Much like the original Last of Us, The Last of Us Part 2 is a technical feat at the end of a console generation. What Part II sacrifices in narrative polish it makes up for through narrative experimentation. Many of the originals systems have been expanded upon and most additions are beneficial or harmless. The worst element of this game is by far the addition of shamblers, these enemies are poorly designed with no meaningful strategy presented by the game to deal with them. Overall I would highly recommend The Last of Us: Part II.
The Last of Us: Left Behind is a decent expansion to the original Last of Us. The most notable addition of this expansion is infighting between infected and human combatants. The narrative of this expansion is okay but lacks any interesting developments feeling more like fluff. I would recommend The Last of Us: Left Behind if you enjoyed the original Last of Us.
The Last of Us is a fantastic game and a technical feat for the PS3. Although The Last of Us follows deceptively generic narrative it executes this narrative perfectly with a masterful understanding of pacing. I would highly recommend The Last of Us.
[POST VOID] is a fantastic yet ultimately too short FPS experience. I would highly recommend [POST VOID] yet it will definitely leave you wanting more.
Hey! Pikmin was always a doomed project even conceptually. I have a lot of respect for what these developers were attempting to accomplish but it never really came together. I would not recommend Hey! Pikmin.
Don't Starve Together was smart to use Reign of Giants as a base instead of base singleplayer Don't Starve. I would highly recommend Don't Starve Together.
Don't Stave: Hamlet is the tipping point where Don't Starve begins to feel too mechanically bloated for its own good. I would only recommend Don't Stave Hamlet if you are desperate for more Don't Starve.
Don't Starve: Shipwrecked is undeniably fun but it borrows all of its strengths from Don't Starves core gameplay and adds little to the formula. I would recommend Don't Stave: Shipwrecked
Don't Starve: Reign of Giants is a fantastic expansion that meaningfully adds onto the original. This is expansion is so strong that it had become the gold standard of Don't Starve gameplay. I would highly recommend Don't Stave: Reign of Giants.
Jak X: Combat Racing is okay. It abandons the strengths of the Jak and Daxter franchise and instead focuses on racing an element that has been notoriously weak in previous titles. I would not recommend Jak X: Combat Racing
Jak 3 is a competent sequel to Jak II. Unlike Jak II, Jak 3 does little to shake up the established formula and instead feels like oversized expansion. Jak 3 narratively is also an all time low for the series frequently undercutting itself and getting lost in plot thread after plot thread. If you have played Jak and Daxter and Jak II I would recommend Jak 3, however Jak 3 really does not stand on its own.
Jak II is a PlayStation 2 classic that holds up remarkably well but is likely balanced too difficult for modern audiences. Jak II is a rare sequel in how much it fully transforms the identity of its precursor while maintaining the core foundation that made the original work. Many of my gripes with the original still exist here but at-least the over-sexualized character designs are no longer literal children. Overall I highly recommend Jak II.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a PlayStation 2 classic that holds up remarkably well. The controls of Jak and incredibly smooth and easy to use combined with excellent level design and gorgeous environments to explore and you have a work that borders on masterpiece. My biggest criticism is with many of the female character design feeling over sexualized particularly when it comes to Keira who is only 14 during the events of this game. Overall I would highly recommend Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
A confusing mess of a Half Life game but my god is it an interesting mess. Honestly I would recommend checking this out if you have a morbid curiosity.
Super Meat Boy is good at what it does but what it does isn't super interesting. Aesthetically Super Meat Boy could have been pushed a lot further. I wouldn't really recommend Super Meat Boy.
Don't Starve's greatest strengths are its greatest weaknesses. One of the most fun games I have ever played. One of the most frustrating games I have ever played. One of the most flawed games I have ever played. I would highly recommend Don't Starve.
Fallout 3 is okay, the series hasn't been totally flandarized by this point but you can totally feel that it is on its way. I would not recommend Fallout 3.
Skyrim is okay, it does a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. I do not feel strongly about Skyrim. I'm not the guy to ask about a recommendation of Skyrim.
Monster Hunter: World is by far the most polished and approachable entry in the Monster Hunter franchise. We can only hope the series stays this course. I would highly recommend Monster Hunter: World.
PIKMIN is easily my all time favourite game. However I acknowledge that Pikmin is not perfect and suffers from being hard to describe from a genre perspective. I would Highly Recommend PIKMIN to anyone.
