Welp I did it, first time doing a year long thread like this. It feels like reading a journal when reading it back.

My highlights for the year would be:
1. Expedition 33
2. When Life Gives You Tangerines
3. Orb: Movements of the Earth
4. Metaphor ReFantazio
5. Playing fighting games with friends

You and Everything Else - 8/10

Great life story of a friendship going through ups and downs due to a whirlwind of insecurities and open wounds. Sang-yeon is one of the best characters I've seen in recent years. If you like fully realized flawed characters, this is for you.

The Glory - 6/10

Slow burn revenge story. In hindsight, the hook was strong enough to keep me watching for 10+ episodes where I wasn't really feeling it. It takes weirdly long for the story to escalate to a point of no return. Some neat portrayals of how trauma can color all view of your future.

Last Samurai Standing - 6/10

Rurouni Kenshin x Battle Royale. Love jidaigeki stuff but this one is very generic, despite the high concept premise. Carried by the action cinematography. Kinda dated romantic view of samurai which is weird with how similar it is to Kenshin.

Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 - 10/10

If you pull out of my brain the ideal game of my dreams, this is pretty much it. Optimistic but rough, empathetic and complex, with the dialogue of my dreams, best music ever, epic fights and a breathtaking world.

Tomorrow Comes.

Alice in Borderland S3 - 4/10

Hilarious comparison to Squid Game S3. Huge "story was done and it got a sequel" situation. Main characters have nothing else to learn about themselves. Better when it's focusing on the new side characters. Kinda of a trash TV death game thing.

Squid Game S3 - 5/10

Lets put it on the thread for completion's sake 😅

Padded out without much new to say. The best character from the last season is nowhere to be seen (the mole). The core likeable characters are good enough to gut punch you here and there. But yeah. Ran out of juice.

Ghost of Tsushima - 7/10

Vibes and visuals-wise, maybe the best thing I have ever experienced 😭 Breathtaking. Combat is pretty good. The game was a bit bloated for me: I had to force myself to stop getting distracted with bland side stuff and finish the main storyline.

Inception - 7/10

I had never seen it! Fun good time. Was most interesting to pick out choices in how to deliver exposition, stage set pieces and tie in a character arc for Leo amidst the craziness. Obviously, awesome "how did they do that"-scenes galore.

Shadow Generations - 7/10

Lands the Shadow edgyness you need pretty well. Good high speed levels where you try to squeeze every second off the clock with Shadow's time freeze and teleportation abilities. I will maybe come back to it later and I hope I like it to the level of OG Generations.

Heroes on Call - 5/10

Batman x Holmes as a trauma doctor. Easy to watch: the lead nurse and rookie are charming, the protag can be hit-or-miss (sometimes eye-rolling "cool", other times well-earned badassery). Apart from good feels about the value of life over business/politics, there's not a lot.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero - 4/10 (Dropped)

I loved all of the Budokai/Tenkaichi games, so I was super onboard. But I played this and want a refund?

Every third attack I try to do, I get some misinput. Feels janky. After being able to do all combos and chains in older games (not just mash square).

Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - 8/10

90 hours, 4 routes. Great strategy gameplay with a rollercoaster of a story that breaks down in one of the most mind-blowing ways I've ever seen. Cast is pretty good (more well-rounded than DR). Could be paced better for me, but it's kinda the point too.

Marvel's Spider-Man (PS5) - 8/10

My god I didn't expect this game to become such an addiction. Playing it in max difficulty was a great call. Awesome multitask-y combat, awesome traversal, very good story (specially anything with Otto), great setpieces and great finale. Would prefer less cop-heavy.

Barbie - 7/10

Less good than I expected themes and dialogue-wise (I get now why some ppl I follow were saying it was kinda basic) but my god it's SO FUNNY. Many of the best laughs I've had with anything this year. How unhinged and poppy and creative Greta Gerwig went with this is so cool.

Superman (2025) - 6/10

Superman is rn my favorite fictional character ever, so it's weird to say this, but I walked out a little hollow. Hard to put into words why. Expectations too high? Thought it was messy and weirdly paced. Mr Terrific, Lex and the 2 Clark-Lois scenes are highlights.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines - 7/10

Good time. Characters are charming and full of personality and at times funny pettiness (good way). When it's time to get vulnerable, it does it with great tact and insight into how people be when dealing with friendships and romances.

Deltarune Chapter 3+4 - 8/10

Nothing makes me feel more like a kid playing games again like Deltarune. Magical. Less journey of character change in these compared to CH1-2, but makes up for it with great setpieces and mystery plotting. Obsessed with the lore. Ralsei is great here.

Music is overall pretty good.

When this song started playing towards the end, I was losing my mind ripping my shirt off.

youtu.be/ZbQuWLArxaM?...