I'm in a weird spot writing about a game, that made me speechless. But also its so special and unique and so full of wonderful, crazy, terrifying, funny ideas, that I just don't want to take any of this away for anyone who is still to play this absolute gem of a video game. Inscryption is the game, I will reference from now on, when talking about why videogames as a medium are so free of any boundaries and therefore can get so absolutely wild. Videogames are a gift for creatives and storytellers, that are free to go to the craziest places, combine seemingly incompatible things with ease and still not lose their audience. And the best part of it is, as inscryption shows, you don't need the biggest budget for it. Inscryption managed to evoke many emotions, managed to keep me tense, invested and challenged at all times. It bursts with unsettling atmosphere but doesn't shy away from loosening a little by throwing in funny ideas that will make you grin at your screen. It's the work of someone who clearly loves the videogames of at least the past decade, understands how to transcend genres and distill great mechanics from various inspirations. It's a game for anyone who wants to take part in a wild ride, where you won't know where you'll be in half an hour. It denies any basis for expectations, it just toys with you, but not in a mean and disrespectful way. It's masterfully crafted and I'm in absolute awe of this game. The only thing I would want to make clear for anyone who is now intrigued after reading this, is, that you have to like or be willing to spend a lot of time with a card game and deckbuilding. It's not easy, so you won't be able to brute force through the game. But if you're willing to make that sacrifice, you will enjoy a smorgasbord of the weird and wild and something that won't leave you for a while. (Just try not to read about or watch anything of the game beforehand.) What an absolute blast, to finish one of the best games of 2021 right on the last day of the year.

Ratchet and Clank is a true next gen experience. Insomniac by now are a guarantee for visually striking and wonderfully crafted action games. If you are into scripted action events, the first party Sony studios are the uncontested champions. May that be Naughty Dog‘s insane set pieces with Uncharted or the tense and raw moments of The Last of Us. Santa Monicas extended battle sequences in God of War and beautifully animated enemies in Guerilla Games‘ Horizon. While Ratchet and Clank is not on the same level story-wise, it sure knows how to up the ante with the action sequences and the visual fidelity of the worlds you visit. In the center of it all, are the rifts, that add layers of literal dimensions for you to explore. From the ability to teleport through rifts as shortcuts, within the area, to the ability to hit a crystal and change the entire world around you within a blink, to one of a kind scripted sequences that hurl you through a multitude of detailed surroundings in the shortest amount of time - it’s unbelievable that all of this happens with a steady 60fps on a 400 bucks console, considering it’s one of the most beautiful games that has ever been released.
Gameplay-wise it plays it safe, besides the aforementioned rift mechanics there is not much that differentiates it from its predecessors. It’s still full of wonderful environments, full of crazy characters, even crazier guns to use and a bunch of cool platforming mechanics. The moment to moment gameplay is pure joy, there is nothing that gets tedious because everything is polished to the maximum. It’s not as innovative as the best of Nintendo, not as wildly creative as ‚It takes two‘ was this year, but it’s still a showcase game for PlayStation in general, for the next generation of games and for a studio that’s at its prime.

Sadly Unpacking didn’t do much for me. Maybe because we just moved IRL and it was one of the most tedious things I’ve done in my life. I absolutely adore how they managed to convey a story only by unpacking boxes, letting you follow along a life of an invisible character. You are able to extract so much personality from the details. Things that she keeps with her from the beginning, things that disappear. I really love the idea behind this, sadly the actual playing part gave me the exact opposite feeling of what many people wrote talking about it: I was stressed by just looking at the boxes and felt a mild anxiety while looking for places to stash the belongings in a tiny two room apartment.

Guardians of the galaxy was a surprise hit for me. It’s absolutely beautiful and full of wonderfully creative and crazy environments (even though experiencing the highest fidelity means you’ve got to deal with 30fps), it feels cinematic and manages to capture the essence of why the guardians are so popular. It’s packed to the rim with top notch voice acting, the characters basically never stop talking. There is so much good and sometimes funny writing in there too. The basic game loop and setup reminded me of mass effect sometimes (which is the highest compliment I can give): you visit a place, experience stuff and then meet up in your spaceship to talk to your crew and reflect on the mission. There is a nice dynamic in the team, as every character has a lot of background lore and it influences visibly how they treat and interact with each other. I genuinely enjoyed the fighting mechanics too, even though there is not much depth to it. But hitting the hordes of enemies with a super stylish combo after huddling to buff your crew doesn’t get old up until the end.
If you’re into the guardians, this is a must play anyway, but even if you’re not, I’m pretty sure almost anyone (who is fine with linear cinematic games without much else to do) can find something to enjoy here. Don’t skip :)

