harveegee
13 reviews liked by harveegee
Bloodborne
2015
This review is going to be very much "Guy who has only played Elden Ring" themed, so apologies for that in advance.
On a mechanical level this was overall far easier than Elden Ring, but only dickheads focus on the challenge over the experience. Rather than a sprawling, dying fantasy world, Bloodborne focuses on one terrifying, hungry night in a single city. Everything is tuned to this and it's all done well.
A lot has been said about how the mechanics push you towards playing aggressively and even reading and watching all of that didn't quite prepare me. Creatures lunge at you from behind smoke, corner you in cramped allies and the only way to survive is savagery.
The atmosphere is masterful and the sound design team deserve all possible accolades. I can't remember the last time sound has felt this good in a game, from the bloody and visceral attacks to the delightful "click-clack" of your trick weapons.
Possibly my favourite aspect overall is the way the story and its scope build. Starting with the beast plague, as the night moves on things become stranger, slowly building into full-blown cosmic horror.
A big mea culpa to all my loved ones who told me to play this over the years. You were right, it owns.
On a mechanical level this was overall far easier than Elden Ring, but only dickheads focus on the challenge over the experience. Rather than a sprawling, dying fantasy world, Bloodborne focuses on one terrifying, hungry night in a single city. Everything is tuned to this and it's all done well.
A lot has been said about how the mechanics push you towards playing aggressively and even reading and watching all of that didn't quite prepare me. Creatures lunge at you from behind smoke, corner you in cramped allies and the only way to survive is savagery.
The atmosphere is masterful and the sound design team deserve all possible accolades. I can't remember the last time sound has felt this good in a game, from the bloody and visceral attacks to the delightful "click-clack" of your trick weapons.
Possibly my favourite aspect overall is the way the story and its scope build. Starting with the beast plague, as the night moves on things become stranger, slowly building into full-blown cosmic horror.
A big mea culpa to all my loved ones who told me to play this over the years. You were right, it owns.
Disco Elysium
2019
my single favourite game in terms of writing. Alternately funny, hopeful, tense and heartbreaking. Packed to the brim with lines that will take up residence in your head and never leave. The skill system is unlike anything else that exists, though surely many will try (and almost certainly fail) to replicate it).
Hollow Knight
2017
I tried this mostly on a whim and fell in love.
Since playing this I have tried many other Metroidvanias and what separates this from the others is the freedom it gives you to get lost within its magnificent world. Where many in this genre are simply corridors that sometimes have you doubling back, in Hollow Knight your journey truly is your own. If I'm wrong about this for the love of god please show me anything like this!
Since playing this I have tried many other Metroidvanias and what separates this from the others is the freedom it gives you to get lost within its magnificent world. Where many in this genre are simply corridors that sometimes have you doubling back, in Hollow Knight your journey truly is your own. If I'm wrong about this for the love of god please show me anything like this!
Pyre
2017
I may not be the only person for whom Pyre is their favourite Supergiant game, but I don't suspect there are many of us.
As with any game from this studio the gorgeous visuals and Korb soundtrack are worth the price of admission. But I also love everything else. The cast are a joy. I love that winning or losing the basketball holy rites doesn't matter for progress but simply what it means for the characters. And a fantasy world with strange fantasy species and elaborate fantasy religions is the peak of my bullshit.
As with any game from this studio the gorgeous visuals and Korb soundtrack are worth the price of admission. But I also love everything else. The cast are a joy. I love that winning or losing the basketball holy rites doesn't matter for progress but simply what it means for the characters. And a fantasy world with strange fantasy species and elaborate fantasy religions is the peak of my bullshit.
Undertale
2015
You don't need me to tell you about Undertale.
Fun fact: I have some friends who, like me, consider this game to be a masterpiece and friends for whom I purchased this game in the hopes that they would enjoy it as much as I did. These groups, depicted in a Venn diagram, would be two separate circles with zero overlap. Alas.
Fun fact: I have some friends who, like me, consider this game to be a masterpiece and friends for whom I purchased this game in the hopes that they would enjoy it as much as I did. These groups, depicted in a Venn diagram, would be two separate circles with zero overlap. Alas.
Final Fantasy IX
2000
It's true what they say, your first FF is your favourite FF.
I'm terrified of touching this one ever again in case this turns out to be entirely nostalgia and it doesn't hold up. I do listen to the soundtrack every so often and will confirm that part, at least, very much does.
