Broken Star

Tag: video games

  • Silent Hill f: Atmosphere Without Attachment

    When I was younger, I missed the first Silent Hill game. It was one of those games I always heard about, but never experienced. A few years ago, I decided to play it over a long holiday. I mostly played when I was the only one home and it had a predictable effect on my sleep. The game — while showing its obvious age having been released for the original PlayStation — did an excellent job of creating a foreboding mood. It was certainly one of the more unsettling game experiences I had.

    With that as context, I was eager to try the new Silent Hill F. I’m always curious to jump from the original game in the series to the most recent and I had never gone back to catch up on the Silent Hill games aside from the original. As I would have expected, Silent Hill F was a similarly unnerving experience, perhaps more so given the substantial advances in technology over time. It does things with graphics, lighting, and sound design that the original obviously never could. 

    The story has a completely different setting and isn’t tied to the world of Silent Hill. Instead, it’s set in 1960s Japan and has as its protagonist a teenager named Hinako Shimizu. The psychological horror in the game derives from Hinako’s abuse at home and her attempts to find refuge in herbal remedies alongside her friends. It is shortly after trying one of these remedies that a fog envelops the city and red lilies begin to appear and devour it. Not long after, grotesque monsters begin appearing. As in the original Silent Hill, there is a parallel dream world where a portion of the story reveals itself. 

    The game is very effective at being unsettling. As the kids would say, it definitely nails the horror “vibe”. Playing through the game, I found myself consistently scared. The footsteps in the distance, monsters appearing from the corners, and the general feeling that something evil was waiting; all contributed to keeping me on edge. The combat system relies on breakable weapons, so at times, I found myself having to sneak past monsters rather than fighting them head on. Eventually, I tried my best to avoid fights altogether because the combat felt pretty sluggish and it was easy to get disoriented. 

    In between combat encounters and stretches of exploring the city, there are a number of different puzzles. These vary between being mechanical and those I would describe as more riddle-based. The solutions were often based on clues found in the environment and in the various letters and other artifacts found throughout the adventure. At times, the puzzles were quite difficult. I definitely had to refer to a guide a few times only to find out that I had missed something in the game that would have prevented me from solving the puzzle.

    Ultimately, I ended up stopping my playthrough at about the halfway point. The story never really grabbed me and I struggled to understand what was happening beyond the moment-to-moment gameplay. I gather that the story was slowly revealing itself, but it felt too slow for my tastes. I didn’t feel invested in the characters. After several hours, I felt I understood its approach to horror. It got to the point where the combat sequences weren’t that enjoyable. I read the story summary online to get some closure and learned that a complete experience required multiple playthroughs, so I’m glad I cut my experience short. Overall, the game did a great job exploring the feeling of horror, but the story didn’t do enough.

  • Review: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

    Raiders of the Lost Ark — the first Indiana Jones movie — opens with an iconic scene where the archeologist Indiana Jones is exploring a cave in search of a treasured artifact. After removing the artifact, a giant trap is activated and he must run away from a 12-foot boulder down the corridor. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also opens with this scene — and amazingly — pulls it off well. From there, the game — set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — succeeds at creating an engaging Indiana Jones story.

    The plot of the game is a good Indiana Jones story, and it would likely be just as successful if it was a film. At the center of the story is a fascist plot to uncover a mythical power that is related to a series of mysterious sites guarded by a forgotten group of giants. Without giving away plot beats, it involves a Vatican mystery and ties to ancient societies. You eventually meet a reporter, Gina Lombardi, who is alongside you for most of the game. She’s there primarily for narrative reasons, but she has an interesting backstory and is well-written and performed. The characters and mystery are strong and it wasn’t long before I was invested in the story.

    The game is told via a first-person action perspective so you spend your time being Indiana Jones. It’s fairly convincing and you make use of his iconic whip while engaging in a lot of fisticuffs. The game encourages you to pick up all manner of objects lying around the world, so it wasn’t long before I was bashing fascists with brooms and cast-iron skillets. The game involves a lot of sneaking around, either by staying out of sight of the fascists or donning various outfits to blend in with the surroundings. In my playthrough, the stealth aspect felt required. Any time I tried a combat-first approach, I was quickly overrun by the enemies. The combat doesn’t feel great, Indiana Jones tires quickly (the game has a stamina bar), but that feels intentional because Dr. Jones isn’t a combatant at heart.

