wardyga

The game starts off a bit slow and after a couple of hours, I was wondering if it would ever get exciting. It seemed like it took a while before I could craft many recipes, and even after 100% of the castle, I never saw an apple and there were plenty of weapons and items I never crafted because I didn't have the ingredients. Things eventually ramp up after a couple of bosses, and once you get the double jump, new abilities start to come at a pretty even pace. The shards pile up at an almost overwhelming rate, to the point that it's impossible to really use them all significantly. I specifically recall around 60% completion, I was really getting buffed and enjoying revisiting areas and plowing through enemies—while new sections still felt dangerous. It seemed like once I got past the halfway point, candles started providing more money. Those typical $1, $5 and $10 drops suddenly became 50 and $100 drops. Not sure if that was intentional or an item I accumulated, but it definitely made collecting money much easier than it was in the first half of the game. At endgame, I had so much money (over $60,000) I didn't know what to do with it. Also, there were a few times the game was not clear on what to do, which was not consistent with earlier hints. The game had a good variety of stages, with the typical water stage, fire stage, desert stage, ice stage, but also plenty of different sections of the castle that were new and original. The last two sections go by quickly and eat up a large percent of the castle with almost 20% of the castle in the last couple of hours. A lot of throwbacks to the Castlevania series, as well as Shovel Knight, Shantae, and some other games, which was fun. I enjoyed the game and thought everything was well done. Its uncanny valley background graphics took a little getting used to, and since the game was technically in 3D, it could have benefited from more perspective shifts. The music was spot on-Castlevania and the gameplay felt terrific. The game was challenging in the first quarter but progressed nicely as I accumulated items and got a better control of the boss fights. The characters were a bit quirky and the story was passable—I just wished the journals were voiced. A worthy successor to Symphony of the Night with enough new ideas and polish—but at the end of the day, I've played this game before. My score: 8.6

As always, Quantic Dream produced a game with some of the most amazing graphics on the console. Excellent character models and acting. Every actor did a great job but I thought a couple of Markus's speeches could have been more dramatic and convincing. North could be Jennifer Lopez's sister and Connor reminded me of Data from Star Trek mixed with T-1000. Hank was kind of like Andy Sipowicz. Because I played it on easy, most of the action scenes only required me to choose between X and O. I'd probably play it on the normal or higher difficulty next time. It had lots of branching choices–so many in fact, you could play it twice and still not see everything. While the amount of choice was good, there were times it was hard to tell what the choices actually meant and what the consequences would be. The amount of different scenes is impressive, but whether that makes for a better “game” is debatable. I thought the controls were too stiff for a modern game. Also, the camera wasn't always fully turnable, and pressing R1 to change camera angles was awkward. Outdoor levels had a LOT of boundaries, limiting exploration. Despite these shortcomings, the game's story and graphical polish were impressive and I cared to see the characters make it through. I saved most of the main cast on my first pass, then replayed the final chapter to save even more. I was happy with that. I wonder if I let a lot of characters die and ended up with some really bad ending if I would think differently about the game? I'm not sure. It's possible. But for the most part, playing the game and making the decisions I would make in real life was mostly satisfying. I'm glad there are checkpoints that can be replayed with or without saving the game to see the differences. I did this a couple of times, but to save many more hours, I will probably turn to YouTube because I'm interested in seeing what I missed! My score: 8.0

Very cool atmosphere, although there are only around five or six stages that you basically play through twice with a subtle difference like an added door to open later ala Metroid. Fun arrow play but also tricky to get the aim down. After 10 hours to 100% the game, I got better but never felt I had the quiver down perfectly. There are a handful of enemies, three types of arrows, three cans of soda, grenades, mines, 16 collectables, one real boss, and a LOT of recycled assets throughout the game. There were also a few times I felt pretty lost and unsure of what to do. Playing seated, I could not open any low drawers. That's unacceptable. And like Budget Cuts and Bendy, there are way too many empty drawers that make opening them all feel like a waste of time. Other than that, the gameplay was pretty solid. I especially enjoyed traversing and using a combination of locomotion and teleportation, which blended seamlessly into the gameplay. The game is challenging in that you lose all collected orbs if you die. I found the game to be frustrating on Normal and restarted the game on Easy. I enjoyed the lore, the decent number of secrets and collectibles, but never felt there were enough secret locations to explore. Some secrets required a teleport through narrow passages that looked impossible to pass through. There were a few walls to explode as well. A few times the game swarms the player with too many waves of enemies, which feels overwhelmingly long. Otherwise the combat is well balanced with exploration and puzzles. The voice overs are well done and the story kept me engaged until the end, but nothing was fully answered after sinking 10 plus hours into the game—which was very disappointing. I was leaning toward a score of an 8.0 through most of my playthrough but the totally disappointing ending (actually the game doesn't end) left me somewhat confused and unsatisfied. My score: 7.8

