doodlerman

It took longer for this to click than most Soulslikes. Your character's movement speed drops exponentially when blocking, which was initially annoying but I eventually came to accept it as an additional layer to the challenge. I still don't like it, but it's whatever. The thing I hate is the fact dodge rolls have a start-up animation during which you're completely vulnerable. I've read that it's about 4 frames long, but that's enough to be a cumbersome issue. Rather than dodge in tandem with when the enemy's attack will land, you have to anticipate the attack's start-up and time your dodges accordingly. Even when you get used to it, it's still annoying to deal with. There's also an annoyingly long animation for backstabbing, which is unskippable, but you can turn it off in the options menu— so no biggie. Level layouts aren't too complicated, but the sameyness of the copy-pasted environmental assets can make navigation confusing. Throughout the game, you're required to find things hidden in these levels in order to progress, but they're not very exciting areas to explore. Furthermore, you get an exploration percentage for each area, which you would assume tells you how much of a map you've explored, but really just indicates how much of the map you've charted via these flowery checkpoints and markers. So you can have a map that's 100% charted, but still not have found everything necessary to progress. I couldn't care less about the story. I tried— I really did— to sit down and watch the cutscenes, but they're so damn overwrought with convoluted anime-isms and simple concepts presented as profundities that I just couldn't. I skipped them and honestly didn't feel like I missed out. What's worse are the "memories," which are essentially walking simulators where you get to witness dioramas of various characters' pasts. Fortunately, these are skippable, too. Even if they had riveting stories, being forced to move at 10% of your regular movement speed never feels good. But, let's talk about the good: The game's character customization is top-notch. The sheer variety of options and styles is really cool, plus you can change your character's look whenever you want. You can even change your character's height. I don't know if that affects gameplay in any way, but the option to do it is really neat. There are lots of different combat styles, abilities, and special attacks to choose from. It's initially overwhelming, but once you play around and find which style works best for you, it's a lot of fun. You can choose from a variety of NPC companions to join you— I typically went with Mia since she has a powerful gun that can one-shot some monsters— and they make the more challenging bosses easier to deal with.

Super simple yet super addicting. It’s not visually impressive at all or even that exciting, even when you get overrun by hundreds of pseudo-animated sprites, but it’s the perfect kind of game to just mindlessly unwind with.

Narratively, it didn't win me over until the end. Other than this installment, I've only played the first game in the series. As such, the story was very confusing. Still, near the end, when a certain character is reintroduced, the story won me over and its conclusion actually moved me. Early on, the scenes are so chaotic and disorienting, that I found them hard to sit through, but once Dante is involved, the story becomes somewhat more investing. He's the cocky bastard I'm familiar with and it's a breath of fresh air when his glorious smugness hits the screen. Nero was fine, but V was cringey. I kinda get that's the point, but even playing as V was tedious. The biggest shortcoming of its narrative structure, which leaps forward and backward in time, is that it was hard to judge how far into the game I actually was. There were many moments earlier in the game where I thought it was already nearing its end and, at the literal end of the game, I thought there was still a final act waiting. All the pieces for an outrageous climax were set, but then the credits rolled. It's a surprisingly wholesome ending, but it feels somewhat incomplete. As far as gameplay is concerned, I think it's good but there are lots of shortcomings that I have gripes with. Firstly, the good; the character variety is cool— it keeps the combat from becoming too repetitive. I hated playing as V, but I appreciate the effort that went into creating and balancing him. Regardless, whenever there was the option I'd always choose Dante, then Nero if Dante wasn't available. My biggest issue was with dodging. It's really annoying that you have to hold RB/R1 and then press A/X to dodge. Even when you think you're doing it, sometimes your character will end up jumping instead because you're not moving the toggle-stick in the correct direction. Another reason I preferred playing as Dante is because one of his Styles allows you to dash around freely with the push of a single button, instead of multiple. The next biggest shortcoming was the abundance of cutscenes interrupting the flow of gameplay. Then there are also the frequent load screens, but the game's beautiful graphics are worth it. The only time the load screens were cumbersome was whenever I wanted to go to the Customization Shop. I get the enticement of seeing Nico lounging about, but I honestly would have preferred a simple menu screen so I could get back to the game faster.

Once it clicks, Mortal Shell has some of the best combat and atmosphere of the best 3D soulslikes out there. The hardening mechanic is awesome. Unfortunately, the level design, while appropriate for the atmosphere, is confusing as hell. I was two-thirds through the game before I ever found the game's hub, from which you learn of what your quest is supposed to be. I found the weird lady, "Sester" something, and she acted like she already knew me, so I just assumed the game was taking Dark Souls' under-the-surface method of storytelling to a new level, but nope. When I found Fallgrim Tower two-thirds in, the game acted as though we never met and I then learned why I had been ripping organs from two of the three big bosses: to help some giant naked bird 'ascend.' Very vague, but whatever. Also at Fallgrim Tower is a tool that allows you to parry; a tool, which in other words, makes the game a joke. Up until then, I was sort of digging Mortal Shell's seemingly meticulous combat style, but once I finally found the parrying skill, the game became almost too easy. One of Mortal Shell's more unique aspects is its approach to consumable items. Essentially, you have no idea what each item does until you actually use it. The more you use items, the more 'familiar' you get with them, and when you max out your familiarity the items gain new abilities. The most notable of which is making mushrooms that initially poison you into making you immune to poison. It's a neat mechanic, but it can be nerve-wracking, especially when you find a rare consumable and you have no clue when you should use it. While I ultimately enjoyed Mortal Shell, there were a few annoying glitches. At one point, for some reason, my character just stopped being able to dodge-roll. I fixed this by quitting the game and restarting it, so it wasn't a huge deal. For some reason when I was battling the final boss, the screen started flickering like wild if I looked in a certain direction. Fortunately, this stopped after dying, but it was really annoying.

