Control is a wild ride through a twisted world of mystery and power, delivering an experience that not only captivates but also feels like a love letter to Remedy Entertainment's past works. Coming right out of Quantum Break, I was thrilled to hear echoes of Beth Wilder in Jesse, a clever nod by Remedy to their own universe despite not having the rights to the IP.

From the get-go, the game's visuals, enhanced by ray tracing, are nothing short of breathtaking. This was my first experience with a game truly built to utilize ray tracing and I could not have asked for a better way to test out my new hardware. Every detail, from the vintage designs to the font choices, adds to the immersive experience. And speaking of immersion, the integration of game mechanics into the narrative is genius. It's like the game acknowledges its own existence, making the experience seamless and organic.

Let's talk about those powers! Telekinesis felt so satisfying, especially as you unlock and upgrade skills throughout the game. It's a testament to Remedy's expertise in combat mechanics, building upon what worked in Quantum Break and refining it to near perfection. I absolutely have to mention the Ashtray Maze, it’s up there with some of my favorite moments in gaming and had me smiling at my screen.

Exploration is rewarded generously, with no fear of missing out on anything which is huge for me in games. Lore, world-building, and environmental storytelling are everywhere, enriching the experience and making every corner worth exploring.

The nods to Remedy's universe? They're everywhere, from subtle Easter eggs like a reference to a book I’ve read authored by a character in the Alan Wake games to major plot points with the AWE DLC. It's like a treasure hunt for fans, deepening the connection to the world of the game.

The DLCs, Foundation and AWE, further expand the story and gameplay, introducing new abilities and tying in elements from Alan Wake seamlessly. The Foundation was a great way to expand on the base game’s story and I enjoyed the inclusion of Marshall as a key character. The horror elements in AWE are particularly fun, and the inclusion of familiar themes and gameplay mechanics from Alan Wake was done well. I can only imagine how the ending must have felt prior to the announcement and release of Alan Wake 2.

Overall, Control is a masterpiece that continues to showcase Remedy's talent for storytelling, gameplay, and world-building. With its thrilling combat, immersive world, and nods to its own universe, it's a must-play for fans and newcomers alike.

I wish the checkpoints were implemented a bit better and we had some trouble with the in game voice system so had to switch to Discord, but overall I don't have too many complaints. For a free game, I don't think there is any harm in trying this if you love escape rooms or similar style games and want a way to spend a couple hours with another person solving one.

Quantum Break offers a fantastic blend of gaming and live-action storytelling that had me hooked from the start. One of the first things that struck me was how well the visuals held up for a 2016 release. I feel that usually games that opted for more realistic graphics at the time suffer when looking back at them, but this was not the case here. Aside from eye candy; the game boasts an impressive cast that brings depth and authenticity to the characters.

The narrative is where Quantum Break truly shines, seamlessly weaving together gameplay and live-action episodes to create an immersive experience. It seems like it was a love or hate thing, but the risk of using live action episodes between each act really worked for me. I also enjoyed the gameplay of mixing gunplay with time-bending abilities a lot more than I thought I would.

However, the game isn't without its flaws. While I appreciated the rich lore and environmental storytelling scattered throughout the world, I often felt rushed to move on by other NPCs, even when I wanted to take my time to explore and absorb the details. This tension between wanting to delve deeper into the lore and the pressure to keep moving forward sometimes detracted from the experience, although it did improve towards the end of the game as I became more comfortable with the pacing.

Additionally, I encountered occasional issues with repeated dialogue during exploration, which broke immersion and pulled me out of the experience. Despite these drawbacks, Quantum Break remains underrated in my opinion.

Bonus points go to the soundtrack, which features a track from Paramore. And of course, a special shoutout to Beth Wilder, who has my whole heart.

This review contains spoilers

House of Ashes delivers some of the best character writing in the anthology so far with the characters feeling more fleshed out compared to previous entries. The inclusion of alien vampire parasites was a lot to throw in all at once, but I did like the end credits scene which really started to show more blatant connections between the anthology’s stories through an unknown organization.

Like its predecessors, House of Ashes leaves a few loose ends and unanswered questions, but that doesn't fully detract from the overall enjoyment. The series keeps me coming back by basically being an interactive horror movie that makes for a fun game night with friends.

I REALLY loved Mr. Scratch as a villain. I think they did a great job making him compelling and further setting him up from the end of the last game. While it lacked as strong of a story, the combat felt a lot better than the first game.

Having embarked on the journey of Red Dead Redemption several times over the years, spanning from its original release on the Xbox 360, to a second time on the 360 back in 2020, to now on an upscaled, emulated Switch version, I've finally finished it.

Having completed the original Red Dead Revolver, I found it to be bogged down by monotony. However, Red Dead Redemption did a great job blending the finer elements of its predecessor with the tried-and-true formula Rockstar honed through their Grand Theft Auto series. There's a noticeable synergy between the game's mechanics and narrative, reminiscent of Rockstar's signature style from that era.

The game's allure was immediate, drawing me into its world with a magnetic pull during the early stages. Yet, there were moments where my engagement waned during the middle. Nevertheless, it managed to reclaim my attention, steadily building momentum as it approached its climax.

Very simple premise that I felt was executed well. I thought it wasn't particularly scary when I first started, but then felt myself start to get a bit on edge the more I played. However, by the end, I felt less tense and more just focused on spotting the anomalies taking away any of the fear as I became more familiar with what I might see. Overall it does not overstay its welcome and is worth trying out if the concept even remotely appeals to you.

I took the time to get gold in all of the events and play through all the DLC and I really enjoyed it! Fun MX game if you're looking for a more arcadey feeling than a true sim. There are flaws, but playing this after it fully released with all of the content as a casual game to pop in and out of for a few races over the course of a year I felt it served its purpose well.

This is such a classic when it comes to Flash games for me. Playing this nearly 20 years later was still fairly entertaining to pass the time.

Nah this broke my heart me and DONTNOD are about to fight

I really loved my time with this game. While I would've liked more depth in the side characters the gameplay as a whole was so satisfying. I thought that the pawn system might feel overwhelming or confusing to me but it was actually really enjoyable and enlisting other player's pawns was a great feature. Another thing that took me by surprise was the Dark Arisen DLC that's included with this version of the game. I thought I would've disliked Bitterblack Isle since I'm not a big dungeon fan but something about it really hooked me in and I went from almost skipping it to getting all of the achievements for it.

On the Steam PC port which is the version I played, I did experience quite a bit of crashing when loading my save while playing, and while I was ultimately able to continue playing game it's something to be aware of.

If you're familiar with the movie Pontypool, this may be up your ally since it draws inspiration even having a reference to it in the game. Otherwise I really enjoyed the concept and format in which the puzzles were presented.

While I didn't love it as much a 999, this was still a fantastic entry that continued the series.

2018

I'm not super into platformers but have been wanting to check this one out for awhile. Really beautifully crafted game. I'm especially fond of the level design and the way you're guided through them. As someone not as experienced with the genre I can often get frustrated or confused when the direction isn't clear and I felt like the developers did a good job at directing me where to go without it feeling too forced. The soundtrack is also fantastic.

The intro to episode 2 is probably one of my favorite things I've ever seen in a game and I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing.