Reviews

What is space? Space is the literal opposite of our interpretation of safety. It's soul purpose is to kill you every way humanly imaginable. It's lifeless black void can freeze you over and mutilate our body inside out within seconds. There's impossibly large balls of fire only fueled by what seems to be their own anger. Surrounding these balls of fire are countless heaps of rocks, constantly being flung around it at thousands of miles per hour. Some rocks are lifeless, meaningless humps of matter but others have somehow cultivated life and that heap of rock is all a race of beings have ever known. Between all this chaos is an incomprehensible number of other threats that can kill you. 

Space is scary.

Chances are what you just read doesn't remind you of any space game you've ever played. It's not your intergalactic gunslinger adventure we were all hoping for, its something so disappointingly torturous to think about. It's something we've never experienced truly experienced before. Outer Wilds changes this.

Outer Wilds is space personified. Outer Wilds, just like space, wants to kill you. You're constantly fighting with your own speed as you violently slingshot around this solar system.  You're stuck in a never ending tug of war between your ship and the gravity of the sun and the gravity of the other planets. Circling this cosmic ball of fire are these bizzare, seemingly impossible planets. A hollow planet with a blackhole as its core, two planets stuck in an endless dance around each other, a comet flinging itself from the innermost regions of the solar system all the way to the lifeless outerim constantly stuck in this loop, and a planet we call home. 

If space can guarantee you one thing, its that you'll die (eventually). You die A LOT in Outer Wilds. The main focus of the game is that you're stuck in a timeloop, 22 minutes until everything you've ever known is wiped out by your sun turning into a supernova. Death is inevitable. No matter what you do, space'll go to seemingly impossible lengths just to see you die. But that's okay, everything will be exactly where it all once was 22 minutes ago. What seemed like a time trial to save the universe slowly becomes a hike across this cosmic merry-go-round for no one but yourself. So what if I die? Everything will be as it was 22 minutes ago, This life is just another one of many.

So, why? Why bother with any of this? All that awaits you in space is death. A place so unbelievably unfair, a place where the one constant is your death. Why? Why go back? The first thing you see upon every life in Outer Wilds is a streak of blue lightning dash across the sky. Well actually there's no sky here on this planet, at least not the type of sky we know. Looking up on this planet give you a view of the entire solar system, Planets flying by so quick and close that it feels like if you just jump you can touch them, Abandoned space stations aimlessly orbiting the sun with a purpose long forgotten, and a great view of countless other distant solar systems being created and dying. All you have to do is look up from the warm embrace of the campfire to see the universe and its call to you despite its promise of death. So why do we go? Simply because we can. Even if my return from death wasn't guaranteed, I'd still go. Almost like a literal call from the void, we cant help ourselves from not going. We're addicted to death.

(Spoilers Ahead)
As expected, the goal of the game is to stop the universe from going supernova. Along your journey, you'll come across these radio signals of different instruments being played from different parts of the solar system. Slowly, across each life, you travel to these signals, you uncover the people behind each instrument and their story. Once everything is solved and you've found everyone, they all gather around a campfire with their instruments waiting for you, their audience, to hear what you've been trying so hard to piece together. You've traveled countless miles to get here, you've died more times then you would've like to get here, you uncovered the mysteries of the universe within a 22 minute window to get here, to hear the song of the universe. With a meaning like "Song of the Universe", you'd expect it to be extremely grand. Full orchestral performance? Maybe something more along the lines of the soundtrack from interstellar.

It's not. Its a group of friends huddled around a campfire, a banjo, harmonica, flute, whistle, drums, piano, all playing a comfy campfire song. The song named "Traveler" played here is your final answer to your first question. Why?

"It's the kind of thing that makes you glad you stopped and smelled the pine trees along the way, you know?"
                                                                                                                                                  -Gabbro

Call of Duty Black Ops 1 is honestly one of the best first person shooters I have ever played. Everything from the campaign, multiplayer, and the zombies is nothing short of exceptional and I’m gonna tell you all about it.

The first mode I’m going to dissect is the campaign. The story mode is easily top 5 in the franchise. The setting picked for the game is unique and is one that is barely seen in video games. The way the Cold War is portrayed in this game is very accurate and they do a great job of blending reality with fiction. This COD campaign was the first to have the playable protagonist actually talk and it felt refreshing to have a protagonist who the players can relate to.

