Recent reviews by Relic the Philosopher

Guys will say they don't like horror movies 'cause they're all just pointless gore and screaming and making poor tactical decisions, but then they'll see stuff like this and say hell yeah.

In 2024, as an adult, and with years of gaming under my belt, this is the first Call of Duty game I've ever played to completion.

I once dabbled in Black Ops back when it was the big new thing, a few missions of the campaign and some multi-player deathmatch, but the truth is, I've never been a fan of multi-player games nor very interested in war media, to include books and film. I'm enlisted with the US Army guard and I'm currently headed to the Middle East for deployment, and all the officers are reading Lone Survivor, all the NCOs are watching Band of Brothers, and all the lower enlisted are playing Call of Duty. So I also gave it a shot.

Modern Warfare must have been a real marvel when it first came out. Compared to what I've seen in other war games, this ♥♥♥♥ is cinematic as hell. The first couple missions feel like whiplash, thrown about between objectives without a coherent story, but I'm very glad I stuck it out because my worry that it would be that way till the end was quickly shed when the names and voices of characters you've begun to know tell you what you're doing and where you're going next and why. 17 years ago, I can only imagine what was going through the heads of gamers then, especially with such attention to detail on the weapons, uniforms, vehicles, and modern military jargon I'm not sure the gaming world had really seen at that time.

To someone who doesn't do war media, this was a really spectacular experience. I expected boots on the ground and meaningless objectives that jarheads could drool over and instead got a well-directed plot for its modern interpretation of war, great use of action set pieces, and a hell of a lot of unrealistic uses of tax dollars and risks taken for non-mission-essential personnel -- but it's those Hollywood emotional stakes that make stories good and not braindead military sims!

I look forward to further Call of Duty experiences. Gosh, I hope the campaigns don't drop off in quality at any point...

Sorry to reuse an old joke, but seriously, the Heart that was changed the most during my playtime was my own.

This was the first Persona game I tried, but the second I finished (the first being P4G). I discovered this game back when it was a Playstation exclusive and as a PC gamer who also owned a Playstation 4, I bought exclusively exclusives. I read a quick description of the game and was taken aback -- there was something distinctly familiar about this plot.

I get the feeling I'm not alone here, and I think Atlus knew this when they set out to write this plot. Once upon a time, I was a child surrounded by apathy, blind acceptance, and of course, injustice of the highest degree. And as a child with a fantastical mind, I had some level of ambition in my head that I could somehow change all that. I've spoken to others before who have had similar thoughts growing up, an attachment to superheroes and antiheroes and vigilantism in those early adolescent years, but I know of few who in middle school, tried to assemble a criminal organization that through espionage and subterfuge, would expose the horrible acts of violence, bullying, embezzling, power-tripping, and child-grooming that plagued our school.

I ran into two problems during this little adventure of mine: one, most middle schoolers would rather play with pokemon and beyblades than give two ♥♥♥♥♥ about what the adults outside their charmed lives were doing, and two, a cease and desist letter from the local police department suspecting me of operating a "cult."

Perhaps my story isn't the most relatable, but I thoroughly believe that a significant part of many apathetic adults today comes from not only trauma in their childhood, but a feeling of powerlessness and overall fading of imagination as we age. We accept things as they are, stop fighting back, forget the righteous anger and passion there is in thinking there is a better way and we can in fact achieve it.

Persona 5 Royal is a nail-driving, fingernail-biting, tear-jerking reminder of our freedom and rebelliousness. What begins as a simple tale of high-school vigilantism quickly becomes a parallel to politics, then morality, then even religion (I had a few fanboy moments realizing the allegories being presented by the assault against the Archangels, the battle between Satanael and the Demiurge, the climbing of the Tree of Wisdom to become aware). Persona 4 Golden toyed with my heart strings, asking very serious questions about self-identity and relationships, but Persona 5 Royal woke me up from a very personal slog of cynicism. I had been falling under the God of Control that is being told you don't have a choice, that your efforts to fight the tide are meaningless, that no matter how many wars and riots and revolutions we have, we will always be under the thumb of another. After sobbing through the game's later hours, tossing and turning that night thinking about how complacent I've become when once I was the leader of cult of misfits, I longed for freedom more than any other time in my life. School, college, girlfriends, the army -- they trained me to follow orders and give up fighting a bureaucratic, traditionalist machine that will always win.

