An impressively constructeed remake that contains all the delights the Source engine brings, yet with its new additions still leaves parts to be desired. The puzzles stand out as some of the most engaging I've experienced in a title like this and the game honestly looks superb for a Source engine game. Soundtrack also goes crazy, seriously makes a lot of otherwise "whatever" moments feel more impactful.

I'd say the first half of the game within Black Mesa is the strongest part of the game, as well as the intro of Xen, but as the game goes deeper in it begins to crack with monotony lining each of the levels, especially in the new Xen. While the puzzles are still quality, they become repetitive in structure and goal and by the end it feels kind of mindless.

It's a cool game but doesn't have all the extra oomph that Half Life 2 has with its story and gameplay, even as the remake aims to push a similar envelope in what the Source engine can do. It's still a decent game but not one that maximised its potential in creating Xen a much more unique world that separates itself from the somewhat mundane reality of Earth and its technologies.

I felt seen while playing this even though I'm not Tamil, it was just nice seeing my culture being properly represented in media (aside from ATSV). Very relatable too since I grew up in Australia my entire life and have essentially forgone my heritage in many ways. That being said, the game itself is just very short and kind of underbakes its ideas a little, it's neat for its runtime and its premise but I didn't really get much out of it apart from it being relatable. Neat though, happy to have a story like this adapted like this.

I feel like I’d have enjoyed this game a lot more as a kid rather than now. The gunplay is fluid & fantastic and the gun variety is solid, almost every gun here feels well designed and balanced. The soundtrack is immaculate, lends heavily into its setting & the circumstances of the story & makes a lot of these explosive scenes and moments feel much grander than what they honestly really are. Speaking of the story, it’s… okay? I’ll be honest, I just wasn’t remotely invested in any of these characters or their stories, there was no hook here and the climax & ending made me feel nothing. This game was essentially a shooting gallery for me and as a shooting gallery… still not all that amazing either. While the gunplay is great, the level design wasn’t as well polished. So many levels are just frustratingly designed with annoying enemy spam, and when the late game hits with the brutes it becomes even worse. Maybe the co-op input lag made it feel a lot worse than it should, but it wasn’t very fun getting one or two-shot with a 1 second delay on firing. There are parts of this game that have aged well, and others that feel like a product of its time period. As great as the game looks and feels at times, its taken away by its bizarre and frustrating design. Yet even then, still liked it a lot more than my short time with Combat Evolved. Hope the series shows improvements from hereon, especially the story.

ohhhh butits a t-third person cam dialogue splurge cinematic game that doensn't utilise the medium to tell the st-

Look, those games are amazing and all and I love when video games ACTUALLY utilise the unique elements granted by it to tell the story, but I honestly don't care when you have one of the single most fleshed out protagonists in the overall medium getting a phenomenal conclusion. Oh, and having the deuteragonist ALSO share an effective dynamic with said character ? Along with the fact htat the game is just fucking RAWWWWWWW in every way possible?! Man, I do not care how the game is presented and how it's "basically a movie" (which is kind of absurd to me considering there are games that quite literally do NOTHING but try to be a movie). I truly adore this game and it means so much to me, a very potent exploration of fatherhood and positive masculinity that had me tearing up in the end. I'll always love this game.

This is such a mixed bag for me, and is simultaneously a superb story experience mixed with a draining gameplay experience. Yet, even the story experience isn't enough to make the gameplay forgivable, but not bad enough where the game's strongest elements are completely overshadowed by it's faults.

Truth be told, I should've expected this form of storytelling considering I played Automata and yet it manages to be even more tedious & grating than Automata. The incessant requirement of replaying the game three times got so unbelievably draining (not to mention the full weapon collection requirement) that I ended up just save-swapping to save my time and my sanity. The side quests are boring, the gameplay loop is.. okay, but nothing too amazing to make me want to keep playing more of it, especially when I'm doing the same loops multiple times. I understand WHY its used but it doesn't take away from how frustrating it was to just do the same thing over and over again for minimal gain, especially Route C which felt like a slap in the face to play. The excessive tedium and unrewarding gameplay loop made this game a chore to play, and made me almost want to drop it a few times.

Yet on the other hand, the game's writing is fantastic. I'd say the first route is completely forgettable but moving forward the different narrative elements that are added upon each route and the exploration of the four main characters is fantastic. Their relationships & how they find their purposes through one another is beautifully done, the overarching idea of humanity amongst the inhuman, and what makes them human, is really well done. The soundtrack is phenomenal and amplifies each of these key moments and I found myself wrapped up in their stories especially by Ending E. I don't think it's as good as Automata though, not by any margin, but it still shows that Yoko Taro's ability to write compelling narratives is strong. I have to say I don't think I ended up liking Kaine because her dialogue was just eyeroll-worthy at times but her journey alongside Emil was fulfilling from start to finish.

NieR Replicant is something I'm completely torn on, I don't know whether I like it or I don't like it. The gameplay and story qualities couldn't be further apart and it's weird because the gameplay & the overall game design would be like a 3-4 for me, but the story is easily an 8 for me. It's a strange mix of the best parts of why video games can be considered art yet it shoots itself in the foot when it comes to the fundamental experience of playing a game.

For now, I'll give it the merit of its story and see how I feel about it overtime. A wonderful story & cast of characters with a powerful ending, rich in it's subtextual exploration of humanity/human nature, and yet weighed down so significantly by it's tedium.

[Fun fact, the entire time I was playing Replicant, I ended up appreciating Automata the more I thought about it while playing it... because it's gameplay isn't even remotely as annoying as Replicant's, and its story is far superior too. Shoutout Automata, I was too harsh on you.]

This is the only walking sim that had actually impacted me in any shape or form. Where games like Edith Finch squander for me, SOMA excels in every possible regard. The story that's tied to philosophical questions that have been explored many times before was still immensely engaging and leaves you with an amazing ending that, with any form of attention paid, could've been seen coming, but STILL hits as hard as it could.

This game HAD to be a walking sim to work honestly, it lets you absorb yourself in the dense, hopeless atmosphere the game perfects. But at the same time, I just wish that element was done better...the game's a lot better in Safe mode and I personally wouldn't bother with the monster encounters as they're generic and really easy at the same time.

Thankfully the game is really short and because of that it's a really easy recommendation to just sit through and absorb this incredible experience.

When people talk about video games as an art form, and as a general storytelling medium, Bloodborne is the shining example of the potential for video games to exceed even the most critically acclaimed works of art in other mediums. In all the things I've ever seen, played, read or watched, I don't think I've ever felt so strongly about something that so heavily emphasises a "show, don't tell" angle. Not only one of the best games ever purely mechanically, but possibly the best world ever created in the medium. So dense, richly atmospheric and endlessly captivating that it becomes intoxicating. Years since I've beat this and it still never leaves my mind, Bloodborne is the thoughts of a genius stylised with Miyazaki's blood, sweat and tears. Perfection.

While I did this run as a modded playthrough under Reforged, Elden Ring at its core is still the best fundamental gaming experience I've had from this decade. Just such a monumental achievement in every facet of game design that can be imagined. Shit, even when I was frustrated (and it happened often), I still don't think I can ever get an experienced like this from any other developer. Packed to the brim with content in a world so dense & rich that it puts most fully-fleshed narrative titles to shame. On a re-run with a stronger understanding of the lore, the experience of walking through the endgame areas and understanding the circumstances of the world itself and your purpose made these grand, cinematic moments feel all the more moving. With Shadow of the Erdtree on the horizon, I already know that FromSoft will once again prove why they're the best developers in the business. Just real, real gaming.