This has been on my list for awhile, but I always found a reason to put it off. I finally got around to playing and finishing it and it was way better than I assumed it would be.

This is basically The Last of Us, but in the 1300's with a twist on the bubonic plague. You've got stealth-based combat, a sister and brother duo, and a phenomenal world to experience.

The story is good, albeit a little predictable but that doesn't mean it's not worth experiencing. The character building was my favorite part of this game and I really ended up enjoying Amicia, Hugo, and the other parts of the crew. I felt like the pacing of the story, gameplay, and character introduction are pretty perfect and to top it off, the game knows when to end and doesn't outstay its welcome.

I clocked in around 12 hours for my initial playthrough and played ~3 more hours to get the remaining trophies I missed. Definitely a shorter experience, I guess, but I find myself preferring this length of game rather than the open world 70 hour bullshit.

Overall, if you're into The Last of Us, light-stealth games, or just a solid experience, I definitely recommend this game. I'm looking forward to playing the sequel that released pretty recently 🐀

SPOILER FREE Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions in more ways than one. The newest release in the long-ass series of RPGs takes out most of the RPG elements, but in its stead, adds a phenomenal story.

((To be honest, I didn’t take any notes during my playthrough so this is off the top right after finishing the game))

Graphically, this game looks wonderful. Playing on performance mode as Frames > Graphics, but it still looks great! The colors are inviting and the darker tones really do portray death and dread when they need to as this game is all about the Good Vs. Evil mindset. With that in mind, this is the most cinematic entry of the series, which is crazy as this series is known for being graphically superior to most. However, there are some instances in the game where I believe it would have been beneficial to tone back the graphics, but more on that later.

The game felt like it was locked at a consistent 60 FPS, but there was definitely stuttering during cutscenes, pulling up menus, and in other non-critical areas. Combat and exploration felt fluid and went off without a hitch. I did not experience any game breaking bugs, glitches, or crashes. There was only one glitch where an enemy’s body kept sliding off into the sunset lol.

Speaking of combat, this new battle system is flashy as fuck. After getting my first taste of this Devil May Cry developed battle system, I was craving more once the demo had ended. Now having finished the game, the combat is fine. Surprisingly enough, combat didn’t evolve much for me from the demo to the end of the full release. Yes, you do get a number of new moves and abilities, but combat is just boiled down to using the moves that remove the yellow “Will” bar enemies have so you can maximize damage once their will is exhausted. Nothing really changes that system throughout the 50+ hours of the game. A number of the moves seem badass, but their application is not as cool as they are made out to be on paper. Either they do not flow well with the other movesets, they are inferior to other moves, or they just flat out suck. I’m sure there are probably arguments for different move-sets and abilities, but through my experimenting with the moves (thank christ for free respecing) I found that three DPS abilities, two crowd control abilities, and the rest focused on will removal was the sweet spot.

Now, onto the best part of the game, the story and characters. I can’t say much as I don’t want to spoil even the tiniest bit, so this will be vague. Each main character in this story is written so well that I genuinely cared for 10+ of them. I made sure to read all their dialogue, their lore entries, their side quests, etc. I enjoyed each main character very much and the game knows that they’re written well and the player will probably enjoy everyone, so it makes it very rewarding. I cried & teared up a number of times due to being sad, happy, and proud of these characters. Now, as for the story, that’s also a banger… mostly. There’s something to be said about the pacing of the game. The highs are SO FUCKING HIGH, but the lows are a fuckin’ drag. I know you need to balance out the pacing of a story and it cannot be all highs without any lows, but damn, the lows are so boring and meaningless. Side character fetch quests in the main story quest is a pain and this has that in spades. Granted, you’ll be back doing cool shit eventually, but a lot of the lows made me want to turn off the console.

As for the main issues I have with the game: The itemization is WHACK. The gear progression is extremely linear as well as the character progression. Levels give you stats automatically which feel meaningless. The side-quest rewards are pointless crafting materials (and at the beginning of the game, the side-quests are abysmal, but they get much better later on in the game). Really and honestly, they took out 95% of the RPG elements of the game and I don’t think that was a great idea. Streamlining a game with 16 main-line entries seems odd. Granted, this is a great entry for players who have not played a final fantasy, I guess, but if they go into any other one expecting gameplay like this one, sucks for them. For the record, most FF games aren’t connected and don’t rely on knowledge of previous entries, so newcomers are free to play any which one they want. It just seems like taking out the MAIN aspect of the series is an odd choice and wasn’t made clear anywhere in interviews or even the demo.

Overall, I did enjoy my time with this game and I adore the story and characters. The removal of most of the RPG elements this series is known for is a mistake since it didn’t add anything noteworthy, so don’t play this if you’re looking for an RPG experience with builds, sweet weapons and armor, etc. I recommend this to those who are looking for a pretty good action adventure game with a phenomenal story and cast of characters. I only warn them to have patience with it and to not look too much into the Final Fantasy name.

A fishing/horror/inventory management game that I can recommend wholeheartedly, though if you do not enjoy fishing minigames from other titles, you may not be the target audience for this one.

The story takes a backseat here, but the story that is here is pretty solid. Talking with the people you run into across the different settlements you dock into builds the world well and fleshes out the discoveries you come across.

The game mechanics themselves work great, if not a little too simple. Fishing mini-games variate a little and the gameplay loop of catching fish > selling fish > buy upgrades > get better fish & repeat is fun and lasts throughout the whole ~10 hours of game-time here.

