TheYeti
BACKER
Extremely fun game with a great story. Theme doesn’t really fit the combat style and the collectibles aren’t very compelling.
Could’ve used more time in the oven for overall polish and to clean up the bugs.
Even though the Star Wars theme is mainly what got me to play the game, the theme is sort of an ill-conceived fit for the Sekiro/Soulslike combat. A Jedi taking so long to kill a droid or storm trooper just doesn’t make sense or line up with literally any of the Star Wars media that currently exists.
The collectibles are basically meaningless. The light saber parts are fun to get but you can’t really ever see your saber during normal gameplay. The ponchos are stupid. The lack of fast travel makes back tracking to finish up collectibles a bit more of a chore.
+ Great/fun combat.
+ Rewarding skill tree progression.
+ Awesome story.
- Theme is at odds with the gameplay
- Meaningless collectibles
- No fast travel makes backtracking a chore
-Buggy. Even months after release, this game was a mess
Could’ve used more time in the oven for overall polish and to clean up the bugs.
Even though the Star Wars theme is mainly what got me to play the game, the theme is sort of an ill-conceived fit for the Sekiro/Soulslike combat. A Jedi taking so long to kill a droid or storm trooper just doesn’t make sense or line up with literally any of the Star Wars media that currently exists.
The collectibles are basically meaningless. The light saber parts are fun to get but you can’t really ever see your saber during normal gameplay. The ponchos are stupid. The lack of fast travel makes back tracking to finish up collectibles a bit more of a chore.
+ Great/fun combat.
+ Rewarding skill tree progression.
+ Awesome story.
- Theme is at odds with the gameplay
- Meaningless collectibles
- No fast travel makes backtracking a chore
-Buggy. Even months after release, this game was a mess
2019
A game with kind of fun writing, wonderful art, and relatively interesting characters that is an utter drag to play. I really loved Oxenfree, so it's disappointing to find Afterparty to be not very great
If the game had a reasonable movement speed and actions were performed in a more timely manner, this game would probably be beatable in a couple hours. As it is, it drags and takes forever to do absolutely anything.
Imagine Oxenfree but somehow slower and with larger environments that take more time to get around.
Got the Plat in Oxenfree. Could barely get through one playthrough of Afterparty.
If the game had a reasonable movement speed and actions were performed in a more timely manner, this game would probably be beatable in a couple hours. As it is, it drags and takes forever to do absolutely anything.
Imagine Oxenfree but somehow slower and with larger environments that take more time to get around.
Got the Plat in Oxenfree. Could barely get through one playthrough of Afterparty.
My favorite game to play while doing something else. That doesn’t seem like high praise but now that I’m done with it, I already miss it.
I would play while listening to podcast, audiobooks, watching TV shows, chatting with friends, etc. Terrific couch co-op game or to play online with friends.
Diablo 3 perfected the loot grind in a satisfying way that never wore out its welcome. Even after the Platinum trophy (which involved maxing every character), I was never tired of this game.
I would play while listening to podcast, audiobooks, watching TV shows, chatting with friends, etc. Terrific couch co-op game or to play online with friends.
Diablo 3 perfected the loot grind in a satisfying way that never wore out its welcome. Even after the Platinum trophy (which involved maxing every character), I was never tired of this game.
2017
A great but finnicky couch co-op puzzle game with some inconsistent puzzle quality.
Some puzzles are real thinkers that make you put your minds together and figure out how to work your way through it.
Some require you to move in slow motion with absolute precision through the entire level or else a laser will move just the wrong way and kill you.
Those levels feel less like puzzles and more like tests of patience and are often made more difficult by the finicky nature of the movement.
A cube-based puzzler is good in theory but more often than not you just end up getting your cube’s edges stuck on the environment and get flung into space or fall off the map.
Some puzzles are real thinkers that make you put your minds together and figure out how to work your way through it.
Some require you to move in slow motion with absolute precision through the entire level or else a laser will move just the wrong way and kill you.
