Final Fantasy 7 Remake [PS5] – Square Enix

This game is so far from perfect. There are so many drawn-out sections, the dialog (esp. with that English dub, jeez) is wack at times, there are weird difficulty spikes, etc. That said, this is one of the best Square Enix games, best Final Fantasy games, I have ever played. God, this game is so fun. The combat is exactly what I look for in a game: a good mix of fast-paced, real-time action and slower, more tactical features a la Mass Effect. The story is charming and fun to follow, the side quests, while barebones, are interesting and memorable, the tweaking of gear and materia loadouts make for a consistently engaging experience, and the visuals are amazing. I am so surprised at how much I liked this game and how excited I now am for the sequel.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2nd playthrough) [PS5] – FromSoftware

My second journey through this game was even better than the first. Everything about this game’s combat system is so perfectly polished and fun. I feel like I could play ten sequels with this same system and never get bored. This combat is undoubtedly the best in the Souls series, although I’m still not sure I would say that it is the best overall game (that honor may go to Bloodborne or Elden Ring, but that determination will require more playthroughs of all the games in the series). Upon playing this game for the second time, I was able to better take advantage of all the mechanics offered to me. During my first playthrough, I hardly used any of the Prosthetic Tools, which is a shame because they are so incredibly fun and offer an entirely new combat experience when you really know how to make use of them. When combining the Tools with Combat Arts, basic counters and deflections, and well-timed strikes, Sekiro players can access an incredible level of expression through the gameplay, taking out foes in efficient, stylish, and satisfying ways. I still haven’t seen all that the combat has to offer, as I haven’t yet managed to unlock all the upgrades for the Prosthetic Tools or Shinobi Arts, but I will at some point. My current ranking of the Souls games are as follows (best to worst): Bloodborne, Elden Ring, Sekiro, Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2, Demon’s Souls (still haven’t gotten far in that game).

Hogwarts Legacy [PS5] – Avalanche Software

An interesting game, and one that I have complicated feelings about. The first twelve hours or so are all that I wanted from the game and more. Hogwarts is amazing and impeccably designed; choosing your house, exploring Hogsmeade, learning the first few spells, getting the brooms, Room of Requirement… all are amazing. However, after I saw all that the game had to offer in terms of its features and locations, the cracks really started to show. The biggest issue with the game is how empty and Ubisofty it feels, and it really sucks that open-world games are still falling prey to these pitfalls after masterpieces like BOTW and Elden Ring have shown audiences what is possible with the open-world formula. There’s no real motivation to explore the world, as you will see something that looks cool, only to find that it is devoid of life, lore, or anything interesting, only housing some randomly generated, boring gear.

Aside from the typical open-world issues, the story ranged from boring and pedestrian to straight-up bad. I mean, why exactly can Wizards not come to some sort of an agreement with the Goblins? They seem to want to be treated as equals, and if the game wanted to present this class/race struggle in an intelligent way, it certainly could have. Just avoiding the issue altogether while still having the player ruthlessly slaughter countless Goblins with no consequence makes the whole thing feel cheap, cowardly, and dumb. This connects to the other biggest issue of the game, which is the RPG aspect. As an RPG, I can confidently say that this game fails. As a looter-shooter with a unique setting, it is somewhat competent, but there are no choices to be made, no relationships to develop, no backstory to define, and no consequences for anything outside of (maybe) some elements of the finale. Why does no one care that my character uses the unforgivable curses? Clearly they care when other characters do. This choice may have been made in favor of giving the player more freedom, but it comes at the cost of the immersion and the plausibility of the world (which is a huge selling point of the game–we want to BELIEVE that we are a student at Hogwarts, right?). Apparently, data-miners found evidence of cut content related to a morality system and a more complex relationship system. It bums me out to imagine what this game could have been if Avalanche continued to develop these RPG systems in the vein of games like Bully or Persona, focusing more on the goings-on of Hogwarts itself, as it is by far the crowning achievement of the game. As it stands, it looks like Avalanche chose to take a much more traditional route a la Assassin’s Creed or The Witcher: huge map, lots of collectibles, and endless, repetitive, copy-paste activities, which is incredibly disappointing, but that’s the state of AAA game development, I suppose.

