Red9ine

A 3D-Zelda game absolutely brimming with detail, charm, pathos, and other artistic and pretentious-sounding things. This game absolutely oozes style beyond belief, a testament to the talent Capcom had at Clover, and would eventually continue into PlatinumGames studio. Before I detail its faults, it must be said that this is genuinely an unmissable experience. Now unfortunately, even despite being set in a rich world, as it's an RPG, a lot of the side gameplay is insipid busywork. I've become utterly disillusioned to games like this in my 30 years, as I can only take so much digging for treasure, circle-drawing, text-skipping, and endless running around before the magic dies out and the tedium takes full hold. Okami is arguably one of the most interesting and realised games ever made, but it's undoubtedly another for the pile of "I wish I hadn't pushed for 100% completion". 3D Zeldas themselves by comparison are far more compelling with how fun the core controls and items are, and i'm actually including Skyward Sword in there as well which is a really bad look, it has to be said; but then, Skyward Sword didn't demand another 20 hours of my time to accomplish everything, unlike Okami did at 55. Most games being longer than this even (especially more so these days) have time and again proven they can't stay the distance before outstaying their welcome. A lesson i've long learned is to always leave the audience wanting more. Okami at its core is either lacking more engaging gameplay, or having too much world and filler to put up with mostly mediocre (and clunky) controls. That all being said, even after 20 years, i'm greatly enthusiastic for the coming (Kamiya-specific) sequel, and you should be, too...

Even if you're a fan of this series like I am, this game is a hard pass. Its only passing grace is the solid connection to a beloved franchise, but still only delivers on the absolute bare-minimum as an interactive experience. The most basic and lazy of 3D environments, lighting, game design, freedom, control options, etcetera. To top it off, it's padded to hell, especially if you go for the achievements, which are an insane grind. By the time you've finally worked out the typical, clunky VR controls, you will have more than seen enough- the story and ending aren't worth sticking the landing, either. Thank god they at least retained all the original Japanese voice actresses.

A lot to say about this one. In the beginning, Prime 1 massively took from Super Metroid, watering down some aspects, but increasing the immersion, and integrating many fantastic new ideas in its place to create something new, as the jump to 3D should. Prime 2, an iterative sequel, increased the puzzles, the quality, the bosses, and the immersion. Prime 3 however, improved most of the visuals and not much else. Enemy design was far worse, level design much the same, and many new gimmicks implemented that did nothing for the formula or overall game design, instead butchering what had defined Metroid at its core. Interplanetary and Fast travel that broke the seamless transitions between areas, NPCs that talk at you without your consent (both of which crippled any atmosphere and immersion), motion control gimmicks that were never fun, weapon restrictions in lieu of a single weapon that the game had to be redesigned around (to poor execution), bland story, typical console-generation-7 scripted set-pieces, a mostly horrendous soundtrack (did Yamamoto get bored of this series, too?), flat environment design, aaaand so on... The fact people hold this game in reverance and remember it as fondly as its predecessors absolutely baffles me to this day. It bewilders me moreso that Prime 4 somehow ended up 3 times worse.

Another tedious abstract platformer- you awkwardly wobble and bobble around stages collecting items and avoiding damaging obstacles. What fun and child-like whimsy this game harbours on the surface is quickly severed by the desire for 100% completion. There's otherwise absolutely no challenge with this game, so aiming for all the collectibles is the only real fun there is, and it's just not built for it. You are fighting the camera, the strict level design, the bad enemy placements, and above all- the physics. If Locoroco didn't try to have a quirky, gimmick design to appeal to everyone, whilst simultaneously offering a more hardcore element, I'd let it slide, but the frustration is tiresome and unending. The music also doesn't leave much to the imagination; a lot of one-note patterns so short and **** that Atari 2600 music stands a better chance of keeping any enjoyment afloat. The game wears out its welcome before World 1 is even over, yet you get 5 Worlds' worth, for such an incredibly shallow and stifling game, which is madness. What charm and style the game has is very quickly marred by the execution of all of it; it's more fun to gawp at than actually indulge yourself, and this is something most people will realise in the 15 first seconds they take control.

REVIEW INCLUDES THE POST-GAME UPDATES, UP TO THE DLC: In 19 years, Nintendo had finally given players the tools to do what they wanted in the original. Terraforming is a huge part of this game, and you really have to earn it, in more ways than one. Rewarding though it is, the game is otherwise stifled by everything else. It is arguably the definitive Animal Crossing game with regards to the amount of content (and after all the post-game updates brought back most of the previous games' features), but at the same time it's a depressing reminder of how stagnant the formula is since the original game. Despite being an 8th/9th-generation console game, this series is STILL utterly plagued by waiting mechanics, gummy menus, lack of menu functionality, lack of reticles for basic actions like where your shovel is about to dig, lack of online features, absurdly strict item acquisition, etcetera etcetera. And this doesn't even begin to go into the things we lost after the first game. The hilariously bi-polar villagers, the quirky and iconic soundtrack, the 60fps frame rate (yes I know the Wii one had it, don't be a pedant), the Japanese cultural elements, aaaaand so on... The upside of course is that most of the magic is still there. I can't deny I got my money's worth at 1,000 hours of play time, which may be standard for a good Simulation game, but still an achievement when most great Action games wear out their welcome after barely 1% of that. Animal Crossing was a Legendary game when it first got localised in 2003. Even us fans couldn't work out what kept us coming back every day to meander around perfoming the same menial tasks, but that's the magic of Sim games and video game worlds that capture people's imaginations. Nintendo never quite recaptured the full quirkiness of the original in a way that the sequels would deliver. But they're undeniably still fun games. And yet, with how abominable New Horizons' many continuing (and even many NEW) transgressions are, I seriously hope this is the last they ever touch upon the series. The recipe system in particular is one of the most horrific gameplay implementations I have ever seen in 30 years.

