jbcrowe
179 Reviews liked by jbcrowe
Alan Wake II
2023
"Water is the memory of the world. Water finds its way."
--
"Now, when the monster comes, I turn it into art. My nightmares caught on film"
Was originally planning on getting a PS5 when Death Stranding 2 eventually gets released in another year or two. That was until seeing Herald of Darkness performed at The Game Awards. Was already very interested in this game (without any knowledge of the song/section) and then saw that performance, said "fuck" to myself upon realizing that fucker Geoff Keighley got me exactly where he wanted me to be, and went to Best Buy two days later. Herald of Darkness section definitely lived up to my expectations of how they could possibly implement that song into the game but the rest of it is extremely neat too!
Finland Twin Peaks (overused, I know, but there's no better compliment!) that truly knows it's a videogame! What really brings this up to a 5/5 is the use of projections and the darkness. Walking in the woods at night with a flashlight barely getting light through the pitch blackness with Taken wandering all around is so unbelievably unnerving even while playing the game with the sun out. Horrifying atmosphere that just sucks you right into this Silent Hill type hell. The use of projections, fades, and mixture of graphics and real life footage here provide some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen. Kind of joins the Metal Gear Solid series for me where I didn't particularly enjoy engaging in the core combat but love the games for how they utilize this medium to tell their stories. Less for MGS given all the neat variety in it's combat but especially for Alan Wake II for the combat here (more or less, a simple point & shoot with the occasional Alan Wake pimp slap) ranges from a 1/5 to a 3/5 (sometimes a 4/5 on a good day). While certainly not the point/main focus of the game, with this coming from Remedy and with how good the combat is in Max Payne and Control it's kind of shocking how it was never not clunky here and I have yet to read any of the narrative that could suggest that this was on purpose (maybe? Even if...). Of course, comparing it to MGS in this regard is just about the highest praise I can give anything and I wouldn't be giving this a 5/5 if the combat TRULY bothered me (when it hits that 4/5 it's a WILD time). Everything else from the narrative, structure, visuals, sound, and exploration is so unbelievably inspiring that there's no way I can't give this anything less than a 5/5.
Sometime down the line I'll play through the Final Draft/New Game+ mode given from what I've read it sounds completely next-level when compared to the standard NG+ mode, but that's for another time for I've been playing this for too long now. Besides, the spirit of Alan Wake will still be with me for a long, long time anyways as Herald of Darkness [Radio Edit] continues to secure its position as my most listened to song on Spotify this year and I am very, very happy about that.
--
"Now, when the monster comes, I turn it into art. My nightmares caught on film"
Was originally planning on getting a PS5 when Death Stranding 2 eventually gets released in another year or two. That was until seeing Herald of Darkness performed at The Game Awards. Was already very interested in this game (without any knowledge of the song/section) and then saw that performance, said "fuck" to myself upon realizing that fucker Geoff Keighley got me exactly where he wanted me to be, and went to Best Buy two days later. Herald of Darkness section definitely lived up to my expectations of how they could possibly implement that song into the game but the rest of it is extremely neat too!
Finland Twin Peaks (overused, I know, but there's no better compliment!) that truly knows it's a videogame! What really brings this up to a 5/5 is the use of projections and the darkness. Walking in the woods at night with a flashlight barely getting light through the pitch blackness with Taken wandering all around is so unbelievably unnerving even while playing the game with the sun out. Horrifying atmosphere that just sucks you right into this Silent Hill type hell. The use of projections, fades, and mixture of graphics and real life footage here provide some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen. Kind of joins the Metal Gear Solid series for me where I didn't particularly enjoy engaging in the core combat but love the games for how they utilize this medium to tell their stories. Less for MGS given all the neat variety in it's combat but especially for Alan Wake II for the combat here (more or less, a simple point & shoot with the occasional Alan Wake pimp slap) ranges from a 1/5 to a 3/5 (sometimes a 4/5 on a good day). While certainly not the point/main focus of the game, with this coming from Remedy and with how good the combat is in Max Payne and Control it's kind of shocking how it was never not clunky here and I have yet to read any of the narrative that could suggest that this was on purpose (maybe? Even if...). Of course, comparing it to MGS in this regard is just about the highest praise I can give anything and I wouldn't be giving this a 5/5 if the combat TRULY bothered me (when it hits that 4/5 it's a WILD time). Everything else from the narrative, structure, visuals, sound, and exploration is so unbelievably inspiring that there's no way I can't give this anything less than a 5/5.
Sometime down the line I'll play through the Final Draft/New Game+ mode given from what I've read it sounds completely next-level when compared to the standard NG+ mode, but that's for another time for I've been playing this for too long now. Besides, the spirit of Alan Wake will still be with me for a long, long time anyways as Herald of Darkness [Radio Edit] continues to secure its position as my most listened to song on Spotify this year and I am very, very happy about that.
Dredge
2023
This game is an absolute delight. The idea of taking a cozy fishing game and mixing in a slowly building Lovecraftian dread is such a fantastic idea. And, to make it even better, it's full of terrific music and a gorgeous art aesthetic. Games that lean into a strong aesthetic vibe like this are just so wonderful, and I could play a million games like this.
A short but impactful sequel that improves on its predecessor in almost every way. Amazing use of camera movement and cinematics as well as the signature comic-book style of the cutscenes to tell a heartfelt but ultimately tragic story. I'm once again blown away by the fact that Remedy was able to make the two Max Payne games as narratively unique and technically impressive as they did in the early 2000s. Really loved this.
Gungrave G.O.R.E
2022
F the mainstream gaming media and Youtubers for ignoring, dismissing or s**tting on this game. Gungrave G.O.R.E. might be lower budget and rough around the edges but it is a blast to play.
Gungrave G.O.R.E. is in third person and a shooter but don’t think that it is going to be like the third person shooters you’re used to. Gungrave G.O.R.E. is an arcade action shooter and has more in common with games like rail shooters, beat ‘em ups and shmups.
You move Grave, the main character through linear stages in a slow and deliberately designed way that works with how the game plays. He has plenty of actions at his disposal to deal with the waves of enemies. First up is his regular shooting which auto targets or can be more controlled and doesn’t need reloading. You can do a charged shot too which is handy for shielded enemies at a distance. He can jump and dodge. The dodge doesn’t just get you out the way but also gives you a small invincibility window and you can shoot during it too. The jump can also double as a dodge and again you can shoot during it. Grave has melee attacks and starts with a basic combo for breaking shields and deflecting rockets. Grapple ability lets you hold enemies as a shield while still shooting and then throw them and there is a chase which is like a charge forward.
There’s fury mode which when activated pushes close enemies back and gives you a temporary damage boost but you need to have earned it first. Killing enemies in this mode also builds your art score. The art score is one part of getting a good rank at the end of the stage. Burst mode is stationary rapid fire with camera control for dealing with crowds. Storm Barrage is similar to this but needs to be earned and is way faster and as long as you have shield it can’t be interrupted. Executing stunned enemies builds art score and recovers your shield. Finally there are demolition shots, that need to be earned, which are like special attacks that give you a brief window of invincibility and can be devastating to crowds, knock enemies down and gives health back.