Those levels feel less like puzzles and more like tests of patience and are often made more difficult by the finicky nature of the movement.
A cube-based puzzler is good in theory but more often than not you just end up getting your cube’s edges stuck on the environment and get flung into space or fall off the map.
2018
Loved the first game so much that I 100%'d it.
We quit playing Overcooked 2 about halfway through the last world after 3-starring every level before it.
The second game is needlessly more difficult and wacky. Doesn’t really introduce many more mechanics. It’s just the first game but harder.
And not a fun challenging. It’s a difficulty spike that feels random. It’s difficult to get into a groove in later levels as they just feel chaotic.
We quit playing Overcooked 2 about halfway through the last world after 3-starring every level before it.
The second game is needlessly more difficult and wacky. Doesn’t really introduce many more mechanics. It’s just the first game but harder.
And not a fun challenging. It’s a difficulty spike that feels random. It’s difficult to get into a groove in later levels as they just feel chaotic.
2017
This game is a work of art. I only wish I were better at it. Love the soundtrack, love the style, love the challenge. But I can only bang my head against a boss so many times before I had to call it quits halfway through Act 3 for my sanity. This game is wonderful but a bit too unforgiving for my taste. It's cool that there's an easy mode but it sucks that it locks out the ending on easy difficulty.
Holy crap. One of the most unique games I’ve played in years.
It’s rare to find a game that delivers this level of immense satisfaction upon finishing it.
Getting that last confirmation that you have correctly identified every passenger on the ship and their cause of death is a tremendously satisfying accomplishment.
The game delivers on style, music, an intriguing story, and satisfying gameplay.
My absolute only complaint about the game is that going back and reviewing previous memories can be a bit of a pain. Especially when they’re nested a couple memories deep.
It’s rare to find a game that delivers this level of immense satisfaction upon finishing it.
Getting that last confirmation that you have correctly identified every passenger on the ship and their cause of death is a tremendously satisfying accomplishment.
The game delivers on style, music, an intriguing story, and satisfying gameplay.
My absolute only complaint about the game is that going back and reviewing previous memories can be a bit of a pain. Especially when they’re nested a couple memories deep.
This review contains spoilers
A very good Assassin's Creed game. No more. No less...
As a fan of the franchise, I really enjoyed my time with AC Origins. It is a very good Assassin's Creed game. One of the best Assassin's Creed games, in fact. But that's sort of all it is - a very good Assassin's Creed game that follows the same formula as past games through-and-through. It is a very by-the-books open world checklist Ubisoft game. Which wouldn't be an issue if it didn't come out the same year as games like Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn which are a lot more than just run-of-the-mill open world games.
Firstly, credit where credit is due, the world designers of this game did a phenomenal job of bringing Egypt to life. The world is gorgeous. Every single time I did a sync point, I stopped to enjoy the view. Once again, the Ubisoft team has done a tremendous job with another historical setting.
That said, it's weird to have a world this large, beautifully designed, and full of stuff feel this empty and lifeless. The collectibles to find, the boring side quests to do, the locations to complete - none of these add any actual depth to the world or make me want to explore it.
In contrast, games like Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 do a tremendous job of making their worlds feel lived in.They're worlds you want to explore, find every little thing, and interact with every NPC. Even Breath of the Wild, a game in which the story very much took the back seat, created a world that made me want to explore it.
I was excited to hear they had done away with collectibles as it meant less to grind, but that's not really the case. In place of collectibles like flags, feathers, or animus fragments, we have locations. So many locations. Some of them are as simple as killing a single creature. Others require you to spend a good 10 minutes clearing out an entire military base (and there are a TON of those).
STORY:
When it comes to story in Assassin's Creed games, I'm pretty biased. I was one of those guys who actually cared about the modern-day stuff, and was bummed when they basically took it out after AC3. I cared about the lore. I cared about more than just the historical setting. So, for me, learning about the origins of the Brotherhood in this game was very cool.
