Nmaa18

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Intro: I played Automata and enjoyed that game a lot. I decided to play through Replicant because I thought it would provide me with more lore/backstory, and because I liked the soundtrack and character designs to be honest. What I liked: Well, the music, obviously. And most players do, and many people are introduced to the game via this path. Snow in summer, Radiant winds, The incomplete stone, Cold Steel Coffin (belongs in a dark souls game lmao), City of commerce, Song of the Ancients, The Ultimate Weapon, Kaine/Salvation, Lost Forest, and Emil's Sacrifice are my top 10 songs. The combat was simple but fun thanks to the variety of weapons and the different moves they enabled, and the parrying system. I thought that the best thing the game did story-wise was give a good sense of the passing of time. Shades evolve, characters change physical forms, time skips happen, childhoods are explored, characters are frozen in time or cannot age properly, etc. etc. And Kainé was unique and lowkey inspirational, and Emil was wholesome and you cant help but pity/feel sympathy for the lad - and Yonah who has a disease like the whole game. But then what Yoko Taro does with those characters... I do not like much (see below in the 'What I did not like' section). What could have been improved: Tutorial system. Also, not sure I understood the concept behind what words did to weapons and why. finding outfits would have been cool. Fast travel or boar riding earlier. What I did not like: the fact that it was never explained what was happening at the start of the game, who Devola and Popola really are, why Emil's mansion was so weird, and why we can hear gestalts after ending A but you couldn't before. Where are any of the real humans actually? How old are all of our characters?? Why isn't Kainé a human since she is possessed by a gestalt? I don't understand why Weiss leaves at the end so abruptly and while saying so little - and what his purpose in the story even was... Same with the redhead twins, they say so little. They just laugh, explain they must fight, and then... fight... Why does a massive flower appear at the end of the game? I'm just critical of a lot of story delivery decisions and I'm confused on many things, even though the story's ideas and what I thinkkk it was trying to tell seemed interesting and fine to me. And lot of blank screens with text to read. Reading isnt an issue, and I thought the forest of myth village dreams being told through text was cool and understandable, but telling the backstory of Kainé this way? Either lazy or they didn't have the resources to animate those childhood scenes... which was disappointing since she is a major character. Finally, the wolves were really annoying to fight. The way they run around in circles and flee away from you was painful to go through. Especially in a blinding storm. Especially when there is an endless stream of them spawning and being sent to you. Conclusion: In the end, while it is a frankly good game which kept me entertained for about 24 hours, I think automata was better, and Nier Replicant simply has too much missing content - yes, it's ridiculous to ask people to buy official lore books or read reddit posts for a few hours to get the full picture. I wish the game was longer, had more interesting and useful side quests, and had more cutscenes and lore to read/find. Combat was fine for me. Music carried the game. Lowkey the best part, and dare I say the rest of the game does not reach the height of the soundtrack. Keiichi Okabe and Emi Evans r the reason this is in the high 70s. I give Nier: Replicant 78/100.

Introduction to my short review: Cool, fast-paced indie game. I think Ben Esposito, the Game Director, said that the game had 16 core developers at one point, although probably more people have contributed to the game (voice actors, animators, translators, etc.) The memory loss of Neon White, and especially how slowly he remembered made little less sense story-wise, but given the gameplay benefits 'memories' provides, the choice is understandable as a player. However, I would have liked to have learnt the real names of the characters... Weird the characters never use their names in the real world, even when in private. I personally liked the story overall. I laughed at some moments, which is rare for me. Disappointed with how insignificant Raz and the bar turned out to be, and the end did feel super sudden. Unclear what happens after the events of the game, would have liked longer scenes with White and Red, or White and Yellow. The script was modern yet it felt natural. It is hard to explain. But there were many modern references and even some slang which made it funny and fresh to me. The gameplay was solid. Addictive and kept evolving. It's really cool how your brain goes into a flow state, all the while being conscious of the resources available in each map. I ended up playing this for around 24h20minutes in about 2 weeks. It was challenging, and it felt like it kept getting harder, but with repetition and focus comes amelioration. oh, I almost forgot: FANTASTIC MUSIC. I have been wondering for many years why are drum and bass and techno/EDM music so underutilised in video games. This game scratches that itch in that regard. I give Neon white 79/10.

Giant Squid have released yet another classic banger. I have been wanting to play this one for a long time. I remember the trailers, and how this was one of the first PS5 games, along with Demon Souls Remake and Returnal. I knew it would be a relatively short, and lower budget experience, so I only purchased the game in early December 2025 (i.e. around 5 years later, as it came out in Nov 2020). What I liked: I was happily surprised by the extent of the lore/story. This way of delivering a story, meaning through some cutscenes and reading messages left by corpses and stone monuments, really clicked with me. It was effective and made the game much more interesting, and I would even say made the world feel more real and tragic. I learnt about what the god slayer had done to the old gods, what his vision was, and how many people died either defending him or going against him. This made the final boss fight much more compelling than otherwise. Secondly, the language used by the characters and the Mongolian soundtrack are unique and a delight to listen to. Thirdly, the gameplay was pure dynamic fun. The movement was the core of the game, and the basics were successfully developed. Finally, I thought the length of the game was appropriate. I beat it in 4-5 days, around 18-20 hours I believe. I appreciate that. One of my main criticisms of their first 2 games was that they were way too short. So this addresses my critiques vis-a-vis their previous releases. What could have been improved: Perhaps it was a technical error limited to myself, but in a few instances, tense music was playing when I was just trying to relax and roam around the world. Secondly, the puzzles were on the easier side, which many have commented on in their reviews, but I didn't mind it too much. I did not get this game looking for a challenge or tough time. The easy puzzles were congruous with the fluid overall experience and traversal. What I am saying is that I had a consistent relaxed mindset while playing. Having difficult puzzles could have made the game much longer, much less chill. And it would not have been worth it. The rewards only warrant this level of difficulty. But I'm still conflicted, and would understand the criticism that some were ridiculously simple. Furthermore, you unlock more wing flaps, but the gameplay is rather stagnant. I did not might it while playing, but I am simply sharing an area for improvement which would elevate the game to the 80s/100. Unlocking double jumps, reducing aiming time, or giving multiple arrows as rewards for beating bosses, for example. Something along those lines. Finally, the final boss fight felt just a bit underwhelming. It was a spectacle, but the 4 corrupted gods were harder, which is a philosophy I do not personally agree with. I would have made the Godslayer the most difficult part of the game, since it is the final part, and should be the most climactic and emotionally rewarding. I gave Journey 77/100, despite it being short, having inferior gameplay, and the story being too vague. I would give The pathless 79/100, and I look forward to the next Giant Squid game!

Intro: I had played SMTV on Switch for a bit, but sold the game (I very easily drop games). I then decided to buy SMTV: Vengeance for my PS5. And I am glad I did! I did not like Re Fantazio's combat due to me not getting the whole archetype thing. Persona 5 striker's button mashing is not my type of gameplay either. The dancing series is satisfactory. Tactica was nice but the story unbelievably unappealing to me. But this is Atlus' bread and butter. The demon compendium and turn based combat with party members and demons. And unlike Tactica, this had a story I could take seriously. Here is what I liked: The maps were well crafted to be honest! They were king of puzzles, I had to be attentive and use my cognition to navigate and use the mini map and map (both of which I have no negative comments to make about by the way). I liked the music too. The OST is great to listen to. It is quite interesting how I never got bothered some tracks, despite how often I had to listen to them. It fit the world well, and even enhanced the atmosphere, so props to the artists behind it. The unique attacks and demon designs were eye candy. The PS5 version on a good tv was an improvement on my experience with the switch version. It has quite a crisp look. What could have been improved: Having the option to negotiate for higher EXP, or buying an exp multiplier from Gustave would have helped with the grind. I also don't know why the final bosses and enemies were at around levels 77-83. Seemed random. Why not go all the way to 99? Perhaps it would have made the grind worse. But i'm sure there is a solution to make it more satisfying. I also thought Gustave's shop ****. The demon essences he offers are useless and weak. He sold no MP items, and in general I mostly used him to sell rather than buy. I also think there were way too many Miman. I ended on 118 (and I was looking intently and intensely). There are 200 of these dumb red things. Major complaints: A timeline of the story in the options and photo mode feature would have done wonders. A lore section? The final two bosses were also very hard. Finally: the story was very cryptic and minimal. Which is fine, and I liked the way lore was important and slowly understood more and more about this world and its past as time went by. However, the time the protagonist spends with classmates is laughable. You barely spend time with or even seeing regular civilians (even though a major theme is the fate of humanity). Amanozako and Tao seemed to have big roles but then... I was very underwhelmed by how they were used by the end of the story. I also thought The Creator and Lucifer would have been shown. We also still basically knew nothing about Abdiel by the end of the story, and we did not know the prime minister well/personally. Indeed, as you can tell, the story left a lot to be desired, but it had a good foundation. The story had potential to be great; it had the potential to make the game great. In conclusion: The gameplay is fun. maps were satisfying both to look at and traverse/complete. The demon designs, music, and mythological/cultural aspect are the selling point of SMTV. However, the story did not reach my expectation, and I think that many people would agree that ATLUS could have invested more time and effort into it. I am giving SMTV a comfortably positive 81/100. Perhaps I should play the canon of vengeance, which was added to SMTV: Vengeance. But I am not ready to put another 80 hours into grinding, especially with how the writing was! Once was enough!

Intro: I have been trying to play this game for a long time. Switch games are already not the most accessible games, let alone this niche game which first released exclusively by Japanese game publishers. It was only in mid 2023 that broccoli decided to release it to the west. And I only got my hands on a copy in 2025 due to price and prioritising other (cheaper/more accessible) games. To make a long story short: this was a long time coming, but glad to have finally tried this game. And what a unique game it is. It is, as somebody wrote, "80% visual novel, 15% simulator, and 5% rhythm game". I, like many (I presume), got interested in this title because of the marketing and the Sui Ishida involvement tag. What I liked: The story. Needless to say, the story must be interesting and well written and long enough for this type of game. I am glad to say it had me hooked like a good book for a few nights. I have never played a game about acting, it felt very slice of life, anime-esque - in a good way. The premise is cool. The characters are rather memorable. The voice acting is great and voluminous (I started to feel bad at some point, they must have spent hours in the recording booth). Sonically, I am mixed. The ost did the job, and fit the game well - I didn't think much of it before playing the game, and somebody who has not played the game would think it were hotel reception music. Did the music feel slightly repetitive, and the full OST altogether short? Perhaps. "Onyx," and "Amber, part 1," are quite cool tracks. The musical performance songs are hit or miss - I think it is also simply not a genre I like (group J-pop songs). What could have been improved: A lot. Which is why I only played till about halfway. Firstly, the stat aspect seemed useless to me. I could not tell the benefit of upgrading certain stats. Secondly, I felt like I did not have much/great dialogue options, or the options to make it clear we are not interested in a character romantically. While the full-screen artworks are great (I assume they were drawn by the great Ishida himself), some of the character designs were boring, and they also lacked alternative body positions/angles (I am almost sure they are limited to 2, maybe some were in the same pose for the whole game). This limits the story-telling/realism/immersion. The facial animations were fine, but the backgrounds and bodies stood out as minor issues for me. Another issue was the rhythm game. Disastrous. weird button choices, and the songs did not seem to match the visuals/gameplay. Oh imagine if they had somehow creatively mixed the gameplay of Soundfall or NSR, or even Hellsing - it does not have to be high budget, but it does have to be fun and more polished/precise. Plus, having one of these games' gameplay styles would have added much needed diversity. Conclusion: In conclusion, some great art and an interesting story does not save JJ, which suffered from having limited budget, hence limited gameplay and art. I guess all the budget must have gone into the lovely voice actors. I give Jack Jeanne anywhere between 72-77/100. It should be treated as a long audio book I guess, but I may be more impatient than others. And audio books aren't my thing. Especially if Sui Ishida and Nintendo are in the back of my mind.

