jbcrowe
As someone who played and loved the original God Of War trilogy: Holy shit!
As someone who played and loved various “rogue” games like Hades: Holy shit!
And even if you’re someone who just played Ragnarok and loved it: Holy shit!
I would’ve easily paid $20+ dollars for this, the amount of work and care that went into it is incredible for a free update. A reminder of how insanely well the God Of War combat is done. A must play for God Of War fans and probably one of the best free DLCs of all time.
As someone who played and loved various “rogue” games like Hades: Holy shit!
And even if you’re someone who just played Ragnarok and loved it: Holy shit!
I would’ve easily paid $20+ dollars for this, the amount of work and care that went into it is incredible for a free update. A reminder of how insanely well the God Of War combat is done. A must play for God Of War fans and probably one of the best free DLCs of all time.
2022
Incredible gameplay with an addictive loop of replaying levels to get the best time. It’s so rewarding to play a level for the first time, get a feel for the layout and placement of enemies/cards, and then do it again knowing what you learned previously. And the hidden gift items to collect in each level is great too as it’s usually a navigational puzzle of how to reach it.
The difficulty is balanced enough that as the levels get increasingly harder and longer at the end, you build up a tolerance to the level that eventually you’re like a mix of Neo and Spider-Man zipping and blasting through the level with precision. Getting an ace or gold medal on your first completion of the level is the cherry on top.
So yeah, insanely fun gameplay, top notch controls and maneuverability, just an all around awesome game to play and enjoy, am I forgetting anything? Hmm… well… there’s the actual story.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say I skipped through every dialogue and cutscene here. I tried it, and at first was interested and following along, but I couldn’t take it anymore after an hour or so. I gave me heavy Persona vibes at first, it’s very stylish and unique, but I was not into it. Can only take so many long ass conversations, innuendos and horniness before I just want to get back to running and gunning. It loses a whole star because of this, honestly if the story and dialogue was good it could easily be a 5 star game.
The difficulty is balanced enough that as the levels get increasingly harder and longer at the end, you build up a tolerance to the level that eventually you’re like a mix of Neo and Spider-Man zipping and blasting through the level with precision. Getting an ace or gold medal on your first completion of the level is the cherry on top.
So yeah, insanely fun gameplay, top notch controls and maneuverability, just an all around awesome game to play and enjoy, am I forgetting anything? Hmm… well… there’s the actual story.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say I skipped through every dialogue and cutscene here. I tried it, and at first was interested and following along, but I couldn’t take it anymore after an hour or so. I gave me heavy Persona vibes at first, it’s very stylish and unique, but I was not into it. Can only take so many long ass conversations, innuendos and horniness before I just want to get back to running and gunning. It loses a whole star because of this, honestly if the story and dialogue was good it could easily be a 5 star game.
2012
Started a new game the day the news broke of James McCaffrey’s death. RIP to a legend, his final performance as Max has so much to look back fondly on. The anger, disgust and defeat in his voice as he fights his way through hell, and his likeness as Max, while I of course love the Sam Lake face, the old hardened look of Max was perfect for James’ evolution of the character.
What a brutally bleak game too, the graphic gunfights, bullet wounds and body physics I remember well from playing this on release but the storyline and fate of so many characters really hit harder this time, just the constant death and bloodshed, you really feel Max’s spirit breaking each time as he stops caring for his own safety and just wants to enact revenge for whoever’s responsible for each heinous act.
Of course HEALTH’s score is incredible and everyone talks about the airport sequence at the end but all throughout the game as well it’s just pummeling and intense, pounding drums and throbbing rhythms, when bullets are whizzing and glass is shattering all around you and the music is just pumping overtop the chaos with these dark, pulsating, almost primitive beats, it’s intense as hell and at times feels almost horror-like, as if something big and scary is coming towards you. One of the best parts of the game hands down, gets you right there in action feeling like you’re surrounded by it.
Played this on Xbox 360 and I have to say I loved how the first disc, which has the artwork of Max with hair on it, ends right when he shaves his head, and the second disc, which has the shaved head and floral shirt artwork, starts immediately with the scene of him debuting that look. Well played, Rockstar, whether intentional or not.
I fucking love this game and I can’t wait for the Remedy remakes of the first two, I’m really interested as to how they’ll handle them with McCaffrey’s passing but whatever they do we all know it will honor the man’s legacy and the beloved character we all admire.
What a brutally bleak game too, the graphic gunfights, bullet wounds and body physics I remember well from playing this on release but the storyline and fate of so many characters really hit harder this time, just the constant death and bloodshed, you really feel Max’s spirit breaking each time as he stops caring for his own safety and just wants to enact revenge for whoever’s responsible for each heinous act.
Of course HEALTH’s score is incredible and everyone talks about the airport sequence at the end but all throughout the game as well it’s just pummeling and intense, pounding drums and throbbing rhythms, when bullets are whizzing and glass is shattering all around you and the music is just pumping overtop the chaos with these dark, pulsating, almost primitive beats, it’s intense as hell and at times feels almost horror-like, as if something big and scary is coming towards you. One of the best parts of the game hands down, gets you right there in action feeling like you’re surrounded by it.
Played this on Xbox 360 and I have to say I loved how the first disc, which has the artwork of Max with hair on it, ends right when he shaves his head, and the second disc, which has the shaved head and floral shirt artwork, starts immediately with the scene of him debuting that look. Well played, Rockstar, whether intentional or not.
