Into The Breach - Key's Gaming Journal

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For those of you that don't know me already from other forums or wherever, I like to talk about video games. A lot. I actually tend to talk about video games more than I do any other topics, and I tend to look more into topics that pertains to video games in general. It started off in the 90's as a kid getting a Nintendo 64 for Christmas, and since then it's just been a journey and a great one at that.

Here's the deal, I don't want to just simply copy and paste things I have written already on other forums (MusicBanter specifically) because I may have different thoughts in things that I have written in the past, and I like to look at things with a fresh point of view. However because I have decided to start this journey at the same time as going through Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I may start bringing that stuff over to here. After that though, the journals will be their own respective journals.

Anyway, let's get talking about games!

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

I started playing on 04/28/2023 so these first impressions are from that day:

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - First Impressions

Just a few things to get out of the way before I dive in: There will be a full review of Jedi Survivor once I have finished the game, this post is just my first impressions of the few hours of gameplay that I have right now. Some of these thoughts could change, though I don't really see that happening. If anything, the points will just be made stronger as I go along. As well, this post will contain minor spoilers. So read on if you like but just know that you will be spoiled on the first part of the game. Other than that, let's get on with it:

So, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, what is this game? Well, simple answer is that it's the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The more in depth answer would be that it's the exactly the kind of sequel it needs to be without losing what makes its predecessor great. In other words, this is a shining example of what makes a great sequel, and keep in mind I'm saying this solely based on the first few hours of the game. It starts you off further along in Cal's adventure, though this time you find yourself captured on Coruscant, or so you think you are captured. Until you are brought in front of a senator who then takes your lightsaber from the guard that transported you to him. However, you quickly then find out that this was all a ploy and even the guards that transported you to the senator were in on it. You then take possession of your lightsaber again and off you go. Right off the bat, you can already tell that both the movement of Cal and the combat have been massively improved from the first game. The entire starting area of Coruscant is basically built around giving you a quick overview of the skills you already acquired from the first game, and putting them to use to find other skills that make platforming around the game even more enjoyable. Quick shoutout to the grapple, which so far has proven to be a really cool ability to use for platforming. Makes the platforming element of the game even stronger than the first game. Which again, is what a sequel is intended to do. Not take away from what the predecessor did well, but instead making them stronger while making the game as a whole stronger.

As far as graphics and performance go, keep in mind that I'm playing this on Xbox Series S, but you can immediately tell that this game was built to work well on next gen consoles. I've been hearing people talking about the performance issues they are having on the PC versions, and while that does suck to hear, you can tell that these games are meant to be played on hardware that can support next gen graphics. In my experience, the game looks and feels beautiful and there have been several screenshot moments and I've only just finished the starting planet of Coruscant.

Coruscant by the way is incredible. You really feel like you're in the heart of a city with the landscapes of skyscrapers and speeders flying by constantly. It makes the entire environment feel alive and makes it even more enticing to traverse through. I hope this stays true for the planets ahead, but I have yet to see much after the starting point, so that remains to be seen.

The combat like I mentioned before has been massively improved from the first game while still maintaining what made the combat great in the first game. This time you have access to different stances that give you different move sets depending on which stance you choose. At the current moment, I've only unlocked one extra stance on top of the two default ones that you start with, those being single and double bladed lightsabers. The new stance I got allows you to duel wield lightsabers which again, gives you a completely different move set that works with the duel wield respectively. The other stances have other move sets which keeps combat fresh and feeling tighter than ever. I always felt that the combat in Jedi: Fallen Order had more potential, and it's certainly met if not exceeded in this sequel. Again, keeping in mind that I have barely scratched the surface of the combat. But the starting area gives you many opportunities to get warmed up with it and I have already taken down two bosses early on, so you get warmed up pretty quick.

As a side note, Cal Kestis truly shines in this game already, and I'm excited to see where this adventure takes him. I'd really like to see a TV show made for this character, though I think these games are doing a really good job of setting up his narrative and making him a truly memorable character in the Star Wars universe.

I'm excited to continue my time with this game since I stopped playing once I got to the next planet, so there's still and entire game for me to experience and subsequently enjoy. So far though, all signs are pointing toward a positive experience overall. And on top of that, the reviews have been pretty good aside from the negative reviews stemming from poor performance on the PC version. Hopefully that gets fixed because this is a game people will certainly want to experience. Having played Jedi: Fallen Order twice, I would highly recommend playing both as this is just a really strong continuation of the first game, and the context will definitely help.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - First Impressions Pt. II

I didn't feel like I quite covered all of the things that I enjoyed about my first few hours into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, so I'm gonna try to collect those thoughts into here and perhaps I'll have said enough. Who knows?

In Jedi: Fallen Order, I know some people, not including me, that seemed to have a bit of a problem with the way the map worked, though a lot of people were pretty forgiving onec they figured it out. In Jedi: Survivor, they use much the same kind of map but it does look a bit more refined and certainly seems to work better than its predecessor. Again, not something I really had an issue with, but I know it bugged some people. Does it job though. It's a map, what more do you want?