Massively overrated from its outset by an audience that only existed because a prominent YouTube reviewer took on the mantle of publishing games he thought deserved his influencer status (and too right, more power to him!). Animal Well is otherwise just another MetroidVania in an ocean of MVs that have dominated the independent video game scene for well over 15 years, now (and continues to), so I was f* skeptical when this particular MV was being hyped up and talked about across the entire online space with such high regard. All this having been said, Animal Well is definitely (in my experience) a fairly exceptional MetroidVania. It's a technical achievement, having been made entirely by one person- on an engine and assets all entirely from scratch of his own creation, providing a beautiful and atmospheric subterranean world absolutely LITTERED with secrets in all corners. Even after you've managed to beat the final boss, there is still **** worth of things to find- and every last drop a dopamine hit. However, a huge crux against this game's endless backtracking and exploration is the horrendous world and level design. Each room is naturally designed like a puzzle or a platformer- a challenge to overcome the first time, but not one you have any intent to solve repeatedly just to get through the same rooms another hundred times. Metroid's original solution to this was to make the player stronger and faster as they progressed the game, making backtracking easier and less tenuous to deal with, but Animal Well doesn't offer the player any such tools to mitigate the tedium whatsoever. On top of this, the actual inventory system is a looping line for absolutely no logical reason. It has been proven constantly how awful an idea this is (especially when Ratchet & Clank solved this problem in 2002 with a quick select wheel, as opposed to a line), and worse still, the game's controls are minimal, meaning that all the power-ups could have easily been designated to the myriad of buttons on all modern controllers that don't get used at all. It is a fantastic and mysterious game, rich with character and charm, but the game design massively drags down the experience, killing off most of the magic by the time you reach the game's second (out of technically 4) endings at around 15-20 hours.

In 2009, all the original talent that made Call of Duty left Activision after making Modern Warfare 2, one of the most revered, iconic and influential games of its generation (as too was its predecessor, COD4). In 2013, they returned as Respawn Entertainment to give us TitanFall, and later this sequel that were both criminally unpopular FPS games- they were poised to transform the landscape yet again, but no one played them, until it was too late.That being said, both games are far from perfect- 2 in particular lacked the better multiplayer level design of its predecessor, but it introduced a campaign. Though this too with its merits, is admittedly overrated. Far too short, and with little replay appeal. The games are riddled with gimmick guns that also serve no purpose and aren't at all fun or practical to use. In the end, the strength of TitanFall lies where it matters most, the core controls and gameplay loop. It's what we now know as a movement shooter (arguably the first?), with a heavy emphasis on fast movement and free-running across walls (and grappling hooks, before it became popular). This was the magic that could have defined the future of FPS games, and christ, that's not even getting into the giant, pilotable mechs! It worked so well because it was made by that same talented team that knew not only how to make such a fluid and fun gameplay experience, but that it was also warranted, in a world that widely ignored it. Call of Duty was king for a reason, and to a degree still is over 15 years later, despite its wider transgressions. It's an utter tragedy the same could not be said for TitanFall, which was was eventually abandoned and watered down by choice of its own talented team into just another Battle Royale, known as Apex Legends. TitanFall 3 died for that abject garbage. RIP TitanFall 2013-2017

The original game hit a striking chord. The gameplay was awful, but the characters and world were interesting enough (until the story dies on its arse), and the soundtrack carried the whole ensemble. Ultimately I hated the game, but there was a magic there, a spark if anything that did capture me. I couldn't forget it. I did care. Then a surprise sequel announced at E3 2015 blew away absolutely anything else (for the few hundred of us who played the 2010 original) that had ever been. Pants were ****. Unfortunately for me, who seems to be the only one still who doesn't 'get it', when it finally came out in 2017, it fell flat. In a very rare case, they were in fact faithful as they had claimed to the first game, which ironically was not the thing I wanted to hear, because the original as a game was bloody awful. The fact the sequel is revered so much more highly baffles me, even, because it's literally the same horrendous game design. Huge open areas with nothing in them, padding out the backtracking and exploration unnecessarily; a one-note combat system that has depth, but only visually; and endless backtracking and environments that don't feel a part of the action. Automata does boast huge quality-of-life improvements to the original, but doesn't actually improve on the barebones Action JRPG elements and design that made it so bland and tedious. I could have almost forgiven all of this even, had the game's story paid off, which is the other big half when it comes to NieR. This one warrants its own review, but for brevity's sake, it's bad. The game continues its very Japanese-style brand of storytelling, in that it focuses entirely on themes, with little coherency or logic to tie together its events. I should say 'theme', as the entire plot for 40+ hours is "My God 2B, these robots we're killing have feelings! No 9S, that's stupid, robots don't have feelings. Oh, okay". Agonising to sit through. But yes I did fully complete it. The characters much the same this time around did not do anything for me at all. Kaine and Emil broke my heart in the original, the Androids I just couldn't care. I wish I understood, I've tried. I can't. I knew this game was going to absolutely rock the gaming world, we knew the impact it would have, I only wish I could have ultimately shared the same sentiment, rather than embracing a monotonous misery twice running. Keiichi Okabe is the real hero of this franchise, the soundtracks carried both games and I've not ever been convinced, otherwise. I'd die to know the critical reception of these games, had they been the same bland temp music every AAA game has these days.

