MurphyBrandon

Dark Souls 1 isn't perfect. Too many of the boss fights have one-off gimmicks similar to Demon's Souls. Sometimes, the character can't attack because the weapon bounces off the wall. The checkpoints are really far apart. And new players might accidentally venture into areas that are scaled for the end of the game. However, I give Dark Souls 1 my highest recommendation because of the things it got right. The soundtrack is ICONIC. The world design has branching paths that connect back together in ways you won't see from other games. Dark Souls 1 is when they really set the tone for accepting inevitable decay while still appreciating the beauty of humanity. And finally, the quicker parries and the refillable Estus Flask healing mechanic are still used in newer games to this day.

Dark Souls III made the most of out its game mechanics. Its boss fights were the most exciting, the most cinematic, and the most challenging before From Software continued on to make Sekiro and Elden Ring. The lore and the ending of Dark Souls III are fittingly somber with a glimmer of hope.

At first, I was eager to explore everything in Crimson Desert thanks to its beautiful detail throughout diverse environments and architecture. But then, I realized the controls are so clunky and awkward. Selecting items, jumping precisely, talking to NPCs, and accelerating into a sprint all feel weird and slow with these controls. And the user interface is also not intuitive. Meanwhile, the story remained predictable and generic. It's not terrible, but there is only a weak sense of motivation and purpose to complete the main objective. Overall, I think Crimson Desert tries to be a jack of all trades, but it ends up being a master of none.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Code Vein 2 still falters due to technical problems, bland environments, and unremarkable characters. Additionally, the render distances are so short that anyone can notice textures popping in. And the dialogue lines are either awkward or unconvincing depending on the situation.

KCD 2 is a very immersive experience of central Europe during the Middle Ages. The characters gave me a strong motivation to complete its long story despite my gripes with some tedious mechanics, like needing to wash and repair the equipment way too often.

The remastered version objectively improves upon the original game. They fixed the level up system to be more intuitive and make more sense. The visuals are obviously a lot better. And it successfully preserves the wonder and the magic of the original Oblivion game.

1.) You can still earn experience when you fail a boss fight. 2.) None of my deaths felt unfair. 3.) I can clearly see what the enemies are doing, and the animations are smooth. 4.) The game explains everything well. You can improve just by practicing more. You do not have to follow a guide.

The story and music of Clair Obscur are really exceptional! The characters connected with me, like only a few other games can do. And the real time elements of the turn based combat really made the victories felt earned.

Skyrim is a legendary game that's simultaneously immersive, epic, funny, and replay-able. Its combat and glitches are not great, but so many other awesome aspects of the game compensate for those flaws.

I like what they were trying to do with the story of Silent Hill f, but you have to play the game multiple times, and the first ending gives a miserable feeling. Additionally, the clunky combat seemed fitting for a weak, uncoordinated girl until the game sends you through a gauntlet of fast-paced enemy encounters and boss fights. Then, the awkward and slightly delayed movement simply doesn't fit anymore.

AC: Shadows undeniably has good graphics, but the game is full of uninteresting filler content that lengthens the game for no good reason.

Nightreign has an addicting gameplay loop of building up your character quickly and defeating the impressive Night Lord bosses. The new bosses unique to Nightreign are well-designed for cooperative play, and the new playable characters have diverse playstyles and abilities that help to keep things fresh with different synergies. The length of each expedition is just right. Not too short and not too long. The changes made to movement and traversal feel great and are necessary for the fast-paced progression of each expedition. For example, the spiritsprings, wall jump, mounting, super sprint, and lack of fall damage ensure the challenge comes from the combat and not the platforming. Unfortunately, the group of bosses in Nightreign isn't large enough to keep players coming back for a long time. I would love to see the developers add more bosses from Dark Souls and Elden Ring, especially the most famous ones known for their difficult challenge and unique appearance. Additionally, the lock-on targeting should be fixed, the Shifting Earth map events should be increased in frequency, a timer should be added to the map, randomization should be increased, and the pings on the map should be numbered.

I recommend that you wait for a discount before you buy Stalker 2. The atmosphere, the discovery, and the action combat are great. However, the game currently has issues with technical performance and weird bugs.

Shadow of the Erdtree expands on all the best aspects of Elden Ring. There are more epic challenges to overcome and awesome discoveries to uncover.

It has a beautiful world, but the combat and the types of missions remain the same throughout the game.

