How does the combat in this series get worse over time? Actually I should start with an intro but that was my leading question while playing this 7th installment in what used to be a semi prestigious horror franchise. Downpour is the last Silent Hill to come out and now I know why. The series clearly ran its course with a lack of ideas and more importantly being stuck in the stone ages with gameplay. Kojima was probably going to rejuvenate it with totally new ideas but of course we can’t have nice things, and now team Bloober is going to probably make some crap walking sim… wait this is about Downpour sorry. It’s just almost anything is more interesting than talking about Downpour especially in 2021.

In this Silent Hill you play tortured middle aged white man #15 who is in jail for the sole purpose of getting revenge and killing the man who killed his son who is in that same prison. It starts off that way but of course the town manifests some deep hidden guilt he conveniently forgot and anyone with prior experience with this series can see the “twist” coming a mile away. So your prison transfer bus crashes right at the edge of a town called gasp Silent Hill. The usual high jinks ensues; the town is mostly deserted, the few residents there all talk in riddles and act like they are in some dream and monsters roam the streets.

So you take Murphy and run around these streets looking for clues on how to escape silent hill. While doing so you can do one of many side quests that are discoverable by exploring. Now this is the saving grace of the game and one of the reasons I don’t hate it. They actually got the running around town part down right. It’s a decent sized town to explore with oddities and side stories to discover. Some of these do lead to glorified fetch quests while others provide a cool mini story of some dead people where you must solve a puzzle of some sort. They are usually pretty involved and the puzzle themselves are better than most horror games. Like past entries there is a separate difficulty for puzzles so I put it on hard, I enjoyed them.

Roaming town is mostly just you running down foggy streets except for the occasional enemies which is where this game fails miserably. There is bad combat and then there is insulting fuck you combat, this game is the latter. These enemies will rush at you swinging, you can block but if you miss time one you are usually stuck with a combo and then your attack timing will be off so the enemy will jump back just enough for your swing to do nothing and it counter you. If you manage to get the initial smack of your whatever (knife, pole, axe, chair, you can pick up a bunch of different items) on the enemies you can usually wail on them but as I mentioned above if you miss time it now they get the upper hand. There are stun locks, weapons break at the worst times, but worst of all there is NOTHING to the combat, you just smack them over and over the same way till they fall. And then in their infinite genius there is a meta moral compass counter which determines your ending and if you execute too many of the enemies after they fall you get evil karma… if you leave them be they get up in like a minute and attack you again. Why would I not kill them?!???? Oh and there are like four types of enemies for the entire game, all boring humanoids.

Remember when Silent Hill was trying to be somewhat of a RE clone with some ammo and health management. Well in this game guns are basically pointless. You can only carry one gun but ammo for both a handgun and shotgun. So say you have a handgun and you find a shotgun, now you drop whatever melee weapon you have. Oh right there is no storing of melee weapons, you just pick up what you find and drop it. But if you have a shotgun now you can’t pick up an axe, so if an enemy comes you have to use the shotgun. So your choice is leave the shotgun behind or use it immediately until it runs out then drop it. Health packs are everywhere and thank god cause if I had to die and replay these “combat” sections I would quit. Oh but again in an amazing design choice right before the final area the game removes your entire inventory and you start over! So all those 15 health packs I saved, those 30 pistol bullets, all for nothing, woo!

Silent Hill was incredibly scary but it’s a bad shell of itself now. There are a few neat moments of mind fuckery but most of it has been done before. This game in particular doesn’t really have interesting areas nor does it use the hell version of SH in any interesting way. Anytime the hell version takes over you end up in a horrible run from the camera mini game as some random energy ball chases you. You run down bland hallways and occasionally have some obstacle you need to slow down for, not interesting or challenging in the slightest. Now in the main story building segments (of which there are only three) the game starts to bring back what made the series compelling at the start. You run around these buildings looking for keys and ways to get around while all kinds of crappy situations arise and good puzzles block your way. There is nothing as interesting as say the school in SH1 but it scratched that itch of exploring a haunted locations. The game actually isn’t terrible, if you remove the combat and some stupid design choices the skeleton of a decent silent hill game is there. It’s just all been done before and done better.

Downpour is Silent Hill running on empty and having a last gasp at a formula long since dead. Even it’s titular namesake represents a half baked idea that goes nowhere, when it randomly rains, more enemies show up… ok so just run around them… a total non factor. Not to mention there are some performance issues with really bad stutters and hiccups in the frame rate. I give it credit for the puzzles and exploration which is better than recent SH games but my god this combat serves as a detriment to everything this game could have been. It’s not bad, it’s not good, it’s just there, a total waste of time.

Overall Score: 5.0

Hob is a simple top down action adventure game that tried to be “Zelda” like but ultimately isn’t much like it. Yes you get a sword and shield and you explore an overworld doing puzzles but it’s all done in a very linear way. The only real exploring is done to find various upgrades like health and energy which powers some of your heavier attacks.

Combat is ok at best, you slash and roll around enemies for most of the fights. Later on you have to make use of your robot fist to break defenses and have a tether go rip shields. A few other moves are added on but the game never really explores the combat, there are basically no bosses outside the final one.

Most of the game is spend solving puzzles and figuring out the way forward. It’s usually some form of finding a path to a switch which in a cool feature rearranged the world, this world moves around likes it’s one big mechanical contraption but rather than play with moving pieces in a puzzle sense it’s all scripted and linear. That’s what’s missing, the player involvement in the puzzle solving, it all boils down to just being observant and placing object into thing.

I still enjoyed my time with it, the optional upgrades do reward going off the beaten path and that’s the closest to Zelda like I got. It’s about 10 hours so it’s a decent length, maybe lasts too long. It’s just missing the extra layer of complexity that makes a decent game a great one.

Score: 6.9

It’s been quite a long time since the last full fledged original Ratchet and Clank game, A Crack in Time, was released. The 2016 remake was a nice reminder of how much fun Ratchet games can be but ultimately was formulaic and lacking in any originality, it felt like a simple remake. Rift Apart is that true sequel that propels Ratchet into next gen with the best graphics I have ever seen and some good control enhancements to provide the smoothest playing Ratchet experience.

Jumping into Rift Apart felt like reuniting with an old friend, in no time I was side flipping around while unleashing an onslaught of gun blasts at enemies. New to the series is a phase shift dodge move which grants the player some invincibility frames as they dash out of the way of an incoming attack. It has a quick refresh so it can be used often, this provides much needed defensive moves. One of the key features of Rift Apart is the opening of rifts allowing instant travel to different locations. In battles rifts appear in strategic points that ratchet can, with the press of a button, warp to that location. This in combination with the dodge expands the combat into being slightly more strategic and engaging.

I always had a blast battling waves and waves of enemies using the always fun diverse set of weapons. The meta game of leveling up all weapons by using them is one I love to engage in because it forces me to constantly change what weapons I use and how I battle enemies. Sure I could just stick to the few that are most useful but I find that boring, variety is the spice of life so I always make it a point to level all of them up. That said the weight of two decades of the same formula is really starting to be noticeable. Yes this game plays better than any in the series, the fights are faster paced and more fluid but the strategy is mostly the same; simply unload chaos on enemies while moving side to side. I feel the series should look to make enemies weak to specific weapons, create moments where needing a certain attack is beneficial and make the battles more about strategy on who to attack or not based on those weaknesses. It’s what the best shooters do and it’s an area the series can easily improve on.

The reason Ratchet and Clank has been so consistently great is the diversity in activities, mainly the great mix of puzzles and mini games. I feel the series puzzles reached their apex with A Crack In Time, the new Clank puzzles in this game are good but not to the level of ACIT. Here Clank must guide versions of himself through obstacles by using orbs that manipulate different elements like time, weight, and speed. I enjoyed these moments and wish they went deeper as it was never too complicated.

There is an extremely charming mini game involving a miniature spider drone named glitch who has her own personality and even boss battles in a shooting mini game. Again it never gets too deep but it’s a fun diversion and the writing and voice acting help make what could have been a throw away mini game have a memorable personality.

To round it out there is riding of various creatures, the series staple coliseum , hover boot obstacle courses, and small mini secret areas called pocket dimensions. Those pocket dimensions I felt could have been fleshed out so much more to provide some cool optional platforming challenges but instead they are rather simple and short platforming challenges, wasted potential but a better effort than many games where hidden items are just sitting around to grab.

It’s the ebb and flow of combat, exploring, and side activities that keep this these games and especially this one from ever being boring. The main quest in particular is expertly crafted in Rift Apart with each planet having a certain unique theme to it. Each location has an important place in the story and most lead to spectacular setpieces that show off the power of the PS5. One planet has you flying through the air searching for animal fruits while another grinding a massive rail way while a huge robot chases you. Levels make use of the shifting dimensions by having certain stones you hit which change the level instantaneously into a different version of the world, switching between the two is necessary to proceed. This mechanic has been done in other games and I am not saying this is used here in a Zelda puzzle like way, it’s more of a required step to proceed, but I found the use of the shifting as a clever to make some great gameplay segments. The standout being a planet called Blizar Prime which is totally destroyed in one dimension and a bustling mining operation in the other, the switching between the two brings about such a stark contrast and a visual feast for the eyes. Another great level has you deep in an underwater lab where… well no more spoiling, let’s just say it’s another interesting and unique gameplay activity than the last.

