Weird, self-righteous, self-indulgent bullshit. This game has the audacity to call itself an “essay” but doesn’t do anything except attempt to teach you some basic video game philosophies, which even then it does poorly.

On top of its holier-than-thou approach, the game making itself is done poorly. My game broke about 15 minutes into it; I couldn’t equip my gun anymore and I couldn’t pass a certain puzzle (which is a generous word to use) without it. Restarting the game or the checkpoint didn’t even fix it. I had to reset the entire thing and almost didn’t even want to waste the 15 minutes to do so.

Gameplay was boring and the design of it was trying too hard. I don’t like rating games this poorly but man this was a drag.

Oh wow, this is how you make a sequel. I really liked Ori and the Blind Forest, but there were a few things about it that I thought could be improved on and this game managed to fix all of them while improving on what the first game did so well. In my mind a good sequel should do three things:

1. Take what the first game did right and expand on it. Don't try to fix something if it isn't broken - they kept true to their vision of the first and didn't reinvent the wheel with their Metrodivania layout or platforming.
2. Take what the first game does wrong and figure out a way to make it work - they made the combat more fun and got rid of the out-of-place Soulsike aspects.
3. Expand upon the story, the characters, and the world in a way that feels genuine and worthwhile. It should contribute to its predecessor, not contradict it - many lesser sequels, I feel, are overtaken in arrogance and try too hard to make something different than the first. Why? We love the first for a reason, don't try to undermine it. Will of the Wisps evolved the world that the first one laid out in a meaningful way.

Much like the first game, Will of the Wisps is an exemplary showcase of visual storytelling. Their is little dialogue; most of the story is conveyed through purposeful actions, music, and visuals. The way they manage to capture such emotion with such little dialogue should be applauded. It helps when your game looks this good. I mean holy damn, this game is stunning. The colors, the environments, the music, it's all so breathtaking to look at. I got emotional several times throughout the story and that's in large part because of how gorgeous it all looked and felt.

The only thing I didn't like was a cheap copout at the end of the story (I don't want to spoil anything) and, even though it was a significant improvement on the first game, the combat was still the weakest part of the game. But I can forgive the combat because the platforming was flames, and that was the bread and butter of the gameplay.

I really loved this game. I also appreciate it being relatively short; I can't do longform Metroidvania. This may be my new gold standard for the Metroidvania genre.

For starters, I should say that traditional Soulslike games have never really appealed to me. It's mainly the gameplay, which I find awkward, sluggish, and boring. However, for some reason, I bought Lies of P hoping that it would break this anti-Soulsike curse I have. Unfortunately it did not. I don't think there's anything "wrong" with this game, it may even be a really good soulslike. It's just one of those things; I wish I could like it so I could be a part of it with everyone else, but I just can't.

I think the design of it is wonderful and it captured my imagination with it's aesthetic and world design. In fact, the look of the game is what sold me on it to begin with. The character designs and the setting were impressively well realized. The art direction was on point, consistent, and enchanting. These are the biggest positive things I can say about this game. I think it's impressive that a small indie studio was able to craft something so big.

I pride myself on my ability to be able to enjoy any good game regardless of budget, genre, or time of release. But the one genre I just can't seem to get into is the Soulslike. The only one I've legitimately enjoyed was Kena: Bridge of Spirits and I'm not sure if that's even considered a Soulsike by fans of the genre. Ahh well. Next time I'll resist the urge to buy the pretty Soulslike so I don't dilute the review pool with my distaste of the genre.

Overall I definitely see why this game is beloved by fans of the genre, but even a great design and good atmosphere isn't enough to break me from my dislike of Soulslikes. This is the unfortunate life I live.

This kinda game is like a drug to me. Just absolute catnip. This is exactly the fix I needed. I love poker, I love deckbuilding, and I love roguelikes, and this game combines then with excellent style and presentation and addicting gameplay. Unfortunately, though, like with all drugs, the first high is always the best. And nothing will ever beat the high of Slay the Spire. I put a good chunk of hours into this in a short amount of time and then went back to my baby. But it was a great fling while it lasted.

Well, here we are. For so long I was apprehensive of playing this game. Not because I wasn't confident it would be as good as everyone said it was, but because I was afraid I'd have a hard time getting into something with this much depth (same reason that RDR2 was overwhelming). But I gotta say, after my first 80 hour campaign... I get it now. It's as good as everyone says and it many ways even exceeded my high expectations.