Quick Review, for I stopped after around 15 hours: The hunt for a good, non-persona Atlus game continues. I enjoyed persona 3 Reload, 4 on the switch lite, and 5 on the ps4. On the other hand, Catherine full body and Persona Tactica had their charming gameplay aspects, but the stories did not impress me. I was very hyped from the first trailers we got at the end of 2023. It looked promising: a new, main entry game with a lot of budget and developers behind it. I got the game the month it came out. I did NOT understand archetypes at all. The gameplay was the same SMT/Persona gameplay. Story seemed too complicated and not rewarding enough. Sure, the designs and music were cool from the few hours I played. I wanted to like this game, but I just dont see what people like about it. I loved the demo too. Must be great if it is your first Atlus game, but i'm just shocked Stellar blade, Granblue Fantasy Relink, and Persona 3 Reload didn't get more love at the game awards than this game. I give the game between 75 and 78. If I finished it I would be more precise with my rating. P.S - I'm glad to see other user reviews are mentioning how boring a lot of the dialogue is and how the story is basically about racism and this one bad king. I totally agree.

Introduction: I was excited about stellar blade. I love sci-fi, and I appreciate good-looking women. I played the demo in March and was impressed enough to purchase the game around 4 months after it came out (august 2024). I'll be brutally honest, I didn't regret playing, but the variety of protagonist skins and enemies, and the music carries the game. What I liked: I enjoyed the music, and was glad to hear rock and pop tracks in the game. The game looked great overall, apart from some rock/mountain textures, the game was detailed enough for a game from 2024. Eve's skins, into which a lot of love was clearly poured, really is the selling point. Collecting, seeing, and swapping between them all provided me great enjoyment and satisfaction. I have nothing to say in that regard, I was not disappointed with the number and types of outfits. What could have been improved: Reeling when fishing. I appreciate trying to make it more complex/different, but it was physically demanding, which I did not appreciate. Especially with how much fishing I did. Cutscenes are nothing crazy, there should have been more. I thought exploration was ok, but there was a lack of puzzles and things to do apart from combat. on the topic of combat, as time passed I enjoyed it less and less. It was not bad, but I didn't like the combo system, and half of the time my dodges wouldn't work or counterattacks interrupted. when you think about it, the game is kind of like jedi surviror, but with death stranding's shelters. Or simply a more modern but less interesting Nier: Automata (with more creatures and outfits, sure). I'm making these comparisons because I feel like ShiftUp bring nothing new to the table, which is fine, but I really do think that games these days lack novelty. Graphics isn't everything, gaming veterans will know by now. Maybe because I played AC mirage, GOW, jedi survivor, and now SB, in which parrying is present, back-to-back made me slightly fed up with parrying. Shooting and platforming feel rather stiff too... Finally, I feel like the game started and ended well, but many hours in between were uninteresting. Overall, I will forget this story very quickly, and i never really liked any of the personalities of the characters. It pales in comparison to Atreus and Kratos, or even Cal kestis and his allies. What I didn't like: having to get all three endings for the platinum. the final boss was way too difficult. I played the whole game on normal difficulty until the end, where I had to swap to 'story' difficulty. A lot of unecessary back n forths, add god damned sick sci fi vehicles (like the one adam has??) or make every save point/shop have the telephone (fast travel point). Conclusion: there are things to love, the fundamentals are there, good combat, good graphics, science fiction genre, good music, good variety of enemies and outfits, but Stellar blade doesnt really bring anything novel. I experienced a lot of deja-vus during my playthrough. The story and maps were disappointing. combat and exploration quite repetitive and simple. i'm being a bit harsh, at the end of the day the game is decent, but i simply wasnt impressed, it wont leave its mark on you if you have played many single player games. some sections it tried doing something interesting, like when you lose your sword, but then you gotta get rid of shooting naytibas that are preventing adam's ship from landing, which i found quite boring. It isn't without its faults. 81/100. I'd be inclined to recommend: GBF Relink, Horizon FW, or even AC VI instead.

Review based on the demo: Kunitsu-Gami has potential. It has a lovely setting reminding me of Kena or Sakuna of Rice and Ruin (all 3 having the themes of man vs nature and adventuring in the wilderness). I liked the colour palette. I liked the gameplay. I also appreciate how it wastes almost no time it just puts into the action almost immediately, which pairs well with the fact that the game is easy to get into. However, this is also its main drawback: it's a very simple game. Additionally, it lacks a story, unlike of the other two games I mentioned. The camera when placing pawns was limited which I didn't appreciate. ultimately it is a decent idea but it will get repetitive and there simply isnt much to do, so not a game i am hurrying to play, but maybe one day if its in the PS+ extra catalogue. 72/100.

Intro: still on the hunt for a good, non-persona ATLUS game. I was intrigued by the art-style on the cover of the game and by the seemingly serious/mature themes of the game. The good: The gameplay actually surprised me. I thought it would have been my least favourite part of the game before i started. I was mistaken, it really did a lot for me. It provided breaks from the cutscenes/dialogue-heavy parts. It has a strangely ****, relaxing quality to it, despite the speed at which I was often climbing. I think I felt myself improving, and i'd like to believe i became a well-oiled machine a couple of hours in. A good feeling. Secondly, it's a unique game, you have to give credit to the creators for having the creativity but also the bravery to create and release such a game. Thirdly, I genuinely laughed at some points, and found myself contemplating about my life and deep topics in general at other times. It has a lot of interesting messages and themes. The graphics and soundtrack were fine, I actually expected a little better, but it is not bad. Finally, the english voice acting was great, and the characters are memorable in all fairness. What can be improved: I thought some facial expressions were overdone, and even limited. it feels like the devs had like 3-4 faces to pick from with Vincent during cutscene. and sometimes his reactions felt unnecessarily exaggerated/inappropriate. Secondly, while i like the ideas of mixing up between 3 Catherines, or the concept of being lethally haunted in your dreams by entities that reflect real-life, personal problems, I thought that the direction of the game in the second half became strange. It took a weird turn to the supernatural and even sci-fi (im trying not to spoil). And I just felt like many answers were left unanswered. It turned out to be a simple, goofy, unserious, absurd, story. I felt like my answers were inconsequential until the ending, and on the other hand, there were times when i wish i could have intervened or spoken on Vincent's behalf, but couldn't, and had to watch many times things i disagreed with/would have done differently - in a game all about choice. Furthermore, the game felt very short to me. I completed it in about 10hrs and a half. Overall: It was a unique experience. Story-wise, it started off strongly for me but dropped off as I got nearer to the end. I thought it would be a deep, mature story, but it went no where with its themes. I think there were too many endings, the new character was not to my liking one bit, and I felt like i had no control of what went on in the game, outside of the gameplay phases. Gameplay-wise, I was satisfied from beginning to end. I give the game 78/100. I never see people talking about this game online. Good luck finding someone whose favourite game is Catherine Full:Body. It's for a reason. I dont regret playing, but I dont look back especially fondly either, I will remember the characters, gameplay, and uniqueness of the whole experience, but i will very quickly forget about this story and its messages. ok dont cheat i guess, and be truthful and money isn't everything, and, idk, dont assume gender or all ppl r real, or smth? Drinking bad? Nothing too profound, despite having the good groundworks for so.

Short review: The Tanalorr and Coruscant planets/areas were a bit small/rushed, Jedi: Survivors was a more buggy experience than the first game, but gameplay and story were solid, not too much to say there. I appreciate the extra customisation options this time around. It's also good to have multiple stances, but I didn't really feel the need to change. The length of the game was nice. I was often stuck/confused abt where to go to next tho, but at least the map was pretty helpful and reliable most of the time. While I liked the story, my only two criticisms are that the formula of having two rounds with every major enemy/boss is getting very apparent and therefore when I fought bode the first time I naturally predicted it would be a null match. Same with Darth Vader because of story reasons. Secondly, I would have liked more time spent with Merrin, but also the inclusion of known SW characters, like Garrera, who was mentioned at the start of the game, or one of the bad batch clones or ventress or a star wars visions character, idk there was potential there for more tie-ins (like the boba fett one, which I just discovered on Youtube), apart from Vader, which makes less sense to encounter anyway, but I guess they went with the more famous option. Finally, it kind of felt like there was almost too many chests and skill points, but this isn't a major gripe. Overall: A good game, good story, good graphics and soundtracks, but perhaps it needed a few more months of development to iron out the bugs, improve certain combat animations, make the menus easier to navigate through, and perhaps make inaccessible areas/wanted actions clearer, and add more known characters and mini games. It was a step in the right direction, but a small one. I would have liked a bigger step forward. 85/100.

Intro: Fate/Samurai Remnant came out on the 28th of September 2023. I bought it at the end of February and played it throughout March (it took me 50 hours to get to the credits according to the save fie information). Having played the demo on the 31st of January, I knew what to expect. I would say it met my expectations and it is probably one of the best "anime" games out there in my opinion. I did not regret paying 39£ for it, but I feel like with a bit more effort/time it could have been truly great. The good: I love how much time the game spends on the story/dialogue. It takes its time, and it pays off. Saber was a very relatable character, and irori's relationship with her was a joy to read. The story had me quite invested. There are multiple endings, and since the game is so long, it feels like a second playthrough is a natural inclination to have. This game really feels like 'playing' an anime series, being based on a popular one (the fate IP), and impressively, having fully voiced dialogues throughout the entire game, and complete with a sick animated opening song. The combat and music do the job, they are decent. The statue carving, sword cleaning, customisation and combat progression options, and the tactic-like leyline system did much to diversify the gameplay and break up the action. Petting cats and dogs and stopping fights are pretty much all there is to do besides those... What could have been improved: While I have no major complaints about Fate/samurai remnant, I kept telling myself "if only they had done a little bit more with that" or "oh if only they had put a little bit more time into this," so there were certainly things I would have liked to have seen, which I will be sharing here, now. As I alluded to above, it's a shame there weren't more side activities. Even petting animals felt repetitive and the health points u get are useless since, at least for me, I never ran out of food (healing items). the mission boards felt lazy and copy pasted, they were usually the same, and it was borderline boring and grindy. It's a shame (i'll be saying this a lot) that you cant sort sword parts, nor transmog, nor change outfits. It's a shame the bleeding effects were inconsistent, and that Iori's sword is always as pristine and blood-free (it begs the question, why does Iori swipe his blade on his sleeve?). It's a shame that some parts of the game feel unpolished/unfinished, like the still bodies of water with still boats, and the inconsistent parrying and dodging system (its already very difficult to tell when an enemy is about to attack, but on top of that, they sometimes did not work well). Speaking of combat, the different sword stances and enemy variety were nice, but there you fight so often that it will start to feel a bit repetitive, and I only felt like rock and wind stances were viable, with water stance occasionally so (which is once again, a shame, a wasted opportunity - in ghost of tsushima all stances matter, more than that, they it is essential to use switch between them all, according to the situation). Furthermore, the artstyle is a mixed bag, the character arts look gorgeous (look no further than the game's cover art) and emotive, but some other story artworks and character models could have been a bit better. I know this will sound like a negative review, but I think there is so much great potential here, and I say what I say because I believe this game could have done so much better in terms of sales if it had just improved every aspect of the game a tiny bit. Lastly, I got the true ending, flames of resentment, and I was just a bit disappointed that we didn't learn more about saber's past, kaya's alter ego, what happened to caster, and what about saber's promise that iori could call her by her real name just once? I dont know, it felt (once again yes) just a tinyy bit cut short. Conclusion: Fate/samurai remnant has a lot going for it. It introduces a lot of cool ideas. I'm also glad they decided to make this game a semi open world, and some of the cutscenes, special abilities, and the artistic and narrative choices are the highlight of the game. Overall, it has a nice story, a nice soundtrack, nice combat with nice servant abilities, however, it lacks in variety and depth/polishing in many areas. I give fate/samurai remnant an 80/100. If it had better delivered/followed through with their endeavours (pristine maps, varied missions, quality of life improvements to aid with the grind and customisation, polished combat, etc.) it could have been closer to the 90s.

