Lancelot69
This was my first ever 2D Zelda game and it was kind of a mixed bag. The positives come in the form of the visuals, soundtrack, and some of the gameplay. The negatives come in the surprising performance issues, lack of direction, middling to frustrating puzzle design, and, the biggest problem in my eyes, the lack of difficulty. Like I know it's a kids game but this might be one of the easiest games I have ever played. In the end, it was saved from a three star rating by way of the second to last dungeon and the ending.
2023
It's an exceedingly fun game. I played with my friends for two long sessions, having a blast each time. The ideas of roguelite, horror, and management all come together to create an experience you won't want to put down. The amount of content this game has for only $10 (which I believe will stay the set price when it releases) while still being in early access, meaning even more stuff is on the way, is astounding. You get a grand bundle of monsters that are all well-designed to be terrifying, eight maps with procedurally generated dungeon layouts, and lots of different scraps to collect with different monetary allotments, which will have you thinking about what is worth taking to your ship. The multiplayer aspect is the best of this year and some of the best I have seen in an indie game and recent memory. Proximity chat makes the experience much more realistic, funny, and horrifying. This deserved to outsell Call of Duty and serves as one of those few indie titles that get elevated into grandiose popularity and are worthy of it.
Hey, want to see me dismantle an M1911? Want to see me do it again?
1972
Pong your asshole
Old Godzilla was hopping around
Tokyo City like a big playground
When suddenly Batman burst from the shade
And hit Godzilla with a Batgrenade
Tokyo City like a big playground
When suddenly Batman burst from the shade
And hit Godzilla with a Batgrenade
2016
This game makes you feel fucking awesome. The combat in the game is some of the most fun I have had with a FPS. It is a shining example of FPS games and one of my favorites.
The story is alright, but it doesn't need to be anything in-depth. The point of the game isn't to make you think or to wow with narrative. The point is to rip and tear until it is done.
There isn't a lot else to say. Holds up pretty well visually to the date of the review. No bugs, for the most part. I had an incident where I was pushed through the floor and out of bounds by a Baron, but that was the only time it happened. If I were to say my major issue, it's maybe a little short. However, if they made it longer, then it would have become repetitive, so I am conflicted.
The story is alright, but it doesn't need to be anything in-depth. The point of the game isn't to make you think or to wow with narrative. The point is to rip and tear until it is done.
There isn't a lot else to say. Holds up pretty well visually to the date of the review. No bugs, for the most part. I had an incident where I was pushed through the floor and out of bounds by a Baron, but that was the only time it happened. If I were to say my major issue, it's maybe a little short. However, if they made it longer, then it would have become repetitive, so I am conflicted.
2023
This review contains spoilers
This is probably the best game Remedy has made yet.
The story feels like a television show. Remedy has always alluded to television and used the medium's tropes/tools, but this game presents its most successful combination of TV and video games. The story had me thinking and guessing and theory crafting. The feeling of getting something right through the deduction of story beats is beyond satisfying, and they clearly intend for this with the inclusion of detective gameplay. I also liked how they structured the story, tying into the gameplay. You can choose which story between Saga and Alan you want to continue with up until a certain point, which is well-designed because if you get a little bored with a characters section, you can switch characters. Also, the chapter with the grand final fight while Dark Ocean Summoning plays was fantastic, and it's my favorite Saga chapter. My favorite chapter in the whole game has to be We Sing. It was ridiculous, but I loved it. Herald of Darkness got put on my playlist the second I heard it played at the Game Awards.
The gameplay is pretty great. There are common elements between Saga's and Alan's gameplay, such as the combat, but they are pretty different in practice. Saga's gameplay was more survival/combat-oriented, which makes sense for her character as an FBI agent. Alan, on the other hand, leaned more into the horror/puzzle aspects, which makes sense for his character as a tortured writer. I also liked how Alan could change the environment around him based on the writing inspiration he has. The lamp felt like a last-minute addition but wasn't super important story-wise or gameplay-wise.