Her Story [PC] – Sam Barlow

Really cool and creative. This was my first Sam Barlow game, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at just about every turn. I love how the game just throws you into it, without any lame tutorial or preamble, and lets you figure things out yourself. I was also surprised at how non-linear the experience is, as I anticipated something more akin to an interactive movie or Quantic Dream-type game, but I could definitely see different players walking away with completely different experiences. The main actress is also very good, which was another pleasant surprise. All in all, a very fun, unique, and satisfying short game that makes me excited to see what else Barlow has cooked up.

Dead Space Remake [PS5] – EA Motive

An insanely good remake of a survival horror classic. I remember when Dead Space first came out, I didn’t really understand the hype all that much. I figured it was just another typical scary space game, and the little bit of it that I played back then didn’t change my mind. However, playing the entire game, from beginning to end, with reworked controls, graphics, sound, etc., has convinced me that it is more than worthy of all the praise it has received. I have to say, I wasn’t really scared by the game, which was disappointing, but I’ve never really been scared of any horror game, so I can’t fault Dead Space for that too much. What else can I say? Story is very creative and fun to watch unfold, even if the ending leans a bit too hard into that Spec Ops: The Line-style twist that was so popular back when the original came out. Gameplay is also great, and shooting the limbs off enemies became extremely satisfying once I got the hang of it. Excited to play Dead Space 2.

Bloodborne (3rd playthrough + Old Hunters DLC) [PS5] – FromSoftware

I’m happy to report that, even on a third playthrough, I learned a lot more about this game. What an amazing experience. I still don’t know if I would rank it as FromSoftware’s best, after playing Sekiro and Elden Ring, but it is definitely wrestling those two titles for the top spot. The lore of the game was something that I tried to delve a lot deeper into during this playthrough, and I certainly feel that I have a better understanding of things, but I don’t think that the lore is something that is meant to be completely understood. The DLCs adds a whole other level of confundity to the worldbuilding, but in a good way. One criticism I still have of the game is the way that healing/bullet resources work. I used to look on this feature a bit more favorably, but I’m starting to think that it hurts the experience more than it helps. It’s very easy to get taken out of the flow of gameplay when, while fighting a very difficult boss, for instance, you have to leave the area and grind for more blood vials and QS bullets. I think that refilling these resources upon death, like in other FS games, would ultimately make for a better game.

Pentiment [PC] – Obsidian Entertainment

I plowed through the first two acts of this game very quickly, but it took me almost four months to complete the third act. I think this is because the story of the third act, while not bad, felt disconnected from what I had experienced in the first two, in Andreas’s story. That said, I’m so, so glad that I finished the game in its entirety because it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience. The immensity of the range of choices you have is mind-blowing, and I can’t wait to play the game again and see just how much agency the player truly has. This isn’t some Quantic Dream BS, either, as the writing of the game is superb, engaging, realistic, and charming throughout. Even though I let so much time pass before finishing the last leg of the story, I remembered just about everything perfectly, which is a testament to how memorable the characters, themes, and plot as a whole were.

Trek to Yomi [PS5] – Flying Wild Hog

Super underrated. I think a lot of players will/have walked away feeling a bit underwhelmed by the gameplay, which I can definitely understand as it is pretty one-dimensional; there are a wealth of different combos and skills, but the stunning combo/execution and one other that I already forgot are the only two that you need to effectively get through the game, even on the hardest difficulty. Still, the combat could be very enjoyable at times, especially when it’s played on hard, as each move feels like life-or-death. The presentation is what we are all here for, though. I took more screenshots of this game than any other in recent memory, it was just so gorgeous and never stale. Story is pretty basic, but it has the flavor of a classic legend or myth.

