ToxicToad
193 reviews liked by ToxicToad
My personal Favorite Zelda game. Incredible design and all dungeons are amazing.
This is the best 2D Zelda no contest. I fucking love crawling on walls and shields and shit
It's Link to the Past but better
Half-Life
1998
Half Life is mostly amazing but some repetitive sections and that fucking last area bring it down
I was speedrunning as if Kratos was coming for my ASS.
GOWR: Valhalla is the best DLC I have ever played and it probably will stay that way for most of my life. I cannot believe how amazing this DLC is. It is UNREAL how incredible and fun this DLC is. I am just in genuine awe how amazing the existence of this is.
To put things into perspective, God of War Ragnarök is one of my favorite games of all time. I had finally finished this game a couple months before the DLC came out and felt very content and satisfied with my experience. So when it was announced at the Game Awards that it was getting a FREE DLC in just a week or so from the game awards, I was ecstatic. Like, I had never thought that GOWR would get a DLC, and I was totally okay with it not having any expansions, the game was already perfect. So, to see Santa Monica Studio announce a FREE expansion to an already amazing game in an age where corporate greed is seeping into the video game industry, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Just this expansion EXISTING for FREE is a gift from the heavens, but what's even crazier (but not unexpected) is that it's actually really fun.
The roguelike mechanics work really well here, I feel like most players tend to lean towards one or two builds and stick with them in the base game, so there's not much motivation to change things up in terms of Kratos' armor and augments. In Valhalla, you're constantly pushed into creating different builds and there are so many resources at your disposal to acquire these upgrades. It shares a lot of mechanics with Hades, but Hades is pretty much the perfect roguelike, so it's a good game to take inspiration from.
The combat is the same as it was in the base game, so it's still very enjoyable. However, there are some new additions to the areas and enemies. There's new maps which are like these mashup versions of the different realms, which I liked, but there's also an entirely new Greek inspired area which was so cool. This game goes back to Kratos' roots and because there is an entire Greek arena to explore and fight in, there are also Greek enemies, which was really cool. Fighting Greek soldiers, harpies, cyclops, sirens, minotaurs, wraiths, and centaurs was really fun. I also love that we got to see parts of Kratos' Greek past realized in the modern age of God of War.
The story and writing is as good as ever. It's a very introspective and personal journey for Kratos, so for the most part it's just him and Mimir, but I appreciated the reflective, kind of laid-back vibe that the story had. However, that does not mean this story is without drama. There are some powerful moments in this story that add a lot of weight to the plot. I was impressed by how much effort was put into the storytelling as well. This game isn't just a few new maps either. There are full-fledged cutscenes and everything, this feels like a genuine continuation of the base game's ending.
My favorite part by far though, is the final boss. I don't want to spoil anything major, but all I will say is that the boss was the one part of the base game that I felt slightlyyyy dissatisfied by, but honestly it wasn't a problem in the main game and I could overlook it. However, Valhalla not only fixes my minor issue, but makes it the highlight of the DLC and gives us one of the coolest boss fights in the series. I was so impressed by the final boss fight on all fronts. From a story, gameplay, and cinematic perspective it was perfect.
Overall, Valhalla is a very rare and special kind of DLC that we probably won't see again for a very long time, so cherish it. I would be okay paying $30 for this so the fact that it's free still blows my mind.
Thank you Santa Monica Studio. You are incredible and I love you so so much.
To put things into perspective, God of War Ragnarök is one of my favorite games of all time. I had finally finished this game a couple months before the DLC came out and felt very content and satisfied with my experience. So when it was announced at the Game Awards that it was getting a FREE DLC in just a week or so from the game awards, I was ecstatic. Like, I had never thought that GOWR would get a DLC, and I was totally okay with it not having any expansions, the game was already perfect. So, to see Santa Monica Studio announce a FREE expansion to an already amazing game in an age where corporate greed is seeping into the video game industry, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Just this expansion EXISTING for FREE is a gift from the heavens, but what's even crazier (but not unexpected) is that it's actually really fun.
The roguelike mechanics work really well here, I feel like most players tend to lean towards one or two builds and stick with them in the base game, so there's not much motivation to change things up in terms of Kratos' armor and augments. In Valhalla, you're constantly pushed into creating different builds and there are so many resources at your disposal to acquire these upgrades. It shares a lot of mechanics with Hades, but Hades is pretty much the perfect roguelike, so it's a good game to take inspiration from.
The combat is the same as it was in the base game, so it's still very enjoyable. However, there are some new additions to the areas and enemies. There's new maps which are like these mashup versions of the different realms, which I liked, but there's also an entirely new Greek inspired area which was so cool. This game goes back to Kratos' roots and because there is an entire Greek arena to explore and fight in, there are also Greek enemies, which was really cool. Fighting Greek soldiers, harpies, cyclops, sirens, minotaurs, wraiths, and centaurs was really fun. I also love that we got to see parts of Kratos' Greek past realized in the modern age of God of War.
