You can't really talk about this game without acknowledging it's influences of Jet Set Radio and its sequel Future. JSR and Future had amazing art design that still hold up today, but JSR feels very floaty to control, the movement feels held back by a poor camera system and stilted registration of whether or not you started grinding on a rail. Since SEGA seemingly forgot people liked cool arcadey games the fans made a game that's better in almost every way.

BRC's controls are the largest improvement by far, you still have weight and momentum behind your character, but QOL mechanics like The Manual and Boost give you much more flexibility in combos and routes for building a large combo. While The Manual can arguably make keeping combos easier to continue, I prefer this design choice over frustration felt in JSR specifically. Controls are simple, but mostly to the game's benefit.

The art design feels like a refinement of the cel-shading used in JSR Future specifically, it's extremely strong artistically, and really shines on a 2k or even a 4k display. I even tried it on a tiny CRT and it holds up surprisingly well. This strong art design enhances the maps built for this game, which are as pleasant to look at as they are fun to play. Millennium Mall is visually the strongest in my opinion but Pyramid Island is a blast in gameplay.

Gameplay is great, the focus is on a sudo-free-play where you put up enough graffiti tags to do the next objective, which works really well with how well designed the maps are, which naturally make you want to mess around and try to build combos. Bosses were a nice addition, though with how simple the controls are they don't have much complexity but I don't think that's necessary.

The story is alright, I do think the ending missed out on having a better message, since without spoilers it builds to something that doesn't get addressed much at the end.

Music was fantastic, very good range of artists, and bringing back Hideki Naganuma is great to see.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk can be enjoyed with no knowledge of its inspirations, and has timeless presentation and gameplay. Even if games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater aren't your thing, BRC is very friendly to beginners.

This game feels like the gameplay of RE4 faster paced and more poorly done. It benefits from a portable format be it Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck (played on the latter) since missions last 10-15 minutes usually. While the Campaign is what the majority of people will play and stop at, the Raid Mode is what I put much more time into, but with either mode I have many criticisms.

Campaign definitely feels like a mix of the RE1 and RE4 formula, though it feel like it’s a mixed bag. You start out desperate for ammo, but once you get further in you’ll be flush for ammo like other RE games. The mission structure made exploring the ship feel boring, since you'll keep being placed in missions in separate locations, while this mission structure seems to be there to keep the game digestible in short time chunks for its original portable platform. The map would benefit from more free-play, and the few pockets that the game gives you often have you exploring a very large map and spending much of that time just walking from one point to the next to try and unlock the door with a new key. With this game leaning more into the arcadey gameplay you see in a game like RE4/5, I would have preferred they condense the map.

The controls closely mirror what you have in RE4/RE5, with quick turning and easy access to the knife. You can target body parts like the arms or legs to stun or make an enemy falter. I did have fun being able to target the legs and finish enemies off with the knife, the game definitely encourages using these mechanics as it will often give you arenas full of zombies, where crowd control becomes a major game mechanic.

One of the mechanics the game pushes the player to use is the dodge mechanic, which feels very inconsistent in practice. Sometimes I would dodge without doing press the required combo, while other times I would take a hit even if my timing felt perfect. This could be down to the fact that dodging requires a left stick + A button combo, and I feel like moving dodging to one button could solve this problem.

I know the bare basics of the RE story until this game, so the story of this game was what I was expecting, which was cheesy action drama. If you played RE1 you’ll see a lot of the same story beats. It's goofy and cheesy, though the voice acting is charming in that sense.

Raid Mode is similar to the Mercenaries mode of previous games in the series had at this point, but with more focus on the custom weapon parts system. You get a list somewhat linear missions to do, and you’re scored based on stricter criteria, such as damage received, whether you kill all enemies, and if you complete it below the recommended level. These bonuses aren’t necessary, but the change from a score based system to a leveling system makes replaying missions feel tedious. Since you'll often play one or two levels that reward generous BP, it can be frustrating to get the bonuses as enemies can be difficult to react to (infected fish) or are placed such that you need to know they're there if you don't want to take damage. The poor dodging system is especially frustrating here, since there are enemies that can (and WILL) one tap you if you can't outmaneuver them or manage to trigger a dodge. Some of the longer missions with spongy bosses are especially guilty of this issue.

Completing missions gives you BP, which lets you buy new guns, upgrades, and refills on equipment. What annoys me is that you have to purchase more ammo for your weapons before missions, which feels really restrictive since it often reduces much of the BP profit you earn. While there’s plenty of ways to save ammo by means of integrating melee and focusing fire on legs, it doesn’t help enough for some builds and can leave you scrounging for any ammo. Starting the player off with at least half ammo would go a long way in encouraging replaying in spite of mistakes or losing missions.

It's worth noting that I played the Raid Mode solo instead of co-op so I can't talk about how the mode works with teammate weapon parts. This mode definitely feels more geared towards co-op than solo, since many levels that involve gauntlets of enemies that swarm you, and even when using high-level gear and using KB+M it feels like a nightmare to try and get bonuses for no-damage. This bonus seems more feasible with a co-op partner, so take that as you will. I finished Chasm Mode but didn't finish Trench since it felt like a slog to play through.

The gun part system seems like it was intended to make guns feel more powerful over time, but in the 7 hours i spent on Raid Mode it felt very lackluster and I didn't feel like they were doing anything meaningful for my gun. The system in the Campaign did this much better, you actually felt like each attachment made a notable change to the behavior of your gun, whether it be burst fire, charged shots, or just fire rate.

