Main Rankings:
9/10 is the standard awesome game, something that makes you glad end-to-end and keep looking forward to playing more, even if there's a bit of rage
8/10 is a very solid game, knows what the genre should do and does it well, has at least some personality, and is an easy recommend for those fans
7/10 is your good game, where you still enjoy it a lot, but maybe some sections are lacking or it's relying on one great mechanic for its entirety
6/10 isn't a bad game, but engaging moments are sparse, parts can feel rough, and you're happy its over because it didn't have staying power
5/10 is painfully mediocre, needing to actively push yourself through it because it keeps disappointing you but reminds you of something better
Modifiers:
-1 for a major flaw (e.g. controls) or two-three minor flaws (e.g. hint system)
-2 for two majors flaws (3 or more I wouldn't have played it enough to rank)
+1 for doing something incredibly fun or engaging that nothing else in the genre succeeds in
Notes:
* You may see me increase a 9/10 to 10/10 because I get more experience in the genre and realize it did something amazing that maybe I took for granted
* I'll rarely rank a pure 4/10 because I only rank games I've played for at least a few hours and I would have quit a pure 4/10 before then
* Some flaws can be major in one game but minor in another game, such as pacing, and some x-factors in games may be people-related
* I will always write reviews for entries in my yearly top 10, other games will vary depending on how much of a writing mood I'm in
A really cute semi survival game where you're exploring the world to find food for your cubs and find/progress narrative threads, while unlocking additional traversal abilities and environments. The story of investigating your missing cub, the relationship between the hunter and his daughter, and the industrial entity balanced well with the gameplay. The game also has a pretty sharp environmentalism theme I appreciated, as you start the game escaping a forest fire, need to move once or twice during the game due to pollution or deforestation, and ends with an environmental disaster and barren wasteland. A moderate-length, very polished, overall engaging experience.
Katamari is all about the rhythm of collecting a bunch of shit in a level to make your ball bigger and bigger. A lot of the time you try to eyeball what you can and can't pickup given your side, go cleanup part of an area, go to a new area, once you're bigger return to the previous area to clean up the rest, and finish the objective with a strict but not unfair time limit. A solid and super repeatable gameplay loop, with fun personality with the levels themselves and with the King of Cosmos between levels, and it was a fun game to go through.
A really cute semi survival game where you're exploring the world to find food for your cubs and find/progress narrative threads, while unlocking additional traversal abilities and environments. The story of investigating your missing cub, the relationship between the hunter and his daughter, and the industrial entity balanced well with the gameplay. The game also has a pretty sharp environmentalism theme I appreciated, as you start the game escaping a forest fire, need to move once or twice during the game due to pollution or deforestation, and ends with an environmental disaster and barren wasteland. A moderate-length, very polished, overall engaging experience.
Katamari is all about the rhythm of collecting a bunch of shit in a level to make your ball bigger and bigger. A lot of the time you try to eyeball what you can and can't pickup given your side, go cleanup part of an area, go to a new area, once you're bigger return to the previous area to clean up the rest, and finish the objective with a strict but not unfair time limit. A solid and super repeatable gameplay loop, with fun personality with the levels themselves and with the King of Cosmos between levels, and it was a fun game to go through.
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