MLB The Show 25 Yankees Year 1
MLB The Show 24 1990 Blue Jays Season Replay
NHL 25 Panthers Year 1
CFB 25 Alabama Year 8
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
Planned Purchases:
Borderlands 4
College Football 26
Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater (PS5 Reboot)
__________________ Now Playing on PS5:
NHL25 - Panthers YR1 (Conf Finals vs Hurricanes)
CFB 25 - Alabama YR9 (3-1)
MLB The Show 24 - 1990 Blue Jays
MLB The Show 25 - 2025 Yankees Year 1 (31-28)
Indiana Jones & The Great Circle
Finally made progress on my game completion goal list, with maybe the best game that I have ever played in Clair Obscure Expedition 33.
April Game Reviews:
Clair Obscure Expedition 33 - (PC) - (10.0) - Incredible
Spoiler
No game will ever be perfect, but I'll reiterate some things that I said in the specific game thread. This game executes at such a high level across the board that you really have to nitpick to find flaws.
Combat is hands down the best that I have ever experienced in a RPG. I'm a sucker for the classic turn based RPG games of old like Final Fantasy (up until recent versions). I just think it fits really well with a party based system when it is implemented well. 33's turn based system would be one of the best that I have ever played even if it did not have any other mechanics. Each character has a unique skill set which makes you think about the party that you want to use, and you can make the skills synergize with each other. Each character basically has 2 different resources that you have to manage for skills and combos which just makes it really interesting and complex. What really sets 33's combat apart though is the dodge/parry system. It takes an already interesting and complex turn based system and adds an intense 'skill' system to it. It's not as punishing as a Dark Souls game, but the timing windows are still very tight. It's extremely rewarding to pull off a series of parrys that result in a big counterattack by your party.
The story is unexpected. There is always a 'save the world' trope, but this one has some unique twists. The characters are all really interesting too. The prologue sucks you into the the narrative within the first 30 minutes of gameplay where you are just like "oh my god". It also has a good bit of humor in the game, and the humor is all well placed. It's a story of grief and sacrifice, hope and hopelessness, and you're just along for the ride.
I consider music to be a feature of a RPG, and it's a great feature in Expedition 33. You're not going to get some of the scores that will get your blood flowing like in a Nobuo Uemetsu soundtrack, but the music here is designed to spark emotion which fits the tone of the story.
Exploration might be one of the weaker parts of the game, and I would still give it a very positive rating. There is not much to do on the open world map, but within each 'dungeon map' (using the term loosely), there are a lot of side passages that you can take which will reward you with additional items. I actually think that it finds a good balance of giving you reasons to go off the beaten path without being overly cumbersome.
Voice acting & graphics are both stellar. I don't consider either to be core components to a game, but they do help. Expedition 33 is great at both. The performances by all of the voice actors is perfect. There was not a single instance where I thought even the most obscure character had a cringy dialogue. The main cast all play there roles supremely well.
Currently Playing
Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Gaming goals for 2025:
Complete 8 single player games
Progress:
1 - Clair Obscur Expedition 33 - (10.0)
-------------------------------- 2025 Game Release Radar:
Spoiler
Games I will likely Pre-order:
Quote:
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (3/18/25) - Already pre-ordered. One of my favorite RPG developers - Purchased, but need to complete earlier games. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (2025) - It's Metroid, duh Vampire Masquerade Bloodlines (2025) - I'll believe it when I see it, but when I see it I'm buying it Gears of War: E-Day (2025) - This looks great Clair Obscur Expedition 33 (2025) - To be honest this game looks amazing from the minimal information that has been shown. The lack of information is my only hesitation.
Games that I'm really excited about, but I have a hint of hesitancy
Quote:
Wuchang Fallen Feathers (2025) - I may not love Souls-like games, but every trailer on this one looks good Showa American Story (2025) - A post-apocalyptic zombie action adventure game set in America with Japanese culture? It sounds super interesting, but I have so many questions. Fable (2025) - It's Fable, I have high expectations. - DELAYED Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025) - Loved playing this game on the Dreamcast. I'm curious how it will translate in a modern setting. Nascar 25 (2025) - The way these devs talk about old games like Dirt to Daytona has me really excited. It's been nearly 20 years since I was happy with a Nascar game though.
Intrigued but wait for a sale (a big one)
Quote:
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2/4/25) - I expect it to be good, just not in a rush to buy it when I still have a long way to go in the first game. - Will revisit when it goes on sale and I have more time Civilization 7 (2/11/25) - I generally love these games. I have some questions around some of the new mechanics, and I have other similar games that will hold me over. - Pass Suikoden I & II HD Remaster (3/6/25) - I'm tired of re-masters, but I would be lying to say that I don't want it. - Too big of a backlog to justify buying right now Kingmaker (Q1 25) - Pretty gimmicky, but it's hard to say no to a game that lets you use a tank in the middle ages. Borderlands 4 (2025) - These zany games are usually fun, but I can always wait for a discount
Others on my radar
Quote:
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (2/21/25) - It's funny if nothing else. - Will play if it ever comes to gamepass Kaiserpunk (2/27/25) - An interesting combination between city builder and strategy. - Will wait for a big sale Monster Hunter Wilds (2/28/25) - Not the biggest fan of the series, but all of the gameplay does look fun - Pass due to greedy economics in a single player game CFB 26 (July 2025) - It's on here by default, but I don't have high hopes Ship of Heroes (Q2 25) - I've been waiting for this City of Heroes successor for YEARS. As a MMO fan there is a good chance that I try it out. Eternal Strands (2025) - I don't really like games with a survival mechanic, but this action rpg has a lot of interesting elements. Lost Soul Aside (2025) - An RPG with modern action combat. It gives off major Final Fantasy vibes Doom: The Dark Ages (2025) - Nothing against Doom, just not a huge FPS guy anymore. This one looks cool though. Ghost of Yotei (2025) - I hope that it's good Crimson Desert (2025) - I wish that combat looked more like BDO, but I'm still interested to see more. Gothic Remake (2025) - Good call on this Picci. Completely forgot that this was in development.
