VIDEO GAME: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomYear: 2023Rating: E10+Time Played: 100+ hours After The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild broke the 3D Zelda franchise with its open-world gameplay, I was looking forward to the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While I wanted more of the same things Breath of the Wild offered, there were weaknesses in that entry that I hoped Nintendo would fix in this follow-up title. I may be in the minority here—much in the same way that I don't care as much for Majora's Mask over Ocarina of Time—but I actually liked Breath of the Wild more than this game. Let's start off with what was great: the story. I felt the flashbacks in Breath of the Wild left some amount to be desired, but the story uncovered during Tears of the Kingdom was leagues better and made for a much more satisfying boss battle with Ganondorf. A lot of the "same"...
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VIDEO GAME: Sable (2021)

by benmweilertNo Comments
SableYear: 2021Rating: ETime Played: 1,092 minutes / 18.20 hours Every once in a while, I’ll get a game for free via Epic Games that makes me want to jump right in and play it. Despite having hundreds of other games I’ve claimed for free in my library, I loaded up Sable and started exploring. I’m still trying to fill the “climb things, then jump off and glide” game mechanic that I enjoyed in Breath of the Wild that Genshin Impact partially met. The adventure aspect of Sable appealed to me, but the art style made me want to download it and play through it immediately. The cel-shaded style of this game is something I hadn’t seen in other games before. Honestly, it’s the game’s greatest appeal. The scenery feels hollow and desolate, which matches the sci-fi sandy crash of a group of colonizing spaceships. And while there’s not a ton of lore to speak of, there are definitely a lot of interesting...
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VIDEO GAME: Genshin Impact (2020)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Genshin ImpactYear: 2020Rating: TTime Played: 350+ hours Having played many free-to-play games, there’s usually a point where you run out of stuff to do and the game ceases to be fun. Usually, this is when the time-based resources run out and you have to wait to keep playing the game. It surprised me how many hours I put into the free-to-play action-adventure game, Genshin Impact before I hit this wall. Even when I reached this point, I still had plenty of diverse activities to do to keep me occupied for hours at a time. With regular story updates, it’s almost overwhelming how much you can get out of this game without paying anything. Part of Genshin Impact’s appeal is its somewhat Breath of the Wild-like open world and visual style. While it leans a bit more on anime influences for its character designs (of which there are plenty of characters to play as in this game), Genshin Impact‘s world might be even...
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VIDEO GAME: Breath of the Wild (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Year: 2017 Rating: E10 Time Played: 90+ hours I’ve been a fan of the Legend of Zelda series for a long time. While Ocarina of Time started my love of the series, I looked forward to each new iteration to see how the items, puzzle-solving, and combat would satisfy my need to visit Hyrule. Consequently, while Breath of the Wild snuck under the radar for me (in part because I didn’t own the consoles it released on at the time), I almost have trouble going back and playing the older Zelda titles because of its mold-breaking success. Needless to say, this game was what impelled me to finally buy a Switch a few years ago. I could continue to sing the praises of this game heaped upon it by other reviewers. But, instead, I’ll point out that it’s a game I’ll still occasionally pull out and play, even when I have newer titles that I haven’t even...
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