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For a free Silent Hill game featuring Akira Yamaoka's music, this isn't that bad. But if you really look at it, it kinda is, right?
A Short Message reminds me of that RE7 demo, which is great, but it didn't impact me as much.
Visuals look nice and the atmosphere is eery. The new monster that chases you helps in that regard, since its design is pretty unique. The pacing flows well, keeping you going through this very short experience. I like the delicate theme they've chosen to talk about, the location you're trapped at, and even its lore. The story is ok, I guess, but the soundtrack is what steals the show. As usual.
What's sad is that this experience feels a little empty. Voice acting sucks and it's not convincing at all. The story is fine, but I couldn't care much about the characters. Writing is to blame here, because it's too on the nose. The ending was good, but a bit obvious. One other thing that really bothered me was the chase sequences. The first one is intense, but all the other ones are very messy. ESPECIALLY THAT LAST ONE!
I also missed a bit more of... well, of Silent Hill, actually. RE7 comes to mind again. It's a quite differente from previous ones, but it does give you a Resident Evil experience. A Short Message slightly mentions SH, delivering a glimmer of its tone, thanks to the monster, art direction and the music.
I thought this was going to be a cool introduction to what was coming for the franchise, but it didn't really get me excited. But, hey... it's still free!
A Short Message reminds me of that RE7 demo, which is great, but it didn't impact me as much.
Visuals look nice and the atmosphere is eery. The new monster that chases you helps in that regard, since its design is pretty unique. The pacing flows well, keeping you going through this very short experience. I like the delicate theme they've chosen to talk about, the location you're trapped at, and even its lore. The story is ok, I guess, but the soundtrack is what steals the show. As usual.
What's sad is that this experience feels a little empty. Voice acting sucks and it's not convincing at all. The story is fine, but I couldn't care much about the characters. Writing is to blame here, because it's too on the nose. The ending was good, but a bit obvious. One other thing that really bothered me was the chase sequences. The first one is intense, but all the other ones are very messy. ESPECIALLY THAT LAST ONE!
I also missed a bit more of... well, of Silent Hill, actually. RE7 comes to mind again. It's a quite differente from previous ones, but it does give you a Resident Evil experience. A Short Message slightly mentions SH, delivering a glimmer of its tone, thanks to the monster, art direction and the music.
I thought this was going to be a cool introduction to what was coming for the franchise, but it didn't really get me excited. But, hey... it's still free!
2024
Atlus did it again! They reloaded the depression I felt after watching Persona's most melancholic ending ever. And I loved it all over again...
This might be one of the finest remakes I've ever played. Faithful to the core (too faithful, at times), and filled with accurate QOL improvements. Some of what I said about Persona 3 in my old review for the original still stands. But the whole game was refined.
You'll notice the difference right away. This game looks great! Not because its graphics are high-end, but because of how stylish and beautiful everything is. It contrasts a little to how FES looks, but it does its own thing. It feels like a very stunning saturated painting. Atlus is known for its stylish games, but this one, aesthetically, rivals P5.
After sorting through how good it looks, you'll get to how good it plays. And THANK GOD they polished it up! Did you play P3 or P4? Then you're home! But now you'll see how smoother it is. Grinding is not necessary, the challenge is more accessible, everything is faster, they filled Tartarus with new little details to make things a less sluggish, new small features to do while dungeon crawling, and even Shuffle Time is better.
ALSO, YOU CAN CONTROL ALL PARTY MEMBERS!!!!
And it's not just the meat of the gameplay that improved. The story got a small shine as well. The new translation sounds much better, writing flows well, there are new events with party members you couldn't interact much in the original, classic social links are all there and, plenty new stuff to do that helps the pacing and character motivation/backstory. They didn't change much, but improved upon it. I loved that characters like Aragaki, Chidori and even Aragaki gained a more screentime now. Made me appreciate the cast and story even more.
There are little things that FES did better, and some old flaws remain, but nothing terrible.
The tone, for example. Sure, the new artstyle is great, but the original feels much more moody and creepy. Even the anime scenes were more experimental then. It also took a bit of that mid-2000s feeling. Voice actors changed too. While they did a fantastic job, I still prefer how weird they most of them sounded back then. The music still sounds phenomenal, specially the new songs, like the new combat one, but some of the mixing in the original was better. It sounds cleaner now, which helps a few songs, like the school themes, but kinda takes the shine out of others, like the dorm theme.
And Tartarus is still... well, it still sucks. Much better now, for sure, since combat and traversing was improved. No more "fatigue", for example. But, like the original, just hurts the game's pacing. Even with everything new. But you'll get through that, for sure.
You'll get through because this game is fantastic! Feels like visiting old friends, but they all look better now. And if this is your first time here, well, lucky you! You'll get to experience my second favorite Persona game in its best shape.
Now they just HAVE to remake Persona 4...
This might be one of the finest remakes I've ever played. Faithful to the core (too faithful, at times), and filled with accurate QOL improvements. Some of what I said about Persona 3 in my old review for the original still stands. But the whole game was refined.
You'll notice the difference right away. This game looks great! Not because its graphics are high-end, but because of how stylish and beautiful everything is. It contrasts a little to how FES looks, but it does its own thing. It feels like a very stunning saturated painting. Atlus is known for its stylish games, but this one, aesthetically, rivals P5.
After sorting through how good it looks, you'll get to how good it plays. And THANK GOD they polished it up! Did you play P3 or P4? Then you're home! But now you'll see how smoother it is. Grinding is not necessary, the challenge is more accessible, everything is faster, they filled Tartarus with new little details to make things a less sluggish, new small features to do while dungeon crawling, and even Shuffle Time is better.
ALSO, YOU CAN CONTROL ALL PARTY MEMBERS!!!!
And it's not just the meat of the gameplay that improved. The story got a small shine as well. The new translation sounds much better, writing flows well, there are new events with party members you couldn't interact much in the original, classic social links are all there and, plenty new stuff to do that helps the pacing and character motivation/backstory. They didn't change much, but improved upon it. I loved that characters like Aragaki, Chidori and even Aragaki gained a more screentime now. Made me appreciate the cast and story even more.
There are little things that FES did better, and some old flaws remain, but nothing terrible.
The tone, for example. Sure, the new artstyle is great, but the original feels much more moody and creepy. Even the anime scenes were more experimental then. It also took a bit of that mid-2000s feeling. Voice actors changed too. While they did a fantastic job, I still prefer how weird they most of them sounded back then. The music still sounds phenomenal, specially the new songs, like the new combat one, but some of the mixing in the original was better. It sounds cleaner now, which helps a few songs, like the school themes, but kinda takes the shine out of others, like the dorm theme.
And Tartarus is still... well, it still sucks. Much better now, for sure, since combat and traversing was improved. No more "fatigue", for example. But, like the original, just hurts the game's pacing. Even with everything new. But you'll get through that, for sure.
