The gameplay of SMT V is absolutely phenomenal, some of the best turn-based combat and exploration I’ve ever played in a JRPG before. Music is absolutely fantastic and the art style is as great as ever.

I felt that this game needed work in its story and pacing though. I am near the end of the game, but the amount of grinding required now is getting me very bogged down. The next boss is 15 levels above my own, despite the fact that I am at an appropriate level for where I’m at in the game. The amount of grinding and padding is very excessive.

The story is also very lackluster. It attempts to be more character focused, but no character gets much development, so I don’t really care for any of them.

I will probably come back around to this game someday, but for now the amount of grinding and very poor performance on Switch has me wanting to take a long break from it. When/if the game comes to PC or PS4/5 with improved performance, then I will give it another go.

343 FINALLY understand what makes Halo great. The gameplay here is the best it’s been in years. The additions of the grapple hook and gear are fantastic and add so much variety to combat encounters. The story here is also very engaging and they provide so much depth and development for its characters.

The open world is pretty good too. It’s not incredible or anything, but it’s well enough designed that I never got bored of traversing it or completing side missions. Music was also amazing as always with this series. Visually too the game excels in every area.

Only real complaints I have are that the game could’ve used more visually different environments. There’s only really the lush greenery of the ring and underground sections. Levels start to feel same-y at times because of this. I would’ve loved to have seen some different environments like the ones in previous titles.

Overall though, this game is excellent and a true return to form for the series. Gameplay is fantastic and the story made a lasting impact on me. Oh and multiplayer is also great as well, which you can see my thoughts on that on the Halo Infinite Season One page on here.

I feel that this sequel is comparable to Dark Souls 2, or season 4 of Community. It is competent for its own merit, but it misses the point of the series. Gameplay, combat, and music here are fantastic, some of the best of the series. But the tone and writing are so incredibly weak that it seems nothing like the other entries in the series.

To say that this game is disappointing is a bit of an understatement. It’s clear that the absence of Suda51 made the narrative and writing of this game suffer a lot. We luckily have the follow up we deserved in NMH3, but this was such a disappointing follow up.

Never before have I seen a game achieve polar opposites in a single package before. TSA is equal parts brilliant and brain-dead; absolutely phenomenal and absolutely horrendous. The writing of TSA and the meta commentary on Suda51 rediscovering his passion for game development is so incredible. The VA sections and dialogue, as well as scenario writing is absolutely 10/10 here. Music is also a delight, as is every reference Suda makes to his previous work. It’s very clear that this game is very near and dear to Suda51.

However, the gameplay is absolutely awful. At times I had fun with the combat, especially with the boss battles, which were genuinely pretty fun. However, the pacing and monotony of the gameplay really veers its head around every corner. Enemy types barely matter, button mashing can get you pretty through any fight, and levels don’t throw anything new at you either in the combat or exploration. Sure, everything functions as it’s supposed to (most of the time), but it just gets boring after awhile. The game is meant to capture indie magic, and boy does it show you how many indie games it can stuff into the game, but it just feels cheap and lazy.

I absolutely loved and hated this game at the same time. 4 may be a little generous, but I felt that this game had a lot going for it in terms of its writing and implications for NMH3. I just wish Suda and Grasshopper were able to get all of this good stuff into a much better designed and entertaining game.

The first video game I ever laid eyes on, and my favorite game of all time. I felt like it was time to review just what makes Super Mario 64 my favorite video game ever made.

While nostalgia yes, is always a factor in what games we love, that is not the sole reason for my passion of Mario 64. Mario 64 is a revolutionary game, one that video games to this day still copy and use as a blueprint for 3d platformers. Each area has so many little secrets to find, so many details (for the time) that made each level unique and fun to explore.

Freedom is at the base of Mario 64's design. Not in the way Breath Of The Wild embraced freedom in an open-world design, but freedom in letting the player do what they want and giving them the proper tools to do so. Almost every mission is available to complete from the minute you enter the level. You also don't need to get every star to beat the game, meaning that on casual playthroughs, if you don't want to complete a particular annoying mission, then you don't have to do it. Hell, if you really want to, you can get enough stars to beat in the game in the first 2-3 areas in the HUB world and ignore a bunch of late-game levels. Freedom of choice is everything here.

This isn't even mentioning the iconic music and locales that this game has. Every piece of music is fantastic and iconic here. Many of these tunes are still used today in Mario games, and many appear in Super Smash Bros as well.

Now onto Mario himself...my god. The way Mario controls here is absolutely perfect (at the very least for the time). I have seen many complain about the camera for today's standards. While I do agree that yes, 3d games nowadays have more intuitive camera control, Mario 64 still works very, very well. It is all the more impressive considering how this game was the very first to nail its attempt at a fully 3d environment.

