esoteric_nebula
2022
When this game came out I was riding out some financial hardships, so I had not expected to be able to play it right away. Then, out of nowhere, my friend came in clutch and bought it as a gift for me (thanks Pink!). Thus began my journey as a Tarnished.
Newly unemployed and recovering from burnout, I devoured Elden Ring in a little over a month. It is easily the quickest game of its length that I've unlocked the platinum trophy for, and was just an amazing experience for me.
It also marks the first FromSoft game I was able to experience the zeitgeist with. It was so exciting to hear about new discoveries (such as punching a wall a hundred times) and being there in the moment for it.
Such a good game, only rivaled by Bloodborne as FromSoft's finest work.
Newly unemployed and recovering from burnout, I devoured Elden Ring in a little over a month. It is easily the quickest game of its length that I've unlocked the platinum trophy for, and was just an amazing experience for me.
It also marks the first FromSoft game I was able to experience the zeitgeist with. It was so exciting to hear about new discoveries (such as punching a wall a hundred times) and being there in the moment for it.
Such a good game, only rivaled by Bloodborne as FromSoft's finest work.
2015
I have lots of good things to say about this game that has already been said before, so I'll keep it short:
Insight is one of the coolest mechanics in a game I've seen and led to one of the most memorable video game experiences I've had. Like Psycho-Mantis-moving-my-controller-across-the-floor levels of cool.
This game desperately needs a 60 FPS patch for PS5. I hope that Bluepoint is working on a remaster of this game.
Despite having a 30 FPS cap with poor frame-timing, this game is still a masterpiece. The exception proves the rule in this case.
Insight is one of the coolest mechanics in a game I've seen and led to one of the most memorable video game experiences I've had. Like Psycho-Mantis-moving-my-controller-across-the-floor levels of cool.
This game desperately needs a 60 FPS patch for PS5. I hope that Bluepoint is working on a remaster of this game.
Despite having a 30 FPS cap with poor frame-timing, this game is still a masterpiece. The exception proves the rule in this case.
2017
I played the True Final Ending of Nier Automata during a time I was processing several losses in my life. Words can't even describe how life-affirming the game left me.
I didn't even know a video game could do this to me.
I didn't even know a video game could do this to me.
2023
Relevant biases:
- Loved Hollow Knight
- Hated Cuphead
- Liked Celeste
I was smitten by the art style, music and theme, but anti-smitten by the controls and Cuphead-esque boss fights. Ultimately decided to refund after 90 minutes, but not altogether a terrible game.
- Loved Hollow Knight
- Hated Cuphead
- Liked Celeste
I was smitten by the art style, music and theme, but anti-smitten by the controls and Cuphead-esque boss fights. Ultimately decided to refund after 90 minutes, but not altogether a terrible game.
2022
TL;DR: A sapphic delight that, while standing on the shoulders of its influences, is still worth your time and money.
Longer: Can a game be great if it every single aspect of itself has clear influences from its inspirations? What is the difference between homage and derivative?
If I could somehow wipe my memory of playing Resident Evil, NieR Automata, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill 2 and play Signalis with fresh eyes it would be an all-time great for me. But I do remember those games, which makes me feel very conflicted.
Signalis is almost like a collage in the form of a game. For every puzzle, every NPC, and every plot beat, I think to myself, "Oh that's just like X from Y!" I admit, finding the references is a bit of fun in itself, but that's certainly not enough to make a good piece of media (see: Ready Player One).
Perhaps I'm willing to give Signalis leeway because it nails the details so perfectly. Aesthetically, it is akin to a demake. Especially in the first-person portions, I felt myself hurdled back in time to my childhood self sitting on a tie-die beanbag chair in a wood-paneled room playing my dad's PlayStation.
However, it wisely eschews things like tank controls (though, I do think you can opt into them in the settings) to make it playable to 2022's sensibilities.
I need to get out of bed and make coffee. The rest of the review coming soon…
Longer: Can a game be great if it every single aspect of itself has clear influences from its inspirations? What is the difference between homage and derivative?
If I could somehow wipe my memory of playing Resident Evil, NieR Automata, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill 2 and play Signalis with fresh eyes it would be an all-time great for me. But I do remember those games, which makes me feel very conflicted.
Signalis is almost like a collage in the form of a game. For every puzzle, every NPC, and every plot beat, I think to myself, "Oh that's just like X from Y!" I admit, finding the references is a bit of fun in itself, but that's certainly not enough to make a good piece of media (see: Ready Player One).
Perhaps I'm willing to give Signalis leeway because it nails the details so perfectly. Aesthetically, it is akin to a demake. Especially in the first-person portions, I felt myself hurdled back in time to my childhood self sitting on a tie-die beanbag chair in a wood-paneled room playing my dad's PlayStation.
However, it wisely eschews things like tank controls (though, I do think you can opt into them in the settings) to make it playable to 2022's sensibilities.
I need to get out of bed and make coffee. The rest of the review coming soon…
2021
Seriously don't understand the cope surrounding this game. It's about as fulfilling as a slot machine, which shouldn't be a surprise as it was made by someone who used to work in the gambling industry.
Note: This is a review of the Switch HD Remaster and not the game itself.