Elden Ring has an incredible number of fascinating locations to explore and cool enemies to fight. The developer studio has refined the precision of combat over their past five games, and it still feels so good to outmaneuver dangerous foes. The music and art direction are as beautiful and powerful as ever before. They really do most of the work to set the tone for an epic adventure with a dramatic finale. Elden Ring is more accessible than any Dark Souls game. Example #1: Stakes of Marika allow players to revive closer to the boss arenas and get back to the action quicker. Example #2: The mount in this game spawns out of thin air and moves through the open world faster than the normal movement speed. Example #3: Spirit ashes enable a variety of NPC summons to be upgraded, and they make boss fights a lot easier. Example #4: Invasions only happen when you voluntarily interact with the online summons. They do not happen randomly in the open world. Example #5: Fast travel is more convenient than before. All of these quality-of-life improvements make Elden Ring more enjoyable for the average player by cutting out some of the tedium.

Overall, Stellar Blade is compact and finely tuned to deliver excellent combat with an acceptable story. Positives: 1. The character models and enemy designs are all very detailed and have smooth animations. 2. The performance mode achieves a stable rate of 60 frames per second. The quality mode achieves 4K resolution. 3. There are no bugs/glitches 99% of the time. 4. The runtime can vary between 10 to 40 hours. It won't waste your time, but there is still plenty of optional content if you want more. 5. The combat has multiple ways of avoiding damage, like Sekiro. And it has several special attacks that can be equipped, like God of War Ragnarok. 7. There are many checkpoints, so death is not too punishing nor inconvenient. You can quickly retry a boss fight. 8. Personally, I love that Stellar Blade has Korean voice acting (in addition to English). Korean subtitles are common, but Korean voice acting is a rare feature in AAA single-player games. Negatives: 1. The story and the characters are a little dull. They are just not very interesting, and I found it difficult to bond with them emotionally.

Taking everything into account, I felt that Dragon's Dogma 2 was an average game. Certainly, the graphics and the scenic world are impressive. And the combat looked really cool at times, but it felt clunky and awkward at other times. Then, there was the story which was exactly what you would expect. There wasn't enough to really draw me in, so I made my own personal quests that felt much more satisfying. Unfortunately, the limited fast travel and poor tech performance added a lot of hours to my total playtime that had nothing of value. I did complete the unmoored post-game world, though, so it must not be terrible if I kept playing for that long.

Helldivers 2 is chaotically fun to play with close friends. Everything looks and sounds very cinematic, and most missions end with an epic finale. Unfortunately, this game has been inconsistent with its tech performance. It still drops frames or even crashes once in a while.

Rise of the Ronin has fun traversal and satisfying combat, as expected. The grappling hook, air glider, and horse mount all enable swift and fun movement. Countering enemies with the right stance and properly timing dodges and parries feels ALMOST as good as the best Action RPGs. However, the open world activities become way too repetitive, and some side quests were dull enough to make me feel like an errand boy.

Yes, FFVII Rebirth is definitely good. The music, the graphics, and even the reworked story are all well-made. However, some of the mini-games and side-quests dragged the overall experience down a notch. Despite its strong start, it ended up feeling bloated and a little frustrating. Instead of jumping back in and re-playing it, I wanted it to be over, so it shouldn't be "Game of the Year" in my opinion.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth can be very entertaining at certain moments. I laughed along with its goofy characters during the absurd situations they found themselves in. My problem with this series continues to be its filler content. There are too many mini-games and side-quests for the tone to maintain any kind of consistency. Even within its main story, there are ordinary scenes that show mundane activities and conversations which only serve to lengthen the runtime.

The new Prince of Persia game excels in challenging combat and precise platforming. It feels good to play as Sargon because he's fast and acrobatic. His special abilities add even more style to the action. However, your timing of dodges, jumps, and parries is still the most pivotal thing that will determine victory or defeat. Even with its simple story, The Lost Crown kept me engaged by slowly revealing the characters' motives and throwing in a few interesting twists. It features scenes that appear like an animated film, which is rare for the metroidvania genre. Plus, those scenes develop the plot quickly and let you get back into the action right away. They don't waste your time.

Dark Souls 2 was built to be unfairly difficult. The developers added in too many traps and too many ambushes. They removed "i-frames" during long animations such as ripostes, backstabs, pulling levers, and entering fog doors. The movement speed and recovery speed is too slow. Compared to the other games, there is less emphasis on having fun in Dark Souls II. The best compliment I can give this game is that Majula (the main hub) has great scenery and music, but that high artistic quality is quickly forgotten once you come across another frustrating encounter or trap.

