Ulasan terkini oleh Kaedwenii

I don't usually do this, but - especially since its been so long since we've gotten something from sprite: I felt like I immediately had to make a review about this game.

I feel that whether or not you like it will come down to how you feel about the story, and that is, of course, subjective... for me, personally, I'm writing this 2 hours into the game and emotionally, it has already hit me like a truck. This story immediately felt really, really relatable to me, so I'm undoubtedly only going to be more and more biased towards it as I get further. There is something so emotionally tender about it, about the nuance and care that it takes in examining the feelings of our characters; this sounds so weird to say, but it feels like the writing itself cares deeply about Mina and Ran - so I can't wait to see where things go from here. I do think, though, that if you find yourself struggling to get emotionally invested, you might struggle to enjoy this one as a whole. The Emotional and Philosophical tags are absolutely apt here, I really think that's what Everlasting Flowers is going for. So as much as I recommend this wholeheartedly, if that's just not what you're looking for, or if you're just not in the right head-space for it, I don't think anything about Everlasting Flowers will make you change your mind, here. And that's okay! For me, personally, though... it's been quite a while since I've read an emotionally-charged visual novel, so sprite has given me exactly what I've wanted.

However, what can't be argued is the absolute quality that sprite has put into the game. Suzumori's art absolutely sings here; I really don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that these CGs are downright gorgeous, and there are so, so many of them. Seriously, I've seen them up to the double digits at a point where most visual novels would have shown 4 or 5! When sprite said they wanted to focus on quality through high budget production values, it's quickly obvious that they followed through on that statement. There is also what sounds like a real piano taking focus in the soundtrack, which does so much for the mood and the setting. And again, it's subjective, but just the opening theme alone had me feeling so many emotions... I'm sure a nice chunk of my playtime has been just sitting at a CG enjoying the melody loop. The music perfectly suits thus far, and it's as sparkling as the art it accompanies. And of course, no complaints about the seiyuu here: Lynn and Reina Ueda are as perfect as you'd expect, and it's lovely to hear so much range from Ueda, who is definitely out of her comfort zone voicing Mina, but has done an amazing job, from what I've heard so far.

If you're curious about the translation: I am playing in Japanese, but I've glanced over the English translation from time to time just to check out differences, out of interest, and to my eyes, it seems like a pretty faithful translation and localization! It's especially nice that they've included honorifics in the English text... I can see how it would have been a nightmare to translate otherwise, and I'm glad to see that they trust readers enough to let them enjoy a more faithful translation.

I also know that some people are worried about a brand-new scenario writer working on the game. Of course it's far too early for me to say whether Everlasting Flowers is life-changing or a must-play visual novel, or anything like that. But I do truly believe there's something beautifully aching and nostalgic here, that begs to be experienced if (and it's a big if) you're willing to get lost in your emotions for a little while. Everlasting Flowers already feels like something special, to me, and while I normally wait until I've finished games to review them, I wanted to ensure that sprite is recognized for what must have been a monumental amount of work, as far as visual novels are concerned.

Please give it a try if any of what I've said sounds at all interesting to you!

EDIT: I finished it! I cried. So, so, so much. This story is so important. I just adored it.

This review contains some thematic and related content spoilers for Harvestella. I have tried to avoid spoiling major events as much as possible throughout my review, but I also feel it's impossible to talk about and review Harvestella without talking about the game thematically in its entirety. What I talk about here may impact your first playthrough immensely, and I genuinely feel like a large part of the magic of Harvestella is going into it knowing next-to-nothing about it. In fact, I'd urge you to go into Harvestella completely blind, if possible.

But for everyone else- those who are okay with reading about said thematic and related content spoilers: Let's begin.

Described on the Steam store page as a farming sim, I'm sure many of us expected to be welcomed to a bright and colorful world, filled with townsfolk for us to help deal with simple day-to-day problems, maybe a few creatures to fight for crafting materials, a chance to escape our own everyday life by experiencing growing relationships with a charming cast of characters (maybe even finding love in the process), all while managing a farm of our very own.

Sound familiar?

Contrast that with Harvestella, in which you find yourself waking up in a drab, monotone world, being told by some random girl you've never seen before that "you have the power to save the world, but only if you learn to love it" - before passing out on a hill overlooking some gigantic, shiny, crystal-looking thing. You'll still find those farming sim systems you are expecting, but it should be immediately obvious that Harvestella is doing something different with them, here.