SPOILER WARNING
That said, boy did they really drop the ball on telling the story that actually mattered - Aya's. From the very beginning when you meet Aya in Alexandria and see the base she has created there, it creates intrigue for her. I kept hoping I'd get to do a mission as her. So when I finally got to do one, I was actually angry that it was a naval mission. They then spend the entire game teasing you with Aya only to let you play her for a single mission at the end of the game and then one more as the epilogue.
And then, as the final icing on the cake, you learn that Aya is actually the founder of the Hidden Ones. She is the mentor. She is the legendary Amunet. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Bayek, but why in the world did we play the entire game as the husband to the legendary assassin Amunet??? What an absolute joke. What a missed opportunity.
NOTE: I wrote all of the above thoughts after finishing the base game before any of the Ubisoft news hit.
DLC:
The Hidden Ones DLC was short and sweet. It gave more background into how they expanded the brotherhood and how they further defined the creed. Plus we get more of Amunet which is simultaneously cool and frustrating.
The Curse of the Pharaohs was cool but really overstayed its welcome. After spending as much time as I did with the base game, I really didn't need that much more to explore and things to do. The story was forgettable and uninteresting.
As a fan of the franchise, I really enjoyed my time with AC Origins. It is a very good Assassin's Creed game. One of the best Assassin's Creed games, in fact. But that's sort of all it is - a very good Assassin's Creed game that follows the same formula as past games through-and-through. It is a very by-the-books open world checklist Ubisoft game. Which wouldn't be an issue if it didn't come out the same year as games like Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn which are a lot more than just run-of-the-mill open world games.
Firstly, credit where credit is due, the world designers of this game did a phenomenal job of bringing Egypt to life. The world is gorgeous. Every single time I did a sync point, I stopped to enjoy the view. Once again, the Ubisoft team has done a tremendous job with another historical setting.
That said, it's weird to have a world this large, beautifully designed, and full of stuff feel this empty and lifeless. The collectibles to find, the boring side quests to do, the locations to complete - none of these add any actual depth to the world or make me want to explore it.
In contrast, games like Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 do a tremendous job of making their worlds feel lived in.They're worlds you want to explore, find every little thing, and interact with every NPC. Even Breath of the Wild, a game in which the story very much took the back seat, created a world that made me want to explore it.
I was excited to hear they had done away with collectibles as it meant less to grind, but that's not really the case. In place of collectibles like flags, feathers, or animus fragments, we have locations. So many locations. Some of them are as simple as killing a single creature. Others require you to spend a good 10 minutes clearing out an entire military base (and there are a TON of those).
STORY:
When it comes to story in Assassin's Creed games, I'm pretty biased. I was one of those guys who actually cared about the modern-day stuff, and was bummed when they basically took it out after AC3. I cared about the lore. I cared about more than just the historical setting. So, for me, learning about the origins of the Brotherhood in this game was very cool.
SPOILER WARNING
That said, boy did they really drop the ball on telling the story that actually mattered - Aya's. From the very beginning when you meet Aya in Alexandria and see the base she has created there, it creates intrigue for her. I kept hoping I'd get to do a mission as her. So when I finally got to do one, I was actually angry that it was a naval mission. They then spend the entire game teasing you with Aya only to let you play her for a single mission at the end of the game and then one more as the epilogue.
And then, as the final icing on the cake, you learn that Aya is actually the founder of the Hidden Ones. She is the mentor. She is the legendary Amunet. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Bayek, but why in the world did we play the entire game as the husband to the legendary assassin Amunet??? What an absolute joke. What a missed opportunity.
NOTE: I wrote all of the above thoughts after finishing the base game before any of the Ubisoft news hit.
DLC:
The Hidden Ones DLC was short and sweet. It gave more background into how they expanded the brotherhood and how they further defined the creed. Plus we get more of Amunet which is simultaneously cool and frustrating.
