Metroid Dread - Well, I finally finished it, and
everything Walter said about it is true! It's a worthy successor to the throne, but also a modern take on the genre that isn't just trying to do Super Metroid again. This is a different world and a different gameflow that almost never stops propelling you forward, which is always the fatal flaw in these games to me (when halfway through the game it's stopped dead in its tracks while you figure out which power you have to use on which pixel in order to proceed =). Basically, while it has that open, explorative design that has you going back and forth all over the place, there's also a logical progression and flow for you to follow, like a current, even in how you revisit old areas; basically, without telling you explicitly what to do, if you go with the flow and keep moving forward you should progress naturally (I actually slowed myself down once or twice trying to backtrack). Plus, there's unexpected twists and turns with the environment along the way that feel truly consequential (so you're not just looking for keys to unlock static doors).
The best feature though is the combat. It's cliche to say, especially when talking about a well established classic genre and series here, but this game definitely has some modern Souls DNA injected in it like the Metroid genes in Samus' X vaccine. The variation in abilities and their application is truly remarkable, and the boss and sub-boss encounters are many and varied in breadth and kind, from giant full screen arcade monsters, to small speedy humanoids and wicked flyers, taking full advantage of what Samus can do. One load screen tip says it best, "No attack is unavoidable" and they expect you to learn how to avoid them. This isn't a game where you can just spam the attack button as fast as possible or go HAM with your missiles and win (though it helps if you can do so while staying alive =). You have to learn the matchups, you have to solve their moves, and you have to strive for perfection to win. You don't have to BE perfect, and actually healing is a factor in some fights (or even learning when to take a lesser hit rather than put yourself in a more vulnerable position, especially later), but if you think you can energy tank up and get hit regularly it's just not going to work out.
The EMMI are their own thing, and I properly hated them as one should. So many restarts, but it added a real change of pace and lived up to the title, especially as they kept adding new wrinkles. Actually parrying one was very exciting and I think I did it 8 times by my count, and it can really make the difference!
The game's final fight was great, a pain in the ass but totally fair so that once you've learned it you can beat it again with confidence... which I had to due to an unforseen mishap, but I relished the opportunity to have another go at him now that I knew all his tricks.
Finally, the plot was simple and not without cheese, like Aaz' said the weakest link, but they can't all be Fusion in this regard (Walter bait
). It was still effective with some cool moments though, and it managed to reintroduce and incorporate a lot of elements from past games without it feeling like a retread, but an effective use of the established lore. I enjoyed the twists and turns, not so much for their pure plot value but for how it actually affected the game world, whether it was changes in the landscape or in the enemies you faced. Let me put it this way, if Super Metroid and Fusion were kind of like 80's slow burn action sci-fi from a plot standpoint, this was more like a Marvel movie. Anyway, very cool game, at least my second favorite of the year.
Well, I finally finished Half Life: Alyx last night after over a year of procrastination on my part. A few hiccups aside, it's been one of my favorite game experiences.
Hallelujah! Glad you loved it, and I no longer feel the imposter syndrome and shame of loving this while you, the most ardent and avowed Half-Life fan I know, hadn't yet. I felt like I was cavorting around with your girl or something. =)
going back to old-ass normal games suddenly felt like a massive step backwards.
Alyx is much more than a missing puzzle piece that neatly slots in to before HL2. It's a big, bold game from people who grew up with Half-Life and wanted to breathe new life into it, and clearly don't want to see it end so unceremoniously. So, I really really hope they make another one some day, because this game absolutely teases more to come.
Exactly, this may not technically be Half-Life 3, but it's definitely the spiritual fulfillment of it and maybe more. It's really undersold as a VR side game or spinoff when it's really more that if they called it Episode 3, Half-Life 3 or just the next mainline Half-Life game, as a VR exclusive, there'd have been a revolt (there practically was anyway, "waaaah, accessibility, waaaaah"). As I've said, people's expectations of HL3 weren't going to be fulfilled by just another modern FPS game; whereas, THIS is a worthy leap, but in order to do it they had to call it something else and sell it as some experiment... which it also is! Anyway, I'd be very disappointed if we don't get Alyx 2 or the next Half-Life game isn't at least VR compatible. I still say they should just do Half-Life 3 in VR now that they've put everyone on notice and laid the foundation, "You were warned."
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It's great, and Metroid Dread is great too in its own modern way. Beyond just the EMMI, I think it's a total success as a mainline Metroid title in 2021. A tour de force, as they say. A must play.
More than that though I just wish this genre would get a renaissance of sorts, because it's great but has been deserted since its heyday in the 90s.