Now, let's talk about what is (for many) the elephant in the room: The fact that Harvestella has no immediate voice acting whatsoever. That is, you'll hear when characters shout in battle, and hear occasional one-liners from your farm helpers and major named characters when you walk by them- but otherwise, in terms of voice acting, essentially, there is none. While I'd love to hear full voice acting if we ever do get a bigger-budget sequel, I'd also be perfectly fine if they continued with what was present here. (And speaking of voice acting, shoutout to Emo's 本当に戦うの？！and alternate ミイー！if you're close to a powerful boss enemy! She's so cute! Ahem, moving on...)

Combat is also more on the bare-bones side, but once you learn how it properly works (that is, that certain combos can be strung together more easily depending on the skills you have unlocked), it starts to feel less clunky. It may not be enough for some, but I personally still enjoyed what was offered here- especially after unlocking late-game possibilities, like a fully kitted-out Sky Lancer, and my personal favorite job, the Pilgrim.

I found Harvestella when I think I truly needed it most; after dealing with what was (for me) a terrible holiday season, I was looking for something cozy and simple to play, realized I hadn't yet played SquareEnix's new farming sim, and booted it up. As I got more and more drawn into the world- I found what that girl said to me started to ring true. Looking out at the waves of Shatolla after helping the local bartender with his latest issue, the gorgeous night theme washing over me (Go Shiina did a phenomenal job with Harvestella's soundtrack, by the way), I realized something. I was actually beginning to love this world. And, if pressed, I would absolutely want to save it, after all. In the end, I was genuinely surprised by just how much the jaded bitterness I was feeling when I started Harvestella, would become so relevant to the game's themes. And equally so, how the ending of Harvestella found me giving in to its relentless belief in the chance for a better future. Multiple aspects of Harvestella's story felt all too real, relevant, and relatable, to me.

I'm not usually one to tell people how to play a game. If you play the opening hours and find that it's simply not for you, that's totally fair. But I also feel that Harvestella relies on you maybe initially being apathetic towards some of its more ridiculous side quests. That it relies on you gradually engaging more and more with the farming systems over time. That it relies on you not simply dropping it because it bores you, but in slowly allowing yourself to fall in love with the world. And I'd like to posit something opposite to many posts and comments and reviews I've seen: I believe that the absolute mundanity of the world that seeps through every moment, is the point of Harvestella. So I'd advise you to really take your time. Farm a little (or a lot), cook, help a trio of children resolve their friendship problems, chat with the town doctor, deliver some food- and only when your curiosity is genuinely gnawing at you, go to Nemea, Shatolla, and Argene (in that order), and see what's really going on over there.

Likewise, take your time building relationships with your party members in between those major city-exploring story beats, because after Chapter 3- I well and truly felt like the story went off the rails (in the best way). All bets are off, and for a while, things move at an increasingly rapid pace, never really fully giving you a chance to breathe. I'm one of those people who play a game as "realistically" as possible, so if it doesn't seem feasible that you'd stop and casually chat while some major event is occurring, I don't. In terms of Harvestella, that meant I was waking up at 6am, rushing through my farm duties until 7am, and then promptly heading back to the newest gripping main quest of the day, throughout Chapters 4 through 9. There are some natural moments to pause, but just know that, after Chapter 4 begins, you may not want to do anything else but the main quest.

And it's here that Harvestella really shines. All pretenses of a farming sim are cast off, and these chapters are so chock-full to the brim with revelations, reveals, twists and turns, that at one point I wondered if I was even playing the same game anymore. In my humble opinion, Harvestella's story is expertly written, an aching reflection on grief, loss, mistakes, and death- an exploration of something so incredibly poignant and relevant to our own world, as we know it today. Harvestella deftly handles issues of the self, existentialism, and environmental decay, in a way that absolutely floored me (one chapter had me playing for 4 hours straight in search of answers!), but I also feel that the impact of said reveals, this slow, yet massive unveiling of a larger, much deeper narrative underneath what was initially sold as a farming sim, would not have worked nearly as well if this game was marketed otherwise.

It is because I was lulled into believing that this was nothing more than a farming sim, that the later chapters shocked and awed and impacted me so deeply; and I'd argue that, if Harvestella was instead marketed as the sprawling, epic, and intensely affecting social commentary of a JRPG that it truly is, it would do the true nature of its story a great disservice.