Rift Apart keeps the intensity and ever changing scenarios going for the 15 hour run time. I was never bored, always engaged partly because of the extremely well done story which is the series best. The graphics and level of animation has absolutely reached movie quality, all that is needed is proper voice acting and writing and while this isn’t going to be award winning it for sure made me laugh, feel sad, feel excited; basically it made me FEEL and that’s important. It’s a well told story with excellent heroes and villains, Rivet is an absolute star and will get her own game in the future.

On the technical side what is there to say, it’s the best looking game ever. I guess I can get into the different graphical modes, mainly the choice of 60fps or higher resolution and more detail at 30fps. I am a frame rate guy so I played my first run at 60fps for that perfectly smooth gameplay but I did try 30fps on a second go and there is a visual difference. The 4k image with more screen details make it look beyond stunning and you can get used to 30. There is no wrong answer here, options are great and you have three quality ways to play it. The music is also a standout with a former Devo member composing the excellent soundtrack. I will have to note that unusually for insomniac, this game can be buggy, it did crash on me twice but with the speed of the SSD I was literally back in the game in about 10 seconds after a restart. Others had more problems so it’s something that should be mentioned, again I think it’s mostly rare but clearly the game doesn’t run perfectly.

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is another excellent entry into one of Playstation’s most consistently great franchises. While I do feel some deeper mechanics are due to be added this game is still is a joy to play. The main quest I feel is the strongest in the series and the side content while not as good as past games is still better then most. I feel this is the exclusive that shows off what the PS5 is capable of the most, a showcase for the eyes, the controller and how seemless the adventure can be with essentially no loading. Rift Apart continues to the strong tradition of being one of the best action platformer series in gaming.

Score: 9.0

The Ubisoft open world game, it’s practically a genre of its own at this point. You know the formula, find a large tower or high point to reveal a portion of the map which in turn populates the map with loads of icons representing a myriad of activities to do, often time way way too many activities. Zelda BOTW was praised for shaking up the formula a bit with a more organic way to explore the world and allowing total freedom with free climbing, Immortals is Ubisoft’s attempt a more puzzle oriented BOTW style game and it shakes up the formula enough to shine as a new potential Ubisoft franchise.

You play as Fenyx a regular soldier (can be male or female, I chose female) who gets entangled in a Greek god struggle between Typhon and the gods of Olympus. It’s the classic hero’s tale, small beginning leading to heroic deeds that save the world, the twist is the entire game is a story narrated by Prometheus who is telling the story to Zeus, they have witty banter and make fun of a lot of the absurdities of Greek mythology. The ongoing commentary seems to have rubbed some people the wrong way, yeah sometimes they talk a lot but I enjoyed the jokes and the actual insightful look at Greek mythology unfiltered, some of the stories are nuts. You will have Zeus confront his murderous and incestuous side, he realizes what a shitty father and person he is. I haven’t seen a Greek god story told in this way so it was refreshing.

The gameplay is a mix of Ubi open world, BOTW puzzles and basic hack and slash action. Let’s get the combat out of the way as it’s the weakest link, you have basic quick strikes which fill your stamina bar and strong attacks which drain it. Strong attacks lower the enemies stamina bar which when emptied they enter a stunned state where you can attack freely. There is a parry system to counter enemy regular attacks and a basic dash dodge to avoid the enemies in lockable strong attacks. To top it off there a multitude of upgrades to the skills which allow longer combo strings and more maneuverability. Fenyx can learn new godly powers as you play which act like super attacks, there are only five of them so you will be abusing them as nauseam, these take a big chunk of stamina so the game becomes about mixing in light strikes to get stamina back up in order to use more god powers. There is also a lift and throw mechanic which lets you throw rocks at enemies, it’s a viable strategy at the start but quickly becomes obsolete. There is a bow and arrow that is practically useless in battle as well.

Combat works well enough, it’s fast paced, it has the combo building of a really simplistic DMC style game. Enemies are a threat for a good chunk of the beginning of the game until you upgrade. This is the bane of all open world games, horrible balance if you try to find all upgrades, at some point I became a god, even the most toughest enemies became trivial fights. Boss battles were over in less than a minute. Games should get more skill based as you play not get easier and this is where the whole combat system fails. There just isn’t enough depth to sustain it past a certain point. Enemies do come in many different forms but the strategy to fight all of them is exactly the same. Bosses are usually just bigger versions of regular enemies so don’t expect many memorable battles. As a comparison many say BOTW combat system is very basic but I always felt BOTW was dangerous even at high levels and allowed for far more improvisation and freedom on how to tackle enemies, so while the actual feel of the move set feels better in Immortals I think BOTWs combat is more interesting.

Where Immortals succeeds is it’s incredible collection of puzzles scattered all over the world and the many many vaults that serve as a take on BOTWs shrine system. This is an Ubisoft open world where basically all the activities are puzzles and holy shit are there a ton of them. Treasure chests litter the landscape, most holding some upgrade materials and new gear (that give stat bonuses); where most games would just have these chests as a reward for a fight this game hides them behind light walls that can only be taken down by solving some kind of puzzle. These puzzles usually come in the form of moving blocks on switches, lighting unlit torches, guiding weighted objects to a panel and so on. It’s usually puzzles involving being observant of your environment, is there a cracked wall hiding a switch I need? If I need a heavy object for this floor panel where can I find it and so on. These puzzles range from pretty basic to surprisingly elaborate. It reminded me of Batman Arkham riddler trophies on a larger scale. I loved the riddler trophies because it gave the player something to think about and solve for every reward, you didn’t just mindlessly find it and grab it. Immortals is similar, every object is earned by thinking or doing a fun activity that makes use of your skills.

The vaults are where the really interesting puzzles lie. They all take place in the same looking vault realm, much like how all Zelda shrines share the same aesthetic, and here is where you will go through an obstacle course of lasers, moving platforms and puzzle solving. Again many involve the use of moving objects to switches but all kinds of obstacles will get in the way. In some you need to block lasers to get a breakable box to a switch. In some you are moving a large rolling ball around while being able to change the direction of the wind to have it launch off ramps. On some you are on a moving platform trying to hit targets with your arrow that are also moving while you are avoiding lasers. They keep finding new ways to use the same objects , it’s all quite brilliant. Unlike BOTW there are very few basic one note vaults, most have three steps, first one shows how the puzzle will work, the second elaborates on it and the third step takes that puzzle to an advanced state. Yes there are a collection of combat vaults which are basically arena fights versus enemies but I didn’t find them as numerous as the ones in BOTW. At the end of the missions of each region of the map you access a god vault which is a more elaborate large “dungeon” like level, these are the best of the vaults and all were well done. I kind of feel that here Immortals beat BOTW at it’s own game, this game does the bite sized puzzle rooms better.

Now if you don’t like switch based puzzles where you are many times moving boxes or large spheres around then this game won’t be for you. It’s almost a throw back to the late 90s when box puzzles were all the rage but this one does it with way more creativity. Also the skills Fenyx has don’t really come into play that much and that’s where it hits its limit to puzzle solving, BOTW has multiple gameplay systems at play that are used in puzzle solving often times allowing the player to improvise, there is almost none of that here. There is usually one way to solve a puzzle, you do what the devs designed and that is it. So I love the creativity and content of these kinds of puzzles but I wished there were more systems at play like how BOTW has.

Immortals game world is a beautiful colorful world that is mostly a joy to explore. The graphics art style fits the world extremely well, a sort of cartoony look that emphasizes bright contrasting colors. I love the look of the lush green fields of Athena’s grove and that contrasts greatly with the red desolate look of Ares battlefields. There are large temples to explore, massive statues to climb and jump off of to glide around the world looking for the next activity. Now the world isn’t too interactive, again I’ll use BOTW as the comparison point, you aren’t manipulating world systems here, you can’t start a fire and push it while manipulating the wind so to say. It’s all very static and that doesn’t allow any emergent gameplay, luckily I found the plethora of activities to keep me entertained for the many many hours it takes to see everything.

Immortals is great first attempt at a more thought provoking take on the Ubisoft formula, it borrowing from BOTW is no coincidence as it actually manages to do some aspects better but clearly is lacking in others. They nailed the pacing with the puzzles, I never felt bored, I never felt like I was wandering aimlessly looking for something new to do. If you love puzzles and a ton of small mini game like activities this is a massive game full of them, so it’s almost perfect for me. I just wished the combat was not so basic and that more elaborate mechanics get added that can open up further puzzle possibilities. Still this is a great game that shakes up the normal Ubisoft formula.

Score: 8.4

It has been quite the roller coaster following this incredible franchise over the years. Resident Evil 7 was the return to form the series desperately needed after losing its way with RE6. After a hugely successful remake and another decent but forgettable one; RE Village follows in 7s footsteps to push the series forward with some new elements and continue the story of Ethan Winters. Village manages to carve out an identity for itself while maintaining the mix of action and horror the series is known for. It wears its influences on its sleeve touching on the foundations of the two major types of RE games while not committing to either one. This leads to a game that I feel didn’t live up to the potential it could have but there is no denying how well made this varied game is. It’s a new balance, there isn’t quite a RE game like it; with some incredible production values and a good sized adventure; RE Village is another great entry.

