Coming back to this after all this years it was still an exceptional experience. As the years have gone on we’ve got used to improvements in graphics and game design, and the quality of life options in the newer ports really help when you’re a full grown ‘adult’ with not as much free time. But the magic is all there if you look for it. This time around I found myself appreciating more of the details in the background of each area you visit; seeing the impact Shinra has on the world in every corner; some really quite offbeat enemy encounters.

Comparing this to the Compilation tie ins and REMAKE project and it’s clearer than ever sometimes less is more. The whole story of Cloud’s identity crisis works so well here where we don’t really have that much of Zack. By leaving his story a little more vague it emphasises him as a personification of the ideal man in Cloud’s head. The themes of environmentalism, anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism are all clear amongst others, with Sephiroth/Jenova/WEAPONS embodying their ultimate escalating threats.

I remember coming away with a bad impression of this years ago on the PSP. A few hours into this version I thought I’d been wrong. While it’s clearly not coming in with a strong story, it at least felt like fun. There was just a little bit of romantic subtext suggested, enough to grab onto for a functioning fudanshi, but that soon got lost by the wayside. It just gets BAD, but it doesn’t want to commit enough when it could’ve gone full out. The idea of fleshing out Zack as a character and especially the whole Nibelheim story turns out feeling totally hollow, as much of the game just aims for fanservice and fleshing out minor details that were better left redundant. It could be possible to say something interesting or at least show more respect if you really must keep milking the franchise, but not in these hands.

At the start the game felt like part of a growing trend of fans turned devs making tribute games to the likes of Chrono Trigger and other RPGs from the 90s. This didn’t excite me, but the game got me interested as I saw a bit more of it. It does some cool things to make its level design a little more interesting by mixing up puzzle solving and traversal between fights. This isn’t enough on its own, though. I think an RPG really needs a strong story to keep it going, and Sea of Stars does not appear to have that. I think I made it at least 2/3 of the way before I put it down. So far it had been mostly lightweight, then I got to a long series of flashbacks. Normally I’d love that kind of thing but here I wasn’t finding enough substance.

Revisiting this I had a good time. Even after getting platinum on PS4 I still enjoyed the combat and even doing the side quests.
On the narrative and overall experience I find the REMAKE project underwhelming. I enjoy the nostalgic feeling of wandering through Midgar again, but at the same time, it feels almost like a Disneyland version of it. Where detail is added, it lacks a bit of authenticity and charm. The slums are oddly clean, the class division often more like background dressing, occasionally even romanticised.
I don’t mind the idea of changes in a new adaptation. There’s a theory that the whispers represent OG fans fighting any idea of change. This is a cool idea, but it just doesn’t work if you’re not following it up with something meaningful. So far it seems the changes consist of adding redundant background stories for the smallest details, and tying in some of the woeful spin-offs we’ve already tried to forget about. The big political themes have been diluted in favour of flashy shounen anime story beats and sword fights. Characters have been brought to life in a way, but cloud in particular is changed for the worse. Repeating the same issue made in Crisis Core, he’s made more into a timid boy who can’t talk to girls, rather than a soldier out of his depth, a man pretending to be something he’s not, and the abstract he wants to be, Zack, feels less impactful now that he too is more of a cartoon character.

Initially I was quite charmed by the game’s style, its obnoxiousness and jank. It felt like maybe they were trying to make something cool out of a limited budget and a specific brief. The game just doesn’t blossom into anything interesting. The writing never goes anywhere. The combat feels awfully simplistic despite complex skill combinations and mountains of useless loot. Going against the narrative legacy the game is keen to reference, you’re restricted to three party members instead of 4. Apparently this was done in favour of balance but that’s something that should’ve been worked out from the start.
Maybe the game is intended for multiplayer co-op play- indeed that can make even the worst game fun, but I’d like it to stand on its own as a single player experience too.
Jack is a cool guy. I kind of love how they s game seems to hate itself or want to be as abrasive as possible. But that ‘so bad it’s good’ vibe can’t carry a full length repetitive, unimaginative game like this.

