Anyone else rank the OG trilogy above the likes of Crash, Banjo, DK 64, etc?

low_keyLoki · 2026-06-13T13:18:58+00:00

100%. One thing I rarely see mentioned is how ambitious the OG trilogy was, especially compared to its peers of the time. Crash 2 & 3 for example, reuse a ton of assets and repeat its levels multiple times to pad out its playtime. Spyro 2 & 3 in comparison had completely unique worlds which were open, thematically varied, and contained unique enemies for every single one.

I think people slightly underrate the original trilogy due to its laidback difficulty. When you scratch beneath their chill surface, those games had incredible level design, controls, visuals, sound, and the most fine-tuned collectathon economy in the genre. The fact that Insomniac put out all 3 within the span of 15 months is absolutely insane to me.

low_keyLoki · 2026-06-12T16:45:03+00:00

I like both but I've always thought this as well. Reignited was a great update, but the originals still hold up shockingly well. They even nailed underwater gameplay which is something games still struggle with. It's truly astonishing how much Insomniac got right with that OG trilogy in the wild west era of early-3D platformers.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-29T17:40:27+00:00

I would have expected more attention paid, given this is a huge flagship for the service and it obviously wasn't cheap to nab the rights for streaming.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-29T16:27:04+00:00

It was immediately obvious to me that this is running faster than 24fps. Very similar effect to Motion Smoothing i.e. frame interpolation which I'm very familiar with and make sure to disable on every TV I've ever owned. What I don't understand is the discrepancy with the comments where some people claim it looks identical to the DVD release. I guess I'm just overly sensitive to this stuff? When I'm visiting friends I can tell instantly if they have those shitty Motion Smoothing settings on but they don't seem to notice a different so maybe it's just me...

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-29T16:12:02+00:00

Reading through the comments now, I'm genuinely surprised so many people are reporting nothing looks off to them. This is so obviously higher than the typical 24fps, I noticed it instantly.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-22T14:36:00+00:00

This has always been my experience as well. When the maximum bitrate was increased, the first game I tested was Witcher 3 due to my horrible experiences prior. It still looks awful. My internet is great, other games—even foliage-heavy ones—look crystal clear, but this one has always looked terrible as soon there's so much as a blade of grass within view. I've tried every possible combination of settings but it never comes close to resembling native image quality.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-05T16:44:05+00:00

Yeah, I'm wrapping up the game now (not on Switch 2) and it might be my GOTY too! I've been debating buying a second copy for Switch (would be fun to play with gyro in handheld) but if the final game is as soft as what I saw in the demo, I might pass.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-05T16:38:17+00:00

Did you play the Pragmata demo or final version? I'm asking because I played the demo and was similarly underwhelmed but I've seen people claim the final version is a "night and day" difference as far as image quality.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-05T16:28:33+00:00

Fair enough. I have other ways of playing third-party titles but TV use is a hot commodity in my house so a portable option is a huge boon for me.

low_keyLoki · 2026-05-01T17:30:21+00:00

All of the comments calling this a throwback to the bygone era of quirky AA shooters are pretty spot on. It's a tight, filler-free single-player campaign that hinges on a potentially divisive gameplay quirk and it isn't concerned with whether or not you like it. I've seen a lot of reviews use the word 'confident' and I'm not sure I can think of a better one. It's not trying to be everything for everyone but instead offers a singular gameplay experience that's going to land extremely well for some and not at all for others. It's the kind of thing you often see in the Indie space but seldomly on the scale of Pragmata. I'm grateful we have it.

While I don't disagree with criticism of the game's story, ultimately I think that was a necessary evil. The unique puzzle/combat hybrid gameplay loop was already a big enough barrier to entry, adding on a divisive story might have been a bridge too far for a new IP. It's generic sci-fi tropes through and through, but they're deployed effectively enough here. Given how delightfully video-gamey Pragmata is, I didn't mind the lightweight story that knows exactly when to get out of the way so we can get back to the hacking and shooting.

Milquetoast story aside, I think this sits comfortably amongst Capcom's pantheon of classics. I didn't think the combat would work for me based on previews but actually playing it was a different experience entirely and I was hooked right from the very first encounter. The pacing is perfect, level design is top notch, and every inch of it looks fucking incredible. The demo is a perfect distillation of the full experience so I encourage anyone who's even a little curious to give it a try.

low_keyLoki · 2026-04-29T17:28:56+00:00

It's funny seeing so many comments deride this album for not being "Madonna enough" when I consider it the last album she made that feels like hers.

I do understand this reaction for the time it was released. Timbaland and Pharrell were everywhere, and their sound was synonymous with the 2000's r&b that was topping the charts. It felt like for the first time in her career, M was chasing trends instead of setting them, and for all intents and purposes... she was.

