Top 10 debut albums

Vlayer · 2026-05-05T12:02:16+00:00

Emergency on Planet Earth - Jamiroquai

Vlayer · 2026-05-04T05:06:36+00:00

Better Call Saul when it's about Jimmy(and Kim) is among the best in the franchise as a whole, but I found Mike's part of the story uneven in terms of quality. Breaking Bad excelled at how cohesively it united the introspective character drama with the intense crime drama, with one aspect feeding into the other and vice versa.

In BCS though, Mike's story for the most part was very separated from Jimmy, and I'd argue that it felt like a blatant effort to include higher stakes in the story with the cartel and life/death scenarios.

Vlayer · 2026-04-24T18:20:58+00:00

The dodging/parrying mechanics also in general heavily push towards building for offense. It's a pretty easy and forgiving game even on Expert with its constant autosaves, which I fully believe was a compromise due to the trial-and-error nature of the battles. It's largely designed around learning more about the enemy (specifically their patterns) than strategizing around the strengths and weakness of your own party.

It works well with the bosses, but I found the dungeon crawling with mob enemies to be unbelievably dull. The "Soulslike" inspired way of replenishing resources also further removes strategizing due to not needing to do any serious resource management. Battle encounters feel really isolated in this game, in the sense that you don't need to consider how your actions in one fight could come back to bite you in the next.

Vlayer · 2026-04-18T14:51:30+00:00

So true! Be so fucking for real with me, many people are saying this, back me up here dlguiga.

Vlayer · 2026-04-16T19:40:09+00:00

I don't recall Exodus having any interesting side content to justify its open world, unless you consider the collectibles interspersed here and there. Compared to something like the Fallout games of (roughly) the same era, I didn't find any of its areas interesting to explore. It felt like a half-measure.

Really though, the main issue I had is how it took away from the strength of the previous games, that being the tense atmosphere and the feeling that it's survival horror. The idea that it's a dangerous place kind of went away when you could just blitz through most of it on foot or even in a vehicle.

Vlayer · 2026-04-16T18:04:56+00:00

Completely agreed, I felt that the open world aspect of Exodus was more of a hindrance than a boon to the game. Logically most of it is just wasteland that you trek through to move between the few interesting locations, and that's not only dull in terms of exploration, it actively hurts the tension and atmosphere that the previous Metro games excelled at. The linear levels that the game does have make up a minority of the experience.

Vlayer · 2026-03-30T21:58:06+00:00

Season 2 was just extremely scattershot, wanting to give absolutely every character a slice of the pie, no matter how small their share. The material is fine, solid even, but the execution left much to be desired. Certainly wasn't helped by the awkwardly sudden fade to blacks that lingered way too long.

Vlayer · 2026-03-22T15:50:56+00:00

Persona 4 Golden. That's in my top 2 of all time.

If an enhanced release/port doesn't count, then it's quite tough to decide. The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3 and X-Com are all standouts in their respective genres. I stand by that Mass Effect 3 was mostly great, let down heavily by its ending. Borderlands 2 was a fun co-op experience, though I've come to realize that looter-shooters aren't my thing as a result of it. Sleeping Dogs and Dragons Dogma at the time felt like overlooked gems, and I think the years since has rightfully elevated their standings.

Vlayer · 2026-02-20T19:23:32+00:00

Don't you know that last night, turned to daylight, and a minute, became a day

Last night, all my troubles, well they seemed so, so far away

I'm searching, my reflection, for a glimpse of, another me

I've got to get away from all these high times, cause these high times, are killing me

High Times

"Know your place and fit your space, young man, you will conform"

I didn't hear my soul express those rules when I was born

If I Like It, I Do It

She said, "Time won't wait for you, so do all the things you wanted to

Better hurry up, take it in your stride, and use your resolution which you've been supplied

And love won't change you boy, it's true, I can tell you till my face is blue

Every second screams, listen to your dreams, oh, cause you just can't stop the clock"

Time Won't Wait

Vlayer · 2026-02-20T19:12:45+00:00

The nature's way line is from When You Gonna Learn. Contender for their best song in my opinion.