And while I have effectively spoiled this great twist here, I've done so in the hope that it gives some of you who initially passed on it (maybe due to it being "yet another farm sim") an inkling to give it a proper try. Fittingly, what you are told at the very beginning is also true for the game itself. You have to find it in you to care enough about the game itself, to see it through to its proper end. While yes, it is clearly a lower-budget outing from SquareEnix, and some aspects of the game therefore may leave you with something to be desired- at its heart, I believe Harvestella is the epitome of some old sayings that are well known in gaming culture by now:

Give it a proper chance.
It really does get better.
I know it might not initially click with you, but trust me, that's the point: it all comes together by the end.

And as that lonely girl says to you in the very, very beginning:
I truly hope you learn to love this world.

Full disclosure: I've wanted to love rogue-like games for the longest time. The idea of having to beat a game in one flawless go, with only the things you've picked up along the way in that one run - just sounds amazing to me. Always only being a few careless mistakes or unfocused moments from starting an entire run over sounds like one of the most thrilling gameplay experiences you could ever have. It seems like the embodiment of one of my favorite video game quotes of all time: making every shot count. But as much as I wanted to love them, there was something about the ones that I'd tried - whether it was the aesthetics, the gameplay style, or even just the premise of the game itself - that made it impossible for me to get into them. To be honest, I had completely written them off as a genre that really just wasn't for me. And then along came Supergiant with their "god-like, rogue-like dungeon crawler" that "combines the best aspects of Supergiant's critically acclaimed titles". Being a huge admirer and lover of every title Supergiant Games has given us so far, I took those words to heart, trusting that, in Supergiant's hands, maybe, despite its genre, this could be another game with which I could fall in love.

And I'm glad (almost) beyond words, that I was right.

The words on the tin really are exactly what you're getting with Supergiant's latest game, Hades. It combines frenetic and immensely satisfying combat with incredibly deep world-building and story telling, a deliciously irreverent score that isn't afraid to use unique time signatures and other subtle tricks to get you in that perfect Underworld-thrashing mood. It really is a perfect melding of gameplay, where everything you do, every single item and pickup and power-up and moment you spend with it feeds back into the cycle of dying again and again and again. And I did I mention the cast yet? No? Okay, literally every character is some form of hot. I don't know how you did this, character designers and voice actors but... wow. No, I'm not joking - everyone is really hot. Aphrodite I'm free for literal eternity plz call me thnx~ It's these characters that (beyond being incredibly attractive) make Hades so special. It has gotten to the point for me where, even though I'm now trying different builds out to finally vanquish the Final Boss - and yes, that does mean starting over and dying and starting over and dying again and again and again - I really don't mind! I'm relatively happy to come back to the game's hub and catch up on all the hot gossip with my fave characters that I might have missed while I'm away. And that's to say nothing of the story moments you could potentially get while you're busy battling through Tartarus itself! It's easily the game's biggest strength, and what sets it apart from other rogue-likes I've tried.

Quite simply, with Hades, you are always accomplishing something, whether it's getting more Darkness (experience to make you permanently stronger), gems for the good House Contractor (for aesthetics and cosmetics in the House of Hades), nectar for your best mates (for relationship progress and gift-giving), keys (for unlocking new weapons, abilities, and buffs), and more! There are so many intertwined systems in Hades, and, much like the game itself, all of these items feed back into your runs in a beautifully complimentary loop.

That's to say nothing of the combat, where each weapon, power-up, and boon feel distinctly unique, and really match the feeling of the god or goddess who you got it from! Even after I "beat" the game, I can already see myself going back to it just to try out new builds, just to see if I can get to the surface that much faster. My only tiny of the tiniest complaints is that sometimes aim assist can really screw you over sometimes - but again, it's the tiniest of complaints. Maybe turn it off or use a mouse and keyboard instead of the initially recommended controller if it's giving you too much trouble.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this gem of a game to anyone who, like me, has ever wanted to like rogue-like games - and even more so if you were a fan of Supergiant's past games but just weren't sure about the whole rogue-like thing. We are absolutely in the most capable of hands. Supergiant's god-like rogue-like game really is as good as you've been hearing - a gem of a game that has finally made me want to try and die again and again and again - and for that, I can give it nothing but the highest of praise.

Hades is my Game of the Year nomination for the 2020 Steam Awards.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is my personal Game of the Year for 2019. An incredible story-driven narrative held together by the often subtle interactions between Amicia De Rune and her brother Hugo, A Plague Tale is an incredible outing by Asobo Studio, cementing them as a developer to watch in the years to come. Plain and simple, the game is an absolute marvel - and, save for a shortcoming which I'll discuss below - it should absolutely be on your must-play list if you enjoy story rich, singleplayer adventures filled with lots and lots of heart.