    For me, the game felt pretty reminiscent of Uncharted, albeit with more emphasis on stealth and puzzles. Throughout the story there are a lot of puzzles to solve and secrets to uncover. While I didn’t engage in most of the side quests, they are there if you want. For the puzzles, they were mostly environmental in nature. You’ll need to solve various riddles and move objects around to unlock chambers. I found that the  story progressed at a pretty good pace, although I did feel I got bogged down during some of the open world portions. A few areas made progression unclear, and I occasionally had to wander until a contextual prompt appeared indicating what I had to do. Along with that, there were a few parts where there were frustrating jumps that I found pretty difficult to make with the first person perspective. Neither were enough to take me out of the story completely, but there certainly were a few frustrating parts. 

    I played on a PlayStation 5 and the game looked stunning. There is a lot of attention to detail in the world. The character model used for Indiana Jones is a convincing recreation of Harrison Ford and the voice work is almost uncanny how well it mimics Ford’s performance. There were times where if I squinted enough, I’d think it was a lost Indiana Jones film from the 1980s.

    Overall, I’d recommend giving Indiana Jones and the Great Circle a try. It’s a fun adventure story that earns its place in the Indiana Jones canon. I’d wager it’s probably the best Indiana Jones game ever made and is definitely the best Indiana Jones story outside of the original three movies.

  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon Review – Heartfelt RPG Experience

    Few RPGs have ever made me laugh and tear up in equal measure, but Yakuza: Like a Dragon pulled it off.I recently finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon and wasn’t surprised to see it land among my favorite games of all time. I had heard it get a lot of praise as being an interesting story with a unexpected amount of heart, so I wasn’t entirely surprised to have enjoyed it so much.

    Yakuza: Like a Dragon follows Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking yakuza member who takes the fall for a crime he didn’t commit. After serving 18 years in prison, he’s betrayed by his former boss and left for dead in Yokohama. Determined to uncover the truth and rebuild his life, Ichiban gathers a band of misfits and fights to expose corruption while chasing his dream of becoming a hero. What surprised me most was how earnest Ichiban is—he’s a goofy, big-hearted mess of a character, and that’s exactly what makes him so lovable. Most of the side quests and the main story largely consists of Ichiban trying to help people. 

    The game is a turn-based RPG, which was a shift for the Yakuza series. I haven’t played any of the previous games, so I can’t comment on the how it compares to the beat-em-up games that preceded it, but I found the turn-based combat to be pretty enjoyable. It’s relatively basic RPG fare with the usual buffs/de-buffs, special skills, and upgradable weapons. The job system, which lets characters switch between quirky roles like chef or breakdancer, adds personality—even if I mostly stuck to defaults.

    The overall story could be broadly described as a redemption arc that sees Ichiban left-for-dead in a homeless camp and sees him uncover the mystery around how he ended up there. It intersects with his life story and he learns a lot about who he is and where he came from. It feels a bit like a soap opera with lots of twists and turns, but for the most part, it’s engaging and I was invested in it. 

    The biggest drawback for me was the difficulty spikes—they dragged the pacing down and forced me into hours of grinding I didn’t enjoy. In Chapter 12, the game basically prompts you to start grinding levels via the 30-story Sotenbori Battle Arena. You get some good gear, but it feels like padding. There are other similar dungeons — Yokohama Underground and Kamurocho Underground — that exist primarily for grinding. They are dull and felt very tedious. Near the end of the game, I basically had to spend several hours grinding to level up my character for the rather difficult final section. I generally don’t mind grinding when it’s something I decide to do, but this felt mandatory.

    Grinding aside, Yakuza: Like a Dragon reminded me why I love games that balance heart with humor. If Infinite Wealth builds on this foundation, I can’t wait to see where Ichiban’s journey goes next.

  • WitchSpring R Review: A Cozy RPG Adventure

    I recently finished WitchSpring R, and it turned out to be a short, breezy RPG that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

    Originally a mobile game from 2015, WitchSpring has been reimagined here as a full remake. While developed by a South Korean studio, it shares plenty of DNA with classic JRPGs—turn-based combat, dungeon crawling, quirky characters, and the familiar sense of leveling and progression.

