10/10
Perfectly translates Half-Life into VR to deliver a complete and unforgettable survival horror/action experience. I feel so lucky that I got to play this game. It's hard to imagine there'll ever be anything like this again.

And that fucking ending!!! Oh my god what thEF UCK

9.5/10
A near perfect sequel. Retains every positive from the first, but with even stronger gameplay. It's story flips everything from the first game on its head, exploring the toxicity and cult-like tendencies that can form when a seemingly harmless ideology gets taken to its extreme. I find the emotional throughline of its multiple choice system and it's narrative focus on a more personal and familial conflict makes it a far more compelling campaign in comparison to its predecessor.

EDIT: Finished Minerva's Den

literal tears in my eyes.. peak fiction, i fear

9.5/10
My first time trying out a pure Visual Novel. What a first impression lol.

An exhaustive look at the nature of human tragedy. It's a story that pushes the age old narrative framing tool of light vs dark to the extreme. Every bit as brutal and depressing as it is optimistic and hopeful. Its stellar sound design beautifully accentuated both its dreary, gothic aesthetic and the underlying sense of empathy found throughout every tale. ALSO Michel Bollinger my belovedddddddddddd ohj my god.

9.5/10
Takes the foundation of Silent Hill's unsettling and abstract horror experience and couples it with such a profound and intimate character focused storyline. It's a great twist on the concept of its predecessor in how it uses the setting itself to subtly explore the psyche of the protagonist. It's lack of variety in enemy pool can leave some stretches of the game feeling dull, but the unnerving sound design and the looming threat of the recurring antagonist makes sure that each area got a good amount of scare factor to them.

9.5/10
Changes the whole foundation of DOOM 2016 from a low effort power fantasy to an insanely tense, blood rushing experience where you're constantly fighting for your right to survive. One of the most complex, tech heavy games I've seen from this genre. I came FAR from the start of my playthrough and I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of this game's mechanical depth. It throws a lot at you and can be somewhat overwhelming, but it feels like clockwork once you get in the groove. Executing a perfect, makeshift strategy in the heat of the moment is top 5 most rewarding things in the medium. The DLC will end my life.

9.5/10
This game deserves every bit of praise I've seen it get. Very glad I finally sat down to play it. It taking place entirely through real time events, almost never stopping to take control away from the player, the survival horror-like atmosphere, and the amazing action set pieces come together to create such a uniquely immersive experience that I have yet to see another game capture. I'm still impressed this shit was made in 2004.

9/10
With a now fully fleshed out cast, solid combat system that lets each character's unique identities shine, and gorgeous presentation, its just about elevated almost everything I loved about the original. Its triple A crust can be felt hard on occasion, with it's bloated level design and overall padding. Still enjoy its much slower pacing for the way it allows the story to capitalize on characters and ideas that were mere footnotes in the original.

9/10
I've been craving a good murder mystery game for a long ass time and this definitely fulfilled all my wishes. With the slow burn, the initial small scale, and the escalating stakes, it's a great traditional detective story that focuses on a corrupt city's relationship with the law. The setting is one of the most immersive I've played, with you taking up the role as a small town detective; doing jobs and having the chance to slowly forge long lasting relationships with up to 50+ NPCs. The combat is amazing. It's fluid, has a realistic sense of weight, and Yagami's athletic, kung fu playstyle leads to tons of satisfying combos and sequences.

9/10
Compelling character writing and strong societal commentary presented in the most beautifully outlandish and extreme manner possible. On top of the gorgeous setting of 80s Japan and the damn near infinite amount of side content, it was a blast to go through. I can definitely say this game did a great job at getting me interested in the rest of the series and I can't wait to see how it acts as a celebration of the franchise's history after going through them all. I'm a lot like Akira Nishikiyama.

9/10
Embodies all the commonly praised strengths of Megami Tensei extremely well. The spiraling tension, well thought out alignments, challenging and unique gameplay. Feels like everything Mainline SMT should aspire to be. FUCK Day 7 though, excessive tedious grinding can kiss my ASS.

9/10
Has a lot of unique spins on HL2's gameplay loop, but without a lot of the boring parts of Episode One. The ending is so damn shocking, I can't wait to see what Half-Life 3 has in store
:-DDDDDD

8.5/10
Great atmosphere and expansive worldbuilding to sell the grimey and corrupt nature of the setting. The peak of environmental storytelling, with every facet of the city in some way serving to critique the real world, radical ideology held by the main antagonist. Visually, it can get very repetitive, but the locations are fun to explore regardless. Fast paced and simple story that still manages to stay engaging until the end. There's a fun mix of gunplay and sorcerer-like attacks alongside a rewarding skill progression so the gameplay never gets stale.

