Twilight Princess is not the best Zelda game, but it's pretty close.

The game isn't as cohesive of an experience as most 3D Zeldas, but it has WITHOUT A DOUBT the best dungeons in the whole franchise. The Yeti mansion, Arbiter's Grounds, and City in the Sky outshine any 3-in-a-row batch of dungeons in any other Zelda title.

Midna's great. Wolf Link combat rules. Aiming with the Wiimote is smooth as silk.

This game is still a great time, but the HD port is the way you should play it.

It’s official. Silent Hill is no longer the name of a franchise set in or dealing with the dark history of an eponymous fictional town in Maine, left forever tainted by the twisted machinations of a cult and where sinners and the damaged alike find themselves drawn to face judgement for their actions or potential healing for their deep-seated emotional wounds respectively. It's now a label Konami can throw on any horror project that deals with themes of trauma, grotesque monsters, and an otherworld concept for brand recognition. Gone is the connective tissue of location and lore that previously unified the games together. A similar visual style is really all that remains.

The Short Message isn't the outing that revealed this to me. It was a suspicion I had as soon as titles like “f” were announced, and had been already confirmed for me ahead of time with the launch of the shameful Ascension which I abandoned keeping up with near the start of 2024 as a form of mercy for myself. I'm not going to lie, that's been a tough pill to swallow as a longtime fan. Yet, I did my best to go into this with an open mind though, knowing full well from what little blurbs I had seen online (I've actually avoided reading a lot of your reviews beforehand to remain as blind and uninfluenced as possible) that this was going to most likely be an experience tailored towards attracting and pandering to a new, more modern audience. That's exactly what I got.

Naturally, as a result I hated this at first. The inexplicit symbolism that defined its predecessors has been stripped away entirely in favor of blunt, in-your-face storytelling perfectly suited for this artless influencer era where everyone gets their opinions from whatever rich internet personality is tactlessly screaming the loudest, and the dialogue is the exact type of obliviously pretentious drivel one would expect from your average wannabe intellectual teenager or college-aged Twitter (X?) addict. It's almost completely devoid of real depth and seems painfully unaware that nothing it's speaking on hasn't been covered elsewhere, and better there.

That's devastating. Genuinely hurts to witness. Miraculously a strange thing happens around its second of three chapters, however. The writers suddenly stop beating you over the head quite as hard with the subject matter (the amount of times the number for the suicide prevention hotline is thrown onscreen...) and begin letting each character's pain speak for itself. Meanwhile a big plot revelation divulges how the protagonist is as much of a perpetrator as she is a victim, in the same vein as the James Sunderlands and Murphy Pendletons prior. The tale shockingly finds its groove and gains a trace of that previously sorely missing complexity, even if only in part because its topics are sure to strike a chord with anyone ever negatively impacted by the rise of social media (so basically just about everyone) or wasn't the most popular in high school. There's even a nice, if ultimately ​highly flawed, stab taken at exploring the concept of generational curses. As someone who was afflicted by many of the same things as the leading lady for years, that ending certainly tugged on the heartstrings as well.

The gameplay side of the package also suffers from feeling a tad too overly simplistic due to the demographic being pursued here, albeit to a slightly higher degree. TSM's whole concept seems to be "what if P.T., but it's not a puzzle?" You progress through its looping scenario and setting in a very linear, directed manner with no room to mess up or ponder over what to do since whatever you need to collect or interact with next is always clearly defined with a visible icon on the screen. This would almost be a straight "walking simulator" were it not for the chase sequences, survival-horror's current favorite trend that it's been stuck on for a while now thanks to Amnesia. These moments can definitely be intense, but cause the package to run into the same problem as Shattered Memories where despite the fantastic atmosphere and occasional well done jump scare it's not long before any sense of fear quickly dissipates from most of the runtime because you become fully aware of when you're truly in danger or not. Still, I found myself fairly entertained regardless and genuinely think that last sprint through the larger maze area is pretty dang good at getting the heart racing.

And the end of the day, yes this is undeniably a dumbed-down version of the beloved property. If you don't like it, well that's probably because it's not meant for you. This is Silent Hill aimed at a new, younger generation. A crowd that, let's be honest, has been programmed to require all their information and successes be spoon-fed to them. That being said, maybe it's the fact that this is a totally free experience (that got a cool stealth release) or simply because I'm not that far removed from the market they were shooting for, but if this IS the future of the series then I'm onboard. Although somewhat begrudgingly. In spite of my initial misgivings, Short Message ultimately won me over by the strength of its affecting, if severely ham-fisted narrative and competent action/scares. I can't wait to find out if all that stuff with the cherry blossoms ties into “f” in an interesting way either. So in conclusion, against the odds this brief glimpse into what's next for my personal favorite staple in the genre has left me thinking the kids might be alright in the end.

