After going back to the PS3 games was somewhat disappointing, was really pleased with this. Works well both as a finale to the PS3 games and as a stand-alone game. The bad 2000s video game humor of the previous games is gone and instead the writing feels more like what you'd see in a really good CG animated movie. It's also the first PS5 game to really feel like it showcases what the new hardware can do. It's an incredible looking game with some amazing setpieces.

It's just a very good one of these. I'd be alright with it if this is the final Ratchet game, though not gonna lie I'd love to see another one now that it feels like they've really nailed the tone the writing of these games needed to have.

I was really conflicted on what to rate this game, the writing is easily the most glaring flaw with some of the overworld challenges being too tightly timed for my taste (besides the beats I love those) but at the same time everything else is a class act. The gameplay, music, atmosphere, art direction, level design, setpieces, character design, etc are all homeruns and then some. If the writing and storyline were better I could honestly see this being among my top games but overall was an amazing experience in spite of that and definitely a game I would consider replaying which is really rare for me. I hope DICE gets the opportunity to work on stuff like this again at some point.

The extremely sick art style does a lot of work to carry this game. The whole aesthetic style is powerful and pretty unique. The lore and world also make the game worth checking out because I just haven't seen something quite like this in a game before. The gameplay does leave a bit to be desired though. It's solidly serviceable but truly nothing to write home about. By the end of the game a lot of the combat and platforming was more annoying than anything and I just wanted to be done so I rushed to the end a bit which is quite probably why I ended up getting what I assume is the 'bad' ending.

I played Apex at launch for a handful of weeks, throughout "Season 0" and into the beginning of Season 1, and ever since then I had this itch in the back of my mind to go back to it because it's very fun and I really enjoy the cast of characters they've built. Finally, upon adding the goth trans mommy I decided that this character is laser targeted at me, specifically, and I had to jump back in. I played for a few days and had fun despite being terrible at it. And then one day I didn't play but I still felt this itch as I was getting ready for bed that night that maybe I should pop on real quick to check the dailies and that was when I knew I had to uninstall. It's just not how I want to engage with games - even ones that I really enjoy playing! I don't want to be thinking about daily quests and weeklies and what tier of the battle pass I'm at vs. what tier/rewards I want to get to. I've got enough Brain Problems going on, I don't need a video game to take advantage of me and make me feel worse. So, despite how much I do genuinely enjoy the movement and the gunplay and even the whole battle royale mode, I have to quit playing this because I can't stand the way the bits around the edge make me feel. Maybe if I were playing this with friends instead of solo and it had a more social element to it then I'd be willing to go back and play more. But I guess until then, I'm done with this game? Kind of a disappointing and depressing way to quit a game but I gotta do what's best for myself, y'know?

Catalyst is a 10/10 character tho, love her to death.

Children of Morta is a good game. Nothing that's gonna stick with me for the rest of my life, but I just had a real fun time blasting through it.

There's always something new or interesting it throws your way to keep the Diablo-like combat of fast-paced mob and cooldown management from feeling rote, whether it's a scripted encounter with just enough flavor text to motivate you, a locked challenge room with increasingly harder waves of enemies, or a bunch of wild powerups and skills that can alter your playstyle. The boss fights have also all been interesting mechanically, even though my experience with the final boss was hilariously anticlimactic. I steamrolled it in one shot, and I even fucked up picking the character i wanted to use for it!

I like the small moments sprinkled in between dungeon runs too, as they added some much needed character to the cast and just the overall narrative, which is bog-standard fantasy. I do wish there were more scenes that had specific family members interact with each other and really have their archetypal personalities clash. I think that would have made the whole "family is important" theme resonate much stronger.

So yeah, if you're looking for an action game with gorgeous 2D pixel animation, tight and responsive controls for fluid yet weighty combat, options for varied playstyles that each feel simple yet satisfying to engage with, all wrapped up in a moderately challenging and very forgiving rogue-lite package that you can knock out in a week (or maybe two very long sessions if you're a power player), I highly recommend Children of Morta.

Incredible vibes. I honestly love the tedium of this game: driving your car and operating your spotlight and interacting with the little bits of the world. It's just flipping switches and pushing buttons but something about following a specific order every time was satisfying to my lizard brain. Starting every mission and wondering what sort of giant creature I'd see next was always a treat. I love the little shitbox sedan with a spotlight strapped to the top of it. I love the weird mixtape of chill synth music and old radio plays. I love the dense fog and barely seeing the outline of something massive in the distance. It's a little janky at times (I got my car stuck in a ditch twice) but it's worth putting up with the little bits of weirdness.