All of this works really well together and the game is about constantly moving forward while keeping your beat going (hit counter). When no enemies are present the beat can be kept up by destroying objects. While doing this you need to always be picking the right actions at the right time and the right targets too. Then on top of that you need to build your art score and keep an eye on your shield, health and actions earned. Gungrave G.O.R.E. rewards you for playing well during the action and after stages with a rank and points that can be spent on upgrades and new abilities. Stages are a short blast, about 10 minutes or less and it is fun and addictive.
Unfortunately gameplay can be held back at times by a lack of polish, poor AI and spawns happening too slowly. I got stuck on the environment twice and enemies were frozen and unkillable a couple of times too. The constant onslaught of gameplay, bullets and explosions can be tiring and repetitive. There are two side characters as well which go underused and in Quartz’s case is underdeveloped too. Gameplay would have benefited from a shorter run time with less but more highly polished stages.
I can’t say how well Gungrave G.O.R.E. does presenting the source material because I haven’t played the previous games or seen the anime. I found the story, characters, dialogue and cutscenes to be pretty bland and didn’t get into it at all. Don’t get me wrong it can be freaking cool from time to time but mostly it’s just not. It lacks charm and charisma. Cutscenes can often feel lifeless and the whole experience exudes low budget. The voice acting doesn’t help either. Gungrave G.O.R.E. could have benefited a lot from just going all out silly and way more over the top. At least the sound effects and music are fun and pretty well done.
The visuals of Gungrave G.O.R.E. are not too impressive. It looks like an older game that has been polished up a little for a PS5 release. The developers have done a good job making up for this with style and variety. There are 31 stages that take you different places in the world with different types of settings. It also has a diverse line up of enemies to blast away and multiple bosses too. The old anime/ PS2 era style is cool and a bit nostalgic.
I hope that the developers of Gungrave G.O.R.E. are well aware that there are plenty of gamers out there that still appreciate this type of game and that what they have achieved here is pretty cool. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this developer to see what they do next. I’m having plenty of fun with Gungrave G.O.R.E. but I know many players will bounce off this game quickly. I would still give it a strong recommendation to anyone that enjoys arcade and action games.
7.0/10
Gungrave G.O.R.E. is in third person and a shooter but don’t think that it is going to be like the third person shooters you’re used to. Gungrave G.O.R.E. is an arcade action shooter and has more in common with games like rail shooters, beat ‘em ups and shmups.
You move Grave, the main character through linear stages in a slow and deliberately designed way that works with how the game plays. He has plenty of actions at his disposal to deal with the waves of enemies. First up is his regular shooting which auto targets or can be more controlled and doesn’t need reloading. You can do a charged shot too which is handy for shielded enemies at a distance. He can jump and dodge. The dodge doesn’t just get you out the way but also gives you a small invincibility window and you can shoot during it too. The jump can also double as a dodge and again you can shoot during it. Grave has melee attacks and starts with a basic combo for breaking shields and deflecting rockets. Grapple ability lets you hold enemies as a shield while still shooting and then throw them and there is a chase which is like a charge forward.
There’s fury mode which when activated pushes close enemies back and gives you a temporary damage boost but you need to have earned it first. Killing enemies in this mode also builds your art score. The art score is one part of getting a good rank at the end of the stage. Burst mode is stationary rapid fire with camera control for dealing with crowds. Storm Barrage is similar to this but needs to be earned and is way faster and as long as you have shield it can’t be interrupted. Executing stunned enemies builds art score and recovers your shield. Finally there are demolition shots, that need to be earned, which are like special attacks that give you a brief window of invincibility and can be devastating to crowds, knock enemies down and gives health back.
All of this works really well together and the game is about constantly moving forward while keeping your beat going (hit counter). When no enemies are present the beat can be kept up by destroying objects. While doing this you need to always be picking the right actions at the right time and the right targets too. Then on top of that you need to build your art score and keep an eye on your shield, health and actions earned. Gungrave G.O.R.E. rewards you for playing well during the action and after stages with a rank and points that can be spent on upgrades and new abilities. Stages are a short blast, about 10 minutes or less and it is fun and addictive.
Unfortunately gameplay can be held back at times by a lack of polish, poor AI and spawns happening too slowly. I got stuck on the environment twice and enemies were frozen and unkillable a couple of times too. The constant onslaught of gameplay, bullets and explosions can be tiring and repetitive. There are two side characters as well which go underused and in Quartz’s case is underdeveloped too. Gameplay would have benefited from a shorter run time with less but more highly polished stages.
I can’t say how well Gungrave G.O.R.E. does presenting the source material because I haven’t played the previous games or seen the anime. I found the story, characters, dialogue and cutscenes to be pretty bland and didn’t get into it at all. Don’t get me wrong it can be freaking cool from time to time but mostly it’s just not. It lacks charm and charisma. Cutscenes can often feel lifeless and the whole experience exudes low budget. The voice acting doesn’t help either. Gungrave G.O.R.E. could have benefited a lot from just going all out silly and way more over the top. At least the sound effects and music are fun and pretty well done.
The visuals of Gungrave G.O.R.E. are not too impressive. It looks like an older game that has been polished up a little for a PS5 release. The developers have done a good job making up for this with style and variety. There are 31 stages that take you different places in the world with different types of settings. It also has a diverse line up of enemies to blast away and multiple bosses too. The old anime/ PS2 era style is cool and a bit nostalgic.
I hope that the developers of Gungrave G.O.R.E. are well aware that there are plenty of gamers out there that still appreciate this type of game and that what they have achieved here is pretty cool. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this developer to see what they do next. I’m having plenty of fun with Gungrave G.O.R.E. but I know many players will bounce off this game quickly. I would still give it a strong recommendation to anyone that enjoys arcade and action games.
7.0/10
Evil West
2022
Evil West is just simply a fun game that comes from the developers of the recent Shadow Warrior trilogy. It has been on my radar since it launched but thanks to PS Plus Essential it jumped up my list and after playing it I’d like to grab a physical copy. It’s a western/horror beat ‘em up with guns and it feels like something from the 360/PS3 era, in a good way.
Evil West is set during the 1800s in an alternate universe where the American frontier needs to be protected from a supernatural threat. That’s where the Rentier Institute comes in. This organisation and their agents fight against vampires and their familiars. You play as one of these agents, Jesse Rentier. The humans are doing quite well thanks to the advancing technology and one vampire sees this as a threat to the continued existence of his kind, so he declares war. From here shit obviously hits the fan and let’s just says you’ve got a lot of monsters to kill. The world and lore of Evil West is surprisingly really cool. There is easily potential here for a prequel or sequel. The story and characters are enjoyable in a B horror movie way and it mostly moves along at a good pace, with some detours. The dialogue is fun with performances well suited to the characters and the type of game this is. There are also collectables along the way that flesh things out a bit more.
The presentation is spot on for this type of game. The cutscenes are in widescreen, with film grain and a slightly worn out look to suit the old western and horror movie style. I think they should have gone further though and carried this through more into during the gameplay too. The locations and the variety of the locations are just fantastic. There’s so many different ‘western’ locations here from rail yards, to towns, swamps, sawmills, mountains, mining areas and oil fields, with many places pushed beyond the norm into something hellish. Each location has its own distinct personality while still fitting perfectly into this world. I love all the details too, like the spiders and webs and the bats and the huge full moon filling the sky. The characters and monsters look very good too. They’ve done such a good job with this games look and with how well they blended the horror, sci-fi and western elements together. Unfortunately though the more you venture into this game the more cracks appear. Technical problems and a lack of polish here and there bring things down a bit. The worst thing I encountered was a boss that completely disappeared from the stage we were fighting in, giving me no choice but to restart the fight.