I fucking love this game and I can’t wait for the Remedy remakes of the first two, I’m really interested as to how they’ll handle them with McCaffrey’s passing but whatever they do we all know it will honor the man’s legacy and the beloved character we all admire.
2023
Incredible puzzler with mind-melting mechanics that made my head feel like smoke was coming out of my ears due to my brain working overtime. The style of Cocoon is bizarre and alien, it looks stunning and lots of areas and things you come across have their own slimy/gross/squirmy texture that look like they were a blast to design and come up with.
Some of the same people who made Limbo and Inside made this, so this is a must play if you liked those. But on its own its a stunning game that is just the right level of tricky outside-the-box difficulty that also makes you feel so damn smart for figuring out the puzzle solutions.
Some of the same people who made Limbo and Inside made this, so this is a must play if you liked those. But on its own its a stunning game that is just the right level of tricky outside-the-box difficulty that also makes you feel so damn smart for figuring out the puzzle solutions.
2020
So fucking cool - a quick and dirty wild time. Someone else on here said Doom/Hotline Miami mashup and that's the best way to put it. Blazing fast action, sliding and zipping around blasting freaks and getting upgrades to help you to the end. Addictive like all rogue games are, but this one is so fast acting that it's impossible not to load another run immediately when you die.
I was struggling to get past Act 2 and got the random idea to mute the in-game music (which is cool, just a bit repetitive) and turn on the first Hotline Miami soundtrack on Spotify on my PS5. Maybe I just got lucky, but as soon as I did that I did a full run first try and reached the end. It could be the total obsession I had with HM/the soundtrack years ago, but it was the perfect guide to push me through, the throbbing beats of M.O.O.N. bopping along with my shotgun blasts.
I was struggling to get past Act 2 and got the random idea to mute the in-game music (which is cool, just a bit repetitive) and turn on the first Hotline Miami soundtrack on Spotify on my PS5. Maybe I just got lucky, but as soon as I did that I did a full run first try and reached the end. It could be the total obsession I had with HM/the soundtrack years ago, but it was the perfect guide to push me through, the throbbing beats of M.O.O.N. bopping along with my shotgun blasts.
2023
Far from perfect but kinda perfect for exactly what it is. Cover shooter this ain't, you strut into shootouts and lay waste to anyone in your way, just the way Robocop ought to be. The upgrades to both Robo and the Auto 9 help to make you feel even more powerful as the enemies get stronger with more firepower. And the Auto 9 feels amazing, especially with the upgrade that gets rid of reloading altogether. There's tons of other guns around you can pick up and use, but you could ignore them altogether and just clean house with the trusty Auto 9 no problem.
Aside from a few areas you can do some side quests in, it's mainly a simple linear game which I do admire - something about games that just have you walk here, open this door, kill these guys, that I really like. Throw me a vast open world map with a million things to do every now and then, but point me in a straight line and have me kill whatever's in my path and I appreciate the good old fashioned simple nature of what is expected of you - the same reason why I really liked Evil West.
If you're a fan of Robocop this is definitely something you should experience all the way through for the attention to detail and nods and references. And it's also a really easy and fun Platinum as well, mostly quest related and sometimes random miscellaneous combat challenges in there too.
Aside from a few areas you can do some side quests in, it's mainly a simple linear game which I do admire - something about games that just have you walk here, open this door, kill these guys, that I really like. Throw me a vast open world map with a million things to do every now and then, but point me in a straight line and have me kill whatever's in my path and I appreciate the good old fashioned simple nature of what is expected of you - the same reason why I really liked Evil West.
If you're a fan of Robocop this is definitely something you should experience all the way through for the attention to detail and nods and references. And it's also a really easy and fun Platinum as well, mostly quest related and sometimes random miscellaneous combat challenges in there too.
A Plague Tale is a must-play series for fans of first-party Sony story games, very Naughty Dog inspired, and even sometimes gives The Last Of Us a run for its money in terms of bleak brutality.
There are so many nice moments in Requiem; sunny forests, a crowded marketplace full of happy townspeople, fields of flowers, and on the other side of the spectrum you'll be wading through murky diseased water full of blood, guts, human and animal corpses and god knows what other bodily fluids. The rat nests/hives are full of slimy webbing and eggs, looking like the black symbiote from Spider-Man made its way through there. It's jawdropping how far the game goes to show you how utterly terrifying and apocalyptic this world has become, despite it also feeling hopeful and beautiful.
The game looks incredible, environments are insanely detailed and the lighting works wonders. The stealth gameplay is more or less a carbon copy of the first game, Innocence, but with more open playing fields (again with a Last Of Us comparison), and also some newly added weapons and items at hand. And like the first game there's tons of navigational puzzles and dungeon-like sequences to work your way through, which are always fun to try and figure out, especially using your tools in different ways to experiment solutions.
The characters of A Plague Tale make the series as engaging as it is, Amicia and Hugo are both likeable and have a great relationship; Amicia especially has many moments to shine here, especially when she goes into a blind rage several times and you can feel her murderous fury in every word. The side characters are especially great, Lucas (the MVP in my opinion) is back from the first game, and special shoutouts to Sophia and Arnaud for being really engaging and interesting sidekicks as you go through your journey - I legit liked these people and cared about them.
