Jackier
BACKER
2017
I feel like I've been lied to for years into thinking Fortnite is some dumb zoomer meme game.
I mean it is but it's also a ton of fun. It has substance, it's refined, the game looks and feels good!
While I don't think mtxs can be very moral (especially in a game dominated by children) Fortnite is completely free to play, you can't buy power and the battle pass covers several months, is easy to level, and gives enough currency to pay for itself without a ton of effort.
There are still whale traps, and this became more prominent in the new racing and rock band modes who were released with little to no free cosmetics and overpriced storefront.
Fortnite is the closest thing we have to a working metaverse. I imagine that in 10 to 15 years it would look closer to Ready Player 1 than whatever Facebook is trying to cook.
I mean it is but it's also a ton of fun. It has substance, it's refined, the game looks and feels good!
While I don't think mtxs can be very moral (especially in a game dominated by children) Fortnite is completely free to play, you can't buy power and the battle pass covers several months, is easy to level, and gives enough currency to pay for itself without a ton of effort.
There are still whale traps, and this became more prominent in the new racing and rock band modes who were released with little to no free cosmetics and overpriced storefront.
Fortnite is the closest thing we have to a working metaverse. I imagine that in 10 to 15 years it would look closer to Ready Player 1 than whatever Facebook is trying to cook.
Fun with fairly strong aesthetics and a banger soundtrack.
Tons of characters and lots of returning faces from Alpha, my personal favourite. Old classic Rival Schools is also very prominent with Akira and plenty of stage cameos.
While the game is very pretty this entry still doesn't translate well from the classic pixel art - the oversized palms and feet looks awkward on some characters and hair is mostly a mess - crazy anime hair doesn't really translate well, designs like Charlie and Rose looked good in 2d but are a bit harder to take seriously here, not that the game cares much for serious.
Story mode is a silly Power Rangers plot with little coherence. It's an impressive attempt at a cinematic approach but the mystique is gone. When the story bits were short and rare in earlier game there was a lot of room for imagination to fill in gaps, and now I feel this fairly lengthy story mode doesn't really say more than the minimal lines Alpha had for example.
Difficualy wise I couldn't tell if there were massive spikes in the last parts or it was just being forced to play characters I'm less comfortable with.
I feel those were spikes that my casual ass had a lot of trouble dealing with near perfect defence and punishment. Sometimes I treated those as an actual training grounds, but some I eventually just skipped after several tries.
The characters screen time is whack as well, poster boy Ryu literally only appears in the opening and closing acts and doesn't do much.
There's also a silly little personal story for each characters. They had varying quality but I liked those as they focused on slice of life rather than world ending drama. The art in this mod takes a while to get used to but it works.
The stage lights disco ball look for the pre fights looks great and I've never seen a direction like that before.
Main menu is an ugly messy sin, filled with buttons and store fronts, timed missions that you need to purchase tickets for with slowly acquired currency. It's not as bad as the nonsense I've seen in Injustice 2 earlier this year but this still has no place in a fighting game.
You can see some seeds for 6 - splashes of colour appear during certain combos and you get to fight normal people like OLD COP.
Street Fighter 5, six years in, is very fun and if the sequel wasn't so well received I might have tried to actually get good in it.
Tons of characters and lots of returning faces from Alpha, my personal favourite. Old classic Rival Schools is also very prominent with Akira and plenty of stage cameos.
While the game is very pretty this entry still doesn't translate well from the classic pixel art - the oversized palms and feet looks awkward on some characters and hair is mostly a mess - crazy anime hair doesn't really translate well, designs like Charlie and Rose looked good in 2d but are a bit harder to take seriously here, not that the game cares much for serious.
Story mode is a silly Power Rangers plot with little coherence. It's an impressive attempt at a cinematic approach but the mystique is gone. When the story bits were short and rare in earlier game there was a lot of room for imagination to fill in gaps, and now I feel this fairly lengthy story mode doesn't really say more than the minimal lines Alpha had for example.
Difficualy wise I couldn't tell if there were massive spikes in the last parts or it was just being forced to play characters I'm less comfortable with.
I feel those were spikes that my casual ass had a lot of trouble dealing with near perfect defence and punishment. Sometimes I treated those as an actual training grounds, but some I eventually just skipped after several tries.
The characters screen time is whack as well, poster boy Ryu literally only appears in the opening and closing acts and doesn't do much.
There's also a silly little personal story for each characters. They had varying quality but I liked those as they focused on slice of life rather than world ending drama. The art in this mod takes a while to get used to but it works.
The stage lights disco ball look for the pre fights looks great and I've never seen a direction like that before.
Main menu is an ugly messy sin, filled with buttons and store fronts, timed missions that you need to purchase tickets for with slowly acquired currency. It's not as bad as the nonsense I've seen in Injustice 2 earlier this year but this still has no place in a fighting game.
You can see some seeds for 6 - splashes of colour appear during certain combos and you get to fight normal people like OLD COP.