7.5/10

Playing Pseudoregalia is like experiencing a lucid dream. Having full function while being mesmerized by the world around you. Absolutely incredible controls, fantastic movement and a beautiful atmosphere. I think the only thing that holds this one back is the combat. If that had been perfected to match the other skill set I think the game would be perfect. But as it stands it's pretty damn close. When it was all over I only had one question....



Why they make the main character so thicc?!

u know the saying "this isn't remotely good" ? well, this game is remotely good. I respect it a lot for completely 180ing and changing pretty much everything about the metroid formula, I like the scarcity of health drops making it feel like i have to be more careful, I like how we finally get to see what samus talks like, (she uses the word "must" like 6 times in one text box once, it was interesting) and I like how they kept the computer so ingrained and prevalent to the game. All of this is in theory of course. This game was really irritating to me, I didn't really enjoy the progression. I liked the bosses (most of them), I liked the areas, I liked the music, and I loved the art. I just feel this isn't really what I wanted. The SA-X was also kind of a let down for how cool of an idea it was. But the thing that interests me is how cool the themes are. The streamlined-ness and linearity and taking orders from a computer is supposed to be irritating, to contrast with how free the other games were. Samus is supposed to die in 3 hits to a random bee, because it shows that we don't have our armour anymore. Bravo. It's so thematic, it reminds me of dark souls 2. Annoying spider boss, save companion that won't shut up, and the coolest part being the dude that pursues you.

so i wonder what i should play next, metroid dread or metroid prime 2? dread would continue my 2d streak but prime 2 i can emulate and wont have to spend any money on. Plus I found this thing called primehack which gives metroid prime 1,2, and 3 keyboard and mouse controls. I'll give it some thought.

(Played Before 2023)
I remember my time fondly with this game, from the trailer to playing it on my X360 in 2011 - 2012, doing exploits like opening the Xbox Menu in order to speed up the waiting time, the dual Daedra daggers that were great for a stealth build, the combat and magic with the sneaking around as an assassin, doing whatever I wanted and stumbling upon Dwarven ruins. It was magical and was my first real open-world RPG that I completed, so I'm going to be biased about this game. It is hard for me to see faults in it even now, like the janky gameplay that can happen at times and the fact that the story is definitely 'Mary Sue/Gary Stu' where you are the best at everything and can join every faction, but there is a reason this is considered to be one of the best games of all time. Everything about the world just oozes wonder, and it really shows off some of Bethesda's best ideas and why they're the behemoths they are today.

this went by really fast. its a complete breeze, yeah its a little linear and some bombable tiles blend in with the rest of them, but it's okay. Combat was snappy and cool, the animations are also really awesome (U can hold onto the ledge and aim and shoot. Tell me that isnt the most badass thing ever!! :D) The movement options are pretty fun but i never really got a hold of them lol. I also think this is the first instance of a stealth part of a non stealth game that i actually really enjoyed. Also wanted to give a shoutout to the metroids for being insane in this game. In metroid prime they're not much other than a nuisance but in this they're genuinely terrifying and intense when you fight them. More than one? omg. And then there was one part where i messed up and I had 5 on me at the same time? and I CAME OUT ALIVE!! WOOHOO!! it felt like doom eternal down there man. Yea, fun game and i am prob gonna play am2r next. cus the other options are either old or i have to go to a store and buy a 3ds game... yuck

Who would've thought 2023 would be the year crappy licensed games made a comeback. What is it with the Walking Dead ones based on the show being so much worse than the efforts set in the world of its source material anyways? Think about it, the comic book has gotten stuff like the Telltale adventures and Saints & Sinners, while its AMC offspring is responsible for spawning dreck such as Survival Instinct, the underwhelming Onslaught, and now this. A shame because the ideas behind them have usually been pretty good. I mean, a prequel road-trip FPS with an emphasis on stealth and scavenging for supplies starring fan-favorite Daryl Dixon? That should have been an easy "yes please!" back in 2013. Destinies might arguably have the best concept of any of them to date, which only makes it all the more disheartening to say that from nearly every other standpoint it may easily be the worst of the bunch.

