phantomchain
2018
A wonderful game about the evolution of the internet, how new things become old, and how we learn to live with technology. The ever-changing environment of the internet.
Comes with a "like" button too as your main tool. Very good commentary on how the internet cannot replace people, and ultimately never will.
Comes with a "like" button too as your main tool. Very good commentary on how the internet cannot replace people, and ultimately never will.
I cannot tell you the impact this game had on me.
Truthfully, the series is about mental health, a game that doesn't want you to play it because, like one's mental health, it always tends to get worse. Ultimately, it's a tragedy, about a person who failed everything, lost everything, and eventually even lost themselves in the very pits of inky, black despair. But from this, their imagination grows, expands, and becomes something new, even outside of their control.
It's something I related to, as my mental health consumes my every waking moment, lurks around every corner, and preys upon me. But I have lived this long, and I will continue to live, regardless of what happens. Things move on, the world will continue to spin, and life changes.
Truthfully, the series is about mental health, a game that doesn't want you to play it because, like one's mental health, it always tends to get worse. Ultimately, it's a tragedy, about a person who failed everything, lost everything, and eventually even lost themselves in the very pits of inky, black despair. But from this, their imagination grows, expands, and becomes something new, even outside of their control.
It's something I related to, as my mental health consumes my every waking moment, lurks around every corner, and preys upon me. But I have lived this long, and I will continue to live, regardless of what happens. Things move on, the world will continue to spin, and life changes.
2015
I have played this multiple times over the years since it was recommended to me. I was always fascinated by game design, and for years that's what I wanted to do. Even now, I still think about it, even though that dream has long since passed, but I think some part of me still wishes, still clings to that idea.
More narration than game, it's an experience. About interpretation, about art itself, about the cross-section between games AND art. It's beautiful, with convincing acting and dialogue that will have you thinking the story is real. Beautiful, thought-provoking, and amazing.
More narration than game, it's an experience. About interpretation, about art itself, about the cross-section between games AND art. It's beautiful, with convincing acting and dialogue that will have you thinking the story is real. Beautiful, thought-provoking, and amazing.
Truthfully, I don't know how to rate this game. I love the Danganronpa series, don't get me wrong, but the ending of this one just soured it for me.
It's a drastic shift in themes, from Hope vs Despair to Past vs Present, to suddenly... Fiction vs Reality. I don't know if it's a commentary on our enjoyment of dark fiction and true crime, or an actual building block in the series. It left so many unanswered questions about the series, the plot, and the characters, and it's hard to say where the series is now after its release. I still recommend it, and it's still my favorite Danganronpa game, but it leaves me puzzled on the series as a whole.
It's a drastic shift in themes, from Hope vs Despair to Past vs Present, to suddenly... Fiction vs Reality. I don't know if it's a commentary on our enjoyment of dark fiction and true crime, or an actual building block in the series. It left so many unanswered questions about the series, the plot, and the characters, and it's hard to say where the series is now after its release. I still recommend it, and it's still my favorite Danganronpa game, but it leaves me puzzled on the series as a whole.
A beautiful sequel, worth the wait.
Not only does it carry the captivating world-building and story-telling of the first game, but it carries the themes. I was waiting on the edge of my seat for this to come out, and while the ending was unexpected, it was perfect.
Horizon: Forbidden West is gorgeous, as it delves into the story and brings out the best in Aloy. She is kind, she is caring, and she has the burden of the world on her shoulders and she doesn't have time to process any of that love. She fights tooth and nail to save the world not only because she is the only one who may be able to do it, but because she feels it is her duty. She does it because she too loves the planet.
This game carries similar themes to the last one, but even more so. It's not about wiping the slate clean and starting over, it's about building with what you have. Healing the world, working around the mistakes, and making a better future. And still, I hope that this game inspires change to happen. I want to be a part of the change, and I hope others believe this too.
"It's not about the distant hope of creating a new world... It's about preserving the one we have."
Not only does it carry the captivating world-building and story-telling of the first game, but it carries the themes. I was waiting on the edge of my seat for this to come out, and while the ending was unexpected, it was perfect.
