elihasears

It feels surprisingly good to play. It feels surprisingly bad to listen to the dialogue. If feels surprisingly bad to level up and improve your gear. This is an Obsidian game? Weird...

This was boring. The combat feels just ok, and every time the characters talk, I want them to stop talking. That's a bad omen for a game with a lot of talking. Also, the maps you go around, while pretty, offer nothing in terms of exploration other than turning a corner and opening a chest so your number can go up.

Busy work is fun? Or it's miserable? Maybe it's about the people we met and then forgot about along the way? I don't get it...

TLDR 10/10 It's simple and it's perfect. The game has three buttons and they're used to their full potential. The level design is a masterclass in pacing, rewarding exploration, and cohesiveness. It's beautiful, and a wonderful homage to the history of playstation. The use of audio, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback is impeccable. The hub world is a joy to explore and all of its 300 characters are animated with love and care. Astro Bot isn't a game for kids, it's a game for everyone. If you liked any of the classic 3d Mario games, this is for you This game was the promise of this generation, and that promise hasn't been kept since the Demon's souls remake. This gives me (a very slight amount of) hope for the future of this console generation, and I think this game has the right to be spoken of in the greatest of all time conversation.

Finished one playthrough on NG, didn't beat the secret boss. TLDR: 9/10 The bad: chapters 1-3 have a lot of really poor level design, and some frame drops can be frustrating. The good: everything else is absolutely perfect. Combat (10/10): The combat feels meaty. When you execute a 3 focus point heavy attack, you really feel it. When you pull off a light attack combo finisher, you really feel it. When you do 3 perfect dodges in a row, you feel it. The enemies feel it too. You can tell before hitting an enemy if they'll be staggered by a specific type of attack just by looking at them. Executing a thrusting attack with the right timing and spacing on a small boss that's leaping at you will knock them on their ass and leave them exposed. There are so many animations for enemies, and at least if not more unique enemies in this game as Elden Ring. GS went above and beyond with the base combat in this game. Only complaint I have is that just a few hitboxes on boss attacks are too large, but with a roster this big it's to be expected. Combat is relatively difficult, but between medicine and a good build, anyone can get through this game without too much trouble. Abilities, Gear, and Character Progression: 10/10: Midway through Chapter 3 I got a staff that imbued lightning damage on heavy attacks. When I started combing through my gear, I noticed how many pieces synergized to make a cool lightning build. Then as the game went on I played around more and noticed how I could make like 40 different viable playstyles in this game. You only get a staff, one main move set, and 3 different finishers and combos. Comparing that to a souls like you'd think this would make combat repetitive, but it's through this customization that you get to play around in the game, and it satisfies that itch perfectly. There are innumerable transformations to mess around that play into how you build your character, and the resettable skill tree with over 200 different unlocks is a joy to tinker with. I would have loved to see a couple more options for spells, but the ones that are there are incredible. Story and Aesthetics 10/10: I haven't read Journey to the West, so I'll leave commentary on that and the deeper lore for aficionados. For someone with no prior knowledge this game tells a story about legacy, ambition and family. There's no agenda, it's about real people (animals), their needs, their desires, and their losses. The cutscenes are as good as any I've seen, and I think it's where this game shines brightest. The spectacle, writing, and art displayed during these cutscenes is second to none. The enemy design both in their animations, and their models are all unique. From two siblings that roll around in a ball together, to a tiger samurai, to a hand spider, you never know what's around the next corner, and it'll delight you ever time. Exploration 7/10: So where do you get the materials for this stuff? out in the "open" world. I love GOW, and linear games, and when it's at its best in chapter 5, that's what this game is. In the second half of the game, level design is tight, with some rewarding exploration through a few telegraphed, but hidden side paths. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the 1st half. The open world in these areas is confusing to get around, loops over itself, and lacks a lot of visual distinction or character to help you build a mental map. It often felt like a maze. I'm thrilled to see what GS has in store for us in terms of level design now that they have a bigger budget and can devote time to properly flesh out all their levels, because place like the Webbed Hollow, and parts of chapter 5 are just as good as anything From Software has put out. The loot progression in this game is perfect, and it rewards you for exploring, so when it has interesting and well-designed levels for you to do that in, t's firing on all cylinders. Other times, it's a mess, but if you stick to the well-marked main path, an exceptional boss fight is only 5 minutes away. Conclusion 9/10: If the frame rate issues weren't there, and exploration in the first half was as good as in the second half, this would compete on my list of top 10 all time games. It doesn't end up far below that though, and fully merits a $70 price tag if not more. How I would sum this game up is that I think I played it for 60 hours or so, but it feels like I played it for a year. There were so many memorable bosses, some environments so breathtaking to a level that we haven't seen before in gaming, and a heartfelt story. I'm beyond excited see where Game Science takes us next.