You'll get through because this game is fantastic! Feels like visiting old friends, but they all look better now. And if this is your first time here, well, lucky you! You'll get to experience my second favorite Persona game in its best shape.
Now they just HAVE to remake Persona 4...
2019
I'll be honest, Yakuza 5 is the worst one I've played so far.
At first, it was a bit conflicting, because one thing I kept wishing for the series was variety. Well, I got variety right here, and let me tell you, I don't like it.
It was a bit conflicting to come to the realization that I don't like this. The game opens up very well and the whole Kiryu part was fine. Classic Yakuza, of course. I LOVED the taxi substory. Off to a solid start!
But then we get to Saejima part and that's the SLOWEST moment in the game. Even the minigames suck. Things don't shift much in the next part, which is Haruka's. Just... what were they thinking? I'm glad she shared her chapters with Akiyama, because he steals the whole game. His chapters are the best, his fighting style is great, his story fits just right. But then the game crashes hard when we come to Shinada. Everything about him just feels out of place, to be honest. Some new side characters, like the main villain, Saejima's prison gang, and Park-chan, ALMOST captivated me, but they weren't enough.
Yakuza 2 used to be my least favorite, however, the story/side content were its saving grace. But with 5, the story feels absolutely forced and kinda set apart from the others. It's a huge mess! It never amounts to anything meaningful! Akiyama is the only one that felt in-character. Haruka's idol fluff was extremely boring, Saejima's felt repetitive and fruitless, Shinada is absolutely useles, and Kiryu was... ok, I guess.
And while things do improve in the Finale, the ending is horrible. Abrupt, emotionless, with a few plot points left out in the open.
It's a shame, because this game looks and sounds beautiful! The main story is weak, but almost every sidequest is either fun as hell or very creative. I LOVED all the cities I got to visit and I wish I could just explore them forever. The atmosphere is great and, as usual, the soundtrack shines! The combat, on the other hand, was a bit of a hit or miss. I'm used to that, I guess. Yakuza's combat is usually iffy.
I know that people love this game, but I just couldn't. Playing with Haruka and Saejima was pure torture. And the game is very long too! That usually doesn't bother me, but the lack of fun factor just made me almost drop it.
I just hope Yakuza 6 picks it back up again.
At first, it was a bit conflicting, because one thing I kept wishing for the series was variety. Well, I got variety right here, and let me tell you, I don't like it.
It was a bit conflicting to come to the realization that I don't like this. The game opens up very well and the whole Kiryu part was fine. Classic Yakuza, of course. I LOVED the taxi substory. Off to a solid start!
But then we get to Saejima part and that's the SLOWEST moment in the game. Even the minigames suck. Things don't shift much in the next part, which is Haruka's. Just... what were they thinking? I'm glad she shared her chapters with Akiyama, because he steals the whole game. His chapters are the best, his fighting style is great, his story fits just right. But then the game crashes hard when we come to Shinada. Everything about him just feels out of place, to be honest. Some new side characters, like the main villain, Saejima's prison gang, and Park-chan, ALMOST captivated me, but they weren't enough.
Yakuza 2 used to be my least favorite, however, the story/side content were its saving grace. But with 5, the story feels absolutely forced and kinda set apart from the others. It's a huge mess! It never amounts to anything meaningful! Akiyama is the only one that felt in-character. Haruka's idol fluff was extremely boring, Saejima's felt repetitive and fruitless, Shinada is absolutely useles, and Kiryu was... ok, I guess.
And while things do improve in the Finale, the ending is horrible. Abrupt, emotionless, with a few plot points left out in the open.
It's a shame, because this game looks and sounds beautiful! The main story is weak, but almost every sidequest is either fun as hell or very creative. I LOVED all the cities I got to visit and I wish I could just explore them forever. The atmosphere is great and, as usual, the soundtrack shines! The combat, on the other hand, was a bit of a hit or miss. I'm used to that, I guess. Yakuza's combat is usually iffy.
I know that people love this game, but I just couldn't. Playing with Haruka and Saejima was pure torture. And the game is very long too! That usually doesn't bother me, but the lack of fun factor just made me almost drop it.
I just hope Yakuza 6 picks it back up again.
I'll start this one with a disclaimer.
I don't like metroidvanias. I've tried many games, but Super Metroid was the only one that got me. Much more for its atmosphere
than its core design.
I love the Prince of Persia franchise. The PS2 trilogy and
POP 2008 were some of my favorite games.
I had to try this new take on the series, and I'm fairly surprised with how good it is!
The most impressive thing about Lost Crown is just how well they managed to get the soul of its gameplay mechanics. Everything works nearly perfectly. Combat, traversal and skills, they're all very tight.
Controlling Sargon through each of the rooms and its challenges feels great, even when you have to be PERFECT to get it just right. They can be frustrating at first, but the satisfaction of finishing some of Lost Crown's puzzles is amazing!
Fighting is extremely satisfying! Tricky at times, but fast and challenging to the right degree. Enemy variety and placement helps a lot, as well. Not to mention how incredible EVERY boss in this game is.
The skills you get are also insane! Not all of them are always super useful, but they keep throwing new things at you all the time. It keeps the pacing fresh! The double jump, for example, brought a whole new life to the second half of the game.
Lost Crown is definitely good for a metroidvania as well. I hate the sense of feeling lost, aggressive backtracking and progression gatekeeping that comes with the genre, but the map here is VERY useful. Props to the design team. Neat level design brings things to another level! Oh, and the skins you unlock are amazing! I played with the Warrior Within outfit through the whole game.
A few things kept pushing this game back from being as great as it seems, though. The problem is that this doesn't feel like POP. I'm not sure if it's just its metroidvania cloak, but I feel like, although this can bring newcomers to the franchise, it also does little to excite old ones.
The story, for example, might be the worst thing about Lost Crown. It tries to thrill with a couple of fair plot twists, but they felt predictable. The writing is nothing more than dull and I didn't like a single character. Not even Sargon. I miss the Prince! The conclusion felt kinda ineffective as well. It doesn't help that I did not gel with how the game looks and how generic its OST sounds.
And although I LOVE the core gameplay, it was frustrating to deal with some of its new aspects. One thing that kept popping up in my head was how BRUTAL this game can be! Not every reward is actually "rewarding", I didn't enjoy the amulet mechanic, some challenge rooms take longer than they should, which can get very annoying (especially optional ones, and I'm looking straight at that goddamn room with 2 xerxes coins!), lore collectibles suck, I miss the "darker" nature of past entries, and checkpoint placement didn't always seem smart.
Prince of Persia Lost Crown is a GOOD game! For real! It's the second metroidvania that made me want to see it to the end. I highly recommend this, especially if you're a fan of the genre.
Now, as a Prince of Persia fan, I hope this isn't the direction they're going with. At least not the only direction. It can be fun, but I prefer this as a spin-off, rather than a mainline entry.