Citizen Sleeper [PC] – Fellow Traveler

Pretty good. I found the story to be pretty engaging, with a solid handling of cyberpunk-esque themes. The “gameplay” is also quite satisfying, and the loop of rolling the dice every cycle and managing different resources is fun if a bit rudimentary. The cracks in the system started to show at the very end of the game, when I basically had to throw away my dice and spam the “end cycle” button to run out the clock on time-based quests. I’m happy with the ending I chose as well. With all that said, the obvious comparison for this game would be Disco Elysium, and that’s not a comparison that does Citizen Sleeper any favors. I think that the writing of Citizen Sleeper, while engaging, has a very young-adult, pedestrian, and contrived tone to it, specifically in the prose itself, which isn’t great a lot of the time. The way that characters treat the PC is really basic and kind of highlights the worst parts of a lot of RPGs, that being the fact that every character seems to be obsessed with the PC, who is at the center of every conflict and is the most important, lovable person in the universe. This stands in stark contrast to Disco Elysium, which has a nuanced, multifaceted protagonist that the player still has control over in a lot of ways. There are a lot of grammar errors as well, which adds to the charm of this low-budget indie title, but isn’t what I would expect from a game that many people are praising as a masterpiece of video game storytelling.

Thumper [Switch] – Drool

Really great but also kind of torturous at times. When you’re doing well in this game, it feels incredible, but when you aren’t doing well, it’s just straight up not very fun. Specifically, the fact that missing even a single thump causes you to start over a phase in a boss fight can be pretty annoying. This sort of thing leads to situations where if you are anything less than perfect, you have to repeat the same section of gameplay again and again and it gets quite old. There are also times when it was hard to see what was happening on screen, which feels cheap. That said, I would still say this game is very fantastic. The visuals and sound design are top-notch, and I love how it plays with the fundamentals of a rhythm game at the very end. I will attempt a full S-rank run at some point.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon [PS5]

Pretty great. The core gameplay loop of going out on missions, buying new parts, and constructing new mechs is incredibly satisfying. It really didn’t feel like I was customizing a mech in order to play the game, it felt like I was playing the game to customize the mech, which I used to perform better at the game, in order to get new parts and make better mechs. It was quite a synergistic experience.

That said, this was the first time that a FromSoftware game didn’t completely blow me away. Every other FromSoftware game (Demon Souls Remake notwithstanding) completely changed how I look at games, in a sense. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with AC6, but it isn’t as thoughtful or complex as the other FS games. Also, it is rather easy, with the final boss only taking two tries to beat. It is also not quite as weird as the other games.

Resident Evil 4 Remake [PS5] – Capcom

Took me quite a while to beat this one, and I’m not really sure why. I really loved it, but I think I got to the underground area and my brain kind of just checked out; I hate underground areas in games, I really do.

This game is absolutely gorgeous, with great presentation all around. I never got to play the original RE4 (thanks, Mom) so I didn’t really have nostalgia goggles on while playing this remake, which I feel lends me some objectivity. The story, like the other RE games, is goofy as hell and as long as I didn’t take it seriously, I could enjoy it. The real gem of this game is the combat. It is survival-horror combat at its finest, offering slow, tense gameplay that gradually ramps up as the story progresses and the player improves. The big set piece sections, where Leon is being chased by a ton of enemies, were easily the highlights of my time with the game.

On the other hand, the boss battles are probably the weakest part of the experience. I really feel like Capcom hasn’t quite nailed good boss battles in these games yet. They tend to revolve around gimmicks and basic, repetitive video game staples (glowing weak points, down the enemy three times in order to win, etc.), which really runs counter to the strengths of the combat, which is deep and expressive. The final fight with Saddler is laughable as a climax. Other than that though, pretty great game.

Pikmin 3 [Switch] – Nintendo EAD

Mostly pretty good, although I think my nostalgia colors my experience of the game a little bit. Running around with an army of Pikmin, collecting resources, and finding fruit is charming and satisfying, and I like the changes that this game made from Pikmin 2. On the other hand, certain aspects of the game are a little more frustrating than anything else; I understand that micromanaging Pikmin is part of the experience, but I don’t think I should ever feel like they are dying outside of my control. Also, that final boss is absolutely ridiculous and a huge spike in difficulty. Damn, that was annoying as hell. Overall though, a good time.