This series is an easy big recommend from me, a fan of linear action/stealth story games, and I might go back and get all the collectibles and upgrades to get the Platinum eventually like I did with the first game... there's just other things I'm playing/want to play at the moment. If they are finished with this series, this was a satisfying conclusion, but if not, I'll definitely be there for the next installment
There are so many nice moments in Requiem; sunny forests, a crowded marketplace full of happy townspeople, fields of flowers, and on the other side of the spectrum you'll be wading through murky diseased water full of blood, guts, human and animal corpses and god knows what other bodily fluids. The rat nests/hives are full of slimy webbing and eggs, looking like the black symbiote from Spider-Man made its way through there. It's jawdropping how far the game goes to show you how utterly terrifying and apocalyptic this world has become, despite it also feeling hopeful and beautiful.
The game looks incredible, environments are insanely detailed and the lighting works wonders. The stealth gameplay is more or less a carbon copy of the first game, Innocence, but with more open playing fields (again with a Last Of Us comparison), and also some newly added weapons and items at hand. And like the first game there's tons of navigational puzzles and dungeon-like sequences to work your way through, which are always fun to try and figure out, especially using your tools in different ways to experiment solutions.
The characters of A Plague Tale make the series as engaging as it is, Amicia and Hugo are both likeable and have a great relationship; Amicia especially has many moments to shine here, especially when she goes into a blind rage several times and you can feel her murderous fury in every word. The side characters are especially great, Lucas (the MVP in my opinion) is back from the first game, and special shoutouts to Sophia and Arnaud for being really engaging and interesting sidekicks as you go through your journey - I legit liked these people and cared about them.
This series is an easy big recommend from me, a fan of linear action/stealth story games, and I might go back and get all the collectibles and upgrades to get the Platinum eventually like I did with the first game... there's just other things I'm playing/want to play at the moment. If they are finished with this series, this was a satisfying conclusion, but if not, I'll definitely be there for the next installment
This review contains spoilers
I didn't realize I wanted to play this again until this remaster was announced (and the cheap upgrade + bonus features helped). When I finished TLOU2 back in June 2020 I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to go back into this world - we all remember those rough first few COVID lockdown months and TLOU2 came out on a sunny and hot Friday when the sun was shining and I spent that day after work swimming with friends (when social distancing was still encouraged and expected). I was ecstatic to get to jump into the game that night, and ended up playing it for almost 12 hours straight on the Sunday of that weekend - I even had the curtains closed because the beautiful sunshine was causing a glare on the screen. It felt surreal to be sucked into a game about a virus destroying humanity, filled with disgusting creatures and death, and playing it during such nice weather.
When I finally finished the story a week or so later and experienced that crushing ending, I felt accomplished but drained. I hopped back into a few combat encounters for a quick action fix, and even played a couple hours of NG+ to try and mop up some collectibles and upgrades for some trophies, but didn't get very far. I wanted to be done with the game and scrub clean that feeling for the time being.
My feelings on this second playthrough about the story haven't really changed, and despite reading and watching tons of critical takes and analysis on this game, only a few have really made me change my thoughts - and only in the way that certain points were brought up that I hadn't thought about, or picked up on. A few ideas of what the plot could've been instead which would've been interesting to see, and a few opinions of the morality and themes that I also agreed with, but didn't neccessarily feel myself. I tried to avoid the absolute dog shit takes, which was near impossible, but any complaint of this game being "woke" for including trans or gay characters... it's easy to forget we still live amongst neanderthal-brained people in this day and age.
The critical points about the actions of Ellie, Abby, and the dozen other characters that kill or are killed here, and the cycle of revenge/who is the real villain/who deserved to die/is violence always the answer, those are the interesting and thoughtful takes that are worth reading about. Nakeyjakey's video, while I didn't personally agree with all of it, is one of the better criticisms, and I also just love that goopy goblin brained boy.
TLOU2 never lets you choose what happens during the story, and that's what it wants you to remember every step of the way. This isn't a game with a morality system, or player choices that affect who lives or dies or triggers one of seven different endings. Every quicktime event during a cutscene, you're not the one stabbing someone or bludgeoning someones head in with a pipe, Ellie is. Abby is. When you as a player have to fight or kill someone you don't want to, it's not your decision. You're just guiding these characters along through their story. You sometimes feel their emotion, but most of the time, you want them to stop, turn around and go home.
The climatic fight is horrible for a reason; I've read some takes saying that it's overbearingly brutal and torturous to the characters and that participating in these characters suffering through this brutal fight is too much. I agree with this, but it's the final act of fury that shouldn't be happening and we all understand this. So should this be how the story ends? For a moment you think everything's okay, they're both going to escape. But Ellie just can't fucking let it go. And it kind of surprises me to know so many players still wanted her to kill Abby in this moment. After spending so much time with her, you still want this person to die a horrific death. A game filled to the brim with horrific deaths, and they think Abby dying is going to make Ellie feel better - that her quest for revenge is complete, Joel's death is avenged. I think it's painfully obvious that nothing Ellie could do here will make her feel better, and she is long past that point. She made the worst possible decision ever to go after Abby again, and a moment of clarity when you think she's going to just let Abby and Lev go peacefully, she sees Joels bloodied face and remembers her goal.
Throughout this game, Ellie is empty and cold. But at the end, she's fucking gone. A completely broken husk of a person. TLOU2 took a bubbly, spunky teenager, a fully realized character with a great sense of humor, artistically talented and full of life, and hollowed her out like a pumpkin, who now looks like a jack o'lantern a week after Halloween, rotting on the front porch. Is this upsetting? Of course it is... but who am I to say that's how she shouldn't end up? I'm not saying Ellie didn't deserve a happy ending, she definitely did, with Dina and JJ on the farm, hell even with Joel alive and in Jackson. And you could easily say that this ending is just to cause controversy, guarantee talking points and criticisms, and even guaranteeing damage to some players wellbeing who get very attached to these characters by manipulating emotions using this poor girls grieving. But... I dunno, it's fiction, and it can be whatever you want, and the freedom to end this in such a way that they did is what makes art and fiction and writing fun in the first place. How many endings do you think they had done up for this before they ended up here is what I want to know.
