The next game in this Zelda marathon, A Link to the Past, is a breath of fresh air. While I didn't particularly like Zelda 1, and I definitely didn't like Zelda II, this game was different. This was one of the first Zelda games I played I believe, yet this was only my 2nd time fully beating it. I had seen plenty of randomizers before, but I haven't fully beaten this game in like 10 years. As I stated, this game was a breath of fresh air because, as opposed to the first two games, A Link to the Past is really great.

This game ditches the side-scrolling platformer adventure RPG Zelda II went for and is more in line with how Zelda 1 does things. It's top down again, there are no more RPG mechanics like Zelda II and the game isn't absolutely brutal like Zelda II. In fact, it's easier than the first game, tho I still died weirdly often funnily enough. Anyways this is all for the better as the direction Zelda II was going in, just did not do it for me at all.

The story this time around, and it focuses more on its story than the first two games, actually takes place before Zelda I and II. Before the events of the game happen, Ganondorf manages to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce is hidden away and he obtains the Triforce for himself. Knowing he was evil and this would lead to catastrophe, the king of Hyrule ordered seven sages to seal the gateway up along with Ganondorf inside. A long battle ensues but, in the end, the gateway was sealed. Many years later, horrible events start occurring and so the king of Hyrule believes it to be related to the sages seal. Finding out it was not that, he puts out a reward for anyone that can help him with these troubles. A wizard named Agahnim comes alone, seemingly fixing these troubles with his magic. He becomes close to the king and all is well for a while. However shortly after, people start to suspect something is wrong with Agahnim. He starts abusing his power. He eventually casts spells on all the soldiers to turn them evil, and kidnaps maidens that were descended from the sages, using their powers to try to open the seal himself. The game then officially starts, with Link having to save Zelda from the dungeon of Hyrule castle. Once Link saves her, she and him meet up with the priest of a nearby sanctuary and he tells you some of the details I just told you. It's now Link's job to get 3 pendants to obtain the Master Sword, eventually having to rescue the maidens (and Zelda she gets kidnapped too) from each of the dungeons that reside in the Dark World and in the end defeating Ganon. That was a lot but yeah this game is more story-focused than the other two and I like that. The story isn't mind-blowing, and I think Ocarina of Time honestly did the story way better since it's pretty similar to this game's but it's still a solid first attempt at this type of Zelda story.

Actually, getting into the gameplay tho, it's basically Zelda 1 but more polished. It's more linear than that game and holds your hand more but is also more engaging. You actually have a map for the overworld and there are always markers showing you where you need to go next. Some might see this as maybe too hand-holdy, but compared to Zelda 1's cryptic and more directionless nature, I'll take this any day over that. Another thing this game does better with its overworld is the secrets. Gone is every secret being a completely random bush to burn or wall to blow up. If there are bombable walls, they have a crack in them to indicate they can be blown up. Outside of that, the secrets are way more different. Sometimes you'll have to fall in a hole or well to end up in a cave and to get rupees or pieces of heart. (That's another change too, pieces of heart are now a thing, and you have to get 4 to make a full heart container). Sometimes you have to use the dark and light world to your advantage and switch between both to get secrets. Sometimes there are little minigames you can play to get items like pieces of heart. The secrets and ways you get items in the overworld are just so much more interesting here compared to the randomness in Zelda 1. There's a reason future Zelda's stuck with this format.

Dungeons this time around are more fleshed out and are more puzzle-like. Instead of having to push a block, find keys and maybe bomb some walls, A Link to the Past introduces many new concepts in its dungeons. One dungeon you're going in and out constantly through entrances in the overworld. Another is full of ice and thus the palace has ice physics. Another involves you having to use an item to create a platform on some tracks, letting you ride them to your destination. These never feel too gimmicky either and always come naturally. The dungeons are great in this game, far better than Zelda 1 and 2's, but I can't say I absolutely love them. Some are better than others (Skull Woods gave me big issues for some reason) and I generally prefer 3D Zelda dungeons more just because they usually have much more distinct aesthetic to them compared to these. Still tho, these dungeons are very enjoyable..especially the endgame ones. Tho Ganon's tower is brutal I gotta say lol.

