10 reviews liked by Hinkadie


i actually loved hotline 2 way more the second time around after achievement hunting and finishing hard mode. i did not expect that at all but now this is one of my favorite games ever

"When Should DLC Be Released?"

When playing through my recent batch of games, I've started to realize that there are certain themes or topics that come to my mind. "Hollow Knight" brought to mind the idea of borrowing ideas in art, and how too much borrowing can lead to a game that feels lacking in its own identity. "Bloodborne" brought to mind the idea of gameplay over story, with a dash of high difficulty (or at least the aim of having high difficulty) attracting a new playerbase to a game/franchise/genre. With "The Old Hunters" DLC for "Bloodborne", once again my mind was drawn towards the unfortunate state of modern gaming, a medium filled with false promises, bloat, and "double dipping". This DLC should have been of a similar quality to the main game, but I actually couldn't bring myself to finish it due to the feeling that it was unnecessary content.

The non-boss fight sections were really bland and annoying here. I would say I enjoyed the opening area the most (before reaching the Cathedral once again), but after this all of the enemies felt like annoyances, and it created a very repetitive experience. The worst area for me was either the area between the Cathedral and Research Hall, or the Research Hall itself. Stun locks, traps, and multiple Vicars, Hunters, and Patients made it all too irritating to want to press forward, but I did. I felt that in the main game the enemy design was either way too easy or brutally overpowered, with a lack of a healthy medium, and I believe this gap was only widened with this DLC. Exploration felt less interesting, and the incentives were a large number of weapons and equipment that felt indifferent from what I'd already collected and ignored.

The story/narrative/worldbuilding here (whatever you want to label it) was even worse than the main game. I had no understanding of what I was doing in this new area, and the characters certainly didn't help make that any clearer. Therefore, it just felt like padding on top of an experience that I already found to be too long.

The boss fights are a huge attraction for this DLC, and I have to say that I was intrigued at first. Fighting "Ludwig, The Holy Blade" felt like the best spectacle of the entirety of "Bloodborne", and I enjoyed the crazy move sets he had, the solid difficulty of the fight, and the presentation. The fight against "Lady Maria" (I still don't know "why" the hunter fights her...) was an even greater challenge, mixing bloody design with a new type of boss movement system that, while frustrating, showcased the solid parts of this game's combat.

Sadly, the other bosses were crap for a variety of reasons. The "least crappy" was against "Laurence, The First Vicar", which was essentially the third time I fought against something that resembled "Cleric Beast". The added mechanics felt inconsequential, and I didn't find it very exciting or challenging to face. Moving on form this, the "Living Failures" were brutally annoying and yet painfully dull - their cheap AOE missile attack was badly implemented and led to a few deaths, but outside of this they just mostly stumbled around and provided little challenge.

The worst of the bunch is also one that is celebrated as one of the best bosses in the "Soulsborne" collection - "Orphan of Kos". And frankly, I just don't know why. Sure, the boss contains possibly the widest move set seen throughout the game, and the presentation is hazy and bleak which added to the tension. But the hitboxes and rate of attack from this boss put into question the nature of this game's combat design for me. It felt like there was barely any time to react to an attack, and if I did manage to dodge, I would end up taking damage to a follow-up attack...or AOE.

One last thing that I found to feel sort of weak (a bit of a nitpick depending on who you ask) is that fact that this area is meant to be played right before you beat the main game. If you complete the base game and try to hop into this experience, you'll likely get your *ss handed to you. It sucks that the earlier Soulslike games couldn't really fit DLC properly into the main content, but it would've been nice to at least activate this BEFORE you started a new playthrough in order to avoid awkwardly pausing your completion of the main story. This just rubbed me the wrong way the more I played through this expansion.

Overall, I didn't find this to be a necessary DLC. This content felt like more of the same in many regards, but it also felt like it was done sloppily. There are some definite sweet spots throughout, but it totals to about 1/5 of the non-boss sections and 1/5 of the bosses themselves. I didn't bother completing it because, well, it didn't really warrant completion. DLC like this doesn't generally appeal to me, even for a game that I end up liking, since I don't tend to see much of a purpose beyond pumping out more content. Sure, some fans could enjoy it, but I feel this type of content should only be put out if it adds something special or substantial to the experience. This DLC doesn't do much but add a few more memorable boss fights, a bunch of toys to play around with if you choose, and a bunch of frustration along the way. I think the main game already provided enough of this type of stuff...

Final Verdict: 6/10 (Above Average)

Are you kidding me? Nothing gets past my bow
also i wanna say that i got this for free on the epic games store and i think i'd genuinely prefer to just buy it on steam using Money because the epic games store is the most shitty shit launcher ever devised and i hate it so much. it's horrendously slow and stupid

i wish travis touchdown was real so he would put gas in my car for me and mow my yard

when i first reviewed this game i was being kind of a dick about it because it was an easy target, but that sentiment has definitely changed a lot, and nowadays i feel like fall guys was always pretty fun and cute. it's kind of a shame that it went free to play, and i definitely don't blame mediatonic at all for it, it's pretty clear the game was struggling to draw new players in after like, season 2 (i definitely stopped playing it super often until free for all, which is something i definitely regret).

cuphead? mugman? are you insane, brian? these are just pieces of porcelain!