The Curse of the Pharaohs was cool but really overstayed its welcome. After spending as much time as I did with the base game, I really didn't need that much more to explore and things to do. The story was forgettable and uninteresting.
2019
This dang fitness game is way better than it has any right to be...
After 6 months of playing it, I finally finished my first playthrough of Adventure Mode yesterday. 65+ hours of in-game time which equates to about 30 hours of fitness time since the clock only runs while you're moving. Stop running to take a drink, clock stops. Stop mid-set, clock stops. A full hour-long workout would usually equate to about 30ish minutes of "fitness time".
I would usually play about 3-4 days a week on average. Sometimes I'd slack for a couple weeks. Sometimes my sessions were only 20 minutes.
My wife and I are both typically not very motivated to work out, but this got both of us to finally make a better habit of it.
This game somehow manages to balance interesting, simple JRPG mechanics with various fitness activities that actually give you a good workout and will leave you sore the next day if you overdo it.
There's a leveling system, skill tree, gear with perks, consumables to make. There's more to this game than I ever thought there would be.
Even though I'm done with the main "story", I'm excited to dive back in to finish up side quests, complete my catalog, and keep working out.
I still have a couple more side quests to clean up before moving on to New Game+ and then eventually New Game++.
There's also Quick Play and Custom modes so you can create your own workouts if you don't feel like spending the time doing Adventure Mode.
So, if you want to just do an arms workout for 20 minutes, you can do that. If you want to just run for 30 minutes, you can do that too.
I've already sold 4 other friends on this game and they're all now happily hooked on it.
After 6 months of playing it, I finally finished my first playthrough of Adventure Mode yesterday. 65+ hours of in-game time which equates to about 30 hours of fitness time since the clock only runs while you're moving. Stop running to take a drink, clock stops. Stop mid-set, clock stops. A full hour-long workout would usually equate to about 30ish minutes of "fitness time".
I would usually play about 3-4 days a week on average. Sometimes I'd slack for a couple weeks. Sometimes my sessions were only 20 minutes.
My wife and I are both typically not very motivated to work out, but this got both of us to finally make a better habit of it.
This game somehow manages to balance interesting, simple JRPG mechanics with various fitness activities that actually give you a good workout and will leave you sore the next day if you overdo it.
There's a leveling system, skill tree, gear with perks, consumables to make. There's more to this game than I ever thought there would be.
Even though I'm done with the main "story", I'm excited to dive back in to finish up side quests, complete my catalog, and keep working out.
I still have a couple more side quests to clean up before moving on to New Game+ and then eventually New Game++.
There's also Quick Play and Custom modes so you can create your own workouts if you don't feel like spending the time doing Adventure Mode.
So, if you want to just do an arms workout for 20 minutes, you can do that. If you want to just run for 30 minutes, you can do that too.
I've already sold 4 other friends on this game and they're all now happily hooked on it.
2018
Taking the “rhythm” and “runner” out of “rhythm runner”...
The Bit Trip series originally delivered on the promise of rhythm-based games that had you actually making the music by whatever gameplay the particular game had. Every jump you made or bit you reflected back was on the beat and helped to create the music of the level.
Runner 2 did something interesting in that it was the 3D evolution of Bit.Trip Runner. It still maintained the rhythm elements (though not as strictly) but it was fun and different. I 100%’d that game.
Runner3 not only further steps away from the rhythm elements (really the game hardly feels like a rhythm platformer anymore) but it also takes a step away from the “runner” elements by introducing horribly-controlled vehicles and atrocious boss fights.
And none of that is to the rhythm anymore. The only rhythm/music-creating element that still remains in the game is a blip when you collect the gold and even that doesn’t work correctly. Often times the sound is delayed. Other times it doesn’t even happen.
This game is all-around a disappointment. Quit in World 2.
The Bit Trip series originally delivered on the promise of rhythm-based games that had you actually making the music by whatever gameplay the particular game had. Every jump you made or bit you reflected back was on the beat and helped to create the music of the level.
