whatsnexttrevor
2023
in progress: this is amazing so far. i'm sure it's tuned up for the remake, but wow does this combat system hold up. the mix of physics, engineering, and body horror is so creative and flows so gracefully. you can tell motive is brimming with confidence after squadrons on this remake.
final thoughts: this is a great experience, and everyone from visceral and motive deserves all the praise they've already received. if it were up to me, i would probably trim 10-15% off (chapter 10, in particular, dragged), but that core gameplay loop is just so special.
final thoughts: this is a great experience, and everyone from visceral and motive deserves all the praise they've already received. if it were up to me, i would probably trim 10-15% off (chapter 10, in particular, dragged), but that core gameplay loop is just so special.
2019
i can appreciate what this game does well, but it’s hard to approach it after beating inscryption. i find inscryption’s gameplay so much more engaging, and the gap in atmosphere is hard to look past.
2018
this game is humbling
2022
ok just got my steam deck and oh my god why is this so good
this is obviously barely a game but that trademark portal humor had me LONGING for portal 3 at the end. PLEASE valve, i could spend the rest of my life in aperture sciences. gotta replay portal 2 now.
best bits:
- jk simmons returning as cave johnson
- giant sentient rock head cave johnson
- the grasshopper society evolution (and their tragic collapse)
- cave johnson’s consciousness being transferred into robot toilet turrets through means of grasshopper technology he literally crashed into
on that last one, what the fuck. this is such a good idea. and knowing that one of cave johnson’s few discoveries/achievements was actually a total fluke and had nothing to do with all the time and money he wasted at aperture.
GOD, PLEASE VALVE. as if i could want portal 3 any more.
this is obviously barely a game but that trademark portal humor had me LONGING for portal 3 at the end. PLEASE valve, i could spend the rest of my life in aperture sciences. gotta replay portal 2 now.
best bits:
- jk simmons returning as cave johnson
- giant sentient rock head cave johnson
- the grasshopper society evolution (and their tragic collapse)
- cave johnson’s consciousness being transferred into robot toilet turrets through means of grasshopper technology he literally crashed into
on that last one, what the fuck. this is such a good idea. and knowing that one of cave johnson’s few discoveries/achievements was actually a total fluke and had nothing to do with all the time and money he wasted at aperture.
GOD, PLEASE VALVE. as if i could want portal 3 any more.
2019
nice little game! perfect evening game pass pickup
2018
nice little platformer! unquestionably beautiful, but didn't quite get its hooks in me
2019
a really good time that makes alan wake 2 look even better. the vague plot really falls flat here, though the world is undeniably fascinating. combat is passable, but i remember feeling pretty unsatisfied with the narrative. remedy clearly took a lot of lessons learned here and applied them to aw2.
this is how you build a connected universe. all the more impressive that remedy's universe feels so fresh post-MCU. i think remedy's approach works for a few reasons.
first, since AAA games just take so long to make, returning to this universe after 4 years feels very fresh. second, these games couldn't be more different. third, remedy established their style long before this explicitly-connected universe, and it's very fun to think how they will bring their other games (like the max payne remake) in retroactively. their approach to meta-narrative helps here too.
finally, and most importantly, each game in this connected universe is served by the connected universe, rather than the opposite. so many MCU movies/shows feel like they simply exist to push a larger narrative forward. both control and aw2 are serviced by their connected universe. knowing the background of the FBC and max payne deepened my understanding of alan wake's world and his characterization. so control deserves a lot of kudos for being remedy's first bold, successful step into building this world.
can't wait for the max payne remake!
this is how you build a connected universe. all the more impressive that remedy's universe feels so fresh post-MCU. i think remedy's approach works for a few reasons.
first, since AAA games just take so long to make, returning to this universe after 4 years feels very fresh. second, these games couldn't be more different. third, remedy established their style long before this explicitly-connected universe, and it's very fun to think how they will bring their other games (like the max payne remake) in retroactively. their approach to meta-narrative helps here too.
finally, and most importantly, each game in this connected universe is served by the connected universe, rather than the opposite. so many MCU movies/shows feel like they simply exist to push a larger narrative forward. both control and aw2 are serviced by their connected universe. knowing the background of the FBC and max payne deepened my understanding of alan wake's world and his characterization. so control deserves a lot of kudos for being remedy's first bold, successful step into building this world.
can't wait for the max payne remake!