Mario 64 is infinitely replayable and enjoyable to me. When I have a bad day, or I'm really stressed, this is a game that I go to to make me calm and happy again. No matter what, Super Mario 64 will always be my favorite game. It is the definition of a masterpiece.

What makes Smash Ultimate a marvel is just how we will never, ever, in a million years, get a game like it again. Sure, there will be more Smash games in the future; it's inevitable. But it won't have the sheer amount of fighters, stages, or mechanics like Ultimate does. The roster is absolutely phenomenal. People complain sure, but looking at it as a whole, you really couldn't ask for a better, more representative roster of gaming than this. Sakurai and his team gave us the world here. I can't see myself ever wanting to stop playing this game. Even when future Smash games come out, Ultimate will always be the Smash game I will want to turn to.

Probably the best story in a video game. Period. Full Stop. I won't spoil a single thing, because its best to go into this masterpiece completely blind. It is the perfect entry for the Yakuza series, and made me fall in love with this incredible action series.

If the story wasn't enough, the gameplay is phenomenal as well. You get two playable characters, each with 3 different fighting styles that have their own strengths and weaknesses. Theres such freedom here. You can pick your favorite(s) and exclusively use them, or find ways to mix and match the different styles together to string together crazy combos.

And of course, the mini games and side stories here are incredible as well. It makes the game and world feel dynamic and fully realized.

This is just a masterpiece, straight up. The entire series is great, but 0 showcases everything that makes it special, while also being a fantastic standalone title as well. A must play.

This is up there in terms of most underrated games imo. Yes, the story and environments are weaker than the original Bioshock, but they certainly aren't bad. I enjoyed getting to explore Rapture again and see how things have changed (as well as, in some cases, got worse) and meet all new characters that have popped up.

Bioshock 2 has, in my opinion, the best combat and enemy variety in the series. They add more versions of Big Daddies (something that the original desperately needed), new Splicer types, more options in combat with new weapons and ammo types, and better boss battles than the original as well.

The only thing holding this game back is the overall weaker narrative. But honestly, if it wasn't for Bioshock giving us one of the best stories ever in gaming, I think many people would consider this story pretty damn good. Imo, this is a contender for most underrated game ever.

Also like, how can you not have fun playing as a Big Daddy????

This game was absolutely incredible. It feels so ahead of its time, like it's an indie game that just recently released. Moon is a beautiful experience that teaches its players to spread love and kindness. It does that by literally thrusting the player of an RPG called "Fake Moon" into the video game world to meet a bunch of colorful characters and rescue monsters that have been slayed by the Hero.

What I loved about Moon was how much I fell in love with the world and characters. The writing is top notch. It was also very fun to figure out how to bring each monster back to life, as well as learning the routines of different characters in order to help them out or see certain events unfold.

The game is very unique and may not be everyone's cup of tea. But I am so happy I took a chance on this classic game that FINALLY got the localization that it deserved. Play it if you can, you won't be disappointed in this unique experience.

I was really surprised with how much I loved this game. It has some absolutely phenomenal writing. Every character is fleshed out and unique. Character banter never gets old thanks to some fantastic performances by all of the voice actors. There isn't a weak performance in the bunch.

The combat was simple yet satisfying. It gets more complicated and difficult as the game goes on. Later encounters were very engaging and fun. Boss battles were also very well done here.

There are just a few little things that prevent me from giving this a full 5 stars. For one, I did encounter a fair amount of glitches during my playthrough. Combat dialogue also repeats a lot and can be a bit annoying. There are also some pacing issues with the story, but thankfully I didn't mind it as much because of how good the writing is most of the time.

Overall, this game rocks. It's the best Marvel game since Spider-Man PS4, and a wicked good time in general. As someone who wasn't super into the Guardians movies, this game has made me a big fan of all of the characters. I really hope Square Enix makes a sequel with the same writing staff. Another game in this series with some improvements and new additions here and there would be an absolute masterpiece.

Played as a part of Silver Case 2425 on Switch. This is my very first experience with a Suda51 game outside of the No More Heroes series (thanks to TSA and NMH3 for getting me into this game). I loved a lot about this visual novel. The writing style and presentation is absolutely fantastic. The opening chapter does sort of trick the player into thinking there will be more interaction than there really is, but I didn't mind that.

The game is split into two different perspectives. I love how the Protagonist story is presented in a more avant-garde style, while the Placebo side gives more context to what you experience as the Protagonist. The characters are all exceptional; in particular Kusabi, Tokio, Sumio, Erica, and the bartender. Everything here just makes The Silver Case one of the most unique VNs you could ever play.

I do wish there was just a tiny bit more interactivity in this. It could've used a few more puzzles or maybe a questioning mechanic (you are playing as a cop and an investigative journalist after all). But I don't have many complaints other than that. This was an absolutely crazy experience that has further solidified that I am now a Suda51 fanboy.

Kill the past.