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Call of the Sea is a beautiful looking game with an intriguing story and great voice acting (with some bad dialogue) and music. Unfortunately it was bogged down for me by needlessly obtuse puzzles that both broke up the flow of the narrative and frustrated me. At its core it is a puzzle game, so that's a bit of a problem. The Lovecraftian story kept me trudging through until the end but the pay off wasn't really worth it for me, making it pretty hard to recommend to be honest. It's available on Game Pass so I guess you could try out an hour of the it and you'll know if you love or hate this kind of game.

Yeah, what can I say? I wasn't a huge fan of Halo: CE and this is pretty much more of the same, but improved in some ways (not as many endless gray hallways). I played the whole campaign in couch co-op with a friend, just like with the first Halo and we groaned our way through it again. The story was incoherent and boring, unfortunately I think I just don't have any interest in the Halo universe. Even more unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of the gameplay, which doesn't leave much for me with this game besides the amazing CGI and music.

Donut County is a cool little game that will entertain you for a short few hours. Pretty relaxing with some light puzzles, simple mechanics and a couple missable achievements that extend the game slightly, if you choose to go for them. The writing and story didn't really do it for me but that's just up to personal taste. The game does a great job with varying the levels and always having you do something different to achieve your goal. Worth checking out on Xbox if you have Gamepass.

Played this to get 1000G for some insane reason. Made me start smoking a pack a day to deal with the stress. My kid saw me playing and asked could she play too. I told her it's not a game for kids but she started playing it on her own Xbox and now she's a chain smoker too and her little brother is in an iron lung machine. That's unrelated to tobacco he's never smoked, he just has polio. Anyway, One Leaves isn't a game I'd recommend. Gonna head out for a cigarette now.

I first played this game years earlier and seeing the graphical update is pretty jaw dropping. One of this games coolest features is just jumping between the old and new visuals on the fly. As great as the graphics and sound are, unfortunately the rest of the game is pretty painful to slog through. Endless gray hallways and rooms that are constantly copied and pasted, confusing mission objectives, bad checkpoints, the library mission...yeah I'll stop there and just say I didn't enjoy the campaign in the slightest. I could see myself really enjoying a Halo game if it just had better missions because all the other aspects are there, but this one ain't it, chief.

This game low key blew my mind back in 2007 when it dropped. I would just stand at the top of a building, panning the camera around, taking in the sheer vastness of the HD world. Assassin's Creed just felt so fresh at the time and I really enjoyed the story & the general gameplay too. The caveat is that this beautiful and fun game is pretty much the same mission repeated about a dozen times, which can get old/tedious pretty fast for some people. Luckily the game was so fun and visually breathtaking that it was easy for me to keep coming back until I eventually completed the game. So yeah, the first AC is far from perfect but it's definitely worth playing if you somehow never got around to the series.

Rime is a very beautiful looking and sounding game, that doesn't quite have the gameplay to match and tie it all together. I'd still recommend most people to play this game just for its beauty alone and how the score/camera work are used to create such amazing cinematic moments throughout the campaign. Unfortunately the game struggles with some frame rate issues, but never enough to pull me out of the experience. Rime's level design is also very well done and even though I didn't find the gameplay to be very engaging, I couldn't not see the game through to the end and fully take in the world that Tequila Works have masterfully crafted.

As my first Fallout game, this was a little overwhelming at first with the amount of stuff to do and see, but I ended up enjoying the gameplay and getting into it more than any other Bethesda game. Unfortunately the story let me down, especially the ending (and the fact the game just ended there back in the day before it was patched). Of course Fallout 3 has the As my first Fallout game, this was a little overwhelming at first with the amount of stuff to do and see, but I ended up enjoying the gameplay and getting into it more than any other Bethesda game. Unfortunately the story let me down, especially the ending (and the fact the game just ended there back in the day before it was patched). Of course, Fallout 3 has the typical Bethesda jank and glitches but it was never enough to pull me out of the experience. So yeah, it's far from perfect but it's still a solid game & definitely worth checking out if you never have.

The was definitely the worst Life is Strange episode in the entire series. Gruelingly slow, tedious, buggy, with most decisions making no difference of note at all, no matter which you choose. Sadly, I think this is where I call it quits with this season. There were some decent moments (everything related to Captain Spirit), but overall this episode just let me down and I honestly feel like Deck Nine would be better suited developing this series, as Dontnod seem to have forgotten what makes LiS special.

As the introductory episode to Life is Strange 2, 'Roads' is a bit of a clunky slow burn. The plot is a little lacking and decisions don't seem to have much weight (although this is only the first of five episodes). There have honestly been a few downgrades with this sequel, including the plot, characters, decisions and the sub-par replacement for Max's photography and Chloe's Sharpie graffiti. That being said there are some improvements too, mostly the graphics and the general size and scope compared to the previous game. Also I just gotta mention one more flaw that really bugged me, the cutscenes (often lasting over 5 minutes) are unskippable even when you've already beaten the game and choose Collectible ****??? All in all Roads was a decent but flawed first episode and I just hope it's all uphill from here.

