Serving as a remake of the first installment, Nightmare in Dreamland is a nice introduction to the Kirby franchise - well that is what I would say if the game wasn't such a dull platforming experience.

Aside from the gorgeous pixel art style and catchy music, it is just mediocre at best and nothing about it truly impresses.

The difficulty spike was also a frustrating mix-up to the gameplay. What started as a seemingly baby's first platformer game abruptly turns into a challenging exercise, resulting in an irritating pacing for the game.

Nightmare in Dreamland doesn't really do much in hooking me into the franchise, instead, it might have just made me realize that I might not like 2D platformer games.

Before Jak and Daxter and Uncharted, there was Crash Bandicoot. Naughty Dog's first platformer game and the one that cemented them as one of the best developers there is in the gaming landscape. It's a shame though that what was once considered a great platformer, is now a frustrating and outdated game.

Before ranting though, I would just love to say how great the game's island theme is. While it does result in a lack of variety between levels, it doesn't really matter all that much since the theme that they were going for here was done so incredibly well.

Unfortunately, some of the other aspects of the game haven't aged all that well. Pretty much everything about the gameplay has either aged poorly or wasn't even that good to begin with.

Controlling Crash feels very slippery and unpredictable, not helped by the pixel-perfect precision that the game demands. The 2D segments are most guilty of this flaw, even just a single tap of the controller button would see Crash jumping off the intended block, making the platforming gameplay such a frustrating process. In fact, the difficulty was so unapologetic that it almost made me want to cry.

But arguably the game's worst aspect would probably be its checkpoint system. It's so implemented poorly, making it straight-up garbage and useless. They are either often placed so far from each other or way too close. Even the act of taking a checkpoint alone could even lead to death.

Maybe if I'd played Crash Bandicoot a few years ago I might have appreciated it more, but playing it with a modern lens just shows how outdated the game is.

At its core, Five Nights at Freddy's is a simple point-and-click horror game; however, what sets it apart from the others in the genre is its effectiveness in creating tension and an unforgettable atmosphere.

From the very first moment you take control of the unnamed security guard, you'll instantly feel uneasy. The dark hallways of the pizzeria, the innocent yet distressing music playing in the background, and the unsettling animatronics all make for some genuinely edge-of-your-seat moments that had me fearing for my life.

I was so immersed in the game that when the very first jump scare came, I thought the animatronic jumped in front of me in real life and it felt like my heart almost dropped.

And although the game was quite short and easy, with me only dying once in my first playthrough and being able to finish it in a single sitting, the fear that it provided was simply unmatched by other horror games that I've played, so I could simply overlook its few shortcomings.

Even though the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise may be considered a laughing stock by many nowadays, it doesn't change the fact of just how incredible its first entry is, despite its simplicity.

From it's very first hour, Yakuza 0 has managed to capture my interest thanks to its masterful combination of a captivating story with over-the-top humor. However, its lack of streamlining does get in the way of enjoyment for those wanting to get into its bizarre and action-filled tale.

Firstly, the combat is simply stellar! Each encounter is flashy, and it's quite satisfying to pummel the numerous enemies to a bloody pulp (even if we're supposed to think that they're still alive, even after breaking their spines using a bicycle). I also love the way they've handled the encounters, acting like a random encounter in an RPG game.

The wacky side stories are also another unique feature that makes Yakuza 0 such a fun game to experience. From helping a sweet girl act like a dominatrix to helping a little kid get his stolen video game back by following a trail of numerous thieves, there's a lot here that will sure to make you laugh out loud.

It's a shame, though, that despite all of Yakuza 0's great strengths, it still plays like a game from the PS2 era due to its lack of streamlining. Simply the act of buying an item or healing requires numerous back-and-forth in the menu. The different presentation styles are also worth noting as one of the game's weakest aspects, as it's often quite jarring whenever it switch to another.

I also didn't care that much for the open world aspect of the game, as I found it to be too claustrophobic and limiting for my liking.

Maybe someday I'll get to return to the wacky world of Yakuza 0, but for now, its niche style is just not something I'm ready to experience fully.

I've never really been a huge fan of multiplayer games, however, I do like some fun platformer games and Fall Guys certainty delivers on this aspect.