2025 Game Reviews
Spoiler
January Game Reviews:
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle (PC) - (7.5) - Good bones on this suspense/shooter
Spoiler
Picked this one up based on a whim during the recent Steam sale. I came away pleasantly surprised. Maybe think of it as a low budget Dead Space in terms of gameplay. The story is pretty interesting, and there is plenty of suspense to get your heart rate up as you go through it. It's pretty linear though and combat is only serviceable at best. Fun enough, especially for just the few dollars that I spent on it.
Diplomacy is not an Option (PC) - (8.5) - Really fun Survival/RTS.
Spoiler
It has some humor that really throws you for a loop. Quite challenging but fun
Earthbound (Switch - Online) - (9.0) - A classic revisited.
Spoiler
Earthbound is available to play as part of the Nintendo online subscription (SNES). It's a cult classic that is considered one of the best JRPG's of the SNES era. I've played through it so many times, and it still holds up today. The story is kind of whacky, and it does not take itself seriously. There are a lot of pop culture things which get parodied in the gameplay. But it never goes so far that it becomes inane. A lot of the gameplay systems are also simplistic. Somehow it all just works though.
Madden 2007 (PS2) - (9.0) - How is a nearly 20 year old game so vastly superior to any football game currently on the market?
Spoiler
You see a noticeable difference between like a 90 overall receiver and a guy who is a 75. Dynasty depth might as well be alien technology for how far advanced it is compared to either Madden or CFB (4 coaches instead of 3, named coordinators not just the head coaches, former players eventually becoming coaches, coach stats tied to attributes instead of cheat code unlocks like the skill tree...and that's just the coaching side. I haven't talked about the Tony Bruno show, the game planning (more informative than Madden), position battles, etc...There are certainly some QOL things that Madden and CFB do better with 20 years of additional experience, but so much about the old PS2 footballs are just better.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch) - (8.0) - What a weird experience.
Spoiler
The creators of this game also created the Xenosaga trilogy which are some of my favorite games ever. Xenoblade Chronicles (XC) was meant to be a spiritual successor to that game, and in a lot of ways XC is really good. The story is quite compelling, the characters are interesting in their own right, and the combat system has a certain flavor to it. In fact, I really like the combat system with its heavy emphasis on resource management and the unique mechanic where you can see the future. Itemization and crafting are also present enough to offer some interest there too.
There is a major 'but' though. The way that side quests are handled in XC is beyond horrible. I can't think of a strong enough word to describe how bad it is. For one, there are A LOT of them. A large percentage of them are some form of a fetch quest too, which isn't particularly interesting. As if that were not bad enough, they are implemented in a way that seems to be intentionally inconvenient to complete efficiently. Many quests have pre-requisites of either/both needing a specific quest completed and/or a certain affinity (ie: completing a bunch of quests in an area) before you can access. This means that you can't just load up on quests at once and do them as you explore passively, you have to actively go back and forth and engage with this system. Some quest givers will also only offer their missions at specific times of the day, which is yet another hoop that you have to jump through. The rewards for these quests really aren't even all that great in most cases either (which is actually a good thing as noted next).
I spent the first couple of story chapters trying to 100% the game and realized that I had spent literally like 5x-6x more time on the available side quests than I had spent engaging with the story, and I was not having fun. Finally I decided to just forget the system entirely, only pick up a couple of quests when it is convenient to do so, and the game experience increased dramatically.
The main game with its story and combat is like a 9/10. The side quests are a 0/10.
Feb Game Reviews - None
March Game Reviews:
Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition - (PC) - (9.5) -
Spoiler
Amazing game that is criminally underrated. I played the original version years ago, and this remastered edition has not disappointed. Sleeping Dogs is maybe my favorite game in this GTA style open world genre. The story is really interesting, great characters who face moral dilemmas, and the voice acting is top notch.
Combat still holds up on this older title even in 2025. The melee combat system really sets it apart from similar games. Graphics too hold up pretty well for an older game.
Just a great game. I wish they would have continued the series.
OOTP 26 - (PC) - (7.0) -
Spoiler
The score here is based entirely on the fact that I played OOTP 25 (and many prior versions to that). Little has been added to OOTP 26 to make it seem worth the value, and the biggest flaw of the series to me is still very present (AI trade logic). I'd give it a 9.0 for a first time player for its deep set of features, but returning players don't have much to get excited about.
Cyberpunk 2077 - (PC) - (6.5) -
Spoiler
Meh. That words perfectly describes my thoughts on Cyberpunk. I was super hyped when it came out. Quickly became disappointed. Decided to try it again after its years of patches and reworks, and I'd still just call it meh.
The level of immersion seems substandard given what much older games achieved. The main story plays on what is in my opinion a very dumb trope and makes me feel even more disconnected from my RPG character which is further exasperated by what to me feels like a level of player agency that is less than I would hope for this style of open world RPG.
It's a game that you would have a hard time at finding something that it does poorly (allowing for the subjective nature of the main story), but it also doesn't have any place that I can point to and say "yeah that is really good".
04-14-2025, 08:58 AM
