Returnal

 

History: Returnal was developed by Housemarque and released April 30th, 2021 as a Playstation exclusive.

Story: Break the Cycle. The story of Returnal centers around an astronaut named Selene that crash lands on a planet called Atropos.  She discovers that she is stuck in a loop where upon she returns to the crash every time she dies.

Graphics: The graphics are really good, and the feel of the world is similar to that of Alien / Prometheus.  Lighting affects are really cool to watch, especially with the massive amounts of bullets emitted from enemies.

Gameplay: As a third person shooter, gameplay is excellent, and the game is very easy to play.  Returnal takes advantage of the new Playstation 5 controller effects. 

My Experience: 

 

Immortals Fenyx Rising

 

History:  Formerly Gods and Monsters, Immortals Fenyx Rising was created by Ubisoft, and released December 3rd, 2020.

Story:  The storyline, narrated in a comedic fashion by Zeus and Prometheus, is easy to progress, and light-hearted for the most part.  Phenyx washes ashore to find everyone has been turned to stone.  Phenyx comes to learn that the evil titan, Typhon, has taken over the Golden Isle. 

Graphics:  While a lot of people compare this with Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I think there are distinct differences.  Graphically, they look very similar.  The Golden Isle is vast, and the graphics of the world are beautiful.

Gameplay:  The playability of Fenyx Rising is very easy; it is extremely fun to play, and the vaults have a diverse set of puzzles. One of my favorite parts of the game is gliding with the wings to new locations.  It is a huge, open-world game with many, many objectives and quests to complete.  Almost too big at times.  I think some of the weaknesses include redundancy in the puzzles within the vaults, and the massive amount of weapons and armor, with the majority of them being graphical variations.  The weapons and armor lose their significance as Fenyx becomes more powerful with her abilities in my opinion So I definitely think the game had some flaws in it, but I think the rest of the game overshadows them.

My Experience:  While not totally Zelda-like, the game features an impressive amount of open world exploration, dialogue, puzzles and bosses.  After awhile, I felt like I gravitated towards armor that was powerful against unique enemies or armor that protected against trap damage.  I couldn't even tell you what sword and axe I was using.  I think my favorite boss encounter was seeking Medusa out.  I joined the facebook fanpage for the group, and noticed a wide range of people interested in the game, specifically a lot of female players and a lot of Nintendo Switch players.  Overall, I think the game is a hit.  I've yet to play any of the DLC content, but I would definitely be interested in a sequel, maybe with some fine-tuning of the armor and weapons.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

History:  Mass Effect: Andromeda was developed by Bioware, and released March 21, 2017.  It received various negative reviews concerning the character animations and performance bugs.

Story:  The premise of Mass Effect: Andromeda is that the races of the Milky Way have sent arks, with crews in statis, to the Andromeda Galaxy.  Upon arrival, the main character is thrust into the leading role of the human ark, designated as Pathfinder, and new alien species are discovered.  I don't think the story was as good as the original trilogy, because the Shepard vs. the Reapers story was incredible and very original.  But this game is another chapter in the Mass Effect universe.  Why would you not want more Mass Effect? I would take a Mass Effect: Andromeda 2.

Graphics:  Obviously the biggest criticism about this game were the facial animations.  Playing this in 2021, I barely noticed any weirdness in that regard, and did not feel like it interfered with the overall progression of the story.  The graphics are beautiful, and the worlds encountered as Pathfinder are amazing.  The remnant sites truly have an alien feel to them.

Gameplay:  The combat is really at it's peak within the overall series.  The Pathfinder is able to focus on Tech, Biotic, or Combat, but you can really mix and match powers. Driving the Nomad, the ground transport, is much easier than in previous games. 

My Experience:  I just finished Mass Effect: Andromeda.  Overall, it was a fantastic game worth playing.  I really loved it, and it made me rethink the negative reviews and stigma this game has gotten.  I would love to see how the Heleus Cluster evolves.  And what will happen with the rest of the Kett? What other races are out there that got exalted by the kett? I feel like we don't have the full story on the Remnant either.  I enjoyed the team as well. Drack and Peebee were some of my favorites.  I've never felt so close to a Krogan before! Liam, while kind of weak as a character at times, had a hilarious sidequest.  It's a solid game worth playing.  I think as time goes on, this game will prove a lot of the haters (who are probably still whining for more Mass Effect) wrong.  Clearly not given the chance it was due.

I originally went with the biotic class; singularity is such a powerful attack.  But as the game progressed, I started leaning towards some of the Tech powers, utilizing overload and the Remnant bot built by Peebee.  

The romance options could have been a little better in my opinion, as some relationships such as Cora take way too long to advance.  Establishing the colonies was fun, and driving the nomad around felt so much better than earlier versions of Mass Effect.  Some of the sidequests start to feel mundane after awhile (scan 15 minerals), but there are always interesting surprises.

One of the strong points for me in the game was going into the remnant vaults for the first time.  It truly felt like an alien atmosphere, and was graphically impressive.  (This is why I don't get the whiny facial animation complaints while there is so much more awesomeness in the game).  Some people complained about the Archon as a weak villain.  Perhaps.  But I think a lot of villains would look like a downgrade from the depth of the Reapers.  

Final Fantasy VII Remake -- Spaghetti Mage

 

There are many entries in the Final Fantasy series, but Final Fantasy VII stands out as one of the most memorable. I highly enjoyed playing the remake.  While its been quite awhile since playing the original 3-disc game, I struggled to remember aspects of the original story.  The way the remake moves along with the story is incredible, and the characterization of the characters is strong.  I enjoyed dialogue with Aerith, Tifa, and Barret.  The theme of struggle between those trying to fight evil corporate dictators reminded me of Cyberpunk themes; this theme seemingly becomes more relevant and truthful every year.

