Steamworld Dig 2 - I’ve been exploring the titles I’ve missed out on over the past decade which initially or always unavailable on playstation and this was one of them. It’s a fantastic little game. Looks good but more importantly, the loop is excellent. Controls well and exploration is quality. Part of me wishes it was a little more ambitious in the scale of environments and story but I do like a concise experience that doesn’t get stale. Despite its simplicity, it’s say this is one of the better Metroidvanias I’ve played.
8.7/10
The Last of Us Part 1 - There was a lot of justified moaning and groaning when this remake was announced and I do think there’s been overload of remasters / remakes of late. It’s fair to say that this a visual and quality of life upgrade rather that the systemic overhaul we’ve seen in great remakes recently. But I’m absolutely delighted that they did this.
For me, TLOU back when it came out, was one those rare games that brought the house down. A landmark moment in taking as we’d never really witnessed a cinematic experience of such quality before. Uncharted was then series that pushed it furthest before that and TLOU just hit a new high. And it wasn’t just the “cinematic” experience, the writing and dialogue was near perfect. Having said that, as an actual video game to play, I thought it was just about good. Which is why despite loving it, it probably wouldn’t be something I’d consider in my top 5-10. With TLOU2, I felt that Naughty Dog finally nailed combat - it is up there with the best third person action stealth system till date imo. Although P1 doesn’t quite match P2’s gameplay, which is deeper, it does pick up a lot of it’s bells and whistles and I think the controller and 60fps help bridge the gap.
So with this remake I see this as a genuine and complete masterpiece. Even the parts that were just fine earlier now feel great. I played Left Behind too which I had never did, for some reason and it was brilliant as well. Gave that one a go on grounded mode which is brutal but so satisfying.
I’m actually considering replaying the base game on grounded too. But I’ll likely abstain for a bit to avoid the feeling of drag.
10/10 (might lower it in retrospect but in the moment, feck yeah)
Games I tried but didn’t like enough to play more of - Grime, Metal Hellsinger and Stranger of Paradise FR.
8.7/10
The Last of Us Part 1 - There was a lot of justified moaning and groaning when this remake was announced and I do think there’s been overload of remasters / remakes of late. It’s fair to say that this a visual and quality of life upgrade rather that the systemic overhaul we’ve seen in great remakes recently. But I’m absolutely delighted that they did this.
For me, TLOU back when it came out, was one those rare games that brought the house down. A landmark moment in taking as we’d never really witnessed a cinematic experience of such quality before. Uncharted was then series that pushed it furthest before that and TLOU just hit a new high. And it wasn’t just the “cinematic” experience, the writing and dialogue was near perfect. Having said that, as an actual video game to play, I thought it was just about good. Which is why despite loving it, it probably wouldn’t be something I’d consider in my top 5-10. With TLOU2, I felt that Naughty Dog finally nailed combat - it is up there with the best third person action stealth system till date imo. Although P1 doesn’t quite match P2’s gameplay, which is deeper, it does pick up a lot of it’s bells and whistles and I think the controller and 60fps help bridge the gap.
So with this remake I see this as a genuine and complete masterpiece. Even the parts that were just fine earlier now feel great. I played Left Behind too which I had never did, for some reason and it was brilliant as well. Gave that one a go on grounded mode which is brutal but so satisfying.
I’m actually considering replaying the base game on grounded too. But I’ll likely abstain for a bit to avoid the feeling of drag.
10/10 (might lower it in retrospect but in the moment, feck yeah)
Games I tried but didn’t like enough to play more of - Grime, Metal Hellsinger and Stranger of Paradise FR.