Short review: I have three main issues. I noticed after 10 hours of playing that I had never died from an enemy, the difficulty is in finding the ores and the exploration/platforming more than the enemies themselves unlike in Doom where both are difficult. Secondly, I find that finding these ores is incredibly difficult, to the point where I often need to look online for their locations. Even getting the map doesn't help much, as it lacks clarity and is convoluted. The issue is that the store is an integral part of the game, and not getting ores holds you back gameplay-wise. Finally its a little bit repetitive, but I guess this is an inherent/vestigial trait of this sort of old school FPS-style game. Nevertheless, the game is still fun, and the sound design, style, and sfx are great and helps set Prodeus apart from the rest. Shooting feels great too. Finally I like the amount of content there is, and the community maps is a great feature that adds a creative aspect and more replay-ability. It's a simple, fun game to briefly play daily. 76/100.

Short review: The world of Tiny Tina's Wonderland is unique and has a lot of potential. The game has a child-like quality to it, in an uncommonly good way. It's colourful, it emphasises imagination, and Tina herself acts like a child. I like the artstyle, and I appreciate the variety of weapons and spells there are. There is also something satisfying about not just discovering physical locations but how the game works, what spells do, etc. On the other hand, I do believe that there there is too much loot thrown at you. I also think that enemy ai is not great - enemies run haphazardly. I also would have liked a dash. Finally, the writing and the characters were amusing to me, but nothing is done with the characters, its just a classic bad guy is bad because he is bad and we must defeat him story. 73/100.

Short Review: I love the art style of this game (shoutout to Sable). And the gameplay is fun. Perhaps a double jump, enabled by jet packs/boots with boosters, and more enemy variety would have made the gameplay more fun, but otherwise it is super fun. It is pure video game fun. Yes it may be short, a lil repetitive, simple story-wise, but it is a focused game. It is kind of like a Bombrush Cyberfunk but with the constant urgency and rapid pace of Ghostrunner or Doom. This type of art style and gameplay has a lot of potential. 74/100

Introduction: Granblue Fantasy Versus came out in February 2020, and within 3 months I purchased it. Henceforth, I became a fan of the franchise, especially the art. I immediately purchased its sequel (Rising) upon the release date in 2023, and was once again enamoured with the gameplay, illustrations, and music. The only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth were the stories that cygames had decided to tell. They were simply uninteresting, predictable, and forgettable. And it felt like the potential of the characters weren’t capitalised upon. The anime did a much better job at that, and even then, I do not think that there is anything outstanding about the Granblue Fantasy Anime. I'm happy to say that Relink’s story is a step in the right direction, and overall I had a good time. It took me about 30 hours to finish the main story, as I like to take my time, and exploring every corner of the game. My expectations were high, and the game was not far off. But as a big fan of the franchise, I think it is normal to demand more. The good: I liked Rolan and Id quite a lot actually! Rolan was likeable, and Id felt powerful and interesting enough. Overall, it was a pleasant story. I also liked the Fate episodes, which are fully voiced monologues designed to give extra insight into the personalities/lives of specific characters, something which I thought had been sorely missing from the previous video games. They are eloquently written too. I’m giving credit where credit is due. Many cool cutscenes and grandiose set-pieces. While I prefer the character models from the fighting game, the environments, bosses, and of course, the various illustrations that you can find in the menus look great. The number of characters (20) and how distinctive they are satisfactory. I like rackam and Siegfried the most, simple but quite fun to control. I liked that the moves were based on moves we have already seen in the fighting game. I also must commend Tsutomu Narita for making another banger soundtrack, and the sheer amount of songs. I think there are about 140 tracks, and what is even more impressive is that all of them felt either new or remixed. Great while being fresh, while having many tracks remind you of the already great previous soundtracks - what more can one ask? Finally, the amount of weapons, skill trees, sigils, and items in general are impressive and one of the strongest/best aspects of the game.I have no major issues with Granblue Fantasy Relink. But there are many things I am disappointed about. The announcement trailer came out in the summer of 2016, at the Tokyo Game Show. At that stage, the game looked primitive and very different from what we currently have. But by January 2018, gameplay trailers were demonstrating that Platinum Games had ostensibly put in a lot of work and that development was advancing and going well. In fact, I do not see much difference between what is shown here and what I have just played. Some of the UI is different and a few npcs weren’t present, but otherwise it appears to be largely the same as what can be found in the game today. Surely enough, platinum games announced a year later, in an official blog, that their contract was finished. I don’t know about the nature of this contract. Perhaps it was time-based. Perhaps they were asked to reach expectation/stage of development and had met that by 2019. Either way, Cygames (who do not have experience making video games) decided they would be the ones to take it across the finish line, after platinum games had done most of the work and built a solid combat system (their specialty). Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, but 6 years is monumental. Many games were developed and released during covid. This is the tech industry, they aren’t dealing with contact sports or weddings. What took them this long? Skill illustrations and changing health bar appearances? At the end of the day, it took this game over 8 years to make, and development time is something I look at closely. Is it a bad game? Absolutely not. But Does this game look like a game that has taken 8 years to develop? Absolutely not. Folca and Seedhollow are great but I would have liked 1 more. A lot of npcs, maps, bosses and item/chest locations are reused, making the game feel slightly repetitive. Bosses are pretty easy. Grinding and levelling up guarantees you victories, player skill is mostly unimportant. This is an issue since bosses are so central to Relink. Additionally, there aren't enough customisation options for me. Finally, the story still had issues. I still don't like Gran and Lyria. They are bland, one-dimensional, and taciturn. At one point Vyrn even points out "All you ever do is say mhm and nod". Maglielle and Gallanza are unexplored, all we know is they are strong but stupidly followed Lilith for years, whose last scene was weird btw. Also, Id and Bahamut turn evil, which Cygames loves to do for some reason (gives an excuse to fight). Relink is an 83/100 imo

Short review: - Looks a lil cheap, looks like a game made with Unity and by a lone developer. this is not a major complaint, I'm just pointing out that this is the impression some parts of the game gives me. there r a lot of re-used assets, and there isnt that much detail. I liked the artistic choice of having trees and all sorts of objects dance. - I kind of liked the writing actually, and all the music related humour did amuse me. That being said, the overall story and premise are quite simple. - It gets progressively more difficult yet starts to feel a little bit repetitive - most songs r nice, some r miss - i guess its very subjective. I appreciate the inclusion of diverse music genres. - Fast paced songs did not work for me idk what was up. i could never adjust. it felt like it wasn't my fault too. -I liked that there was co-op and rpg elements, it greatly enhanced the experience, even the emotes. -overall its quite an innovative idea. i personally would like to see more top-down 2d rhythm-shooters. Games Soundfall and Metal Hellsinger have huge potential. I give Soundfall 70/100

Short review: I played star renegades for about 7 hours and got to the completed the first 2 worlds (Menkuu and Norosh). Indie development team Massive Damage's second game has a solid base. Its beautiful and uncommon pixel art style helps setting itself apart from other games. The 64-bit-like soundtrack is surprisingly good and befits the game. The gameplay is solid. The use of attack speed was interesting. Furthermore, I liked the idea of camping as a system through which your characters can bond and gain various effects, but the dialogue and characters themselves is what i view as the lacking part of the game. If a sequel were to be made, i would hope the developers expand upon that. I also would have appreciated better facial details and special/finishing moves, but this is me being nit-picky, these are not in the least bothersome. To conclude: It is not a GOTY-level indie but it is a decent game if you are into sci-fi and/or turn-based combat and don't mind a rudimentary premise and roster. I give Star Renegades 72/100.

-Arabic VA is good, it is a massive enterprise and i appreciate its inclusion and the amount of work it takes to translate such triple A titles. -prologue was good. excited with whats next -the parkour is fun and fluid, apart from going down feels slow, so too does running, it feels barely different from jogging. -pushed back the abstergo bs that i dislike from these games back seat -the world looks beautiful. from the clothing to various objects and decorations, mirage is crispy clean/crystal clear. apart from the faces, 0 complaints, cannot stress how gorgeous and HD this game is. Baghdad is crafted meticulously and credibly + runs really smoothly on ps5. It feels like no stone was left unturned. The put into the environment is what is impressive. Admittedly, the flora and npcs are still not at the level of horizon's for example. facial detail and animations in particular dont seem to have evolved much from 2017's AC origin, released about 6 years ago. -lip sync is weird. deffo suboptimal. legs are a bit jittery and weird in some places? - like the addition of food, interactions and npc animations and variety r state of the art. -music is sick -you are faster on foot than on a mount inside the round city, i understand that spaces are tight but just let me freely control my mount still, dont restrict us -i like the lore and historical information and how it was encorporated this time around, rather than having a separate mode. that way its all there, and players are free to pick and read at their volition. It is presented pretty objectively and there is a lot to learn. the addition of images/illustrations is great. The inclusion of mesopotamian and christian elements and the 8 different factions was pleasing -I also would have liked more innovation in the ai of enemies, like seeing your shadow. Also why does killing civilians desynchronize you... -more side activities to diversify the gameplay and add realism. -the combat itself doesn't feel polished and it is kind of a repetitive unexciting guessing game. 79/100, lacks innovation, refinement, depth, and the story is meh but combat is decent, and the map is fine-crafted and gorgeous and realistic.

