Manly tears were shed.

What a great game. I'm just in love with it. This is a biased review.

Just play it.

The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions

🎜 "The many miles we walked, the many things we learned" 🎝

May possible be one of the biggest and longest open world games I've ever played. Almost 90h worth of mainline content and I can't imagine how much there's left for me when it comes to side content, let alone achievements. It was, for the lack of a better word: "A wild ride" to behold. It's in a whole another league compared to what we currently have in the industry and probably hasn't won't be replicated ever again. Was the sacrifice worth? Yes, to some extent.

Let's start this reading with a simple question...what is Realism? Cambridge Dictionary says: "A way of thinking and acting based on facts and what is possible, rather than on hopes for things that are unlikely to happen". Dictionary.com says: "The tendency to view or represent things as they really are". Why did I bring that up? You see, Red Dead Redemption 2 is full to the brim with details in every department it can cover or be developed on, is it really though? No, of course not is not perfectly "Realistic" but, it's realistic in a way a videogame can be, just before it starts to be annoying. Same goes for the word "Immersion", stranded in a world were you can feel it really exist, and you're part of it. "Realism" and "Immersion" are two sides of the same coin, while not exaclty meaning the same, they are rules that a certain work uses to make a peaceful cohesion in a fictional world. Realism can help a world feel more immersive since it's using real world rules, something that I think everyone knows by now. Immersion can work on it's own and does not need realism to make a world feel "real".

🎜 "..The building of a shrine. Only just to burn" 🎝

Why is Fallout New Vegas as a game more immersive than Red Dead Redemption 2? It's all about being consistent. Fallout's World doesn't aim to be "Realistic" it aims to be immersive, while Red Dead Redemption 2 tries to be both, and sort of fails in both categories. This was just a realisation I had after skinning so much animals in the wild, some had stupidly long animations that I felt were just made for comedic purposes and some didn't even had any animations to begin with. Why just don't go all the way in? Game just shitted the pants in front of me after flexing for so long I could skin an animal in with some very gruesome long animations. It was one of the most shocking aspects of Red Dead Redemption 2 to me, it could've been a perfect game in my eyes if it really want to go all in with it's mechanics. It's inconsistent, for the most part and this isn't immersive nor realistic, it's frustrating. And I can't get over the fact Rockstar did that to themselves, meaning it was intentional. As a game it is still bounded by Rockstar's philosphy.

🎝 "Shine light into darkness" 🎜

Let's just get the possitives out of the way first because this game has a lot of it. First off the story is all around great and enjoyable, really long too probably lasting as much as 90h. Arthur Morgan is a great character, everything you want in a cowboy. But most of all, he's human with all it's flaws and strenghts that comes with it, further elevated by Dutch's actions during the game. It's like you're playing as some sort of innofensive gang of villains all the way through the game surviving the rampant change of times in the middle of nowhere. It's a compelling tale from start to end, even if it drags for way more than needed. I've heard once "Time affects the way you feel towards someone or something" and I think it applies perfectly to this game.

It's not just Arthur, the whole gang adds something of value to the group of outlaws, again with it's flaws and strenghts and no one is absolutely in top of another, except for Dutch. The most important characters in the game are the ones that end going through the biggest changes, or in the words of Arthur: "Just reveal who they really are". The writting takes a huge leap in quality compared to Rockstar's past works as well, I can admire that any day of the week. I think the title of this review encapsulates the story very well too, the wrong sacrifice for a greater good or something like that. The soundtrack, which surprisngly most of it it's original as much as the first game is impecable and captures the feeling and themes of "Desolation", the very last breath of the wild west with Arthur and "Union", the new born man finally living in society with John. I love it.

As the title of this review says "Good Intentions". Most of the negatives I just remarked, are positive for others that aren't me or some of you that didn't like this game personally. It's a sacrifice towards accesibility. I still remember reading a news article saying something like "70yo grandpa has played Red Dead Redemption 2 campaing over 20 times" or so it said. That made me smile a bit, knowing that there are people out there that are willing to play games but can't sink time in something so demanding and hostile towards them. And I'm glad this type of game exist for the right people that love it. But, Why just don't go all the way in? Rockstar is a master of their craft, but can't seem to understand their formula, desing isn't flawless in this day and age. What may have been acceptable in GTA III, in 2001 isn't much in Red Dead Redemption 2, 17 years down the road. It's a philosophy, a way of living such as Dutch said. Even if isn't perfect and they have to stand for it.

