Don't mind me just writing a love letter for this game--

This is my first entry into the Monster Hunter series and I had no idea what the freak I was doing, lol. Like I was LOST and veterans were talking about older monster and the new changes while I was just ???? Switch Axe go brrrrr. But once you get past that initial learning hurdle and put some hours in, it gets extremely addicting. I ultimately put in about 1K hours into this game? Played the majority of the events and joined the raids. It was some of the best time I've ever spent grinding, lmao. Joining SOS and helping others was also really fun. You’ll meet some of the coolest and helpful players. No two SOS missions are ever the same, haha! Even if you fight the same monster over and over. The devs truly cared for this game and it was amazing seeing all of the new content being added for Iceborne. There’s no “endgame” so it’s ultimately up to you and what your goals are once you finish all of the main storyline. I’ve never been the one to enjoy games where the focal point is to grind, but MH is truly a master at creating good gameplay loops for those who can get into this series!

Overall, I loved World/Iceborne and I absolutely can't wait for the next big game in the series!

It took me 18 days to finish this gargantuan of a game. And it’s been a very long time since I’ve been this enthralled with a RPG. I’ve spent almost 90 hours playing, have not finished all side content but I’ve enjoyed every single second I’ve spent in the game. I didn’t grow up playing FF7 but I’d imagine this is what OG fans felt like when they play this game back in late 90’s. Rebirth had MANY incredible highs but certainly not without its low.

Likes:

The best thing about this game, besides gameplay, are the plot, the characters, and their development. Hands down. In the OG, I was quite indifferent to the Avalanche gang as they feel kind of distant from one another, but Rebirth did a fantastic job in having them interact with each other and make them feel like a proper found family. They all have their unique charms that make them loveable (NANAKI + TIFA I LOVE YOU MY SWEET SUMMER CHILDREN). And I really appreciate that the side quest involve all the characters. That’s the best way to get the player to care more about them, involve them in content outside of main story! So if there’s something that you should not skip, it’s the side quests.

And as Tifa gal, I ADORED what they did for her.
She’s one of the most important character to the story, especially to Cloud in disk 2, but the problem was the OG never built up her character until much later on. But Rebirth added so many scenes for Tifa that was not in the OG that will help bridge that gap when part 3 arrives. I’m talking about you, chapter 9. One of the most memorable sequence in the series so far for me. So intense and emotionally powerful!

The ending of Rebirth is setting us up for a huge tonal shift and possibly some of the most depressing moments in the part 3 as Cloud… goes through some shit, let’s just say. We’re in one hell of a ride on the tearjerker train.

Dislikes:

Funny enough, I think how ambitious this game is, is also its biggest downfall. There are way too many mini-games, especially if you count character specific scenario where they have their own puzzle-solving mechanics. However, it’s not THE biggest issue as it kept the gameplay loop interesting. I think what I had a gripe with, however, was the overwhelming amount of side content, open world specifically. It suffers from side content bloat and once you recognize that every region is a rinse and repeat of the previous, you kinda get the gist. Do this, clear this, kill enemies, etc. But tbh I’ll 1000% take this over whatever Remake had. There may be too much but at least they’re more fun to do than the boring side quests in previous game lmao.

I do think this is the part where YMMV applies as some people take joy in doing the repetitive things. I easily get burnt out by these so it certainly affected how much open world stuff I did towards end game. I respect that they’re experimenting with quality vs. quantity, though. I hope they’ll find a sweet little spot for part 3!

SPOILERS WARNING (DISCUSSION OF ENDING)

WARNING

FINAL WARNING

NO REALLY

THIS IS A FAT WARNING

⚠️

The last 5% of the game definitely threw me off. I have always been iffy with adding multiverse to preexisting storyline as it gives room for retcon and excuse for bad writing. I really do believe how you feel about the ending of Rebirth correlates to how open you are to changes in the OG storyline. I’ve always liked the grounded nature of OG so the ending left me wanting more, but I definitely see why it’s exciting for others who liked it! No matter how I feel about the multiverse stuff, the game definitely finished with more questions than ever, and I’m nervous that they only have one game left to wrap everything up. Which may perhaps not end well. But I do hope they prove me wrong.

One thing I was quite disappointed about is the lack of… mourning for Aerith? Or more like lack of TIME to mourn her death. As soon as she got stabbed, we’re pushed into this LONG series of boss fight against Sephiroth. That took nearly an hour! I don’t mind the game adding or changing stuff from the OG, but the one thing I wished that went untouched was Aerith’s death. I much preferred how simple it was in the OG where Cloud and the squad mourned Aerith, say their final goodbyes and lay her to rest. It’s one of the most rawest moments in the game but not anymore in the Rebirth. Once I finished the fight, the feeling of sadness was just gone. Whoosh. And it really bummed me out, man. Not everything has to be a spectacle. :(

4/2/24 edit: after sitting with it for a bit, watching some theory videos—I get it now. I’m much more down with the ending of Rebirth. They’re cooking some REAL good fucking food that I can’t wait to dine on in part 3.

