Recent reviews by 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚘𝙷✯

The Last of Us Part II is a game about wrong decisions and their consequences. It perfectly portraits the darker side in each and every one of us humans, and picks at each and every emotion we didn’t know were possible of evoking through characters such as Ellie, Abby and the rest of the game’s cast.

I played the game for the first time in 2020 in a friend’s house. It was a sensibly 25-hour long session of gaming where we only stopped to hit the bathroom, the kitchen, and honestly not much more, taking turns at who was holding the controller — just like old times. He insisted I had to try the game out with no spoilers, and with an open minded. He was always asking “You love Ellie right? Then come play this game”, and boy it was a core memory ever since. Replaying the game five years later I thought it would feel like less now since the shock of playing the main story for the first time was impossible to grasp once again, but I was wrong.

Would it be much to ask for Sony to hand what it brought with this remastered version as a free next-gen patch to all previous owners and new players acquiring the game? I don’t believe so, and I understand the angst against the price tag for what feels like a fairly bare-bones upgrade to a five-year-old game — and more even to new players who will have to spend nearly full price (50$) for, again, a five-year-old game — regardless of the upgrades it brings. But if you find the price is worth its value or find it in you to step over those barriers and want to either relive this memorable tale of revenge and emotional shock, or go through it for the very first time, I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Native DualSense support for both PS5 and PC, graphics modes and upscaling technologies that will bring all the visual enhancements made up a few notches, new and fun game modes and many new additions await you in The Last of Us Part II Remastered, the ultimate experience of what still is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the best videogames — and one of the best plots — ever created.

Full review available here[medium.com].

Only complaint I have to give out is about the map/travels being WAY too long, but at the same time that gives you space and time to look at hou beautiful is the game's town and the graphics. I was wondering if there was anything else to the plot, some subliminal dark message but I haven't found anything which kind of blocked my satisfaction with the game's plot. It was fun for sure! But could be a little more dense plot-wise. The only other thing I'd love for there to be more of would be jumpscares. I got like one jumpscares and that's it, which in a way it's alright because, again, gives you time and space to analyse the world which is a big part of the game and retro-styled games like this one, but it's kind of a block when it comes to horror games.
All and all, for a free game, it was a wonderful night-time experience! The voice acting is cool and you feel every characters personality really well, even if you never directly interact with them, and the town really has a creepy feel to it. The long roads, "bland" houses with no soul, creepy locations like the train station and the satanic tree. It was pretty nice!
All the best to the studio and I wish them loads of fun exploring these sorts of retro-games, trying out some different stuff that may had more complex curves to the games, keeping you hooked both while playing and when you leave the game, searching online for all the theories about it's plot!

First off I just want to say, if you're not looking to spend any money on a football (soccer) game, then by all means go ahead and play this one. For a free game you'll get some pretty decent graphics with up to date players, teams and leagues, easy to get into and a good few coop modes to play with your mates.

Now, if you are looking for a good football game, wether it is free or not, then there are "better options" (the one and true king of football games, you know the ones).

I could go and pick on the UI for being a little lame and not as easy to navigate as one would want to, but it doesn't get in the way of you having your fun playing. Now, the gameplay? That's what does a lot of the damage.

The way the game recognizes fouls or contact with the enemy team and players is horrible, I don't know if it's because of the animations being a little buggy or just the "hitboxes", but it barely works. The AI (enemy as well but mostly friendly) is just utterly bad. You pass the ball to a team-mate that's clearly pushing up on the field and it just feels like he doesn't want the ball because he lets it go up a little further, or to a team-mate that's behind him when clearly he's the pretended receiver. The controls are a little freaky as well, sometimes you can instantly pass the ball, some other times you have to wait for three seconds after the game reads your input for the player to pass the ball. I understand it's some different way of passing, but it does get in the way. Now another situation: let's say you're already like 30s up on overtime, if you get the ball on your adversaries part of the field and try to counter, the refferee just blows the whistle and the game is done. Why can't I counter when I'm right next to the goal? It makes no sense. Long passes are horrible, they feel more like direct passes which limits your movement aswell.

There's some more bits but I think you get the point.

Again, it's pretty good for a free game but looking at it as a football game, specially if you're not looking to be the most competitive and just have some fun solo or with some mates, I'd recommend going for a discounted FIFA, due to it being a little more precise overall with the inputs and mechanics.

No shame on the original game nor the remastered version (besides slight performance issues like the multiplayer being capped at 90FPS), but this is for the H2M mod.

Loads of people buying the game on sale because of the H2M mod, we were excited to get some of those happy memories back, from simple games like MW2 as this one was, but Activision had to go and f* it all up.

Y'all can't stand an happy community. You prefere giving us half-assed games like that excuse for MW3 this year than to do something YOURSELVES. Takes 0 effort to give us something like this was about to give us. No supply drops, no CoD store, no BS no nothing. Y'all got a ♥♥♥♥ tone of money (now being refunded) and a really passionate and happy community coming together, something that would literaly only benefit YOU, specially if BO6 is good, this hype would tbh only make it even better AND you'd get to see how worth it it'd be to do it Y'ALLSELVES.

