Recent reviews by Shreyk

Nier Replicant is a game that gets worse as you keep playing. The early game is fascinating and ambitious, blending unexpected gameplay elements, and grounding itself in a simple and compelling story about trying to save your sister from the disease that's killing her.

Early on, Nier feels like a dark homage to fantasy adventure games of the '90s, at times even deconstructing those seminal works. The combat is fluid, but not particularly challenging or engaging. It quickly gets repetitive, but satisfies. It's the story that compels in those early hours.

But Nier is very much 'My First Subtextual Narrative'. If you've ever read a book for school or watched a movie without CGI, Nier's "subtext" is practically text, and you'll have figured out the "twist" within the first couple hours. Then you'll spend the rest of your playthrough hoping that's not all there is.

Sadly, that is all there is. The twist is all but confirmed at the halfway mark, though the game pretends it still has something up its sleeve for the next ten to twenty hours as you go into the second half of the main game, which completely abandons everything about the story that was compelling, everything about the gameplay that was interesting.

The story becomes both weirdly contrived and tritely predictable, while the gameplay ceases to challenge or excite. After fighting the same three enemy types for hours on end, you'll accidentally one or two-shot bosses before the mechanics even start, before the game's kickass music gets a chance to get going.

By the end, Nier is a dull experience.

And then the additional endings just get worse and worse. It involves replaying the worst parts of the game with an even more mind-numbing and incoherent mess of a plot. A stark mismatch between narrative intent and gameplay design, denying the player any choice or agency. Just do it again, exactly as before, for the most meager of narrative morsels. The additional endings could all have been condensed into the main game and nothing would be lost.

It's a game that starts off strong and spirals into disappointment.

Nier, sadly, is a poor execution of its ambitions. Lesser than the games that inspired it, lesser than the games that followed it, and lesser than other stories that have tackled its themes - on how we communicate with each other, and how violence occurs when we can't.

Even without its unique time mechanic, UNSIGHTED is a phenomenal Zelda-like. Add some clever mobility and platforming to make it an all-time great Metroidvania. Then we can talk about the gimmick, the resource of time, which really raises the bar on UNSIGHTED.

Everyone in the game is on borrowed time. You can see how long each character has to 'live', how long before they turn Unsighted. Including you. But don't fret! You can gather the required Anima and use it to prolong your life, and the lives of others. And UNSIGHTED is fairly generous with this resource. It's an incredibly clever system. You might feel that with a clock ticking down, you want to rush through everything. And though that's a valid strategy, it can also encourage you to explore and take your time. As exploration yields more Anima, and more time for yourself and others.

Shopkeepers, combat trainers, questgivers, allies, friends. Choosing who to help is the beating heart of UNSIGHTED. Hoard all of the time for yourself and you don't have to worry about the clock running down. Try and save everyone and you'll be stretching yourself thin, giving yourself less time to get to the end. The system is so brilliant because it lets you set your own difficulty, decide your own terms and goals, create your own expectations.

There is an Explorer Mode for those who really can't handle the stress of a timer, but I cannot recommend enough that you first try the game at the default Action Girl difficulty. It's what makes UNSIGHTED a game for the ages.

The characters you meet, and the choices you make will affect you, all as you battle your way through UNSIGHTED's large and impressive world.

With classic dungeons filled with puzzles and bosses, fluid and satisfying combat, and fast, graceful mobility (including that one way to get around we all know and love), UNSIGHTED is a dungeon-delving, action platformer unlike any other. Its eye-popping visual style and jazzy soundtrack further set this title apart from the rest of the field.

The heartfelt and emotional story is let down by a few too many missteps in the writing, but the characters and the world bolster the narrative as best they can.

That full and vivid world and its range of charming personalities will drive you to keep on until the end of this Zeldalike Metroidvania for the ages. A singular adventure that shouldn't be missed.

Sonic Frontiers is a surprisingly ambitious game, given the franchise's pedigree. It's no surprise that SEGA is willing to take risks with Sonic, but the breadth of what is attempted in Frontiers is a first for the blue blur.

At its heart, Frontiers hinges on two well-executed systems. Firstly, soaring through a big, acrobatic, open world. Secondly, racing through narrow, enclosed Cyberspace levels. Both have the expected amount of jank for a Sonic game, but are otherwise fun and well-crafted. Why are there grind rails and trampolines scattered throughout the world? Who cares, it's fun. The act of moving through the world, the navigation and platforming itself, is a joy, and reason alone to check in. And the Cyberspace levels offer a fun, time attack challenge for the speedsters out there. S-ranks are easy enough to come by, perhaps tuned for younger players, but that shouldn't stop more hardened Sonic fans from tackling the leaderboards.