My last bit about the morality/death/emotional manipulation is how much humanizing of the enemies they do here - naming all of the killable enemies so that when you kill them their friend calls out their name in agony works because they want you to feel like a monster. They want you to think, oh shit, that Joey guy I just turned to red mist might've had parents that are gonna be bummed, hey maybe they'll hunt me down for revenge after this. They really, really want you to understand that anyone can be given a bloodthirst to avenge someones death, and that everyone has an emotional core behind their NPC brain. While this is a major "hey isn't this deep?! see what we're doing here?!" thing that they bash you over the head for the entire game, it at least does something new with it I've never seen before that made me think about mostly everyone I was killing (except the Rattlers, who are just evil for the sake of evil). I still ended up killing everyone though, so does that mean it fully works?
I however did NOT kill a single dog during this playthrough - except for that one quicktime cutscene in the aquarium - and I felt way better about it. It still bummed me out seeing them paw at their dead comrades after I headshotted them, but it was actually more fun and tense to sneak around and avoid the dogs using bricks/bottles to throw them off my scent, or using smoke bombs to confuse them.
The only thing I wanted to say about this video game-wise, is that this game is built like a brick shithouse. Not that I got any, but I couldn't even imagine getting a glitch or hiccup or bug of the sort here - it runs so perfect 100% of the time that it doesn't even seem possible. Playing performance mode is a technical marvel, and the graphics that blew my noggin off in 2020 still look fucking insane here. They are doing some kind of witchcraft over at Naughty Dog, if they and Sony Santa Monica colloborated on a project someday it might make your PS5 explode.
I haven't mentioned or played much of No Return, which is kinda already proven fun based on how wild and intense TLOU combat is, but it does feel strange jumping into a rogue mode laying waste to hordes of enemies after the main storyline hammers home its points on violence. But oh well... BANG! BANG! SPLAT! Headshot! I'll play it some more eventually.
TLOU2 is kind of a 5 star game in every way for me, especially for how much I could sit and talk about the story and everything about it for hours - which kinda feels like trying to stand out as a singular grain of sand on a massive beach considering how much this single game has caused the ripple that it did. Does this game need another voice talking about it? Definitely not. But I had to write something for this in this lil box for my own thoughts, and if you're still reading, I think it's obvious this one had a big effect on me.
Realistically, the more I talk about it and really truly look deep down into my soul, it could be less than 5 stars, but in the same way, for how it's wormed its way deep down into that same soul and still resides, it's an all-time video game experience.
When I finally finished the story a week or so later and experienced that crushing ending, I felt accomplished but drained. I hopped back into a few combat encounters for a quick action fix, and even played a couple hours of NG+ to try and mop up some collectibles and upgrades for some trophies, but didn't get very far. I wanted to be done with the game and scrub clean that feeling for the time being.
My feelings on this second playthrough about the story haven't really changed, and despite reading and watching tons of critical takes and analysis on this game, only a few have really made me change my thoughts - and only in the way that certain points were brought up that I hadn't thought about, or picked up on. A few ideas of what the plot could've been instead which would've been interesting to see, and a few opinions of the morality and themes that I also agreed with, but didn't neccessarily feel myself. I tried to avoid the absolute dog shit takes, which was near impossible, but any complaint of this game being "woke" for including trans or gay characters... it's easy to forget we still live amongst neanderthal-brained people in this day and age.
The critical points about the actions of Ellie, Abby, and the dozen other characters that kill or are killed here, and the cycle of revenge/who is the real villain/who deserved to die/is violence always the answer, those are the interesting and thoughtful takes that are worth reading about. Nakeyjakey's video, while I didn't personally agree with all of it, is one of the better criticisms, and I also just love that goopy goblin brained boy.
TLOU2 never lets you choose what happens during the story, and that's what it wants you to remember every step of the way. This isn't a game with a morality system, or player choices that affect who lives or dies or triggers one of seven different endings. Every quicktime event during a cutscene, you're not the one stabbing someone or bludgeoning someones head in with a pipe, Ellie is. Abby is. When you as a player have to fight or kill someone you don't want to, it's not your decision. You're just guiding these characters along through their story. You sometimes feel their emotion, but most of the time, you want them to stop, turn around and go home.
The climatic fight is horrible for a reason; I've read some takes saying that it's overbearingly brutal and torturous to the characters and that participating in these characters suffering through this brutal fight is too much. I agree with this, but it's the final act of fury that shouldn't be happening and we all understand this. So should this be how the story ends? For a moment you think everything's okay, they're both going to escape. But Ellie just can't fucking let it go. And it kind of surprises me to know so many players still wanted her to kill Abby in this moment. After spending so much time with her, you still want this person to die a horrific death. A game filled to the brim with horrific deaths, and they think Abby dying is going to make Ellie feel better - that her quest for revenge is complete, Joel's death is avenged. I think it's painfully obvious that nothing Ellie could do here will make her feel better, and she is long past that point. She made the worst possible decision ever to go after Abby again, and a moment of clarity when you think she's going to just let Abby and Lev go peacefully, she sees Joels bloodied face and remembers her goal.
