There are not many developers out there like Remedy doing what they are doing in the gaming industry, after spending over half a month on their games I kept getting more impressed as games went by, gradually as games went by I became either more excited or more interested as to what they'll be able to pull off next, it reminded me that being excited for a studio's next game and what they do next IS exciting and that I'm here for that transition phase with the studio themselves, even if it can be rough at times, as quantum break is one of my least favorite games out of Remedy's lineup, but that's fine because it made their way of using multi-media and live action all the better, there is something in each of these games which pay off eventually for the player if you invest and immerse yourself in how insane and intriguing it gets, that's also largely why I think Alan Wake 2 resonated with me so well, this was their magnum opus, this was what they've been working for years and trying to come up with as many ideas and eventually make a whole universe that connects it all, and Remedy isn't without it's silly, witty, weird things, but the psychological supernatural aspects of it are genuinely so interesting, it feels like like they've added multitude of layers toward things we originally thought were simple, not to mention how great of an emotional core this game has, especially on both sides of the campaigns, it really does feel like we're getting closer.

Without delving into spoilers, I thought that this game hit all the right marks for me, Control felt like we were already exploring psyches and delving even deeper into the supernatural and total weirdness that these games were able to portray, and Alan Wake 1 also played a lot into the supernatural and that this is an actual thing happening to Wake himself and reinforcing that he isn't totally insane (he is), and there are so many theories you could possibly make out of anything in this game, Sam Lake even encourages us to do so and see how we fit this puzzle together, and that's also why I found this game to be so intriguing, there are a lot of answers, but oh so many questions that will leave you wondering, but not in a frustrating way at all, a way that makes you hopeful for what's next, and they've genuinely succeeded, Wake's latter campaign and the exploration of his psyche floored me at times, there are so many more details I could mention that had me staring at my screen in awe at how well done some of this game was, and Saga's inclusion genuinely make it feel a lot more complete, alongside the inspirations they've taken to make this game,

I haven't seen any David Lynch movie or series (I should) but Seven, Silence of the Lambs and especially True Detective speak so much as how they wanted to continue/conclude things in the game while still feeling absolutely true to what Alan Wake and Remedy games stood for, especially with Saga's campaign and her investigations, it was always interesting to have a case board and see how every little detail connect to one another, something that feels completely different as to how Alan approaches things with the plot board, the changing environments and that it even gets really gruesome sometimes, but trying to explain how I feel about this game and Remedy's journey to get this game out is difficult, it's one of the best things I've ever experienced and has inspired me to think differently about these mediums and how they can interlink but also a testament to how important narratives are in games, and what a developer could do within those limitations, and Remedy has outdone themselves to create a triple AAA horror game that feels like it breaks it's own chains to present a deeper, more meaningful subversion of the genre and that plays with it tropes in meaningful and beautiful ways while having strong characters and a strong emotional core, I could come up with another million buzzwords about Remedy and Sam Lake's approach to games and narratives as a whole but I think it's more interesting if you find out for yourself how they've been able to give something so faithful to their own works and how they're regarded as the weirdest studio ever, but also one that cares about the finer details while also feeling still really genuine to it all,

AW2 is one of the most insane games I'll ever have played, in so many ways more than one and I can't express that nearly enough, but that's what makes it so awesome, it's a game full of passion needing 13 years cause the studio felt like they wouldn't be able to do it justice, and they did, I think the ending wraps up quickly and leaves a few inconclusive plot points for DLC and a third game but, what at first felt like a kick in the balls, the first after-credits scene did it for me and made me cry, giving a satisfying enough ending to what will come next and the implications it has, I can't ever be disappointed at that, and I'm more than happy to have experienced it.

My GOTY in this year filled to the brim with the best games of all time. I say this about a lot of things but god genuinely there wasnt a single minute of this game where I didnt think that it wasnt a pure work of genius.

I went through their backcatalog VERY fast but never have I trusted a developer/writer combo more than Remedy and Sam Lake.

Also as a Finnish person i just outright cannot state just how fucking amazing was it to see a work of fiction of this scope celebrate being Finnish as brazenly as Alan Wake 2. The entire game was filled with a bunch of scenery, jokes and memoribilia that could have been taken right from a small Finnish town with a major cabin population.

This game is just a pure masterpiece of wonder that's worth playing every single game that lead up to it.

