Just wow. I could barely handle more than an hour at a time in this game because Rapture was so vivid as an environment. They tell the entire history of this world through the environment itself and those you encounter along the way, and just from a visual and aural perspective, it's unmatched. Not to mention the twist. Oh my, what a twist.

Reviewed on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022, 12:00am.

This playthrough felt a lot better than I remembered as a kid. I think coming at these Zelda games as an adult will be very rewarding, as I'm not simply chasing that feeling that Ocarina of Time gave me on Christmas morning in 1998. This game is beautiful in every way, and has maybe one of the greatest final Ganon fights I can remember.

Reviewed on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, 12:00am.

Super clever concept and perfect execution. I loved the lighthearted vibe of the game and how they worked a nicely contained story into the environment. The Milkman Conspiracy was one of the most fun video game experiences in recent memory.

Reviewed on Saturday, November 26th, 2022, 12:00am.

I am very glad I finally stopped putting off playing this one. For whatever reason I didn't expect the acclaim it's gotten over the years to have held up this long, and for a while into the playthrough I found it to be a fun and challenging puzzle experience, with obviously a very unique take on the genre, but the game completely flips that on its head by the end. I was getting ready to put the game down for the night as I thought I was at a clear stopping point, when suddenly I'm in an escape situation in totally different environment as the tension ratchets up with each passing step. I loved this game, and look forward to playing the sequel.

Reviewed on Thursday, September 7th, 2023, 8:16am.

Great arcade-style game, and got out just before it overstayed its welcome. The final battle with Ares was very cool, reminded me of a big, silly Kaiju fight in a movie. I really enjoyed the Pandora's Temple dungeon as well.

Reviewed on Saturday, December 3rd, 2022, 12:00am.

By the end of this game, I was a little worn down by all of the backtracking, and I felt it was a little overkill to put a quest at the end that basically required you to fully backtrack almost the whole map. Having said that, it's a great game and a masterclass in atmosphere and perspective. I loved the final boss battle.

Reviewed on Friday, November 11th, 2022, 12:00am.

A fun little adventure with a great atmosphere. The gameplay mechanic definitely got a little old after a while, but the tone and how cute it was throughout made it very enjoyable throughout.

Reviewed on Monday, October 23rd, 2023, 10:36am.

Machinarium is immediately captivating simply by virtue of its unique and beautiful art style, creating a world both cute and grimy, kind of reminiscent of WALL-E in tone, where you control a small robot in a big world that contains quite a good deal of badness to contend with. The gameplay delivers as well, a simple point-and-click puzzle adventure where you try to piece together what happened to your character as well as reunite him with his girlfriend. The puzzles and puzzles-within-puzzles are challenging but also once you start to "think" like the game, become quite fun to piece together. If I had any complaints, they would be that I feel like only just when I started to really get into the mind of the developers on how their puzzles were constructed, the game was over. There were also a few challenges that seemed a little bit of a stretch to remember -- a key acquired much later for a seemingly inconsequential cabinet you might have forgotten about comes to mind. Really fun game, though! I will play more by this developer as it seems they're similar in style and substance.

Reviewed on Monday, August 14th, 2023, 11:55am.

Just when I was about done with all of the similar stealth rooms and beat 'em up sequences, the game threw in some nice curveballs. In particular the sewer sequence with Croc comes to mind. The final boss battle with Joker was one of the worst I can remember, though. Really built up to a dud of an ending. The atmosphere is fantastic throughout.

Reviewed on Friday, November 18th, 2022, 12:00am.