I cannot think of how many times I can quote "We aimed to be faithful to the original" and it ended up being abject bollocks. This Remaster of another Gamecube Legend is actually, to a degree, the definitive edition... but solo. The defining facet of this game was the real-time action co-op multiplayer in your own living room. Granted, it came with a sizeable caveat (a required Game Boy Advance per player and link-up cable, too), so obviously THAT re-implementation was out, and the obvious replacement was online multiplayer. And yet they greatly f*d even that up- to such an absurd degree even that the reviews are universally THIS bad. The entire adventure in co-op is stripped down to dungeon crawling, and the joining player doesn't even get to save any progress. Sound familiar? Literally the Dark Souls system that everyone else copied (in addition to literally anything else bad Dark Souls also did), but somehow WORSE if you can believe it. The game is otherwise absolutely solid in single player, and worth the time, but just pirate it. Whatever mild improvements this 20-year old game got were not worth the utter disrespect the core design got. It's arguably only half the game, now. The co-op was literally the point. And now it's gone.

Beyond overrated. A game that can be finished in 15-minutes on your first try, yet even on sale charges you a disproportionately stupid amount, but I supposed that's the Nintendo-platform pricing difference in my case. For what you get anyway, there is hardly a distinction of quality, despite being supposedly influential (though i'd argue PT is where this idea really took off), this simple game of 'spot-the-difference' is marred even by a basic flaw that the difficulty of one puzzle to the next is entirely random for no good reason. The first 3 subway tunnels could be mind-numbingly difficult, and then the last 5 so easy they're solved literally instantly. Half the point of horror games is also for the player to curtail the horror, though still being affected by it as it ensues. Exit 8's idea of horror is making the most horrific examples a blatantly obvious puzzle solution that you can easily avoid because they stick out like a sore thumb, and then they're gone. Something entirely different (and equally comical) then taking its place. The real fun of the game is actually getting a game over because otherwise, progressing to the next random puzzle means potentially staring at walls for another 5 minutes. Brilliant game design(!) This new genre is however solid and I love it when it's done well, but this one man's effort is just a pitiful example to draw from, much less be remembered. Incredible that standards are so low that this game has any amount of praise.

It doesn't push the series' formula forward after 19 years; the soundtrack (though superb) lacks the melodic soul its former composer used to provide; and the world design is absolutely atrocious. Those major few flaws out of the way, Dread is mostly brilliant, and I feel MercurySteam have done the series very proud. It shouldn't be unorthodox to hold something in high regard when all it mostly does it stand on par with its predecessors from the pre-7th console generation age (when AAA gaming began falling off of a cliff and never stopped), but here we are. Dread is one of the rare sequel success stories after 20 years that will fondly remembered for years to come.

Aberrant and creatively bankrupt. Retro for the third time running in 18 years continue to abandon almost every fundamental principle that made the Metroid games great, iconic, and influential. What very few things it gets right are absolutely marred by countless bad changes and additions, as well as a complete lack of imagination or care for even their own legacy of a 3D Metroid game that they initially created back in 2002. It's so shameful in its design that it borders on sabotage, there is just no other way of looking at it: NPCs are unconsentingly obtrusive and badly-written; large open areas pad out the backtracking with nothing to offer except tedious frustration and endless crystal collecting to even get the game's BASE ending; the game is far more linear than any Metroid before it; the power-ups are just keys without their multi-faceted personality that made them rewarding and fun to use; and an in-game radio for the literal empty sandbox is locked to a £17 Amiibo. I could go on, NONE of this is Metroid. It's vaguely more of the same with no real evolution, nor consideration for the things they actually added. How could anyone even call this a Metroid game when it's full of the same trend-chasing garbage that people have complained about now for over 15 years? The critical public response with reviews as high as they are lead me to believe there are few real gamers left, as standards have dropped so low now in 20 years that abject time-wasting slop like this gets aggregate ratings as high as this. And Metroid Dread did so well, too...

Nintendo correctly decided to evolve the physics-based gameplay of Breath of the Wild, and did so originally as an expansion pack, in lieu of a full sequel. They then completely **** this idea up by instead making it a full sequel that entirely focused on this one mechanic that turned out to be rubbish anyway, whilst simulatenously giving us a sequel to one of the best games ever made by absolutely pissing all over it- even as far as ignoring that the first game ever happened (a sin already committed with Wind Waker's unskippable 5 minute opening cutscene 20 years prior that pissed on Ocarina of Time and the player's accomplishments). What is new and present in TOTK is inherently interesting and dare I say fun, but the execution is so massively flawed that whatever magic the game holds is utterly marred by the focus on quantity-over-quality. I loved the first game to absolute pieces, but can't bring myself to ever play TOTK ever again. It's absolutely insane that this game took as much time as the original game despite recycling 70% of it. Easier said than done, but I think they should have focused on it as a sequel first and foremost, with the contraptions mechanic being added to in post-release updates. Downsizing the world and splitting the content equally between Sky, Land, and Underground would have been this game's biggest boon by far, and would have needed as much effort as copy-pasting literally every layer of it, which is pathetically what they did. The 100+ copy-pasted caves were also an abject mistake that I still cannot quite believe they did. For the amount of content and quality it does deliver, it is an astounding game almost beyond measure, but it's neither a game that any previous BOTW player has any business near, nor anyone looking to fully complete beyond the half-arsed story. The contraptions also effectively feel like their own game that were still tacked-on after the fact, and half of it flat-out doesn't work.