Runner 2 did something interesting in that it was the 3D evolution of Bit.Trip Runner. It still maintained the rhythm elements (though not as strictly) but it was fun and different. I 100%’d that game.
Runner3 not only further steps away from the rhythm elements (really the game hardly feels like a rhythm platformer anymore) but it also takes a step away from the “runner” elements by introducing horribly-controlled vehicles and atrocious boss fights.
And none of that is to the rhythm anymore. The only rhythm/music-creating element that still remains in the game is a blip when you collect the gold and even that doesn’t work correctly. Often times the sound is delayed. Other times it doesn’t even happen.
This game is all-around a disappointment. Quit in World 2.
2018
The most visually beautiful game I've ever played...
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to play through a watercolor painting, this is as close as you're ever going to get. I cannot overstate how gorgeous the visuals and accompanying music is in Gris. It really is a piece of art worth experiencing.
That said, if you strip all that out, it's a pretty middling, slow-placed platformer. The game is incredibly soothing. A combination of how soothing it is and how kind of boring it is to play put me to sleep on two separate occasions. Normally I'd knock a game a lot harder for literally making me fall asleep while playing it but this game really did me in a complete state of peace.
Zero interest in ever returning to it to get all the collectibles but boy was it worth playing once.
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to play through a watercolor painting, this is as close as you're ever going to get. I cannot overstate how gorgeous the visuals and accompanying music is in Gris. It really is a piece of art worth experiencing.
That said, if you strip all that out, it's a pretty middling, slow-placed platformer. The game is incredibly soothing. A combination of how soothing it is and how kind of boring it is to play put me to sleep on two separate occasions. Normally I'd knock a game a lot harder for literally making me fall asleep while playing it but this game really did me in a complete state of peace.
Zero interest in ever returning to it to get all the collectibles but boy was it worth playing once.
2020
The best $60 beta test I've ever played...
Marvel's Avengers is incredibly interesting in that what's there is great, but boy howdy could this game have used an extra sox months to a year in the oven.
SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN
The single player campaign is easily the highlight of this game. It's shorter than I would've liked it to be, but it was good. Kamala Khan is one of my favorite protagonists in years and she is the perfect character to introduce the player to this new Marvel universe. We are playing through her initiation into the Avengers as she gets the whole gang back together. So any time you, the player, want to nerd about something, Kamala is right there with you. She's unfortunately under-utilized in the second half as focus shifts away from her to the less-interesting "We're the world-famous Avengers!" story. Still, I thought the story was great overall.
COMBAT & GAMEPLAY
The combat system in the game is great. It initially comes across like a bit of a mindless button-masher, but the combat does flesh out with the added depth of the hero skill trees. You're still not going to get Arkham combat, but what's there is fun. They manage to make each of the 6 heroes feel unique, while still remaining common enough to be able to easily swap between them. I'm excited for them to expand the roster in the future.
MULTIPLAYER & ENDGAME
The multiplayer and "games as a service" potion of the game that you're supposed to enjoy after finishing the campaign is where Marvel's Avengers ultimately falls flat. Instead of learning from the success of Destiny and failures of Anthem, it seems like they were determined to blaze their own path ignoring all the lessons of other "lifestyle" games. Ultimately it fails in the same ways Anthem did and Destiny has a couple times before evolving into the game it is today.
The loot grind is completely meaningless, and there's honestly no real end-game content worth doing. You can run the same 4 villain sectors over and over again with horribly stale boss fights, or you can fight through the same interior environment over and over again in Hives. I've never played a game with this level of recycled content before that has the audacity to treat each thing like it's "new".
The monetization in the game is pretty bad. Probably the worst I've seen in an online game in recent memories. It's one thing to charge $20 for a skin on a hero in a paid game, it's another thing for that skin to just be a recolor of a skin you already have. I guess the one good thing about the cosmetics being garbage is I'm not tempted to spend any money.
