Again, much like Hades 2, I won’t score this as it’s not yet finished. But my god. This rules. It’s worth every penny in early access and feels so fucking complete and engaging. Weapons and combat are satisfying, movement is smooth, it’s so damn good. Clearly a love letter to DOOM games and the PSX era (there’s even a graphic filter for it), but much its own thing too. I loved my time with this. If I were to score, we’d see a 4 and a half star review probably? But again, I’m waiting for them to finish it in its entirety. The only thing is that this game can be overwhelming. Sensory overload is a real thing with me and shooters and there’s a bit much in terms of reaction time sometimes. Nothing bad though. The chaos is as much part of the fun, just feels that I have to memorize it to click.

As a kid who, 1. was obsessed with a little Goofy doll as a small child, and 2. became rapidly enamoured with the Final Fantasy series after I got my hands on FF7 as a 6 year old, the hotly anticipated release of Kingdom Hearts felt as if God had looked inside my mind and decided to grant me a wish for being so epic. To this day I love the feeling of bashing people with a big key (in Kingdom Hearts). The combat still feels fluid and extremely satisfying even with the retroactive comparison to more polished later games, which is really nice. The collecting and unlocking (heh) is perfect (I love reuniting an endless sequence of puppies and being given gummies for doing so). Also I love that Clayton from Tarzan is absolutely ready to shoot a young boy at any moment. Other people might have magical or fantasy-infused weapons, but Clayton has shotgun. Good for him.

I never really thought that the plot of this game was all that weird growing up, but to be honest, hearing Donald Duck go "BWTWTUIWTUIWTYWTYTAUHagJAGH" during emotionally heavier scenes is deeply funny, and Mickey Mouse showing up for one second at the end to go "yeah idk close this door on me I guess, see ya" is undeniably a shocking moment. Too much for my little heart.

Anyway this game is iconic and perfect. Thank you.

This is such a fun, refreshing and addictive new addition to the Pokémon canon. Despite some jank in graphical glitches, some gameplay elements that feel a little too catered to young children, and some character designs I wasn't too fond of, I really loved this. I love running around in the wilderness with my little creatures, I love wearing a three piece suit (cool), and I love the way the game makes it rewarding to keep battling and catching the same Pokémon as you make your way across the land. Also having a smart phone in feudal Japan is funny. Thank you.