The titular Village is the true star of this game, a central hub which is fully explorable which leads to the major areas of each of the four main villains. Director Sato had said he wanted Village to feel like a horror amusement park and that’s exactly why this game is so great. Each section of the world is different from the next. Never have I seen a RE game have such varied gameplay sections. One moment you are in a grand castle hunting for keys while being chased by the internet famous Lady Dimitrescu, the next you are in a location that feels like it’s PTs little brother. The best part of it all is how open the game is, the four bases are locked away after you complete them but the entire Village and surrounding areas can be explored at will oftentimes revealing secrets and even optional bosses. It’s almost a metroid like structure where new items gained in these bases unlock previously inaccessible areas. This scratches that exploration itch; to have surprises around every corner, returning to old locations and finding a new gigantic creature waiting to eat you is inspired design.

One of the biggest critiques of RE7 was the poor enemy variety, RE8 takes that to heart with some great new creature designs. Enemies come in different shapes and sizes, the lycans are fast and agile, constantly moving around to make getting a clean shot difficult. Like the ganado some carry weapons, some shoot bows and arrows, some are armored. Later in the game there are new kinds of enemies with new strategies needed to defeat them. Above all I enjoyed the mini bosses scattered about, this kept me on my toes as I explored and while a few of them repeat I was always thrilled to find a new battle. This rogue gallery is memorable and makes combat as interesting as the mechanics allow; they are dangerous, they can crowd you at inopportune times, it’s a big improvement over 7.

Developers made no effort to hide the RE4 influence with action that is far more prevalent. That being said it is not structured like the action RE games, it’s still horror focused with more focus on exploring and solving puzzles while having a good amount of enemies to shoot. This is where the game starts to show cracks as the action is missing important elements that made the action RE games so amazing. For one it still feels much like the slow moving RE7. This game is in first person but lacks the fast twitch aiming of the more traditional shooters and for good reason, it’s supposed to be horror focused so slowing down the character is key in creating tension. But when you up the enemy movement, increase the amount of guns, and force players to shoot a whole lot more while not changing the movement and aiming speeds well it opens the game up to criticism. I’m used to these horror paced games so I personally didn’t have much issue with the feel of the combat but I can’t blame others for not liking it.

My main issue is with the viewpoint, 7 always had the excuse of VR and the focus on horror so a first person viewpoint was chosen to enhance that; 8 has neither of those. When you focus on action, especially if you are going for a more methodical action style, then third person is a far better viewpoint. There were a few bosses that felt very ill designed for first person where the player has to constantly run away forcing you to not see where the boss is or whether its attack is in your range.

Like RE7 there is a block button to mitigate damage, a new shove is added which is activated by pressing block right after a successful block. Strangely this is the only form of melee there is, I feel action RE benefits greatly from having stunned enemy contextual melee attacks, this adds a whole layer to the combat that is missing. The extra mode Not A Hero had Chris punching enemies in RE7, what happened to that?

The merchant and weapon economy perfectly compliments the more open nature of the game as most all backtracking the player does is to acquire a valuable treasure or gun upgrade. The better weapon selection greatly helps the feel of the combat introduced in RE7, having options always helps making combat more varied. These weapons can be upgraded in various ways which adds a layer layer of strategy to how to use the money earned. Though it’s a shame that pretty much every weapon is outdated by a new model you find later, RE4 did a better job of offering similar guns that excel at different aspects. While this merchant system was inspired by RE4, down to a mysterious NPC merchant, I feel the true reason to include upgrading is to appease the masses, people love upgrading gear. It also allowed them to remove the managing of items, making for a much more accessible game. It’s a good balance they found, they didn’t go all in on action which would aggravate the horror fans and they didn’t go the RE2 route and go full classic RE which can be difficult for many. I feel RE Village checks so many of the boxes to make a game everyone can enjoy while retaining the story, creatures and locations that the series is known for.

The first major action sequence of this game harkens back to the village attack of RE4 as Ethan must survive an onslaught of enemies for a few minutes while running from house to house, pushing bookcases over the doors, shooting lycans out of windows and then being chased by a huge hammer wielding monster. At that point I felt this game would be the spiritual successor to RE4 but sadly those moments are not the norm. The majority of the game is actually more like classic RE design; it has enemies act as obstacles in your path without much thought put into the level design. A lot of the game's combat takes place in hallways or village passageways where enemies simply appear four or five at a time and you battle them without any real strategy outside managing ammo. Later in the game there is a section called the Stronghold where finally there is a level with proper action design and the contrast from that section to others is staggering. RE4 is a series of non stop well designed action scenarios, that’s not what this game is at all, it far far more RE7 in level design while having just more action.

Castle Dimitrescu is the location that got the most pre-release buzz and it’s the largest of the four enemy bases. It’s a large castle with many winding hallways and locked rooms. There are keys to be found, puzzles to solve and some enemies to dispatch all while occasionally Lady Dimitrescu chases the player like Jack Baker did back in 7. While this section had the potential to be an all time great RE location I felt it was a bit weak because it’s missing the key ingredient for RE locations to work, the limited inventory. The reason why old RE worked and why RE2 remake is award winning is because those levels are made to force the player into constant decisions on what to carry, how much ammo to save, and which areas to clear; all decisions that can lead to death if things go wrong. This castle is too empty and without that constant layer of strategy missing it feels like a bland level with the occasional enemy appearing. Exploring it is still fun and when Lady Dimitrescu starts to give chase it can be a bit nerve wracking, though the castle is so big losing her was much much more easy than Jack or Mr. X. The best parts of this section, and all sections in Village, are the scripted moments that put you into a dangerous situation.

After each section Ethan returns to the village to slowly open more areas of the game world, this is where most of the optional content lies. Returning with new items, that open locked homes or gated areas, can lead to optional boss battles for treasures or weapons. Speaking of bosses, Village has a great collection of them. I wouldn’t say it has the best bosses of the series but from top to bottom I enjoyed all of them, no stinker in the bunch. Each of the major boss battles have the epic spectacle I have come to expect from this series. While the optional bosses aren’t as bombastic, they serve as a risk reward decision as they could be difficult to kill, meaning you will lose ammo and maybe health but can earn a nice reward to further enhance Ethan.

Each of the major areas feels different from one another which leads to a game that never feels repetitive. It’s a lengthy game for this series, about 12 hours if you fully explore the optional areas. I always want a game to keep surprising me, keep the gameplay fresh and interesting and Village excels at that. There seems to be some rumblings of players who do not like the final areas; I do not understand those complaints as I feel the final area is one of the best in the game and feels more like classic RE than any previous area. There is always a mad dash of action at the end of these RE games and Village is no exception, I don’t understand why everyone gets upset time and time again when the ending turns into an action movie... that’s the series you are playing!

I would advise any experienced player to play on hardcore on the first go. The initial area might seem extremely hard but the game soon evens out and on hardcore managing ammo is more important and the danger is such that each encounter requires attention. On standard you will have mountains of ammo and hardly be in danger, fun only for those that like a stress free ride. There is an unlockable super hard mode which remixes some enemy placements and is a very worthy challenge, this is also a great reason for having new game + and using all those upgraded weapons.

Mercenaries mode makes a triumphant return as a bonus mode once the game is finished. I find this iteration of Mercs to be one of the worst as it trades the free form kill as many enemies as possible in a certain amount of time to a more structured level approach. This removes any of the creativity players could have in how they approach killing enemies. In this mercs there is one correct path and a very limited selection of weapons. Learning the best route and simply using the shotgun is the way to beat the first four levels. Finishing those unlocks hard versions of those same levels now with basically only a pistol and a few bonus weapons with limited ammo to use. Only Ethan is playable which is a big departure as Mercenaries is always filled with multiple characters to choose from . It feels like a half baked mode but I am still pleased it’s included as getting SSS ranks is a solid challenge, more extra content never hurt anyone.

The story of Village takes place three years after RE7 and it’s one of the few games in this series to be a direct sequel to the last (hell it might be the only one). This means faceless every man Ethan Winters returns and he is as bland as ever, basically serving as a proxy for the player though he does show more personality in this one. For the most part he is there to just comment on what’s happening with reactions like “holy shit”, “what’s happening?!”. He is still a bottom tier RE hero but at least this game injects more human traits by giving Ethan easy connection points to the audience, mainly his search for his kidnapped daughter and that intrinsic emotional connection makes it easy to root for him. Chris Redfield returns (this time with his correct face) in a much larger role but still just a secondary character. I really liked his portrayal in this as short as it was. The stars of the game are the motley group of lords, the two stand outs being Dimitrescu and Heisenberg. Both are great villains but Heisenberg is the one that steals the show as a cheesy arrogant asshole who never shuts up. For a RE game the story is above average mainly because each of the lords keeps things interesting throughout. For series vets there are some ties to series lore in the files but most of the game is a self contained sequel to the last one. I feel the story and the way the story is presented in general is better in this game than 7.

The RE engine continues to impress with its beautiful environmental details and great character models all while running buttery smooth on the PS5. Village is beautiful to look at, the artists at Capcom have outdone themselves creating memorable locations and disturbing monstrosities. No one plays a RE game to get great acting but as far as this series goes everyone does a great job, it’s a memorable cast with a special nod toward Heisnberg. Oh and play this game with the 3D audio on a headset if you can, fantastic sound design as the game is packed with creepy noises to add to the apprehension of entering the next foreboding area. Top to bottom RE8 is the definition of a finely polished AAA game.

