Yes I finally played Bloodborne, after all these years. I wanted to play this game for years but for some reason I never did. I always liked the art style whenever I watched my friend play it or when I watched a video of it. Now that I played it , I can say for sure that I absolutely adore the aesthetics and the art style even more.
But about the gameplay? It's great, I like the different type of weapons and how you play them. On top of that you get the satisfying soulslike formular which is only interrupted by a few problems that stop Bloodborne from becoming a masterpiece. The first thing is the technical aspect of the game. You clearly feel that it's locked on 30 FPS and that was a problem in the beginning 'cause the gameplay and movement is so fast. But I got used to it after playing for few hours and at the end it wasn't that big of a issue anymore. The bigger problem for me was the design of a few bosses, namely every boss which used fodder enemies. I absolutely hate that kind of boss fights, doesn't matter which game, it's such a lazy way to make a boss fight harder. The other thing was Micolash, I mean really? A boss that runs away and also has fodder enemies. Whoever thought that this was an interesting or cool idea, please just stop. It was just boring, not fun and wasn't even difficult. But the hardest enemy was by far the camera. The amount of times that I died in the beginning due to the camera doing a 180 was hilarious. My dual sense controller also started drifting, so that means the camera flipped to one direction because of Bloodborne and then in the other direction due to Sony saving money on the controller, yea that was fun...I also didn't like the health potion system and the fact that you have to farm health potions. I enjoyed the flask system in Elden Ring a lot more. Oh and chalic dungeons are annonying as hell, Yharnam Pthumerian Queen will be fun... Other than that, I really liked the enemy design and the story was subtle but captivating. World & leveldesign are expertly executed. I love running down the dark, abandoned alleys and that I never knew if there was a beast lurking around the next corner which created a great atmosphere. Overall I'm really glad that I finally played it because Bloodborne is now my favorite game from Fromsoftware. As a big fan of anything horror related the aesthetics and the art style are right up my alley and I'm already on my way to unlock the platinum trophy. I will probably remember this experience for a while because Bloodborne is a freaking bloody good game.

Games I finished 2023 ranked

Sony's first party games ranked

My Friendly Neighborhood isn't another mascot horror game instead it is an indie survival horror puzzle game about a repairman named Gordon who is sent to a film studio for a Saturday morning puppet show that is obviosly heavily inspired by Sesame Street. In it's core the game is „another“ homage to survival horror classics like Resident Evil 1. From RE4's inventory management, manual save tokens, puzzles, lots of backtracking, navigation(which was a big problem for me because I easily get lost in these type of games) it's all here. But this isn't just another poorly executed game which copies stuff from survival horror classics, no the devs added new unique mechanics or put their own spin on already existing ones. Even though you can clearly see that the bosses are heavily inspired by Resident Evil. You know what I mean what you look at them. The game can very well stand on its own due to the fact that it's a mix between satire and horror. It also has a big interconnected map and you can backtrack most of the time so you can use your new found items or keys to solve puzzles or reveal secrets. I followed the development for years and I also played the demo, the one thing that bothered me is that the puppets don't have many voicelines. Some lines from the demo are still in the game, which is not a bad thing but since there are so few I can see that it could get annoying for some people. Luckily that wasn't the case for me, Norman( one of the puppets) teaching you to count by swallowing your hands so you know that you have two hands in your stomach was a weird but a nice way to break up the tension. This tension and the horror are both tied to the isolated and narrow corridors in which you can find yourself easily surrounded by puppets that all want to hug you. The replay value is also pretty big, you can unlock different cheats like infinite ammo or long arms, unlock different endings, solve unsolved puzzles from your last playthrough to unlock new secrets and yes there are a lot of secrets and some even haven't been solved by the community at the time of writing this review. Overall My Friendly Neighborhood is already one of my indie game highlights of this year and it perfectly balances horror, humor and satire and the mix between puzzles and fighting is very well executed.

