204 Reviews liked by dratyan
Starfield
2023
Starfield é muito esquisito.
Ele tem inúmeros defeitos que eu poderia elencar e detalhar, como o excesso de telas de carregamento e menus que travam a imersão, burrice artificial, combate fraco e problemas na qualidade de vida que vão sendo corrigidos em alguns mods ou atualizações aqui e ali.
O curioso é que nada disso tirou o brilho do jogo. O silêncio e a sensação de ir para vários planetas e galáxias é de arrepiar, pois me fez sentir minúsculo perante todo o Universo. O que eu mais curti foram as personagens, a história principal e algumas missões secundárias, além da jogabilidade com as naves e o sistema de upgrades, mesmo que alguns, a exemplo da melhoria do peso que você carrega, poderiam ser apenas itens. Outra coisa: a música tema é lindíssima!
Entre erros e acertos, ele se tornou bem divertido e passei horas jogando sem perceber. Seja paciente, o game demora a engrenar.
Nota Final: 78/100 - Entre menus e loadings a saída é fazer valer a pena 🎵🚀
Ele tem inúmeros defeitos que eu poderia elencar e detalhar, como o excesso de telas de carregamento e menus que travam a imersão, burrice artificial, combate fraco e problemas na qualidade de vida que vão sendo corrigidos em alguns mods ou atualizações aqui e ali.
O curioso é que nada disso tirou o brilho do jogo. O silêncio e a sensação de ir para vários planetas e galáxias é de arrepiar, pois me fez sentir minúsculo perante todo o Universo. O que eu mais curti foram as personagens, a história principal e algumas missões secundárias, além da jogabilidade com as naves e o sistema de upgrades, mesmo que alguns, a exemplo da melhoria do peso que você carrega, poderiam ser apenas itens. Outra coisa: a música tema é lindíssima!
Entre erros e acertos, ele se tornou bem divertido e passei horas jogando sem perceber. Seja paciente, o game demora a engrenar.
Nota Final: 78/100 - Entre menus e loadings a saída é fazer valer a pena 🎵🚀
Amnesia: The Bunker
2023
Amnesia has practically become a sub-genre of survival horror unto itself, its tropes consisting of the Lovecraftian entities that stalk in the shadows, a trapped, defenceless protagonist and also having the worst light sources known to man. The third entry in the iconic franchise, entitled Rebirth, was a demonstration of formula’s flexibility within a complete change of scenery, some of which taking place in broad daylight. The Bunker still manages to bring plenty of new features to the table whilst remaining, undoubtedly, an Amnesia game.
This one, set during WWI, follows a French soldier, Henri Clément, trapped in the titular bunker filled with corpses of fellow soldiers and a lurking Beast responsible for said corpses. Much of the horror comes from stumbling around in the dark looking for key items that will help you escape, while the Beast pursues you from inside the walls. As with the other games, several aspects add to the stress: there’s no sanity meter when you’re plunged into darkness, but once the generator runs out of fuel and the lights go out, it’s only a matter of time before the monster comes after you; likewise there’s no scarcity of light sources like before, but your shitty wind-up torch is noisy and puts you at risk. Generally, sound is put to effective use and is key to survival, especially in how the directional sound of the monster can indicate where it might pop up next.
The semi-open world of the bunker demands that the player explores each area at a time, returning with new supplies as frequently as possible and really considering ventures out of the safe room. It’s satisfying when a well-planned trip rewards you with game changing items - such as a wrench or bolt cutters - that allow you to venture further into areas previously unreachable. Similarly, there’s nothing more wonderful than coming up with your own unique solutions to navigating the environment - not every locked door needs a key.
I would say these new mechanics make The Bunker the most fun Amnesia game to play, although the unrelenting persistence of the Beast, whilst scary and stressful at first, can sometimes just be annoying - think the Xenomorph from Alien Isolation. The addition of weapons is indeed exciting but quickly becomes futile (or at least when only used to fend off the creature). The running back and forth to escape the monster helps to pad out what is probably way too short of a game. And the notion of replaying it all with randomised key-item locations doesn’t seem that appealing, especially considering the lack of variation in the ending(s). Still, it’s a hell of a first playthrough!
Small gripes aside, The Bunker is still one of the strongest horror titles of the year thus far. If it proves anything, it’s that Amnesia still holds a firm place in the genre, and I hope Frictional Games continue explore new and exciting ground with it.