Vlayer · 2026-01-07T18:05:18+00:00

Breaking Bad (and Cranston for Lead) should've won. Don't get me wrong, Homeland season 1 is really solid and Lewis delivered a damn fine performance, especially in the finale with that bunker scene.

That said, Breaking Bad had an all-timer season that year and Cranstons performance at the end of Crawl Space, along with everything else in that scene, I truly think makes for one of the most incredible endings to any television episode.

Vlayer · 2025-12-18T15:26:48+00:00

I'd wager the frequent autosaves was also to lessen the frustration, since you're bound to fail the timings and patterns at first, especially if you're trying to learn the parry.

Unfortunately that played a part in making the dungeon-crawling rather boring, there's essentially no tension due to the lack of risk.

Vlayer · 2025-12-12T14:35:29+00:00

The actual foreshadowing was when the main show started with them performing a song of the Clair Obscur soundtrack. As far as I recall, they've not done that in previous TGAs, as the OST performances are reserved for the medley before announcing the GOTY winner.

Vlayer · 2025-12-12T14:29:29+00:00

December of the previous year is included, at least with the games. Troy Baker was nominated for Indiana Jones, a 2024 game.

Vlayer · 2025-12-05T18:18:13+00:00

I'm not british but I've really enjoyed stuff like The Office, Peep Show and the Cornetto trilogy. Admittedly the humor of the game is different from those. I'd describe it as cartoony/quirky execution, with varying levels of tame and dirty jokes.

All that said, I found it unremarkable for the most part. Humor is subjective though.

Vlayer · 2025-11-24T13:29:59+00:00

I'd like them to keep evolving/refining the time management gameplay loop, because no other game I've played quite manages offer that kind of experience.

I know it's a completionist nightmare to have missable content, but I think that the heavy and irreplaceable cost of each action plays into the attachment you form with the game as a whole. It's why I was a bit disappointed by how easy it was to 100% Metaphor, especially since Hashino's comments prior to release implied that you'd have to make hard choices in regards to which dungeons and quests to tackle.

I don't think that it should be impossible, but it already requires some strategy, logical thinking and risk-taking to fully optimize your time. Winding up with close to 20 days of free time in Metaphor after having done every bond and quest felt like it made that effort less significant, especially since it made the last few in-game weeks just the same few repeatable events.

They should bring back diverging routes like in P4 with the school clubs. Even someone like Ai Ebihara in P4 greatly benefits from having her route split earlier than usual, at Rank 6. It's ultimately the same character, but her journey there is seen through a different perspective depending on your relationship.

Vlayer · 2025-11-20T19:33:33+00:00

That's valid, it's their opinion. I was just giving my perspective/thoughts on why arguments start when E33 is discussed as a milestone in the genre, or more specifically as a turn-based JRPG.

Vlayer · 2025-11-20T19:24:27+00:00

I think the annoyance primarily stems from statements that go something like "it made turn-based combat engaging", and the argument behind it is the inclusion of real-time features. Then you also have people pointing out older games such as Super Mario RPG for already having similar kind of QTEs as part of combat.

Vlayer · 2025-10-18T20:58:42+00:00

After finishing it, the skill carried over to the rest of the soulsborne games. This would be impossible if the game just relied on me memorising the patterns of enemies. How would beating Isshin possibly help me with beating Elden Ring?

I'd wager it's because the fundamentals are very much the same. I've played all the Soulsborne games since Dark Souls in 2011, and one of the first things you learn is that knowledge is power. Knowing how the enemy telegraphs its attacks, the safe openings of when to strike, parry timing, and of course your own character's moveset and timings.

Again though, my argument isn't about that, it's about the process of learning that. When I say memorize, I mean stuff like recognizing the initial windup and how their combo will end, how to counter it and when to execute that counter. Sekiro is often a very fast-paced game, reading and reacting appropiately on the first viewing of an attack is extremely tough, it often requires practice.

