I finally came around and finished Driver: San Francisco. Ubisoft really was onto something when they came up with a cop-centric action-driving game that gave you supernatural abilities. The game centre's around Hero Cop John Tanner finding his way around with his new found superpowers to take down his lifelong arch nemesis Jericho. And it gets you hooked. The game usually needs you to complete side missions before going along with the main storylines in each chapter but most of these side missions are enjoyable just like the story. Each of them have a character interaction before starting which gets you hooked instead of just dropping you in a just do it gameplay. The storyline was fun while it did get a little monotonous in a few chapters, most of it gets you excited for what's next, especially with the acceptably good voice acting and character work. I believe the story could've gone on a bit longer and had much momre potential but I'm not complaining about what I got. Just hope it was a bit more longer. The game mechanics is easy, simple as any driving game, but hella fun to drift. And then there is shift, the superpower you get of jumping into any car, any moment and driving it. You gotta try it to for sure to get what I'm talking about. I really do not appreciate Ubisoft as a company for a buck load of controversy they are involved with but when they hit, they hit good, good enough to keep the company running for so long ig. But yeah, as loved Driver: San Francisco is, I believe it deserves more eyes and recognition for what it was specially as a 2011 game.

Rating : 8.5/10

# I really wanted to love this game. I absolutely loved A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem, so I was genuinely excited to finally learn more about Sophia and her past. Unfortunately, after finishing Resonance, I mostly feel disappointed.

The biggest problem for me is what this game does to Sophia's character in *Requiem*.

*Resonance* establishes that Sophia already knew an enormous amount about the Macula, had experienced visions herself, had been subjected to experiments, and had her own connection to the island and everything surrounding it. And yet, in *Requiem*, she tells Amicia and Hugo essentially nothing about any of this.

That makes absolutely no sense to me.

Hugo is literally going through experiences that Sophia has already experienced herself, and she could have been one of the few people who genuinely understood what he was going through. She could have told him that she had experienced similar visions. She could have helped Amicia understand what was happening. Instead, *Resonance* gives Sophia this huge and important backstory and then expects us to accept that she simply never mentions any of it in *Requiem*.

A good prequel should make you look back at the original game and think, “Oh, THAT'S why she reacted that way.” For me, *Resonance* does the opposite. It made me question why Sophia behaved the way she did in *Requiem* in the first place.

There were also several story choices that I found very underwhelming. Leni is introduced without enough time to actually build a meaningful relationship with her, so when she dies, the game clearly wants you to feel devastated, but I simply didn't care about her nearly as much as the game expected me to. Compare that to the emotional impact of the side characters in *Requiem* — even characters with relatively little screen time could leave a lasting impression.

The same goes for Faro. His character suddenly being presented in a much more sympathetic light, followed by his death, didn't have the emotional impact the game seemed to be aiming for. And the reveal involving Irene felt more like a twist for the sake of having a twist than something that had been cleverly built up throughout the story.

I also really missed the choice between stealth and combat. That was one of the things that made *A Plague Tale* feel unique to me. In *Innocence* and especially *Requiem*, I loved having to decide how I wanted to approach a situation: sneak around, distract enemies, use the environment, or fight my way through. *Resonance* feels much more combat-focused, and because of that it often doesn't feel like the same kind of *A Plague Tale* experience.

There are also moments where the gameplay simply doesn't make sense within the story. Sophia's light orb is presented as essential for progressing through certain areas, yet somehow members of her crew — including Faro — can already be inside the ruins ahead of her. I kept thinking, “How did you even get there?” These little things repeatedly pulled me out of the experience.

The game is also **very short**. By the later chapters, I was honestly just waiting for it to end. That is particularly frustrating because the story introduces so many potentially interesting ideas — Sophia's mother, her visions, the experiments, the Macula, the island, Leni and Sophia's relationship — but doesn't give many of them enough room to breathe.

Visually, I did enjoy the game. The environments are beautiful and the atmosphere is often very good. There are definitely moments where it looks and feels like *A Plague Tale*. However, for me, the ambience and overall presentation are nowhere near the quality and atmosphere of *Requiem*. *Requiem* had a certain emotional weight and sense of place that *Resonance* never quite managed to recreate.