"I do not want to lose you to what you may find there. You do not have to look to the past to know who you are. Who you can be. You can choose, Basim."

Playing a new AC game on release again after all these years feels weird.

Anyway, the journey to Mirage's release was an interesting one. AC was finally going back to the classic formula but with a prequel game about Valhalla’s lame main antagonist. I initially felt pretty indifferent to it until I realized exploring Basim's past could actually be a great story.

Ig I'm spoiling Valhalla here for the 2% of the population that would give a damn but the ending of that game reveals that we technically never knew the real Basim, but instead the god of mischief Loki who body snatched Basim way before the events of the game (yes Darby probably read Jujutsu Kaisen and just copied the villain twist from that). So, with that in mind, a game about Basim's youth where you get to know the real guy and follow him through the events that would lead to him losing himself is actually a pretty great Assassin's Creed story on paper. A man destined to lose his own soul and freedom, spending his life as an assassin that fights for the freedom of others even though he ultimately will never have it for himself, it's tragedy that writes itself and a really unique conflict for a MC of the series. That gave me relatively high hopes for this game narratively and a decent amount of it was fulfilled!

On the other side of the coin, this game was heavily marketed as a return to form for the series. Playing as an actual assassin, better parkour, a middle eastern setting, stealth and all that jazz, it was exciting to hear but at the same time we had the notion that this was originally planned to be a DLC for Valhalla that got reworked to be its own game so my expectations were very moderate for how far you could push the engine to feel like the old games.

Well with all that introduction out of the way, I really enjoyed this game!

Let's get to the meat and potatoes of the narrative first since there isn't much to talk about. It's decent. I felt pretty whatever on it for a good portion of the runtime but it has its pretty high moments, especially at the end. All the stuff I expected them to explore with Basim was done almost exactly how I expected it to go down but the story still had some fun twists especially regarding Nehal and Basim's impact on how the Brotherhood views the pieces of eden from that point onward. The problem with the story is that beside suffering from having very few memorable characters, it has that good old problem a lot of AC games feature, lame antagonists. I really wish we could move forward to periods that feature templars again because man the Order of the Ancients is absolutely nothing in this game. Besides maybe a few good exchanges here and there about the Creed’s contradictory view on freedom and the mostly decent memory corridor scenes, the middle chunk of this game is vapid and just boring with its uninteresting characters and general disconnect to the targets you kill. If there’s one thing this game definitely ain’t channeling from AC1 it’s the focus on philosophy. Like I said, most of the characters were really boring but I did enjoy Roshan and Basim a lot, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Lee Majdoub gave great performances. One problem with Basim is that I think going for a non linear “kill whatever target you want first” approach was a bad move because it makes him just have no development during that portion of the story due to the freedom you’re given with what missions to do first. The ending delivers and ultimately the point the story presents is executed well and doesn’t linger for longer than it should with a very solid runtime. Shame about no modern day for some reason, really don’t get why they went that route for the first time in the series with THIS game because Basim’s story literally continues there so I feel like we definitely needed at least a closing cutscene taking place in it.

Gameplay wise I had a blast. Even with Valhalla’s skeleton, the improvements and changes made are genuinely impressive. Basim feels fast and agile, stuff like the dodge and the slide Eivor had in Valhalla which was utterly useless in that game are now super fun new tools to mix up during free running for agility and expression. Basim’s toolset is great, the combat is very solid and the lack of leveling is a god send. The boring sections of the narrative are saved by how strong the gameplay with the glorious return of the blackbox assassination missions. It’s just an overall REALLY fun game and once I got used to the feel of it, I was parkouring around Baghdad like a bolt.

Speaking of which, it’s no surprise that Baghdad is not only beautiful but one of the most well-designed maps in the series. The atmosphere is unrelenting and the amount of stuff to parkour around really made me feel like I was playing an older AC game, it’s a city AC game executed to perfection.

Brendan Angelides scored the FUCK out of this game which is kinda series tradition but still. Apparently it’s his first game score and what a debut because the motif of this game has been stuck in my head ever since I first watched that reveal trailer and it just kept popping off consistently throughout the whole game.

Overall, very good time! I can definitely see myself replaying it in the future which is a thought I dread with the 3 last games (even though I greatly enjoy Origins and Odyssey). Definitely hope they keep this direction for the series in the near future because it managed to not only take me back to the old days while also feeling fresh with its own little spins on the series' gameplay.