I was always in the "Cyberpunk 2077 is actually a good game" camp and returning to it for Phantom Liberty has only reinforced that in my mind. This expansion is essentially a full-length game with all of the production value that the base game contained and then some. I also enjoyed all of the additions and modifications made in the 2.0 update, which made the DLC even more refreshing to play through. The story and characters are all deeply engaging, with plenty of twists that kept me on my toes. Thrilled to see that Cyberpunk has had a comeback because I love this world and look forward to its continued exploration.

Super Mario 64 may be revolutionary but it has not aged well in the slightest. It's actually somewhat of a chore to play with its clunky controls and camera. I found many of the levels to be frustrating due to the controls causing me to slide into quicksand or off ledges with one slight wrong movement. It's been ages since I originally played Super Mario 64, so I don't know how much of this is due to the supposed input lag in this version of the game, but it marred this particular experience. It's also sacrilege that "so long gay Bowser" isn't in this version.

I love a nice, relaxing game to curl up in bed with, and in that respect The Spirit and the Mouse was delightful. It's a low-stakes adventure about kindness and exploration with plenty of collectibles to find and some lovely environments to explore. I did find that the game tended towards over-wordiness and that it suffered from overly explanatory NPCs, with its unskippable scenes that would play each time I'd finished a "quest," but it didn't get too much in the way of the relaxed nature of this game.

I unabashedly love the Phantom Thieves and have voraciously consumed as much Persona 5 content that I can stomach, but this feels like it's reaching the limits of what's reasonable with this series. The game still has a solid Persona 5 core and the gameplay itself is serviceable, but it shows its cracks with some repetitiveness in terms of both the gameplay and story, retreading ground that it feels like these heroes have already trodden. Tactica also felt needlessly lengthened with a final act that had me re-fighting the game's previous bosses in a long, almost entirely non-voice acted gauntlet which reeked of padding. Despite my negativity, it was still enjoyable to spend some time with the Phantom Thieves, I'm just ready for Atlus to move on.

Minit is amusing and has a neat hook but it doesn't do a whole lot to justify that hook. There are some interesting things the game does with the 60 second time limit, but overall it didn't feel as though the time limit added much to the game. Outside of this aspect, there is some cute dialogue and exploration, with a number of secrets to uncover in clever ways. The combat is certainly lacking, but it's also not the focus here. It's an enjoyable way to spend an hour or two, but nothing seriously groundbreaking.

As a shmup noob, this game was the perfect level of forgiving and achievable. I felt like I actually earned my victories rather than pumping continues (even though I did have to continue more than a few times). It also has a lot of mechanics that grew on me. There's certainly a feeling that the game has some depth beyond surface-level. That said, the story is a bit nonsense and it's difficult to follow because it's subtitled as you're trying to avoid hundreds of bullets. On top of this distraction, there's a lot of visual clutter which can at times make it difficult to concentrate. Astebreed still looks great and I loved how perspectives would shift, but it would have been nice to have foreground elements more distinctive. I can see why shmup fans love this one so much and as a mere visitor to the genre, I also enjoyed it a good deal.

Inventory Hero has a unique concept and some great looking art but the game isn't engaging enough to inspire repeat plays. I managed to get through what appeared to be the final boss because the game began looping the final stage endlessly before losing to some bad RNG, and it never built enough depth to require more than minimal brain power. If you've played this for five minutes, you've experienced all of the gameplay that this game has to offer. It also doesn't do anything special with the Playdate's special features, making it a poor representative of the system itself.

Making my way through Ōkami, I kept wondering to myself what caused this game to have such widespread acclaim. Is it just that it's a solid Zelda clone where most Zelda clones have failed to capture the essence of what makes that series so successful? It's not that I found this game to be uninteresting, but I didn't find it to be "best game of all time" status that seems to be the general consensus. It's paced poorly in a number of ways, with its extremely slow dialogue, shifting story focus, and repetitive encounters (why did I need to fight Orochi three times?). The combat isn't all that exciting, mostly lacking in strategy--I didn't die a single time in my playthrough. That said, the game is still beautiful and quite an enjoyable playthrough, I'm just confused by its revered status in gaming culture.

After playing Sea of Stars, I had to play the game that put Sabotage Studio on the map, and I'm glad that I did for a number of reasons. First of all, it's an excellent take on a retro Ninja Gaiden inspired game. It executes well on what made those classics so great and also modernizes it in all the right ways. The game is also filled with clever surprises which really help to maximize the experience. It's also filled with gorgeous pixel art and ear worm tier tunes. To top this all off, The Messenger helped me to appreciate Sea of Stars even more. I'd almost call this game necessary to play in order to full understand some of what happens in that game. It's clear that Sabotage Studio has creativity and passion meaning I'm thrilled to see what retro revival they tackle next.

I liked Forbidden West and this is more of that. It's also one of the most visually stunning showpieces that I've played this year, with some jaw-dropping gorgeous landscapes, clouds, water, and of course the machines. It's obvious that Guerrilla is unburdened by the PlayStation 4 with this DLC. I enjoyed all of the new additions and found the story to be engaging, as I always appreciate more backstory and worldbuilding when it comes to Horizon. The story quests have some incredible environments and set-pieces as well. Despite my positivity, it does seem like the main plot could have used some more time as it feels quite brisk, but I otherwise loved revisiting Horizon.

Insomniac's Spider-Man games are top tier blockbuster video games, there's no denying that. This game has everything dialed up even greater than the previous two games, with larger spectacle and an enormous amount of technical prowess on display. I did find the story to be a little bit weaker than the first game, but after a slower start it leveled out and strengthened. The combat and exploration are definitely better than ever, with an astounding amount of options for dispatching foes and vastly improved web-slinging. The Web Wings also make exploring New York a treat, truly the best open world traversal out of any game I've played. Insomniac definitely "gets" Spider-Man, so I'm hopeful they'll get to continue using this property for some time.