The only game to scratch my Bloodborne itch since... well, Bloodborne. While it shamelessly rips from its inspirations, I liked the twists it put on the standard FromSoft gameplay. Weapon assembly got me to experiment with builds more often than I usually do, and healing charge recovery enabled me to pull off some exciting victories when normally I would have consigned myself to defeat from lack of resources. Also, the fact that you have three defensive options for most scenarios (dodge, block, or go for the parry) added a lot to the second-to-second decision making in combat for me. I love how Lies of P takes its source material seriously to the point of silliness. I still smile thinking about the game's loading bar being Pinocchio's nose stretching across the screen. It lags in some departments, such as the linear level progression and the uninspired cube and spectre features, but it's one of the few SoulsBorne games to get this close to the genuine article.

The best Arkham game, no debate around it. It was hard for Rocksteady to top Asylum but damn did they do it.

Arkham City is a great location and really opens up the ability to explore and traverse around as Batman that Asylum just couldn't offer. This is made easier with the improvements made to the controls of flying Batman around with gliding and rappelling made a lot easier.

The combat also is so much better than the previous entry with the flow being so much cleaner and giving you the ability to pull off those high combo moves and feel like the dark knight himself. A lot of new gadgets and combat moves to choose from as well, as well as the thugs having much more counters to your moves that you will have to work around. Stealth combat is also a lot better, with the introduction of much more takedowns that make stealth sections less frustrating and more enjoyable.

The story of this game is incredible, from being chucked into Arkham City as Bruce Wayne to having to stop what Hugo Strange is planning as the Batman. There are so many great characters here and they all play a big part in this story. Everything they chose to do this time was spot on and didn't have that same problem as Asylum with the underwhelming ending. This time it is memorable, and not in a bad way. The addition of side quests also gives the player a lot more content to enjoy, with some really nice little stories dotted around while showcasing more of the villains from the Rogue Gallery

Arkham City has everything a Batman fan would want in a game and more. For me, it is easily the best in the series and even maybe one of my favourite games of all time. if you haven't played the Arkham trilogy, you need to.

I adored this game as a kid. Even coming back to this game I still love it a lot. It was made for us kids whose parents wouldn’t let us have GTA 3. Can’t gun down civilians on the sidewalk? How about kicking em instead? The amount of weekends I spent kicking Flanders across his garden were too many to count

There are so many references to the show and as someone who watched it, I really do appreciate these callbacks. The three maps and their variations are pretty fun to explore for a bit and again, lots of references to be seen and gags to enjoy.

Technically the game is very simple but it’s a kid game so what do you expect. The driving is decent enough and the combat is as easy as tapping a few buttons (side note I really like the kicking animation, just looks silly and that’s what you want from a game like this). I’ve seen some people complaining about the difficulty during the last mission, but I didn’t have this problem. Finished the game with ease and probably only had to replay a couple missions.

Content wise I feel there is a decent amount here but I do think it’s a game you have to put down for a bit and then come back. Trying to play it in one sitting would be too boring as there’s not much variation with the missions. It’s basically just race this person or collect this before the time runs out and that’s it.

However despite this, I will still always hold this game close to my heart. It was part of that golden age of games during the PS2 era and if you weren’t there to experience, you really have missed out. Games aren’t the same nowadays

And the award for biggest disappointment of 2023 goes tooooooo....

This game is another example in Bethesda's journey into making lifeless boring games and losing touch with what made their games magic in the first place. When I first played Fallout 3, my first Bethesda game, the thing that hooked me instantly was the landscape and how in whichever direction I went in the world, I was bound to find something interesting. That doesn't exist in Starfield and let's be honest, that is what makes or breaks a Bethesda RPG. The exploration is boring as hell with planets basically being made up of the same auto-generated crap and you spend hours walking around in boring landscapes that just makes everything feel like a chore to do.

The quests are boring, the characters are boring, the gameplay is boring. The only thing Starfield does right in fact is its lore which is a shock for Bethesda. The background of the Colony Wars and such was so interesting but the unfortunate thing is that took place all before the game, so you don't get to experience any of it. You just get given these boring fetch quests around uninspiring worlds that have no effect on your playthrough or character.

