Recent reviews by ᴅɪᴅᴅʟᴇʏ

What can change the nature of a man?

Blood & Wine tier

Obligatory "beat before the nerf"

Holy ♥♥♥♥

Despite initially being put off by its many issues—frustrating enemy placements, disconnected areas, and the mechanics of soul memory and ADP—Dark Souls 2 has struck out a very core, emotional experience. The world of Dark Souls 2, with all its rough edges, feels deeply human. No higher purpose exists here, but merely the hope to break the chains of a curse. Majula, with its melancholy beauty, stands as a beacon of these themes—a place where despair and hope mingle like the fading light of dusk, where the legends of old seem but distant whispers on the wind and those few companions seek out a nonexistent solace. In these dialogues, fleeting as though hollowed, we see ourselves, our own desperations. It's about the push to find a place, a moment of peace, in a world that feels perpetually against you.

Game with romanceable white haired twink not go ridiculously hard challenge

Phenomenal world design, directly drawn from the Harry Potter universe, but everything else falls completely flat. The characters are one-dimensional, without any additional complexity beyond "good" and "evil," and the dialogue is ridiculously childish to the point of lunacy. The main character is your generic self-insert chosen one protagonist, which can be executed fairly well, but isn't in this case. Your status as a "student" is completely inconsistent with the gameplay and power fantasy plot, while there is almost no interaction with fellow students in a realistic way besides them simply praising you as this yet unbeknownst prodigy. Roleplaying elements are "present," but they feel more haphazardly tacked on rather than actually adding anything of meaning (side quests are as generic as they can be, and dialogue choices offer no real choices or complexity). The gameplay is actually fairly well-executed, duels are fun and engaging, but certain fights certainly rely on sponginess, and the UI design is abhorrent (animations are impressively slow, while important gameplay elements are locked behind talents). Performance issues are present, but not unusably so, although it is comical for this to be an issue in a game with character models ripped straight out of 2015. Despite all this, it's definitely not a terrible game, with a very polished open world, beautiful art direction, and complete faithfulness to the Harry Potter lore, but it's by no means an especially great one, offering nothing new or special despite the illustrious Harry Potter skin. As far as licensed games go, this is a fantastic one, and Harry Potter fans will likely love it, but as far as games go in general, I'd find it difficult to recommend, even though I loved this series when I was younger.
6.5/10

A dated game sold again for the dozenth time that's borderline unplayable before being heavily modded

I don't even like Skyrim. I respect its importance in the gaming landscape, but I've always found its story underwhelming and its world as deep as a puddle. Enderal is not skyrim. It's a completely separate game that just so happens to be in the same engine, and god is it a good one. Complex narratives, a beautiful, handcrafted world, and an OST so enthralling I'll quite literally sit at taverns and just take it in. Some of my favorite moments weren't even from the main story, but just sitting and talking about life with richly characterized individuals only shown in side quests. The combat and overall gameplay is as jank as any game in the Creation Engine is, but it still manages to stand on its own two feet as one of the best RPGs I've ever played.

Upon launching Hellblade, I was immediately in awe of the gorgeous visuals, intriguing atmosphere, and incredible sound design. Senua's mental health struggles are depicted excellently, immersing you into an intense Norse mythological story of this struggling woman. I found the first few puzzle sections to be quite frustrating, and the combat, while flashy and beautiful, definitely lacked depth. That being said, the puzzles picked up immensely, and the music coupled with Senua's desperation made these fight sequences extremely emotionally powerful. I highly recommend this game for anyone looking for a strong narrative experience, and at its price it's a no-brainer.