The items you get from the dungeons, and I guess outside of them too, are pretty solid tho some are situational. The hookshot became very iconic from this game onwards and is used a lot in the 2nd half of the game. The bow and arrow, while not used a ton in this game, is fun and also became iconic. The hammer has its uses throughout the game but is pretty situational. The medallions damage enemies, tho I never really used them for that purpose much, and otherwise are only required very rarely. This game introduced bottles which are a nice addition as you can store faries in them to revive Link. This game does have several kind of forgettable items and also situational ones you won't use outside of battle or even often at all, but it also introduces some series staples as well, so I'd say it was a good selection of items overall.

The bosses at the end of dungeons are generally really good. They're all distinct visually, and some are even iconic enough to appear in future Zelda titles. Arrghus for example, basically reappears in Majora's Mask under the name Wart. Moldorm appears as a boss in Link's Awakening and A Link Between Worlds. The bosses are generally good, tho sometimes they can be a bit annoying. Mothula for example is incredibly hard without magic and the fire rod. Even with that, it's still difficult because of all the spike blocks in its room. Trinexx you basically NEED to have magic, the fire and ice rod, to even attack it or else you're shit out of luck. The game tells you a couple times throughout the game, when you'll basically need a green potion for a dungeon. They aren't kidding either. Cuz, I had a red or green potion almost every time before I started a dungeon. Luckily rupees are incredibly easy to get in this game, maybe the easiest game to rack up rupees, and a shop that sells green and red potions has a warp next to it which is handy (oh yeah, I forgot to mention you can warp with the ocarina once you get the song to summon the bird which is extremely helpful to warp throughout the Light World). Either way, besides some frustrating ones, the bosses are overall a big improvement from the first two games.

I mentioned the Dark World before and yeah, that's this games big thing. A ways into the game, you obtain the mirror. When you're in the Dark World, Link will turn into a bunny. When he uses the mirror tho, he can go back to the light world and leaves a little warp on the floor that he can use to go back to the Dark World. There are also several warps naturally strewn across the world that Link can use to warp to the Dark World if need be. Anyways, the reason Link is a bunny in the Dark World is because anything that's there morphs into a monster or an animal or whatever. Link cannot attack as a Bunny, but as soon as he first goes go to the Dark World, the dungeon that appears not even a minute after that happens holds the Moon Pearl. This let's Link go to the Dark World without turning into a bunny. Personally, since there's almost nothing in between you first going to the Dark World and getting the Moon Pearl, I would've liked if you got the moon pearl a bit later since it kind of felt pointless that you turn into a bunny only to not have to worry about that pretty much ever soon after. That's a minor nitpick tho, just something I thought about with this replay. Anyways, the whole Light World Dark World gimmick is very well done here, and it leads to some really cool secrets throughout the game.

The OST is great this time around. Zelda 1 already had a very solid soundtrack, and not only does this game have a new an improved version of the overworld theme, it also has some awesome new tracks along with some that become series staples. Zelda's theme makes its first appearance here and its a fantastic version of the song. Both the Dark World theme and the Dark World dungeon theme are also fantastic and fit the darker atmosphere the Dark World provides. This is even the first appearance of the Kakariko Village theme and as someone that played OOT before this game, I always thought that was very fascinating lol. Anyways this game's ost is iconic for a reason and has some of the best songs in the series.

While I did list a couple minor issues I had with this game, this truly is a massive step-up from the prior games. There's a big reason this is a classic and is still played today (whether it's the vanilla version or with randomizers). Now I do prefer Ocarina of Time personally, tho I guess I won't truly know until I replay that next, but if I'll give anything to this game over Ocarina, it's the fact the pacing is way faster and its a lot easier to just dive in and replay. That and visually it does look a lot cleaner. Anyways, I was going to play the CDI games, but I realized the hassle to get an emulator working for them wouldn't have been worth it for how supposedly bad they are. So, Link's Awakening DX is next in this marathon, look forward to that review coming soon!!