Meanwhile, Frontiers is chock full of strange little minigames and asides. A rather unique implementation of the classic Sonic casino stage is a fun encounter, while some of the side missions can be a little more tedious. There are 2D platforming segments, shmup minigames, Koco herding asides, collectibles, races, platforming challenges galore. Hits and misses both among them.

But Sonic Frontiers, if it's never achieving the "high art" status everyone seems to want from it, never forgets to be fun. If the main story is somewhat bland and familiar, the dialogue between classic Sonic characters is regularly entertaining. A keen awareness of the franchise's history keeps the writing feeling authentic, and pointed straight at the hearts of Sonic fans.

The combat can vary, being button mashy for the most part. Different enemies offer vastly different experiences. Some enemies are a chore to fight, and others are a joy. The more an encounter involves the game's excellent movement and platforming, the more satisfying, while meaningless trash mobs are a tedious obstacle far too commonly encountered.

The game's boss fights are a blast, serving as contained platforming levels of their own, giant Colossi to be ascended, then struck down. The game's mechanics are in full form for these massive encounters, and while the big cinematic finishers are spectacular to behold, the QTE of it all does mar these otherwise impeccable boss levels.

The music speaks for itself. The mellow piano-flecked melodies of the open world, the pulse-pounding electronic beats of Cyberspace, and the roaring boss anthems somehow work together in perfect harmony. That precise balance of camp, taking yourself too seriously, and "Gotta Go Fast" that defines Sonic, with a helping of chill, mellow vibes new to the franchise.

One of 3D Sonic's best soundtracks to support one of 3D Sonic's best games.

Certainly, Sonic Frontiers has the makings of an even greater game yet unfulfilled, but the game we got is pretty great as is.

Celeste made me better at video games. It is simultaneously among the most challenging games I've ever played, and the most encouraging. No game has ever wanted me to succeed as much as Celeste. It takes every mechanic, every screen, every line, every sound to convince you to keep going, to keep trying.

Each nail-biting, platforming challenge makes you better, not just at Celeste, but at games in general. While it asks you to learn the game's specific mechanics, Celeste is as concerned with transferable skills. Reflexes, coordination, puzzle-solving, and mental fortitude in the face of difficulty and repetition are all things Celeste tries to help with. And in that process, Celeste never felt frustrating or demanding.

Oh, and everything it does is excellent. Each screen is meticulously designed and pitch-perfect to play through. The characters are a joy, the boss fights are wonderful, the music is spectacular, the pixel art is gorgeous, and the writing is superb.

I 100%ed Celeste on another platform, completing all the B-sides and C-sides, as well as the Farewell chapter in some 30-odd hours. All but the deathless challenges - I am but a mere human. And before playing Celeste, I never thought of myself as someone good enough at video games to accomplish that.

Celeste is a game with few peers, that I would recommend to just about anyone. Because anyone can climb a mountain.

Let's start with the good: the web-swinging. Swinging through New York City is phenomenal. It is so cool and so satisfying to jump, dive and flip across the city skyline. If web-swinging were the whole game, 10/10. I want that, actually. A game where this mobility and motion is the point of it. Traveling and exploring in Spider-Man feels amazing. But the places I'm traveling and exploring, not so much.

The bland, sameness of city streets and high-rises gets dull fast. Nothing is as jarring as having to stop moving the through the world, exiting that wonderful flow state, to arrive at another unremarkable destination for a rote sidequest, or an unsatisfying mainline cutscene.

And where the beauty of web-swinging should make collectibles a joy to hunt down, too many require running or climbing across buildings to reach. And as good as the web-swinging is, that's how jank the wall-climbing is. A massive momentum killer, it turns Spider-Man from a joyous open-world, to a tedious checklist of Ubisoft-esque icons on the map. Obligations to suffer through, rather than rewards to unlock.

The combat is fine. It's mostly an uninspired convolution of the 3D brawler combat popularized by the Arkham titles. The stealth elements are similarly Arkhamesque, and quite satisfying actually, but usually devolve into unfulfilling brawls sooner or later.

In the main story, investigation and boss fights both rely too heavily on meaningless button prompts. Thinly veiled Quicktime Events that seem terrified of giving players agency and choice, unnecessarily handholding at every turn. Why have "gameplay" when you can be "cinematic"?

