HammishHammond
45 reviews liked by HammishHammond
Man, this is a shame. Not because the game isn't good, but because it could have been even better than it turned out to be. Let me start with what I liked.
The art direction in the game is pretty fantastic, everything fits the setting, the trash from above littering the ocean combining with the organic environment is pretty masterfully done. The level design is pretty great as well, the levels feel well connected and with plenty to explore off the beaten path. The shell system and how it can also enhance your weapons was pretty cool, and definitely mixed up gameplay so things didn't get too same-y for the most part. The soundtrack isn't something i'd put in my playlist, but its definitely fitting for the game and it never put me off. The combat, while far from perfect(i'll get to that) is mostly good and I did enjoy the gameplay, bosses and enemies for the most part. Now to what I didn't enjoy
First of all, the map. Man, what the hell is this map? Its literally just a stagnant paper map that barely gives any information. You get some minor metroidvania like powers for backtracking and exploring, but the map really puts you off from doing so with how little it helps in the exploration. Next, the camera. Especially the lock on camera, which for some strange reason they decided to put giant black bars on the top and bottom when you locked on that really limit visibility. On top of that, its very easy for the camera to get slammed into the wall along with you when your pushed up against one, making combat during that kind of situation very annoying. Granted, dark souls has a similar camera but this game has more moments were your pushed against a wall in my experience. Next, the combat does have some occasional jankiness. On more than one occasion, after hooking an enemy or hitting a major attack after an enemys poise is broken, i would be sent into the air and either fall through the ground, or end up in a spot of the map i wasn't suppose to be. This also occasionally happened when an enemy attacked me up against a small object on the ground. Very frustrating and definitely ruined certain sections for me. I also found that the game overstayed its welcome for the final 25%. More than once, I found myself thinking "yeah this is the final boss" only for it to just not be and the game kept going, far after I completed the skill tree and had my build set, and it felt the game was crescendoing. It didn't help I found the story to be kind of not interesting? Its not that I didn't agree with a lot of the themes, but I've seen this kind of commentary done a million times especially in indie games at this point, and this game certainly doesn't do it better than the actual good ones. So for me the ending certainly dragged and I was ready to be done far before the end credits.
Another crabs treasure is far from a terrible game, but its also far from an exceptional one. Its certainly one of the better souls-likes not made by fromsoft, but its still riddled with issues that I find it hard to recommend outside of a decent discount.
The art direction in the game is pretty fantastic, everything fits the setting, the trash from above littering the ocean combining with the organic environment is pretty masterfully done. The level design is pretty great as well, the levels feel well connected and with plenty to explore off the beaten path. The shell system and how it can also enhance your weapons was pretty cool, and definitely mixed up gameplay so things didn't get too same-y for the most part. The soundtrack isn't something i'd put in my playlist, but its definitely fitting for the game and it never put me off. The combat, while far from perfect(i'll get to that) is mostly good and I did enjoy the gameplay, bosses and enemies for the most part. Now to what I didn't enjoy
First of all, the map. Man, what the hell is this map? Its literally just a stagnant paper map that barely gives any information. You get some minor metroidvania like powers for backtracking and exploring, but the map really puts you off from doing so with how little it helps in the exploration. Next, the camera. Especially the lock on camera, which for some strange reason they decided to put giant black bars on the top and bottom when you locked on that really limit visibility. On top of that, its very easy for the camera to get slammed into the wall along with you when your pushed up against one, making combat during that kind of situation very annoying. Granted, dark souls has a similar camera but this game has more moments were your pushed against a wall in my experience. Next, the combat does have some occasional jankiness. On more than one occasion, after hooking an enemy or hitting a major attack after an enemys poise is broken, i would be sent into the air and either fall through the ground, or end up in a spot of the map i wasn't suppose to be. This also occasionally happened when an enemy attacked me up against a small object on the ground. Very frustrating and definitely ruined certain sections for me. I also found that the game overstayed its welcome for the final 25%. More than once, I found myself thinking "yeah this is the final boss" only for it to just not be and the game kept going, far after I completed the skill tree and had my build set, and it felt the game was crescendoing. It didn't help I found the story to be kind of not interesting? Its not that I didn't agree with a lot of the themes, but I've seen this kind of commentary done a million times especially in indie games at this point, and this game certainly doesn't do it better than the actual good ones. So for me the ending certainly dragged and I was ready to be done far before the end credits.
Another crabs treasure is far from a terrible game, but its also far from an exceptional one. Its certainly one of the better souls-likes not made by fromsoft, but its still riddled with issues that I find it hard to recommend outside of a decent discount.
Harold Halibut
2024
The artistic value of this one is undeniable. This is one of the most unique games I’ve ever played, and it’s incredible how much work and love the developers put into all the handcrafted assets, with all the characters, props and sets genuinely sculpted and painted. Seriously, they have my deepest respect. But is it fun playing it?
Well… I definitely wouldn’t call this the revival of LucasArts-like adventure games, no matter how much charm it has. It’s more like a really long, interactive stop-motion movie, with only some minimal gameplay elements, like “go there, talk to this person, then come back here”, stuff like that, so expect lots and lots of running around and, of course, even more talking. There aren’t even any puzzles to solve, someone always points you in the right direction. The story is interesting, though, and so are all the eccentric characters the protagonist meets during his journey of self-discovery. Even though there are some really funny moments, I wouldn’t call this a comedy… Let’s go with dramedy, I’d say, with a heavier emphasis on drama.
Harold has quite a lot of psychological issues he has to work through, like how he feels detached from society, his inferiority complex, his recent break-up, and that, in general, he can’t find his place and purpose anywhere. He’s not just physically trapped in a spaceship, but also metaphorically, and thus, a kind of melancholic, bittersweet, sometimes even depressing mood hangs over the plot all the time. The underwater setting and the strange atmosphere reminded me of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, if you’re familiar with it, you can expect something like that with a bit less humour.
Anyway, if you don’t mind that you get hardly any gameplay beyond running around, and watching many, many lengthy cutscenes, give this one a try. As I mentioned, it’s a delight to look at it, no question about that.
Well… I definitely wouldn’t call this the revival of LucasArts-like adventure games, no matter how much charm it has. It’s more like a really long, interactive stop-motion movie, with only some minimal gameplay elements, like “go there, talk to this person, then come back here”, stuff like that, so expect lots and lots of running around and, of course, even more talking. There aren’t even any puzzles to solve, someone always points you in the right direction. The story is interesting, though, and so are all the eccentric characters the protagonist meets during his journey of self-discovery. Even though there are some really funny moments, I wouldn’t call this a comedy… Let’s go with dramedy, I’d say, with a heavier emphasis on drama.
Harold has quite a lot of psychological issues he has to work through, like how he feels detached from society, his inferiority complex, his recent break-up, and that, in general, he can’t find his place and purpose anywhere. He’s not just physically trapped in a spaceship, but also metaphorically, and thus, a kind of melancholic, bittersweet, sometimes even depressing mood hangs over the plot all the time. The underwater setting and the strange atmosphere reminded me of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, if you’re familiar with it, you can expect something like that with a bit less humour.
Anyway, if you don’t mind that you get hardly any gameplay beyond running around, and watching many, many lengthy cutscenes, give this one a try. As I mentioned, it’s a delight to look at it, no question about that.
This review contains spoilers
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the best Yakuza game, in my opinion at least. I think it perfectly expands on the combat from Yakuza 7 creating a simple but incredibly rewarding turn-based system. I think it contains the best overworld in the series and one of my favorite overworlds in any game ever. The game is filled with likeable characters that all represent the game's main themes in one way or another. The one shortcoming the game has, and it's a pretty big one, is the 3rd act of the story which fumbles it's way through a rushed conclusion which leaves so many unanswered questions that it makes me wonder if this was meant to be setting up for a direct sequel making a trilogy. But overall this is one of the most enjoyable and memorable JRPGs I have played in a long time.
Let's go back to what I liked. The combat is a major step up from the last game. In Yakuza 7, combat was simple, it mostly consisted of each character doing their one big move over and over and using heals or buffs when you needed to. Combat in Infinite Wealth was revamped to place a heavy emphasis on positioning, of both you and your enemies. The ability to move freely on your turn creates a system of always trying to get the smallest advantage over your enemy at all times, which is incredibly fun for me because I like to do that in RPG's anyway.
They also reverted the strange decision to tie major stat increases to job level. I really love how this game encourages you to switch jobs regularly and get as many useful skills as possible while making it easier for you to do so by adding the ability to switch jobs at multiple locations. I also like the new skill inheritance system where you can only inherit a certain number of skills from different jobs. Not only does this clear up the move list and create more interesting decisions to make while building your characters, it makes it so the jobs themselves can feel more varied and individually powerful. Many jobs in Yakuza 7 were straight up terrible but pretty much every job in 8 has at least one really good move that would make it worth it to switch for a while.
The Honolulu map is my favorite city in the Yakuza series. I've always loved tropical, beach-themed places so I was very excited when I heard this game would take place at least partly in Honolulu and I was not disappointed. It just feels so good to walk around this city, everything is so vibrant and colorful while still having a laid-back, chill vibe. This probably comes more from my personal love of areas like this, but I just adore this map and I hope they use it again.
