JoshLewis07
Overall: A worthwhile remake of a classic RPG for fans, Final Fantasy VII Remake lays a solid foundation for the second installment.
Pros: Gorgeous character models and cutscenes, fantastic re-imagining of original soundtrack, strong voice acting, solid mix of turn based ATB and live action battle system, stays true to the spirit of the original.
Cons: Blurry textures and backgrounds, invisible walls block exploration consistently, story is at times confusing, only contains a small portion of the original game and ends on a cliffhanger.
Pros: Gorgeous character models and cutscenes, fantastic re-imagining of original soundtrack, strong voice acting, solid mix of turn based ATB and live action battle system, stays true to the spirit of the original.
Cons: Blurry textures and backgrounds, invisible walls block exploration consistently, story is at times confusing, only contains a small portion of the original game and ends on a cliffhanger.
Overall: An unprecedented sequel that surpasses the original with a masterful revenge tale full of surprises and breathtaking action sequences. An instant classic.
Pros: Best looking game on the platform, fantastic soundtrack and vocal performances bring these characters and world to life, heartbreaking and emotional story, improved gameplay from first game, accessibility features that improve the experience for all audiences, unforgettable locations and action sequences.
Cons: Dark, depressing mood and events could be too much for some players.
Pros: Best looking game on the platform, fantastic soundtrack and vocal performances bring these characters and world to life, heartbreaking and emotional story, improved gameplay from first game, accessibility features that improve the experience for all audiences, unforgettable locations and action sequences.
Cons: Dark, depressing mood and events could be too much for some players.
2020
Overall: A worthy swan song for the PS4 and an action epic not to be missed by genre fans.
Pros: Absolutely gorgeous art style, strong vocal performances, action gameplay is tough, but not too difficult for action newbies, plenty of variance in gameplay and choices, wonderful story full of memorable moments.
Cons: Some side quests get repetitive, lack of lock-on feature can be an annoyance in combat.
Pros: Absolutely gorgeous art style, strong vocal performances, action gameplay is tough, but not too difficult for action newbies, plenty of variance in gameplay and choices, wonderful story full of memorable moments.
Cons: Some side quests get repetitive, lack of lock-on feature can be an annoyance in combat.
2019
Overall: Days Gone takes quite awhile to hit its groove and some players won't have the patience, but if you stick it out the investment pays off. Better than the sum of its parts.
Pros: Characters are initially off-putting but have great development throughout the narrative, solid third person shooter gameplay; second half of the narrative is really strong, wealth of content to keep players busy.
Cons: Narrative takes too long to hit its stride, script and voice acting is hit or miss, side missions can get repetitive, some mechanics are annoying (such as constantly needing to refuel to fast travel the open world).
Pros: Characters are initially off-putting but have great development throughout the narrative, solid third person shooter gameplay; second half of the narrative is really strong, wealth of content to keep players busy.
Cons: Narrative takes too long to hit its stride, script and voice acting is hit or miss, side missions can get repetitive, some mechanics are annoying (such as constantly needing to refuel to fast travel the open world).
Overall: Forbidden West improves the original with a gorgeous landscape to explore, unrivaled production values and loads of extra content worth exploring.
Pros: One of the best looking games ever made, top-notch voice acting and score, builds upon the the lore and world of the original beautifully, improvements in every area of the gameplay compared to the original, enormous amount of content to explore if desired.
Cons: Story isn't as quite strong as the original, melee combat still needs some work, random quest bugs that prevent completion.
Pros: One of the best looking games ever made, top-notch voice acting and score, builds upon the the lore and world of the original beautifully, improvements in every area of the gameplay compared to the original, enormous amount of content to explore if desired.
Cons: Story isn't as quite strong as the original, melee combat still needs some work, random quest bugs that prevent completion.
Overall: A worthwhile remake for hardcore fans and a must play for newcomers, this is the definitive version of an instant classic.
Pros: Redone gameplay to match Last of Us Part II, some of the best graphics on PS5, voice acting and performance still hold up, gut-wrenching and heartfelt story.