Intro: I watched a story recapitulation of a plague tale innocence on youtube, and I was very intrigued. Shortly after, the aforementioned title was featured in Playstation Plus Essential's January 2024 games. Subsequently, I eagerly downloaded and played a plague tale requiem. If I could describe the game in a sentence, it would be: A plague tale requiem is a morbidly dark yet beautiful, linear, stealth game. It is a bit like a smaller-budget, medieval Uncharted 4. On the topic of uncharted 4, APT:R was not too far off from being as great and iconic as uncharted 4. The good: Needless to say, I do not know too many people that can control rats. Otherwise, it is so well grounded in reality that it really feels like being transported back to 14th-century France. The high quality graphics and the medieval soundtrack (heavily using string instruments, drums, and chanting), makes the end result feel very authentic. The french language option adds another layer of immersion, although they probably would have spoken a variety of Occitan rather than Modern French - but I appreciate the enormity of such an undertaking. This is probably the best and most realistic medieval game I have played - Although it is a genre that I deem lacking in presence and deserving of more attention. Personally, I was hooked on the gameplay (despite being unsure where or what the objective was several times). I also felt like I was getting better and more powerful as the game went on, which was satisfying. Finally, the story was equally cool and the ending unexpectedly hit me like a truck. The performance of the French voice actors was impressive, especially the ability of Léopoldine Serre (Amicia) and Cécile Gattoto (yes, a woman voices Hugo) convey emotions (anger, disgust, and fear are the first to come to mind) to the player. Very emotional and memorable journey. Side notes: I appreciated the references to christianity and paganism, as well as the morbid aspect of the game. What could have been improved: while, as hinted at in the introduction, I do not have major complaints, there are a few minor issues which I wish to highlight. Ironically, French studio: Asobo Studio, did not adapt the lip-syncronization to the French voice option. While I liked the fact that the protagonists whisper most of the time, lest they be heard, I did think that Amicia speaks to herself too much, and it felt repetitive. it is a bit weird we as a 15 year old girl can beat so many full grown men, which sort of ties into my next complaint which is that the plot was a bit convenient. luck/fate is far too often in favor of our two main protagonists if you know what i mean! No possibility of manually saving compounded by the phenomenon becoming more common in video games is frustrating, but again it is minor due to the game having a reliable autosave reafture. I still would have preferred the option. The option of having more control is always a good thing. It is also an easy implementation and one that is the norm. perhaps the side of the game that was most disappointing was the unsatisfying/undeserved/random skill tree system. I feel like if that was better, it would have greatly elevated the whole experience. In conclusion, I give A Plague Tale: Requiem 81/100.

Short review: Evil West a fun game to be played periodically, a level or two a day. I liked the voice acting and the cutscenes honestly. Environments look great too, I like the variety of terrains/biomes. On the other hand, the details in the character models are not so great - apart from a select few, and i saw a lot of clones (copy pasted npcs). Pretty good toolset at your disposal + combat feels impactful and great overall. A bit repetitive but as I say, still fun to pick up in order to relax for a little half-hour or so a day. Story is fine. 77/100

Short review: While AC IV Black flag was spatially ambitious, AC unity is ambitious thematically and realism-wise. It starts off strong in my opinion, and I was excited to deal with themes such as the social divide between the french bourgeoisie vs the proletariat, the rise of enlightenment, french romance, the french revolution and public order, and capital punishment. I would not say it delivers on these fronts, as it mostly focuses on abstergo and the league of assassins. It has also issues with render distances - faces and buildings only look good from close. The convoluted map and mission structures simply did not click with me either. The french VA adds immersion. The amount of weapons, the architecture, and the parkour system are awesome. I also think the story and Arno get unnecessary hate. 80/100.

Intro: Dion Koster, TimRemmers, and the rest of the Team Reptile development team have done a fantastic job with Bomb Rush Cyberfunk despite my high hopes. I have been following them since the release of lethal league blaze (which was an underrated, fun banger btw), and this game fits their modest curriculum vitae. The good: Funky, stimulating, and memorable soundtrack. I love it, it is full of flavour and personality. Something tells me that, in a few years' time, I will feel very nostalgic upon hearing it. I also like its cel-shaded, low-poly style that makes it stand out from contemporary games while being a nod to early 2000s video games. From the first minutes, the creators' passion is apparent. The gameplay is fun and liberating. It allows for creativity and pushes the player to mentally survey surroundings. Due to the nature of the game, it is important to have well-designed areas- and I think they did a good job with that for the most part. I liked the crew. I thought the dancing emotes (which were motion captured, which explains why they look so fluid) were awesome to have and complemented the music. They implemented fan art works (graffitis), which I will always approve/appreciate. What could have been improved: A few more outfit colours. A clearer story because I kind of got confused towards the end. An interactive map in the options. More polished battle sequences. My last minor complaint is that the phone messages serving as a tutorial is a double edged sword. It is a cool idea, but they kind of felt pointless and unbelievable. I think that genuine, believable, mundane messages sprinkled in between these pseudo-messages would have remedied this. There messages certainly could have been used to channel more lore or deepen connections What i did not like: It crashed on me a couple of times. For some reason, it happened to me during every chapter's final cutscene loading screen - it was annoying and I'm unsure if I have missed some events, but thankfully I was always to continue from the following chapter (i did not lose progress). In conclusion, I just GOT the vision. Maybe the budget was not crazy, but it was never the aim. Therefore, no one can say that this game doesn't look as good as a modern game, as it is not trying to. It is meant to look like an early 2000s game set in the future. And it passes the test with flying colours. New Amsterdam is a vibrant, lively world that met my expectations. Those crashes were unpleasant and maybe the combat could have been improved and a bit more intuitive. Otherwise, I give the game 79/100, It is on par with sea of stars for me, and it is genuinely a crime that it has not even been nominated at the game awards for indie game of the year category. along with sea of stars, my co-indie GOTY for 2023.

Introduction: Granblue Fantasy Verus Rising is the pseudo-sequel to Granblue Fantasy Versus (It would be more proper to call it the definitive/updated edition rather than a new game). It will be divisive. On its own, its great, but as a "sequel," it offers little to justify its existence and price. While i'm frustrated with it as a sequel, I try to view it objectively. The good: The art and soundtrack are great. They add so much charm. The character designs, combat and the graphics are great (like in Versus). I also must assume a lot of money has gone into the voice acting due to the amount of voiced lines and the high-profile Japanese voice actors involved. Novelty-wise, the crane game is a decent addition which adds a reason to return daily, and i'm glad that they increased customizability (such as character illustration options, player cards, and weapon/character skins). What can be improved: You do not get enough exp, especially offline and in the Grand Bruise battle royale (UPDATE: with patch 1.1, exp was tripled for arcade mode, while normal matches still give no exp). Speaking of Grand Bruise, my issue with it is three-fold: 1. Waiting times are too long due to insufficient players, which is something Arc System Works should have seen coming 2. It is grindy yet it is nonnegligible, as there aren't enough ways of earning rupies (UPDATE: with 1.1, GB bruise exp has increased and more missions have been added to the game). Secondly, there is a bug that needs to be fixed (UPDATE: this has been rectified with patch 1.1), involving the malfunction of the option of disabling partners (virtual companions of sorts). Thirdly, just as in the first game, you get tickets, with which you can draw items. In the first game, you could get weapons for the story mode (more on that later) or actual weapon skins for your characters, making summoning actually exciting. That excitement has disappeared, as the rewards are unimportant, unimpressive cosmetics for the bruise/battle royale mode. I earnestly no longer care about summoning. It could have easily been a more exciting summoning system if rupies were increased and more prestigious items were added (dev. art, avatar skin, etc.). Nonetheless, these tickets have effectively become an obsolete game mechanic. You can get a rupie or 2 from a ticket, but tickets are rare to come by, and items/options in the rupie shop cost anything between 200 and 20k rupies. Finally, I think the story itself has a nice presentation and makes good use of animations and art. However, I do think that the story is quite weak and uninteresting. It has always been a weak point for me. The new acts are fine. Truth be told, act one's lazy writing set the bar low. At the end of the day, I find it harder to care/invest myself in the lore and characters of Granblue Fantasy. The story simply does not have me on the edge of my seat like Guilty Gear or NetherRealm studio stories do. The bad: 1. The rpg mode has become the story mode. As the name change implies, it is no longer about levelling up and tailoring your loadout for specific enemies. The rpg elements are gone, and the experience has become a more passive one. This also tied in nicely with the ticket summoning system in the last game. Due to their past connection, they are now both negatively impacted - ASW shot themselves in the foot. 2. It would appear that you dont get exp when connection errors occur, overall it feels inconsistent and unfair at times 3. When you die in Grand Bruise, you must spectate the rest of the battle royale until there is a winner. I was in shock when I saw that. This greatly aggravates the tediousness for me. 4. They included weapons from the battle pass of the first game. Indeed, you were better off not spending your money in the first - and there will be another. 5. You have to buy the game again. 40£, and for what? A few new moves, 3 characters, a photo mode that no one asked for, and a tiresome, unpolished battle royale? The data transfer is pretty much useless. The graphics, the glossary terms, the gallery illustrations, the colors and weapon skins, the music, etc. It is largely the same game. Why not give a discount to those who already owned the first game? 20£ for the upgrade would have been reasonable. To conclude, I know this review is highly critical. As a big fan of the first, i'm still a fan of this game. I just feel like I was done dirty by ACW charging all that money for the battle passes and the DLC characters, for them to make a new game and force me to pay up even more. This fully digital game should have been an update or 20£ DLC. All in all, I recommend GBVSR if you are new (and watching the anime for more context), don't mind a formulaic, superficial story, and not owning the cd physically. Emotions aside, 84/100. If it had kept the rpg elements while improving act 1, was more generous, customer-friendly, and had more songs in the jukebox, it could have been closer to the 90s.

Briefly, sable has a fantastic art direction and a complementary OST, but it lacks substance and refinement. I would love an improved version or another similar game, just with a better frame rate and more interesting and difficult puzzles. Interesting/personally appealing presentation should be the cherry on top of the cake, not the only thing a game has to offer. 71/100.