Terrible "HD remaster" which is just a Unity wrapper around a port. Horrific frame pacing and dropped frames everywhere. Load times are ridiculously long. You're better off playing the PlayStation 2 version.
Terrible "HD remaster" which is just a Unity wrapper around a port. Horrific frame pacing and dropped frames everywhere. Load times are ridiculously long. You're better off playing the PlayStation 2 version.
2023
This game is incredibly hard to review. On one hand, I don't care for remakes of games that don't need them. The original plays fine in 2023 and has been ported to every known console under the sun. On the other hand, this remake slaps hard. I had a blast with it, and after rolling credits I immediately jumped into another playthrough. It is rare for me to do that with a game.
Ugh, Capcom, why did you have to make this so hard for me?
My critiques of the original still stand: The game struggles with pacing in the back third and could've been edited down a couple hours. Additionally, I miss the Metroidvania elements that were present in RE2/RE2R. Otherwise, gem of a game.
Ugh, Capcom, why did you have to make this so hard for me?
My critiques of the original still stand: The game struggles with pacing in the back third and could've been edited down a couple hours. Additionally, I miss the Metroidvania elements that were present in RE2/RE2R. Otherwise, gem of a game.
I had a ton of hope going into this game. Being made by one of the top guys on Bloodborne, a game that is probably top 5 all-time for me, I had pretty high expectations.
First, the good stuff: Great parry mechanic that felt satisfying. Good theme and weapons felt diverse and generally pleasurable to wield. Enemy design was top notch as well.
Now the bad stuff: Painfully uninspired environmental design, especially when compared to Bloodborne or Sekiro. Lots of the levels felt same-y and exploring them was usually unrewarding and meandering. I also don't care for Diablo style loot churn.
First, the good stuff: Great parry mechanic that felt satisfying. Good theme and weapons felt diverse and generally pleasurable to wield. Enemy design was top notch as well.
Now the bad stuff: Painfully uninspired environmental design, especially when compared to Bloodborne or Sekiro. Lots of the levels felt same-y and exploring them was usually unrewarding and meandering. I also don't care for Diablo style loot churn.
One day my dad brought this home from work, saying that his coworker wanted me to "play-test" it. My dad worked for a company that made pamphlets that you'd find in school counselors' offices. You know the kind: "Your Body Belongs To You", "Eating Healthy", "About STDs", etc. So it was not out of the realm of believability that somehow my dad got a pre-release version of this anti-tobacco game via his work. False memories or not, somehow this found a way to my family's SNES and I did play it.
As far as the game goes, even 6 year old me knew this game was hot garbage. Yes, smoking is bad, but this game is potentially even worse for your health.
As far as the game goes, even 6 year old me knew this game was hot garbage. Yes, smoking is bad, but this game is potentially even worse for your health.
My dad and I still joke about "MY TOE! MY TOE!" to this day. I haven't played it since I was a literal child, but I remember having a ton of fun with it.
1995
As a kid I was OBSESSED with this game. According to my mom, I would incessantly talk about it, asking over-and-over, "do you like Fury3?" We only had the demo of it, so I never got to play the full game. However, that didn't stop me from exploring every nook and cranny of what the demo had to offer.
Looking at the critical reception now, it looks like it was panned. Just goes to show that a game doesn't have to be great to capture a child's imagination.
Looking at the critical reception now, it looks like it was panned. Just goes to show that a game doesn't have to be great to capture a child's imagination.
1997
We rented this from our local grocery store for my birthday (probably 10th or 11th birthday). It was late autumn so the leaves had fallen and the nights had started to get long. My friends and I stayed up until the the sun rose playing the heck out of this game. I'm not sure how this game would hold up today, but it holds a special place in my heart.
This was the pack-in game for my N64. As a kid who loved Star Wars, this was pretty awesome. There's a surprising amount of customizability of pod racer parts, so it retrospect it kind of reminds me of an F-Zero game which is a strong foundation to build on. I kinda regret that I never really had a Super Mario 64 experience, but nowhere near the amount of regret I feel for never ending up getting either N64 Zelda games.
I also had to promise my step-dad that whenever I played my N64 I would think of Jesus first. Sure thing step-dad, now hand me the controller.
I also had to promise my step-dad that whenever I played my N64 I would think of Jesus first. Sure thing step-dad, now hand me the controller.
Fun fact: I had no idea that this was a port when I played it. In my mind it was the "GBA Zelda". This was because, despite my dad owning a SNES for a very brief time, I largely missed the SNES era of gaming. This was somewhat regrettable, as I missed the golden era of JRPGs. However, it worked out for ALttP as both my friend and I owned this game for our GBAs and were able to play Four Swords when we were together and ALttP when we were apart.
I definitely have many found memories of us sharing tips on how to get through certain dungeons, or where to go next if one of us were stuck. He beat the game before I did, so I probably benefitted more from this arrangement.
Regardless, I did end up finishing this game, which was a rarity in that era of my life. A true testament to the quality of A Link to the Past.
I definitely have many found memories of us sharing tips on how to get through certain dungeons, or where to go next if one of us were stuck. He beat the game before I did, so I probably benefitted more from this arrangement.
Regardless, I did end up finishing this game, which was a rarity in that era of my life. A true testament to the quality of A Link to the Past.