The characters were once again a home run in this game. The returning characters were just as good as before and their stories continue in a logical and satisfying way. The newcomers were great with Tomizawa and Yamai being two particularly stand out additions. Only complaint I have is that I am absolutely baffled why they waited to add Joon-Gi Han to the party so late especially when they had the perfect opportunity to do so when Zhao joined.
Now on to things I didn't like.
They really really need to retire Kiryu for good at this point. As someone who started with Yakuza 0 and played through every mainline game, I can feel myself starting to get sick of him as much as it pains me to say. This is the 233,409,216,745th time they've done "Kiryu's final stand" and I think it's time to fully pass the franchise over to Ichiban who I think is a perfect successor to Kiryu. The two are complete opposites while still holding the same core values. Granted, Kiryu still had unfinished business because of that frankly idiotic deal he made with the Daidoji faction in Yakuza 6, but at a certain point you have to recognize when a character arc reaches it's natural conclusion which thankfully I think it did here. Kiryu deciding to live for the people who he loves and regaining his name (somehow) is the perfect ending for him. I don't mind him playing a supporting role, maybe a mentor figure or something, but I will be sorely disappointed if Yakuza 9 ends in Kiryu climbing Millennium Tower to fight a corrupt Yakuza boss who wants to destroy that way of life. As a final note on Kiryu in this game, I think the decision to have Tatara reveal Kiryu is alive is the single worst plot point in the story because almost nothing comes from it. Kiryu hiding his identity was already pretty flimsy because it feels like every old Yakuza character besides the kids at the orphanage ran into Kiryu and immediately recognized him which makes you wonder what the point is. But once his identity is revealed, nothing really changes. The Daidoji act like him being alive is still a top level classified secret, none of the old characters ever react to the news, and Kiryu himself still tries to hide the fact that he's clearly alive and running around. I think it's fine we didn't get a scene of Kiryu and Haruka reuniting but at least show us how she and the other kids felt about the news that the guy who is basically their father is not only still alive but has been in hiding for the better part of a decade. It just felt like it went nowhere which makes me question why they even included it in the first place.
The Ichiban side of the story on the other hand felt like it was missing a few cutscenes after the credits. It just leaves so much left unanswered. What happened to Bryce? What happened to Akane? How's Yamai doing? Did Ichiban and the others get their jobs back after Tatara exposed herself? Does Saeko actually love Ichiban? I just wish there was a bit more closure.
I've heard a lot of people say they don't think Ichiban should have forgiven Eiji but I thought that was fine. Ichiban didn't even really forgive him he gave him a chance to atone which is what he was doing at Hello Work at the beginning of the game. I think it made sense for him.
The last couple of chapters felt strange, almost padding but not quite. I don't really know how to explain it but it felt like a lot of what you're doing feels inconsequential.
Overall I enjoyed the story, I just think the party split made the whole thing pretty wonky and we ended up with a lackluster but not terrible 3rd act and a decent ending.
I am big fan of this game, I had a great time playing it and I think it serves as a good conclusion to Kiryu's character. I hope the next game is more Ichiban focused and the story is a bit more smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to the next project from RGG.
Let's go back to what I liked. The combat is a major step up from the last game. In Yakuza 7, combat was simple, it mostly consisted of each character doing their one big move over and over and using heals or buffs when you needed to. Combat in Infinite Wealth was revamped to place a heavy emphasis on positioning, of both you and your enemies. The ability to move freely on your turn creates a system of always trying to get the smallest advantage over your enemy at all times, which is incredibly fun for me because I like to do that in RPG's anyway.
They also reverted the strange decision to tie major stat increases to job level. I really love how this game encourages you to switch jobs regularly and get as many useful skills as possible while making it easier for you to do so by adding the ability to switch jobs at multiple locations. I also like the new skill inheritance system where you can only inherit a certain number of skills from different jobs. Not only does this clear up the move list and create more interesting decisions to make while building your characters, it makes it so the jobs themselves can feel more varied and individually powerful. Many jobs in Yakuza 7 were straight up terrible but pretty much every job in 8 has at least one really good move that would make it worth it to switch for a while.
The Honolulu map is my favorite city in the Yakuza series. I've always loved tropical, beach-themed places so I was very excited when I heard this game would take place at least partly in Honolulu and I was not disappointed. It just feels so good to walk around this city, everything is so vibrant and colorful while still having a laid-back, chill vibe. This probably comes more from my personal love of areas like this, but I just adore this map and I hope they use it again.
