Resident Evil requiem

• Genre: Survival Horror/Action
• Spoiler Free Review: Yeah
• Time Played: 16:50
• Too Short/Long: It was longer than I expected, having heard a bunch of people say they played it for "about 10 hours". Now my "Time Played" is based off the timer they give at the end, and with deaths, reloads, etc, and I don't know if menus/cutscenes count, regardless it's probably another hour or so - as my PlayStation shows 18 hours.
• Did I cry: No.
• Soundtrack: It's okay. As most of the sound is atmospheric and to set the mood, it is appropriate, but it's not a soundtrack I'm going to hunt down to listen to.
• Why I played: My wife has been obsessed with this game. For the month following it's release, she played almost every day. Each day we were home, with no prior engagements. She tried to take small breaks so she wouldn't burn herself out, but ultimate returned to the game time and time again. She'd attempt to engage me in Resident Evil discussions which I could not really partake in except with speculative insight and second hand experience. She absolutely loved this game, and even spoke to how it changed her perspective on gaming as a whole.
  
  Since I played nearly 200 hours of Pokopia, I've been meandering on what to play. Sure I could do other things, but I felt most like playing a game at times, but few things were scratching the itch. I weirdly landed on Yoku's Island Express a bit, but otherwise maybe played an hour-two tops of maybe 30 different games. Since I was so undecided, I thought it might be a good opportunity to invest some time into a game she held to such high regard and has not been able to stop talking about for a month.
• Jank: This is a pretty polished game. If there is any jank I even thought of it was so seldom or infrequent that I can't recall any at this time.
• Difficulty: I played on Modern mode and it wasn't too difficult. I may have died a couple times due to carelessness, but I also spent a lot of time Conserving Ammo(as Grace) and playing it safe. When it came to boss fights, they were mostly pretty easy. Though some aspect of classic probably round it out a bit, this genre isn't my forte and I needed whatever I could to get through it. I even considered playing it on easy, but it probably would have been way too easy. 
• Pleased/Disappointed: Overall I'm pleased with what it offered and it was fun. I probably wouldn't have played it of my own accord, or even if Alice liked it just a bit less and only played through it 3 times, instead of 5 times.
• Recommend to others: I'm not in a place of recommending this type of game to anyone, but I would say it's a good enough game that if anyone is a fan of the series, there is little reason to skip this one.
  

I am not really a fan of the Resident Evil series. I have Resident Evil 4 because that was such a revolutionary game when it was released, but I never quite finished it. I never went to the Castle - though I think I only stopped just short of it. So really, this is the only... oh, it's actually the third Resident Evil game I have finished. I completed The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii. The on-rails shooters that play abbreviated chapters from throughout many of the games up til that point, which also feature some original content leading up to the events of Resident Evil 4.

Other than that, I haven't really played any "real" Resident Evil game to any extent, outside maybe a demo or two, and considering the Chronicles games were the better part of twenty years ago, and played mostly for the novelty of the on-rails shooter on a platform that made that genre easy to adapt, I haven't really invested much into the series as I usually can't stand to play horror games. I'm usually too nervous to advance, and am constantly doubling back, saving over a save I just made, too filled with anxiety to comfortably play. The aforementioned entries to the series have more of an action approach, than horror, and even requiem maintains that for at least half of the game.

I think Resident Evil requiem is largely for the fans. There seem to be a lot of references and easter eggs for the long-term, dedicated fans. Stand-alone it's gameplay is fine, but the story only just manages to stand on it's own, and even then I have some assistance as someone who isn't entirely oblivious to the world of Resident Evil. Maybe if I was more dedicated the game would have meant more to me, as is, it was serviceable, and even if I wouldn't have approached it on my own, I don't feel like I wasted my time having played it.