The opening of A Plague Tale is a perfect showcase of what I'd like to talk about first: the graphical presentation. My eyes wanted to look in a million different places at once; caught between the lush piles of leaves, the beautifully rendered trees and foliage, and the pristine attention to detail in every rock, tuft of grass, or bricks of a ruin that I passed by (thanks to the studio's use of Quixel Megascans - a massive library of high quality textures and materials). I truly felt that I was in a dense forest, a small part of a much larger ecosystem, and whether you're trudging through swamps, sneaking around in a large city, or pushing your way across a snow-swept landscape, this care and handcrafted feel to the game doesn't let up until you see the credits roll. This jaw-dropping tech spectacle isn't powered by Unreal Engine, as you might first guess from the thick and realistic volumetrics and lighting on display, but actually by Asobo Studio's own in-house engine. It really is a marvel, and I'm so excited to see what worlds they decide to treat our eyes to next! If you'd like a game to show off just what a high-end PC and monitor are capable of, look no further than this game's visual splendor.

A Plague Tale: Innocence takes place during the time of the Black Death, a period of history that we've all heard about time and time again - but in playing through the game, you will really feel as though you have been placed into those harrowing moments of history. For most of the game, your experience is grounded in history. You'll hear English soldiers muttering about the French, and as you traverse the southern French region of Guyenne, you'll be able to admire towns, countrysides, and cities as an authentic representation of that time.

Gameplay is less realistic, leaning more heavily on video game mechanics, but it works to the game's advantage here. Combat starts out simple, as you are encouraged to mostly run from enemies, only using your trusty sling if in an extremely dire situation. I can't speak to PC controls, as I played the entirety of the game with a controller, but I found stealth and combat to be mostly intuitive, only occasionally sticking to a wall that I didn't actually mean to. One of the main focuses of the gameplay is your ability to send your little brother Hugo to places that you can't reach, and while it might seem like another frustrating escort-style mechanic, you'll likely come to rely on him more than you'd initially think. Combat does open up greatly in the tail end of the game, but to say any more would likely be considered spoilers.

As a story-driven game that really only begs for one playthrough (unless you're a completionist), I can say without hesitation that A Plague Tale: Innocence is worth its asking price, and doubly so if on sale. I completed the game in about 15 hours, and that was mostly because I was stopping and staring and taking in all of the (sometimes grotesque) eye candy. And throughout all of that time, I was on the edge of my seat, needing to see what would happen next. Don't be surprised if you find yourself trying to finish the game in one sitting! Voice acting in and outside of cutscenes is superb, and every character you meet has a truly endearing quality to them. Each chapter is integral to the story, and there was never a moment that felt like filler. While I wish the campaign was longer, the story was masterfully told, and contains one of the best depictions of a brother and sister relationship in a video game I've ever seen.

Unfortunately though, this brings me to the aspect in which A Plague Tale: Innocence, for some, may fall apart: its latter half. Personally, I so appreciated this story as one told in its time period, that the deviations from the historical and into the supernatural kind of soured the last parts of the game for me. There absolutely are some things throughout the game that are embellished for the sake of A Plague Tale being a video game... but be warned that, as you near its ending, A Plague Tale will go out there with its narrative. I mean... really out there. It may really turn you off, but, as jarring as it was, I found it worth seeing the tale to its conclusion.

All that said, A Plague Tale: Innocence is still an absolute gem of a game, a technical marvel (at times showcasing up to five thousand rats on your screen at once - how lovely!), and a truly heartfelt showcase of why games as an interactive narrative medium are, and always will be, so, so important. If you choose to embark on this journey with Amicia and Hugo, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Note: This review will be edited to reflect the (as of 5/31/19) unreleased final DLC for Season Pass holders.

Having recently finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider to 100% achievement completion and given myself a few days to sit on my thoughts for this review, I feel comfortable enough to try and reflect fully on this conclusion to Lara Croft's origin story. This being billed as the game where you finally "become the Tomb Raider" put expectations extremely high (seriously, we've been waiting five years for this!). And while I can wholeheartedly recommend this game, for both diehard reboot-Tomb Raider fans and those who just want a solidly fun action-adventure romp that will show off the great potential of their shiny new graphics card, I'm not sure Eidos Montréal and Crystal Dynamics truly hit their mark here. Let me explain, starting with what I can absolutely praise Shadow of the Tomb Raider for, starting with (as always with this reboot series, it seems-): Camilla Luddington's voice work.