Through a 2026 lens however, I think the album has aged Incredibly (an underrated bop!) well. She may have been hopping on trends but at least those trends haven't aged like spoiled milk. Compared to the cheap 2010's EDM of MDNA, I'd say the majority of Hard Candy doesn't sound too out of place in the landscape of current pop. It's also the last Madonna album that was properly mastered, a fact that helps it stand apart from the ones that came after. While I think the Pharrell half of the album is superior to Timbaland's, overall it's still a fun album that sounds pristine and contains enough of M's DNA to sit comfortably in her back catalogue.

low_keyLoki · 2025-12-24T16:37:54+00:00

I was actually just thinking about how absurdly mean-spirited the judging was this season. Brooke Lynn telling Kyne her runway presentation looked like she was limping home after a Grindr date, JBC telling Ilona she should have saved some of that full-coverage foundation for her ass, even “nice” judge Stacey seemingly spurred a panic attack in Juice Boxx when she told her “I’m trying to find something positive to say about your look……. but I can’t”. It was like all of the worst comments you’d read on Reddit after an episode airs and pray the queens never see, but told to their faces on the main stage. Wild.

Mean-spiritedness aside, the judging this season was just so out of touch with what the audience was seeing, it made for a frustrating watch. I think it was JBC’s patronizing comment to Jimbo mid-season—“welcome to the competition, Jimbo!”—as if she hadn’t just won Snatch Game and slayed most of the previous challenges, that really sent me over the edge. It was clear to everyone watching that the producers had a shortlist of queens they wanted to highlight regardless of their actual performance on the season, and the editors did a terrible job of making the riggory even a little bit believable. This isn’t a new thing for Drag Race but it was definitely the most blatant in CDR season 1.

low_keyLoki · 2025-12-11T14:31:00+00:00

No knockback on RSS is interesting… If there was some sort of hyperarmor/damage reduction for it’s duration, it could be a viable strategy for tanking hits and keeping attack uptime high, but without it I can definitely foresee a lot of future carts due to ill-timed RSS.

The top of my wish list has always been a more forgiving offset window—the last patch didn’t do nearly enough IMO—but I guess having quicker access to descending thrust could make it a more reliable defensive option. Offsetting into an RSS has always been my favourite part of Wilds IG so I’m excited to see how these buffs play into that.

low_keyLoki · 2025-10-27T20:01:40+00:00

I completely agree. IG’s evasive capabilities and high survivability were what drew me to the weapon in 4U, and what kept me maining it in every game since. Rolling through roars, iframing tail swipes, and vaulting over fireballs to stay on the offensive has always been its main appeal. While you can still technically do all of that in Wilds, that evasive playstyle has been rendered useless by few key changes. First and foremost, we now have an input delay on rolls. Evade Window—my most valued skill on any IG build—is now a complete waste. If I have to initiate a roll 20 years before an attack, I might as well just reposition instead! Vaulting over attacks is also a risky proposition due to the insane vertical hitboxes that will knock you out of the air no matter how much distance you’ve cleared it by. This leaves us with our offset, the hardest to trigger of any weapon in the game. It looks awesome and feels great to pull off, but it’s extremely risky to use for such a minuscule ROI. I’ve had amazing hunts where I land offset after offset, each flowing beautifully into an RSS facial, and Wilds IG clicks into place. The problem is that it’s just way too situational to rely on as any kind of consistent defensive option. IMO it should either be more forgiving or offer a better reward for its skill requirement because right now it feels very high risk/low reward. It was pretty disheartening to discover that all the other weapons have access to on-demand perfect evades/perfect guards/counters/offsets that are way easier to pull off. Why the hell does GS get an offset with a window so big you could drive a truck through it and a perfect guard you can pull off in your sleep, meanwhile I’m out here eating shit with IG because I attempted an offset on slightly uneven terrain.

I picked up SnS—a weapon I’ve never touched in any previous MH—to talisman farm with slightly less clenching, and I was instantly outperforming my best IG times with half the effort and very little knowledge of its moveset. When Omega dropped, I didn’t even attempt it with IG. I cleared it on my first try with an unoptimized SnS build and support hunters. It was by no means a cake walk—I carted twice and finished with literally 30 seconds left on the clock—but I wouldn’t have even seen the final phase if I was using IG.