Amnesia: The Bunker is the first game of the Amnesia franchise that I finished, even though I own the first two games through PS+. I just never really got to play them and the first time that this game caught my attention was when I played the demo. First thing which confused me was that the game only has a old gen version. Why not current gen? Besides that the game was quite scary at times and I had goosebumps frequently. Which is a pleasant suprise for a horror veteran like I would call myself. Because many of the modern horror games feel the same or are just not scary. If I had to compare it to one game than it would be Alien Isolation. Don't get me wrong, Alien Isolation is still on a whole 'nother level. But Amnesia: The Bunker also relies heavily on sounddesign and that you as the player are very quiet so that the monster is not alerted. The isolated setting in the bunker worked great and the monster just behaves and feels very similar to the Xenomorph from Alien Isolation..
But you can clearly feel that it's not a AAA game because the performance has a few problems like stuttering and freezing whenever you enter a bigger area. I also had a some crashes which is frustating because there is no autosave mechanic. So I always had to replay from the last manual save point which the game only has 2 of. That wouldn't be a problem if the controls wouldn't be so clunky on the PS5. But these are just some minor in short but also very atmospheric and tense game. I'm really glad that it was a "real" monster and that it didn't had the generic "It's only in your head" twist at the end which I"ve seen so often , especially in a horror game with a setting during a war. But I liked the setting this time around and never felt save while playing Amnesia : The Bunker because the monster could attack at any moment. Maybe I really have to go back and finally play the first two games.

#4 in my List of Top 5 Games of 2023

What're ya buyin? Maybe Resident Evil 4 Remake ?

Capcom has released with the Resident Evil 4 Remake one of the most anticipated remakes of all time for a game which revolutionized the video game industry. I was too young to experience the original game when it released because I was born in 1999. The first time that I played the original Resident Evil 4 was in 2019 after Resident Evil 7 scared the living shit out of me in 2017 and got me into this franchise, I decided to go back and play the other entry's after the Resident Evil 2 Remake pulled me even deeper into the franchise. Since then I've become a huge hardcore fan of the franchise but I'm also not the biggest fan of the original Resi 4 because it always felt like a "foreign body" in the franchise which was a result of the more action focus of the game. But I was still excited for the remake because Leon S. fucking Kennedy ( "S" stands for sexy ) is one of my favorite characters of the Resident Evil Games and I wanted to know if Capcom could improve the original game so it has more of the Resi DNA to make it fit better into the franchise.


And oh boy, did they succeed...hold on tight, rookie!
Resident Evil 4 Remake is the highest rated game on Backloggd at the time of writing this review because Capcom has managed to remove almost 90% of the annoying segments and mechanics and they added new ones or improved old ones. The changes make the game feel finally more like a Resident Evil game but why just “almost” and not 100% you might think. This brings us to one of my two points of criticism which is the last big segment of the game, the island. I absolutely hated that segment when I played it in the original and sadly they didn't cut it out. But it was more fun in the remake simply because of the improved controls but it's still the worst part of this game. It's just way to much action and zero atmosphere, the island segment is really similar to Resi 5 and 6 and those are both pretty bad Resi games.

For my first run I played on hardcore and it was really well balanced and felt more like normal difficulty. There are a few encounters which are more difficult like the cabin but it overall feels like the right way to play it. The intro works much better this time around because the whole Umbrella stock market crash was so rushed in the original. One of the most important improvements was that the remake has a more darker tone, lightning and atmosphere are really creepy. But it still manages to be campy and the characters still have their iconic lines. The sound design is phenomenal, I can't praise it enough. The manic chanting that gets louder the closer the farmers get, growls of wolves around you in the bushes, the sounds of a chainsaw motor in the distance all these sounds create a sense of dread. The most intense segment was the underground laboratory, hearing the Verdugo snarl in the vents around you gave me goosebumps. The gameplay loop is really additive and never gets boring because the gun play feels great. There are quite a few variations of weapons and the hit feedback well done. The remake has the right amount of madness that I expect from a Resi game like blocking an axe or pitchfork attack with a small knife, I love how chaotic it gets whenever I've entered a new segment. I always thought I had a plan, but it almost never went as planned and got chaotic fast. One thing that bothered me was that some level design decisions made it too easy and that the game wanted to hold my hand for too long. Like the yellow tapes for example which are everywhere. If it would be subtle then it doesn't bother me but it was way to frequently. But sadly that is how the industry works nowadays, everything has to be more casual. Luckily all other mechanics were improved or update to modern standards. Not only the gameplay and the graphics which are beautiful, there are also so many new animations and rarely have I seen such a level of detail in the animations and level design. Leon reacts to all kinds of stuff whether he is hurt, unsure or tense. He changes his posture and even facial expressions which you can easily overlook in the chaos of the fight. The feet of El Gigante also leave footprints or rain bounces off Leon's head, there are so many details that I could talk hours about them. Both characters, Ashley and Luis have also received a major improvement. Luis whole arc works so much better and it was cool when he helped you in fights. I was surprisingly sad when he died in the mines. Ashley is amazing and so cute. The chemistry between her and Leon is great. I was glad to see that Capcom kept small details like her fist pump whenever you shoot an enemy. In the original I was glad when she was taken away but in the remake I was sad and that's probably the biggest compliment that you can give.