This review contains spoilers

nice car game idiot

Having played the original version around the time it came out, and thinking that while the story was top tier the game left a lot to be desired, this remake came to shatter my previous memories.
Where to even start? The story and characters are both amazing, full of moments that tug away at even the most cold of hearts, while carefully playing with anime tropes previously estabilished by some many games before it. The characters are deep, each with their own personality, struggle and realistic emotions, they react to the world around them and actively engage with it. While the combat of the original left a lot to be desired, Yoko Taro decided to take a page out of Automata's book (considering that Automata takes so many from the original Nier) and completely overhauls the combat. Each weapon feels amazing to play with, having the proper weight to it's attacks, and satisfying feedback when it hits something. This coupled with various QoL changes that allows magic to be cast while performing various actions, makes for a smooth and enjoyable combat experience, even if the enemies don't have a lot to offer in the ways of challenge. The world design is stellar, despite the small amount of areas the world has to offer, each of them feels distinct and unique, with a story to tell and a reason to have the player be there. The soundtrack is orgasmic to say the least, each piece lending itself to the environment, character or combat it's mean to accompany, and fully expresses the emotions it is there to expressed, while still being breathtaking works of art. I do have a few gripes with the game, mainly the amount of backtracking you have to do between areas, especially if you're going for all of the different endings (which I highly recommend you do).
That, and most of the sidequests are absolutely boring, being comprised of fetch quests or delivery quests that serve only as a means to gain gold or the occasional weapon.
Overall, this remake sought out to bring one of the most underrated gems of the previous generations to the current gaming climate, and it succeeded with flying colors.

This review contains spoilers

To tell you the truth, I thought I would hate this game.
Growing up the only RPG I played was like, Pokémon. And that was it. I was aware of the others, but the more complex battle mechanics always put me off. I was probably going to avoid this game for the entirety of my life.

So, Sephiroth gets into Smash. Everyone's talking about the remake. What the hell - why not? "This is probably going to suck", I think going in.

I was so, so, so, wrong. Finished at 43~ hours within the span of four days and I don't feel burned out, even grinding. I didn't even think I'd care for the story, but I got sucked in anyway.

This game is a landmark. Immediately it hits you with that music and the train, that shot of Midgar and you're immediately ready to play. At first, I was a little overwhelmed, the story had me invested but I didn't get the battle mechanics, I didn't understand Materia, so the first couple of hours were rough, but I pulled through anyway. Then it hits you with that plate falling scene, and you're like "oh shit..." Then you see Jenova inside of the tank and you're like "oh SHIT..." Then you see the Shinra president on a sword and you're like "OH SHIT..."

This game is full of stuff like that and I love it. It's all over the place in a good way. It goes from a rag-tag resistance trying to stop a greedy company from getting their way to a quest to save humanity from extinction. When Aerith dies, that's genuine sadness you feel. These characters are so likable, that the possibility of one of them dying is genuinely upsetting.

Barrett with his gruff, harsh appearance makes you think he's stone cold, but he turns out be way softer on the inside. Cid comes off as an unlikable asshole, but when the Rocket Town revisit hits you learn who he really is. You HATE Cait Sith when you find out he's a spy, but you end up warming up to him near the end anyway. Every character's motive is the player's motive. You want to settle the score with Sephiroth. You want to see Marlene live. You want Shinra to fall.

And Sephiroth, oh my god that reveal. The whole game you're fighting against Shinra, but then you see Sephiroth for the first time and immediately you get that feeling of "oh no." Let me tell you, after Cloud snaps in Disc 2 - when Meteor starts falling I was really on the edge. Not quite, but almost there. And when Tifa jumps into the airship and the fanfare kicks up - that. That is the moment when I fell in love with this game.

The Hojo twist aswell is really cool. When you learn Sephiroth snapped for nothing, you really want to beat the shit out of him. The first few chapters are a little slow, but after that it just keeps kicking and kicking and kicking. Then I reach the Northern Crater, hand Jenova's ass to it, demolish Sephiroth's phase 1, then get ROLLED by phase 2. Then I grind and go back, and get rolled. So when I got those ribbons, and I made it past the first Supernova, I was filled with fucking adrenaline. I have never felt fear in an RPG boss. That was until Safer-Sephiroth.

You beat him, get your powertrip Omnislash, and that final CG cutscene rolls and it's all just so great. Seeing Midgar at the end, reclaimed by nature is fulfilling.

My only real gripes with the game is that the story is a little messy w/ the Cloud self-discovery arc, in turn taking you out of it, and the depth perception can be a little wonky at times.

Other than that, fantastic game. 5/5