When I was a kid I was bullied a lot and had no friends at school. But what I did have was Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. That game made me feel brave. It made me feel less alone. I was the Hero of Time. It was a much needed escape from the hardships of my elementary school social life.

Tunic is a blend a lot of things, but mostly it's a love letter to Zelda, a series very near and dear to my heart. Others my age who grew up influenced by Ocarina of Time are now making their own games, and it's an encouraging sight for the future of video game artistry. Tunic made me feel like a kid again in the most wholesome way. I felt excited when discovering something new, triumphant when beating a difficult boss, and even felt brave when overcoming the spooky bits.

Tunic features one of my new all-time favorite "tutorial" systems which was the Instruction Booklet. I think this is worth talking about because it's so freakin' cool. It plays on the nostalgia while also being a puzzle in itself; there are many secrets to find within the guide. I love the little details like notes written in it. It also never felt meta or 4th wall breaky to me, more so it just felt like I was a kid again reading the manuals to help me beat Temple of Time.

The presentation was also wonderful. The music slaps (I've been listening to Memories of Memories on repeat for 4 days straight) and there was some really fantastic visuals (shoutout to the awesome skeletal shop vendor creature, he was so cool looking).

However... very unfortunately, this game was not perfect. I really do not like Soulslike gameplay tropes and this game had its fair share. A few systems I did not like:
- When you die, you lose all your consumables. This made boss fights annoying because if you wanted items you'd have to go grind coin to buy more.
- Enemies respawning whenever you rest. It's just annoying.
- There was some enemy minion designs that I just despised. Like they were annoying just for the sake of being annoying.
BUT! even with these frustrations I still adore this game, which to me just speaks volumes about how much the game excels in its other areas. They were, however, annoying enough to make me want to skip bonus content. And really, I can't even call all of the gripes I have sins since it's mostly just personal preference.

Overall, this game was absolutely wonderful. I wish I felt a little more emotional weight at the end, but I also just learned there are two endings and I got the "bad" one (was only missing 4 pages, dang it). I always love when a game can bring back that childlike wonder out of me and this game did just that.

The Devil May Cry format, set up as a rhythm game - and while its not uncommon for the game to fail you for QTEs, the real magic lies in how Hi Fi ties every aspect of the game to the beat. Encouraging (instead of strictly requiring) rhythm promotes a groove within players, a sense that with every action they take they are jamming along with the game - achieving a potent and unbelievably addictive sense of flow when synchronized.

Frankly, I think Hi Fi’s aesthetic would otherwise be a liability for me. Garish color palettes, generic and undiverse enemy design, even the music selection is not my favorite. The supreme, engrossing nature of the combat puts me on a wavelength that elevates every other aspect of the game, I can forgive significant holes in the character writing because I am actually, literally vibing. Any mission thats mostly a gauntlet of enemies is a great time - the opposite of how I usually feel about the genre.

Oh wow, this is how you make a sequel. I really liked Ori and the Blind Forest, but there were a few things about it that I thought could be improved on and this game managed to fix all of them while improving on what the first game did so well. In my mind a good sequel should do three things:

1. Take what the first game did right and expand on it. Don't try to fix something if it isn't broken - they kept true to their vision of the first and didn't reinvent the wheel with their Metrodivania layout or platforming.
2. Take what the first game does wrong and figure out a way to make it work - they made the combat more fun and got rid of the out-of-place Soulsike aspects.
3. Expand upon the story, the characters, and the world in a way that feels genuine and worthwhile. It should contribute to its predecessor, not contradict it - many lesser sequels, I feel, are overtaken in arrogance and try too hard to make something different than the first. Why? We love the first for a reason, don't try to undermine it. Will of the Wisps evolved the world that the first one laid out in a meaningful way.

Much like the first game, Will of the Wisps is an exemplary showcase of visual storytelling. Their is little dialogue; most of the story is conveyed through purposeful actions, music, and visuals. The way they manage to capture such emotion with such little dialogue should be applauded. It helps when your game looks this good. I mean holy damn, this game is stunning. The colors, the environments, the music, it's all so breathtaking to look at. I got emotional several times throughout the story and that's in large part because of how gorgeous it all looked and felt.

The only thing I didn't like was a cheap copout at the end of the story (I don't want to spoil anything) and, even though it was a significant improvement on the first game, the combat was still the weakest part of the game. But I can forgive the combat because the platforming was flames, and that was the bread and butter of the gameplay.

I really loved this game. I also appreciate it being relatively short; I can't do longform Metroidvania. This may be my new gold standard for the Metroidvania genre.