Risk of Rain 2 wants you to break it, and that's what I love about it. Other roguelikes I've played have been timid to make the player too overpowered to break progression. RoR2 is the opposite. The constant stream of items constantly powers up your character, and being able to see the items accumulate on them physically really adds to this effect. The gameplay is simple yet fun, the environments are visually interesting while being fun to run through, and the soundtrack is absolutely wonderful. However, this game on console is greatly limited by its performance and differences from the PC version. As of writing this, the Survivors of the Void DLC is still not released, and the game is still buggy. Hopoo is claiming the next update will rebuild the game from the ground up, so if this is true, this game might earn five stars from me. In its current state, though, I can't give it that.

If the FromSoftware games were ranked on objective quality, Sekiro would be on top. Sekiro is, in my opinion, the closest a game can possibly get to being perfect. It took me a while to understand Sekiro. I had already played all three Dark Souls games, but Sekiro proved to be much different. In the first real Genichiro fight on top the castle, I was completely blocked. However, through numerous failed attempts, the game clicked, and I had finally "gotten it." I had to play differently than I had been taught to in other games. I understood that I had to play how it was made to be played, and I instantly found the value in the rewarding gameplay.

The story of Sekiro is engaging and linearly driven, unlike the studio's other games, while also keeping the same player driven discovery that makes it so interesting to explore. The world is one of the most beautiful FromSoftware has created, with awe inspiring enemy designs and environments. And of course, the combat is perfectly crafted to bring the most player control and difficulty possible. Overcoming some of this game's hardest challenges, like Sword Saint Isshin or the Demon of Hatred, NEVER felt unfair. The satisfaction gained from finally defeating a tough enemy is unmatched. Sekiro is absolutely deserving of the highest praises, and I can only hope more perfect games like it come from FromSoftware.