Before Your Eyes [iOS] – GoodbyeWorld Games

I don’t even know what to say about this one. Anyone who has never played Before Your Eyes needs to play it. It’s free if you have a Netflix account, and its playable on a lot of devices, and it’s only like an hour long, so there’s really no excuse not to play it. It was devastating, beautiful, and affecting, making me rethink my own view of the world and of my own life. The central blinking mechanic is absolutely genius, and I don’t think that any other game will be able to use it as effectively as this one (although I’m sure many will try). No real criticisms for this one. It is exactly what it needs to be.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 [PS5] – Insomniac Games

Honestly, probably a 6 or 7 out of 10. I plowed through this game, just like I did with the first one, and that is mainly because it is a damn dopamine factory. Swinging through the city is better than in the other two games because of the web wings and other movement powers, and the combat, while still insanely easy and shallow, is a bit more enjoyable thanks to the parry mechanic. Stealth is actually even easier than the first two games, if you can believe it, because of the web ziplines and dual takedown move. It’s also more shallow because of the removal of traps.

It’s strange. I feel like Insomniac is filled with people who are insanely talented, but they can’t agree on what makes their games fun. I have no idea why a Spider-Man game had more trailing missions than any other game I played this year. Also, why are there these science puzzles in the game? I get that you want to break up the gameplay, but how about doing environmental puzzles instead? That would make much more sense. And the quicktime events… good lord. Even things that aren’t quicktime events were quicktime events.

Then there is the story, which I have the most to say about so I’ll probably save it for its own piece. But suffice to say that I’m getting a little tired of how these superhero stories are being handled in movies and games. I’m not saying it needs to be Watchmen, but Jesus Christ, take off the kid gloves for a minute and make a story that actually has consequences, tension, and complexity.

Hyper Light Drifter [Switch] – Heart Machine

Pretty alright. Honestly, it’s a bit of a disappointment in some ways. The incredible soundtrack, unique artwork, and the quality of Heart Machine’s Solar Ash all primed me to expect something moving, emotional, and intriguing. In some ways, Hyper Light Drifter is all of these things, but it doesn’t go far enough.

At the start of my playthrough, I was a bit torn about the whole no-language thing. Nothing in the game has a name and NPC interactions take the form of static images. This definitely made the world of the game feel alien and distinct, but it also made it impossible to care about what was happening. Not to be a typical shill here, but I think FromSoftware games prove that you can make a game feel unsettling and alien while still having traditional dialogue, item descriptions, and the like. Silent Hill is another good example. In the case of Hyper Light Drifter, the lack of any written language feels more like an awkward gimmick than something that adds to the experience.

Surprisingly, the combat was probably the most enjoyable part of the game for me. It’s satisfying to dash around, fire off some shots, build up ammo with melee, and toss bombs. I might pop back into the boss rush mode someday for this reason, but I don’t feel motivated to complete the game’s other side content, as it already started to feel a bit repetitive by the end.

Shovel Knight [Switch] - Yacht Club Games

You’d think that all the praise this game got would have encouraged me to play it sooner. Shows how much you know.

Shovel Knight is a tight, charming experience that really doesn’t have any low points. The gameplay is extremely straightforward, but there’s a lot of fun to be had with it. Each level, though graphically simplistic thanks to the retro art style, is brimming with personality; there’s no chance you could mix up two different areas from this game.

It’s a short game, and it might be somewhat unfair to really say that I’ve “beaten” it when I haven’t played the other four post-launch campaigns, but I definitely intend to visit those at some point.

If I had to critique the game for anything, it would probably be its difficulty and side content. It’s pretty easy, which meant that I was never encouraged to experiment with my gear or magic abilities, as the standard suit and fireball combo pretty much carried me through the game. As for the side content, it’s a bit barebones… although that’s not what I come to a game like this looking for.

Demon’s Souls Remake [PS5] – FromSoftware & Bluepoint Games

Finally, Jesus. I bought this game back in early 2021, when I first got my PS5, but I could never bring myself to get very far. I think that there are two reasons for this: one is my fault, and the other can maybe be attributed to the game itself.

Much like Bloodborne and Sekiro, if you come to Demon’s Souls looking for a carbon copy of the Dark Souls experience, you probably won’t enjoy yourself. The structure of the game is very different from all of FromSoftware’s other Souls games, as instead of an interconnected world, there’s a hub world with a series of very linear spoke worlds. When I first started playing, I would get so frustrated with this structure as, unlike in Dark Souls, you only get one checkpoint at the start of the level, and then another when you beat a boss. So, if you die in a boss fight, you have to play through the entire portion of that level again. Oddly enough, I started to enjoy this more when I began to think of Demon’s Souls like a traditional Mario game, or something similar, with the space between boss fights being more like individual levels themselves, rather than segments of a semi-open world. This allowed me to enjoy the challenge of traveling to each boss, as I knew that I would get the satisfaction of beating a really hard level after beating them.