With all the customization available to players, you'd think there'd be an option to use the original soundtrack. Above anything else (including the enemy redesigns), that is my biggest gripe. The new compositions lack the charm of the original tracks. The Prison of Hope's new atmospheric soundscape isn't as haunting as it once was either, but I dig the soundscapes of the other areas. The enemy redesigns are hit and miss. Some of them aren't very noticeable (like the dragons, dreglings, blue/red eye knights, the Penetrator, etc), but others are downright outrageous (the iconic Fat Officials, in particular). But, beneath all the fresh paint, it's still Demon's Souls. And Demon's Souls is great. Is it $70 great? Not really. It's a game that's over a decade old and there aren't many additional bells and whistles added to the remake's gameplay, other than a few quality-of-life improvements. In some respects, it's faithful to a fault but somehow different enough to throw you off your muscle memory from the original. Despite all these conflicting feelings, I still think the Demon's Souls remake is great. I also think the original should be re-released so that this doesn't erase it.

A perfectly solid Metroidvania souls-like with some of the best pixel-art you'll find in a game. It's challenging but never really daunting, so you'll likely never feel overcome with frustration. There are a few late-game glitches that were kind of cumbersome, though (like this one where if you call an elevator on a specific platform, you'll fall through to the floor below). Like Dark Souls, the story is vague. Unlike Dark Souls, the way everyone talks is so dense and indecipherable it's almost comedic. It's essentially a word where Medieval Christian guilt is presented literally— or at least that's how I saw it. I never did any digging into the lore but enjoyed it all the same, even if I couldn't really understand much of what was going on.

In terms of story and character, Skyward Sword is one of the best. When it originally came out 10 years ago, I was blown away. The motion controls were immersive, the puzzles were challenging, and I thought the painted style was beautiful (and I loved how the further you were from things the more they appeared like broader daubs of paint). Granted, this was how I felt with my first playthrough. When I returned for the next playthrough, I found myself irked by so much of it. I went into Skyward Sword HD with high hopes, but even with all the quality of life changes, I found myself super irked by all of the little things that annoyed me before. Fi doesn't butt in as much as she used to, but she still butts in a lot. You can skip story cutscenes on your first playthrough now, but there's still a lot of really annoying, unskippable in-game cutscenes. Then there's The Imprisoned— arguably the worst boss in the series, and you have to fight it three times (upwards of six or more times if you want the Hylian Shield). The unskippable 'cutscenes' during the fight with The Imprisoned (and after you defeat it) are egregious. For some reason, in HD, the characters all have these sort of glassy eyes that make them look like they're really, really high. You get used to it after a while, but in the beginning it was driving me nuts. I don't remember the characters looking so high in the original release, but some friends of mine said they did, so I dunno. Another weird aspect, which I suppose makes sense with greater draw distances in HD, is that faraway aspects of the map no longer look like those appealing big daubs of paint. Instead, they retain their HD look and get smaller with distance. I played this entirely in handheld mode, and it took some getting used to. The non-motion control experience is nowhere near as immersive, but that's what I had to stick with. I might go back to trying the motion controls, but I'm just sort of lazy in setting it up, and, having just beaten it, I'm kinda Skyward Sworded out. I guess that's where other Zelda games shine. I can always go back to Breath of the Wild, or Ocarina of TIme, or, especially, Majora's Mask. In fact, with very few exceptions, I can dive back into just about any Zelda game after beating it. As for Skyward Sword, it's a game you take a break from. Maybe in a few years, I'll be in the mood to give it another go, but it just doesn't hold that much replayability for me. Still solid, though, I guess.

More challenging than the first, but not all in good ways. You're managing stamina bars, emotional baggage, in addition to the challenges of the previous game. It requires more focus with each move, so if you're looking to zone out, it might not be the game for you. Some dates can end with one wrong move. I feel the art has improved, but a good deal of the new characters have unappealing designs and annoying personalities. The game knows this and probably thinks that their version of annoying is funny, but it really isn't. Maybe the joke's on us? I dunno. I certainly wasn't laughing. I'd wait for a sale if you're interested in trying this.

On one hand, I love how expansive this game is. As far as Resident Evil games go, Village is one of the longer ones. There's also so much variety throughout, it's as if they used everything in the idea bucket. On the other hand, they ALSO use all the bad ideas in the idea bucket, and a lot of the more uninteresting ideas are thrown in around the latter half, so the end left me feeling exhausted by it. The story is pretty stupid, but that's the point. They go all in, holding back just enough to maintain that creepy atmosphere throughout, all while being self-aware (much like RE4). It's more action-oriented than RE7, but devotes enough energy to tension and horror that it actually manages to be scary when it wants to be. The big dollhouse "surprise" is undoubtedly one of the most horrifying things I've ever encountered in a video game. RE8 borrows a lot from other games, especially RE4, but doesn't compromise its own identity in the process. I prefer its predecessors, but I may grow to appreciate Village more in time and with subsequent playthroughs.