🎝 "That's the way it is" 🎝

Even if the story is great and pretty much perfect, it's sadly encapsulated, sealed in a perfectly safe bubble, a world apart from the open world. They're two separated entities working under the same roof. There's story missions Arthur Morgan which tells Dutch that killing people is a big no-no, and there is open world Arthur Morgan which internally disagrees and has commited mass genocide in Rhodes and Valentine in broad daylight, the open world does not mean much to the story and the story does not mean much to the open world itself, aside from some specific occations but they don't work together at all. This has been an issue with Rockstar in general. Specially in something, just to give you an example GTA IV. But in this game is much more aggravating knowing there are more decisions to be made, it either rewards or punishes for your behiavor, since you have more options to interact with the enviroment at your dissposal. You choose the way you want to be in the, that very system is reduced to a serviceable Honor System. The Honor only affects the open world slice of this title and affects the story in very minor key details which are some specific cutscenes towards the end of the game, before the epilogue to be exact.

And they created this fictional world that is so huge, detailed and...well...full of scripted events. It's the same plague that rottens the main campaing. Once you've seen everything that there is too it, it means there is nothing beyond it. It's scripted you can't change what's there...in a video game...a medium known for it's interactivity. A world to me doesn't just end in looking pretty, full of activities to waste your time on and scripted events. It needs to be alive. Sorry to bring up Fallout New Vegas again, but the Mojave as ugly as it can be I personally feel more connected to it because it let's me do whatever I want and I'm not limited beyond the game already tells me. And sure, you can say in Fallout New Vegas the game is "scripted" but it opens the possibility to change the world around your decisions, not just you having a bounty on your head or not, so it limits itself to a binary system without any gray zones in between.

There is too much passion, blood and tears put into this game. Down to every minuscule detail, it's honestly excessive because this isn't a "Cowboy Simulator", it comes from Rockstar; the same company that coded Grand Theft Auto V's driving. Then what? It's Red Dead Redemption just GTA's boring brother? Is GTA going to fill that rampage arcady fun of many people? Is it RDR going to be even more immersive in the next entry? Too many questions when it comes to identity, GTA V and RDR 2 are the total opossite in the same vein GTA IV and Red Dead Revolver are. Talking about excessive, Rockstar Games were caught making crounch on their developers while making Red Dead Redemption 2. The horse ball conversation is more than known by the public by now, but it's the perfect example of making pointless details that might have put just for fun at the detriment of some employees. Just imagine someone consantly supervising the work of the horse testicles shrinking by cold temperatures and all the variables that comes with them, and you're the one in charge. It honestly doesn't sound that fun. A leadership like this? Starts to sound Dutch, ambition knows no bounds for the greater good of everyone but your people.

Honestly, this game is good. But it's severly flawed. If it wasn't for the impecable story and writting probably I would've not continued playing it. Not even the survival elements can make it for a decent replay, since for the most part everything is automated and slow because "Realism". It's frustrating to know so much effort went in a game that is loved by millions but it's a clear example that more doesn't always mean better It's a game thar is less that the sum of it's parts, which means if we evaluate each component individually we'll get very high ups and very low downs.

But thanks Arthur, for trying.

Killer on Debt

Suda51's Killer is Dead was one of the many titles produced during the "Dark Era" of Grasshopper Manufactured as a developer since they're not publishers themselves. The 7th gen on consoles and the craze of action games, no matter the type was an age to learn the in and outs of the market. Say; your Bayonnetas, Devil May Cries, your Metal Gear Revengeances and even No More Heroes, something more close to home. Each one adding their own flair and substance beyond just connecting combos; the story, characters, dialogue, style, music and the overall presentation helps a lot of these titles stand on their own in top of being Hack and Slash games.

What doesn't suit me much with Killer is Dead is the overall package itself. The consistency in a game is key, maintaining a structure that can last is hard. Specially when we're talking about videogames. Killer is Dead greatest sin is that it can't mantain it at all, and when it does is you start to notice that something is missing. This leads me to believe that: Development time was tight and not enough, it was too ambitious and due to a lack of funding a lot of stuff had to be cut or simple inexperience led to a subpart product.

