Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@Ralizah Yeah, I’ve played the second game through the aforementioned SNES patch and it’s at least easier. It’s also not quite as interesting plot wise and the music’s pretty rubbish. Probably worth checking out though, and with a guide because it’s still incomprehensible.

@RogerRoger I also think in this case, the pretty dramatic shift a third of the way through the game makes it difficult to talk about coherently without some discussion in that regard. Pre-apocalyptic Tokyo and post-apocalyptic Tokyo are such different places.

Anyway, I appreciate the praise. I wasn't sure if I revealed too much. I tried to be deliberately vague about certain elements, but that also risks calling attention to certain details accidentally in an otherwise detailed recount. As it stands, I think the way I approached it was probably the right way to go, even if it spoils a bit of the surprise of the game. It is, after all, an almost thirty year old game in a series that hits the same plot beats much quicker in subsequent entries (the pre-apocalypse is all of half an hour in Nocturne unless you wander around a lot, for example).

Atlus is WEIRD. Like... why is Persona 5 a Playstation exclusive? I can understand SMT V being Nintendo-exclusive, considering how much slack the Big N is picking up on distribution and marketing to ensure a successful simultaneous worldwide release for that game, but, as far as I can tell, Sony doesn't tremendously push Persona games.

For that matter, even if, let's say, we totally grant it's reasonable for new entries in both series to be exclusive to different ecosystems to maintain good relations with both (as this is what I believe they're doing)... why on Earth is the HD port of Persona 4 Golden not on PS4? The game sold at least a million copies on Steam alone.

For that matter, SMT I, II, and ...If are all part of Japan's NSO lineup. But they're nowhere to be seen on the service over here, even though the first game, if nothing else, has a full translation.

But yeah, fans are awesome. Fans are often the only reason large portions of a developer's legacy aren't almost completely forgotten over time. I've always been amazed at how people can invest so many manhours into passionate creative work on a game, and then just treat the end result like it's disposable.

In this case, I think it's a cultural barrier thing. While Atlus is amazing about localizing almost every new project they develop (and have been for almost two decades now, before riskier Japanese localizations became more common), there seems to be a disconnect with their older games. SMT I, II, and ...If are everywhere in Japan. They've seen SNES releases, PS1 releases, GBA releases, mobile releases, releases on NSO and probably the Wii's VC. But there's barely any recognition that maybe fans in the West might want to enjoy these games. They dumped a localization of the first game on iOS and then just didn't... update it. All the work that went into that localization would have vanished if not for the passionate work of fans to preserve it. How hard could it possibly be to put that version on Android, on the iPhone, on the Switch eshop, etc. and, once every year or two, tweak a few lines of code to ensure it works on newer firmwares?

It's frustrating because the lack of consideration for these older games outside Japan seems almost random. It's not even like they just don't care about ensuring access to older games of theirs in the West. I don't know about Europe, but in the States, they've been reprinting the physical versions of SMT: Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2, Persona 3 FES, Persona 4, etc. on the PS2 for so many years after their initial releases, which has kept the prices on a ton of their older games low enough for new fans to afford. I bought those games in the 2010s and didn't pay more than $20 for almost any of them. Keeping PS2 games, of all things, in circulation seems like an incredible level of dedication. But they can't update an iPhone version of one of their games?

I just don't get it.

Sorry for the little rant there.

@RogerRoger Ironically, Atlus has a disastrous history when it comes to localizing products in Europe, with games arriving months/years later than they did in the States, and often without physical releases at all (whereas Atlus releases in NA/Jpn pretty much always have a physical option). That is hopefully changing now since Sega took Atlus under its wing.

Well, the weird thing is that there doesn't seem to be any evidence of actual exclusivity deals. This has been discussed for years, and it seems like the consensus is that Atlus just... chooses to keep certain IPs exclusive to certain ecosystems. Maybe there's some secret back room stuff going on, but that's hard to believe considering Persona only recently became a breakthrough hit (previous games were well-received, but didn't sell several millions of copies like P5 did). Although Sony has since come out and said Persona is "important" for Playstation as a brand, so I have no doubt at this point they'd break out the check book if they felt like they needed to like they have with recent Final Fantasy games.

It's effective for me, at least. As long as I have to continue buying Playstation consoles to play MegaTen games, I'll remain invested in Sony's ecosystem. Although we'll see if that changes with both Sony and Atlus recently expanding out to PC distribution of their software.

@RogerRoger The difference, I think, is that, for the longest time, Atlus has had a dedicated U.S. branch, whereas their games only came over to Eu when they partnered with publishers in your neck of the woods. Again, one should hope that Sega publishing their games put an end to this.

