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Nov 5th, 2025 at 16:44:13 - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PS5) |
I didn’t quite know what to expect going in, aside from this is a well-reviewed metroidvania. There are so many metroidvanias these days, and that is a genre that I get burned out on. My last one was [checks notes] Ender Lilies, back in May, so I’ve had a nice break.
That said, I have good news. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is phenomenal (way better than Ender Lilies), easily one of the top in the genre that I’ve ever played. Everything about it is slick. Movement is perfectly responsive, combat is complex and challenging, platforming is tight. Puzzles will have you scratching your head. And the map is revolutionary. I’ll tackle some of these aspects of the game in order.
The combat shines and is far more complex than a typical metroidvania. Your sword-based melee attack is your go-to. You also get a bow, useful for annoying flying enemies or if you want to chip away damage from afar. You can charge both melee and ranged attacks (and both aid in platforming), as well as add fire to arrows with an amulet that you can find. Small enemies can be popped up into the air by pressing up as you attack. Hold attack here and you follow them into the air. There is also a downward attack and charge attack. You can sprint and slide, which will result in you kicking enemies back or up into the air, depending. By stringing together melee attacks, launches, arrows, and so on, you can land huge combos. There is no combo meter or anything, but combos are encouraged and can lock enemies down. There is also a parry and dodge (enemies have parry-able attacks and unblockable ones), and parrying is important to learn. I have found amulets that do various things upon successful parry (heal me, fill power meter, create time bubble that slows enemies), so I’ve tried to get good at it to reap those benefits.
As you land attacks, a power meter fills, with which you can unleash special attacks, different ones at different levels of the meter. These are equippable, and I think I have unlocked most of them by finding special battles with alternate versions of Sargon, your character. This is one of my only criticisms of the game, and I’m probably only noticing because I’m playing on normal (which isn’t that hard). I’ve found no need to change these special attacks. I used the first level 1 one and the first level 2 one that I unlocked for the entire game, and I never even equipped a level 3 one (kept forgetting). The level 1 one is fine and I can’t see how any of the other ones improve on it. The level 2 one I’ve been using is a heal, which has saved me in plenty of fights. Basically, I will use it instead of a potion, thus saving a potion for a pinch later, and by the time the power meter fills back up to level 2, the ability is off cooldown and I can fully heal again.
You can also use some other platforming tricks and special abilities in combat. These other special abilities are cool. One allows you to create a time pocket and basically “hold” any item or enemy. At any time thereafter, you can press circle to throw it. I always try to have something that explodes in reserve so that if I find a glowing yellow wall (which requires an explosive), I am ready. If you trap enemies like this, and shoot them back out, they are confused and fight for you for a few seconds, handy for dealing with multiple enemies. Another move allows you to create a copy of yourself, which you can then warp back to. In combat, you can drop a copy, fight as usual, and then when the enemy moves such that the copy is behind it, warp back to the copy and get some back attacks in, very useful for bosses. This is a puzzle-focused ability during platforming segments that allows you to reach places you couldn’t before. Later on, you get a “pull” ability so that you can rush toward enemies or yank them toward you. There are some others, and there are also your standard air dash and double jump. There are so many moves that it feels like a fighting game. The animations for the special attacks, and the boss special attacks, give this feeling too.
Some platforming sections and puzzles are devilish. The difficulty ramps up as you get more abilities. I found some special platforming challenges in the main hub, spent about 20 minutes working on the first one, another 20 on the second one, and then was like, “I have to actually play the story through, not spend all day on platforming challenges!” They give 100 time crystals, which was a lot earlier in the game, but not much later. I would like to come back and conquer all these challenges because they are so hard but so clever and fun. As I got later into the game, regular platforming parts (especially those hiding secrets) got tricky too. There is one type of platforming challenge where you try to get a coin (useful for buying and upgrading items). The coins are hovering in midair and the trick to these is that you don’t get the coin until you touch the ground. So, you usually have to platform while remaining in the air (or on walls), and figure out how to get to the coin and return safely to the ground before you actually “get” the coin. I found a side quest toward the end of the game that requires you to get THREE items in the air before setting foot back on the ground. I could get two and actually never found the third one. Since I was so close to the end, I didn’t bother. If I have time left on my PS Plus subscription, I will consider going back to this and getting closer to 100%. I got 88.09% completion.
The coolest thing about the game though is the map, seriously. It’s a standard metroidvania map except for the fact that YOU CAN TAKE SCREENSHOTS and save them to the map. These are called “memories.” This is in addition to regular map markers you can drop to indicate treasure or a boss or whatever. So, if you come to an area with a challenging puzzle or a path you can’t cross yet, you can capture a memory, then look on the map and see the screenshot, so you know exactly what the obstacle is or whatever it is that you wanted to remember about that spot. Whenever I got a new ability, I went through my memories checking which paths were newly crossable. I understand that the same thing could be accomplished with map markers (e.g., a yellow marker or a bomb icon or something for every yellow wall that requires an explosive to break), but this is much more interactive and you have more control over what to screenshot. Every game with a map should include this feature. It’s amazing. Could you imagine this in an open-world game? Do other games have this?!