Overall, definitely recommend this game as I felt like this was a breath of fresh and it deserves your time and money ❤️

A surreal industrial exploration acid trip? Babbdi is an odd experience as your goal is to leave this industrial liminal space filled with empty buildings, abandoned lots, and odd inhabitants. You don't really need to explore this game as you're simply tasked with just getting a train ticket and leaving, but if you explore using the tools given to you (A bat, leaf blower, motorcycle, etc.) you'll come across some dream-like situations. I experienced this game with noise-cancelling headphones and lemme tell you, that helped with the atmosphere a TON. The sound design is incredible as I was left feeling alone exploring this world with only the humming of the lights, the clanking of metal, the moaning of someone or something...

I recommend at least trying this game as it's free. I'm sure it isn't for everyone, but it is sitting at "Overwhelmingly Positive" and I was able to get lost in this surreal little world for almost an hour

A launch title for the PlayStation 3 that I always blew off as a run-of-the-mill FPS with the classic mid-late 00's brown and gray color palette. While some of that is true, I really enjoyed my time with this 2006 Sci-Fi Shooter.

Releasing in '06, the game's control scheme is wack. Surprisingly (and luckily) you can remap the entire controller, so that is a huge asset in enjoying this game more. I also think this game looks and plays well (locked to 30 FPS, but feels great) There's not a ton to say about this game as it's the first in a franchise, but I enjoyed my time with it.

It's incredibly atmospheric and I think that's the game's biggest strength as everything else leaves a bit to be desired. Since this game is from the Ratchet and Clank devs, the weapons are interesting enough and all viable in the correct situations, like the machine gun that you can spend a clip to create an auto-turret or the Auger that can pierce through barriers and walls and shots get stronger with each barrier passed through.

Frustrating checkpoints aside, I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised by this game and I'm looking forward to playing through the rest of the series to see how they improve on the groundwork laid out by the first entry.

A very odd, but enjoyable game revolving around working at a TV Station creating programs for your town to watch, but no one is watching it. Why? Because everyone has disappeared!

You'll go through multiple WarioWare-type games (more like WTF Work Time Fun for the PSP, but I'm sure not many people played that lol) in order to find out the mystery of the large dissapearance. All-in-all games are very simple, yet difficult to get the gold medal in. That's not to say all the games are good. There are definitely some stinkers in there, but the majority are enjoyable. My partner and I played for an additional hour to compete in these mini-games (she kicked my ass in most).

I'd say it's worth the $10 if you're into weird experiences and mini-games like I am.

P.S. just about everything is done with text-to-speech and stock photos & videos which may not vibe with some. I felt this added to the uneasiness of the game as well as making everything feel a bit more uncanny valley but YMMV.

This was recommended to my by a Steam friend and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I adore the lo-fi aspect of the game with the screenlines and adjustment waves that happen randomly as if it were being played on a CRT. The entirety of my time spent with the game was on a TV which amplified the lo-fi graphics even more. I'm most impressed with the strength scaling of the game as every playthrough I received, what I thought to be, an overpowered weapon that just tore through rooms for awhile until it didn't. Then I would find another weapon upgrade and rinse and repeat. I never felt like I had a stinker of a run and I like to think that has to do with the balancing and overall choices being fun to make and always feeling good.

My only complaint is that whenever I started to play this, I had no idea it is an Early Access title, so right when I was getting multiple wins, I was faced with two locked doors thanking me for playing and that this was the end of the current early access version 😭 Can't wait for the next update in September!

Koudelka is an obscure title, but one that I’ve been looking to get my hands on as it’s one of the only horror-JRPGs out there and a pretty solid one at that. Taking heavy inspiration from the first Resident Evil that released three years prior, Koudelka has you scouring an abandoned monastery in the year 1898 and you’ll come across key items needed for puzzles while battling monsters, beast, and the macabre via random encounters.

The gameplay is turn-based and not too complicated. You’ll have a max of three party members that you meet very early on (Koudelka the Psychic, Edward the Adventurer, and James the Bishop) and they are suited for either magic or melee actions. The arena is grid-based, but doesn’t require much tactical thinking as the only thing you need to worry about is monsters passing your downed characters because if they do, they’re unavailable to be revived. There are some unspoken elemental strengths and weaknesses which can only be discovered through trial and error. Overall, the combat really isn’t anything special, but it gets the job done.

Game-play outside of combat consists of wandering around the old monastery searching for clues as to why there are beasts and ghosts roaming the premises. You’ll come across lost letters, forgotten bodies, and other people with their own stories to tell. I did find the map to not provide enough information when backtracking was necessary (and it is often) so I found myself visiting GameFAQs for the classic text-based walkthrough of old. I found myself enjoying reading the community-posted walkthrough of this game, missing the times were it was necessary for kid me to print out the entire walkthrough whenever I found myself lost to progression. However, whenever I entered a room with a cutscene, I dropped everything to pay attention. I found the voice acting to be way more entertaining than I thought, as dialogue is given as if it were a radio drama which gives completely different vibes than modern-day performances. I think the voice acting style suits the game, but there are some moments where the VA is generally poor, but you can’t help but laugh in those moments.

Graphically, I was impressed. With the pre-rendered backgrounds and the fixed camera angles, it seems like the developers behind Koudelka saw what made Resident Evil special to the eyes and improved on those elements. Just about every new scene is a treat and I was finding myself wanting to take screenshots of certain areas, but unable to do so since I played this on original hardware.
I really enjoyed my time with this game and I’m glad the spiritual successor series, Shadow Hearts, exists as well. I believe this game is somewhat forgotten which is a shame since I found it to have tremendous charm to it. The characters are likeable and their bickering between each other is a joy to watch, the environments are beautiful, and the story is pretty decent. I just yearn for more horror-RPGs and this one is probably one of the grandparents of the oft-forgotten genre blend. Here’s hoping that Penny Blood, the spiritual successor to the spiritual successor to this game turns out to be a solid companion to this game and Shadow Hearts.