Review for Mario Galaxy:

Let me say this first: I am probably one of the only gamers, who never owned a Nintendo Wii, therefore I missed some classics of which I knew I'd love them. I was really happy to get the 3D Mario All Stars Collection, so I could finally play Super Mario Galaxy after all these years.
Playing it with a decade worth of games that came after it in mind, it's very obvious that Galaxy was as influential as most of the games from Nintendo are. It is unbelievable to me, how this game is still the absolute best in its genre. It's full of creative ideas that drive every single galaxy and its worlds to be nothing but an absolute joy. I stated that already for Odyssey, there is just nothing in those games that is not a blast to do. While Odyssey is also a perfect game that manages to smoothly transition into an open world structure, the specific galaxy/world structure here is absolutely genius. All worlds are unique and evolve around sometimes single or multiple ideas and gameplay mechanics and because of that, they can go absolutely wild with creating the environments. I consistently had the urge to find every star in every area. What I also truly love about the 3d Mario games are the boss fights. While not being too hard of course, they still offer a good enough variety and beautifully animated patterns. I can't overstate how much I love the Mario games and especially the 3d ones. If there is a series that managed to stay relevant and immensely influential over the course of multiple decades, it's this. It speaks to the 5 year old kid in me getting started with video games the same way, as it speaks to me now, a 32 year old gamer who's played close to a thousand games since then. It's the magic that sucked me into the world of gaming and will keep me there forever.

Chicory is special. It accepts you just the way you are, because you are special. It’s in the DNA of this game, to make you feel understood and welcome. In that sense it’s one of the most coherent experiences I had in a video game or in any medium period.
It deals with so many REAL topics, that have followed me around for as long as I think and dictate my thoughts and the way I see myself in this world. I’ve recently started a new career as a developer and went through some dark patches to get where I am now, but still, imposter syndrome and the feeling not being good enough or skilled enough is a constant companion. So I was able to feel the journey of Falafel (yeah that was me) from the get-go. But the game doesn’t just provide a story and characters to relate to, that already would’ve been great. But it follows that idea, that ‘you are good enough’ so thoroughly, it’s ingrained in every aspect of the game. Just take a look at the accessibility options. It’s not following some outdated artificial and gatekeepey gamer codex, but it allows (and encourages you) to play the game just as you want and need it. You can turn off complete game sequences like boss fights (which are actually super creative and fun, if you chose to do them), but also just turn off something seemingly trivial as wet noises, that might trigger you. They give you a multitude of tools, to create a safe and enjoyable gaming environment for almost anyone.
The premise of the game continues with that: the world has lost all its color and it’s up to you to return it. Or is it? You can color everything as much and as little as you want, you can paint it colorful or wander through a black and white environment. It doesn’t change anything about the ability to enjoy the game. You can collect stuff, but you absolutely don’t have to, because it doesn’t change anything about the game you will experience. The game doesn’t force you to be quick about anything, to be resourceful, or to work hard to get something. Getting new abilities is not a reward, it happens naturally, because you spend time with the game. It switches up so many of decades old gaming tropes, that It felt really refreshing just to be there.
It’s also so beautiful and important how mental health is a topic the inhabitants of the world speak about, without sensationalizing it. It’s normal, because we all endure these things in one way or another and it’s important to acknowledge that. It’s ok to say no to things and say that you can’t do other things now, or maybe ever. It brought tears to my eyes, when I read NPCs speak out some of the things, I constantly think.
It’s also beautiful how everyone around you encourages you to go on, even if you paint horrendous portraits (as I did), everyone cheers for you. And that’s what’s most important irl. If I didn’t have the cheering and the believing in me, from people close and distant, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s okay to ask and look for that, maybe even depend on that.
All of these emotions are intensified by another masterpiece of a soundtrack by Lena Raine.
Chicory shows yet again how impactful video games can be, because they are interactive and give you the chance to digest in your own way and tempo. What a time to be a gamer, when I can fill my time between entertainment blockbusters with gems like this