Miles Morales is nothing mindblowing but it's simply good all around. The swinging feels like a big step up thanks to the animations, which are just stellar. Same thing goes for the combat, I can't get enough of those finishers. Unfortunately the story never reaches the highs of the first game: while the pacing is strong, the writing feels clunky and I never really got to care about any of the characters - plus I actually laughed during the final boss fight because of how terrible the dialogue was, so yeah...

Still, this was a good time and in many ways a perfect Christmas game.

Randomly picked this up again after dropping it years ago.
It's really fun!

Exploring the levels and constantly finding new areas, new ways to take out targets is quite addicting. Paris, Sapienza and Hokkaido are the standout locations; Marrakesh is also decent but sadly Colorado is just okay and Bangkok is plain boring - thankfully the quality of the aforementioned levels is high enough to overlook these missfires.

The level design and experimentation is definitely the core of the game but I found myself surprisingly hooked by the presentation and even its admittedly limited storytelling. I think the reason is that it just nails that spy mystery vibe, even though the actual plot and characters are hardly fleshed out.

It feels strange to have finally finished Witcher 3 after 7 years of trying and failing to get into it. After this final attempt, clocking in at ~65h, I will say that despite many bumps in the road, it was worth it.


Before I get into the specifics, expectations are a super important thing when it comes to consuming any media: over the years and even further during my playthrough I've felt a growing resentment and disbelief towards the galactic acclaim this game has gotten.
It's “the best game ever made” - in my humble opinion, it absolutely fucking isn't. I would be lying if I said its reputation didn't influence my opinion.


Diving into the game itself but staying negative, I have a number of gripes with the gameplay of The Witcher 3 - undoubtedly its weakest link. The game's combat is extremely basic, trying and failing to add depth with alchemy, which offers little meaningful gameplay enhancements beyond just making fights end quicker and making the healing system slightly less painful. Signs are a neat magic system but even fully upgraded, they still feel too weak. On top of that, the hit feedback and hitboxes simply don't feel right.
All of this is quite damning but somehow it's still tolerable across so many hours because on some level, it does work and can be mildly enjoyable.

Another part of the gameplay that I found severely lacking - if not more so - was the movement: I could not tell you how many times I got stuck in the environment on foot, on horseback or the goddamn boats, how many times I got frustrated by its slow- and unresponsiveness if any tiny thing is in your way. It saddens me because it really impeded my enjoyment of exploring this game's beautiful world. Though fortunately, it doesn't ruin it, as the art design, physics and ambient soundtrack lift it out of its sticky gameplay depths and into the metaphorical sun. Some of the game's locations (like the Fields of Ard Skellig) are quite stunning.

The main course of an RPG like this is its story of course and overall, I think it really scores in its characters and plots. It's hardly anything mind-blowing or flawlessly paced but for such a long story, it's consistently good. That goes for all of the quests, main and side. Though I do need to stress that certain parts did have me frustrated and bored, through gameplay annoyances combined with unengaging quests - every Elven ruin quest for example. Speaking of Elven ruins, as someone who has only read but loved the first two short story collections, I found the lore and worldbuilding here quite lackluster in comparison. Though I digress, as the game's many side quests still do a great job of fleshing out the people who inhabit the world and Geralt himself, even if some other elements fall short.

The biggest strength of The Witcher 3 alongside its fantastic characters might be its soundtrack, which captures the perfect mood in almost every location and situation - be it the miserable wildlands of Velen, the grimy streets of Novigrad or the beautiful expanses of Skellige.


Let's wrap this gigantic review up: I think it's become clear that my praise for certain aspects of the game stands in sharp contrast to my burning dislikes and that despite me still giving this a respectable score, liking the game and going on to play the expansions, I cannot shake my highly emotional resentment both towards parts of the game itself as well as its reception.

I feel a good chunk more favorable towards this game on a replay.

It's still a weird mix of being very polished and detailed in some areas and almost falling apart in others. Driving feels amazing, every other part of the gameplay is catastrophic and drags this game down significantly. There are cool setpieces, hindered by some frustrating mission design and checkpoint systems. There are some amazing details like the radio getting fuzzy when you enter a tunnel but then the sound design feels completely barren in the actual city, in crowds. Sometimes the game looks great, at others it's ugly.

