Ryan Lyster

I need to say first that I really liked BOTW since it was a fresh approach to both Zelda and the stale open world genre. However, unlike most game critics I did not think it was a masterpiece (ie. 8/10 actually) but rather a brand new template for which a new masterpiece could be forged. Unfortunately, this game is BOTW's anti thesis feeling safe and predictable with very little variation or refinement from its predecessor. Positives: - They fixed some issues from the original game like enemy variety, dungeon bosses, and combat shrines which have been nicely rearranged into mini eventide islands from the boring robo boss fights of the first game. - The mechanics are still well put together and enjoyable to mess with. - It is still an enjoyably solid time to turn my brain off explore a bit, kill some bosses, and solve some puzzles Negatives: - The reuse of the same map was a massive mistake since it cripples the originals greatest strength (exploration) and makes the whole game feel like a repeat of BOTW with shrines in the exact same place, the exact same places to see, and dungeons located in the same spots. - The new additions to the map are incredibly weak and feel like an AI spat them out. The sky islands repeat the same ideas (crystals!) and architecture to the point of tedium and the depths are genuinely worthless being an empty dark void with next to no reason to explore them. - Finally, TOTK fails to improve on many of BOTW's faults with puzzle shrines still being fairly weak, combat feeling like an off brand version of Souls, high levels of repetition, and bad rewards for exploring. Final score: 7/10, only because the mechanics are still great and it is still fun because the game it is a clone of was genuinely fun. However, I still expect better from Nintendo and Zelda than an over priced DLC.

The Last Of Us Part 2 is an interesting case since I believe both the critics and fans got it wrong. On the critic side they were far too euphoric since the game has genuine issues with its story and pacing. Whereas the fans made a good game seem like the spawn of satan when it is far too well made in every aspect to be that (8/10). Pros: - The gameplay is still great and has nicely evolved from The Last Of Us Part 1. The introduction of a prone button and new items like a silencer greatly improve the stealth sections by making them more strategic and dynamic than its predecessor. Furthermore, the game maintains that hard edge that made the OG such a pleasure with clever uses of traps and ammunition being incentivized. - The graphics, voice acting (Ashley Johnson is specifically great as Ellie), and presentation are outstanding across the board. Naughty Dog never misses in this department and part 2 is just as strong as Part 1 or Uncharted. - The story is genuinely great in the first half feeling like a natural expansion of the first's story, having intriguing themes & ideas (ie. especially regarding the dissolution of a key relationship and a fascinating reason for a character's anger past simple revenge), and being genuinely ambitious in regards to its storytelling rather than settling on what's easy like GOW 4 did. Cons: - On the other hand the second half of the story is not terrible but feels disconnected from the first half. Like the basic story is good on its own merits but it suffers from feeling like another game got smashed into this one since it grinds the alpha story to a halt, barely connects to that story, and because it has to service the primary story many elements of its own story are underdeveloped (Yara & Isaac especially). - Furthermore, this game suffers from the pacing issues that have hounded modern Sony titles being at least 5-10 hours too long. Frankly, I feel the story should have been split into two games since it would fix the pacing issues and allow the second half to breathe and tell a more coherent story. - Finally, I think the game has some thematic issues as well with the whole making the player feel bad for violence being a massive dud. This is a problem that Sony games have been grinding against to a massive extent in recent memory and Part 2 gets the worst off it considering it frequently chastises the player for things the game forced on them and has unlikeable and psychopathic factions (fascists, slavers, and weirdos oh my!) that never elicited sympathy from me. It also needs to be said that murdering thousands of individuals is bizarre in a narrative about the repercussions of violence.

If I had to guess what my most unpopular opinion would be it is that I think God Of War is a mixed bag. This is a game with some excellent attributes that suffers immensely from an identity crisis splitting its focus and ultimately diluting it. Pros: - The combat in my opinion is pretty fun with great controls, satisfying weight behind every hit, solid mechanics (axe throwing especially), and two distinct & great feeling weapons to employ throughout the game. Furthermore, the inclusion of Atreus as a buddy makes it even better. Overall, this is by far my favourite aspect of the game. - In terms of performance & graphics is also top notch with only one bug (a crash) encountered across two play throughs, minimal frame problems, gorgeous animation, and strong art direction. - Finally, the voice acting is largely great across the board with Christopher Judge as Kratos being the stand out and only one performer being on the mediocre side (Freya). Cons: - Unfortunately, the story is a mess taking a very basic concept (bonding with boy + taking ashes up a mountain) and bringing it too it's absolute breaking point over a badly paced 30 + hour story. The constant need to keep stretching the story with unconvincing mcguffins (sorry Kratos! Jotunheim is in another castle!) results in the story wearing out its welcome badly. Furthermore, the story is deeply unoriginal since it copy pasted large parts of The Last Of Us without copying the elements that made that story so enthralling (moral ambiguity, strong pacing, interesting characters). - Another critical issue is the poorly executed RPG elements. For one it is out of touch with the story and character to have loot dictate Kratos' power (ie. one second taking punches from Baldur, the next being one shot by a basic Draugr). Even worse though is that it is grindy and incredibly unfun, disrupting the combat with extraneous fluff that adds nothing to the experience. - Finally, the puzzles are bad with the same mechanics used far past their expiry dates with minimal evolution (ie. throwing the axe at something to freeze it, hel winds etc.).

Initially, I had written it off as another generic open world game but the rapturous praise from many youtubers and players made me reconsider. Unfortunately, I think my first impression was closer to the truth than the euphoric response seen elsewhere online as Ghost Of Tsushima has many attributes that I love but is ultimately brought low by excessively generic design. On the positive side the combat is genuinely stellar as a result of great flow, mechanics, and controls. Furthermore, the graphics and art style are absolutely phenomenal capturing the era of feudal Japan beautifully while somehow feeling like a next gen title on the PS4. The biggest problem with this game in my opinion is that the open world feels artificial and incredibly boring because of the same one note activities spread thoughtlessly throughout the world and an over reliance on the guiding wind & birds over genuine exploration. The next crippling flaw is that the quest design is atrocious with many of the worst design choices from the early Assassin's Creed games making frequent appearances like brainless tracking missions, tailing missions, and forced stealth sections. Finally, the narrative was a mixed bag for me with some great elements (a surprisingly great ending), decent elements (characters), and weak elements (contrivances & weak themes) all being present in nearly equal measure. 3.5/5 aka 7/10

I'm a huge fan of Fromsoft and was beyond hyped for Elden Ring. Fortunately, this game lived up to the hype as it successfully evolved not only the Souls formula but the open world of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. The open world in this game is close to perfection in my opinion as it is not made up of FOMO style content but genuinely worthwhile sights, quests, and thrills that can be indulged in by the player at whatever pace or manner they want. Furthermore, it improves upon BOTW's world by having multiple handcrafted dungeons that greatly vary in scale, design, and necessity (i.e., the majority are optional) but are all uniformly excellent as a result of some truly incredible level and enemy design. In typical Fromsoft fashion, the combat is also fantastic with lots of depth and satisfying mechanics to play around with. The excellent combat is further complimented by great build variety with many cool weapons, magic, incantations, and ashes of war to try out. My only complaint would be that the boss fights are a bit of a mixed bag with a select few matching From's best, many being quite middling, and some being incredibly unpleasant especially during the late game. However, this is a minor complaint because Elden Ring is a triumph of game design and the rare case where a game manages to cement itself as an instant classic.