Throughout this game, Ellie is empty and cold. But at the end, she's fucking gone. A completely broken husk of a person. TLOU2 took a bubbly, spunky teenager, a fully realized character with a great sense of humor, artistically talented and full of life, and hollowed her out like a pumpkin, who now looks like a jack o'lantern a week after Halloween, rotting on the front porch. Is this upsetting? Of course it is... but who am I to say that's how she shouldn't end up? I'm not saying Ellie didn't deserve a happy ending, she definitely did, with Dina and JJ on the farm, hell even with Joel alive and in Jackson. And you could easily say that this ending is just to cause controversy, guarantee talking points and criticisms, and even guaranteeing damage to some players wellbeing who get very attached to these characters by manipulating emotions using this poor girls grieving. But... I dunno, it's fiction, and it can be whatever you want, and the freedom to end this in such a way that they did is what makes art and fiction and writing fun in the first place. How many endings do you think they had done up for this before they ended up here is what I want to know.
My last bit about the morality/death/emotional manipulation is how much humanizing of the enemies they do here - naming all of the killable enemies so that when you kill them their friend calls out their name in agony works because they want you to feel like a monster. They want you to think, oh shit, that Joey guy I just turned to red mist might've had parents that are gonna be bummed, hey maybe they'll hunt me down for revenge after this. They really, really want you to understand that anyone can be given a bloodthirst to avenge someones death, and that everyone has an emotional core behind their NPC brain. While this is a major "hey isn't this deep?! see what we're doing here?!" thing that they bash you over the head for the entire game, it at least does something new with it I've never seen before that made me think about mostly everyone I was killing (except the Rattlers, who are just evil for the sake of evil). I still ended up killing everyone though, so does that mean it fully works?
I however did NOT kill a single dog during this playthrough - except for that one quicktime cutscene in the aquarium - and I felt way better about it. It still bummed me out seeing them paw at their dead comrades after I headshotted them, but it was actually more fun and tense to sneak around and avoid the dogs using bricks/bottles to throw them off my scent, or using smoke bombs to confuse them.
The only thing I wanted to say about this video game-wise, is that this game is built like a brick shithouse. Not that I got any, but I couldn't even imagine getting a glitch or hiccup or bug of the sort here - it runs so perfect 100% of the time that it doesn't even seem possible. Playing performance mode is a technical marvel, and the graphics that blew my noggin off in 2020 still look fucking insane here. They are doing some kind of witchcraft over at Naughty Dog, if they and Sony Santa Monica colloborated on a project someday it might make your PS5 explode.
I haven't mentioned or played much of No Return, which is kinda already proven fun based on how wild and intense TLOU combat is, but it does feel strange jumping into a rogue mode laying waste to hordes of enemies after the main storyline hammers home its points on violence. But oh well... BANG! BANG! SPLAT! Headshot! I'll play it some more eventually.
TLOU2 is kind of a 5 star game in every way for me, especially for how much I could sit and talk about the story and everything about it for hours - which kinda feels like trying to stand out as a singular grain of sand on a massive beach considering how much this single game has caused the ripple that it did. Does this game need another voice talking about it? Definitely not. But I had to write something for this in this lil box for my own thoughts, and if you're still reading, I think it's obvious this one had a big effect on me.
Realistically, the more I talk about it and really truly look deep down into my soul, it could be less than 5 stars, but in the same way, for how it's wormed its way deep down into that same soul and still resides, it's an all-time video game experience.
Hopped into this one to give it a shot for a few minutes in between other games to see what it was like. And then hours flew by in the blink of an eye, I was leveling up and I realized I was hooked line and sinker. Other than like a half hour of Diablo 3 splitscreen co-op play on the Switch, I've never played a Diablo or any other similar action RPG - despite my partner putting several hundred hours into Diablo 2 I would watch her play and go, eh I don't really think it's for me. But Nobody Saves The World made me see the appeal big time, holy shit.
The best part of this was that the "grinding" to level up, was just a ton of playing around with every player form and trying out all of their attacks and mixing their unique powers with other forms' attacks to make these wacky builds. Going into dungeons and wrecking shit, it didn't feel tedious until the very end of ranking every form to the max level, and even then I wasn't bored. I got every guy to S rank and still wanted more.
The world building, stupid little freaks and characters everywhere with their silly lines and quests, so much funny and cute stuff - and then there's some really gross and nasty cartoon-ish horror effects for some enemies, and especially the main villain; that final guy was nuts and I loved the design. I loved the Skyrim-like factions you join, and all of the regions and villages with their own flair and feel - reminded me of Paper Mario a bit.
What a sleek little title, super easy to navigate UI and menus, the addictive pop of leveling up and completing quests, the combat is just horde smashing fun (along with a tiny bit of a planning required for dungeons/enemies having different criteria for completing/defeating).
I got every trophy except the one for completing new game plus, otherwise I'd have the Platinum. I just got other games I wanna play instead, but I can def see myself going back someday and doing another run through the story. I also beat the final boss at level 69 - hell yeah. Great great great little game!
The best part of this was that the "grinding" to level up, was just a ton of playing around with every player form and trying out all of their attacks and mixing their unique powers with other forms' attacks to make these wacky builds. Going into dungeons and wrecking shit, it didn't feel tedious until the very end of ranking every form to the max level, and even then I wasn't bored. I got every guy to S rank and still wanted more.