Overall this probably one the best remakes of all time if not the best. It plays with your expectations even for people that have played the original. I respect and enjoyed the original, but this remake surpasses it in every way possible and makes it one of my favorite games of the franchise. A must play for sure and already a GOTY contender for this year.

Resident Evil Games Ranked
Games I finished in 2023 Ranked

#1 in my List of Top 5 Games of 2023

The Forest is one of my favorite survival games and so I was obviously really excited for it's sequel. I've been following the development from Sons of the Forest closely and played it during it's early acces phase rather sporadically. Now the full Version has been released for roughly 2 month and I've finally beat the game with my friend.
Our overall experience was positive but we both agreed on the fact that Sons of the Forest doesn't reach the heights from it's predecessor. Due to the Map being way too big and rather empty, traversing it often feels like a slog. Yes they added vehicles like the Golfcart or the Knight V which are both cool additions but using these vehicles can get annonying because you are running into trees all the time. There are also less animals and less blueprints, examples for this would be the missing of boats. I found the story also less compelling then the story from the first game because it lacked motivation. Which was better executed in The Forest with the big hole in the middle of the map being a core driving factor for mystery and your reason to explorer.

But it's not all bad, the overall production value is higher, every mechanic feels more fleshed out and the many new animations are a great addition. The performance is also way better then in early access and the game runs way smoother. I also liked the improved building system and it was just fun building your base with your friends. But the problem was that there is no real reason for your to build a base. Since you can carry every important item in your inventory and exploring takes so much time due to the size of the map that you are rarely at your base. My favorite new additions would be Kelvin and Virginia, both characters were very useful even if the AI wasn't the best at times. The ending that you get with Virginia was also hilarious and I would have never expected that you impregnate her

All in all still a really fun game with beautiful graphics, a solid survival foundation and it's even more fun with your friends. The story is rather lackluster because I think finding your own son is more compelling then finding a random billionaire.

Games I finished in 2024 ranked

My favorite survival games ranked

Platinum Trophies Exhibition

Dead Space (2023) improves the original in every way possible. If you want the definitive version to experience the first game, this is the way. On a technical level it's really great and even more immersive than the original. Atmosphere and sound design have been greatly improved thanks to the modern technical possibilities. The story also works so much better and you can feel empathy for the characters now. All of it thanks the simple change which is that Isaac speaks now when other characters talk to him. So Isaac is finally a character now and is not just a paper stencil. The fact that in this Remake, Isaac's voice lines change based on whether you're low health or not is the kind of detail I absolutely love in video games. I recently played the original Dead Space first time so I remeber it really well and they did such a great job at being faithful to the original but also added new stuff which improved the game. Like for example the peeling system, it adds so much pressure which made the combat system more intense.

The only problems that I had are that there are a few bugs, like Isaac beeing invisible and that you couldn't interact with anything during that time. Or that when you die while you are at a save station you end up in a loop where the Game loads just for you to die during the loading screen. I had to reload and replay a really annoying segment that I just went through for both bugs. The other thing which bugged me is that I think the balancing regarding ammunition is really bad. The first quarter of the game is good but after that the game always gave me items that I didn't need. So for most of the time my weapons were empty so I had to smash my way through the enemies using the upgraded melee attack for the plasma cutter which felt more like The Callisto Protocol and less like the right way to use the plasma cutter. But overall a really great and faithful Remake, it is such a good time to be a fan of survival horror games.

Dead Space games ranked

Favorite horror games ranked

Games I finished in 2023 ranked

EA repeated with Dead Space 2 the same mistakes which Capcom already did with Resident Evil 4. This means that they completely abandoned their horror roots for more action. Which then lead to an even worth entry with even more action(Dead Space 3/Resi 5+6) and that resulted in the dead of both franchises. But at least the Resi franchise has risen from the dead, almost like a zombie.

But is Dead Space 2 a bad action game ? No, it was fun most of the time. I played it via game pass and for some reason all weapons were already unlocked and I could buy them without spending money. So there was no progression like weapon unlocks or anything like that which felt weird. The UI for the inventar was sometimes a little bit too close or behind Isaac, so the camera was a little bit buggy. Encounters with necromorphs were very predictable, almost every time I thought "oh there might be an enemy here" there was one. Which resulted in really predicable encounters and a game which is not scary at all. The first Dead Space had the same issues but it at least it had a decent atmosphere. The new enemies were pretty annoying, I mean what the fuck was wrong with these suicidal baby's ? I didn't really like most of the new enemies and the "bosses" looked kinda generic. But I liked that the movement was more fluid, the zero-gravity sections were a lot more fun to play with the free floating motion instead of being tethered to a surface. Isaac's hallucinations and his inner struggle with the events from the first game were awesome and I was so glad to see that he talks in this game. The fun gameplay loop and the fact the Isaac has a character now kept me going and made Dead Space 2 enjoyable.

