Recent reviews by Tay Bravo

A game of patience, courage, and tenacity. Overwhelming and hard at first, but a delight to master with a variety of playstyles and thousands of combinations of stats, weapons and spells that allow for the freedom to play the game however you want (at your own risk!).

The boss combat is especially spectacular, and the game rarely holds its punches. You will die, over and over again. You will constantly feel like you are not strong enough, not agile enough, not strategic enough. But every death is a lesson, not a punishment. Now you know not to dodge to the left when the boss does that move. And next time, you'll get even closer to defeating them. Rarely does a video game give me a feeling of triumph quite like defeating a boss in Elden Ring does.

The graphics are beautiful, and there is no shortage of breathtaking views hidden away on a forgotten cliff edge, or from the top of a gigantic castle. Enemies are both visually distinct and passionately designed, and you will quickly begin to see how the color theory and design choices of Elden Ring complement the learning curve.

Elden Ring is arguably the best entry point into the Soulsborne genre, and I highly recommend giving it a try if you feel that you have the courage to endure a game that seemingly directly taunts you and demands you to learn quickly or forever be stuck in Limgrave.

Made a critter. Gained sentience. Invented capitalism. Fantastic.

Incredible writing, intelligent story, had me on the edge of my seat constantly-- in both games! Just when you think you've solved the mystery, another cog gets thrown in. 999 is a little clunky since it's just a remaster of the original title, but VLR does well to improve on the shortcomings of 999 in both narrative, gameplay, and user friendliness. A diamond in the rough, and definitely in need of more glory than it has received.

I grinded this game out over the course of a night, and I can honestly say that no story has left me saying "Just one more episode!" like Life is Strange. I am not a fan of the genre or art style, yet in Episode 1 alone I was captivated by the story and depth of the characters to the point where the graphics and mechanics no longer mattered.

I am not ashamed to say that the beginning of Episode 4 hit me very close to home, and every scene after that produced a new color of emotion in me that no other game has been able to give me. The storytelling in Life is Strange is intense and insanely flattering to the overall message of the game, even though everything is so difficult to understand unless you put the pieces together yourself.

Let these funny reviews make a point- even watering the plants matter in a small way. Lighting a candle could cause a catastrophe! If you are unsastisfied with a choice, or how an event played out, it is within your powers to make every scene to your liking- for the better or for the worse. Not to mention all the extra pictures that you can take. (Many of which I missed, which on top of the decision tree differences will make for amazing replay value!)

This entire game- no, experience- moved me very much. The Life is Strange team tackled some extremely taboo topics throughout the game and made it flow so effortlessly over the course of my 10-hour campaign. While I cannot hope to see another Episode in this series, Life is Strange will forever be one of my favorite experiences and I refuse to believe that I will be able to commend it enough. An amazing game and a top 3 in my books. Would absolutely recommend.