So, this was a big surprise. I thought it would be good based on reviews, but it’s great. Like, one of the best metroidvanias I’ve ever played. It apes a lot from Hollow Knight, but it’s far more accessible with many quality of life features. There’s no Souls-like death or resource loss to worry about and checkpoints are more generously placed. If you die on a boss fight, you have the option to retry it right there. I didn’t have much trouble on normal difficulty. Given how much I explored, poked and prodded for secrets, my Sargon was a beast by the end with tons of health, 5 health potions, maxed out amulets and weapons, etc. This is a must-play metroidvania, especially if you bounced off Hollow Knight because of its high difficulty or amount of backtracking.
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Nov 5th, 2025 at 16:18:07 - The Invincible (PS5) |
I had never heard of this (the book or the game), but picked it up on PS Plus because it sounded interesting. Indeed, it is. It’s a walking simulator (sorry), aka narrative-heavy first-person exploration game. You play as an astronaut who wakes up near her camp and can’t remember what was going on. Explore around a bit and find out that your crew are dead or missing. Eventually, you make comms contact with the crew’s supervisor, whose title is “Astrogator,” which obviously would make anyone think of an alligator with a space helmet. Sadly, he is a regular person (although I haven’t actually SEEN him…).
You follow clues to search for your crew, find out what happened to them, figure out what a rival nation was searching for on the planet and what happened to that crew, learn about the strange biology of the planet you’re on, solve the mystery of why you keep passing out, and try to get off the planet. The whole time you learn more about your mission, and things get worse.
There are a few tools you have with which to interact, such as a metal detector, some binoculars, a map/journal, and that’s about it. You’re really just following a trail of map markers the whole game. Doesn’t sound terribly exciting, but I dug the atmosphere and the story. It is a slow-paced game; I had trouble playing it at night because I would nod off as the characters talked. There is a lot of talking sometimes. The two main voice actors are great, but there is another guy introduced toward the end whose voice didn’t seem to fit, so I didn’t find him too believable. Apparently there are 11 endings, but I really would like to know what happens after! Maybe I’ll check out this book.
And either I’m getting old or the default text is really small. Go accessibility features! But, there are bugs. My character, or the rover if I was driving, got stuck several times on the terrain. I had to reload once from getting permanently stuck. Other times, the “interact” icon would fail to appear until I walked around the object from all different angles and back. Interesting game, wouldn’t recommend though unless you really love a hard sci-fi story and don’t mind the slow pace. Later Astrogator (actual quote from the game).
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Nov 4th, 2025 at 12:28:38 - Until Dawn (PS5) |
I don’t think I would have played this if it weren’t on PS Plus, but it appeared for Halloween and I’ve been hearing about it for years. Seemed like a sort of generic jump scare horror game. I played one of the Dark Pictures games with Patrick, which was good dumb fun with lots of jump scares. I think this is one of that studio’s earlier games, and it feels similar. Same basic set-up and gameplay: you control a variety of characters (this one is about a group of friends who go to a remote cabin together and get stalked by a maniac), who walk around through spooky environments being hunted.
You make basic narrative decisions, which purportedly affect each character’s “stats” (no idea what it matters if a character is more or less charitable or curious or romantic or whatever) and their relationships with other characters (again, no idea the implications of this). There are QTEs during action sequences (e.g., take the safe route or the quick route; press triangle to avoid falling in a ditch; etc.). Find clues to explain the story more. Find totems that give you premonitions of your friends dying and other actions. I’m unsure exactly the purpose of the totems. Like, what does it matter if I see a premonition? I think it’s just one outcome that you see, and potentially knowing that one outcome means you can change it? One time I saw a premonition of a man petting a wolf. Later on, one character encounters a wolf. I accidentally (I swear) kicked it, then tried to pet it and it growled at me. But I soon found a bone and gave it to it, then pet it successfully. Win.
The first few chapters are campy horror movie stuff. The horny young adults are all trying to couple up and bone one another. There’s some inter-friend-group drama. You see many glimpses of a mysterious figure in the background, and the killer starts becoming more…active. The young adults are getting more and more scared, and then the action picks up and they start suffering. There’s a Saw vibe to the game. Then there are some twists, one of which I saw coming, another of which I didn’t (though one pausing to think about the plot could probably see it). More death. I think only three or four characters lived in my game (all the girls?).
