one of the very few games to reach 1k hours of playtime for me, yet I'm discovering new things about it near constantly. while the community is not one of the best i've been in, it's miles better than any other free-to-play games. i've been able to navigate my way through it and even ended up with a new friend. i love the designs, the music often moves me to tears, and as someone who loves seeing parent-child relationships in the media i consume, this game has me in a chokehold :')

artistically, this game is a masterpiece. visuals and music are incredible. the way the creatures work in this game feels so weird in retrospect but within the game environment they fit perfectly.

played this with some friends during horror game night. we knew this game's main thing was its story, and i immediately got sucked in, but what surprised me is that my friends as well got so invested in it. between different scenes we would stop and discuss our thoughts and theories, and it made it so much more enjoyable, being able to experience an amazing and emotional game like this one along with friends who wanted to see what the outcome would be as much as i did.

every year theres at least one or a few games that bring me to tears, but i didn't expect this one to hit me so hard. my friend who had already played the game who check in on me as i progressed through the story, asked about my thoughts on the characters etc. and on the day that i was going to run the last mission, he came over and we both ended up crying. rockstar does an incredible job of luring me in with fun(ny) gameplay and then rending my heart apart with the story.

^ specifically referring to Calamity mod
a few years after i 100% terraria, i decided to give this mod a go after hearing so much about it. i read the little lore tidbits and more or less understood what was going on, but for me the main appeal was the gorgeous pixel art, the music, and the exhilarating feeling i got after beating a boss i got stuck on. few games give you that incredible experience of feeling like a literal god.

^ including Valhalla DLC
i ended up liking this way more than 2018, but i can't really place why. maybe it was my attachment to the characters, but i felt like they were more fleshed out in this one. i realize that i say this for a lot of games but the environments were very pretty. plenty of headscratchers, variations in combat difficulty, fun stuff to play around with.

to quote gianni matragrano: "controlling him feels like handling a panicked wet squirrel that just barely escaped from a swimming pool"
a great example of a game that knows what aesthetic it's going for and how to make it work with the gameplay without sacrificing the players' enjoyment

despite being short this game has some immaculate vibes. great music, great visuals, and just enough gambling to keep me at the edge of my seat

this is my friends' and i favorite horror game night go-to. the fact that the game doesn't have that much content such as walkthroughs, thoroughly detailed wikis and guides makes this so terrifying. since, if you want to have a good shot at beating the game in one of its harder difficulties, you have no choice but to practice, experiment, and pray that things go the way you want them to

i liked the original, and this feels like a really good remake. the puzzles are good and not too difficult, the combat is faithful to the original.