The characters were once again a home run in this game. The returning characters were just as good as before and their stories continue in a logical and satisfying way. The newcomers were great with Tomizawa and Yamai being two particularly stand out additions. Only complaint I have is that I am absolutely baffled why they waited to add Joon-Gi Han to the party so late especially when they had the perfect opportunity to do so when Zhao joined.
Now on to things I didn't like.
They really really need to retire Kiryu for good at this point. As someone who started with Yakuza 0 and played through every mainline game, I can feel myself starting to get sick of him as much as it pains me to say. This is the 233,409,216,745th time they've done "Kiryu's final stand" and I think it's time to fully pass the franchise over to Ichiban who I think is a perfect successor to Kiryu. The two are complete opposites while still holding the same core values. Granted, Kiryu still had unfinished business because of that frankly idiotic deal he made with the Daidoji faction in Yakuza 6, but at a certain point you have to recognize when a character arc reaches it's natural conclusion which thankfully I think it did here. Kiryu deciding to live for the people who he loves and regaining his name (somehow) is the perfect ending for him. I don't mind him playing a supporting role, maybe a mentor figure or something, but I will be sorely disappointed if Yakuza 9 ends in Kiryu climbing Millennium Tower to fight a corrupt Yakuza boss who wants to destroy that way of life. As a final note on Kiryu in this game, I think the decision to have Tatara reveal Kiryu is alive is the single worst plot point in the story because almost nothing comes from it. Kiryu hiding his identity was already pretty flimsy because it feels like every old Yakuza character besides the kids at the orphanage ran into Kiryu and immediately recognized him which makes you wonder what the point is. But once his identity is revealed, nothing really changes. The Daidoji act like him being alive is still a top level classified secret, none of the old characters ever react to the news, and Kiryu himself still tries to hide the fact that he's clearly alive and running around. I think it's fine we didn't get a scene of Kiryu and Haruka reuniting but at least show us how she and the other kids felt about the news that the guy who is basically their father is not only still alive but has been in hiding for the better part of a decade. It just felt like it went nowhere which makes me question why they even included it in the first place.
The Ichiban side of the story on the other hand felt like it was missing a few cutscenes after the credits. It just leaves so much left unanswered. What happened to Bryce? What happened to Akane? How's Yamai doing? Did Ichiban and the others get their jobs back after Tatara exposed herself? Does Saeko actually love Ichiban? I just wish there was a bit more closure.
I've heard a lot of people say they don't think Ichiban should have forgiven Eiji but I thought that was fine. Ichiban didn't even really forgive him he gave him a chance to atone which is what he was doing at Hello Work at the beginning of the game. I think it made sense for him.
The last couple of chapters felt strange, almost padding but not quite. I don't really know how to explain it but it felt like a lot of what you're doing feels inconsequential.
Overall I enjoyed the story, I just think the party split made the whole thing pretty wonky and we ended up with a lackluster but not terrible 3rd act and a decent ending.
I am big fan of this game, I had a great time playing it and I think it serves as a good conclusion to Kiryu's character. I hope the next game is more Ichiban focused and the story is a bit more smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to the next project from RGG.
Dragon's Dogma II
2024
Adventure games are an extremely popular genre, but when you really get right down to the specifics of what makes a game feel like a real adventure, I don't think any game comes nearly as close as Dragon's Dogma and its sequel. Every venture out of town is considered and planned, and those plans are subsequently broken in different ways on each excursion. For me, Dragon's Dogma II is a series of hits of the same high that Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom or even Death Stranding provides.
Dragon's Dogma II puts you in control once again of the Arisen, a character of your own making who is selected by the dragon to control Pawns. In addition to a Pawn who is also of your own making, you can have up to two Pawns created by other players to form your party of four. Pawns can be any of 6 vocations while the Arisen has access to a few more specialized ones, and your team composition determines your approach to battles. Combat is largely the same as the first game, where you pick your four weapon skills based on your vocation on top of a couple of other baked-in unique abilities. You can also pick up and throw smaller enemies (or friends), as well as climb all over bigger ones a la Shadow of the Colossus. There's a little something for everyone with each vocation, and I am a big fan of both the new ones (special shoutout to Mystic Spearhand) and the slight reworks to the old ones. While admittedly there isn't a great variety of smaller enemies (mostly the same as the first game with some slight variations on Harpies and Saurians) and the large monsters could be spread out a lot more evenly through the world, but I personally never got tired of fighting cyclopes' or minotaurs whether it was my first time or my tenth time. You definitely feel a good sense of getting stronger as you and your Pawns chunk through those health bars faster and faster.