Takes some light inspiration from No More Heroes combat, combined with a simple yet fun upgrade system and killer7 signature cell-shading style and even the word "killer" slapped on the title. The combat is really fun albeit braindead easy and can get really repetitive on longer sections that require you to fight endless hordes of faceless enemies. It emphazises a "counter and strike" playstyle towards the normal enemies and being agressive towards some bosses; either dodge or parry their attacks to squeeze more juice out of the combat. When it comes to style, Killer is Dead is one hell of a looker, we don't see many games if any with the style that originated in killer7 emphasizing the crude and raw colors over the scenery, specially the blacks disguised as overly thick shadows. Killer is Dead has some of that, but it failed to secure a peaceful cohesion with all of the visual flare it has to offer. It is very close but they might have gone overboard with the motion blur and glow in general? While killer7 remained mostly calm and gave you enough time to analyze the scenery in your head without any intrusive post-processing effect while on gameplay. It is distracting in Killer is Dead if we compare it directly to killer7, it unecessarily stains an already clean image and thus ruining some of the merit it might had towards the future at least for me.

This time we the take control of "Mondo Zappa" and no it's not Sumio Mondo's lost cousin or anything just because they share that word. "Mondo" means "World" in Italian and my guess is because both characters travel around the world very often due to their jobs. Zappa works under an agency sustained by taxes, which means they work for the goverment and their main goal is to execute whoever the client at hand is asking. Each chapter is treated as missions or levels which can be selected on a world map alongside sitting with some side-content in top of it alá No More Heroes 2. "Giggolo" as they're called are basically side-missions were we need...to enchant women with gifts? The whole ordeal is unnecessary, used as an excuse to give us new gadgets to make combat/exploration easier. It might be one of the many corporate meddling decisions that Grasshopper wered force to include because it really feels out of place and not something even a teenager would like. Lame.

Back to the story itself. It is known by most people that Suda51 makes games for a specific type of audience, they're not for everybody and that is perfectly okay. The weird and outlandish style can both attract and discourage people to try these games. Most Suda51's work tend to be chaotic on the surface, but subtle on the inside; Killer is Dead is vague and tries to tell it's whole narrative in that style. You see, killer7 worked because it has a fundation to stand on and the details of the story while vague were presented correctly as it had a lot to tell and was complex even for it's time. Killer is Dead narrative is quite simple but burried under layers and layers of vague dialogue and shiny visuals that end up confusing more than answering the questions themselves. That is why Killer is Dead fails for the most part and it is why I feel indifferent towards it.

Killer is Dead is worse that the sum of it's part. On one side it is a good and stylish action game, on the other side the music and the story are quite underwhealing and doesn't do much to shine on it's own so I barely had any reason to go forward outside just wanting to finish it. Play it if you're in the mood but don't feel forced to do so, it's 2$ on most Steam.

My favorite Metal Gear Solid game. And it doesn't even start Solid Snake. You play as Raiden a very female looking man. He's the one carrying the mission to investigate Big Shell which is full of terrorist and has the president of the U.S as a hostage.

Wish I could talk about it more. But this is a Spoiler-Free review.

Hear me out, the twists in this game are insane. You'll feel like a fool by the end.

I'll just say: "Illusions might be more real than you think".

Introspective Memorial

For the past months, starting with The Silver Case I've been analyzing Suda51's work on detail to see where the fuzz is with him and his works in particular. A clear obsession over someone's work? Everyone has their favorites; Franchises, names, characters, writters, composers, designers, companies all in the name of familiarity under the sense of comfort. No one can deny that Suda51 has made a name for himself in the industry, starting off working with several other companies before creating "Grasshopper Manufacture" his very own company. Their motto is "Video Game Band, Punk is Not Dead" which to a lesser extent refers to the act of rebellion and to standout for themselves in a little confined group of people with a clear identity, tastes and ideas. It is easy to assume that is just clever wording for "it's not for everyone". You might be right, GHM games set themselves to built a loyal fanbase with their products. They do a great job at keeping consistency, different genres or not their DNA is still prevalent.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is to a lesser extent a celebration of Grasshopper Manufacture and a introspective for Suda51 as a creator. It is a very personal title, a love letter to the indie scene and a message to the game industry I'd say. The game industry now can't sustain by itself, at least without making it obvious with predatory practices that directly affects the customer for the worst. Like Ouroboros, the game industry is eating itself up and is not growing as much as the people with money expect to. If anything, the indie scene has been growing and growing this last decade and that isn't a surprise knowing how most big productions turn out to be these days. There is a big sense of distrust amongst consumers, and everyday it seems to be getting worse. Grasshopper itself suffered through this during the best part of the 2010's, their "Dark Age" as I like to call it. Your EAs, Kadokawas, and some more that never got along well with the studio. After all that, Grasshopper shrinked to an indie sized studio and went up to create this game.