Baldur's Gate 3 has revitalized my love for fantasy role-playing games. There are so many unique ways to build your character, fight enemies, and resolve the story's conflicts. The game captured my imagination with its beautiful world and interconnected subplots. The developers at Larian Studios spent years on improving every aspect of Baldur's Gate 3 before its full release, and it was worth it.

I believe the narrative of A Plague Tale: Requiem is really its strongest point. The beautiful graphics, music, and acting would mean nothing without the interesting setting and engaging plot-line. Its game mechanics are decent enough to serve the story in a fun way. However, it can feel very slow at times, and the main characters are over-dramatic with their screaming and crying every time they see the plague rats reappear.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Elden Ring has an incredible number of fascinating locations to explore and cool enemies to fight. The developer studio has refined the precision of combat over their past five games, and it still feels so good to outmaneuver dangerous foes. The music and art direction are as beautiful and powerful as ever before. They really do most of the work to set the tone for an epic adventure with a dramatic finale. Elden Ring is more accessible than any Dark Souls game. Example #1: Stakes of Marika allow players to revive closer to the boss arenas and get back to the action quicker. Example #2: The mount in this game spawns out of thin air and moves through the open world faster than the normal movement speed. Example #3: Spirit ashes enable a variety of NPC summons to be upgraded, and they make boss fights a lot easier. Example #4: Invasions only happen when you voluntarily interact with the online summons. They do not happen randomly in the open world. Example #5: Fast travel is more convenient than before. All of these quality-of-life improvements make Elden Ring more enjoyable for the average player by cutting out some of the tedium. However, not everyone has to play it. I think the developers of Elden Ring still want to target a semi-specific audience. If you like franchises in the fantasy genre such as Final Fantasy, God of War, The Elder Scrolls, The Lord of the Rings, and A Game of Thrones, then you might have fun playing Elden Ring. Be warned that people should not buy Elden Ring just based on the hype alone and expect to love it if they were never truly interested in the first place. Dying often is a natural part of From Software games, and it requires patience and perseverance to earn the euphoria of defeating a powerful boss. Overcoming the difficulty and marveling at the visual effects provides an addicting feeling that keeps players coming back. The lack of certain features, like a pause function and a quest log, are only minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of the whole game. In fact, the game developers may have intended to promote more natural exploration through these design choices. And the map has just enough details to generate more curiosity without feeling like a burdensome checklist. Players will spend less time looking at the menus and more time actually immersed in the world of The Lands Between. I think my friends could have a great time with Elden Ring if they persevere through the difficulty because the cooperative play with strangers has been a blast so far. Visual stuttering can a serious issue, but it happens rarely. Its effect on the game-play is usually negligible. (Everyone seems to be experiencing different degrees of performance issues, regardless of the quality of their computers.) My personal experience has no freezes and no crashes. Please realize a high review score does not mean the game is perfect. A high score means that the person gave their highest recommendation.

Psychonauts 2 improves upon the concepts of the first game in a fun platforming adventure filled with vibrant color and unique personalities. Players will be blown away by the amount of uniqueness and creativity in the game design. There are different ways to approach every combat sequence and, more specifically, defeat each individual enemy. This game might be the perfect game for you if you are looking break the monotony of the formulaic gaming industry. ... The developers said that adding more languages is not possible because of their strict budget. They're not disrespecting anybody.

Slay the Spire is a turn-based strategy game that is very satisfying thanks to the gradual improvements made to the player's deck in each attempt. The developers have done a great job of balancing all aspects of the game mechanics. I think the difficulty level is perfect. It's challenging, but it's also very reasonable and accessible to new players.

Death's Door is an action adventure game that is viewed from an isometric perspective. It has a great balance of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat. The level design, in particular, was a nice surprise to me. Paths and shortcuts intersected conveniently. I think the absence of a map is fine as long as you're paying attention to where you've been. The combat and the puzzles are both straightforward while also providing enough nuance and challenge to give a feeling of satisfaction.

Horizon Zero Dawn disappointed me because I expected to meet characters that I really cared about, like in the other PS4 exclusive games. I had trouble connecting with the characters because they had stiff, unnatural facial expressions and they never really stuck with you. To me, it felt like the side characters suddenly show up at the end out of nowhere and pretend to care about Aloy since you helped them that one time 20 hours earlier in the game. Also, there are many ledges in this game that seem climbable but Aloy simply won't grab onto them, which is a huge downside if you just finished playing games like Uncharted or Ghost of Tsushima.

