Bio
Rating system:

5 stars: Masterpiece. The best of the best

4-4.5 stars: Great. Incredibly fun experiences with only a small amount of shortcomings if any

3-3.5 stars: Good. Fun experiences that I generally liked but had too many flaws to be great

2-2.5 stars: Medicore or below average. There's fun to be found here, but it's buried amidst a large number of flaws

1-1.5 stars: Bad. An actively bad experience with only a few highlights to speak of

0.5 stars: Absolute garbage. Not even so bad it's good, just terrible all around
Personal Ratings
1★
5★

Badges


GOTY '23

Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event

Organized

Created a list folder with 5+ lists

Donor

Liked 50+ reviews / lists

GOTY '22

Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event

Popular

Gained 15+ followers

Best Friends

Become mutual friends with at least 3 others

3 Years of Service

Being part of the Backloggd community for 3 years

GOTY '21

Participated in the 2021 Game of the Year Event

Liked

Gained 10+ total review likes

Gamer

Played 250+ games

Noticed

Gained 3+ followers

N00b

Played 100+ games

Favorite Games

Ōkami
Ōkami
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

341

Total Games Played

007

Played in 2024

034

Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Mar 03

Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Mar 02

Chants of Sennaar
Chants of Sennaar

Feb 19

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Feb 16

Silent Hill: The Short Message
Silent Hill: The Short Message

Feb 01

Recently Reviewed See More

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is another solid entry in Insomniac's web-slinging series that provides ample fun while also starting to show the wear and tear of a formula running a bit dry.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales are back, this time both as playable characters you can switch between while swinging around an expanded map of New York that now includes Queens and Brooklyn. As Kraven the Hunter invades the city looking for the ultimate prey and Harry Osborne returns cured of his illness by a mysterious black suit, the two Spider-Men must confront their own demons and insecurities as they strive to once again save the city.

It's overall a very compelling tale that really dives deep into both our protagonists and all the supporting cast, and while the main villain this time around is far more well-known than the first game's Mr. Negative and Miles Morales' Phin, the plot does a good job hitting the expected beats for these stories from the comics while also subverting your expectations when needed to keep things fresh. Aside from some pacing issues and a couple contrivances (Miles, how did you get that Oscorp container???) it overall lands most of its ideas with a particularly satisfying conclusion. I'm looking forward to the almost guaranteed Spider-Man 3 to see where the threads left hanging go.

What I'm not looking forward to in another sequel is a continuation of the formula as it stands, because in my opinion at least, it's starting to get stale. You'll once again swing around, completing story missions in between the various side tasks the large map gives you. Nothing here is bad necessarily, it's just that it's not so different from before. You'll have little errands and minigames, that while neat on their own, rarely contain much depth and repeat maybe a couple times too many before you finish them and get the satisfying little easter egg or new suit or battle with a side villain. They're all at least new activities, though some will feel very familiar like the Hunter Blinds basically being this entry's Construction Sites or the Mysteriums being similar challenges to Taskmaster's questline in the first game. All that to say, this was still a fun time, and some of the side quests that had more dedicated stories like the FNSM requests, the Harlem Museum quest, or The Flame questline told some really interesting stories separate from the main plot. However, nothing here truly evolves the formula. It's all a fresh coat of paint slapped on the same car we've been driving since 2018, and I think after 3 games (or 2.5 whatever), I'm getting a bit tired of it. I'd love to see Insomniac truly evolve the structure of their next Spider-Man game or God forbid otherwise, show us something new and exciting with their Wolverine game. For now though, as the novelty starts to wear off, I find the repetition and homogeneity starting to grate more and more.

The same can largely be said of the combat. It's still very good, but it's also still very similar. We have a parry now which as always is satisfying to pull off, and some new powers that I won't spoil coming from specific plot elements change things up a bit. But only a bit. Otherwise it's the same animation-based, counter and hit system we've seen in these games, the Batman Arkham games, the old Assassin's Creed games, and more. It works, but it also doesn't add much in terms of enemy types to make things more interesting or even mechanics beyond the couple I already mentioned. Bosses can be very fun and provide a good challenge, but they largely mix and match different ways to use your skillset with the odd gimmick thrown in. If you're already a fan of this type of combat, you're not going to find much to complain about here, but detractors also won't be convinced otherwise.

The game also has an issue with bugs. I don't think the other Spider-Man games were perfect per se, but they definitely weren't as buggy as Spider-Man 2 is even this long after launch. I had numerous visual glitches such as characters walking on thin air, buildings disappearing but their objects and enemies still staying there floating, etc. It was particularly bad when I got to a late game state of the game world I won't spoil right before the final mission where things really got bad. I was cleaning up side stuff and buying the remaining upgrades and suits only for the game to freak out and glitch so half the suits turned Spider-Man into a small, white box. Thankfully, this went away when I quit out and went back in, though it wasn't encouraging that the Title Screen when I backed out had a glitched out Peter Parker head jutting out from the side of a bridge. These don't stop at visual either unfortunately. A couple times my Web Zip (done by pressing X while swinging) would fritz out and not launch me as fast as normal. It not only was obvious from just game feel, but you could see a little hitch in the animation too as the character doesn't zip forward as fast as usual. My game crashed twice, once when I died in a Mysterium (oops) and once during a cutscene after beating a boss (thankfully there was a checkpoint right when I beat the boss, so I didn't have to redo anything). I also got softlocked in a story mission when I decided to have Peter sit on a bench only for it to not let me get up from said bench, even when all the dialogue was exhausted. It's not anything horrible like Assassin's Creed Unity, but the frequency of things like this is just well below what I expect from a first-party Sony title or even just an Insomniac game. It worries me, especially with the news that Sony is laying off hundreds of employess, including a decent chunk from Insomniac.

