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Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (2017)
I got over it.
Getting Over It is a miserable and frustrating ordeal to go through with awful and awkward movement and equally as horrible level design to go with it. Every time Bennett opens his dumb mouth to jab at you for falling you'll want to cry or throw your mouse out of the window.
The whole game is designed to go against the player and frustrate them to no end. Every obstacle, every line of dialogue, every music track exist for the sole purpose of being annoying. It's really a testament to how well the game is designed to be this intentionally poorly designed.
That being said, I'm glad I played through this game. The feeling of reaching the top of the mountain is truly indescribable. Having all odds against you and overcoming those odds only through sheer perseverance is just... incredible. Not only did I conquer the mountain, I conquered myself.
I would not recommend anyone play this god awful game but if for some reason you do decide to play it, stick with it, and you will experience something truly special.
Portal 2 (2011)
GLaD I played it
The first Portal game did a decent job showcasing the potential of it's core mechanics whilst also doing some fun things with its worldbuilding. Portal 2 expands upon it's predecessor in every possible way and fully utilizes the groundwork that the first game laid down. The strong kit of new mechanics makes for more elaborate and at the same time more fun puzzles.
Also the game is really funny. The new characters are very entertaining and paired with the old faces from Portal 1 we've got a small but an extremely well developed and likeable cast. The interactions between GLaDOS and Wheatley had me laughing out loud all the time.
The visual gags and dark humor make this game ooze with so much personality and it is just really fun to go through well crafted puzzles while a killer robot monologues about something stupid.
Garfield Kart: Furious Racing (2019)
A Fascinating Take On Natural Philosophy
Garfield Kart: Furious Racing is truly a piece of art made to spark internal discussion. No other game has as deep ties to philosophy and the works of the human mind. The way this is showcased in the game design and storytelling is truly incredible and shows how far the videogame industry has come.
For example there is a course where Garfield and his friends will be racing on the ruins of Ancient Egypt, a civilization well known for pushing the boundaries of architecture and building the impossible. On this course you will constantly be bumping into walls that force you to stop and back up slowly to resume racing. Some might call this extremely annoying, but they just fail to see the genius of these types of story implications through gameplay.
The way you abruptly stop when crashing into the many walls of the course parallels the hardships the ancient civilization of Egypt had to face when building the tracks you race on. The Egyptians would face a wall, have to back up and re-evaluate how their process of building the pyramids would continue, just as how you, the player, have to do in a race.
The game is full of details like this. On one course you will fly out of bounds all the time only to be returned to the track immediately. This simulates the shackles of society and how they don't let us fly away into freedom. On another course your car can be flipped upside down against a wall leaving you permanently stuck until the race finishes. This is to showcase the unfair nature of life and how you don't have the power to fix your own problems every time.
Despite it's cartoony art direction, Garfield Kart: Furious Racing hosts some very dark and depressing themes that will unfortunately just fly over the heads of most of it's players. It is an extremely ambitious game that only appeals to a very small audience but that audience will be changed for the rest of their lives, if they truly decide to invest the time required into exploring the intricate lore of the game.
This game is an underappreciated modern masterpiece.
Shovel Knight (2014)
Truly a revival on the Shovel genre
Shovel Knight does nothing really new or exciting as a retro style 2d platformer, but instead just does what works and does it really well. The movement and combat is simple but right to the point with some excellent bosses and fun level design.
The music and visuals are great as well. It really nails the retro aesthetic fully. Other indie games with a pixel art style usually do something else on top to modernize it but Shovel Knight is confident in it's simple and effective art direction. If the game didn't run as good as it does you could actually mistake it for an NES game.
Overall if you're a fan of 2d platformers or retro style games, definitely don't skip out on this one.
Sûpâ Mario 3D rando (2011)
It's Mario
Super Mario 3D Land is like if fast food was a videogame. It is fun and tasty enough + you can eat it anywhere. However it doesn't even come close to how delicious the buffet that other Mario games offer is nor does it leave any sort of lasting impact.
The game is best enjoyed in short bursts of a couple levels at a time which is a perfect fit for the handheld console it is on. Trying to play for more extended periods of time makes the game feel very simple and repetitive, which it is, but the handheld nature of it remedies this issue.
I would recommend it as an excellent 3DS time waster to play on the bus but I would not recommend it as a big exciting Mario game.
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
"Really makes you FEEL like Batman"
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a pretty good game and a really good Batman game. The mechanics in Arkham Asylum are crafted really well to showcase all attributes of Batman from his cool gadgets and martial arts mastery to his detective genius and overall badassery.