One thing that looked off to me at first was the glowing chains that signify that this is something to interact with. But not long after I realised they fit in just fine as Evil West is such a game-y game. It’s broken into chapters, each one being a narrow linear path that regularly opens to larger circles, so you always know when a fight is coming. It even has a couple of mine cart rides. There are things to find just around the corner or by looking up or around. Usually it is chests or boxes that burst into a shower of shiny coins that are used for upgrades. The upgrades and perks are very straight forward but progression is constant and satisfying with the game constantly throwing new things at you. By the end you’ll be an electrically charged powerhouse, with a ridiculous arsenal, which you use to tear apart the enemies in gory, messy style. It’s absolutely a game-y game and it is kind of glorious but also formulaic and would be too monotonous if it wasn’t so good at putting a smile on your face.
One of the reasons for that smile on your face is going to be the combat. It’s an over the shoulder, third person shooter blended with a beat ‘em up. You get a couple of main guns for precise shooting, grenades and a revolver you unload from the hip, a shotgun as well for quick, close, heavy damage and a couple more fun surprises. The melee part is punch combos, launching uppercuts and slams. You get a cool electric gauntlet that lets you stun and pull yourself to enemies or pull the stunned enemies to you. For defence you have a block, a kick that interrupts and a quick evade that if pressed twice you will fully roll away. There are a couple of special things you can do too that I won’t give away. It works, and works really well for the most part. You’ll be zipping around, punching faces and blasting away as you try to manage the bloodthirsty creatures all around you. But this sea of blood, carnage and fun does trip up and fall short in some ways.
Evil West shares the same problem as God of War (2018), which is a close over the shoulder camera limiting your view, with enemies, attacks and ranged enemies all around, at least Evil West is more fun than God of War though. Evil West handles this issue with on screen indicators and sounds but you will still find yourself getting smacked by attacks coming from off screen every now and then and it might even lead to a death here and there. This issue compounds with another problem which is just how busy the screen can get, resulting in obscured action. As you can probably guess there’s a bit of frustration to be had with the combination of these problems. The difficulty actually kind of helps fix this but is also another fault. The game is just too easy on normal, things don’t get going until towards the end and you can easily not die for most of the game. Playing the game on Evil difficulty, new game plus felt like the sweet spot, once you get past a simple start. During this second play through I had all the tools and previous experience but it kept the tension up. I was on my toes and punished for mistakes. Frustration did kick in a bit towards the end of my Evil difficulty play through and it highlighted the combats flaws. Some other things you may encounter is getting a bit stuck between the enemies and environment, the electric pull not working smoothly, things not feeling as snappy and responsive as you would like and there is not an enormous amount of depth to it all. However I had far more fun than troubles with the combat.
Evil West is a good time that feels like an older game with some modern benefits. I enjoyed going through the game twice and would’ve gone for the Platinum Trophy if there was a quick, simple way to replay the bosses. If you’re not a fan of things that are a bit silly, over the top and violent then clearly give this a miss. But if you are a fan of this or can at least tolerate it then Evil West is easily worth a play through maybe even two.
7.7/10
Evil West is set during the 1800s in an alternate universe where the American frontier needs to be protected from a supernatural threat. That’s where the Rentier Institute comes in. This organisation and their agents fight against vampires and their familiars. You play as one of these agents, Jesse Rentier. The humans are doing quite well thanks to the advancing technology and one vampire sees this as a threat to the continued existence of his kind, so he declares war. From here shit obviously hits the fan and let’s just says you’ve got a lot of monsters to kill. The world and lore of Evil West is surprisingly really cool. There is easily potential here for a prequel or sequel. The story and characters are enjoyable in a B horror movie way and it mostly moves along at a good pace, with some detours. The dialogue is fun with performances well suited to the characters and the type of game this is. There are also collectables along the way that flesh things out a bit more.
The presentation is spot on for this type of game. The cutscenes are in widescreen, with film grain and a slightly worn out look to suit the old western and horror movie style. I think they should have gone further though and carried this through more into during the gameplay too. The locations and the variety of the locations are just fantastic. There’s so many different ‘western’ locations here from rail yards, to towns, swamps, sawmills, mountains, mining areas and oil fields, with many places pushed beyond the norm into something hellish. Each location has its own distinct personality while still fitting perfectly into this world. I love all the details too, like the spiders and webs and the bats and the huge full moon filling the sky. The characters and monsters look very good too. They’ve done such a good job with this games look and with how well they blended the horror, sci-fi and western elements together. Unfortunately though the more you venture into this game the more cracks appear. Technical problems and a lack of polish here and there bring things down a bit. The worst thing I encountered was a boss that completely disappeared from the stage we were fighting in, giving me no choice but to restart the fight.
One thing that looked off to me at first was the glowing chains that signify that this is something to interact with. But not long after I realised they fit in just fine as Evil West is such a game-y game. It’s broken into chapters, each one being a narrow linear path that regularly opens to larger circles, so you always know when a fight is coming. It even has a couple of mine cart rides. There are things to find just around the corner or by looking up or around. Usually it is chests or boxes that burst into a shower of shiny coins that are used for upgrades. The upgrades and perks are very straight forward but progression is constant and satisfying with the game constantly throwing new things at you. By the end you’ll be an electrically charged powerhouse, with a ridiculous arsenal, which you use to tear apart the enemies in gory, messy style. It’s absolutely a game-y game and it is kind of glorious but also formulaic and would be too monotonous if it wasn’t so good at putting a smile on your face.
One of the reasons for that smile on your face is going to be the combat. It’s an over the shoulder, third person shooter blended with a beat ‘em up. You get a couple of main guns for precise shooting, grenades and a revolver you unload from the hip, a shotgun as well for quick, close, heavy damage and a couple more fun surprises. The melee part is punch combos, launching uppercuts and slams. You get a cool electric gauntlet that lets you stun and pull yourself to enemies or pull the stunned enemies to you. For defence you have a block, a kick that interrupts and a quick evade that if pressed twice you will fully roll away. There are a couple of special things you can do too that I won’t give away. It works, and works really well for the most part. You’ll be zipping around, punching faces and blasting away as you try to manage the bloodthirsty creatures all around you. But this sea of blood, carnage and fun does trip up and fall short in some ways.
Evil West shares the same problem as God of War (2018), which is a close over the shoulder camera limiting your view, with enemies, attacks and ranged enemies all around, at least Evil West is more fun than God of War though. Evil West handles this issue with on screen indicators and sounds but you will still find yourself getting smacked by attacks coming from off screen every now and then and it might even lead to a death here and there. This issue compounds with another problem which is just how busy the screen can get, resulting in obscured action. As you can probably guess there’s a bit of frustration to be had with the combination of these problems. The difficulty actually kind of helps fix this but is also another fault. The game is just too easy on normal, things don’t get going until towards the end and you can easily not die for most of the game. Playing the game on Evil difficulty, new game plus felt like the sweet spot, once you get past a simple start. During this second play through I had all the tools and previous experience but it kept the tension up. I was on my toes and punished for mistakes. Frustration did kick in a bit towards the end of my Evil difficulty play through and it highlighted the combats flaws. Some other things you may encounter is getting a bit stuck between the enemies and environment, the electric pull not working smoothly, things not feeling as snappy and responsive as you would like and there is not an enormous amount of depth to it all. However I had far more fun than troubles with the combat.
