Originally, I wanted to play Outer Wilds, but seeing my bank account in the red I had to search my steam library for a game to start.

That's how I unpretentiously launched Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, a game I'd obtained in the humble Capcom bundle a few years earlier.

I confess I'd never heard of DD:DA or Hideaki Itsuno's career (Devil May Cry excluded) before launching the game.

For me, Dragon's Dogma is a game filled with a passion for fantasy universes (mainly Dungeons & Dragons, but not knowing D&D in depth I'd rather not assume that kind of thing) and filled with universe rules and game design that engages the player in a routine and gives a solid structure to the player's progression within his adventure.

I was delighted to discover landscapes reminiscent of my travels along the Irish coast, embellished by the game's soundtrack.

Despite a few blemishes, notably on the AI of allies and the number of passage cuts that stand out, I thoroughly enjoyed my adventure in the lands of Gransys.

I highly recommend Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, especially for gamers familiar with the Dark Souls saga, as I find them intrinsically linked in terms of the themes they tackle, their bold staging and their pronounced game design decisions.

"Unbound by time, all-binding, grand design,

land and skies and seas yearn,

finish the Cycle of Eternal Return."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLAqgY48Ymw

Mea Culpa, I hated playing Metal Gear Solid 2 until I got to the end of the game.

But I love playing games that aren't for me. Games that, despite their difficulties, moments of rage and frustration, manage to leave me speechless.

That's what happened with MGS2.
I had a terrible time, not knowing how to use the environment to my advantage, not knowing how to handle stressful situations, not knowing where the game was taking me and what it wanted me to understand. Thanks to all these emotions, I was able to feel a certain closeness to Raiden.

Environment, our ideas, our culture... poetry... compassion... sorrow... joy...
We need to pass the torch

These words will stay with me forever, and I don't know if one day I'll be able to Say Goodbye to this Game.

This game made me break my DS in half.

Only 3 of us have logged the game (March 2024), and since it's a game that's been part of my childhood, it's a bit heartbreaking to see its page empty.
So I decided to write a little review of my experience with the game.

MTV Fan Attack was one of the first DS games my mother gave me.
Although the game isn't great, I still have fond memories of it.

I remember how goofy the game was, with its silly story based on a pop star having to flee his community of fanatics, offbeat music and gameplay close to the complexity of a Pac Man game.

But then, I must admit I was charmed by something in the game, something I now miss and which must be something akin to a nostalgic memory of Sunday mornings with my brother over my shoulder, wondering if we were finally going to finish the level that was blocking our progress, while our parents slept in the next room.
I also remember being charmed by the game's low-poly aesthetic, which for me was one of my very first approaches to gaming.

As I said at the beginning of the review, I broke the DS in half playing the game.
Well, to be exact, I broke my big brother's DS. I remember being scolded, I remember crying a lot, but most of all I remember disappointing the various members of my family and the stupidity of having done such a stupid thing because of a video game.

Nevertheless, this event didn't stop me from sinking into League of Legend chat restrictions and all the toxicity I can show in a game.

In the end, this game didn't teach me anything, not even leave a mark, except for the sweet memory of a Sunday morning.