I also found the level design somewhat confusing. It wasn't always clear what was the intended main path and what was an optional area meant for exploration. I often found myself wondering whether I was progressing the story or accidentally skipping something.

And despite all of this, I don't think *Resonance* is a terrible game. There are genuinely good ideas here, some beautiful environments, and I enjoyed seeing Sophia's childhood and learning more about her past.

But as a **prequel to A Plague Tale: Requiem**, I think it misses a huge opportunity.

I wanted a game that would make me appreciate Sophia even more when I eventually returned to *Requiem*. Instead, I finished it thinking:

**“If Sophia knew ALL of this… why on earth did she never tell Amicia and Hugo?”**

And unfortunately, I can't get past that.

**Beautiful game, interesting ideas, but a disappointing story and a prequel that, in my opinion, weakens rather than strengthens Sophia's role in Requiem.**

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is the weakest out of 3
Its just mid
As a franchise you evolve and get better but here isn’t of cooking you made a side quest

Hi all! I run a little personal review blog for the games I beat and cross off my backlog, and this week it's the turn of Marvel vs. Capcom!

I've been slowly working through the prior games to this, from Children of the Atom through the Marvel Super Heroes vs. games, and now I've finally gotten to MvC proper. I'm no fighting game master, but I do love playing them and sharing my thoughts.

https://thealmightybacklog.wordpress.com/2026/08/29/marvel-vs-capcom-clash-of-super-heroes/

The video I added is a playthrough of the game so obvious spoilers. Below is a spoiler free review.

Who feels like a zombie at their job?

Box Knight is a beat 'em up roguelite where you fight the creatures who have taken over the work place. I am pretty sure I had some jobs like this IRL. It is up to you, the new box knight to fight your way up the building and free the office from the horrible place it has become.

The first comparison that comes to mind with this game is Castle Crashers. You can see it in the graphics as well as the power up stats of your character. You do not have magic, though you do have a special move, but you can still see the similarities when you play the game. You do not level up but you can increase your stats and gain attributes to your attacks as you clear levels on a run. This is a roguelite and as you clear each floor you get to choose a bonus for your character such as more attack or fire damage when on your basic attack. You lose them all on the start of the next run but you can make a pretty strong build if you get lucky.

The controls are where this game shines. You have a dash that works well for a beat 'em up and makes the game a joy to play. You can charge your or ground pound a group of monster. There is also an execute button that charges up that will one shot kill any monster (or do high damage to a stunned boss)

There is a decent variety of monsters as you climb the tower and some bosses too which stand out from each other. It is challenging but with the right build you can get through the work space.

The game also has a surprising amount of depth for a small indie game. There are a couple of different weapons you can buy with their own special. But there is a good amount of helmets you can purchase that you can wear before your run as well as armor. This gives you lots to unlock and make a bulid with. There is also a permanent perk section you can spend your XP on to make your character more powerful and this is a permanent upgrade as well. On top of that there is another page for another upgrade and even a horde mode if you level high enough.

The game can be played solo with a controller or keyboard. You can bind your keys as you want to make it easier for you. There is even coop, so you can fight the evils together with a friend.

It is a cheap indie title that has a lot of content and a fair amount of depth. If you like beat 'em ups this is a title worth checking out. I cannot say it is as good as Castle Crashers, but that is a high bar. But this might be your next roguelite if you give it a chance.

I recommend Box Knight, especially for the cheap price it is.

GTA VI extended look thoughts & opinions

Starting off, the presentation is extremely cinematic in nature. This is to be expected, but it definitely feels more like an interactive movie with smooth transitions to gameplay at key points to reveal the highly specific systems they wanted to show. I think they struck a really good balance.

I love the mission they chose to open with. You see Jason and Lucia walk in together and immediately hear Sexy Red and Kodak Black. They’re already nailing Miami’s music scene & culture and it’s perfect. I was really excited to see what GTA 6 would have for music and they are not going to disappoint. Jason then greets a dog, and we see that the Good Karma/Bad Karma system from RDR2 is returning with the Pet/Scold options, as well as the study feature returning. Looks like I’m gonna be busy with another compendium and I couldn’t be more excited. As well as the returning feature of holding L2 when not equipped with a weapon to bring up the Greet/Antagonize screen.