I've only used this one time so far in my playthrough, but I think it's neat that you can use a sort of binocular style thing that allows you to pan around the area you are in and point out points of interest. Very reminiscent of games like Assassins Creed, etc. Doesn't overstay itself. Does it job nicely. I'm surprised this wasn't in Jedi: Fallen Order, but it's a nice addition to an already awesome droid, for sure.

Not a whole lot to say about the customization aspects of the characters and lightsaber, yet. I haven't gotten far enough into the game to really dive into it, though I have heard that the customization options are much more improved in relation to the previous game. I have yet to see much of it so I look forward to seeing more.

I know I've only spent but a few hours in this game, but I really like the way it feels all the way from how you run from platform to platform, to how you strategize about where you want to go and how you want to take down multiple enemies. Jedi: Fallen Order in my opinion is a fantastic game, and it's definitely one that you have to give some time for because even if it's not in your wheel house, it's just a great game in general. I think I'll end up dearly loving this sequel, but I just need much more time with it. There will be a full review once I finish the game.

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This post in particular was made after having played the game for about 9 hours. Now you should all be caught up.

More Thoughts On Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

There will be minor spoilers later on in this post.

Man oh man oh man oh man oh man, this sequel ****ing rules. I'm not talking just a great game, I'm not talking just an improvement from the previous title, I'm talking great ****ing game. From my first impressions post, you already should know how the game kind of gets going and what sort of things you have available to you. And even at the time, I was like "yeah, this game is a great game." But, as I've spent more time with it, I have come to the conclusion that every single little part of this game whether it's the new skill tree, the way combat has been refined, the environments, hell just the graphics alone are breathtaking at times, and just everything in between has been reworked or improved to a perfected state.

I think the last time I felt this strongly about a sequel was when I played Middle Earth: Shadow of War and subsequently finished it 100%. That is another fine example of what it means to take what worked about its predecessor, and simply improving it to the max and adding things that don't hurt its integrity, but instead gradually improves it without even realizing that the improvement needed to be made. I said this before as well, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a great game, but now that I have seen what improvements have been made for its sequel, it's hard to go back and play it now. Thankfully I did a full playthrough right before this one came out so I won't be needing to play it for a while if ever again.

I am doing my best in this post to keep away from spoiling too much after giving a good look into the start of the game in my previous posts because it is simply not the same as coming face to face to it in the game. There have been several upon several moments in my time with this game where I simply either had to stop because I was so engaged with it, or got really really into it to the point that I nearly fell off my chair. It's been a very long time since I had this feeling for a game to the point that I really do want to try and complete it in its entirety. The only games that I can think of in recent times that had a same or similar effect would have to be both Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy, both of which I have talked to death about. I love both dearly.

As far as Star Wars games are concerned, I think this could easily be the best Star Wars single play experience we've ever gotten. It succeeds even the likes of KOTOR and KOTOR II, and both of those games respectively are great games, and I have a deep love for them. But even I have to admit that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor hits too many good notes for me not to consider it better and even better than a lot of recent releases. That sounds crazy to say, and maybe I'm overselling it a little bit, but this is genuinely not just a great game, but a great sequel, and well worth your time if you just didn't get what you wanted out of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

My Xbox app tells me that I'm sitting right around the 9 hour mark as far as gameplay time goes, but I don't think that's very indicative of where I am in the game because I spent a lot of time on the first real open planet that it's simply impossible to gauge where I am story wise. Let's just say I'm early on. But that leads into my next point of "holy **** there is a lot of stuff to do". And I want to add to that by saying that this isn't like Assassins Creed or games like that where the collecting aspect gets stale or boring. In fact, each time I have gone off the beaten path, the reward has always been worth it. Whether it's a really cool cosmetic for Cal and BD, or a health upgrade. I'd say going everywhere you can on the maps is a good idea. The cosmetics are really nice too and adds a nice individuality to your character instead of looking like everybody else's version of Cal. You can have a beard and long hair if you want, or just short crew cut and a beard. The choice is yours once you find the cosmetics that you like.

In those 9 hours of playtime, I have also taken a lot of screenshots. Simply because I want to be able to look back at this post once I finish the game and just be able to see visually what I saw and how the game progressed. Lemme tell ya though, these screenshots don't do the game justice. It is absolutely beautiful and really should be played on your own time. But these will just give you another good idea as to what the game looks like. Keep in mind I've had literally no performance or graphical issues aside from the occasional hiccup.

The images below contain minor spoilers















As you can see, I'm having an absolute blast with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Had you told me that this game would be quickly one of my favorites a few years ago when they were slightly teasing bringing back the single player Star Wars experience, I probably would've laughed. But from the get go, even with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I enjoyed the game despite it having some obvious flaws. I'm not too overly critical on games in general, but I can usually tell if a game wins or loses, and I would be surprised if this game in particular is not up for some kind of award. It would definitely take my choice for game of the year despite having said that about Hogwarts Legacy earlier this year. Hey, I didn't know this game would be this good. I haven't had this much fun with a game since Elden Ring, Hogwarts, and even Breath of the Wild to an extent. Which, speaking of which, I am all prepared for Tears of the Kingdom, I just need to wait for release day. Until then, I'm going to finish everything I can in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor before I truly let it go.

Play this damn game, it's ****ing great.