But nonetheless, I very much look forward to the next game ❤️

I’m mainly going to focus on my personal enjoyment of the lore as ER is pretty much DS4 in terms of gameplay lol. All that’s different is you got legs that finally works, a horse and caves. Woot, woot!

But I’ve always enjoyed FromSoft’s method of storytelling. They’ve made it abundantly clear in of their games that they won’t baby you or tell you what’s going on. You’re dropped in a giant jigsaw puzzle, and all of the vital pieces are spread all over the goddamn map and you gotta run all over the place to figure out what’s going on. At most, the plot is a few line of dialogues telling you do to this, then this, then that, and boom claim your greatness. Everything else is told in the items description, and not a single game document in sight. And that’s kinda fucking cool, imo. To tell a story in only a few sentences, all hidden in mundane looking objects.

Dark Souls games and Bloodborne were a little more… contained, so it’s easier to understand the universe and lore. But Elden Ring is a different beast. At least for me, anyways. It’s all one big steamy pile of messy family drama but you just can’t help but get a piece of the gossip! There’s a fuck ton going on simultaneously in the lore, and admittedly, sometimes it’s a lot. There’s tons of the pieces of the puzzle, and you gotta figure out which sides or angle it works from. This game, for better or for worse, is less… explicit about the story. ER universe is vast and very complex, which leaves a lot of room for predictions and conjecture that sometimes feels like you need a PhD to break everything down. There’s just a lot of room for multiple sides to be right and ngl, it’s nice to see what the communities come up with. When you sneak vital lore that interweave in items all over the map—sometimes in optionals dungeons—there’s bound to be lots of missing answers.

But I’m cool with that.

I know this is the least-liked DLC of the two but I genuinely found it enjoyable. Sure it wasn't the best world design and it was a gank fest but hey, snowy areas are awesome.

Rating it high just because the final boss and Sir Vilhelm were the most memorable thing about this DLC. I still think about Vilhelm's dialogue sometimes. Amazing voice acting and an even more amazing boss fight.

ok wall of text but only bc I need everybody to know why Nier Automata is so good to me

I wish I can just write how much I love this game. BUT I CAN’T. I sit here, type words, but can’t seem to put into words how much this damn game means to me. BUT IM GONNA TRY. Nier Automata is one of the few games that has truly touched me out of 100+ games that I’ve played. Perhaps it was because I played it during one of the toughest times of my life but it is undeniable how it has grasped onto my soul and found a permanent home within me.

But it’s important to acknowledge that, while I speak of this game highly, it is not without flaws. It requires multiple playthroughs for the “ideal” experience. And the pacing can be odd at times. Gameplay may be mundane if you prefer combat with variety (it’s mostly hack ‘n’ slash and bullet hell lol). Or depending on who you ask, it might even be pretentious.

This games explores many philosophical concepts, but it’s not the main aspect of the game. Instead, it is finely weaved. Sure, I could’ve read a book on Jean-Paul or Nietzsche but why should I do that when I have complex, 3D, big butt waifus who can do it for me? I kid but still, the point still stands on how the game doesn’t beat you over the head with boring text of philosophy. But instead, you see it in the story, the environments, the characters and how it motivates what they do in the story. It’s muuuuch more digestible, lol.

But even if you don’t care about philosophy, the story, by itself, is solid. I won’t spoil it too much but the more you play, the more things starts to unravel. And all of your questions starts getting answered. Then shit just hits the fan and suddenly you’re elbows deep and fully invested in 2B and 9S’s story. Yoko Taro loves developing his characters, make you care for them then tear them to shreds, and boom, you’re depressed as fuck. Worth it, though. This game is amazing at making you feel things, the pains of the characters, the joy of seeing the two protagonists bond, and more.

Plus. The MUSIC. If you don’t like the game, then 100% do it for the music. Keiichi Okabe and his team composed some of the best game soundtracks for Nier Autonata (and ofc other games as well). The music aged so well and also found a permanent place in my playlist lmao. Even my friend who barely touched the game has multiple songs in their playlist.

It’s strange because this game is so good and I want to replay it all the time. Every year. Every month. Every day. But I can’t put myself to do it because it will never replicate the feeling of experiencing the story and the twists the first time. But I will always look back at Nier Automata fondly. :’)

ty Yoko Taro, for making this game, even if you never make a game for main consoles ever again lol.

p.s. also square enix, repress the nier automata / nier replicant vinyls PLEASE. I WILL BUY THE SHIT OUT OF IT. THESE AFTERMARKET PRICES ARE BONKERS

Look, I don’t know what it is about T8 but it’s like crack. And this is my first fighting game ever so I’d never thought I’d say that. I’ve always wanted to get into fighting games but I struggled immensely with committing to them because the learning curve is pretty bad if you’ve never played one your entire life lol. ESPECIALLY a 3D one. I tried Street Fighter 6, couldn’t get into it at all despite how “beginner friendly” it is but it just... clicked with T8.