This is more of a demo than an actual game, but it looks and plays well, a big visual upgrade from the original game and even Before the Storm. It's structured in a different way where you have multiple objectives that you can tackle in any order, or you can just ignore them and finish the story super quick, but that's kinda pointless with a game like this. The main voice actor was really good and although there were some good and tense scenes, the story just wasn't up to DontNod's usual standards. I just hope the players decisions have more weight in Life is Strange 2.

Deck Nine absolutely nailed the look and atmosphere of Life is Strange but unfortunately they fell short on the story side. The graphics have improved with better facial animations and lip syncing, and the music by Daughter fits the game perfectly. The plot is very rushed and nonsensical at times and it unfortunately ends on a bit of a disappointing note in episode 3. The first two episodes were still pretty solid though and if you're a fan of Life is Strange, this prequel is still worth playing through.

Episode 2 is definitely not as good as the first episode of Deck Nine's prequel series. All the positives I listed from the first episode remain but the story and gameplay are just a little less interesting than the previous episode, with odd pacing too. The plot just doesn't seem very focused and doesn't keep you engaged or have a through-line like in the original game. The development of the Chloe/Rachel relationship is probably the strongest part of this episode (as well as the music) and hopefully they can nail the final episode and deliver a satisfying conclusion to the story.

The graphics and music are still great, so is the voice acting (especially Rhianna DeVrie's Chloe) but unfortunately Deck Nine just didn't stick the landing in terms of story. It's still a decent episode and worth playing to finish out the Before the Storm saga. The puzzle's were actually at their best in this episode and the moments with Rachel & Chloe were great. The problem is that those moments are fleeting and this final episode mostly diverts to a different plot point that ends a little pointlessly leaving you a bit baffled.

If you were a fan of 2015's Life Is Strange you'll definitely be into Before the Storm, which may have different developers and voice actors but still manages to capture the same ambience and vibe of the original game. Although this prequel is lacking the time rewinding mechanic, it improves in graphics, facial animation and lip syncing compared to season 1. There's a lot less gameplay in this game and more exploring and talking/making decisions. It's a slower pace but that's not a bad thing. Aside from a few awkward scenes and lines, the plot seems to be decent in this first episode and will hopefully get more interesting in part 2. I had no real issues with the new voice actors and the music by Daughter worked really well. Lookin forward to the next one

Riverbond is a cool little dungeon crawler hack n slash mixed with a twin stick shooter, with a really nice voxel-based art style to top it off. The game's easy to pick up and fun to play both in co-op (up to four players) and single player. It's definitely a game designed for first timers of the genre and/or children, allowing anybody to progress through the campaign regardless of skill level. Cococucumber did a great job adding variety to each world, including the enemy designs and different quests but Riverbond does end up feeling very repetitive. That being said it definitely doesn't overstay its welcome, lasting about 5-8 hours. It may be too simple for some or too short, but Riverbond succeeds as a charming and enjoyable few hours of voxel smashing fun.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune didn't reinvent the wheel or anything even close to it, but it delivered a really solid action-adventure campaign with amazing visuals, lighting, audio, voice acting and animation. This game was pretty much a showcase of what the PS3 was capable of and although it's not perfect and can start to get tedious/uneven at times, it's a really solid and impressive starting point for the Uncharted franchise.

#IDARB is a chaotic mix of soccer, basketball, hockey and Smash Bros. Easy to jump in to but difficult to master, #IDARB is a fun, goofy multi-player game to mess around with in either couch co-op or online play (although the former works a lot better). The game also has tons of customization options including the ability to create your own characters, songs and team logos. Not something I would keep returning to, but definitely a unique and hectic multi-player experience.

Brothers is a really unique game. You control both characters at once using the left and right half of the controller. The story is very simple and told via gameplay and short cutscenes with no dialogue. The game gets really dark at times and definitely tries very hard to tug at the players heart strings, but unfortunately it just didn't click with me. If you like the idea of patting your head while rubbing your stomach as a gameplay mechanic, then check out Brothers because it's a really well made and charming game.

Beautiful looking and sounding game, a little bit pretentious in its narrative, but expertly designed and crafted. Braid is one of those games that makes you feel like a genius after you've solved a puzzle, even though the puzzle's creator Jonathon Blow is the real genius. Although my score isn't sky high, I'm not really a fan of puzzle games, and I completed Braid in its entirety, so that says something

This was probably my favorite game for the WiiWare service. A really neat little puzzle platformer that used the Wii controls really well. It's not perfect but it definitely exceeded my expectations at the time and has a really nice art style and serene vibe while playing. LostWinds is pretty short and not very challenging but definitely worth checking out.