Presentation is also nice, with it's comicbook menus etc but I do wish they leaned into that aesthetic a littlebit more with the overall look of the game. The character designs are all pretty cool though, I love this games rendition of the Joker and Scarecrow for example.
The overall design has a pretty metroidvania-ish feel to it with abilities and places to use them opening up as the game goes along, which I do quite like but again, I wish they leaned a bit more into that as the collectables aren't the most compelling thing. The overall level design and Arkham itself do make for a nice setting for this game.
Overall I really enjoyed my time with it but I can really see a lot of places for it to improve upon, so I am excited to check out the sequels.
Hoshi no Kâbî (1992)
Kirby's Average Land
Every Kirby game I've played so far has felt too easy and generic for my tastes and this one is no exception. It has some charm being the first in the series, but that's also why it is severely lacking.
The game is very short, and the most unique and fun mechanic that the series is known for isn't even there. You can't copy your enemies abilities so you have to play through the entire game as basic Kirby.
The things I will give this game are that the music is very good and the bosses are decent. Overall it is enjoyable to an extent but nothing special.
I have nothing against Kirby, these games are just not really for me.
A Short Hike (2019)
A Short Game
A Short Hike is one of the shortest games I've played but the hour or so I spent in it was absolutely worth it. It really captures the feeling of going on an adventure as you climb and explore it's environments. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect with excellent chill music and great environmental sound design.
The gameplay is a very simple 3d platformer, but there is a lot of variety like minigames and fishing. The quests are fun and the dialogue is well written and funny.
Being as short as this game was, not a single second of it's runtime was wasted. Thoroughly enjoyable the whole way through.
Super Mario World (1990)
Superb.
Super Mario World is to this day easily the best 2d Mario game. Anyone can pick up this game and instantly start having fun. For me it is one of those comfort-food videogames where every once in a while I'll play through it again.
It has the best platforming physics, the single-most fun power up in the series, that being the cape, and just so many fun secrets and alternate routes to play. It really nails being a "world" like in the title.
The music is joyful and the graphics are still just so much fun to look at even to this day. The game holds up tremendously well and for the most part you wouldn't even notice it's an old game if it was released today.
Love this classic, highly recommend for any fan of platformers.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
The Ultimate Game
Smash is the game franchise I've sunken easily the most hours into and it still keeps on being fun every single time I boot up a game, and Ultimate is absolutely no exception. It is my go-to multiplayer game anytime anyone comes over or when I have my Switch with me.
This game has an absolutely amazing roster of so many fun, unique and iconic characters. It is not just a cross-over fighting game, it is a celebration of videogames as a whole (still mostly Nintendo though). The amount of variety the sheer size of the roster brings everytime I play this game never seizes to be fun, and almost every time we can still end up playing a matchup we've never played before.
I mostly play with basic rules, but the amount of customization options given to rulesets, items, stages, everything really is absolutely insane. There are so many amazing stages besides the competitive legal ones and the stage builder also... exists. If you want a good laugh you can always look at the custom stages people online have made.
Singleplayer-wise Ultimate is a bit on the weaker side. The singleplayer campaign World of Light is basically a massive amount of challenges that work as callbacks to their respective spirits and I think it's just okay. Classic mode also returns and it is just pretty good as always. There are a lot of other random singleplayer modes but frankly none of them really interest me. Smash has always been about the multiplayer for me.
The roster is humongous and the physics strike the perfect balance between Melee and 4. I absolutely adore Smash Bros and this truly is the Ultimate one.
Sûpâ Mario rando 2: 6tsu no kinka (1992)
Super Mario Land 2: 6/10 Golden Coins
Mario Land 2 is decent at it's worst and pretty okay at it's best. I have really no strong feelings about this game at all. I played it... That's about it.
Choosing to up the graphical quality from the first game while impressive, isn't that great. Having more detailed sprites causes the game to be very zoomed in and claustrophobic but at the very least it's designed with those limitations in mind.
I never really died due to an off screen enemy or obstacle and you can scroll the screen up or down manually. Mario's movement does feels sluggish and imprecise compared to every home-console game in the series though.
The one thing I will give to this game is the fun setting and unique worlds. There's a world themed around being tiny, one themed around Halloween and one themed around space etc. The variety in enemies and level design due to this is pretty great.
So yeah the game doesn't leave much of an impression and after beating it I just wanted to go play Mario 3 or World. It's definitely decent enough but very low compared to other Mario's.