After playing God of War 4 in 2018, it instantly became one of my favourite games I had ever played. For this reason, along with the final cutscene teasing a conflict with Thor, I was very excited for a sequel. After 43 hours, I finally finished GoW:R in April of 2024 (I was late to the party this time, yes). I'm happy to say it met my expectations and definitely did not disappoint. The good: The highlights were the stellar, jaw-dropping, bar-raising, graphics and environment detail/composition, as well as the gripping story coursing through the veins of the game's grandiose cutscenes. Ragnarok produces many memorable moments, just as its predecessor did. The combat feels visceral and impactful. It is familiar to returning players, while making a few adjustments and adding a new cool weapon. They also seem to have listened to the complaints concerning enemy/boss variety, as this time around there are many more boss types. An underrated aspect of God of War in my opinion is the voice acting, firstly, its great that many voice actors returned to the recording booths for this one, and secondly, the voice actors of Brok, Thor, Mimir, and Kratos are just so damned talented and memorable! Truly I love so many of them, I must give praise where it is due, Santa Monica have an eye for hiring unique and fitting voice actors. It's up there with the uncharted and red dead series for me. The same can be said about the story, this series and kratos' progression is legendary in video games for me, one of the best, most iconic, fleshed out stories. What could have been improved: While GoW: Ragnarok is great, there are a many remarks i'd like to make. No game is perfect, here are some things that slightly bothered me during my playthrough: I feel like you can't zoom in on the map enough. Secondly, although the combat felt great, I personally felt like Atreus was a little stiff in a literal sense and in terms of what he can do in the players' hands, and despite a third new, cool weapon, it added a layer of uncertainty whenever I picked a weapon (will I equip the one I want? and will this one be the most effective?). It should have been made more clear which weapons are more effective against which enemies. And while the combat is gory, and, as I have said before, visceral, it seems counter productive and looks underwhelming to have enemies immediately transform into leaves and vanish. Frankly, I struggle to rationalise the choice: It takes away from the gore, I doubt it was for memory/processing reasons, and potentially it could have been due to the will to not obstruct gameplay, but I can think of many ways to reduce such problems besides just making the vanquished vanish. look, I just think the timing and visuals are unbefitting. However, in all honesty, it is not a big deal. Furthermore, some faces seemed a bit uncanny (like Atreus and Freya) and out of place in what is otherwise an impeccable looking game. ragnarok was kind of underwhelming for me, maybe a bit more footage of the wolves and close ups of the Thor vs Jormungandr fight and odin's pov while all the chaos is happening and his emotions and preparation and a cool shot of asgard's soldiers all lined up and advancing, I mean there was so much more they could have added to make it more epic and memorable, cuz all i remember was seeing the rogue valkyries flying towards the walls of Asgard and Jörmungandr in the distance and Fenrir making a brief appearance in front of me/kratos & Atreus... I'm not sure why it was so important to focus on the protagonists during the whole war. Freyr and freya's involvement felt kinda supressed... What I disliked: For some reason, I was really struggling at times with staying focused on the world, with how close to the camera kratos was. I wish there was a FOV/camera distance slider in the settings. My second and final real complaint is how interruptive Atreus tends to be during puzzle-solving moments. I'm only realising now that it only got better in the second half because there were less puzzles, perhaps because I was focusing more on the Story and finishing the game, or it was by design, bizarrely. Conclusion: Despite my criticisms, it is a dream sequel. builds upon the first, and the first was already a masterpiece. The characters evolve even more, the story and characters are flesh out even more, and the same can be said about the gameplay and graphics. As fun, memorable, emotional, gory, mythical and nordic as ever. They listened to the criticisms, enemies are more varied. lacking skill tree n camera felt too zoomed in and a lot of immersion breaking lines. the camera is unsettlingly close. I don't remember have issues with the previous entry, but this time I really wished there were FOV/camera distance options. Also, enemies turning into leaves is anti-climactic and counter-productive. I give GoW:R an 87/100.

Introduction: Like for many, I assume, this is my first AC game. After finishing the game and playing it for about 25 hours, I have a lot to say about this game. I would not call it a complete package, but certainly a good game for mech lovers. The good: The graphics and the visuals were pristine. I also liked the level and mission designs. The highlights are, as one would expect, the combat and the mech customisations. I'm glad to say these are outstandingly satisfying. Flexible in these two aspects. The controls are also great and intuitive. I also personally liked the UI, your eyes are constantly on the action (at the centre). What could have been improved: It is clear when you look at footage from the older games that from software have largely kept this franchise unchanged since the first game back in the 1990s. Graphical quality aside, it is apparent to me that the biggest difference between armored core VI and its predecessors is its OST. When I listen to those soundtracks I am blown away. The synth and dnb used in AC 1, 2, 3, arena, and nexus gave the games such charm and an identity. They seem so video-gamey and fun and experimental. I am sure they greatly enhanced the gameplay. I think the OST for AC VI was ok. Not bad, but it rarely stood out or amazed me. It is mostly ambient and plain. There are some exceptions: "contact with you," "cries of coral," and the track that plays while fighting IBIS/CEL 240 are bangers. "New Era" seems pulled straight out of Returnal and "Unbreakable" from doom 2016 or cyberpunk2077. In short: it feels like a downgrade, and I am confused by this change in musical genre, especially when the formula for the rest remains untouched. Two more minor remarks: 1. some buildings and desert/snow terrains looked quite glaringly undetailed. 2. i had some issues with locking on (i often had to spam the L3 button, also there are barely any indications on-screen to assure you that you are locked onto an enemy) and boosting towards enemies (i would sometimes boost by enemies then rather than to them, especially when i was already close to them) What I did not like: This story, or lack thereof, was massively underwhelming. In the words of Ranton (a Youtuber) : "Voices can only take you so far". You essentially only receive mission briefings. All game, you are a lap dog (literally) incapable of vocalising affirmations, objections, curiosities, or any shred of emotion whatsoever. One lady is a "Raven..." merchant, the other "heh, not bad, tourist". Nothing in AC VI is elaborated you know close to nothing about yourself and the people you talk to. It is NOT the lack of faces that bothers me. Putting aside its potential cost effectiveness, i understand, to an extent, the vision here and the potential of this kind of story telling. after all, in persona 5 or dark souls games you dont talk, and in some games, like in doom, you are neither shown nor are able to speak. Yet, these games have awesome, intriguing stories. I've seen the reddit discussions. "People who dont like the story dont like it because they are babies who need faces n voices to enjoy content" - absolutley ridiculous. Even the youtubers who make lore/story videos, it is like watching a homeless guy nibble on a meagre, half-eaten, chicken thigh then licking the bones. 1. 90% of the dialogue is mission briefings. Do not get me wrong, they are important to the game and giving you a pretext for playing, but pieces of mission instructions do not constitute a story. (unless the story is: once upon a time, there was a guy on planet rubicon who did this then that cuz walter told him to. the end.) 2. The game often shows you the mech's hangar. This constantly reminded me that THIS is the sort of place in which you would find mecha pilots. This broke the immersion. Just keep giving me mission briefings while i am IN the mech then. 3. The story trailer has more interesting dialogue and cutscenes than in the whole game. what a a joke. I kid you not, the story is not even mentioned at the back of the game's physical case. It simply has little to no substance, and it is crazy to see some people blame the audience and not the developers. In conclusion: ACVI excels at giving you tools to solve problems and giving you bursts of adrenaline/dopamine when fighting or customizing. However, with a story and soundtrack largely lacking and forgettable, I cannot give Armored Core VI: Fire of Rubicon more than 83/100. You get a very good first impression, but as i played, it was becoming increasingly clear that I would learn close to nothing about the characters and locations involved. I was even starting to be fed up with being told what to do when i was at the hangar. It was all starting to sound the same to me. Nothing new or exciting was happening story-wise. Once on the battlefield however, I forgot about my questions and doubts, and had plenty of fun. A perplexing dichotomy.

Introduction: A game with laods of potential and nice ideas. I only played under 4 hours due to time constraint, so my review wont be in depth, but Sakuna of Rice and Ruin is a charming indie whose parts make up a good whole. What does impress me is that such a small video game development team made such a pleasant experience. Another underrated indie game. I liked the premise of the story. I like how the group bonds as time goes by. I like the mythical elements of the game. I like the historical elements too. The graphics are pleasant, the combat and the combos were surprisingly fun and had some depth to it. The way farming and exploring were connected. I liked the depth and realism that Sakuna had. The soundtrack is kind of a banger actually. The traditional Japanese music feels authentic and high quality. It felt like a focused game, with developers that knew what they wanted to do. And the result is a fun game. I also liked how you are thrown into the game, no chit chat or time wasted (it will elaborate on the story along the way). For some reason, i just like the dialogue and the choice of sprinkling bits of information and dialogue here and there. The developers methodically splashes their audience before things can get dry. The reasons why I cant rate the game higher are: The day and night system felt too quick. The camera moves when you farm (without moving the camera) which throws you off. There is no dashing nor dodging. The game feels very small. Levels, and even the farm, where you spend a lot of time, are tiny. 76/100. But again, the game and all of its ideas simply work. The dual focus on humans and gods, the mix of the mythical and the agrarian, the development of sakuna's personality, the tight yet deep combat and farming system, etc. I would be interested in playing a sequel with a bigger budget.

In short: A good pirate + stealth game. The ship battles are pretty cool. From boarding ships, to docking/anchoring anywhere, to navigating, to harpooning sharks, to sending trade ships around the world, the sea is the highlight of the game for me. Personally, I did not enjoy the story much, but the voice performances are good, including the singing of the crew! The parkouring abilities of edward are fun when they comply, but he does feel a bit jittery. My main issue is that the game feels too long. I feel like I have been playing for 20 hours and nothing has happened in the story that is interesting yet, and the missions mostly feel the same. The only thing about the story that is cool is feeling like a captain and feeling like you are part of a larger coalition of pirates (with Kidd and Blackbeard). Shooting does not feel very satisfying, and the assassination button pops up a little bit too late for my liking. I'm only 25% into the story apparently. It is the prospect of playing this for another 30+ hours that makes me want to stop right now. I doubt the story, gameplay, or exploration will evolve much henceforth anyway. 80/100. With smoother controls, better graphics, and a more personal and meaningful story, I would have given Black Flag higher.

I've spent 36 hours so far and finished the 4th palace/dungeon. The switch is a great platform to play Persona 4 Golden on. The persona series is Atlus' bread and butter for a reason, after playing and loving persona 5, I decided to go backwards to the previous entry in the persona series: and this game is wonderful. It is a downgrade in multiple aspects of the game, but I would argue it is just as charming and fun as persona 5. The music is just as good. The characters are nice, maybe even better. The core gameplay is just as solid too. The only two complaints I can hold up to the developers are that new party members were set to auto-play by default, and the game always disbands your party members when you leave a palace. I was punished many times for forgetting about these, which felt unfair. That being said, great classic/vintage game to play in 2023. 85/100.

Intro: Wow, I did not expect much from this indie but it is great in so many ways. Thierry Boulanger and his 26-man team did a wonderful job making this game during the covid pandemic and with kickstarter as (i'm assuming) their main source of funds. DLC AND a sequel are in the works, and i'm not surprised one bit. The good: What Sea of stars does best is 1. maintain a good pace (story-wise and even in terms of save point placement) 2. its art (whether it is cutscenes, special moves, or the beautiful ost) 3. create a sense of adventure. I cannot emphasize this enough. If this game had been One-piece themed, I am convinced it would have gotten a review average closer to 9 or 10. I was amazed at the work done by such a small team. I never noticed recycled assets throughout the 35 hours. There is a good amount of environment and enemy variety. Dedication and love put into the game are obvious. I was also never bored while playing sea of stars, thanks to the fun and challenging turn-based combat, the decent puzzles and mini games, and the superb level design. It feels modern while being a clear love letter to old 2d pixel games. The time-based blocks and attacks are a great implementation. The exploration is rewarding and fun. Did I mention the art and music were INCREDIBLE (yes I did already...)? Even the cooking animations are nice to look at. This game is what I thought Octopath traveler II would be. What could have been improved: There is no pausing during combat, and by extension, you cannot access tweak settings. Sometimes, i'm not sure of the current objective, and there is no fast travel. I noticed at some point, that you can just die and you will respawn at full health, making cooking redundant unless you want to go as fast as possible/unbeaten... Also, I personally thought that the characters were a bit uninteresting and shallow. Not bad, just not very memorable. Ok, Saraï is pretty cool to be honest - maybe I'll remember her out of the lot. Finally, mayhap more weapons and being able to add accessories or change clothes would have made the game even better too. Conclusion: Sabotage Studio have done well and this is one of the best indie titles I have played. It keeps you entertained, because it feels like there is always something for you try, solve, or just see. A well planned, charming game clearly made with love. 79/100. Undoubtedly one of the best indies of 2023.