That being said, I still did have fun, and I still Platinumed the game just like I did the first one. It's not broken (aside from the couple times it quite literally is as described above), but I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt disappointed by this game. It's the third sequel from Sony now, like the new Horizon and God of War games, that doesn't really try to push for anything new like we saw from Sony games in the PS3 and 4 eras. While Horizon and God of War maybe get a bit of a pass as their first games were a bit more unique from the outset, even the first Spider-Man from Insomniac was already pretty close to tried and true open world ideas. As we go on and things remain the same, it starts to show a bit more. I think we need a refresh of sorts, not just with this series but a number of them, but for the time being, it's not like this game will be a waste of your time. If you liked the other Spider-Man games, you will like this. It is still unparalleled in its ability to make you feel like Spider-Man (cue the groans) with its excellent swinging system and cool takes on the characters and villains everyone knows from the comics and movies. I just hope next time we can get back to making that feeling of being Spider-Man feel fresh again.

Chants of Sennaar is a creative, inventive, and beautiful game all about translating "languages" and using them to solve puzzles. It provides a fun, cerebral experience that challenges the player while staying logical and reasonable in its puzzles all while providing an exquisite audiovisual experience on top of this.

You play as an unnamed, red cloaked translator who wakes up at the bottom of a tower and must make there way to the top. As you climb, you'll encounter multiple peoples who speak different "languages" you must learn to progress.

I put quotes around "languages" because you're really more learning the scripts or alphabets of these "languages" as well as a couple grammatical quirks. It's about as close as you can get without having full voice acting and actually creating multiple fully spoken conlangs. That's not a knock against the game, just a technical caveat. That being said, how the game tasks you with learning these scripts is incredibly captivating and fun.

You'll learn each "language" by speaking to locals and observing what's around you, whether that's signs, murals, games, books, drawings, etc. Every "language" is hieroglyphic based, so you'll eventually be able to parse out what each character means. This all comes with a handy journal menu that adds any characters you see and allows you to guess at each one's meaning before you've confirmed what they mean. This way, you can get a step ahead and figure out parts of the "language" before the game has confirmed anything. Once you reach a point where the game believes you have enough context clues, the journal will add two new pages of sketches where you can mark what characters mean. You have to get them all correct though or you won't be able to confirm any characters on this set of pages.

This is where my only real nitpick of the game comes in. Sometimes these pages can feel a bit obtuse. I was able to figure out everything by the end, but some sections of each "language" took me a bit longer as there'd be one or two sketches that I wasn't sure what they were. A couple of these I even just got past by trial and error, which is frustrating. For the most part though, rundisc did a good job at making each part understandable. It was far more often that I would have an ah ha moment with some of these sketches rather than be frustrated by them. This is also just a super subjective part of "languages" that you're never going to fully get around. What I think of as "fear," for example, may not be exactly how the developers portray it in that character's sketch.

The best part about this game though, is it doesn't stop at its "languages." Learning each script enables you to progress through the OTHER puzzles that are more adventure style. Getting different items and keys, figuring out recipes or formulas, learning how to navigate certain areas. All of this is enabled by learning each "language," and it feels really fun to become fully "fluent" in each level, allowing you to pass through with ease. It leads really to one of the most satisfying feelings I've had playing a puzzle/adventure like this in a long time. Even more so than my recent playthrough of the masterful Cocoon! I think the reason why is because you have to put in the work not just to solve each puzzle, but also to learn the "language" that allows you even to engage in the first place. It felt like I was really exploring these cultures and immersing myself in them.

The other major gameplay element is the stealth. Some sections have hostile enemies or will just present areas you're not supposed to be. Here, you'll be challenged to navigate rather simple areas with some cover walls, patrolling guards, and the odd pile of rocks to throw to distract said guards. It's all quite simple but elegantly done. The cover system sometimes acted a bit goofy in terms of me "aiming" to where I wanted to go next, but this was a small issue that didn't matter much as I never felt in a rush to navigate these. I will also mention, this is probably only an issue if playing with controller like I was. With mouse and keyboard, you control the character point-and-click style, so you can just click the next cover to go to.

I will say though, gamepad controls work excellently otherwise. There are definite benefits to mouse and keyboard, particularly being able to type in your guesses in your journal with an actual keyboard, but if you're like me and like the immersion brought by "walking" the character around yourself, a controller still works great.