This one, set during WWI, follows a French soldier, Henri Clément, trapped in the titular bunker filled with corpses of fellow soldiers and a lurking Beast responsible for said corpses. Much of the horror comes from stumbling around in the dark looking for key items that will help you escape, while the Beast pursues you from inside the walls. As with the other games, several aspects add to the stress: there’s no sanity meter when you’re plunged into darkness, but once the generator runs out of fuel and the lights go out, it’s only a matter of time before the monster comes after you; likewise there’s no scarcity of light sources like before, but your shitty wind-up torch is noisy and puts you at risk. Generally, sound is put to effective use and is key to survival, especially in how the directional sound of the monster can indicate where it might pop up next.
The semi-open world of the bunker demands that the player explores each area at a time, returning with new supplies as frequently as possible and really considering ventures out of the safe room. It’s satisfying when a well-planned trip rewards you with game changing items - such as a wrench or bolt cutters - that allow you to venture further into areas previously unreachable. Similarly, there’s nothing more wonderful than coming up with your own unique solutions to navigating the environment - not every locked door needs a key.
I would say these new mechanics make The Bunker the most fun Amnesia game to play, although the unrelenting persistence of the Beast, whilst scary and stressful at first, can sometimes just be annoying - think the Xenomorph from Alien Isolation. The addition of weapons is indeed exciting but quickly becomes futile (or at least when only used to fend off the creature). The running back and forth to escape the monster helps to pad out what is probably way too short of a game. And the notion of replaying it all with randomised key-item locations doesn’t seem that appealing, especially considering the lack of variation in the ending(s). Still, it’s a hell of a first playthrough!
Small gripes aside, The Bunker is still one of the strongest horror titles of the year thus far. If it proves anything, it’s that Amnesia still holds a firm place in the genre, and I hope Frictional Games continue explore new and exciting ground with it.
Titan Souls
2015
It's immediately obvious that Shadow of the Colossus influenced Titan Souls: a mostly empty overworld, restrained and simplified controls (two buttons, used for a roll and shooting/recalling your single spirit arrow), and gameplay centralization around the thirteen boss fights are all reminiscent of Team ICO's most acclaimed work. Unfortunately, Titan Souls is nothing more than a poor man's carbon copy, because its boss designs leave something to be desired. Bosses go down in one hit, and so does the player: there's no room to learn on the fly when any hit will end the fight and respawn you outside of the arena, forcing yet another trek back. This devolves into spamming "all or nothing" attempts via trial and error: dodge through attack patterns until the boss displays its pink weak point, taking your shot when the moment presents itself and ending most fights in a minute or less. As a result, the game fails to create an engaging difficulty curve and never hits that sweet-spot, because there's just a sudden jump between struggling and breaking through, replacing the journey in-between with sheer tedium. It's the classic mistake of conflating difficulty with punishment, made even more flagrant in hard mode by simply accelerating enemy attacks/throwing out more projectiles instead of utilizing trickier and unique patterns to stratify different playthroughs.
Most importantly, Titan Souls lacks Shadow of the Colossus's ability to create a realistic feeling of presence. There's no intimacy to be found due to the brevity of fights and the absence of any other significant NPCs, and the game fails to build up any anticipation due to how condensed the overworld is (resulting in little travel time), failing to provide any cooldown or catharsis for similar reasons. After all, volume swells cannot exist if there are no punctuated moments of stillness to break up the action (something that this game desperately needs, considering how background tracks are constantly playing throughout the overworld). Ultimately, Titan Souls is yet another indie imitator that will forever live in the shadows of its influences: it appears to capture the surface appeal well enough, but fails to emulate any underlying details that would elevate it beyond a homage to something greater.
Most importantly, Titan Souls lacks Shadow of the Colossus's ability to create a realistic feeling of presence. There's no intimacy to be found due to the brevity of fights and the absence of any other significant NPCs, and the game fails to build up any anticipation due to how condensed the overworld is (resulting in little travel time), failing to provide any cooldown or catharsis for similar reasons. After all, volume swells cannot exist if there are no punctuated moments of stillness to break up the action (something that this game desperately needs, considering how background tracks are constantly playing throughout the overworld). Ultimately, Titan Souls is yet another indie imitator that will forever live in the shadows of its influences: it appears to capture the surface appeal well enough, but fails to emulate any underlying details that would elevate it beyond a homage to something greater.
Demon's Souls
2020
Although the game is stunning and, from what I can tell, an excellent remake, but they could have made it more content by adding extra mini bosses and weapons.