Review after 10 hours: I am 10 hours in and the game is still bombarding and interrupting me every 3 seconds with tutorial boxes. The characters can be obnoxious at times, and very typical and predictable or obvious, but sometimes the dialogue is funny or interesting. Most enemies are weak as hell (whereas in the mainline persona games, it feels like every enemy is a formidable foe that must not be taken lightly), and the formidable calendar system is gone. The story is nothing deep and is slow. The combat is ok but im still getting used to this system of spamming square then freezing time to use persona powers. It is not really fun, it looks great but doesnt feel great. The music and menus are as gorgeous as ever though, typical of atlus games. I was disappointed that takemi and Iwai were gone, so is the bonding system, that there is little exploring outside the jail (you just stick to your room in Le Blanc basically). Interesting theme about ai and ai relationships, but so far it is overall meh and not very rewarding (again, apart from the music and the unique presentation). I cant buy SP consumables too. I give persona 5 strikers' opening hours 73/100.

Introduction: I played this game for about 30 hours, and i loved my time with it, but due to personal reasons I had to stop and delete the game. It is one of my biggest gaming regrets. The good: It looks good, and the turn-based combat just clicked with me and felt fresh and never dull. The characters are interesting and memorable. Same can be said of the side missions. The side activities/mini-games were purely entertaining and I was happy about their inclusion. This game is simply juicy in all aspects, there is so much substance there, even the story captivated me. The writing and japanese voice acting were good too. What could have been improved: this is a rare thing for me to say, but i dont have any complaints, even minor, to make about this game. I give yakuza like a dragon 85/100, ikimasho, ichibannnn

Introduction: It's a shame that HFW isn't an excellent game, because it easily could have been. At the end of the day, nothing fundamentally changes from the first. For that reason, I have similar sentiments about this game than to the first. The good: Facial animations and water and flora in this game are STELLAR. One of the best, most realistic looking worlds we have yet seen. The amount of armours and bows and upgrades and ammo types you can get are pleasing. The side quests were enjoyable to do. The story was fine, I like how it became more and more sci-fi as the game went on. clones, aliens, more advanced tech, spaceships, highly advanced clothing, etc. The story was a little bit more exciting but detached than from the first. it was more personal, this one was more grandiose. both stories are fine. What could have been improved: The amount of things on the map. The writing of the side characters was abhorrent. I did not enjoy their company one bit. I would rather have spent my time alone. They are not likeable, I simply dont care. They were useless and forgettable. I give the game 83/100.

Introduction: I am a fan of the star wars franchise, so my review is surely biased. I personally really loved every second of my time with this game. It is the second game I ever got the platinum trophy for on PS5, and i've played A LOT of games. The good: The soundtrack choice is appropriate and almost attains the level of Star wars movies' music. The combat is satisfying and the skill tree is refined and impacts gameplay, for the better. It is hard at first, but by the end of the game, I was a parrying god, and it gives a great feeling. Essentially, mastering the combat is a process. One that feels natural and rewarding. The puzzles were tough enough. I even had to seek help for a couple. The variety of enemies is decent, and each planet felt different. The parkour and movement is another one of Jedi: Fallen Order's many strengths. What could have been improved: The customisable was insufficient, you just only change the colour of your ship and poncho... there should have been more customisation options. On the flip side, i'm happy to say there is enough variety with the lightsaber. The story is also a bit on the simple and short side. Certainly, for the sequel, there is potential on the story and customisation front. In conclusion: I personally felt the love that was put into this game. The combat truly stands out as some of the best in any game, it is responsive, deep enough, and satisfying with practice. You will need to balance your Jedi powers and your sword fighting skills. I never felt bored, and 100%ing the game didn't take too much time. I had a concise, fun experience. While it is simple in some aspects, it is a treat to Star wars fans. What it does, it does right. As I always say with video games, it's better to wish there was more rather than wishing there was less. 84/100

Intro: As the end credits started to roll, I told myself "well, this wasn't a bad game, but I spent too many hours into this." I had some fun during my 32 hours. There definitely were times when I was frustrated. I still think the reviews are harshly and misleadingly low, because there are many nice things here. Mind you, I have not played the previous batman games. So this review is not influenced by those past games. The good: The martial arts on display in this game and the techniques used for the silent take downs are beautiful and satisfying to watch. Grappling and gliding are also frequent, and thankfully, they too, are satisfying to execute. The game is quite the looker. Gotham, its interiors, its caves, its main antagonists, and our 4 optional protagonists look awesome. Same can be said about the weapons and suits, they looked extremely cool and detailed. There is decent variety too. The soundtrack is decent. Very injustice-like, which is appropriate. strangely enough, the highlight was a pop song that played during a fight against prisoners (Livin' La Vida Loca if you're curious). And that smoothly leads on to the set pieces and boss fights. Because that was part of the Harley Quinn's quest line. Which was great. Freeze's quest line too was great (although he spoke less and it was not made clear to me what even were his intentions and motivations). Talia Al Ghul's quest line was entertaining and enjoyable too. I liked the writing for the Gotham Knights. Playful at times, sad at other. It was believable. There are loads of interactions between them at the belfry, in emails, and some during missions. As to voice performances, Harley and Alfred stood out. However, Talia having a London accent is weird, isn't she half Moroccan, half Chinese? The assassins speak Tamazight... oh well... I liked the investigative nature of the game too. Being detective is part of the job. It also adds more flavour to the game for us as players. What could have been improved: A lot. alot of button mashing and spongey enemies despite the story being interesting. one of the biggest downsides is the bike aka the interceptor. the only positive i could give it is it has good steering. otherwise, it feels slow and tries to trick you by having wind effects on the sides of the screen, you have to be really close to it to get on it and you cant jump onto it from above, and worst of all, it then becomes redundant when you unlock fast travel. It also bizarrely bounces off of things, and you really have to push hard on ps5 controller to accelerate. poorly planned/optimized. the parkour and combat and co op are great. just a shame there is no actual jump button, it is semi-absent, only being present only near pre-determined places. I also like that the title screen reflects the skins you currently have equipped. story is fine, and there is a lot of voiced lines to flesh out the world and **** wokeness is forgivable but would have preferred not to encounter it still. tbh the game does feel a bit hollow and soul-less and i dont feel much of the love from the developers. i mean enemy npcs are all very similar and like clones,they dont even yell when they are on fire, you can't enter many buildings, npcs in gotham arent doing much etc. I like how everyone treats the gotham knights like nobodies, because relative to batman, they are. villains straight up show you no respect lol. and that makes sense, just as the amount of mourning and reminiscing that Alfred and the gotham knights do. having 4 heroes feels redundant, i played the whole game as batgirl. at least there is the option, but it makes cutscenes and the story a bit strange, since characters must speak generally so that it applies to all/any of the gotham knights. Would have been nice to call them to fights too. anyways, flying and combat and investigating and stealth were fun for me, which is the core of the game. it didnt feel too grindy suprisingly. loot system was not great and felt random and unsatisying to obtain. 74/100

Introduction: This indie game has received a lot of praise. after playing through Disco Elysium, I see where these reviews come from. I think the reviews are slightly inflated, but overall I agree it is a nice, innovative, beautiful game. The good: The art is phenomenal, i love the brush stroke style that is so prevalent. I love the use of colours. I loved the voice acting. Some of the best i've heard in any video game period. Memorable, talented performances. lastly, i cant deny the amount of effort and love that has been put into the lore and writing and amount of things you can interact with. I liked the attribute and skills system, and how it affected your character. I also liked the clothing system and how it linked with that aforementioned system. you spend so much time in Revachol, and so much time learning about it that you grow to love it. Another advantage of spending so much time in one neighbourhood is that the player starts to feel like the place and its inhabitants are real. I certainly won't forget about Martinaise, which is located in Jamrock, a disctrict of Revachol, a city of the Insulinde Isola. What could have been improved: It is a detective game, but I didn't feel like the game pushes you to use your deductive skills or memory much. Furthermore, as the game opens up, you really start to feel that Harry and Kim are slow. There is a lot of retracing. It becomes more and more tedious as the game goes on and you have an increasing amount of ground to cover. Perhaps fast travel or the ability to sprint could have remedied this. My next complaint may be a little unpopular, but -didnt know what was real, based on real-life, or completley fictional + i feel like other loations would have been even more fun, say sci-fi or different time period like roman or wild west + I also personally would have wished for a shorter game. 30 hours + of just dialogue and smashing through doors is exhausting. perhaps i should have played the game with more pauses... but it feels like there is simply tooooo much information, it almost gave me a headache, and it certainly made me increasingly want to skip dialogue as I approached the 2nd half of the game. I really liked this quote from a redditor: "The dialogue (...) is the game's main bread and butter. Except here the bread and butter is a five course meal of extremely over buttered, heavily salted and garnished bread." To conclude: A nice, deep, educational game for adults. It's basically about an old, alcoholic, amnesiac detective solving a murder mystery while uncovering what happened before his memory loss. You don't actually do much but the characters and gameplay mechanics carry the game. There aren't many highlights, apart from the karaoke and the church dance, and perhaps the tribunal scene. I give the game 75/100.

Introduction: Highly interesting game, and I had an enjoyable, short-lived time. I want more "games" of this kind. (It is more of an interactive/alterable movie really). Long, detailed review ahead: The good: This game was a ps plus free monthly game in July 2020, and came back to Playstation Plus subscribers as part of the Playstation Plus Extra game collection. Otherwise, it is also for 5£ right as of November 2023. Essentially: an accessible and cheap game. As to the quality, I was surprised. It is clear it had a limited budget and not many locations or actors were used for filming. Regardless, what the producers have done with the cards they were dealt is impressive. The image quality, the costumes, the gore, the lighting, the interactive moments- all great. I think a lot of those interactive moments were stop-motion filmed (rather than cgi or filmed regularly), and not only did they look awesome, they were well implemented and fitted seamlessly within the scenes. I think the amount and variety of interactivity is great. It had a nice pace to it, I would often be able to guess when I would interact next, and with what. It is quite immersive because, well, in real-life, you have to do everything yourself or else nothing happens. Furthermore, I would argue soundtracks are crucial for movies, even more so than for video games. They carry a lot of weight in movies. I am happy to say the soundtrack is as lovely and memorable as holly earl's acting. it is floral and majestic and orchestral at times, and creepy and stressful at other - it fits the game like a glove. Finally, the story itself was intriguing, confusing, creepy, and beautiful. It had a bit of mayfair witches vibes to it, slightly unsettling and about family and crime and witches. This is subjective, but I liked the genre and the direction the game took. What could have been improved: I do not know if it was my controller but, sometimes, I had some issues with the touch pad. This, naturally, had an impact on the flow of the movie. Perhaps it should have been more sensitive or demanded less input, or the option of using the analog sticks. Perhaps the option of playing the game with your phone was an idea the developers came up with to combat this weakness. I do feel like the experience would have been better with my phone. (This feature does not work with the PS5 however). Secondly, although I have no major complaint, I must talk about the writing and the story. I do have a few criticisms to make. spoilers ahead: I had deduced that the perfume the old lady gave us was what was causing the bleeding that the patients were experiencing, and I had deduced that she was an evil deceiver. Showing a flashback to the perfume was not necessary, on the contrary, it ruined an opportunity for the player to showcase/act upon their own deductive skills. I was also left with a lot of questions, which made the overall experience a little bit less pleasant than it could have been. Where did Mia Greene come from, was Erica's dad actually grooming me? Was sergeant Blake on my side or was he secretly siding with the antagonist? Why did Greene have such aggressive, off-putting facial expressions? upon checking a 2nd time, i realised she was the one who killed Erica's neighbour at the start - or was she herself the neighbour? Why didn't she never just speak to Erica if her front door is right in front of Erica's. Whose hand was that in the box? What was the purpose of the patients being in the mansion? What was the cult about and what did they do? Perhaps having this many questions is intentional, in order to make the player want to play a second time? Overall, the story was nice and I wanted to get to the end. I felt immersed and hooked. Someone pointed out that the playstation trophies were handed at the end, lest it interferes with the immersion - a nice observation. I also noticed that on youtube, there was an announcement trailer of some sorts, and the actress and story were different - so it seems like they changed the direction of the story within the last 24 months of development. At times, my heart was racing because it felt like the stakes were high and I did not know what to do or who to trust. At times I even questioned my sanity and felt emotional and fed up (with the characters and their lies), but, to reiterate, I was left with a lot of questions unanswered. To conclude: There was a lot of potential, and as many people have said, we hope to see more from this kind of games, and we probably will. I recommend the game to anyone really, and I do not have any major flaw with it, but something about the ending was not very satisfying, and i had a few minor issues with the fluidity of my involvement. I would not recommend it to a someone just wants to have mindless fun however, and it does not do anything specifically extraordinary, and perhaps a bit more time should have been put into the story planning. I give the game a 75/100.