For fans of the first game, you'll also find the plot structure is pretty similar. A mostly straight-forward fantasy adventure with very light political intrigue that gets a bit weird with it as you go on. Above most other games, I highly recommend playing DD2 without a guide because the plot is counting on both the player's (and their Pawn's) ability to figure out the right direction and even beyond that, make mistakes. I can't count on two hands the number of major quests I royally screwed up, and yet still stumbled my way through the story. Some quest lines will even straight up drop if you don't make your own effort to pick them up and continue them, and many side quests aren't even presented to you unless you happen to talk to the right people. Whether you are in or out of town, curiosity is at the forefront of DD2's design philosophy. While still a bit on the barebones side, the main plot does have a few cool set piece moments, and the last few hours especially were stellar.
As I mentioned in my opening paragraph, the real draw of this game for me was the moment-to-moment. The exploration, the adventure. I took the same route out of Vermund countless times as I explored the Western side of the country, and by the time I eventually reached my intended destination, something different always happened. Maybe I found a new cave I hadn't spotted before with a new Pawn's help. Maybe I was ambushed by a Minotaur and knocked across a river. Maybe a Drake landed and utterly destroyed my party. The term 'friction' has been thrown around a lot to describe this game and its become a bit of a buzzword, but it is absolutely true. Traditional fast travel is (mostly) discouraged so that the player can experience lots of moments like this. It's a constant battle of tradeoffs, is it worth picking a fight with that Cyclops while the party needs a rest? Oh no, a Gryphon just landed on us and it's time to find out if we are prepared to fight it, or lead it back to the city where a good number of people will probably perish (but can be revived if you've got the item to do so). I could go on and on about all the cool moments I encountered, and suffice to say I thoroughly explored the map as best I could in doing so. It's been so refreshing just playing an open-world game like this where I can open my map and point at a spot and think okay, I want to go there because I want to. There's no icon there (yet) so maybe I'll find something cool. It is the antithesis of guided checklist open-worlds.
To be absolutely clear, it is not a game for everyone. I am not trying to gate keep or be pretentious about it, but the focuses and game design philosophies behind Dragon's Dogma II (and Dragon's Dogma for that matter) are very specific. It is more often about the journey than the destination, and the lack of fast travel and direction will probably cause a lot of people to bounce off. But for me, this is exactly the type of game I have been craving and as a follow up to the first game, I am happy to say that Dragon's Dogma II is just more Dragon's Dogma. At least at the time of writing, it's my GOTY of 2024.
Dragon's Dogma II puts you in control once again of the Arisen, a character of your own making who is selected by the dragon to control Pawns. In addition to a Pawn who is also of your own making, you can have up to two Pawns created by other players to form your party of four. Pawns can be any of 6 vocations while the Arisen has access to a few more specialized ones, and your team composition determines your approach to battles. Combat is largely the same as the first game, where you pick your four weapon skills based on your vocation on top of a couple of other baked-in unique abilities. You can also pick up and throw smaller enemies (or friends), as well as climb all over bigger ones a la Shadow of the Colossus. There's a little something for everyone with each vocation, and I am a big fan of both the new ones (special shoutout to Mystic Spearhand) and the slight reworks to the old ones. While admittedly there isn't a great variety of smaller enemies (mostly the same as the first game with some slight variations on Harpies and Saurians) and the large monsters could be spread out a lot more evenly through the world, but I personally never got tired of fighting cyclopes' or minotaurs whether it was my first time or my tenth time. You definitely feel a good sense of getting stronger as you and your Pawns chunk through those health bars faster and faster.
For fans of the first game, you'll also find the plot structure is pretty similar. A mostly straight-forward fantasy adventure with very light political intrigue that gets a bit weird with it as you go on. Above most other games, I highly recommend playing DD2 without a guide because the plot is counting on both the player's (and their Pawn's) ability to figure out the right direction and even beyond that, make mistakes. I can't count on two hands the number of major quests I royally screwed up, and yet still stumbled my way through the story. Some quest lines will even straight up drop if you don't make your own effort to pick them up and continue them, and many side quests aren't even presented to you unless you happen to talk to the right people. Whether you are in or out of town, curiosity is at the forefront of DD2's design philosophy. While still a bit on the barebones side, the main plot does have a few cool set piece moments, and the last few hours especially were stellar.
