Thrasher
2024
Pretty much everything Stellar Blade sets out to do, another game has already done significantly better. The gameplay while passable doesn't really lend itself to feeling overly satisfying and parry mechanics lack an impact that really leaves me feeling badass for getting through an entire chain the way something like Sekiro does.
Where it really lets itself down though is in the cast and story, at no point do things really kick into gear and gain a real sense of momentum and by the time I was walking in to the final boss (accidentally mind you, sure would be nice to not get locked out of clearing through the remaining cans and stuff so I could just do NG+ speedrun for the plat) the game is suddenly scrambling to try and make any sense of the direction it is now going into along with being bogged down by an uninspiring cast until it just falls apart entirely.
Where it really lets itself down though is in the cast and story, at no point do things really kick into gear and gain a real sense of momentum and by the time I was walking in to the final boss (accidentally mind you, sure would be nice to not get locked out of clearing through the remaining cans and stuff so I could just do NG+ speedrun for the plat) the game is suddenly scrambling to try and make any sense of the direction it is now going into along with being bogged down by an uninspiring cast until it just falls apart entirely.
This review contains spoilers
A great step up from BotW and pretty much the zelda game I hoped it would be, I do think there is still room for improvement however.
Whilst the attempt at actual dungeons this time is appreciated they still feel a bit too similar to the format of divine beasts vs dungeons of previous titles and I would hope any further games in this format will try to adjust further in that direction.
I would also like to see a less segmented approach to story, whilst memories this time did feel like overall they were a good additive and gave us the background details as we went in meaningful ways, it does still leave a shallower experience than if it had been more firmly placed within the story structure than just being the occasional vignette….Also high key they did Ganondorf dirty as a character in terms of any sense of motivations.
Either way ending had me screaming and like the direction the franchise is currently headed, if Zelda has to say in this open world format it now has all the elements needed to make that work, they just need to expand upon them
Whilst the attempt at actual dungeons this time is appreciated they still feel a bit too similar to the format of divine beasts vs dungeons of previous titles and I would hope any further games in this format will try to adjust further in that direction.
I would also like to see a less segmented approach to story, whilst memories this time did feel like overall they were a good additive and gave us the background details as we went in meaningful ways, it does still leave a shallower experience than if it had been more firmly placed within the story structure than just being the occasional vignette….Also high key they did Ganondorf dirty as a character in terms of any sense of motivations.
Either way ending had me screaming and like the direction the franchise is currently headed, if Zelda has to say in this open world format it now has all the elements needed to make that work, they just need to expand upon them