And at the end, I'm personally disappointed. I comprehend the lore and think the final boss' concept is very cool, but while experiencing it, it left me with a dry taste.
In the end my heart belongs to the storm king!
And at the end, I'm personally disappointed. I comprehend the lore and think the final boss' concept is very cool, but while experiencing it, it left me with a dry taste.
In the end my heart belongs to the storm king!
If you told teenage me that there existed a lo-fi zombie survival shooter inspired by video nasty era Lucio Fulci movies I would’ve laughed you out of my little video dungeon bedroom that I spent my youth in. Nowadays, with an indie market saturated by Puppet Combo’s distinct, much imitated brand of horror games, it’s hardly a surprise.
Still, it’s a delight basking in the bleak, jagged world of Night at the Gates of Hell. The gameplay isn’t anything fancy, but I found the zombie shooting most satisfying, perhaps more so than in a number of RE games: the way the zombies move - slow, creeping but firmly towards the player - creates tension, and being able to pop them in the head with a single skull-splattering shot is deeply satisfying. Much in the spirit of Fulci’s movies The Beyond, The House by the Cemetery and City of the Living Dead, the zombies look unrealistic and rather abstract, but freaky in their own way, with bulging eyes and monstrous grins.
I found much of Jordan King’s penchant for trashy, irreverent comedy relief less suited to the atmosphere here than in his previous game, The Booty Creek Cheek Freak which feels like a joyous South Park parody against its contemporaries. Likewise, the plot is as nonsensical and thinly sketched as you’d expect from any Italian-American schlock horror picture of the late 70s, but the ending still feels a little cold (an enjoyable final image nevertheless).
Generally, Gates is inconsistent, but a fuller experience than Bloodwash and Cheek Freak. It peaks early with the apartment and coastal village segments, but there’s plenty to enjoy, perhaps more for the movie buffs strangely enough.
Still, it’s a delight basking in the bleak, jagged world of Night at the Gates of Hell. The gameplay isn’t anything fancy, but I found the zombie shooting most satisfying, perhaps more so than in a number of RE games: the way the zombies move - slow, creeping but firmly towards the player - creates tension, and being able to pop them in the head with a single skull-splattering shot is deeply satisfying. Much in the spirit of Fulci’s movies The Beyond, The House by the Cemetery and City of the Living Dead, the zombies look unrealistic and rather abstract, but freaky in their own way, with bulging eyes and monstrous grins.
I found much of Jordan King’s penchant for trashy, irreverent comedy relief less suited to the atmosphere here than in his previous game, The Booty Creek Cheek Freak which feels like a joyous South Park parody against its contemporaries. Likewise, the plot is as nonsensical and thinly sketched as you’d expect from any Italian-American schlock horror picture of the late 70s, but the ending still feels a little cold (an enjoyable final image nevertheless).
Generally, Gates is inconsistent, but a fuller experience than Bloodwash and Cheek Freak. It peaks early with the apartment and coastal village segments, but there’s plenty to enjoy, perhaps more for the movie buffs strangely enough.
Starfield
2023
the collective excitement of my friends and i after watching the starfield direct was palpable, i couldn't wait to dive into what bethesda had to offer next. however my experience with starfield was far from what i had hoped for.
what didn't work for me? the first half of starfield. the initial hours of the game were painfully slow and tedious, the characters felt like brick walls. interacting with npcs was a frustrating experience, they lacked depth and emotion rendering it impossible to establish any meaningful connection. conversations felt robotic and unresponsive, diminishing my immersion immediately. the story failed to engage me. it felt cliched and predictable, lacking the intrigue and originality that previous bgs titles like fallout and tes delivered. pacing issues were apparent and made it tough to stay invested, i often questioned why i was bothering to continue. the ui was a major failure. it felt clunky and counterintuitive, making the most basic tasks like managing items or customizing something a chore. navigating menus became an exercise in frustration. performance issues plagued my entire playthrough. starfield felt unoptimized presenting frequent frame drops and crashes. it was clear that the game had been designed with consoles in mind first, the pc version suffered as a result. needing to mod in dlss to achieve above 40 frames indoors felt fucking bonkers, do not partner with a hardware company if you want to make a good game. the performance hindered my ability to fully enjoy the game in it's best moments as i constantly had to contend with tech issues. the insignificance of background and trait choices was disappointing. despite the promise of allowing players to shape their character's background these choices had little to no meaningful impact on the experience. the perk system felt utterly lifeless, each and every node lacking vibrancy. one shining gem stood out in the first hours of the game, the mantis side quest. i was immediately engrossed in unraveling the web of secrets behind the mantis, this marked the first instance i experienced immersion in starfield. leaving the lair with meaningful rewards evolved the quest into a satisfying and worthwhile endeavor. where starfield begun to hit its stride was the second half. the story took a surprising turn, offering much needed depth and cause. although the npc development remained lamentable, i found myself caring about my own fate somewhat. the dramatic shift in narrative didn't catapult the experience into greatness by any means, however it offered a glimmer of what the game could have been. it managed to salvage what had initially been a lackluster subpar experience into something i felt compelled to see through to the end.