The Whistleblower DLC was criminally underrated by the critics. It provided more precise details about the story of Mount Massive Asylum and how exactly people were extorted to prevent investigations from the authorities. Remember that is a DLC. It doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. Some of the environments are reused from the original game because it takes place around the same time in order to organically answers some questions from the original Outlast. That's the whole point! Not only do you get to meet the person who sent the message to the reporter Miles Upshur, you actually get to play as the whistleblower Waylon Park. Once again, there are deadly enemies that you have to run and hide from, and that's exactly what the dedicated fans wanted. There is no fighting back because this is Outlast, not Resident Evil.

The Whistleblower DLC was criminally underrated by the critics. It provided more precise details about the story of Mount Massive Asylum and how exactly people were extorted to prevent investigations from the authorities. Remember that is a DLC. It doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. Some of the environments are reused from the original game because it takes place around the same time in order to organically answers some questions from the original Outlast. That's the whole point! Not only do you get to meet the person who sent the message to the reporter Miles Upshur, you actually get to play as the whistleblower Waylon Park. Once again, there are deadly enemies that you have to run and hide from, and that's exactly what the dedicated fans wanted. There is no fighting back because this is Outlast, not Resident Evil.

The destructive fun of the supernatural powers in Control were ruined for me by the awful frame rates, the unhelpful map, the distorted plot points, and the countless number of sheer cliffs that landed me in the endless abyss. It ended up being a very average experience for me. Nothing made me care about these characters.

I enjoyed The Witcher 3. It's pretty good. I'll give it 8 out of 10 points. It's not flawless, though. I have five main issues with The Witcher 3: 1. The movement is not smooth. Geralt and Roach get stuck awkwardly on objects at the worst times. 2. Fast travel isn't as convenient as it could be, and I am tired of hearing the narrator repeat the same line every time I switch regions. 3. There's too much sexual objectification of women. 4. The list of achievements is not user-friendly. There are multiple achievements that have very specific requirements, and many of them can be easily missed by accident which would force a player to replay the whole game to earn all of them. Given the length of this game, that is not nice for the players. 5. When my screen is at full brightness and max gamma, I still have trouble seeing anything in the dark caves. I use the torch and can only see 3 feet in front of the character.

I loved Orcs Must Die: Unchained, so I am disappointed to say that I did not enjoy Orcs Must Die 2. The game has only 2 characters, and it feels like the levels were designed to simply be as inconvenient as possible. I hate how much the game relies on using the player's weapon, rather than the traps, to defeat the orcs. There is constant button mashing because there is no option to hold the attack button, like you could in OMD Unchained before the servers were shutdown. This resulted in wrist pain and forearm pain after just a few hours of playing.

Here is a positive change that few people are mentioning: the developers made it impossible to fall off some of the narrow wooden planks in this sequel. This makes Little Nightmares II much more accessible and enjoyable for people who have poor depth perception. The rest of the game has similar pros and cons as the first Little Nightmares game. The stealth sequences and escape scenes were filled with pure adrenaline. The platforming can be simple but so effective at delivering a thrilling experience. There are a variety of settings throughout the game, and none of them betray the ominous atmosphere that is set from the beginning. While I recommend this game, it must be said that $30 is an expensive price for a game that took me 5 hours to beat on my first try. Waiting for a sale or price drop is a good idea. SPOILERS and personal opinions ahead ... Evading the shotgun guy, the teacher, and the TV fedora man were some of the best moments. What I strongly disliked was the forced combat with the children in the school and fending off the prosthetic mannequins in the hospital by pointing the flashlight. It felt awkward and didn't seem to work as well as it should. I wish the focus of the game remained on the horror and the platforming, like the original. Still, I think Little Nightmares II is good in general and deserves the attention it's currently receiving.

Positives: 1. The difficulty is challenging but not too difficult. Frustration becomes satisfaction when you overcome a hard section. The most I died in one area was about 10 times, which means it's easier than Celeste, Cuphead, and Hollow Knight. I say this a good thing because it makes the experience more accessible to casual players like me. (There are multiple difficulty options, by the way.) 2. You can save almost anywhere in the game. 3. The loading times are short and quick. 4. The story scenes are effective but not drawn out too long. 5. The story itself is cohesive and easy to follow. The main antagonist has a valid reason to work against the main protagonist. It's not some cliche quest for power. 6. Beautiful art design 7. Beautiful music 8. The movement is fast and fluid. There are many fun abilities that feel great. There is enough "floaty-ness" to allow for precise jumps. 9. No random generation (personal preference). No rogue-like design (personal preference). 10. The game focuses more on platforming and less on combat (personal preference). 11. The escape scenes are exhilarating. 12. You can beat the whole game without upgrades. (The abilities you get through the main story don't count as upgrades.) 13. Perfect length for the price. It's not too long and not too short. It costs less than half of new AAA games. Negatives: 1. I personally do not enjoy backtracking in any video game. 2. Trying to get all the collectibles is a pain in the butt. 3. A few types of enemies are just generally annoying.