Travis Strikes Back is one of those titles that you would find in the Xbox Live Arcade or PSN Store for 20$, it kind of shows. But don't let that fool you, the Grasshopper DNA as I said before is pretty much present here and it is better than ever. Multiplayer hack and slash by day, visual novel by night. But again, underneath all of that is that powerful and personal message of unfullfiled dreams and successes that would end up carrying this company legacy. This is Travis's introspective as an assasin, climbing up the ranks to the top and enjoying what life has to offer after a hard day at work. You are already on the top, what's there to do now? How do you continue your legacy? Keep doing the same? Imrprove? Or start over? When you are lost, looking at your failures, achievements and getting to know yourself better to see what makes you, well, you is the best way to know where to head next. Travis's story hit a climax in No More Heroes 1, which asked that very same question. In Travis Strikes Back he looks back at fallen heroes, old men have already nothing to lose but their lives and this is where Travis's phillosophy shines through his speech. Not necessarily looking down on his enemies but giving his perspective on life and putting your work on the line. This is not the Travis we got to known in the first game, he has grown now, to be a wiser man. A perfect reflection to life experiences, Suda51 itself went hell and back to be where he's now and the same goes for Travis Touchdown. Aside from the main hack and slash game, we get a VN styled adventure which gives us further context of the story. Basically Travis in each scenario is searching for the "Death Balls" around the globe. As a celebration title, this game includes a lot of character from other GHM games such as Dan from Killer7, Sundance from F.S.R, Shirobayu from 25th Ward alongside others. More than anything they're cameos that don't impact much in the overall story and personally I see this just as a funny little gag.

It is as impactful as knowing you best friend deepest secret, explained by himself. All the frustrations, fears and getting to talk about what it is into on detail. What it believes, what wants to achieve, and mainly: personal goals for the future. It is not laid out to be a comprehensive documentary of the company or Suda51 itself, it is first and foremost a No More Heroes game. Though, it is without it's negatives mainly comming from the gameplay that can get old quickly. This isn't necessarily a problem since the game often goes back and forward with new gimmicks that break the main formula every now and then. Though I'd say I did felt this complain was completely valid on the last level.

All and all it is a solid action title, and a happy commemoration of Grasshopper Manufacture history. A happy reminder that even through they might have changed once or twice over the years, they still carry the soul of Punk.

Basically Super Mario 64, with the ability to correct your jumps midair and plenty of way to skip a star requirement. And a shotgun, obviously.

Simple in concept, great in execution. You can shoot basically anything that you would think it would get destroyed. See a wall that is bothering you? Shoot it! Don't want to grab Bowser by the tail and break the lifespan of your analogue stick? Shoot him. Baby Penguin being too loud? Don't try it. But you can commit first degree murder to the mother, if you feel like it. A lot of details went into the interaction both with characters and the objects themselves. Not to mention a couple of QOL improvements that makes this ROM hack a really enjoyable experience.

Camera is a bit iffy and often goes behind walls and such. I don't know if this hapenned because I killed Lakitu while he was giving me advice on how to control the camera at the beginning or is it really intentional. Probably my only nitpick.

Getting the 120 stars was a breeze, not even counting up to 3 hours.

25th Ward little story expansion, won't take you more than 15 minutes to read if you are decent at reading. This is just a fangame recreation of the manga, which is also translated by fans.

I'd rather recommend you reading the manga first since it has more illustrations and is more visually appealing overall. Text is considerably slower than either 25th or TSC too.

It's a nice fan tribute to the games themselves, artstyle and uniqueness but again just read the manga. There is a character that will end up appearing in No More Heroes 3, which is part of the greenout chapter and this is her first appearance with a little origin story. It reminded me a little of 25th Placebo very last chapter, just way shorter.

Only recommended in case...you want to hear the music while reading? Filling the gaps will be way harder without the illustrations. If you are curious, give it a try.