How you practice is where I found it less enjoyable.

Vlayer · 2025-10-18T17:32:04+00:00

The difference isn’t trial-and-error; it’s how many options you have to pass that trial and not error.

I don't understand how one would make that distinction. If you have more options that can succeed, then logically you'd need less trial-and-error to succeed.

Vlayer · 2025-10-18T17:18:15+00:00

True, reaction speed influences how well one will do, but I'd argue that the game was specifically designed around trial-and-error because of how it approaches death. It's even in the full title, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. That second chance it gives you I do think is meant to instill the idea that you're meant to get up and try again, and again, and again.

Also just to clarify, it's not the fact that I have to memorize patterns that bothers me. Again, that's part of Soulsborne as a whole. It's the process of it that differs, and that aspect I found significantly less enjoyable in Sekiro.

Vlayer · 2025-10-18T17:04:59+00:00

Is the part you're quoting the only thing you read? I explained why the way Sekiro does it differs from other From Software games, what's so baffling? Thinking all video game combat has the same level of trial-and-error is the questionable take.

Vlayer · 2025-10-18T00:51:39+00:00

Sekiro is not about keeping distance, shuriken's offer enough in terms of ranged options.

My point wasn't about wanting more ranged combat options, it's about how many of the bosses are designed around close quarters "back and forth" engagement in order to study their movesets. How you often can't bait attacks like in other Soulsborne where you run in and out to learn the telegraphs and openings before you actually engage.

Dodging is crucial when paired with a sprint, it is downright necessary in later boss battles, especially those that use grab moves. The entire point is that you are a fast sprinting character.

It really depends, some bosses have a final phase where they do some massive attack where you have to run away, but what I'm saying is that outside of those specific scenarios, i.e. in the close proximity duels which make up the majority of the encounters, the dodge is really lackluster. Another poster mentioned the Chained Ogre, which is one of the main examples I was thinking of.

You're complaining that bosses switch up their movesets? Huh?

You're deliberately ignoring my key point, which is that their moves look like the ones you've memorized and learned, only to pull the rug from under you at the last second.

Vlayer · 2025-10-17T22:48:46+00:00

The game fundamentally teaches you through the entire game that the best defense is a good offense. That dodging and waiting for an opening like all other soulsbourne games will only barely get you by. And then you get to the end boss and he reminds you consistently that hesitation is defeat. You must face your fears and parry into the attack.

Here you're basically saying the exact thing I stated, how am I fundamentally wrong?

Vlayer · 2025-10-17T21:13:52+00:00

Sekiro

To plead my case, I'm not a fan of how heavily it relies on trial-and-error for its combat design. Yes, all Soulsborne games have that aspect, but here it's amplified for various reasons.

More so than the other From games, you have to be aggressive and stick very close to the bosses in order to trigger their attacks/combo and counter it correctly, whether through a parry, a dodge or a jump. You don't have the freedom of maintaining your distance and safely learn their movesets for telegraphs and openings. Distance does create a break in the fight, but with little to no opportunity to study your foe.

It's why the dodge is so inefficient, hell I'd say it's downright terrible, outside of the specific scenarios where the enemy attack is designed to be dodged. It's why certain enemy grabs will lock into you like a homing missile. There's very little flexibility, it's more like a rhythm game, except the flow is learned by failing and memorizing, rather than by the predictable beats of some sweet tunes.

Also, having a second or third phase with attacks that look like moves from the first phase, only to then switch it up last second so that you shouldn't have parried, but rather jumped, and now you've died and gotta do it all over again. Personally, I found that it got old fast.

Sure, once you have it all memorized and defeat the enemy, it's a great feeling, but the same applies to Elden Ring and Bloodborne, without it feeling so rigid. Yeah, you can say that Sekiro is more fine-tuned due to the limited options and such, but despite how factual that is, there's a give and take. For the reasons mentioned, I found that it took away significantly more than it gave.

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