8.5/10
Been wanting to go through this one for years. Glad to say it mostly delivered. An absolute odyssey of a storyline. Pretty enjoyable cast of characters. Excellent pacing throughout, as each new section of the game is just as mystifying as the last. Also has one of the greatest main antagonists to ever do it. Only wish the gameplay wasn't so braindead.

But overall, a very good start to my FF journey!!

8.5/10
Really strong example of how to remake a game while being flexible with regards to taking liberties. Improves on HL1 in almost every aspect, ties its story perfectly into HL2 by incorporating retcons, and overall takes a lot of inspiration from the sequel by adding its flair to the original's set pieces.

Shame they made Xen worse doe 💀. Shit is several hours longer than it was in HL1... WHY

8/10
A dope extension of the first Silent Hill's story. While the overarching narrative may be focused on the not-so-interesting cultist conspiracy once again, the story is much more forthright about it which allows for a much easier to follow experience. Its return to origins does unfortunately mean forgoing the chance to tell a deeply personal, character centered story like with Silent Hill 2. But it still retains some emotional resonance through the cruel and unfair disposition of Heather. It's very easy to sympathize with her perspective, especially considering how much more hostile the world itself is this time around.

8/10
Fully embraces the goofy side of Metal Gear to deliver an unabashedly tactless, but insanely entertaining experience. The wacky characters, the action movie style presentation, the intense swordplay, the creative use of its OST. It's all incredibly unique and an exemplary of the franchise in a genre that couldn't be further from its origins. Love Metal Gear.

8/10
Sifu is the Dark Souls of Beat em Ups. Brutal as fuck combat that's unbelievably satisfying to master. I was never a fan of games that try to get creative with death as a gameplay concept, but I like how its handled here. There's a ton of risk-reward elements revolving around it and I like how it encourages mastery of the game. The narrative follows a painfully generic revenge storyline, but the absolutely stellar art direction makes it a fun experience.

They referenced the corridor fight scene from Oldboy so this is actually a 10/10.

8/10
My first time diving into everyone's favorite Liminal Space Simulator. Good stuff. Looks great in spite of the limited hardware. The aforementioned liminal spaces and abandoned buildings are joyfully unsettling to explore. The puzzles can be occasionally odd, but the areas are otherwise very well designed. Adoreee its sound design, especially with how it uses radio static to act as both a constant radar or disturbing ambiance. The OST in general does an amazing job at reinforcing the sense of disturbing, otherworldly unease that the atmosphere invokes.

8/10
It's like Fire Emblem 6 if it were actually good.

Rebalances the game to a degree where it's able to stand on its own and feel unique from any other FE game. Each unit has a strong sense of identity due to the multitude of new weapons and changing of statlines. Still suffers from FE6's frequent poor map design and sometimes it feels like it outright conflicts with the balance set by the new changes, but overall, everything integrated helps in creating a refreshing Fire Emblem experience.

8/10
A solid story about the nature of relationships and trust that does an impressive job at pushing its central themes through every aspect of the game. While the narrative can get very heavy handed with the messages it pushes, I completely respect the attention to detail that's given. To the overarching battle system, the setting, the OST, and the other minor gameplay mechanics, literally everything exists to reinforce what the game is about. A great time capsule for 2000s culture.

8/10
Short, but still pretty sweet. Feels more prone to handholding compared to the last one and I don't think the set pieces are as cool. Pacing can also be pretty wack, with some fights feeling like they drag on waaay too long. But Alyx is a fun character and it's nice to have her by your side the entire way through.

7/10
It's Half-life 1, but with multiplayer. A good time, especially with dumbass friends.

7/10
Great, but extremely flawed. It's even more of a spectacle than FF7. Doesn't get much better than throwing hands on jetpack while flying over a giant, hovering battleship in the middle of a war. The story feels like a disjointed clusterfuck at many points, but the main protagonist, Squall, stands strong as the heart of the story. The game uses the limited presentation of the PSX to its fullest to present his journey of self expression and acceptance of responsibility in a very believable manner, mainly in how it communicates his inner dialogue. I feel like the rest of the cast is lacking in comparison, as I find their personal conflicts interesting but not as well explored. Because of this, I think Disc 3's focus on the romance between the two protagonists comes off as abrupt and leads the story into a way less interesting direction than I think it could've gone. The Junction system is conceptually cool, but ATB combat still fucking sucks and the system only really detracts from in-battle strategization.