The biggest compliment I can give to this game is that it may be the most ambitious video game ever created. I love Dungeons and Dragons, and no video game can ever replicate what a TTRPG can do... but this game gets pretty damn close. The loosey goosey style of the story feels like D&D and the sheer volume of branching narritive options are impossible to comprehend from a logistics standpoint. The weird shenanigans you and your companions get into feel like D&D. The fact that you really can roleplay any type of character you want feels like D&D. The combat literally just is D&D 5e and is an overall amazing port (I am personally not a fan of combat when playing D&D5e because of the monotony of dice rolling, but the system translates so well to a video game). Other games dream of having this much depth but very few can stand up to even one of these pillars of BG3's design. As a lover of both D&D and video games, this game was a perfect marriage of strengths between both of these styles of storytelling.

Few video game stories, really few stories in general, can affect me like this one did. The story, the world, and, most importantly, the characters were all so enchanting that by the end I got emotional when I had to say goodbye to it all. I think part of what it made so special was that it was my story that was naturally crafted through my choices. Most games will give you different roads that lead to the same destination in a deceptive attempt to make you feel like you're playing an RPG, but BG3 actually does live up to its promise that your story will be different than everyone else's. I had a lot of fun chatting with my friends and roommates about how much our stories differed from one another.

Like I mentioned briefly earlier, this game is logistically impossible for me to comprehend and is one of the most ambitious games ever made, but.... at times it also falls victim to its own ambition. This is where I list my criticisms of the game, which are mostly in the technical category. When you have a game with this much gameplay depth, there's no way you can foresee every possible encounter and how niche mechanics work with each other, so I don't fault Larian too much for any of these. I had my fair share glitches and frustrations in this game; poorly optimized camera controls (at least on the PS5), my companions constantly got left behind or stuck, game crashes, asset loading errors, combat inconsistencies, there were a few quests that glitched out and I couldn't complete, and a few more smaller things that irked me and took me out of the immersion. While these are (mostly) just minor inconveniences, they do add up and keep this game from perfection. However, its sins are heavily outweighed by its virtues, and despite all these issues I still respect this game from a technical standpoint.

Another small complaint I have, and this may be a hot take for some people: I don't think the co-op is very fun. I actually started a co-op campaign with experienced players first and did the tutorial with them before starting my own game, and I think that was a mistake. When I play a game like this I like to take my time with everything and engulf as much of it as I can, which is to say I think I play games like this slower than most people. Usually this isn't a problem in a fast paced game like Helldivers 2, but for a game like this with so much depth I much more enjoyed my time playing solo. Though this is mainly a personal preference as I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with how the co-op structure was built, so I don't knock any points off for it.

I feel like I've wrote more about what I don't like about the game, which isn't how I wanted this to go, but if you've played this game you know why it's as amazing as it is and I don't need to reiterate all the glories of the game that have been said in 10,000 other online reviews. This review is getting long, so here's a few other things I really liked before I wrap it up:
- The voice acting was top-tier, from the legacy PCs with thousands of recorded lines to the niche NPC encounters that most players won't experience. Bonus points for J.K. Simmons.
- The gear system wasn't overcomplicated, but was still comprehensive. A lot of lesser games struggle with this balance.
- Beautiful lighting and sound design.
- The musical themes were both beautiful and provocative, and the main theme will live in my head for a long time.
- Character creation was amazing for facial customization (though, admittedly, lacked in the body adjustment department).

If I can end the review on one last anecdote; this game in 2023 feels like what Skyrim felt like in 2011 and, before even that, KOTOR did in 2005 and, even though it was a little before my time, Chrono Trigger in 1995. These are three pinnacles of the RPG genre and I think they walked so the next one could run. I remember when Skyrim came out and every friend I had was skipping school and talking about how it offers "unlimited" freedom in its fantasy setting and these same talks happening with BG3 made me feel nostalgic for that. I'm excited to see what game takes what BG3 did and somehow improves on it.