Fears to Fathom is an episodic psychological horror game where each episode unveils a short story narrated by the ones who survived. In the third episode, you play as Noah Baker, an 18-year-old high schooler who experiences strange things while housesitting.

The game was developed by ONE person called Rayll and you have to keep that in mind while playing this game. Carson House has incredible atmosphere and tension. The audio design is also really good and creepy at times. The camera system was good, but you have seen that already in lot of other games. The third episode feels very similar to the first episode(which was free) but it is a lot bigger than the previous installments. It sometimes lacked direction and was very vague what to do, there are also a few bugs. Despite that it is a good third episode which doesn't quite reach the heights of the second installment but it's still a really enjoyable game with a great atmosphere and audio design for a very reasonable price.

We all know and love the first game so I'll try to keep it short.

So was this remake necessary?

No not at all, I wouldn't even call it a remake and if you compare The Last of Us Part I to other remakes like the Resident Evil 2 Remake then you notice really quick that you could call this game a bad remake and some evil tongues would call it a cash grab because the remaster still holds up really well.

Is the worth the price?

Normally I have no problems to pay full price for games that I enjoy. But for a remake which adds not much new and with the remaster in mind it's really hard to justified the price.

But why did I buy it then you might ask?

First off I bought this Remake for 40€ instead of 79,99€, I also didn't pay for the remaster or the PS3 version. I got the remaster for free via PS+ and it also always bothered me the I never got the platinum trophy because of the shitty factions mode. Another reason why I wanted to play the remake is that Ellie and Joel are among my favorite characters of all time. I was so excited to experience the really great story with these two characters again including top notch facial animation, great voice acting and stunning visuals. I absolutely love the little details and how Ellie interacts with the environment like when she failed to whistle and later masters it so she can annoy the shit out of Joel. These little details make the characters feel so much more alive and make them stand out from others. All these were enough reasons for me to buy the game via sale. Ofc all other pros and cons regarding the gameplay are still valid because the didn't change anything which means the gameplay is still really outdated. But I'm still glad that this "remake" exist and I enjoyed replaying it a lot.

Yea so much for "I'll keep it short"...

God of War Ragnarök is an improvement in every way possible, it's the sequel we deserved and after over 40 hours I finally finished this Masterpiece. The set pieces are mindblowing, I think half of my storage capacity is now occupied by screenshots of this game. I also absolutely adore the soundtrack, I can't praise it enough, I got goosebumps every time I heared it. The narrative is amazing and the fact that the whole game is a one-shot elevates the whole experience, the cutscenes are exceptional.
I wasn't a big fan of Atreus in the first game because of his god complex. But they really did a 180 with him, I enjoyed his arc and gameplay a lot. The chemestry between Atreus and Kratos is great but also between him and Angrboda. I like her a lot and she's my favorite new character. I never cried so many times in a video game and thb. I Iost count. When a simple hug between two characters can make me tear up then there is no other way than to call this one of the best games of the last few years.

Top 5 games of 2022

Sony's first party games ranked

The Callisto Protocol is the most atmospheric game this year and the sounddesign is something else. Especially with Playstation's Pulse 3D Headset. This game is really immersive with a good headset. So I highly recommend to use one. There are so many different environmental sounds like biophage crawling through the vents, security units patroling the corridors. I was so damn paranoid and on the edge the whole time. You never know where the next danger lurks.

What was that noise that I just heard? Was that a biophage who could jump out of the vent right next to me at any second, maybe just a noise from facility or my imagination after all? I like the variety of the environments/levels. The visuals are also really great and the game looks absolutely stunning. The combat is okay I guess, at the beginning it's a little bit repetetive but when you get a few weapons it gets better. But it gets really difficult when you encouter more than two enemies. The Callisto Protocol does not invent much new, but it doesnt have to. It takes established pieces of game design, puts its own spin on things and creates a really great game out of it. The story is interesting enough to keep me interested and the characters Jacob Lee and Dani Nakamura are well written. Voice acting and the motion capturing are both really great and the performance by Karen Fukuhara in particular stood out to me. She cute and is such a talent actress. She was the only positive thing in Suicide Squad (2016), is one of my favorite characters of The Boys and now probably my favorite character in this game.