7/10
mfw i realize i never added this game to this list
https://media.tenor.com/KZGP1Urw7sMAAAAd/why.gif

Decent story with a strong cast, alright gameplay with fun bosses, but unfortunately plagued with some grody ass dungeons. Got a soft spot for this one cuz it's the biggest indication of the fact that Atlus is still willing to take the risks that made them into the company they are today. Really hoping we see more MegaTen titles like it later down the road.. maybe with a bit more effort haha.

7/10
Takes the gameplay of the already mechanically strong Fire Emblem Warriors and improves upon it even more. Does a great job at correcting a lot of major flaws from the original Three Houses, whether it be improving the visuals or polishing some narrative details. While not adding onto the cast in any substantial way, it does a great job at exploring what we already know about them in a new, and sometimes improved, context.

Scarlet Blaze - This route gives a lot of focus to three major things skimmed over in Crimson Flower; the methodical nature of Edelgard's rise to power, the impact it had on the Adrestian Empire, and her battle with the main antagonist group. Her dynamic with Shez and their banter reveals a lot about the dilemma she faces as an Emperor working within a flawed system she's trying to change. Side characters like Ferdinand and Hubert get a lot of focus within the main story and it makes the narrative of the ongoing war tons more engaging. The ending feels a bit too rushed, but overall, it definitely feels like the route Edelgard should've gotten.

7/10
A solid prequel to FF7. Really fun seeing the pasts of returning characters play out, especially regarding Sephiroth and his descent. Knocks it out the park with its presentation, surpassing my expectations of what the PSP was capable of. I've seen very few protagonist that hold the same level of charm and expressiveness that Zack Fair has. My baby boy. The story being so short does leave some of the relationships between various characters feeling undercooked. And the clunky, slow gameplay with automated and monotonous mechanics, mixed with the absolutely abysmal encounter rate would've ended my life if I were a lesser man.

7/10
I fr bought this game because Hidari (FE Echoes artist) drew the cover art, completely negligent to the fact that this game belongs to a wider franchise. 😭

Fun Metroidvania! Very action focused rather than exploration based and I prefer that. There's almost zero backtracking required. The health regen gimmick is fun. While not as cathartic as Touhou Luna Nights' time stop, it's a smartly balanced system that constantly keeps you thinking strategically.

I probably would've enjoyed the story if I actually knew what the fuck the series was. I liked the message and how the game went about presenting it, but knowing jack all about the characters certainly did not help. I did watch the first episode of the OVA and it was nice. Doubt I'll go back to finish it though.

With how much I enjoyed this and Touhou, I can't wait for more games from this dev team.

7/10
Has a simple but satisfying gameplay loop with a nice weapon upgrade system. Though the lack of enemy variety causes the game to feel pretty repetitive by the second half. While it can also get visually repetitive, I love the brutality of it all. Glory kills are sick as fuck.

6.5/10
Love what it does with Miles as a character and it do got me excited to see the future of this game series. Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of the plot beats work as well as they can in such a condensed storyline. Gameplay is just as fun as ever, love the flashy shit you can pull off with Venom abilities.

7/10
My firsttt Metroid. Very solidly designed game. Its sense of progression is good, but there's a lot of upgrades that just seemed redundant. Its presentation is amazing, I love how dedicated it is to portraying Samus as the coldest mf in the galaxy.

6/10
What an okay video game. About what you'd expect from the first entry in a long running franchise. Has a basic, yet conceptually sound, combat system that's screwed over by horribly imbalanced status effects, essentially trivializing the entire game. Despite lacking a bit in actual substance, the story is incredibly entertaining, with tons of batshit insane story beats. The alignment system isn't too interesting though.

Go play Soul Hackers instead.

6/10
Dope concept! The glass cannon playstyle is really fun in the early to mid game. The lame puzzles and level design really hold it back. And I hate the direction it takes after the halfway point.

5.5/10
While being one of the prettiest games the medium has to offer, with its vibrant colors and characterful art style, and still retaining the powerful environmental storytelling of its predecessors, it's a HUGE downgrade in every other regard. Gameplay has been shifted from a survival horror experience that heavily encouraged exploration to an extremely linear, on the rails shooter. The story attempts to deconstruct different ideologies and theories in a similar vein to its predecessors, but its scope is far too large for its own good, leaving the game's various messages feeling undercooked at best or arguably problematic at worst.

You can tell there's tons of heart behind this project, but I think the sheer amount of over-ambition lead to a harmful amount of oversimplification in both gameplay and narrative. Elizabeth is sweet though, I like her :-)