Zeruda no densetsu: Yume o miru shima (1993)
Hey you, you're finally awake
Links Awakening is in a strange spot, being a sequel for the highly acclaimed Link to the Past but on much weaker hardware. The limitations of the Gameboy are the reason this game is one of the most creative Zelda games but it also makes for some really annoying things that wouldn't be a problem on any other platform. For example the lack of buttons means you'll be constantly pausing the game to switch your equipment, which can take you away from the action.
That being said this game is really great! The world is much more compact and dense with stuff to do and explore, compared to the much vaster Hyrule of a Link to the Past. The characters are fun and you really get attached to some. The dungeons are excellent and their bosses really tough in some cases.
This is the type of game that isn't afraid to get weird. Like, really weird. The main objective of the game is waking up a giant sleeping fish in a pink egg on top of a mountain with music. There are straight up Mario enemies like Goombas and Piranha plants. There's a village with talking animals. Despite the bizarre nature of Links awakening, it brings with it one of the most interesting Zelda narratives and one of the most heartbreaking ones.
Easily my favorite Gameboy game, and so far my favorite 2d Zelda game. A true classic that shouldn't be overlooked just because of the weak console it is on.
Dark Souls III (2016)
John Souls returns...
After the masterpiece that is Dark Souls and the mess that is Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3 concludes the trilogy by mixing aspects from it's predecessors together under modern physics and a lot of brand new ideas as well, and it makes for an absolutely fantastic game.
The combat is the most refined in the trilogy, and same goes for most of the bosses. Almost all of the bosses are great and the stand outs are absolutely fantastic, the best in the series. Also the atmosphere and storytelling is on par with the previous titles, the story being probably the best in the trilogy due to the buildup from being the end of the trilogy.
The only thing that bugs me and still takes Dark Souls 1 over this game for me is the level design. It is great in this game, the areas are vast and mazelike, and the world itself is huge, but the way everything connects into one cohesive and living world in Dark Souls 1 is not there.
Loved my time with this game, I still think the first game is the best though.
Haiku, the Robot (2022)
Haikuality indie metroidvania
Haiku the Robot is an indie Metroidvania clearly taking inspiration from Hollow Knight and the like, but this is in no way a bad thing. There are a lot of unique and great ideas introduced and the game clearly does its own thing while building on something already good.
The controls and combat feel really nice and some lategame abilities are really fun to use. Having to manage your heat level while dodging boss attacks is a nice strategic touch to prevent the abuse of i-frames. A lot of the bosses, while fun, are a bit forgettable though.
My favorite part of the game was the music and atmosphere. The sound design honestly caught me by surprise by how great it is and the music is nice too.
Overall the game was a bit too short, but I did enjoy it the entire way through. An underrated indie gem that I'd definitely recommend.
Zeruda no densetsu: Kamigami no toraifôsu (1991)
A Classic from the Past
A Link to the Past is to this day revered by many as the best game in the series and I can certainly see why. It is the first game to introduce the classic Zelda formula and many iconic things such as the master sword, and even with it being the first Zelda game like this, it absolutely nails everything.
The puzzlebox world design of uncovering new items and abilities and being able to access new areas and secrets, minigames, sidequests, caves etc is fantastically executed and the world is packed with things to discover. The Dark world also adds a second layer to exploration and being able to swap between the two makes for some interesting puzzles.
The dungeons are also excellent and a lot of them really made me think. Some of the later ones are still a bit confusing and messy. The music in general is also great.
It is not perfect or my favorite by any means though. Sometimes the only way to progress forward is a specific spot on the map that you wouldn't know about, and finding that spot isn't that fun. Most of the bosses are good but some of them are straight up bs and losing throws you to the start of the dungeon. In combat you will always be bounced around when you hit or are hit by enemies etc. The jank of being an old game is still there as well.
Overall I'd say that Link to the Past is a fantastic classic that established a lot of series staples and it's definitely worth playing even today. Just be ready for frustration and not knowing where to go at some parts.
The Hyrule fantasy: Zeruda no densetsu (1986)
It's Zeldin' time!
Zelda 1 without a guide is a cryptic mess you will walk around in for five minutes and then turn the game off frustrated not knowing what to do. Now on the other hand Zelda 1 WITH a guide is like a giant treasure hunt and you're exploring a vast world with fun secrets and dungeons to be found everywhere.