Introduction: It is clear love has been put into the development of this game, but it is not to be found universally. No doubt a big harry potter fan would have enjoyed this more than me. It is still a good game, but it is not excellent for me, and this, is for many, accumulative, minor reasons. I would rather spend my hours with other alternatives. The good: The forests, settlements, and character models are decent, but Hogwarts Castle, with all of its detailed, varying, faithful, colourful, and unique decor is one of the best looking and memorable locations I have ever experienced. Unequivocally the most impressive part of the game - clearly a lot of time and love was put into the world. Avalanche successfully realises the dream of entering Hogwarts for Harry Potter fans. I must also highlight the nice, orchestral music that is used. The genre is is faithful to the movies. What could have been improved: As implied in the introduction, I don't have any major issues with HL, but I do think a lot could have been improved. The dialogue bothered me as an adult. The humour never lands and they always treat the player as being unable to think logically and independently. It feels like you mostly encounter spiders and trolls in the world. On to the combat: I like the number of spells and how the combat feels, but a lot of enemies are spongey which makes things physically and mentally tiresome/repetitive, and you can't realllyy upgrade your wand or damage stats. The menu and its illustrations look nice but is one of the slowest menus i've had to deal with. I also believe the loot/gear system was flawed (chest loot felt random and often useless/unspecial, and I CONSTANTLY had to discard gear because I could only keep a handful, which really angered me!). I also don't like the spell ui: limiting us to 4 spells is a weird choice. A wheel from which we can pick any spell we have learnt so far would have been more realistic, practical, and fun. I was disappointed with the lack of interactivity and animations. For example, you can consume food, open taps, or swipe globes, but no animations are triggered. There are countless chairs and benches, but our character cannot even sit anywhere! Before finishing, I have two more remarks. Firstly, flying on the broom felt stiff and slow, and had accessibility issues (flying was one of my most anticipated activities, but I was not impressed), and I was disappointed there was no quidditch - even as a non HP fan I know about it. Secondly, the inclusion of different races/ethnicities and lgbtq+ characters made me a bit personally uncomfortable, as it felt forced and unnecessary and not in keeping with previous harry potter media. In other words, it made me think about the political views of the developers, which I think that in itself is not a good thing. Making subtle political statements which are controversial in reality in a fantasy game is simply a weird choice. Was not surprised to learn that avalanche are a Swedish game development company. In conclusion: i'm sure it must be amazing for hard-core HP fans. In conclusion: Hogwarts is good, and so too is the music and amount of exploration, customisation, and side content there is to do or acquire. The story was fine, but the writing was not to my liking. The combat did not blow me away, I actually can't even tell if it war boring or fun, as weird as it is to say... It is ok, I guess? I also question many other choices that the developers made, especially concerning variety of enemies, combat fluidity and depth, the inventory and gear system, lack item interactivity, and issues with traversal. I dropped the game after 30 hours and sold it to play Elden ring instead. For me, the game is an 82/100.

Introduction: I adored demon's souls, therefore I decided that I had to give this game a try. There is a lot of hype surrounding this game, and people often like to compare it to its predecessors too, which makes reviewing the Elden ring harder. Nevertheless, after having played this game for 152 hours and finished it, here are my thoughts: What I liked: the sheer amount of things is insane. I don't know how miyazaki directed/planned all the story and content there is in this game. The map, the weapons, items, spells/incantations, ashes of war, and spirits for example. The map is beautiful and practical thanks to the icons you can place. One may be unhappy at the fact that areas aren't marked as cleared, but this makes Elden Ring's map more unique and less like a shopping list. Additionally, it was nice to interact with the map and mark areas unexplored. I have never used a map so much. This may sound bad but it adds more flavour to the gameplay, adds realism, and allows for a less monotonous experience. It goes without saying that the combat, levelling up system, and music are great, as usual with Fromsoftware's games. What could have been improved: A lot. While the quantity is certainly there, the quality dipped in some areas it seems. The graphics and music were slightly worse than demon's souls'. I noticed the recycling of assets (which is understandable due to the logistics of the game), and while it did not majorly bother me or hinder the gameplay, if I am to be honest with myself, its clear a lot of pasting/duplicating was done during the development process. Continually Seeing the exact same shacks, caravans, and ruins in different places was a little bit awkward. I have two more remarks. Due to the nature of the game (being open world) I went into some areas under-levelled, and into some areas/boss-fights over-levelled, which I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, nothing is ever truly easy in this game. On the other, defeating a boss in 2-3 hits can feel a little bit underwhelming. Finally, some areas (ailing village for example, or, arguably, the whole of southern limgrave) and catacombs felt pretty empty and underwhelmingly easy/short. What I didn't like: I only have one, true single issue with Elden ring. It concerns the story. There is a short cutscene at the start, then the lore and story is told through weapon descriptions and npcs. I like that i couldn't really tell what was main story and side content missions and fights and interactions. I also must be honest that there is joy to be found in digging deep online about the lore and story ****, but when it is this time-consuming, i almost feel like the game obligated to be clearer... I completed Ranni's quest and while it was a rewarding process in terms of concrete rewards, I understood nothing. It was a long side story/mission about a 4-armed, blue witch who hired 3 people to free her from... something? You put a ring on her and a sword and doll are left behind? what?? I can tell that the main objective of Elden ring was to make this game as accessible as possible, and they did so in most areas, but perplexedly, the story did not get the same treatment. I would have liked more frank and less fragmented pieces of lore, and a clearer picture about what my objective is and what it is i'm really doing in this world. After putting in 150 hours+ into the game, I can personally say that the story was largely uninteresting/unrewarding (I appreciated it much more later, on Youtube, after a few more hours of lore videos). What I'm unsure about: the story, and the spirit ashes. it depends on perspective. In conclusion: how has a relatively small (compared to the likes of ubisoft, EA, CD project red, rockstar, and so forth) video game development team such as fromsoftware been able to accomplish such a feat? It's quite incredible, and it's one of those "i wish i could forget about this game and play it anew" games. Miyazaki and his team doesn't miss. Another addictive classic. A tiny bit more of consistency, clarity, and quality would have put this game into the 90s. 89/100.

I loved yakuza like a dragon, so i decided to buy this game. I am disappointed, even though I can see that the game has potential, and i find its setting interesting (end of the Edo period). What could have been improved: for a ps5, 2023 game, the graphics did not blow me away. They were fine. The music did not stand out to me like trek to yomi, blades of the shogun, total war shogun 2, or ghost of tsushima. The animations for the wells and pot looting were cutscenes (hence: slow), and Ryoma always does the same noise while consuming food. Ryoma also did not display a lot of emotions or ambitions or opinions. All of these I can ignore. The bad: a lot of lines are not voiced. this is problematic for three reasons. 1.) They come unexpectedly, and this results in the game being unsettlingly quiet at times 2.) There is a lot of dialogue, so it was important to voice it fully in order to maintain the immersion. 3.) You only had one language to voice anyway. Secondly, something which baffled me: the camera automatically centres when u look up or down (um - why? we can disable auto camera for horizontal movement but not vertical? what???) and it is jittery when the character is in tight spaces. Thirdly, the parrying was very hard and the pistol did very little damage. I also did not like how it was always 5v1 or something. Feels so unfair. The combat in Ghost of Tsuhima was great: It was refined, fun, felt precise, and most of all fair. Conclusion: After a few hours into the game, I knew this game was not for me. I enjoyed briefly dipping my toes into a Japan that is shifting from the sword to the gun, from feudalism to republicanism. The story itself was mildly interesting. why is a kid randomly dying right when important people walk through town? and why couldnt she have waited a few seconds or hidden somewhere? Something sad happens early on but you dont really have the time to care about them. Ryomo is pretty stoic and reserved. The first "villain" seems like a generic anime bad guy. The list of narrative woes goes on. The gameplay was also not my cup of tea. It is with much regret that I must say I cannot recommend this game to anyone, unless they are a massive fan of yakuza games or the vagabond manga or samurai champloo anime, but even then... there are simply games more deserving of my time out there. it seems like a repetitive and unrewarding game. Its only redeeming qualities are perhaps the story and mini games later on, but i do not even have the will to reach those points. 70/100

I'm about 3/4 hours in, and I see that most people absolutely love the game. This is a shame because i belong to the minority group who just can't enjoy this game. Indeed the graphics (shoutout to the beautiful map too) and soundtrack are amazing. The combat is decent (altho special attacks or finishing moves would have made the experience even more satisfying), and the ailment, enemy and equipment variety are satisfactory. However, the story structure is bizarre, the writing is not very exciting or gripping/good at making me care. Additionally, i dont like the amount + manner of encountering enemies (enemies are invisible or something). 74/100 atm but i'll come back

Uncharted 4 was the first ps4 game I played. I played it in 2016, shortly after its release, as my ps4 console came with a free copy of the game - and I was blown away by many things. Perhaps without it, i would not have embarked on such a gaming journey, or had such a thirst for single player, narrative-driven games. I decided to revisit the game in 2023. The good: the way the tutorial was seamlessly incorporated into the game, the graphics and attention to detail in this linear game still hold up today. Chapter 10 (Madacascar) is one of the best looking, well-crafted, iconic, and fun locations I have ever played. Sam and Sullivan are not just pleasant company but also helpful and intelligent/insightful, on top of being written like veritable adults. The puzzles, the climbing, the variety of locations and guns. The way u can choose between 2 methods of playing/killing (stealth and/or overt shooting). The writing and the way they talk like real adults is refreshing. as a kid I did not pay as much attention to the themes of the story or the dialogue credibility, but now, which a bit more age and maturity, I can retrospectively see how awesome these were. I think the length and difficulty were appropriate. It also has an underrated soundtrack: it sounds like its from a high budget 2000s movie with all the orchestral music/instruments it contains. It also does a good job conveying sadness when needed, and the sense of adventure too. It constantly made me think/picture about the old age of naval piracy. A fantastic, well-suited original soundtrack. Finally, the colour modes and photo mode are things I count as positives. What could have been improved: they should have added a crouch button and sprint button. The option to pick which cover to go to (show it clearly, like the division's cover system). The render distances are not great. It is noticeable/distracting (u notice how bad quality far away objects/places are) but this was an early ps4 title, im viewing this game through a ps5/2023 lens. Conclusion: what a game, the graphics barely show signs of being outdated, 6 years later. Naughty dog's linear yet high budget and meticulously crafted levels and animations makes for a very gripping and satisfying game. The gameplay is fun, the story and its themes are interesting and relatively relatable. The characters are well written and play important and memorable roles. there is never a dull moment really, and the game is not too long nor too short. an iconic, staple of the ps4 and of story-driven single player games. I have few criticisms, except there isnt much replayability in my opinion, which is the main factor of the score not being higher: I give the game 85/100.