Cons: Not really much different from the remaster content wise and not worth it for casual fans who already played it before, no multi-player from original game.
Pros: Redone gameplay to match Last of Us Part II, some of the best graphics on PS5, voice acting and performance still hold up, gut-wrenching and heartfelt story.
Cons: Not really much different from the remaster content wise and not worth it for casual fans who already played it before, no multi-player from original game.
2022
Overall: If you can get past the game running like an absolute disaster at worst and tolerable at best, there's plenty to love about this open world Pokemon that moves some things in the right direction for the franchise.
Pros: Open world gameplay and exploration is the future of the series, one of the better cast of characters in the series, huge amount of Pokemon in the Pokedex from the start, game is addicting and fun as hell.
Cons: Runs like absolute ass and there's no telling if it ever gets fixed, no level-scaling for the other trainers and gyms makes it harder or easier than it should be depending on what order you do things in, decade old battle animations and style is getting completely outdated.
Pros: Open world gameplay and exploration is the future of the series, one of the better cast of characters in the series, huge amount of Pokemon in the Pokedex from the start, game is addicting and fun as hell.
Cons: Runs like absolute ass and there's no telling if it ever gets fixed, no level-scaling for the other trainers and gyms makes it harder or easier than it should be depending on what order you do things in, decade old battle animations and style is getting completely outdated.
2022
Overall: A worthy sequel to one of last generation's greatest games, Ragnarok delivers the action and story expected of one of gaming's premier franchises.
Pros: Epic storyline, gorgeous animation and art style complimented with some of the best graphics around, amazing soundtrack and voice acting, expanded action combat and exploration from first game, more playable characters this time around, more variety in the gameplay than its predecessor.
Cons: Very similar to the first game, which is only a bad thing if you wanted something different. A few minor exploration tweaks would help traversal.
Pros: Epic storyline, gorgeous animation and art style complimented with some of the best graphics around, amazing soundtrack and voice acting, expanded action combat and exploration from first game, more playable characters this time around, more variety in the gameplay than its predecessor.
Cons: Very similar to the first game, which is only a bad thing if you wanted something different. A few minor exploration tweaks would help traversal.
2023
Overall: Engage is a solid tribute to the past Fire Emblem games with the series best combat to date. Unfortunately, story took a backseat and is cheesy & predictable, holding this back from being the best in the series.
Pros: Return of the triangle weapon system for combat, huge cast of characters, best presentation in the series, loads of content, nostalgia for hardcore fans of the series.
Cons: Story is your typical "Dark Dragon" Fire Emblem fare and cheesy in spots, formula for the past few entries is starting to show its rust.
Pros: Return of the triangle weapon system for combat, huge cast of characters, best presentation in the series, loads of content, nostalgia for hardcore fans of the series.
Cons: Story is your typical "Dark Dragon" Fire Emblem fare and cheesy in spots, formula for the past few entries is starting to show its rust.
2019
Overall: Control is a slick sci-fi action game with a compelling narrative, even if it lacks originality in its gameplay elements.
Pros: Excellent presentation and performances from a great cast, game runs fantastic even when things get chaotic, using different powers to defeat your enemies is always fun, story keeps you on your toes.
Cons: Story can be downright befuddling at times, Jesse's powers aren't exactly the most unique, lack of enemy variety.
Pros: Excellent presentation and performances from a great cast, game runs fantastic even when things get chaotic, using different powers to defeat your enemies is always fun, story keeps you on your toes.
Cons: Story can be downright befuddling at times, Jesse's powers aren't exactly the most unique, lack of enemy variety.
2023
Overall: Resident Evil 4 is everything a remake should be. A must play for fans of action or horror.
Pros: Takes the core of what made the original great and gets rid of the silly small frustrations with some of the old gameplay elements that have been updated, Ashley is no longer the most annoying person of all time and actually has some depth to her character, looks and sounds amazing.
Cons: Purists will have plenty of quibbles with some of the changes, doesn't come with "Separate Ways" Ada side mission.
