I didn't complete all of the side stuff in BOTW, I did all of the shrines, a good bit of the good side quests, and the story. TOTK, in almost every sense, is a better game objectively. What its predecessor didn't have to deal with though was a game very similar to it.

BOTW was fresh and inviting. To me, TOTK had that for the first 15 to 20 hours. The shrines were exciting since the new abilities added so much to the game, and the new fuse ability made weapon degradation a non-issue. It felt like everything I wanted in a TOTK sequel. As I started to go through it though, the issues for me started to arise. It felt like deja vu just like God of War: Ragnarok did. It also suffered from the same problem: bloat.

Sometimes less is more, but Nintendo clearly didn't get the memo. I enjoyed getting all of the towers again, but by the time I ran around every corner of Hyrule again, I wondered if the depths (the new area below the main map) would provide the same level of discoverability that Hyrule gave me in BOTW. Unfortunately, it didn't. The first couple hours were enthralling in the depths, but they should've just called it the Hollows because it's bereft of anything interesting outside of a really cool aesthetic. Now, I know there are probably many areas that are freaking awesome down there that I've yet to explore, but they were so few and far between that it started to make it a chore to find something cool. It's exactly what happened to Hyrule after going through it a second time around.

My biggest disappointment, however, was something that I was actually ecstatic about when leaks started to emerge that they were coming in the BOTW sequel: dungeons. To keep it spoiler free, they are glorified Divine Beasts. They definitely look cooler, but they are way too easy, way too short, and lack all of the great puzzling earlier Zelda titles excelled at.

Maybe I am just a jaded Zelda fan who wishes we could go back to the days of old. Maybe. I think if you haven't played BOTW, TOTK will be the easiest 5/5 for you. It's a better game, but it's hard to look at it from any other perspective after playing BOTW. It's more of the same with a coat of paint. A great coat of pain that is, but one nonetheless. Most fans of BOTW are going to adore this game, but it's just not the same for someone like me who isn't already a huge fan of modern massive open world games. I'd pay top dollar for a traditional Zelda game that takes some of the gameplay mechanics that the team has learned over these two titles, and I feel like I would have much more fun playing the Twilight Princess HD remaster if they'd just release it on the Switch.

Though a lot of what makes this game was stripped directly from Vampire Survivors, I really enjoy the feel of this gameplay more. I particularly love the art style (Diablo 2 inspired) far more than the "basic" aesthetic of VS.

I will update this review over time, but it's addicting, has a decent drip feed of rewards (though I wish it granted just a bit more gold for runs), and is a perfect game to throw a podcast on and just game.

Great foundation, and hope to see much more as the game gets more content over its early access period.

This is everything that I love about Ratchet and Clank. I know most diehard fans of the series miss the satirical bite the original trilogy offered, I truly fell in love with the series with this reboot and the Future series. I love the Pixar-esque story that puts a smile on my face since so many non-Nintendo titles in recent years have been darker than what we're given here.

The combat is top notch third person action, the platforming is excellent, it's one of the prettiest games I've ever played, and it feels absolutely incredible with a DualSense controller. This is a must play if you have a PS5 (even if you never played the game prior) and I implore the industry to make tight 10-15 hour single player games like this in a world where everything has to be a bloated open world mess.

Right now, this games performance is pretty bad on almost all platforms. Though it did hinder some of my experience, it did not take away what I believe to be the best piece of Star Wars content since my favorite in Empire Strikes Back.

Cal's story is personal, relatable, and is surrounded by all the incredible themes that I have grown to love about the great Star Wars movies and shows throughout my life. The combat system is fleshed out to a point that it might be difficult to come back to Fallen Order and the way they decided to tackle the Metroidvania aspect of this game with the hub world, Koboth, is such a game changer when compared to its predecessor. From combat to story to platforming, this is a Star Wars ass game in every great way possible. Even though it didn't completely hinder my experience, I would still say to wait for this game to get patched over the following months.

Framerate wise, it's pretty damn bad at moments on PS5 but my one hour experience on PC was so bad that I immediatley refunded it on Steam. I'd suggest any PC players to pick it up on Steam and watch that 2 hour refund period before fully deciding to commit to the rest of the game.

I think this is one of the best games of all time and I feel like most people don't get it. I also feel like this game isn't made for a lot of people like Lynch's Twin Peaks that the game pays a ridiculous amount of homage to. The combat is tight, the story is balls to the walls insane, and the world of the Federal Bureau of Control is the most interested I've been in a world since Rapture. Though I would love a few more audio logs (that should be able to be listened to while exploring as opposed to standing next to the audio player), I adored finding every piece of information I could find on this world throughout my experience. It doesn't overstay its welcome like most modern titles, it oozes atmosphere, and makes you feel like Superman with a gun by the end of it. Add a little bit of enemy variety in its sequel, and we might have my favorite game of all time.