BUGS AND OVERSIGHT GALORE
I could write an essay and the number of bugs in the game, and the number bizarre oversights that exist from a game design perspective, but there's no point. There are dozens and dozens of reddit threads on everything from reset character progression and broken trophies, to inaccessible doors and incompetent AI.
The shipped state of this game was completely unacceptable. It was broken, incomplete, and sometimes unplayable. There was a whole week I couldn't progress the story because of a bug. Two months later and I still don't have my Platinum trophy because I have 2 bugged trophies.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The silver lining of all of this is that Crystal Dynamics seem to be pretty dedicated to fixing bugs, listening to player feedback, and improving the game as much as possible. The question is - is it too late? DLC dates have slipped, the player base is dwindling, and there's still no roadmap in sight.
I really do wish the best for the future of this game. The bones of a great game are there, they just need to build around them more. We're getting new playable heroes, new villains, and new story content in the future all for free. I'd love to see a world where they do a massive content update in a year that breathes new life into this game. I'll come back every few months to check out the new content, but it's hard to recommend this game in the current state it's in.
Marvel's Avengers is incredibly interesting in that what's there is great, but boy howdy could this game have used an extra sox months to a year in the oven.
SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN
The single player campaign is easily the highlight of this game. It's shorter than I would've liked it to be, but it was good. Kamala Khan is one of my favorite protagonists in years and she is the perfect character to introduce the player to this new Marvel universe. We are playing through her initiation into the Avengers as she gets the whole gang back together. So any time you, the player, want to nerd about something, Kamala is right there with you. She's unfortunately under-utilized in the second half as focus shifts away from her to the less-interesting "We're the world-famous Avengers!" story. Still, I thought the story was great overall.
COMBAT & GAMEPLAY
The combat system in the game is great. It initially comes across like a bit of a mindless button-masher, but the combat does flesh out with the added depth of the hero skill trees. You're still not going to get Arkham combat, but what's there is fun. They manage to make each of the 6 heroes feel unique, while still remaining common enough to be able to easily swap between them. I'm excited for them to expand the roster in the future.
MULTIPLAYER & ENDGAME
The multiplayer and "games as a service" potion of the game that you're supposed to enjoy after finishing the campaign is where Marvel's Avengers ultimately falls flat. Instead of learning from the success of Destiny and failures of Anthem, it seems like they were determined to blaze their own path ignoring all the lessons of other "lifestyle" games. Ultimately it fails in the same ways Anthem did and Destiny has a couple times before evolving into the game it is today.
The loot grind is completely meaningless, and there's honestly no real end-game content worth doing. You can run the same 4 villain sectors over and over again with horribly stale boss fights, or you can fight through the same interior environment over and over again in Hives. I've never played a game with this level of recycled content before that has the audacity to treat each thing like it's "new".
The monetization in the game is pretty bad. Probably the worst I've seen in an online game in recent memories. It's one thing to charge $20 for a skin on a hero in a paid game, it's another thing for that skin to just be a recolor of a skin you already have. I guess the one good thing about the cosmetics being garbage is I'm not tempted to spend any money.
BUGS AND OVERSIGHT GALORE
I could write an essay and the number of bugs in the game, and the number bizarre oversights that exist from a game design perspective, but there's no point. There are dozens and dozens of reddit threads on everything from reset character progression and broken trophies, to inaccessible doors and incompetent AI.
The shipped state of this game was completely unacceptable. It was broken, incomplete, and sometimes unplayable. There was a whole week I couldn't progress the story because of a bug. Two months later and I still don't have my Platinum trophy because I have 2 bugged trophies.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The silver lining of all of this is that Crystal Dynamics seem to be pretty dedicated to fixing bugs, listening to player feedback, and improving the game as much as possible. The question is - is it too late? DLC dates have slipped, the player base is dwindling, and there's still no roadmap in sight.