As I mentioned in my opening paragraph, the real draw of this game for me was the moment-to-moment. The exploration, the adventure. I took the same route out of Vermund countless times as I explored the Western side of the country, and by the time I eventually reached my intended destination, something different always happened. Maybe I found a new cave I hadn't spotted before with a new Pawn's help. Maybe I was ambushed by a Minotaur and knocked across a river. Maybe a Drake landed and utterly destroyed my party. The term 'friction' has been thrown around a lot to describe this game and its become a bit of a buzzword, but it is absolutely true. Traditional fast travel is (mostly) discouraged so that the player can experience lots of moments like this. It's a constant battle of tradeoffs, is it worth picking a fight with that Cyclops while the party needs a rest? Oh no, a Gryphon just landed on us and it's time to find out if we are prepared to fight it, or lead it back to the city where a good number of people will probably perish (but can be revived if you've got the item to do so). I could go on and on about all the cool moments I encountered, and suffice to say I thoroughly explored the map as best I could in doing so. It's been so refreshing just playing an open-world game like this where I can open my map and point at a spot and think okay, I want to go there because I want to. There's no icon there (yet) so maybe I'll find something cool. It is the antithesis of guided checklist open-worlds.
To be absolutely clear, it is not a game for everyone. I am not trying to gate keep or be pretentious about it, but the focuses and game design philosophies behind Dragon's Dogma II (and Dragon's Dogma for that matter) are very specific. It is more often about the journey than the destination, and the lack of fast travel and direction will probably cause a lot of people to bounce off. But for me, this is exactly the type of game I have been craving and as a follow up to the first game, I am happy to say that Dragon's Dogma II is just more Dragon's Dogma. At least at the time of writing, it's my GOTY of 2024.
A whole video game held up by one hell of a man. Ichiban is simply a goated main character. Taking the quintessential JPRG hero and dropping him into the real, muddy, upsetting world is nothing short of genius. Seeing Ichi maneuvering society's grey zones with pure heart, unbreakable spirit, and the power of friendship is moving and heartwarming. And whenever the game leans into that (especially during the homeless chapter and the ending) it is absolute peak, some of the very best the genre has to offer.
(I just realized, in my MGS3 review I said that it's essentially a game about a boy who wants his Mama. Y7 is very much a game about a boy who wants his Papa)
Unfortunately it is often pulled back by a plot that logically only makes sense if you dont think about it too much ("I m gonna kill a soapland owner, nobody knows I killed him afaik, then I m going to wait until someone investigates that murder, the trace will lead into my territory, where I will catch them in the act. Then I will use them to record a fake video about Yakuzas attacking our turf, and then I will immediately go out and massacre 2 Yakuzas." - You do that buddy, that seems completely necessary and reasonable as a plan) and worse, a plot that thematically tries to have their cake and eat it too. Y7 builds a beautiful, sympathetic case for the grey areas, and the people failed by society that rely on them: Homeless, undocumented immigrants, Ex-cons, sexworkers. It does so with a care and kindness very unique in video games and worthy of great praise.
But then the game tries to extend that sentiment to Yakuza and other organised crime groups in Ijincho, and that just does not work. Those should not exist. They are not good dudes. 15 hours before that we stopped their "pay me money or I execute your old family members" scheme. Trying to conflate those two aspects really muddies the water and robs Y7 of its thematic strengths.
Quick notes to the gameplay side: Side content is once again phenomenal, loved the management game, and some of the mini quests are very emotional (Kaede) or very funny (Kimchi). As an RPG Y7 is not great, Job switching is very limited and punishing to grind back up, you cannot really combine aspects of different builds, combat is very repetitive, AoEs frustrating to use since enemies keep moving.
The game has a monster difficulty spike and you know what, I kinda like that. That builds character and creates memorable moments, just how every FFX player remembers Seymour 3, and every Fire Emblem player gets PTSD when they read Conquest Chapter 10.
Conclusion: I would die for Ichiban
(I just realized, in my MGS3 review I said that it's essentially a game about a boy who wants his Mama. Y7 is very much a game about a boy who wants his Papa)
Unfortunately it is often pulled back by a plot that logically only makes sense if you dont think about it too much ("I m gonna kill a soapland owner, nobody knows I killed him afaik, then I m going to wait until someone investigates that murder, the trace will lead into my territory, where I will catch them in the act. Then I will use them to record a fake video about Yakuzas attacking our turf, and then I will immediately go out and massacre 2 Yakuzas." - You do that buddy, that seems completely necessary and reasonable as a plan) and worse, a plot that thematically tries to have their cake and eat it too. Y7 builds a beautiful, sympathetic case for the grey areas, and the people failed by society that rely on them: Homeless, undocumented immigrants, Ex-cons, sexworkers. It does so with a care and kindness very unique in video games and worthy of great praise.