Village wrestles with not having the best elements of old RE and not having the incredible combat design or even the mechanics of action RE. Essentially a new style of RE is born, one that I feel is actually kind of traditional AAA in feel, which is to say a game filled with setpieces and some meaningful exploration. This game just feels fun to play, it’s constantly pushing the player to the next event. I never knew what was going to happen and while not all sections are fantastic I don’t think there is one bad area in the bunch. Enemies provide just enough of a threat to keep the ammo count low, enough to get a tinge of panic to start, though there is always that next ammo box or ingredient needed to make ammo around the next corner. I find this game to be beautifully paced, when I wanted more action it came. When I felt it needed a new weapon there was one. Big moments like boss battles come almost every other hour. So while the core mechanics aren’t the deepest it all comes together as a fun engaging action horror romp.

All in all Village is a big success for Capcom as I believe they will have a huge hit on their hands that will please fans and newcomers alike. Personally some of the game design decisions felt like they sacrificed having deeper focus on one design philosophy for something more inviting to all players. Still at its heart, Village absolutely still feels as authentic a Resident Evil game as there is. To me this game and 7 form a pair of sorts which I will rank next to each other though I can see myself flip flopping on which I like better over time. I believe 7 has the better singular vision and execution of that vision while 8 I feel is more fun to play. Resident Evil Village is simply a great game from top to bottom and one of the easiest RE games to recommend to anyone.

Overall Score: 8.7


SPOILERS

Now I’m going to get into deep commentary on every location in the game so major spoilers ahead. The village itself is the heart of the game and while it isn’t visually the most interesting location I loved the constant changes each time you return after defeating a lord. There are sometimes subtle changes like a locked door that is now open which leads to a basement you might miss entirely. Optional bosses roaming old areas, the best being the giant Varcolac in the corn field. I had no reason to go there but I had seen enemies spawn differently before in that same area so I always made it a point to recheck if something new was there and when I saw that beast roaming around I got so excited. The village layout also allows for decent strategy in handling enemies with homes to barricade, rooftops to get on and narrow paths to create choke points. The bulk of the players freedom comes from exploring the village and those were some of my favorite moments. It also is the most unique aspect of this RE game as no RE game before this really had a central hub that you return to many times over.

Castle Dimitrescu was a larger version of the Baker house, like the Baker house it’s mostly devoid of standard enemies and has a stalker chasing you around. Because of the added size at least the castle adds the daughters as fun mini bosses. Early previews were saying that these daughters had multiple ways to take them down so I expected much more from their fights. The strategy is exactly the same with all three with only minor change which is how you make the room cold. Lady D herself is not that dangerous mainly because the castle is very spacious, in 7 when Jack finds you in a hallway you aren’t getting around him, this means you have to run back and find a hiding spot. Now I generally hate that mechanic so I was thrilled to simply be able to out maneuver her to the point where she was basically an afterthought. This game fails to learn the lessons of RE2 and why Mr. X worked to perfection because of that I feel the stalker aspect and the castle in general is really missing any urgency or quality gameplay.

Let’s talk a bit about how much of RE7s structure is actually deep within this game. The village is really the only major deviation from the RE7 flow. The first major area is a large mansion with a stalker. That mansion generally is lacking in enemies until you are forced to go down into the basement where enemies roam. There is a set path throught the mansion/castle that takes you to scripted moments of combat in between the running around a big empty area. It culminates in a large boss battle which leads to the next section. Again removing the village segments from this analogy, the next area would be Beneviento which is sort of the Lucas section, a heavily scripted escape room like section. There isn’t really an equivalent to Marguerite Baker’s house as that was just a smaller scale Jack section, so I like that they did away with that redundancy. Stronghold can loosely be compared to Lucas’ gauntlet of enemies. Then the ship and Heisenberg’s are similar late game areas that have winding hallways and tons of enemies to dispatch. It follows with a heavy action run through the mine/Chris village and ends in the final boss. I enjoyed the ebb and flow of RE7 and it’s even better paced in 8 but I was hoping for a more RE4 like structure and there is none of that to be found here.

House Beneviento was unique, interesting, clearly a section made to go viral and I think it succeeded in that regard. It’s heavily inspired by PT and I like that there is nothing like it in any other RE game. The most talked about moment is of course the baby which is the stuff of nightmares, a generally surprising scary moment that made me “nope” so hard I almost got whiplash. That being said it’s only good once due to the heavily scripted nature of this section and how there is only one way to complete it. There is no combat at all so difficulty changes have no effect on this section. On replays this becomes a 15 minute slog right smack in the middle of the game that takes no skill whatsoever. Why couldn’t they flesh out this section by letting the baby be a true threat, add some element that allows the player to actually experiment or develop a strategy to avoid it. The doll “boss fight” is a joke as well, they could have done much more to make it a puzzle situation rather than just memorizing the spawn points of the doll. MGS4 had a boss battle with Laughing Octopus where she hides in different locations in the boss area and the player has many tools and tricks they can use to get the drop on her, that’s how I would approach a boss like this. Give us clues and elements that we can then piece together to figure out where the doll is. Not even the sound of her laughter was that good of an indicator, so it becomes mindless running around and later memorization.

I enjoyed the Moreau section, I’ll say it. It’s also heavily scripted but at least it’s in the style of a big action setpiece. Once you learn exactly what to do during the windmill phase it becomes rather easy, it is just avoiding him when crossing the bridges but at least that’s something involving player interaction. There is the one puzzle with raising the bridges and another later on with turning on the pumps which are simple but effective. It’s a nice section that serves as a proper build up for what I think is one of the better boss battles in the game. Moreau’s boss area is shaped like a grid, like say Vulcan Raven from MGS. The battle evolves by limiting the paths the player can take, this creates good escalation of difficulty. He stalks you through these paths which have well placed red barrels to shoot creating a tried and true method to defeat it. Sheltered areas from the rain are well placed so that you have just enough time from when Moreau starts his acid rain attack for you to reach one of those areas. It’s a well designed fight, huge in scale, exactly what I love from RE bosses.

If you notice the first three lord bases don’t follow any of the classic RE structures. Yes the castle has the feel of a traditional main location in an old RE game but without any of the item management so it totally misses the point of an area like that. If not for the village interludes a lot of the game would be scripted or running around empty locations; strange design for a game that is supposed to be the action heavy version of RE7. It’s not until the stronghold and the factory when you see flashes of RE4 and old RE design. Stronghold is probably my favorite area in the game because it’s clearly the most inspired by RE4. Finally there is an action sequence that takes place in a location designed to create an interesting battle. Lycans can attack from above and afar with arrows, there are strategically placed barrels that can be used, staircases and zip lines to get around the battlefield. There is also a fantastic mix of heavy armored enemies, range enemies, the in your face grunts, and then a boss battle to top it all off. When the developers started to say RE4 was an inspiration this is what I pictured in my head.

For whatever reason the factory has plenty of detractors, I never understand why people don’t want a difficult gameplay heavy section toward the end of their game. The entire point of building up your character and stockpiling ammo is for the final gauntlet. I loved the factory, first of all it is oozing in personality with its gritty sci-fi horror aesthetic. A sort of mad scientist stronghold where the unsettling experiments have escaped and run rampant throughout. It introduces a whole new group of enemies, some which take inspiration from the regenerators of RE4 with the tank like nature of them and specific weak points that need to be targeted. I felt claustrophobic navigating the maze like darkened halls, not knowing what the hell is going to literally drop out of the ceiling to kill me.

The level layout is open enough to feel like you can get lost but the path to victory is actually quite straightforward. Again it’s missing the item management of classic RE which makes the running around grabbing molds to carry around rather pointless, but the constant threats do make ammo management a key component. RE7’s ship segment was a small-scale representation of old RE, with its managing item slots, and that’s why for me it’s one of the strongest areas in RE7. It falters a bit by having the player do that section essentially twice, gladly RE8 does away with any of those “tape” segments so the factory is paced far better. Still it’s missing that extra layer of management that makes the classic games so great and made RE2 remake an instant classic. This game removes any decision making like “should I pick up that herb and bullets, or save space for the key I will need to carry around” or “Is the extra trip to the item box worth it”. Without those decisions a section like this is only as interesting as the combat moments within, what items you are looking for and where you are going doesn’t really matter. That in a nutshell is what is holding RE8 back for me from being in the top tier RE games.

The alternative way for RE8 to be a top tier game would have been to go all in RE4 style and the final hour of this game attempts to do that but ends up feeling more like RE6 than 4. Now don’t get me wrong I love stupid action, the bigger and dumber the action the more excited I get, I just ask that the gameplay isn’t sloppy. Thankfully it’s not here, it’s just not that great either. The Heisenberg boss is a gimmicky battle, no dispute there but in the context of the game it provides a really cool moment that’s unlike anything that comes before and is a fun traditional “turret” battle this time in the form of a tank. Yeah they could have gone a hundred different ways with a Heisenberg boss battle, I’m sure it could have been better but I will take the gimmicky FUN action moment as it serves the story well.

