I feel like, intellectually, I only have nice things to say about Not-Bloodborne Kart. Its got incredible presentation, with a mix of well-planned and well-choreographed cinematics as well as a faithful but lively PS1 user experience. The inclusion of guns and combat in a kart racer feels pretty solid, managing to avoid feeling unintuitive or janky in like 99.9% of situations you can find yourself in. The kart racing itself is mostly competent, I find it difficult to complain about the game itself - and certainly I find this to be a better platform for Liliths creativity than Bloodborne Demake was.

But man…. something about it makes me feel slightly hollow. I guess the best way I could phrase this is: its still not a very exciting use of Bloodborne. Yeah, its Not-Bloodborne now and yeah, its mostly a comedy game, but theres also attempts at staging tension and bravado with Nightmare Karts facsimile of Bloodbornes narrative and..... idk. It just leaves you wondering why some parts were so important and worth being tributized and other parts werent so much. No Yahar’gul? No forest race track? Shadows of Yharnam but no Rom? No Amygdalas? You got Astral Clocktower and Maria but no mfing Fishing Hamlet?? Theres just weird representation choices here - but thankfully the humor takes the opportunity to incorporate quite a few. Church Giants squeezing into a kart or the fact that the Bloated Pig is a vehicle are excellent decisions.

In fact despite some of my reservation I actually have to give it a full star exclusively for the fact that, in addition to Nicolas J Micolash’s kart being just him running like a lunatic on foot, his death scream is also like a 15 second long reverb-laiden howl that can be heard no matter where you are on the track. It just absolutely floors me every single time I hear it like "ooooooooooooyyYYYAAAAARGHAHHHHHHHH"

I'm struggling to find the words to express my opinon on this game. To put it simply, this is the first game I've ever played and is something I've come back to over and over throughout my life. Needless to say, this game is important to me.

When I play this I see everything that makes Mario what it is. Everything here is amazing. While in some aspects, the gameplay can seem dated, I find it as just another part of the charm. Overall, this is an amazing platformer and tbh it's one of Mario's best games ever.

What a fun and charming little game. I've never played a Kirby game before and to be honest they never really looked all that appealing to me but now that I have played it I gotta say it's one of the best platformers I've played in a while. My only real issue is the price. 60 dollars is a lot for this game however I got with the vouchers which I also used to get Tears of the Kingdom so in reality it was more like $30 however that's just in my case. Anyway, I absolutely enjoyed this game and would absolutely recommend it to platformer fans. Just be aware, and if you know anything about Kirby than you prolly already know this, but this game is pretty easy so if you're looking for a challenge you probably won't find it here.

To be honest, I went back to this game not expecting it to hold up as well after having played Ragnarok, which is in my top 5 favorite games. However, to my surprise it's still as amazing as ever.

The story is a big factor in my love for these two and that's for a lot of reasons. The story is so much of a focus that some people see it as a flaw but I just can't understand that view. The writing and characters are all amazing in their own ways. Like most things I feel this was heavily improved in the sequel.

My main reason for loving these two games, and this is kind of an add-on to what I was saying about the plot, is that the bond between Kratos and Atreus is always the main focus and that is made very personal to me because that bond is very reminiscent to me and my own dad. Call it bias if you want, and I'm not going to argue because that's exactly what it is, but that personal connection alone is more than enough to make this and God of War: Ragnarok two of my favorite games of all time.

Looking past the personal connections, this game truly is the next step for the God of War franchise. After Ascension, the fanbase needed something new and this delivered while not becoming something completely unrelated. The boss battles are still big and bombastic, the action and combat are as goo das it comes in gaming, even though the combat has kind of departed from the very early 2000s esc DMC style to take on more of a Zelda or Dark Souls feel. Whether that's good or bad is subjective but I don't mind. It's hard to fault a game for trying to be modern and keep tradition.

The music, plot and combat all come together here to make something truly special. The personal attachment certainly helps me love it more as well. While I think overall Ragnarok is better in almost every way, this is still something you can not miss out on.

I don't think there's ever been an objectively bad Mario game before. 2D, 3D I don't care. I love them all. This game is like the cheese and strawberry scene in Ratatouille. The two go together beautifully to create a monster of a game that is basically New Super Mario Bros. U if it played like Mario Galaxy 2. It is incredible in almost every way. A solid 10/10 of a platformer.

The music is incredible, the level design is genius, and the overall charm of the game is brilliant. This might be my favorite looking Mario game. Everything is so shiny and colorful. I adore it. Plus this game has an extremely extensive post game featuring some of the most difficult levels in Mario history. This is a must play for not only Mario fans but anyone who enjoys platformers. It might not be as appreciated as other Mario games but I think this comfortably stands with Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey as one of the greatest platformers of all time!

This review is discussing Bowser's Fury specifically, not Super Mario 3D World which I did review in the past.