Intro: I love metal, and I love doom. It is a match made in heaven ; ) I played the demo, and waited until it went on sale. One of my best purchases. A unique game that achieves what it strives for. Positives: Great musical choices, Gameplay is pretty fluid. The story cutscenes are a nice addition to the narrated dialogue, and together they give much welcomed context to the game in varied ways. the cutscenes and dialogue are nothing crazy in terms of the story they convey or the quality of production, but it does what is necessary to keep me entertained and informed. It could have been worse, and i definitely think the game's narrator does a good job and is nice to listen to. Variety of weapons and enemies for such a short game are appropriate (but the bosses were very similar). The idea of having a rhythm based fps is genius. I have never played anything like this. The feeling I get from this game is unparalleled, it is addictive and thrilling. It is challenging enough on goat difficulty. The songs get stuck in my head afterwards too. I like what they did with the start screen, torments, codex, digital art book, bestiary, and leaderboards. What could have been improved: Due to the limited budget, many things could have been improved/upscaled. Thus, naturally: graphics, movement, fps, and length of game could have been improved. But these are at the level I expect from a non-AAA-studio. I will say, I do not like that 3 outfits are locked behind a paywall... they could have been included in the game and obtained through gameplay. Conclusion: For 16£ (50% discount) you can hardly get a better gaming experience. No doubt one of the best ps4/5 indie titles out there, along with the likes of ghostrunner, cult of the lamb, cuphead, abzu, journey, psychonauts, and Kena bridge of spirits. Yes the main story mode is on the short side, but that is a good problem to have. I had a blast and I have learnt about many excellent artists along the way, this game has impacted my life outside of it. I eagerly await a sequel. 79/100

My review is biased because i am a dragon ball fan. Nonetheless, what a treat this game is to dragon ball (and non-db) fans. The positives: With all three seasons of characters included, the character roster's number is great. They feel fairly similar an easy to switch between, but are not identical in gameplay - perfect. (if guilty gear has very idiosyncratic characters and bodukai tenkaichi 3 very similar, this game would have to be placed in between). It is fast-paced and damage is appropriate. The visuals, stages, character intros, finishing poses, dramatic endings, and special attacks are simply divine, sufficient, and faithful to the source material. The Negatives: Unfortunately the story is lazily done, unpleasant to experience, and forgettable/generic. Secondly, only videl has a costume, whats up with that? and there are too many gokus, why not make them costumes (keep their moves of course, i mean the menu would look cleaner and less confusing without all these gokus). i would have liked more costumes and colors hobnestly - on this topic, one minor complaint: picking a character color for online matches is not easy, because it is not shown to you in the menu... Finally, It is difficult to get zeni. the shop is a grind. Conclusion: Once you spend extra money on anime soundtracks and more characters. The game is an absolute joy. i keep telling myself its almost a miracle i have a game this fun and enjoyable and about one of my favourite series ever. Arcsystem works have delivered on the visual and combat aspects. The lobby is nice and so are the stages and bgm. The style of the cover artwork is beautiful, and i approve of that choice (Im looking at you, boring kakarot game cover art). The intro song could have been better but it is fine. The horrible story mode and the little personalisation available to players in game means that as a fighting game package, I must give this game 85/100.

I am a star wars fan, and i played this game with my little brother (split scrreen co-op) and it is an absolute joy. would i like it as much on my own as an adult? maybe not. but my experience was sensational. cutscenes are funny and efficient. the graphics are great on ps5. i love the lego look personally. there is a lot of variety in the gameplay and puzzles. the puzzles are not super challenging but somehow are addictive/fun to complete. the amount of skins and ships and improvements is great. the maps and planets really surprised me, the developers did not rush things. overall this game is a great way to go through all 9 movies for anyone. there is quite a lot of freedom. It is especially fun with a 2nd player. the music and VA, in SW fashion, are top notch of course. i cant find a flaw, perhaps save points would have been nice. at the same time there is a lot of repetition and grinding and the game stays pretty simple/isnt revolutionary admittedly, so i cant give it more than a 84/100 - especially sine i believe playing the game alone would not be as fun, and it is limited by star wars in terms of adult themes and super powers (the natural downside of staying faithful to the source material)

Best stuff: The ost, voice quality and acting, sounds, and visuals are top notch. Issues: Sometimes there were 2 paths to choose from -which was the main one was never made clear- which i disliked because on several occasions i couldnt go back. The difficulty is just weird, I played it all on medium but then couldnt beat the final boss until I put it on easy. The combat depth and range of weapons are decent, but the blocking is horrible. What could be improved: The enemy combat ai and facial expressions in cutscenes could be improved. The story is not very interesting, elaborate or memorable enough... An unexpected switch of setting/story focus mid way through the game did add some novelty. In addition, a lot of concepts/phrases were used too often: "you could have saved them" was said like 300 times. My conclusion: Overall I had many fustrating moments in combat, but at least there were many respawn points and the music and visuals carried me forward - although i wish i could have included the story as a pull factor. Took about 5 hours for me to complete, if it had taken longer or if I had paid more than 10£ I might have give this a 5 instead of a 6. I can only recommend it if you really like feudal Japan, short experiences, or really want to try a flawed but unique game to take a break from AAA titles. I'm giving this game a 68/100

Intro: One of the best gameplay experiences i've had on PS5. What a banger day one release for the Ps5. I have a big issue with it, but it is still worth playing for that adrenaline inducing, fun, satisfying action. Once I understood from reading online comments that the game gets easier as you play and there are mechanics and permanent rewards that show up later that make the game fair, I had a more pleasant experience than on my first try. I was skeptical at first about the rogue-like experience, but in the end, i got used to that. Nay, more than that, it really grew onto me and it is what makes this game so special and fun. The good: The gameplay felt awesome, and once you get used to and accept the rogue-like elements, it is a blast. The game naturally rewards repetition and knowledge and taking risks and smart choice-making. The gameplay is like Doom and Nier Automata and Risk of rain put together, the former two which I love very much. Furthermore, the length of the game was nice and there is enough enemy and environmental variation. This small unexperienced studio really did a good job here despite their lack of experience and this being their first big, mainstream, expensive game. The 3D audio was eerily and bone chillingly immersive, and it without a doubt has some of the best audio surround system's in any video game. The same could be said about the PS5 dual sense's optimisation of Returnal. What could have been improved: Model for selene's face should have been better, it almost felt out of place, given how good the environments and enemies and even the suit look like. What I did not like: The story is a massive let down and my main complaint about Returnal. I mean one of the developers said in a youtube video that there is no definitive story and that it is up to interpretation, but to me it was quite clear from the cutscenes that what happened was that "none of it was real". Essentially a "and then they woke up" ending. to make your audience wonder what happened at one moment of a story is something. but to make your audience ask them selves wtf did I just play and what part was real and what part wasn't is a narrative blunder. I liked the idea of wanting to explore the themes of guilt and good parenting, and I liked Atropos and that world too, but I think that the two did not go well together. i finished the game with so many questions unanswered. in fact i ended the game with more questions than i initially had - something you never want to do to your audience as a writer. In conclusion: the "none of it was real" is what bothered me the most. I just have no clue what I have just played because of the cutscenes. But once again: I loved my time on Atropos and the adrenaline the combat gave me. It is a good game all-round, I just wish I had known earlier that it gets easier and u are meant to die and be stuck more often at the start. Rogue-likes may not be for everybody, but the gameplay just clicked when I realised there are in fact many checkpoints (the atropian sword, the 4th biome - which serves as a mid-game checkpoint, the astronaut figurine - a 2nd life, ether - a permanent resource, the reconstructor - from which you can spawn, and the grappling hook - to reach more areas and move quicker) and that you can equip health after you are at full health in order to increase your suit integrity (overall health %). I give the game an 84/100

i loved persona and i like trying music-based games, so i gave this game a try. i spent a lot of hours playing this game. what i like: the songs are nice and i like how they progressively unlock as you play, i like the remixes too. The music videos or choreography videos are nice too. i like the fact that you can change the costumes of the characters, and, as with all persona games, the menu and the game's ui is gorgeous to look at. even the title screen and the music are awesome. points accumulate progressively as your streaks grow, which makes losing streaks a big deal. this, in turn, adds tension and makes the game more fun (or frustrating lol)! criticism: in all honesty the game isnt very deep or difficult to develop. on one hand i do like the simplicity but i feel like something is missing from the game. also random rainbow rings pop up and i think they are distracting while you play. my biggest criticism of the game is it does not tell you what are the requirements to get a "stage-clear" or "brilliant" or "perfect". they show your stats at the end but dont show what you needed to do in order to get the graderesult above. i also think the story mode was boring and unecessary... i like that they tried but i dont know, it felt like they did it because they had to rather than they wanted to make a story. overall a nice game for persona 5 fans, maybe a bit easy and shallow as a game but personally i was hooked and played this game for hours, it feels like it is easy to pick up and close, when you need to relax for an hour or so. if the actual gameplay screen was cleaner and they were clearer with the result system, this game wouldve gotten a 78/100. i give this game a 73/100.

one of the most underrated games of the last generation. pros: amazing, fluid, addictive, fun gameplay. perfecting runs and seeing yourself improve and utilising your memory and mastery of the controls is beautiful. there is fustration, like dark souls, but this is what makes it rewarding to progress/succeed. secondly, the music is awesome, one of the best futuristic soundtracks alongside cyberpunk2077. i also liked the collectibles and the circuit-board system of upgrading, it fits the game well. what could have been improved: the story is told through audio, while progressing through levels. the story is not memorable or well told, but i guess it did the job to add in some context to what you are doing. secondly, the ability to change costumes and/or view the swords would have been nice. Negative: no major negative comments, I just thought the story was by far the weakest part of the game. Overall: 78/100, a very good game, despite not having a huge budget. addictive gameplay and one of my personal fav osts. Also, it is appropriately priced. With a better told story and more variety in enemies and more consistent controls, it would have been in the 80s.