The gunplay in this is a departure from the previous one, which was a lot more action/arcade-like, whereas this one is planted firmly in survival horror. I can see the influence of the Resident Evil remakes. I haven't played those games, so I can't tell you if it's a one-to-one comparison, but it's probably close. This is nitpicking the smallest detail, but the flares should have been able to be stacked more. You can only stack two flares, but you find around 20-30 flares at a time, so you end up with many flare stacks filling your inventory.
The characters were pretty great and had good interactions for the most part. It's always fun to see Alan. He is cool. Werlin Door is intriguing. We only learn about him through secondhand accounts and lore, but I like that and want to see more from him (I also got the implication that Door was Saga's missing father). Alice had a small yet fascinating part to play, and I would like to see where that leads. I like how stereotypical Agent Casey is. He feels like you could find him in the pages of a pulpy detective comic. The Old Gods of Asgard, Tor, and Odin, who are some of my favorite characters from Remedy, get more fleshed out and somewhat heartfelt, especially Tor. Ilmo and Jaakko were funny, maybe a little stupid, but funny. We even see the returning secondary characters like Rose, Cynthia, and Pat Maine get some amusing stuff.
As for negatives, FBC Agent Estevez isn't worth mentioning, but it felt like she should have been more important (I'm just guessing, but she will probably be the main character of The Lake House DLC, so hopefully she gets a little more fleshed out). Tom Zane was a little all over the place, and I still don't fully understand the change from poet to filmmaker.
Sheriff Tim Breaker stands in for his cousin Sarah Breaker from the previous game. I don't know what to think about him. It's weird that they would change it at all, especially considering the actor who plays Tim is also the main character of Quantum Break, which is part of the Remedyverse. My guess is there isn't a Quantum Break connection, and they are just reusing the actor, which they have done before with the actress who played Jesse in Control (she played Beth Wilder in Quantum Break). This is an update to this statement. I read more about Door and Breaker in the wiki. I think the intention was for it to tie in Quantum Break, as Reddick was meant to play Door, and Tim says Door and Jesse Faden resemble people he has seen before in a different world. They still might go this route and have David Harewood replace Reddick, but they could also explain it away as a reference. I genuinely don't know now I also think that Tim might be the main character of the Night Springs DLC, as Werlin Door is connected to Night Springs and Tim is connected to Door, so we will see how that goes.
A huge disappointment was excluding my favorite character from the last game: Barry. I don't understand why they didn't include him, as they were not going for a super serious tone this time (I'm looking at you, We Sing). It's just so unfortunate that we don't get to see him. We get some emails from him, but that is it.
I deliberately left Saga out of the character talk because I wanted to go in-depth on her. I am feeling somewhat mixed. Her story is fine, but it doesn't grip me like Alan's. Saga feels as if they needed a person who was out in the real world, so they just created her. I didn't dislike her. She has a good dynamic with Casey, but she feels underdeveloped. Her relationship with her daughter, her mother, her grandfather, and Alan Wake felt like it didn't get enough fleshing out.
The story feels like a television show. Remedy has always alluded to television and used the medium's tropes/tools, but this game presents its most successful combination of TV and video games. The story had me thinking and guessing and theory crafting. The feeling of getting something right through the deduction of story beats is beyond satisfying, and they clearly intend for this with the inclusion of detective gameplay. I also liked how they structured the story, tying into the gameplay. You can choose which story between Saga and Alan you want to continue with up until a certain point, which is well-designed because if you get a little bored with a characters section, you can switch characters. Also, the chapter with the grand final fight while Dark Ocean Summoning plays was fantastic, and it's my favorite Saga chapter. My favorite chapter in the whole game has to be We Sing. It was ridiculous, but I loved it. Herald of Darkness got put on my playlist the second I heard it played at the Game Awards.
The gameplay is pretty great. There are common elements between Saga's and Alan's gameplay, such as the combat, but they are pretty different in practice. Saga's gameplay was more survival/combat-oriented, which makes sense for her character as an FBI agent. Alan, on the other hand, leaned more into the horror/puzzle aspects, which makes sense for his character as a tortured writer. I also liked how Alan could change the environment around him based on the writing inspiration he has. The lamp felt like a last-minute addition but wasn't super important story-wise or gameplay-wise.
