super mario kart may be one of the definitive examples of a barebones project that allowed for so many ideas to flow in the future. it's an equally challenging as it is rewarding game play loop that is great for short bursts of fun. a light-hearted experience, it's delightful color palletes & range of locals offer just enough variety that one could expect from a super nintendo game. nothing that will blow you away or make you say "they don't make games like they used to", but good enough to jump in here and there.

while I've explored most of mario's journeys throughout my life, SMW always sort of felt like more of a mysterious adventure, most likely due to what was, at the time, my very young brain's limitations in discerning how to solve each level's varying puzzles & secrets. as a child, i felt frustrated that I was clearly missing something in vanilla dome. by the time i had reached the forest of illusion, i just stopped trying altogether.

i'm glad that I gave this gem another shot as an adult, where i was really able to appreciate the tight controls, beautiful artwork/sprite design, puzzles, and progression. taking a lap around dinosaur island was colorful and rewarding as I was able to find nearly each secret and see for myself a fully explored world & uncovered paths. while the music did sort of blend into the background after awhile, i seldom felt as though any given level felt exactly like the last.

despite giving it some thought, I'm not sure what could push this game, for me, from a 4/5 to a 5/5. it could be that its kept here due to limitations of a generation or the simple boss fights, but who is to say. for a game that came into existence about thirty five years ago, i found that this light-hearted and joyful experience had me feeling content from start to finish.

disappointing! while the music, characters, and shading/art style have so much promise, the bugs/glitches & unplayable-ness due to weird physics and janky controls makes playing this feel more like a chore than a hobby.

having cutscenes and va is a great touch for a series that could benefit so greatly from these things when done well. the gameplay gimmick could also work incredibly well in a space where swapping between characters is more fluid than it is here, or where your camera controls allow you to quickly see all obstacles/paths coming ahead. instead, the few positives are outshined by the "could-have-been"s.

While i continue to make additions/revisions to Serene Isle, it may be an appropriate time to log my experiences with this year's acnh craze.

After completely overhauling everything (including replacing each path, relocating each possible building, digging up & re-planting each & every flower/tree, and evicting several villagers) I can say that picking this up during these winter months has been a rejuvinating and reassuring experience. It felt comforting to see how my own creativity has grown since my previously half-implemented ideas. assembling that fitting island flow where you could see yourself taking your own vacation in that one spot was as rewarding as it was to knab my first lily-of-the-valley.

will never not say that being able to craft multiple items at once, obtain different DIYs than you already have for the nth time, and having villager interactions not feel like reading the same few dialog lines would be nice. I suppose that wasn't what I was looking for with my playtime here - as I was more interested in using this games tools to craft something I could be proud of.

one of those nights with a few hours and a desire to start and finish something all in one sitting.

i am not a huge puzzle game person - just not my biggest genre, but something i may dabble in from time to time/enjoy aspects of in other games. with my time in portal, i have never felt that perfect blend of challenge and "AHHH IM SO SMART", which was an incredible experience. the small clues leading up to the final sequence, concluding with one of my favorite boss fights in any games, of which i had zero expectation of, all added up to be one of my favorite games of this year so far. one that i can envision making my top 10.

generally for me, kirby is a fun & lighthearted reprieve from other games that i get into. after forgotten land, I was interested in playing more and getting a fuller picture of the characters and music - things that I really enjoy about the series. after playing nightmare in dreamland, I hoped for a more modern experience, and turned to star allies.

as expected, the themeing, characters, music, and artistry was beautiful and varied. with all of the free character dlc since its release, i loved checking out the palace where I could bring others into my next level, specifically characters that I remember from when I played kirby as a kid. also, the final world's boss levels and final boss fight had me surprised at how interested in the character alterations came to be, with kracko coming back and the new whispy woods.

however, this game is extremely easy, which, i think, is a plus in general. while i could've enjoyed a bit more challenge, i would have prefered to go elsewhere for it, since running through kirby's levels and plowing through everything with every ability made me feel like a true pink-puff god killer. any other way, the bubbly and whimsical nature of the game would've clashed with difficult gameplay. while this is not a game where i was interested in finding every secret & replaying levels over and over again, i'm glad to have gotten to play another kirby game and seen him dance a whole bunch.

interested by the artstyle & title (as well as it being free last holiday). After literally 20 minutes of experimenting, I felt as though my time would've been better spend diving into the mechanics of something else. while this certainly doesn't mean that i wasn't invested in the progressively more difficult gameplay and bullet-hell gameplay, it does mean I didn't feel the inclination to explore new weapons, skills, or classes.

