Sept. 2025
So, I obviously meant to type this out earlier but then I started Hades and it completely consumed me for two weeks straight. More on that next month. So, while I am currently engaging in all things spooky, I did manage to finally catch up. Excuse any typos, my keyboard is acting up. Without further ado.
As a junior sleuth in training you are put on a top secret case, find out what happened to the stolen royal dragon eggs.
Pixel adventure game that has a variety of mini games as you sleuth around. Minigames are decent enough though lack replay value (not that the game gives you much opportunity for most) and can feel kinda clumsy. Dialogue and writing is decent where most characters do feel more or less genuine. Though the trailers show a lot of voice acting, it is far more limited than you might think. Still plenty and the voicework that is there is appreciated. What really drives this game is the pixel work and variety of scenes. That being said, one thing that Critical Bliss always seems to miss is just the perfect execution and often (maybe non-purposefully) teases ideas which never get expanded on and leave you wanting more without the follow through.
Recommend? Overall a decent adventure filled with niches that might briefly scratch a seldom touched upon itch.
Dungeon Siege 2
First take the total playtime of this game and double it… that’s how long it felt like it took to beat this game.
The game is fine in theory. The more focused party system allows more control and even some nice interactions. Party members no longer having a chance to die with every knock out is nice so you no longer have to worry about needing as many resurrection scrolls or the loot explosion you have to pick up and reorganize. Game over feels more intimate and interactive without needing complete micromanagement though it can still be a bit awkward.
That being said, your party chooses to interject when your'e surrounded by enemies which is… really not the time to be doing so thus missing on dialogue and taking free damage. The constant loop of taking a few steps to face 20 enemies gets old fast and makes the game slog. The drop system also DOES NOT make sense. I'll face the most current boss and get items worth half my level and unless they are legendary with nice perks… are completely worthless. I felt like I went an Act and a half before getting better gear. Though you do have a mini-map, not having a local map is absolute suffering especially if you are returning to an area from much earlier in the game for a quest.
Important Notes: This game does not run well out of the box. You'll have to do some configuration and patches to even get it passable. Things like getting fullscreen to work, proper mouse control, and reduce potential black screen or boot up issues that may occur. On top of that, the expansion "Broken World" is not available which does continue this game's story. You'll likely need further patches for that, and early on if you don't want to risk having to create a new save.
Recommend? Despite being a general improvement over the first game, it still has a fair share of gameplay and performance issues that just doesn't feel worth the trouble in the end. At best this is a sideways thumb recommendation.
If you didn’t like Dungeon Siege 1 or 2… or traditional CRPGs for that matter… you’ll probably like this. This game has been incredibly streamlined and “modernized” compared to it’s predecessors. You now only control one of four pre-classed characters while the others are recruitable and act on their own. Combat is super basic now giving you full control of abilities, dodging, and blocking. Though the increased and focused control over one character should make it easier (which in a way it kinda is) the game is very punishing with damage. Even with high end gear you will find enemies can melt you down if you aren’t careful. Story is fine though I often found myself just kind of flipping through the dialogue. What is most painful is the UI/UX. Each equipment slot is in it’s own tab making inventory management more of a nightmare. This is doubly true when dealing with companions as you’ll have to add them to the active party before you can look at their gear or level them up. Since there is a trust system on top of that, you’ll basically never want to switch party members ever. My final complaint is all of the different terms used for stats such as Doom, Retribution, Stagger, and Warding. Some are more obvious than others but without a guide you may be left bewildered.
Recommend? Decent enough and doesn’t require much in-depth RPG knowledge or micromanagement.
In all the ways it matters, this is just more Hollow Knight… and that’s good. Same metroidvania game with beautiful art, engaging combat, loveable characters, and lore. Everything felt improved upon. Environments felt more varied and immersive, story was far more present and engaging (especially with your character actually conversing), and Hornet’s combat felt unique in comparison. Utilizing both tools and crests not only varied the gameplay but allowed for fun creativity. Some may disagree, but I did find most of the game to be a mite easier than the first. That being said there are still several parts that are definitely far more difficult with the rest being just as challenging throughout. No matter how diligent I was with secrets and combing through areas, I was consistently surprised with just how much more of the game there really was. Each time louder and louder I would exclaim, “and there’s more?!” It is to say there is probably just as much content, if not more, than the fully updated version of the first game.
Recommend? Yes. I did have a few cases where things didn't appear to work as normal, like one instance where an enemy spawned weird and got stuck or another enemy that kept pushing itself out of the area. They were pretty rare and with a game that is filled with bugs… it rarely was an issue.
The horror cinematic anthology continues with Little Hope. It’s the usual Supermassive Games MO. Interactive movie gameplay, story changing choices, and well-known actors. This one in particular I can see being particularly controversial with it’s mysterious premise. You’ll either love it or hate it, no in between. Depending on what you take away from the story, it does feel like some plots/details get dropped or just don’t really make sense. In fact, if you go with the games pushed narrative… a lot of it may not seem all that impactful… but for the benefit of the game’s image and my own enjoyment… I went with my own interpretation.