The gunplay in this is a departure from the previous one, which was a lot more action/arcade-like, whereas this one is planted firmly in survival horror. I can see the influence of the Resident Evil remakes. I haven't played those games, so I can't tell you if it's a one-to-one comparison, but it's probably close. This is nitpicking the smallest detail, but the flares should have been able to be stacked more. You can only stack two flares, but you find around 20-30 flares at a time, so you end up with many flare stacks filling your inventory.
The characters were pretty great and had good interactions for the most part. It's always fun to see Alan. He is cool. Werlin Door is intriguing. We only learn about him through secondhand accounts and lore, but I like that and want to see more from him (I also got the implication that Door was Saga's missing father). Alice had a small yet fascinating part to play, and I would like to see where that leads. I like how stereotypical Agent Casey is. He feels like you could find him in the pages of a pulpy detective comic. The Old Gods of Asgard, Tor, and Odin, who are some of my favorite characters from Remedy, get more fleshed out and somewhat heartfelt, especially Tor. Ilmo and Jaakko were funny, maybe a little stupid, but funny. We even see the returning secondary characters like Rose, Cynthia, and Pat Maine get some amusing stuff.
As for negatives, FBC Agent Estevez isn't worth mentioning, but it felt like she should have been more important (I'm just guessing, but she will probably be the main character of The Lake House DLC, so hopefully she gets a little more fleshed out). Tom Zane was a little all over the place, and I still don't fully understand the change from poet to filmmaker.
Sheriff Tim Breaker stands in for his cousin Sarah Breaker from the previous game. I don't know what to think about him. It's weird that they would change it at all, especially considering the actor who plays Tim is also the main character of Quantum Break, which is part of the Remedyverse. My guess is there isn't a Quantum Break connection, and they are just reusing the actor, which they have done before with the actress who played Jesse in Control (she played Beth Wilder in Quantum Break). This is an update to this statement. I read more about Door and Breaker in the wiki. I think the intention was for it to tie in Quantum Break, as Reddick was meant to play Door, and Tim says Door and Jesse Faden resemble people he has seen before in a different world. They still might go this route and have David Harewood replace Reddick, but they could also explain it away as a reference. I genuinely don't know now I also think that Tim might be the main character of the Night Springs DLC, as Werlin Door is connected to Night Springs and Tim is connected to Door, so we will see how that goes.
A huge disappointment was excluding my favorite character from the last game: Barry. I don't understand why they didn't include him, as they were not going for a super serious tone this time (I'm looking at you, We Sing). It's just so unfortunate that we don't get to see him. We get some emails from him, but that is it.
I deliberately left Saga out of the character talk because I wanted to go in-depth on her. I am feeling somewhat mixed. Her story is fine, but it doesn't grip me like Alan's. Saga feels as if they needed a person who was out in the real world, so they just created her. I didn't dislike her. She has a good dynamic with Casey, but she feels underdeveloped. Her relationship with her daughter, her mother, her grandfather, and Alan Wake felt like it didn't get enough fleshing out.
2004
I am conflicted upon finishing this game. As much as I loved being Gordon and gunning down the Combine, I also became much more frustrated with the gameplay than the last entry. It didn't fix the main issues I had with the previous game: pacing and movement. The later chapters felt pretty lengthy compared to the earlier ones, and I still got stuck on geometry a lot. However, it was worse this time because there were also a bunch of physics objects I got stuck on, and the game was much more combat-intensive. They throw so many enemies at you. So when I would attempt to run for cover, I would get trapped in place by a stray paint can on the floor or something. It was obnoxious.
The story is interesting as it's quite the departure from the previous game. Instead of a localized event, it was a sprawling story with just more overall. Major developments happen off-screen, and I think I like that. It makes you feel like an actual time skip happened in how it plops you into the story. The characters received improvement as well. Instead of nameless scientists (whom I still love), we get an arrangement of people. We have the main secondary character of Alyx Vance and her father Eli, both of whom I liked although they weren't my favorite. The main antagonist Dr. Breen, who I found to be a little lacking but fine overall. As well as assorted others, including some of my favorite characters: Barney, Dr. Kleiner, and Father Grigori. There is a lot more variety. Of course, you still got the stars of the show Gordon and the GMan.