I honestly expected a lot more out of this game. It starts off being very similar to Ghost Giant but does not reach the same heights emotionally or in gameplay or length. It almost feels like this game should have come first instead of afterward. I finished the game in one sitting. Roughly 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours and I completed every level and all collectables. It's a cute game and the dioramas are beautiful, but I can't give this a higher score simply because of its simplicity and super short length. Finding hidden coins is just a matter of waving your wand(s) in the right places, which feels kind of haphazard. It would have been nice if some of the puzzles offered better hints or story beats. I felt like a lot of the time I was just picking up everything I could and touching everything until something happened. I got hung up the most when I didn't immediately realize some of the puzzles involved using the same trigger multiple times when I thought I had exhausted that option. The game was fun but also kind of tested my patience at the same time. My score: 6.4

Bare bones racer. I never got the sense that I was racing miniature vehicles. They sound too realistic and the levels do not present the sense of scale I expected. Likewise, the graphics are just average considering it takes 45 seconds just to load one track. The game is full of monetization. All of the lower level tracks (like Batman, Looney Tunes and Monster Trucks) need to be unlocked in the PlayStation store for additional cost. Boo. The performance was not great. Every level I played pretty much contained at least one graphical issue where the screen would freeze for a split second. Sometimes it happened a lot. Again, with these mediocre graphics and long load times, this should play without a hitch on a PS4 Pro. Drift, boost, repeat. Not a lot of depth and the stages did not contain enough of the creative gimmicks I expected from a Hot Wheels game. It's fun, but not good enough. My score: 6.5

I have never played a shooter with so much dialogue in all my life. While it took a little getting used to, eventually I settled in and it was a unique experience to be blasting away at enemy ships and dodging bullets while listening to two people constantly talking. Most of the time I had no idea what they were talking about because the voices were sometimes muffled behind all of the other sounds of the game. On the other hand, Max's microphone sounded a bit overmodulated most of the time and Valbarossa was occasionally loud. Through most of the game, I wished the ship moved a little faster, but at the same time I felt I would be flying into bullets more often if it were. There's a big difference in challenge depending on which weapon you use. I preferred the purple homing lasers so I could focus on dodging bullets and find my zen. Any time I had the other weapons, the game it became more offensive, and more about getting in front of everything to deal damage. That said, this shooter is quite easy compared to many others because you have a significant life bar and can set the options to begin each life with seven bombs. Graphics were mostly good but sometimes felt like a PS2 game. There is an ocean section that was particularly impressive. The music is equally fine. A few tracks were really strong in the OST, but overall it was mostly sufficient. After playing Dariusburst Another Chronicles EX+ a lot before this, the Raiden V story mode felt pretty long. I believe the campaign was around 90 minutes. It was fun and I'm glad I played through it. I like how there were lots of interstitials to give players a brief rest between sections. Very good but not totally amazing. My score: 7.6

This game has a beautiful 16-bit aesthetic that combines elements of the Super NES and Sega Genesis, though I'd say it leans more toward Genesis overall. The outdoor areas have full day/night cycles, which is a neat touch. The music is epic, and there's a surprising amount of story. Characters can be cruel, humorous, heartwarming, and awkward, all in a good way. I especially loved the silly characters in the shop. The gameplay, however, is far from perfect. Getting hit can be frustrating, and dropping and switching between characters feels clunky. Having to use L2 to pick up characters, enter doors, AND grab fruit caused confusion throughout the 20+ hour game. The shoulder buttons mimic owl claws and accommodate the dual-stick controls, but simple tasks like entering doors and picking up items could have been handled much better. The life bar also seemed almost unnecessary outside of bosses and a few difficult sections. The bosses have a learning curve but are generally fair once you grasp their patterns. One of my biggest issues was the lack of a map. The world is just large enough that revisiting previous areas can be difficult, especially if you haven't played in a while, and the game does little to remind you where to go next. You also unlock a warp zone early in the game, but strangely, it ends up being the only one. Did they just forget to include more? Secret areas are equally inconsistent and few and far between. Then there are places that look as though they should have some significance but apparently don't, such as one large pink tree that seems to invite exploration but leads nowhere. I was leaning toward scoring this an 8 during its first two-thirds, but the endgame introduced too many frustrating moments and control issues. Those controls also killed my desire to return for the remaining coins. Finally, some important narrative material doesn't appear until after reaching the end—or even after the credits—which made the finale feel oddly ordered and less satisfying than it could have been. Despite its strong story, memorable characters, and many clever moments, its flaws simply added up too much by the end. My score: 7.8

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.