More of the same. The first game's story was a bit more interesting. A semi-mature, noir visual novel/puzzle game. The puzzles are typically lukewarm, the script above average, and the music much the same. For me, it's a nice, humdrum Adventure game, but the budget and talent shows. The DS was capable of far more than this, and I wish it had more to show for itself, because there is a lot to love for its style and setting. This is one of few of its era that could easily be ported to modern platforms and enhanced without compromise, though sadly it may never be. There's too much dialogue for the script it bears, too little puzzle-solving, and it's too slow a game overall in terms of performance. Skipping through text, menus and scene transitions drag the game down even harder. I finished it around 17 long hours, and the game would have been far better cutting it down by at least 6 hours.

Arguably one of the most slept-on games of all-time. It was the greatest video game generation ever, you picked up literally anything off of the pre-owned shelf and were guaranteed a good time. This game was one of our most cherished finds. It'd be overwhelming to put into one review everything this game did- typical of its time, an EA game that has elaborate character creation, lots of features, a licensed soundtrack, and decent graphics. But that really is scratching the surface of what was such an incredibly unique game that offered just about everything you could ever want out of a particular genre. A Fighting game, 2-4 combatants, tilt-shift angled arenas (dimly-lit and brimming with atmosphere), a baller soundtrack, a massive cast of real-life dudes larger than life (one might say exaggerated swagger ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), environmental opportunities, co-op attacks, 100+ finishing moves, fighting style combinations, the list goes on- just an absolutely insane game. AAA game developers couldn't achieve half of this now if they tried. Still holds up 20 years later, because as far as i'm aware, it's never had any successors. 'Icon' was the third and final hurrah that came after this, and it was sadly crap.

A strange, yet captivating racing game that is split between 3 distinct modes of play. This game- like most of its Gamecube contemporaries, has absolutely stood the test of time. I never thought too much of its game design principles (hence my rating), but there was undoubtedly a magic about it that made it last. And it wasn't just City Trial. Having laid out my thoughts on the recent sequel (which in half replaces this original edition), i'm still happy to say this game has its place on my shelf any day. Top Ride is certainly better in this one, anyway.

A review for fellow fans. It's More of the Same. After 22 years, it's a welcome return from Sakurai himself, but there are very few fundamental improvements- feeling more like an enhanced port that treads water, and lacking some of the original charm, though also providing new charm. A mixed bag, it is the best experience, despite the shortfalls (the biggest crux of which is that Top Ride is now crap, and the menu transitions are marred by load times for almost every single screen that add up horrendously quickly). It has tonnes of things to do; new features, most of the old game, many details to soak in, and more scope than the original. I begrudgingly bought a Switch 2 knowing this game was on the way, and definitely don't regret it, as a mixed fan of the 2003 classic. A shame the online gameplay is held to ransom via the subscription fee, but you can still get just as much fun with 1-15 extra COM players alone in City Trial, or combined with split-screen friends. No split-screen online function either, however. Any new music is sadly bland and forgettable (standard for AAA composers these days, even Kirby), but a lot of the older stuff is thrown into the mix which helps make up for it, I suppose. It's also a bit easier, at least when it comes to all the challenges, but the chaotic fun at its core is enough to justify a good time. For all my criticisms, I still enjoyed almost every minute of it (barring Top Ride), even having played the original again just last year.

To my mind, the true narrative masterpiece of the DS Puzzle-Adventure/Visual Novel game renaissance. Whilst the puzzle gameplay is admittedly very lackluster (yet, which of these games aren't?), the narrative-led experience is where Ghost Trick shines. The principle difference between it, and most of its contemporaries that I've played, is that Ghost Trick leaves you fulfilled. It attains a true sense of disbelief in ways most games never achieve because the mechanics of their worlds are never consistent, always leaving unanswered questions and loopholes by the end. Ghost Trick offers no such ambiguity or continuital-laziness; it balances comedy, drama, time travel, supernatural forces, wacky characters, and pulls it all off with aplomb simply because the writing is so phenomenally solid. It puts every other video game narrative to shame by virtue of the fact it respects its own creation and mad genius to see it through. Shu Takumi and company only ever made this one-off masterpiece among endless Ace Attorney games (still to this day), and it's an absolute travesty of wasted talent.

I've been around the block for decades, and if I had to pick 10 of the best video games in history, Resident Evil 4 is the only one without hesitation I know is in that list. It's quicker to list all its faults rather than everything good about it, so here they are: The textures have aged woefully, the emergent story is ****, Magnum ammo is too sparse, you can't stockpile weapons, and it should not have been included as part of the RE franchise. That's pretty much it, for me. Impossible not to love this game in some regard, unless you have a nervous disposition to violence or dank environments.

*Only play this on PC or PS5- horrendous optimisation on anything else* Rare that we get Indie 3D Platformers (or ANY these days), and rarer still that they're this good. Although far from perfect, A Hat In Time has been one of my firm favourite games of the past 10 years- a unique blend of themes are woven throughout its worlds that make every one feel like its own game, without straying too far from its overall identity.That being said, this game did not feel complete until both DLCs were released. It's these final additions that really bolster the overall quality of the game and help alleviate some of its downsides, making it a fuller experience. The visuals are solid, the soundtrack is amazing, the movement is addictive, the level design packed with things to find, the game riddled with charm and character- all these facets make it an unmissable experience for any platformer fan.