Bloodstained is the more or less the spiritual succesor to all things Castlevania, post Synphony of the Night. It draws most of the core concepts from the legendary metroid-vania that kickstarted the genre, well both games share the same creator and creative mind behind it: Koji Igarashi. Some time after quiting Konami like any sane person would do, he kickstarted this project back in early 2015. Mind you, this was the time Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee were around for this sudden retro-revival craze which most likely started after with Shovel Knight success story, but I'm not 100% sure.

It plays and feels like a 2.5D rendition of Synphony of the Night while having it's own disntictions as well. To avoid some redundancies here is my review for Synphony of the Night. Makes a big emphasis on the shard system, which basically works like in most Kirby games would: kill an enemy and get their powers/summon. Alongside them, there are other types of shards, from the ones that give you passive buffs to the everyday magic spells. The RPG elements are strong and leaves room for a lot of customization. Though I'd say it does feel bloated in terms of quantity, specially when talking about the shards.

This journey takes us to uh, royalty free dracula's castle! Well, it's definitely a castle in middle of european town or england and not set in romania as we were so used to in past games. As Miriam, we're set to erradicate the demon invasion that has spawned in town. The castle is the answer to the problems, which castle? I don't remember honestly, the story was very poorly told. It starts strong at the beginning and then it let's you run free at your own pace through the castle. Story isn't the strong selling point here, nor was in Synphony of the Night, but I'd say it works mile better in Alucard's game since it doesn't dump lore whenever it has time to, it was simple. My brain was focused on killing cool monster and leveling up, to suddenly be stopped to read about some of the lore, quite a snoozefest. It ends up being the same story as in Synphony of the Night but if anything, less personally involved by the characters.

Visuals are a mix bag. What stands out can be pretty, but it also have some rough edges. Most levels themselves are full of detail and a joy to look at, but the characters models outside Miriam are fucking hideous. While I can attribute it to being a Kickstarter project, a more distinctive less-detailed artstyle would have work wonders for the type of game this is. Still, the visuals while detailed are simple and clear enough to play with ease. Same goes for the presentation, it doesn't stand out much. It is fine, totally fine.

My take is that is a good metroid-vania game. It has a good base, but lacks what is otherwise the substance, which can make it stand on it's own compared to his older brother on the PS1. I won't like to deminish what it did right, but Synphony of the Night has that elegance and style to it, something that Bloodstained simply doesn't have.

Exisitenial Fear, to the Great Deep Unknown

Soma can escencially be one great horror title. One that isn't actively trying to scare you off all the time. While it has the core elements that encapsulates a horror title that could scare anyone easily, it doesn't really try to. Instead, what we get is a tale of desesperation and hope.

In what this game excells is the story and atmosphere. The story was thought provoking and soul crushing once you realise how everyone operates in this underwater hell. Mind and Body ain't the same in this universe, the mind is modular and replaceable and the game plays with that idea very often. And the atmosphere is wonderfully detailed, big and makes you feel isolated in the vast deep sea.

While the elements I just described elevate the game to be one unique experience, the gameplay can be a heavy burden to carry. I played it on Normal Mode so I can't really speak from my experience in Safe Mode. I could say the problem doesn't come much in the "Hide and Seek" mechanics, is that they are not properly explained throughout the game. Some monsters have different methods of chasing you, but this doesn't give any clear indications of how. The other problem is that there isn't much room to "Hide", and the monsters themselves don't leave too much room to play with a strategy, just run and pray it doesn't get you. And if you get caught, it isn't that much of a punishment.

Another aspect that bugged me is that filler can ruin exploration in this game. One room may be empty or with a bit of objects for you to interact with. This could help immersion, but in practice it ruins exploration and you can get easily lost in a facility that is already hard to memorize without a map to guide you. While they are not huge in itself, it would have been nice to have a portable map to make exploration easier.

Outside of that, the game takes it times when needed and let's you explore open ended areas after moving up from one zone to another. It does fall under a routine where you end up in a area, complete it and move to the next one though every station has it's purposes to the story while giving a sense of relief after a rough follow of events. Arriving to a new area were one of my favorite bits of this game.

I can classify Soma as a horror walking simulator, mixed with some light puzzle elements and "Hide and Seek" mechanics, only when monsters appear. Immersion with it's incredible oppressive underwater atmosphere and great storytelling being the forté of this title.

Really good game. But it's not really the masterpiece I've been hearing so much.