I love me some Soulslikes, and for the most part, I really dug this game. However, there are like 3 bosses that were so ridiculously fast and overpowered, I found myself taking multiple months-long breaks before beating it. Now, this is in large part because of my refusal to go through all of the intricacies of menus, items, and skills that you have in your arsenal. I beat the majority of the game solely with combat and struggled despite having strong weapons, armor, and levels. The three tough bosses (Hino-Enma, Yuki-Onna, and Shima Sakon) seemed to go against everything the game teaches the player about combat - though, later, when I actually learned about talismans, like the Sloth talismans, later game bosses that initially gave me similar levels of frustration became jokes. I guess it's on me for not taking the time to read through all the explanations and navigate the dense menu branches, but I'd rather games teach me as I play rather than stop everything to spell it out for me.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Revisiting Super Mario 64 was tough because, while the controls are still tight, the camera has aged horribly. As a kid, it never bothered me - in fact, I was better at this game then than I am now. As an adult, I've grown to take the fluid R-toggle camera controls of modern games for granted - or even the Z/L-button camera focus of Zelda games that came out just years after Super Mario 64. To say Super Mario 64 was revolutionary is an understatement. Not only is it an ambitious game, but it's also surprisingly polished. Each stage has a unique theme that separates it from the rest. I think Yatzee Croshaw once described N64 graphics as beach toys inflated with farts (or something like that), which is an apt yet scientifically inaccurate description of how Super Mario 64 looks. It's only really visually appealing to those with a nostalgia for it or who appreciate video game history. If some kid accustomed to modern games saw this, they'd crap all over it. And while my nostalgia demands I defend Super Mario 64's honor by kicking some teeth in, my logical side is inclined to agree with those snot-nosed brats even if I don't want to.

I can't imagine paying full price for this. Fortunately, I waited until it was $20. It lacks that grounded atmosphere of Resident Evil 2 REmake. It's also very linear and a good deal of the enemy encounters are scripted, which is not only a step back from the previous game's encounters with Mr. X but also from its consistent enemy placement. In RE2 REmake, if a room has two zombies in it and another has a five, you make a mental note and constantly strategize the safest path to progress. In RE3 REmake, you either zip by zombie encounters with an explosive barrel or finicky dodging, or you may find yourself passing through a room of zombies and when you return, it's empty. RE2 REmake's moment-to-moment combat just feels better to play. RE3 REmake is also absurdly short. I was able to beat it in less than 5 hours on standard difficulty and even quicker on hardcore mode. There are no other game modes included - however, there is a separate free online game, Resident Evil: Resistance, but that's a whole other 20+GB download (and, technically, a separate game).

I guess it's neat that this game is aware of its own shortcomings. The survival horror nature of the game is fun enough and it's got this dark, poorly translated sense of humor that's kind of charming as well. Such said that doesn't forgive the fetishistic nature of this game's violence towards minors, nor its completionist insistence you witness every gruesome death. It would be one thing if it were all limited to pixel animations, but we get these roughly drawn, voyeuristic drawings that get tossed into a gallery, like something out of a lewd visual novel. So really there are two sides to this game; a survival horror black comedy, and a weird pervy torture fantasy. I preferred the survival horror side and detested the latter.

Firstly, it's beautiful. The sheer amount of detail in the animation of the monsters that pursue you is a horrifying wonder to behold. The set pieces and mysterious, visual storytelling are all great, too. I love the perspective we get as well, but that comes with issues in conjunction with the controls. I ran off a few insta-death ledges by accident simply because I couldn't accurately gage where my character was based on the camera angle. Simple 'run left' bridges are an unnecessary hazard because of this. Meanwhile, other areas where you sneak above monsters in the rafters didn't bother me at all. Not falling is the challenge. Load times were also annoying, though this is likely just an issue on the Switch. I don't really care too much about the controls in conjunction with the camera in the long run. Everything else in the game is so wonderfully refined, it's impossible to think of much else to criticize in what you get. The only issue that really, really, REALLY irked me was the length of the game. If you look up online how long it takes to complete the main story of Little Nightmares, you'll likely see sources claim that it takes a minimum of 6 hours. Either this is a lie, or I'm better at the game than average players. But, I don't think this is the case. I beat Little Nightmares in less than 3 hours, and when I realized the game was winding to a close, I was left feeling underwhelming disappointment. It's so great and refined, but it ends right at what you'd think could generously be the three-fourths point. The complete DLC offers a little more playtime (and more of a challenge), but it's a far less refined experience. Still— I completely recommend this game if you can find it on sale. What we get is incredible, even if there's not much of it.

Hollow Knight is the gift that keeps on giving. I beat it at nearly 56 hours in my save file and I've only completed 79% of the game - and I'm not sure if that includes DLC. This is a $15 game. What's more, is its been 55+ hours of top quality game design that's challenging in all the best ways, and there's still so much more to uncover. It offers more bang for your buck than most AAA games; and is just flat out better than most AAA games. I'm genuinely looking forward to diving back in to uncover the rest of the game's secrets.

