An extremely common subgenre of the puzzle genre is what I'm going to call the one-mechanic genre, where all the puzzles in the game build on one mechanic from start to finish, with the end goal almost always being the same, usually getting some object from Point A to Point B. 90% of those make the same mistake for me: the mechanic gets old. There are only so many ways you can push a box, draw a line, etc. without it getting dull. I'd say Portal 2 is the best example of this type of puzzle game, and it does it effortlessly. I don't think this game has a bad puzzle, or a boring stretch, at any point in its relatively long playtime. This is helped by the antics of Wheatly and GLaDOS but, obviously, the game design itself takes most of the credit. I think the main thing is that Portal 2 adds new and interesting mechanics regularly, and always combining them with old mechanics in interesting ways. This feels like an obvious statement, of course you want to add new types of puzzles as the game goes on, but it's so hard to do this well and Portal 2, again, does it in a way that feels effortless.

I wish Valve still made games regularly, because I think their work is genuinely masterful when they do.

Pros:
- In terms of gameplay, it's very smooth (the trusty Source engine never fails) and easy to learn while also being fun. The game can also run perfectly even on low-end machines.
- Obviously, the game is primarily based around its puzzles. They are always fun to solve and the progression of difficulty is perfect. The puzzles and the various gameplay mechanics (portal gun, reflection cubes, light bridges, etc.) are extremely simple concepts to grasp, yet the puzzles can still be challenging enough for the game to avoid being too easy. (It's never too difficult, either.)
- The dialogue is fantastically written. It's hilarious and at times, touching. This is probably one of the best-written games ever. It's near the top of the list, at least.
- The voice acting is one of my favorite parts about the game. Seriously, it's spot-on. There aren't many characters that have a speaking voice in the game (right now, only 4 or 5 come to my mind), but every single voice role in the game is perfectly cast. GlaDOS' voice actress gets a lot of deserved praise, but I feel that the real star is Wheatley (voiced by the impeccable Stephen Merchant). The speech/personalities/voices of the characters make them ALL extremely likable.
- The plot progression perfectly balances exposition through the characters' speech and through exploring/observing the environments on your own, which gives the game's setting a much more realistic (and ominous) vibe.
- The cooperative multiplayer is very creative and requires participation and communication between you and your partner. It's certainly not just a lazy re-hashing of the single player campaign. (ahem Call of Duty spec ops missions ahem)
- The story seems rather simplistic at first, but deepens over time at a reasonable pace. The ending is also satisfying (which I feel is abnormal for a lot of story-driven games these days).

Cons:
- Nothing negative immediately stands out to me, but if I HAD to pick something I don't like about the game, I'd say that the loading times are too frequent. There's a loading screen almost every time you progress from puzzle to puzzle, but the good news is that they're not too lengthy, so this complaint is very minor.
- It feels like it's over too soon. (The length of the game is perfectly fine, but you'll never want it to end.)

Overall, I definitely recommend this game to ANYONE who plays games. I'd even go so far as to call it a must-play. (If you never played the first one, that's fine. You don't need to, and if you want to catch up with the story, a Wiki plot summary does the job just fine.) Portal 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, so just buy it already!

I’ve long maintained that X and Y are my least favorite Pokémon games. This is different than thinking they’re the worst Pokémon games, which I don’t believe they are, at least not anymore. Unlike Sun and Moon which seemed terrified to ever let you experience the game without a new cutscene or tutorial every 5 steps, X and Y still more or less maintain an illusion of player-driven adventure. The ever-satisfying core gameplay loop that made these games such a sensation (exploring towns and routes, catching Pokémon, engaging in battles) still feels largely intact, especially when compared to projects like Sword and Shield or Legends: Arceus which ventured to break that formula apart without replacing it with anything interesting. X and Y still undeniably feel like Pokémon: not a glorified cutscene compilation, not a shitty MMO, not a half-baked BOTW clone, just Pokémon. As jaded as this series makes me, that’s always a feeling I’m willing to chase.