Horizon: Forbidden West is gorgeous, as it delves into the story and brings out the best in Aloy. She is kind, she is caring, and she has the burden of the world on her shoulders and she doesn't have time to process any of that love. She fights tooth and nail to save the world not only because she is the only one who may be able to do it, but because she feels it is her duty. She does it because she too loves the planet.
This game carries similar themes to the last one, but even more so. It's not about wiping the slate clean and starting over, it's about building with what you have. Healing the world, working around the mistakes, and making a better future. And still, I hope that this game inspires change to happen. I want to be a part of the change, and I hope others believe this too.
"It's not about the distant hope of creating a new world... It's about preserving the one we have."
2017
Horizon: Zero Dawn was a game I picked up before my mom died. And even then, before I realized it, I knew this game was unique. Not just in its story but in the way it feels. The power to take down machines with a bow and arrow, the satisfaction of stripping armor and weapons from them, it's a rush I can't get anywhere else. A true classic, and one of the best PlayStation games ever.
But this game is about motherhood, about Aloy finding her mom and accepting her story. It's the start of her own story, breaking away from the oppression of her tribe, learning about her past, and in it, the past of the world that she has inherited. Ultimately, this is a game about humanity's own downfall, and the descendants trying to fix it.
I want to heal the world, I want to be good, I want to be better. And this game allows me to feel that, for just a moment, I am doing the right thing. That I am a part of the change.
Aloy's own mother, long dead before they meet, ponders on this. About her own children, about her inevitable future where she will never meet them. "I would have wanted her to be willful and unstoppable but with enough compassion to heal the world." And I hope in some way that I can be better than my own mother, an awful nasty woman, and I can help change the world. I want to heal the world, even if just a little bit.
But this game is about motherhood, about Aloy finding her mom and accepting her story. It's the start of her own story, breaking away from the oppression of her tribe, learning about her past, and in it, the past of the world that she has inherited. Ultimately, this is a game about humanity's own downfall, and the descendants trying to fix it.
I want to heal the world, I want to be good, I want to be better. And this game allows me to feel that, for just a moment, I am doing the right thing. That I am a part of the change.
Aloy's own mother, long dead before they meet, ponders on this. About her own children, about her inevitable future where she will never meet them. "I would have wanted her to be willful and unstoppable but with enough compassion to heal the world." And I hope in some way that I can be better than my own mother, an awful nasty woman, and I can help change the world. I want to heal the world, even if just a little bit.
2022
I went into this game expecting a simple, silly, cat game—a cyberpunk world where I explored it as a cat, and really nothing more.
And then the plot hit me.
I was utterly stunned and blown away by this game's depth and quality, not just in its graphics. It's beautiful, not just on the surface but thematically.
Humanity, right now, is defined by our organicness. The fact that we are flesh and blood. But Stray takes that idea and twists it into something more. Humanity is not just being of flesh and bone, but that we form communities, support each other, we have families, and we love.
It twists the idea of robots becoming the dominant species, and makes it a positive thing. Robots are our descendants, our children, and they do things because of US. They water plants, eat food, care for each other, have families, have children of their own, and think and feel like us.
Humans may be extinct in Stray, but I found so much humanity in the robots. I found so much beauty, and I cried very hard at the end. Very much worth the money.
And then the plot hit me.
I was utterly stunned and blown away by this game's depth and quality, not just in its graphics. It's beautiful, not just on the surface but thematically.
Humanity, right now, is defined by our organicness. The fact that we are flesh and blood. But Stray takes that idea and twists it into something more. Humanity is not just being of flesh and bone, but that we form communities, support each other, we have families, and we love.
It twists the idea of robots becoming the dominant species, and makes it a positive thing. Robots are our descendants, our children, and they do things because of US. They water plants, eat food, care for each other, have families, have children of their own, and think and feel like us.
Humans may be extinct in Stray, but I found so much humanity in the robots. I found so much beauty, and I cried very hard at the end. Very much worth the money.