She is a tour de force here, bringing such nuance and layering to Lara that we just really haven't seen before. Luddington has had some beautiful moments in Rise, but here, with Shadow, her performance is just captivating from beginning to end. Just as we are stepping into the shoes of a much more experienced and practiced Lara, she reflects this with a measured vocal presence, from start to finish. Earl Baylon (who returns as Lara's friend Jonah Maiav) also does extremely well in his supporting role, with their chemistry making for the most gripping of prologue scenes I've ever witnessed in the Tomb Raider trilogy. Scenes like the one I've mentioned are plentiful, which brings me to another thing I can commend Shadow for: its commitment to telling an emotionally charged story.

Even from the outset, you can just tell something is different about Shadow of the Tomb Raider, from the developer's opening statement, to a much slower prologue than what we've had previously before our story begins proper. What this does is allows for more moments centered on the characters than ever before, which gives us some great time with our favorite heroine and the people that surround her. While you'll still find the usual action set-pieces, interspersed with them are these great quieter moments of reflection between characters. In fact, my complaints with Tomb Raider (2013), in which I said that aside from Lara, none of the characters felt memorable, thankfully do not apply here. I can remember all of the major players by name, and I believe that is owed to the fact that each of them got the screen time that they deserved. I truly felt like I was going on a journey where the stakes were high, and the outcome truly mattered. It's a shame, then, that its climax was not realized fully.

I really don't know what happened with Shadow of the Tomb Raider's third act. While playing on Deadly Obsession difficulty (and therefore playing the same final section over and over), I realized just how flat the final confrontation falls. Without spoiling anything, I can say that after five years of buildup to this moment, it just wasn't as epic and satisfying as I think we deserved. It's... fine, I guess? But I really feel like a much better conclusion (with a deservedly larger scope) could have been had.

The game itself runs at about 14 hours, with each of the seven DLC adding on about an hour to that time. Combat is a finely tuned machine of stealth and all-out offensive, with traversal being a highlight and a joy to experience. It's hard to go back to the previous games after knowing all the tricks Lara has up her sleeve for her final outing. While you'll still have moments where you could have sworn you timed that quick-time event just right, there is much less room for error here and gameplay feels much more forgiving in that respect. You can also tune elements (such as holding as opposed to repeatedly pressing) for ease of access in Shadow's moment-to-moment gameplay, as well as individually change difficulty settings for combat, exploration, and puzzles.

Graphically, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is just an absolute marvel, with sweeping vistas, imposing caverns and incredible interior lighting. There's even a certain place in the story that just feels like a tech-demo for dust particles! The devs have done such beautiful work here, and while I miss the colder climates that Rise presented, this take on Central America is truly impressive as well. Also available is a fairly robust photo mode, complete with poses and filters, where you can spend hours on end lining up the perfect shot, or just taking in the beautiful sights.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1651933763

While Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn't quite give the conclusion I was hoping for, it's still a great ending to Lara's origins. Maybe pick it up on sale if you just want a flashy new AAA game to add to your collection. The journey itself is absolutely worth a buy if you consider yourself a fan of the reboot series.

It's really just deeply unfortunate that I'm writing a negative review for a game in one of my favorite series of all time, and what was - before Title Update 1.12, and the release of Legacy of the First Blade Episode 2 - likely going to be my current favorite game of all time. Long before October 2nd, 2018, I preordered the Gold Edition of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I love Shao Jun, Evie Frye, and Aya of Alexandria dearly, but specifically knowing that a female protagonist would finally lead an entire mainline Assassin's Creed game if you chose them as your protagonist, just made me beyond excited. And when they showed that choices would be brought into an Assassin's Creed game for the very first time - all of that excitement was gone. Choice in an Assassin's Creed game went against everything we were told in the lore. I was racking my brains as to how they would make this work when the basis of an Assassin's Creed game, that you are experiencing the memories of someone long gone, was giving way to dialogue choices. And when they told us they were adding multiple romances to this formula too, as an AC fan, I was nervous. But I trusted that they would treat this game, and the fans who love their games, with respect, and honor the series as a whole. And I went against all my better judgment (and usual personal practice), and preordered the game. Because the more gameplay I saw, I felt like this game was something special. I felt like Ubisoft was trying something bold and fresh for one of their most beloved franchises. And I wanted to be part of that. And after seeing the premises of promised DLC, I knew I'd be genuinely upset if I missed out on them too.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the third game I have ever personally ever preordered for myself. When I say it's usual personal practice, I really do mean it.

And after 370 hours with this game, I wish I never had.

