drdumbdumb

This is an hauntingly beautiful game: it's clear what the developers want you to feel playing this game and everything from the music, the visuals, environment, and behavior of the colossi drive it home to the player. I was constantly feeling forlorn riding through the Forbidden Lands; at no point did killing a collosus feel "good"---which is exactly the point. Early on, I thought I was going to give this game a rare 10/10 but there were some persistent issues throughout that knocked it down from that potential. First, you can't control your horse to save your (girlfriend's) life; Agro is very aptly named. There were a few times where I just got off the horse and started running because it felt faster. Most of the collosus fights felt tough but fair on first pass, with the difficulty coming from the puzzles needed to defeat them. But, apart from waiting 10 minutes for the right attack pattern, these were mostly reasonable and enjoyable. But there were two collosi that I needed to look up guides for. Apparently, they frequently inspire guide seeking and rage quitting. This made me feel better about myself but, seeing as how it is a remake, you'd hope that would've gotten patched. Additionally, in aspiring to be cinematic, the player's control of the camera and visibility is some of the jankiest I've played in a third-person action game: and that says something! I can also quibble with the ways they made the collosus fights "difficult', but that almost seems like splitting hairs. In some respects it services the tone; these things aren't meant to be easy. On the other, I wish that staying attached was more technically challenging than "hold R2 and pray". All in all, a deserved 9/10 that was merely a few quirks away from perfection. There hasn't been a game like this since its release. I'm glad to have played it and recommend most people (especially fans of action, puzzles, and "classic" PS2 era games) play it as well. But, for me, it's definitely a game I'll only be playing once.

It felt more like a DLC that expanded in scope until it justified being a whole new game---but just barely. Fortunately, I played it on the Playstation subscription so that's a fine value proposition for me personally. Movement and combat were immaculate, I enjoyed all of Miles' abilities. I found the stealth to be a bit poorly tuned; if they wanted it to be used more "going in hot" should've been harder and, honestly, less fun. But it came in handy for various combat encounters. I enjoyed the traversal so much---and the side content so bitesized and unimposing---that I actually went out of my way to do almost all of the collectibles. I probably would have finished in about half the time if I didn't: it's not a long game by any stretch. Story and "unlock" pacing was a bit staccato for my taste but the story is a wrapping on this game. A totally fine, comic book story as far as major plot beats go. I like Miles' development and growth in confidence and self-assurance. All in all, a lot of fun and would recommend to fans of the franchise, of spider-man, and of games where traversal is at least 70% of the fun. But some may be turned off by how short an experience the game ultimately is.

To its credit, the title is perfectly descriptive of the game. It feels like a "second screen" game: something to play while a podcast or audiobook is on in the background. The loop was satisfying enough for the 30 minutes it lasted. I'm disappointed that the ending was as linear as it was despite it being more open-ended in its exploration. I would recommend if you're looking for a quick hit, like a pallet-cleanser between games, or if you're a fan of digging holes and or very literal game titles.