Split Fiction

• Genre: Action Adventure Platforming Etc.
• Spoiler Free Review: Mostly, but the screenshots could arguably be the most spoilery as a good bit of the experience is finding out what parts of the game you encounter next.
• Partners: Alice
• Time Played: 15 Hours
• Too Short/Long: It's pretty good. Some sections I might have liked to have seen explored more or revisited, but I can't complain.
• Did I cry: I got watery eyed a couple times.
• Soundtrack: There is some good music and even some vocal tracks, but it's mostly an undertone for the gameplay since the majority of the game has dialog spoken throughout.
• Why I played: It just seemed like it would be a great co-op game. Obviously the studios previous games were great co-op experiences, but this one seemed even better and a bit more aligned with Alice and my interests.
• Jank: It's mostly pretty jank-free, surprisingly with everything they do with the game. There a couple times it feels like the platforming could have been fine tuned just a bit, and just a few times it does actually feel janky, but it's such a small percentage of the game play, and it's otherwise impressive how much they pull off that I'll fully give them a pass on any of the jank that seeps through.
• Difficulty: It's mostly not that difficult and it's very forgiving when it comes to death/failure. There are some spots it's surprisingly difficult though, but most the difficulty comes from the times where it leaves you alone to figure things out on your own - which I appreciate.
• Pleased/Disappointed: I'm extremely pleased with Split Fiction, it's even better than I expected.
• Recommend to others: I would absolutely recommend this to anyone with someone they can reliably play through the whole game with. If you have someone to play co-op games with, you should definitely play this.
  

Split Fiction was fantastic. I'm not sure what really needs to be said. I definitely think it's one of the best and most impressive games that released last year. It just does so much in the game, explores so many genres, and types of gameplay, while generally retaining a familiar feel. Split Fiction is definitely something I would call a "gamer's game", something I think people who love games in general and play a lot of games will appreciate more than anyone else. But it's also much more accessible than most games I would call a "gamer's game". Something like Evoland - the first game I can think of I would also classify as such, is definitely more for people who are a bit more obsessed with games, and especially older games, and especially jrpgs, it's something I don't think everyone would enjoy. I think anyone would enjoy Split Fiction - it just has that much more to offer the more you already like.

Arguably the worst aspect of Split Fiction is the narrative. There are times it's clunky. Times it's cheesy. Times you really have to suspend your disbelief. Also just portrayals of the characters archetypes that are just very narrow or cliche. That said, the writing is still generally pretty fun and entertaining, and it doesn't fumble it so much you can't be emotionally invested, but the appeal and strength is definitely the gameplay and how seemless it is from the moment-to-moment.

It was loads of fun and that's what matters most, and so I have a bunch of screenshots I wanna share but these are arguably spoilery as finding out and seeing what you encounter is perhaps the best part of the game, so with that warning, everything below is just kind of in random order.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

• Genre: First-Person Action Adventure
• Spoiler Free Review: Yes.
• Time Played: 19 Hours
• Too Short/Long: It's fine. Ran a little long on my end because I kept going back and forth to check areas over and over and there is no fast travel to do so, and I didn't activate the scouts that help you find missing items until my last pass through before finishing the game. I probably could have cut a solid few hours had I done that.
• Soundtrack: Soundtrack is fantastic. Mostly environmental mood setting type stuff, with a couple exceptions, but they still manage to be bangers.
• Why I played: I mean I play pretty much every Metroid game, but Samus on a motorcycle let's be real.
• Did I cry: Nah.
• Jank: It's a pretty polished game. There were like two times I encountered a glitch. One time where I was stuck/couldn't move and thought I was going to have to restart the game, and another where my scanning UI was popping on and off. They both worked themselves out though.
• Difficulty: It can be pretty difficult. It's not like grueling difficulty, but it can be a challenge and sometimes feel unfairly so when you're just trying to get from point A to point B. 
• Recommend to others: I'm not going to really go out of my way to recommend it, but anyone who likes Metroid/Metroid Prime, or has considered it, I definitely would. It's a really good game, but it's true to form for the series and I don't think is breaking any new ground.

I don't think I really have too much to say. After 18 years, this was I feel like a game that just played it safe. It did new stuff sure, I loved the motorcycle, and it played a little bit with each of the unique mechanics. There is some decent morphball puzzle/platforming and some motorcycle battles to mix it up, but they didn't go too hard, or lean too much into stuff outside the core game play. I think anyone with any fondness for Metroid Prime will be happy to play this one so long as they're reasonable, though some people are just looking to get mad at something.

