Recent reviews by xxadonisxx

FromSoftware’s Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice is not just a game—it’s a trial by fire. Set in a beautifully corrupted version of Sengoku-era Japan, it strips away the crutches of traditional RPG progression in favor of pure, punishing precision. This is not Dark Souls in a ninja mask; this is a game with its own brutal rhythm, demanding the player learn to parry, adapt, and persist.

You play as Wolf, a shinobi bound to protect a young lord, thrust into a web of betrayal, myth, and mortality. Unlike the studio’s previous titles, Sekiro focuses on stealth, posture-based swordplay, and vertical traversal. The grapple hook changes everything, letting you attack from unexpected angles and explore dense, interconnected levels with surprising agility.

Combat is where Sekiro shines with merciless clarity. Each enemy encounter is a duel, and each boss fight feels like a clash of fates. Timing is everything—every swing, dodge, and deflection feeds into a fluid, high-stakes dance. You don’t level up strength to overpower foes; you sharpen your mind and reflexes.

The game’s resurrection mechanic adds a clever twist. You can rise after death—but at a cost. It plays thematically with the ideas of loyalty and consequence, subtly influencing your decisions in the moment.

Visually, the game is stunning. From moonlit castles to corrupted valleys, every location is dripping with atmosphere. The storytelling is more direct than Dark Souls, but still leaves much in shadows, rewarding those who dig deeper.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not for the faint of heart. It doesn’t care how many Souls games you’ve beaten—it wants to break you, then rebuild you into something sharper. It’s a masterclass in tension, patience, and design. If you can endure its trials, the victory is among the most satisfying in gaming.

Rating: 9/10

Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition is both a punishing and deeply rewarding action RPG that stands tall among the greats in the genre. Building on the foundation laid by its predecessor, it offers a more polished, versatile, and content-rich experience, bundled neatly with all DLC expansions for the ultimate yokai-slaying adventure.

Set in a mythologized version of late 1500s Japan, the game casts you as a custom half-human, half-yokai warrior navigating through historical events infused with supernatural chaos. The narrative, while not its strongest asset, is serviceable enough to drive the action, weaving real figures like Oda Nobunaga into its lore-rich tapestry of war and demons.

Combat is the beating heart of Nioh 2, and it’s exquisite. With a wide range of weapons, from dual swords to odachis and splitstaffs, each with deep skill trees and fluid stance-switching mechanics, players are encouraged to experiment and adapt. The real twist lies in the yokai abilities: enemies drop Soul Cores that let you absorb and unleash their monstrous powers, opening up a whole new layer of tactical play.

The level design is intricate, favoring verticality, ambushes, and hidden shortcuts in classic Souls-like fashion. Enemy variety is strong, and boss fights are memorable — grotesque, challenging, and occasionally unfair, but always a thrill. Co-op options make these encounters more manageable, and playing with friends adds dimension to the experience.

Performance-wise, the Complete Edition on PC offers unlocked framerates, higher resolutions, and all the QoL updates since the original release. While it launched with some technical hiccups, patches have largely smoothed them out. Visually, the game may not match the fidelity of newer titles, but its art direction — full of eerie beauty and grotesque elegance — more than compensates.

The included DLC — The Tengu’s Disciple, Darkness in the Capital, and The First Samurai — extends the game significantly, adding hours of challenging content, new weapons, and story elements that enrich the main campaign.

Pros:

-Deep, fast-paced combat with robust customization

-Impressive variety of enemies and bosses

-Massive amount of content, including excellent DLC

-Satisfying loot and progression systems

-Solid performance on modern hardware

Cons:

-Steep learning curve may deter some players

-Storytelling is dense and can feel convoluted

-Some reused assets and environments

Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition is a masterclass in action RPG design for those who crave challenge and depth. It's not for the faint of heart, but for players willing to engage with its demanding systems, the reward is a uniquely empowering journey through a dark, demon-infested version of feudal Japan.

Rating: 9/10

Team Ninja's Nioh: Complete Edition is a masterclass in disciplined action-RPG design, blending historical fantasy with punishing, precise combat. This package bundles the base game with all three DLC expansions—Dragon of the North, Defiant Honor, and Bloodshed's End—creating a deep, challenging, and often exhilarating samurai experience.

