SaintDantalion

Enotria is a sweet looking soulslike that excels through its fantastic visuals and its cryptic but enjoyable conceptual storyline. It's cons mostly concern its clunky gameplay and the lack of attention for some details. For instance, jumping sends you all the way back to a PS1 platform games feel (not Crash Bandicoot, tho - that was good) and you'll hate it in the platform sections. Parrying is cool, often absolutely necessary, but it's never really explained to you why your naked left arm can block huge weapons, and it feels like they left out an important detail that, fight after fight, makes you wonder why you cant employ your left arm better, or at least hold the weapon with two hands to block (for a better management of similar mechanics, see Mortal Shell). I take some issues with the weapons, too. So many of them have identical movesets, and so many do not add anything to your arsenal except flavour, which is a bit secondary in a world where your character can only be displayed with one mask/skin and one weapon at a time. Also, some weapons are exaggerately better than other ones, and obtaining them requires simply going through the storyline. For instance, I once fell in love with a sword cut out of a piece of marble, only to discover that it was so much worse than my other weapons, that it felt annoying trying to use it .Now, for the pros. I’ll repeat myself and say that Enotria looks effortlessly beautiful most of the time. The masks and the characters are delightful, the areas are mostly bright, intricate and stunning, and a lot of weapons are small pieces of art. The Italian dub was often intense and pleasing, especially for the major characters, and I found it particularly haunting at the end. The music is also always spot on, and it’s wonderful to come across characters who sing or dance pleasantly throughout the game. Towards the endgame, builds also come much more to fruition. If I rampaged through half of the game with my BONK “lifedrain” build, by the end I also had a wonderfully nimble poison build and a gratia (holy) based build which revolved around using the trident **** and its very special, very excessive secondary attack. The lore and the plot have been lovingly crafted, and they are kept inside of ancient, leatherbound books of sorts, of which you gather the pages (actual collectibles on the map) or to which you add information by talking to NPCs. From epic to personal and dramatic, the storyline really comes together as you go on, if only you lend an ear. All in all, Enotria is a wonderful first attempt at the genre, a work of love that shows a lot of promise, and would benefit from a sequel.

An experience unlike any other game, whether you like it or not. I often felt that exploration/movement was underwhelming in most games, and DS makes it its focus brilliantly. I keep going back to the vast, rainy vistas in my mind from time to time, and feel like I left a piece of my heart there.

I played SotC on each possible console. It is a unique experience and easily one of the best games of all times. The 16 colossi are masterclasses in boss design, that keep inspiring modern games. The soundtrack is a masterpiece on its own. The story is deceivingly simple and powerful, and you can't help but feel completely invested in it. The character and world design is astounding, capable of inspiring, calm, awe or dread accordingly. Possibly the game you should play if you were to play only one in your whole life.

Ridiculously underrated as a multiplayer experience. It's slow paced, tactical FPS gameplay is quite unlike anything else, and makes you feel like each step counts. The level design is just enough labyrinthine without exaggerating, and every bleak area is just beautiful and evokes the 40K setting perfectly. I've rarely felt such elation as when I completed difficult missions here with random comrades.

Open world games need to strike a delicate balance between beautiful and purposeful. GW:T mostly manages to do so, with atmospheric areas that are easily traversable. There aren't many secrets, but a variety of sidequests that are more or less connected to the main plot. The fighting gets a bit stale after a while, but it's enjoyable, albeit not as much as the gorgeous vistas with which you're often rewarded. The plot was interesting enough to keep me hooked, and I did feel the stakes towards the end. It certainly left me something as a game and I'd love to play a sequel or prequel.

One of the best soulslikes around, albeit short. The fighting system is original, unusual in the fact that it's almost class based. The cryptic story is intriguing and well built, with secret relationships between characters to be found out as you play and replay through. The music is pleasant, and the character design often gorgeous. Level design is at times messy, but you'd forgive it because of its beauty. It's a game that stands out from the other soulslikes for having its peculiar character and features, and for not being afraid to experiment on the well known formula.

The best mecha game ever made, as well as the tightest built in the AC series. The story, although delivered only via the exceptionally dubbed dialogues, is very intense, nuanced, and immediately warrants a replay in order to get a different ending. The characters are full of personality, and make for the perfect background for the awesome, curated fights. The mech creation is simple but absurdly rewarding, encouraging both tweaking and the creation of multiple builds. The atmosphere is incredible, and the scale of the maps stuns, all the while not hindering the sensation that you're piloting a huge mech. I could not get enough of it.

Astounding metroidvania, with over the top, excellent quality pixel art that includes cut scenes, beautiful dubbing (in Spanish, at least), a bleak, gory story with transcendental vibes, and a tight, rewarding combat system that pairs up well with the platforming mechanics.

Bloodborne is my all time favourite game. It's been ten years now, and I still sometimes fall asleep to Hunter's dream videos on YT. If I could find it a fault, it'd be just that there isn't more of it. Relatively few but well varied weapons, and unusual spell options accompany you through a nightmarish trip across a world that feels like (and might be) partly a dream. Endless speculation awaits you at any crossroad, the zones being infinitely detailed, and plain gorgeous. The soundtrack is pitch perfect, accompanying every boss fight and some of the more recondite areas beautifully. It will forever standout as one of the best and most enjoyable games ever made.

The expansion is even better than the base game - it's unbelievable. Better world exploration, atmosphere, flow of the battle even, and the story stands on par but it's tighter and more rewarding, being intertwined with the gameplay.

15 hours in, BL:F feels like an overlooked gem to me. One should not compare it to some AAA alright, but it's a deep, varied game whose sizeable world feels vast, almost limitless, and interesting. It is as cryptic as it gets, of course, with sparse, confusing dialogue, and beautiful ambient descriptions hidden in the invisible in-world Logs. Fighting is a bit clunky, as you would expect from such a small team, but it's fun, masterable, and has plenty, and I mean plenty, of options. You can be an effective archer, technomancer, tank, dual wielder, sword and shield user or a mix, with two active and up to four passive that will further influence your playstyle (such as my fav, Illusion, that gives you a chance to spawn a clone when attacking). Weapons and armors can be infused with gem (a bit like MATERIAs from FFVII), and special weapons have further passive abilities as well as active skills. The game setting is just peak. I often walk to my destination in order to enjoy my travels, as enemies are concentrated in certain areas, and indeed there is possibility for very rewarding sessions of exploration, as you piece together the labyrinthine but ultimately understandable game maps - a feeling not unlike Elden Ring, which is something difficult to achieve. A sense of horror and dread, only sometimes hindered by the clunkiness, descends upon you in some areas, and will give you the chill, also thanks to the haptic feedback given by the presence of enemies close to you, even when you don't see them. All in all, if you're starting to play this, just don't give up. It gets better and better and leaves you wanting for more. Mention of honour, the world cosmetics for excellence: post-processes. While exploring, you can find these items on the map, in the most hidden locations, and they will give your visuals a filter: there is black and white, cel-shading. crisp, monitor, pixel art (damn fantastic), SEGA, and many more. Some of them can even be of help in the dark areas. It's a lovely addition.