Subnautica: "Do you have thalassophobia"

Everyone: "No"

Subnautica: "Would you like to?"

It should almost come with a disclaimer to skip the first game if you don't like it, saying the later entries get better.
I played this for the first time years ago, and couldn't get into it at all. The unnecessarily punishing vehicle sections, unvaried locations and mediocre story made me stop the first game about halfway through.
I just wrote it off as not being my thing. But after a reddit thread praising the sequels as being much better, and an empty void inside of me waiting for Spider-Man 2. Wanting some action packed games made me pick it back up.
And man was I missing out. The sequels are way more varied and fun. These adventures are some of the most enjoyable games I've played in a while.

I'm still finishing up 3, and have yet to start 4. But I really wanted to write my thoughts. This series really went under the radar for me. And I'm so glad I'm finally getting through them.

Edit: I've since beaten 3, 4 and Lost Legacy, and finished Drake's Fortune after dropping it. And man, what a special series. It doesn't leave the best first impression, but every game is incredible in it's own way. This series is truly something special

Honestly, I had a blast with it. It's no Arkham, but if you don't go in expecting a materpiece. You might have more fun with it than the reviews make you think.
The best parts are easily the character interactions, they are all very interesting. All four of the knights have interesting problems that fit their characters extremely well.
The combat is simple, but is at least more than pressing three buttons thanks to the momentum abilities. And the court of Owls was a very interesting enemy faction, their hideouts and area's were easily the highlights.
The boss fights also manage to be very fun, and challenging. The game has it's flaws, but WB Montreal knows how to make a good boss fight

All in all, it's a fun romp that is probably best played with friends (I couldn't tell you, I don't have any). Don't go in expecting Arkham, and you'll probably have a fun time with it

This game was just incredible. I waited for a sale when it released and got good reviews because "it's a Ubisoft game, it can't be THAT good"... It was that good.
This has quickly become one of my favorite Metroidvania's, even rivaling the brilliant Metroid Dread. None of the standard Ubisoft garbage is here, no micro transactions, no XP boosters, no season pass. The only Ubisoft slop here is a pre order bonus, which is basically required with every game nowadays.

Now to the gameplay, it's amazing. Combat is basically just a platform fighter, put in a platformer. You have high, medium and low attacks. You can sweep, juggle, grapple, air combo. It's easy to learn, but hard to master as you learn more abilities on your adventure, which almost all have combat purposes (even when you don't think so at first).
The bosses are also amazing, they test your abilities to the extreme. With a ton of attacks that you might think are undodgeable, but with some experimentation with your abilities, there is always a way to avoid damage.
For example, the fourth major boss constantly zones you, jumping away when you get close, and shooting you from a distance. He seems near impossible to get close to. But then you realize that you can use your teleport (which you have likely only been using for platforming until this point), to cut off the boss' retreat.
The bosses always make you learn something new about the capabilities of your abilities, and it's incredible .

There is also a boatload of customization to your play style, there is a talisman system, similar to the charms in Hollow Knight. Which allow you to tune Sargon to how you want to play him. I went for a glass cannon approach, buffing raw damage from sword attacks (especially in the air), but you can go for a parrying build, healing you for every parry and creating a slowing bubble when you hit a parry, a zoner build with fire arrows and sword projectiles and so much more. Nobody's playstyle is the same, yet this game has a system that accommodates for everyone.

The story is also very Metroid-like, where it's surfacable by just following the cutscenes, but the real story is revealed from reading lore items like scrolls and ancient texts. It rewards patient players with a deeper story, without alienating people who just want action and a story with it.

But I need to talk about the platforming, which felt amazing. There is no momentum system like a 2D Mario for example, when you start running. You are at your top speed, when you stop (even mid air), you stop. It makes the platforming incredibly precise, and makes the harder platforming sections feel amazing to pull off.
New abilities unlocked during the game make returning to old platforming sections a breeze, with you nearly being able to fly over the stuff that gave you difficulty at the start. It's an incredible feeling.

Lastly, I shortly want to mention the protagonist: Sargon. Which I really enjoyed. The reveal trailer for the game used rap, which made me afraid he'd be an overly "cool" character. Which he luckily wasn't.
He's serious, but generally really kind and respectful. There is a certain side character he has to repeatedly save, but instead of getting annoyed that he gets in constant danger. He respects him for his courage to go through dangerous territory, even though Sargon doesn't understand his goals. And even calls most friendly NPC's friend.
It's not much, but it's the positivity I really like in games, and hope we get more of. Just because a character is serious and doesn't crack jokes, doesn't mean they can't be nice to people.