The mechanics are Fallout 4 reskinned meaning they are still rubbish. They changed the dialogue back, which you would think is good (because that Fallout 4 dialogue choice was horrendous), but no it still manages to be underutilised and bland. And don't get me started about the new persuasion mechanic, it's hideous. The gunplay is still Fallout 4 so nothing new or changed. Even the weapon models and animations are just Fallout 4 ones, it is such a lazy design. And the loading screens, THE DAMN LOADING SCREENS. You can’t go two damn minutes without being interrupted by a loading screen, it totally ruins the immersion. Look at Spider-Man 2 for comparison and it’s embarrassing for Bethesda.

All in all, Starfield has none of the magic Elder Scrolls and Fallout have and this makes it a boring slugfest to play. I'm shelving this for now but I don't really have any plans to return to it. I'm just worried about Elder Scrolls VI now, don't f*ck it up Todd

Another stereotypical run-and-gun military story about a hero saving the day is what I expected going into this, but that is far from what you get from this game. Instead, you are dealt with an emotionally gripping story that shows you the true horror of war, a realistic adaption that doesn't shy away from being dark.

The narrative of the game is beautifully written and the twist at the end of the game is unexpected and really opens the player's eyes up. I won't spoil what it is, but when it hits, it hits hard. It is honestly in my opinion one of the best I have ever experienced. It left a lasting impression on me long after, and if a game does that, best believe I am holding it in high regard.

So why isn't the game a 10/10? Well purely because of the gameplay. It's very mediocre and there is nothing special about it. But that's not the selling point of this game, the outstanding story is. If you want a game to make you think, then play this underrated masterpiece immediately.

im going to be honest, this game was targeted directly at me. it plays with ideas of having to grow up and choose what your life wants to be and stuff is crazy how I finished it on my 18th birthday. but while the story is good, isn't really told in the best of ways and the dichotomy of what I want and what Sable the character wants making it feel distant at times. But the overall themes and ideas that its trying to put forward in the terms of an loosely directed open world is amazing. the ways it forces you out into this world without any notion of what to do, no overwhelming threat that you have to beat that effects what you want to do (totk pressuring you to save hyrule, arkham city forcing you to get b-man's cure), and making YOU make decisions of what YOU want to do. to me this brings more freedom to sable than even botw, and lets me discover the world and come back to camp whenever I wanted. This all works because the world is so interesting and makes me want to explore all of it to see everything it has to offer, with places to see and go everywhere. giant monuments like the wyrm, the crystal plateau, the bridge of the betrayed, and the whale are all amazing places and the fact I can never see the dev behind the traversal of these areas makes it feel so natural in the world. these mostly uninteractive but fully traversable areas I can see hurting the game for a lot of people, but man I can't get enough. Each area is so visually distinct and filled with such memorable imagery that I wish that it pushed further into this and removed quest wavepoints all together and made me learn the desert. it's got a great ambient soundtrack that goes too well with the gameplay. its got some performance issues and the hoverbike driving can be jank sometimes. its got me thinking on why this routine of exploration is so engaging for me removed from its own story. if this sounds interesting then play sable, if it doesn't, then nah, you won't like it.

I am conflicted on this one.

Insomniac continues to impress on the gameplay side. Traversal, combat, and stealth all have welcome additions. Web wings are incredibly fun and intuitive to use, and the PS5's improved loading times let you move through New York faster than ever before. The super slingshot move and Hunter Drone missions stand out in particular for how fun they are to use and play.

Combat has more options and a more streamlined approach to gadgets and abilities. The gadget wheel is gone, thank god, and the gadgets have been changed to be more focused on giving you advantages in combat that change how you play rather than just being a "defeat the enemy in front of you" button. The parry is also a nice addition, giving you more advantages but being harder to time. I felt myself using the parry more when I was higher in health and could afford to miss the timing and the dodge when I was hurting and needed to be more evasive, which felt appropriate. Some of the cues can be hard to see sometimes, especially when the enemy attacking you isn't on screen and you have to rely solely on the audio cue. The only egregious example was a fight with a character who used a lot of blue particle effects mixed with a blue indicator that an attack was unparryable, creating a frustrating combination. The particular focus on air combat is exciting, as air combat is really what differentiates Spider-Man from other games using the same type of combat system. You have more tools and more ways to stay in the air, and enemies have more ways to counter you while in the air, keeping things fresh. Combat felt best in rooms with tall ceilings where I could stay in the air for 70-80 hit combos without ever touching the ground. The abilities are also a nice touch, although I will say that Miles' abilities feel noticeably better than Peter's, but not to an extent where I felt especially weak fighting as Peter.