Considered the pinnacle of point-and-click adventure games (or at least, the last great one of its era), Grim Fandango still bears a lot of the horrible nuances of its genre: the bad camera angles-to-scene transitions, pixel hunts, obscene cartoon-logic puzzle solutions, and a world without much logic, itself. Despite all this, it's impossible not to love what it does well: Its characters, set design, script, and soundtrack. The story and world has more holes than swiss cheese, but what's there is so inherently alive and captivating to be a part of, it still quickly became one of my favourite games of all-time. You won't be solving a lot of it without a guide (as is typical), but the game still feels rewarding moment-to-moment. You'll probably know in the first half hour if it's an experience for you; a cartoonish romp through the land of the dead with one of the most iconic, charismatic protagonists ever, and his equally comic mishap sidekick.

A game stranded in time that harkened back to years gone where the industry didn't take itself too seriously and abandoned gameplay innovation in lieu of generic, bland single-player campaigns with half-arsed plots....Granted, this game does both. Bulletstorm was a mild breath of air- followed by a raucous belch of half-digested Coke and Doritos from a teenager who no doubt would have thought a game starring Steve Blum swearing a lot and making wry remarks was still funny in 2011. The gameplay incorporated a scoring system. Once a staple- then entirely abandoned by the industry at large by 2009, it was the defining asset that made Bulletstorm one of the few memorable FPS games of its era. Unique and sadly still relegated only to this game with no successors to date. It was fun AND funny. Bulletstorm's humour when it came to the script however, was almost as lazy and crass as it could get- to the point that it even compromised the serious story it was trying to tell at the same time, but again it was undeniably welcomed in an era where every game was unabashedly edgy and downtrodden with little merit to warrant it. The biggest failure of this game was that the single-player campaign was definitely bogged down by those same scripted events, terrible dialogue, and a story that dragged out forever and a day. All the typical modern elements that were desperate to get f*cked long before they became **** yet, the game was also bold and beautiful- making full use of Unreal Engine 3's prowess, and still standing sharp even in only 720p (and 30fps) on console, today. The multiplayer ran like **** though on console of course, but such is life.

Capped to 30fps on Switch. Hugely recommend playing it on literally anything else. My actual (glowing) review is for the PS4 version.

A tad bland and generic, but still a solid Action-Adventure game. Very accessible, and yet quite challenging, to boot. Simply swing your sword, aim your bow, and dodge roll to victory.Gameplay-wise, their previous title (Titan Souls) was far more interesting and replayable, but this 2-3 man development team undeniably have a game to be proud of with Death's Door much the same. Acid Nerve are worth keeping an eye on.Because unlike TS, DD is a far more ambitious game that delivers a richer narrative; quirky charm in a world mired by death, and emotionally-rich environments in a top-down-angled isometric-perspective. The tongue-in-cheek tone has continued, and blossomed into its own character. No real replayability for me, but still a game worth the asking price and an empty weekend.

Racial-profiling simulator 1807. One of the best murder-mystery games ever made. Completely unique, ingenious, and engaging from start to **** first hour will naturally be a hurdle to understand the game's strange story and gameplay mechanics, but after that short initial hurdle, is something truly special.60 people are either dead or missing- turn back time to find out who they were and how they died, so you can bring closure to the horrific state of affairs that occurred on a 19th century British voyage across the **** soundtrack and visuals are initially strong, but eventually will become a bit tedious and lose their magic. The game was around 8-10 hours to completion, as you play process of elimination through the ship's crew dossier, and a list of choices to how people can be described as having been killed. Not too complicated a game- but does require some focus to maintain track of a large cast of characters; their relationships, and roles among one another. The real magic to this game is piecing their tangible little lives together one-by-one, in addition to primarily identifying them.Unmissable Puzzle game for people who like detective-style experiences.

*Some minor graphical glitches on all consoles that will likely never be fixed*Standard 2D Fighting game born from a 'Friendship is Magic' fan game that was DMCA'd by Hasbro. FIM's creator herself offered to take over as the Lead Creative Director and created all new characters, art, and story. It had a crowfunding campaign some years later which was successful, promising an extensive story mode (which never got delivered). Nobody seems to know what went wrong, but they eventually sided with a publisher (which contradicted and spited the entire point of crowdfunding it to begin with), so it seems they may have been in over their heads on budget and needed proper investment there and then rather than risking another round of donations; so the deed was done, but the game still didn't sell well, so even the publisher seemed to have given up- and they fired everyone, save for 3 developers to keep the game patched up for a few more months or so. It's still a solid game outright, but technically never finished, as the excellent story mode tragically sits eternally at 1 chapter long.---Now personally, I love this game. To a degree, it is a finished game (on par with every other Fighting game), and whilst it sounds daft to pine for a story mode in a Fighting game, what was available in all of chapter 1 was truly something special to me, and showed promise. This game- without the world and its lore that was crafted specifically for its cast of characters and environments, ultimately falls a little flat, and subsequently generic. The story would have tied the entire game together- without it, it's just another great fighting game as is. The contrast of cuddly cartoon animals and insane, hardcore meta-level fighting mechanics is the definitive video game juxtaposition to end all others. It was fantastic. But this is a big part of why it didn't sell. Why it died. And it's truly, utterly **** Publishers (save for Devolver, it seems) are a death sentence to any idea, anything of merit, or anything bearing soul. Just don't do it.