I've played this game more times than I can count. This was my favorite game for nearly 15 years. Though time hasn't been too fond to it in regards to combat and its plethora of pointless tonics, Bioshock is still the my favorite story in gaming. It has so much to say whether through audio logs or the main plot and builds the most interesting world, Rapture, that I have ever lived in virtually.

Regardless of some of its jank (and technical issues in its Remaster on all platforms), this game is a must play for any gamer. Just save at least every 10 minutes to save yourself the frustration of replaying large chunks of a level as it does have a tendency to crash and has no autosave feature outside of entering a new level.

God of War: Ragnarok levels itself up yet also hurts itself in the process by trying to be a bigger sequel. The story is more personal than GoW 2018 yet not as intriguing. I don't blame that since it's hard to hit the magic that 2018 had bringing Kratos to a whole new mythology. What is does struggle with, immensely, is pacing.

Story and combat wise, the final hours are lightyears ahead the everything prior and though the game has highlights throughout, it slows down to a halt so many times that it does negatively chip away at those moments. The story is cool when it takes your control away from Kratos, but gameplay wise it becomes barebones and is the complete opposite of what I want in a game titled God of War. Every time it happens, I am begging it to bring me back to our titular character. This mechanic is a lesser than version of we've seen in Sony's other mega-franchise in The Last of Us Part 1 and 2.

The additions to the combat are refreshing and though they aren't game changing, they are exactly how a sequel like this should be. It's much more refined and deepens action sequences exercising not only your hand-to-eye coordination but also your brain without straining itself like I felt like with the devolution of Doom Eternal's combat when compared to its predecessor.

Unfortunately, the biggest issue of 2018 comes back in full force here in its open world. It's fun to a point and is really just there for people who absolutely love this game. Though I am fine with this openness being here like the previous title, it gets too much in its way since the main plot here is stretched out to an infinite degree compared to 2018. All in all, it makes it feel bloated. I know many people's mileage will vary on this critique (I have friends who believe this extra content added to the game), but it's something that comes down as a detriment to the game for someone like me that struggles with enjoying many open world games in 2023.

Overall, Ragnarok is still a great game even though most of this review highlights its weaknesses as opposed to its strengths. I do love the overall story and the additions to combat (and even moment to moment traversal) are lightyears ahead of 2018, but my various issues with the game make it lesser than it's predecessor.

I cannot believe this was made by Arkane. I enjoyed Dishonored, loved Prey, and adore Deathloop so much, but this is one of the worst AAA games I’ve played since the 360 generation. This makes the original Homefront look like a masterpiece.

Abandoned after 90 minutes. It was so boring, the shooting is terrible on all fronts, the performance at launch is abysmal, the AI is brain dead, and the looting is pointless. They couldn’t get one basic thing right.

Biggest disappointment in years.

Absolutely incredible game and experience. Pyre shows that Supergiant, even at great heights in their own craft, don't rest on repeating what had succeeded before. Pyre is hardly anything like Bastion or Transistor, yet it showcases how brilliant the small team is at constructing visually stunning worlds and exquisitely written characters to create a lasting and impactful experience here.

The story itself is the highlight, though I do really enjoy the gameplay. It is rather complex, though I will say I wish there was a difficulty slider of some sort as Normal was far too easy and Heightened got a bit cheap at times. The only big gameplay issue I had was that it was often difficult to stop an airborne adversary with a timed jump due to the readability as to where your character is relative to the opponent. Other than that, the NBA Jam meets Fantasy gameplay was superb.

The story itself, the highlight, is all about the characters. I enjoyed every single one but I truly have a sore spot for Ti'zo. He has become of my favorite characters in any game ever. The writing (particularly the dialogue) was stupendous throughout, though I will say the plot started to get a little stretched in the final hours. The moments after the final Rite do make up for it though.

I know Supergiant is uber-successful due to Hades, but I advise any sort of gamer to play this game. There is nothing like it (truly) and it is a work of art.

9.5/10

It's a fun game that shows where Supergiant began, but leaves a lot to be desired. Art is beautiful, but the moving pathways hurt my eyes. The combat, though fun at times, was wonky and sometimes not as responsive as I liked. Later enemies do not telegraph their attacks well. Dodge mechanic annoyingly moves in a completely different direction than I am aiming and led to many moments where I fell off the map.

Story wise, the game is kinda whatever. I don't feel like there was much of a connection with the characters and the world to make the choices at the end meaningful. The narration is fantastic, but it was more interesting as a way to enjoy the game's atmosphere than immerse myself in the story being told.

It's a fun ride that only takes a couple hours, but I wouldn't say it's a must play if you became a big Supergiant fan after Hades. Worth it on sale if you enjoy a fun, little indie, but I will say playing this started to become a slog even with it's short run time. The best that Supergiant has given us is far beyond this game, but a pretty solid outing laying the groundwork for much greater games to come.