wardyga

A great return to form for the series. Excellent map, beautiful graphics, and some really fun game play here. So much exciting terrain to explore and a solid amount of variety between the two characters. Not only a great AC game, but also highly recommended for fans of the Tenchu series and Ghost of Tsushima!

A somewhat hidden gem because most critic reviews were based on version 1.0 which had poor controls. I'm grateful to review this post patch, after the control update allowed the use of a dual shock analog stick in one hand rather than having to lean forward and backward to move. I played both ways an this update made everything (from battles to exploration) much more enjoyable. This game stayed with me until the very end. It was on my mind to the point that I even dreamt about it. It starts off with the longest introduction, which gives the impression it's going to be a long and epic quest. The battles themselves start off reasonably fair but ramp up difficulty pretty quickly. It forces the player to get good. On my 2nd or 3rd day, I felt pretty defeated and began looking up cheats which did not exist. I'm glad I stuck with it because once I learned the different strategies for each Golem, I ended up getting good. But man, how it got my heart racing! Being able to take a hit and walk back to recoup some HP was the key strategy for most Golems who did not have a one-hit kill. I enjoyed going back and forth between Twine’s bedroom and the Golem world. Perspective shifts and gameplay variety between controlling the huge Golem and the small doll were well implemented. The graphics and music are gorgeous and the sound effects are really well done. There are secret items galore to find. I just wish there was an inventory system or a screen that showed how many collectibles were obtained and out of how many. Without this information, collecting items eventually lost their appeal, other than the orbs that progressed the lore. I also wish there was more narrative in the middle of the game other than the mother's voice when collecting orbs. The game was bookended with great storytelling, but not much narrative happens in the middle, which is a notable pacing issue. As for the map, I never felt lost, but I also never felt like I fully understood the layout of the land. It was a bit janky how the Golem had to die in order to go back to the workshop to change masks and equipment. Also, losing all equipment every time the Golem died seemed rough at first, but my strategy became to just make sure I defeated a Golem that had my same equipment before venturing off too far and so if I died, I really didn't lose anything. Overall, this is one impressive PSVR game and I sunk 10 hours into the game looking for all the collectibles. Aside from my gripes above, I thought the ending left a little bit to be desired. Otherwise this is a must-play game for the platform. It's filled with great atmosphere, zero loading during most of the game, solid combat and voice acting, and an amazing land to explore and unlock.

Gorgeous graphics, fitting soundtrack and decent narration. Controls are serviceable but the journey almost never allows the player to venture off its strictly linear path. There are next to no secrets to be found along the way save for 11 figurines, which could have added some much needed exploration to this direly straightforward adventure. The game’s camera is restricting in that it is fixed and won't accommodate areas the player cannot go. The stages are also restricting with invisible walls. These limitations often force the player down a single path in one of the most linear modern video games I have played. It borrows from Little Nightmares and God of War at times but in a good way. I wish load times weren't so long on PS4, however the character does respawn quickly with no load times to speak of. I cannot stress how beautiful this game is. The music really stands out at times, especially a couple of songs with female vocals. The boss fights really ramp up in the latter half of the game but never so challenging for me to rage quit. The puzzles were also pretty easy. The dark themes of Nordic folklore were all well presented. Even with its shortcomings, I was compelled to see this story to the end. I probably spent around 8 hours in total on my first playthrough between dying and searching for collectibles.