The only things I noticed negatively are the amount of times you have to crawl through vents or shimmy through a gap, it's insane how often you have to do that. The bosses, you encounter one boss I think 4 times without a change so it's the same bossfight over and over again. The other one 2 times. The second time it has a second form. But both of them look really basic. The creature design in general isn't really special.
The other thing is the save mechanic, it's the worst save mechanic which I have ever encountered in a video game and it's one of the biggest lies in the history of video games. All the way up there along side Todd Howard saying "sixteen times the detail". It only saves at checkpoints even when you save manually. So if you level up your weapons before a bossfight and then get your ass kicked you have to level up everything again. This wouldn't be a big problem normally but there are a few really tough sections and it gets really annoying after a while.
The performance is great and I never had any problems on my PS5.
Overall there are a few flaws but they are not a really big problem and it's all in all a great game. I would also call it an action game and not a horror game. I'm excited for the story DLC because of the Cliffhanger and I'm hoping for a sequel because I can see the potential.

I really enjoy The Dark Pictures Anthology, it's so much fun with friends and it became our yearly ritual. But the Coop mode for The Dark Pictures Anthology : Devil in me is sadly a buggy mess. There are
character pop-ups everywhere, you fall through floors or the flashlight doesn't work sometimes so you have to reboot the game because otherwise it's too freaking dark. Also the camera and other tools are buggy and sometimes choose to fly around the character and have a mind of their own. For some voicelines the audio is missing and the face animation are really weird.
The characters don't show any emotions and sometimes to much. But behind all the bugs lies a pretty good game with Erin's first big segment probably being the scariest segment since Until Dawn. The story in it's core is interesting but not my favorit of the anthology and drags a little bit at the beginning. But I appreciate that they tried to do something different regarding the story. The characters are pretty much the typical Dark Pictures Anthology characters which doesn't make them bad but also not special. Overall a fun experience especially with friends which was impaired by the many bugs that destroyed the great atmosphere and tension. I recommend you to wait for a few patches so you have better experience. But I'm still excited for season 2

½ Star bonus for the dog ending.


Edit: seems like only the first playthrough was buggy. But I stand by my rating because it was the experience that I had and my other points are still valid.

Signalis is a classic survival-scifi horror game like Silent Hill or Resident Evil from the PS1-era with anime like aesthetic with enough ideas to stand on it's own feets. It's full of mysteries and the story is great and feels like a fever dream. So it wasn't easy to understand. You play the Replika Elster, who is trying to fulfill her promise. The gameplay consists of solving puzzles and fighting nightmarish creatures. Most of the puzzles are great, here and there I had my problems because the game explains almost nothing. Also the 6 equipment slots felt a little bit restrictive and this was the biggest reason why I had to backtrack a lot because I had to put my stuff into a storage to have enough space for numerous puzzle pieces. This might be a little bit nitpicky but the door prompts sometimes didn't appear which resulted in me getting my ass kicked from the monsters I tried to run away from. I liked the story even though it's hard to follow and I wasn't really sure what was happening. The anime graphic style is great and fits really well, the level design is also great and the boss-fights are surprisingly fun and the good soundtrack helps to build a strong atmosphere. Signalis is one of my favorite Indie games of this year. This game probably also has the best fakeout in video game history. I don't wanna say more, just play it yourself.

I'm happy that an indie developer from my home country gets some attention. Great game, can't wait to see more from rose-engine

This the third game of the franchise that I played, yes I played 4 then 2 and now 1. Don't judge me. The core of story is rather simple, you play a character named Harry who is driving his daughter Cheryl to Silent Hill. On the winding mountain roads, he sees something that looks like girl on the road and swerves to avoid hitting her. After he wakes up, his daughter is gone. So you're goal is to find your daughter Cheryl. This is the easy to understand part of the story, the rest of it is a lot of interpretation and speculation which I liked. The game focuses more on the characters, storyline and building a tense atmosphere than action. The sound design and soundtrack are great and help to immerse yourself into world of Silent Hill. Graphics and facial expressions aren't that great and the biggest problem in my opinion is the combat, the tank controls can be really tiring but the fact that I had 190 Pistol bullets left at the end of the game (which might be the result of me just running away like the coward that I am from most of the enemies) made it a little bit easier. All the "cons" can be easily overlooked because they are just relics from the time when the game was released. Overall I really enjoyed Silent Hill and this might be my second favorite game of the franchise after Silent Hill 2 because the game teases the players imagination with grotesque images and genuinely creepy effects and slowly builds up tension and suspense that way.
The story is wonderfully crafted and the strong atmosphere are the biggest strength of this game. huge recommendation.