The world building, stupid little freaks and characters everywhere with their silly lines and quests, so much funny and cute stuff - and then there's some really gross and nasty cartoon-ish horror effects for some enemies, and especially the main villain; that final guy was nuts and I loved the design. I loved the Skyrim-like factions you join, and all of the regions and villages with their own flair and feel - reminded me of Paper Mario a bit.
What a sleek little title, super easy to navigate UI and menus, the addictive pop of leveling up and completing quests, the combat is just horde smashing fun (along with a tiny bit of a planning required for dungeons/enemies having different criteria for completing/defeating).
I got every trophy except the one for completing new game plus, otherwise I'd have the Platinum. I just got other games I wanna play instead, but I can def see myself going back someday and doing another run through the story. I also beat the final boss at level 69 - hell yeah. Great great great little game!
2023
Once you're in on the bit you'll get what Wanted Dead is, a wild game that absolutely deserves a look if you like weird kooky third person action, period. Sorry, but all the half star reviews and "worst game of 2023" videos I've seen are a total joke. This isn't a "triple A god tier" title but a little jank never hurt anybody, especially when it's done this stylish and zany. You can slice dudes into several pieces and pull off gun-fu finishing moves, this is a GOOD game people.
It's hard as hell sometimes, the checkpoints get brutally spaced out in the later levels, resulting in some cheap deaths from tough enemies and repetitively playing the same sections over and over that make you want to rage quit. This was my main problem with the game, but it's hard to say when difficulty should be a factor when criticizing a game - FromSoftware get away with it all the time. But when you do get through, you feel so fucking badass. I can't count how many times I was getting my ass handed to me by squads of goons and ninjas, but then tried again and sliced and shot my way through like a combat master, perfectly dodging and countering attacks with ease. When the combat clicks, it fucking goes hard.
In between the Metal Gear-ass strange plot you have arcade cabinets, claw machines, karaoke and ramen eating minigames like you're in a Yakuza game suddenly, and it's just so cool and silly. You don't like a game that lets you sing "99 Luftballons"? Bite me!
More games like this, please, always
It's hard as hell sometimes, the checkpoints get brutally spaced out in the later levels, resulting in some cheap deaths from tough enemies and repetitively playing the same sections over and over that make you want to rage quit. This was my main problem with the game, but it's hard to say when difficulty should be a factor when criticizing a game - FromSoftware get away with it all the time. But when you do get through, you feel so fucking badass. I can't count how many times I was getting my ass handed to me by squads of goons and ninjas, but then tried again and sliced and shot my way through like a combat master, perfectly dodging and countering attacks with ease. When the combat clicks, it fucking goes hard.
In between the Metal Gear-ass strange plot you have arcade cabinets, claw machines, karaoke and ramen eating minigames like you're in a Yakuza game suddenly, and it's just so cool and silly. You don't like a game that lets you sing "99 Luftballons"? Bite me!
More games like this, please, always
2024
I think 20 hours spent with this game, according to what my PS5 says I've done so far, is more than enough time to warrant a review. I can't tell how much of those 20 hours was time spent actually playing the game though, as opposed to waiting to get in at the title screen or standing around on the bridge of my ship waiting for a match.
This is a time capsule review of sorts - it's been just barely 2 weeks after the game came out and it's gotten so popular that it cannot handle the amount of people trying to play. Among not being able to literally start the game up due to servers being clogged, it's also crashed on me a handful of times either at the end of a mission or randomly during. So this is the time capsule part of the review - currently the game is in a very poor state for a strictly online multiplayer game, and it almost deserves a half to 1 star review for this alone. But the devs have been working their hardest nonstop to fix this, so it's not all totally dire, and (hopefully) it's not like this forever.
ANYWAYS - when this game works and you fully squad up with some buddies and are fighting for your life in a total warzone of either swarms of bugs or an army of cyborgs, it's a fucking blast. Unleashing the entire clip of your big machine gun into a horde of bugs as your Helldiver cackles maniacally gets me every time. The dive mechanic is one of my favorite parts, either diving to safety to escape being surrounded, or (best of all) diving and shooting at the same time like you're Max Payne in space. The cyborg guys riding those little AT-ST armored vehicles that can only be shot from behind - run past them and dive/shoot the guys in the back. Trust me, it looks and feels cool as hell each time. The ragdoll effects as you fly through the air from explosions, and the chaotic mayhem that involves calling in, firing and running away from a deadly barrage that rains from the skies above (and sometimes takes out one of your unsuspecting teammates who didn't notice everyone else running away), it's never not a good ass time.
I played the first Helldivers for like 30 mins on PS4 in 2015 and never thought about it again, and didn't even pay much attention to this one when it was announced; even with the fun Starship Troopers homages in all the marketing. I haven't been much of an online multiplayer gamer for years now, aside from Warzone when COVID had everyone playing it like a big cultural event, but the hype got me way too interested in this one and I got it a few days after release (especially with the cheaper price point). If this somehow was released day one on PS Plus I think it would've crashed Sony's servers. The success is amazing to see, I just hope they can keep up with it.
Can't wait to keep playing this with friends for the foreseeable future
This is a time capsule review of sorts - it's been just barely 2 weeks after the game came out and it's gotten so popular that it cannot handle the amount of people trying to play. Among not being able to literally start the game up due to servers being clogged, it's also crashed on me a handful of times either at the end of a mission or randomly during. So this is the time capsule part of the review - currently the game is in a very poor state for a strictly online multiplayer game, and it almost deserves a half to 1 star review for this alone. But the devs have been working their hardest nonstop to fix this, so it's not all totally dire, and (hopefully) it's not like this forever.
