GoldenEye 007 is a game that only feels good when you are just running and gunning. The camera is simply too cumbersome to control when trying to do anything more complicated. Seriously, whoever made the segment where you have to use your watch laser to get out of the train should go to jail. I can respect this game for introducing varied objectives and gameplay in a shooter game, but it's unfortunately a bit miserable to actually play almost three decades later. At least the music is great.

I tried the multiplayer with my siblings, and we still had a good amount of fun with it. I'm sure it was especially revolutionary at the time.

On a final note, it feels unfair to complain about a James Bond game being a James Bond game, but I can't pretend like misogyny makes my playing experience better...

I'm a huge fan of Ace Attorney, so if this game was just Ace Attorney with birds (and so many taxonomy puns to sate a nerd like me), that would be good enough for me. Fortunately, by the end of the first case, this game pretty clearly tells you that it is not just Ace Attorney with birds, and it's going to put its own spin on things. Unlike Ace Attorney, there's no game over. The game works with your failures, and your decisions have real consequences. If this feature wasn't present, the game's time mechanic where it is entirely possible to get to the trial without getting all the evidence you need would be extremely frustrating, but it doesn't bother me very much seeing as the game will continue in some form no matter what.

I thought going in that the decision to set the game in 19th century France was just another gimmick to go with the bird one, but no, the entire plot of the game hinges on it. I enjoyed this very much. DGS had some historical context in it, but this game takes it to another level.

One thing that disappoints me, however, is the art. It looks lovely, but it's just public domain art by J.J. Grandville. I really wish they went with using his works as inspiration for original artwork. That would make the instances where they do have to use original artwork stick out less, they wouldn't have to contend with as many awkward poses, and there could potentially be room for more expression. However, the soundtrack of public domain classical music was the perfect fit for this game. It was lovely and sorted the game nicely.

I'd recommend this game to Ace Attorney fans, but bear in mind you're getting a different experience. The trials are very easy, but the freedom you have to fuck up during investigations and see the consequences of it makes this quite distinct. Get the game on sale though.

Quake is a good game that overstays its welcome. Movement and shooting feel fantastic, and I really enjoyed the tense atmosphere. Surprise enemies actually made me jump a few times. The level design is a bit hit or miss. Some of them drag on too long and make you spend too much time taking potshots at ogres then ducking out of the way (rinse, repeat), but others are spot on.

The final boss is legendarily terrible but at least I knew that going in so I wasn’t too disappointed. Telefragging a boss is at least more fun than a standard shoot it till it dies deal.

For my first outing with an Id Software game, I enjoyed myself and am excited to try more.

I try to never be too harsh on free projects because even a short, small game is a lot of work from my own experience dipping my toes into the gamedev world. But that being said, something where the takeaway just feels a lot like "irrational woman you cannot please or have a relationship with despite you being soo nicey" makes me leery. I do think the game is meant to leave you with a bad feeling, but maybe not in this particular way.

I think my enjoyment was also impacted by me being too young to feel really nostalgic for the era of internet this game is referencing. However, I was immensely pleased by the ability to have a Saw profile picture so points for that.

It's frustrating when a game sticks very closely to what another game does, and doesn't do enough to distinguish itself and be different. This does not apply to anyone who wants to make a Castlevania game with the serial numbers filed off. This is allowed and encouraged. Konami won't do it so someone's gotta.

Timespinner did an excellent job filling the Castlevania-shaped hole in my heart, especially since it clearly takes a lot of influence from Order of Ecclesia, one of my favorite games of all time. The presentation isn't outstanding, some of the enemy designs in particular are just... ugly, and not in a gross fun way, but the fundamentals are all here. Moving around is great, combat is fun, and though I found the game very easy, that didn't stop me from enjoying myself.

I found the story quite engaging, with its mostly well-handled depiction of warring nations. The game taking advantage of its time travel premise to offer multiple different endings that can't be definitively sorted into "good end" and "bad end" is very nice. I also always have to applaud good queer representation when I see it, especially when it depicts things I don't see as often in games, such as asexuality and polyamory.

A lot of love clearly went into this game, even though not everything works for me. I'm interested in playing the sequel when it comes out.

My single biggest problem with Splatoon 3’s base game single player campaign, Return of the Mammalians, is that it sticks too closely to Octo Expansion in terms of gameplay style, without a clear reason to do so. Seeing elements taken so blatantly without the great execution of its predecessor does not make for a fun gameplay experience, it just makes you wish you were playing Octo Expansion instead. And all three games have the same problem of oh god we’ve been fighting the same reskinned enemies for four different campaigns please just let it end. More than anything, my one wish for Side Order (aside from simply seeing my favorite gay little cephalopods again) was for it to be something different. I’m pleased to say I got my wish. The execution isn’t always great, but by and large, I am pleased with what we got.

