Biased toward this one because even though it's not the first Souls game I played, it's the first one that grabbed me enough that I played it to the end. Not knowing what to expect and being surprised by awesome and interesting shit around every corner is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had, and cemented FromSoft as one of my favorite developers. In retrospect it has a lot of issues, is really linear and over reliant on DS1 throwbacks but still great nonetheless. Wish I could relive that first playthrough though.

I didn't get into the series until shortly before this game came out, so sadly I must admit this is the first Halo game that I was actually able to play while it was fresh. It was one of the games I played most back in High School and for that reason I have a weird amount of nostalgia for it despite its glaring problems.
First off, the campaign is easily the worst in the series. That's not to say it's bad, it's still very fun to play, especially in co-op, but it's short and not very memorable and the story is the only one in the series that I think is genuinely bad. It pulls together dozens of potentially interesting ideas and characters only to underdevelop or throw them away entirely. It's a mess and put the series' overarching narrative on a trajectory that 343 still doesn't seem to know how to correct.
The multiplayer was definitely where this game shined brighter; classic even-starts in arena with advanced movement wasn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved it. The fancy new Warzone mode was a fun chaotic mess that felt like the true realization of the game's sandbox. Unlocks and customization were arguably the biggest misstep in this department; armor customization was absurdly limited and REQ packs injected a pungent odor of pay-to-win to the Warzone mode. These issues would probably have bothered me a lot more had I grown up with the straightforward unlock systems of the previous games, but didn't stop me from sinking countless hours into the PVP regardless.
Was it the worst Halo game? Yeah probably, but I don't think it's lacking any redeeming qualities. Hoping it gets a PC release or added to the Master Chief collection at some point.

Exactly what I wanted from a sequel and easily Remedy's best game since Max Payne 2 at least. Awesome story and incredible atmosphere and visuals. The survival horror stuff is good although I will say the gameplay isn't anywhere near as challenging or engaging as a typical resident evil game, but that's okay. Only other issue is that the ending feels a bit rushed from a gameplay angle but I like what it does narratively. Overall brilliant game that I was very satisfied with.
Worth noting that while the story of Control and really every major remedy game contributes to this game's plot, you can go in having only played Alan Wake 1 and follow the story just fine.

Man, really wish I could get what others, fans and not, seem to be getting out of this game, but I just do not like it at all. There are a few charming aspects and steps in the right direction for the series but as a game its an unpolished mess of jank and bad design choices. Im not against this game's "open zone" idea, but turning sonic's typically stylish and creative levels into these barren landmasses that are as boring to explore as they are to look at makes for a bleak experience. I'm all for a collect-a-thon but grinding through identical drag-and-dropped grey rails and hula hoops gets old quick. Sonic controls okay until you realize this game has no momentum or weight to its movement. Requiring me to hold boost to maintain top speed feels bad on its own and is made worse due to the gauge being replaced with a BOTW-style stamina meter so I can't refill it on the go (unless I max-out my ring count which is so easy to do it makes you wonder why they bothered limiting your boost at all). Jumping out of a boost kills your speed and certain actions make Sonic stop on a dime so aggressively that it actually made me nauseous to play. The linear cyber-space levels would be the saving grace for me, except that these levels re-tune the controls to be horribly stiff.
Its not all bad- the bosses, while not exactly polished, are awesome setpieces. The story is refreshingly sober and actually takes its characters and lore seriously. Seeing a game where the writers and animators clearly think sonic is the coolest shit makes me feel like a little kid again, it's great! Unfortunately this just makes it more of a shame that this game, which is one of the more ambitious sonic stories in a while, has the presentation value of a fan-game and is one of the ugliest things I've played in recent memory. Still, the Metal Gear Rising influence is very welcome here.
Overall I get why people are enthusiastic about this game but it just doesn't do it for me. I play Sonic games for fun, stylish platforming and movement and levels and this game didn't provide me with any of that. Maybe next time...