Nioh thrives on its complexity. You’re not just hacking away at yokai and samurai—you’re constantly managing stances, Ki (stamina), weapon familiarity, and elemental effects. Combat is fluid yet deliberate, rewarding calculated aggression over button mashing. Each enemy encounter, from lowly bandits to grotesque demons, feels like a mini-boss if you're not focused.

The loot system echoes Diablo in its depth—sometimes to a fault. You’ll be swimming in gear within hours, which can become overwhelming without meticulous inventory management. That said, the ability to forge, soul-match, and inherit stats adds a satisfying layer for loot optimizers.

Set in a fantastical version of the late Sengoku period, the game follows William, a Western samurai loosely based on the historical William Adams. The story is a blend of real Japanese history and mythological fiction, with a surprisingly earnest tone. While the narrative can feel fragmented—especially if you don’t read the lore entries—the atmosphere and world-building are rich and unique.

Nioh isn’t a graphical showpiece by modern standards, but it more than compensates with style. The creature and level designs are steeped in Japanese folklore, ranging from misty graveyards to burning castles and snowbound battlefields. The aesthetic is consistent and evocative, even if reused assets and some flat textures occasionally break immersion.

The PC port runs solidly now, though it launched with some technical hiccups. Keyboard and mouse controls are serviceable but not ideal—this is a game that sings with a controller. The "Action Mode" and "Movie Mode" let you prioritize framerate or visuals depending on your setup, and ultra-wide support is a welcome touch for modern displays.

Nioh: Complete Edition demands patience and precision, but the payoff is immense. It's not for the faint of heart, and the steep learning curve may turn some players away. But for fans of Soulsborne, Onimusha, or Sekiro, this is an essential journey into a brutal, beautiful version of Japan’s warring states era.

Rating: 9/10

FromSoftware’s Dark Souls III is less a game and more a gauntlet—a bleak, punishing, and strangely beautiful pilgrimage through ash and anguish. Released in 2016, the final chapter in the Souls trilogy feels like a greatest hits album of everything the series has done best, wrapped in haunting gothic architecture and steeped in the melancholy of a world on the verge of final collapse.

The gameplay is refined to a surgical edge. Combat is fast, fluid, and brutally fair. Every swing, parry, and dodge has weight and consequence. This is a game that demands your full attention; button mashing is suicide. Yet, once its rhythm clicks, battles become balletic—deadly dances with enemies that punish overconfidence but reward patience and precision.

Level design, always a hallmark of the series, is exceptional here. Lothric Castle, the Road of Sacrifices, and Irithyll of the Boreal Valley are just a few of the unforgettable locations—each interconnected, meticulously detailed, and dripping with lore. Secrets hide around every corner, and exploration feels rewarding, if always treacherous.

Boss fights are both a highlight and a trial by fire. From the towering abyssal beast Pontiff Sulyvahn to the poetic final confrontation with the Soul of Cinder, Dark Souls III delivers spectacle without losing its soul. These aren’t just enemies—they're stories in motion, often silent, but rich with implications for players willing to dig.

The narrative, as ever, is obtuse—told through item descriptions, cryptic dialogue, and environmental clues. It's not spoon-fed, but pieced together like a shattered stained glass window. It’s deeply rewarding for those who engage with it, especially fans familiar with the broader Souls mythos. As a finale, it carries a quiet sadness, a sense of inevitability and reflection, that hits hard by the end.

If there’s a critique to be made, it’s that Dark Souls III sometimes feels like it’s playing it a bit safe. Some bosses echo past glories, and veteran players might find fewer surprises. But what it does, it does with such grim majesty and polish that it's hard to fault it for consolidating rather than revolutionizing.

Dark Souls III is not just a game—it’s a trial, a sermon, a farewell. It's about perseverance, discovery, and the strange satisfaction of being broken and reforged in fire. A fitting and poignant end to one of gaming's most influential sagas.

Score: 9/10

Scholar of the First Sin is more than just a repackaged version of the original Dark Souls II; it’s a reimagined take that feels like a remix of pain and discovery. FromSoftware revisits their controversial middle child with technical polish, enemy reshuffles, and narrative additions that reshape the experience for both veterans and newcomers.

The most immediate improvement is visual fidelity. Lighting effects, texture quality, and frame stability are noticeably upgraded, giving the world of Drangleic a darker, more oppressive beauty. It still lacks the architectural awe of Dark Souls I or the gothic splendor of Bloodborne, but there’s a haunting charm in its desolation.