The story and writing is as good as ever. It's a very introspective and personal journey for Kratos, so for the most part it's just him and Mimir, but I appreciated the reflective, kind of laid-back vibe that the story had. However, that does not mean this story is without drama. There are some powerful moments in this story that add a lot of weight to the plot. I was impressed by how much effort was put into the storytelling as well. This game isn't just a few new maps either. There are full-fledged cutscenes and everything, this feels like a genuine continuation of the base game's ending.
My favorite part by far though, is the final boss. I don't want to spoil anything major, but all I will say is that the boss was the one part of the base game that I felt slightlyyyy dissatisfied by, but honestly it wasn't a problem in the main game and I could overlook it. However, Valhalla not only fixes my minor issue, but makes it the highlight of the DLC and gives us one of the coolest boss fights in the series. I was so impressed by the final boss fight on all fronts. From a story, gameplay, and cinematic perspective it was perfect.
Overall, Valhalla is a very rare and special kind of DLC that we probably won't see again for a very long time, so cherish it. I would be okay paying $30 for this so the fact that it's free still blows my mind.
Thank you Santa Monica Studio. You are incredible and I love you so so much.
God of War Ragnarök
2022
As self-serious and waypoint/sidequest-happy as a AAA game can be. I normally roll my eyes at that kinda stuff but both of these games are masterpieces.
(Ok sure the Atreus chapter in this one is pretty grueling.)
(Ok sure the Atreus chapter in this one is pretty grueling.)
God of War
2018
This review contains spoilers
5.0 ★
What an amazing piece of art this was.
( + + ) The story. A perfect mix of side and main story, with some amazing twists and sweet plotlines. The story was interesting from the beginning and kept me engaged throughout the entire game. Also perfect length of story imo, finished the main plotline in about 30 hours. And lets be real: who doesn't love hearing about nordic mythology?
( + + ) The characters. Kratos and Atreus have such an amazing energy with some loveable father - son moments but also some difficult moments, which perfectly shows the ups and downs of parent - child relationships. Aside from that, the whole bunch of side characters we meet were lovely designed and fit so well into the entire story!
( + + ) Animations & Camera: The entire game almost felt like watching a movie: a very epic, well - made movie. Each of the rune attacks, the different weapon fighting animations... The big fight against the dragon left me standing here jaw to the floor, i loved it so much!
( + ) Very personal but: all achievements are able to be gathered post - game, so i could really enjoy the story / game and then get to the achievements and collectibles post game. I really dislike when a game has missable achievements ;/
( + ) The puzzles around the map were the perfect difficulty. Sometimes i had to think a bit longer on how to progress, but it never made me frustrated trying to figure out the solution.
Above I named the main reasons why I loved the game so much, but in my eyes the game did everything right that you can do for a (story - driven) videogame. From the character / creature designs, to the level design, the animations, the cinematics, the story, the side characters, the side quests, having your son as you secondary abilities and even have Mimir by your side telling you stories. We also can't forget about these HUGE characters we had like the World Serpent, the dragons, the frozen giant, it's just crazy. There is really no end to the points that make this game fantastic!
PS: The valkyrie queen was a pain, but after gathering enough rage and upgrading all I got i made it after my fourth try!
What an amazing piece of art this was.
( + + ) The story. A perfect mix of side and main story, with some amazing twists and sweet plotlines. The story was interesting from the beginning and kept me engaged throughout the entire game. Also perfect length of story imo, finished the main plotline in about 30 hours. And lets be real: who doesn't love hearing about nordic mythology?
( + + ) The characters. Kratos and Atreus have such an amazing energy with some loveable father - son moments but also some difficult moments, which perfectly shows the ups and downs of parent - child relationships. Aside from that, the whole bunch of side characters we meet were lovely designed and fit so well into the entire story!
( + + ) Animations & Camera: The entire game almost felt like watching a movie: a very epic, well - made movie. Each of the rune attacks, the different weapon fighting animations... The big fight against the dragon left me standing here jaw to the floor, i loved it so much!
( + ) Very personal but: all achievements are able to be gathered post - game, so i could really enjoy the story / game and then get to the achievements and collectibles post game. I really dislike when a game has missable achievements ;/
( + ) The puzzles around the map were the perfect difficulty. Sometimes i had to think a bit longer on how to progress, but it never made me frustrated trying to figure out the solution.
Above I named the main reasons why I loved the game so much, but in my eyes the game did everything right that you can do for a (story - driven) videogame. From the character / creature designs, to the level design, the animations, the cinematics, the story, the side characters, the side quests, having your son as you secondary abilities and even have Mimir by your side telling you stories. We also can't forget about these HUGE characters we had like the World Serpent, the dragons, the frozen giant, it's just crazy. There is really no end to the points that make this game fantastic!
PS: The valkyrie queen was a pain, but after gathering enough rage and upgrading all I got i made it after my fourth try!
Sifu
2022
Really enjoyable. Very tight combat, good learning curve - the difficulty spikes for each of the bosses seem insurmountable initially, but then you chip away at them and by the time you run through again to reduce your age they seem dead easy.
It's a bit shallow, but what it does, it does incredibly well.
It's a bit shallow, but what it does, it does incredibly well.
Alien: Isolation
2014
Game is called Isolation but you spend most of it being surrounded by others. I'm pretty sure this constitutes as false advertisement