[Guybrush]

Nice one, Key! 🙂

I enjoyed Fallen Order a lot so this is on my to-do list. I'll probably wait until there's a decent sale before I get it, though.

By the way - like you, I also adored Shadow of War!

Talking other similarish games, I had a blast with Elden Ring which I finished not too long ago.

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My Quick Thoughts On...Pokemon Scarlet

After not having a Nintendo Switch for a little while, I decided to dive in and purchase the special edition Tears of the Kingdom OLED Switch that came out about a week or so ago. I'm very much looking forward to Tears of the Kingdom and now complete with the system, I am ready. In the meantime though, when I'm not play Jedi Survivor, I need something else to play when I just need something a bit more laid back. I knew Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were the most recent entries and I also know that they were plagued to death with glitches and graphical issues. However when it comes to Pokemon games specifically, it's not really about the graphics or how the game looks or anything like that. More-so it's the gameplay, and man the gameplay in Pokemon Scarlet is certainly the best it's ever been in the series. It is a bit of a shame that the game does run like poop from time to time because a lot of what they did in this latest entry is what Pokemon should be going forward. Which is kind of nice because you already know they're planning to make more. They have to be. We're in a new era of gaming and this side of Pokemon has only just started.

Aside from all that though, and even though I've only completed the first gym in my current playthrough, I'm having a good time. The battling mechanics are really fun. The xp being given to all Pokemon regardless of if they've been used in battle or not is actually something I like. I know a lot of people don't like it that much, but I've never really had a problem with it. I would be spending hours of grinding in order to get all my Pokemon up to the same levels so it's nice that the game does it for me. Story wise, nothing too special, but interesting enough. The open world aspect is really cool and hopefully once the game can run at a consistent 30 FPS or even 60 FPS, it'll be even better. But unfortunately as it stands now, there are definitely a lot of performance issues that may turn some people away. I'm sure at some point it will start to bother me, but maybe it clears up the further you get in the game. That's yet to be seen so we'll see how that goes.

In general, it's really cool that we even get to play Pokemon games on a Nintendo Switch because they have always been solely handheld games. So whether the game runs well or not, or the game just doesn't look up to par in relation to other big games, there is still something to love about this game. If you're curious btw, I started with Quaxly.

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Nice one, Key! 🙂

I enjoyed Fallen Order a lot so this is on my to-do list. I'll probably wait until there's a decent sale before I get it, though.

By the way - like you, I also adored Shadow of War!

Talking other similarish games, I had a blast with Elden Ring which I finished not too long ago.

If you enjoyed Fallen Order, Survivor is going to blow you away even more. It's just an entire improvement on everything. Shadow of War is also fantastic and I'm glad to see you enjoyed it too.

I think I beat Elden Ring a total of two times, or at least I got really far. My brother beat it 3 or 4 times and 100%'d it. He's big on these games so that's no surprise.

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Welcome To May aka Video Game Month 2023

Something fun that I like to do in my video game journals is theme months. It gives me an opportunity to look at games that I have played in the past with a different perspective, whether I'm older than I was when I originally played it or I just simply am looking to talk about video games a lot in a given month. I've done a video game month before, several times in fact, but again, this will let me look at it with a fresh perspective and perhaps my thoughts have changed.

The structure is pretty simple. For the month of May, I will be talking about video games that I either really enjoy, somewhat enjoy, or I just have nothing but negative things to say about it. Whatever it is, it will be talked about here this month. I can't promise a post a day, but I can promise that things in this thread will at least be interesting to read. So I hope you find something in here this month that you find interesting.

So...sit tight and enjoy Video Game Month!

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Rogue Legacy 2

I've always enjoyed Rogue Legacy as a game, but I don't think I gave it the proper amount of time to really sink in for me. And unfortunately, I just never found the time to go back to it. Fast forward a few years and Rogue Legacy 2 comes out. And man, I'm happy that I decided to take the plunge and spend some time with this game because it is really fun. In simple terms, Rogue Legacy 2 is a metroidvania style roguelike with a mechanic of when you die, you play as the next in line of your heir, with different strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes you'll be wielding a spell with extra magic damage, or you go sword and board with a double jump. It's completely random and gives a lot of opportunity for replayability.

Graphically, it's nothing out of the ordinary, but for this particular style of gameplay, graphics don't really matter all too much. Hell this could be a full on pixelated adventure game and I'd probably still enjoy it. The fact is, roguelikes and games in this style tend to rely more on how the mechanics work, and less on the graphics. But it's definitely been done where the both combine and create something beautiful. Dead Cells is a good example of that. Binding of Isaac as well.

I've been enjoying my time with Rogue Legacy 2 despite not getting very far in my runs. The cool thing about this game though is that while you do have the runs you go on, you also collect gold which allows you to work on a skill tree that is absolutely massive that it will take many hours to complete it. Whether you're strengthening your health for the next run, or just giving your character better starting armor. You choose what you want to buy with the gold you have available to you. Keep in mind all your gold gets taken away from you when you start a new run so you have to make sure that you both know what you want to upgrade on top of making sure that you get enough each run. Sometimes you'll have runs where the resources you gather won't allow you to do anything. But those are the times where you just jump back in and try again. Because the impressive replayability is there, dying on a run never really feels terrible. Though it does really suck when you have a really strong run going and you accidentally jump off of something to your own demise. Not saying I have done that specifically but I'm not saying I haven't either.