This sort of thing is why Shin Megami Tensei V being Atlus' first ever simultaneous worldwide launch is such a big deal. It's always been Japan first, then the U.S. six months to a year later, and then Europe... whenever they could work out a publishing arrangement, lol. Nintendo has taken up publishing duties in certain regions and is likely helping with resources for the simultaneous localization, which is probably the only reason it's possible at the moment.

With that said, Atlus is a biggish developer now. SMT V is one of the most notable third-party exclusive releases of the year, and Persona games now sell millions of copies. Hopefully they can figure out the worldwide release thing when it comes to the next big Persona game without a larger company having to step in.

Come to think of it, the last few consoles I've purchased were for Atlus games. I got my 3DS primarily with Etrian Odyssey IV in mind. Persona 4 Golden was at the front of my mind, and was my very first retail purchase, when I got my Vita. For the Wii U, I was hyped for the "Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem" collab between Atlus and Nintendo (which turned into the hilariously divisive and weird Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE; I can't wait to talk about that game eventually). I decided to get a Playstation console after Persona 5 was announced. And I preordered the Switch after SMT V was announced at the system's reveal presentation. I had other games in mind as well when I grabbed those platforms, but an Atlus exclusive was always at the forefront. I actually didn't quite realize until reflecting on it that their games were driving pretty much all of my console purchases! Sounds like I'm fixated 😂

Anyway, I enjoy this community, so even if I never touched a Playstation game or console again, I'd still stick around to be a nuisance regardless.

@RogerRoger Haha, yeah, I imagine Mecha-Naruto probably had "filler character" written all over his metallic face. It's interesting to hear how the developers pretty much conjured an entire filler experience out of thin air. A tournament on a remote island is certainly a good setup if you aren't allowed to move the broader story along at all. With that said, getting high-quality animated cutscenes, new characters, and mixed-up combat mechanics seems pretty good for an experience that amounts to padding.

Unfortunately, fans often aren't kind to series entries that stray too far from what came before. But I suppose if your enjoyment from this series came from being able to mix up different attack approaches, only been limited to one type during a battle would probably come as a bit of a disappointment. It does sound like a correct application of a 'less is more' approach to game design, though. Sometimes, all you need is to tighten the focus of the mechanics that were already available in the first place.

That menu screen looks potentially stylish, by the way, in that first screenshot. Is that a static background, or is there actually an animated transition between menu screens?

Very well-written review, as always. You've said you basically bang these out in one go, right? Your pieces are always much more organically constructed and effortlessly written (or appear that way, anyhow) than my own. Always a pleasure to read.

As for the response post:

Atlus, while better than many others (see Falcom and their long history of not localizing games they develop for many, many years and/or expressing shock when discovering that gaijin actually play and enjoy their games when they're published overseas years after the fact), has never fully transcended the mindset of a traditional, smallish, Japan-focused console developer. This has its upsides and downsides: while they can seem a bit deaf at times to the wishes of their fanbase outside of Japan (because, like Nintendo, I imagine their U.S. branch largely just deals with localization/promotion overseas and otherwise answers to the Japanese branch in the motherland), they also haven't attempted to Westernize their games in pursuit of bigger sales numbers like Capcom and Square-Enix have or change the way their games are written to "align with global values," or whatever the current Orwell-speak is for when Japanese developers are told by corporate suits that they need to become subservient to American cultural imperialism. You take the good with the bad, in this case, and I think the way they are now is the lesser of two evils.

Haha, the PS4 isn't my favorite console in the world, but it still has its upsides and gets a lot more use than my poor Wii U does (which pretty much only hasn't been retired at this point because it doubles as a Wii, and Wii Fit is still popular with my family). Putting aside my large-ish backlog of games on it, it'll have a place in my entertainment center until it craps out, because it's the only device I can use to play P.T.

I also really like my PS4 themes. I have no idea what Sony and Nintendo have against system-wide themes on consoles these days!

A Plague Tale: Innocence

Despite several people having completed this game and posting impressions, I noticed there are no user reviews here on the game so I figured I’d fill that void. I hereby submit my expanded thoughts in case there’s an odd passerby who would like a more substantial player review to look over in preparation for the upcoming sequel.

THE PREMISE
Did you ever wonder what it was like to live through the 1300’s? In an era referred to as the Middle Ages; a time of brutal wars, plagues and pestilence, and religious patriarchy? Maybe we need a game to capture the essence of that time period…

“But we have plenty of games set in the European Middle Age and lots of gaming stories of knights and monarchy,” you say? …True. But we don’t have any that are told from the perspective of a 15 year old girl and her younger brother. And that is what makes A Plague Tale special.