    You play as Pieberry, a young witch living in exile deep in a forest, cut off from the outside world where witches are hunted. The narrative gradually unfolds as you explore, uncover more about the world, and learn where Pieberry fits within it. The story isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s told in a charming way that kept me engaged.

    Combat is relatively straightforward turn-based fare, but it introduces some neat wrinkles—like turn bonuses, which reward you with extra actions for defeating enemies with physical attacks. The game also discourages grinding by limiting experience gains to an enemy’s first defeat. Instead, progress comes from training Pieberry’s skills through mini-games, collecting pets that can fight alongside you, and dabbling in some light crafting. (I didn’t spend much time on crafting and still managed fine.)

    On the presentation side, the game shines. Its art direction is colorful and whimsical, and it looked great running on my PlayStation 5.

    Overall: WitchSpring R is a cozy, compact RPG that doesn’t overstay its welcome. If you’re looking for something light, charming, and relatively short, I’d recommend giving it a try.

  • Game Journal #3

    screenshot showing witch spring r's setting

    Yakuza: Like A Dragon

    Over the past few weeks, I made it the last chapter (15) in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I am still enjoying the story, but I hit a bit of a wall with where I realized I hadn’t engaged enough with some of the systems and characters enough to make it through the end. I started to really struggle with some of the boss fights in Chapter 14. The game’s in-built solution is to grind in the Kamurocho dungeon, but I had trouble with many of the enemies there. I did some reading online and learned that part of my problem is that I failed to switch most of my characters from their default jobs.

    I worked on that for a bit, but I realized that I’m pretty burnt out on the grinding. I already faced this a similar situation with under leveled characters in Chapter 12 and found myself repeating the same battles over and over. I also tried to play through the business management mini-game with the promise of getting a special attack if I maxed out the mini-game, but that also felt pretty tedious.

    In the end, I decided to set the game aside because it was no longer enjoyable. I’m hoping that after a break I’ll be able to get into it again.

    Witch Spring R

    I started another RPG — Witch Spring R — which was pretty different than Like A Dragon. Instead of a modern setting, it’s
    set in a mystical world where humans hunt witches, following the journey of Pieberry, a young witch striving to master her magic and challenge the oppressive rule of the Holy Church. It’s quite a departure from the gritty world of Yakuza.

    I’m enjoying it so far, but I found it surprisingly difficult in the first chapter. I wouldn’t have expected such a whimsical looking game to be so difficult! It’s my first crafting RPG, so wrapping my head around the gameplay loop took a bit. It also has only a set level of experience points that can be earned per fight, so there is no concept of grinding for levels.

    I was hoping to play it on the Switch, but the copy my library had was on the Playstation 5. I think I would have made more progress if I could play it on the handheld.

  • Game Journal #2 🎮

    battle arena screenshot - yakuza: like a dragon

    My gaming time over the past week was largely spent playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It remained an enjoyable experience, but the story did stall out when I hit a wall in Chapter 12. I found myself having to grind for levels to avoid being trounced by a pair of powerful bosses. This seems to have been an intentional design choice as the game had a dungeon — Sotenbori Battle Arena — that involved fighting waves of enemies over and over. Even after finishing the 30 floors of enemies, I had to repeat several fights to level up enough to squeak past the bosses. I am still enjoying the game, but it was disappointing to have most my play time sunk into mandatory grinding.

    Outside of Like a Dragon, I also spent a some time checking out the new season of Fortnite. I was intrigued by the Star Wars tie-in. All of the weapons are swapped out for laser-powered variations, which effectively gets rid of ammo. I found that this was a nice change. I haven’t made it to any of the Star Wars areas yet, I limited myself to my old landing points and made extensive use of a laser-powered sniper rifle. I did manage to steal a Tie Fighter, but it was hard to control.

  • On Fortnite

    fortnite title screen

    A few weeks ago, some kids in my life asked me if I ever played Fortnite and if I would play sometime. I had heard of the game and knew that it was incredibly popular, but beyond that, I knew nothing about it. They told me it was a cooperative shooter where we would compete on a team against other teams and battle it out to the end.

