This is a neat little adventure game. It's got some creative puzzles, a great atmosphere, and good writing with some really likeable characters. The game uses some neat "computer" mechanics, that I kinda wish had some more depth. In general, the puzzles could have been a bit harder or more interesting. The times that a proper challenge showed up was fun, but somewhat rare. Walking around and finding stuff to figure out how to progress was consistently enjoyable, but I do wish there was a map to make trying to find one specific item you need just a bit easier. The plot is pretty neat, and somehow doesn't roam into annoying territory, although it gets close. It's mostly bolstered by the likable characters, which go quite a long way. In short, good atmosphere and plot, simple but fun gameplay, it's a pretty good time.

This was a fun and short character action game. It really feels like a single-player arena fighter, and it works pretty well. The bosses are really fun, and most regular combat encounters are good too. Combat can get somewhat tedious, and it doesn't feel like there's much room to get better at the game. But it feels good to just fight stuff moment-to-moment. The story is an oddity. Sometimes it really nails an over-the-top tone, but it can occasionally get tedious watching a lot of cutscenes in a row before getting to another segment of gameplay. The game overdoes it on QTE's and requires just a bit too much button mashing for my tastes. Excluding those issues, this is a solid action game with some really high highs and some still okay lows.

Bayonetta 1 and 2 had a peculiar relationship that few sequels have. Each did some things better and worse than the other, resulting in games that were both pretty great, although for somewhat different reasons. Bayonetta 3 is very much in the same vein, making some great additions and changes and some steps back here and there. The combat is excellent, and feels incredibly satisfying to pull off as you get more weapons and more insane combo potential. Playing on hard mode without using items very much was challenging and rewarding, leading to tense and chaotic boss fights. The monster summons were quite fun, and in my experience couldn't be spammed easily. Music was quite good too, pretty consistent throughout. The area design is mixed, not as consistently strong as 2 visually, but solid. Some areas are lackluster, while others are quite cool. The game uses a lot of gimmicks, which are also inconsistent in quality. Generally, that applies across the board with the whole game. Fun, but all over the place in a way that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but still results in a good time.

I enjoyed this game quite a bit. As a mostly story-driven game, I liked the characters a lot. Kasuga in particular might be one of my favorite game protagonists ever, and his VA does a stellar job. The rest of the cast is pretty strong, but some characters outside the main 4 can feel somewhat weak or underdeveloped without going out of your way. Combat is simple but fun and satisfying, yet many bosses don't quite challenge you to use the moveset in interesting ways. There were a few (really cool) boss fights near the end that were a blast, and it made me want to see more cool stuff like that happen. The game's got a great sense of style, really strong characters, fun gameplay, everything an RPG should have. Oh, and good side content. All in all, pretty dang good.

I've always found it somewhat difficult to put into words why this game never really worked for me. I certainly don't think it's bad, but I found the game to be wildly inconsistent and usually not particularly engaging. When I play a metroidvania, I find the fun to be from a consistent sense of progression as I explore further and further across a large map. Hollow Knight accomplishes progression well enough, with plenty of ways to get stronger and allow for interesting customization options. However, it's exploration that really drags this game down for me. The map design is largely uninteresting, with some cool enemies but not much platforming or well-thought out enemy placement and obstacles.

These areas can often visually bleed together or lack notable landmarks, which makes exploration more tedious, and trying to find a previous area to use a new upgrade can be a pain. This stacks with some mechanics that just make map progression more tedious without really any benefit in my eyes. You can't see where you are on the map, and map progress is only logged upon resting at a bench. I guess it's more immersive? I don't care much for immersion when it gets in the way of pace.

Now that's a lot of negativity, but the game has some things I really like. The main thing is the boss fights, which really make the most out of the basic combat mechanics and are consistently fast and engaging. These are a real highlight.

The game does a lot to waste your time, and I would argue needlessly. Unlocking the true final boss requires a ton of extra steps that requires an ungodly amount of just going through the map, but again with occasional differences. It leads to the white palace which is a great area, but the game strings you along from fun challenge to fun challenge with a ton of walking through samey corridors.

I think I'm harsher on this game than necessary because of it's reception. It's constantly held as one of the greatest games ever made, and a pinnacle of the genre. I find that it doesn't hold much of a candle to many of it's predecessors like Metroid Zero Mission or Castlevania Aria of Sorrow. It lacks the tight pacing, varied areas, and more that those games capitalize on. In short this game is cool. I'd love to see more from this studio, as this is still a promising first game. But it's far from being one of the greats.

This game is a bit all over the place, but consistently fun throughout. Thanks to the structure of hunting down four antagonists, there's a consistent sense of progression and variety. This does mean that some particularly cool areas like the castle don't get a ton of time to shine, but no areas overstay their welcome either. The faster pace and action compared to RE7 is quite fun, and leads to a lot of fun combat encounters. The "survival-horror" has certainly taken a backseat (excluding one noteworthy segment), and conserving my resources didn't feel particularly important a lot of the time. Excluding the final boss, I had tons of resources and only died a small handful of times. Maybe playing on hardcore would be a bit more fulfilling. Regardless, fighting is still very fun, and the re4-style merchant is a welcome addition that allows for more customization and progression. The game is oddly inconsistent in a lot of ways. The tone, speed, gameplay focus, all of it switches around pretty regularly. I could see that bothering some people, but for a low-attention span individual it keeps me hooked. Anyways, game's pretty good. I'd recommend.

This was pretty solid, but I had a few issues here and there. To start with the great, the atmosphere and combat are very well executed. It plays it's horror well, preferring to signal danger with quiet breathing, distant footsteps, or rubble clattering. It feels way more (I hate using this word but it applies) immersive when scares are signaled in a realistic way rather than some horror stinger. The sound design is very well done and adds to it a lot well. The combat is somewhat clunky, but in a way that adds to the tension. It's all about reading enemies as they try to fake you out, and playing aggressive is generally the only way through. Combat can be trivialized in many instances by spamming the taser, which is kinda lame. The guns are worked well into the gameplay well too, considering how limited they are. The story is okay. It feels very unfocused and doesn't fully execute it's concepts well. Environments are varied and decrepit, which works out quite well for upping the atmosphere. Exploring is fun and tense, although the 'detective' mechanics feel pretty undercooked and repetitive to actually use. The pace is pretty solid too. I will say, the game didn't scare me all too much, but it was certainly tense. Some parts feel somewhat tedious, and it can get a bit repetitive. Generally, the game's pretty cool. I wish it had some more variety and clever uses of the game's mechanics, but it's still a solid time.