And of course, as far as sequels go, Rogue Legacy 2 does a really nice job of taking what made Rogue Legacy already great, and just expanded on it. I would definitely say that Rogue Legacy 2 is probably the one I would recommend more as it does tweak a few things from the original that definitely needed to be tweaked. In shorter terms, Rogue Legacy 2 is simply a more enjoyable experience compared to its predecessor. Again though, that's what you want a sequel to do. I may not have too much time into this game yet, but it is really fun to jump in from time to time and just take on a few runs and see how far I get. So far though, I would say my favorite build is when I get a character with spells. I think I've gotten the furthest with the staff wielding character, so I'd say when I roll a character with that, I tend to have the most fun. But, there's opportunity to get stronger with every character. And, the builds you see early on aren't the only ones available given that once you level up your skill tree enough, you'll unlock other classes that you can try out. So far, my experience with that has been minimal, but a good time nonetheless.

I think a similar experience I had in regards to how Rogue Legacy 2 feels is when Spelunky 2 came out. And don't get me wrong, but Spelunky and Spelunky 2 are great games. But, I definitely feel like the difficulty between Spelunky and Spelunky 2 had been tweaked quite a bit more than what people were expecting. Hell, I can barely get past the first few rooms, but...Spelunky in general takes a lot to get used to so that doesn't surprise me much. But as far as sequels go, Spelunky 2 is definitely a better version than its predecessor despite it being much tougher than the tweaks that were made between Rogue Legacy and Rogue Legacy 2. Rogue Legacy 2 is still quite difficult, but I'd say it's much easier to get used to the games mechanics when compared to Spelunky 2.

So yeah, Rogue Legacy 2 is pretty good.

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Rocket League - Where Do I Stand Now?

Here's the thing, not every post this month is going to necessarily be positive. Hell, some may be straight up negative the whole way through, but maybe I won't go that route. We'll see. However, the route that I do want to talk about is what Rocket League means to me now years after its release. I want to talk about this here because well...it's video game month. But also, there is strong evidence towards the fact that I absolutely loved Rocket League. Especially in the first year of its release because everything felt new and nobody was really all that good at it. Plus, the game looked like a genuine good time so I picked it up maybe a day or so after it released, and spent nearly 10 hours with a friend of mine just enjoying the hell out of it.

Fast forward a few years from that, I then played Rocket League for many months with two really good friends of mine. And while I would say the experience was similar, I think the part that was a bit daunting was realizing just how truly good some people got at this game. To a point that it wasn't really all that fun to play ranked unless you were able to communicate with your teammates. Otherwise there was just no point. However, Rocket League still had some redeeming qualities to it that made it worthwhile to go back to. It was still a lot of fun to play and at least I had gotten good enough at this point to really enjoy it. I would main goalie in the team that I was playing with and sometimes I would nail some of these saves that I didn't even think possible. But somehow my hands did the proper work and I managed to save a game several upon several times. Unfortunately though, that experience was somewhat short lived as I don't really talk to those guys anymore. It was fun while it lasted but nowadays I don't really look to hangout with people much.

Fast forward again just a little bit and we are in current times. And...I have tried many different times to jump back into Rocket League, but in its current state, I don't think there's really anyway to save it from its inevitable obscurity as it slowly continues to dig its own grave. If I remember correctly, Rocket League is no longer owned by Psyonix, which definitely had a lot to do with how I feel about the game now. And who knows, maybe the time will come when it's time to give Rocket League a chance again. Unfortunately with the number of good games that we've been getting in recent years, it'll be quite a while before I decide to jump into Rocket League. It's one of those things that sucks about not being able to experience something new again. Back when Rocket League was just getting popular is where it really was at its peak. Nobody really knew what to do but we were all having fun doing it. Now it's become a version of itself which is hardly recognizable. And for someone like me who has been a big fan since its release, it sucks to see it in its current state. But that's how it goes sometimes.

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Full disclosure, I wrote this review a few years ago and I wanted to repost it for two reasons. One, it's video game month and I still think it's one of my most well written video game reviews and two, Tears of the Kingdom comes out soon so the time is right for me to post it here. Plus, I don't think I could've written it any better than I did when I wrote this, so...there ya go. Anyway, this is my full review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I will be doing this same thing with Elden Ring as I again don't think I could write a review better than the one I have already written.

Breath of the Wild (Full Review)

Once again, full disclaimer that I've been playing the Wii U version. From what I've heard, there really is no difference between the Wii U version and the Switch version give or take a few better graphical objects.

Now, Breath of the Wild, what do I think of it? Well, I would say that it is easily the best game that has come out for a system in the last 10 years, and easily the best Zelda game ever made. The Legend of Zelda has been around for a very long time, and it's very rare for Nintendo to put out a bad Zelda game.*

*Even if some people didn't like some of the games in the series.