2023
it's nice! it does sort of fall into that cel-shaded indie game gloop category visually, but the climbing mechanic is pretty solid. worth picking up on game pass
2023
this is pretty cool, but it really doesn't work on mobile
2023
i don't know if i'll ever finish the base campaign, but i did enjoy the hours i spent with this. i was open to this finally being a live service game that fully grabs me, but it just couldn't pull it off. still fun! maybe worth returning to some day.
update: it is absolutely criminal that this game requires a connection. this is the perfect steam deck game, and i genuinely can't believe i can't play this on the plane. a huge wasted opportunity for blizzard
update 2: finally finished the campaign, pretty fun! act 6 was more satisfying than i expected. lilith was a great final boss, but holy moly are the game’s boss fights baaaaaaaad. they are repetitive and at worst boring
update: it is absolutely criminal that this game requires a connection. this is the perfect steam deck game, and i genuinely can't believe i can't play this on the plane. a huge wasted opportunity for blizzard
update 2: finally finished the campaign, pretty fun! act 6 was more satisfying than i expected. lilith was a great final boss, but holy moly are the game’s boss fights baaaaaaaad. they are repetitive and at worst boring
2023
This review contains spoilers
this absolutely floored me. this is the first truly “next-gen” experience i’ve had. the light switch mechanic is a marvel, and the first use of SSD quick-loading that doesn’t feel gimmicky. it works within the meta-narrative of the story to build up this richly-detailed world.
and, my goodness, the world. it’s stunning to look at, sure, but its layout is the true star of the show. both bright falls and new york offer dense, richly-rewarding spaces to explore.
this game is so cool man. remedy went buck fucking wild with this, and i loved it. at one point, i did an algebra problem on paper to solve a puzzle. i couldn't stop smiling.
multiple moments had me giggling with joy. and "it's not a lake, it's a spiral" made me audibly laugh aloud. remedy really figured out how to do meta right in this game. it's always there if you look for it, and when it's in your face it's never overbearing. it's always relevant to the narrative and characters.
the combat can be a bit sloppy, no doubt. that last saga fight on the beach is particularly rough (and it tanked the framerate on PS5). it speaks to the strength of this team's vision that the game still works so well. this is easily the most ambitious AAA narrative game I've played in years. there are just so many ideas in every single chapter, and so many of them play out in real time gameplay.
i'm left most impressed by the plot board mechanic. it really doesn't make for puzzles that are all too complex, but it never gets old seeing how each scene changes with each plot element. technology-wise, remedy really is at the cutting edge, and they're making games that nobody else can.
i played and mostly enjoyed control a few years back, but this feels like the full realization of the mood they tried to build there. i'm on board for this remedy shared universe, and i'm very curious if/how the max payne remakes will get tied in.
some other highlights:
- sam lake voicing the actor playing alex casey who looks like IRL sam lake
- actor sam lake tied up in a chair in the theater sequence
- coffeeworld
- the saga cliffhanger
- that first subway sequence with alan is just so special
- the musical, of course
and, my goodness, the world. it’s stunning to look at, sure, but its layout is the true star of the show. both bright falls and new york offer dense, richly-rewarding spaces to explore.
this game is so cool man. remedy went buck fucking wild with this, and i loved it. at one point, i did an algebra problem on paper to solve a puzzle. i couldn't stop smiling.
multiple moments had me giggling with joy. and "it's not a lake, it's a spiral" made me audibly laugh aloud. remedy really figured out how to do meta right in this game. it's always there if you look for it, and when it's in your face it's never overbearing. it's always relevant to the narrative and characters.
the combat can be a bit sloppy, no doubt. that last saga fight on the beach is particularly rough (and it tanked the framerate on PS5). it speaks to the strength of this team's vision that the game still works so well. this is easily the most ambitious AAA narrative game I've played in years. there are just so many ideas in every single chapter, and so many of them play out in real time gameplay.