As a port, I think Super Mario 3D World on switch is amazing. 3D World is already one of my favorite games but the port makes it even better with minor gameplay changes that add together to truly perfect the game. So all-in-all, I would have been fine if that was all that was added but no. Nintendo developed an entire new game, albeit a very short one, in addition to the base game.

I described Super Mario 3D World as a glorious combination of New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Bowser's Fury is similarly a magical combination of Super Mario 3D World that plays like Super Mario Odyssey and it works shockingly well.

Everything great about 3D World is here but now with a new gameplay loop and loads of new mechanics including Fury Bowser, who might be genuinely the most intimidating version of Bowser in Mario's history.

Instead of a regular "avoid obstacles and reach the flagpole" style that 3D World has, BF treats itself like a single large Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey full of many unique stages and challenges for you to attempt and it's really refreshing after finishing 3D World.

Another thing that is refreshing after 3D World is the length. Some might argue that it's too short and yes I can see why. (I was able to 100% it in a single afternoon) however that kind of made for a nice change of pace after the gauntlet that the later levels of 3D World became. If Nintendo took this style and turned it into a full game with loads of worlds and gimmicks like Fury Bowser I would absolutely not complain. Everything here works shockingly well.

I'd say even if you played 3D World on Wii U, the switch port is more than worth it for what it adds to the base game but Bowser's Fury pushes it even further to being an absolute must-play for Mario fans.

A common complaint I hear about Mario games is that they are very safe and you always know what you're going to get and I feel it is A Hat in Time's core desire to fix this.
I've never played a game with more charm and life than this. (maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe Mario Odyssey but it's very close) This game just oozes fun with every level and these levels themselves are so diverse that you will never see what's next coming. One moment you'll be racing a Mafia goon riding a rocket and right after you'll be stealing a cruise ship for adorable seals and crashing it into an iceberg.
The game is a clear love letter to classic 3D platformers, mainly from what I can tell Super Mario Sunshine more than anything else. There are even secret levels based on the FLUDDless missions from Sunshine for those who want jump straight up platforming goodness which this game also excels at. The core platforming of the game is extremely fluid and satisfying. There isn't much challenge but there are a few difficulty spikes throughout but nothing that will stop you for very long. If you want a challenge you'll want to check the Seal the Deal DLC which includes 38 extremely difficult challenge levels.
Overall this quirky game serves as an amazing platformer that solely exists just to put a smile on the face of whoever plays it. A definite modern classic.

I'm completely new to VR and figured this would be the perfect game to adjust to it with. And yeah this game is the perfect first game to experience it with.
Basically just a quirky tech demo featuring multiple minigames.All of the modes were pretty fun except for the mechanic one. Especially since it was the last one of the 4 modes I did and at that point the novelty had worn off and I was just kind of bored by it.
This feels like the perfect kind of game to watch a youtuber who's funnier than me play and its fine on your own but it gets old fast.
In the end though, this was a very charming way to adjust to VR and it has me excited to play other VR games in the future. I'm thinking either Beat Saber or FNAF. Upsettingly, Minecraft wasnt available for PSVR2 and from what i gather online it likely won't be for a while, which is sad because i was really looking forward to playing it in VR.

There's a couple games that I've played that make me fall in love in a way that I struggle greatly to define it in words. Super Mario Galaxy is one of those games.

This game is so much more than a regular 3D platformer. It's pure magic. From an objective point of view this is one of Mario's all time best and while I think other Mario games are more fun to play, none of them can ever hope of experiencing the same love I feel for this absolute Masterpiece.

Obviously, there's a lot of bias here from nostalgia. I won't pretend that there isn't. This game along with the Wii and the rest of it's Mario library defined me as a person. No other game is capable of filling me with as much immense joy no matter how bad a day I've had like this.

I don't really need to go over what makes this game so great because it's clear as day to anyone who's played it. It's emblematic of everything great about Mario, the Wii, and video games as a whole. If not for Xenoblade Chronicles I would have no issue calling this my favorite game on the Wii and even though it comes second place on that front, there is NOTHING between this and being my favorite Mario game. Absolute magic in every way.

There's a reason this is Scott the Woz's favorite video game.

The first two Marvel's Spider-Man games are VERY important to me. The first Spider-Man media I ever experienced was Into the Spiderverse and obviously I loved it but it didn't really make me a Spider-Man fan. Marvel's Spider-Man and Miles Morales did. Playing these games introduced to a whole new world or superpowers, fun characters, and genuine heart that I had never experienced anywhere else before. To put it simply, the first game made me fall in love with the Spider-Man franchise.

And now I've seen all the movies, watched multiple of the shows, and even read many comics including the entire Ultimate Spider-Man run. And it's all thanks to the og, so needless to say, it being my second favorite game of all time is well deserved and I was extremely hyped about the sequel.