I don't like metroidvanias. I've tried many games, but Super Metroid was the only one that got me. Much more for its atmosphere
than its core design.
I love the Prince of Persia franchise. The PS2 trilogy and
POP 2008 were some of my favorite games.
I had to try this new take on the series, and I'm fairly surprised with how good it is!
The most impressive thing about Lost Crown is just how well they managed to get the soul of its gameplay mechanics. Everything works nearly perfectly. Combat, traversal and skills, they're all very tight.
Controlling Sargon through each of the rooms and its challenges feels great, even when you have to be PERFECT to get it just right. They can be frustrating at first, but the satisfaction of finishing some of Lost Crown's puzzles is amazing!
Fighting is extremely satisfying! Tricky at times, but fast and challenging to the right degree. Enemy variety and placement helps a lot, as well. Not to mention how incredible EVERY boss in this game is.
The skills you get are also insane! Not all of them are always super useful, but they keep throwing new things at you all the time. It keeps the pacing fresh! The double jump, for example, brought a whole new life to the second half of the game.
Lost Crown is definitely good for a metroidvania as well. I hate the sense of feeling lost, aggressive backtracking and progression gatekeeping that comes with the genre, but the map here is VERY useful. Props to the design team. Neat level design brings things to another level! Oh, and the skins you unlock are amazing! I played with the Warrior Within outfit through the whole game.
A few things kept pushing this game back from being as great as it seems, though. The problem is that this doesn't feel like POP. I'm not sure if it's just its metroidvania cloak, but I feel like, although this can bring newcomers to the franchise, it also does little to excite old ones.
The story, for example, might be the worst thing about Lost Crown. It tries to thrill with a couple of fair plot twists, but they felt predictable. The writing is nothing more than dull and I didn't like a single character. Not even Sargon. I miss the Prince! The conclusion felt kinda ineffective as well. It doesn't help that I did not gel with how the game looks and how generic its OST sounds.
And although I LOVE the core gameplay, it was frustrating to deal with some of its new aspects. One thing that kept popping up in my head was how BRUTAL this game can be! Not every reward is actually "rewarding", I didn't enjoy the amulet mechanic, some challenge rooms take longer than they should, which can get very annoying (especially optional ones, and I'm looking straight at that goddamn room with 2 xerxes coins!), lore collectibles suck, I miss the "darker" nature of past entries, and checkpoint placement didn't always seem smart.
Prince of Persia Lost Crown is a GOOD game! For real! It's the second metroidvania that made me want to see it to the end. I highly recommend this, especially if you're a fan of the genre.
Now, as a Prince of Persia fan, I hope this isn't the direction they're going with. At least not the only direction. It can be fun, but I prefer this as a spin-off, rather than a mainline entry.
Imsoniac did again with Spider-Man 2! Now we have a new great super hero game and a solid sequel!
Starting with the visuals, they got that perfectly right once again! Everything in this game looks stunning. The city, cutscenes, the many beautiful suits you can unlock and the enemy design. While both Spider-Men look amazing in every single one of their costumes, the villains take the cake! They look menacing, sound convincing and they're tough to bring down. It's hard to notice, but this is actually a step up from how the Miles Morales game looks.
And while I don't think the story hit me as strong as the first one did, it sure managed to pack quite a punch. Especially since character motivation and evolution is such a potent point of the whole plot. Even more than the first one, it seems. We're out of the "introduction zone" by now. I also loved the team-ups we got. I'm not going to spoil how things go, but trust me, there are some great surprises in this sequel. There were moments I thought "they're not gonna go there", and they totally did.
One thing I loved were the setpieces. That's what makes me gush about this game. It's way more action-packed than the first one, and this just leaks during main missions. Even during sidequests. Not all of them were great, but you get cool moments like The Flame and Mysterio missions.
But if you're here for the story and visuals, I know that what'll definitely make you stay will be the gameplay. Not much has changed since the 1st one, but quality of life improvements made it so much fun to just battle around the city. Peter and Miles' combat and stealth mechanics were tweaked to near perfection. It made boss fights highlights for me. Some of them were actually kinda tough to beat. And, hey, Even MJ missions are better!
Not to mention traversal. This is the name of the game. Fast travel in this game is probably the best one in the industry right now, but I probably only used it twice due to how COOL it feels to roam around with the spiders.
I think that what holds this game back is pretty obvious, though. Playing in the same environment as previous both games does bring the surprise factor down, even if webbing through the city is a blast. Puzzles are still just as annoying and out of place as they were, soundtrack is pretty generic, not all sidequests were fun, QTEs should be gone by now and enemy variety is still quite shallow. Even collectibles were just 'ok'. Some of them were very rewarding, like the Prowler stashes and the unidentified targets, but others were hit or miss.
One last thing I want to talk about is the ending. The story is good and does go into some dark and emotional places sometimes, but the ending was kind of a letdown. On one side, we have Peter's ending, which was a real bummer. On the other, we have Miles' ending, which was fine, and an actual development, but rather predictable as well.
Spider Man 2 is a great game. Not only for fans of super heroes, but for action game fans, in general. It's a fun sequel that doesn't manage to exceed its predecessor, but really does a solid job of gripping you, while evolving its own thing to a new direction.
Starting with the visuals, they got that perfectly right once again! Everything in this game looks stunning. The city, cutscenes, the many beautiful suits you can unlock and the enemy design. While both Spider-Men look amazing in every single one of their costumes, the villains take the cake! They look menacing, sound convincing and they're tough to bring down. It's hard to notice, but this is actually a step up from how the Miles Morales game looks.
And while I don't think the story hit me as strong as the first one did, it sure managed to pack quite a punch. Especially since character motivation and evolution is such a potent point of the whole plot. Even more than the first one, it seems. We're out of the "introduction zone" by now. I also loved the team-ups we got. I'm not going to spoil how things go, but trust me, there are some great surprises in this sequel. There were moments I thought "they're not gonna go there", and they totally did.
One thing I loved were the setpieces. That's what makes me gush about this game. It's way more action-packed than the first one, and this just leaks during main missions. Even during sidequests. Not all of them were great, but you get cool moments like The Flame and Mysterio missions.
But if you're here for the story and visuals, I know that what'll definitely make you stay will be the gameplay. Not much has changed since the 1st one, but quality of life improvements made it so much fun to just battle around the city. Peter and Miles' combat and stealth mechanics were tweaked to near perfection. It made boss fights highlights for me. Some of them were actually kinda tough to beat. And, hey, Even MJ missions are better!
Not to mention traversal. This is the name of the game. Fast travel in this game is probably the best one in the industry right now, but I probably only used it twice due to how COOL it feels to roam around with the spiders.
I think that what holds this game back is pretty obvious, though. Playing in the same environment as previous both games does bring the surprise factor down, even if webbing through the city is a blast. Puzzles are still just as annoying and out of place as they were, soundtrack is pretty generic, not all sidequests were fun, QTEs should be gone by now and enemy variety is still quite shallow. Even collectibles were just 'ok'. Some of them were very rewarding, like the Prowler stashes and the unidentified targets, but others were hit or miss.