I'm terrified of touching this one ever again in case this turns out to be entirely nostalgia and it doesn't hold up. I do listen to the soundtrack every so often and will confirm that part, at least, very much does.
Super Mario Odyssey
2017
So my mother has this story where she was having dinner at a Italian friend's house. The couple sat them down for a big bowl of pasta. The pasta was quite good and extremely filling. They and their other friends ate heartily and sat back basking as you do after a full meal.
The hosts then revealed this was intended to be the first of several, equally large courses.
The hosts then revealed this was intended to be the first of several, equally large courses.
I ended up playing this not too long after Hollow Knight in my quest to find a metroidvania that would scratch the same itch. Ori is not trying to be the same game, it is far more linear and it would be unfair to be angry at failing to be something it wasn't trying to be. So let's be angry at what it is instead.
This game is "beautiful" in the same way as one of those obnoxious instagram desserts is tasty, oversaturated colours and too much bloom everywhere. The enemies are bullet sponge globs. The character is floaty and tedious to control. I realised I wasn't having any fun at all when I got to the volcano area.
Perhaps Will of the Wisps has improved on these issues, but I have no reason to try.
This game is "beautiful" in the same way as one of those obnoxious instagram desserts is tasty, oversaturated colours and too much bloom everywhere. The enemies are bullet sponge globs. The character is floaty and tedious to control. I realised I wasn't having any fun at all when I got to the volcano area.
Perhaps Will of the Wisps has improved on these issues, but I have no reason to try.
God of War
2018
How this game gets praised for its story is beyond me. Pretty much every sin of overwrought "cinematic" AAA action games in one package.
Gave it half a star extra because treating Baldr's vulnerability to mistletoe like it's kryptonite got a laugh out of me.
Gave it half a star extra because treating Baldr's vulnerability to mistletoe like it's kryptonite got a laugh out of me.
Planescape: Torment
1999
OK, let's start with the bad.
The combat in this game is, at its best points, quick and unobtrusive. Real time with pause is a fucking scam and I can't believe every D&D-related game at the turn of the century got tricked into using it. There are sections which are just a long string of fights, and these are the game's nadir.
I have no idea how anyone who doesn't already understand AD&D knows what the fuck is going on mechanically. AC is descending, but items that improve it will be written as plusses. THAC0 isn't impossible to understand, but you need to actually explain it. How do saves work? Planescape will not tell you.
I also encountered a late game bug that wouldn have hard stopped me from finishing if I didn't use console commands. It's from that era of jank I guess.
So why 5 stars? What makes this an incredible experience for me is the world, story, and the characters that inhabit both of these things. It's a tale that tries to tackle personhood and the nature of belief and while it hardly nails it every time, this ambition leads it to some fun, clever, sad and unique places you probably won't see anywhere else. It's a central ethos that is reflected in all things.
It's amazing how often Dungeons and Dragons, a game that is notionally about exploring worlds beyond imagination, is afraid to truly get fantastical, and this is maybe the only official thing that's stepped up to the plate.
I wish I'd stuck with this when I first had a go back in the mid 2000s, it probably would have taken root firmly in my brain and never left. As it stands, I'm incredibly happy I gave it a second chance.
The combat in this game is, at its best points, quick and unobtrusive. Real time with pause is a fucking scam and I can't believe every D&D-related game at the turn of the century got tricked into using it. There are sections which are just a long string of fights, and these are the game's nadir.
I have no idea how anyone who doesn't already understand AD&D knows what the fuck is going on mechanically. AC is descending, but items that improve it will be written as plusses. THAC0 isn't impossible to understand, but you need to actually explain it. How do saves work? Planescape will not tell you.
I also encountered a late game bug that wouldn have hard stopped me from finishing if I didn't use console commands. It's from that era of jank I guess.
So why 5 stars? What makes this an incredible experience for me is the world, story, and the characters that inhabit both of these things. It's a tale that tries to tackle personhood and the nature of belief and while it hardly nails it every time, this ambition leads it to some fun, clever, sad and unique places you probably won't see anywhere else. It's a central ethos that is reflected in all things.
It's amazing how often Dungeons and Dragons, a game that is notionally about exploring worlds beyond imagination, is afraid to truly get fantastical, and this is maybe the only official thing that's stepped up to the plate.
I wish I'd stuck with this when I first had a go back in the mid 2000s, it probably would have taken root firmly in my brain and never left. As it stands, I'm incredibly happy I gave it a second chance.