I got this for free from PS Plus: Haven't played "fifa" since 2014. I don't see any changes to the gameplay other than the fact that AI defenders have a panic attack and run away from attackers if they hold down R1/RB. The AI is atrocious. Only reason to buy this is if you really care about having updated rosters. Also, you can't play with Brazil... where is your FUT money going these days? Andy Wilson's pocket? I only play seasons, because I don't touch the slop that they call ultimate team. I did open the mode, and while inclusivity is always something to strive for, seeing a woman having higher pace than Dembele is immersion breaking. Make female FUT a new mode, I'm sure plenty of people will play it!! :)

Playtime: 7 Hours Visions of Mana is a linear action RPG with character-based combat and explorable zones with quite basic side quests and activities. TLDR: 6/10 Great story, but you've seen this combat before, and it's been done far better. Exploration feels like a waste of time and is insultingly basic. The meat of this game is playing through the story, and if you're satisfied with that, I'd recommend it, but otherwise, wait for a sale. Given that the studio closed, I'm thinking that sale is inevitable. Story and Characters (9): The game shines the most in its storytelling and writing. While it seems generally geared to younger audience, the story has a lot of heart in it, and the characters are believable, each having their own unique and compelling motivations. 5 hours in and I'm excited to see where this goes. The English VA is grating, but if you're willing to put up with subtitles, the Japanese audio is fantastic, and the lip syncing looks flawless with it on. RPG progression 7/10: The game features a pretty in depth character buildout system, where each character can take on up to 9 different and unique classes, each with their own abilities and optimal playstyles. The other system at play is one where you can equip different seeds you find or buy, each allowing you to equip a spell or a stat boost. Some of these overlap with the class system, and you get ALOT of them. So far, weapons and armor have been purely linear stat boost improvements and getting them is as basic as finding a chest in the open world to retrieve them. I'm hoping some of them will offer gameplay changing effects, but that's not the vibe I'm picking up so far. Combat 4/10: Most of what you do in this game is run up to a group of monsters, have them stare at you until you smack one with a sword, and then begin combat. Most classes have a unique light and heavy attack, as well as options for holding down the inputs, but the mechanics for melee are quite barebones. Most frustrating about the combat is the camera. When you lock onto an enemy, the camera won't really move unless you manually move it, meaning if you reposition, you might be looking off into the sunset while your party members are getting their asses beat. You're able to switch between the members of your party in combat, and use MP to cast spells/abilities, and buffs. So far, the abilities and spells have all been completely irrelevant, as melee has like 8X the dps, which I'm assuming (hoping) will change, but the fact the early game is this unbalanced is a bit distressing. The spells themselves all have their own animations, but they, along with the melee animations, just feel flat, and the Melle animations have terrible magnetism along with weird targeting quirks that feel unintentional or rushed. Between the animations and the camera, combat is repetitive and can feel annoying, which is bad, because outside of that, there isn't much here. Exploration 4/10: First off the art in the game is fantastic. If you're into the BOTW/Genshin style of design you'll dig this. It's super colorful, and the spaces feel inviting. The problem is, there isn't much to do in these spaces, and there isn't much of a reason to do what's there. Other than pursuing the main quest, you can go to blue circles scattered across the map to open a chest or engage in more combat either in the open world or in gauntlets you often weirdly unlock only after you initially pass through that zone. There are also "side quests" which essentially just ask you to go into a place in town fist to unlock a new blue circle on the map. The biggest issue is that the rewards for these circles give you gear to engage with the RPG system, and like I mentioned. the only really good quality of that system are the classes, which are mostly unlocked through the main story. What would have made this better: -More meaningful and gameplay changing ability seeds and weapons, and slightly less equip slots. -Side quest premises that were more imaginative than, "please go to this place I marked on your map in an area you already went through to get me my pen" -More time in the oven for combat, and a more imaginative way of finding yourself in combat encounters -Better UI for understanding enemy elemental weaknesses and organizing your loot. Verdict: I think the fact that the studio got closed is telling. I think they got the message partway through this, half assed many parts of the gameplay loop and it shows. The thing is all of what is here is serviceable, but it's all been done before and better. The only truly unique thing about this game is its story, and if you're up for just blasting through the main quest and purposefully ignoring anything else, I think you'll have a good time. If you like meandering and exploring like me, there isn't a lot for you here and you'll be wasting your time. I'd recommend waiting for a sale, you're not missing that much here.

We need to talk about price tags... I'm totally OK with Developers charging an extra $10 if they' re putting forward a comprehensive experience. I much prefer that to charging me for progress. The problem with Returnal is fundamental. The only thing putting this game's runtime over 4 hours is the dearth of checkpoints. If this game functioned like an industry standard full priced game, and we just respawned when we died, everyone would be outraged at this price tag. The environments are obviously computer generated, and story is drip-fed to you at an extremely weird pace. And they justify all this by calling making it a "rogue like". I'm sorry, but having computers put maps together randomly, and making me replay ones I've already completed isn't a good enough selling point for making a 20 -30 dollar game 70 dollars. The direction the industry I have loved for 15 years has been going down a dark path, and this notion that computer generated environments are bringing the magic back is flawed from inception. I quit Hollow Knight because it was too hard for me, but it was beautiful, and expertly designed. I quit Returnal because it's a boring game. The magic is gone... Video games as an interactive art form are dying. Maybe I'm just getting too old for them. .