Recent reviews by HeyitsCable

It's everything we hoped it would be and more.
Let this entire project serve as a lesson that game development - like any progress you make in your own life - takes as long as it needs to take. Releasing it for $20 at the same time for everyone prevented review bombing (for better or worse) and allowed players to shape their own unsullied experience. That experience for me has been outstanding. Team Cherry has woven another expertly crafted experience, evergreen and replayable as is the soundtrack. One thing I loved about Hollow Knight was the small details in each regions visual design along with the "feel" of moving the knight through the world - and everything moved like a ballet once the mechanics clicked for me. Same goes for Silksong in that Hornets movement in the world feels like it's meant to be a sort of elegant dance. Exploration feels fairly challenging as it does rewarding, and as it was with the predecessor - there's some necessary emotional regulation to utilize while learning how to fell the bosses (or any enemy for that matter). Practice makes progress.
I can't wait to see the eventual speedruns of this as well. ^_^
Anyhey stop reading this and go play.

Going from Alan Wake to this almost immediately was such a satisfying immersive story experience. It stretches a little longer than I'd have liked in the last act, however the strategic WOW factor keeps coming at all the right moments. One of my favorite gaming experiences ever. The SFX and animation for levitation was something I never grew tired of -that and all the special abilities 'felt' right. Not that I can claim to know what telekinesis feels like. Unless I can?

Wondergame powers ACTIVATE: form of Traumatic Events.
Content warnings notwithstanding this game is worth experiencing if you need to witness a loose variation of what it means to totally accept an outcome - no matter how negative. Favorably, the heavy emotional lifting the game asks of the player is lightened quite a bit by some of the narratives knowing-absurdity, humor, and how endearing our hero, Little Misfortune, absolutely is.

Enjoy this one with a partner, emotional support animal (or Chat if you're streaming)

Easy to drop in, difficult to part ways with, and better with friends.

TL;DR = It's Halo.

It's always spooky season in Hallownest, so grab your favorite mask and most sturdy nail and deep dive right into an infectious paradise.

There's plenty of positive reviews here, but what's one more? Mine, that's what. Team Cherry created a masterpiece of gameplay at it's focus, and unassumingly rich with lore if you're wanting to deepen your experience. I envy anyone's experience playing this for the first time, because of how much fun it is to begin without any abilities, and gradually feeling so much more powerful along the way. (The first time I used the Crystal Dash my body exploded with gleeful laughter.) This game reward patience over button mashing, and ultimately precision (that I lack) to complete the greatest challenges. Sure, it's a 'metroidvania', but outside of that I've never experienced anything quite like it and would encourage any curious enough - with the coin to spare - to add this to your collection.

Some personal disclosures;

1. I cannot and will not leave Zote to die. I accept this as one of many game achievements that will never attain. This is fine. Zote. Invincible, fearless, sensual, mysterious, enchanting, vigorous, diligent, overwhelming, gorgeous, passionate, terrifying, beautiful, powerful, Grey Prince Zote.

2. I have found that there is a measurably direct relationship between the amount of pure multi-combo-swear-tantrum rage and the extent of which I absolutely adore this game. Challenges are rewarded and rewarding.

3. Taking on The Radiance and *finally* getting to slap that wicked stain across the face with void tendrils of justice is deeply satisfying. Every time.

Bapanada.

May Silksong be worth the wait (I've no doubt it will be).

^_^

For fans of the series this may be the flagship title in all things Final Fantasy. It's a timeless relic that is a shining example of where JRPGs were right at the transition of a new era of gaming (thinking of PSone to PS2 timeline).

The stories whimsical introductory chapters do well to juxtapose the gradual introduction of some pretty dark themes and loss later on. And, of course, includes the semi-expected inclusion of healthy meta-cognitive existential exposition, steeped in lore rich worlds, lovable characters with understood motivations. . . and my second favorite ending in all of the FF series. An ending especially needed for those who recently finished FFXV.

Use the guides, do the level grinds, feed Quina everything, don't fret if you never kill Ozma, and enjoy one of the most satisfying journeys in the series. And at the very least, unquestionably the FF with the cutest Moogle-driven save animation in existence.

*Kweh*

There may be several games that can successfully integrate both nail-biting challenge and distinctive fun, but one of Hades most salient and special aspects is how it exemplifies creating a challenging/fun experience that never shames the player if progress isn't made.

Where Hades shines is in it's by-design, seemingly endless, charisma - paired with a powerful feeling, no matter what randomized boons one receives. Also that you'll practically receive encouragement from every character you interact with along the way (and a wealth of Greek Mythology).

While the experience isn't devoid of periodic frustration, the ultimate catharsis achieved with every goal earned feels outright rewarding. So rewarding, in fact, that before you know it you are on your 50th run and start to take a more strategic approach to the fun you're having - and perhaps by then or shortly after your pact of punishment is unlocked, or you've reached the epilogue, unlock all of the weapon variations, reunite charming characters with their beloved significant others, and enjoy a wealth of other unlockable items/areas/features.

Hades is an absolute masterclass in the roguelike genre and single player gaming in general. I don’t think I’ve ever played anything that so endearingly beckons replayability, and rewards it in kind. It’s self-aware of its difficulty and never shames the player into a corner, but rather offers encouragement to counter any setback.

The voice acting and music are superb, controls are neatly finessed with various weapons, and the game is just an outright delightful challenge.

Also - when Orpheus sings (and the character itself) reminded me a bit of the artist Anohni. Unsure if intended, but beautiful to hear.