Recommend? Kinda. Again either gonna love it or hate it and it will depend entirely on you. Get it on sale either way.
Story Warning: This covers story information up to episode 490-ish.
A pretty slow feeling 3D anime tag fighter. To my great surprise it only covers one arc and one of the shortest at that. There’s still a healthy amount of fighters available though. This however does not bode well for the story mode as each chapter will retread the same story beats fighting a lot of the same fights with very small changes. It only makes matters worse when the first of the four chapters is just a drip fed tutorial. At the very least the story is an easy way to unlock a lot of characters. Again movement feels really awkward and slow with no great way to close the gap making interactions and combo potential really low. A lot of specials feel kind of awkward and the disparity between good and bad characters is massive. Otherwise I guess it’s fine considering it’s the first in it’s series, but definitely needs some serious improvements. What I will give it's greatest accolade is the 3D graphics with the line shading actually looks really great.
Recommend? Not really. Great visuals but slow paced gameplay and kinda weird feeling gameplay.
Story Warning: This game takes place from the very beginning into the show all the way through about… episode 750. Yes, I binge watched One Piece throughout the year just to play the games I had in my library.
Think this is my second Musou type game and this feels more traditional than the last one I played. That being said… man is it basic and clunky. The former is to be expected as that is kind of the Musou genre, but this game was not ported/coded very well. First and foremost it has no real controller implementation. It will do it’s best to read controls but they are only assigned in mouse and keyboard controls and you’ll want to utilize the Steam Input configs submitted by other users for optimal play. I found most characters to be a bit awkward and not really getting tot live a power fantasy that these sorts of games should offer. Saves can be corrupted easily and cutscenes will often not load, requiring you to skip them as soon as the screen get stuck on a dark screen.
Recommend? It’s a bit basic and is not ported particularly well. It should be noted you can very easily lose your save so you may need to back that up. I’d probably avoid it unless you’re a big fan of the show and genre.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon 
A rather cute game that tells the story of a much younger and inexperienced Bayonetta/Cereza. It uses a sort of cell shaded story book art style that is very charming. The art style pairs extremely well with the storybook-like narrative (even including a narrator that uses different voices for most characters). It’s highly suggested to play with a friend, family member, partner, etc. as each joycon controls a separate character. One for Cereza who has more of a support role and the other of the demon who primarily takes care of combat. It’s perfectly possible to play solo, as I did, but may be a little difficult the less ambidextrous you are. The simplified gameplay mirrors Cereza’s lack of experience and makes it super fun to see how she slowly adapts mechanics that we see in the rest of the series. There are also great uses of puzzles and platforming with controlling separate characters in fun sequences.
Due to the storybook like nature the game, especially the beginning, can be a bit of a slog before you start unlocking mechanics and abilities. As interesting and beautiful as the scenery can get, maps can get extremely confusing to navigate, particularly when it comes to finding collectibles. The map does little help as it shows general paths but not elevations. Due to it’s simplified combat, fights can start to feel pretty similar even with varied enemies.
Recommend? Yes, this is probably the best way to create a family friendly Bayo game without much issue to the current character or series as a whole.
Resident Evil: Survivor 
Light gun resident evil game. It’s interesting to say the least. On one hand it expands upon critical lore from the first few games and offers an (at the time) unique experience for the series. On the other hand it is kind of an awkward experience between both it’s story and gameplay. The story isn’t particularly special though it does have that classic Resident Evil bad voice acting and the characters are very forgettable. Unlike the rest of the series, this game doesn’t really do exploration. You pick a route, this gives you access to a couple of rooms to find a key, some items, then move into the next hub to pick the next route. There is no going back after picking a route meaning your path is set and whatever story or items you get is what decides your experience/ending. It’s super basic, but decent considering the light gun implementation.
Recommend? Kinda. It’s an interesting experience and there is some fun. Though I was shocked at the crucial series info the game drops in random memos… it’s stuff you either already know or can look up.
Resident Evil: Survivor 2 - Code Veronica
I didn’t expect much and I was still disappointed. Continuing the light gun genre this now takes place over a very lazily adapted Code Veronica setting. Super basic and few cutscenes, no voice acting, while the actual gameplay is just… so awful. Instead of going through even an abridged version of Code Veronica (similar to what Darkside Chronicles will later do), this is essentially an arcade watered down time attack mode. Each stage you must quickly run through the area to get the key and get out before NEMESIS shows up (Yes, the RE3 boss). At this point you just have to accept the game doesn’t matter, but it gets worse. Despite being accompanied by an AI companion… they will almost never do anything. You can level up the AI but only once you’ve beaten the game… and even then you only unlock a few levels at a time. Gunplay and movement both feel super awful and, in my experience, had weird delays. The temporary gun pickups often feel useless and far too limited. Bosses are often bullet spongey and most enemies track damage far too well despite your limitations.
Recommend? No. No. God No. This is easily the worst Resident Evil hands down and that’s saying something.