Before I get into why my review is negative, I just want to clear up a few things here. None of what I'm about to say is driven solely by my personal feelings and opinions. Rather, everything I'm about to say is because the product that Ubisoft has sold is not the product that I have received. In multiple ways. And I'm writing this review to bring that to peoples' attention. Because what Ubisoft has done, regardless of personal feelings, is wrong on a fundamental level of ethical business practice.

As a major part of the marketing for the game, creative director Jonathan Dumont and narrative director Melissa MacCoubrey talked about choices and romance within the game. Dumont said, "Since the story is choice-driven, we never force players in romantic situations they might not be comfortable with. Players decide if they want to engage with characters romantically. I think this allows everybody to build the relationships they want, which I feel respects everybody’s roleplay style and desires."

In Legacy of the First Blade Episode 2, no matter the dialogue options you choose, no matter the actions you take when completing the quests for that DLC episode, your character ends up with a child, with someone they are clearly meant to be romantically in love with. No decisions are made in this romantic situation, they are all made for you. And in designing the DLC to end this way, and no other, Ubisoft has lied. Your character reacts romantically in every interaction with their unchosen partner, with even the musical cues that played each time you romance a character smacking you over the head each time, just in case you missed it. Your character pines for this partner, cries over them, snuggles under the stars with them, and has a child with them - without a dialogue choice in sight. It's the only romance in Assassin's Creed Odyssey where you do not have any choice. On the most basic of levels, you are forced into this romantic situation. Even if you reject them outright, your character engages with this character romantically. Ubisoft, in marketing this game, sold a product on certain promises. Would I be writing a negative review if player choice was never in this game? If this was a game with fixed choices and romances, like every Assassin's Creed game before it? No, I would not. But Ubisoft did not honor promises made while marketing this game. As it stands, please don't give any of your money to this game, as the devs clearly shown that they do not deserve it. And if you need more reasons: The game's environments can be very copy-and-paste in a lot of areas, and the world, while filled with some unique areas, suffers for this. The optimization issues are frustrating, and I still experienced them no matter what settings I played at.

Now, the rest of what I'm about to say is driven solely by my personal feelings and opinions.
I'm a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.
I hesitate to say this because I personally believe that there is so much more to me than being a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I love campy horror movies, I play guitar, and I have a bowl of the same cereal basically every day for breakfast. Also, while we're talking about food: pineapple on pizza debate? I really hate it.

I say this because, throughout my time with AC Odyssey, my Kassandra was played, from start to finish, as a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. As I said above, I was just excited that I could play as Kassandra. That would have been enough for me. But when Melissa MacCoubrey said, "If you want to be a woman and romance a woman, you can do that. If you want to be a man and romance a woman, you can do that. If you want to be a man and romance a man and a woman, you can do that. We’re making a game that offers choice, and this is something that matters a lot to people. It matters a lot to me. And it matters a lot to the team," it really was with those words that I knew for absolute certain that my Kassandra would be a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, like me. And I was totally free do exactly that. It almost didn't feel real, in a way. There was no ambiguity in the choices, no, "Are you really sure. though?" Once I made a decision within a romance, that was it. Decision completely respected.

And this DLC absolutely spits in the face of that. It was jarring to have my Kassandra visibly fall in love with this man, get pregnant with his child, and have to sit there and watch it all. It was jarring to have all of this happen only via dialogue-free cutscenes, accompanied by the music that played during some of my favorite romances of the game. And it is jarring for ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and bisexual women, whose decisions are not respected, who are told that they'll grow out of their little phase, who have been told they just need to find the right man, or who have literally undergone corrective r*pe to "sort out" their attractions. This DLC sends such a dangerous message, especially to women and the LGBTQ+ community; and, to make matters worse, the achievement for completing the DLC is titled "Growing Up". I shouldn't have to explain why that's wrong on multiple levels. Every time I loaded up Assassin's Creed Odyssey, it reminded me that, "This work of fiction was designed, developed, and produced by a multicultural team of various beliefs, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ orientations, and gender identities." I don't know, then, how this team let this DLC be produced. I really don't.

I've never called any character in any Assassin's Creed game "my" anything. But I called the protagonist of Assassin's Creed Odyssey "my Kassandra" because I chose to play as her. Because I chose who she romanced. Because she was a Kassandra I could relate to and see some of myself in. Because I always had agency over her dialogue in some way, however small, and because player choice, specifically within romances, was highlighted so majorly as a selling point of this game. As of TU 1.12, I have uninstalled Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and on a matter of principle, I will not be purchasing any more Ubisoft games until you fix this. These were your own words, Ubisoft. And I can guarantee that the community that you lied to will hold you accountable for them.