Right after a very drama heavy story moment we get the Chris segment which is where all semblance of old RE is thrown out the window and we are straight call of duty. This section isn’t particularly well designed as it’s basically Chris running down a long straight line shooting everything in his way and let’s face it, the core shooting isn’t interesting enough to support such a segment. A game like this needs the level design, it needs the lack of ammo to feel dangerous. Once again I am split where I appreciate the over the top thrill of finally letting loose on all these bastard monsters but feeling that the level design is woefully under developed. The segment ends with a boss battle against a new version of Urias which is more annoying than fun. It’s an extremely small area to fight such a big enemy. The whole use of the marker to blow up the monster has been done in previous games in the series better than this.

We end the game with heartless Ethan battling Miranda who as far as RE final bosses go isn’t half bad. Tell me I wasn’t the only one that got huge Saddler vibes when she is in her spider form. You can maybe say the same about her flight form with Alexia in Code Veronica. The changing of forms worked, it keeps the battle fresh as she has all kinds of attacks and no real gimmick to succeed. It’s a traditional skill based boss battle that can play out differently depending on how well you saved up on firepower, and that to me is the RE way. My only complaint would be that I wish there was a better build up to the final, the game gets disjointed with all the character swapping and location jumping.

So those are my thoughts on RE Village, right now I am finishing up my fourth playthrough and have beaten Mercenaries fully. Like all RE games, being able to replay the game for unlockable goodies is a big part of the appeal and I find Village to be mostly a fun game to replay, more so than 7. I think as time goes on I might like this game more and more where a game like RE3make has my opinion diminishing the more I think about it. I hope some of the new elements like the more open hub area remains, can you imagine a game like that but every area the hub leads to is amazing RE4 style combat areas, that would be the dream which could maybe happen with RE4 remake. For now I am more than satisfied with Village, it's not the home run I hoped for but it’s going to be a RE game I enjoy playing for years to come.

Another extremely short almost tech demo billed as a game. This is like sci fi “The Room”, where an alien door takes you to some ethereal dimension where you interact with devices and solve puzzles. It’s a lot of grabbing a thing and finding what shape or direction to put it on another thing. The Room is far more elaborate but I liked some of the puzzles in this more, if only it was fleshed out. There is a pitiful attempt at some story that goes nowhere as the game just ends before anything happens. Again I played this on viveport which is the only service I can recommend this as I wouldn’t pay for something this short.

Overall score: 3.5

The last RE game I had to play to complete the entire series, this survivor game is a big improvement over the first, that said a big improvement over shit isn’t that much better than shit. What Survivor 2 does that the first Survivor did not is embrace the arcade aspect of light gun games. This game is fast paced, there is a timer until Nemesis shows up basically forcing you to keep moving as fast as possible through the levels. At the end of each level you are graded on time, score and bonuses like no damage. This element alone makes the short levels much more replayable.

Seeing that I played this on an emulator I couldn’t play with a light gun, so I had to do the controller method which means it plays just like an old school FPS. You move and strafe around really small rooms while shooting at whatever is in front of you, since there is no gun there is no way to aim at specific parts. The game does this thing where you get a critical if you shoot an enemy up close I think, I don’t know I couldn’t figure it out. You can switch weapons on the fly and even upgrade your weapon pouch to carry more. Levels are taken from Code Veronica and it’s split in small sections. Each arcade level has to be completed in the short amount of time, the goal is to find a key and take it to the exit. The layout has optional rooms you can enter for extra ammo or health, more score, etc. So again all the elements for a score based light gun game is there but it being a poor mans FPS hurts it. It’s also over in a flash, a little over 30 minutes and arcade mode is done.

There is a dungeon mode which seems to be the meat of the game. These take random locations and make a sort of maze out of them. There is no map and rooms don’t make much sense, it’s like copy pasted random locations, your job is too keep exploring till you finish an objective like “kill the boss” or “find all gems”. This mode has exclusive enemies, bosses, weapons and offers way more content than the arcade mode. I played a few levels and they can be tough, some stages have traps, looking for health in these mazes can get that adrenaline going that RE does so well. If the mechanics of shooting were interesting and if they added puzzles and actual level design this could have been something, as it is now it’s a weird version of a 90s FPS with RE characters.

The presentation is mixed bag as there is no voice work, you get text on the screen. I love Code Veronica so seeing all the locations and enemies brings me back. The music taken straight from CV is of course fantastic as it has one of the best soundtracks of the series. I wouldn’t pay much to play this but at the very least I can recommend this game just as a weird footnote in the history of RE, it’s at least playable and entertaining unlike that mess of a first survivor game.

Overall score: 5

This was one of the few RE games I never played so I decided to try it out, well there is a reason I never played it. Survivor is a light gun game with no light gun and a RE game with none of the elements that make RE great.

It tries to be a first person RE game where you walk around a locations, opening doors and picking up items as you would in a normal RE game. But instead of elaborate maze like locations you get a series of mostly linear locations, no puzzles and no inventory management at all. You can pick up as many items as you want and your gun has infinite ammo, this means the core of what makes the old games great is missing.

All you are left with is the combat which in a light gun game could be fun if it actually tried to be a proper light gun game. Enemies have zero hit detection, it doesn’t matter what you shoot at it’s all the same. This results in very boring shooting where you just aim at a zombie and unload waiting for it to drop. Hunters and kickers provide harder challenges, better weapons are key but it’s still a lot of just aiming and shooting with no strategy. One can also simply run past basically all enemies, I found this out later on when struggling to hit a fast moving dog with my slow ass cursor, just run and nothing hits you.

It’s a short game with a little over an hour of play time. My only enjoyment came from the familiarity of the PS models, everything is taken directly from the other RE games. This game adds about two new enemies and they are terrible. There is only one boss, it is a pain in the ass but at least it required some thinking. The music is atrocious, it sounds like whoever did that horrible RE DC dual shock version got another job scoring this. The story is bad even by RE standards but I’m a sucker for this terrible old RE voice work style to make an appearance.

Light gun games are supposed to be exciting and have creative ways for the shooting to interact with the environments but there is none of that here. What you are left with is a super short RE like game with the same boring combat and none of the elements that make the series great.

Original Resident Evil 2 is one of my favorite games, to me it was the epitome of the survival horror formula with the tightest level design, a great balance of horror and action, and it was one hell of a ride with zero bad moments. I always figured a remake of RE2 would be a fun update; with the changing gameplay styles I didn't know if they would be able to replicate the feel of RE2. Here I am now in complete awe that not only did they make a remake that captures everything that was great about RE2, it is the same leap in quality that RE2 made over RE1 with how much better this game is over what Capcom was starting in RE7. What is even more impressive about this remake is that it doesn't just have to exceed one game, it has to contend with 20 years worth of different styles and the task of updating a dated game to have modern gameplay sensibilities. Resident Evil 2 remake takes elements from nearly every RE game, brings back the core formula that made me fall in love with this formula and blends it together almost perfectly to make the best Resident Evil game since RE4.

Most of the praise has to be levied at the level design which I will hold up against any RE game including the original RE2 and REmake 1. This is not some modern half assed, toned down for the masses emulation of classic Resident Evil, it is maybe the best layout of the series. The RPD slowly opens up piece by piece, there is such a careful balance of pushing the player toward the correct path and then letting them loose at the right moment to create that sense of being lost in a danger filled hell house. There is always a new item around the corner which opens up new paths or is what you have been waiting for to unlock something seen before. Shortcuts open, paths get closed off, the levels stay dynamic and always keep surprising with new enemies or puzzles.

I always thought the hardest element to bring to modern gaming would be the zombie. In a tank control game with limited aiming a zombie can be a threat, with over the shoulder aiming wouldn't the player just head shot every zombie and kill them quickly, how would that work? Well miraculously they made the zombie a viable enemy, the toughest zombies since crimson heads, and because of that the entire game works. If these levels were filled with push over enemies, nothing matters, the whole formula breaks down. These bastards won't go down, some will complain that random damage is a cheap mechanic, I will say this series always had that element and here it works brilliantly. The zombies hit detection is as good as it gets, you can rip them apart limb from limb and they will use whatever body part is left to eat you. Zombies will lunge from a good distance with a split second for the player to react to run away from the attack or get caught in their death grip. Never have I feared the grunt enemy that is the zombie as much as in this game, when I am entering a room which I must cross and I see three or more in my way it made me hesitate. All the aspects of survival horror start to come into play, is this enemy worth the ammo drain, should I clear a hallway I will use many times, do I leave that one legless so he eternally crawls on the floor desperate to bite my foot. Lets not forget the Licker, which becomes a nightmare to fight with how agile and powerful they are. Nothing is a pushover in this game, each enemy represents a threat that must be respected.

Great level design and good enemies have been done in past RE games, what sets this one apart is the key ingredient of Mr. X, stalker extraordinaire. This game doubles down on the sense of panic of trying to navigate the maze world while clawling your way back to the save room by adding a monster that will block your path or make you use alternate routes you never had the intention of taking. It's the classic formula on overdrive, you can plan all you want but once Mr. X bursts through a door your plan is thrown out the window. survival takes over and that is when the fun really begins. There will be moments of limping around on danger, out of heavy weaponry, needing to reach that save room and BOOM here is Mr. X, now the only path I can take is either through him or back into the room with a zombies and licker; that feeling of despair is why this series worked. Jack in RE7 was a stalker enemy as well but there were still elements of the garbage hide and seek gameplay, there is no hide here. You can't hide from X, you run, you fight or die, and that is brilliant because there is no downtime. He is Nemesis without the weaponry but in a game that far better designed where the stalker elements perfectly align with the level design to heighten the fear of exploring and wasting your ammo.