Seeing Alex Mason kidnapped by the Russians and being put through brainwashing to be used as a sleeper agent is honestly insane. The overall plot is the villain of the game, Nikita Dragovich, has made a lethal gas known as Nova Six and plans to release it in every US state. The majority of missions in the game are flashbacks and the present is taking place with Mason being tortured by the CIA in order to decipher a series of numbers from a broadcast that will sequence the attack.


 Throughout the majority of the game, the identities of the interrogators are kept secret. In all these flashbacks, Mason is doing tasks for the CIA and he is accompanied with characters known as Frank Woods, Bowman, Hudson, Weaver, and Viktor Reznov. After Mason is kidnapped by the Russians, he is thrown into a gulag named Vorkuta. He befriends a WWII veteran named Viktor Reznov who was previously in COD WAW, making it canonically related.

Reznov explains he and the USSR were supposed to extract Nova Six from the Germans and also extract Nazi scientist Freidrich Steiner. In this flashback, Dimitri Patrenko from WAW accompanies him in the mission. Dragovich was the squad commander of Reznov’s team, showing they have history. As Reznov and his team are about to extract Steiner, Dragovich uses the gas and tests it on his comrades, killing Dimitri in the process and betraying Reznov.

Reznov escapes but is shortly thrown into Vorkuta after. Reznov and Mason escape Vorkuta but Mason ends up leaving Reznov behind. After that, Reznov is believed to be dead until he reunites with Mason in Laos. Near the end of the game, Reznov convinces Mason that Steiner must die so they head to Rebirth Island and plan to kill him before the CIA get to him. This mission is played twice, through the perspectives of Mason and Hudson. Hudson reaches Mason and Reznov preparing to kill Steiner but is late to stop him. In Hudson’s perspective, Mason is seen killing Steiner by himself while Reznov is not present.


That’s when the game reveals the biggest plot twist and reveals that Viktor Reznov was dead the entire time and Mason hallucinated seeing him. Honestly it’s a clever twist that no one saw coming. It is also revealed that Reznov hijacked Mason’s brainwashing to have Mason carry out his revenge. In the buildup to the final mission, the interrogators are revealed to be Hudson and Weaver, they tell Mason that Reznov was dead the entire time. The numbers revealed a ship called the Rusulka where Dragovich will be broadcasting the numbers.

They attack the ship, Mason strangles Dragovich, and saves the day. The ending is spectacular and the games hints at the possibility that Alex Mason might have killed JFK. The campaign has solid voice acting, amazing gameplay, and outstanding writing.





Next mode I will dive into is Multiplayer. Multiplayer is absolutely fun, the customization options are endless, and the for the first time, you could create your character and emblem. The maps are all uniquely designed and never feel worn out. The gunplay is fun and it felt rewarding earning the highest killstreak possible.

DLC maps add a lot to the multiplayer and make it even better. It was nice to unlock weapons without having to pay micro transactions. The biggest issue I have is sound design since shotgun blasts, car explosions, and grenade launchers can get annoying. Overall, BO1 offers a strong multiplayer that is still being played till this day.



Zombies mode in this game has a lot of positives. The game offers three maps at launch which are Kino, Five, and Dead Ops Arcade. Kino is a perfect starter map at it appeals to casuals and keeps you wanting more. DLC maps are great and IMO, worth spending the money. The best of the DLC is either Ascension or Moon. Treyarch decided to bring back the WAW maps and those are fun to play. Overall, zombies innovated and is still a joy to play.

Overall, this game is a strong entry in the COD series and kept the formula fresh and clean. 

Final rating: 9.2/10

(MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS)

Doki Doki Literature Club is a scary game. It isn't a game about monsters chasing you, it's a silent danger slowly dancing around your perception on itself. I think we can all agree that we can contribute DDLC's success to its innovative way to integrate the "4th wall break." This makes the game extremely scary and rightfully so, the whole point of the 4th wall break is to violently spit you out of the immersion and make you realize that the window you've been mindlessly staring into isn't one way. This upon numerous jumpscares, ominous distorted music, and extremely unsettling dialogue leads this game to stand above any other horror game when it comes to making me feel uncomfortable.