I think this game is normally about $15, so when I saw it on sale for 99¢ I couldn't resist the temptation of purchasing it for such a deal. I don't typically go for visual novels, but this one has a match-3 puzzle mini-game thrown in every once in a while and I do enjoy those. Unfortunately you have to slog through hours of excruciatingly bad writing between each mini-game. As far as match-3 games go, it's an original take but it takes some getting used to. What's worse, if you fail the mini-game you have to go all the way back to your last manual save (or start over if you haven't saved). Fortunately you can just fast forward through the game to each mini-game and answer branch, but you'll miss key information to actually finishing the damn thing. There are a series of endings, but the game insists you get the one it wants you to get and sends you straight back to the beginning. It's kind of interesting the first time, but then it happens again and again and again. It's just trial and error, the only reward being additional snippets of story before being sent right back to the beginning. Around the 5th or 6th time I decided I was done. I wasn't invested and I wasn't having fun.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Firstly, as a console player, I'm extremely forgiving of framerate drops. In fact, I hardly notice them. I'm like a naive child running about the Garden of Eden staying away from that apple of knowledge that is PC gaming. Hell, I didn't even notice the framerate issues of Dark Souls' Blighttown until I found multiple forums complaining about it. Furthermore, I don't know if the issue is simply with the PS4 port or if this is the case with all versions of this game, but PUBG's framerate issues are very noticeable. It's also not very pleasing to look at. Everything is the same color as the scenery, including the player characters. It's a wonder anybody finds each other. The maps are massive with these copy-pasted houses littered here and there filled with items that are hard to distinguish from the random piles of trash.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I actually enjoyed my time with this game, but the budgetary restrictions really show. It's not the worst Soulslike out there, but it's certainly not worth its full price. I bought it for about five bucks and feel no buyer's remorse. The concept of sacrificing your abilities - essentially weakening yourself before each boss fight - is really cool. However, the execution isn't as strong as the idea. There's a lot of glitches, the controls aren't always receptive, and it crashed on me right as I was about to beat a particularly challenging boss. Despite not being constantly online - like Dark Souls or Bloodborne - you cannot pause this game; this was dumb. The story is loose, but basically, the world is destroyed by the seven deadly sins, and you have to slay them all to presumably save everything. There's no weight to it, and there are these annoying, unskippable 'ink tone' cutscenes that play when you first fight each boss, and in the end, there's a twist to your character that falls flat simply because of how loose the story is. I doubt I'll return to it anytime soon.

This sequel falls short in pretty much every regard. The first game was an immersive survival experience, while this is more of a haunted house walking simulator with puzzles and a few stealth scenarios. Even if you're spotted by an enemy, they're slow, unintimidating, and forget about you almost immediately. There's also no resource management, which tosses another element of terror out the window: your lantern can never die, you can't go insane, there are no healing items or tinderboxes. It feels underdeveloped, too. You can hardly interact with anything, aside from chairs, doors, and key items. Also, the font on notes is difficult to read. In terms of pacing, this game is already over by the time a game like The Dark Descent really gets started. I bet most people who play this have the whole 'twist' figured out before they even enter the factory. It's just disappointing. Glad I got it for free.

Easier than the main game (the enemies are blind), but it's more of the same solid experience that The Dark Descent was.

Great story, top-notch atmosphere, harrowing immersion, and consistently pretty scary. It's a tight experience that also feels epic in scale despite its closed quarters. I love most of the puzzles, but some of the more physics-based ones are a slog. Early on you have to stack and climb boxes to leave a room, for instance. There's also the issue of key points of progression or interactivity being hard to spot - like a window you have to break or a pipe opening you have to obtain oil from hidden in the shadows of a room filled with pipes pouring water. The endings are also kind of underwhelming, but the journey and the sense of accomplishment getting there are incredible.

I had heard this game is absolutely unfair in its difficulty, but I found that evasion wasn't the problem. The real challenge in Outlast 2 is finding out where the hell to go. There are some tight areas, fortunately, where progression is pretty clear, but there are many open spaces where I found myself circling the perimeter or zig-zagging the area looking for the next place I was supposed to go. Sometimes the game loads you in facing the wrong direction. At a key moment towards the end, I was loaded in facing my pursuers who killed me immediately. The game then respawned me in the right direction. Unlike the first Outlast, I never found Outlast 2 to be that scary. It had some pretty messed up aspects, but its attempts to disturb mostly felt forced. Things are unrelentingly f'ed up so early on that each new addition to the f'ed up department feels like a desperate attempt to one-up itself. Also, if you're ever pursued, reaching a checkpoint immediately makes the enemies forget you're there and practically disappear (unless it's a scripted conflict). Also, the consequence of dying is fairly light. You don't lose any progress and you're completely healed (your camera's batteries may also be replenished, but I don't remember this for sure). I liked the atmosphere and look. It kind of reminded me of RE4 and RE7 with a few of the more hellish set pieces of Bloodborne. I think it would've benefited from some form of self-defense - especially considering the sheer amount of enemies there are (especially in comparison to the first game). That doesn't necessarily mean you should be able to kill your enemies, but it would be nice to at least incapacitate them briefly to get out of the stickier situations so that you can get a lay of the land to find your next destination. As far as the story goes, it was easier to piece together than the first game, but leaves a lot more questions asked than answered. The notes may explain everything, but their presentation is kind of cumbersome, so I rarely read them.