Evil West is a good time that feels like an older game with some modern benefits. I enjoyed going through the game twice and would’ve gone for the Platinum Trophy if there was a quick, simple way to replay the bosses. If you’re not a fan of things that are a bit silly, over the top and violent then clearly give this a miss. But if you are a fan of this or can at least tolerate it then Evil West is easily worth a play through maybe even two.
7.7/10
Wanted: Dead
2023
Wanted: Dead is another game unfairly thrown under the bus or ignored by main stream videogame reviewers. Things have been like this for a long time now but it’s still sad to see and getting worse. Mainstream videogame reviews are hurting games, the gaming industry and gamers. The importance placed on game review scores and the metacritic number is not a good thing as it causes developers to create safe games that appeal to the mainstream game reviewers. And we all know how good the big game reviewers opinions are – weak, ignorant, shallow first impressions, pushed out quickly to get clicks, written by people that didn’t pay for it, didn’t have enough time to learn to play it properly, or didn’t care and are in a position where they can’t be too critical as it may affect their access to the industry, advertising spending and connections with their peers. So then along comes a game like Wanted: Dead that they can ‘safely’ shit on or ignore or do a really bad job reviewing and most people won’t care but it hurts the game, the developers, the industry and gamers. (Obviously this is a generalisation and gamers aren’t much better.)
Wanted: Dead is not a 4 out of 10 or worse. Wanted: Dead is lower budget and rough around the edges but it is a really solid action game with plenty of personality. I honestly think it is an enjoyable, charismatic game made by developers earnestly trying to make something fun and challenging in their own style.
First let’s get the bad out of the way. The two big negatives I see in reviews are low production values/ lack of polish and difficulty. There is plenty of truth to the first point. The graphics are not the best and the frame rate does drop at times. Objects and environments are not super detailed and the character models look dated. The enemies pass though surfaces they shouldn’t occasionally and the camera doesn’t always do a perfect job. During my second play through I had multiple crashes and I think one of the trophies may not be unlocking. However none of this is bad enough to make me stop playing or dislike the game but of course it does lower my opinion and I wish the experience was smoother and better looking. The difficulty on the other hand is a deliberate part of the game. If you don’t want to learn how to play and you don’t give yourself some time to get decent at it then you’re in for a frustrating time. Once you get the hang of things and unlock some skills the game becomes pretty great. Don’t get me wrong the game still throws some really hard sections your way, especially in the final stage, but the only part of the game that feels bulls**t hard is those damn minigames, which are generally optional.
The story and characters of Wanted: Dead was something I didn’t think I was going to care for at first but overtime I got more into it. Especially the quirky cast of characters, they grew on me so much and by the end I was left wanting more. What helps a lot is that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and has you regularly changing from one thing to another. One minute you’re watching a cutscene, then some ultra violent gameplay, then to the crane game, then an anime cutscene, then karaoke, then live action cooking lessons, etc. It’s a fun, wild time but the humour and style won’t be for everyone. Wanted: Dead may not have a ‘good’ story or ‘deep’ characters but that isn’t a problem. It is totally fine to make something that is just kind of cool and fun.
Visually as I already said Wanted: Dead is not very technically impressive. I still like the look of it though because of the style, direction and character designs. The soundtrack was pretty cool and l liked the voice acting. It suited the characters and tone of the game.
Now we’re at the meat of the game, the excellent hack n slash/third person shooter hybrid combat. The problem with this is you don’t get the depth of a hack n slash or a TPS but you do gain the fun, interesting gameplay of mixing the two. Your main gun, second gun, grenades and cover work like a TPS. Your pistol is for counters, light hits and interrupting enemies. Your sword is for heavier hits, basic combos and charge attacks. You also have a block, parry, counter hit, side step, dodge roll, sprint, slide and sometimes a chainsaw. On top of that you have executions, slow mo and slow mo handgun attack all earned by playing well. You gain health back by hurting enemies too so it’s the type of game that rewards good play and encourages aggressive play. These elements mix so well together and once you get good and are in the zone it is a blast that looks so freaking cool. There is depth here or you can just get good enough to enjoy and finish it. Yeah it’s hard but worth it.
Wanted: Dead’s flaws are not enough to drag down the fun too much. I was swearing and laughing throughout and it will be a cult classic, if it’s not already. If it were slightly longer, had higher production values and was more highly polished it would be a game of the year contender for me. It is really important to support games like this. If people didn’t buy and appreciate King’s field, Lost kingdoms and Demon’s souls we wouldn’t have Elden Ring and Bloodborne. I would strongly recommend Wanted: Dead to anyone that enjoys Japanese action games.
7.4/10
Just wanted to add a little extra to this:
Since I first typed up this review I have played it two more times, including on Japanese hard mode and I fell more in love with it. I also didn’t give the story enough credit in my review. It’s still not something super deep or anything but there are obviously very deliberate choices that went into the this and are there for a reason. I’ll have to pull things apart or just get lazy and look for a good YouTube video on it. Part of me wants to raise this score even higher but I can’t ignore those flaws.
Wanted: Dead is not a 4 out of 10 or worse. Wanted: Dead is lower budget and rough around the edges but it is a really solid action game with plenty of personality. I honestly think it is an enjoyable, charismatic game made by developers earnestly trying to make something fun and challenging in their own style.
First let’s get the bad out of the way. The two big negatives I see in reviews are low production values/ lack of polish and difficulty. There is plenty of truth to the first point. The graphics are not the best and the frame rate does drop at times. Objects and environments are not super detailed and the character models look dated. The enemies pass though surfaces they shouldn’t occasionally and the camera doesn’t always do a perfect job. During my second play through I had multiple crashes and I think one of the trophies may not be unlocking. However none of this is bad enough to make me stop playing or dislike the game but of course it does lower my opinion and I wish the experience was smoother and better looking. The difficulty on the other hand is a deliberate part of the game. If you don’t want to learn how to play and you don’t give yourself some time to get decent at it then you’re in for a frustrating time. Once you get the hang of things and unlock some skills the game becomes pretty great. Don’t get me wrong the game still throws some really hard sections your way, especially in the final stage, but the only part of the game that feels bulls**t hard is those damn minigames, which are generally optional.
The story and characters of Wanted: Dead was something I didn’t think I was going to care for at first but overtime I got more into it. Especially the quirky cast of characters, they grew on me so much and by the end I was left wanting more. What helps a lot is that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and has you regularly changing from one thing to another. One minute you’re watching a cutscene, then some ultra violent gameplay, then to the crane game, then an anime cutscene, then karaoke, then live action cooking lessons, etc. It’s a fun, wild time but the humour and style won’t be for everyone. Wanted: Dead may not have a ‘good’ story or ‘deep’ characters but that isn’t a problem. It is totally fine to make something that is just kind of cool and fun.
Visually as I already said Wanted: Dead is not very technically impressive. I still like the look of it though because of the style, direction and character designs. The soundtrack was pretty cool and l liked the voice acting. It suited the characters and tone of the game.