But this isn't what makes Doki Doki Literature Club scary.

It's a game about problems and our inability to fix those problems. It's the slow realization that Sayori is so depressed that you are her lone reason to keep going and the crushing feeling of ignorance you felt after her confession, It's knowing Natsuki throws a half-assed smile on her face knowing that this moment of serenity had in this classroom is only a short refreshing breathe before coming home to experience hell, It's knowing that under those long sleeves and silky hair are the countless scars left behind by no one other than Yuri herself. DDLC's monster isn't a grotesque abomination chasing you, it's the feeling of absolute helplessness.

But chances are that when referring to monsters in this game only one name comes to mind, Monika. She manipulated everyone to insanity, she drove Sayori to give in and kill herself, she made Yuri stab herself to death in a passionate display of love for you, and God only knows what the hell she did with Natsuki. Monika is, objectively, a horrible person. However, a person nonetheless, not a monster. Just like everyone else in this club, she too has a problem.

She was alone. Her reality was swept out from under her, leaving her into a violent free-fall of knowledge and understanding, she now knows the truth. Nothing here is real, her friends, this world, and even her own existence. Although, one thing was real, us. Like she mentioned in one of her poems, the screen we've been looking at for hours now isnt a screen, its a window. Unlike the others, we aren't given a single opportunity to interact with her. No matter what, we are constricted to only the rest of the club. Maybe this was some form of punishment, the cost of knowing the weight of the world and the horror of its weight being so unbelievably light.

A common misconception I see people make about this game is the extent of Monika's manipulation. None of the feelings about suicide, abuse, and self harm were planted by her, they were always there. She wasn't pulling any strings throughout the entire story, she cut them loose instead. She knew the evil within all of them, what extents they would go to just to keep their head above water. But just like drowning, you'll pull anything and anyone down to stay afloat. Like the monsters they all were by design, they fought and slowly killed each other over their one shared salvation, us. 

But why weren't we off put by this? Why weren't we turned away immediately at the sign of a monster hiding deep below the surface in all of them? We wanted to help, thats why. We spent over 2 hours with them sharing personal experiences, writing poems for each other, and even being romantically involved in whoever suited your fancy, it was hard NOT to care. But you can't help, the game doesn't even give you the options to help. Like a deer stuck in headlights, you can only watch it all unfold. 

No matter what you chose to do in a struggle to help and save those you cared for, they all die. Leaving you with just Monika, alone with the beast in its nest. But she did it, despite her curse and suffering, rose up against the prewritten will of her binary universe and got her so longed for ending. Isn't this a happy ending? No one else was real after all, they're all just a bunch of 1's and 0's with prewritten dialogue. We couldn't accept it though and neither could her. But out of an act I can only describe as a fit of ignorance, we killed her. We killed her simply because we didn't understand. 

So where does this leave us? Back to another day walking to school with...Sayori? Monika's death saved all those she has so wrongfully done by, THIS must be my happy ending. This short breathe of euphoria is interrupted by Sayori thanking you for killing Monika, it all makes sense now. Just before you can lash out at your screen for giving you this false sense of hope, Monika denies you this reality. We're left with the whole club once again meeting their demise to the "Delete from File" command and a short dialogue from Monika BEGGING you to not go again. There can be suffering had at this place, she cares for those stuck in there and the only way out was a mercy killing. This was her reality, one we tried so hard to deny. The credits roll to a song Monika wrote for you called "Your Reality." The game ends with all your game files being deleted, begging you to never return. We left with nothing other than a heart heavy with disappointment.

Some of us, not feeling content with this heavy heart, went back. Maybe theres a way to fix this? A way to right everyones wrongs, I know everything now, there must be a way! There isn't. You beat the game again only to be greeted with a thank you from the whole cast but most importantly, a goodbye. Everyone still dies, you killed Monika AGAIN thinking that this was still the right choice. It isn't until that black transition screen to bring you into the credits that you realize the window you were once looking into stopped becoming a window a long time ago and instead, a mirror. You knew what her reality was like her, you took it head on knowing everything that will happen and bearing that weight exactly like her, hoping for a happy ending alongside her. It was all in vain, you couldn't fix their reality, let alone her reality. All you're left with is Your Reality...and it's a really sad one.