The game is set specifically in France during the Hundred Years War, where folk were not only constantly under threat of wartime violence but also suffering from the Black Death, or Bubonic Plague — the greatest recorded pandemic in human history. (Well, I guess we’re working on that, but I digress…)

The year is 1348. Ironically, it’s a time period nestled tightly between some other popular historical based game properties — Ubisoft’s first two Assassin’s Creed games (1100’s and 1400’s respectively), and shortly after Ghost of Tsushima (1200’s). You won’t find the Hundred Years War in any Call of Duty or Battlefield campaigns, and the presence of The Plague during the time period certainly makes for a unique gaming setting which forces a different approach. And with that, Asobo studio is really on to something here.

GRAPHICS and TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE
I played the first third of the game on PS4 and then finished it on the PS5. In both cases the game ran well - no crashes or major hiccups. It’s no surprise that the PS5 version is a nice step up in quality and is quite beautiful in dynamic 4K with 60 fps. The textures and environment can be jaw-dropping at times with wonderful art design to showcase the grim world of the Black Death. Human and animal carcasses abound and are contrasted periodically with beautiful vistas and lovely ancient architecture. The haptics and adaptive triggers are subtle but add to the experience quite a bit. The 3D audio on the other hand isn’t nearly as transformative, although I’m sure it’s indistinctly an improvement.

The character animations and especially the facial animations do leave room for improvement. There are times when characters look really great when static, but during movement, gesturing, and speaking then the uncanny valley kicks in. Overall it’s a minor point, but a few times the wooden facial capture was off-putting. The character and facial animation is certainly on par with early PS4 offerings but not up to quality of the latest AAA games, which is a high bar, certainly.

The swarms of rats, likewise look great at times, but if you inspect closely then the tricks used to animate the sheer numbers becomes apparent. The individual rats do not always behave independently and so groups of them can look mechanical when hundreds of them animate with clearly an identical movement code. Fittingly reminiscent of the work from another French artist, sometimes the game is a Monet - you have to step back to appreciate it as a whole scene and not look too closely.

CHARACTERS and STORY
Much has been made about the main protagonists Alicia and her younger brother Hugo. Their relationship is sweet, but also complex, and I think it comes across fairly well. I thoroughly enjoyed playing as a vulnerable youth, with all the tension that creates. The English voice acting has come under fire, and I’d have to agree that some of the line delivery and script writing is mediocre, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment. Hugo is especially cringeworthy at times, but supposedly choosing the French audio version with subtitles makes the character perception much better, but I’m not a fan of subtitles.

The story, like I said, is a unique and fascinating peer into a oft neglected setting. I enjoyed the overall plight of the De Rune siblings. There is a lot of fiction and fantasy mixed in this historical piece, probably a little too much for my taste, but I can still appreciate what the developers were going for.

MUSIC
I’m not a good source of opinion about the musical score, as I have a tendency to ignore it unless it gets on my nerves. In the case of APT:I, what I remember of the music was mostly melancholic and rather sorrowful sounding classical string orchestrated tones. Nothing too overt, but I think it added to the atmosphere. I’m not searching the OST to listen to it again, but I also don’t remember anything bad about it.

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay has been compared to that of The Last of Us, and I think it’s an apt parallel. APT:I is quite linear, and the focus is almost solely on stealth with an emphasis on environmental takedowns and each combat situation is a mini puzzle of sorts. Like TLoU before it, your character succumbs usually to an insta-death if they are discovered, so there’s little room for error. Nevertheless, the inconsistent enemy AI and general liberal timeframe before the little bubble above their head fills to full red status means that you can cheese most encounters if you need to.

It’s unfortunate because the combat really starts coming into its own at the end and I think the true open nature of how one can take down enemies is most apparent after you have all your upgrades. However, certain skills and tools are superfluous and besides the introductory tutorial you really don’t ever have a need for them again. Still, the last chapter really shows the breadth of options to get through a given set-piece full of enemies in a variety of ways, and you finally get to experiment with some of the items that weren’t really needed earlier on. Its an unfortunate design flaw that as soon as you’re given the full array of offensive and defensive abilities the game is over and you’re left wanting a little more. Hopefully this bodes well for the sequel to expand on how this game ended regarding the combat and stealth.

The gameplay strikes a decent balance of ‘gameyness’ at the expense of realism, but the controls are not always as intuitive as I would have liked. On one hand aiming is easy and Alicia is a crack shot with the stone and sling to rival David slaying Goliath, and yet there were times when I was fumbling with the controls of the other skills and couldn’t get the timing down before I was one-hit killed.