I wonder if this had been my first exposure to From Soft's genre defining Souls-likes before Dark Souls if I would have been as attached to Demon's Souls as I am. On one side, it's possibly the most unforgiving and vague of Miyazaki's games, but on the other - having experienced Dark Souls first - it's pretty easy, at least as far as Soulsborne games go. It's certainly rough around the edges, but it more than makes up for it with its challenging gameplay, dense worlds, and thick atmosphere. The MIDI-based soundtrack is so full of character - may just be my favorite of any From Software game, even if it's kind of goofy sometimes. I sincerely hope BluePoint's remake features an option to have the original soundtrack. The Nexus a wonder to explore - and that's just the hub world... though finding the Monumental took forever my first go around. There are some key aspects to the gameplay which aren't explained very well - World Tendency being one of the big ones - but it never hindered my experience. Ladder climbing speed was a bit annoying - especially in the Shrine of Storms world. I was also annoyed by the fact that, depending on where your character is positioned in the world, dying or loading out of the game sometimes sent me an entire checkpoint behind my most recent checkpoint upon reloading. This meant I would have to warp to the Nexus and then warp back to the proper checkpoint. Hopefully the remake addresses this - and includes the ability to warp between checkpoints instead of having to go back to the Nexus first. Apparently PVP was a nightmare, as well, but I never had the chance to experience it. I did get to dabble briefly with co-op, though, and had no issues there. Despite it's flaws, it's a masterpiece that I highly recommend everyone at least try. Looking forward to the PS5 remake.

A mediocre game with great moments. I'm not sure if my issues are exclusive to the PS4 or the downloadable version or what, but the frame rate stutters constantly. I think part of the reason I kept with it is because of how strange it is. There's a sort of misunderstanding of America - on a far more subtle level than a game like Deadly Premonition, but it's there. There's a moment very early in the game where Detective Shelby passes a tight-lipped guy 5 bucks for information. Maybe he just really likes happy meals. There's also a dream sequence that bugged the crap out of me. I won't go into spoilery details, but I will say that the dream is never elaborated on and ultimately feels like a fetishistic fantasy more than anything else. If you're into that, all the more to you, I guess. The controls are wonky. I honestly wouldn't have minded if the game were simply a movie with QT button commands throughout, but there are so many segments where you have to walk by holding R2 and change direction with the R-stick. Not sure why this was the case, but I sure spun around a lot. I eventually got used to it, but I still didn't care for it. The story, at its base, is good. The meat on the bones is a little crazy and often stupid, but there are some delightfully gut-wrenching bits too. It's a bit of a slog getting to the parts where things pick up, but all-in-all it was a middle-of-the-road meh leaning towards OK.

After thoroughly enjoying the Resident Evil Remke, I was eager to play this - and was very disappointed. I had heard how this prequel wasn't really that good but was at least a decent experience. It's not. Resident Evil 0 forgoes atmosphere and tact for streamlined locations that feel all too linear and an onslaught of aesthetically uninspired enemies that aren't balanced for how the controls work. Juggling items between the two characters is a hassle, and the lack of item boxes is especially cumbersome. The story is the greatest offender - a cheesy revenge plot that has almost nothing to do with the player characters. Other than unnecessary insight into how Rebecca Chambers makes it to the mansion, all the 'origin' stuff is presented to the player omnisciently and is jarringly detached from Rebecca and Billy's journey.

I bought this on Gamecube once upon a time and couldn't get into it. I tried it again a few years ago, on the Gamecube, and still couldn't get into it. I didn't mind the tank controls or the obscure puzzles (I'm a Silent Hill fanboy, after all). But on the Gamecube version, there's this stutter that happens every time the game changes its fixed camera angles - which is A LOT. I remember it taking me out of the immersion of the experience all too often. The limited inventory space was (and still is) also a hurdle for me - because constantly running to the few item boxes in the game ****. But then RE7 and REmake of RE2 came and I developed a weird love for the item management system. Coming back to the Resident Evil REmake on Switch, now lacking those stutters, was a very enjoyable experience. Like a masochist, I came to love even the fact that death means going back to your last save - which could be hours ago, if you're ballsy. It's not really a scary game, but maybe I'm too desensitized by its contemporaries. The atmosphere is still eerily effective, and being mentally aware of which room has what - and deciding the best path to take - is invigorating. I like the silence, too. Modern survival horror games have the characters blabbering all the time. Resident Evil 2 REmake's Leon and Claire won't shut the hell up whenever they see a zombie or Mr. X or something. There's something atmospherically immersive about reading your characters' thoughts rather than hearing them spoken aloud - and this Resident Evil does that wonderfully.

An extremely challenging game that, while small, has a grand sense of exploration to it as you piece together the world in search of your lost comrades. It's weirdly forgiving, too. I died hundreds of times, but I never felt frustrated. The checkpoints are abundant and respawning is immediate, so there's rarely any downtime when it comes to overcoming difficult rooms. The only thing I took issue with is the speed your character moves at. I'm not sure I can call it slidey, but there's a brief winddown to running that frequently caused me to fall off edges. But, perhaps without that winddown the game would feel too sticky. It's hard to say. Either way, it's an excellent game.

