Yeah feels like a [7] to me.  [8] if I'm hyper generous cos solo dev, [6] if I can't get my save back

I wrote my Omno review immediately after playing it. I stand by it for the most part but i was definitely emotional at the time and may have gone a bit hard

So I'm fine with it now too. Moot's words elsewhere cover my thoughts pretty well. I might stretch to a generous [7], but I was definitely glad when it was over.

At with moot, I prefer a bit more meat with my veg. Journey had never been a favourite, the picking was to simplistic, the platforming not rich enough. It was all kinda fine, but nothing more than that. And yeah story depth? Hmm...

Classic mzuz.

"The puzzling was too simplistic" I think...

Quake remaster on PC.

Still amazing. That final boss is a bit of a let down though.

@DrewMerson I get it and feel the same about Death Stranding. I could just keep exploring that world. But while I liked the past of HZD it was the “our village is overrun” side quests that I couldn’t be bothered with, perhaps there was more interesting stuff but I couldn’t be bothered. I may go back and do the DLC at some point as I like a snowy level or two. 30 hours feels like good enough value to me.

Oof. I suspect those will also be my feelings when I eventually finish it though.

Blue Swirl wrote:

Zelda games are like pizza and sex. Even when they're bad, they're still pretty good*. But yeah, SS has too much padding, takes too long to get going, and is way too linear.

That does sound like bad sex TBH.

Florence.

Too pure. Too twee. I got a cheevo for being shit at maths.

"Mixed feelings" sounds like the perfect title for a SS HD review. I'd probably bump it down to nearer 7, but that's nitpicking - everything you've said sounds exactly right. I clocked nearer 40 hours, but I got into clearing out Beedle's shop and upgrading all my gear. The upgraded bug net took a lot of the frustration out of that particular side quest.

Did it really get 10 in EDGE? Jeebus.

Can't remember what I gave it but that sounds about right to me.

Ikenfell - Had it tentatively on my 'to play' list then Microsoft announced it was leaving Game Pass at the end of the month so decided to go for it - and after 25 hours, I've managed to finish it with all Achievements with a couple of days to spare. It's basically a JRPG-style game about mysterious goings on in a magical school, with an SRPG-inspired battle system that is also highly dependent on Mario RPG-style timing mechanisms. It also has a strong seam of LGBT theming running through it, with multiple playable non-binary and lesbian characters, though the core storyline doesn't particularly revolve around this.

I really solidly enjoyed this. It was very much like playing a classic '90s RPG (albeit with some choice modern updates). The battle system works really well and the difficulty level is really well balanced - it isn't a cakewalk (I game overed a few times) but isn't frustratingly difficult (even the most difficult optional bosses remained reasonable and enjoyable). It has just the right amount of bite. There's also a decent amount of variety with only a small number of noticeably recycled enemy designs throughout the entire game - and on your side the six playable characters are a generous amount for the size of the game with a varied range of abilities unlocking throughout.

The story is enjoyable and well-executed, the music is good and there's just the right amount of collectables to make exploring enjoyable without being overly burdensome.

It isn't absolutely perfect - occasionally in the early game the pacing can feel a bit weird with a fair bit of 'we can't get through the door to enter this dungeon so now we need to do another dungeon to unlock it', although this does settle down. The Mario RPG-based timing mechanism can also get slightly frustrating - anything but a 'Great' when attacking means your attack will be fairly worthless while anything less than a 'Great' while defending will result in losing big chunks of HP by the endgame. You can make the timings more lenient in the options menu or even make them automatically successful but in terms of the vanilla experience I would prefer it if the difference between a failed timing and a Great timing were just a bit less pronounced at the end of the game. Nothing particularly horrendous on the criticism side though and notably the kind of criticisms that you might retrospectively level at a decent RPG from the '90s.

Overall, a really solid and enjoyable RPG - I'll definitely check out the developer's future games. A good solid [8].

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (SeX)

I basically enjoyed this, so a generous [8]. Fun mechanic, few twists on it, mix of puzzler & platformer, occasional mix of action, a decent package overall. Didn't outstay its welcome yet a reasonable amount to it. And a bit different. So yes, thumbs up basically. Think it's been out for a while but was never quite sure what it was all about (sometimes muddling with Murdered: Soul Suspect, Beyond: Two Souls, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons all at the same time... closest to the last of those I guess (though no twin stick stuff involved...)).

Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA) - I enjoy writing these little reviews as I find them a good way of 'digesting' what I've played. I've left this one for a couple of days though. It's slightly hard to know what to say about something as foundational as the original Metroid. I really enjoyed this version of it. Given that it uses every button on the GBA, it's clear there's a bunch of additional gameplay features that weren't in the original and despite my lack of familiarity with the series, it's clear that a bunch of subsequently introduced franchise staples have been retroactively re-introduced into this (Samus bursting out into her Zero Suit when she dies seems to be one - I was under the impression that reveal was a shock twist at the end in the original). While it's hard to know what's original and what's new, it's easy to see why this is considered a classic, it's really well-designed and enjoyable to play. The spruced-up graphics look brilliant and highly detailed on the Game Boy Micro. My only complaint is that while most of the game is highly detailed pixel-art, there are some places where the graphics appear to be hand-drawn, and I found the contrast a bit jarring. Once you complete the original NES scenario, there's a new additional bit which is oriented around stealth. I don't think this bit really feels of a piece with the rest of the game, it feels like they were playing Metal Gear Solid at the time and maybe got a bit carried away. Despite this, I had a great time with it. [8], I think.