But y'all had to kill it.

Shame on you Activision. And a huge thank you to the whole H2M team for bringing us all together and those good old memories back.

Oh Elden Ring,

As a gamer who enjoys both narrative-driven games and overall experiences, I've always thought that Souls-like games weren't for me because of their feared difficulty. That single aspect of it had blocked me from playing these games, but after seeing a couple of friends trying it out a year after its release and some YouTubers like Jev having a blast with it, I decided it was time.

I want to start this review by saying I don't regret taking so long to start my Souls experience because the Christmas break I spent trying it out was one of my best school breaks ever. Experiencing and exploring The Lands Between with friends guiding me through it, giving me both tips on what to get or where to go, and headaches, telling me to go to an area saying it would be fine, and I'd get hard-stuck on a tough boss. I haven't felt so free playing a game in a long, long time. I was able to grind and get the game's platinum in a matter of three weeks.

The world is vast and honestly one of the most beautiful and unique I've ever experienced. I was baffled by how FromSoftware managed to make it feel so lively and complete, even being as open as it is. There are a couple of dungeons where, yes, you notice they are very similar when it comes to their architecture, and also some NPCs that could get a little repetitive here and there, but that's just it, the game is HUGE. You don't feel like it gets repetitive unless you are really, REALLY picky with it, especially with its characteristic areas and cities that go from beautiful, calm, and peaceful places like Limgrave, to horrid, anxiety, and fear-inducing places like the Deeproot Depths. And I cannot say this enough, EVERY AREA IS JUST SO UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFULLY BUILT, and you will easily get to pick your favorites and just stay there forever, having fun, defeating bosses, solving dungeons, and interacting with the most interesting and deep NPCs. The Lands Between were an absolute joy to explore. Thank you, FromSoftware.

When it comes to the narrative, I must say, I was a little distracted, but after beating the game twice, I got curious about it, so I looked it up. The 3+ hour videos from fans explaining the game's lore, every main character's story, and it just, GETS, DEEPER! The main villains and NPCs like Malenia, Radahn, Ranni, and others have the most interesting backgrounds, and you just want to know more about them and about their relationship with other characters. But for me, the most interesting aspect of it all was your "teammates'" backstories and progress through your quests, like Blaidd and Alexander. How the game builds the sweetest characters, just to give them the saddest endings, all in your hands, is just heartbreaking. And you must appreciate when a game and its characters reach your heart like that.

To end it off, the mechanics and sound design. First off, the mechanics, they're exactly what you are expecting and what you would expect from a FromSoftware game, even from just watching YouTube videos like I did. The only difference is they're WAY more precise than what you'd think they'd be. As I said at the very beginning of this review, I've never played any Souls game, but I have to say this game got me HOOKED just by its mechanics at the very start. The way you can be specific with your builds, making them either 100% Dex or Faith or any other stat, or 50-50, or just go nuts with them. Giving players that amount of freedom just makes the game that much more enjoyable, and when you mix that with the most pleasurable fight mechanics I've touched on to this day (if you exclude FPS games like Counter-Strike), what you get is a very addictive chocolate cake of a game. The sound design adds to it all, bringing excitement to every fight and to every area with a specific theme. Nothing beats being stuck underneath Volcano Manor with Rykard, or in that heavenly arena with the Elden Beast, fighting for your life (and runes) while having the most amazing soundtrack playing in the background. It makes the experience that much better and more desirable.

What else is there to say? FromSoftware did nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with this game. From the immense yet complete world to its occupants, from the most diverse list of common enemies to the most unique and beautiful boss fights (mind you there are around 200 bosses, depending on who you ask), and from the most leg-shaking weapons to the most heartbreaking NPC quests, this game did it all. It absolutely overcame all my expectations and delivered the most enjoyable experience I've had in years. A pleasant surprise, and the start of what I hope will be a very, very long journey through FromSoftware's catalog and other Souls games.

Now all we have left to do is wait for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. The hype is real!

And for those too afraid of the game's difficulty, trust me, it will be worth it once you learn how to dodge and counter. The game is a wonderful experience I hope every game-lover out there has a chance to have.

This was a perfect example of a game that got my attention purely because of its visuals but that hit me with the most wonderful surprises in many other areas.

Starting with visuals, as expected by the game's trailer and screenshots, they are absolutely breathtaking. The drawing style is very involving and delicate, fitting perfectly with the game's sometimes darker themes. The way it works with colors and how it correlates them with the different stages of grief is beautiful. If you pay close attention to how it does this, knowing the colors' meanings, it becomes one of the most relatable and closest-to-real-life experiences you've ever had in any video game.