Admitting I didn’t finish this one, just didn’t have enough to pull me back. The sight of multiple DLC packs still dripping out puts me off completely.

Cool remake! I’m not really a fan of this trend of remaking perfectly good, not-that-old games especially when they’re readily available. This is a great example of a remake being done well though. Compared to the original, the action is much improved, a lot less stiff. Sometimes feels like you’re in an action film. A lot of this is a very faithful recreation to the original, many areas even keeping the same level design. There are a few surprises put in deliberately mess with returning fans and I love the idea of the makers messing with the player. Could’ve gone a bit further with that. I appreciated the improvements to some of the boss fights, and the exclusion of one of the bad ones from the original. The new parry mechanic adds a great dynamic to the combat. Durability is frustrating but that’s so hard to balance.

A few welcome changes are made to the story, taking away some awkward and cringeworthy aspects which already felt dated 10 years ago. I appreciated the changes to Luis in particular. Ada’s VA had unfairly taken a lot of abuse and blame when I think the character doesn’t work as well as she did before now that she feels younger and less aggressive in her dynamic with Leon, and that’s a combination of writing, design and direction more than the acting. The story is mostly the same which is to say a lot of fun but otherwise a bit shallow.

While so much of this is really cool, I found I was reminded of other games. Several times I thought of Metal Gear Solid 3, and this doesn’t carry the same weight.

RE4 2005 marked the full shift of the series from survival horror to action with horror aesthetics and this is as it was. I think there’s a place for that, but seeing the same shift that happened towards the end of RE7 and 8 it’s a little sad. I’d love to see RE9 go with another new protagonist and focus on horror and puzzling. If we get another remake next I’m content to see a RE1 REmake REMAKE, since that now looks in need of it after all this. Otherwise we’re looking at some seriously flawed instalments to be recreated or hopefully completely reimagined. But maybe messiness is what makes this franchise special.

Holy shit this rules. Got this free on PS+ ages ago and just put it on today as a quick in-betweeny game while I waited for something else to download. This was such a great surprise. The time stopping/ slowing mechanic turns first person combat into a quick thinking puzzle experience. It feels like you’re a stunt coordinator simulating action scenes in a slick martial arts action film like John Wick or Hardboiled.

Framing the action is a very effective kind of retro bootleg computer hacker set up that I found really effective. There’s a very simple but compelling narrative, toying with ideas of going where you’re not supposed to, obedience to authority and the whole idea of playing games and what that does with your brain. It’s vibey. I’ve never been that interested in VR games but I can see how if there’s many like this they could be a phenomenal experience.

I’m a good dog.

I found I got the most enjoyment out of this when I treated it like a sudoku or wordle, picking it up once a day or so for a short session, a good way to stretch the brain. As you progress the game increases in difficulty and you unlock new tools which expand the puzzles into new directions. Then there are a few tile based Tetris-shape puzzles to unlock doors and a couple of secrets.

To motivate you through all this is a mystery: are you a person? An android? Both? Why are you here? Who is the mysterious god like voice and what does he want? Is any of this real? What happened? It’s all vague and open, initially intriguing. To piece that together you must get to the end, piecing together clues here and there from computer monitors providing text logs. These are what lets the game down to be honest. There’s a lot of them. They are drip fed to you regularly as pages and pages of text. Some deal with history, philosophy, AI programming, fictional(?) writers flexing their song writing abilities. Some of these are surely meant to hint at the big mystery, and point towards the game’s heavy themes, others are entirely fluff, but you’d have a hard time telling which with some. The combination of these and the huge number of puzzles leaves it feeling overstretched.

There are a tier of more difficult puzzles as well. You know when you find these as they’re marked with a red block reward. At first they seem impossible. There’s a ‘notice board’ of sorts in the area for you to ask for assistance, but you’re told you can’t get that until you find their secret. When you do, it turns out you have a limited number of these requests, and they don’t actually make a difference besides giving you a text clue in one of these puzzles. After the fun of unlocking new tools and toys earlier, this was a bit of a let down. I did then find that even without these hints, I was able to solve a lot of the puzzles on my own. Perhaps the experience had trained me, improved my brain, updated my firmware? That was nice. I just would have liked a steadier, more concise narrative.

