homefires
2023
There is still joy in the world despite the capitalist nightmare we live in, and being a weird little fucker is actually okay because your friends will still like you if you're a good person.
Oh, and the game is fantastic.
Oh, and the game is fantastic.
2008
This game kicked my dog and stole my DS
It looks nice! It sounds nice! I liked the crossdressing bit! But...
Among my friends I have been known for years as the resident BOTW hater. I liked the game and completed it, but I've always had a ton of problems with it and have always been baffled by the uncritical praise it gets. Now that Tears of the Kingdom is out it's funny to see people go "oh wow this is so much better than BOTW!!" Yeah? It's so much better than the game you said was perfect and had no problems?
The difficulty of the game scales poorly, the world is repetitive and lacks significant location variety in most areas, the shrines are very hit or miss, the different powers are mostly boring and inconsequential besides Stasis, and the story and writing suck ass. I genuinely think this game has a great formula, much better than most open world games, and that's why people love it. I just think it's a very flawed execution of that formula. I liked it enough to finish it but was left more frustrated than satisfied in the end.
Anyways, there's nearly no reason to come back to this now. Nintendo proved my point by making the same game again but far better in nearly every way. Also fuck this game for dooming the industry to 10 decades of open world hell. It was already heading that way but I think this was the nail in the coffin.
Among my friends I have been known for years as the resident BOTW hater. I liked the game and completed it, but I've always had a ton of problems with it and have always been baffled by the uncritical praise it gets. Now that Tears of the Kingdom is out it's funny to see people go "oh wow this is so much better than BOTW!!" Yeah? It's so much better than the game you said was perfect and had no problems?
The difficulty of the game scales poorly, the world is repetitive and lacks significant location variety in most areas, the shrines are very hit or miss, the different powers are mostly boring and inconsequential besides Stasis, and the story and writing suck ass. I genuinely think this game has a great formula, much better than most open world games, and that's why people love it. I just think it's a very flawed execution of that formula. I liked it enough to finish it but was left more frustrated than satisfied in the end.
Anyways, there's nearly no reason to come back to this now. Nintendo proved my point by making the same game again but far better in nearly every way. Also fuck this game for dooming the industry to 10 decades of open world hell. It was already heading that way but I think this was the nail in the coffin.
2022
This game is secretly surrealist. There's just shit floating all over with no reason for it to exist and you just zoom through it all, endlessly collecting little trinkets. The world is endless metal spaghetti and I'm just a blue 'hog, eatin it all up.
It's pretty fun even if it's a nightmare dreamed up by an industry desperately trying to copy Breath of the Wild. I especially like the levels outside the open world, they are genuinely just good sonic.
Why the fuck did Eggman make his AI take the form of a little girl? I will probably never know because this didn't keep my attention long enough for me to finish it.
It's pretty fun even if it's a nightmare dreamed up by an industry desperately trying to copy Breath of the Wild. I especially like the levels outside the open world, they are genuinely just good sonic.
Why the fuck did Eggman make his AI take the form of a little girl? I will probably never know because this didn't keep my attention long enough for me to finish it.
Hard to totally explain why this is so great, others have done it much better than I could ever contribute. Despite any shortcomings it has, this will be a game that sticks with you. It might just change the way you think about what games should be. I know it did for me.
1998
This game has great gunplay, great level design, and an iconic aesthetic and sound design, but by far my favorite aspect of it is the brilliant pacing. Sure, it has a slow start and a somewhat botched finish. Beyond that, the escalation from surviving the aftermath of the resonance cascade, to surviving the military's cover-up, to beating the military's ass, to "saving" the world from an alien invasion is incredible. The escalation is perfect and it makes this the perfect power fantasy for weird nerds or just anyone that likes to shoot shit.
I even liked On a Rail. Sorry I guess?
I even liked On a Rail. Sorry I guess?
2007
I actively hate some parts of this game but really loved other parts. I'm glad I played it and I think it was really memorable! I don't think I'd recommend it to most people though.