i intend to explore some side content i missed in ng+ and give the ship/outpost systems some time. other than that, ill see you again when the modding scene finishes what bethesda started.
oh also, the asking price of 120/170aud is fucking disgusting.
what didn't work for me? the first half of starfield. the initial hours of the game were painfully slow and tedious, the characters felt like brick walls. interacting with npcs was a frustrating experience, they lacked depth and emotion rendering it impossible to establish any meaningful connection. conversations felt robotic and unresponsive, diminishing my immersion immediately. the story failed to engage me. it felt cliched and predictable, lacking the intrigue and originality that previous bgs titles like fallout and tes delivered. pacing issues were apparent and made it tough to stay invested, i often questioned why i was bothering to continue. the ui was a major failure. it felt clunky and counterintuitive, making the most basic tasks like managing items or customizing something a chore. navigating menus became an exercise in frustration. performance issues plagued my entire playthrough. starfield felt unoptimized presenting frequent frame drops and crashes. it was clear that the game had been designed with consoles in mind first, the pc version suffered as a result. needing to mod in dlss to achieve above 40 frames indoors felt fucking bonkers, do not partner with a hardware company if you want to make a good game. the performance hindered my ability to fully enjoy the game in it's best moments as i constantly had to contend with tech issues. the insignificance of background and trait choices was disappointing. despite the promise of allowing players to shape their character's background these choices had little to no meaningful impact on the experience. the perk system felt utterly lifeless, each and every node lacking vibrancy. one shining gem stood out in the first hours of the game, the mantis side quest. i was immediately engrossed in unraveling the web of secrets behind the mantis, this marked the first instance i experienced immersion in starfield. leaving the lair with meaningful rewards evolved the quest into a satisfying and worthwhile endeavor. where starfield begun to hit its stride was the second half. the story took a surprising turn, offering much needed depth and cause. although the npc development remained lamentable, i found myself caring about my own fate somewhat. the dramatic shift in narrative didn't catapult the experience into greatness by any means, however it offered a glimmer of what the game could have been. it managed to salvage what had initially been a lackluster subpar experience into something i felt compelled to see through to the end.
i intend to explore some side content i missed in ng+ and give the ship/outpost systems some time. other than that, ill see you again when the modding scene finishes what bethesda started.
oh also, the asking price of 120/170aud is fucking disgusting.
Starfield
2023
Ok, lá vai meu take:
Starfield é... um jogo da bethesda, no melhor e pior sentido, tem todos os pontos fortes de skyrim/oblivion/morrowind/f3/f4 e todos os defeitos, e nada foi feito sobre esses defeitos (tirando gunplay).
Talvez seja porque eu mantive a expectativa baixa, mas o jogo entregou exatamente oq eu esperava dele, skyrim no espaço, ou seja: diversão espacial por umas boas horas. Ainda não sei se vou terminar tho.
Starfield é... um jogo da bethesda, no melhor e pior sentido, tem todos os pontos fortes de skyrim/oblivion/morrowind/f3/f4 e todos os defeitos, e nada foi feito sobre esses defeitos (tirando gunplay).
Talvez seja porque eu mantive a expectativa baixa, mas o jogo entregou exatamente oq eu esperava dele, skyrim no espaço, ou seja: diversão espacial por umas boas horas. Ainda não sei se vou terminar tho.
Ratchet & Clank
2002
I think Psychonauts has spoiled a lot of 6th Gen 3D Platformers for me. Everything seems so simple and primitive in comparison. Ratchet and Clank is a solid first title with some rough edges in the mechanics department. But it's a beautiful, charming little platform with some good ole 2000s wit and edge with its writing. I swear, Sunset Overdrive was the last time Insomniac Games was ever allowed to say whatever they wanted with their writing, but now everything has to be "grounded" and "friendly" and characters can't be flawed or a little bit rude. I think their writing has improved story-wise, but god I wish they were able to make characters like this again. Oh well!