This is a game I don't think I'll ever forget. Although it's flaws hold it back from a seal of Masterpiece, I still believe this is one of the most innovative, impressive, groundbreaking games ever made. I'm so happy for Larian Studios and the video game fandom in general for this games commercial success. It deserves every penny and shows the world what kind of games we really want. This game had passion poured into every crack and corner of it; you could tell lovers of games made this.

96/100

This game encapsulates everything I love about social gaming. In my older years I really do not enjoy PvP, but I still enjoy challenging myself with my pals. It's been a long time since I've had this much fun playing a game with my friends; at times I couldn't breath from laughing so hard.

This game is just good, old-fashioned fun for the sake of fun. It doesn't have a deeper meaning and it doesn't need it. The 3rd-person combat doesn't reinvent the wheel, but that doesn't mean it isn't a nice wheel; it's fluid, satisfying, and their stratagem system really brings it all together. The directional input was such a simple, yet brilliantly executed idea. Nothing like being the last of your boys out there, being chased by a hundred insect creatures, having to put together precise directional inputs in order to save them. They intentionally designed it this way to maximize the chaos of it.

I also love the ult-patriotism themes in it, clearly poking fun at modern-day American politics. The humor is great, the propaganda vides are hilarious, and even the musical themes seem to be making fun of the generic "American patriotism" themes we hear a lot. Me and my friends are really into the roleplay of it, too. I'll never forget when we were getting owned by insects, and my last friend alive threw a nuke on himself because he couldn't revive us, saluted, belted "FOR DEMOCRACY" and died along with the hundred bugs around him. We lost that mission, but it was so f***ing funny.

It's also cool that the entire community is fighting the same war. I think the success of this game speaks volumes to what the gaming community wants. It goes to show that gamers want a co-op, PvE, easy to drop-in and play type of game. Especially with its release right next to a game like Suicide Squad, which absolutely tanked, I think it's cool to see this really small IP destroy the big IP DC game. Gamers aren't stupid; you can't keep making shite video games and expect us to gobble them up. Hopefully these dumb executives that are making poor decisions learn this.

Overall, I'm having so much fun with this game. It's a great, easily digestible fun time and it's exactly what my heart needed.

Maddy Makes Games aren't the developers we deserve, but the developers we need. This is exactly what my heart was craving right now. What a fantastic little surprise this was. I thought it was surprisingly well built considering how quick it was made, even if the camera was a bit janky. It was fun seeing how these characters lives have progressed over the last 6 years. There were a few challenging platforming bits, but after conquering Farewell it was relatively a piece of strawberry cake.

Please continue to make Celeste stuff. And also release this as a playable N64 carriage and I will empty my wallet for it.

70/100

I decided that I want to play through all of Supergiant Games' catalog this year. Hades is one of my favorite games ever and I wanted to see how this studio evolved their craft, starting from their first game onwards, which will hopefully lead up to the release of Hades II.

Bastion released in 2011 and I think when analyzing this game it's important to remember that. It came out during a time when there just weren't as many indie games for a multidate of reasons. In 2011, indie games were risk-heavier from a business standpoint, weren't as accessible as they are now, and were, quite frankly, really hard to make. Considering all of those challenges, I think Bastion is quite an achievement. I can absolutely see why this game is as well regarded as it is. I feel like if I had played in 2011 it would've been an all-time classic for me...

...but unfortunately, I think I played this game too late. It's 2024, and as much as I so desperately want to enjoy this game like 16-year-old me would have, I just couldn't. The primary contributor to my displeasure was the gameplay, which I don't think aged very well. It was just a less evolved, more boring version of Hades. There were too many unlocks and it the progression system was too convoluted for how short the game was. The visuals were also just OK. There wasn't too many visual concepts I haven't seen before and it was even a little fuzzy, like I was playing on an old TV but not in a charming way.

However, there were some things in this game that I do think aged well. For starters, the soundtrack is absolutely incredible from the scores to the lyrical pieces. Some of these tracks are going in my all-timers playlist. I also found myself getting invested in the characters, the world, and the story, which were all carried by the narrator. His voice was just so mesmerizing; listening to him talk and deliver sick one-liners is the main reason why I was able to keep going through the dull gameplay.

Overall, I am very happy I played this! It's so cool seeing how Supergiant started, and I can definitely feel the influence this game has had on the indie industry as a whole. I do wish I played it a dozen years ago, but I can't help that now. Next up: Transistor!

61/100