I've heard some people say that the horrible grindy "open world" helps build a contrast with the exciting and ultraviolent showdowns that you're constantly working towards. I think that's the game's intent, to an extent. I'm not a stranger to praising games for designing in metaphors like this, it's a key aspect of one of my favorite games, Shadow of the Colossus. I just really don't buy it here.
The game seems to have interesting ideas, I just have a hard time taking it seriously when it doesn't seem to be taking itself seriously either. It feels like a joke at the expense of the player, but not one that I find very funny. "Look at this poor bastard! He looooves anime and jerking off. The only thing that brings him joy is horrific violence! He's such a sucker! He's just like you haha. Now run along and do some boring ass work. Just like real life isn't that clever?" Yeah I really do feel like a sucker for slogging through the worst bits of this game while being made fun of the whole time. You really got me. Wow. I get what it was trying to say, I just don't really think it said it in a way that was interesting. I'm all for making fun of gamers, I just don't think you need to make a good chunk of your game shitty in order to do that.
Anyways despite all that, when it's good it's good. It does a great job of being goofy and stylish! I like the combat system, motion controls and all! Probably one of the best examples of a game being designed specifically for the Wii and pulling it off well without feeling dragged down as a result. I'd recommend it for that alone to anyone that cares about that sort of thing. Not much reason to go back to this beyond that though, even if I would say it's good overall.
I've heard some people say that the horrible grindy "open world" helps build a contrast with the exciting and ultraviolent showdowns that you're constantly working towards. I think that's the game's intent, to an extent. I'm not a stranger to praising games for designing in metaphors like this, it's a key aspect of one of my favorite games, Shadow of the Colossus. I just really don't buy it here.
The game seems to have interesting ideas, I just have a hard time taking it seriously when it doesn't seem to be taking itself seriously either. It feels like a joke at the expense of the player, but not one that I find very funny. "Look at this poor bastard! He looooves anime and jerking off. The only thing that brings him joy is horrific violence! He's such a sucker! He's just like you haha. Now run along and do some boring ass work. Just like real life isn't that clever?" Yeah I really do feel like a sucker for slogging through the worst bits of this game while being made fun of the whole time. You really got me. Wow. I get what it was trying to say, I just don't really think it said it in a way that was interesting. I'm all for making fun of gamers, I just don't think you need to make a good chunk of your game shitty in order to do that.
Anyways despite all that, when it's good it's good. It does a great job of being goofy and stylish! I like the combat system, motion controls and all! Probably one of the best examples of a game being designed specifically for the Wii and pulling it off well without feeling dragged down as a result. I'd recommend it for that alone to anyone that cares about that sort of thing. Not much reason to go back to this beyond that though, even if I would say it's good overall.
2023
I haven't played the original yet so this is kind of a strange experience. I feel like I'm playing something incredible and memorable, but mutated by current gen homogenized game design and Sony Stink. It's great fun but I can't help but feel like it exists because someone decided every game ever needs to be a PlayStation Game™ just like God Wars™ and Mushroom Dad™. Remember when games felt different from each other? That was a time.
2016
I am so very conflicted about this game, maybe more than any other game I've ever played. I love the music, the dungeon gameplay, the combat, the art style, and the fusion system. I'm even a fan of the social link system in concept.
In practice I can barely stand playing this game because the writing is dull and that writing takes up most of the game. A game that's nearly 100 hours long! That's far too long for any game in my opinion, I start losing interest around 40-50 hours even in games I adore.
I don't even really hate the writing (usually). It's fun enough and tries its best to approach heavy topics. Characters develop over the course of their introductions, but unfortunately become effectively static afterwards. Even if I enjoyed welcoming a new character to the party and seeing their development leading there, it loses weight when they immediately morph into a caricature right after. The main character is treated as a key component of the story despite his silence and lack of personality or agency, which always came off as awkward to me. I was not engaged by the overall story and wasn't surprised by any of the twists. Overall it was fine when it wasn't being actively offensive, (which did happen a few times!) but was not nearly good enough to justify the game's length.
I wanted to love this game and in a way I really do! It ultimately feels like two games mashed together, one that I love and one that I tolerate. Together they're less than the sum of their parts. I got through the final buildup to the last dungeon, 90 hours into this monster of a game, and I stood at the entrance to the final area. I looked back on everything that had happened and felt nothing but indifference. I saved and closed the game and haven't returned to it since.