Sure, it's great in the gameplay department but it's a tan lame with it's history and some characters being for the most part walking steriotypes compared to P4 which had better characters that felt more special and unique.

The combat is great. A lot of spectacle and little effects. Demon negotiation is here for some reason, it's more basic than in the SMT games but it opens for some interesting possibilities. The social aspect is here and greatly expanded from the past games.

It may be the best in the series, but it's not my favorite.

"The First" as in the first that triggered the whole Lisa series as we know it now.

Definitely a tricky title to talk about and I can't really blame on the developer since it was probably one of his first serious works. The message and the intention is the definitely there, and would ultimately carry a great importance to understand the story as a whole.

It tackles the subject of abuse from the perspective of a little girl called Lisa. It's all presented in an abstract, yet perfectly readable manner. In this kind of stories being subtle is key, as in not treating the players like people that can't understand an indirect approach to story-telling without going to the lengths of being cryptic. Or even worse, not being pretentious is important too. The First walks a thin line between being subtle and blunt, but ultimately all put together with a nice balance between the two striking, a clear contrast between what Lisa wanted to really do in dreams and her constant nightmare.

On the game-y side of things, it doesn't hold as good as The Painful or The Joyful. It's an old RPG Maker 2003 game, they were really popular during Yume Nikki's craze, and games that came soon after as a effective resource to tell stories for amateur game developers, mostly based on their artstic deeds rather than the ones that come from pure raw mechanical ingenuity. The First ain't much different as it just walking and avoiding obstacles on your way to the end, collecting different objects that will unlock new paths to follow. If you're thinking it's just Yume Nikki in disguise, it is inspired by the latter. Some sections, specifically with the Marty spiders are specially evil as it is the only part were it will put your skills to the absolute limits. A huge unnecessary difficulty spike from a gameplay and enjoyment standpoint, that might or not tell us more about Lisa's story in hindsight. Why spiders in particular? They can act fast, are lethal once they put one of their big creepy legs on you leading to a potential poison and leaving a big scar that won't dissapear in a short period of time. And is even worse knowing the spiders have the signature image of Marty's face. In The Painful, we can also envounter this very enemy scattered around in various parts of Olathe but we can be fight him as Brad directly, that very minor detail can give us a small glimpse of what was the overall relationship in the Armstrong family and why Brad isn't here.

Only recommended in case you want to get into the Lisa series and not much as a title of it's own. In The Painful, as soon as we boot it we can see Lisa's outcome out of this neverending nightmare. Watch it on Youtube if the spiders bother you too much, could've rated 1/2 stars higher without them.

Bloober Team's attempt at a Silent Hill game in a era (which we are still trapped in) of a lack of a serious presence of the series as a whole.

My only experience with Bloober's work has been Observer which I played last year out of sheer curiosity. This game oddly enough shares most of it's strenght and weaknesses which it shouldn't be surprising knowing it's comming from the same studio. Unlike Observer's cyberpunk-dystopian inspired setting, The Medium goes back in time to 90's poland and the camera shifts to a third person perspective. To my surprise there are differences as much as are similarities between both titles: scripted chases, limited combat, great atmosphere and very linear progression. But underneath the superficial aspects, The Medium hides it's true face and there are a lot of reasons it didn't reasonate with me as much as I hoped to.

The Medium for the most part is a walking sim, with puzzle elements here and there. And the most important aspect of all the "The Medium™ mechanic" which let's you see both realities at once, thank you next generation! It is a strong selling point which isn't even used that much in the game, keeps itself simple for a couple of puzzles to solve...and that is pretty much were it dies. Now, there are moments were it's use is justified and arguably the best use of this mechanic was in the very ending. It left a lot to be desired as it never goes beyond being an extension of the "Material World". Not entirely different. it offers nothing a quick change in scenery would have done with the power and speed M.2 and SSD provide just for a quick puzzle solution. Very hardware taxing too, specially for PCs. It is a neat idea on the surface, but one that ends up being heavly underutilized for whatever reason.