I don't know if I think this game is better than the previous one, but it does do some things better. However, it also does some things worse. Overall, it's hard for me to say one way or the other. If I had to choose, I would lean more toward the first game, but that may not be true after I continue with the story.
The story is interesting as it's quite the departure from the previous game. Instead of a localized event, it was a sprawling story with just more overall. Major developments happen off-screen, and I think I like that. It makes you feel like an actual time skip happened in how it plops you into the story. The characters received improvement as well. Instead of nameless scientists (whom I still love), we get an arrangement of people. We have the main secondary character of Alyx Vance and her father Eli, both of whom I liked although they weren't my favorite. The main antagonist Dr. Breen, who I found to be a little lacking but fine overall. As well as assorted others, including some of my favorite characters: Barney, Dr. Kleiner, and Father Grigori. There is a lot more variety. Of course, you still got the stars of the show Gordon and the GMan.
I don't know if I think this game is better than the previous one, but it does do some things better. However, it also does some things worse. Overall, it's hard for me to say one way or the other. If I had to choose, I would lean more toward the first game, but that may not be true after I continue with the story.
2018
I like how this isn't a traditional racing game, there isn't a finish line. The goal is just to destroy other cars, which has been present in racing games before (I think Burnout: Paradise has this), but I don't know of any where the only goal is destruction. It's still a "racing" game, meaning you drive cars around, but I think it does some fun stuff.
2017
Another game I came back to after leaving for a long time. This is a really good game. Pretty easy but still fun. The ending and story it told were wonderful, it was unexpectedly heartfelt and emotional. The visuals were beautiful, my favorite section having to be the underwater part in the desert. I did notice some motion blur issues that I couldn't tune down but that's the only real problem with the game.
2019
The only Mario Kart game where you barely get to play the game
This was a really great game. I was surprised when I finished because I am not the biggest fan of 2D Mario games. They are good sometimes, but they can just never compare to the 3D ones. The only time that a 2D Mario game has been this good was New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii. I literally can't decide between the two of which is the better game. This game had such a fun twist in the form of Wonder Seeds but NSMB Wii has my nostalgia. Both of the games offer interesting levels, really fun multiplayer, and are just tightly designed packages offering the best possible 2D Mario experience you can experience.
What is so Special about it Gavin?
This review contains spoilers
I have a lot of love for this game and I ranked it five stars originally, but I had to bring it down after I let my recency bias fade and did some more thinking.
Gameplay wise this game a lot of cool additions and improvements from the last one, combat and swinging feel so fluid and fun to do, even more so than the last one. The set pieces are still awesome too, with my favorite having to be when you play as Venom and just start killing everybody, it was fantastic. However, I ran into a good chunk of technical problems as well. The game crashed like 4-5 times during my playthrough, enemies got stuck in walls a lot, and during a side quest a bunch of enemies started T-posing. Some of the glitches were funny though like turning into a cube and taking Venom outside of his normal bounds.
The story was pretty great for the most part, I really liked the relationship between Pete and Harry as well as the villains to a lesser extent, but I feel that Miles is unfortunately being underutilized and the portions where he is used are kind of lackluster. I can't really tell you what happened involving Miles in the story because the focus was just a lot more on Pete. He had a college essay and a grudge against Martin Li and that's about it all I can really remember (he also has one of the worst Spider-Man suits I have ever seen in any media, but that has been talked about to death).
Some minor nitpicks as well, Ganke was dumb and acted like a Redditor/Twitter user from 2016 saying shit like "I was so wholesome when I was younger." Miles' love interest that I don't remember the name of, I think it was Hailey, had no development or character other than the fact she is deaf. Finally, during the high school flashback mission they referenced Never Gonna Give You Up which is just so stupid.
Miles also just had really bad side content too, like the best thing he had was the Prowler stashes but even that was just fine. The worst side content has to be the Brooklyn Vision stuff though, it was terrible. Uninteresting gameplay with awful characters and just nothing fun about it, it was really bad. Not all the side content was bad though, Pete has some really good quests that he does in the form of the Flame stuff, I am looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Overall, yeah, this game isn't as good as the original, nor was it a perfect five stars, but I think it's a really fantastic game still and it is my favorite game that released in 2023.