First of all, I just want to thank the Bakers for welcoming me into their hearts and home. They even fed me dinner! Their selfless hospitality truly knows no bounds. ♥

Okay, but really, this was my first time playing a Resident Evil game myself (I've watched Let's Plays of the others because I'm a scaredy cat buuut I love the stories and lore), and honestly, with Resident Evil 7, I was just lured in by the beautiful graphics. Horror games just aren't my thing, I thought, but I found myself loading it up one night with the lights off and the brightness turned all the way down. If I was going to play my first horror game, I was going to do it right.

And I'm so, so soooo glad I did.

Resident Evil 7 absolutely nails the atmosphere from its opening moments as you (Ethan Winters) drive to the Baker's home in Dulvey, Louisiana, going only off a message you receive from your wife Mia, who has been presumed dead for three years. In typical horror fashion, Ethan sees all the signs of something being not quite right in the Baker residence, but of course, in typical horror fashion, continues his search for his wife regardless. What starts out as a search for your wife ends up becoming a lovely vacation with the Bakers. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy all the atmosphere of their loving home and hospitality!

That palpable eerie atmosphere of the game that is so consistent throughout, is undoubtedly due to Capcom's own beautiful RE Engine. Running the game on an i5 6600k and a GTX 1070, I had absolutely no issues with framerate or stutters, enjoying smooth gameplay all the way through my 17 hour (Like I said, I'm a scaredy cat. You horror veterans can probably get through it much more quickly!) playthrough. Light, darkness, dynamic shadows and volumetric lighting all worked together amazingly to create a truly tangible horror experience. Textures are a bit muddy in spots, but it's really nothing to complain about. The attention to detail, specifically with the audio of the game, is just superb. I thought that the first-person perspective, a first for the Resident Evil series, was implemented perfectly, and I never had any awkward moments in gameplay, whether I was falling through floorboards, combing the entire house in search of those elusive coins, or running from... well, you'll see. While I can't truly compare the gameplay to other Resident Evil games, having only watched them, from what I observed, the return to the survival aspect of horror is absolutely welcome here. I had so many "oh s**t, I'm low on ammo, now what?" moments that made my time with the Bakers so much more tense, and eventually, rewarding, than it would have been otherwise. And the first-person perspective only heightened that sweet, sweet tension.

The characters were mostly well written (I found Ethan to be such a dull, typical protagonist in the beginning, but by the end of the game I was just as done with everything as he was-), but the Bakers really steal the show here. And there are some brilliantly written nuances to a certain character that I don't want to spoil, but they really cemented the game for me!

I didn't mind the boss battles, but I didn't love them either, save for one (which I won't spoil), but thankfully they are few and far between, and playing on Normal difficulty, you have plenty of resources to take the boss down. I promise you too, will soon be wondering why the f**k they won't just die already!

As of writing this review, I've only completed Ending 1 of the game, and I'm already excited to go back and complete Ending 2 when I have an itch to visit the Bakers again! I truly believe that the ending felt earned, and you might even actually breathe a sigh of relief when its all finally over.

Resident Evil 7 has somehow made a horror lover out of this previously "avoid scary games at all costs" gal, and if that isn't a high enough recommendation to experience this game, I don't know what is. If you usually avoid horror games like me, I should warn you that there are some jump scares (but they aren't overused or cheap), and some genuinely terrifying and gruesome moments, but they are absolutely worth playing this game! If I can do it, kicking and screaming the whole way through, you can too!

Welcome to the family.

I've hesitated for a really long time to write a review for NieR:Automata (thanks to the 2018 Steam Awards for the motivation-), not only because it is a game that is so hard to review properly, and not only because it weaves all of its narrative threads, uniquely multi-layered gameplay elements, and masterfully-timed pacing together so perfectly without ever missing a beat, but because it is a game that made me reconsider what games as storytelling can do, and just what incredibly powerful and affecting stories they can tell in that regard - but to go into the details of the hows and whys would really do you - and the overall impact of the game's story - a true disservice.

After all of my time with NieR:Automata (including my 100+ hours spent on the PS4 version), I absolutely must urge you to go into the game as blindly as possible. I know it's easy to scroll through review after review trying to decide if a game is right for you, though, so I'll just say that if you're a fan of JRPGs, hack and slash games with gameplay that just *feels* right, soundtracks that will get stuck in your head months after playing, games that aren't afraid to mess irreverently with their established universe, philosophy and games that ponder android/robot autonomy, bleak yet beautiful post-apocalyptic worlds, unforgettable moments, dialogue, setpieces, characters, and games you'll keep thinking about long after you've finished them, then NieR:Automata is for you.