The atmosphere in this game was amazing when I first played it, I remember being pulled in and hooked by just the demo. I don't think Bioshock is a perfect game, but it's definitely one of the best games ever made. This is one of the first times in gaming I remember a story really standing out and surprising me. There really is nothing else out there like Bioshock and I guess that's all I can say to sell it.

Hard to go wrong with these kinda games and it's pretty fun to play with a group of friends. Would be better suited for movie lovers with all those trivia questions & film clips/sound bites. If you have no interest in films then you're probably not gonna have a good time.

This game slaps. Controls are really good and the game can get pretty addicting, especially when competing with friends. It is a little bit short but it's fun as hell while it lasts. Oh **** it was free to download too!

It's just Gears of War again but with better graphics, sound, and enough new features to make it a must-play Xbox game.

Bully is probably my favorite Rockstar game and the only one I ever fully finished. The characters and story are great, including the voice acting performances. It's just a really enjoyable GTA-like game set around a boarding school with tons of fun **** to do. It isn't the most visually breathtaking game by any means but it definitely looks better than the original and has lots of added content too.

I'm not a fan of collectathons so I don't know what I expected. If you are a fan of them though, then maybe you'll like this, if you're into sluggish clunky controls and janky cameras. The game takes place in an expansive hub world that you have to traverse endlessly just to find your way back to certain levels and that aspect alone puts me off wanting to play the game. Yeah this just really didn't age well at all. I played for over 10 hours and honestly I'm still asking myself why.

It was already a fun game to begin with but it was also the first time I ever witnessed a gun with a built in chainsaw... that's tuff

This is one of the most well written and genuinely funny video games ever made. Not much I can say about Portal that hasn't already been said. You can complete it in a few hours so if for some reason you've never played it, go do it now, you have no excuse

Celeste is one of the most well made video games I've ever played. I **** at ultra hard 2D platformers but even I was able to fully finish this game because it's so expertly designed. When you fail, you instantly get another chance to try again and learn from your mistakes until you nail the level perfectly. The level design here is insane, the music is on point, the art style is dope, the accessibility options are rich, I think everyone should give this game a try.

My favorite game in the Tony Hawk series. Everything is on point here; the graphics, music, and multi-player, with so much content you could easily spend 30+ hours trying to do everything in THPS3. One of the greatest sports games of all time.

This game was my ****, and going from GBC to GBA seemed like such a huge leap to my dumb little kid brain. It's just more Pokémon with more bells and **** it slaps. Tons of new monsters were added, two-on-two battles introduced, beauty contests, held items could be used in battle, the list goes on. This game is easily 50+ hours of gameplay and honestly 200+ if you wanted to see everything the game has to offer, and of course, catch em all.

Abzû is more of an experience or a piece of art than a video game, but it's definitely worth playing through, with a length of only two to three hours. Gameplay is simple as hell but the fluidity and motion feels great and the score by Austin Wintory is a perfect accompaniment. The art style and use of color are amazing and it's just a beautiful relaxing game that remains interesting throughout. Unfortunately it's very loose in terms of narrative and even when you piece together the story via cave paintings it's not great. The only other con is the long load times (50 seconds on average) between levels. Worth a shot for sure though.

Pros: - Art direction - Voice acting - Soundtrack - Writing Cons: - Terrible lip syncing when characters are talking - Some clumsy and boring sections during certain episodes - Disappointing ending

The game looks great and sounds great, it's really inventive and unique. Unfortunately the story baffled me with a predictable ending that had been pretty overhyped by people who reviewed the game. Ran into a few bugs throughout the game where I had to exit out of the level and restart. Cool lil movie-length game and it's free to play on Xbox Game Pass right now

Layers of Fear really doesn't have too many layers, I think the game jump scared me twice at most, but hey maybe I'm just dead inside. The atmosphere Bloober Team created is really good though, as well as the unique way they warp and contort space around the player to make them feel extra uneasy. Unfortunately after the first couple of times it does get old and you're mostly left with repetition, horror cliches/tropes and some basic puzzles which aren't much fun to solve. Props have to be given for the Victorian setting and vibe of the game being so fully realized, including the graphics. For a game that's only a few hours long I just wish it kept things fresh and interesting throughout the whole story instead of exhausting most of the cool ideas.

Really neat little mobile game with excellent music and visuals. The game has a couple of very special moments that I won't spoil that are actually pretty moving to experience. If you've ever went through the trials and tribulations of being in a relationship, this game will definitely resonate with you. Florence tells a very simple story with little to no dialogue and very minimal game play, but it's absolutely worth the small investment of your money/time that it asks for.

The meta fourth wall breaking is unique and the music & presentation are dope. Drags on for just a little bit too long unfortunately. Not hugely scary but definitely super dark as soon as you get to around the half-way mark. Crazy amount of secrets and Easter eggs all throughout this game which are impressive but still don't make playing the actual game any more entertaining.