i'm left most impressed by the plot board mechanic. it really doesn't make for puzzles that are all too complex, but it never gets old seeing how each scene changes with each plot element. technology-wise, remedy really is at the cutting edge, and they're making games that nobody else can.
i played and mostly enjoyed control a few years back, but this feels like the full realization of the mood they tried to build there. i'm on board for this remedy shared universe, and i'm very curious if/how the max payne remakes will get tied in.
some other highlights:
- sam lake voicing the actor playing alex casey who looks like IRL sam lake
- actor sam lake tied up in a chair in the theater sequence
- coffeeworld
- the saga cliffhanger
- that first subway sequence with alan is just so special
- the musical, of course
fun game! man i tore through this one. the traversal is still unmatched in AAA games. they bet big on the multi-stage boss fights in this one, and it paid off for the most part. the combat can sing at its best, but it also drags on a little too long sometimes. playing through the setpiece bosses reminded me of FFXVI at times, and not in a good way.
my biggest gripe is the lack of polish, though. usually these 1st party PS games are basically perfect, but this one was pretty buggy for me, including:
- bosses getting stuck in the environment during CRITICAL story beats, multiple times.
- multiple crashes
- audio cutting out/desyncing during cuscenes
- a visual glitch that undercut a BIG, BIG reveal
and while i'm at it, insomniac, i love you, but it's time to start recruiting writers above a 1st-grade reading level. your audience can handle bigger words, promise.
once again, fun game.
update: platinum'd. is this game lowkey short? honestly fine by me
my biggest gripe is the lack of polish, though. usually these 1st party PS games are basically perfect, but this one was pretty buggy for me, including:
- bosses getting stuck in the environment during CRITICAL story beats, multiple times.
- multiple crashes
- audio cutting out/desyncing during cuscenes
- a visual glitch that undercut a BIG, BIG reveal
and while i'm at it, insomniac, i love you, but it's time to start recruiting writers above a 1st-grade reading level. your audience can handle bigger words, promise.
once again, fun game.
update: platinum'd. is this game lowkey short? honestly fine by me
2023
one of the final puzzles in this actually broke my brain. i especially love how the world, narrative, and gameplay are all woven together thematically (even if that theme is pretty obvious and right there in the title). i never once felt truly stuck.
seriously, how the hell did they put this all together? there's not a single line of dialogue or tutorial, yet the game flows so seamlessly.
it doesn't overstay its welcome, and is leagues ahead of contemporaries like viewfinder in its design. even though the core mechanic of viewfinder is more technically impressive, cocoon marries a much simpler mechanic with a much stronger structure, and a more interesting world.
i would kill for a book/lecture from the developers explaining how they pulled this off. viewfinder feels like it's trying to recapture the magic of portal, but this feels like something else entirely. something completely new.
what a debut from geometric, and what a statement from jeppe carlsen.
seriously, how the hell did they put this all together? there's not a single line of dialogue or tutorial, yet the game flows so seamlessly.
it doesn't overstay its welcome, and is leagues ahead of contemporaries like viewfinder in its design. even though the core mechanic of viewfinder is more technically impressive, cocoon marries a much simpler mechanic with a much stronger structure, and a more interesting world.
i would kill for a book/lecture from the developers explaining how they pulled this off. viewfinder feels like it's trying to recapture the magic of portal, but this feels like something else entirely. something completely new.
what a debut from geometric, and what a statement from jeppe carlsen.
after a few hours: holy fuck hahahahaha this game is ridiculous trash and is so obscenely fun. the movement feels incredible and freeing. i think from soft has the best sense of humor of any AAA dev working today
finishing up: so many cool ideas in this, but warring with the camera here became a major issue for me.
finishing up: so many cool ideas in this, but warring with the camera here became a major issue for me.
2023
this game can't quite shake the knock-off portal vibe, but wow is the tech behind this amazing. throwing up random pictures truly never gets old. in conclusion, portal 3 when?