Gameplay wise this game a lot of cool additions and improvements from the last one, combat and swinging feel so fluid and fun to do, even more so than the last one. The set pieces are still awesome too, with my favorite having to be when you play as Venom and just start killing everybody, it was fantastic. However, I ran into a good chunk of technical problems as well. The game crashed like 4-5 times during my playthrough, enemies got stuck in walls a lot, and during a side quest a bunch of enemies started T-posing. Some of the glitches were funny though like turning into a cube and taking Venom outside of his normal bounds.
The story was pretty great for the most part, I really liked the relationship between Pete and Harry as well as the villains to a lesser extent, but I feel that Miles is unfortunately being underutilized and the portions where he is used are kind of lackluster. I can't really tell you what happened involving Miles in the story because the focus was just a lot more on Pete. He had a college essay and a grudge against Martin Li and that's about it all I can really remember (he also has one of the worst Spider-Man suits I have ever seen in any media, but that has been talked about to death).
Some minor nitpicks as well, Ganke was dumb and acted like a Redditor/Twitter user from 2016 saying shit like "I was so wholesome when I was younger." Miles' love interest that I don't remember the name of, I think it was Hailey, had no development or character other than the fact she is deaf. Finally, during the high school flashback mission they referenced Never Gonna Give You Up which is just so stupid.
Miles also just had really bad side content too, like the best thing he had was the Prowler stashes but even that was just fine. The worst side content has to be the Brooklyn Vision stuff though, it was terrible. Uninteresting gameplay with awful characters and just nothing fun about it, it was really bad. Not all the side content was bad though, Pete has some really good quests that he does in the form of the Flame stuff, I am looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Overall, yeah, this game isn't as good as the original, nor was it a perfect five stars, but I think it's a really fantastic game still and it is my favorite game that released in 2023.
2024
I have been trying to get this game over the hump of 4 stars in my head for a good while now. I finally did it when I looked through my favorite games list and really thought about my opinions on some of the older, more nostalgic games from my childhood. I fought back and forth about what was better than what. There was a lot of movement and paradigm shifts.
At least for now, this game gets bumped up to a 4.5 (along with two other previously 4-star games that I like more than this one). I am extremely invested in this game. I may not play it every hour of every day, but I do think about it a lot. I have done things for this game that I haven't for others. I have joined the official Discord server, bookmarked web resources about the game, and subscribed to a YouTube channel that keeps progress on the war. I even have a phone app that details what is happening in-game. The game is so much fun and is even better with friends. The stratagems all feel cool and have a unique way to use them. The enemies are challenging, but still satisfying to beat. The galactic war aspect is what's keeping me enthralled and I love how it is designed to make it feel like everyone is participating toward a mission.
My only negative is that once you find your build there isn't a lot of incentive to deviate from it. I settled into a loadout rather early and haven't changed it since. Rarely, I will do it if the mission dictates it, but otherwise no. I would like to see something that causes you to change equipment, but the dominant strategy exists for a reason. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Overall, this was a surprise hit for me. I don't usually want these games, let alone fall in love with them like I have. I am glad I took a chance on it and can fairly say that this will (probably) be my game of the year.
At least for now, this game gets bumped up to a 4.5 (along with two other previously 4-star games that I like more than this one). I am extremely invested in this game. I may not play it every hour of every day, but I do think about it a lot. I have done things for this game that I haven't for others. I have joined the official Discord server, bookmarked web resources about the game, and subscribed to a YouTube channel that keeps progress on the war. I even have a phone app that details what is happening in-game. The game is so much fun and is even better with friends. The stratagems all feel cool and have a unique way to use them. The enemies are challenging, but still satisfying to beat. The galactic war aspect is what's keeping me enthralled and I love how it is designed to make it feel like everyone is participating toward a mission.
My only negative is that once you find your build there isn't a lot of incentive to deviate from it. I settled into a loadout rather early and haven't changed it since. Rarely, I will do it if the mission dictates it, but otherwise no. I would like to see something that causes you to change equipment, but the dominant strategy exists for a reason. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Overall, this was a surprise hit for me. I don't usually want these games, let alone fall in love with them like I have. I am glad I took a chance on it and can fairly say that this will (probably) be my game of the year.