Portal 1 was necessary to lay the foundation of its innovative portal mechanics and interesting story, but Portal 2 is better in every way. It has more charm than the original game thanks to the clumsy Wheatley and the vengeful GLaDOS. The jokes are funnier, the threats are more brutal, and the insults are more clever. They will have you laughing at your own demise. The actual puzzles have improved, too. Portal 2 introduces a variety of new "tools" (not actual tools) that open up new possibilities and increases the speed and the size of the tests. All you need to carry along is your trusty portal gun. On the technical side, the performance is smooth and completely free of the freezes/stutters that plagued the first Portal game. The loading screen looks more appealing and lets you know that it isn't frozen by having a couple dynamic parts. (Portal 1 had a stationary loading screen. If it froze, you couldn't tell for five minutes.) The only drawback now is the slow pacing when you're trying to figure out confusing puzzles or when you're searching for a small portal wall that is hard to find. Score: 9/10 PS - They added options for co-operative play and community-made puzzles, which are both great.

Yes, I recommend this game because the game design is incredibly unique and innovative. Very few games have puzzles, physics, and mechanics that are as creative as this. However, if you are looking for a game that is consistently exciting and fun, Portal will not satisfy that desire. It can be slow-paced and confusing at times. Most people will play it once or twice, and then they'll quickly move on because the moment-to-moment gameplay doesn't really make them smile nor does it give them an adrenaline rush. That's why I would give Portal 8 out of 10 points. It is absolutely worth playing, but it doesn't have the "fun factor" to make me want to come back again and again.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The reboot of Doom encourages fast-paced, crazy, off-the-wall shooter combat. It does not force you to constantly hide behind walls like most shooting games do. Picking up items is as simple as moving over them. To speed the game up even more, they should allow the scenes to be skipped.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is another great entry in the historical fiction genre of gaming. It takes place in France during a period of time that is not often explored by video games. The visuals are beautifully colored, but the vibrant colors do not ruin the dark mood of the story at all. The linear design of each chapter allows for the artistic design to include very detailed textures. However, it may be too linear sometimes because some puzzles are clearly intended to be solved in one exact way without room for creative experimentation. The gameplay mainly consists of sneaking and fleeing past the enemies. At times, it can be satisfying to escape without detection. Other times, it feels like the game is just playing itself because the path forward is pretty obvious. The game establishes really strong characters. Each one is distinct from each other and clear with their intentions. It does not have much "replay value," unfortunately. Therefore, I suggest you should take your time and really enjoy your first playthrough. Subsequent playthroughs feel like a long trudge through sticky mud. A couple minor issues include: allies getting in your way and some unnatural dialogue that seemed out of place.

Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent new game in the historical fiction genre. The story tells an easy-to-follow journey about a samurai who must break his code of honor in a desperate attempt to stay alive and save as many Japanese as he can. Exploration and side quests both offer a variety of possible rewards to enhance the experience. The melee combat requires some precise timing, but it is less demanding than Sekiro. At some point, every player will experience some trouble with the camera and the lack of a lock-on feature. Patience and better positioning can alleviate the camera issues, though. Enjoy the spacious land and its set pieces. Ghost of Tsushima looks gorgeous, and the vibrant colors are even better when you are the one playing the game. Being guided by the wind is a brilliant idea to reduce the amount of clutter on the screen. The game has accessibility options and full voice acting in English and Japanese. I'm glad the developers did not focus too much on hyper-realism. Nothing takes too long. The healing, looting, loading, traveling, and upgrading are all quick and designed to be convenient which lets the player get back to the story and action without tedium. Addendum: The side-quest cutscenes are awkward because the characters stand almost completely still while talking. Their stiff body language makes those so small conversations uninteresting to watch. But the game is still 9/10 because the action is fun and that's what matters the most.

Even though the story of Death Stranding is profound and meaningful, actually playing the game is frustratingly slow. The cluttered user interface and repetitive scenes make it an inconvenient experience.

Godfall is a pretty hack-and-slash game that ultimately fails because of its hollowness. I do not feel compelled to continue playing it.