Street Fighter 5, six years in, is very fun and if the sequel wasn't so well received I might have tried to actually get good in it.
2023
Seems silly on paper but it's very fun. Skill ceiling is probably lower than tetris.
I like games that use material physics like this
I like games that use material physics like this
2023
Presents itself as a cute co-op experience but the level of challenge and punishment is more akin to games like Getting Over It. Checkpoints help to some extent but it's obvious the game isn't meant to be played that way..
It's well made but it's not made for me.
It's well made but it's not made for me.
2023
Serviceable arcade racer that scratches the itch but loses points for the absence of substantial car collision.
My biggest disappointment with Rocket Racing is that I expected Rocket League on a racing track and this ain't it. Only the car aesthetics carried over and even this is diminshed by the low angle closed up camera.
My biggest disappointment with Rocket Racing is that I expected Rocket League on a racing track and this ain't it. Only the car aesthetics carried over and even this is diminshed by the low angle closed up camera.
Greater than the sum of its parts!
Zooming out, the trilogy tells a great space opera that borrows from genre staples that builds something rare and unique.
Rich world building, great cast of characters (even the human ones!)
Surprisingly delicate romance system! I usually don't really care for player sexual romance in games, I just make a choice and run with it.
But here, It felt real. My Sheppard relationships evolved and reacted in a way that almost feels organic. My favourite bit was finding out that Garrus and Tali got together, it was very refreshing to see a relationship grow independently of the player.
My hot take about choices in these games is that most of them feels forced and only there because its technically a wRPG and some freedom is expected - I'm sorry but I don't see a version of a full renegade Sheppard working with the story. I also don't really know how losing characters prematurely and cutting their arc early only to be replaced with placeholders can help the story.
Blue and Red morality is a leftover from KotOR that doesn't really make sense in Mass Effect and its very prominent throughout the trilogy.
I do think some of the choices are impactful and interesting but moat of them ring hollow even if the games get clever about working around you.
Just a couple thoughts after finishing the games, I really appreciate them in retrospect.
Zooming out, the trilogy tells a great space opera that borrows from genre staples that builds something rare and unique.
Rich world building, great cast of characters (even the human ones!)
Surprisingly delicate romance system! I usually don't really care for player sexual romance in games, I just make a choice and run with it.
But here, It felt real. My Sheppard relationships evolved and reacted in a way that almost feels organic. My favourite bit was finding out that Garrus and Tali got together, it was very refreshing to see a relationship grow independently of the player.
My hot take about choices in these games is that most of them feels forced and only there because its technically a wRPG and some freedom is expected - I'm sorry but I don't see a version of a full renegade Sheppard working with the story. I also don't really know how losing characters prematurely and cutting their arc early only to be replaced with placeholders can help the story.
Blue and Red morality is a leftover from KotOR that doesn't really make sense in Mass Effect and its very prominent throughout the trilogy.
I do think some of the choices are impactful and interesting but moat of them ring hollow even if the games get clever about working around you.
Just a couple thoughts after finishing the games, I really appreciate them in retrospect.
2012
Low key my favourite of the trilogy.
Not without faults but I feel that mechanically it's the closest to to what I think the trilogy wanted to be.
A few nitpicks are - the map still sucks.
There are a ton of neat weapons to try but the game doesn't really want you to? Guns are hella expensive and require upgrades on top of it, you also can't freely change your loadout during missions and are severely limited by carrying capacity.
Galaxy scanning ia somehow worse - hot and cold with reapers on your tail got dull very fast.
I really liked the story - there are a few sore spots like the Metal Gear Reject and a couple beats at the ending but overall I felt there were good dramatic beats and most of the cast recieved a satisfying arc conclusion.
I liked that none of the endings are perfect, it felt true to the theme of the game.
Citadel DLC was a breath of fresh air, it's very wheadon-ish but I think it works well as a pallet cleanser and a momentarily pause before shit goes down.
I have some hot takes about choices and romances in the trilogy but I'll keep it for the Legendary Edition.
Not without faults but I feel that mechanically it's the closest to to what I think the trilogy wanted to be.
A few nitpicks are - the map still sucks.
There are a ton of neat weapons to try but the game doesn't really want you to? Guns are hella expensive and require upgrades on top of it, you also can't freely change your loadout during missions and are severely limited by carrying capacity.
Galaxy scanning ia somehow worse - hot and cold with reapers on your tail got dull very fast.
I really liked the story - there are a few sore spots like the Metal Gear Reject and a couple beats at the ending but overall I felt there were good dramatic beats and most of the cast recieved a satisfying arc conclusion.
I liked that none of the endings are perfect, it felt true to the theme of the game.
Citadel DLC was a breath of fresh air, it's very wheadon-ish but I think it works well as a pallet cleanser and a momentarily pause before shit goes down.
I have some hot takes about choices and romances in the trilogy but I'll keep it for the Legendary Edition.
