This game has been really monumental to me because it has opened up a new genre of games into my backlog that I did not even know I was interested in. Gaming is a hobby that I have only gotten into seriously in the past few years or so, and I am constantly learning about what interests/engages me. Honestly before discovering Coffee Talk, I don't think I even knew this sort of game existed. I have been a long-time lover and supporter of Lofi Girl, as a channel that was a place of calm for me through my four years of college...Now I am finding that same vibe in a quirky visual novel! So fun.

I love all of the characters, and the fantasy beings that they represent. I also appreciate how they wove in social commentary without being too dark or in your face about it. Felt like they stayed on tone with the cozy-vibe, while also being grounded, realistic, and meaningful.

I love the art direction, I love the simplicity of the gameplay, and I LOVE how it made me feel to play!

If I had any gripes to mention... I do wish it was longer! I also unlocked the, I guess you could call it, secret ending... but I did have to look at a guide. I think I may have liked a little more specific instructions/an easier way to unlock new parts of the story without having to skip through tons of dialogue. I also wish there were more opportunities to make drinks so that I could unlock every special drink in story mode rather than doing it at the end!

As far as the post game goes, while there isn't a ton to do, I did love being able to scroll through the official art (including early renderings of characters) as well as comic strips. These additions, along with the daily newspaper, made the small scope of the coffee shop really feel like it was a part of a much larger world.

All in all - beautiful art direction, and a beautiful story. I wish I lived in the Coffee Talk world! Will be starting Episode 2 shortly.

TAKE. CONTROL.

This has gotta be one of the most creative games I've ever played. It's so wonderfully bizarre. The acting is fantastic, there's some real awe-inspiring visuals, and a TON of great WTF moments (the Ashtray Maze might be one of the greatest moments in the history of gaming).

I absolutely loved looking for everything the Oldest House had to offer, trying to find all the secrets and hidden documents. Exploration/platforming/discovery was the star of Control. Despite the emphasis on its combat, ironically I found it to be the weakest aspect. Not bad by any stretch, but non-boss-fights felt more like a chore by the end of the final DLC. I Platinum'd/100% the game, and grinding out those last few objectives to "kill enemy type X with service weapon Y" was a drag.

I have to mention, I don't think I'd have been as invested in this game without playing Alan Wake first, the same way that this game further expanding the Remedy Cinematic Universe™ I think makes Alan Wake better retroactively.

What a fantastic bookend to the Norse Saga.

I was honestly a bit surprised by how much of a genuinely compelling story they had left to tell as an epilogue to what I believe to be a near-perfect story. The combat--to no one's surprise--is still as satisfying and fine-tuned as it's ever been, and the clever ways of morphing God of War into a rogue-like actually really worked for me.

The callbacks to the original trilogy are something to behold as well. There's some real exciting stuff to uncover, but it never veers into the territory of being too fan-service-y. I've only played GoW3, and even I felt heavily rewarded for that experience. Do everything you can to go into the experience unspoiled!

ive seen a lot of distaste for pikmin 2 recently, and now it seems like its the most polarizing game in the series. you either love pikmin 2 for its challenge, mini-roguelike caves, and new additions to the series, or you hate it for its difficulty, which can sometimes edge on downright cruel or unfair. for me, personally, i love pikmin 2 to death, and its probably my favorite of the 4 pikmin games currently out. pikmin 2 will kick your ass, spit in your eyes, curbstomp you, and then give you a bundle of roses the next day and apologize for its actions.

as previously mentioned, the caves are randomly generated each time you go through them. the layouts are different each time, but it keeps things like treasures and enemies consistent. it makes for a game with loads of replay value, with so much to do to keep you coming back.

i personally play the wii version whenever i do my replays, which includes new play control pointer controls, which is the best way to play. that being said, the gamecube controls arent as bad as youd expect for a game like this, its very much designed to accommodate those original controls.

if you played pikmin 1 and wanted a bit more of a challenge, give pikmin 2 a shot, its sure to give you exactly that

This fuckass game hates you in every single way.
Drops enemies all the times that'll kill you.
Hazards gallore.
Water wraith.
And its the funniest thing ever on how you have to survive it.
Pikmin at its core is really good, and hard to mess up, so making kind of an official kaizo game was a fun idea, even if it left 12 Y/O me scarred for life with difficulty in games lmao.

After Olimar's company ends up bankrupt, it's realised that artifacts from the previous game could get them out of debt, so Olimar sets off with newcomer Louis to find as much treasure as possible and save the company

Despite the higher emphasis on cutscenes and messages from other characters, I actually didn't like this story as much, it's more upbeat and loses the atmosphere the first game had.

Pikmin 2 is very similar gameplay wise, however now there's 2
Characters and 2 new types of Pikmin which allow for more strategy and multitasking. However you don't really need to worry about efficiency this time around, as the 30 day limit was removed. You have as much time as you want, removing the tension from each day.

Instead the focus is more on combat and dungeons, the main worlds are just as detailed and complex as before, and this is where I had the most fun multitasking. But most of the game is spent in underground caverns which are
Sort of random, the layout is often similar it just shuffles enemies around.

The dungeons are homogeneous, and even when they do get more visually interesting.. your doing the same thing on every floor, kill the enemies, find the treasure.
There's no puzzie solving down here and with no time limit, it can get mindless. Yeah the later ones get brutal, which I actually sorta liked, but the shift in focus leads to a lesser experience overall, despite being fun it it's own ways - 7/10