Although its gameplay loop may be simple, its variety of diverse and colorful mini-games always manages to keep me coming back for more.

The sheer randomness and chaotic-ness of the matches always ensures many hilarious and even thrilling moments even when playing solo.

My only real issue with the game is the poor shuffling of mini-games. I know that there are a lot of mini-games that have been added into the game, but it always seems to gravitate to the same mini-games, making each round very repetitive in the process.

I would have loved to experience the other mini-games that the game has to offer but until then, the game remains 4 stars.

I still remember playing the original Into the Dead game when I was a kid and loving its eerie atmosphere and more or less helpful dog companion system. Knowing that this sequel had included a story mode, I was more than excited to play through it, it's a shame though that this game is nothing more than your typical greedy mobile game.

The game's star attraction is its story mode, which spans multiple chapters and is divided into small segments. And although it does start promising, by your 3rd run with the game, you'll already get bored with it. Story events only occur at the start and end of a run and most of the cutscenes don't provide any development on the plot or characters either. It mostly just consists of dull and generic dialogues, making for a pretty unsubstantial campaign.

It could have greatly benefited from environmental storytelling yet unfortunately, there's none to be seen here. Most of the areas you run through are just boring fields of grass with little to no distinction from each other.

Funnily enough, the bonus stories that the game provided have a far better story and more meaningful cutscenes than those seen in the main campaign itself.

Its gameplay doesn't fair much better either as it's littered with your typical mobile game greediness. Although at the start, most of the microtransactions felt more like an option, as you go further into the campaign, the powerful weapons that you own are rendered useless because they can barely kill regular zombies. The only way to remedy this is by upgrading your weapon using real-world money.

Killing zombies became such a difficult task that the game became frustrating to finish as a result, not helped by its lengthy but meatless campaign.

This is a game to avoid.

A few months ago, I finished Tomb Raider: Legends, a reboot that aimed to modernize the classic franchise. Although it did receive two sequels, I didn't find Legends to be all that great for me to return to its world.

However, after finishing the Uncharted trilogy, and ending up loving it, it did get me in the mood to play this 2013 reboot. After all, the reboot trilogy and the Uncharted trilogy are often compared to each other.

I did play this game before, a few years back, and I remember loving every moment of it, so much that I even considered this to be in my Top 10 games of all time. And it makes me happy that even all these years, the game remains a delight to experience.

If Uncharted may be presented as a Hollywood blockbuster action, Tomb Raider on the other hand is a suspenseful thriller with a hint of horror in between. Delivering so many jaw-dropping moments that I will never forget anytime soon. Especially those horror-esque moments, those really made me wish they'd make a horror-centric Tomb Raider game in the future.

Controlling Lara felt just as great as it did before. While she may be a bit floaty compared to Nathan Drake, it does go a long way towards making the platforming so much more enjoyable, removing the fear of making many blind jumps.

The level design of this game is also a commendable feat, as it manages to provide an open playground for you to explore, made even better by the fact that they all connect to each other, even if some optional path may only lead to meaningless rewards.

It's a shame though that the tombs, if you could even call them that, are so brief to the point that it would often surprise me when it was already over. It was like a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. This also applies to the boss encounters of the game, as it lacks variety and is often almost over in an instant.

I would have also loved to experience the multiplayer mode of the game, as I also remember loving it before, but it seems as though the server may now be dead.

While I do vastly prefer this gritty reboot of Lara's adventure to Uncharted's first entry, it's also quite difficult to turn a blind eye to some of its missteps, robbing it out of a perfect star.

The Arkham Trilogy is often considered some of the best games of all time, so I was really looking forward to experiencing these games, despite not being a huge superhero fan. But after playing Arkham Asylum, I might just become one.

Before I start my review, I should say that I haven't really consumed any Batman media before, aside from the dialogue-less Lego game. Not the comics, series, or even movies. So this will be my proper introduction to the world of Gotham, and what an introduction it was.

At first, I did find it quite difficult to understand the story, not because of its complexity but rather because of how it introduces its characters. Some, if not all of them, are presented as though you already know them even before the story starts.