In practice I can barely stand playing this game because the writing is dull and that writing takes up most of the game. A game that's nearly 100 hours long! That's far too long for any game in my opinion, I start losing interest around 40-50 hours even in games I adore.
I don't even really hate the writing (usually). It's fun enough and tries its best to approach heavy topics. Characters develop over the course of their introductions, but unfortunately become effectively static afterwards. Even if I enjoyed welcoming a new character to the party and seeing their development leading there, it loses weight when they immediately morph into a caricature right after. The main character is treated as a key component of the story despite his silence and lack of personality or agency, which always came off as awkward to me. I was not engaged by the overall story and wasn't surprised by any of the twists. Overall it was fine when it wasn't being actively offensive, (which did happen a few times!) but was not nearly good enough to justify the game's length.
I wanted to love this game and in a way I really do! It ultimately feels like two games mashed together, one that I love and one that I tolerate. Together they're less than the sum of their parts. I got through the final buildup to the last dungeon, 90 hours into this monster of a game, and I stood at the entrance to the final area. I looked back on everything that had happened and felt nothing but indifference. I saved and closed the game and haven't returned to it since.
2004
Filing this next to the Little Big Planet series in "games that influenced my bizarre taste in music".
Also holy shit this is just so great. I have some minor reservations with it, but it's not even worth listing them because the game is just joyful and fun and doesn't need to be described as anything else.
Also holy shit this is just so great. I have some minor reservations with it, but it's not even worth listing them because the game is just joyful and fun and doesn't need to be described as anything else.
2005
I never even knew this one existed when I was a kid. Playing it recently I didn't have any expectations but I was shocked to find it's actually better than the original.
Better co-op, more level variety, better pacing and level structure, and it maintains everything that made the first great. Even the soundtrack lives up to the heights of the original. I really do love Katamari!
Better co-op, more level variety, better pacing and level structure, and it maintains everything that made the first great. Even the soundtrack lives up to the heights of the original. I really do love Katamari!
Maybe I'm just too attached to the PS2 era of this series, but I was pretty disappointed by this. The early weapon roster is very stock for the series and none of the weapons feel particularly unique, even if they're decent fun to use. There's hardly any platforming. All of the bosses feel very designed around this game's dodge roll equivalent, which I am not a fan of compared to the acrobatic staffing of the past. The writing also grated on me immensely, even more than the Future games, although it's admittedly been a while since I played those.
Maybe some of my complaints would've smoothed out over time, but I was only able to put around 3 hours into this before I had to tap out. It's missing too much of what defined the series to me, in favor of "next gen" features that leave it feeling more generic. Maybe I'll come back when I'm feeling less cynical. It doesn't really seem bad, but it's certainly not what I wanted out of a modern entry, and nothing I saw sold me on the modernizations.
Maybe some of my complaints would've smoothed out over time, but I was only able to put around 3 hours into this before I had to tap out. It's missing too much of what defined the series to me, in favor of "next gen" features that leave it feeling more generic. Maybe I'll come back when I'm feeling less cynical. It doesn't really seem bad, but it's certainly not what I wanted out of a modern entry, and nothing I saw sold me on the modernizations.
2020
No other minigolf game has achieved this high level of quality in courses and content. Not many VR games have offered such a variety beautiful worlds to explore, or provided such good reasons to become immersed and inspect them closely.
It's with full sincerity I tell you that this is one of the best games I've ever played. It's hard to justify from an outside perspective why this deserves 5 stars next to everything else I've decided deserves that rating, but in my heart there's no question.
It's with full sincerity I tell you that this is one of the best games I've ever played. It's hard to justify from an outside perspective why this deserves 5 stars next to everything else I've decided deserves that rating, but in my heart there's no question.
2014
Kino. Just play it with friends and let it wash over you. This is what real gaming feels like.
2022
The story is perfectly tolerable, but it's not what you're here for anyways. The gameplay is gripping and addictive in a way that can't be denied. Also this has legitimately one of the best soundtracks ever.