flowiscontrol

Criminally underrated and one of the most atmospheric games ever made. Ready at Dawn crafted something special here, Victorian London drips with mood, tension and beauty, the storytelling is among the most compelling and had so much potential to expand. The combat is amazing, the weapons inventive and the pacing keeps you gripped from start to finish. This studio had vision, ambition and execution. Sony should have backed a trilogy without hesitation. Instead we got one brilliant game buried by lazy reviewers and years of forgettable releases since. Whatever these developers do next deserves every bit of support it gets. A masterclass.

The characters are boring and forgettable, hard to care about decisions when you're indifferent to who lives or dies and this is what happens when ideology is a requirement. The story fails to build any tension or intrigue for what the experience was aiming to be, which is damaging in this genre, don't get me started on the direction and editing. Cinematic horror lives or dies on narrative and character investment, this delivers neither. Worse, the gameplay mechanics are virtually non-existent. No combat, no meaningful interaction, just cutscenes and occasional prompts. The graphics and character movement are painfully average for a 2026 release. Narrative choice games can be brilliant but they demand so much more to accompany them. This belongs in a $10 bin, not the full retail price. Not just a disappointment, an embarrassment.

Even with all the hype and my own certainty this would deliver, Crimson Desert still found a way to surprise me. It takes time to click but when it does, wow. It opens into one of the most distinctive and breathtaking open-world experiences I've played. The world design operates on another level: landscapes that feel alive, textured and convincingly real in motion. Exploring and discovering areas organically feels less like playing a game and more like actually being somewhere. The gameplay follows the same arc: combat and traversal feel unfamiliar at first but the moment it connects, it locks into something deeply satisfying and immersive. It doesn't hold your hand or funnel you toward a prescribed experience and that restraint is exactly what makes it stand out. The story and character depth could carry more weight but it barely registers as a flaw when the world pushes you toward experiences you genuinely haven't had in any other game. Amazing!

Resident Evil 9 absolutely blew me away. The dynamic of switching between Grace and Leon felt unique and refreshing, adding real variety to the experience, while the gameplay is easily the most exciting and detailed I’ve seen in any Resident Evil title so far. The action sequences with Leon are on another level entirely, genuinely elevating the intensity and scale of the game. Incredible atmosphere, tension and cinematic horror from start to finish. Capcom set a new benchmark here.

The Alters is one of the most immersive and emotionally gripping games I’ve played in years. It doesn’t just tell a story - it puts you inside it. Managing the base and the different versions of Jan creates constant pressure, responsibility, and reflection in a way that feels genuinely human.