Like TLoU and other “survival horror” games (although I wouldn’t place this game in that category) there is an emphasis on resource management. Again, the balance is decent here too, unless you’re going for the platinum (which is fairly easy, all things considered) in which case you’ll really need to search every nook and cranny to ensure you’ve got enough of all resource items to carefully ration in order to make all your upgrades. But if you’re more of a “fly by the seat of your pants / screw all that inventory accounting”, Asobo has ensured that each encounter has some items in place to provide you with the bare minimum to make it through to the next set-piece.

LOOKING FORWARD and THE FUTURE OF THE IP
Both from a narrative and a gameplay perspective there is a lot to be excited about as far as the forthcoming A Plague Tale: Requiem. Asobo has shown some real talent with a few fresh ideas and some high quality execution. It’s a saturated genre, to be sure, but the unique setting and protagonists make for something a little different from other 3rd person action-stealth story-driven games. I think there’s a place at the table for more of the series, so long as the sequel irons out the hamstrung combat, some mediocre dialogue, a few wonky animations, and subpar AI.

OVERALL RECOMMENDATION
Definitely recommend the game to anyone interested in the 3rd person stealth genre. Or anyone who likes historical fiction. Or if you just like to experience AA production as a fresh alternative to all the big budget fare.

7.5 bubonic boils out of 10.

Great reviews both.

@RogerRoger I saw you were playing through these over the last month and even though I have absolutely no knowledge of Naruto, I am a little intrigued. The only thing that puts me off a little, is I tried playing Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot with no knowledge of that and was left thinking WTF!

Seems like this one hit a lot of the right notes for you though, glad you enjoyed it.

@Th3solution yeah having played this fairly recently it’s quite fresh in the mind… and I agree with the vast majority of your thoughts. Having also played The Last of Us: Remastered within the last month, I can definitely see the similarities… A Plague Tale: Innocence is the lesser product but considering the budget, Asobo worked miracles getting it to be spoken in the same breath to be fair.

@Th3solution I'm just on the final chapter of A Plague Tale now and I'd totally agree with your thoughts, it's a spot on review. I am finding in certain situations the controls are getting a fit frustrating, like I had to play one single scene through 5 - 6 times before I sussed exactly what I was doing wrong. Even so the story has kept me engaged and the world that they've built is interesting.

Personally I think Hugo comes across as a bit creepy, and reminds me of the sort of child you'd find in various terrible horror films over the years 😂

@colonelkilgore Thanks, and I’m glad to see my memory isn’t too far gone because it has been a few years since I played TLoU. I have no idea if the developers consciously were inspired by Naughty Dog’s magnum opus, but in my mind it kept coming back as the closest comparison. But yes, Ellie and Joel’s adventure is a much better game in every category. I would place it as a 9/10 and maybe 9.5. Still, APT is it’s own thing. The magical and mystical aspects definitely make the game less gritty and less credible. I sort of wish the story didn’t veer off into the fantastic but yet without that I’m not sure how they would have gotten in the gameplay elements they were clearly shooting for. In the end, it comes across a mild bit awkward to have such a grounded setting and plight for the characters, yet have the paranormal aspects too. I just checked my logic at the door and it worked for me.

@render There is definitely some trial and error for many of the encounters. It also didn’t help that I was going for the platinum so did a lot of checkpoints over so as to try to get through an area using as few resources as possible. It added a layer of challenge that way, but made it a tad repetitive as the game wore on. Then finally at the end I had plenty of supplies so I could go full Rambo on things. 😄

Edit: and I agree on Hugo. Expected him to start chanting “Redrum” any minute. 😂

@Th3solution Nice to see that you enjoyed the game! I played through it earlier this month and I absolutely loved it. It was such an immersive and memorable game, it really resonated a lot with me. So much so that I actually contemplated for a while about moving to France. I and @ralphdibny were actually talking about that a while ago and he wouldn't mind living there as well. Don't know if you felt the same way after playing the game, but France really seems like a wonderful place to live in.

@LtSarge I definitely enjoyed seeing a traditional French setting. I didn’t quite reach the point where moving to France crossed my mind, but there is indeed something romantic and alluring about the culture. The streets ridden with dead bodies may have been a slight deterrent though 😜

But seriously, I think there is a shortage of French inspired settings. For some reason French developers have made games set in other cultures. I guess Ubisoft did finally make an Assassin’s Creed game which takes place in the French Revolution, but unfortunately it stumbled out of the gate compared to all their other AC output so many of us didn’t experience it.
The only other games I’ve played that come to mind with French development that either take place in France or have significant French characters are The Council, Remember Me, …and I guess any of the WWI and WWII based games. And I would say Remember Me is the only game of those that embraced the French setting wholeheartedly to the point of making it part of the game’s identity. Instead we have developers like Quantic Dream making games that all take place in the U.S. Not saying these games and others made by Ubisoft or Dontnod or Arkane aren’t fantastic in their own right, regardless of setting, but it’s just curious that we don’t have more set in France.