You are free. That is the biggest thing that P5R is trying to sell, and it is hammered in further by questioning the ethics of the Phantom Thieves, the emotions of the public, and the motives of their PR "team." The great, the terrible, the self-loathing, all have a chance at redemption, even without the meddling of someone capable of changing a heart. Suffering is a part of that freedom, as is the choice who to form connections with, and whether or not you should study for that test. It is a stark reminder that free will isn't some myth or illusion brought on by superstition and chemicals. It is your gift as a human being.

Cherish it.

Take your time.

P.S. actually you do have one thing that restricts your freedom, and that is the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cat overlord that tells me I can't so much as go downstairs to call my wife Kawakami you dumb cockblocking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I love you.

You're running around Europe as a burly, blonde-haired blue-eyed God dual-wielding enormous shotguns with no backup whatsoever, reciting edgy nonsense along the way, and somehow, it works.

Wolfenstein had before been this WWII meets supernatural thing, but this time the developers went for a sci-fi alt-history and did it quite brilliantly, establishing a setting that you could really see yourself fighting in. The world is built for fighting -- literally, as every room is a setpiece for a firefight, and story-wise, as the military is and always will be the priority of the Nazis. And maybe we've all seen guns and grenades and stealth takedowns before, but what really makes the difference from other gungames is that smooth, seamless, open-ended cover and lean system I wish we could see in more games. I'd play just for that, honestly.

I hope in the New Colossus I get to see more character depth, a better story, and the exploration of themes that only a twisted Nazi-ruled world of mad science and casual horror can provide. If there's one thing off about this game, it's that it seems to glance over its inspiring setting in favor of a generic action tale, and just because the horrors of the game are only a few steps away from reality doesn't give the excuse of being so borishly average.

Ultimately, I see this as a stepping stone. I have played through this game once, and with hgih-rated sequels beyond, I see no reason to play it again and so it should be that you receive the same recommendation. This is the beginning of the New direction Wolfenstein has taken, and it is good to pick up on sale, play through just once, and move on the greater things.

Grim Dawn is quite possibly the best ARPG available today. If the Gothic-fantasy aesthetic, detailed world and enemies, provocative story, and liberating class design aren't enough to convince you of that, the Dev's consistent love, support, and dedication for both their 7-year old game and their playerbase should be.

This is one of those games where when it works, it works, and when it doesn't, it's just disappointing. Awesome ideas in many places and a sad execution in most. Hacking works, but it does little to add to the usual cover-based shooter. Driving is exhausting and unresponsive. Stealth driving is a fun concept that I wish we saw more often in games, but the "magnetism" of cops to your vehicle turns it into more of a chore than an engaging event.

That isn't to say the game isn't worthy of praise -- for $60, I can imagine this game was a huge let down, but on sale, I find it worth the play. It's at its best when it isn't trying to be a GTA clone, instead introducing a fun dynamic with its hacking system when it tries to be its own thing. However, the hacking doesn't add enough to the game, and it doesn't lend enough of its preceding series (Assassin's Creed) to really create that modern Assassin game we always wanted. The classic revenge story gets lost trying to display a consistent theme (revenge is bad? revenge is okay-ish? huh?), but the weaving of Watch_Dogs' hacker culture into the tale plays out nicely and sets up the sequel quite well.

All in all, I salute this game for adding to the hacking genre, not only setting the stage for Watch_Dogs 2, but also formalizing the concept from indie titles like Gunpoint to future AAAs like Cyberpunk 2077. As it stands on its own though, it becomes more of a novelty than a returning adventure.

The amount of joy and heartfelt emotion this game elicits is not describable in words.

I completed my playthrough in 69 hours (nice) and yes, P5 is mechanically, stylistically, and some might say story-wise, the better game. That does not mean you should skip out on P4 -- the story and characters and so moving and just the right amount of relatable and/or ridiculous to create a once in a lifetime experience. As someone who's always struggled to maintain relationships, I was amazed at how a mature game like this can portray such a profound tale of friendship.