I really do wish the best for the future of this game. The bones of a great game are there, they just need to build around them more. We're getting new playable heroes, new villains, and new story content in the future all for free. I'd love to see a world where they do a massive content update in a year that breathes new life into this game. I'll come back every few months to check out the new content, but it's hard to recommend this game in the current state it's in.
2020
Sucker Punch succeeds in making a better Assassin's Creed than Ubisoft...
As an Assassin's Creed fan, I've always wanted an AC game set in Japan. Well, we finally got it, and it's leagues better than any actual AC game we've gotten in years.
Sucker Punch takes the open world checklist formula and absolutely streamlines it in a way that makes it feel like you're never actually doing a checklist. Every collectible has value and is actually fun to get. Fast travel is the easiest it's been in any other open world game, so jumping around to get a missed collectible is quick. The world design is what encourages exploration, not just the need to find the next question mark on the map.
I've played over a dozen games with photo modes in them and have never really cared much for them. I'll usually open it once to look at it and snap one obligatory photo, and then never touch it again.
In Ghost of Tsushima, I spent almost as much time taking photos as I did actually playing the game. That's due to a combination of the most insanely robust photo mode I've ever seen in a game, and a very photogenic gorgeous world.
Playing through Act 1, the story felt like it took the back seat to the world. I was enjoying running around, exploring, and fighting off the invaders.
That quickly took a turn in Act 2 and I became fully invested in not only Jin's story, but the stories of all of his companions.
After a slight lull in the beginning of Act 3, it finishes strong.
Really the only negative I have on the game is that it doesn't really do anything new. It truly does feel like they set out to make a better Assassin's Creed than Ubisoft - and that's exactly what they did. The world is gorgeous, it's fun to explore, getting collectibles isn't boring, the combat is fun, and the story is great, but it all feels incredibly safe.
It's a solid 4-star game that I wish took a couple more risks.
As an Assassin's Creed fan, I've always wanted an AC game set in Japan. Well, we finally got it, and it's leagues better than any actual AC game we've gotten in years.
Sucker Punch takes the open world checklist formula and absolutely streamlines it in a way that makes it feel like you're never actually doing a checklist. Every collectible has value and is actually fun to get. Fast travel is the easiest it's been in any other open world game, so jumping around to get a missed collectible is quick. The world design is what encourages exploration, not just the need to find the next question mark on the map.
I've played over a dozen games with photo modes in them and have never really cared much for them. I'll usually open it once to look at it and snap one obligatory photo, and then never touch it again.
In Ghost of Tsushima, I spent almost as much time taking photos as I did actually playing the game. That's due to a combination of the most insanely robust photo mode I've ever seen in a game, and a very photogenic gorgeous world.
Playing through Act 1, the story felt like it took the back seat to the world. I was enjoying running around, exploring, and fighting off the invaders.
That quickly took a turn in Act 2 and I became fully invested in not only Jin's story, but the stories of all of his companions.
After a slight lull in the beginning of Act 3, it finishes strong.
Really the only negative I have on the game is that it doesn't really do anything new. It truly does feel like they set out to make a better Assassin's Creed than Ubisoft - and that's exactly what they did. The world is gorgeous, it's fun to explore, getting collectibles isn't boring, the combat is fun, and the story is great, but it all feels incredibly safe.
It's a solid 4-star game that I wish took a couple more risks.
2020
A tiny game with a brilliant premise that got bigger than it could handle...
Fall Guys is an absolute damn delight of a game. It's a simple premise, but executed perfectly in an online multiplayer game that unfortunately was not built in a way to maintain its popularity. A good game that could be great if it had better variation and local multiplayer.
SUMMARY
+ Great, fresh game premise. It's fun and easy to just dive in over and over again.
+ Even after winning 40+ matches, winning is still a rush. Hard to capture that in a game.
+ Good presentation (art, music, etc.)
+/- Game launch was bigger than the small team was able to handle. They worked hard to fix the server errors. Even after a couple months, it's not super stable. Getting DC'd from a match results in 0 rewards, which is rough for a game based completely around said rewards.