Gameplay-wise, Scholar doesn’t radically alter the core mechanics—combat remains methodical and brutally unforgiving—but the repositioning of enemies and items makes familiar areas feel unpredictable. That Heide Knight you remember? He’s somewhere else now, and probably more aggressive. This makes second runs feel less like rote memorization and more like genuine exploration again.

The addition of Aldia, the titular “Scholar,” helps clarify and deepen the game’s otherwise obscure lore, threading new philosophical questions about the cycle of light and dark. His cryptic appearances challenge your understanding of the world, and in classic Souls fashion, leave you wondering if you ever understood it to begin with.

Not everything hits the mark. Enemy aggro ranges can feel unfair, and the difficulty occasionally veers into artificial territory—more enemies rather than smarter ones. Also, while the story additions are welcome, the fragmented nature of Souls storytelling means you’ll still need to piece together a lot through item descriptions and environmental clues.

Still, Scholar of the First Sin stands as the definitive version of Dark Souls II—a flawed, fascinating gem that rewards patience, curiosity, and a masochistic sense of determination.

Pros:
- Enhanced visuals and performance
- Rearranged enemy placements add unpredictability
- Lore additions deepen narrative themes
- Tons of content including all DLC

Cons:
– Some difficulty spikes feel forced
– Still the weakest world design in the trilogy
– Storytelling remains deeply opaque

While not the pinnacle of the Souls series, Scholar of the First Sin turns Dark Souls II into a richer, more cohesive experience. It’s the best way to suffer beautifully in Drangleic.

Rating: 8/10

Dark Souls II is the middle child of FromSoftware’s notoriously punishing action-RPG trilogy—and it plays exactly like one. It's bolder in scope than its predecessor, yet often more uneven. It refines some mechanics, stumbles in others, and dares to step outside the rigid framework that made Dark Souls a legend.

Set in the crumbling world of Drangleic, the game trades the interconnected elegance of Lordran for a hub-based world with scattered spokes. While this design offers more variety—lush forests, poison-ridden valleys, and haunted castles—it loses some of the geographical and thematic cohesion that made the first game feel so grounded. Still, the sheer breadth of environments gives DSII its own identity.

Combat remains methodical and tense, with a slightly faster pace than the original. Enemy placement can sometimes feel unfair, especially in the Scholar of the First Sin edition, where mobs are packed tighter and ambushes more frequent. But the core loop—learning from failure, overcoming odds, and savoring victory—remains intact and satisfying.

Mechanically, Dark Souls II is the most experimental of the trilogy. Dual wielding, power stancing, and the agility stat (a love-it-or-hate-it addition) offer deeper customization, though not all changes were welcomed. The hollowing mechanic is harsher here, punishing repeated deaths with a steadily shrinking health bar—a thematic choice, but a divisive one.

Narratively, DSII embraces ambiguity. Its story is less direct, less personal, and more mythic. This can feel emotionally distant, but it's also haunting. The themes of forgetting, repetition, and identity echo long after the credits roll.

Dark Souls II is flawed, ambitious, and unforgettable. It's a bold detour in the series—a game that dared to try new things, even if not all of them worked. For fans of the series, it's a must-play. For newcomers, it might not be the ideal starting point, but it rewards patience with a dark, strange beauty all its own.

Rating: 8/10

Dark Souls Remastered is not just a touch-up of a classic—it’s a reaffirmation of why this game became a legend in the first place. From the moment you awaken in the Undead Asylum, it's clear that this is a world that offers no apologies, no hand-holding, and absolutely no mercy. And that’s precisely its magic.

The remastered version enhances the original's haunting beauty. Textures are sharper, lighting is cleaner, and running at 60fps across all platforms makes every dodge roll and sword swing feel more responsive. Lordran has never looked or felt better—its gothic architecture and decaying landscapes now bristle with even more oppressive atmosphere.

Gameplay-wise, Dark Souls Remastered preserves the deliberate combat and punishing difficulty that defined the original. Every enemy encounter demands respect; every boss is a test of patience, pattern recognition, and nerve.

