All other "open-world" games are made for and by cowards.

DD2 is one of the coolest games I've ever played. There are things this game does that are so wonderfully spikey, it make perfect sense how many people bounce off it. The spikiness of game design results in some of the most extreme emotional reactions to gameplay I have both felt and witnessed since Morrowind. Both in valleys so deep that the unseasoned game players will be trapped in despair and swear the game off as "unplayable", and peaks so high that very few games will ever dare attempt to match, resulting in all future open-world game being judged against Dragon's Dogma 2.

DD2 is one of the few AAA games that makes full use of its budget to push the medium forward. I think everyone who cares about open-world games and/or action-RPGs, owes it to themselves to finish Dragon's Dogma 2.

Hell, the dev hours put into things that only 10% of players will see is in of itself astounding and worthy of praise.

Satisfying 3d platforming, also other stuff.

I don't think I'm feeling this as much as I should? I dig the core mechanics, but the rest of the game feels like it's getting in the way. I like how the game feels like you can sequence break with smart platforming. However I only say "feels like" because the sign-posting isn't great. I spent most my time with no clue if I was actually making any progress, and the lack of obvious landmarks made navigation more of a chore than it should have been.

I might get back to this someday, because core movement feels great. But I do wish I had any clue where I was moving to? (I'm either almost finished the game, or barely started, I have no clue which.)

The most "Act 2 of a RPG" you will ever play.

I was onboard with FF7R-1, I'm still onboard with FF7R-2. HOT DAMN this is the most "middle section of a RPG where the narrative is slowly progressing along while you do a lot of fucking around with side stuff".

I think this will end up being the most nostalgic of the Rebirth trilogy? Remake setup what the deal is with this whole thing is, with interesting deviations. Rebirth drip feeds some more on that intrigue (mostly in the late hours of the game), but this outing feels more like it's the one making good of the "promise" some players expected of "hey remember FF7?!??".

I'm hoping FF7R-3 follows a similar structure to FF7R-1 to close this wild ride out.

Very goofy (good way).

Two of the three games the dev team cites as major inspirations are Devil May Cry and Guilty Gear. Know that they specifically mean the first Devil May Cry. As for the Guilty Gear comparison, I understood it at the surface level (Roman Cancel + movement is similar). Then I reached the penultimate boss-fight of the game and had the feeling of "this game is now for people that place top 8 for Guilty at EVO".

Slave Zero X is the game that has kicked my ass the most since playing the original release of DMC 3 when I was a child. This is the first game in 20 years that I am putting on the "I'll finish someday" backburner solely because of difficulty. Game is pretty neat for that.

I will say there are still criticisms. For one the game often feels like it leaves the "DMC" inspiration in favour of a traditional Beat 'em Up or Musou. These moments can work briefly, but the later levels really lean into this, I think to the game detriment. As these are the moments where the game most heavily devolves into popping DT to spam EX moves as much as possible, then popping Burst to get full meter to repeat the cycle.

Also for a game that cares enough about player skill expression to put in a training room, it's weird there is not only no movelist, but the only time you can view the controls/see what the mechanics are is if you replay and skip the intro cutscene level.

Even with those gripes, I think the game mostly succeeds in what it's trying to do. If all of that sounds like something you need in your veins right now, I would definitely recommend. Visualy gorgeous with an OST that goes off, if you are looking for a challenge, Slave Zero X is a great option.

If you do pickup the game, I'll give two recommendations:
1. Go to volume settings and max out the Music track. Otherwise it will get completely washed out.
2. EX moves aren't L+H like it says, its a piano roll. So in very quick succession L>H (For the people coming here as a character action fan, like how you would pull off an Afterburner Kick in Bayonetta)

[Edit, literally the day after writing this: Beat the game, penultimate fight was the hardest fight for sure. The final boss right after was pretty weak imo.]

Coolest part of this is it's existence.

Short and sweet 6 level Quake campaign that is a prequel and promotion for Slave Zero X. A 2024 release, 2.5D action game prequel to the 1999 3rd person shooter Slave Zero.
The novelty and presentation of this whole thing I think bumps it from a 3/5 to a 4/5. Worth checking out because its just weird to exist.

(I didn't write this until I started Slave Zero X, in which the first couple of levels I was just getting whiplash from going through the same maps as this Quake campaign. Really unique feeling.)

I'm a couple hours in at launch so far and I'm really liking Helldivers 2. A 4/5 game atm, will be updating that score as major updates release.

However I could easily see myself coming back to the game pretty regularly even if there was no promise of future updates. Whether with friends or randos, Helldivers 2 is good fun!



Extended Thoughts

I really enjoyed the first game, and I think Helldivers 2 is a perfect transition from stylised twin-stick, to photorealistic 3rd person. Something as simple as the combination of having weapons need to "catch-up" to the crosshair and how ricochet works, perfectly translates the conditions that would lead to friendly fire incidents in the first game.

Also while the art style shift was confusing at first. After playing the game, I think it effectively uses this art style change to add to gameplay. Dark/fogged areas being illuminated with gunfire is both visually impressive, and mechanically engaging.

Hoping for vehicles, weapon upgrades/customising, and The Illuminate (or some other 3rd faction) to be added over the next year(s). I honestly don't have any complaints other than the obvious launch network issues and missing vehicles

(Vehicles which I think added nothing but flavour to the first game. I do think could be the final piece of the puzzle that pushed Helldivers 2 to be a 5/5).

[Edit 03/03/24: The game is continuing to hit all the right notes and I saw the mech leak. Yeah this is a perfect co-op game.]