Unfortunately, the story feels somewhat weak. The spectacle is definitely there in spades, but the smaller character moments don't hit nearly as hard as the ones in Spider-Man PS4. I attribute this to somewhat poor pacing, this game's story feels very rushed, especially when compared to the first. I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, but I was expecting more time with some of the characters. I feels like even 20% more time would have been enough. I also feel like Miles got a little shafted, as this is way more Peter's story than his. At many points during the story, it feels like he has little to do relating to the main plot, and we're thrown into his shoes for about 30 minutes while the writers promise they haven't forgotten about him and then we're thrown back into Peter's side of the story. He definitely plays an important role, but he feels less like a 2nd main character and more like a supporting role.

I still highly recommend Spider-Man 2, especially for the new gameplay changes, but the story left me wanting a little more.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a breath of fresh air in more than one way for 2D Mario games and has easily become one of my favorite platformers out there.

The artstyle is great, the controls are responsive and precise and the animations are just smooth. You can really feel the amount of dedication the developers put into the game, every level has an unique Wonder Flower gimmick and the talking flowers were a personal highlight for me. It's really just a blast to play!

There are still some nitpicks I have with it. First of all, why can't different players in multiplayer equip different badges? I don't think this can be blamed on hardware limitations. Second thing, there should've been a way to play traditional online co-op and not just the "ghost mode". Oh well, maybe Nintendo thought it wouldn't work after the amounts of lag in Mario Maker 2's versus mode. Who knows! Then there's the thing with the Yoshis and Nabbit (you've probably heard it a thousand times now). They really shouldn't be locked behind a whole difficulty and the other way around, cause if you're a legit fan of these characters you can't play them without having a whole different experience. Last but not least, something feels off about the structure of levels in general. While they all feel unique in a way, they're... too simple at times. I'm not talking about the difficulty, I'm talking about the placement of things. Can't quite put my finger on what it is.

Overall Wonder was a fantastic experience though and I'll surely be going for 100% completion. Despite the small flaws I've mentioned, it's one of the most fun games this year and I really appreciate the hard work of the developers, hope they got a fat paycheck for working on this :p

just like racism, i dont understand this game. I dont really understand why people like it that much or why they get so defensive about it. but i am also a guy who values gameplay first, so take it how you will. I dont understand the gameplay. most of the time it hinges on you seeing the enemies before they see you and headshoting them, they see you first, dead in 0.2 seconds. it doesn't feel im tacticly fighting my way to the target, it just feels like im exploiting ai. i dont really understand the level design, a lot of people see the levels as immersive sim sandboxes to complete in however they like, but I only really see them as repeating rooms with a couple guys in each of them you go through in a pretty linear line to the target. I kinda like the presentation, with its jarring colors and environments but still making the game readable and doesn't really hinder gameplay. the music i don't understand, though, yes, it matches the visuals, but instead of adding to it, it is very distracting and annoying to me. the story, i dont really understand either, and to me just seems like "capitalism bad" to me. I dont really understand the writing and dialogue and is either adding to capitalism bad or xd lmao so random. thats most of it, would like if a 150 iq, 6'7", 100lb ripped gamer could explain how i am 5 iq for not understanding why people like the game.

after only really playing rock band 1, its crazy how different the gameplay is. really a tweedledee/tweedledum senario where only hardcore fans know the differences. this one is way more fluid and forgiving for hammerons, long notes, and notes which gives each beatmap more room to become as hectic as possible while also feeling fair. going back to rock band 1 where a lot of the beatmaps are boring compared to this game, and kinda had to be because of how unnecessarily strict the game can feel, especially with a 10 year old wireless guitar. crazy how different each of these games feel to play. what really holds this back to me is the ugly art style (especially 3d models) and mid set list.