Clair Obscur: This game truly is worth of all the accolades it received last year. A turn-based JRPG created by French studio Sandfall Interactive, Expedition 33 has great combat, incredible graphics, and a gripping story that you'll want to see through, even though the twist that comes at the end of the second act is controversial. In the world of Clair Obscur, every one only lives to 33, and every year the number ticks down as the Paintress, a god-like being across the ocean from the starting city of Lumiere, takes her toll. You'll play as the members of the 33rd expedition as they attempt to defeat the Paintress and discover the secret of the Gommage. Based off of games like Persona and Final Fantasy, Clair Obscur has turn-based combat with the addition of a real-time parry and dodge system that plays out a lot like a rhythm game. Initially, I struggled with the real-time mechanics, but I learned to parry when the combat animation of the enemy is moving downward and also to listen for a tell-tale audio cue. Still the game gives you plenty of Luminos and Pictos (swappable buffs that you can switch out at anytime) to tweak your characters to your play style. Oh, and the music is awesome too. It took me approximately 50 hours to beat the game with some of the side quests completed. A recommended RPG to basically anyone, even those without experience playing JRPGS such as myself.
Doom 3: I set up a retro PC upstairs with an AMD Athlon X2 6000+ CPU and a Geforce GTS 250 GPU, hooked up to a Samsung CRT monitor that I bought in Chicago around 2004. Doom 3 was the first title I revisited. Atmospherically, it still holds up. The attention id paid to lighting the Mars base really brings the space station to life. Combat though is another story. The shotgun is pathetically weak and an insult to its predecessors. Your movement speed is so slow and the rooms are so cramped that it's hard to avoid damage or dodge projectiles. Also, your vision blurs and shakes when you take damage, making it very easy to die as soon as a monster gets into your face. The monster designs, however, are pretty great. Id must have take inspiration from the Resident Evil series--you could put the Hell Knight and the Pinky into those games and not have them look out of place. Dated jump-scares aside, I enjoyed my first couple of hours with the game. It's only when you reach the Delta Labs that gameplay starts to drag, as the game has shown all of its cards at that point. Hell is a treat, but the constant darkness and mediocre combat weaken the otherwise coolness of the demonic dimension. I'm almost to the end but at this point I'm unsure I'll make it.
Metroid Prime Remastered: I've never played a Metroid game, but Metroid Prime Remastered is pretty good so far, four or so hours in. I've had to consult a walkthrough a couple times because Metroid expects you to revisit its connected levels after you've acquired new abilities, like the boost ball or jump boots to unlock new pathways. A little more direction would be appreciated. However, the mix of plaftorming, shooting, and exploration is very good, and as a PC gamer I'm appreciating this Switch classic.
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