I would've liked it to have been longer because I was enjoying it so much. It's a hauntingly beautiful game that I recommend to everyone, especially if you're a fan of the classic psychological horror games of yore - like Silent Hill, especially. The latter portion is a kind of 'walking-simulator-y,' but by that point, the narrative has earned it. And boy does it have an excellent story - and the atmosphere is top-notch.

It's mediocre, but I find myself coming back to it to pass time, so I guess that says something. I doubt I'll ever see everything due to paywalls/wait periods - or maybe I have? In the few hours I've played, I've seen the same map layouts multiple times. Lots of bugs.

There's a nice blend of realism and classic Resident Evil ridiculousness. The story sort of wavers between scary and stupid, but I'm ultimately OK with that. The gameplay is incredible, and that's what counts. The entirety of the police station (in both the first and second run) is one of the best experiences I've had playing a survival horror game - especially when the infamous Tyrant "Mr. X" appears. After the police station, each playthrough seems to wrap up rather quickly. It would be nice if the rest of the game were as fleshed out as the police station, but it's still loads of fun. I'm looking forward to the RE3 remake.

I played Deck 13's LORDS OF THE FALLEN to completion and found it to be a real drag. I certainly wasn't looking forward to this and skipped it almost entirely. I played the demo a few months back and thought, wow, this game is exactly what I thought it would be. I didn't bother completing the demo. A few months pass and the game comes out on Playstation Plus for free. I give it another chance. While I can't say it's great - especially compared to DARK SOULS - it's actually sort of won me over. There are some familiar glitches that were present in LORDS OF THE FALLEN, but all-in-all it's a far less clunky game. The world's enemies are an immense improvement over the their previous game, but, so far, the bosses are equally cumbersome. It's not so much what seems to be intended difficulty, it's the fact that the bosses seem to move at a different frame rate all-together. This was an issue in LORDS, but, fortunately, the bosses are also very cheesable in THE SURGE. It's just a shame that they aren't a strong suit for the game. My thoughts may change upon beating this game, but it's at least, undeniably, better than LORDS - and actually worth playing.

Its greatness is undeniable. The visuals, controls, the many improvements to the original... all great. Truth be told, this is a 10/10 game, but at $60, they're asking for too much. Even with everything I love, there's a constant lingering thought in the back of my head about how much I spent on it. At most, this should be at most a $40 game. Link's Awakening has always been one of my favorite games, but even with the impressive upgrades, it's still one of the smaller Zelda titles - and you're certainly not getting anything as innovative as Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Odyssey here, even with the new dungeon making feature. Wait for a discount, and you'll be much happier with this purchase.

When I first played Dark Souls, it took me a while to figure it out - to 'git gud,' if you will. I was immediately enamored by its atmosphere and by the cathartic joy of overcoming its brutal yet fair (mostly) difficulty. Playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is much like how I felt playing Dark Souls for the first time. This isn't something I can say for the sequels, Bloodborne, Demon's Souls (which I played after Dark Souls), or any other 'Soulslike' game out there. All of those games play, in some way or another, like how Dark Souls plays. Sekiro, with a few exceptions, does not play like a 'Soulslike.' While this was somewhat daunting, it was just as rewarding as it was to discover how to survive in Dark Souls when I played it for the first time about 8 years ago. Even with the incorporation of super direct tutorial prompts, getting into the rhythm and maneuverability of Sekiro's control scheme is a challenge in it's own right - especially if you're accustomed to the Soulsborne games. Also, if you're like me, you sort of glaze over wordy instructions and just go with the gist of it. I probably missed some key details that I later learned on my own through trial and error, but, even so, this process was very rewarding. Having certain mechanics click in my head, developing strategies on how to approach enemies or bosses, making split second decisions that could mean life or death -- incredible. I like the skill tree system they have - it's pretty concise and to the point. Kills give you experience points that increase a blue bar in the upper right of the HUD. Each time that blue bar is filled, you get a Skill Point which can be applied to any number of skills - including special attacks, counters, abilities, and item effectiveness/quantity. Getting every skill takes a long time - as some skills cost multiple Skill Points and - as you progress the trees - Skill Points cost more experience to earn. Deviating from From Soft's Soulsborne titles, dying only takes away half of your experience currently in the Skill Point bar (but you don't lose Skill Points themselves). Dying also makes you lose half your sen, which is the game's currency. I was iffy with the idea of having both experience and currency separate (since in the Soulsborne franchise Souls/Blood Echoes were both experience and currency) but they do a good job balancing it out. My first playthrough was incredible. Subsequent playthroughs, while still a blast, suffer in a similar light to how most of From Soft’s games do - in that you sort of just rush past a good deal of the world to get to checkpoints or bosses. Having played through Sekiro a few times, I can confidently say it’s the shortest From Software game I’ve played. This could be due to the huge amount of freedom you have in controlling your character; there’s no stamina bar, so you can dash, dodge, attack, jump, and grapple everywhere to your heart’s content. There are also significant skips that are really easy to pull off, but even without those it’s a game that a moderately skilled player could beat in about an hour. In its own way, this is still a good deal of fun, but I’m a From addict and I want more. I can’t wait for DLC… God, I hope there’s DLC. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is damn near perfect, and even with what flaws there are, its greatness is so damn great, it supersedes the bad.

