2020
This review contains spoilers
Fall Guys has to be one of my favourite games of all time, though it didn't start that way. I didn't play FG much in 2020 or 2021 bar the first 2 months of its release, during which I played it religiously. After being shelved for almost 2 years I came back to it with a friend and it's been a mainstay game since then. It offers cross-platform play, which surprisingly enough GTA V doesn't offer (which is why we started playing this), and it's matchmaking system is nearly perfect in the fact that it's pretty easy to win if you know what you're doing, but if you win too often the game will match you as such. I can't count the number of times I've won a Fall Guys match and it not be a huge jump out of my seat moment, each match feels fresh and each win feels just like the first. It's almost impressive how long it's lived for considering it's quite a gimmicky game with no story and solely multiplayer.
The only reason it's not higher is because of the variety. The game recently introduced Player Created maps and highlights, however when you play enough the courses all start to repeat and this can create biases that impact your matches in the future. At the start it was all sunshine and rainbows but nowadays if I get See Saw or Frantic Factory the match just becomes a slog because those maps are notoriously misbalanced to benefit the players in first. With map tweaking and maybe some new maps introduced, and a balance fix for all of the rounds, I can see this getting a higher rating.
The only reason it's not higher is because of the variety. The game recently introduced Player Created maps and highlights, however when you play enough the courses all start to repeat and this can create biases that impact your matches in the future. At the start it was all sunshine and rainbows but nowadays if I get See Saw or Frantic Factory the match just becomes a slog because those maps are notoriously misbalanced to benefit the players in first. With map tweaking and maybe some new maps introduced, and a balance fix for all of the rounds, I can see this getting a higher rating.
2021
I took a chance on Farming Simulator 22 thinking it was going to be another calm Sandbox game I could relax and enjoy, like Minecraft, however all I got was a boring, empty, low quality game that felt horrendously un-intuitive and provided little to no explanation on how to actually go about playing. The game itself is not unplayable, you just have to hike to Mordor to find the actual instructions and gameplay tutorials. I personally won't be picking this back up anytime soon as it just doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form. Only 1 star and not half or zero for the fact it looks good.
This review contains spoilers
Endling was a very surprising find. It was short, an easy 1-2 hour plat, but the story was great. Not only that, the art style, sound, and general atmosphere of the whole game really took it up a notch. It may have only been 1-2 hours, but it was an immersive experience as a survival simulator. I wish there was more to this game to be frank, it was great but I just want more. The setting of a time limit per day to explore limits how much the player can discover, and without a guide to fully show them where everything is, the player may be more forced to play a second time instead of choosing out of their own free will, which can dampen the opinion on it.
The ending is the real killer here, in a good way. A Bambi-esque end, heartbreaking but overall necessary to carry the games point over. Move over, Prey, Endling is coming through.
The ending is the real killer here, in a good way. A Bambi-esque end, heartbreaking but overall necessary to carry the games point over. Move over, Prey, Endling is coming through.
2011
This review contains spoilers
As a sequel to the original Portal, Portal 2 had a mountain of a game to live up to. The expectations for the second Portal game were high mainly due to the success of the first game, but also because of how much it promised. The game trailer promised co-op, a longer story, more characters, returning characters, and most importantly more cake. That last one is a joke, but there was a lot revealed and after playing the game I can confirm the game delivers almost perfectly on everything. The main story is exciting and the way it deepens the lore of Portal makes for a fantastic journey. The format remains the same and for a large portion of the game you solve puzzle after puzzle, which was one of the aspects I enjoyed last time, but on a larger scale these started to feel tedious, which is the only real low point in the entire game, as everything else was essentially perfect. The replayability is insanely good and hopefully one day I can come back and 100% it, but for now I'm putting it aside.
2007
The original Portal game was a huge factor in the success of the Valve corporation and holds historical significance in the minds and libraries of virtually every mid 2000's gamer alive. The game spawned some of the biggest fan reactions known to game history, with people devoting their lives to the history and lore of the game after playing it. "The Cake is a Lie" is likely something you've heard before, I certainly have, and from replaying this game the nostalgia still remains. The concept is so strikingly simple yet the game is fairly complex, which is likely why it reached such a high level of adoration so quickly. Being the first game of the 2 currently available portal games, it does lack in story length, it's completable in essentially 2 hours. Though it's short, it does a lot to bring a level of reputation to GLaDOS, and I can't give it anything less than an 8 for the noticeable and experienceable cultural impact it has had since release.
2022
Stray is a fantastic game filled with some incredible imagery, beautiful aesthetic feel, and a brilliant story to boot. The movement and exploration system really feels akin to the Assassin's Creed games, where almost everything is traversable, and while some sections of the game can get confusing, the chance to really delve deep into the environment almost makes up for it all. The ending of the story is subtly heart-breaking but the emotion of it all hits you hard when you realise just what has been achieved.
I really wanted to rate this game higher, but it suffers the same way Spiderman: Miles Morales does, it's too short. Not only that, it doesn't have a post-credits free-roam, but that is probably for the best given the ending of the story. Stray is a very good game, but I wish there was more to it. As well the platinum requires a 2 hour minimum speed-run, which really makes me want to not try and plat, but I think I'll happily come back to it at some point.