PIKMIN 2 had the making to be the ultimate sequel to PIKMIN but feels bloated and perhaps could have been better with less content and greater focus on polish. I would highly recommend Pikmin 2.
The original DOOM is a land mark in gaming that is still shockingly fun. All rough edges can be forgiven when taking into account the cultural legacy of this game. I would highly recommend DOOM to anyone.
Left 4 Dead 2 is one of those games I don't think could be polished much further but at the same times feels a long way from perfect. Its one of those rare sequels that is a sort of "Super" version of its precursor that manages to not feel bloated. I would highly recommend Left 4 Dead 2.
Bloodborne is a thing of beauty. By all accounts a game this unapologetically strange and defiantly creative should not exist and perhaps will never exist again. Bloodborne is one of the greatest game's I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
Demon's Soul's (2020) works its absolute hardest to improve and polish the rough edges of the original. Although Demon's Soul's (2020) is sometimes misguided in its changes (particularly when tampering with the art direct of enemies/armour) it does far for good than harm. This complete remake would easily push Demon's Souls to a 10 if it was not for the fatal flaw of lacking an ability to manage your characters without deleting all of them. This is such a strange oversight for a well established and Triple A studio. I would highly recommend either iteration of Demon's Souls.
Although Demon's Soul's is plagued by unpolished design it completely makes up for this through raw ambition and execution. Demon's Soul's laid is one of those games that not only defines a genre but generates it outright. With a bizarre and haunting soundtrack and thick and oppressive atmosphere Demon's Souls' is truly a thing to behold. I would highly recommend Demon's Souls.
Portal 2 is a beautiful realization of the potential of Portal. Unstoppably clever and oozing with character there isn't a moment of Portal 2 that isn't an absolute joy to play. Countless levels of excellent level design, narrative and humour and including a fully fleshed out Co-Op Campaign and it is impossible to consider this game anything less than perfection. I'd recommend Portal 2 to anyone.
Portal is a fun experiment by Valve with interesting implications to the greater Half life Universe. Portal never really escapes the feeling of being an overgrown tech demo even at its most creative or sinister. I'd recommend Portal to anyone who is a fan of Valve's other work or is intrigued by the premise.
Half Life 2 is an absolute wonder to experience. Although the second half begins to drag the plethora of fantastic level design and gameplay concepts more than makes up for it. Half Life 2 is without doubt on of the greatest games ever created.
More of a themed level pack than proper expansion Half Life: Blue Shift is an unremarkable story a security guard escaping Black Mesa. I recommend this only if you are desperate for more Half Life.
Half Life: Opposing Force is a serviceable expansion to the original Half Life. Playing as a member of the antagonistic H.E.C.U. this Opposing Force makes the baffling decision to skip the most interesting moral conflict of the H.E.C.U. specifically the moment they learned they were not here to rescue the survivors or the resonance cascade and were tasked instead with killing all survivors. Instead Opposing Force focuses on a strange and debatably canon invasion of unremarkable aliens. I recommend Opposing Force if you are looking for more Half Life.
Half Life is one of those few games that came along and pushed the entire medium forward. However the most mind bending part is that this title would not be the last time this franchise revolutionized gaming. Half life is on the of the greatest games I have ever had the pleasure to play.
Hylics 2 is a weak JRPG that fails to build on the strength of its precursor. Hylics 2 is significantly more complex than Hylics but virtually none of this added complexity improves upon the original. Hylics 2 does not understand what it is and stretches itself too thin attempting to branch into JRPG combat, isometric and 2d platforming and first person "Grimrock style" exploration. Hylics 2 does none of these gameplay styles well and should have focused on really polishing the foundation the original Hylics Set. Hylics 2 features improved art and narrative but an overall weaker soundtrack. I am unable to recommend Hylics 2 even to those allured by its art style.
Darkest Dungeon: The Crimson Court consistently fails to meaningfully expand upon what made Darkest Dungeon great. This expansion is designed to be played with a new save file and attempting to integrate this content into a late game save will make an already weak expansion excruciating. If you want more Darkest Dungeon you will find it here but you will also find an unnecessarily high amount of things you did not want or ask for. I would avoid this DLC unless you know what you are getting into.
Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness greatly overestimates how enjoyable Darkest Dungeon's combat loop is. The Color of Madness is a decent expansion to Darkest Dungeon that unfortunately sits as the peak of Darkest Dungeon DLC.
