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52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

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kamikazekeeg:
10 - Pacific Drive PC 2024) - BEAT - I love a good survival/scavenging game, especially one that has a real unique hook to it and I feel like this one is probably the most interesting since Death Stranding perhaps.  Everything is focused on getting around this post-apocalyptic terrain in a customizable and improvable car, utilizing it as your space space and mobile base.  Get out of the car to tear up things with tools or explore structures to find supplies, and then survive the area to return back to the garage and research new parts, tools, or ways to improve your next trip into the zone.

They nailed everything with the car here, the atmosphere of the zone, how it gets more chaotic and messed up the deeper you go, starting out in relatively normal forests with odd anomalies and hazards, all the way up to what I can only call a "cement filled hellscape".  Each area I believe is a set layout, road, exits, terrain, and then what changes in each run are buildings, hazards, anomalies, etc...Makes you want to do "one last run" more than once so you can try and find the more rare parts you need for the higher end parts.

Story is decent, characters are enjoyable, I think they could've had more missions and things to do throughout as there's not a lot of variety going on, same for the things you loot, it feels like there needed to be twice as many types of things to loot through because it gets very samey even early.  There are three general sections of the zone, so just when you start to feel board of the areas you can go to, progress through the story, get to the next section and you'll get a new area type, and that would then reinvigorate the experience.

I also appreciate how much customization this game has, where you can just hit sliders that make things tougher or easier and it's a lot of things too tweak, I love that this has become way more common in games.  It ended up saving me on a soft lock situation, where I couldn't progress because it forced me into a story situation that I couldn't complete, so I found out you could abandon trip, which is "death" in the game, sending you back to the garage, but that drops a lot of the loot on a rusted out version of your car that you can go get back, but if you change the death options, you won't lose anything, which let me just return to garage with no issues and I appreciate having that.

Also I felt it saved me being annoyed at certain mechanics, because you have to "hold e" to interact with most things, including turning the key and shifter every time you stop the car, which is immensely annoying and they realized that, so they gave the options to to just make it an instant click, which was such an improvement early on.

I think this is a cool game, it can get very addictive and definitely the type of game you like to see, bringing up unique gameplay styles you don't see often.

bikingjahuty:
58. Yu Yu Hakusho Makyo Toitsusen (Genesis)

Being a big fan of the company Treasure and their games, I've come to expect when I play one of their games I've never tried before that I'm probably really going to like it. While I have played a few disappointing titles for them, overall they've had a pretty good track record in my book. Hell, two of their games, Radiant Silvergun and Sin & Punishment are some of the best games I've ever played. So a long time ago when I discovered they made a game based on one of my favorite 90s animes, I figured I was guaranteed to like it. Unfortunately that really didn't end up being the case.


Yu Yu Hakusho Makyo Toitsusen is a pretty boring, generic fighting game outside the appeal of its IP. Had I played this game back in the early 2000s when I first got into Yu Yu Hakusho, I probably would have got a lot more out of the game, however, even with my budding enthusiasm for the series, I still don't think I would have enjoyed this game very much. Makyo Toitsusen doesn't do anything particularly wrong, but it doesn't really do anything really right either. It's probably one of the most okay 16-bit fighting games I've ever played. Visually, the game looks pretty good for the most part aside from mostly bland stages and there not being a ton of them. The character models all look like their anime counterparts as you'd expect and they do have some of their more iconic moves for you to perform which kinda look cool. The audio does have some ripped tracks from the show, but for the most part it's all original. It isn't a particularly good OST, but not terrible either. There is also limited lines the characters call out when performing moves or when they get hurt. Gameplay is also just okay with controls being fairly responsive and accurate, and also special moves being fairly easy to pull off. This game borrows Fatal Fury's multi plain fighting mechanic, but unfortunately it's just as useless in this game as it is in most Fatal Fury games that utilize it. As far as character balancing or anything that might set this game apart or make it competitive, I wasn't able to identify anything; this game just sort of feels like a battle of attrition to see who can KO the other player faster. This is a large part why Makyo Toitsusen is sort of boring despite being decent enough not to be considered a bad game.


Your mileage with Mayo Toitsusen will vary greatly on how much of a fan of Yu Yu Hazkusho you are, but even if you're a super fan of the series, it's hard to imagine anyone enjoying this game for more than a single playthrough, which was the case with me. I use the word "enjoying" very loosely too. This is definitely one of Treasure's weaker offerings as well, at least of their games I've played. (5/4/25) [27/50]

marvelvscapcom2:
27. Life Is Strange: Before The Storm [PS4] -Finished May 5th, 2025



RACHEL AMBER IS GOATED

Life is strange BTS is essentially the prequel to life is strange 1.  And where Life is strange 1 for one made me absolutely loathe Chloe's character. Her unforgivable need for disapproval, her condescending selfishness but most of all her trying too hard teen edge that is troped to death. I sorta just didn't vibe.

Life is strange 1 also leaves Rachel Amber this girl that is sort of blackwell academy Mythos.  This girl that is mentioned by name only so much she becomes sort of a fairy tale of "once was" and is this vague story.  The vagueness of Rachel Amber in LIS 1, does nothing but fuel the depth and ultimately plot power Rachel holds in LIS BTS. That was a very smart decision. Rachel was a sillouette. This game here has painted her to life.



(Rachel Amber Reinvents Chloe Price)

So it's no secret I am not the wildest fanatic of Chloe Price, Chloe reeks of desperate need to be angsty and although her trauma explains her personality it doesnt often excuse it. So many times she was borderline toxic to Max. Putting her own entertainment over Max's feelings, health and safety. It's so so one dimensional and cliche and for the first chunk I dreaded a Chloe centric game..

Until Rachel Amber..