I remember when Metroid Dread came out, a big complaint was it "uses too many buttons". I even know of someone who rage-quit the game entirely over it. I find it to be an odd complaint because modern controllers have so many buttons for a reason. Though I suppose if you mainly play certain genres - many buttons just become optional. Not to say controls couldn't be simplified or more intuitive, but Metroid Prime 4 definitely also uses all the buttons. I definitely felt it more for this one, and maybe because the more omni-direction nature of the game, but sometimes I would just be hitting stuff and doing the wrong thing. Plus the controls change depending on context too... there are the standard controls, the scan mode controls(not just for scanning!), the morphball controls, the motorcycle controls. There is a lot to do. But I'm not really complaining. In many cases, two buttons would perform the same function - I think this was to help with aiming during combat, and platforming, and stuff like that.

Arguably two things I wished were in the game would have required two more buttons. I wish Samus could dash - just run faster, and I wish she could punch. There are times in cutscenes where she just hits stuff, and the past couple Metroid games had the "melee counter". I really just wanted to smack stuff away that was right in my face. In sections where the bike was unavailable, I wish I could have just dashed or run to trek a bit faster. That would have made up for there being no fast-travel. Usually games like this would have a fast-travel, and this didn't, and I'm okay with that. It's not SO huge it's necessary, and sometimes fast-travel can take away from the experience. If there were tons of side missions and things I was actually required to go back and forth for, then maybe I'd need it, but it's not like it was a super long game anyway. I just wanted to run faster.

Neon Inferno

• Genre: Run and Gun
• Spoiler Free Review: Not much to spoil.
• Time Played: ~5 hours
• Partner: Alice
• Too Short/Long: If we were better at the game, it would have been a good bit shorter, we both would have liked to have seen more. But it's way better than the ~1 hour length of the studio's previous game.
• Soundtrack: Soundtrack is pretty great, hype and surprisingly diverse.
• Why I played: I loved Steel Assault for the maybe 1 hour I played it. I had mentioned it seemed more like a proof of concept, and while this is an entirely different game, I can at least see where they learned this or that.
• Did I cry: Nah.
• Jank: I would say the only jank really is just that some of this hitboxes seem bigger than the affect. It's definitely not pixel perfect hit detection and I feel like if it isn't you should generally be conservative in a game that requires precision dodging of attacks.
• Difficulty: Played on the standard difficulty as per usual, though this game really asks you to play on hard/arcade, so I wonder if there is additional content there, if so, I just may. Anyway, it was still very tough on the standard difficulty.
• Recommend to others: I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes run and gun games like Contra. The action is intense and pretty well varied, it has new an interesting mechanics, and the art and soundtrack are awesome. I definitely think it has the co-op in mind though, so more recommended for co-op than single.

The second I saw the trailer for Neon Inferno I knew it was an instant buy from me. It was definitely a very cool game. I had a lot of fun, but I do wish I could have some more fun with it. There are only a handful of stages, but they're pretty big and often have several different gimmicks or design elements. It never feels like it's just filling space with another encounter. The bosses are each pretty different and each have a couple unique phases.

The main element to the game which is pretty cool is the fact that it has the standard action-platforming-esque run and shoot aspects, but it also has a "shoot the background" gallery shooting mechanic that you have to alternate back and forth between. Making it at times a cover-shooter, often sans cover. Pretty unique for a 2d side-scrolling game. In addition to your main gun, you also have a knife attack that can also parry certain types of shots. I think it really has two-player in mind, because there is stuff shooting at you from every direction at times but you need to stop and shoot the background. Juggling this with two people makes it feel actually possible. 

There are also some upgrades you can purchase in-game but I feel like these are actually pretty poorly implemented. They are expensive based off what you can earn in a level, and they're one-time use, and you can only carry one. I feel like the upgrades should have just been slottable equipment and maybe while you have limited ammo, you could turn it on/off during the stage. As it is, once you use it in a stage, you have like 30 special shots and then it's gone until you buy a new. An additional frustration to this is that some levels have (pretty severe) penalties to your income, which can basically mean you earn nothing (and maybe subtract from what you had? We had nothing at start of that mission). As it is we each used a singular equipment upgrade once each in our entire playthrough.