That said, this remaster doesn’t add much beyond polish. No new content, no tweaks to broken mechanics like the inconsistent hitboxes or occasionally wonky targeting system. It’s a faithful update—warts and all. Some may argue it’s too faithful, especially given how later entries improved on many of these systems.

Still, for both series veterans and new players curious about where the Soulsborne phenomenon truly began, this version is the best way to experience the original Dark Souls. It’s a remaster that understands its responsibility: not to rewrite history, but to preserve and sharpen it.

Rating: 9/10

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is more than just the studio's most ambitious title—it's a landmark in open-world game design. Seamlessly blending the punishing difficulty of the Souls formula with a massive, mysterious landscape, Elden Ring manages to be both relentlessly challenging and irresistibly inviting.

The Lands Between is hauntingly gorgeous—its golden trees, ruined cathedrals, and rotting swamps all bursting with cryptic lore. George R.R. Martin’s world-building fingerprints are faint but felt, mostly in the game’s ancient dynasties and mythical lineage. Still, it’s Miyazaki’s cryptic narrative style that dominates, forcing players to piece together the plot through environmental clues, item descriptions, and half-whispered dialogue. It’s storytelling through exploration, not exposition.

The addition of a jump button and the spectral steed, Torrent, revolutionize exploration and combat. For the first time in a FromSoftware title, players have real freedom to retreat, regroup, or ride into battle. Yet this freedom doesn’t dilute the tension; Elden Ring remains brutal. Every dungeon, boss, and even casual encounter can end your run in a heartbeat. But it rarely feels unfair—just unforgiving.

Combat builds on the refined mechanics of Dark Souls 3, but offers more flexibility than ever. Whether you’re a heavy-hitting brute, an elusive spellcaster, or a stealthy archer, the game accommodates you. The sheer number of weapons, spells, and Ashes of War allow for deep customization, and the game encourages experimentation rather than punishing it.

The game isn’t perfect. Some late-game areas feel like a spike in difficulty designed more to frustrate than challenge. Also, the reliance on repeated bosses can diminish the sense of discovery in some regions. And while the performance has improved since launch, occasional stutters and pop-in still linger on certain platforms.

Despite minor flaws, Elden Ring is a triumph—an open-world game that respects player intelligence, rewards curiosity, and refuses to hold your hand. It’s not just a great Souls game; it’s one of the most important titles of the decade.

Rating: 9/10

When FINAL FANTASY XV first launched on consoles, it divided fans. Some praised its ambition and heartfelt characters; others lamented its uneven pacing and fragmented storytelling. With the Windows Edition, Square Enix offers not just a port but a definitive version that makes a compelling case for revisiting or experiencing the game for the first time on PC.

Let’s get this out of the way: FFXV WINDOWS EDITION looks incredible. With support for high-resolution textures, HDR10, and native 4K (even 8K for those brave enough), this version truly shines on a capable rig. The landscapes are jaw-dropping—rolling hills, shimmering lakes, and dusty highways all brought to life with photorealistic detail.

Performance is solid overall, though not flawless. Even on high-end hardware, the engine can hiccup in certain densely populated areas or during chaotic battles. But the added graphical fidelity and smoother frame rates compared to the console versions make this the most immersive way to experience Eos.

The real-time combat system blends action with light strategy, centering around warp-strikes, team coordination, and flashy animations. It feels fast, fluid, and satisfying, even if it can get a bit repetitive after long sessions. The expanded magic crafting and weapon variety help, but the AI can sometimes be a bit erratic—particularly when controlling teammates indirectly.

The inclusion of all post-launch content—including Episode Gladiolus, Prompto, Ignis, and Ardyn—makes this version narratively more complete. These episodes help flesh out character backstories and motivations that the base game only hints at. There’s also a first-person mode and mod support, which add replayability and fun community tweaks.

This is where FFXV is both strongest and weakest. Noctis and his three companions—Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto—form the emotional heart of the game. Their road trip is full of charming banter, goofy moments, and genuine growth. It's the kind of character-driven storytelling that sticks with you.

However, the main plot suffers from jarring pacing, vague lore drops, and underdeveloped villains. The emotional beats hit harder if you’ve done your homework with the anime (Brotherhood), movie (Kingsglaive), and DLCs—but that shouldn’t be a requirement to understand a game’s story.

FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION is a flawed masterpiece. It delivers a sprawling open-world RPG filled with beauty, brotherhood, and big battles. On PC, it reaches its highest potential, giving players the best visuals, performance, and content in one package.

