Reviews

I've been playing video games since the early/mid-2000s, and I am ashamed to say that I don't recall ever finishing a 2D platformer, probably mostly due to the naive notion that they just aren't "worthwhile" or as “good” as AAA games. And when I finally did properly finish one such game, it turned out to be one of the best video games I've ever played, period. Inside takes the best aspects of 3 undisputed gaming masterpieces and brilliantly makes them its own, expands on them and in some aspects even transcends those games. From Half-Life 2, it partly takes the futuristic setting run by a fascist government/organization, as well as, and more importantly, the physics-based gameplay, and no less significantly, telling the story and propelling the narrative without resort to cutscenes or non-diegetic hints, rather doing so much more subtly through the visual, aural and level design. It takes from Portal 2, the environment: "the inside," the test tube structure which bleeds into and informs the gameplay as well as the level designs, and even the story, demonstrated best by and the ultimate goal of breaking out. And finally, from Bioshock it inherits the ever disquieting atmosphere achieved through masterful visual and aural design, and even more notably, the "meta-ness" of the game, materialized (as in that game) in the theme of control, which only really becomes evident towards the end, and even then just for the most observant of players. The alternate ending gives Inside an edge over even Bioshock, in how much it pushes this idea, and in that it proposes a “solution,” to the “recurring problem” that the proper ending of the game turns out to really be: the only way to beat the test is to refuse to play in the first place. 
To fully appreciate the merits of the Inside, one has to also go in depth about the groundbreaking use of the fine line that the game walks between being 2 and 3 dimensional, the subtle camera moves, the astonishing graphic design etc. 

Red Dead Redemption is a fantastic game that still stands the test of time 8 years later. Seen as more of a spiritual successor to Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption abandons the theatrics and fantasy elements of Revolver and instead presents a more gritty appraisal of the American West more akin to Grand Theft Auto than to Red Dead Revolver. The story centers on John Marston, a former outlaw who is forced, by the federal government, to hunt down the last members of his gang. Marston just wants another chance at a new life outside of crime, and due to the government holding his family hostage, he is forced back into a world that he seeks to abandon to do one final murderous act and to start a new life. The story chronicles the last days of the “savage” untamed West. It is the end of the cowboy and outlaw and the dawn of modernization. The story touches on that and there are so many references in the game to this changing time, in fact the main antagonist of the game seems to represent that to an extent. The voice acting is fantastic with a few relatively known actors in the cast, but overall, Rockstar continues to cast talented voice actors who no one has ever heard of, or at least I haven’t. The characters themselves are all fascinating from revolutionaries in Mexico to scumbags and lawmen in Texas, there are so many interesting characters and moments in this game. The graphics are still a little dated, but to me, they are preferable when compared to GTA IV. The gunplay is a little stiff, but that and a plethora of other improvements are made in Red Dead Redemption II. The game has a very manageable amount of side quests that are fun and enjoyable. The game also gives the player a general idea of how rough life in the American West actually was. There is a vibrant wildlife that can be both used for gain (hunting) or could be used against you as you travel through New Austin, Texas, Nuevo Paraiso, Mexico and West Elizabeth. You could spend a very long time with this game, but there is still a moment where the game, for all intents and purposes is considered to be over (much like most of the other Rockstar games). Red Dead Redemption brings the experience of the gunslinging, Western outlaw to the video game medium in a way that cannot be replicated. This game is what defines the cowboy or Western themed video game forever. Fun, riveting, and immersive, Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games to emerge in the 2000s.

Rating: 5/5