This game is worth every farthing at full price, was clearly a labor of love from everyone involved, and I hope Supergiant expands this story further.

Happy escaping.

At the risk of deviating from the norm, I'll straight away gently endorse purchasing this game. I did not play at it's release, but there were plenty of reviews to give you sense of what the game was at that time.

Now - At over 70+ hours, I literally only experienced one instance, very early in my play-through, that resulted in me needing to force and exit and reload a previous save in order to progress (V's link cable wasn't loading for the extraction point tutorial, thus wouldn't trigger the exit). Following that hiccup, there was some occasional pop-in with traffic and pedestrians, with some questionably strategic vehicle pop-in during one chase mission, and quite a lot of NPC cloning in some areas.

However, *none* of those aspects were really enough to be outright distracting, or diminish the overall beauty of this game, and especially it's ability to tell an engaging story. The story is somewhat knowingly in the style of Altered Carbon, as it relates to world building, and central characters behaving authentically to the environment and their background. The *voice acting and motion capture, paired with some of the most impressive textures I've ever seen in a game, work well together to add authenticity to the minor and pivotal moments. There are some unexpectedly heartfelt moments, especially when playing as a female V and pursuing a relationship with Judy, which results in one of my favorite moments in gaming - and a deliberate nod to Radiohead's Pyramid Song (and video).
(*Keanu Reeve's voice acting seems, at time's, slightly incompatible with the context of some scenes, but he's playing a pretty unlikable character, and anything off kilter about him smooths out as you progress to the final acts. And even perhaps this is due to how the character 'exists' in the game, and how their personality develops throughout the players progression)

The combat and controls feel tight, intuitive, and there are a wealth of perks to choose from such that there are few perks, and fewer talents containing those perks that don't feel worthy of spending your points on. The compatibility between quickhacking and stealth can, at times, take the challenge away from opting for a combat centered approach. Though, anything you can do to avoid the flatlining (death) screen is preferable in any event.

Again, looking beyond the micro and enjoying the macro, this world, and especially the level of detail that went into Night City is absolutely splendid. They embellished a city that is advertising to it's consumers at every corner, whether it's hyper-sexual, or some massive hologram koi swimming above your head through a glass dome as you speed down the highway, daytime or nighttime Cyberpunk consistently delivers on the visual wow-factor.

If you aren't compelled to focus on a game that didn't meet expectations on Day 1, it certainly comes very close now in it's current incarnation. And *close*, for those of us not completely spoiled by expecting perfection, is still enough for this game to stand on it's own as a worthwhile bit of escapism. I anticipate, with ongoing patches the user experience with only be further enriched. As for now, it's plenty rich and plenty playable.

I'd love to see CD Projekt Red have enough of a reason to justify showing us more of this world.

FYI - I opted for Streetkid, played for the 'good ending' with the Aldecaldos support, and one of my favorite missions centered around Delamain the AI taxi company who had one alter that will sound very familiar from another popular franchise (about all I can say without getting into spoilers.)

DotEmu and Lizardcube have created a highly-replayable, outright masterclass in the side-scrolling beat-em-up genre. They excelled in in not only adopting an old license, and bringing it into the new era while respecting it's origins, but in so doing also positioned themselves as the right group of creators to be trusted with this sort of thing. Seriously, whatever comes next consider me straight away in the "shut-up-and-take-my-money" stage of consumer loyalty. ( Eagerly looking at you TMNT. . .and literally whatever else comes our way).

But about the actual game - If you enjoy side-scrolling, surprisingly technical, beat-em-ups, with superb visuals, and a delightful (practically gym-worthy) soundtrack adding a signal boost to each level. . .skip the wish list and purchase it immediately. Jumping in to an online mode with anyone at-random results in some rewarding challenges, along with trusting that if they, or you, have an intention for the other to retrieve an item - then the only sign language at your disposal is to wildly gesticulate in that direction.

The story more or less only serves to politely, if not succinctly, segue between the levels, without being bloated or disrupting the sometimes needed 'flow-state' needed to maintain momentum. I appreciate this, but would have not at all minded a few extra panels of exposition if not only to selfishly take in some additional illustrations. Despite that, there are no bones to pick. Plenty of carefully prepared Chicken for you to pick at though. They even included a vegan menu, if you'd rather sub Tofu.

Now that the DLC has released the game's value has enhanced, as the chaotic (in a good way) new semi-randomized bonus stage (Survival Mode) is a consistent thrill. And a compelling excuse to level up your characters so as to unlock their new attacks and specials - introducing which results in making a character feel like new, and creating some laughably punishing new combo opportunities. Which is fitting because the addition of a new difficulty mode practically requires bringing the best in anyone's arsenal.

Enjoy learning the enemy behavior patterns, and if it gets to a point where you're cheesing them them it's time to ramp up the difficulty. And if you're of that sort of skill on the highest difficulty, I'd love to see you play because I'm not *quite* there yet. *laughs in Big Ben*

Have fun. May you be blessed with a Player 2. And remember; sharing is caring.

Blaze FTW.

Tank controls are bit of a mess overall, and despite the wonky controls and difficult to discern interactive objects the game is still a treat to play. This would be an excellent consideration for a remake to built upon everything that worked, improve what didn't, and I'm pretty sure that's happened anyhow with Deus Ex and CyberPunk 2077 Titles, except those didn't have The Thin White Matrix Duke in them.
If nothing else - it's worth the buy for even a few hours play to experience the first act and appreciate a game that was pretty high-concept at it's release and to better appreciate how far development has come since.