2025
The thoughts for these games are quite a while after the playthrough so I might remember a few things inaccurately.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Playtime: 72h (Some in 2024)
The first Atlus game I’ve played. Enjoyed it a lot. Story took longer to gain momentum than I would’ve liked but once it got going then it was great. The story could’ve maybe explored some parts a bit more but just a minor thing.
Very impressed with how the menus are quite stylized and animated while still being incredibly snappy.
4/5
Hollow Knight
Playtime: 20h
I think this is like the third time I tried to play through the game but this time I actually stuck to it. Previously I have gotten some hours into the game but something else showed up and I wasn’t feeling the traversal or having other map related issues.
I still don’t really gel with the traversal and the map system. The storytelling in the game also isn’t quite my style.
The bosses outweigh the negatives by a lot though.
4/5
Elden Ring (Replay) (RL1)
Playtime: 20h (Like half in 2024)
My first ever challenge run of a FromSoft game. Was fun really having to learn some of the late game bosses. The early game bosses are kinf of pushovers even at RL1 due to the damage mostly being tied to weapon upgrades and not your stats.
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights
Playtime: 16h
A very pretty metroidvania. There’s a fair bit of jank in the movement and parts of the combat but overall pretty good. The story is a bit more my style compared to Hollow Knight.
Some bosses are really good, to me it almost felt like it was on the level of FromSoft bosses but in a 2D game.
Pretty good soundtrack by Mili, but the music loops are unfortunately quite short.
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (Replay)
Playtime: 5h
What a game
Vanquish
Playtime: 5h
It was alright. Defenitely felt the age a bit in this one with the writing and QTEs and set-pieces. But just a fun game.
3.5/5
Blue Prince
Playtime: 19h
Great puzzle game. A bit too open ended for my tastes and I did not really like the rewards of some of the “side puzzles”. This style of storytelling also doesn’t work for me, but that’s a me issue.
4/5
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Playtime: 58h
Everyone knows how great this game is so I’ll just write my minor gripes with it.
The balancing was maybe not great, very easy to put together builds that destroy basically everything. There were some technical UE5 related issues but nothing too bad.
5/5 - I kind of want to bump it down due to the balancing but then no game would get 5/5
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Playtime: 41h
TODO
Lies of P (Base game replay + DLC)
Playtime: 29h
TODO
Mario Kart World
Playtime: 4h
It’s a good mario kart, with an open world component that’s there for those who enjoy it. The covers/remixes of Mario music when in the open world were great. The balancing was maybe not great, very easy to put together builds that destroy basically everything.
Xenoblade X DE
Playtime: 55-60h
The game was actually better than I remembered. The Definitive Edition added some nice QoL. One DE mechanic made the game significantly easier however but this was mostly a positive for my tastes as I remember the original becoming very grindy at parts.
The epilogue added in the DE was pretty fun, some of the combat at the end could be a bit clunky.
Music as great as I remembered, some new versions of songs that were even better. Sawano my GOAT.
4/5
Donkey Kong Bananza
Playtime: 25-30h
Just a really good game. Most bosses were way too easy but that’s not a big part of the game. It felt a bit too much like Mario Odyssey to me.
4/5
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist
Playtime: 19h
The sequel to Ender Lilies. Overall the game felt more polished than the previous which is a positive but the in jank has a certain charm to it which was lost.
I felt that the environments were maybe not quite as pretty as the previous game. Bosses were again of a pretty high standard. Soundtrack once again by Mili and the looping did not stand out as much as it did in the previous game.
3.5/5
Silksong
Playtime: 58h
I liked Silksong a lot more than the original. The traversal felt so much better. There were many complaints about difficulty when the game launched but to me the game felt very well balanced except for like one or two fights.
5/5 - There was a minor thing I don’t remember at the time of writing but like with Clair Obscur, then no games would get 5/5
Hades II
Playtime: 25h
TODO, I remember liking the first game better.
Battlefield 6
Playtime: 57h
My first battlefield since BF4. It played really well. Map selection is a bit mediocre. The game almost feels as good as I remember BF3/4
I did not touch the singleplayer.
4/5 - Maybe a 4.5/5 if it had better maps.
ARC Raiders
Playtime: 3h
I did not play a lot but it did not take many minutes for me to get it. The way you see robots in a distance and also have to watch out for other players gave a very special feeling.
Metroid Prime 4
Playtime: 10h
The first Metroid Prime is one of my favourite games, so was looking forward to this but after the dev cycle I had relatively mid expectations.
I think most of the actual “levels” were pretty good, I liked the ice one a lot. But the stuff between the levels was just pretty uninteresting. The NPCs weren’t a big deal for me as Metroid Prime 3 had already kind of done that. Some stuff felt like the devs were just trying to copy the first game.
4/5