I really wanted to rate this game higher, but it suffers the same way Spiderman: Miles Morales does, it's too short. Not only that, it doesn't have a post-credits free-roam, but that is probably for the best given the ending of the story. Stray is a very good game, but I wish there was more to it. As well the platinum requires a 2 hour minimum speed-run, which really makes me want to not try and plat, but I think I'll happily come back to it at some point.
2009
I keep coming back to the L4D series over and over again, and for good reason. Beyond blind nostalgia that I have been harboring since I bought my very first Xbox 360 over 10 years ago, L4D2 has proven it's replayability, deep lore and renowned fanbase makes it one of the all time greats in gaming history. The game introduces new mechanics, new special infected, new weaponry and playstyles, and a significant deepening of the massive overarching transmedia story that began in L4D1. I don't think it's the perfect game as it has always stricken me as a game for the bored or those requiring a bit of brain-off entertainment, and while it's lore is deep it's community is notoriously toxic. This is one of those games that gets enhanced by it's multiplayer experience but struggles heavily to keep new players committed, with then fanbase punishing ignorance and rewarding prejudice.
Games like The Sims and Simulator games have never really appealed to me, and Cities Skylines is no exception. It really was the most boring and confusing experience when I started, and even after I gave it a bit and got my first trophy, I really did not care at all for what was happening ingame. I regret now getting the trophy as it only exists as a stain on my PSN profile, but this wasn't the worst of the worst. I gave it a 1 star because maybe, just maybe I could see myself coming back, but it's like a less than 1% chance.
TBD
n-blox is a very fun version of Tetris as it involves features that I personally think the original lacked, including the hold function and hard-drop function. n-blox is also free to play online, which is great for replayability. I personally play this during my free time when I have a chance, and while it does get boring quickly due to the repetitiveness of such a simple format, it can't be overstated how easy it is to jump straight back in. n-blox gets a 5 for ease of access but a 1 for creativity, averaging out at a 3/5.
2020
Holy shit how did this game make it to market. It's literally just Jigsaws and nothing else. Like nothing else. The Jigsaws aren't even really that interesting, and there's not customization. It's all bland stock photo Jigsaws. I'm so confused why I bought this game, it took me 25 minutes to get the platinum. Fucking JIGSAWS.
2012
Journey is a lovely game that really showcases how a story can be told with little to zero dialogue. It's visually stunning and the control scheme is very easy to understand, making it the perfect game to jump straight into. My only wish with this is that it should've been longer. It does a great job of keeping the story understandable, likeable and endearing in the short space of time it gives itself, but I can't help feeling it could've given itself more. Hopefully a follow game is produced.
2014
Never thought a Google Chrome apology letter could be considered a game but heyo. Chrome Dino is a diddy little number, does the job of a game with a score and an objective, but that's really it, it's designed to be a time-filler whilst you're drop-kicking your crashed router. It's not a serious achievement-based game so I can't really score it high but it is somewhat entertaining and has a minor element of progression.
2019
I loved playing Control. The game was very creepy and tense, but not overly off-putting. It had a nice way to keep you hooked by not including any jumpscares of kind, but instead relied heavily on suspense and tension, making feel more like a playable movie than a game, which I love very much. The downsides to this game mainly revolve around it's pace and story. Control is VERY long. If you play it casually and not essentially speedrun it like I basically did for my platinum, it can take you a very, very long time to complete. I would recommend only committing to the 100% if you really enjoy creepypasta and horror, as you'll get more than your decent fill over a playthrough, but if not you're in for a long and convoluted ride.
2011
Minecraft, to me, is the first game I truly ever owned myself. I had played games before this, on a Nintendo DS here or a Gameboy SP there, but they were never truly mine. Minecraft was mine, I jumped on during the Java Edition Beta 1.8.1 update and it absolutely captivated me. It's no wonder Minecraft has grown to be the best-selling video game of all time with how replayable, enjoyable, relaxing, peaceful, and essentially brilliant it is. It's such a shame it's become so convoluted what with account migration to Microsoft becoming a requirement and causing a large portion of players to drop off, however I won't rate it based on that, since when I started playing I loved it simply for the game, not the company that ran it. Given that, there's no way I can rate a game with such longevity, such history, and such sentimental meaning to me any lower than 5/5, I played the Java edition for 10 years, and when I stopped it felt weird, like a part of me had grown up and moved on.
Bandersnatch, as a film, is a 5-star near-masterpiece, but as a game it considerably lacks. Bandersnatch as a game nearly falls under the same genre as Detroit Become Human and Heavy Rain, because it's not quite a point-and-click but it is a decision-based game. It's a lot closer to Erica, which I did a review on recently, however arguable Erica does better than Bandersnatch as a game because it embraces the fact it is a game, whilst Bandersnatch does the opposite and embraces the fact it's a movie. No matter how you think about it though, Bandersnatch is wonderfully acted, brilliantly puzzling, and looks and sounds incredible. The fact that certain playthroughs don't simply end but subtly carry over to the next is a really nice touch. I especially love the references to other Black Mirror media, like Metalhead and Nohzdyve (Nosedive). As said, as a game it lacks, especially in terms of the number of different choices, with only a maximum of 3 at one time, but this is likely entirely due to Netflix not wanting to take risks.