@Th3solution I honestly think there's a shortage of games that have any kind of settings besides the U.S. People may not realise this, but considering that Europe, North Africa as well as Asia have a long history, there would be more potential to use them as settings. Just look at Ghost of Tsushima as an example. I would personally love to see more games that take place in Germany, France, Spain, Russia, China, Korea, India and many other countries. It's probably hard as foreigners to make a game about a completely different country than your own, so that's most likely why we don't see many games with varied settings. But I hope that more nations will take up game development and start using their own countries as settings in video games.

On a side note, I recently played through a game that takes place in India and was made by an Indian developer (interesting fact: this guy had to sell his own apartment in order to finance this game) called Raji: An Ancient Epic. While it wasn't the most ambitious game, it was still a fun top-down "Prince of Persia" experience that revolves around Hindu mythology. Just that alone made me interested in playing this game. I had so much fun learning more about India and Hindu mythology that I enjoyed my time with it overall, even if the combat got a bit repetitive. We just don't see many games like this today.

@LtSarge I tend to agree with you. As a resident of the U.S. I do think it’s fun to swing through the streets of Manhattan, roam around in the 1800’s Wild West, or connect isolated cities as I deliver packages across the desolate post-apocalyptic U.S., but I do think seeing more games in other cultures like for example Africa, India, or Polynesia would be really interesting.
Of course, a large portion of games take place in completely make-believe locations which I feel are inspired by various real world places and cultures, so I guess we do have those; like I feel a lot of RPGs have towns based on classical European settings.

@Th3solution Games like Skyrim are naturally inspired by medieval European settings. But because it's fantasy-based, it's not really the same thing because you don't suddenly think that you're in England. It doesn't feel like I'm learning anything about how those countries were like, while a game like A Plague Tale actually feels realistic (excluding the excessive amounts of rats and all that supernatural stuff, lol). For example, I can't think of any story-driven game that takes place in Spain. I feel like there has to be a lot you can learn by making a game that takes place in that country. That's actually one of the reasons why I love the Assassin's Creed series, the setting changes in every game. Regardless of what most people think about Ubisoft, you have to admit that they should at least be commended for focusing so much on implementing different historical settings in the AC games. I don't think there's any other series that does it to that level, which is very impressive.

@RogerRoger I've moaned a few times about getting my PS4 too early, since nothing really good came out for it, IMO, until 2017, and I could have just purchased a Pro if I'd waited, but having access to P.T. honestly takes the edge off that complaint. It's a hugely unique and effective piece of software that I'd hate not having access to.

I do agree that mechanical experimentation like in UNS Revolution should be a lot more tolerable for long-time fans when it's limited to filler and side-games and main series entries are coming out semi-regularly. This is honestly a lesson I wish Nintendo developers would learn: their weird gimmicks and experiments would often receive less backlash if they were otherwise serving fans what they wanted in the first place.

Those animated menus probably look like they're snazzy as hell. Small touch, perhaps, but you can go a long way on small touches. Stuff like that makes a big impression on me as a player.

I'm a little intrigued that previous games allowed you to customize who narrated the menu options for you as well!

As for writing styles: grass is greener and all that, I guess. But I've always admired the ability of some people to just... perform on a whim. I can obviously get into a groove with my writing if I do it long enough, but I'm really impressed with someone being able to just pound out something that reads as well as your pieces do. My own pieces are all explicitly planned, down to the paragraph, and usually require days of work to get right. Now, don't get me wrong: I'm often pretty happy when I end up posting reviews, even if they can be a little overly structured. It's just my style, and whenever I try to do something different, I get frustrated with how much I leave out. For better or for worse, the methodical approach is the only one I'm satisfied with.

But you're right: there are as many approaches to talking about games as there are people, and I feel like I've learned and improved along with other people in this thread who have contributed.

@Th3solution Excellent contribution! I definitely like the way A Plague Tale uses what sounds like fairly ordinary game design to explore an environment and social context that is utterly under-utilized in media today. While it may not have the impressive technical detail that goes into the biggest-budget AAA games, I daresay I like the idea of approximating a AAA-esque presentation while still keeping the budget of the project under control. It's a nice break from the dichotomy of blockbusters and tiny indie experiences that seem to dominate the industry these days. AA games used to be prevalent, but you don't see as much of them from Western developers these days.