    Before my first match with them, I thought I should practice to get a sense of how the game worked. I haven’t played many online multiplayer games. I prefer more detailed single player stories and the online games I have played — primarily first person shooters — usually are too difficult for me. Going back to LAN matches of Quake, I have a long history of getting killed quickly and waiting for the next match to start so that the same thing can happen all over again.

    I downloaded Fortnite (relieved that I didn’t need to buy a PlayStation Plus membership to play) and booted it up. Almost immediately, the game was what people would describe as “a lot”. Loud music, a bunch of characters I don’t recognize (one of whom is a pickle and another a hot dog), but also what I seem to remember as Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat. If the title screen was overwhelming, the assortment of characters running around my screen was even more confusing. I eventually learned that the first place I was dropped isn’t actually a battleground and that no weapons carry over into the main match. 

    I slowly got the hang of it and stopped being killed within the first few minutes. Still, there were so many things to understand. You can ride vehicles, you can “emote” (dance? I still haven’t figured that one out), there is a storm that you have to avoid (and for some reason, going in a building doesn’t prevent damage), and random pop culture characters and even real people (why is Snoop Dogg here?) abound. To me, the combat felt a bit easier than Call of Duty and the bigger area allowed me some time to familiarize myself the controls.

    I’ve played a few times now on teams and I’m no longer embarrassing myself completely in each round. It’s slow going, but every once in a while, I feel like I might contribute something to the team I am playing on. Most surprisingly, I have actually taken to playing the occasional solo round. I haven’t won, but I have actually managed to get to #2 a few times. I’m leveling up — although I’m unsure to what end — and I even have unlocked a few cosmetic items. After a few weeks, I still feel like there are whole swathes of the game that I don’t understand. Some of the mechanics (building) and especially the “culture” of the game are baffling, but it’s more fun that I was expecting. I’m unsure how long I’ll keep playing, but I’m starting to understand why people get hooked on these “forever games”.  

  • Games I’m Playing in 2025

    Suikoden Remaster Screenshot

    I recently saw a YouTube video about setting a gaming goal for 2025. I think this is a great idea and something I am going to try this year. If something else comes up that I’d like to play instead that is fine, but I am going to use it as a general guide and hope it helps with the overwhelm that sometimes comes by the seemingly infinite choices.

    Games I Already Started but Need to Finish

    • Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana – I believe that I am close to the end of this action RPG. It was my first Ys game and I really enjoyed it. I took a break after getting excited about Dragon Quest III HD-2D but am looking forward to finishing it.
    • Star Wars: Jedi Survivor – I started this after finishing the aforementioned Dragon Quest game. I previously played Fallen Order and enjoyed it and this game is more of the same (in a good way). It’s kind of an Uncharted in space set in the Star Wars universe. There are some frustrating parts (the platforming), but otherwise it’s a big enjoyable Star Wars adventure.

    Already Released Games I Plan to Play

    • Yakuza: Like a Dragon – I have never played a Yakuza game but I am excited to try this one. I picked it up at a very discounted price but haven’t played it yet.
    • Final Fantasy XVI – This will be my first Final Fantasy game. From what I have read it may not be the best starting point as it is more action-oriented than previous games, but it sounds like something I’d enjoy.
    • Ys: The Oath in Felghana – After playing Ys VIII I’m pretty excited for this one. It’s also a shorter game (~12 hours) which I’m very excited about.

    New Releases I Plan to Play

    • Lunar Remastered Collection – This collection has two remastered Lunar games: Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue. I’m planning to try Lunar Silver Star Story at a minimum as I really like the retro aesthetic.
    • Suikoden I & II HD Remaster – Similar to Lunar, I’m excited to play these classics.

  • Top 10 Video Games According to Rolling Stone

    a screenshot of castlevania: symphony of the night

    Recently, Rolling Stone’s “The 50 Greatest Video Games of All Time” has been making the round on the Internet. While I wouldn’t associate Rolling Stone with video games (and if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t even know it was still a thing), I find that I always enjoy perusing these lists.

