2023
"fuck it, finally a fantasy"
~fred durst (2021)
consistently fun but bogged down by way-too-frequent mmo-esque fetch quests, a dogshit main antagonist and jill's comical lack of characterization
when it hits though, it really fucking hits. clive is a terrific lead, (kupka is also a fantastic rival) every major set piece manages to one up the last and the combat, whilea bit easy for an action game absolutely braindead, is really fucking fun
only ps4/5 game thus far to feel like a truly "next gen" experience and a crystal clear reminder of the heights this series can reach when it's not rife with developmental problems
edit: that last line is still mostly correct but not in the way i'd like. it's certainly next-gen in terms of scope and scale with regards to spectacle, but the actual writing is piss poor. this was very much a honeymoon game and ng+ made it clear. xvi feels like a first draft
~fred durst (2021)
consistently fun but bogged down by way-too-frequent mmo-esque fetch quests, a dogshit main antagonist and jill's comical lack of characterization
when it hits though, it really fucking hits. clive is a terrific lead, (kupka is also a fantastic rival) every major set piece manages to one up the last and the combat, while
only ps4/5 game thus far to feel like a truly "next gen" experience and a crystal clear reminder of the heights this series can reach when it's not rife with developmental problems
edit: that last line is still mostly correct but not in the way i'd like. it's certainly next-gen in terms of scope and scale with regards to spectacle, but the actual writing is piss poor. this was very much a honeymoon game and ng+ made it clear. xvi feels like a first draft
2011
much more fleshed out than the original and equally as funny
previously, nicole's sociopathy was more or less justified by virtue of everyone else being worse than her, but here she's downright wretched and hellbent on ruining peoples' lives for little to no reason - i don't want to get into spoilers, but just take my word for it and know that's a good thing
previously, nicole's sociopathy was more or less justified by virtue of everyone else being worse than her, but here she's downright wretched and hellbent on ruining peoples' lives for little to no reason - i don't want to get into spoilers, but just take my word for it and know that's a good thing
2021
the protagonist immediately outs herself as a sociopath, but she's by far the most righteous out of the entire cast. this is also one of the few pieces of media i can think of that accurately displays how fucked in the head white supremacists are... among other things
if that makes your head tilt in a positive way, check it out. i don't even have to hesitate giving this a 10. i laughed way too hard at the godlike voicework (some of the best va of any game/vn/whatever) to care about its shitty use of the renpy engine
if that makes your head tilt in a positive way, check it out. i don't even have to hesitate giving this a 10. i laughed way too hard at the godlike voicework (some of the best va of any game/vn/whatever) to care about its shitty use of the renpy engine
this is what the base game should've been - concise missions with minimal objectives and enemies fucking everywhere. still as grindy as you'd expect, but manages to stay engaging because killing titans is fun. best spider-man/donkey kong crossover yet🦧⚾
anyway, unrelated: aot's ending is great and eren is the best character
anyway, unrelated: aot's ending is great and eren is the best character
2018
wanted a game about slashing lots of titans. got a game about sometimes killing titans but mostly just waiting for things to happen. not a fan of the "create your oc!!!" format and i'd much rather play as the actual cast
fun core mechanics but lacking in substantial content and abundant in filler nonsense. final battle is much better
fun core mechanics but lacking in substantial content and abundant in filler nonsense. final battle is much better
2018
2004
2008
as a straight, cisgender man i frequently find myself unable to resonate with a lot of queer media and resultantly assume it's simply not for me
heisei pistol show proves to me that's a reductive sentiment
this is a clear reminder that raw emotion is a universal language. even with how esoteric and intangible much of the narrative is, there's so much heart here that "heart" is literally the name of the goddamn protagonist
started sluggishly and initially had me rolling my eyes. but that turned around quickly enough and i'm eager to run it back to get a better grasp of the story really being told
heisei pistol show proves to me that's a reductive sentiment
this is a clear reminder that raw emotion is a universal language. even with how esoteric and intangible much of the narrative is, there's so much heart here that "heart" is literally the name of the goddamn protagonist
started sluggishly and initially had me rolling my eyes. but that turned around quickly enough and i'm eager to run it back to get a better grasp of the story really being told
2019
this was one of the coolest things i'd ever seen until the last ten minutes or so where it totally lost me with its downright silly ending
feels like it has a bit of an identity crisis but at the same time that quality gives it a certain rawness that you can only really get out of an amateur developer. would eagerly check out anything else by this person in the future
feels like it has a bit of an identity crisis but at the same time that quality gives it a certain rawness that you can only really get out of an amateur developer. would eagerly check out anything else by this person in the future
2003
seeing people talking about this "aging poorly" as if it wasn't fully intentionally designed to piss people off and wasn't a technical pile of shit on day one is amusing to say the least
it's a game that opens with someone kicking their dog before visiting a stereotypically-ran convenience store which houses suicide bombers. playing postal 2 while being the kind of person who gets angry at postal 2 is like going to a television broadcast and clapping when the blinking lights say "applause"
for most others, though, it's pretty damn funny
it's a game that opens with someone kicking their dog before visiting a stereotypically-ran convenience store which houses suicide bombers. playing postal 2 while being the kind of person who gets angry at postal 2 is like going to a television broadcast and clapping when the blinking lights say "applause"
for most others, though, it's pretty damn funny
2020
i like to call games such as toem and here comes niko "pseudo saccharine". i also label them as "wife's boyfriend bought me-core". they're (probably) usually made from a place of goodwill, but there's something frustratingly disingenuous and toothless about it nonetheless. kinda like the idea of eating pixy stix for nutritional value
naturally, i'm totally open to making fun of these things
but holy shit - you cannot just assert your message by writing a stilted, overly long discord conversation with yourself and padding it out via long ass philosopher quotes. i've never disagreed more vehemently with something i fully agreed with
naturally, i'm totally open to making fun of these things
but holy shit - you cannot just assert your message by writing a stilted, overly long discord conversation with yourself and padding it out via long ass philosopher quotes. i've never disagreed more vehemently with something i fully agreed with
i really adore the kind of aesthetic and vibe that this game is trying to achieve, but it's too tedious and overly simple to convey any feeling of fear, discomfort, or even uncertainty
levels are too estranged from one another (literally separated by a hub area) and they all function in the same way: you walk through some procedurally generated mazes with almost nothing of interest, collect randomly-placed tickets (required to access new locations) and - sometimes - solve "puzzles" that feel more like calibration exercises than actual challenges. no threats exist. there's no sense of urgency. you're essentially walking around someone's unfinished blender project
i wanted to love this but there's almost nothing here to feel any way towards at all
levels are too estranged from one another (literally separated by a hub area) and they all function in the same way: you walk through some procedurally generated mazes with almost nothing of interest, collect randomly-placed tickets (required to access new locations) and - sometimes - solve "puzzles" that feel more like calibration exercises than actual challenges. no threats exist. there's no sense of urgency. you're essentially walking around someone's unfinished blender project
i wanted to love this but there's almost nothing here to feel any way towards at all
2019
cool concept executed to mixed results
puzzles are all too easy and the narration tries way too goddamn hard to be portal, the stanley parable and a self help book all at the same time while succeeding at none of them
it's alright and has some interesting moments but it's so brief and simplistic overall that the whole game feels like a glorified tutorial. play antichamber instead
puzzles are all too easy and the narration tries way too goddamn hard to be portal, the stanley parable and a self help book all at the same time while succeeding at none of them
it's alright and has some interesting moments but it's so brief and simplistic overall that the whole game feels like a glorified tutorial. play antichamber instead