Also, controls wise, it felt as though my inputs were being received inconsistently, with choosing upgrades per level up & re-loading feeling clunky at times. couldn've easily just been something strange on my end, but after checking my settings several times trying to tweak it to be just right, I gave up.

it may finally be time to hang up my desire to return to old pokemon games. outside of this and the gen 5 sequels, I have played and replayed most games in the series several times. After some time, hoping to rekindle my love for these games through rom hacks, randomizers, and nuzlockes, i was let down & stepped away. However, as I've never actually beaten platinum, I wanted to give it a shot.

The gameplay and moment to moment experience is dull and, in my opinion most likely works best alongside a pure & childlike sense of awe & wonder. as an adult, I didn't feel the same sense of purpose and awe that I did when I visited new towns, saw new pokemon, and chose my party. in each trainer battle, I found myself tallying all of the inconveniences I'd encountered (double team, crits, statuses, exp. grinding) rather than feeling connected to my journey and pokemon. i'm sad that that magic isn't there, but happy to now know that i can move on and start playing some games made with what some may say as a more focused and authentic sense of passion for games.

My first kirby game, I remember being stuck in a never ending loop about halfway through against Kracko. While I'm glad to say that I managed to complete this game in my adulthood, the frustrating & slippery controls, intentionally cumbersome enemy spawning points, and inconsistent combat made me feel more frustrated than nostalgic. Kirby will, however, always have the theming, music, and adorableness that will keep me exploring the series. I didn't know that this was a remake until reading other reviews after my own playthrough. Knowing that now, in addition to acknowledging that this is a 2002 GBA game, I'm still grateful I got to revisit this, and had a generally nice time.

I typically have a difficult time getting into roguelikes, since it can feel like the core gameplay loop gets stale or lacks that sense of progression. I was repeatedly surprised at how often I wanted to do another run in Roboquest. The concept of finding new paths, weapons, skills, and synergies was incredibly rewarding not only for myself personally, but tangibly in your run. Each class & related skill tree feels well put together and heavily considered, which helped me feel excited to switch things up as opposed to just sticking with "the one build I enjoyed that one time". Bosses felt unique, the art style was strong & consistent, and the small characters you find throughout your runs are cute & fitting. While I did find that after about an hour or so of playing my head would feel like mush due to the fast paced gunplay & soundtrack, it felt like a small price to pay for a game that was going for that high intensity feel in the first place.

my ONLY complaint about valhalla is that it wasn't longer. I love how it structured the roguelike genre with adding bits of exposition along the way as opposed to sticking it in a log/text file somewhere, as it was a beautiful reward for putting a build together - learning about my favorite game character's experience. With all of the incredible features like seals & mastery goals, it would've been great if the final cutscene arrived just a bit later, but in the grand scheme of things, it is hardly a flaw. I enjoyed the beautiful orchestral score, edited layouts of places we've been before, and interactions between characters.

im crying this is my favorite game.

looking at the entirety of the story since 2018, the way each character has grown, in my opinion, is unparalleled in the gaming space, with narrative twists & developments that consistently had me feeling surprised, but not shaken, eager, but not antsy, and excited, but not overzealous. This was the first game where i felt as though my desires gameplay-wise were shaped in part by what I predicted Kratos would want, whereas, typically in RPGs, I don't care enough to consider what the protagonist may be thinking (outside of the main story beats). The trajectory of the plot all throughout kept me hanging on every moment without making me feel rushed, ultimately culminating in one of the most beautiful, triumphant, and satisfying video game endings I've engaged with.

This is the type of game where you re-do the big combat encounters just to "get it right".