Gordon

Gordon

@gordon.jagreview.com

every day I am bad at video games and sometimes I write about those video games for @jagreview.com I write video game reviews for fun, for free, and as little creative writing exercises all game reviews aim to fit on Steam please enable my bad takes

24 followers39 following342 posts

Beat Ace Combat 8 today, and that one is definitely a GotY contender. Probably the closest something has come to knocking Denshattack! out of the #1 spot. It might even end up doing that as I think on it more.

Man, when I think about my top games this year, it's going to be so hard to rank them. Denshattack, Onimusha, Cairn, ReStory, Tokon, 007, Under the Island, and Homura Hime were all ones I really enjoyed. And I still have to finish Dawnwalker, Fire Emblem, Ace Combat 8, and Control Resonant.

It's amazing how one(1) route in Fortune's Weave does the revenge story like 800 times better than The Last of Us Part II could ever dream.

Anca............................................that is the entire point.........................................................................................

Watching a streamer play Wolverine without the cherry-picked and nicely edited gameplay from previews/reviews, this game really looks unenjoyable.

"If we're going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars on this idea, we're taking you down with us too."

VGC@videogameschronicle.com

An unofficial multiplayer mod for The Last of Us Part 2 on PC has had its release canceled after Sony Interactive Entertainment allegedly sent its creators a warning. vgc.news/news/last-of...

Onimusha having really fun characters and a solid story really wasn't on my bingo card for this year. I was definitely expecting it to be a bit of a meathead action game, and I've never been happier to be proven wrong.

This was probably the only game I was somewhat interested in keeping my PS5 for. Kind of glad I sold it, especially if the gameplay is lacking in this. It's weird because the Spider-Man games had such fun gameplay, and maybe some narrative iffiness, so this feels like a complete reverse.

VGC@videogameschronicle.com

Marvel’s Wolverine Review: Uninspired gameplay leaves Logan feeling declawed despite a strong narrative. ⭐⭐⭐ www.videogameschronicle.com/review/marve...

Seeing people get upset that the Nintendo Direct had too many third-party games is wild. Did we already forget that the Wii U failed because of horrible third-party support.

I'm only a little bit into Orbitals, but it's insane how much more likeable Maki and Omura are than Mio and Zoe from Split Fiction lmfao it's like night and day

The one that gets mobs on me is RDR2. Arthur is generic the whole way through. The plot is just strung along by "TRUST THE PLAN" for *centuries* and doesn't evolve in a meaningful way. The plot completely nosedives in quality in chapter 5. The world is pretty but empty. The gameplay is only fine.

Arielle Danan ⚔️@huggablehipster.bsky.social

I'm going to hold your hand when I say this. The first Alan Wake. It was atrocious. It was tired with Stephen King references, and a story that was severely lacking. I didn't care for it. At all. The second game, however, was excellent.

In all of the discourse surrounding Mixtape, the only thing I've learned is that no one has a CLUE what an industry plant actually is or what those two words mean together.

Gordon reposted

Grace is already a relatable protagonist because her boss is sending her to a place of great trauma woefully underprepared to do anything there and she might get her head ripped off by a giant monstrosity and that's the kind of job story that people just Get

between MindsEye and Code Violet I firmly believe that truly terrible games bring people together and unite them better than any other force in the world

I think I've nailed down my best and worst games of 2025. Top 6 Best: 1. Expedition 33 2. Hades II 3. Dispatch 4. Monster Hunter Wilds 5. Metroid Prime 4 6. Split Fiction Top Doodoo Worst (Shared): 1. Assassin's Creed Shadows and Battlefield 6

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The Outer Worlds 2 - Has the same skeleton as Avowed, but is a bit more RPG-y. Its combat also feels worse than Avowed, so it feels like they can combine to make the perfect B+ RPG. The game is mostly fine, but it was extremely buggy in my playthrough, and that soured me on it.

Undusted: Letters from the Past - Another game that tickled my brain chemistry, but it just never hit that next level for me narratively. The game does have a story and characters, but it almost feels like it's really *trying* to be a sad story only because it's an indie game law or something.