Pros: Takes the core of what made the original great and gets rid of the silly small frustrations with some of the old gameplay elements that have been updated, Ashley is no longer the most annoying person of all time and actually has some depth to her character, looks and sounds amazing.
Cons: Purists will have plenty of quibbles with some of the changes, doesn't come with "Separate Ways" Ada side mission.
2018
Overall: Insomniac's Spider-Man truly makes you feel like Spider-Man and elevates this beyond a Marvel property cash-in. Fans of all ages will find something to enjoy.
Pros: New York is alive and gorgeous to behold, solid story that sets up better things to come, largely gets the Spider-Man gameplay right, solid voicework and soundtrack, plenty of content in open world to keep gamers coming back.
Cons: Side quests are largely repetitive, open world features a decent amount of glitches, gameplay is touchy and can go wrong at inopportune times.
Pros: New York is alive and gorgeous to behold, solid story that sets up better things to come, largely gets the Spider-Man gameplay right, solid voicework and soundtrack, plenty of content in open world to keep gamers coming back.
Cons: Side quests are largely repetitive, open world features a decent amount of glitches, gameplay is touchy and can go wrong at inopportune times.
Overall: Miles Morales continues the winning formula established in the first installment and delivers a worthy follow-up that has its own style.
Pros: Same solid combat mechanics and traversal skills as first game, New York looks even better the second time around, voice work and soundtrack fit the difference in style and tone, less repetitive side quests than the original game, no horrible MJ story missions.
Cons: Short length compared to the original, less gadgets and superpowers, weaker story that doesn't add much to the overall plot (but has some nice character moments for Miles and crew), still a decent amount of glitches in the open world.
Pros: Same solid combat mechanics and traversal skills as first game, New York looks even better the second time around, voice work and soundtrack fit the difference in style and tone, less repetitive side quests than the original game, no horrible MJ story missions.
Cons: Short length compared to the original, less gadgets and superpowers, weaker story that doesn't add much to the overall plot (but has some nice character moments for Miles and crew), still a decent amount of glitches in the open world.
Overall: Resident Evil 7 switches the perspective to first-person for the first time in the series and delivers exactly what fans wanted after a few stale entries.
Pros: Goes back to the horror roots of the franchise and focuses more on the atmosphere than action, adapts well to the first-person perspective after several entries in third-person, same puzzle, exploration and survival gameplay Resident Evil is known for, excellent sound effects and visuals enhance sense of dread.
Cons: Story is initially intriguing, but devolves into standard Resident Evil nonsense, voice acting is hit or miss, not much in the way of new gameplay features for the series.
Pros: Goes back to the horror roots of the franchise and focuses more on the atmosphere than action, adapts well to the first-person perspective after several entries in third-person, same puzzle, exploration and survival gameplay Resident Evil is known for, excellent sound effects and visuals enhance sense of dread.
Cons: Story is initially intriguing, but devolves into standard Resident Evil nonsense, voice acting is hit or miss, not much in the way of new gameplay features for the series.
Overall: Final Fantasy 8 Remastered is worthwhile for fans of the original thanks to the updated graphics, added features for ease of gameplay, features that were already strong in the original (such as the soundtrack) and nostalgia. Newbies might find the plot convoluted, the junction system broken, and the game dated.
Pros: Updated HD graphics for character models look great, same outstanding cutscenes and soundtrack from the original, same fun battle system from the original, added features make the game easier to get through without frustration, one of the most unique games in the entire series.
Cons: Story is convoluted, junction system can be tedious and annoying, aspects of the exploration are extremely dated, backgrounds are a blurry mess like every other PS1 era Final Fantasy remaster.
Pros: Updated HD graphics for character models look great, same outstanding cutscenes and soundtrack from the original, same fun battle system from the original, added features make the game easier to get through without frustration, one of the most unique games in the entire series.
Cons: Story is convoluted, junction system can be tedious and annoying, aspects of the exploration are extremely dated, backgrounds are a blurry mess like every other PS1 era Final Fantasy remaster.