Storytelling and existential horror of this quality are rare, and SOMA is to be remembered and celebrated for it.Rare in itself that I find myself restarting a narrative-based game over again immediately after finishing it the first time. SOMA consistently delivers intrigue, hard questions, and stomach-churning moments that are unforgettable. I only find myself in such reverance for when we do get games this good because the AAA industry has mostly decided to avoid anything of this intellectual level for the past 2 decades, now.Gameplay-wise however, it is a simple and straightforward game- very accessible for any gamer not looking to think too hard in terms of exploration or puzzle-solving. The hardest parts of the entire game are admittedly trying to work out what you're even supposed to interact with in the first place. There is absolutely no object highlighting- and being thrust through constantly-changing Science Fiction environments full of hi-tech cables, interfaces, and lights everywhere (on top of endlessly contrasting darkness) will no doubt make up a good chunk of your play time, although I wasn't ultimately too frustrated by it.I wish there was more to the gameplay- it feels like a lot of wasted effort to craft such an intricate world and narrative, only for it to be so interactively thread-bare and over in one playthrough, otherwise SOMA is an unmissable experience. I wish these people had been the writers for contemporaries like BioShlock, for all the praise that garbage plot got.

It entirely feels like a Resident Evil for toddlers, but it's hard to fault it- A brilliant little game in almost every way. I always believe in leaving the audience wanting more, and not outstaying your welcome, but this is the first game for a long while i'd love a sequel for, at the very least, for what it offered, and yet also how short it is. As such, repeat playthroughs sadly don't offer too much, and like any Resident Evil game, are dramatically shorter to the point of completion in practically a lunch hour. It's worth the full price, but for the time you get out of it (6-8 hours at most), I understand that most might feel a little cheated. Either way, it's an unmissable, unique survival horror game that doesn't pander to the past- and outdated gameplay limitations that stifle a lot of retro-inspired indie games. Fun fact: It was made by celebrated ex-Newgrounds Flash animation duo, 'The Super Flash Brothers'.

I found the first HW game better, somehow. This game really drove home an immense level of tedium for the same A-to-B gameplay for 80 hours straight. It's otherwise close to a phenomenal game that's utterly plagued by a bad frame rate and the most barebones objective-based gameplay you could ever imagine. The irony is that whilst Breath of the Wild had phenomenal gameplay but was hampered by a lackluster narrative, Age of Calamity instead has terrible gameplay, but a far more compelling narrative world. It's tragic because, much the same as Hyrule Warriors was 'The Ultimate Zelda fan game' (an honoured claim by its producer), so too is Age of Calamity the Ultimate BOTW fan game. I love absolutely everything about this game except for how quickly the combat wears out its welcome after every level. I feel even people who didn't like BOTW's narrative will struggle not to love this game much the same- it was criticised for the time travel retconning, but I felt AOC did exactly what it needed to, as the ultimate outcome in BOTW was already told- playing 80 more hours of it wouldn't have made much sense, and it concluded appropriately in its own way. All you want is the characters to make it through the War, at least this time... Also had the best soundtrack of 2020, bar none. Nothing in any year could ever match this- not even popular ones like DOOM Eternal at the time. Age of Calamity is hard to recommend, but for what good it does bear I believe it was utterly slept on, especially for a Breath of the Wild spin-off.

Continuing an ever-exciting run of handheld games, Sonic Rush was the first Sonic outing on the DS and did just about everything it needed to. Though many found the level design and visuals lacking, it made up for it with everything else. The soundtrack is totally unique for most video games, yet still just as utterly iconic as the best Sonic entries; the action has oomph and style, the DS' hardware had some cool complementary elements, and the story was probably the last we ever got for actual character development in a good Sonic game. Blaze was such an interesting character that they forcibly brought her back many times even though it never ever made sense, given her backstory. If you're a gamer, I think you'd find it hard not to find some enjoyment in this game- truer to its roots as an edgy 90s rodent mascot action game than arguably even the original games were; and if you're already a Sonic fan, it's unmissable.

A really fun and rewarding physics-based puzzle game that otherwise outstays its welcome by level 2, despite being only a few hours long, anyway. Games with a learning curve aren't a bad thing, but having the player's own limbs (and cranes by extension) actively counter inputs of their own will is a constant exercise in frustration. Something as simple as trying to move through a narrow corridor often turns into a somersault exposition, and then your legs jamming in a tight space- or alternatively, being in a corridor so large that you constantly end up drifting out of control until you slowly reach something to start moving again. This is mostly mitigated by the games' two lower control methods (which serve as difficulty settings), but the game is so devoid of additional tasks, side games or quirky tools to mess around with (especially for one that offers co-op), that you're only left with the realistic physics difficulty to get any real meat or replayability out of the game beyond the base objectives, and the game is lacking a fundamental control point to avoid the constant plight of physics-based games at their truly worst; a genre of which I found this to be simultaneously one of the best and worst of. Physics-based gameplay and Zero Gravity just do not mix when it's applied as coarsely as this. Real Astronauts would have a hard time trying to pull a lot of this game's nonsense off. For a game so short, they either should have added more content, or ironed out the physics. I still recommend it for people who like Physics games- I enjoyed it more than I did suffer it, but be warned that Newtonian mode will have you pulling your hair out in a few places, and chances are it won't even be your fault. Playing it in co-op (local only), is a mixed bag.

