I'm not usually the target audience for hardcore, nearly kaizo level platformers, so that Celeste was so enjoyable speaks to its appeal. I don't think I'll ever be able to unlock everything this game has to offer, but its main story was endearing and it was chock full of lovely challenges that felt difficult without being frustrating. I did occasionally feel like the Switch's joystick was the wrong input for this type of game, especially when I'd unintentionally dash in the wrong direction, but with how easy it was to quickly retry a segment, this didn't detract greatly from the experience.

Remedy is proving that they have a handle on storytelling in games like no other. The way in which this developer weaves storytelling with gameplay is innovative in ways I haven't seen. This is backed with extremely impressive technical wizardry (The Mind Place, the lamp) and massively improved core gameplay over the original game. Enemies are genuinely threatening, while combat encounters are just sparse enough to remain interesting. This is the kind of game that had me googling "story discussion reddit" immediately after finishing it meaning it's one I'll be thinking about for some time.

Nintendo proving once again why they're in another class when it comes to raw creativity. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is definitely the best side-scrolling Mario game in over a decade, absolutely oozing with one-off ideas which could make up an entire indie game. It's a joy to uncover what each Wonder Seed will do to the stage in question. The sound design and control have also been greatly improved over the New Super Mario Bros. series. I love how iconic sound effects have been reimagined, breathing a ton of new life into a formula which had been growing stale. The art direction is also fantastic making it clear how much attention the developers have given to every small detail. I'd say I do have some small complaints with the game. The boss designs are repetitive, which is uncharacteristic with the rest of the game. The new powerups, while fun to use, also don't seem to serve specific purposes--especially the elephant powerup. I also have the same issue with the badges, I feel like there could have been a lot more done with this concept. These small complaints aside, this is a fantastic Mario game.

Effective humor in video games is so rare making it such a pleasant treat when something hits just right. West of Loathing is packed with smart comedy (along with some lowbrow) and the majority of it is quality. It's oozing with creativity and its art style honestly works in its favor, hearkening to XKCD or simpler days of internet comics. I wasn't the largest fan of the battle system, as it was a little bit basic and wasn't really what I was interested in, but it was still fun enough to break up the more adventure game elements.

I appreciate that Ubisoft has returned Assassin's Creed to a more condensed adventure and I overall felt that this was a solid entry into the series, but I did feel a lack of evolution and polish with this soft gameplay reboot. It feels like the series has a number of small issues which have simply never been corrected culminating in a rougher overall experience. Boring tailing missions, finnicky parkour, and middling combat all among those issues. Mirage in particular also struggles in the story department, with an uninteresting plot and largely forgettable characters. In spite of these issues, I enjoy the core sneaking and assassinating to be had here, so I still had a good time playing through this one.

It's easy to forget just how groundbreaking Call of Duty 4 was given the oversaturation of modern military shooters in the past 15 or so years, and Modern Warfare 2 only served to build and improve on that formula. This game felt like Modern Warfare 2.1, only piggybacking on its predecessors successes. Both Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 have a number of memorable missions, but I could not tell you a single mission from this game. There's just an extreme lack of restraint, with every single mission devolving into everything exploding with a threadbare plot that's mostly just an excuse to blow more shit up. It's a game that feels soulless, more of an explosive shooting gallery than a genuine campaign.

I've played so many games inspired by Diablo so coming back to the game that invoked those comparisons was partially an archeological exploration and mostly an enjoyable experience. I hadn't realized just how faithful Diablo II: Resurrected is to the original game, so wrestling with some of the dated game design elements did initially put me off from the game, but by the end of the campaign I found myself quite enjoying the loop. Diablo II felt so good whenever I was exploring a new area or dungeon, with a solid sense of genuine discovery. It does lack several modern day conveniences, like the ability to respec your character more than a single time (meaning I was stuck with some bad choices I made early on). This hindered my ability to experiment more with my build which certainly felt constricting. As dated as this game is, it definitely still holds up and I can see why it's been such an inspiration to so many games.

I feel like the first step of making a VR fishing game is making sure the casting actually works. Apparently, Square Enix didn't get that memo with Monster of the Deep because its motion-controlled casting mechanics are barely functional. In fact, most of this game is barely functional, with its often abysmally low resolution and barebones fishing mechanics. The only good parts are that it's funny how the player arms just streeeeetch as you reach out and that some of the boss fights are actually kind of cool.

My primary complaint with older God of War games has been their lack of evolution, so it's ironic that I find Ascension, the largest departure from series' staples, to be the weakest entry. Everything about this game feels unnecessary, from its very existence telling a story that doesn't need to be told to changes such as modifying counter mechanics. It's certainly the best looking PlayStation 3 game I've ever seen and the spectacle is all there, but the gameplay is weaker due to a lack of variety and gameplay design changes which only serve to stifle the flow of combat.

I love the huge, colorful sprites this game has got but not much else about it. The game is designed with enemy placements that often seem to require foreknowledge. Either hitboxes or the game's control also felt a little odd--I would sometimes feel like I should have hit an enemy before they hit me. It feels like it's a little too easy to get hit by enemies especially considering you can only take two hits before taking a death. The stage design itself isn't anything special either, with one of the game's five stages even being an auto-scroller. I love that these developers have done the work to resurrect this game, but it's not something that's really worth my time outside of historical curiosity.

FromSoftware is in a class of their own. They've released nothing but banger after banger for over a decade and Armored Core VI is no exception. The game is fast and exciting with industrial audio design and gorgeous environments. Almost every mission feels like a spectacle making it clear that this team did their best to ensure zero filler. I will say that it did not hook me as deeply as the Souls games, but that may just be my personal preference. I also found the game to be somewhat easy--I kept mostly the same build with some small tweaks throughout the entire game and my strategy mostly consisted of firing my weapons literally nonstop while dashing frenetically. However, the game kept my playstyle interesting with a number of unique enemies to take down, so I'm not sure if that's necessarily a fault with the game or with my playstyle. Armored Core VI holds up FromSoftware's hot streak and has also piqued my interest in exploring even more of this company's back catalog.