One last thing I want to talk about is the ending. The story is good and does go into some dark and emotional places sometimes, but the ending was kind of a letdown. On one side, we have Peter's ending, which was a real bummer. On the other, we have Miles' ending, which was fine, and an actual development, but rather predictable as well.
Spider Man 2 is a great game. Not only for fans of super heroes, but for action game fans, in general. It's a fun sequel that doesn't manage to exceed its predecessor, but really does a solid job of gripping you, while evolving its own thing to a new direction.
It's hard to admit, but Alien Hominid Invasion was a letdown for me. The PS2 Alien Hominid is my favorite run and gun game of all time, and while I didn't mind the shift in style, I just couldn't fully enjoy it.
AH Invasion still carries the charm of the original. That's probably its best aspect. It looks pretty, albeit not bloody anymore. Cutscenes are great, funny, inviting and sarcastic, at least. Not to mention the many nods to the original, which were pretty nice.
The whole game has changed. It's a roguelite now, with RPG elements, like stats and equipment. And it works fine, I guess. For the most part, shooting feels solid. Especially when you get the hang of it, which can take a while. It's challenging as well. Not always the best kinnd of challenge, but makes you think more than just run, dodge and shoot. Also, playing it co-op, just like its predecessor, is still the best way to go.
However, from the moment I was deployed into the first mission, it just felt like a confusing mess. Even after "getting it" (which took more time than I'd like to admit), that impression never left. The screen is always totally cluttered with things, objectives are always the same, most items, guns and rewards are useless, enemies are repetitive little bullet sponges, bosses form the first half of the game are annoying as hell, and technically, there are only three different levels, which look identical.
Finishing this game co-op was probaly the best thing I did, otherwise, AH Invasion just wouldn't be fun. It's a shame, because the first one is nearly perfect, so the potential for an improved sequel was huge, but... just didn't happen.
There might be something here and there to save this for you but, honestly, it's tough to say it, but Behemoth dropped the ball. I'm a fan of their work, the original Alien Hominid, run and gun games and roguelites, but still, I would just stay away from it.
AH Invasion still carries the charm of the original. That's probably its best aspect. It looks pretty, albeit not bloody anymore. Cutscenes are great, funny, inviting and sarcastic, at least. Not to mention the many nods to the original, which were pretty nice.
The whole game has changed. It's a roguelite now, with RPG elements, like stats and equipment. And it works fine, I guess. For the most part, shooting feels solid. Especially when you get the hang of it, which can take a while. It's challenging as well. Not always the best kinnd of challenge, but makes you think more than just run, dodge and shoot. Also, playing it co-op, just like its predecessor, is still the best way to go.
However, from the moment I was deployed into the first mission, it just felt like a confusing mess. Even after "getting it" (which took more time than I'd like to admit), that impression never left. The screen is always totally cluttered with things, objectives are always the same, most items, guns and rewards are useless, enemies are repetitive little bullet sponges, bosses form the first half of the game are annoying as hell, and technically, there are only three different levels, which look identical.
Finishing this game co-op was probaly the best thing I did, otherwise, AH Invasion just wouldn't be fun. It's a shame, because the first one is nearly perfect, so the potential for an improved sequel was huge, but... just didn't happen.
There might be something here and there to save this for you but, honestly, it's tough to say it, but Behemoth dropped the ball. I'm a fan of their work, the original Alien Hominid, run and gun games and roguelites, but still, I would just stay away from it.
2021
It's really hard to put my Inscryption experience into words. One thing I can say is that I don't like card games and this game made me crave for similar things.
I won't write too much about it. I don't want to ruin people's experiences. Everything is a mystery and you have to get to the bottom of it all. It's a bit deeper than just a "card game".
There are 3 acts.
The 1st is absolutely brilliant. This is what sucked me right in. It looks creepy, sounds ominous, it's full of intuitive strange puzzles, quickly teaches you the rules while leaving room for self-learning and packs quite a peculiar story. Even the cards look cool. It plays much more like a boardgame. I think that's what's most addictive about it. The roguelike elements can be frustrating at first, but no run feels the same, and you'll always find out new things about the lore and card strategies. It's REALLY hard, but if you keep trying, you'll get the hang of it and it'll pay off nicely.
Enters Act 2 and that's where things slow down. The game becomes... something else. The story keeps getting more and more interesting, and the roguelike gameplay turns into more of a deckbuilding Pokemon game. It's confusing, but you'll understand. I liked that Act 2 is a little easier and bit more straightforward in its cardplay and storytelling, but it feels too slow, filled with mandatory boring puzzles, and gimmicky battles. The RNG could make or break the 1st act, but dialing it down drastically shifts its pacing once the element of surprise (which is the abrupt change) passes. Not bad, but a mistep, in my opinion.
Things go back to what they were in Act 3, packing new twists and turns. I like how the visuals return to a more darker design and love how sound design makes it feel like a horror sci-fi. The major roguelike card battles are back, a bit easier, but much more complex. Gameplay-wise, this has the best and worst card gimmicks in the entire game. It's hard to explain, but I feel like they kept throwing everything from previous acts at the same time, and by the time you reach the final two areas, it's a fuckin mess. With that said, the story reaches its craziest depths, the puzzles return to being actually fun, fumbling with your cards is back to being addictive, and it all ends with a bang.
Inscryption is a game that nearly hit a perfect score for me, but it's letdown by its own tricks. It may be contradictory of me to say this, because that might just be what makes it great. But I would easily stick with a larger version of Act 1's simpler rules.
Trust me, though. Whether you like this style or not, do give this one a chance. It's quite original, and will remain in your brain for a while.
I won't write too much about it. I don't want to ruin people's experiences. Everything is a mystery and you have to get to the bottom of it all. It's a bit deeper than just a "card game".
There are 3 acts.
The 1st is absolutely brilliant. This is what sucked me right in. It looks creepy, sounds ominous, it's full of intuitive strange puzzles, quickly teaches you the rules while leaving room for self-learning and packs quite a peculiar story. Even the cards look cool. It plays much more like a boardgame. I think that's what's most addictive about it. The roguelike elements can be frustrating at first, but no run feels the same, and you'll always find out new things about the lore and card strategies. It's REALLY hard, but if you keep trying, you'll get the hang of it and it'll pay off nicely.
Enters Act 2 and that's where things slow down. The game becomes... something else. The story keeps getting more and more interesting, and the roguelike gameplay turns into more of a deckbuilding Pokemon game. It's confusing, but you'll understand. I liked that Act 2 is a little easier and bit more straightforward in its cardplay and storytelling, but it feels too slow, filled with mandatory boring puzzles, and gimmicky battles. The RNG could make or break the 1st act, but dialing it down drastically shifts its pacing once the element of surprise (which is the abrupt change) passes. Not bad, but a mistep, in my opinion.