PS5 version severely lacks mouse & keyboard input for some reason (does Unreal Engine 4 support it on console?), but otherwise one can become mostly accustomed to the awkward old-school style aiming system that lacks Aiming Down Sights that was popularised for console (that made FPS aiming actually viable). The game's combat is principally based around bullet-time dodging and aiming, as the enemy AI- whilst not consistent, often has pinpoint accuracy and will snap 180 degrees on a dime to one-hit kill you at specific parts of the game. The bullet time is necessary to kill efficiently at all, and becomes a constant reflex as much as reloading, akin to VanQuish. It's a slick FPS. The weapon handling and audio is superb, the visual effects are abundant (gore and gibs abound!), and once you beat the game the first time and take the time to master the harder difficulties, the real fun begins. Though I love FPS games, difficulty and challenge in them has always been a rocky road, as undodgable projectiles don't exactly make for a fair fight, but an exercise in patience and frustration. Trepang2 is no different in this regard, but the superhuman maneuverability and dexterity the player is given mostly makes up for it and offer a challenge more so than most ever have. It's closest relative in this regard is that of Doom Eternal; second of course to the original F.E.A.R of which Trepang is an inspired successor. Definitely one of the most replayable (non-Doom clone) FPS games I've ever enjoyed- indie developers once again picking up the slack where the corporate industry rarely bothers.

A goofy platformer in a sparse, suburban sprawl. It comes across as an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo- difficult to even tell what assets are even bespoke, as a lot of animation and detail is so flat and stock with regards to models and effects. That being said, it's a gag game more than anything, so it's clear where its heart lies in the goofy tone and comic mishap elements like stylistic weapon takedowns, quirky character behaviours, and well... the title. I finished everything around 7 hours and mostly had a good time, but it's utterly marred by wonky mechanics, constant meandering in a world too large for its rodent emissary, and a lack of things to actually do beyond the janky platforming, among other minor affects. The gun mechanics aren't particularly fun either, and the comic novelty of it wears off after the first half hour.

This review will not cover basic aspects that most will no doubt already have done, but more intricate aspects that would otherwise bloat basic overviews and not be mentioned, but need to be. That being said, I cannot go without stating that Prey 2017 is the one of the best games ever made that Bethesda just decided to not f* tell anyone about. Absolutely maddening how brilliant this game was- an (almost) true reversion to the Immersive Sim genre, and not an entirely linear effort more concerned with scripted events than emergent gameplay and player choice. Brilliant though it is however, where it predominantly **** up is not just the story (which is a solid premise that quickly trips over and breaks one of the legs it stands on), or the player/enemy strength and item balancing (a criminally underrated and rarely successful facet of game design) but the replayability. The game has replayability, but potentially so much more where a true immersive sim really counts and goes from an already great game to one of the best. For a completely inexplicable reason, the devs deliberately circumcised the game's non-linearity for no decent reason whatsoever. Neither bugs, nor sequence-breaking, nor overpowered player stats could have possibly excused a lot of subtle game design aspects in which players are denied access to particular areas of the game's world early on, perfectly encapsulated in the Neuromod Division lobby's upper level. Keypads are either broken, or gated off to the highest hack skill, or given randomised codes (per playthrough, as are Safes), severely limiting where players can go earlier on despite there being no rational excuse for doing so- the game is already bloated with powers that trivialise the combat, so it makes no sense, and only bottlenecks how free and open the map can be, and how much variation repeat playthroughs allow. I don't doubt a fan mod on PC could easily fix most of this game's problems in at least a week, if there hasn't been already. The DLC, 'Mooncrash' is also a rarity in itself: An actual big-budget, 3D Action game Roguelite experience, easily on par with the main game itself (though suffering the same balancing and story issues). Just play Prey 2017's demo and find out for yourself, already. Its design mostly maintains the evolved MetroidVania-style elements that made the Immersive Sim the best video game genre outright, and what all 3 BioShock games later failed to mostly preserve.

The best puzzle game ever made, frankly. Masterfully designed around a single principle, a line and a point. The sobering reality of this game's 8-year development as an auteur's passion project (and the subsequent disdain caused by public and media hype leading up to it- not its developer's fault) is that games like this may be even rarer still to come, despite what The Witness wonderfully achieves. Though strangely not credited as an inspiration, its closest relative is that of Myst- but unlike Myst (or its sequels) did, it manages something far more cohesive, clever, intuitive, and rewarding. Whilst it may seem anticlimactic at first for an open world puzzle game, it requires the player discover the secondary mechanic of the world's incredibly intricate design to fully appreciate what the gameplay is secretly doing regularly in front of you. Much like Blow's previous game, 'Braid' (also recommended) was, the game's narrative is entirely introspective and open to interpretation by the audience, not at all forced on the player like so many preach that it does (though it may come across as pretentious where dialogue is offered). There is absolutely no reason nor excuse on God's Green Earth why anyone who likes Puzzle games would not enjoy this, much less be in reverance. We may never get one this good ever again. A monumental achievement.

30 years on this Earth and A Short Hike makes me glad to be a gamer. Overwhelmingly brilliant, and that's not even regarding the development team of what, 1 man and a composer? The theme and charm of Animal Crossing expressed as an Adventure game: -it has the best gliding in any game ever -an excellent LAYERED soundtrack -fantastic storytelling for the level of a basic premise (AAA devs TAKE NOTE) -down-to-earth (often funny) dialogue from a cozy cast of NPCs -lush visuals. A top-down, open world, non-linear Platformer Adventure game- an introspective journey away from city life to find oneself indulging nature amidst looming teenage angst and family turmoil. Claire must explore to earn Golden Feathers and further increase her climbing stamina (and glide time) to ascend a conflicting mountain peak at the heart of the game's richly-spoiled, forest-laden world. Aside from the backend of the map being an unworkable cliff-face, the game is otherwise utterly flawless. One of the best games ever made, easily. The game is around 4 hours long, 6 to 100% completion. As long as it needs to be, and short enough to ingrain itself in your brain for years. Always leave the audience wanting more and never outstay your welcome. A f* Masterpiece of fun.