I could go and on and on with this kind of back and forth. Fortunately however, the story and characters are not like that and really carry this experience with amazing performances all around, with a deft touch at cinematic storytelling.

A fun and decent action game with jawdropping spectacle and a banger soundtrack.
As for the story, it's good for the memes it has provided but not much beyond that.


I enjoyed this game and I would've rated it higher but I think the combat mechanics have some fundamental issues: now, I will admit that I'm not that great at these types of games but I think we can all agree that directional parrying combined with a volatile camera that jumps around all the time is an obvious recipe for disaster!
The camera itself feels like an enemy that you have to fight instead of the actual enemies - who btw are needlessly spongy.

Lastly, for a game that clearly wants to keep the action and pace going, it sure loves to slow you down to a stop a lot to listen to a lot of boring dialogue inbetween fights.

Judgment is yet another banger in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. Not only that, it probably has one of its cleanest and best written stories in terms of execution: there is no bullshit twist, pointless sub-plot, needlessly convoluted story, none of that. It didn't make me as emotional as most of the other games did - even those that had said issues - but it was still an exciting ride.

Yagami is absolutely a worthy addition to the roster of protagonists RGG has served up; the same goes for the main antagonist who is exceptionally well-writtten, -acted and bounces off of Yagami with a fiery spark.

As usual, the combat takes a while to get used to/open up via a skill tree. Once it does, it's really fun. The crane style definitely needed some more moves though.


Now, after my gushing introduction, come the reasons why I'm taking away a few points. Firstly, the detective game aspect of Judgment at times clashes pretty hard with its linear storytelling: you rarely need to activate your brain during investigations and you can't really make any wrong decisions, as the game will eventually just guide you towards the right one in the main story.

Furthermore, while some of the detective gameplay can be decently fun - like the lockpicking - I really need to throw a can of trash at the tailing missions: they are profoundly boring and excrutiating every time they pop up.

For my second/third and last big complaint: I found the side content to be much less exciting than in a number of the other games. The side cases are just super forgettable and none of the bigger side activities kept me hooked like say the Cabaret Club in Y0/Kiwami 2 did.


Still, Judgment is a rock-solid game whose strength lies in its main story, characters, combat and stylish presentation. It's a game I'd recommend in a heartbeat to any Yakuza fan and also to complete newcomers.

Mortal Kombat 1 is phenomenal.
That's not to say that all parts of it work but it has the goods where they matter. Namely: the kombat.
I've tried a few fighting games over the years but nothing, absolutely NOTHING gets close mechanically, visually or plain stylistically to Mortal Kombat. And this entry may just be the best one I've played.

Where it falters a bit is its story, which starts out cheesy and fun but ends up in generic multiverse bullshit. The Invasions mode as well is just...fine.

However, the item/skin economy is a fundamental improvement from MK11. That also goes for the kombos, how creative you can get with building them - only now do I realize just how restrictive MK11 was in this regard.

Lastly, my favorite part of this whole package might just be the stage music: Cage Mansion, Tomb of the Dragon Army, Fire Temple, The Hourglass and The Hanging Gardens are some of the tracks I've had on repeat since launch. I can't believe the official soundtrack just released without some of its best tracks.

Still a great time 5 years later. I have some minor issues with it that add up: a few of the open world activities, weird pacing in the middle and yes, the soundtrack. There are about 3-4 legit banger tracks but the rest is profoundly generic - especially the ambient music when you swing around in Act2&3; talk about uninspired.

Swinging through New York however is fun as ever, so is beating up all the different kinds of foes you face up against. The spectacle that this game offers still made my jaw drop on occasion.

Act 1 has perfect pacing, Act 2 meanders a bit too much but Act 3 really gets it together. I cried near the end, again, during that scene. This is the best Spider-Man story I know, by far.

"Sorrowful be the heart, Penitent One."

