Every once in a while a game comes along that stands above the rest. Some call these "game of the generation" or "game of the decade". I hesitate to call this either as "generation" is losing all meaning among video games and we are still VERY early in this decade. What I would say though is that when 2020 hit, people DID call out various games for "game of the decade" and the take I found myself agreeing with the most regarding this topic was that Dark Souls was the "Game of the Decade" for the decade of 2010-2019. What I take this to mean is that when this game came out, it was in discussions non-stop and it was always compared to other games that released since as sort of the bar of game difficulty. Games released would be the "Dark Souls of [genre]" or described as "Dark Souls hard". Now, Dark Souls isn't the first game of its kind or even the first one of it's developer's games BUT it was the first popular one of its type and it stood out. With all that in mind THIS game, Elden Ring, is the culmination of the Dark Souls decade and its influence. It is a game like Dark Souls that has been refined and forged into its peak form. It's as though developer From Software took all the things that were enjoyable about their previous games, added the Breath of the Wild idea of an open world you choose to explore instead of one that asks you to, and also filled it with an interesting lore throughout. It feels like the current pinnacle of "Soulslike" games. Anyone can really get into it and explore at their leisure which allows players to go do something else if they find something too challenging while also providing a good challenge for people that want it. It's a really brilliant move that allows for choice without making something as blatant as an "easy mode". There's all sorts of secrets to find in this and loads of tough opponents to best. You can play and explore on your own or with a friend. I think the peak experience with this game has been playing it while others were also playing for the first time. It really added to the experience for me to swap stories about what we found as friends and I played at different paces. Really fun time overall and an experience I don't think I would trade for anything.

Probably gonna be one of my favorite games ever. It took everything I had trouble with in Resident Evil 1 and I think fixed most of it while keeping what I liked intact.

It still has the core of wandering some big puzzle box and finding parts to unlock different things to find more parts and keep going that I liked about the first one. This one doesn't limit your saves though so I was like a guy in the desert who finds water and just abusing it so much. In fact I know I saved more than I needed to because my second run had about half as many saves. Anyway, yeah the whole museum turned police station excuse for their being puzzles everywhere was kinda dumb but I don't really care as long as I get to do puzzles. The only time it stuck as bad for me was the part of the game that was weakest: the sewer.

I dunno who enjoys sewer levels or sections. It's just dark and bad. They offered some variety in old side-scrolling games with limited colors but now it just feels like padding the length. ESPECIALLY because the company that works the sewers is quirky and has specific chess piece plugs in a specific combo to open the big "make progress this way door". Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed finding the parts and solving the puzzle. It just felt borderline out of place and like they needed something there rather than it making sense. It's almost to the point of like Professor Layton where every random asshole on the street has a puzzle for you lmao.

The rest of the game after that was fine. I still don't know if these games need boss fights though. I do enjoy that it feels more like surviving against a thing for long enough rather than just taking down a health bar. There's a couple times in this though where you are shooting glowing weak spots. Eh. It's whatever. As I just mentioned though, it's peak when there's this unstoppable force you are more trying to get away from than beat and it's done perfectly in this game with the Tyrant guy. I see some people say Mr X? I like that. So Mr X is this big imposing guy who will smack the shit out of you and you can hear him coming and it's all very intense and superb atmosphere. Loved that element. Also going back to boss stuff in general I loved the (traditional?) dropping of a rocket launcher to kill the big bad thing at the end. Excellent.

Characters in this game were more interesting too I think. That could be on me though at least in part since I only played as Jill in RE1 and not Chris. I partly blame the poor writing and voice acting stuff in that game though. THIS GAME though both the player characters were really interesting. Leon the rookie cop who gets more than he bargained for on his first day (week?, whatever) who I guess just has balls because he just gets stronger resolve as things go on wanting to get justice and figure out what the hell is going on. Then there's Claire, Chris' younger sister, who I thought was immediately interesting when you first see her. Her story and reason for going deeper into this hell were convincing to me despite some logic jumps. Looking for her brother at first and then helping the little girl was solid. She's pretty badass.

My gripe with the two character thing is not something that's easily fixed. If I could have my wish I would make it so things are actually different for the second playthrough. Hell the game notes that you're on a second run specifically. Things like the secret passage already being opened by your first character or a room being blocked off because of the first characters actions. Hell even having it so in your first run some things are already moved around or whatever because of the second character would be something. It just bugs me when you have two characters basically doing the same thing separately the entire game but then they meet up at the end. Like if they compared stories at all it would be like "wait I had to open that crazy medallion door too." like how would that work? I did appreciate small things like some rooms being specific to one character or another and a certain prominent character already being a zombie when you find them in the second run. Just thinking about how much they could do to make it feel more unique for the second run while being ultimately the same game just kinda makes me yearn.

In the end, a superb game that I liked so much I did play it twice despite my yearning for more differences like I mentioned. I liked it enough to play in the sewers twice! Hell I had such a good time I tried doing The 4th Survivor mode, a mode I quickly realized was not the kind of thing I fell in love with this game for as it's more like a way longer version of the FNG challenge in CoD 4. Overall an incredible game I think I could recommend to anyone, even people that don't play many games. It's excellent from start to finish. A shame that this isn't how the series kept going but I'm curious to see what comes next!

