lemurnade
2008
If I had the power to start development on the sequel of any game, this would be it. While Spore was not perfect, nothing since has captured the same ability to create, explore and feel free in your own universe.
2014
Stunning graphics mask antiquated and incredibly overcomplicated systems, with most of the game boiling down to repetitive grind
2019
A lot of it sucks, but I still found myself having fun most of the time. Half the DLCs are awful, the other half are incredible.
2012
Good game with good DLC
How MMOs should be done; encouraging positive player interaction, rewarding both skill and commitment, with an outstanding story and good customisation options
2011
Great pvp
2016
Makes you think
2020
Fall Guys is a case of right place, right time- a game to bring large numbers of players together in harmless fun landing at a time where people are stuck indoors without much to do is a recipe for success. Besides this, Fall Guys is entirely unremarkable, and the developer's attitude towards bugs or hackers was lacklustre.
Iceborne, and MHW as a whole, are a real mixed bag of good and bad, but the bad features end up being eclipsed by the immense amount of positive quality of life that World brings to the MH franchise. The adaptation and continuation of all of the QoL features that World introduced into the upcoming MH Rise is a testament to the success of World in making Monster Hunter a more accessible and comfortable franchise.
2015
Fundamentally, this is the best MOBA created. With an emphasis on teamwork above all else, and varied maps with powerful objectives, HotS keeps the essence of basic MOBA design at its heart and delivers it very well. However, Blizzard's unwillingness to invest into it led to the worst balance of any MOBA, with heroes sitting around 60% winrate for literal years, to a lack of new content and extreme powercreep on newer heroes.
2009
LoL is an average game made by a company with terrible ethics. The obsession with innovating every year to keep the game fresh has had mixed consequences, sometimes bringing engaging new systems into play and sometimes bringing degenerate gameplay into the meta. The community remains extremely toxic, with Riot unwilling to take action on negative behaviour.
2013
The incredible amount of depth this game has also makes it a huge barrier to entry. Visual clarity is the worst of any MOBA I've played, prioritising aesthetics over clarity, but the sheer level of skill expression that's possible makes it stand out as a MOBA for true big brain gamers.
2019
One of the greatest MMO concepts of all time, given a second chance and bungled by the developers in the opening weeks. What started out as a chance to erase the P2W, whale-monopolised original game fell off a cliff as players exploiting and cheating poorly-thought through systems were left unpunished to accelerate their lead, returning the game to its original state on the live servers. A paid DLC with little in the way of new content marked the end of AAU's relevance, with hopes that ArcheAge 2 can finally make the most of the concepts around player freedom of choice to make a memorable and long-lasting game.
Modern WoW puts profit above player, with inflexible timegates compounding with a pricey subscription fee to keep players playing as long as possible to maximise profit. Azerite and corruption gear compounded on the already grindy and RNG-driven gearing system to the frustration of players, while the story constantly rambles in odd tangents. With the top DPS classes doing almost double the damage of the bottom ones, extremely simple rotations and inflexible builds, endgame combat is more of a gear check than a skill-based one. On the positive side, some of the soundtrack is quite good.
2012
With the best combat system of any MMO, player-focussed story and engaging open world zones that have ongoing storylines through player-driven events, GW2 set the standard for putting the player first. Now in its twilight, GW2 struggles to find endgame content that can retain its playerbase, with the upcoming expansion being its last chance to keep its footing in the modern MMO scene.