"There's a little devil inside all of us."...
               -Monika

For as long as I can remember, I have always wondered why there weren't many otome out there that don't have lewd CGs. I know otome are geared towards women and girls,  but having an adult otome shouldn't be this hard to come by, right? Well, even know in days the market for it is pretty bare, even with Western visual novels. This visual novel on the other hand checks my box for being an adult otome and one that happens to be translated in English. 

The translation is nice, it's not bad and there weren't really any mistakes that I noticed at least. There might be some, but as far as I know I didn't see anything. The main character you play as is really stunning and her personality is interesting and not really one I was expecting whenever getting into this. She can come off as harsh sometimes, and she complains a lot which could bother most people. She does get a bit better later on. With the guys there is one that is a masochist and the other one who is a sadist I believe. They don't play a lot into that but they do touch on it a bit. I like the multiple endings you can get even though there are only two romance options in this visual novel. A lot of the endings are funny gimmick endings.   

This visual novel is fully voiced. Even the sex scenes were voiced, so be aware if you do play the adult version. They can get pretty loud with the moaning and noises during those scenes. There's fair bit of them too. I was worried there were just going to be two and they would be short. That's not the case luckily but the scenes are a bit odd thinking about how would you even end up in that situation. 

The art is hit or miss. There were times where I liked the art and other times where I was like uhhhh not my favorite. I think the design for the MC was nice, however I didn't care for the guys as much as I did her. Just seeing the shorter sadistic guy is really weird, I did not think he was that cute myself and some of his angles were off putting. The CGs were okay for him though. 

Breath of the Wild is the definitive game you can truly get lost in. The world is beautifully crafted to fit the setting of a technologically advanced society that was devastated a century ago trying to rebuild. Every person you see has something to say and something to reveal about how they are dealing with the events that nearly destroyed the world. The story is simple on the surface being about a chosen hero who is tasked with finishing his mission and finally defeating the evil that has plagued the world for a century. The deeper story comes when you begin to explore and find out there is so much more to the story than just a simple premise. The war that took place had a lasting effect on everyone, including the 4 heroes who each played their own role in the war and aftermath while having unique motives and personality. Exploring seems virtually endless just due to how much there seems to be. 
The story would be able to stand on its own against many other games, but it also manages to place the story with amazing gameplay. The gameplay reflects the setting, free. One of the things that blew my mind is how many solutions every problem has in the game. Anything is a weapon and every weapon will be used eventually when fighting enemies. The combat still has me looking up videos on how to kill a small camp with twenty weapon switches and ten bombs. 
I know this game will not be for everyone, but I do highly recommend to give it a try especially if its your first Zelda title. 

Spoiler alert: this game wouldn't treat your faves good because they were pieces of shit in the first game.

So here we go again. This game isn't like the first one, it's more like The Walking Dead comic sibling. It's not about surviving zombies, it's about surviving around people — people with their stories and their problems.
Gamers weren't ready because they thought it's going to be “COOL old man saving small girl aka daughter” trope all over again. But Joel turned out not to be cool after killing hundreds of people. He's a usual mortal man like everyone and being good dad didn't help him.
From a difficult child who doubted her “father”, Ellie turns to PTSD bitch who doesn't give a shit about everyone (Dina, Tommy, Jessie, JJ). And all these things make sense during the plot.

I wouldn't talk about Abby's storyline because she's a new character. But her gameplay was the way interesting than Ellie's.
Although, let's talk about gameplay. It's not fresh and new but it's slightly updated with good stealth mechanic. Don't know about your experience but my first thought was “wow, Metal Gear Solid vibes”. World design and attention to details on the top-notch level, no comments here.

To be honest, I was pretty down and sad bout the game final. I've enjoyed all the games except for the last hour in Santa Barbara. Ellie is one of my favorite video game characters, and they did her like that? But all these days after finishing the game I thought about it and you know what? It is what it is. It's an ugly story about how nasty people can be. Bullshit like this happens in real life on a daily basis even tho there are no zombies around. So you know, let's treat people with kindness. Maybe we are the main characters of our lives but NPCs have feelings too.

P.S. Acoustic version of Take On Me is on repeat right now 😔