Side Order is Splatoon’s first outing as a roguelite, and it works pretty well. Not having singularly created, self-contained levels is definitely a big change, but cycling through different combinations of stages and objectives works better in this style of game. Maybe there could be more objective variety, but I overall find it fun to rise the spire over and over again. Only three bosses is a bit of a letdown, but Asynchronous Rondo is probably the best non-final boss Splatoon has ever given us so I’m ok with that. I also love the palette system! Selecting different powerups to complement your weapon and style of play is super fun.

I also appreciate that this game is as hard as you want it to be. If you want the game to be harder, select more difficult levels, turn off hacks you don’t think you need, use weapons you aren’t as comfortable with. But with enough attempts, even inexperienced players will eventually see the end if they keep trying. I’ve seen some complaints about it being too easy, but being punishingly difficult has never been a part of Splatoon’s design philosophy. Octo Expansion was hard, yes, but anyone can see the credits if they want. It’s the same case here.

Unfortunately, the roguelite structure betrays the story. I actually quite like the story for this game, I think going back to ‘hey octo expansion was fucked up we should talk about that’ was a great idea, but the way and order in which it is presented is… a choice? The majority of the backstory you will only see after you have already completed a first run of the spire. Yes, there is still story and an incentive to keep beating the game with different weapons, but you cannot say that the stakes are still the same. Hell, I think rescuing Marina in the tutorial was a mistake. If they just restructured the order in which you learn information and do things, it would be so much better. I don’t think it’s bad, mind you, just could be better.

However, I am easily pleased. Dear lord, this game is gay. Saying Splatoon is gay is a bit like saying grass is green, but Pearl and Marina are just relentless in this game. I love it. Sappholopods forever. Also, I was extremely pleasantly surprised that they actually committed to Acht/Dedf1sh using they/them! I thought after the marketing they would just dance around it, but nope, it's there in the game. That’s really cool to see.

Yes, Octo Expansion is the better DLC and if you go into Side Order expecting Octo Expansion 2.0, you will be disappointed, as I know many were. I can’t blame anyone for that, Octo Expansion was really something special. But I enjoyed myself playing this game (and still am, I haven’t completed every single palette yet. Unfortunately, my professors don’t accept ‘splatoon’ as a valid reason to miss exams), and I’m happy to see a step in a different direction. I’d love to see more experimentation in the future from the Splatoon team. And maybe also see Off the Hook finally kiss.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, or GODDAMMIT LYNNE NOT AGAIN

If you thought Ace Attorney was wacky, Ghost Trick is all of the typical nonsense of an Ace Attorney game crammed into one night and on steroids. Every single one of this game's 18 chapters threw me for a new loop and I was so hooked I physically couldn't put the game down. Normally with things like this, they're never able to stick the landing and satisfyingly explain and wrap up everything, but Ghost Trick has a surprisingly graceful dismount. Even the big twist has a ton of foreshadowing peppered in if you're paying close attention.

Gameplay wise, conceptually it's like an old school point and click adventure game where you need to make use of various objects throughout the room to come up with some convoluted solution to your situation, but the execution is extremely unique. I've never played anything else quite like it. The gameplay itself contributes to the racketing tension of this game, and also contributed to me being unable to put this game down.

Do I even need to say the presentation is fantastic? The soundtrack is banger after banger, the art style and character design are excellent, and the animated style through which the game shows events is unique and has a lot of charm. Characters have such distinct, exaggerated ways of moving that stick with you.

The characters, however, are the one thing I'll really fault this game on. Comparisons to Ace Attorney are a little unavoidable, and while characters in those games were silly but ultimately had a very real core and a lot of heart, the Ghost Trick characters feel more like vehicles for the story to take place. I suppose that's a consequence of only knowing them for one night and not being able to see much change or alternate sides to them. When the plot works this well, I can't complain too much. Besides, it's not like they're unlikeable at all. Shu Takumi can keep throwing weirdgirls at me and I'll keep standing there like a dog stands in front of a garden hose.

It's such a shame this game failed commercially. I think this story got extremely tightly wrapped up and there's no need for a continuation, but I would love another game in this world featuring these mechanics.

Gato Roboto isn’t a very original experience (really putting the Metroid in metroidvania) but is overall a charming one. Definitely has some issues though. The difficulty is very uneven. Most of the game won’t challenge you too much, but the boss fights can be brutal. With no way to skip the cutscene before the fight, you might find yourself a little annoyed. On the flip side of the problem, the final fight in the game is underwhelmingly easy. Have enough health and the Repeater, and you can just stand still and hold down the fire button to win. The ending itself also comes a little out of nowhere.

Movement mostly feels good, if a bit floaty. It’s fun enough to jump around and shoot. Again, reminiscent of Metroid, but I like Metroid so that’s not too much of an issue. The game looks great and the music is all fun.

Ultimately, your time with this game will depend heavily on how much you’ll let the idea of a cat in a mech suit carry the experience, and your patience for less of a difficulty curve and more of a difficulty roller coaster.