    Looking at Rolling Stone’s top 10:

    1. ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ (2017)

    2. ‘Tetris’ (1989)

    3. ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ (2013)

    4. ‘Super Mario World’ (1991)

    5. ‘The Last of Us’ (2013)

    6. ‘Half-Life 2’ (2004)

    7. ‘Metal Gear Solid’ (1998)

    8. ‘Final Fantasy VII’ (1997)

    9. ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ (2011)

    10. ‘Super Metroid’ (1994)

    It had many of the games I would expect to see there: Breath of the Wild, Tetris, Super Mario World, The Last of Us, and Metal Gear Solid appear regularly in lists like this. What struck me though is how few of the games on the list I had actually played. In the top 10, I had only played four of the games. Expanding to the whole list, I have only played 18 of the games. 

    In some ways, that isn’t too surprising. It has only been during the past few years that I owned a contemporary console. Before that, I was content at replaying a handful of my personal classics. My most commonly played titles were the various 2D Castlevania and Super Mario titles, Turtles in Time, and Sid Meier’s Pirates!. 

    When I read lists like this, I always like seeing how my personal favorites rank. I think that is because I tend to view video games — like music — as being highly subjective. Sure, there are objective technical criteria that can be used to judge some things like graphics, but at it’s core, I think what one likes in game is quite personal. 

    For example, when reflecting on Rolling Stone’s list, I would never put Breath of the Wild near the top. I can recognize that it was innovative in terms of open world design and the freedom to explore, but I ultimately preferred the 2D Zelda games. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past did make it on the list, but at the low position of 47. It was one of only two series to have multiple titles on the list. Another favorite of mine — Castlevania: Symphony of the Night — also was near the bottom. I probably would have placed both in the top 10. 

    Ultimately, I think lists like this are just interesting thought experiments.

  • Video Games I Played in 2024

    Battle scenef rom Super Mario RPG

    I played 15 video games in 2024. Here’s a quick list and some impressions of each game.

    Nintendo Switch

    Disney Illusion Island – This was a pretty basic Metroidvania, but I enjoyed it enough to play all the way through. It reminded me a bit of the Disney games for the Sega Genesis.

    Super Mario RPG – I never played this on the Super Nintendo, so I was excited for the remake. I can see why people like this game and it’s a good entry-level RPG.

    River City Girls – A modern side-scrolling beat-em up game that includes RPG elements. I enjoyed the mechanics and the fighting.

    Persona 5: Royal – I finally finished this game. It is the biggest RPG I ever played and I really enjoyed it.

    BioShock: The Collection – I started the first BioShock in this collection after playing Infinite several years back. It’s not news that it is a good game, but the atmosphere really did stand out. That said, I didn’t finish it and still need to go back.

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Cowabunga Collection – I love this collection. I go back to the beat-em up games (TMNT: Arcade Game, Turtles in Time, and Hyperstone Heist) pretty regularly when I want to play something quick and fun.

    Sonic Mania – I had a Sega Genesis when I was younger and since I have played a lot of the modern Mario games, I thought I should try the same with the Sonic franchise. I played this for about half an hour and then dropped it. The gameplay doesn’t really appeal to me now.

    Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana – I had been wanting to play this for a while and finally got the chance to start it. It was my first Ys game and I liked the action RPG mechanics. I still need to finish the last 15% or so, but I enjoyed my time with the game.

    Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake – I never played a Dragon Quest game, so I was excited to give this remake a try. The gameplay definitely feels older but I enjoyed it. The 2D/3D graphics are a joy to see.

    PlayStation 5

    Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – I love a good Metroidvania and this is one of the best ones I have ever played. While the story was pretty ho-hum, the game was well executed and I enjoyed my time with it.

    Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) – This was the only Uncharted game I hadn’t played. I enjoyed it and really hope that there is more to come from this series.

    Astro Bot – I played about 3 hours of this and while it got universal claim, it didn’t really grab me. It’s a good-looking game and has some unique gameplay, but I’m not a big 3D platforming fan so I got bored pretty quick.

    Shadow of the Colossus Remake (PS4) – I have wanted to play this game since getting a PS2 a few years ago, but was never able to get a copy at a reasonable price. I gave the remake a try but I didn’t end up liking it. The game world felt a bit empty to me. I gather that is part of what the developers were going for, but it didn’t speak to me at the time.

    Call of Duty: Vanguard – One of my nephews really likes Call of Duty and this is the most recent one I own, so we play this sometimes. It is good for what it is.