Console Corner

This page features video game reviews and relevant commentary related to the Playstation 4.  I don't get involved with the technical details of graphics or sound, like what console configuration runs which game at 60 fps.  I prefer to look more at the meeting of art and gameplay, particularly how a game's elements interlock (or not) toward delivering its vision or story.  In general I lean toward games with intelligent narratives or ideas with complementary mechanics, but enjoy exploring all types. (For the curious, i.e. why does a blog devoted mainly to books delve into video games, see here.)  First organized alphabetically then by rating, the following are the games I've reviewed thus far (1-5 stars):


Alphabetically: 

Abzu (2016) ****
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag (2013) ***½
Assassin's Creed Origins (2017) ***
Bioshock (2007) ***½
Citizen Sleeper (2022) ***½
Cloudpunk (2020) ***
Days Gone (2019) ****
Deadly Tower of Monsters (2016) ***
Desperados 3 (2021) ****
Detroit: Become Human (2018) ***½
Disco Elysium (2019) *****
Doom (2016) ****
Dredge (2023) **½ 
Far Cry 5 (2018) ***
Far: Lone Sails (2019) ***½
Far: Changing Tides (2022) ***½
Figment (2017) **** 
Firewatch (2016) **
Frostpunk (2018) ****½
    Season Pass [expansions] 
Ghost Recon: Wildlands (2016) ***½
Ghost of Tsushima (2020) ****
Hob (2017) *** 
Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017) ****½
    The Frozen Wilds [expansion] (2017) ****½
Innocence: A Plague Tale (2019) **** 
Inside (2016) ****
It Takes Two (2021) ****½
Journey (2012) ****½
Knights & Bikes ***½
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (2014) ***
The Last of Us (2013) ****½
    Left Behind [expansion] (2014) ****½
The Last of Us Part II (2020) *****
 Limbo (2010) ***½
Little Nightmares (2017) ***½
Mad Max (2015) ***½
Mass Effect series
    Mass Effect [Remastered] (2021) **½
    Mass Effect 2 [Remastered] (2021) ***
    Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017) ***½
Metro 2033: Redux (2014) ***½ 
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) (2016) ***½
Nier: Automata (2017) *****
Nioh (2016) ****½
Observer (2017) ***½
The Order: 1886 (2015) ****
Overcooked (2017) ****
Oxenfree (2016) **
The Pathless (2023) ***½
Pinball Arcade (2012) ****
Railway Empire (2018) ***
Resident Evil 2 (Remake) (2019) ****
The Sexy Brutale (2017) ***½ 
Shadow of the Colossus (Remake) (2018) ****
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (2017) ****½
     Aiko's Choice (standalone expansion) (2021) 
Slay the Spire (2019) ***½
Soma (2016) ****½
Sonic Mania (2017) ****
Star Wars: Squadrons (2020) ***½
Titan Quest (2006) ***
Titanfall 2 (2016) ****
Tomb Raider (Survivor series)
    Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (2014) ***½
    Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) ***½
    Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) ***½
Uncharted series
    Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007) **½
    Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) ***
    Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011) ***
    Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2015) ***½
The Unfinished Swan (2012) ***½
Unravel (2016) ***½
Unravel Two (2018) ***½
Valiant Hearts (2014) ***½
Wipeout: Omega Collection (2017) ****
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (2015) *****
    Hearts of Stone [expansion] 2016 ******
    Blood & Wine [expansion] 2016 *****
Wasteland 2 (2015) ***½



By rating:

*****
Nier: Automata (2017)
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (2015)
    Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt: Blood & Wine [expansion] (2016)
    Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt: Hearts of Stone [expansion] (2016)



****½
It Takes Two (2021) 
Journey (2012)
The Last of Us (2013)
Nioh (2016)
Days Gone (2019)
Desperados 3 (2021)
Doom (2016)
Figment (2017)
Innocence: A Plague Tale (2019)
Inside (2016)
Pinball Arcade (2012)
The Order: 1886 (2015)
Overcooked (2017)
Resident Evil 2 (Remake) (2019)
Shadow of the Colossus (Remake) (2018)
Sonic Mania (2017)
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (2019)
Titanfall 2 (2016)
Unravel (2016)
Unravel Two (2018) 
Mass Effect 2 [Remastered] (2021)
Dredge (2023) 
Firewatch (2016)
Mass Effect [Remastered] (2021)


 
*½ 
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More reviews to come...

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2023 at 9:38 AM

    Have you given the new God of War series a try? The lore in that is quite engaging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JesseFebruary 27, 2023 at 12:46 PM

      I have played the 2018 edition, and look forward to playing the sequel Ragnarok.

      The lore for me is truly so-so, certainly not terrible, but also not at the level of some other games like Days Gone, Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, and others. A Greek god living in Scandanavia always felt more like an excuse to expand the franchise than an organic shift in lore.

      Delete

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