Propping up video game reviews and out-of-context clips as if they hold incriminating value against a product or group of people is a cancer on this medium. It has done more work to de-legitimize games as a form of art than almost anything else. Honestly, you would laugh if somebody reviewed an album they had not listened to and simply said "it sound no good". me too lol.

You can dress up review as a flowery philosophical inquiry, a comedic retelling or most pretentiously a definitive answer to the question of "how good is it". I don't appreciate any of these and I don't think what I'm about to say is reductive, these are pretty much just time wasters that bring less to the table than the thing they're riffing on. I know this man, I absolutely love wasting time. It's not a bad thing that they exist, but let's stop pretending they're anything more. I believe reviews at their most valuable are either a showcase for the opinion of a reviewer with an understood character, or an assessment of what kind of person might appreciate the product.

I was convinced I hated this and that it was a piece of shit. I actually properly played it only after catching wind of a plot interpretation I was not aware of. When I had first tried to play it years ago, I was so blinded by indifference and the expectation that it was trash, I had missed the unbelievably blatant symbolism that unlocks almost all of the narrative's depth. I'm not saying it's without faults as any game might have, and it's no doubt a niche rpg, I just want you to know that a huge number of people discuss or comment on this game as if granted divine knowledge of it's quality from a higher authority, while in reality they don't even know what's happening in it. At the very least, this game forced me to re-examine my views of the online reaction culture that I already loathed, as I'd fallen victim to it. That's a bigger personal impact on me than most games.

It's funny what website I'm writing this on.
A game about a guy who treats both his life and his relationship with media as a grand and noble ordeal, while he also misunderstands them and treats them like disposable trash. And so, the response to YIIK somehow manages to be one of the most strange and fascinating things about it. I don't like the combat in this game very much btw, I like just about everything else in it quite a bit.

many games have too much Stuff in them. i know many people prefer more Stuff, as to them, the more Stuff the better. and, i mean, Stuff is nice, but the more Stuff you put in, the more your games Thing becomes its Stuff, and how much Stuff you're doing. you are entitled to loving Stuff like you do, but by having such Stuff stuffing your Stuff to the brim, you are limiting the possibilities of your Thing and Stuff alike. with so much Stuff, Thing is forced to take a backseat, as your game has become about Stuff. i believe developers should make a more conscious effort to limit their Stuff, or at least thematically cater the Stuff so that it coincides with the Thing.

of course, this isn't actually a problem if the Thing in your game is the Stuff, with maturity and awareness in design. this is a new favourite example for me of the Thing being the Stuff. i love this game's Thing.

the beat drops. the squad is dripped the fuck out. daddy wasn't there. i fucked up my life beyond belief and i'm not even 30 yet. yea. it's kind of game of the year. yea their faces are weird yea the animations are funny, bad news buddy your face is weird as fuck and you animate even funnier. you dumb as fuck for this one. i'm serious about that.

ok but like, have you ever played a jrpg or a game with a premise like this and thought things like "these old fucks writing this just don't get it. this counter-culture is designed to sell me on franchises and products."

i'm talking about persona 5

anyway if you've ever felt that way check it the fuck out motherfu- https://youtu.be/xujYZsuf-S0?t=10

Note: To maintain the review's previous integrity, I have to inform it's new audience on Backloggd.com that this review is taken directly from the Steam review page. However, in order to make playing the review both interesting and dynamic for newcomers and old fans of the review alike, I have elected to make TWO changes to the review's contents. Thank you and please enjoy.

i think perhaps something wrong with the guy who maked this one.
could be violent and dangerous? could like videogames? both terrify me to think about.

important note: i am morally required by the council of game ethics to inform that i know the guy who made this one. heh, this is but a taste of... my journalistic integrity... this right arm of mine, sealed within is an ancient power from times long since passed, imbibed insides me by the ancient sages's, me the wise knowledge to know how the game's ought to be judged. and let me tell you, this game is short and sweet, I like what it's going for quite a bit. Moment to moment got good chuckles out of me, particularly fond of the Tokusatsu character and how many heel turns it packs into it's runtime.

guys im getting really worried.
the library battle simulator genre is dying, they haven't made one since library of ruina. how are we supposed to get our fix?

hold on let me add to this genius review a bit.
this is no longer a joke about the way they describe the game on storefronts. this is serious. everything i said in this review is completely sincere. it's a bit of a thing right, fans of project moon shilling to as many people as possible, but i feel i have gained an appreciation for the immense effort put in to create that kind of fan reverence and loyalty. i hope this developers future is even more bright. library of ruina and lobotomy corporation, lack of polish included, have so thoroughly captivated me.