MarshMallow
2018
A heartfelt tale of two brothers on a journey that will change their lives and test their relationship through multiple hardships. Every moment hit hard, the voice acting was mostly great, and the characters, especially Sean and Daniel, were gripping and realistic. A real sense of journey throughout this game, and overall a great experience.
A beautiful game that is short and sweet and yet gripping nonetheless. Amazing soundtrack and a set of characters that kept me invested from beginning to end. Amicia and Hugo's characterization is the lifeblood of this game and Amicia's perseveerance for her brother is incredibly powerful.
This game destroyed me in the best way. An absolutely astounding experience, with graphics unlike any other game I've ever played. This game is a sequel in every sense of the word, and it's continuation of the story is done in a way that stays true to the original and expands on it in new and interesting ways. The character work here is even better than the first, and Amicia has become cemented as one of my favourite character of all time. I really really hope there is a continuation, but regardless this has been a great experience that I won't forget.
A short, fun ride that never really stops for a breath. The story is relatively engaging and the gameplay loop is enjoyable enough to keep you playing! Soap and Price are the MVP's
A strong beginning to the Arkham franchise, setting the tone and setting perfectly. It's a self-contained game, short and fun, with a faithful take on the batman mythos that left me satisfied. Does feel aged compared to the other games, but that's to be expected. Probably my least favourite of the franchise, but a strong start nonetheless.
A game I finished feeling the same as when I started. A passably fun experience with boring, clunky gameplay and a relatively interesting story. For a genre that is known for its riveting stories and character work, this game falls disappointingly flat in that regard. Whilst I don't regret playing it, its not an experience I would want to have again.
A beautiful love letter to the character of Batman, with a gripping cast and interesting mystery that feels like a classic Batman tale. Loved the distinction between Batman and Bruce Wayne, and I found myself shocked by the bold choices they took the lore for this series. Overall a positive ride that left me satisfied by its conclusion, and hopeful for another season.
This game is so hard man, the gameplay is fine and the visuals are really nice. A good blast from the past.
A game that has left me feeling conflicted. There are aspects of the experience that I genuinely enjoyed, particularly with the card combat and general gameplay. I liked some character moments, however, overall I believe that the concept of the game is far better than its execution (The combat is an exception). Building relationships with the heroes feel unearned because they are written to be bland, and uninteresting, it feels more like a progression of a rank rather than a growing friendship. The story was bland and lacked the writing necessary to give me a reason to care about anything. The graphics are sub-par, character models are really mid, however, they make up for this with the costumes. Overall a disappointing experience that could possibly be rectified in a sequel, though I don't think it's very likely.
1997
A game that feels beyond its years. A story that was genuinely intriguing and original, evoking the feeling of participating in a genuine adventure across a whole planet, with intricate characters and a gameplay loop that keeps you invested throughout the game's length. The overall themes of the game have aged very well. The music is mostly superb, aside from the repetitiveness of battle music due to random encounters. Overall, it's an experience that I'm glad to have undertaken because I now see why Final Fantasy VII is held in such high regard; it definitely deserves its place among the greats.
I'm really happy I came back to this one. I played a little bit a few years ago but wasn't hooked enough to stop me from jumping to other games. However once I jumped back into it, I ended up feeling surprised with the end result. Death Stranding is a game that is very hard to sell to people. The gameplay loop sounds boring, however I honestly enjoyed it for the whole runtime. I liked managing my packages, planning my routes and problem-solving my way through a hostile and supernatural america (which is visually gorgeous). Above the gameplay is the story, which presents a concept that I found so interesting and in-depth. That said, a lot of scenes are marred by obvious exposition, which is needed, however I feel it could have been done in a less heavy handed way. The vehicle gameplay is also very clunky, to the point where I would rather just walk the whole way. Overall, this game, despite it's flaws, is unapologetically true to its themes and ideas, and I feel that Kojima has successfully delivered a story of life and death, and the importance that connections have on making that journey across these two ends worth it.