When it comes down to it, Breath of the Wild is a brand new open world game in the form of a Zelda world. Much like Skyrim and Fallout have done the genre as well as they can, Breath of the Wild takes the open world genre to a new high, and any other open world games should hope to be as good as Breath of the Wild. When I think of an open world game, I think "open and free." But as we've seen with games like Skyrim, there's still some hand holding with the map always telling you where to go. On the topic of other Zelda games in this sense, you start to realize that every single Zelda game before Breath of the Wild are not "open and free" and the amount of hand holding does loosen a bit, but it is still there. Breath of the Wild however takes that hand holding completely away, and within the first 15 minutes of the game, you are let free and are free to explore the entire world of Hyrule. I would say I was quite pleased to finally get an open world that really takes the open world concept the proper way. And if you're worried about the world being too huge, well one of the big positives for the game and the reason I already have 50+ hours into it is the fact that while you're adventuring, you're rewarded for it at every turn. Whether it's finding new weapons, new armors, new potions, etc, you pretty much feel the sense of satisfaction whenever you make it to the top of a mountain or cliff. Sometimes you'll literally climb a mountain and won't find anything, but with how important it is to get a vantage point for your next adventure, these offer the best possible way to plan out your next "leap of faith" into something interesting.

The reason the adventure aspect is done so well in this game and doesn't feel monotonous like other open world games is the fact that Breath of the Wild gives you all the tools you need for survival at the beginning of the game pretty much. You aren't having to go to a place and realize that you aren't allowed there yet. Stamina and HP aside, there are literally no limitations to what you can do in this game. Feel like fighting that bad guy? Do it. Feel like climbing that mountain? Do it. This once again gives you the freedom of choice and freedom of exploration that 99% of open world games do poorly.

The game like I mentioned heavily favors the sense of adventure over everything else, and as I mentioned, you're rewarding for it. But I know there are some that fear that the game feels far too big, and there's too much to do scattered all over. Well, if that's what you're worried about, put that thought aside. In the 50+ hours I've put into the game, I never felt like I was trapped with so much to do, in fact, it's more of a positive if there is too much to do, because it makes you come back to the game and find something new. Which is another big plus. A lot of games that claim to have "a lot to do" tend to go the route that "a lot to do" means "a lot of the same things." Although you find a lot of chests and weapons in Breath of the Wild, nothing really feels the same, because every obstacle or thing you discover tests a certain part of you that has to plan ahead in order to accomplish it. The process of planning things out gives you creative ways to take on the endeavor that you've been put up against. Making the obstacle feel its own, and unique.

Graphically, and this is strictly speaking from the Wii U version, is phenomenal. Like I mentioned a week or so ago, the common complaint of the game is that it does have some frame drops when in a heavily full area of the map, but it doesn't happen often enough for me to really consider it a complain. Nintendo will hopefully release a performance patch that makes this the number one priority. Because honestly, that's the only issue I've had with it.

Story wise, you still are met with the typical (some would say cliche, but it's not cliche) story with Link and Zelda. I won't give any spoilers, but I will say that this particular story feels a lot more personal and emotional than the other games before it. I've found myself not only getting emotional from the cut scenes, but just running around while you look at the "ultimate task" in front of you, you're just met with a sudden sense of dread and loneliness. You really start to feel like you're on your own, and you pretty much are for the most part.

Now, one of the things I really wasn't expecting with Breath of the Wild though I'm so happy it happened, is how ****ing difficult the game is. If you take a game say like...Dark Souls, and made it perhaps a few notches less difficult, you pretty much have Breath of the Wild. I've probably already died at least 100 times, due to either being unprepared, being careless, or just not realizing that the difficulty for this game is hard, which is super out of character for a Zelda game in this era.

With everything I have said so far about this game, I truly feel like there is so much more I could talk about. As I have mentioned probably once or twice, I've put about 50+ hours into this game so far, and I don't even feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what this game has to offer. That's how massive this world is. And the main reason I love it so much is because of how you feel like you're discovering something brand new every time you play the game. Whenever I turn on my Wii U and start of Breath of the Wild, I don't have a set idea of what I want to accomplish for that play session, because I honestly have no idea what to expect out of that play session. That sense of not knowing anything, and just going in and playing, is a big reason why it's so addicting. It feels brand new every time you turn on the system. That's how it feels for me anyway. Because the feeling of getting into a brand new game over and over again is the biggest reason why this game has done so well. Nintendo should be truly proud of the game they've made, because it's easily the best game not only that they have made, but the best game that any developer has made in a long long time. I'm a small amount hesitant to say that because we've seen a lot of great titles over the years, but I know for a fact that this is the best experience with a video game that I have had in the last 10 years.

If I were to give this a rating, i'd obviously give it a 10/10. The funny thing is, it's not too rare to see people giving this game a perfect score. Hell, I've seen people and myself included wish they could rate higher than a 10. The game deserves all the praise it gets. The hype was real and exceeded for me personally, and if you haven't played it yet, definitely do yourself a favor and find a cheap Wii U, and get Breath of the Wild. I only say that because the Switch is still fairly expensive, and in its current state, it's not worth the money just for Zelda, though if you do get it for Zelda, you'll love the hell out of it.