While I enjoyed parts of the game that embraced the arcadey feel and let you experiment with how to tackle enemy encounters, it feels very unremarkable in a lot of places in both the Campaign and the Raid Mode, it felt derivative while introducing new mechanics and ideas that don't work well with the gameplay of the game. It feels middle of the road in that sense for my rating, not terrible, mostly competent, but falls short in many aspects.

God DAMN this game is good. Metroidvania that controls like those old driving flash games, and works shockingly well. Music perfectly matches the themes and atmosphere, and the hand-drawn art-style is so full of personality. Lots of the regions on the map are pretty well designed, and weapons/ abilities you gain naturally let you reach new locations as you go, and they encourage experimenting with movement and tech. There's 2 points in the game that are total slogs but otherwise it keeps pace for the runtime. Particle effects and smoke can limit visibility which is annoying, though this is highly dependent on your screen resolution. Play this game cause it is GOOD

Really high quality Source mod, it's arena shooter multiplayer but much more approachable and appealing. Good community servers and mappers means you'll always be seeing new stuff. Flamethrower feel out of place but they're working on a replacement as far as I know. Has a extensive options list for HUD and FOV which is helpful for an arena shooter, and cosmetics really let you personalize your merc. I'd say try it out since there aren't many other mods with as strong a presentation than Open Fortress.

Very unique take on the classic DOOM formula, leaning heavily into the atmosphere and horror DOOM3 tried to capture. The Aubrey Hodges soundtrack adds so much to the mood of the game, and the colored lighting and mapwork are extremely well done, adding to the demonic setting the game conveys. Maps are mostly well done, though throughout the game and especially at the later half there are some frustrating puzzles and I had lots of points where I just didn't know what to do to continue a level. Art design is good as well, with enemy sprites looking less exaggerated and more fear-inducing. I absolutely think any DOOM fan should at least play this, as it has a very distinct style that none of the other games really capture, besides Quake 1 and 2. The Lost Levels are great as well, they serve as a good companion piece to DOOM Eternal if you plan to play that.

It's a large departure from the formula of DOOM1 & 2, and I think it achieves most of it's goal of giving more of a horror experience rather than action, but it struggles since it can't really find a perfect balance of the two. The shadows and lighting are great even today, if a bit sharper than you would expect, and I feel like part of the horror is lost with the mounted flashlight. The abysmal shotgun seems like a result of the much smaller enemy counts compared to DOOM 1 & 2 and Quake 1 & 2, which is mostly negated by the assault rifle you get early on. The game definitely can catch you off guard if you let it, and the restricted lighting can make you nervous since your line of sight is usually very obscured. The level design isn't very memorable and can feel repetitive, but it does a great job giving the impression of a futuristic space station. Combat feels very weak, and can be frustrating due to the damage causing the screen to shake, and the weapons are a mixed bag, the chaingun and rocket launcher definitely feel as powerful as they should be, but the plasma rifle and BFG feel lacking. The whole game feels like a mixed bag, which I enjoyed though the repetitive level design made the game feel like it was dragging on.

I played both expansions, thought both of them were alright, more combat focused, not that long, if you didn't like the main campaign that much I wouldn't bother.

Arguably a perfect game, no other co-op game blends action and cooperation so well, and the AI director means that every run of a campaign is going to be different in some way. Versus is great as well, and while you may run into parts of some campaigns that are skewed towards one team, it's incredibly balanced in the overall picture. The level design is amazing at showing you where you need to go without being overbearing in guiding you, using landmarks and lighting to steer players. If you have enough people for co-op or Versus mode you have GOT to play it, it runs for like 2$ on sale all the time.

Campaign:
It took 343i three games to make a good campaign but here we are. Open world could have worked really well but the hexagon pillars that make up a lot of the environment are an eyesore and the lack of variety in the biomes seems like a huge missed opportunity. The forerunner dungeons felt really bland, should've included more materials instead of just reflective metal. The dynamic lighting felt more like misses than hits, sometimes it could look great, while other times it would make things look like fullbright is on.

Movement and abilities feel great to use, they really nailed them, the grapplehook is the standout ability by far. grappling enemies, explosive barrels, and weapons is so satisfying. Most weapons feel great to use, though weapons like the commando feel like a mediocre inbetween of the AR and BR. Combat with enemies feels great as well, the art design for the enemies make readability much easier than Halo 4.

Missions felt very samey, in part due to lots of the mission locations having similar architecture, and isn't helped by lack of variety in biomes. The story was OK as well, it had enjoyable and interesting parts, though the main villian of the story felt underdeveloped.

Multiplayer:
Multiplayer definitely feel much faster paced, though I do enjoy how it plays. More focus on competitive which is pretty well done, and they've finally fixed BTB and other casual playlists. Probably the strongest part about Halo Infinite, and seemingly is getting more updates than it was getting earlier on.

With it being free-to-play means that the monetization of skins is prety egregious, I personally would've preferred if everything could be unlocked without paying, though the only realistic compromise we can seem to have is with the battlepass system. They made it so you could complete older battlepasses whenever you want, which is a good QoL change, though the high cost of shop items is still an issue.

Forge seems to be very extensive and customizable, and I've enjoyed playing the custom modes and maps people have made so far.

As a package, the multiplayer is the biggest draw of this game, with the campaign just being OK while the multiplayer is good. Slow updates made the game barebones when it first launched, but it's gotten much better since then, though there is something to be said when a live-service game has in-frequent and lacking updates to reach a decent state years later. If you plan to try the campaign I recommend just playing it on XBOX Game Pass since it's much cheaper to play it that way.