The ability to alter the events of the television series to explore various "what if?" scenarios every viewer has likely had bouncing around in their head at some point or another is a heck of a hook. As a huge sucker for player-driven choice-and-consequence in my gaming narratives it was more than an enticing enough prospect for me to ignore the incredibly negative reception this has received and try it out for myself. While it is cool to see things like Shane callously abandon someone who's life Rick saved should you pick him as your leader instead, unfortunately due to the complete lack of any exploration into how your decisions affect the individual members of your group or their overall dynamic this is about the caliber of bad fan fiction being performed by hilariously inept impersonators. You can literally have one of the franchise's two biggest villains join your team and nobody will say a word about it. Not to mention there are some shocking character omissions. Among the biggest questions I've always had is what would have happened if Andrea had died instead of her sister Amy, yet neither of them are present here. Also, no Tyreese and Sasha? The ball is dropped so hard with the storytelling thanks to these deficiencies that you almost can't help but feel a little sorry for the handful of original cast members who returned to reprise their roles.

Now, the package's big, core selling point coming off as so half-baked is certainly a letdown, but what really drags it into truly loathsome territory is the actual moment-to-moment gameplay. The devs tried to give you some freedom on this front by granting you the option to either approach situations stealthily or aggressively as you see fit. They even put a genuinely good and clever unique spin on the title's RPG-esque skill tree where the perks you have access to are determined by who is in your band of survivors. Meaning that if someone dies as result of what outcome you select at critical story junctions before you invested in them, then the boosts and abilities they brought to the table are locked off from you entirely from that point on during that playthrough. The praise sadly stops there however, since flaws including (but nowhere near limited to) the boring tiny and linear level design, braindead AI, and super jank, awkward combat suck any fun there otherwise could have been out of the experience completely.

For starters, unless you're playing on easy, which lowers the challenge so much the whole campaign becomes a ridiculously broken joke, there's no logical reason to ever go into situations guns a'blazing and melee weapons swinging because the only way the undead can harm you is by grabbing. Zombies latching and holding onto the player is not an uncommon mechanic, but it's usually used fairly sparingly. In this particular instance though you can expect your attacks and forward progression to be regularly halted roughly every two seconds as you're forced to tediously button mash yourself free from hordes of decaying flesh if you don't stick exclusively to sneaking. A process that quickly drains your health, usually putting you into an annoying "broken state" of either panic or rage that culminates in a crippling detrimental status effect that requires the use of special execution moves to get rid of. Human enemies spice up the action a bit by providing foes who will shoot back at you, but they are somehow even denser than their reanimated counterparts. At least items are littered around in abundance so it's never hard. Doesn't keep the action from being aggravating and tragically the sole diversion to break up the monotony is the occasional dull block-pushing puzzle. Oh yeah, I haven't even talked about the litany of technical problems yet, which consist of terrible graphics, achievements that inexplicably won't unlock on certain difficulties, bugs, glitches, the majority of cutscenes lacking animation, and exiting loading screens to find yourself swarmed by walkers or that half the cinematic has already started playing.

If you share a mind similar to mine, you're probably left wondering how a title that had the potential to be and seriously should have been a massive hit turned out to be something more akin to a dumpster fire. The answer is quite simply GameMill. Look, I know the internet loves to blame the publisher every time a game doesn't turn out great, e.g. EA getting blamed for Bioware’s laziness and own internal mismanagement, but I think the evidence is pretty blatantly on my side in this case. They are the company responsible for putting out the infamous Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing after all, and Destinies itself was their third(!!!) critically panned disaster tied to a high-profile property that year alone. If this was made under the same brutal time and budgetary constraints as Skull Island: Rise of Kong, something I’d wager was more than likely, then I believe developer Flux deserves a pass for these results. The small Brazilian studio did the best they possibly could have given the circumstances. A shame, because seeing such an excellent vision for a TWD game go to waste this way kind of hurts. I would love for the premise to be revisited someday with its full range of wonderful possibilities capitalized on, and for other great shows to receive the same treatment. The mere thought causes the imagination to run wild. Until that ever happens, I guess I'll just have to deal with the pain of knowing this first attempt was utterly squandered.

4/10

Sonic Riders is an incredibly unique, fresh and rewarding racer hidden to most behind beginner-unfriendly mechanics and a tutorial that just doesn't do its job very well.