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Review originally written on 10/06/2022

My Favorite Game of 2022 - Elden Ring

I know 2022 isn't over yet, and even with 2 more months left to go, there are still many chances that a game could surpass the experiences that I've had with games so far this year. And while I have had a large number of great experiences with gaming, there really hasn't been a whole lot to talk about when it pertains to gaming, especially this year. Blame it on covid or whatever else, but evidently things have slowed down this past year. Despite all of that, here is my favorite game of the year for 2022.

When it comes to choosing my favorite game of the year, there are a couple factors to consider. How much enjoyment did I get out of it? And why do I consider it to be my favorite of the year. Well, simultaneously with the lack of quality releases this year, we were also blessed with a lot of duds, and those duds either were really really bad, or came close to being somewhat good, though just missed the mark in more ways than one. Though, just because a game is bad from the outside, doesn't always mean it lacks the potential to be enjoyed. It's just that there are more than bad about it than good and to me, it's hard to keep playing a game that consistently misses the mark. But, in the end it's all subjective so it doesn't really matter anyway.

With that out of the way, the one game that I got the most enjoyment and the most 'consistent' enjoyment so far this year would have to be Elden Ring. I was heavily anticipating this game when it was teased what feels like years ago. But like everyone else, I went into the hype with the expectation that I really wouldn't get too far into the game given that it was from From Software, and I just wasn't prepared to get my ass kicked. Though, once the game released and I spent a plentiful amount of hours on it, I realized that each time I was playing, I was consistently having a good time. Whether it was trying to kill a boss time and time again, or simply exploring the vast open world that this game offers. Or if it was simply just looking at the architecture and beauty of the game and just sort of getting...lost. I surprised myself time and time again the further I got through the game because I was taking on enemies and bosses that I never thought I would prevail on, and wouldn't ya guess it, I just keep beating the bosses that required a little more time, sure. But...the satisfaction of getting a killing blow on a boss that has taken what feels like hours to kill really doesn't come close to a lot of things.

That's just it though, Elden Ring is...great. Simply put. Back when there were rumors pertaining to the game and what it was going to be like and who was at the helm of its creation, my imagination ran wild. And I let it stay that was while also staying away from as many spoilers as I possible could, because I wanted to go through this game knowing virtually nothing about it. I wanted to experience going into the main area for the first time, or experiencing getting destroyed from the first boss, only to come back 20 more times to die in other creative ways. And maybe you'll get lucky and get a few good lucky shots on someone that is far higher leveled than you are. It's not recommended, but it is possible to kill any boss in the game at low levels if you're good at dodging and parrying etc. Which...I certainly am not. I'm better than I used to be...thanks to Elden Ring.

And while this game is my favorite of the year, I've only really done 2 playthroughs, both with different classes. And both times have been a fantastic experience where I left feeling like I wanted to play more. The first time I played as a duel wielding bandit with bleed weapons. the second playthrough was full on sorcery / magic. And...my god, if you didn't think magic was overpowered already, just wait until you go full on wizard in Elden Ring. You'll feel like a damned god. And good. Sometimes it's fun to get overpowered.

Yes, there are still 2 months left in the year, and sometimes it is a little premature to point out my favorite experience of this year when it comes to gaming, but based on what I've seen as far as what we will be getting in terms of releases in the next few months, I don't think anything is going to top Elden Ring for me. I can still see myself starting up another file with a class I haven't done yet simply due to the fact that it's just fun to start another file to see what you can do in comparison to another character you have that isn't nearly as powerful. For instance, when I was training my mage account, I found fighting bosses to be a lot easier due to how much health certain spells take down in comparison to going full on duel wielding bleed weapons. But...at the same time, it's not nearly as interesting since you're standing at a distance shooting spells instead of getting in their face slicing them to death. Of course some come with their own difficulties and some are much easier to learn. It's all about how you feel like playing. But I assure you, regardless of how you play, you will have a great time. At its core, Elden Ring is just that...a great game. A great experience. A great though sort of hidden story throughout. And it's basically following whatever you feel like doing, at any pace you want to do it.

If you haven't picked it up yet and you're only reason for not doing so is because you don't think you'll be good at a soulslike, just throw that notion out the window. I honestly thought the same thing when I was thinking of picking up the game, and I even surprised myself with how much progress I was making. Play it. It's really really freakin' good.

[.]

Risk of Rain 2 - First Impressions

Before I get too deep into this, I want to say two things. One, my experience with Risk of Rain is very minimal. I'd almost say none but that's not technically true. And two, this game is definitely not going to be for everyone, but it will definitely be for those that like this sort of thing. Basically, what is Risk of Rain 2. Well, from my eyes, it's a complete reimagining of a 2D original put into 3D with the same kinds of mechanics though now it has more flare, I suppose you could say. On top of that, it's a roguelike. So if you like games like Gunfire Reborn where you basically get stronger the longer you go, this game will surely be for you. I don't have a lot of time into the game just yet as I just bought it recently, but it seems like it'll be one of those games where I play it when I just need a break from other more focused games.