There is a strong sense of atmosphere throughout the entire island, making it very easy to get immersed in the shoes of our caped crusader. It was also incredible to witness the progression, or in this case, the slow destruction of the island and Batman's suit, as you progressed through the game. However, it also does have a few deliberate design decisions that work against what its trying to establish and feel outdated by today's standards.

Way too much time was spent in detective mode, obscuring the incredible locations and atmosphere of the game.

I also found controlling Batman to be quite stiff and awkward, due to the jump and dodge being mapped to the same button. This often leads to so many moments where Batman would perform a roll instead of a jump, making the Scarecrow segments frustating due to its trial and error platforming

Also, this is probably just me but, while some may have stellar voice acting, I can't help but feel off whenever I hear Batman speak. Every single line of his are delivered in such monotone fashion, not helped by the fact that his character interactions has no proper animations, making him look like a stiff robot trying to imitate emotion.

However, after quite some time, I did manage to overlook some of its odd quirks and just enjoyed the game for what it was—a solid action game with a few problems.

Normally, I'd finish a game's story before giving it a review, but in the case of Enter the Gungeon, I felt that the couple of hours that I've put into it were enough.

First off, this is the first game that I've played within this type of genre, so my playthrough of it was a bit rough. The highest floor that I've reached was only the 2nd, and I never even managed to beat any of its bosses.

In some games, this cycle of death and repeat would definitely frustrate me, but here, that was never the case. Instead, each death became a learning experience, and I was motivated to do better next time.

I'll definitely try to play this game again in the future, and hopefully see its endings for its numerous characters, but for now, it's going in my digital shelf.

The original Final Fantasy VII is considered one of the greatest video games ever made, so this remake had a lot to live up to. I myself never really played the 1997 original, so I have zero nostalgia going into this remake, although I did play the demo for it, and I found myself so completely hooked that I bought the game immediately.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is such a massive game that I don't even know where to begin with this review! The combat is quick and flashy, with never a dull moment, even in the simplest encounters.

I also found the game's cast of characters to be quite memorable and endearing, making me really engaged with the massive story that the game is trying to tell.

Don't even get me started with the game's graphics. The game looks incredibly beautiful, from the character models, to the particle effects and lighting. I actually think the in-game characters look so much better than the CG cutscenes! Unfortunately, though, the game does suffer from a few texture and character pop-ins, which break the immersion.

Also, it feels as though much of the music that plays during story moments doesn't really fit in with the mood of the cutscene, as it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Also, speaking of something that sticks out like a sore thumb, the NPCs that roam many of the various districts. All of them look bland and feel like they don't belong in the aesthetic of the game. Sure, this may seem like just a minor nitpick, but it really does ruin the immersion, much more so than the texture pop-ins.

What's worse is that the side quests given by these NPCs are also quite terrible, ranging from simple fetch quests to padded-out interactions with the boring characters. The game also suffers severely from pacing. Just when the story calls for something urgent, the game always finds a way to stretch out your path, basically killing the sense of urgency. There's simply nothing worse than finally having an encounter with one of the game's infamous big bad only to then be put in an almost hour and a half-long filler area where all you do is fight enemies.

The game really didn't need to be 30+ hours long; maybe if they'd cut about 10 hours worth of filler content, then I would have scored this game higher. It's a shame because I really loved the characters and combat. Hopefully, the upcoming sequel to the remake will find a way to fix this pacing issue.

Persona 3 ranks among the best RPG games I've ever played, but it does have one significant flaw that turned what would have otherwise been an essential game into a repetitive grind that almost made me want to abandon it.

Unlike other RPG games, Persona 3 is divided into two segments: daily school life and dungeon crawling. Daily school life plays out just as you expect it to, with you managing your character's personal stats and relationships with other residents of Iwatodai, a feature called Social Links.

This feature is arguably one of the game's strongest aspects, with each of the social links delivering gripping sub-plots about many of the NPCs in the game. Not only that, but it also provides a gameplay bonus that is beneficial in combat.

Although, of course, the social link system is still far from perfect, with many of the sub-plots never really going anywhere and being dragged on for so many meetings. I especially didn't like how you're often forced to pick the option that the characters only want to hear, even if doing so will result in them taking advantage of you or increasing their terrible behavior.