And while yes the games certainly feel a bit undercooked, it’s not from a lack of love and care. Additions like the fairy type, super training, and the PSS all strike me as the handiwork of a studio that on some level still gave a shit. For fuck’s sake, they 3D modeled all 700+ Pokémon and let you pet every last one of them! In retrospect, a lot of the stranger design decisions here seem to be motivated less by apathy or incompetence and more by a desire to show off what “the first 3D Pokémon game” was capable of. Areas like Route 1 or Glittering Cave are functionally glorified hallways, but they show off an over-the-shoulder angle the DS could never do. Rideable Pokémon are a momentum-breaking slog, but they provide a golden opportunity for the camera to whip around as you bask in the glory of the beautifully-rendered Rhyhorn model. Santalune Forest has the same exact layout as Virdian Forest, likely to inspire some feeling of “wow, look how far we’ve come since the Gameboy”, potentially explaining the rest of the Gen 1 nostalgia on some level as well. Lumiose City may be hell to navigate, but if you’re focused on just how much bigger it is than the metropolises of old, you may not even notice. Hell, even the baffling Parfum Palace side-mission makes a lot more sense when you consider all the fancy new textures it flaunts along the way. Playing X and Y, you get the sense GameFreak was really proud of what they managed to accomplish graphically, and wanted to show it off at every turn. The theme of the game IS “beauty” after all.

But, over ten years after the fact, (God I feel old…) a graphical showcase for the Nintendo 3Ds isn’t especially enticing. And I mean, the console wasn’t exactly a visual powerhouse back in the day, either. There is an appealing artstyle in here—I generally like the Pokémon models for what they are, and I think retaining a chibi aesthetic in the overworld was a smart move—but the muted colors and blandness of the locales really hurt it. Sure these environments aren’t nearly as barren as what we’d see in the games to come, but they’re certainly not as lively as anything we got on the DS or even the GBA. And it’s not like we haven’t seen areas built for spectacle before—Black 2 and White 2 were full of ‘em, but they never let it compromise their level design in the same way X and Y does. I mentioned Lumiose City’s size earlier, but what I didn’t recall is just how much less there is to actually do there than in the much smaller Castelia of old. A lot of Kalos is like that—impressive for the time, but lacking in real substance. Just about the only place where I think this show-off mentality really does hold up is in the gyms. Each one of them has a unique puzzle that could only make sense in a 3D space. They’re fun, they’re creative, they have great art direction, it’s honestly my favorite aspect of the whole game. It’s a shame the rest of the region can’t compare.

And with that new hardware sheen having long worn off, it brings into greater focus just how much of X and Y feel unfinished. Areas like the Power Plant or the Haunted House that once struck me as odd, pointless excursions feel a lot more telling as an adult who knows what “cut content” is. The gap between the first and second badges is one of the longest in the series, a pacing choice I’d actually quite like if the remaining 6 badges didn’t arrive in such a mad dash one after the other. I don’t play these games for the story or the postgame, but both are noticeably more barebones than usual. I mean come on man, why does every Team Flare member, from leader to grunt, get a fully-rendered 3D model for their battle intro, while the elite four, gym leaders and champion are stuck with PNGs? Does that seem like an intentional choice, or as a shift in priorities to better accommodate a looming deadline?

The difficulty curve is the area that feels the most neglected in my eyes. The EXP Share—a quality of life feature I actually really appreciate—seems to have been implemented without regard for an already-existing level curve. Kalos has evidently outlawed carrying a full team of 6, as the only trainer you’ll be facing with as many is the champion. Plenty of trainers carry strong Pokémon with interesting movesets, but when you’re gifted so many free Pokémon along the way, finding a method to cheese them is really a matter of “when”, not “if”. I was playing X under a particularly restrictive set of nuzlocke rules, and even still I found the majority of gameplay save for the absolute finale to be pretty close to mindless. I don’t think a harder game is necessarily a better one of course—but the seeming disinterest in creating opportunities for a player to strategize in your JRPG feels like a pretty major oversight to me.

And speaking of difficulty, I guess I have to talk about Mega Evolution. I’ve already stated in my ORAS review that I’m not a fan, but I haven’t articulated why. For one, they’re barely utilized in their debut game: 25 out of 30 mega stones are locked behind the postgame, with only two trainers in the campaign actually using them in battle. I’d be more mad they hardly see use in casual play, if it wasn’t so obvious why: they completely break the game. What could have been a way to revitalize some old Pokémon and address power creep along the way only exacerbated it. Megas completely overpower a normal playthrough, which makes the fact that so many of them were given to already-strong Pokémon even more frustrating. I think just about the only Mega that isn’t insanely broken, was given to a Pokémon that actually needed one, and doesn’t completely ruin their design (because oh yeah most Megas look really, really dumb) is Mega Beedrill. And he’s not even available until ORAS.