Minor complaint overall though. I just wish there were a bit more of it, but I guess it's like 5x the length of the last game the devs made.

Cyberpunk 2077

• Genre: RPG
• Spoiler Free Review: Trying to be. Posting some story/dialog screenshots at the bottom.
• Time Played: 140 Hours
• Too Short/Long: Definitely feels a bit long because there is just so much stuff. I definitely feel like some of the gigs are there just to pad it out, but many of them still manage to build on the world, and some are even relevant to greater storylines. So it's hard to say it's actually too long, but almost any game that's more than 100 hours could probably stand to cut some content.
• Soundtrack: There are some amazing tracks, and while it may have some licensed, or some that had some collaborations, I think the vast majority was at least originally created for the game, and that said, damn. There are literal albums worth of music of a handful of different genres, and some real bangers in there.
• Why I played: I love cyberpunk as a genre, but prior to this game's release, I didn't really care. I saw an overhyped generic mess that overselling and uninspired. And maybe that wasn't entirely fair, but at least it wasn't quite as far off at release. After the game saw some revisions and made improvements, they never rereleased/updated the PS4 version, but PS4 players could get a free PS5 upgrade. Somehow that also meant people would sell PS4 copies for like 15 bucks, so I snagged the game on the cheap to give it a shot.
• Did I cry: Maybe a couple times, but more early-mid game than later on.
• Jank: At some point in its life it seems like this may have been the jankiest out there, and that might not entirely be true anymore, however, it's not without jank at all. All huge open world games experience some degree of problems. The more there is, the more that can go wrong. There were more than a few instances I had to restart the game because I literally couldn't continue playing. The main thing I somewhat frequently encountered, was a state where I could not bring up any menus and if I interacted with something that brought up a menu-like UI(like hacking panels), it would not come up and I would get stuck. Also sometimes I would get in a permanent state of combat or be unable to use any of the fast travels. The first time I experienced this I thought it was a story thing, so I was driving literally everywhere for many missions. I ended up restarting the game for an unrelated reason and found I could fast travel again - many hours later.
• Difficulty: I was playing the game on Normal originally, as I usually do and was finding it quite difficult at times. Eventually things evened out and then I found myself in a situation where I just couldn't level up any further. A quick look online suggested that you get more experience on Hard, so I switched to hard. It was hard at first, but eventually I got so powerful that "hard" was easy. I could have continued to very hard, but I worked hard to get where I was an liked feeling powerful toward the end of the game. Also, that final mission was still very difficult, I even considered switching back to easy, but I saw it through. Point is. There are so many variables in this game, it's probably hard to pinpoint what the perfect difficulty is. It's a very action heavy action game, but it's also still an RPG. Eventually your equipment/abilities/etc. could surpass what the game can offer.
• Recommend to others: This is not the same game it was at release, and as it currently is I would definitely recommend Cyberpunk to anyone who is vaguely interested. It may have some problems, but overall, it's just such an impressive game on so many levels. The effort that this game took, to put everything together is just unfathomable. The term AAA game is thrown around these days just to describe any potentially high quality, expensive to make, non-indie game. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the very few games I would say fully fits the AAA descriptor. This is a AAA game as defined. I feel like this is to games what Avatar(2009 film) was to 3D films. It's not the first, it's not the best, it's not going to be everyone's favorite, but it is arguably the definitive experience when you refer to it.

My little bullet points got a bit more out of control than they usually do. So where do I begin? At the end. Finishing Cyberpunk 2077 left me with that feeling I only occasionally get upon completing a game. A tightness in my chest, a strange combination of adrenalin and hyper focus, with a relieved exasperation. It's a complex feeling that occurs after certain... uhh... game changing, games?

I'm still honestly not even sure if Cyberpunk 2077 makes "the list", but I feel like it's only fair to put it to test. I'll wait until I come down from this feeling, whatever it is. Maybe at the end of the year I'll reevaluate. Especially since a few sequels to games in my favorites list are queued up to be played now. I imagine it might have some changes coming.