Meanwhile, the combat segment of the game, which is the dungeon crawling, is incredibly fun but tedious due to the lack of variety in the environment. Tartarus, the dungeon in the game, provides little to no variation for both events and structure outside of the full moon segments. Essentially, what you experience in your first month in the game is pretty much what you will be experiencing throughout the remaining duration of the game. After the second month, I was already feeling burned out with the game, and I couldn't bear to continue anymore. In fact, before I played FES, I was playing the portable version, but I never got to finish it due to how dull Tartarus was. I did try to replay it again from the start, and I was able to make it to the beach arc but ended up abandoning it again because I was getting bored. It took me about six real-life months just to be able to finish FES, and it's because I needed to take a break from all of the tediousness every time. The only reason I continued playing the game until the end was partly due to its strong story and characters.

The AI for your teammates doesn't fare that well either, with them (and by them, I'm mostly talking about Mitsuru) preferring to use every other action except for the one needed the most in the situation. This leads to so many frustrating moments and could sometimes even result in the entire party's death. There is an option to command them, but still, it suffers from poor management of actions by the AI.

Despite this, though, I still liked all of the cast of characters and fell in love with each of them by the end. The game even managed to put me on the edge of tears with its touching ending.

I'm really hoping that the remake will fix Tartarus so that more people will get to experience the beauty of Persona 3.

Detroit: Become Human suffers from the same problem as Heavy Rain, where the game begins with you performing some really dull and mundane tasks that simply could have been a cutscene. And while the story may not immediately grip you even after all of the mundane events, once the action finally picks up, it turns into one of the strongest and most emotionally investing narratives you'll ever witness in modern video games.

Each of the protagonists' individual plots is masterfully executed, and this is further enhanced by their amazing performances. The chemistry between Connor and Hank is simply incredible and is often amusing to watch due to Connor's innocence. Kara's role in the plot, meanwhile, carries the most emotional weight, although this does lead to her appearing as though she has little significance to the larger story. Marcus appears to have the least engaging chapters of the three, but he more than makes up for it during the game's middle section.

Sure, the symbolism and message that Detroit: Become Human was trying to convey were not at all subtle, but they nonetheless made an impact despite some inconsistencies here and there.

Meanwhile, QTEs and branching decisions make up the majority of the gameplay. Its strongest aspect would probably be when it would abruptly switch to a different character while you were playing as the other, merging two stories together. These situations force you to pick a character side, leading to some very difficult choices, such as when you are playing as Kara, trying to save the little girl Alice, when all of a sudden the game switches to Connor. Should I let Connor complete his mission or let Kara and Alice escape to freedom? Moments like this left me unsure of which character to support.

I do wish, though, for some of the dialogue options to be more direct, as they can often be confusing and would sometimes lead to a completely unexpected dialogue that I never wanted to say.

Detroit: Become Human engrossed me with its characters and world that I was so afraid to make a single mistake or even bad decisions. In the end, I was able to achieve the best endings for all of the characters in my first playthrough. However, it did make me want to not play a second time because I'm afraid to ruin the happiness that the characters had achieved.

This is a must-play not only for casual gamers but for everyone!

I've only ever played a few FPS games in my life, so within my first couple of hours with Wolfenstein: The New Order, all I did was adjust to the game's mechanics. Never did I expect to end up completely hooked on this crazy game.

Before starting with what I loved about The New Order, let's start with a few minor problems that I've encountered within the very first hour of the game, and that's how nauseating it feels and looks while playing. The head bobbing and running speed were so absurdly fast and aggressive that the game actually gave me motion sickness. I never even thought it was possible for me to get sick while playing. I almost gave up with the game entirely despite how fun it is, although I did persevere and managed to get used to all of the motion around the 3 hour mark.

Also, in IGN's review of the game, it was mentioned just how tedious picking up items in the game was, and I definitely agree. There are so many items to pick up, from med-kits, armor, ammunition, although my main complaint about it is that many of these items aren't that easy to pick up because the icon would constantly disappear, and when I tried to look in the same direction where it did appear, it wouldn't always guarantee to show up. I can't quite put my finger on the exact problem, but then again, neither can BJ.