@RogerRoger @Ralizah Thanks! I did really enjoy my time, and I enthusiastically recommend it but if I’m honest with myself, there are plenty of shortcomings, as I’ve outlined. In fact, it brings up the topic which we’ve touched on in this thread before — that of the inherent nature of personal preference and unconscious preconceived bias when reviewing a game. I know we’ve talked about how a prior love of the property or genre of a game will intrinsically bump it in our minds and taint how we may feel about other unrelated aspects of the game and cause us to be more forgiving of a games weaker points (such as a Star Wars game being enjoyable just because it’s from that license, or enjoying an RPG just because of the setting). So in the case of APT I’ve likely given it a bump because I really like history.

The development background is another issue that indeed affects my perception. I heard the issue discussed recently in a podcast about if it’s fair (either consciously or subconsciously) to take a game’s cost, budget, or development circumstances into consideration when judging it. It all relates to the idea of preconceived expectations versus results. It’s hard for me personally not to consider it when coming up with final impressions of a piece of entertainment.

I think therein lies why some gamers like indies and some don’t. I suspect many casual gamers actually are oblivious to what a game’s budget and development background is; they just boot up a game and play and judge it based on ‘face value’. And I can see the value of that kind of pure opinion. But for the enthusiasts like us and most professional critics, part of the whole fabric of the game experience is pre-play hype, prior knowledge of the developer or franchise, marketing (or lack thereof), and other circumstances surrounding the release (such as — is this an early generation release on new tech, were there obstacles during development like a pandemic, etc.).

When taking that all into consideration, one can’t help but give certain games a break for a shortcoming, or be extra critical when the opposite is true — for example when a game is delayed multiple times, has an enormous team and budget, and yet is still broken on release [cough] Cyberpunk [cough].

I think it explains why games like Journey have such a wide variance in perception. Critics and sources like PushSquare rave about it and give it 10/10 scores, yet it’s common to have players try it and be dumbfounded at why it’s so highly regarded. See also The Order 1886 for another example, a game which when judged outside of its release situation, context, and price point would have been received more favorably; one which I played years past its release and got for $10 and really enjoyed.

I say all this (and I apologize for the dissertation 😅) to justify my positive feelings on APT, and also other games in which I came away so pleasantly surprised. If A Plague Tale came out in its current form and was produced by Activision or developed by Rockstar on a budget of $200 million then would I have still enjoyed the game? Sure, I think so. But would I have rated it as highly? Probably not. There would likely have been a twinge of disappointment at the little nuanced problems in the game I outlined in my review.

I say all this, and yet I don’t discount the real and legitimate phenomenon whereby indies and lower budget titles tend to be more experimental in their output. There’s a layer of wanton creative freedom that comes with the lower production investment, and so part of the charm of these A and AA games is that and it also can lead to a bump when critiquing them.

These personal biases are what make user reviews so valuable I think. Most professional critics might be too subconsciously prejudiced because they may know people who develop the game, they may get free merch from the producer and get the review copy for free, etc. I know they try to keep an objective view, as do I, but it’s difficult sometimes.

And I guess at the end of the day, whether a person enjoys a game or not, the circumstances are honestly immaterial. If a player likes a game, I suppose it doesn’t really matter why they like it. If he or she has psyched themselves out with pre-game hype and it carries over to make them enjoy a game through rose-tinted glasses, then it’s still enjoyable all the same.

@Th3solution The fact that you're already aware of your own possible biases regarding this game is half the battle. While many of us try to be fair when we review a game, there is simply no way to disconnect the subjectivity of the reviewer from their opinion of a piece of media. And, frankly, there probably shouldn't be: part of the appeal of art is the way it connects emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually with the viewer. Games are no different.

I do appreciate when people who write about games go the extra mile and try to highlight design choices that might be contentious or problematic for a reasonable person, even if they didn't personally matter to that person. It's something I try to do in my own pieces.

And yeah, I definitely think you have to take into account who is making a game when discussing the technical merits of it, when possible. A titan of the industry, a mid-level company working with smaller budgets, and someone designing games in their garage are going to have different resources available to them, and some games are inherently more impressive when coming from unlikelier sources.

I also try to take the capabilities of the system into account when discussing how a game runs. Some things are more impressive on some systems than others, and limitations of a game on one platform will be more excusable than on another if there's a significant power disparity between them.