Blew away my expectations. I couldn't imagine a better game that's set during my least favourite section of the original FFVII. The remake brings Midgar and the world of FFVII to life in a way that made me care about everyone and everything going on. The whole party is excellent. The cast of characters are all just done so so well. I loved them all. Especially Barret.

The combat system is also pitch perfect. It's the freshest combat system I've played in an action RPG in over a decade. It's so damn fun. I love how it pays respect to it's turn based lineage by allowing you to pause the action when selecting abilities too. It's just a such a well thought out and nuanced battle system. I wasn't expecting it to be so well done. Likewise, the materia system is really engaging and made for a fun side-goal throughout the game. There are so many materia combinations to try out and experiment with. Again, this is really good stuff. It all rules.

I do have a few nitpicks though. The puzzles are serviceable at best. But at their worst, they slow down the pacing and I wished that I could skip them. There's also maybe one or two filler chapters in this game. I wasn't too bothered by it since the gameplay and characters are just so much fun. But it's still worth mentioning I feel.

The way the game ends is so fucking cool. I'm absolutely thrilled with the direction Nomura went in. It's like they picked the most exciting way to do a remake of such a beloved game. Screw a 1:1 remake. FFVII still exists and can be played on just about every modern system. It's time to move on and Remake does just that.

The original FFVII is a game with such a massive scope and ambition. So massive that I felt it was never able to truly deliver on it. I feel like Remake is not only delivering on the promise of the original but has a good chance a exceeding it. This is just a world I love to be in and the future is bright. I can't wait to see what fate brings.

Replaying this via the PS5 re-release has been a great reminder that Uncharted 4 is VERY much the crown jewel of the Uncharted series.

The set pieces, the action and the plot are all better than they've ever been because they are all fueled by extremely strong character motivations. I think that's the main thing that sets UC4 apart. Drake has always been this quipy hero but A Thief's End gives a lot of weight to his actions and make him more complex in a way that shouldn't work but absolutely does. Likewise, Sam, Nadine and Rafe are all excellent additions and fit right in with the rest of the cast. Sam especially grew on me to the point where he's up there beside Sully and Elena as one of my favourite side characters in the series.

The developers do such a good job of adding all these new things that shake things up while also reinvigorating the core gameplay (Stealth actually works now!!). And they achieve it all while making UC4 so faithful and true to Uncharted. It's an absolute miracle this game turned out this good despite the development hell behind the scenes.

There's maybe one bad section in the game (fuck you exploding mummies) but otherwise Uncharted 4 is absolutely stellar from beginning to end. A Thief's End sets a high bar for third person action games that I feel most games not made by Naughty Dog still can't reach in 2022.

I went into Ragnarok out of a sense of obligation. I enjoyed GoW 2018 but I didn't see what everyone else saw. It was a good game but something about the combat didn't click. It did have a really strong narrative though so I still look back at it fondly. When I started Ragnarok, there was a feeling of deja-vu to the plot and combat that instantly bored me. I was ready to write the game off.

So imagine my surprise when I eventually conceded that not only is Ragnarok good, but it may very well be the best game in the entire franchise. There are so many smart changes and ideas in here. I can't get over how lovingly made this game is.

The difference in the combat is night and day with the original. There's a weight to every hit that is just so satisfying. There's also a readability to enemy patterns that just wasn't there in the last game. It not only works but it proved to me that this combat system is excellent. I love it wholeheartedly. Meanwhile, the narrative is also just an absolute joy. I cared about every side character which is an achievement in itself. Even the ones that I didn't care for in 2018 are amazing here. And this is in no small part due to the industry best writing on display. Everyone feels real and fueled by human motivations.

It's also worth mentioning that this is a game where the side content feels essential. Exploring the realms, hearing dialogue and finding new combat challenges all interweave together to create this sublime experience and atmosphere. Ragnarok truly feels like an epic sprawling adventure and that feeling is accentuated by the exploration.

I'm so thrilled with what Sony Santa Monica achieved here. Ragnarok is the culmination of smart and thoughtful game design decisions and I'm so happy to have been proven wrong about it.

Obtained 100% completion in-game as well as the platinum trophy

Replayed this a few times to obtain the platinum trophy.

RE3 is one of the coolest presenting games out there. Jill and Carlos are awesome and the game plays out like Zombie Die Hard. It has so much cool imagery and all of the locations are really fun. RE3 also looks phenomenal. It's maybe still the best looking RE game for me.

Replaying this really made RE3's flaws more apparent to me. I always scoffed at the criticism of the game being short because short games are still dope. The length of a game should never equate to it's quality.

But I think in RE3's case, the length is indicative of a very tangible lack of depth. Especially when compared to RE2. The game's linearity robs the player of almost any meaningful decision-making. And that kind of decision making (should I try to go back to the save room? or push through this new area with my limited ammo?) is what makes RE games so special.

So yeah. Still really good but not as great as it could be.