If you can look past its narrative inconsistencies, what you'll find is a heartfelt adventure that's greater than the sum of its parts. It’s not quite the perfect fantasy, but it’s a memorable one.

Rating: 8/10

Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a heartfelt, atmospheric journey into the frosty, snow-covered lands of Freljord, and it's a tale of unlikely heroes and deep familial bonds. This narrative-driven adventure, developed by Tequila Works and published by Riot Forge, manages to blend the charming whimsy of a children's tale with the rich, lore-heavy world of League of Legends.

The core of Song of Nunu revolves around a young boy, Nunu, and his loyal yet playful yeti companion, Willump, as they embark on a quest to uncover the truth behind Nunu's mother's mysterious disappearance. The emotional core of the story lies in Nunu's journey of self-discovery, loss, and the strength found in the bonds we share with those closest to us.

What makes the narrative compelling is the sincerity of Nunu's character and the simple yet beautiful world they inhabit. The relationship between Nunu and Willump is heartwarming, filled with moments of levity, sadness, and triumph. The game doesn't shy away from exploring grief, but it does so with a gentle touch, allowing players to feel the weight of Nunu’s loss without ever becoming too heavy-handed.

It’s a tale about hope, friendship, and courage in the face of adversity — themes that resonate strongly with both younger and older audiences.

The gameplay itself is a mix of puzzle-solving and exploration. You control Nunu and Willump together, navigating through snowy landscapes, solving puzzles that require both the unique abilities of the duo, and battling enemies that stand in their way. The dynamic between Nunu and Willump adds an extra layer to the gameplay. Willump, with his towering size and strength, can break obstacles or carry Nunu to hard-to-reach areas. Meanwhile, Nunu, with his quick wit and magic, offers a more agile approach to tackling challenges.

The puzzles are well-paced and never feel too difficult, which keeps the game accessible to a wide range of players, from younger audiences to adults looking for a lighthearted experience. The puzzles and environment design are clever without feeling frustrating, and there’s a constant flow of discovery.

One of the standout features of Song of Nunu is its gorgeous art style. The game embraces a vibrant, cartoony aesthetic that contrasts with the often grim and harsh world of Freljord. The snow-capped mountains, the lush forests, and the magical creatures you encounter all come to life in an art style that feels like a cross between a children’s picture book and an animated movie.

The environments are lovingly detailed, and the colorful palette ensures that the world feels magical and alive rather than cold and desolate. Every area has its own unique personality, from the frosty caves to the warm, cozy villages where Nunu and Willump take brief respite.

The soundtrack is perhaps one of the most enchanting elements of the game. Composed by the talented Austin Wintory (who also worked on Journey and Abzû), the music captures the whimsy and wonder of Nunu's journey, while also evoking the melancholy undertones of his search for his mother. The score perfectly complements the emotional beats of the story, with soft, melodic themes that tug at the heartstrings.

The sound design in general is immersive, from the crunch of snow underfoot to the hum of Willump’s growl, and it enhances the atmosphere in each area. Every sound feels purposeful, and they all contribute to making the world feel rich and immersive.

For League of Legends fans, Song of Nunu ties back to the larger world in subtle ways. While it doesn't necessarily require deep knowledge of the League universe to enjoy, the game does offer an interesting peek into the characters and lore of Freljord. Nunu and Willump, of course, have their origins in League of Legends, but here, they’re portrayed with more depth and humanity, giving players a chance to experience these iconic champions in a new, emotionally resonant way.

If you’re familiar with the Freljordian lore, you’ll likely appreciate the callbacks to characters like Ashe and Sejuani, but even if you’re new to the world, the story stands on its own merits without needing any prior knowledge of League of Legends.

Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a beautifully crafted, emotionally resonant adventure that strikes a perfect balance between lighthearted fun and deeper storytelling. It’s an accessible game for a wide audience, offering a delightful narrative and engaging gameplay that will leave players feeling connected to its characters. Whether you’re a League of Legends veteran or someone just looking for a charming indie adventure, this is a game that’s hard to put down.

In a world where video games often lean into high-stakes drama or competitive tension, Song of Nunu feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most powerful stories come not from the grand battles, but from the quiet moments of personal growth and discovery.

Rating: 8/10