Idk if this is a hot take or not but I think this is the best game in the trilogy. Sure, it's the least Metroid-like of the prime games, but it still keeps all the important parts that make these games an engaging experience.

I can totally understand people's frustrations with the more linear focus of this game's objectives, but I believe that these games would function best as action shooters with light metroidvania elements rather than full-on Metroid games, and 3 is a perfect example of this because this game is fucking FUN.

It basically takes everything from 2 that was cool and improves it, while cutting everything that sucks. The dark and light beams seemed cool but ended up being kind of annoying, but 3 turns that into Hypermode which is infinitely cooler and provides a better risk-reward system in combat. No more annoying back-tracking, as the ship trivializes a lot of the horrible walking back and forth from 2. It also still has the late-game out of nowhere mcguffin hunt with the energy cells, but the worlds are way more fun to navigate back through, you can easily stumble onto some or them throughout the main game, and you don’t even need ALL of them to get to the key you need, so it’s really improved.

It's just the Prime series distilled into what it should've been from the beginning. I still love 1 & 2 for what they are despite their flaws, but I really hope 4 pulls more from here, cause the series peaked here as far as I'm concerned.

As someone who enjoyed BotW, I couldn't bring myself to buy and play TotK. Part of it is me missing the classic Zelda formula from the other 3D titles, but mostly because TotK just appears to be more of the same as BotW. I'm not sure if I'm ready to purchase this 60-70€ game and dive into another massive world that feels way too familiar. Instead, I decided to revisit one of my favorite franchises of all time and go back to its roots. I'm excited to finally explore the 2D classics I never had a chance to play as a kid!

It's fascinating to see how far the franchise has come. It has shaped countless childhoods and left a lasting mark on the history of video games. And to think, it all started here.

Having grown up with the beloved 3D titles and knowing how Zelda games have evolved over the decades, I think it's understandable not to be particularly impressed with this one. However, I can still appreciate it for what it is. Personally, I have severe fatigue from the BotW formula and wish Nintendo would reinvent it once more, as they have so many times before. Because Zelda deserves more than being just another bloated open world experience that seems to plague most modern adventure games.

Agonizingly AAA. Surprisingly racist, even for mainstream Western media. No idea how to motivate a character beyond "my loved one is dead". Bottomless disdain for the player. But damned if they didn't make fighting a robot t-rex pretty fucking sick. The combat is the real selling point, and between setting up traps, capitalizing on weak spots, and carefully choosing skills it made me feel consistently clever.

I can't fathom how embarrassing this must have been to release next to Breath of the Wild though. A game with graphics a full console generation worse than this that nevertheless runs circles around its open world design. Even knowing this was pre-BotW I keep trying to go to spots that look interesting on the map and being crushed when there's nothing there or, worse, it's totally inaccessible.

The fact that this game is put on a pedestal as not only one of gaming's flagship titles but was nominated for multiple game of the year awards and has a sequel on its way that is one of the most anticipated releases of 2022 is something that I feel sums up everything about modern gaming.

Let's start with the positive - Horizon is a stunning looking videogame. I've gone back to my old save file - one I bailed on back in 2017 - on PS5 and I can't quite believe this is a five year old game and not a native PS5 title. The smooth 60fps upgrade is likely doing a bit of heavy lifting but even in the many screenshots I have taken from my playthrough, it is an undeniably good looking game, right up there at the very top of the pile.

That's it. That's the positive.

Christ, where do we start with the negatives? What Horizon: Zero Dawn offers is little more than a visual treat. As an open world game, it is doing nothing more than the stuff we got bored of on the 360/PS3. As an action game, it feels awkward with all of the attacks feeling far too over-animated and taking far too long to give you a snappy sense of control. The stealth elements are basic, barebones, nothing special but certainly not bad. Most of the sidequests are fetch or kill quests. The characters are all generic tropes, from the father figure who dies to give you a motive to the villain you remember from your childhood - there's not a single original character arc in the entire thing. The overall lore of the world of Horizon comes dangerously close to being actually interesting but then spaffs that up the wall by only revealing itself to you via an insulting amount of audio logs or, in two hilariously bad sections, unskippable exposition dumps.