Calling this a "Mario Kart clone" is not particularly accurate at all - it shares the surface-level element of being a spin-off of a platforming series, but it plays completely differently. It's not a casual-friendly, pick-up-and-play party game, it's a blazing fast, challenging, technical arcade racer that doesn't pull its punches. There's no randomized item system to help (or hinder) you during races - the only way to fight back is to attack your opponents directly with a well-timed boost. Your racer choice doesn't exclusively affect stats like acceleration or handling, but rather puts you into one of three classes (Speed, Flight or Power) that have their own special ability and shortcuts tailored to them specifically. There's loads of different vehicles that all have wildly different attributes and stats from each other, some even allowing you to mix and match character abilities (such as giving a Speed character like Sonic the ability to fly). You have to keep track of the air supply that fuels your vehicle, and avoid abusing things that consume a lot of it such as boosts to prevent it from running dry.

If their goal was to make this not play like Mario Kart, they definitely did that well. There's a surprising amount of mechanical depth here despite seeming like a silly mascot racer on the surface, and I really do like that about it. It takes some time and learning to get used to, but once it clicks, Sonic Riders feels awesome to play, and it is genuinely very satisfying to get better at it. Learning the ins and outs of the tracks, mastering the controls and trick system and learning better ways to maintain your air tank are all satisfying to learn, practice and execute in races in their own right. Track design is solid for the most part, with every track giving every character class a chance to shine, the trick system provides many opportunities to pull off some sick mid-air stunts, and the game is covered top to bottom in a unique style, from its locales, to all of the characters getting new outfits and designs, to its soundtrack that leans more into techno, trance and drum & bass sounds as opposed to the rock 'n roll that most other Sonic games were adopting at the time.

There is a steep learning curve here, and the game does a pretty bad job at making its mechanics clear. All you get in-game is a handful of tutorial videos tucked away in the extras menu that teach you the most basic of mechanics and that's it. No more videos for the more advanced techniques, no playable tutorial that teaches you in a more hands-on manner, just a single prerendered video that still misses some of the things you'd really want to know in favor of telling you about the completely worthless tornado mechanic instead. The instruction manual does touch on the game's mechanics a bit better, but not everyone's going to have that manual to fall back on, and you really shouldn't need a manual to understand the basics of a game. This is easily the game's biggest sin - you can't pair a game this technical and complex with a tutorial this barebones.

While the barrier for entry here is maybe a bit too steep, and the game does a remarkably poor job teaching people how it's supposed to be played, those who stick with this title and learn its mechanics will find an innovative and satisfying take on the mascot racer with great track design, plenty of bonus content and unlockables, and heaps of style and charm that extends throughout the entire package. It's genuinely a very good game, but one where I can wholly understand why some people bounced off of it. I hope that we see a remaster or new entry in the Sonic Riders series someday - this is a series with a ton of untapped potential, and I think a genuine revival effort from SEGA could see some of that potential get realized.

Disclaimer, I have never played the original Gameboy Advance game that this is based on. However I did recently play the Gameboy game colloquially called Donkey Kong '94 that this game is a sequel to. I enjoyed it very much, and this game takes that formula and eliminates any sluggishness that came with that title being released on rudimentary hardware. This game takes the fun of the original Donkey Kong arcade game and perfects it for home consoles. The puzzles are fair, although some of the final levels are brow-furrowing. I'd say this game is a must play for anyone who enjoys arcade-style platformers. The only caveat I would mention is that if you are more familiar with Mario's more recent platforming adventures i.e. Super Mario Wonder, you may be disappointed. But players should keep in mind that this is a remake of a 20 year old game that was a sequel to a 30 year old game that itself was a sequel to a 42 year old game! I loved Mario vs. Donkey Kong so much I 100%'ed everything, something I haven't done in a substantial game in years. Also glad Nintendo is selling it at a budget price, a rare consumer friendly move from them.

Cat Burglar describes itself as a trivia game, but it's really an interactive cartoon that takes heavy inspiration from theatrical animated shorts of the early 20th century. The style is very reminiscent of the cartoons put out by MGM and Warner Brothers (Tom & Jerry, Droopy Dog, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies). Cat Burglar has very little substance as a game, but as a fan of the aforementioned cartoons I laughed a lot. The trivia is just an excuse to determine whom will be the victim of hilariously violent slapstick, the titular Cat Burgler or Peanut the Guard Dog. You are given 3 "lives" to answer 3 trivia questions correctly. If you fail (kill the cat) 3 times, the cartoon starts over. The animation is stunning and the music is very Carl Stalling-esque. It even puts a filter over the animation to make it feel like its been put to film.

Cat Burglar provides a LOT of comedic scenarios that change depending on your trivia answers, encouraging you to play through a minimum of 5 times to get all the "good" endings. Even after unlocking these I played again several times and lost on purpose just to see what gags I had missed. Again, while there is very little gameplay here, I encourage any and all slapstick/animation fans to check this out if you have access to Netflix.