Even with a few runs into my playtime, I will say I've already found a few things that I like about the game both how it's presented and mechanics wise. And I won't lie, I'm not going into this completely blind. I have seen people stream Risk of Rain 2 but I for the longest time thought it was strictly PC based, so I never got it. Only recently found out it was released on consoles. I do like how the longer your runs go, the more difficult the game becomes. It scales nicely because you do go around the battlefield trying to get upgrades to then inevitably take on a boss mod that surrounds itself with other tough enemies. So you have to kind of strategize on how to get strong quick without making the run harder than you can manage. It's a rather interesting mechanic but I really like it. The map is also huge and laid out in a way where you can just get lost on branching paths all the while taking down mobs of enemies. Like I said, it is one of those games that will fit a certain persons playstyle where they don't mind just blasting away at mobs of enemies. I like that sort of thing. As I said as well, if you liked Gunfire Reborn, you'll like Risk of Rain 2. It's also got a really neat art style. It's kind of like if Dead Cells and a cartoon had a baby, it would look like this. It's the only thing I can somewhat relate it to. It's also rather unique and works with the playstyle of the game.

Also because I only have a few runs into the game, I can only comment on the two characters that are available at the start. There's one that's an all around character with a gun and dash and a super blast sort of shot. Then there's a ranger character. So far I have used each character once and I definitely like the all around character more. I'll give the other one more chances obviously but it is also neat to see that there will be many more to choose from as I continue to progress and get better. These types of games take me a few runs to nail everything down but once I get the groove of things, I absolute rock the socks off these games. Even though they don't require a whole bunch of thought and strategy, the amount that it does allows for a somewhat relaxing mixed with a bit chaotic experience, and that's sometimes really fun. Vampire Survivors does this really well.

Risk of Rain 2 is also not something I haven't seen done before, but it certainly is done pretty well here. I'd say if you're a fan of roguelikes in general and are looking for one in the reign of a third person shooter with various characters and upgrades, I recommend it. I'll be playing more of it in my spare time if I don't feel like playing the more serious games. It fits nicely amongst the other games I have going on right now.

[.]

Hogwarts Legacy
Review Originally Written on 02/23/2023

Just a side note, even though I did write this review originally back in February, I'd say it still paints a picture of how I feel about it as a whole.

What can I say, Hogwarts Legacy hit all the right notes with me. An open world game based on the world of Hogwarts, and mix that with the gameplay loop of Shadow of War and a fantastic combat system that feels all its own, Hogwarts Legacy is truly going to be one of those games that we look back on years down the road, and remember how good it was and still currently is. And I know this type of gameplay style is not for everybody, but for someone like me that enjoys having a lot to do ala Assassins Creed etc, the minute I looked at the map and saw everything before me, I was ready to go. This game was also a bit of a surprise for me, because the minute I saw that you can get it early through a pre-order, I took the plunge. I knew very little about this game, given that I had only watched maybe 1 or 2 trailers, so there wasn't a whole lot to expect. And boy, when I jumped in for the first time, I must have spent anywhere between 3 and 4 hours just taking it all in, and that was just the beginning. Once you progress enough, the game really starts to open up as you acquire more essentials to make your experience that much more enjoyable. I'm trying to be somewhat vague as I know a lot of people have yet to spend some time with this game, so I am sensitive to spoilers. Plus, I would feel bad if I spoiled any of this experience for anyone else as it is such an experience that it's worth going through yourself.

At the moment, I've clocked around 22 hours of gameplay time, and I have only finished about 41% of what the game has to offer as a whole. I'm incher closer to finishing the main quest, but as its pretty normal with me and these kinds of games, I will take my time. I'll jump in for an hour, do a few things, stop, go back, and do more. Sometimes I'll spend more time if I'm really wanting to do something. But that to me is an enormous strength where I game can continue to pull you in even after spending many hours playing it. It doesn't make you feel like there's too much as you can progress at whatever speed you like. Everything does have a purpose, and given that I have done close to half the game at this point, I would highly recommend doing everything you can. It'll unlock customizations and sometimes spells that you'll need to take on other challenges. Nothing ever really feels forced, and you're basically free to tackle things the way you want.

I know what you're thinking, it should be pretty obvious that an open world game based in the Hogwarts world is no doubt going to be amazing, but you just have to have the right people behind it. And boy, the developers being this game did everything exactly right. You can tell with each time you make progress that every detail was well thought out and executed in such a way that makes you remember situations in the game. And I also know that people don't generally do well with fetch quests etc. I can say again that with as much time as I've had in the game, nothing has ever felt recycled or reused, though the types of quests are somewhat similar. Not so much that they feel the exact same though. But I digress, I really think the love and care shown throughout this game is certainly a gift from the developers. Sometimes, you'll get a dev team that couldn't care less about what they're making, and the experience is sub par at best. I would say Hogwarts Legacy is one of the best experiences in gaming I've ever had. It brings me back to the days when I was grinding through Shadow of War attempting to 100%, which eventually I did. I'm thinking Hogwarts Legacy will get the same treatment from me in the sense that eventually, that number will show 100%, and I'm honestly excited about that.

The other thing that I have always appreciated about these games is yes, the game never really forces you to do anything, so your sense of progression is solely based on you as the player. You're free to go where you want, do what you want, and fight what you want. And despite the obvious quest lines etc, you really don't have to do everything in a set amount of time. You can pretty much take as much time as you want. My younger brother has right around the same amount of hours as I do, and he's finished the main quest, and now he's going back and doing the exploration. I usually hold off on main quest and do the collectibles first. Ether way, you'll find satisfaction out of the experience. I guarantee it.

