Muds McGee

I'm writing this review as someone who freshly finished rolling the credits about an hour ago. Veilguard in its entirety was a very polarizing experience for me. There were things that really bugged me, things that I really loved, and everything in between. It's okay that that was the experience - we contain multitudes. You can be frustrated with something while enjoying it. That is what living life is like. Let me start off this way: don't read my words as a means to decide on anything. In fact, don't do that with any game review you might read ever. Reading reviews while I was playing this game was my biggest mistake, because from there on out, all I could do was try to grade the game based on stranger's opinions, and that stripped me of an objective narrative experience. Don't do it. Play the game if you want to play it. Be an adult and make your own opinions when you're done. Yet since I am done and still bathing in the wake of Act 3, I am left with the following impressions, for whoever might take stock in them: - I will be playing this game a 2nd time (and for what it's worth, mid-game I projected uninstalling it once I was done. Opinions change. People change. Accept the journey.) - Sometimes the writing is genuinely bad. Sometimes, the writing is the way it is because Bioware put trust in their fans to be intelligent and enthusiastic enough to see the story through to its beautiful end. The amount of times I indignantly went "UHG well why was THIS like THAT??" only to have it later explained/made up for was MANY. - Narratively speaking, you are going to see evidence of the rushed and turbulent nature of this game's development. And you can either appreciate that the developers did the best with the hand they were dealt, or you can take it personally and get mad. Idk lovelies, that's on you. - The biggest question for myself during my experience was "Could I earnestly recommend this game to my friends?" That was the wrong question for me to ask. I shouldn't have been projecting outwardly, I should have just been playing the game free of other's opinions, and I wish that for anyone else. I wish that for you, dear reader, specifically. So when you look at my "yes" to recommending it, it's a Yes to a new story, a new experience. That's it. That's all I got for this. That's all there is. Now go home and play your games.

I've had a non-stop great time with this game ever since I got it. It's like being in a John Wick Cartoon Universe. You get so many ways to cause endless mayhem, I was really impressed with all the ridiculous ways I was given to blow things up. Super enchanted with the animation of the Boss in the cutscenes. As an RPer it was awesome getting to see my character move around and talk so much. Along those lines, the customizable wardrobe was an amazing thing to have and dressing up for any given cutscene was its own game entirely. I loved the light-hearted nature of the story overall - it had real stakes, while not taking itself too seriously, and it was just what my 2022 heart needed. Genuinely, it's been one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. It's just pure fun. <3

Honestly, Bethesda dropped the ball on this one. Beautiful world, but the lack of NPCs have made the world feel dead. In a world where the other players are your 'npcs', it's discouraging that the only way to talk to them is through voice, where a chat window would have been nice. The only reason that I've had fun with this game is because I've had a friend sitting next to me playing it with me. Really I think I would have better time having a Fallout 4 co-op mode. I miss questing (real questing), and having to get most of the 'story' of 76 through terminals (while ghouls are attacking me) just isn't a nice way to play. I've had a real complicated relationship with this one. I love the franchise, but this game is so hard to like. Genuinely can't say I'd recommend it unless you know you'll have others to play with.

After spending about 70 hours in Biomutant for the last 2+ weeks, my opinion of the game is the same as when it started: this is a truly unique experience. There is a particular novelty to this game in the sense that there were no claims that it was perfect. It's not - but that doesn't negate it being a good time. Top notch NPC designs, super fun crafting crafting without it being a necessity, clothes collecting is a gem, combat feels smooth to me (and as a non-hardcore game player, I like that it feels challenging without feeling difficult). Exploring the open world on its own is a game - I keep derailing myself from quests just to pop into a sewer or an old abandoned building. Still haven't finished the main quest yet, but I'm so intrigued and excited to get there. I cannot say enough good things about this game! Reviews be damned, I think Experiment 101 did something truly special here.