You also can’t discuss Mega Evolution without addressing the domino effect it’s had on the series. Z-Moves, Dynamax, Gigantamax, Battle Styles— Mega Evolution and it’s consequences have been a disaster for the Pokémon franchise. These are not interesting new additions, they’re glorified win buttons that never get the space to be fleshed out since they’re gone by the next installment. I haven’t even played Scarlet and Violet because the idea of learning an entirely new gimmick I know won’t last just seemed so exhausting. Remember when a new Pokémon game brought sizable structural changes: held items, abilities, the physical/special split, reusable TMs, real, substantial mechanical shake-ups that changed the way the game is played? I wish Gamefreak did.

That’s, in so many words, my issue with X and Y. It’s the last Pokémon game that got the fundamentals, but it’s really JUST fundamentals. Kalos is a flavorless region, the battles are a total afterthought, and it’s adherence to spectacle rings hollow a decade plus after release. The games that came after may be worse, but they’re worse in more interesting ways. And in the absence of genuine innovation, I can’t help but focus on all the things X and Y introduced to the series I wish would go away: stupid generational gimmicks, a suffocating yearly release schedule, and a precedent for cut corners selling games. It’s hard not to look at Black 2 and White 2, games bursting at the seams with content and polish and smart, fully-developed design that nonetheless underperformed, and compare them to X and Y, the unfinished, nostalgic tech demos that sold like hotcakes. I can’t be surprised at the direction Gamefreak chose to move in, but man if I’m not disappointed.

[Replay] First time replaying this in probably a decade. I have memories of absolutely loving Portal 2 on the 360, but I honestly remembered very little going in, which is great for this specific game where the puzzles and jokes are at the forefront. Portal 2 is definitely in contention for one of the greatest games of all time, without a doubt. It takes almost every facet of the original Portal, and improves it to the max. The puzzles add many more elements and layers like the gels, the light bridges or the beams and are definitely trickier as a result. The scope and ambition is so much grander, you can really feel the confidence oozing from this game after making the first game look like a little pet project. And of course, the writing. The writing and performances in Portal 2 I would argue, is probably the funniest and best in any video game ever. I cannot think of any other game that really surpasses the level of effortlessness this game demonstrates. When you as a player stops for minutes on end at every single dialogue exchange just to hear every line that was written for that character, you know its good. But its's one thing to just have the funniest writing of all games, but to also have the best performances too with Ellen McLain as Glados and Stephen Merchant as Wheatly? It's insane how high quality it all is and puts a lot of other and modern games in the AAA space to shame. I couldn't stop playing on the first day I started at it and would have beaten the whole game in one sitting if my eyes weren't hurting from staring at the screen all day. The only area I feel the game isn't an improvement on Portal 1, would be the escape sequence / old Aperture labs stuff. These two sections in both games are pretty comparable because it has you breaking out of the test chambers and kind of free wheeling through the facility with more natural puzzles. In Portal 1, I think it worked a little better because it felt a little more guided and gave a sense like you were hopping between test chambers, making your own rules as you went. In Portal 2, I felt like I was frustrated more during the section way underground, because in between tests, I had a hard time navigating to the next due to the darkness and unclear path. It's still ultimately not that bad and not that much of the game, but I think Portal 1 did it better. Its also quiet for a good chunk of that part (aside from J.K. Simmons character which I thought pales in comparison to Glados and Wheatly) so that kind of gives you this incentive to push past that section and get back to the top. The Switch version runs really good all things considered, only just bogged down by the semi frequent loading times. I'd much rather it have these loading times though than it run poorly though. On top of all this, there's the whole separate Co-Op campaign, which I never really got to play back in the day. So far, I played about half of the game with a friend locally, and its great for what it is . The writing isn't quite up to snuff with the main game, but that's honestly probably for the better because your gonna be talking and not hearing a lot of it anyway. Will be completing the Co op run pretty soon. The ending is also very memorable and parts of it make me extremely happy like knowing how Ellen Mclain has talked about being a classically trained opera singer. So cool for the game to recognize that and really accentuate her unique skill set. Not many other developers would care enough to give that much care about a performer like that. As much as I'd want a Portal 3, I would only ever want them to do it if they are confident they could top Portal 2, which is a monumental task both mechanically and writing wise. I also think there is an expiration on when this can happen, being however much longer McLain could keep doing Glados' voice, because there is nobody else that can really do that role. On top of all this, Portal 2 is such a perfect ending, that I kind of don't even want a third game. Overall easily one of the best games of all time, and I think in a year or so, I may come back and do a run with the developer commentary.