The only thing I will say about the controversy surrounding it is this: Sometimes, you have to separate the artist from the art. And in this case, it's J.K Rowling against the developers, and I would honestly just forget about J.K Rowling, and support the developers. They created a truly magical experience, pun intended. And I would honestly say that you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you decide to not play this solely based on that. Again, everyone is different and you're free to do as you choose. But I highly recommend checking this out. As I said, we're only near the end of February, and I honestly think Hogwarts Legacy will be my game of the year this year.

[.]

Fallout 3 is probably still one of my favorite games of all time, and much like Breath of the Wild, a review that I wrote a few years back is still probably the best one I'm going to write as far as reviewing the game goes, so I'm going to bring that over to here as well as part of this journals video game month. So, if you like Fallout 3, this is a pretty good read written by yours truly.

Originally written on 02/02/2019

Fallout 3 (An In Depth Look) pt.1

And here we go, finally a time in my journals life where I'll be going really in depth talking about one of my favorite games of all time, Fallout 3. I'm serious, if you were to ask me right now, a year ago, even two years ago, I still would've said that Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games of all times. It's switched ranks multiple times throughout the years but it's consistently stayed in my top 3 games I've ever played, and I plan to go into that as much as possible because I feel it's both appropriate and I really want to go in depth as to my experience and the overall feeling I get when I talk about or play Fallout 3.

This will be in multiple parts as I've got a lot to talk about, but I'll start things off easy by simply talking about my own experience and why this game is so near and dear to my heart.

I know this has been said many times before in other posts, hell I've even talked about Fallout 3 specifically before, but up until now, I don't think I had a necessarily dedicated theme month or place to talk about it, and I just figured why not? So, what makes Fallout 3 great? Looking at it from a different perspective, you see a game with not the greatest graphics, but something about it is enticing. I was familiar with Fallout 3 before I had actually played it to completion, but I never really understood it as it was one of my first experiences with a Bethesda style RPG. Hell, I didn't even know who Bethesda was. But the game looked like it could be fun and around the time I started playing it, I was heavily getting into these style of games, so it fit perfectly.

When I started it up (I was on PC at the time) the age of the game showed right away with it being programmed to use Windows Games Live or whatever it's called. So, from the get go, modding was necessary. You have to get both a mod to bypass the Windows Live sign in and you have to download a patch which allows the game to play longer than 10 minutes before it crashes. Once you do that little bit of troubleshooting, Fallout 3 opens up. And it opens up as you as a child, your first look into what you're about to get into.

The opening dialogue with your father and your journey through the vault is definitely something I'll remember though I'm not really surprised to see that other Fallout games have gone this route as well. I mean, it makes sense. The world is in its own post apocalypse, so of course you need shelter. Go through the quests in the vault and you can finally get out into the once lively Washington D.C.

Again, before I had played this game, I had seen some images of Washington D.C. in Fallout 3, but I didn't realize just to the extent of what I'd be seeing in this game. Of course, the game doesn't start you right in the middle of the mall, no, you're met with a vast dead world just waiting for you to explore it. And on I went.

One of the first things I walked up on was the town of Megaton, which if you've played Fallout 3 before, you'll know why this place is so great. Long story short, Megaton seized to exist on my first playthrough.

What I love about this particular scene in the game is the fact that it's really giving you a good idea as to why kind of decisions you can make and the people you'll meet in the world. This of course led me to one of my favorite locations in Fallout 3, Tenpenny Tower.



I love this place. I loved going through another playthrough and sniping Allistair Tenpenny at the top without him even realizing I was there. But on my first playthrough, I decided to make Tenpenny Tower my home. I didn't let the ghouls take it because...well I wanted it. And just in general, this building is just an awesome building to explore, while there isn't a whole lot left to look at once you explore it. But I also enjoy going out to the deck on the top floor and just looking out. Again, realizing the true vastness of this game.

Admittedly, the game can seem desolate at times, but that's exactly what I want in a post apocalyptic game. I don't want an experience like Fallout 4 where the game feels lively and growing. That's not Fallout to me. Fallout to me is the feeling of angst and depression as you walk through the ruins of D.C. and look at all the historical landmarks post-apocalypse. Lincoln without his head is one worth mentioning, but there's another one that gave me chills the first time I ever saw it.



Yessir, I'm talking about the White House. You can find it in Fallout 3, or at least what's left of it. Which is nothing at all. But if you make your way into the crater, you'll be met with a Fat Man and some nukes. Get your radiation suit though, you'll need it. I think just the thought of the White House being completely destroyed in the war is enough to fill me with dread, but in a good way. I legit was in this one location for quite some time, and I always went back. There's a lot to be said when a game can create a particular atmosphere much like this one.

That's Fallout 3 in general though, the atmosphere. I don't think I would've nearly enjoyed this game as much as I did if it weren't for the depressing atmosphere that filled you over and over again. However, we'll be getting into that in more depth in part 2. But to end this part on a high note, Fallout 3 is not only my favorite Fallout game in the series, but it's the one game that I will always say needs a true remaster. I'd play the **** out of it. Hell, I'd play the **** out of it now.