But then the game tries to extend that sentiment to Yakuza and other organised crime groups in Ijincho, and that just does not work. Those should not exist. They are not good dudes. 15 hours before that we stopped their "pay me money or I execute your old family members" scheme. Trying to conflate those two aspects really muddies the water and robs Y7 of its thematic strengths.
Quick notes to the gameplay side: Side content is once again phenomenal, loved the management game, and some of the mini quests are very emotional (Kaede) or very funny (Kimchi). As an RPG Y7 is not great, Job switching is very limited and punishing to grind back up, you cannot really combine aspects of different builds, combat is very repetitive, AoEs frustrating to use since enemies keep moving.
The game has a monster difficulty spike and you know what, I kinda like that. That builds character and creates memorable moments, just how every FFX player remembers Seymour 3, and every Fire Emblem player gets PTSD when they read Conquest Chapter 10.
Conclusion: I would die for Ichiban
Alex Jones: NWO Wars
2023
For a man so obsessed with hating gay people, he sure is adamant about eating some ass
Vertigo: Remastered
2020
It’s been a while since I’ve jumped into the VR section of the gaming world, I think this is in no part due to the fact that BoneLabs was quite the disappointment to me personally, so I’ve been more choosy about what to go hands-on with.
Well, leave it to Habbie147 to say the magic words, “Vertigo 2 is the other Boneworks,” to get me curious enough to be VERY interested in Vertigo 2 but so much so that it gave me a reason to finally purchase and play the original Vertigo… well, the remastered version of it anyway.
I’ve been a little hesitant to get into Vertigo. Mostly because it seems to always be out of the price range that I would like a shorter VR game to be. Coming in at 3.7 hours with my first-time completion (and not much desire to return) for the price of $25 just seems to be a bit of a stretch when you can get very replayable (or just straight-up longer) games for $20 or less these days.
Well, lately I’ve had less free time than I have ever had in my life, and now I want to play the sequel, and my stupid brain says I MUST play the first game to properly experience the second. Needless to say, It all came at a good time for Vertigo Remastered because I picked it up, had a great time playing it over a couple of days, and, well, ultimately I now am recommending it.
Vertigo Remaster is an adventure shooter with light puzzle elements and is largely influenced by the likes of Half-Life. You can feel the Valve inspirations at every turn, with quippy dialogue, elevators separating loading zones, a facility that deals with interdimensional stuff, and uh, guns? The plot also closely resembles Half-Life, where you’re trying to escape a super sciencey interdimensional laboratory of sorts, and it seems a lot of the tropes throughout your journey to escape it are lifted right from the fever dreams of old Valve employees.
I don’t use the comparison to insult the game’s creativity, but rather the opposite. I think the parallels are done in a unique enough way that Vertigo’s identity is wholly its own. The comparison to Valve in this review serves to show how high I consider the quality of Vertigo to be in its set pieces, design, and gameplay.
I can’t comment on the context of what “Remastered” means when next to Vertigo, as I never played the original, so you may look at another review if you’re curious about that. What I can say is that there are sections that are indeed visually impressive (within the confines of the art style anyway) and that I had a pretty fun time the whole time I was playing.
I think it is worth mentioning that the gameplay does feel a bit dated… this could be a positive, neutral, or bad thing depending on what you’re expecting and what you’re used to. It’s not by much, but if you’ve played a VR game recently you’ll more than likely feel those rough edges of simpler times at the back of your mind, even if you can’t quite describe why. I recommend going in with that expectation and you’ll be fine. It didn’t bother me, but I think it’s worth mentioning for those wondering about that aspect of the game as it is a remaster of an older game.
Overall, I did have a lot of fun playing Vertigo Remastered while it lasted, and I think it’s beyond impressive that such a small team was able to create such a rich AAA feeling experience back in the original release of Vertigo. I beat the game in 3.7 hours over 3 play sessions which I did in the end believe was wholly fair for the experience I got. I think if you’re looking for a short adventure in VR, I would definitely recommend this as an option for you. Maybe you’re not quite ready to buy it like I originally was. But should you feel the need to play a short little adventure game with a lot of heart—definitely come back to experience Vertigo, as I feel it is worth it.
If you liked this review, consider visiting my website. Thanks!
Well, leave it to Habbie147 to say the magic words, “Vertigo 2 is the other Boneworks,” to get me curious enough to be VERY interested in Vertigo 2 but so much so that it gave me a reason to finally purchase and play the original Vertigo… well, the remastered version of it anyway.
I’ve been a little hesitant to get into Vertigo. Mostly because it seems to always be out of the price range that I would like a shorter VR game to be. Coming in at 3.7 hours with my first-time completion (and not much desire to return) for the price of $25 just seems to be a bit of a stretch when you can get very replayable (or just straight-up longer) games for $20 or less these days.