One of my favourite MetroidVanias ever (out of around 30 played). Completely unlike any you've played; a platformer world designed around Pinball mechanics and power-up-based progression- it's truer to its roots than a lot of MVs are. Better still, unlike most MVs its non-linear nature allows true exploration in a way that makes no playthrough feel entirely the same as the last. Power-ups that allow access to other areas can be gained in almost any order, with a nice handful of NPCs to talk to and perform side quests for, with additional rewards. Whilst the game may sound awkward by nature, it's actually one of the easier and more care-free MVs, and the Pinball aspect much the same is less punishing and unfair than standard affair (though a lot of the table-centric zones are difficult to navigate where necessary). The fast travel system is also fun and novel, though strangely restrictive to particular parts of the game which makes later backtracking a mild nuisance (yep, it's a MV!) even with a standard MV 100% completion time of 10 hours. Solid soundtrack, solid humour, solid charm, solid fun. If you enjoy Pinball in any respect, this game is absolutely unmissable. Hell, If you're a gamer at all, this game is unmissable.

The puzzles having barely evolved from the first game after 8 years (an iterative sequel by design), Talos II is actually a pretty superior sequel, and it's not just Unreal Engine 5 visuals doing the heavy lifting. Whilst I always found the puzzles lackluster in this series, there is no denying the mad genius it still takes to conceive (and indeed solve) the absolutely countless brain-benders it offers. Much like the first game, there is an endless amount of content to absorb and reflect on, so you more than get your money's worth at full price (48 hour completion + your choices influence 3 slightly different endings). Whilst not essential to play Talos I, it is recommended in lieu of the world and its themes. Talos II will be remembered for decades- it certainly will be one of the very best games of its generation; for its well-written, deeply philosophical musings and solidly-executed post-human civilisation centered around puzzle solving in both a literal and metaphysical context. Though not a high bar to clear (and not exactly as dramatic either), this game absolutely trumps what NieR Automata supposedly 'achieved' in the eyes of a smooth-brained gaming public in terms of Android-led storytelling. If you like puzzle games and don't mind a lot of philosophical meandering (maybe it's time to start), just buy it already.

Serious lack of basic QoL necessities on launch (such as marked collectibles on map), but since rectified. A brilliant little open-level adventure that will run you the length of an average MetroidVania at around 10 hours (with 100%). Get ready for this; a (mild) twin-stick shooter-style collectathon that is predominantly based on the design and mechanics of Super Mario Odyssey, but presented in the guise of a provocative, spiritual journey like Flower and...well, Journey. Levels are open, and there are 'stars' to find hidden and earned everywhere, with one of the main elements requiring your ghostly form to possess other creatures to traverse and perform unique actions. The game falls short on the level design however with regards to both dressing and depth- they are far too similar-looking to keep track of where you are (made worse by their size), and movement in this game becomes incredibly tedious the longer it goes on having to dash around constantly to cover previous ground. Not at all pretentious in its symbolism, the game actually presents a wonderfully striking tonal balance between cartoon quirkiness and the melancholic nature of letting one's life go and transcending the afterlife. The world's goofy NPCs give a LOT of life to the premise- unlike most games with NPCs ever seem to do anymore. The story is otherwise a bit anticlimactic and confusing, and the soundtrack does its job amicably though won't leave any melodies for you to ponder on after the experience is over, but I honestly can't recommend Hauntii enough. It has more than enough charm, fun and quirkiness going on that it's easily one of the standout games of the year.

Whilst the revised soundtrack is an inconsistent, overproduced mess (original soundtrack is available), and the 30fps cap butchers a lot of the gameplay feel (visually it's otherwise fine), this is by far the definitive version of the game. One of the best games ever made (still not having aged a day), and the new development team has done well to preserve just about everything this game was, had, and did, with a hell of a lot of little changes and touches that bolster the experience (some of the localisers are woke- negligible to the entire experience, but it has to always be said when they butcher original script). Like any Switch game as well though, you are better off emulating it natively, and modding it back to 60fps. This Redux trumps the original.

A DEMO is available on both PS4 and Switch. A perfect example that gives you the first 5 levels up until the first boss which is all you need to determine whether this game is worth it. As a Rhythm-based Platformer, the soundtrack is at the core of the entire experience, much more so than most video games; so if a hard-hitting mix of predominantly Electro Swing-based beats aren't for you, then neither is this game. The story has a simple, solid premise- albeit marred by a number of holes where it gets more complicated, but otherwise ends as brilliantly as a video game story gets. It's not truly appreciated until the very end, and the pathos behind it all is revealed. One of my favourite games in all my 30 years as a gamer. Executes an easy to learn, difficult to master game loop, with a tonne of charm and 4.5 hour playtime which could have easily been cut down by another hour or two, and honestly, the game would have been even better for it, as there is a fair amount of padding and repeat levels for a story-based game. Criminally unpopular still, and long overdue for a review from a massive fan, now 3 years later. Unmissable experience- PLAY THE DEMO