A more linear, forgiving, and story driven game than its predecessor. It's an easier game due to what's probably better game design - this time around I could figure out how to keep ghosts at bay or distract them before they could murder me. The map is even larger, but this time around a cute little pup typically shows you where you need to be by leading the way. As a narrative it's very satisfying and the challenges, while less overwhelming than in "Night Alone," kept me coming back. It definitely has that old survival horror feel that classics from the PS2 era had, but it's not really as scary as "Night Alone." Sure, one could argue "Night Alone" is a more frustrating game due to its unforgiving difficulty, cryptic story, and greater reliance on a trial and error, but the beauty of that was being constantly on guard with the haunting knowledge that one misstep sends you to a gruesome demise. "Midnight Shadows" is maybe more fun in the long run, and there are still startling (and in my opinion, delightful spooky) moments that will kill you suddenly, but it's ultimately less scary and the hand-holding is a little obnoxious at times.

This game is refreshingly frightening. Some may find the unrelenting trial and error frustrating, but I found the whole experience so immersive that the difficulty added to the tension. Death is around every corner and I loved tip-toeing around. Every new enemy instills a sense of fear that leaves you second guessing your next move. The final few chapters sort of paled in comparison to the rest of the game in terms of scares, but at that rate it's the haunting narrative carries the experience to a satisfactory (yet unsettling) conclusion.

It's great. No question about it. It's short (only ****, as Miyazaki describes it), but in that space is Miyazaki's trademark world building and masterful atmosphere. Uncovering the mysteries around the academy and what the world is like beyond its walls is incredible. Miyazaki has a firm grasp on your emotions' balls and actually makes you care about what happens to this school of creepy, naive children. This game is a must for anyone willing to cough up the dough for everything required to play it. Would I actually recommend buying all the required utilities to actually play this game? Probably not, but it's 100% worth checking out. At the very least, watch a play through without commentary if you can't experience it for yourself.

While I think I prefer Undertale and Deltarune takes a while to really get rolling, I ended up really, really loving this game. I'm eager to see what future chapters (or what complete game) Toby Fox unleashes in the future for this game.

Essentially got this game for free with the Nintendo gold reward coins, and because it was less than $2. I saw some review on YouTube with a guy saying it was awful, but from what I saw it looked kind of fun. This same reviewer said that it looked ugly, but I was very drawn to its visual simplistic style. So, I got it. And I'm not disappointed. It's very pretty challenging and I can see it as a game that people discredit as being unfair or whatever, but once you get a sort of rhythm down, it's weirdly ****. It's the kind of game I'd love more of, even though it's ridiculously simple on paper. Your character - the simplest office clerk - runs straight down these platforms floating in some dystopian void with floating heads 8-bit heads, office supplies, and other random **** Throughout these levels, the platforms will have abrupt turns either left or right (or both) and that's where you - the player - comes in. You simply make your character go left or right. BUT - you get faster and faster with each turn. Sometimes the level layout changes abruptly and you have to account for that. Sometimes the random **** floating around is super huge and distracting - even flying at you. Sometimes there are ramps in your path that send you shooting into the air, leaving you guessing where you'll land. You have to essentially memorize the layouts of the map since you only can see straight ahead of you. I can see this being frustrating for many people, but I very quickly found myself loving it. It got my hands sweaty - and usually that's a reaction reserved for first playthroughs with games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne.

As far as Zelda imitation games go, this is one of the best, at least in terms of gameplay. Sure some of the combat feels a bit less strategic and more brutish, considering enemy placement, but the boss fights are just the right amount of challenging. The puzzles, too, while not difficult, are actually fun to solve (something that can't always be said for EVERY Zelda game). It's a solid length and it's certainly a game I would play again. My only real issues is that the overworld isn't incredibly interesting, nor is the story. The characters occasionally have some silly dialogue, but never feel fleshed out. Maybe that's the point, since it's a bedtime story, but the only real motive to continue is for the gameplay as opposed to any story investment. The game ends rather abruptly, too, leaving me wanting more. Naturally, I'm looking forward to a sequel, if only for new battles and puzzles. A more involving story would be nice, too. There are some glitches that are irksome, not necessarily game breaking though. I would do what was necessary to solve a puzzle in some cases only to have the puzzle reset. I would then leave the room to see if I could find anything else to make the puzzle doable, but to no avail. But when I returned and retried to puzzle it would suddenly work. This only happened a few times, so it wasn't so bad, but it was still annoying when it did happen. Aside from occasional spammy enemy placement, this was my only gripe with the gameplay. If you've got a Switch (or a PC) I recommend this game.

I'm not sure how many people really asked for this. I bet we all would've been fine with another HD port, but now that it's all said and done, Shadow of the Colossus Remastered is pretty damn stellar. It adds just enough to feel fresh but doesn't overstep any nostalgic boundaries. It's basically what all video game remasters should strive to be. The updated control scheme is probably the only thing that kind of irked me, but I don't honestly see it as a bad thing. They're definitely more modernized (X is jump instead of Triangle, for example). Regardless, I prefer the original control scheme - and they tossed in the option to change either back to the original set-up OR go with a pseudo-updated set-up that's mostly the same except the roll command is mapped to Circle (whereas before it was R1+Circle). Genius.