Rachel Amber realistically brings out this softer empathic side of Chloe that the player never even seen with Maxine. It's like an oil soaked butterfly flapping its wings for the first time since a disaster. It makes the first game hit even harder.  And shows why Chloe cares so much for Rachel. Rachel and her hardships bring out a side of Chloe that isnt so much an Avril Lavigne CD gone bad. But is rawly empathic, massively focused on others and is drenched in personal turmoils.   Chloe now is more prone to generosity. Fearless in her grace.

Rachel Amber is charismatic and a complete opposite to Chloe. It forces Chloe to step outside of her judgemental bubble and sorta soul submit to a Cali extrovert. It's sorta Romeo and Juliet level bad girl falls for the fairest maiden. And you see the shell peel back a bit. And it's glorious to watch.

Without spoilers. The train sequence with Rachel is the first time I've seen Chloe be her true self without a hardened persona to self protect.  It feels rawly real. And you can feel the tension of bewilderment. It's amazing.  It makes me like Chloe more because as everyone says in the game.  Rachel is fairly awesome.  Shes for one very accepting of Chloes flaws and seems to be the only one in Arcadia Bay that doesnt have an angle to sell or person to stab in the back. She's basically a fly close to the sun Icarus kinda character.



Overall I am loving this series. This one in terms of plot and gameplay is tough to judge. It is shorter. It gets its footing late again. And I dont think its as profound as the other 2.  But it definitely is a much needed character developer for Chloe who I now hate less and grasp more.

It also gives a window into Rachel Amber who now isnt this ambiguous Max replacement. Shes now a story. It makes more sense now. 


Rating - 89/100

Cartagia:
I hit credits on Alan Wake II last night.  It's one of the best looking games I've ever seen.  It does such interesting things with light and shadows.  And on top of that, the story is incredible, with killer voice performances and motion capture.  Unfortunately, while the combat is generally way better than the original Alan Wake it is still pretty clumsy and very slow (along with movement being super slow in general), which was a huge disappointment, because Remedy showed with Control that they can really nail the combat if they want to.  It also doesn't do a great job of tutorializing, which makes the early game learning curve pretty steep and kinda frustrating.  These couple things unfortunately really dragged the whole experience down, which is a shame, because the stuff the game does well it does really, REALLY well.

Like Ragnarok, I'm going to keep the game installed so I can get to the DLC, but I have to put it down for a little while because I was ready to be done for now.

marvelvscapcom2:
28. Jojo Siwa: Worldwide Party [PS4] - finished May 6th, 2025



IT IS WHAT IT IS


My girlfriend described Jojo Siwa as a Lisa Frank art come to life. And I feel this embodies her personality flawlessly.  Between her and my niece who loves dance and Jojo. I have been roped into this game lol. And they got to pick my next 52 game entry and alas it is.  So judge not unless he hath not played thy shitty games before... The whole thing is think puking a bag of skittles all over a neon unicorn.

Jojo is a complicated cat. I have my personal beliefs of her and most of those are nuetral however one thing I feel radically strong about her career path and child stars in general is that being young and dumb should not be grounds for the sheer amount of abuse she gets on social media. And I had the same stance of Rebecca Black back when I was in 7th grade watching 40 year old men cyber bully her.  We all can be corny sometimes.  I find minimal things about Jojo that actually make me hate her.  But I am not exactly a scholar of her brand either.

 Now for better or worst Jojo's game isn't exactly targeted towards me.. a 20 some year old fan of resident evil 2 lol. However I will be reviewing it as a 20 some year old resident evil 2 fan who can legally drink and drive. Well not together lol. You know what I mean. So keep that in mind.  If you have a little girl. I mean under 7.  This game might be a good first rythym game to build motor skills with.  Any girl older than 7 will most likely already be in her minecraft/fortnite phase or be into Mario. The game has tons of positive messaging about loving yourself and being a dreamer.  Cant fault it for its G rated vibe. It's good for the audience it aims to entertain.

However... Im not a kid lol.  So its kinda bad.

Art Style




One of the few things it has going for it. Is the art style. I was never against embracing this world. I gravitate to colorful things. I think Unicorns are rad. I like pink. I enjoyed the barbie movie lol..  I enjoy that stuff alongside all the horrorcore, metal and edgy stuff I enjoy.  So Overall the characters are adorable. Its one big silly 90s lisa frank trapper keeper in come to life.  It's vibrant and fun to be mesmerized by.  It can just melt your mind and you can chill. I liken it to a visual asmr. I found myself tranced sometimes. Its gummy bears and colors. It's bold.  Sadly everything else is colorless and boring.


concept and gameplay

This is where the review turns.  The game is repetitive as all can be. Remember those kids bop music videos when we were kids?  Remember the dot that bounces over the letters to show where to sing?  Thats you in this game. Hopping to the beat of Jojo's songs.  Which.. umm... kinda suck.


Some are catchy. Particularly D.R.E.A.M. But her songs consist of a 19 yr old pretending to be 7 and saying "bows are my super power" 25x a level because shes playing up to her nickolodeon fanbase. Which is to be expected. But again. I cant review this from that demographic. For an adult. Especially a gamer with musical taste lol.  It gets old fast. And was a struggle to finish. It is so mundane for a game so colorful and bubbly.

Difficulty is inconsistent and the levels are super linear and dull.  Sometimes it gets random spikes of difficulty. I assume to indimidate babies. But its no dark souls. It's just a button mash rythym game.

It really has more boring drawn out sequences then its worth.  But it wasnt a complete waste of time.  I overall didn't hate it and I think if I had a daughter itd be 10x better to build core memories with it.  But its not good for an adult who has metacritic 97 games in their backlog while this gets played lol.  Ay yay yay. 


Rating -  65/100

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