7/10 :) Fun time. But it did not hook me yet to the series. On to the second!
7/10 :) Fun time. But it did not hook me yet to the series. On to the second!
frog detective beats lobster cop any day of the week
[Campaign Review] Written by people who thought they were funny. Not funny. Levels are giant, but not much to do in them, feels like they go on forever doing the same things. Pretty boring, but slightly better than something like Battlefield 5. I'll tell you what sucks, feeling like you're wearing the goddamn Iron Boots from Ocarina of Time for the whole game. Who actually wants character movement to feel this way? It's awful.
I really tried to push through this game but it's just so so soooo boring and dull and a nothing game, I stopped upon reaching the third world.
There are very brief glimmers of something at least a little bit fun with the bonus levels emphasizing grabbing lots of the game's collectibles, and the boss of the first world was fun, but that's the only little smidgen of fun there was to be had. Complete waste of time.
There are very brief glimmers of something at least a little bit fun with the bonus levels emphasizing grabbing lots of the game's collectibles, and the boss of the first world was fun, but that's the only little smidgen of fun there was to be had. Complete waste of time.
Only took me 2 years but woop woop I finished this gruelling behemoth.
Dark Souls II feels undoubtedly the bleakest of the Souls games, with bigger portions of dull, decrepit ruins and crestfallen NPCs. Its lore and narrative are equally as dense and simultaneously unimportant to the gameplay - sure it wasn't a speedrun, but by the time my conquest - of blood, sweat and tears grinding boss after boss, rows and rows of soldiers and monsters that murdered me over and over - by the time all that started coming to a close, I had, all but drained of awe and wonder, forgotten what I was even fighting for. In all fairness, that could be in the best spirit of the Souls-genre, maybe Dark Souls II is thus the most Dark Souls game of them all. Nevertheless it's certainly the most frustrating.
Incoherent rambling aside, it's hard to ignore plentiful moments of beauty and intrigue, notably the memories of the Giants, the nightmarish Black Gulch, the sparkly Shrine of Amana, Majula (vibes), that scorpion chick, the list goes on.
For the most part, it can be as exhilarating as it is frustrating, and is still a first class game, despite the lack of Miyazaki's magic touch. It's certainly FromSoftware's black sheep. In fact, sheep don't get much blacker than this, otherwise they would probably feature as a boss.
Dark Souls II feels undoubtedly the bleakest of the Souls games, with bigger portions of dull, decrepit ruins and crestfallen NPCs. Its lore and narrative are equally as dense and simultaneously unimportant to the gameplay - sure it wasn't a speedrun, but by the time my conquest - of blood, sweat and tears grinding boss after boss, rows and rows of soldiers and monsters that murdered me over and over - by the time all that started coming to a close, I had, all but drained of awe and wonder, forgotten what I was even fighting for. In all fairness, that could be in the best spirit of the Souls-genre, maybe Dark Souls II is thus the most Dark Souls game of them all. Nevertheless it's certainly the most frustrating.
Incoherent rambling aside, it's hard to ignore plentiful moments of beauty and intrigue, notably the memories of the Giants, the nightmarish Black Gulch, the sparkly Shrine of Amana, Majula (vibes), that scorpion chick, the list goes on.
For the most part, it can be as exhilarating as it is frustrating, and is still a first class game, despite the lack of Miyazaki's magic touch. It's certainly FromSoftware's black sheep. In fact, sheep don't get much blacker than this, otherwise they would probably feature as a boss.
Foi difícil finalizar Jedi: Survivor por vários motivos.
(1) Senti que as personagens são desinteressantes, com exceção do Cal e do BD. Não me apeguei a ninguém fora eles. (2) A história não me chamou tanta atenção. Básica e com poucos momentos memoráveis. (3) Tive que esperar meses para que novas atualizações chegassem para consertar o estado crítico que estava a performance do jogo, sendo que até agora não está 100%. (4) Os upgrades passaram a ser fúteis com o passar do tempo. Me peguei várias vezes com muitos pontos de habilidade disponíveis, já que eu nem ligava de aprimorar o Cal. É algo pessoal, mas gostaria de pontuar tudo isso.