There was potential for something better, but right when I was starting to sink my teeth into it, the game ended, tossing me an inexplicable bad ending wherein a character that was hardly developed dismembered me. I knew going into this game that there would be multiple endings, but I didn't think any of them would come so soon. I was thinking I could maybe start from where I left off rather than go through the mundanity of the game's opening, but NOPE. At the very least you'd think they'd drop you at a point where your decisions actually matter, but the game simply starts over and you have to go through the same unskippable opening credits and dialogue again. I played through it a few times, two of those times getting the same ending (though in one instance I didn't even interact with the featured character in my playthrough). Fortunately I got this game for free via PS+, but I can't imagine paying full price and getting upon what I got.

A pretty brilliant idea that maybe only slightly overstays its welcome. It's a short yet unforgettable experience.

NOT A HERO is free and it's fun, but sadly it's not the grand conclusion to the base game regarding Lucas we had hoped for. It IS a conclusion, but not grand or really compelling. But that's just the story. The gameplay - the thing that really counts - is actually really fun. There's something satisfying about blasting away those tar-monsters from the base game like they're flies. And then when more the new baddies are introduced that only can be hurt by special ammo things get delightfully tense, because that special ammo is hard to find. As far as the gameplay is concerned - it's probably the best mix of action and tension in the series since RESIDENT EVIL 4. Except it's not scary (something RE4 manages to be for new players). The tension is pretty great while it lasts, but before you know it you're facing the final boss and then BAM... the game's done. It doesn't really feel like the tension was building up to anything. It's a fun time getting there, but there's not really enough of a journey to look back on once it's all done. The return of Chris' boulder-punching fists of steel is pretty great though. Narratively I would've liked to see NOT A HERO cast a broader net into what's going on behind the scenes during the base game, since we only get to see what Ethan sees (and to some extent, what Mia sees). The ending of RE7 arouses questions that don't really get answered here. I suppose these are questions that may be answered in future installments, but I really don't want another game where Chris is the main character - at least for a while. Unfortunately that's what NOT A HERO forebodes. And such a premonition were to come true, we may find ourselves sliding down the slipperiest of slopes back into the action genre. If you have RE7, there's no reason why you SHOULDN'T play NOT A HERO. You'll probably like it, but not as much as the base game - and that's fine. NOT A HERO is fine.

This DLC offers what is easily the best dungeon in the game and some pretty fun trials to get there. It proves to be more satisfying than the first DLC, but I was left wanting more - especially since I've already beaten the game many times at this rate. The journey is greater than the reward - the prize basically being a cool new gadget and then being told that you're ready to finally face Ganon... which most of us have probably done dozens of times at this rate. I mean, being able to do it with the Master Cycle is pretty cool, but it doesn't add much. If anything, THE CHAMPIONS' BALLAD makes an already complete game even completer. It's a cherry on top that doesn't add much to the story except more context. Maybe another smaller, yet still massive world was too much to hope for - but that is kind of what I hoped for. The dungeon is the biggest next to Hyrule Castle, which is nice, and the puzzles are cool. Even the new trials are some of the best in the game. The new boss, while fun and awesome, is also pretty easy. Together, the two DLCs are definitely worth the $20. As a matter of fact, if you haven't played the game yet, I'd recommend buying both DLCs and experiencing them alongside the full game for a more complete experience. Otherwise, you may feel like you're re-treading old territory.

I had my doubts, but bought Super Mario Odyssey (and a Switch) on the day of release. Simply put, I love this game. Super Mario Odyssey is like someone took Disneyland and jam-packed it into a game. It's great, but I want more. I hope there's some kind of DLC or something.

This is the first "Classic" styled Sonic game I've actually played. Having started with Sonic Adventure, I was surprised by the simplicity of the controls. Also, rather than immediately running fast as you do in the 3D games, you have to build momentum. I kept thinking I was missing something in the gameplay - for example, the homing attack is absent (which I've since learned is almost exclusively a 3D Sonic mechanic). All in all, I like Sonic Mania quite a bit. There was a bit of a learning curb from what I was used to, but beyond that I had a good time. My only real complaint is that in some of the environments it's hard to differentiate platforms from certain background elements (which you can't stand on). This never resulted in an unfair death, but there were plenty of unintentional diversions in the path I thought I was on into new areas that would send me zooming all over the place. Somewhat disorienting to say the least, though - weirdly - this was never as annoying as it may sound.

I had read from multiple sources that this was an 'ugly port' with an inability to maintain 30fps. Maybe the later part is true, but I'm my peasant console eyes are unable to tell. I think the game looks great and plays incredibly smoothly, although I've only played in handheld mode (maybe things are different when the Switch is docked). I love DOOM's fluidity and brutal sense of humor. Something as simple as shoving a demon's foot down its throat is both awesome and hilarious - and it never gets old (at least not yet). My only real issue with the game is that there were a few parts where I'd get lost. This could be in part because the objective-guider HUD is super tiny in handheld mode (and the map menu is kind of rigid and confusing to figure out). My only issue with the port is that there's this annoying glitch that makes menus impossible to navigate with your D-pad and left toggle. It's only occurred once for me - and the fix is as simple as restarting your system - but it's still something that should be looked into and patched.