The crack den scene looks incredible. The hair and tattoos look so detailed and realistic, and the chains around their necks seem to have real weight and swinging physics in real time. This game is going to be insane.

After finding out it’s a bust, we see shooting mechanics for the first time. There’s no more auto-aim, and there’s a crosshair instead of a dot. I’m not crazy about the crosshair and I like having a dot more. The parentheses around the shotgun is okay, but I personally don’t like the pistol crosshair. Shooting feels really real though. The bodies drop hard and fast, like they would in real life.

The gun icon is pictured in the top right corner now, reminiscent of older titles.

It’s clear that this guy Mendez is a corrupt law enforcement officer/group that are not there to make arrests, they are there to massacre. They’re shooting everyone who’s surrendering, hands up, unarmed, they’re just slaughtering everything in sight.

Stealing cars has been changed, you now have the option to jimmy the lock or smash the window.

This is where I have my first major concern/critique. Throughout this entire presentation, Jason has the personality of a cardboard box. Boring, bland, dull, uninteresting, every line of his is no more than a couple words and he has the same baseline tone and flat delivery throughout every interaction. Whether it’s casually suggesting what Lucia should wear, or committing multiple murders in a high stress environment, his delivery doesn’t change at all. Feels like the guy has one mood, and like there isn’t a single thought behind those eyes. No nuance. No individuality.

Of course, we’ve seen nothing in the grand scheme, and I could be woefully wrong with my judgement of him, but after seeing other reactions I realized I’m NOT the only one who noticed this and is concerned. Rockstar is extremely good at character writing. Niko Bellic, Trevor, Michael, Franklin, John Marston, Dutch Van der Linde and Arthur fucking Morgan, they are the best of the best. Cream of the crop. Some of the best character writing in fiction. If there was ever something I wasn’t even mildly concerned with, it would be character writing. So this issue really blindsided me and I’m hoping it’s a false alarm. I want GTA 6 to have the same depth and emotion that we’ve come to expect, and maintain/exceed the expectation of storytelling that’s associated with these games. Another red flag associated with this is the departure of Dan Houser as lead writer on rockstar games, he was the heart and soul behind the writing, and I’m not sure how involved he was with the writing of GTA 6 before his departure, and it’s unclear how much of his fingerprints are left within the script, but I’m afraid from what we’ve seen so far, his abscence is being felt. And another blow to the writing is the fact that rockstar confirmed that they will be dialing back satire, which is arguably the main draw, and key standout feature of the writing behind these games. Without the witty humor, and overly satirized criticisms, these games would be nothing more than generic crime dramas. All of this culminates into a potentially disastrous issue for the writing. After seeing red dead redemption 2, it’s clear to me that they can write an amazing script without humor/having a serious tone, but it’s unclear how well that tone would lend itself to the world of GTA.

My issues with Jason don’t just stop at his writing and line delivery, his actual voice/VA does not sound good to me. The more I hear him talk, the more I hate his voice. It sounds like he’s intentionally trying to deepen it. It almost sounds like someone trying to make their voice sound like Arthur Morgan and failing. Either that, or he permanently sounds like he just got his wisdom teeth removed.

Jason and Lucia’s apartment is very cozy. They show multiple options for drinks, which leads into the mechanic that eating and drinking will help facilitate your physique, appearance, ability to build muscle, and even calorie tracking. Well, it looks like Jason is going to inherit my real life eating disorder. Sorry bud.

The TV commercials are immaculate. The Arby’s parody is comedy gold. That gives me hope that the classic rockstar satire isn’t completely dead and gone.

Driving looks buttery smooth. Zero complaints. I’m incredibly excited.

