I really enjoyed making those lengthy video game reviews and posting them on the forum, and I wanted to make more, but unfortunately, I really don't have the time to write those anymore in between school, work and recent health problems.
So here's the short version of a few games I've been playing/played recently :
Dragon Quest XI : this is honestly one of the best looking games that has came out on any video game medium, period. It's far from photo-realistic but everything not only looks gorgeous, it all oozes personality. Gameplay-wise, the game feels like a throwback to Dragon Quest 8, which is not a bad thing, far from it, but does feel a bit basic. The panel-driven skill system is fun to tinker with, but perhaps there's too much incentive to dump your points in a single "tree" early game. Genuinely entertaining characters compete for your party slots and since pep never runs out on the bench, there's an incentive to use everybody a little bit. The world building is satisfactory, but the story is paced a bit unevenly. My only real gripes are that the overworld feels massive but mostly empty (Erdrea itself is mostly fucking water, which means a lot of boating, and the maps are sprawling but populated only with mooks, some materials and the occasional treasure chest). Would recommend to those looking for an old school RPG experience.
Monster Hunter World : PC version looks great. Lots of gameplay changes, for instance the scoutflies system, which I personally don't care much for. Finding and paintballing monsters was kind of a pain but it feels like I'm just staring at a green cloud and following it around, which is less annoying but much more boring as it doesn't feel like I'm exploring. Camera controls are finally sort of modern, and I don't mind after fucking my hand up "clawing" for 300 hours on Freedom Unite PSP. Using items is a bit more streamlined, you can run around drinking potions but if you roll or get hit you lose it. Finally you can see how much of a level of sharpness you've got left. Some weapons were significantly overhauled (Bow), others were left more or less as is (Switch Axe). Playing with friends is a fucking pain if you're not glued to the hip and doing everything together because for some reason you can't join missions you've done until your buddy watches all cutscenes. Haven't played with randos but I imagine that could be frustrating. The monsters themselves have been pretty interesting to date, some annoying fuckers but hey, wouldn't be MonHun without annoying fuckers to kill. Overall I think it's a good addition to the series, perfect for beginners but veterans will find things to be annoyed with, and I think some sense of wonder was lost bringing the game into current year.
Yakuza 0 : this series finally hit PC. I haven't played any of the other ones. 80s Japan is an interesting place and it's fun to explore. The side quests are brilliant and sometimes really make you feel something for those random side characters. I feel like the fighting styles aren't really "situational" and you're better off picking one you like and playing just that instead of switching about. Graphics-wise, it's ok, nothing to write home about, but it's a port. The narrative is pretty interesting, though the premise seems a bit ridiculous at first glance, it's more fun to see the characters evolve within its boundaries. Minigames and side activities are, I feel, hit or miss. Same problem as with most "opener"-world games, the map is sizable but there isn't enough stuff on it, which leads to it feeling empty/lifeless. Overall would recommend.
Octopath Traveller : another old-school RPG from the Bravely Default guys. They know how to build a world, but they don't know jack shit about narrative. Bravely Default had you kill the same fucking bosses like 4 times before going to the "true" endgame. This game is basically 8 stories into one, and there isn't much that ties it all together aside from random and quite infrequent Tales-like skits, which is kind of a shame, and the "real" endgame dungeon. Personally I loved the art style but I can see how it could be polarizing. This game, however, has a great combat system and sometimes challenging encounters. The fighting is sincerely extremely fun and the customization is also very good, letting you experiment with mixing classes with abandon. I recommend moving through chapters below the recommended level though. The eight paths themselves are hit or miss : some were original and engaging (Cyrus), some were not so original but managed to still be engaging (Olberic), others kind of missed the mark (Therion). It's still worth going through all of them, I don't feel there was one I could straight up call "bad". Overall I would also recommend this game to fans of the Bravely series and old-school RPG fans.
Most anticipated : Cyberpunk 2077. Looking forward to Deus Ex's sibling, DX being my favourite game of all time. I watched the gameplay reveal and just got more hyped.
Second most anticipated : Trails of Cold Steel 3. If you want an RPG with an extremely fleshed out world and where random NPCs have their own stories that you can follow, look no farther than Trails in the Sky or Trails of Cold Steel series.