A true journey from beginning to end. Final Fantasy XV excels in character writing and emotional drama that keeps you entertained throughout the game's runtime. Where it lacks in areas such as gameplay, it makes up for it in the rich dialogue between these characters, who genuinely feel like friends. It doesn't take long to become connected to them, and this factor, coupled with interesting politics and worldbuilding, makes for a great package overall. The soundtrack also slaps, and the whole ending portion is one of my favorite video game endings ever. If you have never played a Final Fantasy game before, this is definitely a good place to start.
2022
This review contains spoilers
Sonic Frontiers is a game that genuinely surprised me. I've been playing Sonic games since I was little, I'm pretty sure the first game I ever played was a Sonic game. This franchise will always have a special place in my heart, however, my history has not eliminated the fact that the sonic games of late haven't been exactly great games. This franchise has been going through something of an identity crisis, and after seeing the initial gameplay of Frontiers, I was extremely skeptical. It took me a couple months after the game came out to even pick it up because I just wasn't feeling Sonic, and didn't expect this game to change that. I'm happy to say I was very wrong. This game, whilst having a lot of flaws, is a fresh take on the franchise that I believe will lead to a return to greatness for this series.
For starters, the story of this game was surprisingly captivating and interesting, and I was glad to see that the writers made an effort to link the games of the past with Frontiers. Characters will mention past events in conversation, and If they continue down this path then there will be a better sense of cohesion between games, with arcs that could span multiple games. That idea is exciting. The expansion of the lore was clever and added context to games as far back as Adventure 2, and that, I find extremely refreshing. The soundtrack is awesome as always, with a mix of calming tracks and heavy metal epics that match the tones of their respective gameplay segments. Speaking of gameplay, that aspect is perhaps the most mixed bag of the game. I was surprised at how enjoyable the gameplay loop was, however, I definitely understand the criticism and am optimistic about how it can be innovated in the future. The combat was a definite standout, having much more in-depth moves to use is a refreshing upgrade from simple homing attacks. I wish there was a bit more variety in the gameplay loop, whilst it was fun at first, things got a bit more formulaic towards the end and ultimately got stale. The graphics were also hit or miss, sometimes the game would look nice and other times it would look downright bad. Hoping to see an improvement in future installments. My favorite aspect of the game is the way characters are handled. It felt like there was a lot more depth this time around, and that comes with the more mature tone this game takes. Every character has a distinctive arc and, most importantly, they are changed by the end, in a way that it feels like they are setting the arcs up to be expanded in future games, which I love. A standout for me was Eggman, who was give a much more humanised role in this game. He didn't even really feel like the villain, and by the end, I honestly felt sorry for him. This feels like it could be the last game where Eggman is in an antagonistic role, as he seems to be transitioning to a more sympathetic, hesitant ally who cares only about his daughter. Sonic is as good as always, he remains the ray of light that brings everyone up. Whilst I'm not a fan of Roger Craig Smith's performance in most of his Sonic appearances, this game was definitely my favourite performance of his and it might have convinced me to be less cynical if he returns in other games. Amy's one was weird though, she kinda sounded 12 and 67 at the same time. Spectacle is another aspect that this game handled well, the super sonic boss fights are engaging and cool to watch, and I think they can only go up from here in that aspect. Overall, Sonic Frontiers is a game I went in with very low expectations, and rolled credits feeling honestly reinvigorated with this franchise. For the first time in a while, I'm excited for what comes next, and I encourage everyone to give this game a proper try. An exciting new road in the Sonic franchise!