Now we’re at the meat of the game, the excellent hack n slash/third person shooter hybrid combat. The problem with this is you don’t get the depth of a hack n slash or a TPS but you do gain the fun, interesting gameplay of mixing the two. Your main gun, second gun, grenades and cover work like a TPS. Your pistol is for counters, light hits and interrupting enemies. Your sword is for heavier hits, basic combos and charge attacks. You also have a block, parry, counter hit, side step, dodge roll, sprint, slide and sometimes a chainsaw. On top of that you have executions, slow mo and slow mo handgun attack all earned by playing well. You gain health back by hurting enemies too so it’s the type of game that rewards good play and encourages aggressive play. These elements mix so well together and once you get good and are in the zone it is a blast that looks so freaking cool. There is depth here or you can just get good enough to enjoy and finish it. Yeah it’s hard but worth it.
Wanted: Dead’s flaws are not enough to drag down the fun too much. I was swearing and laughing throughout and it will be a cult classic, if it’s not already. If it were slightly longer, had higher production values and was more highly polished it would be a game of the year contender for me. It is really important to support games like this. If people didn’t buy and appreciate King’s field, Lost kingdoms and Demon’s souls we wouldn’t have Elden Ring and Bloodborne. I would strongly recommend Wanted: Dead to anyone that enjoys Japanese action games.
7.4/10
Just wanted to add a little extra to this:
Since I first typed up this review I have played it two more times, including on Japanese hard mode and I fell more in love with it. I also didn’t give the story enough credit in my review. It’s still not something super deep or anything but there are obviously very deliberate choices that went into the this and are there for a reason. I’ll have to pull things apart or just get lazy and look for a good YouTube video on it. Part of me wants to raise this score even higher but I can’t ignore those flaws.
Wanted: Dead
2023
Wanted: Dead is a suped-up 2005 Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster seconds away from a head-on collision with a tall oak tree. It’s fun while it lasts but it will crash.
Wanted: Dead
2023
This game is really cool in a janky PS2 Grasshopper-esque action game sorta way, and much like the best janky action games out there I got extremely filtered towards the end of the game and dropped it out of frustration. Need more games with this much dedication to visceral combat and weird aesthetics even if they don't pan out 100%
I had a blast playing this coop. The gameplay loop is really addictive, the whole thing of leveling up each form and unlocking new spells and perks is insanely fun. Trying different builds with each form and building some insanely broken stuff was the highlight for me.
So after about 30 hours i finished it. I was close to giving up a couple times, but there was something about this game that always pulled me back. I loved the big bright colourful graphics, the animations, the different forms and their different attacks and perks. You can tell they really put a lot of effort into making a balanced game where you can get a lot out of every character if you put the time into it. The world map and all the different dungeons got a little grindy but still enjoyable enough to keep me playing. Oh shit, and the music! So fucking good dude. I had some of these tunes in my head for days.
I haven't got this addicted to a rogue-like since Hades, and that's a super high compliment.
I haven't got this addicted to a rogue-like since Hades, and that's a super high compliment.
Perfect little game.
Just smiling through the credits right now.
Just smiling through the credits right now.
Max Payne
2001
I had only played the third game so I figured i would go back and try the OG's and while I can 100% see why this game is so well revered but unfortunately I did not have a great time playing it.
Firstly I think the narrative is amazing, such a great broody noir detective story. For a 23 year old game it surprisingly has a large focus on its narrative and atmosphere. James McCaffery gives an iconic performance as Max Payne and his snarky delivery adds a decent bit of humour to the still image cutscenes. Speaking of the cutscenes I really like the drawn comic panels, it gives a kind of court room sketch artist vibe and in some cases can look really creepy, way better than polygon character cutscenes.
Unfortunately the game really shows its age in its gameplay/level design. I never really found any problem in parts 1 & 2 but part 3 I regularly found myself getting stuck on levels for a long period of time. A lot of this can be put down to the game trying to do more than it was capable of such as "Platforming". The part 3 prologue is a good example, You have to walk across a really thin line whilst in janky slow motion and have to jump to other really thin lines and pray that you are going in the right way due to their being no direction what so ever. This section alone has killed any desire for me to revisit this game
Now of course this game has its problems because it is 23 years old, and whilst it has a surprisingly engrossing narrative and a really memorable protagonist, I do not think that it is a masterpiece. I still hope for a remake of both this and Max Payne 2 but due to recent events its seeming more and more unlikely. So if this will end up being the only rendition of this game there is then you could do far far worse.
Firstly I think the narrative is amazing, such a great broody noir detective story. For a 23 year old game it surprisingly has a large focus on its narrative and atmosphere. James McCaffery gives an iconic performance as Max Payne and his snarky delivery adds a decent bit of humour to the still image cutscenes. Speaking of the cutscenes I really like the drawn comic panels, it gives a kind of court room sketch artist vibe and in some cases can look really creepy, way better than polygon character cutscenes.
Unfortunately the game really shows its age in its gameplay/level design. I never really found any problem in parts 1 & 2 but part 3 I regularly found myself getting stuck on levels for a long period of time. A lot of this can be put down to the game trying to do more than it was capable of such as "Platforming". The part 3 prologue is a good example, You have to walk across a really thin line whilst in janky slow motion and have to jump to other really thin lines and pray that you are going in the right way due to their being no direction what so ever. This section alone has killed any desire for me to revisit this game
Now of course this game has its problems because it is 23 years old, and whilst it has a surprisingly engrossing narrative and a really memorable protagonist, I do not think that it is a masterpiece. I still hope for a remake of both this and Max Payne 2 but due to recent events its seeming more and more unlikely. So if this will end up being the only rendition of this game there is then you could do far far worse.
This review contains spoilers
This review will contain full story spoilers.
I had been looking for a reason to replay this game and figured this was as good a chance as any. So I am reviewing this as the whole game and I will talk about the "Remaster" at the end. This is undoubtably one of the most divisive games of all time, but as someone who has always liked this game I am happy to see that since its release a lot more people are coming around to it. I want to take a look at the controversial narrative choices that this game made and give my own opinion on them I have a lot to say here so this will be a long one.
I think this should be considered as one of the most over hated games of all time. The vicious backlash that this got upon its release baffles me as when I first played it I found it to be one of the most harrowing and engrossing stories that I had ever seen. This game makes you feel empty by the time it is over. A brutal depiction of what the thirst for revenge can do to people, pair that with an already ruined apocalyptic world and you have yourself one of the most emotionally gut wrenching stories that has ever been seen in a videogame.
Straight away lets talk about one of the biggest controversies, what happened to Joel. Within the first two hours of the story, Joel is killed by the new protagonist Abby. He is killed in a brutal way with Ellie unfortunately forced to watch as Abby beats him to death. This was an incredibly ballsy move to put so early into the game, as far as i can tell most people thought that Joel was going to die in this game but from the hatred poured out online most people were not happy. In my own opinion, I don't have a problem with Joel's death, it is brutal don't get me wrong but it does make a lot of sense, Joel had crossed a lot of people, someone was bound to catch him eventually. It pushes Ellie's character in the direction she needs to go in this game and i think if the ending was handled a bit better this wouldn't be as controversial is it is.
