Soleil83

This game is held back by a few keys problems: Primarily, the on-the-road nature of it keeps you from getting to know the characters like you can in other games in the series. Second, the very relevant political message is delivered in a heavy handed way that doesn’t trust the audience. Third, the pacing is awful. It’s an 8 hour game stretched to 16-20, and the first two episodes are utterly devoid of anything to do. Finally, the plot is massively contrived. Everything that happens, every action taken by the characters, happens only to take the story where it needs to go and nothing makes sense in any other context. The characters are decently written until the writers need something bad to happen, then they become idiots as needed. The game had potential, but it has to many issues to recommend.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I like DontNod, but this game is too far outside of their wheelhouse and it’s a huge miss. Outdated game mechanics (like climbing on yellow ledges endlessly) aren’t even executed well. You’ll die constantly to glitches like falling through the floor, or simply not knowing what the game wants you to do. It would all be worth it for a good story, but alas there isn’t one here. Skip this one? Even if you’re a Dontnod fan,

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

One of the most unremittingly, aggressively boring games I’ve ever played. I loved Until Dawn, but this just doesn’t work. Characters are flat and uninteresting. Story is predictable and anti climactic. It doesn’t even try to be scary, even in a fun, campy way. Bigger name actors are clearly phoning it in and collecting a paycheck. The camera zooms way in on characters faces beyond all reason. The QTEs are completely impossible to fail. It’s an 8 hour game and absolutely nothing happens for several hours. Just no appeal.

A game with great atmosphere and a great story ruined by the fact that it feels absolutely awful to play. Combat is a major focus, but the combat is horrendous. By horrendous, I mean as bad as anything I’ve encountered in at least a decade. The early parts of the game are more story focused, but the later parts are non stop combat against multiple enemies and it’s just a slog.

If Kojima is the Andy Warhol of gaming, Death Stranding is his “Empire”. The core gameplay closely resembles the most mundane filler side quests of most open world games. There are only two enemy types and neither are fun to fight or avoid. The story is the same bizarre, overwrought, on the nose drivel you expect from Kojima, but taken up to 11. The game takes place in North America but the land more closely resembles Iceland. The enemies can be seen if you have an unborn fetus strapped to you. They can be defeated using grenades made from your excrement. The game is mostly walking across expanses with rocks in the way to trip you, but holding the trigger buttons makes you incapable of falling. I like games that set out to be different, but this is just a mess. If it’s weird and different, it must be art, right?

I loved the combat system of the original Nioh, but was frustrated by the overly punishing gameplay, convoluted rpg elements, bloated inventory system, and repetitive enemies and levels. I saw a game with potential that had too much holding it back. My hope was that the sequel would address these issues and bring the series closer to what it could be. In reality, it’s the exact same game. It looks the same, plays the same and has the same problems. It feels more like a long dlc than a sequel. There are new weapons and a few new mechanics (as if we needed more depth to an already overly deep combat system), but you could otherwise mix in Nioh 2 levels with Nioh levels and it would be impossible to tell which are which. People love these games, and I wish I understood why. To me they are repetitive, joyless slogs with a few well done elements that aren’t enough to redeem the whole. Not terrible, but there are too many games that do action rpg much better to make this worth your time.

Bloodborne is the best game From Software has made, and they made Dark Souls. The tight combat, incredible Lovecraft-inspired lore and fantastic atmosphere really make it stand out. The weapons are incredibly unique and parrying with a gun is a novel mechanic. On the negative side, the optional chalice dungeons are boring and pointless, and the early game is obnoxiously difficult, which may turn away gamers who would really enjoy the game if they stuck with it. Overall it’s a great experience that I would recommend to anyone.

Good combat system for the most part, but a bit convoluted. Boss battles are tedious wars of attrition where you attempt to hit them 12,000 times while they kill you in 1-2 hits. It’s repetitive and frustrating. Not overly difficult, it’s just that the deaths feel cheap. The game is overly long and repetitive and feels like something you endure rather than enjoy. It copies element from better games without realizing what makes those games great.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]