REmake2 takes those elements I mentioned above and puts them into the over the shoulder style which allows this game to feel as modern as possible. Aiming feels just right, character weight is perfect, movement is smooth and responsive; it is perfectly balanced so that it never tilts too much into action. REmake2 stays on the line between functionality and restriction so that player never feels overpowered and at the same time doesn't feel cheated by restrictive controls. Boss battles benefit the most from the new perspective as now they can have specific targets to aim at, no longer are they just bullet sponges. These battles are well designed and bosses have a good amount of attacks and ways to deal with them. The sense of scale is also much improved with some grandiose boss locations which makes the moment that much more dramatic. The bosses aren't as creative as the action game RE bosses but they can't be because of this game adhering to a past game and trying to keep that balance of restriction and functionality.

There are a whole host of other nice improvements and elements that make this game stand out. The middle sections are totally different for each character including gameplay sections with Ada or Sherry that have new gameplay elements. The sewers are drastically redesigned with an all new enemy. Puzzles are way improved over RE2 which had some of the worst in the series, as a nice bonus they change from one run to the next. The pacing is damn near perfect, I miss the tight well designed action adventure game so much. Yes maybe it's on the short side but with the two campaigns and multiple ways to play them I have plenty of content to keep busy with. Also like past RE games this is a speedrunners dream game and there are nice rewards for doing so. I rarely replay games anymore let alone master them, games are not designed for that in mind anymore. It is so refreshing to have that game that begs to be replayed and mastered once again.

As for negatives there are a few which mostly deal with changes they made that removed enemies or features. RE2 was known for the zapping system and having two story lines directly affect each other, this game has two story lines but no care was put into having them influence one another or even make sense from a story point of view. I am not sure where this went wrong because it seems like all the elements for it to work just like RE2 are there but they just half assed the connecting part. I greatly miss being able to examine objects in the background and having a blurb come up. I assume they felt that would disrupt the flow as this game is far more intense, still this leads to some loss of personality that the original locations had. The loss of the spiders, the moth and even the crows hurts a little, none of them were major enemies and only appeared a hand full of time but they helped flesh out the world to show a better variety of monsters. It's a shame because REmake 1 cut nothing, every single aspect of the original was recreated and built upon. In contrast REmake 2 picks and chooses elements and remixes them, the core of RE2 is absolutely there but this is not a faithful adaptation.

On the technical front the game is a marvel. It's gorgeous to look at, runs incredible on whatever system you are playing on. The RE engine truly is a remarkable engine that can set a mood with lighting like no other. This game should win some award for best sound because not only are the effects great all around but they play a key part in the actual gameplay. The footsteps of Mr. X can be heard on a 7.1 sound system exactly where they are coming from. You will hear the footsteps above you, to the left or under you and to the right, which allows you to pinpoint where he is. I wish the music was as impressive as the sound effects. Sadly everything is subdued, many times there is no music and nothing is as memorable as the original soundtrack. There are a few standout songs like Mr. X's i'm here theme and the boss battles have some excellent battle music. Those with the deluxe version have the option to play the whole game with the original soundtrack and menu sound effects which is a great option to have. The new voice cast does a great job, we are so far removed from the cheesy B movie acting days, now its a proper movie like script with good performances all around.

I have not been this in love with a game in a long time. To think this formula was run into the ground back in the day due to countless clones and many sequels and now that same formula 20 years later is a breath of fresh air in a sea of bloated open world games. This game takes every element that made Resident Evil the gold standard of horror games and ties them all together in a modern package that can stand on it's own as one of the best games this generation. It pulls no punches, when they could have made the formula easier and more accessible they went the hardcore route of making it harder and more about managing your ammo and health than ever before. This feels like the survival horror formula perfected. It has only been out a few days, I still have to play it many more times to form a concrete opinion but this might be my second favorite RE game behind RE4.

Overall Score 9.7

The VR space is host to all kinds of odd unique games, most are experimental games that are extremely short or play very rough. The standout VR games rise to the top and get plenty of attention but there is a whole group of lesser known gems that can be hard to find. Vertigo is one of these VR gems which I found while trying many games on Viveport. It is an action adventure game that has a cavalier design that harkens back to the early days of first person action games. It’s a game that constantly surprised me and kept me hooked.

Vertigo takes inspiration from sci fi games like Half life and the original Prey, the plot is your basic normal person transported to an alien facility story and from there you need to get out. It is not a story heavy game but the alien facility becomes its own character as exploring the different varied floors is the crux of the game. It starts off simple with the player getting a small teleport gun like the one in Budget Cuts letting you get to places you normally can’t walk too. You eventually get a small lightsaber like weapon and a laser gun to battle agains the robots and aliens that populate the base. Mechanically the game is average VR fare, it has the usual VR jank you feel when you swing a sword wildly, the physics aren’t great, animations basic. The guns work as you expect, you aim and shoot but it doesn’t have the visceral feel of the best VR shooters.

What it lacks in mechanics it makes up for in level design and creativity. It starts simple in office like hallways and eventually starts to get more and more wild the further you play. The scale of some of these levels blew my mind, one room was a massive water tank with walk ways that tower stories above and you take elevators and zip lines across this massive room while robots fire at you from all sides. Another moment has you deep in dark tunnels while something with massive tentacles tries to get you culminating in a boss battle with a hideous huge beast.

The environments are insanely varied, every 30 minutes you arrive at a new location that is usually very different from the last. There are some moments where you will need to be stealthy, some light puzzle work, and plenty of secrets to be found. Boss fights are show stoppers, almost always massive in size, the best taking place in this huge room that alien monster has taken over.

I wish the regular enemies were more varied and engaging though, for the most part its usually robots with lasers and your weaponry is basic throughout. If the sequel can polish up the feel of the combat and there are more weapons and ways to engage in action, then that aspect can match the already stellar inventive level design. The constant stream of varied moments kept me engaged in ways many VR games don’t. I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a full 6-7 hour action adventure game in VR.

Overall Score: 7.6

Few franchises have entered a status where a sequel is like a mythical figure that will never release. Half-Life has built an entire cult around the idea that the long awaited HL3 will come
one day, that Lord Gaben will grace us with another genre defining game. Years and years went by and Valve got fat, focusing on steam rather than being the great developer they started off as. But little did we know that four years ago they began to work on the next installment of Half-Life, exclusively for VR, a sort of spin off starring THE Alyx Vance. VR has become the most exciting sector of gaming, still in its infancy it desperately needs that killer app, the oneeveryone can point to and say "that cant be done on a regular screen." Half-Life Alyx manages to be the most polished VR game I have ever played, it feels every bit as lengthy as any full fledged Half-Life game. The controls as good as they can be on VR at the moment. But it does not move VR forward in any meaningful way, its culmination of what could be considered the first generation of VR games.

Alyx is a scaled down version of Half-life, focusing more on cramped spaces and intimate encounters with enemies. The majority of the game has you exploring dark sewers, dilapidated
buildings and abandoned factories as you try to rescue your father years before HL2 (which means you know you succced). Your hands are your tools, you have complete freedom to
interact with practically every object in the game world. The opening segment has markers on a window sill which you can pick up to draw and erase to your hearts content. Larger objects like
big red barrels require two hands to lift which is something I dont recall seeing in any other VR
game. The physics on display are extremely impresive as everything behaves as it should, entire shelves of bottles could come down and shatter realistically. Alyx gets a prototype of the gravity gun called the gravity gloves which lets you "use the force" and reach out and summon objects to your hands. All it takes is a quick flick of the wrist and the objects fling themselves toward you as you try to catch it when it comes close. Many VR games have some form of force pull simply because the act of bending down to pick up objects is tiresome, but never has a game made it feel so responsive. Plus the game designs little puzzles using the gloves around trying to summon an object around a barnacle for instance.

No crowbar for Alyx, in fact there are no melee weapons at all as Valve couldn't find a way to have it react to their standards. This means no objects in the game world could be used as an
impromtu weapon which is a huge shame. All this interactity and the most basic of instincts to use objects as a weapon does not work. Your arsenal comes in three guns, a handgun, a
shotgun and a rifle; thats it, when I said it was a much scaled down version of HL this is part of it. I assume they did this so that everything could be easily accessable with a few hand
movements. Switching guns is as simple as holding a button and flicking your wrist in one of four directions and the weapon magically appears in your hand. Aiming is done as you would
normally aim in real life; if you have not played VR I recommend you do so as gun play is so immersive. These are some of the best feeling virtual weapons I have ever used. There are deeper gun sims out there but they are boarderline annoying in their realism, this game strikes the perfect balance between functionality and realism.

Reloading becomes the main mechanic which sets this games combat apart from other HL games. Ammo does not magically stay in your gun if you reload mid clip, when you empty a mag any left over ammo is gone with the mag so you are incentivized to empty a mag which leads to really tense moments where you hear that click and oh shit this monster is in front of my face. No quick magical way to reload here, you must reach over your shoulder into your virtual backpack and pull out a new mag, slap it into the bottom of your gun and press the button to arm it. Shotguns are even more complicated requiring the gun to open, you to move ammo
from the backpack to the open slots on the top, swing it up to lock the shot gun in place then cock it. All these guns may be upgraded as you play by finding resin, which is the only
collectable outside of ammo and health that you find in the game world. Upgrades give you laser sights and great reloading enhancements that allow you load way more ammo quicker.