Well, lately I’ve had less free time than I have ever had in my life, and now I want to play the sequel, and my stupid brain says I MUST play the first game to properly experience the second. Needless to say, It all came at a good time for Vertigo Remastered because I picked it up, had a great time playing it over a couple of days, and, well, ultimately I now am recommending it.
Vertigo Remaster is an adventure shooter with light puzzle elements and is largely influenced by the likes of Half-Life. You can feel the Valve inspirations at every turn, with quippy dialogue, elevators separating loading zones, a facility that deals with interdimensional stuff, and uh, guns? The plot also closely resembles Half-Life, where you’re trying to escape a super sciencey interdimensional laboratory of sorts, and it seems a lot of the tropes throughout your journey to escape it are lifted right from the fever dreams of old Valve employees.
I don’t use the comparison to insult the game’s creativity, but rather the opposite. I think the parallels are done in a unique enough way that Vertigo’s identity is wholly its own. The comparison to Valve in this review serves to show how high I consider the quality of Vertigo to be in its set pieces, design, and gameplay.
I can’t comment on the context of what “Remastered” means when next to Vertigo, as I never played the original, so you may look at another review if you’re curious about that. What I can say is that there are sections that are indeed visually impressive (within the confines of the art style anyway) and that I had a pretty fun time the whole time I was playing.
I think it is worth mentioning that the gameplay does feel a bit dated… this could be a positive, neutral, or bad thing depending on what you’re expecting and what you’re used to. It’s not by much, but if you’ve played a VR game recently you’ll more than likely feel those rough edges of simpler times at the back of your mind, even if you can’t quite describe why. I recommend going in with that expectation and you’ll be fine. It didn’t bother me, but I think it’s worth mentioning for those wondering about that aspect of the game as it is a remaster of an older game.
Overall, I did have a lot of fun playing Vertigo Remastered while it lasted, and I think it’s beyond impressive that such a small team was able to create such a rich AAA feeling experience back in the original release of Vertigo. I beat the game in 3.7 hours over 3 play sessions which I did in the end believe was wholly fair for the experience I got. I think if you’re looking for a short adventure in VR, I would definitely recommend this as an option for you. Maybe you’re not quite ready to buy it like I originally was. But should you feel the need to play a short little adventure game with a lot of heart—definitely come back to experience Vertigo, as I feel it is worth it.
If you liked this review, consider visiting my website. Thanks!
Trek to Yomi
2022
The art direction and visuals for this game are ridiculously good. Love seeing the way the scenes shifted perspective as it went on.
The combat however, was too ambitious and too inconsistent with its weird parry timings that it was just frustrating with the hordes of enemies past chapter 3.
Game is best experienced on easy mode and treated as a beat ‘Em up so you can actually enjoy the visuals and get to the end.
The combat however, was too ambitious and too inconsistent with its weird parry timings that it was just frustrating with the hordes of enemies past chapter 3.
Game is best experienced on easy mode and treated as a beat ‘Em up so you can actually enjoy the visuals and get to the end.
Baldur's Gate 3
2020
The first video game to prove me that a lot of twitter, user would be happy. If they had friends offline and hangout together
In the few hours I spent with Spider-Man 2, it became clear that this is exactly the game I expected it to be. Which, for most people, is a very good thing. From the jump, it's clear that Insomniac has greatly refined its sense of pace and scale, throwing the player into this big, dynamic Sandman battle that's not just a technical spectacle but a generally well-executed boss fight. It's a fantastic start.
But it didn't take long for the game to reveal itself to me is just more of the same - more check-boxy open-world upgrade tree beat 'em up faux-cinematic adventuring that exemplifies everything that most people like from AAA games but that I do not.
There's no doubt that the feel is here, but the feel is a familiar one, the context a familiar one. I think I'm just burnt out on this archetype. It's not broken, it's just not for me. The rationale for its incredibly high scores is plainly visible in just a few hours, but I can confidently table this one knowing that it's not going to appeal to my tastes and let others enjoy it in my place.
But it didn't take long for the game to reveal itself to me is just more of the same - more check-boxy open-world upgrade tree beat 'em up faux-cinematic adventuring that exemplifies everything that most people like from AAA games but that I do not.
There's no doubt that the feel is here, but the feel is a familiar one, the context a familiar one. I think I'm just burnt out on this archetype. It's not broken, it's just not for me. The rationale for its incredibly high scores is plainly visible in just a few hours, but I can confidently table this one knowing that it's not going to appeal to my tastes and let others enjoy it in my place.