That is all a matter of preference and prejudice, but there are some elements of the game that I think, even with the gift of hindsight, are a bit sub-par. This is the first real “Souls” game, and it shows. It really feels quaint in comparison to what FromSoftware and the studios it inspired would go on to do, and it’s pretty easy, with the hardest boss, Old King Allant, only taking me like five tries to beat. Winged Spear and Iron Shield combo is literally unbeatable. On the other hand, there are sections like the Dragon God boss, which are more annoying than fun.

Even though I have a lot of negative things to say about this game, I really did love it, in the end. I have to say, I don’t love the Bluepoint art style–it’s missing the FromSoft charm– but I do think that Bluepoint did an objectively good job of remaking the game. All I ask is that Bluepoint refrains from animating the character faces so much, if they ever remake another FromSoft game in the future.

Lies of P [PC] – Round8 Studio

I thought that this game was super overrated for a while. I just did not understand the combat, dodging felt awkward and useless, and I couldn’t really get down with the lore. I want to yell at my old self, because this game is absolutely incredible.

Much like Sekiro, if you try to play Lies of P like it’s Dark Souls, it’s not going to be very fun. You don’t really get I-frames for your dodges, so you instead need to focus on parrying, which is incredibly satisfying and well-designed. The fact that you have to land a heavy attack after stunning an enemy was annoying at first, but it ended up being really enjoyable; that extra little challenge made fights really tense, and successfully staggering an enemy was always rewarding. Also, the fact that you can break pretty much any enemy’s weapon by parrying enough, is awesome and helps incentivize that sort of playstyle even more.

I will say, and maybe this is just because the combat didn’t fully click with me until I respec’d, but it seems really clear to me that heavy weapons are far from the ideal way to play this game. Quick, low damage weapons were far more enjoyable, as they allowed me to chip away at an enemy’s health and pull off heavy, staggering moves more easily. The game more than makes up for this lack of flexibility, though.

The progression system in the game, specifically via the P-Organ (what a name), is meaningful and stays exciting well into the late game and even into NG+. Also, the weapon crafting, holy smokes. The handle-swapping system is a stroke of genius. Like basically everyone else who has played this game, I am in awe of what Round8 has been able to do with what is essentially its debut. I can’t wait to see what the studio does next.

Rollerdrome [PC] – Roll7

A very fun and satisfying ~4 hour experience, but not one that I feel any strong need to revisit. Rollerdrome’s visuals, heart-pounding music, and irreverent, over-the-top, and brutally humorous style make it unique, and the narrative, while very barebones and suggestive, was interesting enough that I didn’t feel like it was tacked on, especially since it was so unobtrusive. The main reason I don’t think I’ll jump back into it is because, while it’s really fun (rollerblade Tony Hawk + Max Payne is a genius idea), it was a bit shallow. After the first hour, you’ve pretty much mastered the gameplay, which is a little disappointing because it doesn’t really seem like that at first. The endgame mode provides a ramped-up challenge, but without new moves or dramatically different enemy types, it doesn’t feel worth it.

God of War Ragnarok – Valhalla DLC [PS5] – Sony Santa Monica

I genuinely cannot wrap my head around the fact that this is a free DLC. I have paid $20+ for DLCs that are half as good as this one. Ragnarok’s combat works surprisingly well in the roguelike framework, and being actually encouraged to make the most out of Kratos’s combat toolkit made me appreciate how well-designed it is, in a way that I was never able to in the base game. But the real reason this DLC is such a pleasant surprise is the narrative. The story of Valhalla, of Kratos’s journey of acceptance and self-forgiveness, feels like an essential part of the Ragnarok experience, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that this plotline was originally meant to be part of the base game. I have come to think of Ragnarok as somewhat overrated, but Valhalla made me enjoy the combat and characters of this world in a new way.