The next and probably biggest controversy is having to play as Abby. Now when i first played this game i had a very similar reaction to most people so this time through i looked at it differently. When you really think about it Ellie and Abby are doing pretty much the same thing. Ellie is hunting down Abby for killing Joel, as Abby hunted down Joel for killing her father. Now i do think that the writers tried to hard to make Abby sympathetic which they should of realised was never going to work but her section of gameplay is just as enjoyable as the first half, so much so that it feels like two completely different games. By day 2 of Abby's section I had it felt like all the stuff with Ellie was part of a different game. While Abby's character in my opinion isn't anywhere close to Ellie's she still has a half decent arc. One complaint i have about Abby's section is having to fight Ellie, The fact that anyone working on this game thought that they had gave Abby enough development for players to like her over Ellie is insane and it is a choice that still boggles my mind.
Lastly, the ending, and this is one i fully agree with. I do believe that the ending was a cop out and should of been handled in a much different way, my biggest problem is that it completely 180's Ellie's motive out of nowhere. When you take control of Ellie during the Santa Barbara section she is obsessed with finding and killing Abby, she gave up everything she had to finish what she started, only at the last second to let her go. This choice makes no sense to me as the writers could of easily had the same ending which i think would of made it hit harder. Going down the whole "Revenge doesn't change anything" route. Having Ellie kill Abby but still being burdened with everything she has done which would still give that "It was all for nothing" ending but at least players would of had the satisfaction of avenging Joel. Instead they go down the forgiveness route, which I originally took for one of those hard pill to swallow endings which make you consider your own morals but this time upon completion i questioned it a lot more because Ellie has killed hundreds of people to get to Abby, but only takes the forgiveness route at the last second. If anyone disagrees feel free to try and explain why this was the right choice but to me this just seems like a strange choice to make, probably due to Druckmann's obsession with Abby and probably wanted to keep her alive to be the protagonist if there is to be a 3rd game.
Besides these moments I think this game is almost perfect. The story is told in strange ways, struggles with pacing at points and has an ending that falls flat, but the game still manages to tell an amazing story. With great characters and performances especially Ashley Johnson as Ellie who gives a spectacular performance. Some side characters of note that i think stood out are Lev, Tommy and Dina who all add a lot to the part of the story they are in. Tommy especially is a fucking terminator in this game.
Gameplay wise it keeps the great resource management paired with realistic shooting. Adding small differences between both characters is a good way to keep it from feeling stale. Like Ellie being able to kill clickers without having to craft shiv's. Each character gets a specific arsenal as well which keeps everything feeling different.
Visually this game is breath-taking. Speaking for both games here as the difference is almost unnoticeable. The attention to detail is phenomenal with stuff like cuts healing across the multiple days. No complaints at all here.
Now to talk about this "Remaster". Did this 4 year old game which was already a spectacle on last gen hardware need a remaster. No. But from what i have played of it, the no return mode is a lot of fun and makes up for the £10 price tag alone for me. Other neat stuff like skins and the lost levels are good editions too. I really think this should of been called Directors cut or something as I couldn't see any difference beside a bit of a better frame rate. Only looking at the remaster its no higher than a 5 out of 10. The No return game mode is good but calling it a remaster is a bit of a strange move considering it really didn't need one. But the £10 price tag is reasonable and at least they aren't charging 70 like they did for the last remake.
Overall, The Last of Us part 2 will forever be controversial, it is one of those games that will no one will share the same opinion of. However in my opinion looking past some poor writing choices and a bit to much forced sympathetically character moments this game is amazing and is one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had.
I had been looking for a reason to replay this game and figured this was as good a chance as any. So I am reviewing this as the whole game and I will talk about the "Remaster" at the end. This is undoubtably one of the most divisive games of all time, but as someone who has always liked this game I am happy to see that since its release a lot more people are coming around to it. I want to take a look at the controversial narrative choices that this game made and give my own opinion on them I have a lot to say here so this will be a long one.
I think this should be considered as one of the most over hated games of all time. The vicious backlash that this got upon its release baffles me as when I first played it I found it to be one of the most harrowing and engrossing stories that I had ever seen. This game makes you feel empty by the time it is over. A brutal depiction of what the thirst for revenge can do to people, pair that with an already ruined apocalyptic world and you have yourself one of the most emotionally gut wrenching stories that has ever been seen in a videogame.
Straight away lets talk about one of the biggest controversies, what happened to Joel. Within the first two hours of the story, Joel is killed by the new protagonist Abby. He is killed in a brutal way with Ellie unfortunately forced to watch as Abby beats him to death. This was an incredibly ballsy move to put so early into the game, as far as i can tell most people thought that Joel was going to die in this game but from the hatred poured out online most people were not happy. In my own opinion, I don't have a problem with Joel's death, it is brutal don't get me wrong but it does make a lot of sense, Joel had crossed a lot of people, someone was bound to catch him eventually. It pushes Ellie's character in the direction she needs to go in this game and i think if the ending was handled a bit better this wouldn't be as controversial is it is.
The next and probably biggest controversy is having to play as Abby. Now when i first played this game i had a very similar reaction to most people so this time through i looked at it differently. When you really think about it Ellie and Abby are doing pretty much the same thing. Ellie is hunting down Abby for killing Joel, as Abby hunted down Joel for killing her father. Now i do think that the writers tried to hard to make Abby sympathetic which they should of realised was never going to work but her section of gameplay is just as enjoyable as the first half, so much so that it feels like two completely different games. By day 2 of Abby's section I had it felt like all the stuff with Ellie was part of a different game. While Abby's character in my opinion isn't anywhere close to Ellie's she still has a half decent arc. One complaint i have about Abby's section is having to fight Ellie, The fact that anyone working on this game thought that they had gave Abby enough development for players to like her over Ellie is insane and it is a choice that still boggles my mind.
Lastly, the ending, and this is one i fully agree with. I do believe that the ending was a cop out and should of been handled in a much different way, my biggest problem is that it completely 180's Ellie's motive out of nowhere. When you take control of Ellie during the Santa Barbara section she is obsessed with finding and killing Abby, she gave up everything she had to finish what she started, only at the last second to let her go. This choice makes no sense to me as the writers could of easily had the same ending which i think would of made it hit harder. Going down the whole "Revenge doesn't change anything" route. Having Ellie kill Abby but still being burdened with everything she has done which would still give that "It was all for nothing" ending but at least players would of had the satisfaction of avenging Joel. Instead they go down the forgiveness route, which I originally took for one of those hard pill to swallow endings which make you consider your own morals but this time upon completion i questioned it a lot more because Ellie has killed hundreds of people to get to Abby, but only takes the forgiveness route at the last second. If anyone disagrees feel free to try and explain why this was the right choice but to me this just seems like a strange choice to make, probably due to Druckmann's obsession with Abby and probably wanted to keep her alive to be the protagonist if there is to be a 3rd game.
Besides these moments I think this game is almost perfect. The story is told in strange ways, struggles with pacing at points and has an ending that falls flat, but the game still manages to tell an amazing story. With great characters and performances especially Ashley Johnson as Ellie who gives a spectacular performance. Some side characters of note that i think stood out are Lev, Tommy and Dina who all add a lot to the part of the story they are in. Tommy especially is a fucking terminator in this game.