Dito isso, é um bom jogo, ainda mais pra quem ama o universo de Star Wars. Tem um certo momento que surge uma importante personagem da saga que foi sensacional, por mais que seja um fan-service barato. Acredito que a exploração é o ponto alto de JS, mesmo que limitada. Gosto muito da dupla Cal e BD, quero mais jogos com os dois, quem sabe, mas com uma história mais envolvente.
Nota Final: 75/100 - Que a Força esteja com o seu PC! 🤖
(1) Senti que as personagens são desinteressantes, com exceção do Cal e do BD. Não me apeguei a ninguém fora eles. (2) A história não me chamou tanta atenção. Básica e com poucos momentos memoráveis. (3) Tive que esperar meses para que novas atualizações chegassem para consertar o estado crítico que estava a performance do jogo, sendo que até agora não está 100%. (4) Os upgrades passaram a ser fúteis com o passar do tempo. Me peguei várias vezes com muitos pontos de habilidade disponíveis, já que eu nem ligava de aprimorar o Cal. É algo pessoal, mas gostaria de pontuar tudo isso.
Dito isso, é um bom jogo, ainda mais pra quem ama o universo de Star Wars. Tem um certo momento que surge uma importante personagem da saga que foi sensacional, por mais que seja um fan-service barato. Acredito que a exploração é o ponto alto de JS, mesmo que limitada. Gosto muito da dupla Cal e BD, quero mais jogos com os dois, quem sabe, mas com uma história mais envolvente.
Nota Final: 75/100 - Que a Força esteja com o seu PC! 🤖
Gears 5
2019
Gears 5 is the best looking, best playing, most compelling game with the best story in the series to date.
Growing up, I was an Xbox gamer. Sure I had a DS and my family had a Wii because so did everyone, but the majority of my gaming time was spent on Xbox. Naturally because of this I ended up playing a good amount of the Gears series. Despite that, I actually never beat a single one of them. Eventually I moved on to Playstation and hadn't looked back since. That was, until this year. Seeing the great value of gamepass and how the future of exclusives was really starting to look up (barring the Redfall setback), I decided it was finally time to return to my gaming roots. As much as I was excited to be able to play things like Hi Fi Rush or Starfield, honestly one of the biggest incentives to get one was to play a series I had always liked but never given the treatment it deserved.
And that brings us here, now. A few days past a month of owning an Xbox, and I have played through all 5 numbered entries and Judgement. The original trilogy is not without its flaws but were all a very fun time, with 3 feeling like a fitting conclusion. Of course its a mega popular series though, so obviously things weren't gonna end there. First was Judgement which, well, its not very good. Its not bad either, I liked it. But... the gameplay changes are very clearly a step down from the trilogy and the story wasn't particularly interesting at all. As a spinoff being developed with a different studio, it was understandable that it was significantly weaker than the main games. The new control scheme meant to be more like Call of Duty didn't help.
But then there was 4. Looking amazing, feeling great to play, absolutely awesome set-pieces. But wow. As a setup for the future of the series, it does a piss poor job. The story feels both padded and incomplete. There's a long stretch in the middle that feels entirely designed to make the game longer, but my jaw dropped when the credits rolled because it felt like half a game worth of plot. It introduces three new main characters in JD, Kait and Del but does barely anything with JD and Del is literally a nothing burger of a character. Combined with how the new characters in 3 and Judgement are treated (Jace, the most useless man to ever exist?), the series seemed to have a serious issue with providing anything interesting for the characters beyond the core 4 (That being Marcus, Dom, Baird and Cole). I still enjoyed 4 but it was hard to feel anything but disappointed coming off from the end.
Now its finally time to talk about the actual one that I'm reviewing! Gears 5 fixed just about every issue I had with the series. JD's character is genuinely interesting, Del turned from a complete nobody to such a bro that he's top 3 characters in the series for me. They finally start to treat their female characters with a little more respect by not killing them offscreen or doing nothing with them by putting Kait front in center as the new protagonist. They finally make the gameplay more interesting by having two big areas with optional objectives, as well as upgrades you can work for. The open areas are really great, and even if the side locations aren't anything amazing what they do do is give great room for character development and by the end of the game I really liked and cared for the whole cast, something that hadn't happened for me since 2. Another thing I really liked was the game letting you make a story effecting choice near the end. It doesn't really effect things much for now as obviously by that point the game is almost over, but assuming Gears 6 doesn't discard this altogether - it really makes me even more excited to see how the series continues to evolve with more choice and options.