Overall, this is one of the greatest action games, platformers and Metroidvania's I've ever played. It deserves way more praise than it got, and it's a shame that it sold so little.
Give this one a shot if you can, you might find a hidden gem.

I wanted to like this. Splatoon 3 kinda felt like a cash grab with Splatoon 2 already being on the switch. So I welcomed competition, even if Foamstars looked to be a rip off of Splatoon, it could still be a good one. The announcement trailer looked high quality. But this just ain't it.
The single player is downright pathetic. It's a tower defense game, where all maps are an open square, where all enemies come from one side in very small numbers, and there are more boring conversations than actual gameplay (maybe the others are better, but I did all three for Soa. And it's all the same). I did all three Soa missions with an S+ rank on my first try, and I suck at tower defense if that gives any indication.
The online is pretty fun, but it often takes a while to find a lobby, especially for any mode other than Smash the Star. Combine this with a battle pass and microtransactions and it's a recipe for yet another failed live service game, I wonder if this game will even make it past season 1 or 2.

Genuinely one of the most fun racing games I've played in a while. I like rocket league's driving style, but I prefer racing games over sports games. And I kinda hoped we would get a racing mode for the game. And this is it!
I love the controls, the addition of flying, air dodges, wall and ceiling driving and the very polished controls make it an extremely fun time. It's fast, it controls wonderfully and the tracks are well designed.
The track design is a little repetitive though, and I hope we get more track themes other than desert and castle. But it's a good start. Especially since it seems like we're getting a track builder.

It has some bugs, I once got trapped under the road, and I once died out of nowhere. But those will likely be fixed. And I feel like at it's core, it's one of the most fun racing games I've played since CTR: Nitro Fueled

An amazing game. I'm a massive mythology nerd, so seeing a comedic adaptation. Narrated by the most mythologically accurate Zeus I have seen is just an amazing idea. He is funny, and for a 12+ game. It talks a lot about sex (which isn't a bad thing, since it is basically all the gods do), which I respect. The story had me laughing out loud a lot, and the character design is amazing.

The combat is also great, it is mostly about stamina management. Which makes it engaging, though a bit easy with the right builds. The enemy variety is pretty lacking, but it only becomes an issue if you are going for the platinum.

The biggest issue I have is the puzzles, they are the best part of the game. And the worst. There were some great ones, but at the end. They become really repetitive. During the last of the 4 main dungeons. I was so fatigued that I dropped the game for a few months.

I started disliking the game during the post game grind. I loved the game, so I thought I'd go for the platinum trophy. Which is a big mistake. The only fulfilling post game are the quests for the gods and the four mythical bosses. Which may or may not have already been beaten before the final boss. Since you can do them whenever. After these missions, all are the game becomes is unbelievably grindy and boring. You become strong enough that no enemy is a threat, puzzles use the same mechanics, so they don't pose a challenge as well. And I was so relieved to finally be done. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and will probably be my last Ubisoft platinum.

Long story short: I love this game. It's gorgeous, funny and fun. But just stop after beating the game, the post game is lacking after beating the four mythical bosses and it doesn't offer rewards that are worth the grind

Got this on PS Plus, and went in with no knowledge on the game, and no specific expectations. And I was very pleasantly surprised. The game looks gorgeous, the combat is fast paced and smooth and the voice acting is great.
The game also has fantastic atmosphere. The burning villages and the swamp town in chapter 4 feel completely destroyed and the suffering people make you really feel for them. I love it, it gives you a sense of dread and unease, but without resorting to actual jumpscares.

That said, the game has its flaws. It doesn't have a chapter select for some reason, so if you missed a collectible without knowing. You have to replay the entire game to get them all. I get it is to motivate you to get all endings. But it feels more like artificial padding.

Still, the amazing environments and fun combat leaves you wanting more. Which is great, since I rather have a game be short. But fun all the way through, than it'd become a repetitive slog

I played this game so much back in the day. I luckily didn't pay any money for it. But this was one my favorite city building games. It sucks that the game was shut down. But I had a fun time with it when it was available. I loved the character design, getting to see your favorite Marvel heroes as teenagers was a neat twist. And leveling them up to slowly unlock their actual suits was a neat concept.

I could see that the devs really cared about the game. And it seemed like a passion project for a lot of people. I also loved the end event. Where you got so much gold and gems that you could practically do anything you want during the last two weeks. Which is something that made me respect the devs even more.