The first half of the game is pretty good, but the story moves along slowly, and the sidequests can seem a little extraneous.  After a certain event happens in the game though, the plot picks up.  The story sticks very closely to the original, but the introduction of the whispers adds a new twist to the game which becomes apparent towards the end with the final confrontation with Sephiroth.  Cheap plot twist? Maybe.  But I think it works out great, and allows the writers to have freedom to explore the story in a new way.  

It took awhile for me to get completely used to the combat.  It would be cool to see an option for the traditional turn-based combat.  I honestly don't think it would get in the way of the story.  I also would have liked to see Jessie and other Avalanche characters as playable characters.  Some of the bike fighting seemed a little contrived and clunky.  Red XIII definitely needs to be playable in the next game.

Overall, I think this is one of the best games I've played in awhile.  Final Fantasy VII Remake succeeds in its ability to retell a classic story.  The end is a little confusing, but there are a lot of youtube commentary videos, analyzing and speculating about the ending.  Has fate truly changed? Especially for Aerith and Sephiroth? What does the scene with Zach portend? Final Fantasy VII Remake covers only part of the original game, but the new FFVII series is scheduled for at least 2 more games.  I can't wait to see where the next game takes Cloud and the crew.

Darksiders III -- Spaghetti Mage

When you start a new unknown game, you never know what to expect.  Beginning Darksiders III, I thought the Four Horsemen vs. the Seven Deadly Sins seemed a little corny, but Fury looked cool and I gave it a try.  The more I played, the more I couldn't put the controller down.  The areas of exploration, with all of the secret areas and places you realize you'll reach if you get some new power, really sucked me in, but the story grows in new directions, culminating in the final battle at the end.  All the elements of the game really tie together well in the end.  The growth of the main character is fun to watch as well.  What I thought might be a corny game really impressed me, and was a lot of fun playing.  

Darksiders III is a good blend of a lot of different games. The exploration, difficulty, and boss fights reminded me a lot of the Dark Souls series.  I felt like I saw some Soul Reaver themes as well, and Fury reminded a bit of Raziel.  There are even some Diablo overarching story elements with the war between Heaven and Hell, and the nephalim. 

The combat with the chain attacks and timely dodging never seemed to get old, and I loved switching between the different hollow powers seamlessly.  While it got frustrating at a few spots, I never felt disappointed with the direction the game was taking me.  As a single game within a series of games telling a story, mainly about the apocalypse and the fall of humanity, I am eager to see what's next and where the story is taking us.  I'll probably be playing the series in a mixed order, so maybe I will see where Death is headed next.

Remake wishlist: Zelda II -- Spaghetti Mage

What is your favorite Zelda game? Ocarina of Time? Breath of the Wild? Maybe it's Twilight Princess.  Most people don't answer Zelda II.  In fact, most people would say Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the worst Zelda game of the series.  For me, it brings back some nostalgia.  I remember playing this in anticipation, wondering what the sequel to Zelda would bring.  It's dungeons were mysterious, and the music for the game is very memorable.

Truthfully, it hasn't aged well.  Zelda II opted for a side-scrolling view for it's dungeon gameplay over the topdown play style of the original game.  However, I think a remake would turn this game into the classic it was supposed to be.  I would love to see something similar to the Metroid Samus Returns remake.  

Sometimes I feel like I don't understand what the hell Nintendo is doing.  They have such a strong legacy of games they could remake to keep the legacy thriving.  Personally, it feels like they abandon previous systems.  The 3ds is truly unique in it's ability to show 3d games, yet the new games coming out seem sparse.  Nintendo has such a library of games, yet I feel like they underperform in many ways. Their Zelda and Metroid series have such potential to be remade and updated with new graphics.  Zelda II in particular would allow for A LOT of room to rework some of the original aspects of the game.

Check out this fanmade version of Parapa Palace! Looks nice.  Nintendo, why can't you make this happen??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJIbmCiFcWM

Shadows Awakening -- Spaghetti Mage

So I recently beat Shadows Awakening, a game that has some similarities to Diablo, but has some unique twists.  Your core character is a demon that lives in the shadow realm.  At the beginning, you have the option to choose a legendary hero; a barbarian, a thief/archer guy, and a sorceress/magic user (her name is Evia).  I chose Evia.

As the game progresses, the demon character can absorb certain souls of enemies, making them playable characters, aka "puppets".  This allows the player to grow the list of playable characters in the game.  It's definitely a unique twist in the game, and it is fun finding out what characters you might acquire next.  In certain scenarios, you have to pick which character to get, making the alternative choice unavailable to play.  Certain characters have key dialogue parts as well, such as Zaar and Carissa.

I had fun playing the game, and the mix of puzzles, story, and action works well, especially flipping between the real world and the shadow realm.  The demon and Evia are permanent characters, so you can only choose 2 additional characters for your team of 4.  Once I got Carissa to join the party, I found myself using some of the extra characters a lot less.  Towards the end of the game, I was basically using Evia, the demon, Carissa, Falon, and the Iron Clad zombie some.  For all the work needed to get the Draconian, I really didn't use him alot.  

I think it's a good game, unique in it's playability, and familiar to fans of Diablo-type games, but it never really knocks it out of the park.  The ending sort of winds down instead of builds up.  If this game were multiplayer...even if it were just 2 players, I think it would be way more fun.