I love watching Tekken streams and just said fuck it, no better time to jump in than now after seeing some 8 clips. This game looked so insanely fun. And I was right. I’m getting my ass handed to me by legacy players but I’m having fun! Learning and wondering why my pee pee brain can’t react fast enough to Jin’s low mixups.

After trying so hard to get into Tekken with 6 and 7, I’m just glad 8 was a bit more welcoming. You have so many wacky characters to pick from too and more to come. You want to play as a bear? We got two. You want to play as a samurai that has SoulCaliber movesets? はい. Or perhaps a sexy, masked wrestler that’s throwing your ass to death and you can’t figure out how to get out of it? Yes (unfortunately).

I've never been so torn over a game before. I love this goddamn game so much, no matter how polarizing it is. I love many of the characters, Clive was a really good protagonist, the music was phenomenal, and I had a blast with the gameplay and Eikon battles. They were some of the most memorable fights I've experienced in action/RPGs.

But... the plot and the pacing. Whoo, boy. It was strong in the first half but once you reach a specific part of the story, the cracks really start to show. Certain characters were underdeveloped, the story had really odd MMO-like pacing to it (no surprise there lol) that constantly kills the momentum, and an uninteresting major antagonist. It was so jarring jumping between weird story beats and then immediately hit by an emotional scene that just leaves you sobbing. The game peaked very close to the end when it just suddenly crashes into the ground at 120MPH. Don't even get me started on the ending.

Despite all of this, I adore this game to bits. I don't think I have the heart to really hate it. (Yes, my ass will come back for a 2nd playthrough). I can only hope that 16 will lead future games to a better path :')

If I could do ANYTHING to wipe my memory of this DLC and play it all over again, I 10000% would. Incredible world design, stupid fun weapons (pizza cutter go BRRRR), and some of the best if not, the best Soulsborne bosses are in this DLCs.

Orphan of Kos beat my ass and tossed it in a fire 70+ times but I enjoyed every goddamn second of it. Was I a masochist for feeling that way? Perhaps. But goddamn, did this DLC not disappoint.

I personally thought the story was interesting (yes, it was kinda “edgy” lol) but unfortunately, the execution and design choices definitely killed the whatever momentum of “good” it had. The true mood killer for me was 1000% the TERRIBLE chase sequences. The first one was fine but they progressively got worst in terms of level design. I’ve almost quit from how many attempts I had.

But I definitely appreciated the haunting qualities of the environment and the creature design is pretty unique, imo! The game, in general, a lot of potential but, meh. Kinda went down hill at the end imo.

This was the first Soulsborne game that I ever finished! I attempted Bloodborne long ago but never had the courage to finish. A few years later, I picked up DS3 and was determined to finish it. Thankfully, I persisted despite the initial bosses giving me a rough time.

Despite it famously being known for a tough game, you can't beat the soft worldbuilding, rich lore, amazing boss design, and beautiful soundtracks. It was such a good game and I wish I could experience it fresh again. The DLCs are just as good, if not, even better!

DEFINITELY DID NOT CRY LIKE A B*TCH AT THE ENDING

I FINALLY finished the trilogy sobs

I remember attempting to get through the games via emulators and always stopping after the few first cases. So once I hit this trilogy on the console, it was a huge bog to get through. BUT FINALLYYYY, it's completed.

All I will say is I absolutely adore all of the characters so much. Everybody had their own unique little quirks and personality. The interactions with everybody was so fun. In regards to the cases/story, 80% of it was really solid. But there were definitely a few cases that were a huge pain to get through. All in all, amazing game.

I played the vanilla P4 waaay back when I was younger and it was one of the most memorable experiences and really kickstarted my love for the series. Now that I replayed it again + finished all of the extra content, it's still SO FREAKING GOOD.

The plot is great, the cast is all loveable, the dungeons are huge improvements from P3 and the music is incredible as usual. I love it so much I really can't explain how magical and nostalgic I am for this series. I recommend it to anyone who's interested!

It was an alright game. It’s not good but it wasn’t SUPER bad, either. Which is unfortunate because co-op superheroes games are not common. I honestly don’t know what to say as it really wasn’t memorable. The gameplay loop was incredibly tedious and boring. Clean up crimes, go back to your base, do story mission, repeat. I played with a friend through the whole thing, which made it much more tolerable. So ultimately, I can’t recommend this game. Buy it at your own risk or on a deep deep DEEP sale.

2022

9/10 best cat experience

I came in fully expecting just a casual, exploring experience. But there’s a story with a surprising amount of depth that I personally enjoyed. Got teary-eyed a bit myself :’)

It’s a great game to play as a palette cleanser after a big title. Short but it has a lot of charms to keep you engaged.