For starters, the story of this game was surprisingly captivating and interesting, and I was glad to see that the writers made an effort to link the games of the past with Frontiers. Characters will mention past events in conversation, and If they continue down this path then there will be a better sense of cohesion between games, with arcs that could span multiple games. That idea is exciting. The expansion of the lore was clever and added context to games as far back as Adventure 2, and that, I find extremely refreshing. The soundtrack is awesome as always, with a mix of calming tracks and heavy metal epics that match the tones of their respective gameplay segments. Speaking of gameplay, that aspect is perhaps the most mixed bag of the game. I was surprised at how enjoyable the gameplay loop was, however, I definitely understand the criticism and am optimistic about how it can be innovated in the future. The combat was a definite standout, having much more in-depth moves to use is a refreshing upgrade from simple homing attacks. I wish there was a bit more variety in the gameplay loop, whilst it was fun at first, things got a bit more formulaic towards the end and ultimately got stale. The graphics were also hit or miss, sometimes the game would look nice and other times it would look downright bad. Hoping to see an improvement in future installments. My favorite aspect of the game is the way characters are handled. It felt like there was a lot more depth this time around, and that comes with the more mature tone this game takes. Every character has a distinctive arc and, most importantly, they are changed by the end, in a way that it feels like they are setting the arcs up to be expanded in future games, which I love. A standout for me was Eggman, who was give a much more humanised role in this game. He didn't even really feel like the villain, and by the end, I honestly felt sorry for him. This feels like it could be the last game where Eggman is in an antagonistic role, as he seems to be transitioning to a more sympathetic, hesitant ally who cares only about his daughter. Sonic is as good as always, he remains the ray of light that brings everyone up. Whilst I'm not a fan of Roger Craig Smith's performance in most of his Sonic appearances, this game was definitely my favourite performance of his and it might have convinced me to be less cynical if he returns in other games. Amy's one was weird though, she kinda sounded 12 and 67 at the same time. Spectacle is another aspect that this game handled well, the super sonic boss fights are engaging and cool to watch, and I think they can only go up from here in that aspect. Overall, Sonic Frontiers is a game I went in with very low expectations, and rolled credits feeling honestly reinvigorated with this franchise. For the first time in a while, I'm excited for what comes next, and I encourage everyone to give this game a proper try. An exciting new road in the Sonic franchise!
2019
A simple enough game that doesn't take too long to beat, but doesn't add too much in that short runtime either. John Wick Hex is very stylistic in both graphics and gameplay, and I did enjoy the neon aesthetic that harkens back to the movies. Where the game begins to fall apart for me is in the mixed bag of a gameplay system. At times, when it worked, it really worked, and I honestly did feel like I was choreographing these action segments with ease. This was helped by the option to view back your gameplay in a more cinematic style, an addition I really appreciated. However, those moments felt a little sparse compared to the moments of clunky movement and awkward positioning, which oftentimes brought more frustration than enjoyment. Moving on from gameplay, the voice acting was overall very good, an obvious standout would be Troy Baker's performance as Hex. The writing of the dialogue felt reminiscent of the Wick movies, and that was always enjoyable, but these cutscenes served more as a scene setter than anything else, considering the length of the game, the little emphasis on the story is understandable. Overall, John Wick Hex is a game where, when it works, it is a genuinely fun ride, however, this experience is marred by a lot of clunky gameplay and the story is too sparse to separate those unenjoyable moments.
2013
This game is a timeless gem. The world of Bioshock holds so much potential, and this game capitalizes on the potential, presenting a beautifully-crafted world and a deeply interesting story that leaves you in awe by its end. Despite its 2013 release, this game has not aged, thanks to its art style that doesn't focus on realism. Despite this, the world of Columbia is genuinely jaw-dropping, everything from its design to its transitioning state as the game progresses. The gameplay is pretty general, you go from exploration to combat pretty frequently, and whilst the combat sequences began to feel a little long in the tooth, it helped that the gunplay itself is actually really fun. The use of ziplines adds a level of movement that spices up those segments as well. The main grab of this game is in its story, and it's a brilliant one at that. The concept is so intriguing, and it doesn't hold your hand either. You're left to infer and wonder about what it really means, and that's a great point to get to. The voice acting is superb, if a little cheezy at times, and the arcs that Elizabeth and Booker go on are one of the greats of any video game story.