This game is truly great when you kinda have an idea of what you're doing, but not really. Trying to find your way to the next dungeon in the maze like world only kinda knowing where it is and then actually playing through the dungeon barely surviving out the other end is where this games true fun is at.
The game is heavily outdated though, only really ever playing three songs on loop, difficulty balancing being off, having to grind for rupees etc.
I would never recommend anyone touch this game without a guide but with a guide it is a really fun way to spend an afternoon with a cup of coffee.
Super Mario 64 (1996)
Mamma mia!
Super Mario 64 is one of those all time classic games that I have started multiple times but never reached the end. Yesterday though I decided it was about time I finally played through it, and I did in one sitting. It's certainly deserving of it's spot as a landmark title, but it isn't the perfect videogame.
Mario's controls are hands down the best part about Mario 64. Even by today's standards Mario moves buttery smooth, jumps are executed with great accuracy and the list of all of your movement options is deep enough for all sorts of fun platforming.
The presentation has a charm to it that most games from this era have. It's graphical fidelity is obviously terrible, the whole game has like 7 polygons, but it is certainly fun to look at, and the cartoony art direction hides imperfections.
I really liked every big open level with multiple stars to find whereas the tighter platforming courses with not much room to maneuver weren't as enjoyable. Not every star in the game is a winner, and most are acquired in barely any time at all. Some are very annoying to get and others are really fun.
I think keyword with Mario 64 is consistency, which it lacks. At it's highest it can be amazing, but at it's lowest it can be very frustrating. Great game, would love to see it modernized and streamlined a little bit.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995)
DK is the Kong of 2d platformers
Donkey Kong Country is one of the best 2d platformers of all time, and it's sequel doesn't fall short either. This game has some very creative level design and it does things that a lot of platformers nowadays would be scared to do. Really the things you see in levels are sometimes on the level of insanity that you see in modern difficult indie 2d platformers, and it's great.
There are so many ideas jampacked into the game, almost every level feels like a brand new and unique idea and it never stops throwing those new ideas at you. In one level you could be using the updraft to ascend up a perilous well and in the next one you'll be freezing the rising water by jumping on seals.
Like most SNES games, the presentation is still great to this day, but thanks to the unique art direction of these games, they are some of the best looking ones on the console. The amount of detail in the animations and the backgrounds is insane.
Still, the graphics and gameplay being as good as they are, the hands down best part about DKC is the music. The quiet but catchy tunes are all memorable and atmospheric.
Still prefer the first game, but this was a very good sequel.
Dishonored (2012)
Dis game good
Dishonored is essentially a stealth-action-sandbox that does multiple things and succeeds in all of them beautifully. The dark dystopian steampunk setting is unique and fully realized with so much emphasis on details and lore that it's almost exhausting. Every level, every piece of environment, every location, book, npc is there for a reason.
The story is pretty much a political assassination thriller that you serve as the biggest piece of, your actions influencing where the story goes and how certain characters act. The levels also evolve based on how many people you kill, and again, it is perfectly fitted to the setting. More people killed equals more corpses, which leads to more unhygienic living, which leads to more sick people, for this you need more security etc etc.
While the story and the characters themselves are interesting, they are a bit lacking due to the voice acting being not that amazing. Sometimes it feels borderline robotic.
The most important part of this game is obviously though the gameplay, which is just great. Both the stealth and action mechanics are fully fledged and this combined with the brilliant level design makes for one of the most replayable single player campaigns out there.
The supernatural abilities are very unique and fun to use, and the tools at your disposal allow for some very gruesome encounters. Or not, if you don't want to. You can beat the entire game without killing or being seen by anyone. Player freedom and choice are the most important part of the gameplay. Whether you want to sneak past guards via a rooftop, straight up engage with them in awesome combat or possess a fish and swim away, it is all up to the player.
Excellence in every way.
Zeruda no densetsu: Tiâzu obu za kingudamu (2023)
Tearing up
Tears of the Kingdom had to live up to the impossible expectations of being a sequel to one of the best games of all time. What is even more impossible is that it not only lived up to those expectations, it blew past them in every possible way.
My personal worry while waiting for this game was that it would be good, but it wouldn't capture the same magic of exploration that Breath of the Wild did. The game soon proved me wrong with it's sheer size and vastly changed Hyrule. The game world has been changed to a point where it's near unrecognizable apart from the huge landmarks, and the added layers of verticality expand upon the world to be more than double the size.
I was immediately lost and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff to do and explore, see how my favorite locations have changed etc. But in an absolutely good way. Really, the amount of times I was distracted from what I was doing only shows how magical exploring Hyrule again was.