Portal 2 is the prime example of a game that truly lives up to the hype it has amassed over the years. Every single little thing about this game is just perfect. I'm not too big of a puzzle game fan because I'm more of a platformer and RPG fan but there's elements in this game I really appreciate since I'm not familiar with puzzle games. Once again, the portal gimmick is still amazing but also the new features such as the coloured goos and the tractor beams (I don't remember the names) were really fun to use in tandem with the existing things. I think the best part of this game is the shift to a more narrative direction. Portal was more about its puzzles with an escape sequence that was really well done, but Portal 2 amplifies everything and has a fun and engaging story with two very wonderful characters on the forefront that make the journey so much better. Just having banter and even music as well made the experience so much better. It's also impressive that most, if not all jokes landed. I streamed it to a friend and I had an absolute blast playing this, and there's a co-op campaign as well that I want to try out as well, though for my review here I'm going over the single-player one. Overall, this game is a really engaging and fun puzzle game with a pretty solid story and great gimmicks and it truly deserves all the hype it gets.

Let's be honest, the DLC had a very rough start, with stages essentially ported from Mario Kart Tour and only given new music, but as time passed the next waves became way closer to the ones present in the base game, this meaning ACTUAL grass textures, more attention to detail and even bringing brand new balance changes and features to the table. Here are a few of my favorite tracks in the whole pass:

- Ninja Hideaway
- Waluigi Pinball
- Berlin Byways (BANGER OST BTW)
- Rainbow Road 3DS
- DK Summit
- Yoshi's Island
- Rainbow Road Wii

Also the new characters added are great too: Petey Piranha, Birdo and Wiggler are back again, Kamek finally gets his chance to shine as part of the roster, Diddy and Funky Kong make this game three times better by themselves and even Pauline is an awesome addition to the cast!
Although, I will say this: I never really understood the hate towards Peachette, she literally did nothing wrong y'all 😭

Detouring a little here, we also got some extra thingies as well: Mii Suits with their own stunts, a jukebox, customizable random item mode, the balance changes making the meta stray very far away from the Wiggler Waluigi combo days. The list goes on, it's actually pretty nice QoL stuff all in all.

Oh and a huge RIP to Piranha Plant Pipeline (Tour), the only stage that will become lost media as of now, in case MKT ceases to exist :(

100% completed. Incredible entry for the 2D mainline Mario series. This game reeks of a personality of its own with brand new power-ups, great soundtrack and a huge amount of polish in every possible way that's felt from the very first level.
The badges are also a very welcome idea, they are introduced as an interesting gameplay changer on demand. Some are very helpful, some are situational, some are just funny, but the incentive they give on experimenting with them and seeing what you can do is something I adored.

The only "bad" aspect I can think of right now is the game feeling kinda short in terms of length, but the level design is ever so engaging and fun, you won't even realize it until you get to the ending, and if you want to obtain everything, it then gets way longer than that because of the secret routes and levels like in Super Mario World.

Such a short, simple game that I didn't touch until very recently... And yet it was absolutely an amazing experience, really makes me remember why short games are so much more my style. I like getting a nice, compact experience that I can get through in a short time while feeling satisfied, that is gaming to me. Anyway the puzzles are just fun, nothing too difficult which I'm pretty thankful for, most of the bits I got stuck on were imaginary puzzles I made for myself, like when I didn't know I could pick up the drones... The atmsophere is incredible, just incredible. Of course I heard of 'the cake is a lie' but it didn't undermine any of the build up to the moment, just so much fun and I can't wait to check out the sequel.

Game #13 of 2024 finished!

I adore Portal. If there was ever a game that I might consider perfect or near-perfect this would be one of the contenders. I’ve played through it so many times at this point now that I can speed through it pretty quick but the brief hour to hour and a half are some of the best gaming you can possibly have.

And the fact I could play this with motion controls on the Switch? Chef’s kiss. 🤌