Recent reviews by VλLLHλLLλ

Not a fan, sadly.
I really wanted to like this because of the incredible art direction and environments, but there is so much wrong here.
The story is far too exposition heavy to the point where I feel like I'm being told the story rather than experiencing it firsthand. The combat is neat in concept, but the execution feels stiff and unsatisfying, and the constant interruption from tutorials frequently kills the gameplay pacing.

The voice acting and soundtrack are actually very good, and I think this has a lot of potential, but sadly it just never lives up to its own promise. Meh.

For context, I have 70+ hours on PS5.
From top to bottom, Hades is one of, if not the best game of the 2020s.
A must-play, can't wait to dive into Hades II.

Look, if you're on this page, you're obviously thinking of buying this game, so without getting into why, this is the easiest recommendation I could possibly give.

A tremendous story that could only be told through a video game.

Note: This review is for the singleplayer campaign, not GTA Online.

It feels as if Grand Theft Auto V has been around for as long as I can remember, even if it hasn't. The cultural impact this game has had not just on the video game landscape, but on popular culture as a whole is nothing short of staggering, and its bitingly harsh commentary on 21st century America still feels relevant in the modern age, even if the world is a much different, much scarier place than it was in 2013.

Part of me feels like writing this review is pointless; this is GTA V, the highest-grossing piece of entertainment to ever exist, everyone has played it, or at the very least, heard of it. But at the same time, I feel like a lot of what makes this game so great is often overlooked nowadays precisely because it has been played to death by hundreds of millions of people; we've become so accustomed to GTA V that we don't really appreciate it for the great game it is.

While the game has certainly aged from a pure fidelity standpoint, its focused art direction provides a game that is dripping with both beauty and decay in equal amounts. The lighting, especially in this enhanced version, has a paint-like quality to it that drenches every scene in atmosphere, and the fog and depth of field effects do wonders in further enriching the game's graphical beauty. To this day, Los Santos is the most accurate depiction of a modern-day city ever put to a video game. I know this place's layout better than the actual city I live in, which is a testament to Rockstar's attention to detail and dedication to crafting believable settings.

The gameplay definitely feels more arcade-y than previous entries; for some people I'm sure this was a bummer but I personally find GTA V's mechanics to be a definite improvement from the lock-on systems and slippery driving from games prior, with endless opportunity for player-controlled chaos. Los Santos is a vast, varied sandbox, and although I wish it took better advantage of its large map with more interior locations, mini-games and missions set in quieter areas, there is still plenty of fun to be had within it. I love how adaptable the mechanics feel; you can pretty much pull off anything you can think of. I mean, this is a game where you can jump out of a private jet just as its about to get hit by a missile, then pull out your parachute and gun down the dude who shot it down, all while you're still in the air. Its like directing your own Mission Impossible film, which is something you can actually do because of the Rockstar Editor, which lets you record and edit your game footage, kind of like a super powerful photo mode.

The story has been a point of contest among GTA fans and whether or not it lives up to Rockstar's legacy, especially when this game came straight off the heels of GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption. While I don't think GTA V's story is as emotionally resonant or thematically complex as something like Red Dead, I do think its very well written and genuinely funny, with a cast that are as lovable as they are downright insane; Michael, Franklin and Trevor are all different flavours of crazy, but despite that, I can't help but love them, even if their world would definitely be better off without them in it.

I think the fact this game is still fun despite sinking hundreds of hours into it across multiple platforms over the span of 12 years is nothing short of remarkable, and is proof that Rockstar are some of the greatest developers working today. But for the love of god, GTA VI isn't just a want at this point, its a need. In the meantime though, go replay this! Or if you've somehow never played it, then what the hell are you doing?!

Man, its GTA 4. If you haven't played it yet, then that's on you! Though I will say this port is kinda busted without the FusionFix mod, so make sure you go download it and limit your FPS to 60 before playing on here, since the physics engine is directly tied to the frame rate. FusionFix also lets you restore the "piss filter" that was removed for this port.

I also recommend the radio restoration mod if you want the radio songs that were removed a few years back.

I have almost 80 hours in this game on console. Thought it was due a replay on PC, and honestly? I'm enjoying this second playthrough even more than my first.

NieR: Automata is a game that asks a lot of big questions about the human condition, and the way it answers these questions has the power to make you reevaluate your own perspective on the world. It is poignant in its delivery and innovative in its approach to character-driven narrative, at least in the video game space, making for one of the most captivating and thematically rich video games of the last 20 years, only rivalled by the likes of Silent Hill 2, Disco Elysium and the Metal Gear series.

I really don't wanna come off as pretentious in this review, but I really can't overstate how powerful this game's story is. It also helps that pretty much every other aspect of this game is equally as rich in depth.