Gameplay wise it keeps the great resource management paired with realistic shooting. Adding small differences between both characters is a good way to keep it from feeling stale. Like Ellie being able to kill clickers without having to craft shiv's. Each character gets a specific arsenal as well which keeps everything feeling different.
Visually this game is breath-taking. Speaking for both games here as the difference is almost unnoticeable. The attention to detail is phenomenal with stuff like cuts healing across the multiple days. No complaints at all here.
Now to talk about this "Remaster". Did this 4 year old game which was already a spectacle on last gen hardware need a remaster. No. But from what i have played of it, the no return mode is a lot of fun and makes up for the £10 price tag alone for me. Other neat stuff like skins and the lost levels are good editions too. I really think this should of been called Directors cut or something as I couldn't see any difference beside a bit of a better frame rate. Only looking at the remaster its no higher than a 5 out of 10. The No return game mode is good but calling it a remaster is a bit of a strange move considering it really didn't need one. But the £10 price tag is reasonable and at least they aren't charging 70 like they did for the last remake.
Overall, The Last of Us part 2 will forever be controversial, it is one of those games that will no one will share the same opinion of. However in my opinion looking past some poor writing choices and a bit to much forced sympathetically character moments this game is amazing and is one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had.
Hey gamers
I'm not interested in talking about the story. The discourse surrounding it continues to be a toxic cesspit 3 and a half years later. I have my issues with it, but I like it overall. I admire stories that are challenging and ambitious in its narrative, themes, and subject matter.
First, while I agree that the term "remastered" is quite generous, I can't get on board with the hate. The bonus content alone is enough to warrant the 15 CAD price for the upgrade. You're not paying the full 65 CAD for this if you already own a copy of the original; if you don't, then guess what? You can still buy the original version which is currently 50 CAD. That's right, the price difference between the two versions is the same as the upgrade price. I promise you that if all this bonus content was released as a DLC package for PS5 owners priced at 15 CAD, which is exactly what this release is, then nobody would bat an eye; but people are all up-in-arms over this for reasons I don't understand. If you're still upset about that, then where were you in 2014 when The Last of Us Remastered came out? A whopping 13 months after the first game, Naughty Dog re-released The Last of Us on the PS4 with the exact same goals as this PS5 Part II re-release - upgrade the game for the next-gen, improve the graphics/framerate, and include bonus content - however, there was NO reduced price for the upgrade. If you already owned the PS3 version and wanted the remastered upgrade for a reduced price, well too bad. You could only own the PS4 version if you coughed up 60 CAD; no exceptions. Where was all the hate for that? I haven't the foggiest idea.
Anyway, let's look at the additions and improvements to the game, starting with the core game. The DualSense usage was in line with the Part I release. There's less overall vibration due to the decrease in the bombastic moments of the first game, and it coincides with the game's more somber and quiet tone. As for the visual improvements, I'll be honest and say I didn't notice much aside from the frame rate increase. One thing I found annoying is, same with the original version, there's this weird digital sheen coming off the edges of most textures throughout the entire game. I'm 90% sure that it's chromatic aberration, but there's more blue than the rest of the colour spectrum, perhaps due to the cooler temperature of the natural lighting. If this was in Part I, I didn't notice, and no tweaking in the display menu seemed to change it, so idk. (After I wrote this, I checked the photo mode settings and the default chromatic aberration setting is 53 instead of 50, which is slightly toward the blue end of the aberration, so that leads me to believe that this is the case during gameplay as well. Still haven't figured out how to change it though.)
This really has nothing to do with the remaster, I just felt like pointing it out: There's one shot that's always stuck with me for the past few years, and it's this one with Ellie waking up on day 3. This is the first time I've genuinely been this impressed by a game's visuals that I thought to myself "this looks like real life" since playing the EA Battlefront back in 2015 and seeing individual snowflakes land on my character's blaster.
Now let's look at the new content:
Guitar free play. I wasn't expecting much from this at all, and my expectations were met. All the cosmetic changes don't do much for me, though I like that you can play different guitars and use different pedals. I think a missed opportunity is the ability to customize your chord wheels. All you have are 5 chords wheels which correspond to the chords in A, B, C, Db, and Eb major. If you're trying to play a song that isn't in those keys, you'll have to keep switching between chord wheels, and it's a pain. Customizing these wheels would improve things way more. If that was an option and more chords were added on top of that (suspended, power, maj7/min7, etc.), then I think guitar free play would be worthwhile, but, idk, at that point you're better off spending your time playing Rocksmith or a dedicated guitar simulator instead. As it stands now, guitar free play is just a gimmick that I never returned to once I fiddled around with it for a few minutes.
Commentary tracks. I'll admit, I'm not much of a commentary fan since it sucks me out of the moment, but the few scenes I watched with it were pretty interesting. I think the next time I replay both games, I'll give their applicable commentary tracks a go. At the very least, I appreciate the addition.
New skins. I really don't care much about cosmetics for linear, narratively-focused games. I find that they pull me out of the moment, especially in a story as grounded as this. I'll go crazy with them in No Return though, and I, again, appreciate the addition.
Lost levels. These are basically deleted scenes but for video games, and I found them really interesting. The commentary sections were super cool. I wouldn't mind there being some of these in the story mode for the game designers to add commentary during gameplay as we only have cutscene commentary. I love stuff like this that provides insight to how these kids of projects are made, and I'm excited to watch the Grounded II documentary next week. Though I find it kind of funny how the three levels shown here were removed for pacing reasons when the game's pacing ain't all that great to begin with.
And that leaves us with the real meat of the bonus content, the No Return mode. I am really enjoying this so far. It's a completely different experience than the combat of the story mode. In the main story, around 75% of the combat encounters can be bypassed without killing anyone by sneaking or running to the exit (as long as you know where it is). As someone who has played this five times now, I do this a lot to save resources. You cannot do that in No Return - you are forced into combat. This, along with mods, gambits, and generous resources, change the way combat flows, and each encounter is different from the last. The challenges give you something to work towards so that the mode doesn't get stale. I guess my only concern is that the mode will get stale once I complete the challenges, but more can easily be added later on, so I'm not sufficiently worried.
So yeah, those are my thoughts on this re-release. The story is what it is for me, but I appreciate most of the bonus content, and No Return will provide me a replay value that the story mode doesn't.
God help Kaitlyn Dever.
I'm not interested in talking about the story. The discourse surrounding it continues to be a toxic cesspit 3 and a half years later. I have my issues with it, but I like it overall. I admire stories that are challenging and ambitious in its narrative, themes, and subject matter.
First, while I agree that the term "remastered" is quite generous, I can't get on board with the hate. The bonus content alone is enough to warrant the 15 CAD price for the upgrade. You're not paying the full 65 CAD for this if you already own a copy of the original; if you don't, then guess what? You can still buy the original version which is currently 50 CAD. That's right, the price difference between the two versions is the same as the upgrade price. I promise you that if all this bonus content was released as a DLC package for PS5 owners priced at 15 CAD, which is exactly what this release is, then nobody would bat an eye; but people are all up-in-arms over this for reasons I don't understand. If you're still upset about that, then where were you in 2014 when The Last of Us Remastered came out? A whopping 13 months after the first game, Naughty Dog re-released The Last of Us on the PS4 with the exact same goals as this PS5 Part II re-release - upgrade the game for the next-gen, improve the graphics/framerate, and include bonus content - however, there was NO reduced price for the upgrade. If you already owned the PS3 version and wanted the remastered upgrade for a reduced price, well too bad. You could only own the PS4 version if you coughed up 60 CAD; no exceptions. Where was all the hate for that? I haven't the foggiest idea.