A brilliant exercise in physics and motion attached to a mediocre, wannabe movie. In the end, the web-slinging is the only thing Marvel's Spider-Man has going for it, and it's just not enough.

TUNIC is, in my opinion, the best Zelda game ever made.

Through a gorgeous, artistic, modern lens, TUNIC masterfully recaptures the nostalgia of playing these games as a kid. The Instruction Manual as a mechanic is inspired, and TUNIC is full of brilliant puzzles, with secrets abound. The combat is often challenging, but never unfair. It's not the focus of the game, and there are difficulty options for those who want to take it a little easier. I thought the difficulty was perfectly tuned for what TUNIC was doing.

I also find the Souls-like labeling to be a mistake and misjudgment. TUNIC may appear Souls-like at a glance, but it turns that accusation on its head. What might appear to be a Souls-like mechanic will actually reward you instead of punishing you. But TUNIC doesn't make that obvious, so many will overlook it. TUNIC encourages you in subtle ways where other games might not. But to say more would be spoiling, and TUNIC is, as everyone says, a game that should be gone into blind.

But beyond the surface of TUNIC are even greater, optional challenges. These deeper secrets won't be for everyone, but no other video game has ever been as satisfying to me. For those who dive too deep into the world of TUNIC's puzzles, the feeling of accomplishment is like nothing else.

Gone Home really affected me. Perfectly capturing the anxiety of a dark and empty home, the worry and fear of the unknown in the banal. I was uncertain what to expect from this short experience. Dabbling in little drops of horror while you worry about your absent family, raising the tension with each mounting revelation, each new door opened, each dark space illuminated.

And then, when it was all over, I was left thinking about my own life, and the times I had been alone in a dark house. The times I had been worried about absent friends and family. The paths I'd taken.

It's my experience that games in the "walking simulator" genre tend to overstay their welcome or be overly convoluted. Gone Home manages to avoid these pitfalls, telling its story in a tight and trim two hours, with just enough space for you to choose how far off the beaten path you want to go.

In its short run, Gone Home is immersive and evocative, ending right when and where it needs to. Exploring the house, uncovering its secrets, and learning why you're all alone isn't always 'fun' in a traditional sense, but is definitely satisfying and emotional.

Western Press is a game that revels in its simplicity. A pitch-perfect voice-over narrates this quick and easy party game, with charming pixel art and fun visual gags.

Western Press is great to play with friends. It's not going to consume hours of your time, but it's well worth the short bursts in which it entertains. It's fun to get in a quick duel with a friend, or a full party tournament in just a few minutes. Struggling to make a decision? Western Press is more fun than flipping a coin, and just as quick these days, unless you're someone who actually has change on hand.

Just be aware that the keyboard vs gamepad matchup is very one sided. For fairness's sake I recommend gamepad vs gamepad unless you require a significant handicap.

The Messenger is a hard game to talk about because of spoilers. And there are layers to that. There's what you think the game is, and then what it reveals itself to be. Not just once or twice, but time and time again. Suffice to say, that each layer of The Messenger as it reveals itself is well worth the price of admission.

How much of it surprises you depends on how much you know going in. But with a keen sense of humor, The Messenger's cavalier, tongue-in-cheek attitude makes it a consistent joy. Rainbowdragoneyes's incredible and expansive soundtrack amazes throughout. And exploring the world as the Messenger - running, jumping, slashing and more - is some of the best in class for the genre.

The game is not without its flaws, but it is fun, funny and an audiovisual delight. It is full of secrets that are a joy to uncover. Steeped in awareness of the titles that preceded and inspired it, The Messenger is truly excellent.

Breadth and simplicity are the strengths of No Man's Sky. Accusations of being wide but not deep are true. It's a game that lets you do almost anything a space-exploration game should, in a simple, arcadey way. While there is combat and threat, No Man's Sky is mostly easy-going and relaxing. It's not for the simulationist, but perhaps for the completionist.

No Man's Sky is a game that offers frequent changes of pace. Explore and catalog for as long is it's fun, then hunt and kill for as long as that's fun, then manage your small fleet and send them on missions, then go quest through the game's story. Look for different starships and parts, learn alien languages, collect and trade, build bases, chase bounties or engage in piracy. Pilot ships and mechs and land vehicles and submarines if you like.

None of No Man's Sky's systems have the kind of depth that calls for spreadsheets or wikis. Being straightforward and accessible works to its advantage, if that's your speed.

No Man's Sky offers a big wide world that I'm always happy to dive back into, which welcomes me back in kind. A world that, through variety, never gets boring.