ANYWAYS - when this game works and you fully squad up with some buddies and are fighting for your life in a total warzone of either swarms of bugs or an army of cyborgs, it's a fucking blast. Unleashing the entire clip of your big machine gun into a horde of bugs as your Helldiver cackles maniacally gets me every time. The dive mechanic is one of my favorite parts, either diving to safety to escape being surrounded, or (best of all) diving and shooting at the same time like you're Max Payne in space. The cyborg guys riding those little AT-ST armored vehicles that can only be shot from behind - run past them and dive/shoot the guys in the back. Trust me, it looks and feels cool as hell each time. The ragdoll effects as you fly through the air from explosions, and the chaotic mayhem that involves calling in, firing and running away from a deadly barrage that rains from the skies above (and sometimes takes out one of your unsuspecting teammates who didn't notice everyone else running away), it's never not a good ass time.
I played the first Helldivers for like 30 mins on PS4 in 2015 and never thought about it again, and didn't even pay much attention to this one when it was announced; even with the fun Starship Troopers homages in all the marketing. I haven't been much of an online multiplayer gamer for years now, aside from Warzone when COVID had everyone playing it like a big cultural event, but the hype got me way too interested in this one and I got it a few days after release (especially with the cheaper price point). If this somehow was released day one on PS Plus I think it would've crashed Sony's servers. The success is amazing to see, I just hope they can keep up with it.
Can't wait to keep playing this with friends for the foreseeable future
2022
What else can I say - one of the best gaming experiences ever. Looks down on its brethren and laughs.
Rykard, Astel and the giant rotting body of Godwyn are among my favorite freaks in anything ever.
I love this perfect, frustrating, scary, breathtaking, junior high bully masterpiece video game and always will.
Rykard, Astel and the giant rotting body of Godwyn are among my favorite freaks in anything ever.
I love this perfect, frustrating, scary, breathtaking, junior high bully masterpiece video game and always will.
2018
As incredibly fun to look at as it is to play. Only played a couple hours so far but probably one of the best fighting games I’ve ever played.
RIP Akira Toriyama, you changed my life as a kid
RIP Akira Toriyama, you changed my life as a kid
2023
A joyous miraculous bundle of fun, I don't even wanna hear or read about people that don't like this game because even though opinions are subjective... you're wrong! Do you even play video games for enjoyment if you don't like this??
I'm a guy who watched a ton of cartoons and played a ton of beat-em-up and platformers in the 90s/2000s and has played drums for 20-ish years. Hi-Fi Rush was made for me. The unabashed style that practically bursts through the screen and shakes you silly is impossible to resist. The quirky loveable cast, the colors and effects, the jokes and emotional beats, the goddamn zig and zag of this thing - come on!
As a big fan of 'guitar music' or general rock & roll/alternative/punk/indie/what have you, the soundtrack could've been make or break for me here. So many games have been a total miss when it came to the soundtrack - whether it's all stuff that just isn't my style or comes across as a little cringe-y or try hard (and I'm really trying my best not to sound like a total music snob here... I just like what I like! I have my own tastes! Sorry not sorry!!!).
Hi-Fi Rush has a shit ton of original music that just throbs, bounces and shreds, and as a major gameplay/design point, it fucking rules. There's stuff here that sounds like Sonic Youth and Blonde Redhead, surf-y and punk-y, jazz fusion and noise rock, I don't use this word often but the shit slaps. And on top of that you have actual good licensed music from Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, Number Girl (who I wasn't aware of before but that song rules), and more. I'm not a big Black Keys fan but the song used works here as a playful introduction to Chai. But man... the end credits with "Honestly" by Zwan, that one got me. A song I hadn't really heard since I originally saw the music video on TV, and despite being a Smashing Pumpkins fan, didn't really like. But goddamn what a tune, and the way it's used here, perfect.
If you sometimes play games with headphones, which for me is usually rare, this is the one to play with the music pumping into your ears. It makes everything GO that much more.
Combat and action, just rules. Not gonna go into it too much but of course it rules, read any review or watch a ten second clip of it and you'll see why this game has won over so many. The hop in and assist nature of Chai's buddies + incorporating them into combos and special attacks looks so fucking cool every time that it never gets old. I'm sorry for sounding like a tryhard cool guy and saying fuck all the time here but I do it when I'm really feeling what I'm typing. Fucking good SHIT
The only little thing stopping a 5 star rating for me, and honestly I could really ignore this gripe and go 5 stars easily, but the exploration/corridor/platforming stuff sometimes is a little stiff, too easy, and barren. I love collectathons and exploring nooks and crannies for stuff and hopping and bopping around on platforms, and I really wish this went fully there and did that stuff. If there were some full-on open levels with wall jumping and big structures to manually climb and find little treasures as well as linear stages and combat, this would've been perfect. Something like what Tinykin did. But that's a little nitpick, I still had an absolute blast of a time in every moment I spent in this world.
I'm so happy this came to PS5 as I felt total FOMO when I saw everyone enjoying this last year on Xbox. It feels amazing with the Dualsense too. Play this fucking game y'all. Play it!!!
I'm a guy who watched a ton of cartoons and played a ton of beat-em-up and platformers in the 90s/2000s and has played drums for 20-ish years. Hi-Fi Rush was made for me. The unabashed style that practically bursts through the screen and shakes you silly is impossible to resist. The quirky loveable cast, the colors and effects, the jokes and emotional beats, the goddamn zig and zag of this thing - come on!