All this is to say is that Gears 5 is by far the best in the series, and after Judgement and 4 I'm very happy that my binge has ended on a high note. This year is absolutely stacked so I need to focus on other things for now, but I do look forward to trying out Tactics in the future. Gears 6 can take all the time it needs, but I'm more excited for it than just about any other Xbox property. Not to mention finally being able to play a multiplayer mode that isnt completely dead <3
Also, couldn't figure out where to fit his in my review but even though all games in the series have plenty of funny moments, this made me laugh out loud several times without betraying the darker tone and I really appreciated that.
Nancymeter - 90/100
Achievement Completion - 8% (20/181 - ffs lol)
Time Played - 12-13 hours
Completion #29 of August
Completion #161 of 2023
Growing up, I was an Xbox gamer. Sure I had a DS and my family had a Wii because so did everyone, but the majority of my gaming time was spent on Xbox. Naturally because of this I ended up playing a good amount of the Gears series. Despite that, I actually never beat a single one of them. Eventually I moved on to Playstation and hadn't looked back since. That was, until this year. Seeing the great value of gamepass and how the future of exclusives was really starting to look up (barring the Redfall setback), I decided it was finally time to return to my gaming roots. As much as I was excited to be able to play things like Hi Fi Rush or Starfield, honestly one of the biggest incentives to get one was to play a series I had always liked but never given the treatment it deserved.
And that brings us here, now. A few days past a month of owning an Xbox, and I have played through all 5 numbered entries and Judgement. The original trilogy is not without its flaws but were all a very fun time, with 3 feeling like a fitting conclusion. Of course its a mega popular series though, so obviously things weren't gonna end there. First was Judgement which, well, its not very good. Its not bad either, I liked it. But... the gameplay changes are very clearly a step down from the trilogy and the story wasn't particularly interesting at all. As a spinoff being developed with a different studio, it was understandable that it was significantly weaker than the main games. The new control scheme meant to be more like Call of Duty didn't help.
But then there was 4. Looking amazing, feeling great to play, absolutely awesome set-pieces. But wow. As a setup for the future of the series, it does a piss poor job. The story feels both padded and incomplete. There's a long stretch in the middle that feels entirely designed to make the game longer, but my jaw dropped when the credits rolled because it felt like half a game worth of plot. It introduces three new main characters in JD, Kait and Del but does barely anything with JD and Del is literally a nothing burger of a character. Combined with how the new characters in 3 and Judgement are treated (Jace, the most useless man to ever exist?), the series seemed to have a serious issue with providing anything interesting for the characters beyond the core 4 (That being Marcus, Dom, Baird and Cole). I still enjoyed 4 but it was hard to feel anything but disappointed coming off from the end.
Now its finally time to talk about the actual one that I'm reviewing! Gears 5 fixed just about every issue I had with the series. JD's character is genuinely interesting, Del turned from a complete nobody to such a bro that he's top 3 characters in the series for me. They finally start to treat their female characters with a little more respect by not killing them offscreen or doing nothing with them by putting Kait front in center as the new protagonist. They finally make the gameplay more interesting by having two big areas with optional objectives, as well as upgrades you can work for. The open areas are really great, and even if the side locations aren't anything amazing what they do do is give great room for character development and by the end of the game I really liked and cared for the whole cast, something that hadn't happened for me since 2. Another thing I really liked was the game letting you make a story effecting choice near the end. It doesn't really effect things much for now as obviously by that point the game is almost over, but assuming Gears 6 doesn't discard this altogether - it really makes me even more excited to see how the series continues to evolve with more choice and options.
All this is to say is that Gears 5 is by far the best in the series, and after Judgement and 4 I'm very happy that my binge has ended on a high note. This year is absolutely stacked so I need to focus on other things for now, but I do look forward to trying out Tactics in the future. Gears 6 can take all the time it needs, but I'm more excited for it than just about any other Xbox property. Not to mention finally being able to play a multiplayer mode that isnt completely dead <3
Also, couldn't figure out where to fit his in my review but even though all games in the series have plenty of funny moments, this made me laugh out loud several times without betraying the darker tone and I really appreciated that.
Nancymeter - 90/100
Achievement Completion - 8% (20/181 - ffs lol)
Time Played - 12-13 hours
Completion #29 of August
Completion #161 of 2023
Deep Rock Galactic
2020
ROCK & STONE!