Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, Review,
Spoiler Free,

As a huge fan of this series of games I was so excited to check this one out as I never got around to playing it when it first released.

I quite enjoyed Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, getting the Platinum trophy was a blast. The gameplay as per usual for a Ratchet and Clank game is absolutely superb with creative weapons, a diversity of amazing worlds and is something that just feels right at home for me. This is a legendary series and the story takes an interesting turn which is deeper explored in Rift Apart. The implementation of the jet pack and jet boots are welcome additions and the new gadgets are really satisfying to use and tie into the platforming really nicely.

In terms of negatives, I think that the game is just far too short. It felt so disappointing to go to the fifth planet knowing that was it. The Clank sections in this are also awful, I finished the game 3 times and they never grew on me due to being frustrating, tedious and feels so lack of anything creative.

Overall, Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus is a great and worthwhile entry into the franchise. If you haven't checked this out yet I do think its worth your time and gives you so much context for Rift Apart.

Having now beat it twice, I feel pretty conflicted on this game. The combat and bosses can be really awesome when they get a chance to shine. The music has clear inspirations but is beautiful all the same. However, most of the story has no heart, the writing is terrible, the side missions are almost exclusively mid, and the art direction has no cohesion.
The only thing more stale than most of this game is the conversation surrounding it. But when the game has as hype as a final few hours as it does, its hard to not be excited for a possible sequel

Mechanically, this is the best game in the entire franchise. The amount of creativity on display with the levels, characters, and the time-based game mechanics, really give this game an air of wonder. It doesn't hurt that the trademark of the series, the weapons, are firing on all cylinders here, with a solid selection to choose from, all balanced nicely to complement each other.

There's a pretty good story in here too, one that explores the 2 leads in a way that the franchise hasn't really attempted to do before, and arguably since. The dichotomy between playing as Ratchet and playing as Clank really keeps the game paced to never allow any one style of gameplay to become too repetitive too quickly.

This game is just pure fun, a game that looks great, plays great, and is written to keep things light and comedic while still telling an engaging narrative. Games like this are just cozy, and fun no matter when you play it. It may not be my personal favourite in the series, but I can't deny that this is the best Ratchet & Clank game made so far.

Although I don’t think Pikmin will ever get the credit it truly deserves, I will always see it as arguably the most consistent game franchise of all time.

Pikmin 4 is a celebration of Pikmin 1 and 2. They brought back caves, and my god did they absolutely nail them. The caves are so fun, so pretty, so addicting. Everything in this game is so beautifully detailed. This is without question the best looking game on the Switch.

When you’re not in awe at the appealing visuals, you’re constantly losing focus on the task at hand, exploring a world amongst giants. The classic Pikmin creatures are what really makes the enemies so fun. The uniqueness, the unsettling, and the Pikmin just add to the atmosphere.

The main game is fairly simple, just progress in whatever way you please to get to Olimar. I feel like they could’ve added a few more required boss fights like Pikmin 3 did, but the caves are almost as interesting and detailed as the main areas, so I’m not too upset about it.

Where Pikmin can really lose you though, is how nobody knows when to shut the fuck up. For the first hour, it’s nothing but handheld walkthroughs, bombarded with dialogue after dialogue, with only a semi-interesting story at that. It happens when the night missions start too, and kind of lurks around for the rest of the game. Sometimes I got irritated because I was having fun until Yonny had to open her annoying ass mouth and pause my gameplay.

There’s a fairly lengthy post-game too, if you didn’t feel like you had enough Pikmin in your diet for 17 hours before. Plus, the entire game is unique enough to really strive for a high completion percentage. After the game “ends,” there’s another mission to cure Oatchi, and you kind of just go from there. Oh, and Oatchi… is a cute little dog… that you can ride around on… and he can swim… half the people playing this just gave it 5 stars for that.

I feel like Pikmin 4’s focus was very obviously how it looked, rather than the challenging bosses and different ways to control your game from the previous entries (The Wiimote, the Wii U GamePad). There’s nothing wrong with that, because it made a damn good game. I just wish sometimes they would SHUT THE FUCK UP. 8/10.

This game is very cute. It nails the style it's going for. The sounds the kids make when they're running around or biking really fast are fantastic. The music and incredible art style bolster the style which permeates all facets of the game.
The story is fine, but way too slow. The game is much too long. It feels like a 3-4 hour cute little indie game but it lasts 8 hours.
The gameplay is fine, but not nearly good enough to justify how repetitive it is. The combat is fine, but not great. There are some interesting ideas incorporating co-op mechanics such as high-fiving to heal and the two character's abilities interacting. It kind of falls flat, though. We usually just separately beat the shit out of the enemies except when a boss required us to combine our powers. It Takes Two, one of my favorite games, does a much better job at co-op combat. The puzzles are fine, but nothing to write home about. They rarely made me feel smart, and a few times made me feel annoyed. At one point, we couldn't figure out what to do, and then I somehow walked through the fence we were trying to get through, as though there were a gap in the fence that we couldn't see, but then neither of us find the hole or figure out how it happened. I still don't know if it was a glitch or what. There's too much walking/biking around. I wish biking were more interesting.
All of the gameplay mechanics feel like they would do a good enough job at supporting a story driven game, and the story feels like it would be good enough for a gameplay driven game. This combination results in a game that is frequently slow and boring.