#game recommendations

Final Fantasy XVI

At first, I’ve been skeptical about this game. Over the years I’ve became vastly disappointed in FF series. Last FF game I consider really good (not just “playable”) is Final Fantasy XII, after FFXII quality of the FF games went downhill for me (aside from FFVII Remake, which was surprisingly good). But, after beating FFXVI (along with FFVII Remake), I must admit, that I was hasty in my assumption that FF series is as good as dead. While FFXVI is pretty flawed game, it feels like a step in the right direction. To the pros of the game I would have added polished fast-pacing battle system, rich soundtrack, decent story, well-written characters and mini-stories in the side-quests, further developing supporting cast and adding more depths to the game world. To the cons of the game I would have added overall repetitiveness of the gameplay, FFXVI feels like single-player MMO with vast locations, but without other players. Also, while story has many good bits, sometimes writing fails dramatically, with interesting complex characters going down the drain and the main antagonist being an extremely uninspiring space-flea-from-nowhere. All in all, if you like FF series, I suggest giving FFXVI a chance, it is not the best game, but it is definitely a good FF game.

Ninja Gaiden 4

While I enjoy souls-like mechanics, I can’t deny that these days we have too many games, abusing the said mechanics with varying degree of success. And after playing shitload of souls-likes NG4 was like a breath of fresh air to me. NG4 is quality classic hack-and-slash game, which plays similar to the old slashers back from PS2 era. Battle system is fast and flexible, with several weapons to switch between, vast array of moves and responsive controls. Game is well-balanced, much more player-friendly compared to older NG games, without sudden difficulty spikes somewhere halfway through the game, even platforming segments are surprisingly decent. Music and visuals are also on the very high level. Story is simple, without any surprises, but lives up to the series standards (which aren’t high, let’s be honest). To the cons of the game I would have added very questionable saving system and annoying surfing segments, other than that NG4 is polished and very enjoyable experience. So, if you are tired from constant abuse of parry mechanics and want to participate in good old adrenaline-packed bloodbath, I highly recommend to give NG4 a try.

Silent Hill Downpour

I’m a long-time fan of SH series, yet Downpour is one of those unfortunate SH games I didn’t gave a chance years ago for the reasons that have nothing to do with common sense. Well, I’m making up to this game now and don’t regret it one bit. Despite the fact, that this game’s development has been outsourced, Downpour tries its best to live up to the older SH installments. Game brings up the topics of loss, guilt, revenge and forgiveness, with characters being stuck in the eponymous town and forced to face their inner demons in the manner similar to SH2. While Downpour isn’t very subtle and more straightforward compared to SH2 in terms of the narrative, it still manages to tell interesting and engaging story. Gameplaywise Downpour makes emphasis on the puzzles and exploration, yet battles with monsters are still here. Among the game’s flaws are clunky combat and the fact, that Downpour isn’t exactly scary for a horror game (and sometimes even unintentionally hilarious, like running from the Void with frying pan in hands or sucking the said Void into the vent). Yet, Downpour tries its best to compensate the lack of nightmare fuel with good dark atmosphere. Game has great level design, town of Silent Hill is modeled with very high attention to small details, exploring it and doing numerous side activities can be very fun, since local dark stories and little tragedies heavily contribute to building up the atmosphere. Soundtrack also turned out very decent and fitting, especially I liked the song selection played by the local radio station. So, if you, like myself, have skipped SH Downpour in the past, or simply searching for a solid horror game, I highly recommend to give Downpour a chance.

Code Vein II

While I find this game enjoyable and can’t say it disappoints me in any way, I can understand why it might disappoint both fans of the first CV and fans of souls-like games in general. CV II isn’t exactly a sequel to CV, but a soft reboot with similar story, but with completely rewritten lore. Aside from several terms, CV II isn’t connected to the first game, and narrative tends to shift more towards fantasy rather than sci-fi. In terms of gameplay and pacing if the first game was mix of Bloodborne and God Eater, sequel is a dead ringer to Elden Ring. And here lies the game’s main problem, while open world is big, it feels somewhat empty and optional content tends to get repetitive. On the other hand, visual style of the game and music are as great as in the first game, and story, while being very anime, tries very hard to avoid the most annoying clichés, and overall on the decent level with likable characters and finely directed cutscenes (which was also the case in the first game). To the major improvements I would like to add the environmental design, which in the first game, aside from few locations, was quite uninspiring, and much more polished battle system with bigger choice of weapons and versatile customization, playing as a ranged fighter became much more comfortable. Aside from few difficulty spikes (including the infamous boss fight with Frantz at the very beginning) CV II is fairly easy for a souls-like game. While CV II can’t offer anything new, it’s still a decent action-rpg, which, I believe, worth a playthrough.

Castlevania Haunted Castle (Original+Revisited)

For a long time, Haunted Castle was the only CV game I’ve never played, and release of the Dominus Collection became a good opportunity to try it out. But before that I’ve checked the original HC via the MAME emulator. And it turned out, that original Haunted Castle is exactly what everyone says about it. This game has high quality visuals and beautiful soundtrack, but it is an absolute menace to play. Everything kills you in one or two hits, credits are limited, and hitboxes are plain horrible. In my opinion, anyone, who has managed to beat the original HC, deserves a medal (personally, I didn’t). Luckily, in Dominus Collection all of the issues were fixed and the game finally became more fair. Original version now has flexible difficulty settings and feature of saving anytime during the gameplay. And Revisited version is a wonderful remake, which manages to stay respectful to the original and make it better at the same time. Soundtrack was rearranged, sound became richer, sprites were redrawn to resemble newer CV games, levels became slightly less straightforward, difficulty was rebalanced, new enemies were added, and, my personal favourite, bosses were completely reworked. Boss fights in Revisited are pure joy, bosses got expanded moveset and with that became more readable compared to original. Honestly, after playing Revisited, I came to regret that this game is so short (about 30 minutes), I wouldn’t mind a couple of extra levels.

Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess

Rhapsody II is a direct sequel to the old PS1 game called Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, and like its predecessor this game is humorous and light-hearted. Game has beautiful visuals, adorable characters and well-written and sometimes hilarious dialogues. Music during the gameplay is pretty average, but songs are really good (still, I like songs from the first game a bit better). Gameplay itself is very simplistic, and, while collecting and customizing puppets does add some depths to it, in the end everything comes down to repeatedly using any working spell. Enemies in this game don’t pose any threat and mostly go down in one or two hits. The main flaw of Rhapsody II is its extreme repetitiveness (frankly, the first game had the same issue). And if in early chapters it isn’t much of a problem, somewhere halfway through the game dungeons become longer and game itself starts to remind a grounding day loop. The good thing is that Rhapsody II is relatively short by JRPG standards (about 20 hours long with all optional content). And yet, despite its flaws, Rhapsody II is perfect if you are tired from dark and disturbing stories, challenging gameplay and simply want to relax and go with a flow.

Legend of Heroes: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch, Tear of Vermillion, Song of the Ocean