- Lack of level variation. After playing the same the same stages over and over again, it can get a bit stale. They later added some randomized levels in the game but it was pretty minimal - just one or two minor changes. The game really needs fully random levels to mix it up. User-created content could also help keep the game fresh.
- Even after months of people complaining, bad game modes remain in the game that detract from overall enjoyment.
- Lack of local multiplayer and different game modes is a huge miss. This would be a perfect party game.
- Poor cosmetics shop that relies heavily on winning dozens of matches to be able to afford anything. Leads to hoarding crowns. Multiple colors of an outfit sold separately. Bizarre choices.
- Long, grindy season pass. Only way to progress is to just sink tons of hours into the game. Could do with some challenges or other ways to gain progress.
- Silly personal complaint, but having a trophy for winning 5 matches in a row in a game that's built to have some randomness and wacky unpredictable elements is frustrating. It's the only trophy I'm missing and I've resigned myself to never get it.
Fall Guys is an absolute damn delight of a game. It's a simple premise, but executed perfectly in an online multiplayer game that unfortunately was not built in a way to maintain its popularity. A good game that could be great if it had better variation and local multiplayer.
SUMMARY
+ Great, fresh game premise. It's fun and easy to just dive in over and over again.
+ Even after winning 40+ matches, winning is still a rush. Hard to capture that in a game.
+ Good presentation (art, music, etc.)
+/- Game launch was bigger than the small team was able to handle. They worked hard to fix the server errors. Even after a couple months, it's not super stable. Getting DC'd from a match results in 0 rewards, which is rough for a game based completely around said rewards.
- Lack of level variation. After playing the same the same stages over and over again, it can get a bit stale. They later added some randomized levels in the game but it was pretty minimal - just one or two minor changes. The game really needs fully random levels to mix it up. User-created content could also help keep the game fresh.
- Even after months of people complaining, bad game modes remain in the game that detract from overall enjoyment.
- Lack of local multiplayer and different game modes is a huge miss. This would be a perfect party game.
- Poor cosmetics shop that relies heavily on winning dozens of matches to be able to afford anything. Leads to hoarding crowns. Multiple colors of an outfit sold separately. Bizarre choices.
- Long, grindy season pass. Only way to progress is to just sink tons of hours into the game. Could do with some challenges or other ways to gain progress.
- Silly personal complaint, but having a trophy for winning 5 matches in a row in a game that's built to have some randomness and wacky unpredictable elements is frustrating. It's the only trophy I'm missing and I've resigned myself to never get it.
2020
A short and sweet platformer that's a great tech showcase...
Honestly surprised by how enjoyable I found Astro's Playroom. Not only does it do a great job showing off the possibilities of the new DualSense controller, it's also just genuinely a fun experience throughout. I enjoyed going through and collecting everything to complete the PlayStation history collection room.
The DualSense controller triggers and rumble features are easily the standouts. Even the stupid touch bar is better. I still don't care for motion controls, though. Nintendo has been forcing motion controls on us for years and I've never enjoyed it. Please let this be the only PS5 game that I need to rotate my controller around to do stuff.
SUMMARY
+ Great tech showcase for the new DualSense controller
+ Short and sweet game that never overstays its welcome
+ Fun collectibles
- Motion controls are still bad
Honestly surprised by how enjoyable I found Astro's Playroom. Not only does it do a great job showing off the possibilities of the new DualSense controller, it's also just genuinely a fun experience throughout. I enjoyed going through and collecting everything to complete the PlayStation history collection room.
The DualSense controller triggers and rumble features are easily the standouts. Even the stupid touch bar is better. I still don't care for motion controls, though. Nintendo has been forcing motion controls on us for years and I've never enjoyed it. Please let this be the only PS5 game that I need to rotate my controller around to do stuff.
SUMMARY
+ Great tech showcase for the new DualSense controller
+ Short and sweet game that never overstays its welcome
+ Fun collectibles
- Motion controls are still bad