It takes some cues from the Silent Hill games, and definitely noted some influences from SH2 the most. In interviews, developers clearly stated their love for the forgotten Konami franchise. But does Bloober Team made a commendable effort to differentiate or at least be a game that adds to the genre as a whole? Not much. Let's be honest, the most famous Silent Hill games aren't exactly known for their deep gameplay mechanics rather it is the heavy opressing atmosphere of the town, the music score, beloved main characters and by times dark stories. But The Medium isn't any different, at times it can even be worse than the game released 20 years ago. First off, no map is needed to explore or mark notes on as the exploration is as linear as it gets. Total anhilation of your only limited guide through the game, it could've come in handy in the very last section. And second, combat is totally ditched outside certain scenes were it's not even required to continue. I'm all for a combat-less horror game, but this is straight up boring. Puzzles were fun and that is pretty much were my praises end.

The story surprisingly isn't all that bad, as Marianne our protagonist pieces the puzzles that is her past through her powers as a medium. It gets really dark after a while, tackling some sensitive issues such as suicide or even child trauma. Not talking "My mon hid my DS" child trauma, but rather problems that do occur in our society frequently that are hard to erradicate/change. A cycle of victims and perpetrators which share a common demon, no matter the time or person. Interesting topics to assemble a narrative, though I would say the overall message it delivers by the end fumbles what good will started to build in the beginning. It is possible to save someone with enough care and time into it. But there are times were it is truly impossible, that is all I'm going to say.

The Medium is full of design issues that kill what efficiency, time and resourses could've poured into other Bloober projects. The worst you can do is a game to feel longer than it really is while keeping yourself always comming with new maps, and new ideas that end up being never used ever later into the game. Misses the shot, and it misses again and time again with each oportunity they have to redeem themselves from it. Think about it, they have to create two whole different worlds for each scenario that end up being the same in layout just with different decoration. Highly inefficient from my point of view as it harms development time and resources. The more I think about this unique mechanic, the more issues I see.

But it's ok, they hired Akira Yamaoka...right?

Defend your Title

Ashura-Hen is the direct sequel to Kurohyou which I also made a review, you can find it here. I'll cover only some key aspects this game has a sequel. So to avoid any future redundancies, check out my review on Kurohyou.

Ukyo Tatsuya, now as a changed man after the events of the first game ends up fighting his way into the scene and make a name for himself leaving the illegal underground colliseum known as Dragon Heat behind. Now under the control of his agency; it's just a matter of time Tatsuya finally start to find peace and comfort in a little gym located in Kamurocho. But something is missing, who was he fighting for now? This is where Tatsuya finds out Dragon Heat was in deep trouble, the place that made him change, grow and evolve. Ashura-Hen as a sequel could've gone a lot of places narratively speaking. This time, unlike just looking for the next big thing it clings itself to the idea of protecting what made himself change. Same case with Kazuma Kiryu rejecting being the Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. To put it simple, Haruka is what Dragon Heat is to Tatsuya; his reason to keep living.

It follows more or less the same gameplay structure as it's prequel. This time the map is not only limited to the same old Kamurocho but Sotenbori makes a return after being absent since it's debut in Yakuza 2, back in 2006. You won't find many surprises, as the cities are nothing but 2D background to save on processing power of the already aged PSP. So, walking around the cities is still a drag and can get boring fast. On the other hand the actual combat saw some changes and now is more centered around co-op fights rather than tackle it alone at least during street fights. Enemies wll come in hordes and they make most Yakuza thugs pale in comparasion. They're tough nuts to crack, specially on Hard Mode and the best strategy down the line is to call whoever you had recruited before. So partnerts are no longer tied to story events and that's a plus, but the game is made with that very system in mind. It counteracts a problem, giving you a little more leverage than normal, make sure to come prepared before each fight. Lowering the difficulty would be a good idea in case street fight get the best of you, don't be ashamed to lower it to Easy.

What really does sell this game isn't the story of Dragon Heat or Tatsuya itself. But it is the main villain that is well on pair with the likes of Yakuza 3 and even Lost Judgment. Is a tale as old as time; a story of revenge with a common enemy, approached differently between both the hero and the villain. The rest of the story up to that point doesn't feel that important oddly enough, but the fights on Millenium Tower always deliver no matter the game we're in.

The story might be one of the weakest aspects of this game. It plays safe as it's not as involved as the first one. Goes all over the place with moments you won't care about much for at times, as they don't add anything substantial to the main plot. Even side character stories get in the way mid-adventure, can you believe that? It doesn't feel natural. The main plot surrounding the Ashura is fine, but the overall pace gets dragged by side-character arc nonsense.

Recommended for any hardcore Yakuza fan looking for something familiar, with a refreshing intense combat. If you liked the first, there is no reason to not play this one.