Anyway, let's look at the additions and improvements to the game, starting with the core game. The DualSense usage was in line with the Part I release. There's less overall vibration due to the decrease in the bombastic moments of the first game, and it coincides with the game's more somber and quiet tone. As for the visual improvements, I'll be honest and say I didn't notice much aside from the frame rate increase. One thing I found annoying is, same with the original version, there's this weird digital sheen coming off the edges of most textures throughout the entire game. I'm 90% sure that it's chromatic aberration, but there's more blue than the rest of the colour spectrum, perhaps due to the cooler temperature of the natural lighting. If this was in Part I, I didn't notice, and no tweaking in the display menu seemed to change it, so idk. (After I wrote this, I checked the photo mode settings and the default chromatic aberration setting is 53 instead of 50, which is slightly toward the blue end of the aberration, so that leads me to believe that this is the case during gameplay as well. Still haven't figured out how to change it though.)
This really has nothing to do with the remaster, I just felt like pointing it out: There's one shot that's always stuck with me for the past few years, and it's this one with Ellie waking up on day 3. This is the first time I've genuinely been this impressed by a game's visuals that I thought to myself "this looks like real life" since playing the EA Battlefront back in 2015 and seeing individual snowflakes land on my character's blaster.
Now let's look at the new content:
Guitar free play. I wasn't expecting much from this at all, and my expectations were met. All the cosmetic changes don't do much for me, though I like that you can play different guitars and use different pedals. I think a missed opportunity is the ability to customize your chord wheels. All you have are 5 chords wheels which correspond to the chords in A, B, C, Db, and Eb major. If you're trying to play a song that isn't in those keys, you'll have to keep switching between chord wheels, and it's a pain. Customizing these wheels would improve things way more. If that was an option and more chords were added on top of that (suspended, power, maj7/min7, etc.), then I think guitar free play would be worthwhile, but, idk, at that point you're better off spending your time playing Rocksmith or a dedicated guitar simulator instead. As it stands now, guitar free play is just a gimmick that I never returned to once I fiddled around with it for a few minutes.
Commentary tracks. I'll admit, I'm not much of a commentary fan since it sucks me out of the moment, but the few scenes I watched with it were pretty interesting. I think the next time I replay both games, I'll give their applicable commentary tracks a go. At the very least, I appreciate the addition.
New skins. I really don't care much about cosmetics for linear, narratively-focused games. I find that they pull me out of the moment, especially in a story as grounded as this. I'll go crazy with them in No Return though, and I, again, appreciate the addition.
Lost levels. These are basically deleted scenes but for video games, and I found them really interesting. The commentary sections were super cool. I wouldn't mind there being some of these in the story mode for the game designers to add commentary during gameplay as we only have cutscene commentary. I love stuff like this that provides insight to how these kids of projects are made, and I'm excited to watch the Grounded II documentary next week. Though I find it kind of funny how the three levels shown here were removed for pacing reasons when the game's pacing ain't all that great to begin with.
And that leaves us with the real meat of the bonus content, the No Return mode. I am really enjoying this so far. It's a completely different experience than the combat of the story mode. In the main story, around 75% of the combat encounters can be bypassed without killing anyone by sneaking or running to the exit (as long as you know where it is). As someone who has played this five times now, I do this a lot to save resources. You cannot do that in No Return - you are forced into combat. This, along with mods, gambits, and generous resources, change the way combat flows, and each encounter is different from the last. The challenges give you something to work towards so that the mode doesn't get stale. I guess my only concern is that the mode will get stale once I complete the challenges, but more can easily be added later on, so I'm not sufficiently worried.
So yeah, those are my thoughts on this re-release. The story is what it is for me, but I appreciate most of the bonus content, and No Return will provide me a replay value that the story mode doesn't.
God help Kaitlyn Dever.
Alan Wake II
2023
There's a lot to write about with Alan Wake II, especially considering that writing about this game requires writing about the first one, as well as Control and Max Payne to some extent. I wrote a decent amount in my newsletter, but that's PAID CONTENT BABY so here's the basics:
Narratively, it's a legacy piece for Remedy as much as a standalone story. It ties together so many things from the studio's history in such a satisfying way, and now that I've played through Max Payne, I'm wondering what they would've done differently here if Rockstar wasn't holding the rights to the IP. It's already pretty blatant that Alex Casey is Max Payne, at least to some extent, but I wonder if they'd go further if they still had full privileges to the character.
Mechanically, it surpasses the things that people thought were lacking from the first game. It flips between insidiously scary, deeply conspiratorial, and intently comedic at a moment's notice, and goes above and beyond to do so in a way that feels unlike anything you've seen before, and only possible through the medium it uses. This is probably the best case I've ever seen for a triple-A game being artistically driven and unashamed of being a game that's trying to say something instead of mimicking film to cheaply emulate an emotional experience.
Personally, it's an incredibly story about art and what it means to be an artist, especially one with an audience and an obligation towards that audience. What does consent mean in an artistic context, both in terms of your work being taken from you, and in terms of who and what you use as inspiration and means to create that work? What obligations do you have to yourself as a creator, to your health and to the people around you, and to your creations if they remain unfinished or unsatisfied?
It's imperfect, sure, but there's no way I can give it marks off for "having puzzles" or "the combat being hard sometimes" when this is something I'm going to be thinking about as often as I inevitably will be. I love these characters, I love this world, I love the implications of everything happening here, and I love that a game like this can exist. I'm beyond excited for whatever Remedy's going to do next, and forever from here on out.
Narratively, it's a legacy piece for Remedy as much as a standalone story. It ties together so many things from the studio's history in such a satisfying way, and now that I've played through Max Payne, I'm wondering what they would've done differently here if Rockstar wasn't holding the rights to the IP. It's already pretty blatant that Alex Casey is Max Payne, at least to some extent, but I wonder if they'd go further if they still had full privileges to the character.
Mechanically, it surpasses the things that people thought were lacking from the first game. It flips between insidiously scary, deeply conspiratorial, and intently comedic at a moment's notice, and goes above and beyond to do so in a way that feels unlike anything you've seen before, and only possible through the medium it uses. This is probably the best case I've ever seen for a triple-A game being artistically driven and unashamed of being a game that's trying to say something instead of mimicking film to cheaply emulate an emotional experience.
Personally, it's an incredibly story about art and what it means to be an artist, especially one with an audience and an obligation towards that audience. What does consent mean in an artistic context, both in terms of your work being taken from you, and in terms of who and what you use as inspiration and means to create that work? What obligations do you have to yourself as a creator, to your health and to the people around you, and to your creations if they remain unfinished or unsatisfied?
It's imperfect, sure, but there's no way I can give it marks off for "having puzzles" or "the combat being hard sometimes" when this is something I'm going to be thinking about as often as I inevitably will be. I love these characters, I love this world, I love the implications of everything happening here, and I love that a game like this can exist. I'm beyond excited for whatever Remedy's going to do next, and forever from here on out.