This has to be a somewhat hidden gem from recent year. If you love Tim Burton's stop motion movies you're going to love this game's artstyle because they wear their influence out in the open. And there's so much to look and marvel at that sometimes it feels like the gameplay gets in the way.

The world building and character gallery is absolutely amazing and the amount of creativity poured into this game is wild. The only negative thing regarding this, is that the game is VERY monologue heavy, as in at lot of the side characters are fleshed out with a lot of back story and boy to they want you to hear ALL of it. Sadly sometimes less is more, because after the first few worlds it starts to get a bit exposition-y.

The balance between exploring and figthing is okay, but towards the end the battles tends to be a bit on the repetitive side, and even though the mix between action and deck builder is fun to begin with it lacks the necessary depth or "fun" factor to last through the whole game.

Not much to add to the almost decade long praise this game has been subject to. But also an exhausting experience, so I didn't bother with the Nameless King at the 'peak before ending the final boss. Having played Sekiro and Bloodborne before any Dark Souls-games I did'nt feel like there was any benefit in skills aquired in those two games, but the general slower gameplay pacing in DS3 suited me better. Which is why the two other games are still unfinished and DS3 is completed.

In case you been on the fence because of hype (as I have, I admit), you're missing out.

I've been looking for a game that game me a similar vibe and gameplay as Dead Cells, and that's just what I got from Children of Morta. I've never seen it recommended in any list like "if you like Dead Cells, you'll like CoM" and just downloaded the demo by random chance. Which was so good I bought the full game. It's a surprisingly well-crafted game where all the elements come together quite naturally. It's quite focused on the story, but it's never intrusive or info dumping you and it adds to the gameplay and goal of the game. Something I think a lot of games don't get quite right.
Maybe I should've added a half star on the rating, we'll see, but it's definitely better than the average rating indicates.

The lore, style and tone was right up my alley, but gameplay wise it got old quite quick. Upon entering the third "world" the game just couldn't keep my interest as it was getting predictable by then. And the loading times between each stage (not just the worlds) became annoying very fast. Spending 12-15 sec before entering the shop, then spend 10 sec in the shop and another 12-15 sec before entering next stage is a pretty secure way of loosing momentum and "urgency" within the game itself as well.

A game I wanted to enjoy but did not.

Oh, Bloodborne. You are really something out of the ordinary, but also incredibly demanding and unforgiving. Having just finished DS3 and returning to the world of the hunters it's very obvious Bloodborne demands a more risky and aggressive playstyle and that you have to rely on your gun as a pre-emptive shield or stun gun. And the blood bullets are there for a reason.

I thought I would get the option of wether I wanted to start a NG+ after the final boss, but no. So take note if you've not completed the DLC or other areas.

Nioh definitely has it's own rhythm and pacing when it comes to the combat, and to me it only started to make sense towards the end. But then it became quite enjoyable. The amount of loot is over the top and I wish I learned sooner to focus on a specific armour set piece and focusing on improving that one, rather than using a piece of this and a piece of that. The menu system and shop has room for improvements.

The game is mission based, which suited me just fine. And all the written lore and video cut scenes made it easy to get back into the game after a few months away from it.

Some of the bosses are more a test of your ability to stagger your frustration than your skills. At least to me, not being at an appropriate level meant death over and over again.
But after finishing the story line I want more and are looking forward to Nioh 2.

Afterimage is a huge and ambitous game with a beautiful artwork, but it outstays it's welcome by being too massive and too clever for it's own good. In some parts the game just becomes too obtuse to figure out where I'm supposed to go next or how to proceed to evolve some of the quest lines, but storywise the game just rams exposition dialogue down your throat ad nauseum. And there's no way I would've figured out some of the secrets in the game without having to look them up.

The gameplay is solid, the controls are precise and the game world is fun to explore. But the story is pretty uninteresting and all the characters function more like exposition tools and quest devices than being real inhabitants of this place.

Other con's: the menus are a mess, the skill tree is confusing and a hassle to manoveur through, the vendors who sell/buy things are too far apart, having to buy potion to be able to fast travel to different location makes backtracking inefficient and a bore, getting rid of items one by one is a chore, no "sell all" option etc..