And I do think there is a lot of truth in the observation that the indie scene has more room for creative growth because of the lack of money invested in projects on average. It feels like the budgets and time needed to develop big games increase every generation, and the more you have on the line in that regard, the less room you have to include something that has the potential to fail. Not to mention exploding game budgets are being used as excuses for jacking up prices, selling DLC, micro-transactions, season passes, etc.

@RogerRoger Nah. Well, the final segment of the game, before you unlock the actual trailer for Silent Hills (thinking about how that project got nuked still annoys the hell out of me), is bizarrely random in terms of what can happen, but P.T. otherwise goes through the same motions in mostly the same order otherwise. I just can't abide the thought of permanently never having access to what is arguably one of the better free video games out there. I mean, it'll happen eventually, since I expect the PS4's hard drive to stop working at some point, but, until then, it has a value that other pieces of gaming hardware I own simply don't have.

Nothing you've said sounds patronizing, lol. Even in this topic, yeah, going back and looking at some of my older work, I've absolutely improved. And it's night and day from when I was first posting long-form impressions in the Recently Beaten thread, where my "reviews" were lists of bullet points under Pro and Con headings! And I don't know that I would have been motivated to improve like that if there weren't other people posting their work as well, which is why I'm appreciative to everybody who contributes.

@RogerRoger Yes, I think you read my mind. That extra 0.5 was thrown in there because when I went to give it a 7, that felt a little low for the extent to which I enjoyed it. When I then tried to consider an 8, it felt much too high when comparing to other 8/10 type of games out there. So I hedged with the 7.5.

And ironically, I have the opposite struggle from yours — I’ve tried not to give a score (I think I’ve done a few reviews without scores before on here, but I can’t remember for sure) and I just feel inclined to put down a number. It seems like a period at the end of the sentence for me. Nonetheless, I’ve never felt your reviews ever felt inadequate without one. Your style is much more readable and descriptive than mine, so a score might even seem superfluous. I actually respect those who can craft a review or impression piece that is so clear that as the reader I have no doubt what the final summation is, with or without an actual score. For me however, I grapple with my thoughts and opinions which results in my vomiting words onto the screen to express my roaming ideas and I worry that the final product doesn’t make a lot of sense. So I feel the need to sort of conclude things with an empiric and concrete numeral. I have a weird innate need for numbering, ranking, prioritizing, and categorizing.

Ooops… here you were trying to avoid dragging out the “to score or not to score” quagmire again and I’ve gone and done it anyway. Ah shucks, too late now.

The PS5 has had its fair share of problems. Drifty sticks, bad state of play showcases, bots buying up the consoles. However, the games have kinda made up for it? Astro’s Playroom was a stunning, fun showcase of the hardware, Bugsnax was a creative, if tedious catchathon/story game, Sackboy was a fun, yet flawed platformer, Spider-Man Miles Morales was a charming action game that lacked a bit of length and Spider-Man Remastered was Spider-Man Remastered. However, the PS5 recently got it’s game. Like Breath of the Wild to the Switch, Sunset Overdrive to the Xbox One, Smash Bros Melee for the GameCube. Here are my thoughts on Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

Game: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Played on: PS5

While there won’t be any story spoilers in this review, there are some parts of the game I mention that you might not wanna know about if you haven’t played the game. You have been warned.

This game starts with a parade, celebrating Ratchet and Clank’s career as heroes which, according to Captain Qwark, ends with “a special gift from Clank to Ratchet.” After a pretty great tutorial that gets you caught up with the story so far, we find out that the gift is the dimensionator. I didn’t play the last games but the game establishes that ratchet’s species, the lombaxes, is lost in another dimension and that the dimensionator was a thing in the last game which can open portals to other dimensions. Before Ratchet can grab it, it’s stolen by Dr. Nefarious. His plan is to send Ratchet and Clank to a dimension where he always wins. Ratchet tries to stop him by shooting it with his blast pistol but that sends things crashing in from other dimensions. Soon, Ratchet, Clank and Nefarious get sent into the dimension. Clank gets taken by this new lombax called Rivet, Ratchet goes out looking for him and Nefarious crowns himself emperor of the dimension. Now, Ratchet, Clank and Rivet have to rebuild the dimensionator and stop Nefarious. This story is a good time and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Stuff like Nefarious’ PSAs when you walk around Nefarious city or in your ship are pretty funny.