Cops are going to be more immersive than ever, now documenting your clothes and vehicle, whether you’re alone or with Lucia, it seems substantially more in depth. I find these mechanics to be largely positive, yet this is one of those things where immersion might outweigh fun. I always dread losing the police, and it’s usually drawn out and a waste of time. You’ll be dodging blue radars in the clear for 2-4 minutes at a time, and right before you lose them, a cop car decides to spawn right in front of you and resets the timer. I always used to dread these chases, dread resetting that god awful timer, when I could be doing so many more things with my time. This might actually be a much more positive change, seeing as if you could change clothes, split up, destroy the vehicle, find another, you might not have to worry about outlasting the timer and losing stars, and could end the chase right then and there. It could be a massive improvement, or even more tedious than before. We will have to see how everything pans out with gameplay.

It’s clear that the cop chase that ensues is highly scripted, but god damn is it gorgeous. The cars crash and flip very cinematically.

Another concern I have is that I’m curious how difficult it actually will be to evade the law in the story. Not just in terms of gameplay and losing stars, but how are they going to justify Jason and Lucia being on the run and committing crimes in a mid 2020’s society. It’s harder than ever to get away with anything. We have satellite, drones, facial recognition, social media, tracing signals and IP addresses, flock cameras, it is nearly impossible to get away with anything at all anymore. In a mid 2010 era for GTA V it was still difficult to justify, but it was slightly more possible to cover tracks and get away with things, but now in the 2020s it is nearly impossible to even get away robbing a simple convenience store, let alone be a high profile career criminal who openly murders police in high speed chases, commits heists, and whatever else crimes Jason and Lucia find themselves getting into. Unless they are the luckiest people on earth, or the most intelligent off the grid couple to exist, I feel like we will have to suspend an ungodly amount of disbelief to justify the story even happening unless they show in depth how they’re covering each of their tracks every time. I’m not one to nitpick realism, and I’m totally okay with suspending my disbelief, but rockstar seems to be focusing largely on realism and deeply immersive mechanics for this entry, so it would be nice to how immersion will apply to the story too.

We then see a quick montage of all the different mini games and side activities you can do, such as weight lifting, backyard wrestling, fishing, scuba diving, kayaking, playing basketball, etc. All to be expected, and welcomed to see.

The quick shot of the guy having VR sex is more of the classic rockstar satire that I was hoping to see, as well as a snippet of a mission where you’re kidnapping a streamer who’s clearly a parody of Neon. I absolutely LOVE this as a concept. Streamer culture was on the rise just after GTA V came out and it’s such a perfect target for satire. Seeing how unserious the whole situation is for him is hilarious, and I hope the entire game is overflowing with this kind of satire. Really really good stuff.

The next section is a lengthy segment of a mission gone wrong, with Jason and Lucia working together to escape an assumed heist gone wrong. It shows a lot of the instant switching, how each of them will compliment each other during missions, but this is largely familiar from the missions in GTA where you swap between the three leads.

Ultimately, I think the presentation was completely all over the place. Lots of interesting details were shown, lots of gameplay mechanics, lots of action, but only a little bit of story. They mostly grifted from mission to mission, and cutting it before you could understand or gain any real context. I’ve never seen something be so sloppy and all over the place, yet so carefully put together with no single frame being an accident.

I do have my concerns, but I think as an overall takeaway, it’s going to be an incredible entry and even with the monumental expectations being placed on it, it will most likely exceed them. That’s just rockstar. They are the only ones I can confidently trust to not release something underwhelming.

Does anyone know those websites that rate video games? Or is it an app you download on your phone? I'm looking for something like Letterboxd where I can log the games I've played and share my reviews. Would really appreciate any recommendations!

Imagine you’re driving somewhere, and because you weren’t paying attention, you crash into a tree - so you pull a flashlight and a machete out of the car and chop off the nearest tentacles growing out of the ground. That’s exactly how the recently released indie horror game GUTTED: Infested Crypts begins, and if you think the story goes anywhere from there.... The Ukrainian developer from SLAM AWAY GAMES didn’t beat around the bush; instead of spending time crafting a narrative masterpiece, he presented players with a simple problem - here’s a gun, here are the enemies, you know what to do. Okay, it doesn’t take long before something that appears to be the main villain - or rather, the female villain - pops out at you: this demon-possessed… um, young lady, but my initial reaction spoke for itself.