2022
Ace art team - beautiful pixel art with silky smooth animation with plenty of flare that makes scenes come alive. Music is also really good, I liked the victory fanfare it's always fun to finish a fight and let it hit. Good stuff.
Story is basic and the writing is fairly annoying - the characters are using fake computing and hacking lingo as part of daily speech to the point that the entire game reads like a parody.
On the same note every single basic game mechanic term gets a cyberpunk skin, it only makes basic functions confusing.
Combat is very dull and why I dropped it despite being short. This is the bread and butter of RPGs but there is nothing there to hold onto.
Story is basic and the writing is fairly annoying - the characters are using fake computing and hacking lingo as part of daily speech to the point that the entire game reads like a parody.
On the same note every single basic game mechanic term gets a cyberpunk skin, it only makes basic functions confusing.
Combat is very dull and why I dropped it despite being short. This is the bread and butter of RPGs but there is nothing there to hold onto.
2023
I don't have any real nostalgia for F-Zero, so for me this plays fine for a bit but not something I care to sink my teeth in.
99 players is too much I think. Rivals is a nice concept but they just blend in with the rest of the crowd.
Mass multiplayer, or battle royals I guess, are a cool concept. I like seeing what they come up with even if I don't enjoy the execution much.
99 players is too much I think. Rivals is a nice concept but they just blend in with the rest of the crowd.
Mass multiplayer, or battle royals I guess, are a cool concept. I like seeing what they come up with even if I don't enjoy the execution much.
I wish I discovered this game a lot sooner when I had more time as this game is both a slow burn and wants you to have a wiki nearby.
I think the final straw is how tedious traversing the world is. There is quick travel but it's something you slowly figure out with said wiki.
Anyways these are all personal timing issues - Dragon's Dogma is a remarkable flawed gem that any fan of the genre should check out.
The Combat in this game is actually fun! Elder Scrolls and Witchers of the world take notes, in fact just copy the whole thing. There are a lot of special moves and powerful abilities, you can climb monsters like in Shadow of the Collosus
Character creator is also the best I've ever seen, any game that lets me make a muscle bound Amazonian warrior gets points in my book. I like how your main stats are directly influenced by the cosmetics choices you make. Everything funnels back to height and weight that then automatically translate into your stats. A unique twist to an old mechanic.
I hope I can revisit it one day or at the very least that the sequel will be more accessible.
I think the final straw is how tedious traversing the world is. There is quick travel but it's something you slowly figure out with said wiki.
Anyways these are all personal timing issues - Dragon's Dogma is a remarkable flawed gem that any fan of the genre should check out.
The Combat in this game is actually fun! Elder Scrolls and Witchers of the world take notes, in fact just copy the whole thing. There are a lot of special moves and powerful abilities, you can climb monsters like in Shadow of the Collosus
Character creator is also the best I've ever seen, any game that lets me make a muscle bound Amazonian warrior gets points in my book. I like how your main stats are directly influenced by the cosmetics choices you make. Everything funnels back to height and weight that then automatically translate into your stats. A unique twist to an old mechanic.
I hope I can revisit it one day or at the very least that the sequel will be more accessible.
2017
I don't want to score this because I understand my experience is purely subjective.
Hollow Knight is beautifully crafted and carefuly made but for me playing it is a mild form of turture.
Hollow Knight is beautifully crafted and carefuly made but for me playing it is a mild form of turture.
2021
Star Dynasties is easier to grasp than CK2 perhap but its still too complex and abstract for me.
2021
Fun and clever deck builder chess combo with clean aesthetics.
Lovely scenery but dubious game design.
Game is weirdly punishing and the controls are just not up to the task.
There's a climbing mechanic that is like Uncharted if that game hated you.
Fall damage kills you a lot. You're playing a spirit in the afterlife why is fall damage even a thing?
It's clunky and I eventually gave up trying to pull a jump one too many times.
Journey had almost no physical challenge and you had to go out of your way to die in that one segment (and I'm still not sure if it counts as a failure state or the games lets you continue on).
I feel many Journey likes fail because they skip this design philosophy and insist this genre needs more "game".
It doesn't.
Game is weirdly punishing and the controls are just not up to the task.
There's a climbing mechanic that is like Uncharted if that game hated you.
Fall damage kills you a lot. You're playing a spirit in the afterlife why is fall damage even a thing?
It's clunky and I eventually gave up trying to pull a jump one too many times.
Journey had almost no physical challenge and you had to go out of your way to die in that one segment (and I'm still not sure if it counts as a failure state or the games lets you continue on).
I feel many Journey likes fail because they skip this design philosophy and insist this genre needs more "game".
It doesn't.
2022
Cool idea that gets hectic and frustrating fairly fast.
I think the game needs to let you buy basic resources cards directly instead of relying on boosters packs.
I think the game needs to let you buy basic resources cards directly instead of relying on boosters packs.