The way NieR: Automata's world transforms throughout the game's events is a stroke of pure genius; you are asked to revisit previously explored areas somewhat frequently, but upon each revisit, these areas manage to completely recontextualize themselves through both story and gameplay. It gives the world a sense of instability and creates plenty of dynamic gameplay scenarios that left me in awe. The stellar art direction and sweeping orchestral soundtrack are really the cherry on top, complimenting some of the most breathtaking and powerful set-piece moments in recent memory.

Despite all of my gushing praise, I do have some light criticisms. NieR: Automata requires you to play through the first half of the main scenario twice; Route A and Route B. While this is fantastic from a storytelling standpoint, allowing you to experience the game's events through two entirely different perspectives, it is lacking in gameplay variety, especially as Route B plays out almost exactly like Route A, with a larger emphasis on hacking enemies and some other minor differences here and there. It's not a huge problem, as Route B is absolutely necessary from a story standpoint, and the payoff from playing both routes is immense, effectively unlocking the second half of the game. I just wish it felt a bit more distinct.

Additionally, quite a lot of the side quests are pretty bare bones, often consisting of fetch quests and other mindless JRPG fluff. That's not to say all the side quests are bad; in fact, NieR: Automata has some of the most memorable side quests I've ever played (the ending of the castle treasure hunt quest will haunt me forever), but the game would've been better off if the side quests had more structural variety.

That being said, this game is a must-play for anyone who even remotely enjoys video games, because its easily one of the best ever made.

Holy cow.

I'm only four hours into Clair Obscur at the time of writing this, but I can confidently say that this is a fantastic piece of gaming. Here I was, thinking that turn-based combat couldn't be innovated or improved upon after Persona 5 Royal, but here comes Clair Obscur, which takes the fundamental, weakness-based system that Persona uses, but combines it with elements from action games like Sekiro. To my knowledge, this is the only turn-based game with a parry button and it feels AMAZING.

Clair Obscur is also the only western game to feature a JRPG-style combat system since like, that one Lord of The Rings game for the PS2 and GameCube. I *REALLY* hope that more western devs take cues from Japanese game designers, because this is the exact level of creativity that the western market is missing right now. Considering that Sandfall Interactive was founded by ex-Ubisoft developers proves that mismanagement and corporate tampering, to nobody's surprise, is the only thing stopping Ubisoft from releasing amazing games. The talent is there. Anyway, I'm getting off-topic.

I'm not going to go too much into the narrative side of things, because I haven't played enough to formulate a complete opinion on it, but so far, it's good, and had me gripped from the very start. The voice performances are all amazing too.

The only real complaint I have so far is a general lack of polish, though I'm not too bothered, since this is a pretty small team, and anyone who's used to a bit of AA jank isn't gonna mind at all.

This is a good game, made by a very talented group of people, and you should play it.

A deeply rich and rewarding action role-playing game that provides flexible gameplay opportunities, brilliant interconnected world design and compelling, thematic storytelling in spades.

You can go about your objectives in pretty much any way you can imagine, not just your typical "stealth or guns blazing" either; you can talk your way out of most situations if you're clever enough, or avoid them entirely. There are so many choices to make and so many different outcomes that no two playthroughs will be the same. Without spoilers, the introductory level is a great example of this, and really sets the bar high for the rest of the game, which it manages to surpass over and over again.

My only real complaints would be that this port wasn't made with modern systems in mind at all; if you want to play the game in resolutions above 720p, you're gonna need a hex editor to fix the UI because it doesn't scale to HD+ resolutions. Also, the pre-rendered cutscenes don't look great due to the same issue. I'm sure there's probably a fix for that somewhere, but honestly its not enough of an issue for me to care too much. There's also some BioWare-esque jank here, but its not too distracting at all, and the game plays very smoothly most of the time.

If you're at all a fan of cyberpunk settings, dystopian fiction, immersive sims or just sci-fi in general, this is a must-play.

I'd also strongly recommend this game to people who like Metal Gear, Batman Arkham and/or Cyberpunk 2077, I can almost guarantee this will be right up your alley.

(P.S. Malik and Pritchard are my goats)

Half-Life Alyx was the first game I played on my Quest 3 and I'm a little worried that no other VR game will be able to hold a candle to it. It is magical.

You know what else would be magical?

Half-Life 3!!

Please Valve!!

Make it happen!!

Mouthwashing draws clear inspiration from horror classics whilst still maintaining a wholly unique identity. The way in which the narrative effortlessly weaves itself between time and perspectives left me itching to find out the truth behind it all. This is all backed by incredibly striking visual design, a cast of genuinely interesting characters, and horror set-pieces that had me shaking.