Combat in VR is a physical activity that can't be replicated with a controller. What may seem mundane on a normal flat TV can become extremely intense and satifying in VR. For instance
most of the combat encounters in this game would feel extremely simplistic and boring if it was a non VR game. Most of the combat encounters involve three or four enemies who have slow attack patterns and dumbed down AI. In a normal game you would just point your aim cursor over an enemy and hold a button down and the thing will die as you strafe around like a madman not worrying about ammo as reloading is an auto action and throwing grenades is a magical press of another button. Three slow moving enemies would be no challenge at all, it would be an inconsequential moment in the game. But in VR, three enemies are right in your face, you move far slower and some cover requires you to literally duck and cover. Aiming is a physical action as you need to bring the gun up to your face to aim well then duck down again as bullets fly over your head. Running out of ammo at the wrong time brings about panic as you reach for that new mag, if you aren't careful that full mag will fall to the floor as you missed the connection with the gun, now you need to pick it up as enemies close on you. You throw grenades yourself and if you have bad aim or strength you will simply miss your target. One
battle had a heavy in a room with windows, I had to get on my knees to be below the windows,reach the door and slightly open it, then tossed a grenade through the opening and closed the
door again as it exploded and the glass shattered around me. The game barrier is gone, it is YOU performing all these actions and that alone cannot be replicated with a normal controller.

Valves expert level design comes into play as you dive into unique combat and environmental situations that make use of these controls in interesting ways. It starts off simple, very very
slowly introducing concepts and enemies as to ease the player into this style of play. You will learn to search cabinets and look all around for ammo and resin. You will pick up red explosive canisters and throw them at zombies to create a makeshift grenade. You will learn to avoid barnacles or put on a hat so if they do grab you they get the hat instead. As the game goes on there are some really memorable areas like the first time Alyx gets the flash light which is attached to your left wrist. Finally this dark room could be inspected and as you turn around
there is the dark outline of super headcrabs coming down the walls, you shine the light up and see you are being overrun! If you reach down to get ammo the light goes down with your hand,
leading to more panic in an already tense situation. Another favorite room of mine was a room filled with explosive barrels so any stray shot results in an instant kill. The room is of course
filled with barnacles and zombie headcrabs just begging to be shot.

New weapons and introduced every hour or so, as are enemies. That said prepare for a far slower game than the normal Half-Life, it took me about three hours to reach the first gun fight
against combine soldiers which is where the combat truly shines. Running and gunning is a horrible idea because Alyx has no HEV suits, a few shots and she is dead. So cover is your best
friend, if you find waist high cover guess what, down on the floor you go to physically get behind cover. Gunfire realistically shatters car windows, car doors can be used as makeshift cover but sadly that’s about it for impromptu defense. Most areas have clear cover spots where you hide and pop out of cover to take a few shots.

There are regular combine soldiers and heavies; heavies will do the slow lumber walk toward you with a chain gun thing seen in every game, while the regular grunts try to flank you. They
will throw grenades which you can catch and throw back. If you stay behind cover to long they will launch a super annoying flying blade drone, trust me without the crowbar these things are
annoying to fight, better to shotgun blast them dead. The best moments come when you survive a gun fight by the skin of your teeth, that final bullet taking down the enemy is such a
sigh of relief. Toward the end of the game most battle's scale increases. Rooms with multiple types of enemies are more common, for instance antlions attacking while combine snipe you
from above was one of the more intense battles.

Problem is there isn’t much outside just clever gun battles. The bombastic setpieces of HL2 are practically all gone. Giant outdoor battlefields with helicopters and striders not present. No vehicle sections, no rocket launchers, no clever use of enemies like the ant lion control ball. This game is basically a series of rooms and some hallways with a few areas as large as a hotel courtyard. Enemy AI has been toned down a ton, every enemy is much slower than in HL especially headcrabs which give you about a full 4 seconds of charge up time before an attack.
Combine do the most basic of attack patterns and only come in groups of five at most. Say you remove all that makes this game great in VR, take the enemy encounters and have them play
out with a normal control scheme; this game would be a poor action game. It’s the fact that you are living the actions that makes the more simple combat scenarios still work but it is a damn shame that we are clearly not getting the full adrenaline rush Half-life experience.

I can excuse the scaled down combat experience which leads to a more comfortable VR experience but I cannot for the life of me explain why physics puzzles were practically all
removed and replaced with the most mundane hacking minigames. Every time there is a supply locker, an upgrade station, or laser trip mines to disable you have to play a hologram mini game
where you move objects in a 3D space. There are 3 types of hologram puzzles depending on what device is being activate. It is a neat VR puzzle the first few times but not the 30th. So here
is a game with 1:1 physics interaction with loads of in game objects and instead of making a game full of physics puzzles, like HL2, we get extremely limited use of anything outside just
searching for items. HL2 had so many uses for the physics, players could invent entire strategies and solutions using the gravity gun. Alyx allows almost none of that. What’s crazy is that any time you need to interact with an object in the middle of a fire fight it creates such great tense moments, so why not build the entire game around moments like that.

There is one hacking mini game where you must follow wires, which are highlighted by your hand tool, through a wall and have to physically follow these wires around objects and through
rooms, changing the direction of wire junctions to get the power to where you need it to go. This is used in some really clever ways as those wires can go through trap filled rooms. The
problem is it’s still structured as “the wire mini game”, it’s not subtle, and it’s always going to be the same actions. There is so much more potential for a deeper more interactive game, it’s like they didn’t want to overwhelm the player so they held back.

I don’t want to sound too negative, there are moments of absolute brilliance on display, none more so than chapter 7. For one hour HL Alyx becomes the perfect example of how traditional
gaming can not replicate this impressive display of VR gameplay. It makes use of every action exclusive to VR, a perfectly executed gameplay sequence that to me will go down as one of the
best moments of this entire generation. I know the majority of you will never play this game so I will describe the chapter, SPOILER ALERT, skip the next paragraph if you do plan on playing this.

The chapter is named Jeff, named after a hideous monster (no not Jeff G) that is blind but can hear anything. This monster will chase you from room to room through an abandoned wine
distillery.. and what is a distillery filled with, GLASS BOTTLES! Bottles EVERYWHERE! On the floor, on shelves, in cabinets, in boxes, practically everything you can interact with has bottles
just waiting to fall and shatter signaling Jeff to come eat you. So for an hour Valve creates a level where they keep raising the stakes and putting you in worse and worse situations where
you have no choice but to be as careful as you can with every hand movement, every step you physically take. They get progressively more evil, forcing you to open cabinets to find fuses only to open a locker and a ton of glass bottles start to fall out. I did the thing where you lean against the door and put a hand at the crack opening to try to shut it before anything falls out. My favorite gag is when an asshole headcrab starts to knock down bottles from above and you need to catch them before they hit the ground. When I first saw the headcrab (which I cant
shoot because it would make Jeff come) I was like "no you don't you asshole!", it subtly acknowledges your presence and without any way to express emotion I knew it was going to purposefully drop those bottles just to piss me off. I sprint over and barely catch the first one, snatch the second one from the air but now I am out of hands and it drops an entire crate of them so off I run as Jeff comes searching. Deeper into the chapter there are areas with poison gas that if you breathe in you start to cough, so to stop this you have to put a hand to your face! So now you have one hand free, one covering your face, in complete darkness with just a flashlight and Jeff stalking the area; and objects just waiting to fall all over! Oh and to get the bonus ammo and resin is an extra layer of stress, they purposefully put them behind so many bottles and junk that it feels like a game of Operation as you carefully remove them to reach your prize. The entire sequence is pure genius, the way it forces you to overcome every fear you have and maintain enough calmness to not make one bad move is the kind of level design that I wanted from the entire game.

The final hours are generally exciting with far bigger combat areas and crazy setpieces that I expected for a HL game. It shows that Valve definitely still has the chops to make masterpieces
but clearly they were simply dipping their proverbial toe in the VR water. For fans of the story the final moments are as mind blowing and hype inducing as any ending I have ever seen in a
game. I finished the game thinking the overall adventure wasn’t as good as HL2 and yet I didn’t want to leave. VR sticks with you in a way a flat screen does not, I was THERE. Sadly there is
nothing else to do with Alyx after the 12 or so hour adventure. I played on hard so no other difficulty to try. No bonus modes. It’s totally linear with almost no experimentation allowed.
Hopefully mods will add in some battle mode which I would love to experiment with because the gunplay is so damn great.

In terms of performance I was playing on the most minimum of specs on the lowest settings and still this was the most beautiful VR game I have played. I cannot imagine what this looks like with a high end PC. I had no crashes or glitches, none of the usual VR jank even with my limited front facing cameras. It’s very impressive that Valve made such a high end VR game that works on every device, on lower end PCs, and across different hand controllers so damn well. There is a new voice cast for these characters and they all do well but I do miss the old Alyx and Eli. Eli is obviously not replaceable, with Robert Guillaume passing away. Still all the clever Valve writing is there. The score has the usual techno action music HL is known for, when it picks up oh man is it a shot of adrenaline as you go into action mode.