10/10

P.S. Played on Steam Deck, felt at home on mobile.

I finally sold my Xbox 360 after this was announced. Would have bought the collection for $100. They priced it for $40. No regrets, 100% improvement in all areas on top of just having it available on PC.

Now if we could just get Fable II and Rare Replay in this ♥♥♥♥♥.

Oh and King Kong. ♥♥♥♥ that game was good.

Welcome to our Black Friday Specials!

You most likely have heard about The Division 2 or have even played it before thumbing through these reviews, so you're probably here asking, "should or play this one? Or should I skip ahead/stick with the sequel?"

You should play this one. Maybe you don't need to assemble a team of friends to fill a practically archaic lobby, but what you need to do is set aside some time to run through the campaign on single player and *experience* one of the most stunning games worlds you'll ever immerse yourself in. Really take it in, because I doubt we'll have another division title quite like it and I worry support for it will very soon drop off.

The story isn't anything particularly moving, but it's leagues ahead of the sequel in terms of believability, attention to detail, and motivation. The sequel severely lacks real motivation to complete the tasks they set out for you, whereas the first title not only gives you a distinct plan from beginning to end how you are going to take the city back, but implements it in your progression as it is divided into the three areas of military, technology, and medical. These upgrades are both statistical and seen in gameplay/RPG character builds, but also in the story and world. The multiple factions are relatable enough to be interested in their inception, and although the encounters/events (side quests) are often painful, soulless duplicates of each other, the characters feeding you info over comms from each of the safehouse are each unique and personable, a golden piece of writing in an otherwise dull storyline.

One could argue this is also a part of the explanation on story, but the world itself is immensely gorgeous, but detailed down to the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ minute pieces, as you traverse 12-foot tall piles of trash, collapsed subways, and abandoned safe areas, detail and creativity with apocalyptic elements I've yet to see in games other than this series and The Last of Us. Beyond the visual appeal, it is also one of the most immersive experiences I've ever had, especially from a third-person view where I've always preferred first person for immersion. Most notable are the missions underground and simply wandering the snow looking for countless audio entries and hidden supplies.

All.in all, what really sets this game apart from playing what most people call a superior sequel is the immersive single player experience. I played this game entirely solo, completed every event, and still find things to enjoy doing just so I have an excuse to return to this beautifully mastercrafted city left devastated by collapse. The sequel does a lot of things better, and is still quite well detailed and depicted, but nothing quite captures the single-strap backpack, beanie-wearing agent creeping between ruined skyscrapers in the cold snow you can feel through the screen.

10/10 immersion
7/10 combat (2 is vastly improved)
1/10 crafting, useless
8/10 stats/progression
8/10 story, most points awarded cause of characters and audio logs, not cause of the plot
*/* Multiplayer, never tried it other than darkzones

I completed this game and its sequel a few years back, but i recently revisited the series and went through them this time on the hardest difficulty.

Firstly, I will say the difficulty changed very little about the game, considering they are stealth focused anyway, and the only difference I noticed was in how many hits you can take. Second, I think it's important to acknowledge this series significance in the future of horror games since it's inception before reviewing it individually.

That being said, Penumbra's greatest strength in my opinion lies in its ability to *convince* the player, something I don't think is ever really revisited in future installments. Part of that begins with FGs signature, trickster sound design, but another part is evident in the direction of the player's goals which is to say: deeper. Deeper. Deeper. Not like there's a choice in the matter, as tunnels crumble behind you and passages are blocked. Overture especially carries the torch of gut-wrenching loneliness that pushes you towards someone, anyone, down there. But it remains that the keyword here is, *deeper*. Deeper into the mine. Deeper into the facility. Deeper into the conspiracy, into the quest for answers, into heroism, into a cure, into completion of the father's work. Like you ever had a choice.

Ultimately, deeper isn't a choice. It's a comforting thought to believe you chose to follow that to-do list on your own. Comforting to think you actually *chose* to go deeper. Comforting to think you could do anything other than pull that switch

[S]I'm sorry, Red.[/s]

A 10/10 horror game, personally this one is my favorite for touching on loneliness and the corruption of darkness. Play it slowly. Take it all in. And challenge yourself to slay all the dogs on Hard.