As a big fan of 'guitar music' or general rock & roll/alternative/punk/indie/what have you, the soundtrack could've been make or break for me here. So many games have been a total miss when it came to the soundtrack - whether it's all stuff that just isn't my style or comes across as a little cringe-y or try hard (and I'm really trying my best not to sound like a total music snob here... I just like what I like! I have my own tastes! Sorry not sorry!!!).
Hi-Fi Rush has a shit ton of original music that just throbs, bounces and shreds, and as a major gameplay/design point, it fucking rules. There's stuff here that sounds like Sonic Youth and Blonde Redhead, surf-y and punk-y, jazz fusion and noise rock, I don't use this word often but the shit slaps. And on top of that you have actual good licensed music from Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, Number Girl (who I wasn't aware of before but that song rules), and more. I'm not a big Black Keys fan but the song used works here as a playful introduction to Chai. But man... the end credits with "Honestly" by Zwan, that one got me. A song I hadn't really heard since I originally saw the music video on TV, and despite being a Smashing Pumpkins fan, didn't really like. But goddamn what a tune, and the way it's used here, perfect.
If you sometimes play games with headphones, which for me is usually rare, this is the one to play with the music pumping into your ears. It makes everything GO that much more.
Combat and action, just rules. Not gonna go into it too much but of course it rules, read any review or watch a ten second clip of it and you'll see why this game has won over so many. The hop in and assist nature of Chai's buddies + incorporating them into combos and special attacks looks so fucking cool every time that it never gets old. I'm sorry for sounding like a tryhard cool guy and saying fuck all the time here but I do it when I'm really feeling what I'm typing. Fucking good SHIT
The only little thing stopping a 5 star rating for me, and honestly I could really ignore this gripe and go 5 stars easily, but the exploration/corridor/platforming stuff sometimes is a little stiff, too easy, and barren. I love collectathons and exploring nooks and crannies for stuff and hopping and bopping around on platforms, and I really wish this went fully there and did that stuff. If there were some full-on open levels with wall jumping and big structures to manually climb and find little treasures as well as linear stages and combat, this would've been perfect. Something like what Tinykin did. But that's a little nitpick, I still had an absolute blast of a time in every moment I spent in this world.
I'm so happy this came to PS5 as I felt total FOMO when I saw everyone enjoying this last year on Xbox. It feels amazing with the Dualsense too. Play this fucking game y'all. Play it!!!
2022
I've never played an Analgesic game before despite being very interested in how Anodyne 2 looks, but Sephonie stood out to me as a puzzle platformer and looking just weird enough to be up my alley.
Any fellow Canadians reading this, if you remember the "Short Circuitz" clips that used to play during commercials on YTV back in the day, this game feels and sounds like that. It really nails the bizarre, dreamscape setting of the island and the music evokes that N64 keys/synth style that is so familiar to a lot of us that it tickles that special little spot in the back of your brain - that weird little sad nostalgia zone that causes certain emotions. Like exploring an empty Super Mario 64 level or lonely Ocarina Of Time dungeon. The track that plays during the puzzle bits especially gives me that specific feeling - it feels so familiar and lonely.
This game is made exclusively by 2 people and I give them loads of credit where its due - the imaginative ways it displays its world and the creative story and writing that broadens the characters, their past, and their connection to the island, really makes this a great piece of art.
The game does feel clunky during certain platforming/wall-running sections, and I found myself failing to do things that felt like it wasn't my fault, but the game itself. You'll run at a wall at the exact angle you need to and jump onto it and it just won't work sometimes. The running itself takes some getting used to, and you'll find yourself speeding off the edge many times. BUT when it works, and when it clicks, and you're pulling off really awesome platforming and using your brain to reach nooks and crannies, it feels great. I applaud a team of 2 people that can make tricky platforming work at all.
Sephonie is a game that feels like it could use a bunch of gameplay polish to make it shine that much brighter, but at the end of the day it shines in its own special way. Truly unique and aspirational game design, presentation and writing.
Any fellow Canadians reading this, if you remember the "Short Circuitz" clips that used to play during commercials on YTV back in the day, this game feels and sounds like that. It really nails the bizarre, dreamscape setting of the island and the music evokes that N64 keys/synth style that is so familiar to a lot of us that it tickles that special little spot in the back of your brain - that weird little sad nostalgia zone that causes certain emotions. Like exploring an empty Super Mario 64 level or lonely Ocarina Of Time dungeon. The track that plays during the puzzle bits especially gives me that specific feeling - it feels so familiar and lonely.
This game is made exclusively by 2 people and I give them loads of credit where its due - the imaginative ways it displays its world and the creative story and writing that broadens the characters, their past, and their connection to the island, really makes this a great piece of art.
The game does feel clunky during certain platforming/wall-running sections, and I found myself failing to do things that felt like it wasn't my fault, but the game itself. You'll run at a wall at the exact angle you need to and jump onto it and it just won't work sometimes. The running itself takes some getting used to, and you'll find yourself speeding off the edge many times. BUT when it works, and when it clicks, and you're pulling off really awesome platforming and using your brain to reach nooks and crannies, it feels great. I applaud a team of 2 people that can make tricky platforming work at all.
Sephonie is a game that feels like it could use a bunch of gameplay polish to make it shine that much brighter, but at the end of the day it shines in its own special way. Truly unique and aspirational game design, presentation and writing.