It's cool that later on you can start to see how decisions led to characters’ deaths. For example, one character died because I decided to open a hatch and there was something bad underneath it. Another guy died because I had (as his girlfriend) kept a gun, so when he needed it, he didn’t have it. I assume that if I had given the gun to him that his girlfriend would have died at some point because she didn’t have it. Another character died because (as him) I had made a tough call to shoot one of the girls instead of killing himself, and later when he needed help, the girl hesitated and he was killed.
It was a fun and silly game, a good interactive B horror movie. Definitely not essential to play though. Also, it would have been two hours shorter if there was a RUN button! The characters spend 90% of their time walking very slowly. Annoying! No wonder they all died!
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Oct 30th, 2025 at 14:28:23 - Alan Wake 2 (PS5) |
If I had to offer one word for Alan Wake 2, it would be “ambitious.” The production on this monster is next-level. It integrated live action video and gameplay in ways I have never even imagined. There is a part where you, as Alan, have to navigate the backstage area of a talk show production while the talk show is ongoing and being displayed on screens throughout the backstage. Except you are also in the talk show, and except instead of talking, the show is being sung, to the backing of original heavy metal music complete with a band performing, choreographed dancers, and a light show. Add to this that sometimes the characters in the live action portion appear to be interacting with you through the screens, pointing you where to go, following you with their eyes, singing to you, and so on. And during this massive metal backstage area, enemies begin appearing and so you are fighting them with all of this going on around you. This was my favorite part of the whole game and one of the most mesmerizing parts of any video game I’ve ever seen.
The ambition extends to the story, which I think is really interesting. It’s a direct sequel to the first game after Alan disappears into Cauldron Lake and the Dark Place. He spends this game trying to get out of the Dark Place, and in so doing, messes with some of his characters' lives, one of whom is the other playable main protagonist, an FBI agent named Saga Anderson. Saga and Alan's stories intersect time and again, and in the game you alternate between playing them. However, I wish the story was presented more concisely because this game can drag.
There were so many neat ways that narrative was presented and ways that narrative moved forward, but this works to the game's detriment too because it beats you over the head reviewing plot details in so many different ways. For example, a key feature of the game is entering Saga's "mind place," a sort of supernatural room in her mind where she can think about cases. You might find a picture as you are exploring, or speak to an NPC, or whatever, and be prompted to go to the mind place. Go there and you are presented with a giant corkboard where Saga places pictures, notecards, and connects everything with string. You have to place clues/pictures/pieces of information on the corkboard in the correct spot. You read the description of the clue, then when you place it, some writing appears providing a little more information from Saga, and when you complete a string of clues, Saga chimes in with her thoughts. You may also have a manuscript page that says more or less the same thing you put on the board. Then you may need to profile someone in the mind place, and they may say basically the same thing you already found out. Then you go back to the game and Saga will comment again the same thing you already found out. Sometimes you have to go through all this to move things forward; other times placing all the clues on the corkboard (literally probably 200 throughout the game) seems optional. It's just like...SO slow, tedious, and repetitive. I love the mind place in theory, and I thought it was unique and engaging at first, but I became so tired of it by the end. Saga will say "So I need to go to the cabin in the woods to get the Clicker" (or something) and I am like "OMG I knew that 15 minutes ago, but I had to profile someone who told me the same thing, then go to the corkboard and pin clues that told me the same thing, and I already heard you Saga say that I need to go to the cabin in the woods in the mind place 3 times, and the person I profiled said it again, and Alan Wake narrated it because it was also in a manuscript page, AAAAAH!" The game wants you to "get into the heads" of the characters, and it certainly succeeds, but sometimes less is more.
The other frustrating aspect of the game, unfortunately, was the combat. Alan and Saga control like tanks, while enemies can be much faster. I died probably 50 times. I have no problem dying in a survival horror game, don't get me wrong! But these deaths often felt unfair. I got backed into a corner and couldn't see to get out or couldn't dash past enemies. I didn't hold R2 down long enough to heal all the way and so the health kit failed. An enemy changed direction at the last second and there is just no way Alan or Saga could turn fast enough to shoot. I couldn't pick up what I needed during a fight from the ground because I would get killed while waiting for the "pick up item" animation, and even if I did pick it up, I can't equip it in the middle of combat because pulling up your inventory or map doesn't pause the action. Timing dodges, especially with fast enemies or thrown objects, is really hard to do. Etc. At some point, I realized I could run past a lot of the regular enemies, so I quit engaging except when necessary. Also, I definitely enjoy the flashlight mechanic less than I remember from the previous game.
In the end, I was glad for this to be over. The story (while really interesting) and combat (while generally fine) just seemed to like bloat the game because of the repetition and slow speed. There's also Remedy's whole tie-in to the Federal Bureau of Control now, which, again, while interesting, adds a bunch of extra layers to a story that already has like 5 layers of reality going on. I'm impressed by the game. It's technically pretty amazing and the story is wonderfully complex. I liked the game. But I didn't love the game, and it went on for nearly 30 hours, which is really long for survival horror.
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