Things go back to what they were in Act 3, packing new twists and turns. I like how the visuals return to a more darker design and love how sound design makes it feel like a horror sci-fi. The major roguelike card battles are back, a bit easier, but much more complex. Gameplay-wise, this has the best and worst card gimmicks in the entire game. It's hard to explain, but I feel like they kept throwing everything from previous acts at the same time, and by the time you reach the final two areas, it's a fuckin mess. With that said, the story reaches its craziest depths, the puzzles return to being actually fun, fumbling with your cards is back to being addictive, and it all ends with a bang.
Inscryption is a game that nearly hit a perfect score for me, but it's letdown by its own tricks. It may be contradictory of me to say this, because that might just be what makes it great. But I would easily stick with a larger version of Act 1's simpler rules.
Trust me, though. Whether you like this style or not, do give this one a chance. It's quite original, and will remain in your brain for a while.
Fun, but if you look at the franchise's past you know that this could've been A LOT better.
2018
I was obssessed by this game for so long. And I don't know why, beacause it kept telling me that it hates me. But I just really really like it.
With that said, do not play this!
With that said, do not play this!
2023
Lies of P was my biggest surprise this year. I imagined it'd be a good game, but didn't think it would actually be the best soulslike game not made by Fromsoft.
At first, I was a bit skeptical. LoP tries VERY hard to be Bloodborne. And, well, it might be the closest we'll ever get to a sequel. But what bothered me was how closely it followed on BB's footsteps. At first, at least. Eventually I pretty much ignored it and that made my experience way better.
Lies of P looks beautiful and plays even better. Although not very atmospheric game, I just love how it feels to advance through the levels. It has a strong aesthetic setting, with creepy looking enemies and places, shady characters and a beautiful soundtrack. Places do start to look very samey after a while, but it never got boring due to how well the level design was planned and executed. It's not perfect, but item and enemy placement functions great! I just wish it had better environmental storytelling, because the story is surprisingly good!
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from a story loosely based on Pinocchio, but I was drawn to it. It improves as the game progresses, gets creepier, more epic and engaging until the very end. Even the post credit scene is quite pleasant. And while I can't say that it's a character-driven story, I really liked all the characters from the start. From the way they look, to the voice acting.
And then there's Lies of P's gameplay and mechanics. That's where I feel they nailed the most.
While not perfect, this is the closest I've ever gotten to feel like I was playing a Miyazaki game. Areas were compelling to explore, difficulty was (mostly) just right, enemy variety was (mostly) good, checkpoints were (mostly) well placed, boss fights were (mostly) quite incredible and the combat itself is almost spotless. Assembling new weapons and toying around with combinations and mechanics is where I most had fun. And without need for grind! It's all just there. Sometimes it's a little too much with grindstones, golden fruits, legion arms and etc, but you'll get it eventually.
But, as you can see, I did have my "mostlys" out there. Lies of P had quite a few misteps along the way. I don't want it to seem like it's not a great game, because it is, but they clearly don't know how to handle status ailments, some mechanics and items can be quite useless (even certain weapons or handles), writing could be improved, levels could look a bit more varied, and I think parrying could be perfected.
I think they exaggerated on a few things. You can totally see this on bosses. They're yet to figure out "gang bosses", some runs towards the arenas are tedious, almost all of them have too much health, fights can take very long and BY GOD, NOT EVERY ENEMY NEEDS A SECOND STAGE!
They do look cool and some fights were fantastic. The feeling I got after defeating the green monster and the final boss were unmatched. But did the final two bosses really need that many amount of moves to memorize? Did the arcbishop really need to take that long? Why are both fights with the rabbit brotherhood so annoying? Those things need to be worked on for the next one.
But regardless of my nitpicking with combat and mechanics, Lies of P works very well and was my biggest surprise of the year. Definitely a must if you like this style of game. I can't wait to play the DLC and I'm excited for its future.
Oh, by the way, fuck Geppetto!
At first, I was a bit skeptical. LoP tries VERY hard to be Bloodborne. And, well, it might be the closest we'll ever get to a sequel. But what bothered me was how closely it followed on BB's footsteps. At first, at least. Eventually I pretty much ignored it and that made my experience way better.
Lies of P looks beautiful and plays even better. Although not very atmospheric game, I just love how it feels to advance through the levels. It has a strong aesthetic setting, with creepy looking enemies and places, shady characters and a beautiful soundtrack. Places do start to look very samey after a while, but it never got boring due to how well the level design was planned and executed. It's not perfect, but item and enemy placement functions great! I just wish it had better environmental storytelling, because the story is surprisingly good!
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from a story loosely based on Pinocchio, but I was drawn to it. It improves as the game progresses, gets creepier, more epic and engaging until the very end. Even the post credit scene is quite pleasant. And while I can't say that it's a character-driven story, I really liked all the characters from the start. From the way they look, to the voice acting.
And then there's Lies of P's gameplay and mechanics. That's where I feel they nailed the most.
While not perfect, this is the closest I've ever gotten to feel like I was playing a Miyazaki game. Areas were compelling to explore, difficulty was (mostly) just right, enemy variety was (mostly) good, checkpoints were (mostly) well placed, boss fights were (mostly) quite incredible and the combat itself is almost spotless. Assembling new weapons and toying around with combinations and mechanics is where I most had fun. And without need for grind! It's all just there. Sometimes it's a little too much with grindstones, golden fruits, legion arms and etc, but you'll get it eventually.
But, as you can see, I did have my "mostlys" out there. Lies of P had quite a few misteps along the way. I don't want it to seem like it's not a great game, because it is, but they clearly don't know how to handle status ailments, some mechanics and items can be quite useless (even certain weapons or handles), writing could be improved, levels could look a bit more varied, and I think parrying could be perfected.
I think they exaggerated on a few things. You can totally see this on bosses. They're yet to figure out "gang bosses", some runs towards the arenas are tedious, almost all of them have too much health, fights can take very long and BY GOD, NOT EVERY ENEMY NEEDS A SECOND STAGE!
They do look cool and some fights were fantastic. The feeling I got after defeating the green monster and the final boss were unmatched. But did the final two bosses really need that many amount of moves to memorize? Did the arcbishop really need to take that long? Why are both fights with the rabbit brotherhood so annoying? Those things need to be worked on for the next one.
But regardless of my nitpicking with combat and mechanics, Lies of P works very well and was my biggest surprise of the year. Definitely a must if you like this style of game. I can't wait to play the DLC and I'm excited for its future.
Oh, by the way, fuck Geppetto!
2020
Well, it doesn't get much better than that.
This is probably one of the most powerful RPGs I've ever played. One of the best games I have played, for sure.