In summary (since I wrote a whole lot and can write even more) this is the best full length adventure game I have played on VR. It excels at immersion has excellent controls that make
every action feel natural and work to create interesting gameplay situations based around those controls. Alyx though feels like a lesser Half-Life experience with less variety in situations and
environments, poorer AI, easier enemies, less weapons and a slower pace. Being in VR allows for all those shortcomings to be ignored as every action and room is enhanced by you being
there and you in total control. Half-Life Alyx is not the VR revolution Half-Life was for first person shooters but it is the culmination of what I would consider to be the first generation of VR games. A great first effort with the hinting of the incredible experiences to come.

Score: 8.8

Few games generate a level of devotion that Final Fantasy 7 does. If you were around in 1997 and liked video games, FF7 was a monumental moment in gaming history. It felt like the first major video game blockbuster, something so cutting edge and stunning that it captivated an entire new audience to appreciate a genre that was not as popular outside of Japan. FF7 became a seminal moment of our growing up with video games so it stands to reason that any attempt as a remake would come with huge expectations. Now square took the odd path of breaking down FF7 into multiple parts, this first remake only serving as the Midgar intro; they promised it would feel like a full RPG. Well it does, not only does it feel like a full game it’s the best game Square has made since FF12.

By breaking down the game into parts they were able to flesh out and expand the Midgar portion of the game significantly. This means that nearly every single moment is recreated not just as it was in the original but better than ever. The characters and dialogue are vastly improved, Cloud and the gang explore their relationships far more than they did before. While a lot of the dialogue and acting is anime in nature it’s the best character work I have seen in a square game in a long time. Every character, even ones that were minor side characters like Jessie, get far more fleshed out arcs. The emotional moments resonate more, the characters even easier to fall in love with.

The core of the remake is the new battle system that takes real time combat and melds it with the ATB system of FF7 to create a great hybrid. It feels like they took their lessons from FF13 and 15 and finally made a combat system that is fun to play as an action game while retaining the strategy and teamwork of the turn based battles. During fights you will need to change on the fly to each character activating their abilities and spells which increase the ATB, as well as dodge or block attacks. It may seem weird at first to see your AI teammates sort of stand around and do nothing but that is because you are supposed to be changing constantly. The materia system is as fantastic as ever allowing for full customization of each character and some pretty cool combinations that can make your character self heal, become a ATB building tank or a super mage. While a lot of enemies can just be beat by mashing attack that will not work on the games many spectacular boss battles.

Every boss in remake is a multistage battle which tests your skills and planning. Enemies all have weaknesses, some are as simple as ice hurts fire, others are immune to certain attacks unless you interrupt their attack, or build their stagger bar. Stagger from FF13 is back and it’s used in very smart ways here, spells and weaknesses usually build the bar quicker and you will need to stagger the bosses so that you can do maximum damage. This means each fight starts off like a sort of puzzle, how do you get it to stagger, using assess let’s you peak at its stat page to find out strategies and weaknesses for that enemy. Then you must execute that plan while huge attacks come from all sides and managing three characters on the fly, each hitting targeted points with specific attacks while keeping everyone alive. Start adding in summons and limit breaks and you have yourself one hell of a party. The bosses are usually epic in nature, with cutscenes breaking up the different forms, having to use the environment to survive all while the best hype music plays. It’s the best combat system square has ever made.

What I love most is that much like how FF7 was the poster boy of AAA gaming in 97, the remake retains that spirit. Sure big budget games are a dime a dozen now but a well executed one that feels like a modern blockbuster is usually reserved for the Naughty Dogs or Rockstars, here Square pulls off an adventure that is constantly moving with incredible setpieces and action sequences that are taken right from the original but greatly expanded. This game is linear, so was midgar in the original so it plays into square’s recent trend of making more cinematic linear games but unlike FF13 this is not one giant tutorial. And unlike FFXV the game doesn’t feel disjointed and unfinished. It’s incredibly polished and keeps the feeling of adventure going non-stop, at worst a few levels drag on a bit too long but at the end of each awaits a boss battle that makes it all worth it.

When this game hits its highs, my god is it exciting. I cannot describe to you how fabulous the entire Don Corneo section is, complete with a new death battle coliseum with incredible announcers and the greatest dance number I have ever seen in a game. Or the dreaded somber moments after the section collapse, now told in striking detail with many more NPCs and a focus on the aftermath. And then there is the ending which I will get to later, but holy shit it gives MGS a run for its money.

With the expansion comes some side quests and new areas which seem to be causing the most negativity for the game. Yeah the side quests aren’t going to win any awards but I found them to be better than the average garbage that plagues most games now. I generally enjoyed many of the new side characters introduced and one, Johnny, that got greatly expanded. The game designates when you can do side quests, it’s mostly regulated to three chapters where you have the freedom to run around and complete these objectives for great rewards and to battle some unique enemies, the only way to see some classic FF enemies is to do these side quests. Plus building up my materia and weapons is so well done in this that any opportunity I have to gain new skills I take. Because the side quests are limited to certain game sections there is no danger of the player getting lost in meaningless side quests rather than advancing the plot like the classic “get out of the hinterlands” quote for Dragon Age 3.

Most of the levels are rather basic in nature, some offer twisting paths that are actually linear section in disguise. Yes a few areas tend to feel like a dungeon that over stays it’s welcome. The long sections and the fact that there is no real freedom nor party choice is what holds this game back. Again those are by products of this being the beginning section of a much larger game. Can square make a full open world and a deep RPG managing a massive party of 9 like they used too? They have not done so since FF12. Those are questions for another game, for now I can marvel at how faithful this remake was, down to the most minute details like a weird item shop with a gun in wall market. A random button timing press mini game in one of the plants. If it’s in FF7 midgar it’s almost referenced in some way in this remake. Until the end...

I won’t outright spoil the ending here but I will hint at things so if you don’t even want a hint skip ahead a paragraph. The ending is one of the most bold and shocking endings I have seen in a game. I understand it’s extremely controversial, purists may hate it but I think the promise of something different going forward is so exciting. Plus this game needed a proper ending! What better to come up with a proper ending than to create something new rather than botch a fully faithful remake. The final moments for me were everything I want in a grand finale, a parade of increasingly awesome boss battles, exciting setpieces, and the story reaching a dramatic crescendo. It leaves me so very excited for the next installment.

I mentioned how great the characters are, mainly because this voice cast nails the tone perfectly. Anime can tend to feel really cartoonish but Remake tightropes the line between comic book like and dramatic masterfully. When it needs to be over the top it works. When it needs to be heartfelt and emotional they nail it. Graphically the game is stunning to look at with a few odd texture issues you may have read out there. In general though it’s a looker.

The real MVP of FF7 Remake is the music. The original’s score is already legendary, imagine taking that and updating the music to full orchestrated tracks and done in ways that enhance every scene. They know when to hit the audience with the piece of music they want to know and then they surprise you with new mixes that enhances the whole experience. I would say this is in the running for the best score of this entire generation.

To say Final Fantasy VII Remake is a triumph is not an understatement, it nails capturing the essence of the source material perfectly and augments it with better combat and writing. As a fan of big summer movie like games, FF7 nails everything a AAA game should be. Some FF7 purists will be upset at the changes, some hardcore RPG fans might not even like the real time combat or how linear the game plays out. For me I understood what we were getting here and it blew past my expectations; so much so that I have little worry about what is coming next. This is Square’s best game in years, and my leading candidate for GOTY.

Score: 9.0

Basic rhythm game that is rather stylish, I never played SC5 before but I guess I can see why it has fans. That said the game portion is poor, there is little feedback in whether you are doing the motions correct and there is no degrees of accuracy, you can just do simple hand motions and get by. There is a story mode that lasts about 30 minutes which is pathetic, it’s like 4 levels all very easy. There is arcade mode as well but it’s not any different. The music is random dance music, nothing too catchy. There are far better VR rhythm games out there.

Overall score: 3.0

A love letter to NES TMNT games, even the horrible first game. This is a beat em up in the style of the arcade games and features remixed levels from the NES games and new levels. The cool thing is as you play you unlock a TON of playable characters, every boss and much more characters are playable. The cast is ridiculous, even the most obscure action figure is represented.

I will say something feels slightly off, the levels aren’t as well design and the combat just feels a little worse. It’s a fun fan made game that reminds me of why I loved these games.

Overall Score: 6.5

This is a short but sweet Metroidvania with a really cool hook where you slow down or even freeze time to attack. The core combat is standard castlevania slashing but the time manipulation adds a whole layer to the combat not seen in most in this genre. Enemies can overwhelm the player resulting in a sort of bullet hell that is manageable when time is stopped, there is a meter of course that can be filled by getting close to dangers without actually touching them. This encourages aggressive play and rewards high skill level.

The game world is well designed with plenty of neat secrets and constant stream of new mechanics. There are some fun boss battles that really push the mechanics and result in sweaty palms as mastery of the combat system is needed.

I really enjoyed all that I played but it ends way too soon, this game is about 6 hours long which felt like it was just hitting its stride by the time it ended. I felt there was much more the game could have offered, we just skimmed the surface of this combat system.

Overall score: 7.7