Open world games are extremely popular and everything about this feels so fucking cynical. Skill trees lock away basic abilities because heaven forbid you have too much freedom from the word go. Yellow fucking objects show where you can climb and you better not get any ideas about climbing on anything other than these obvious climbing markers! From the lead character, sub-Netflix "box set" show storyline and game mechanics that are so well-worn that you basically know exactly how this game plays and feels before you've even started it - and this is all entirely by design. You're supposed to know exactly what you're getting in to and that is one of the main reasons behind its success. It's a game for the lowest common denominator. It's a game that doesn't want any friction whatsoever. It's the gaming equivalent of wall painted in magnolia white with a Live, Laugh, Love framed poster on it.

It is the most basic of basic bitch stuff.

I think it speaks volumes that this - the absolute fucking DEATH of the old style of open world game that Ubisoft and their ilk have been milking since the first Assassin's Creed and has been begging for death for over a decade - came out only a few weeks before Breath of the Wild showed up and instantly made anything that treads the same boards as Horizon look like a relic almost immediately.

Looks great though so you know 10/10 GOTY please tune in to the Game Awards!!!!!!

Playing it again, I see more clearly that this game is just a wrapper, and that there is practically nothing inside.

Before I thought it was a regular game, but at least it had its own atmosphere that separates it (a little) from the rest of the games in the pile. But looking at it now what it has is a ``idea'' of atmosphere.

For me, a good atmosphere in this type of open world games to spend hours is not beautiful landscapes, characters wearing invented clothes or putting dinosaur robots around the world.

That can be the basis on which a setting is built, but behind it there must be layers of depth that make that world feel really attractive and alive, where you want to learn more about the lore, about its rules, limitations and characters. If I'm going to spend dozens of hours in that world, then let it be a world, plain and simple.

But Horizon has absolutely none of this. Its characters are walking clichés, the dialogues are crappy, the elements of the scenery and nature barely interact with each other, beyond machines fighting each other sometimes, and the way to get into their world and lore is to listen to audio notes where they spout the usual bullshit with little imagination. As interesting as it could be what they have created, which it is not, it is destroyed by all this. Forgettable story, cloned sidequests, unnecessary grinding, absurd menus. All screws in the coffin of the atmosphere.

The developers have taken mechanics from all kinds of games and have put the automatic without thinking about the coherence it could have. For example, the RPG systems, what's the point of them, apart from the fact that others do it?
What's the point of the skill tree? The whole prologue is about the years that Aloy has trained to be a deadly annihilator and overcome all obstacles but it turns out that she doesn't know how to attack from heights, or shoot arrows from wires, or do silent attacks without unlocking the relevant skills first. Very logical.

Copying without thinking. For fashion and convenience. The more elements the better. So easier to reach 50 hours of content. Oh, and that Aloy has to take all the objects of the place about half a million times. That way we reach 60 for sure. If others do it so do we, let's not mess it up and create something with personality.

Ironic that a game with these ideas of dinosaur robots facing tribes with spears and bows, which may invite you to think that the developers have let their imagination run wild or are trying something different, is one of the least inspired, generic and commoditized in the industry.

Wrapping. Of ideas and world. That's what they've brought to the table. To try to sell the idea of innovation or something different. The fucked up thing is that they've succeeded.

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Volviéndolo a jugar, veo más claramente que este juego es solo envoltorio, y que no hay prácticamente nada dentro.

Antes pensaba que era un juego regular pero que al menos tenia esa ambientación propia que lo separa (un poco) del resto de juegos del montón. Pero viéndolo ahora lo que tiene es una ``idea´´ de ambientación.

Para mi, una buena ambientación en este tipo de juegos de mundo abierto para echar horas no son paisajes bonitos, que los personajes lleven ropas inventadas o poner robots dinosaurios por el mundo.