And, to be honest, I don't even enjoy Larian games. I didn't like Divinity 1 and the 2nd one was so boring that I just dropped it. I was worried they'd ruin Baldur's Gate. The second game is a favorite of mine. But they didn't. They knocked it outta the park!
The level of freedom in BG3 is insane. Not only freedom in combat and exploration, but narrative freedom. The ways you can tackle the story, respond to conversations, branching paths, different interactions and events you can stumble upon or create it yourself is just... it's absurd! It all goes farther than it needs and excels at it. Even romance scenes!
This wide range of possibilites transforms this already astonishing story into one of the best fantasy tales I've ever experienced. The writing is incredible, the music is beautiful, the characters absorb you into their backstories and things just keep escalating to major proportions. Hell, even the siquests are enthralling. I can't go into too many details due to spoilers, but trust me, it'll be hard for an RPG to top the storylines and cast you'll encounter here.
In addition to impeccable writing, the other reason why the main plot and its side plots are so captivating has to be the voice acting. There is simply no bad acting here. Hardly any bad characters at all, honestly! And it's not only the main cast. The witty vampire Astarion, the complicated Shadowheart or old companions like Jaheira and Minsc. It's the fucking creepy talking ox you meet in act 1, the weird cultists you meet in act 2's tower or even the annoying villains in act 3. It compels you to investigate, understand and finish everything. It's just that convincing and immersive.
If that wasn't enough, BG3 throws one of the best strategy combats at you. A brutal one, due to all the intricate D&D rules, in my opinion, but a fun and rewarding ride. You can tackle each encounter however you like as long as you know what you're doing. It took me a while to get into it, but grasping its possibilites opened up a plethora of opportunities for my party. I completely obliterated, trivialized or even avoided certain fights with the amount of autonomy given to me. But I've made a few battles way harder than they should be, as well. I failed quite a lot, but I learned from trying different things.
There are some amazing encounters and boss fights in this game. There's also an immense amount of bullshit objectives and gimmicks in others. But you'll fight through it in your own way.
Difficulty was one of the things that I found quite annoying at times. It never felt unbalanced since the game gives you myriad ways to complete an objective or defeat an enemy. But some of the conditions imposed, depending on the blind choices of build and paths you choose throughout the game's 3 acts can turn some very fun set pieces into very cruel moments. One thing I disliked is the amount of mobs you have to fight. My favorite combats were bosses/enemies with three or four strong goons aiding it, not 10 characters coming at you nonstop at the same time.
Being overwhelming might be BG3's biggest triumph, but it can also turn into its biggest flaw. It asks much of you. The good thing, though, is that it always rewards and surprises accordingly.
The main story, although fantasitc, can have its downsides as well. Small ones, and I might be nitpicking here, but act 3 was, by far, the weakest one. Some major decisions and consequences around the final moments of the game felt too sudden. There's a type of "ultimatum" given to you around the ending that felt sort of off character and the final scenes after the final boss were a bit shallow. It wasn't bad, just not as well put together as act 1 and 2, I think. I also missed more interaction with the party. While some huge things were happening, all my characters had to say about it were "well met" or "speak".
And last, but definitely not least: this is the buggiest game I've played in a long time.
I've encountered MANY different bugs and experienced a few crashes. It can even break some quests or saves, if you don't save often. And BG3's auto-save feature doesn't show up a lot. I even considered lowering the score due to how many bugs I've seen, but I couldn't. I guess it's a "good outweights the bad" situation. For me, at least.
Baldur's Gate 3 is impressive from the moment you boot it up. From character creation, to the thrilling prologue, clean challenging battle system and the friends and enemies you encounter on your journey. Even the main menu is beautiful, they didn't need to go at it that hard.
But they did. And in doing so, they designed the best game I have played in 2023.
This is probably one of the most powerful RPGs I've ever played. One of the best games I have played, for sure.
And, to be honest, I don't even enjoy Larian games. I didn't like Divinity 1 and the 2nd one was so boring that I just dropped it. I was worried they'd ruin Baldur's Gate. The second game is a favorite of mine. But they didn't. They knocked it outta the park!
The level of freedom in BG3 is insane. Not only freedom in combat and exploration, but narrative freedom. The ways you can tackle the story, respond to conversations, branching paths, different interactions and events you can stumble upon or create it yourself is just... it's absurd! It all goes farther than it needs and excels at it. Even romance scenes!
This wide range of possibilites transforms this already astonishing story into one of the best fantasy tales I've ever experienced. The writing is incredible, the music is beautiful, the characters absorb you into their backstories and things just keep escalating to major proportions. Hell, even the siquests are enthralling. I can't go into too many details due to spoilers, but trust me, it'll be hard for an RPG to top the storylines and cast you'll encounter here.
In addition to impeccable writing, the other reason why the main plot and its side plots are so captivating has to be the voice acting. There is simply no bad acting here. Hardly any bad characters at all, honestly! And it's not only the main cast. The witty vampire Astarion, the complicated Shadowheart or old companions like Jaheira and Minsc. It's the fucking creepy talking ox you meet in act 1, the weird cultists you meet in act 2's tower or even the annoying villains in act 3. It compels you to investigate, understand and finish everything. It's just that convincing and immersive.
If that wasn't enough, BG3 throws one of the best strategy combats at you. A brutal one, due to all the intricate D&D rules, in my opinion, but a fun and rewarding ride. You can tackle each encounter however you like as long as you know what you're doing. It took me a while to get into it, but grasping its possibilites opened up a plethora of opportunities for my party. I completely obliterated, trivialized or even avoided certain fights with the amount of autonomy given to me. But I've made a few battles way harder than they should be, as well. I failed quite a lot, but I learned from trying different things.
There are some amazing encounters and boss fights in this game. There's also an immense amount of bullshit objectives and gimmicks in others. But you'll fight through it in your own way.
Difficulty was one of the things that I found quite annoying at times. It never felt unbalanced since the game gives you myriad ways to complete an objective or defeat an enemy. But some of the conditions imposed, depending on the blind choices of build and paths you choose throughout the game's 3 acts can turn some very fun set pieces into very cruel moments. One thing I disliked is the amount of mobs you have to fight. My favorite combats were bosses/enemies with three or four strong goons aiding it, not 10 characters coming at you nonstop at the same time.
Being overwhelming might be BG3's biggest triumph, but it can also turn into its biggest flaw. It asks much of you. The good thing, though, is that it always rewards and surprises accordingly.
The main story, although fantasitc, can have its downsides as well. Small ones, and I might be nitpicking here, but act 3 was, by far, the weakest one. Some major decisions and consequences around the final moments of the game felt too sudden. There's a type of "ultimatum" given to you around the ending that felt sort of off character and the final scenes after the final boss were a bit shallow. It wasn't bad, just not as well put together as act 1 and 2, I think. I also missed more interaction with the party. While some huge things were happening, all my characters had to say about it were "well met" or "speak".
And last, but definitely not least: this is the buggiest game I've played in a long time.