As I mentioned above, this is all wrapped in a wonderful presentation package. The graphics, while technically simple, are beautiful, largely due to some excellent art design. It reminds me of a comic, like an avant garde French comic or something. Maybe I'm a bit off there in terms of actual influences, but the result is simply beautiful. Bright colors and cel shading make each level stand out, and the designs of characters are wonderful as well. The score here is beautiful too, adding needed atmosphere to the different areas effectively while giving some memorable themes at key moments. It's definitely a soundtrack I want to revisit on its own.

There is a story as well, but predictably, it is pretty subtle. That's not to knock its quality though, as themes I won't spoil here become very apparent as you progress and tackle some other optional puzzles and quests. By the end, and especially if you go for both endings, the picture becomes pretty clear, and I have to say it ended up being pretty satisfactory.

All in all, Chants of Sennaar is a fantastic game that I think really should be praised more. I remember first hearing about this game through some YouTube videos and the odd Polygon best of 2023 article, but this really deserves to be a more highly touted indie release from last year. Highly recommend this, especially for other linguistics nerds like me.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a great example of how to revitalize a struggling brand. Ubisoft Montpellier has gifted us a great game here that simultaneously brings the series back to its roots, includes some elements big or small from the history of the franchise, and brings it to new heights with Metroidvania elements and more.

Surprisingly, you don't play as the Prince of Persia himself. Instead you are Sargon, one of the legendary Persian warriors known as an Immortal, and you are tasked with saving the Prince after he's abducted and taken to Mount Qaf. Mount Qaf, the legendary place where kings of Persia are chosen by the Simurgh bird, isn't so simple though, weaving in and out of itself as well as time.

The biggest thing to note here, and something I think most will notice very quickly, is how tight and smooth this game plays. Every jump, slash, parry, etc. feels accurate and snappy. It's one of the most satisfying games to just press the buttons and play that I've experienced in a while. It made it really easy too to see when I made a mistake in combat or tricky platforming and nothing ever felt like it was the game's fault.

Combat is a snappy slashy affair that requires you to be aggressive with enemies but know when to parry or dodge to keep yourself safe. This simple base gets augmented further as you gain new abilities, weapons, and power ups that can also be used for traversal. Enemy variety is awesome too, slowly adding to the armies set out against you as you discover and explore new areas. I had a blast trying to figure out each varied enemy's tells and attack patterns and learning how to counter each one. They're not easy either, as even basic enemies from the start can put on the hurt if you're reckless.

This all extends to the boss fights as well which are tough but super entertaining. They test your different abilities really well and come with their own powers that can really throw you for a loop at first. I had a blast butting my head against these foes and figuring out strategies for each, especially because the game generously lets you start right back at the fight if you die.

The rest of the time, you'll be hopping around, platforming across Mount Qaf and its various areas. Exploration feels awesome as you slowly unveil the map and can even buy area maps wholesale like in Hollow Knight. There's actually a couple borrowed elements from Hollow Knight such as the map buying but also attachable accessories you can use to bolster abilities and attacks or create new effects. It does add a bit of something new though, letting you take in-game pictures of any area and posting them on the map, allowing you to easily document obstacles you'll need to come back to with a new powerup later.

The platforming itself is tight like I said, and you'll frequently come across dangerous traps and obstacles both on the mandatory path and in side areas. These are a blast to work through and some were so creative they really had me thinking outside the box on how to combine the many abilities I'd gained to get to safety. My favorite challenges were the optional Xerxes coins which are tucked away in side pockets or rooms that require a deft hand and knowledge of your abilities to retrieve. Like Celeste's strawberries, you need to grab them and return to safety to actually collect them which can be easier said than done.

As you dash, leap, and slash your way across Mount Qaf, you'll be accompanied as well by a wonderful score composed by Mentrix and Gareth Coker. It's a cool blend of traditional orchestral music and Middle Eastern elements. Mentrix in fact is actually Iranian herself, so the elements she brings end up sounding very authentic. The score as a whole does a wonderful job of adding atmosphere where needed while pumping up the hype levels in big fights and boss battles.

The rest of the presentation is unfortunately a bit lackluster. Starting with the least offensive, the story is fun and has some nice beats, but isn't anything to write home about. Also don't think about the timey-wimey bits too much or they'll fall apart. The graphics though are easily the worst offender. From a technical level, it just looks really rough. This was most likely to get it to run really well on Switch (which I've heard it does!), but I wish they'd have upped the quality a bit for the other platforms. As it is, you're gonna notice some rough textures and lower poly parts, especially in custscenes where it zooms in. The art design doesn't always help either, with plenty of areas just adding drab browns or greys. There are exceptions, and those did impress me a bit as they look great relative to the other areas, but just know this isn't going to be a looker. It will run well and had a consistently smooth framerate throughout my playthrough.

I will give credit though to one visual element that was well done: the animation. Both just regular animations while playing and special ones for cutscenes, special attacks, and special counters look awesome! There's a clear anime influence and it's all highlighted nicely by some cool color splashes and slashes.

Overall, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a great 2.5D Metroidvania experience. It does the formula well with great combat, fun platforming, and immersive exploration. Definitely a strong start to the year in terms of new releases and one I recommend to pretty much any gamer out there.