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mikevestering
Reviews
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023)
Pretty much the Star Wars game of my dreams
I really liked most aspects of Jedi: Fallen Order but I didn't expect much from the sequel for some reason. After finishing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor after about 40 hours, however, I'm absolutely in love with this game and it is now one of my favorite games ever. I think this game is a masterpiece in so many ways it's crazy.
Even if I just judge it as a 'sequel' it is one of the best ever. It improves the best parts of Fallen Order while mostly removing the most uninteresting and out of place elements of that game. The story respects everything about the first game and MASSIVELY improves on it in my opinion. It doesn't hold back, it goes dark, real and unpredictable and I absolutely love it. This game is very big and detailed with countless interesting Star Wars stories, lore and moments and references for true Star Wars fans on top of the already outstanding main story.
I instantly wanted to replay this game after finishing it and the new game plus is also more than worth it. The music, the humor, espicially the humor actually, but both the sad and happy moments are so real and well done I just want to live in this game.
The amazing customization is also a big part of this game and you can truly live out any Jedi fantasy you probably have. The combat has also been improved massively which further allows for a Jedi fantasy to be fulfilled.
This game is cinematic, crazy, fun, deep, Star Wars, expansive and creative and I can't even really think of any negatives. I can't wait to play this game way too much until the sequel releases.
Assassin's Creed Mirage (2023)
Fantastic Assassin's Creed game
I have played all of the main Assasin's Creed games many times and I LOVE this game!!! I found the story to be quite interesting and the world and atmosphere alone are worth playing this game for! The focus on stealth is exactly what I like about this franchise and the tools make for a very interesting and fair stealth experience which (yes I know) really makes you feel like an assassin. They also made combat more interesting but also more difficult which encourages you to use stealth even more. Basim and his different robes look great and the blackbox missions, fantastic music, the many hiding spots and the more parkour-friendly open world make for a combination of the best features in the franchise.
I finished this game in about 26 hours and I'm not at all bored by it. In fact I kind of want to replay it again right now, unlike Vallhalla which I didn't like nearly as much as Mirage. It is really impressive how they made this game feel really different from Valhalla despite using the same engine, UI and similar gameplay systems. How they made it feel good again is a mystery to me but I love it.
I would highly recommend swapping (on xbox) RT (right trigger) with LS (left stick). This makes the game feel so much better as you have more control over whether you are sprinting or not and it feels like the good part about the older games; it makes you feel heavy. The tool wheel is perfectly usable on the left stick but you could also switch that around if you prefer something else.
In Mirage you'll be eavesdropping and tailing targets in some missions as well which I personally loved about the older games. The assassin fantasy takes center stage and even the larger story about the isu stuff, which I never really cared about until Valhalla kinda, is also really interesting to me here.
The voice acting and camera movement during dialogue and its animations could really use an overhaul though. Social stealth and blending options are here and they're great, but a lot more could be done with them. The parkour and combat also still suffer from the crappy animations from the previous few games but you can't really fault the game for this too much.
To me this game is much more than just a "trip down memory lane" which I'm a little bit sick of hearing by now. I think this is a very competent game which deserves its place in the series. Hopefully this wasn't the last game with this level of quality Assassin's Ceed-ness because this confirmed to me why I love these games.
Cloudpunk (2020)
Art with Heart
If you love the Cyberpunk/Blade Runner vibe I highly recommend this game. This is a fun, short and creative game which really nails the atmosphere of a rainy yet seductive city in decay. The characters feel very real despite being just a 2D still or a weird looking collection of pixels. You can choose to play in both third and first person but I recommend playing this game in first person to help you immerse in this world. The music is great and the creativity in mission design despite its limited mechanics and gameplay systems is very impressive. I will remember this game for a long while. It obviously doesn't have all of the features we are used to in most big games these days but the most important thing this game has going for it, is that it has heart. Heart is something that's difficult to describe in words but you'll know it when you play it. This game has heart and I loved this weird little experience and would absolutely recommend this if you want a different kind of experimental game with a great and relaxing vibe to just escape life with for a few hours.
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
Masterpiece
This game is not just a game to me. The world feels alive and so does every character in the story and side stories. Truly alive and fantastic. I've played countless games in my life but this experience changed my life. I changed my life path in real life due to this game. I know it's just a stupid video game how can it be so amazing?! Yeah I have no idea. I can't put it into words but this is such an immersive and mature game. It is funny and emotional and real, raw and deep. I love being in the world of this game. I love replaying this game which I never do usually. This game makes me feel things and that is quite an accomplishment trust me :). Every inch of this game and its world is interesting to me and playing through the story doesn't feel like you're doing missions like in most games but it feels like a natural progression and unfolding of a complex and unprecedentely deep narrative. There is also such an incredible feeling of evolution in the story; once you think you know what the stakes and direction are going to be the game throws something completely unexpected at you which changes your adventure and investment in this new adventure. In short: this is my favorite game out of all of the games I've ever played.
Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)
Probably the best Arkham game
This a Batman game. This is THE Batman game in my opinion. I already loved Asylum, City and Knight before I played this one and despite a few crashes, I like this one the most. Knight is very close to this one but wow this game has interesting level design, a cohesive feeling, amazing boss battles all tied into a great story. The bridge in the middle of the map is a bit dumb but man this game is badass. Without spoiling much, the main villain has amazing depth and this is truly, TRULY a batman game. More so than the other 3 arkham games in my opinion. I went into this game expecting very little but WOW. Honestly play this game if you're a batman fan. The pacing is great, the emotions are heartfelt and the gameplay is fantastic. I agree with this game being underrated!
Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)
Beautiful and creative game
I really enjoyed this game. The art style, music and level design are all absolutely great. I don't usually play 2d platformers but this one kept me engaged throughout. I found this both a relaxing and stressful experience because the game has such an ethereal and cute vibe but it's pretty difficult game on normal difficulty (I finished both Sekiro and Elden Ring and I found this one quite hard at times). It's a short indie game with great mechanics which keep you hooked just long enough till the end of the game. After the end there isn't much to do anymore though.
The positives:
+Art style
+Music
+Interesting and well-dispersed mechanics
+Nice little story
+Memorable and fun experience
The negatives:
-Too many similarly colored items on screen which is very confusing and hard to distinguish sometimes.
-Some very annoying inconsistensies in difficulty and telling the player which surfaces are solid or harmful and just general consistency issues.
-Bossfights were kind of lame if there really were any; so many great mechanics so such a shame they are not properly tested in the end with a cool fight or something.
-The music is very dramatic and sometimes this sort of diminishes the weight of the important story moments: the music always sounds like you are in the final cutscene or bossfight.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
I didn't like the movie at all
From the opening scene I knew I wasn't going to like this, despite really trying to. I'm 19 years old but this movie went way too fast in different languages and with so many multiverse switches so fast and by the end I had no idea why anything was happening, why I should care or what I was supposed to feel. I felt nothing and I was happy when it was over. I watched a different movie then everyone who gave it a 6 or higher I think. I do reaaally appreciate the effort it must have taken to make this movie especially with the editing but overall I just really wanted to like it and was disappointed by it, hated it even.