Death Stranding

• Genre: Action Adventure
• Spoiler Free Review: Pretty much, other than talking about game progression.
• Time Played: 80 Hours
• Too Short/Long: It's not that it was too short or too long, really just awkward pacing since so much of the "real" story happens so late in the game.
• Soundtrack: Soundtrack is excellent. They make a point of introducing and presenting new tracks while on important missions, you can replay them via structures and in your room, but Sam should have had an ipod or something. Or at least been able to listen to music via streaming on the chiral network. Not that the score is bad, but it's usually pretty passive, so it would have been nice to be able to listen to the music while doing missions that didn't matter as much and exploring.
• Why I played: I'm a big fan of Metal Gear and by extension, most of Kojima's work. So I'm more than likely to try any Hideo Kojima game made by Hideo Kojima, that was written by Hideo Kojima, Directed by Hideo Kojima, and Produced by Hideo Kojima.
• Did I cry: Yes, a couple times.
• Jank: There isn't too much jank. The jankiest I think things are is sometimes controlling Sam doesn't quite do what you expect it to. The controls are a bit loose to ensure he interacts with the environment properly, but that also means there can be a delay in the interactions. Forcing him to trip and stumble, or fall from a great height when you clearly pressed the button required to avoid that.
• Difficulty: I played this one on easy because there is some scary stuff that borders on horror-game scenarios that would have made it otherwise unplayable for me if I didn't get some leeway. It also just increases the general survivability to get from point a to point b with less deterioration, and stamina decrease. Playing on a harder difficulty wouldn't have really made it harder from what I can tell, it just would have made everything take longer and maybe caused more frustration or boredom. It's already a long enough game. I think I made the right choice by giving myself some breathing room for this one. There is easier still, and harder difficulties. I think if you like intense horror-esque moments and don't mind the monotony of backtracking more, the normal and harder difficulties would be appropriate, but even "easy" still offers a decent level of challenge.
• Recommend to others: I think Death Stranding gets downplayed too much as a "Walking Simulator" but when most people think of a walking simulator, they think of games where you just move from point a to point b with little-to-no other mechanics. Death Stranding actually has a lot things going on and a lot of things to do, and in the end, I would actually recommend it pretty strongly.

I feel like Death Stranding, closer to it's actual release, was memed on constantly. When it came out, it sold well enough it seemed, but people stopped talking about it. Maybe because those who actually played it enjoyed it and there wasn't much more to meme? I feel like even positive reception was rather quiet. I did start playing it myself, but I don't think I made it through the first area, and most the game takes place in the second. There is still plenty of weirdness and things that are like "why did it have to be this way" but I guess it had to be this way, because that's how it's written. Nothing exists just for the sake of it, within the confines of the story. They may not explain it for 50 hours into the game, but at least they make an attempt and it more or less comes together fluidly.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider

• Genre: 2D Action Platforming
• Time Played: 3-4 Hours
• Too Short/Long: I would have been happy with a little more, but it was fine.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Pleased.
• Why I played: Motorcycle Samurai Action Platformer with Mega Man elements? How could I not? Also the gorgeously detailed pixel art, even if it at times bordering on grotesque.
• Recommend to others: I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes games like the original Ninja Gaiden or Strider, though Hagane might be a more direct inspiration.

I've played all of Joymasher's games and enjoyed them all, even if sometimes I think they're working within their self-imposed limitations a little too much. Controls could be tighter, as they often are in modern action platforming games. In Joymasher tradition the controls are just a little stiff and it leads to missing jumps you shouldn't. Thankfully their endless pits aren't actually endless pits and even accidentally falling into spiked or electric floors, isn't too painful.

Other than that? Excellent game. Basically mixing the previously mentioned games with the Mega Man style progression/upgrades. Prologue level, 6 level choices, then a couple final levels that thankfully do not include a boss rush. I was enjoying it and would have been happy with a bit more. Joymasher seems to like to make different games inspired by different classic games each time, but I would be really happy if they turned this one into a series.

Also I would have liked more motorcycle sections. The Mode 7 style sections a couple times is nice, but the game teases you with some side scrolling motorcycling by having a couple level intros take that perspective. Only with Moonrider jumping off before you gain control.