This was a great surprise for me, as I went in more to just get a taste for the second game, yet ended up discovering a competent and fascinating game in its own right.
While there is a bit of repetitiveness in its levels, some jankiness in the boss mechanics - shoutout to my boy Quirce though - and a few other minor things that annoyed me, I had a blast with Blasphemous!

What sets this game apart from others of its kind is clearly its unique setting and style. The world is centered around this twisted interpretation of (sort of) Christianity that I couldn't take my eyes off - despite and because of how gruesome it gets. It would be cool already if this was just a background thing but it finds itself in every facette of the game: all of its character and enemy designs, animations, items and lore. I was finding myself listening to every piece of brilliantly voice acted monologue and every last poetic item description.


Also, very admirable that the studio made 3 solid, FREE DLCs. I'm still playing through that content but it's quite cool.

"In this waking nightmare where all dreams come true...
You searched for control, a way to pull through...
When you were in love you left him in tears
To smother your furies and banish your fears...
But in darkness they came, through stormy black seas
They raided these shores... Do you still hear his screams?

And now... that you're home... he's so far away...
They've taken his soul... To these gods you cannot pray...
They can break you, but not your promise.
Even death won't keep you apart.
Through this darkness you will find him.
In your sword still beats - a heart.

You fought for love unspoiled by your darkness within.
You fought for your dreams, now there is no way to win.
In the head of his corpse lies the seat of his soul,
So you must carry his vessel and bring him back home."

Wow.
Some of the most creative and inventive puzzles I've ever played through; they always make you think but never get too obscure like they did in Limbo.
It's also a beautiful marriage of gameplay and story. I won't spoil anything but it all feels connected. Also, did I mention that this game is tense as fuck?

Said story is only told through gameplay and environments and I loved picking through the details to reconstruct it in my head. It also really helps that the presentation of this world - its sound design and art style - is incredibly striking.


I'm giving this a 9 for now but it might be a 10.

"To grieve deeply is to have loved fully."


I loved God of War (2018), and I grieve now for Ragnarök - I'm feeling dramatic today. Put simply: the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, it's lesser.
Don't get me wrong. There are a number of moments in this that are some of the best I've experienced in all my time with video games. On top of that, the combat remains excellent - though it is both better and worse. The same goes for the side content and exploration. I enjoyed all of my 38 hours, thoroughly.

And so I hate that I feel a nagging disappointment that tells me how messy and unfocused Ragnarök is. To me, it does not feel anywhere near as special as its prequel.
This story just did not come together as cleanly as the last one did; it drags yet rushes and does not earn all of its great moments with enough build-up. Wanting to tell a grand story is not the issue: it's losing focus while doing so.

At the beginning, this game felt extremely rough in its fundamental mechanics. It felt like it wasn't at all good enough for the ridiculous precision some enemies require you to have with your parry timing.

I've now beaten all the levels, bosses and did all the endings. Now I'm definitely more positive on it: about 3-4 of the 8 bosses are actually quite fun to fight. Once you get into the flow of things with those bosses and get used to the mechanics, it can feel as satisfying as Sekiro. For a debut game from an indie studio, that is impressive!

Otherwise this game is just meh. The art direction is great but the level design is mediocre. The plague weapons are a cool idea but I never felt compelled to use even half of them for some useless bonuses. Also the claw mechanic, where every enemy has two health bars - and you have to first wound them with regular attacks and then use claw attacks - is a neat idea but ends up being tedious.


For huge fans of Sekiro, who simply want anything remotely like it, this might scratch that itch - slightly at least.

Finally, FINALLY got around to finish this, including all the DLCs.

This is nowhere near as good as literally any other Soulslike by FromSoftware. It certainly has some interesting ideas, even a small number of fantastic boss fights and moments. Overall however, it is an incoherent, inconsistent mess that lacks a clear vision. From level design and boss runs to hitboxes and environments, I could list a lot of specific things that I think are mediocre or bad but I'd be here all day. So many things are just undercooked.

The DLCs are (partially) a step up that show what this game could have been: sprawling, visually striking areas with tons of secrets and interesting level design, thrilling boss fights and intriguing lore. Too bad you have to trudge through most of the base game to get there.
Without the DLCs this would be a 5/10.