I think I've nailed down my best and worst games of 2025. Top 6 Best: 1. Expedition 33 2. Hades II 3. Dispatch 4. Monster Hunter Wilds 5. Metroid Prime 4 6. Split Fiction Top Doodoo Worst (Shared): 1. Assassin's Creed Shadows and Battlefield 6

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Date Everything! - I haven't finished this yet, but it's a really fun game to wind down with. I don't really care for visual novels, but I liked the premise of this one, and it's fun to go around your house to see what you can talk to. It's always good when you can hook up with your space heater.

Ninja Gaiden 4 - This one was also REALLY close to my top 6. Unlike NG2B, I actually liked the characters in this one, except for Yakumo. That guy is a huge geek. The combat and movement both feel tighter, but the environments still never make the most of the cool ass gameplay it has. Story is eh.

I think I've nailed down my best and worst games of 2025. Top 6 Best: 1. Expedition 33 2. Hades II 3. Dispatch 4. Monster Hunter Wilds 5. Metroid Prime 4 6. Split Fiction Top Doodoo Worst (Shared): 1. Assassin's Creed Shadows and Battlefield 6

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Doom: The Dark Ages - It's better than Eternal, but we gotta stop trying to make the exposition-heavy story a thing. It just doesn't work, and Doom 2016 did it best by being thinner in the dialogue. But the shield works very well in combat, and the lack of verticiallity that plagued Eternal is nice.

Elden Ring Nightreign - Honestly, I was really close to putting this game in the worst of the year for a while. It clicked a little bit more as I kept forcing myself to play it, but it doesn't get near the point of being a recommended game. I do appreciate them using the assets to try something new.

I think I've nailed down my best and worst games of 2025. Top 6 Best: 1. Expedition 33 2. Hades II 3. Dispatch 4. Monster Hunter Wilds 5. Metroid Prime 4 6. Split Fiction Top Doodoo Worst (Shared): 1. Assassin's Creed Shadows and Battlefield 6

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Spilled! - A very short, snacky game about cleaning water that tickles my brain chemistry just right. Maybe not the most substance in the world, but it's exactly what it needs to be. It's just fun to clean stuff up in video games.

South of Midnight - REALLY close to making it to my top 6 this year. Excellent visual and audio design, very well-realized, and is actually about something. Its gameplay just ticking the boxes really holds it back, but I don't have many complaints. If it were a weaker year, it would have been top 6.

I think I've nailed down my best and worst games of 2025. Top 6 Best: 1. Expedition 33 2. Hades II 3. Dispatch 4. Monster Hunter Wilds 5. Metroid Prime 4 6. Split Fiction Top Doodoo Worst (Shared): 1. Assassin's Creed Shadows and Battlefield 6

View full thread

Avowed - Pretty decent. Very pretty and visually interesting. The characters did juuuuust enough to keep me from falling asleep. I liked the overall premise. A little thin on the RPG elements, but the actual gameplay was basically Skyrim, but playable. Made me interested in Pillars of Eternity.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black - The story and characters are pretty woeful. Its gameplay is fun, but it all does feel a little juvenile with all the blood spurting and boobies bouncing. Areas are completely disconnected from each other. Still, gameplay is fun, and it's just difficult enough to not get dull.

I think I've nailed down my best and worst games of 2025. Top 6 Best: 1. Expedition 33 2. Hades II 3. Dispatch 4. Monster Hunter Wilds 5. Metroid Prime 4 6. Split Fiction Top Doodoo Worst (Shared): 1. Assassin's Creed Shadows and Battlefield 6

The other games that I've played but either haven't finished or didn't feel strong enough about: Bleach Rebirth of Souls - Surprisingly kind of fun? The combat worked well, and the attacks were cool. The story was okay, considering they were cramming an entire anime into a video game.

The Larian AI thing is funny when people say they won't support them because Larian still pays their artists to do work on the game. People have become so anti-AI in the stupidest way that they've come back around to claiming they won't support a developer that actually pays their artists. Insane.

I'm as anti-AI as they come, and this Larian AI thing is the most nothingburger I've ever seen. A big studio that hires talent, using that talent for their final product, using AI in the Throwing Shit At The Wall phase of game dev, only to replace it with their talent's work is such a nontroversy.

Perhaps I spoke too soon.........................

Gordon@gordon.jagreview.com

While I prefer to eat insulation myself, my friend pointed out that Drywall Eating Simulator by @peripheralplaybox.com has recently been released, and I think there's finally a game that truly represents who I am......