That said, while I do wholeheartedly recommend NieR:Automata itself for the reasons I listed, I unfortunately can't recommend the PC port. Without mods and a controller (it really is necessary- really-), the game is essentially unplayable, unless you're lucky enough to not have issues with your resolution and find playing with a mouse and keyboard doable after going through NieR:Automata's opening sequence. So absolutely do get the game, but download the FAR (Fix Automata Resolution) mod by Kaldaien if you're having problems with your resolution output. It's really a shame that the developers still have not released any patches to support what is otherwise an incredible game, but that mod is there if you need it.

NieR:Automata is one of those games that redefines what storytelling through gameplay means, as I said above, but it is also one of those games that begs the cliché phrase "more than a game" to be used, because that's really what it is. It's not perfect, by any means, and even if you can tick all of the boxes of my criteria listed above, that's no guarantee that you'll love, or even enjoy the game, or that it will become as special to you as it has for so many other reviewers and players out there. But, at its heart, NieR:Automata has done what few other games dare to, and for that, I absolutely believe it deserves to be recognized. It is not afraid to ask you questions and satisfyingly leave you to answer them yourself. It is more than a game because it truly is one of those games that wants to be seen as such: and everything it does - with all of its facets working in such beautiful cohesion - to take you on its journey, is done so, so expertly, perhaps because it does not fear the weight and pressure of being subject to such an infamous phrase.

In a time where few others can say the same, it truly is more than a game. NieR:Automata is, decisively, an experience, and it deserves every single moment it asks of you to tell its story.

A beautiful little gem of an RPG that brought me right back to the older Final Fantasy titles and time spent with lots of turn-based RPGs on my GameBoy Advance. I didn't know what to expect at all when I bought Ara Fell; I noticed that someone on my friend list had it and the premise seemed interesting enough and the art, like I mentioned above, made me super nostalgic. I figured there would be no harm in trying it out!

But wow. After completing Chapter 1 of the game my feelings went from vaguely interested to actually invested. And it is so rare for me to get so emotionally invested in a game's story and characters so quickly, but Ara Fell did it. What I thought would have been a cliché story actually ended up surprising and shocking me on many occasions. (I also may or may not have teared up once or twice.)

This game shines in its ability to do so much with dialogue and pacing (Lita can be downright hilarious), in the way it is grounded in its lore and world-building (without spoiling, the plot reveals, revelations, and raising of the stakes were all really well done), while not falling* too heavily on combat or exposition, and in creating memorable characters that I ended up truly caring for and looked forward to seeing again (Seri Kesu may just be one of my favorite video game characters of all time).

All of these elements, combined with a touching, engaging soundtrack and surprisingly powerful atmosphere, make Ara Fell one of the best RPGs I've played this year. So happy that I didn't let this game pass me by. Also, as I saw that the epilogue was added on a bit after the game's initial release - I have to say that for me, personally, it was greatly appreciated. It gave me a much-needed sense of closure after completing the main story of Ara Fell that I would have been otherwise searching for had I been left with the pre-epilogue ending.

*Can I get a +1 for my first time ever using a pun in a review?

Thank you so, so much for sharing a bit of one of your worlds with us, Stegosoft Games! I'm already looking forward to whatever journey you'd like to take us on next!

I totally didn't know what to expect, this being my first visual novel ever and... wow. Wow, wow, wow.
This beautiful little game was almost too much for my ♥♥♥ heart.

Read slowly.
Started out skeptical of the story until one scene had me roped in completely.
Admired the gorgeous artwork.
Gasped at how genuinely true to life the dialogue exchanges were.
Actually felt like I was going on a journey in an RV. Didn't want it to end.
Spent most of my time grinning at the screen like an ♥♥♥♥♥.
Spent most of my time laughing at the screen at jokes that really were that funny.
Spent most of my time crying at the screen because wow ♥♥♥ feels (it's okay if you cry too, promise~)
Found myself saying the word "CUTIES" over and over and over again. (Seriously, CUTIES!!!)
Was in real awe and super happy that the 18+ patch was so tastefully and thoughtfully done (not -just- super lewd fanservice), and really did add depth to their relationship and overall character development for them both.

All of the time and effort and love that has been poured into this game really, really shows.

Would totally roadtrip with Amber and Marina again. Will probably definitely roadtrip with Amber and Marina again. Best 14 hours I've spent reading in a long time.