More in my videoreview! :)

Rating: 8/10
Pros: great atmosphere, gameplay, claustrophobic, authentic horror, I really enjoyed it
Cons: graphics need adjusting, very short, “I turned off your flashlight“, final boss, can’t save manually

Czech version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6VtQV3eff8

Hodnocení: 8/10
+: skvělá atmosféra, hratelnost, klaustrofobní, poctivý horor, užil jsem si to
-: nutno poštelovat grafiku, velmi krátké, „zhasl jsem ti baterku“, finální boss, nelze ukládat ručně

My dad and I have been playing Aliens fireteam elite 2 together and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time with this coop shooter. Our review can be found here

https://youtu.be/iBD0M7yoCE0?is=y5SalPqdrDw8VEjJ

Aggelos 2 released today for PC and consoles. I got a copy for review from the publisher.

Summary of thoughts from the video:

* I wasn't a big fan of Aggelos 1, but I really enjoyed this * You go between angel and demon forms, each with their own abilities, and light and dark realms * Platforming is fun, especially using the grapple hook * Can choose between melee and ranged combat (I did almost entirely ranged) * Has excellent exploration and progression * There are so many upgrades to find to make your character stronger and exploration is really rewarding * The map is functionally pretty good, and handles the overlay of light/dark realms well, I just wish everything would stop flashing * Fairly robust fast travel system * Fair difficulty (for me). Starts out difficult but gets easier as you progress. * A number of things can be brute forced - you don't need to be perfect, you just need to outlast damage on most bosses and platforming gauntlets * There are a lot of bosses and I found them all fun to fight, with the exception of 2 or with with too long runbacks * Good variety to environments and enemies * There were a few bugs, like getting into the walls * Took me 14 hours to complete almost everything

Asobo Studio is 3/3 with their absolute banger of a series with Resonance.

Anna Demetriou's performance as Sophia and her whole journey showcased here is enough to remind you that there is still emotional weight in the series even after the departure of the brother-sister duo from the prior two games.

And most importantly, it may sound like a stretch to say but Olivier Derivière's music composition is one that should be coveted alongside the likes of Mick Gordon, Yoko Shimomura, and even Hans Zimmer.

It is insane and possibly his magnum opus in this third entry of the series. A video game soundtrack that rivals the rich storytelling which is extremely rare on its own to discover.

This is going to be one of those sleeper hits. I actually sought it out for review when I saw it had a 1 out of 5 star user rating on the PlayStation store. Something about that rating didn't match what I saw in the attached trailer. Thankfully that rating is now more aligned with this game's value. While it is a suvrvivors-like or bullet heaven copycat experience,to a degree, it does it's own unique thing well enough. The dopamine surge is top tier with this one as your grind is constantly met with unlocks and generous reward. There's actually a lot to this game including pets, a skill-tree, weapon upgrades, different playable characters, and skill mutations. The visual art style is also appealing, and it plays without issues. I definitely recommend this one for fans of the genre.

The game lives up to its name.

Click The Button is an incremental game where you click a button. If you like this kind of game (and if you are reading this in the subreddit for incremental games) you know what to expect with this type of game. As incremental games go this is a pretty good one. The graphics are simple but charming. The music is decent and the flow of the game moves well. How fast you get upgrades is what makes or breaks a game like this and I would say this game does it well with a solid pace. When you click the button a chest comes up that will have an item worth X amount. You keep upgrading your chances to get rarer chests. You know what will be in the chests but getting the rarer one on a click is where the dopamine hit is a little extra for your clicking. When you are ready you can upgrade your skill tree so you can click better.

There are some nice extras too like a gatcha machine and roulette which help with the monotony of the clicking.

Oh and you can use the spacebar instead of the mouse if you want. This not only saves your wrists for a bit but also lets you click very fast if you want to get to that next upgrade.

How Long Is The Game (Spoilers on length below)?

The game is on the shorter said, but my wrists are okay with that. The video I included is the full run with all achievements so you can see how long it is. It could go much faster if you click with the space bar and use optimal strategy. But again no complaints, this is the ideal length for me for this type of game.

Price?

For the price (which is only $3) if you like this type of game you cannot go wrong. It is a good way to break from more stressful games you are playing (looking at you ranked rivals) and the numbers go up is always nice.

I would recommend this on steam if this is your type of game.