At the very end of July in 2023 I left home to go to Navy bootcamp. The release date had just been announced for Spider-Man 2 and it was releasing the very same day I was to graduate as long as I wasn't held back for any reason. No matter how bad it got I never stopped trying to make it no matter how difficult it got because I know at the end of it all, when I had made it, this game would be waiting for me at the end. And I did.

So did the game live up to the hype? I think it did.

It's heavily flawed in many ways that stop it from being objectively perfect like the other two were but from a subjective point of view I was always going to love it. I spend a lot of time comparing it to the origianl obviously and in many ways it doesn't stand up next to it.

I think my main issue is that the game doesn't focus as much on telling a really heartfelt and mature story the same way the first game did. While this game doesn't focus as much on the emotion is goes hard on the hype. This game's story is kind of dumb I'll be honest but oh man is it fun. It doesn't feel as much as it trying to tell a compelling superhero story but instead feeding you references, cool character interactions, and just frankly awesome moments. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the heart that the first game had but when the alternative is something that is making me smile this much, I think I'll manage. Plus, These sidequests will give you all the emotion you need. I'm going to talk about Howard in a minute.

The gameplay has also been improved in many ways. Web swinging is crazy fast now and I love it. The web wings at first didn't look like a big deal to me when I first saw the reveal but in practice oh my god are they fun. the traversal in this game is easily the best of the trilogy so far which is a shame bcause I just fast travel everywhere now because DUUUUUUUDE the way you just zoom into the map with NO load screens mid swing makes me melt everytime. It's so cool. The combat however has kind of taken a downgrade. Nothing big but it feels like every interaction as you play becomes either a big horde group fight with too many guys that you just spam the attack button on, or a super difficult boss that will beat the absolute shit out of you because up to this point in the series none of the bosses have ever been that difficult. It's all the same and it gets old quick. Especially when you're in the endgame and all the generic enemies get an insane amount of health. Not bad since it's basically just the same as the previous two with a few big changes that ultimately don't really change all that much.

Time to talk about the sidequests. I really like most of them. The Cleatus Cassidy stuff is cool, the quests where you play as regular Peter Parker are unironically really fun and do a lot for Peter's character, and Miles has stuff to do somewhere I'm sure. But of course the real highlight is Howard. I won't talk about it too much but I lost my dad only days after I played this mission, and the themes it discusses and the song, seabird, helped me through it.

This game isn't perfect. Its no where near as great as the first. But it means a lot to me. I love this game flaws and all. It was obviously rushed in most areas and has a plot that feels incomplete and unsatisfying in ways but in the moments that it doesn't hold back on the emotion its extremely heartfelt. And when it is holding back on the gutpunches, its extremely awesome and just pure fun. And in all honesty, that's all I need it to be. Fun.

Objectivley this game is a 7/10. Subjectivley though its a perfect 10/10.

This game was 5 hours of nothing. I wasn't expecting anything crazy since this is a remake of a GBA game but man, I was STILL underwhelmed.

The game starts pretty basic and meh which is what you expect, but then you get a couple worlds into it and you realize that you've been so fucking bored that you didn't even notice how bored you were. And it stays that way for the ENTIRE GAME. I've never been genuinley bored to tears like this before and it's a shame that it's stemmed from a Mario game of things.

The ONLY thing that was actually good and not a complete waste of 50 FUCKING DOLLARS was the soundtrack and animations. The OST is way too good and every world has a new unique theme to go with it. Also for some reason they made the most high quality cutscenes ever seen in a Nintendo game which I can only assume had so much effort put in because they needed to distract the player from just nothing this game is. Don't play for your own sake. It's not even worth the time let alone 50 dollars.

Furi is absolutley dope. Playing as a dope automaton, you must make your way through 9 grueling boss fights that serve as the guards of this futuristic prison built just for you while being aided by mysterious man in a rabbit hood. I love the hidden details in this game's dialogue. Character motivations and backstory are always told to you and never shown.

Albeit, the game is pretty simplistic. Its a bullet-hell boss rush with swordplay. There are no upgrades to worry about or secret collectibles to find. All you are given is a gun and a sword but this simplicity makes it kind of comforting to me. It's a cool game that won't waste your time (unless you suck).

The graphics aren't the best and character animations are limited but if you're playing this game for that and not the gameplay then you're doing it wrong. The OST of this game is amazing. I listen to "You're Mine" literally all the time, sometimes even over other games.

Overall, this game's main appeal is just how fun it is. It's difficult in a great way and not unfairly difficult. You really probably to lost to most bosses at least once and that's the intention. You're meant to learn and study the enemies until dodging their attacks become second nature. Plus there's even an alt character you can play as in the DLC who you can cycle through a mode that prioritizes damage and another that focuses on speed and this character is even more fun to play as then the male protagonist.

This game's plot is also pretty good. It's not amazing but the way it is told to you and how all the pieces slowly get put together by the player is really cool.

All in all this game is purely dope. Definitely play it if you want a quick challenge for your afternoon.