Wolfenstein New Order was a phenomenal game to me and this sequel made me appreciate it even more. New Colossus expands on its predecessor’s strong narrative and creative set up to reach new heights. This one starts with an interesting perspective shift as you start in a wheelchair. We know the whole game can’t be this way but it makes an interesting start. Things change with some technology and equipment, and there’s more shifts to come later.
The action is changed in this one, I think in an effort to modernise and fall in line with some trends of the time- some of this sadly to its detriment. Perks give some gradual rewards and feelings of progress, but skill trees and collectibles feel a bit redundant, weapon upgrades a misstep. Some of the side content feels like padding but occasionally throws in a nice twist (like a rat killing job that turns into something else). I’m not exactly into guns but I found I missed having a real sniper rifle this time, the upgrade equivalent not being enough. And the silenced weapons don’t feel worth it as enemies are often wearing armor to take more than one shot.

Where the game really stands out is it’s narrative. I feel the creators made an effort to push this as much as they could, understanding the power of a ‘good cutscene’ and also in the first person player perspective. The emotional flashbacks to BJ’s childhood really pack a punch, and the whole execution sequence is a fantastic, horrifying thrill ride.
Supporting characters get their moments to shine and say their piece. It’s enough but just a little more would’ve been perfect.
Trying not to spoil but I also love the game’s climax, subverting the expectations both of a damsel in distress and a huge final boss battle.

I love the way this game immerses you and builds so much tension, with its whispering dialogue and thoughtful use of haptic feedback. The gameplay is expanded from the previous game with a few new tricks, alchemical combinations and weapons that make Amicia feel more like a fighter but also make it clear she is a protector, not a soldier. The use of supporting characters abilities provides fun dynamics too, making the action and puzzles feel like a cooperative effort. This game is so much bigger and bolder than the last and it seems the writers and developers have come a long way. It’s a relief though that this sticks to the linear action experience, and takes every opportunity that provides to further the atmosphere and storytelling. When nearly every major studio is trying to make game worlds bigger and bigger, padded with side quests, regardless of how empty they still end up, this is a joy to find.

The story may not be saying something groundbreaking but still feels like a great fantasy novel. Tying the events to real world history doesn’t feel tacky, aside from the eyebrow raising post credit scene.

I’ve loved following Amicia and Hugo’s journey, and I’m so pleased a game like this can still happen.

It’s very slick, the guys are cute and it’s occasionally funny. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected and wish I had played 3 and 4 before this to get into it better. The writing is quite poor but it knows to just roll with that, going as absurd as you think it can go and then somehow even further. Combat can be fun but I find it quite chaotic and over complicated. The controls are a mess even with some remapping, there’s so many weapons and special moves that are awkward to use and ultimately kind of pointless as most of the time you can just mash through it. A lot of recent action games play with a similar core parry and dodge mechanic and I don’t think they all need to be the same but this one’s definitely missing that.

Pretty good! It worked hard to recreate the feelings of the films, but it’s a little overstretched. The android Joes are amazingly creepy, more so in fact than the aliens. The xenomorphs are a bit plastic, more nuisance than terrors. Quite a lot of it is a bit plastic now that I think about it, mostly very clean. Despite being thrown around a whole space station, crawling through vents, dodging bullets, the main character never shows much sweat, no bruises or even a few smudges. So much for a little while I wondered if there would be a twist that she was an android herself. Not saying these details should matter but it’s the kind of thing that could’ve had more attention if the whole game was a much more concise experience.

Love the feel of wandering the setting of abandoned haunted modern Tokyo. I like the use of magic in a first person game and excellent use of haptic feedback on the PS5 controller. Sadly falls apart once the open city world opens up a bit more and it’s clear it feels like the usual open world ubisofty template with shrines as radio towers, excessive odd jobs and collectibles that just get in the way; and when you wade through that for the main story that’s just a fairly simplistic quest with little to say. Could’ve been better if it was much shorter.