I've encountered MANY different bugs and experienced a few crashes. It can even break some quests or saves, if you don't save often. And BG3's auto-save feature doesn't show up a lot. I even considered lowering the score due to how many bugs I've seen, but I couldn't. I guess it's a "good outweights the bad" situation. For me, at least.
Baldur's Gate 3 is impressive from the moment you boot it up. From character creation, to the thrilling prologue, clean challenging battle system and the friends and enemies you encounter on your journey. Even the main menu is beautiful, they didn't need to go at it that hard.
But they did. And in doing so, they designed the best game I have played in 2023.
Look, I can see why people praise this game. The imagery, aesthetics, atmosphere, puzzles, weapon variety and a creepy take on Alice's tale. Supposedly, it's all there but... it's definitely not for me.
I enjoyed the first level of this game and that's it. I didn't have fun at all with everything else. Combat is annoying, puzzles are tiresome, music feels superficial, platforming goes on forever and the story just isn't well told. I liked the ending, but the road towards it was the worst.
What absolutely killed this game was how tedious it is. Levels are unnecessarily HUGE, padded and bloated. Combat may have some cool weapons, but fighting is boring as hell. Not to mention the excessive use of the same puzzles, gimmicks, platforming tricks etc over and over again.
Alice Madness Returns, in my experience, is a game that takes forever and amounts to nothing. It's better than the first one, yes, but that doesn't mean much. A waste of time, after all.
I enjoyed the first level of this game and that's it. I didn't have fun at all with everything else. Combat is annoying, puzzles are tiresome, music feels superficial, platforming goes on forever and the story just isn't well told. I liked the ending, but the road towards it was the worst.
What absolutely killed this game was how tedious it is. Levels are unnecessarily HUGE, padded and bloated. Combat may have some cool weapons, but fighting is boring as hell. Not to mention the excessive use of the same puzzles, gimmicks, platforming tricks etc over and over again.
Alice Madness Returns, in my experience, is a game that takes forever and amounts to nothing. It's better than the first one, yes, but that doesn't mean much. A waste of time, after all.
I decided to play this game before Madness Returns and my god what a mistake.
This game fails in nearly everything it tries to accomplish. Platforming feels terribly imprecise and janky, combat is stiff and lacks any kind of impact, the soundtrack is repetitive, puzzles have no fun factor and it might have some of the worst boss encounters ever designed. Not to mention the level design...
The writing is fine, but doesn't save how shallow the story feels. The idea is actually good, but it doesn't go as deep as it should, it seems. Not to mention how hard it is to actually care for anything happening to the plot when the gameplay feels so abysmal.
Sisuals and tone were the only good things to come out of it. I wasn't expecting to be creeped out by some of the visual design in this game. Enemy variety helps as well. Boss fights were atrocious, but they were cool to look at, at least. And the soundtrack may suck, but the actual sound of the game feels freaky.
But style, on its own, couldn't save Alice. I'd recommend this to no one. I finished this game out of spite and hope that the sequel is good.
This game fails in nearly everything it tries to accomplish. Platforming feels terribly imprecise and janky, combat is stiff and lacks any kind of impact, the soundtrack is repetitive, puzzles have no fun factor and it might have some of the worst boss encounters ever designed. Not to mention the level design...
The writing is fine, but doesn't save how shallow the story feels. The idea is actually good, but it doesn't go as deep as it should, it seems. Not to mention how hard it is to actually care for anything happening to the plot when the gameplay feels so abysmal.
Sisuals and tone were the only good things to come out of it. I wasn't expecting to be creeped out by some of the visual design in this game. Enemy variety helps as well. Boss fights were atrocious, but they were cool to look at, at least. And the soundtrack may suck, but the actual sound of the game feels freaky.
But style, on its own, couldn't save Alice. I'd recommend this to no one. I finished this game out of spite and hope that the sequel is good.
I've had my eyes on this for a while and I finally decided to check what's all the praise about. Turns out that Paranormasight is the type of game that comes close to being good... but no cigar.
Paranormasight is a creepy visual novel. A very well written one, in fact. Those are the game's biggest strenghts, from top to bottom. The setting looks spooky, characters are weird and mystery prowls around the whole story. The presentation is quite nice, which helps you to put up with some rather long expositions and slow moments, at times.
Because, truth be told, Paranormasight is a massive slow burn. Don't get me wrong, the story is very well put together and I actually cared for some of its characters (mostly Tsutsumi, Harue and Richter), but it took a long while to get there. There are some shocking twists here and there and some TENSE conversations, with reveals that I was actually not expecting. But in order to get to those moments, you have to go through lots of redundant dialogues.
Two things that I loved about this game, that kept me constantly piecing the story together, were how meticulous the files were organized for you to keep up to date with what was happening, and the "Story Chart". It's a nice structure, leading you through different timelines, optional scenes and more.
But while Paranormalsight got me hooked at first, it just kept dropping the ball. It mostly feels fine... just never great. I liked the characters - but they don't stand out, the story is good - but not immersive, well written - but insipid. Took me longer than it should to finish it because it never kept a good momentum going.
I was also disappointed by the use of curses in this game. I know it's a VN, but I expected a bit more interactivity from this. At first, it feels like it's going to be a big deal whether you use them or not, but you can barely use them, and when you do, it hardly lets you go with it. Decisions matter very little as well. Not to mention the soundtrack, which is bland as hell. At least the endings were cool. All of them but the "true one", to be honest.
I do not recommend Paranormasight. There are better visual novels out there and way better creepy stories to experience.
It's a game that has the elements to reach acclaim, but it's never quite there.
Paranormasight is a creepy visual novel. A very well written one, in fact. Those are the game's biggest strenghts, from top to bottom. The setting looks spooky, characters are weird and mystery prowls around the whole story. The presentation is quite nice, which helps you to put up with some rather long expositions and slow moments, at times.
Because, truth be told, Paranormasight is a massive slow burn. Don't get me wrong, the story is very well put together and I actually cared for some of its characters (mostly Tsutsumi, Harue and Richter), but it took a long while to get there. There are some shocking twists here and there and some TENSE conversations, with reveals that I was actually not expecting. But in order to get to those moments, you have to go through lots of redundant dialogues.
Two things that I loved about this game, that kept me constantly piecing the story together, were how meticulous the files were organized for you to keep up to date with what was happening, and the "Story Chart". It's a nice structure, leading you through different timelines, optional scenes and more.
But while Paranormalsight got me hooked at first, it just kept dropping the ball. It mostly feels fine... just never great. I liked the characters - but they don't stand out, the story is good - but not immersive, well written - but insipid. Took me longer than it should to finish it because it never kept a good momentum going.
I was also disappointed by the use of curses in this game. I know it's a VN, but I expected a bit more interactivity from this. At first, it feels like it's going to be a big deal whether you use them or not, but you can barely use them, and when you do, it hardly lets you go with it. Decisions matter very little as well. Not to mention the soundtrack, which is bland as hell. At least the endings were cool. All of them but the "true one", to be honest.