The entire Ratchet and Clank series is about travelling across space and exploring planets. Each one has a distinct theme and mechanic. I’m gonna talk about one specific planet that I love a bit too much. Cordellion. Basically, this planet turns the game into Alien Isolation. You’re being stalked in an abandoned factory by a creature known only as “Juice”. You’re guided by a helper bot called Junk Bot and it’s clear to see that he’s been in the factory for so long that he’s gone slowly insane. Looking at the scenery, it’s clear that something terrible happened but you don’t find out until the end of the planet. You then hit these crystals called Blizon crystals that send you into another dimension and you see a better, fixed up Cordellion. You find out that Juice is actually a creature that generates power for the station. In the other dimension, Junk Bot set it free and that’s why the factory’s destroyed. It’s pretty tense. It’s also a majorly cool showcase for the PS5’s lighting capabilities, but we’ll get into that later. I’m only talking about this planet as it, in my opinion, has the best theming and atmosphere. However, a lot of the planets don’t really let you explore and they’re mostly just Point A to Point B. It gets pretty old, pretty fast.

The part that Ratchet games are most well known for are the weapons. You have your basics like a burst pistol, The Enforcer which is basically a double barrel shotgun and shatter bombs which are grenades, and you have your odd-balls like the RYNO (stands for Rip Ya A New One, by the way) which opens rifts in the space-time continuum with objects from other dimensions that explode. Some of those objects are references to classic Playstation games like a precursor orb from Jak and Daxter, Sully’s Plane from Uncharted and even Fizzie from Insomniac’s other third-person shooter, Sunset Overdrive. There’s also the Topiary Sprinkler. This is a throwable weapon that sprinkles the enemies with water and turns them into topiaries. My personal favourite weapon is the Warmonger, a basic RPG that you can upgrade to the Peacemaker that homes in and launches mini rockets on impact. It’s a major heavy hitter. The only problem is that a lot of these weapons can just fit into basic titles like pistol, shotgun, grenade and RPG. There’s nothing majorly wacky and for Ratchet and Clank, this is a major downgrade. Come on, the last game had a sheep transforming ray!

Tell me if you’ve heard this before, “This is a stunning game that looks just as good as a modern Pixar movie. We are really blurring the lines between movies and games.” This is the best looking game I’ve ever played. You can see the strands of fur on Ratchet and Rivet, there are more realistic reflections on Clank, the animations are very detailed. The lighting, OH GOD. The lighting. The very first area, Nefarious City, is a true showcase. The neon lights shine on the puddles on the ground and you can see that Ratchet’s face is shiny from the rain. This game’s made by Insomniac, they’ve always had graphically intense games. This is THE game to get if you wanna see what your PS5 can really do.

One of the main gimmicks of this game is the fast loading rifts that load you into different levels in mere milliseconds. These rifts take you to some easy platforming challenges. Completing these rewards you with pieces of armour. The armour gives you upgrades and, here’s the best part, if you like the upgrade but hate the costume, it’s ok because the upgrade is permanent so you don’t have to wear the armour. This is something every game should do. Why would I want an +100% attack upgrade if I have to wear a rusty tin bucket to get it?

I’ve praised the dualsense controller before. You already know what the adaptive triggers are, you know what the haptic feedback is, I won’t explain as it’ll waste too much time.
Like the graphics, this game pushes the dualsense to its limits. When it rains, you feel tiny taps on the controller, when there’s an explosion, you feel the boom, when you’re low on health, it actually feels like there’s a heart beating inside of the controller. This game also does something really cool with the triggers that I wish more shooters would do. If you press it down half way, the gun shoots a bit more limited but if you press the triggers all the way, the gun goes to full blast. This is very useful if you just wanna be precise. Like I said, get this game if you wanna see what your console can do.

Conclusion
A lot of the games that have launched on the PS5 so far haven’t really shown me what the PS5 is capable of. However, this game is the complete opposite. It’s a true marvel. If Spider-Man didn’t exist, I would say this is my favourite PS5 game so far. With amazing graphics, fun gameplay and some stellar dualsense support, it’s a must have for any PS5 owner.

Pros
-Graphics are stunning
-Gameplay is very fun
-Ultra quick loading times
-Planets are well themed...

Cons
-...but they’re mostly linear “Point A to Point B” levels
-Some weapons feel pretty basic for a Ratchet and Clank game

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10/10 Outstanding
EDIT: The game's on sale this weekend only! GO! GO! GO!

@Jackpaza0508 Great post!

I've heard a lot of people state something to that effect: that it's the first game that really feels like it's taking full advantage of the hardware. The DualSense haptics, fast loading, and extreme visual polish sound great, although it is a shame to hear how linear the level design is, and that it's lacking some of the fun, wacky weapons for previous games.

I actually hadn't heard about the armor granting you permanent stat bumps, but that is nice to hear. Too many games force you to choose between aesthetics and optimal gear builds.

I imagine this will remain the go-to Playstation 5 exclusive for a long while unless Sony announces something else fully exclusive to the console in the upcoming showcase.