Eso puede ser la base sobre lo que se cimiente una ambientación, pero detrás tiene que llevar unas capas de profundidad que haga que ese mundo se sienta de verdad atrayente y vivo, donde quieras aprender más sobre el lore, sobre sus reglas, limitaciones y personajes. Si voy a estar decenas de horas en ese mundo, pues que, simple y llanamente, sea un mundo.

Pero Horizon no tiene absolutamente nada de esto. Sus personajes son clichés andantes, los diálogos cutres, los elementos del escenario y naturaleza apenas interactúan entre ellos, mas allá de maquinas peleándose entre ellas alguna vez y la forma de meterte en su mundo y lore es escuchar notas de audio donde sueltan las chorradas de turno sin apenas imaginación. Por muy interesante que pudiera ser lo que han creado, que no lo es, queda destruido por todo esto. Historia olvidable, secundarias clónicas, grindeo innecesario, menús absurdos. Todo tornillos en el ataúd de la ambientación.

Los desarrolladores han cogido mecánicas de todo tipo de juegos y han puesto el automático sin pensar en la coherencia que pudiese tener. Por ejemplo, los sistemas RPG. ¿Qué sentido tienen, aparte de que lo hacen los demás?

¿Qué sentido tiene el árbol de habilidades? Todo el prólogo va de los años que Aloy ha entrenado para para ser una aniquiladora mortífera y superar todos los obstáculos pero resulta que no sabe atacar desde las alturas, o disparar flechas desde cables, o hacer ataque silenciosos sin desbloquear antes las habilidades pertinentes. Muy lógico todo.

Copiar sin pensar. Por moda y comodidad. Cuantos más elementos mejor. Así más fácil se llega a las 50 horas de contenido. Ah, y que Aloy tenga que coger todos los objetos de alrededor medio millón de veces. Así llegamos a las 60 seguro. Si lo hacen los demás también nosotros, no vayamos a liarla y crear algo con personalidad.

Irónico que un juego con estas ideas de robots dinosaurios enfrentados a tribus con lanzas y arcos, que puede invitar a pensar que los desarrolladores han dejado volar la imaginación o están intentando algo diferente sea uno de los menos inspirados, genéricos y comodones de la industria.

Envoltorio. De ideas y de mundo. Eso es lo que han aportado. Para intentar vender la idea de innovación o algo diferente. Lo jodido es que lo han conseguido.

Enjoyment - 5/10
Difficulty - 3/10

Horizon Zero Dawn is a painfully average video game.

The visual splendour of Horizon Zero Dawn's landscapes and vistas really carries the experience. Also, traversing on your robot horse and encountering imposing machines is cool. However, all of the game's positive aspects are undercut by its conflicting mechanics and genuinely awful story.

Combat is borderline atrocious. Not once did I have a good time with battling human or machine enemies. Dodging, slow-motion aiming, melee, stealth, it all seemed to run counter to the core of the game. Repetitive mission structures and forgettable side quests also paint the game badly. If I am being completely honest, if the game had a NO COMBAT PASSIVISM lean in its framework I think it would've been a much better game with a stronger identity it could build off.

The ecological, industrial, and tribal theming of Horizon Zero Dawn was very promising. Discovering titbits of the world's history that better informs you about this video game space gave me goose bumps. Stumbling across ruined buildings that were once bustling places now turned to moss infused steel henges as a result of nature's reclamation is truly immersive. However, the world building and the overarching stories are not happily married to each other which leaves a confusing energy for its players to divorce. By the end of the adventure, it left me massively disappointed as it only told a children's first human vs. earth conflict story.

Characterization is dreadful. Predictable character arcs. Pandering story beats. Annoying and unlikeable main character. Contradictory character actions within the plot. Bad ending. Very, very poorly directed.

"If the game was five hours long, maybe it would be good" -Girlfriend.

Don't really know how to end this. Horizon Zero Dawn is an annoying ginger girl who clumsily fights robot dinosaur in attempt to do something??
🏆

Sometimes it takes a pebble to start an avalanche, and this is quite a pebble.

I wish I could have played Metal Gear when it was first released, in a world where every other major video game release was focused on combat. I wish I could have played Metal Gear when it was something other than the quaint beginnings of a mega franchise that you play for historical purposes.