I do not recommend Paranormasight. There are better visual novels out there and way better creepy stories to experience.
It's a game that has the elements to reach acclaim, but it's never quite there.
2023
I've been saying that Final Fantasy XV is the best FF to come out since FFX. FFXVI is here to challenge this thought.
I absolutely loved my 68 hours spent with FFXVI. I was skeptical at first because, honestly, it looked nothing like I hoped a new mainline Final Fantasy would be. But I'm glad Square proved me wrong.
The first thing that gripped me into the world of FFXVI was the story and its presentation. I loved the blend and tone between this dark medieval war story and the fantastical mythos of the franchise. The world building and overall conflict took a while to connect, but the strong emphasis on a character-driven plot kept me going. Mostly, from beginning to end, the story is fantastic. It is as epic as a FF game should be, it's bleak (at times a bit too bleak), joyful, well written, deep and gets crazy by the end.
But what really drives the story forward are the characters and their dialogues. FFXVI has some of the best written characters and exchanges in the franchise. Clive is a great protagonist, Jill has an impressive backstory, Gav is one of the coolest characters, Dion is complex enough and even Torgal, the dog, gets to shine. Not to mention Cid - the greatest character in the game. Probably the best Cid in the whole franchise. Voice acting, charisma and vivid well-written conversations were key to all this.
As for gameplay, it may not be as deep as FFVII or innovative as FFX, but it gets the job done better than the likes of FFXV or FFXII. You see, the action mechanics are pretty simple, but they're very accessible, excelling in substance, intensity AND style. It's quite addictive, actually. Especially when it comes to boss fights. Whether you're fighting as an Eikon or going against a tough enemy, this is where the spectacle lies.
This game looks absolutely beautiful. Probably one of the best looking games out there, currently. It is quite impressive and it keeps throwing new shockingly beautiful things at the screen until the very last scene. And it all comes together with what must be the best Final Fantasy soundtrack since FFXIII. Simply remarkable!
But for a game that gets so much right, when something goes wrong, it becomes crystal clear.
It may have an incredible story, but its pacing is all over the place. At one moment you're fighting a god, the other you're collecting flowers. And, yes, this is usually how RPGs goes, but it feels glaring on a game so focused in its own plot. As a result, the writing and rhythm kinda goes a bit off by the final act.
The ending, for example, it's not bad, but with a tale as depressing as this one, it'd be better for a more direct and sunny finale option. Being bittersweet and ambiguous can work, sure, but not always.
The amount of sidequests were a low point as well. They're usually very interesting, with some even gifting you with cool scenes, world building and interactions between characters. In fact, some sidequests at the ending are A MUST, for example. The problem is, if you want to experience them, you have to go through the same repetitive objectives and places over and over again. And there are A LOT of them, coming up at the worst times possible during the main quest. There's simply no verticality. You can see this on enemy variety, which is a joke. Even the hunts get stale.
And last, but not least, FFXVI's biggest flaw is not deciding whether it wants to be an action game or an RPG.
I miss customization, statuses, skill variety, secret dungeons. It is mostly there, but it's just... not enough. It's different. A party system could've fixed part of that. You have very charming characters helping Clive on his quest, but they're barely there during gameplay and are barely useful. You can't even mess around with Torgal's skills and he's always present.
Still, in my opinion, Final Fantasy XVI is an amazing game back to back. Its flaws are clear and I get that it looks and plays different enough to avert a few fans. But it is definitely a great entry in the mainline series and might be the best one since FFX.
Only time will tell. Play it and find out for yourself.
I absolutely loved my 68 hours spent with FFXVI. I was skeptical at first because, honestly, it looked nothing like I hoped a new mainline Final Fantasy would be. But I'm glad Square proved me wrong.
The first thing that gripped me into the world of FFXVI was the story and its presentation. I loved the blend and tone between this dark medieval war story and the fantastical mythos of the franchise. The world building and overall conflict took a while to connect, but the strong emphasis on a character-driven plot kept me going. Mostly, from beginning to end, the story is fantastic. It is as epic as a FF game should be, it's bleak (at times a bit too bleak), joyful, well written, deep and gets crazy by the end.
But what really drives the story forward are the characters and their dialogues. FFXVI has some of the best written characters and exchanges in the franchise. Clive is a great protagonist, Jill has an impressive backstory, Gav is one of the coolest characters, Dion is complex enough and even Torgal, the dog, gets to shine. Not to mention Cid - the greatest character in the game. Probably the best Cid in the whole franchise. Voice acting, charisma and vivid well-written conversations were key to all this.
As for gameplay, it may not be as deep as FFVII or innovative as FFX, but it gets the job done better than the likes of FFXV or FFXII. You see, the action mechanics are pretty simple, but they're very accessible, excelling in substance, intensity AND style. It's quite addictive, actually. Especially when it comes to boss fights. Whether you're fighting as an Eikon or going against a tough enemy, this is where the spectacle lies.
This game looks absolutely beautiful. Probably one of the best looking games out there, currently. It is quite impressive and it keeps throwing new shockingly beautiful things at the screen until the very last scene. And it all comes together with what must be the best Final Fantasy soundtrack since FFXIII. Simply remarkable!
But for a game that gets so much right, when something goes wrong, it becomes crystal clear.
It may have an incredible story, but its pacing is all over the place. At one moment you're fighting a god, the other you're collecting flowers. And, yes, this is usually how RPGs goes, but it feels glaring on a game so focused in its own plot. As a result, the writing and rhythm kinda goes a bit off by the final act.
The ending, for example, it's not bad, but with a tale as depressing as this one, it'd be better for a more direct and sunny finale option. Being bittersweet and ambiguous can work, sure, but not always.
The amount of sidequests were a low point as well. They're usually very interesting, with some even gifting you with cool scenes, world building and interactions between characters. In fact, some sidequests at the ending are A MUST, for example. The problem is, if you want to experience them, you have to go through the same repetitive objectives and places over and over again. And there are A LOT of them, coming up at the worst times possible during the main quest. There's simply no verticality. You can see this on enemy variety, which is a joke. Even the hunts get stale.
And last, but not least, FFXVI's biggest flaw is not deciding whether it wants to be an action game or an RPG.
I miss customization, statuses, skill variety, secret dungeons. It is mostly there, but it's just... not enough. It's different. A party system could've fixed part of that. You have very charming characters helping Clive on his quest, but they're barely there during gameplay and are barely useful. You can't even mess around with Torgal's skills and he's always present.
Still, in my opinion, Final Fantasy XVI is an amazing game back to back. Its flaws are clear and I get that it looks and plays different enough to avert a few fans. But it is definitely a great entry in the mainline series and might be the best one since FFX.
Only time will tell. Play it and find out for yourself.