The soundtrack is just phenomenal. The songs picked for each sequence are perfect, from evil-feeling and heart-wrenching like the sandstorm in the Red area, to the more uplifting and hopeful like the one brought by the pink turtle near the end of the Blue area. It's masterfully worked alongside the visuals to deliver a very enjoyable, rich, and entertaining experience.

To end this review off, we must talk about the game's story. The concept in and of itself is very curious, yet, as mentioned above, very relatable. This new approach to the Kübler-Ross Model, also known as the five stages of grief, showing how the protagonist Gris overcomes her mother's death, is tear-jerking. You get in your feelings during the most intense scenes, making you feel not just accomplished when the journey is over, but also understanding the concept of the game itself.

Indies like these usually don't get even half of the attention they deserve, something that I'm happy is changing with time. The passion and dedication thrown in by these developers are something you feel as you're playing, and you're given the most beautiful and enjoyable stories, and GRIS is a perfect example of that.

So, at first, and after reading all the reviews — both from the initial port release and more recent ones — I thought I was going to struggle with the game due to technical issues and a bad port. Nearly 20 hours in, having gone through the entire campaign and DLC, I can happily say that none of those issues took place.

The Last of Us is a timeless masterpiece. Playing it for the first time on the PS3 back when it came out and now on the PC, one can only appreciate the work that was put into this remaster with the most drop-dead gorgeous graphics, visuals, and vicious mechanics. For those who haven't played the game in any of its versions, it is without a doubt one of, if not the best story-piece ever put into a video game format. You'll fall in love with the characters and create a very strong bond with them as you tag along with Joel and Ellie through their adventure. The game has a very serious, deep, and dramatic tone, sometimes feeling more like an interactive movie, but also adds some comedy in the middle of it, mainly when interacting with Ellie and her puns.

The game's mechanics are ultra-vicious, and they don't feel as arcade-like as you'd think, giving every action a lot of weight, from shooting a gun to picking up items, adding a lot to the player's immersion. When it comes to the visuals, there are no words to describe how beautiful they are, making you stop and stare at every corner of the world and explore non-obligatory places just for the fun and wow factor of it. One thing the game does very well and maybe better than any other game I've played is how it transitions from environment to environment. The changes between all the four stations are very natural and imperceptible, and with that, the player never really drops out of the experience.

All in all, this PC port was a wonderful experience for me, with the only issues encountered being some textures taking 10-20 seconds to load at times and some 40-45FPS areas here and there but very rarely. It consistently stayed above 60FPS, providing a super-smooth experience, allowing one to revisit this incredible game and all it has to offer with upgraded graphics and visuals. The game was played with the 1.1.2 patch, fixing a lot of player-found problems and issues with the game. The settings were around the Low to Medium category (w/ DLSSS), again, still looking beautiful to the regular gamers, and the hardware used was a Ryzen 5 5600H, 16GB RAM, and an RTX3060 6GB (playing on a laptop, not a desktop computer).

After the 1.1.2 patch and besides the minor issues mentioned above, there's really nothing to point out about the game's technical, gameplay, or story aspects. The Last of Us will always be kept in a special place in every gamer's heart, taking the player on a bonding journey between two very different, yet very similar characters who will have you laughing, worried, and tearing up for them. I am happy to say that, as the game currently stands, I can't recommend it enough, both for the gamers who've already played it, and especially for those experiencing it for the first time, being a super faithful execution of this masterpiece created by Naughty Dog.

After the disappointment that F1 22 was last year, I'm happy to say this entry was a huge comeback for the franchise. The gamepad mechanics feel way better than last year and the cars feel more grippy, even though I still can't manage to show that through my in-game skill. I feel like the difference in dificulty in "semi-assisted" launches and the rest of a race isn't too balanced, managing to get amazing launches on a medium difficulty (around 68 AI level), but tending to struggle way more keeping up with the AI. Outside of that little mis-step, the game looks and feels amazing, the F2 campaign is a nice experience and I wish we could interact with our teams and analyse the season we're currently in, a very nice addition indeed. Splendid come back from the franchise and excited to see what improvements the devs will hand us next year!

A masterclass of a DLC. You can tell how good it is when the only flaw's I noticed were some minor design flaws, for example the keypads that lock certain doors being in reverse order (the most recent click should be the warmest one and not the other way around like the game does it). THAT'S IT, LIKE ACTUALLY NOTHING ELSE. It's a very complete package and finishes up loose ends of Leon's story, a bit like Claire's on RE2R, and just makes the game that much better. Got me pumped for whatever is up next in this beautiful franchise.

10/10 game by a long mile. Only thing that I'd complain about would be the fact that we can't move some items to the storage (like herbs or ammo) which is something the titles from previous years got us used to, but it has only really bothered me before the Salazar boss-fight, besides that it will make no difference. Now, the game is graphically amazing, story is rich (I've never played the OG game, first time), gameplay and mechanics are super fun, and the mix of horror from 2 and VII, with the action from Village. The game is an absolute masterclass, a masterpiece.