Playing Metal Gear in a post-Metal Gear Solid world is kind of rough. I’m a certified Metal Gear Solid Freak so on my first playthrough, I went through it with reverent awe, taking in the humble beginnings of my favorite tactical espionage hero, Solid Snake. And having beaten it that one time, I’m good. There's some really obtuse things in this game, particularly towards the end. Sometimes it's purposeful, but when it isn't, it's rough. Really rough. I trudged through it for the academic history of the series i love, as well as the lore.

And if you’re considering getting into the Metal Gear series, you absolutely need to play this game. The MSX one. It’s required reading.

The fact that you can sneak around and get spotted in this game, and you’re encouraged to not get spotted, is so great. This game’s peers were mindless arcade shooters, it really stands out. Mechanically, at least. You’re still a soldier guy and the enemies are also still soldier guys. The slick, iconic, beautiful Shinkawa designs wouldn’t be around for a bit longer.

The charm of the clever ideas on display pale in comparison to its legendary progeny. And this is why I wish I could have played it when it first came out.

I recommend this game to Metal Gear fans, Kojima fans, and people who are interested in what you can do with the simple systems of an old console.

I wish the intro to the Theme of Tara was longer, it's the best part of the song.

Well, damn. It's about time.

After countless years of people begging, pleading, and the Paper Mario fanbase being awful cunts to each other, one of the most adored Mario games of all time finally got a remake. And how is it?? Well, let's just say outside of nostalgia reasons, there's really no reason to go back to the original Thousand Year Door ever again. Nearly everything from the original has been significantly improved upon. The visuals looks GORGEOUS now (with special shoutouts to the new NPC expressions for adding a lot more personality to the overall game), there's a new fast travel system that makes the backtracking slightly less tedious, tons of quality of life improvements, new secret boss fights, the works.

The ONLY thing I'm not that big a fan of in this remake is the new remixed soundtrack, which is rare coming from me. None of the music is BAD of course but I just don't vibe with a lot of the new instruments used for certain tracks, though some remixes are actually really good and a lot of the new tracks added are bops as well. I just lean more towards the original soundtrack, which I am aware is just a matter of preference, and thankfully they added an option to toggle between the new and old soundtracks in the form of a badge.

So yeah, this is now the definitive version of Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. I can't believe I'm even able to say that. It doesn't really FIX my problems with the original (mainly the boring map design and annoying backtracking) but it at least IMPROVES upon those issues at least a little bit. Whatever's in store for the future of the Paper Mario series, I'll be there for it 100%!

You guys were right. She didn't expect the Spanish inquisition. But at what cost...? Give her enough time to be a paying customer and she's the one giving a hell of a show. That whole industry is cooked. Speaking of cooking: she can cook a mean cake doe, who said that part sucks? Opinion rights revoked (I love u guys)! Toadsworth was indeed caught after bouts of hate speech in 2011. That's a sign of growth for Peach: the situation goes haywire and you think that of me?? No... I am the one who advises! Please note that not requiring all collectibles this time was also her idea. YES QUEEN 🙌

She's like "Go girl give us nothing 🥰" bruh nah BRUUUUH FR AINT NO WAY BLBLBL but come on it's a perfectly competent platformer 🤓 you are not in complete control of the theater kid for she of royal descent has to capture the audience's smiles. There is always something memorable to look forward to in every level! Like the full-scale offensive in Vietnam, and- oh good heavens, she got the quiet kid's favorite subjects. Still, she is pretty good at stopping what's usually grand theft and mass kidnapping. They're always taking her lightly... jokes on them, she will become Light itself if unsupervised and have a Kirby 64 ahh final battle (that was like, evangelion level of crazy oh my days i am shaking rn)

Peach is the true embodiment of Barbie's ethics. She has 10 part-time jobs and 0 exes. Good for her! The early spotlight is shed on her swordmaster gig, and she really mastered it for sure it almost feels like she's running on auto-pilot! As she craves more violence, we have other versions of her like kung-fu and power ranger where she shows what a white woman is made of when the new Animal Crossing resident is ugly. While one is the powerscaling to end all powerscaling, the other has overly simplified QTEs. Cowgirl Peach, however, is a whole nother Peach. That horse kinda overshadows her tbh but then she becomes a ninja and we cheered. She can either sneak around or find out... your choice.