But now that I've talked about some of the issues I've faced, it's time to talk about what I actually loved about The New Order.

With such a dark concept, I completely expected the game to be nothing more than a serious shooter like Call of Duty, but in fact, The New Order doesn't take itself too seriously. It often takes you to numerous over-the-top set pieces, with the most absurd being the moon! The freaking moon!

The gameplay was also simply incredible! Allowing for different ways to approach combat encounters, from stealth to even gun-blazing. Never did it feel like the game was becoming tedious due to how open the approach was. I just wish that the game never takes away your weapons in each chapter.

I also managed to stumble across the original Wolfenstein easter egg, which was such a delight to play through!

The game also offers a second campaign, although I heard it only has a few minor changes to the story. But this doesn't stop me from wanting to play the game again!

Horizon Zero Dawn is a game that I never expected myself to enjoy, let alone love. The RPG mechanics, massive open world, and crushing difficulty are ingredients for games that I never manage to finish, however, I found that all of these made the game stand out from the rest and hooked me from start to finish.

Where do I even begin with this review!? Well, I guess let's start with the gameplay, which is a mix of third-person shooter and RPG mechanics. What I love about it is just how accessible it is, this is further true in my case as I used the same starting weapon from start to finish of the story, and it never felt like the game was punishing me for not taking advantage of the more powerful weapons available. Rather, the difficulty comes from the way you approach the encounters with many of the mechanic beasts that roam the world of Horizon.

In fact, in my first 10 hours of the game, I was so afraid of fighting any of the adversaries, even the low-level ones. But I used every death and encounter as a learning experience and ended up being hooked on what the game has to offer.

In most cases of open-world games, the map often only serves as a setting rather than an actual living place. However, in Horizon, it really does feel like an essential part of the overall experience, as it's more than just a place full of jaw-dropping vistas but rather serves as a giant playground for mechanical beast mayhem.

I also found the game's story to be such an engaging experience, made even better with it's strong world-building and touching ending. Even its side quest provided a fun diversion from the larger tale.

I had simply never played anything like Horizon Zero Dawn. Sure, it can be a bit clunky at times with its animations but considering the game's massive offering, it doesn't really hamper it that much.

The previous two Uncharted games brought me on a one-of-a kind adventure that I'd never experienced before. Unfortunately, this third entry in the franchise doesn't do much to separate itself from what had come before and instead relies on some aggravating gameplay choices rather than innovate the franchise.

Uncharted 2 is one of the best games of all time, not just because of its story but also because of the way it improved upon many of the issues that the first game had. It's a shame that this sequel brought back those issues like the difficulty spike, making the stealth mechanic that Among Thieves introduced, unusable due to the large number of enemies. What's worse is that if Drake dies and the game loads to a checkpoint, enemies would spawn alerted to Drake's presence, removing the possibility of stealth and in turn drastically changing the way you approach combat.

Also speaking of the use of melee attacks, I hated all of the enemy encounters that forced you to use hand-to-hand combat, as instead of being an actual combat sequence, they were all presented in QTEs, which felt more like you were watching an interactive cutscene rather than playing the game.

The game also likes to take you out of control, with the game forcing you to just walk in snail's space and the camera often zooming in for finishing moves. Now, this would have been incredible and cinematic, but it's done so often that it pretty much loses its impact. There's even an entire segment where Drake was running, but everything was played out in slow motion, making movement such a drag, and there's an entire chapter where all you do is walk. You know, they should have called this game Uncharted: Drake's Walking Simulator.

One thing I did like though was the antagonist. Well, at first anyway, Talbot was so mysterious and intriguing due to his ability to disappear out of nowhere and even take a gunshot, I thought he might be a magician and might just become my personal antagonist in the franchise, but unfortunately none of his abilities were explained and ended up being a massive plot hole.

The story was also massively disappointing, never reaching the heights of Among Thieves, with fewer stakes, character developments, some characters are even just written off out of sequences; and worst of all, there's less adrenaline-pumping action to be seen, with one of the few being there, only serving as a filler segment.

Don't even get me started with Chloe's awful-looking character model downgrade.

At the end of the day, Uncharted 3: Drake's Walking Simulator is not a bad game, it's just a terrible sequel to one of the best games of all time