The new abilities and mechanics are a joy to toy around with, and the physics engine is so in depth that the possibilities given to the player are almost truly limitless. There are countless ways to solve puzzles, and probably as many for straight up skipping them. The vehicle building was an unexpected but definitely welcome addition and I had way too much fun designing the worst and most cursed ways of traversal.
It is amazing how good the game looks even with the limitations of the Switch. The art direction is absolutely gorgeous and I would often stop and just enjoy the view, accompanied by the immaculate sound design. The atmosphere is so good that I enjoyed even just walking through the environment.
That being said there are also moments where the Switch doesn't pull through in the form of janky textures, very noticeable pop-in, and occasional frame drops. Even then the game was too good for these problems to hinder my overall experience.
The story is a simple but functional Zelda story so it is nothing amazing, but the high points and climaxes still hit extremely hard. Especially the finale was exceptionally good, one of the best videogame finales out there.
Everything I hoped for and more, a true masterpiece.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (2021)
Skywardly swording
Skyward Sword is the only Zelda game built this heavily on motion controls and linear progression, but neither of these things are bad. The linear progression allows for some great level design and fantastic dungeons. The motion controls being the front and center of the gameplay makes for a very unique and fun experience.
This game also has the best story in the series and a fantastic fully orchestrated soundtrack. The art style is also great. The characters are some of the goofiest and most fun in any Zelda game, namely Groose and Ghirahim. The side content is also really good.
The final showdown is one of the best in any videogame.
Zeruda no densetsu Towairaito purinsesu (2006)
Classic 3d Zelda doesn't get better than this
Twilight Princess is a traditional Zelda game through and through, but it takes you on a journey of the most unique and memorable places and dungeons in the entire franchise. The items range from your classic bow's and boomerangs to full on Beyblade skateboards and wrecking balls. The game is full of so many unique ideas and themes while still keeping it's dark but lighthearted tone consistent.
The first half of the game is a bit slow but the second half pops of harder than any other Zelda game with some of the best dungeons and bosses in the series, the side quests and mini games are fun and overall there is just so much to do and explore. Characters are important and memorable, and the story is pretty good too.
It's a faulty masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless.
Zeruda no densetsu: Mujura no kamen (2000)
Piece of art
Majoras's mask isn't a videogame. It's weird, it's terrifying and it's heartbreaking. It takes the core aspects of Ocarina of Time and creates something barely recognizable as a sequel. Obviously it looks and feels the same for the most part, but the entire mood and central mechanics have been changed so much that this is an entirely different experience.
There is just a certain charm to literally every aspect of Majora's Mask. The oppressive atmosphere, the weird and wacky npc's and the uniquely thematic music. Even it's visuals, even if they're just a product of it's time, fit Majora's Mask on this specific level that ties it all together.
The compelling narrative deals with death and trauma in a way that no other piece of media really does. It is one of the few games to hit me this hard.
Majora's Mask is a piece of art.
Zeruda no densetsu: Toki no okarina (1998)
Timeless
Ocarina of Time is a true classic of absolutely masterful game design that stands the test of time, some other aspects not as much. Visually for it's time it is obviously amazing, being among the first fully 3d adventures, but nowadays I wouldn't put it past anyone calling it ugly.
It is also a bit clunky with it's controls and overly simplified tutorials but literally everything else about the game is truly designed to perfection. The dungeons and bosses are great, the puzzlebox style progression is fun and the characters and music are memorable. Especially the music is a strength that nearly every game in this franchise just nails.
While I wouldn't recommend it as someone's first adventure in the Zelda series, it is absolutely still worth playing. Truly a timeless classic.
Zeruda no densetsu: Buresu obu za wairudo (2017)
Joy of discovery
Breath of the Wild is the definitive open world game giving you the freedom and tools to do whatever you want the moment you land your feet on the Kingdom of Hyrule. Breath of the Wild rewards the player for experimenting and exploring in a way that no other games in the genre really do.
The feel of "Zelda" is still very much intact, though it does reinvent the franchise in a way that not everyone likes. The biggest thing is the lack of classic Zelda-like dungeons, seeing as they don't fit the freedom and progression of this game but it's still a shame.
The somber, ruined world has beautiful atmosphere with it's sound design, the only noises you hear being the environment and soft piano keys. Graphically speaking the art style is also absolutely gorgeous and this game on hardware as weak as the Switch is just an absolute miracle.
Playing this game for the first time is truly an unforgettable experience.