Apart from Thief Peach, who's kinda swagging that british energy the rest are more laidback. Detective Peach also sports that british attire, I noticed a few unique ideas but overall not my thing. Ice skater and mermaid kind of fall into the same umbrella as she's girlpowering her way to stardom. Now, in most situations, there's one type of enemies and they're free kills to add to Peach's prison sentence. The bosses are cool however, some are really easy but they've got good gimmicks (albeit could be sped up a bit I ain't got all day). Nobody looked better than my Peach with the special dress, matching with my little pet star, we are being so dazzling on main.

may very well have the best mechanics of any action platformer; actually genius in that regard. rolling is genius, auto-aiming is genius, omnidirectional double jumping is genius, projectiles (especially throwables) inheriting velocity is genius. bullet time, while unoriginal, is also genius in combination with other elements. i don't know how anyone was able to come up with all of it. it's all so good that playing pvp modes offline with bots is still sublime even after all these years; it never get old. unfortunately had a mediocre campaign that suffered from an identity crisis and thus encouraged the worst ways of playing the game. also had and has poor netcode. was tragically dead on arrival, at least to memory. if you want the real Cobalt, play deathmatch with 100% difficulty bots until you can beat them 99% of the time. then make it 1v2, then turn off bullet time, then only use throwables, then...

It's difficult to pinpoint what Minecraft does so differently that other games, before or after its inception, can't seem to be able to remotely capture. Regardless of how many years have passed since its Alpha days, booting the game up and spending those first couple of hours building dirt houses and digging ridiculously autistic tunnel systems still represent some of the most magical and captivating moments I have experienced in a videogame. A maverick trail-blazer of game design, Minecraft disregards any previous notions of what makes or breaks a game, and instead plops you into an indifferent and artifical world without any seemingly narrative context and invites the player to fill it with life and personality by leaving his permanent mark on it, starting right off the bat by having you punch wood out of trees and that totally making sense.

Either a stroke of genius or just pure luck, the combination of cutesy and colorful lego like aesthetic with the occasional lonely and scary desolation nature gives Minecraft a surprisingly introspective atmosphere, making grand statements about human labor and wilderness conquest out of simple moments like finally finishing that perfect wooden balcony as you watch the square sun rising and "Wet Hands" starts to play. The tangible and real threat of Minecraft's permanent item loss and unwillingness to throw the player a bone or hold his hand, turns the mere idea of exploring the outskirts of your comfy man hole into a cautious adventure that has you feeling a sense of joy as you catch on your way back the familiarity of your ever evolving house on the horizon, and turns a simple detour that leaves you lost in the woods at night into a dreadful nightmare that has you frantically searching for a light source inbetween the trees as you dodge a horde of zombies and skellies.

While there is some truth to the criticism that "there's nothing to do" in Minecraft, which can be attributed to its low skill ceiling and diminishing returns as you run out of goals and ideas, the devs have been intelligent enough to not mess with the core appeal of the game with its inumerous updates over the years, and that's letting the player find his own fun, be that building a giant castle at the top of a mountain, building a minecart track that crosses a lava lake in the Nether, conquering The End and beating the Ender Dragon, or simply exploding enough TNT at once to crash the game.

I still can't decipher Minecraft after all these years. All I know is that I keep coming back, be it with a group of friends, or by myself. I still find its quiet and randomized world to be beautfiul and imaginative. I still love how the animals and enemies look and sound. I still can't get over how perfect and effective its oddly sad soundtrack is. I still get a stupid grin on my face when I manage to make the simplest of redstone mechanisms work. I still shit my pants every time I fall into a sense of safety around my home base and suddenly hear that dreaded hiss behind me as I watch my work explode. I dunno, it's a very good game.