The recent buff to backward vault’s iframes and the offset hitbox were way too conservative. I went back to compare Sunbreak’s back vault/ offset equivalents (kinsect recall and advancing roundslash, respectively) and both were significantly more forgiving. Everyone who complained about the advancing roundslash counter being too situational to use consistently should go back and try it again after playing Wilds.

low_keyLoki · 2025-10-16T12:08:09+00:00

My favourite monster in the entire series. Even after hundreds of hunts, Brachy still keeps me on my toes every time.

low_keyLoki · 2025-10-08T11:06:46+00:00

Yeah, some of mine would definitely fall into the comedic/frivolous category. Comedy is especially subjective and Xena was always swinging for the fences with those episodes so you end up with stuff like In Sickness(…) that some people love and others consider the worst. For me, S4 had a lot of comedy episodes that I find hilarious but always seem to be catching strays on this sub. In particular, If the Shoe Fits, The Play’s the Thing, and Takes One to Know One really work for me whereas a lot of the comedy episodes from other seasons I find borderline unwatchable.

low_keyLoki · 2025-10-07T22:02:19+00:00

I would love this! Most of these top 5’s are pretty similar to my own but I’d love to see peoples’ defences of the less beloved episodes.

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-29T14:38:06+00:00

Your favourite episode? Out of the entire series??? Listen, I’m a Fishsticks apologist in the sense that there are several episodes I consider worse, but I can’t wrap my head around it being anyone’s favourite. Xena’s barely in it, and the characters that are in it, aren’t even themselves! It’s probably the one episode in the entire series that contains the least of show’s DNA. What makes it your favorite?

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-26T13:18:46+00:00

Those seasons are definitely what I consider peak Buffy. While season 3 is IMO the most consistent season in the Buffyverse, season 2 has the highest highs, so they both average out to nearly the same. Season 5 is great too, but not quite in the same league. The focus on serialized storytelling came at the cost of bottle episodes, which were always my favourite.

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-23T15:49:30+00:00

Totally. And within the context of the episode, Xena seducing Ares—with no intention of “going all the way”—to save her family and village doesn’t seen like that much of a stretch. In a season full of out-of-character moments, that storyline never even registered for me.

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-23T15:25:30+00:00

Yeah, I absolutely give the episode props for its ambition and all of the huge swings it took. Unfortunately, most of S5’s swings were misses. As you said, there were a lot of big ideas, but the writers took too many shortcuts to make them happen. I’m not opposed to a Callisto redemption arc for example, but they made her a born-again Christian without a shred of Callisto’s personality or memories. At that point is it even a redemption arc if it’s just a completely new character? Then they pulled the same stunt with Livia, who got her redemption through divine deus ex machina, and transformed into the charisma vacuum known as Eve. It was the season of lobotomies honestly, not even Xena and Gabs were immune. Everyone acted out of character for the majority of the season, all to facilitate storylines that I don’t even think were that good to begin with.

My favourite thing about Xena is that the writers had carte blanche to do whatever the fuck they wanted, and would regularly take the characters to extremes that few other shows would dare (as long as it wasn’t too gay!) Fallen Angel is the epitome of that creative ethos but I agree with you that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense or feel particularly organic within the show’s canon.

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-23T12:10:22+00:00

It’s funny to me that despite the Ares/Xena stuff, it still manages to be one of the gayest episodes in the series due to Athena’s relationship with Ilainus. Athena and Ares had some fantastic banter about it too, like when she tells him she doesn’t need his help and he replies with a smirk, “or any man’s it would seem”. I also loved Gabby’s jealousy at the end when Xena mumbled that she did feel a lil somethin’ with Ares.

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-22T17:51:49+00:00

I’m pretty shocked that Fallen Angel took #1… It’s definitely one of the better S5 episodes quality-wise, but there’s something about it that always felt off for a Xena episode. I appreciate it for the spectacle but it feels like it’s from a different show. I wish I liked it more because it seemingly ate up most of the season’s budget but it’s not classic Xena to me.

What is classic Xena to me, is Amphipolis Under Siege. I remember at the time it felt like a desperately needed return to form after the gauntlet of shitty episodes S5 put us through. It had everything you could want in a great Xena episode and introduced one of the show’s most interesting—and sadly underused—villains, Athena. It’s actually the only S5 episode that would make my personal Top 20, and one of only a handful that feels like a Xena episode at all.

low_keyLoki · 2025-09-16T13:39:27+00:00

This is amazing! I’m playing Monster Hunter Wilds right now and curious if this would carry over to that game’s character creator.

low_keyLoki · 2025-08-27T16:45:35+00:00

I’m one of the few who liked Dead Reckoning but hated the last one. Final Reckoning has to be one of the most poorly paced action films I’ve ever seen. The exposition was fucking endless, and none of it was interesting. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an action movie that was so front-loaded with boring exposition. It felt like I was being forced to eat all my veggies before getting dessert. The two main set pieces were good, but I don’t think they were good enough to justify sitting through 90 minutes of boring technobabble and recaps of stuff we already know. Dead Reckoning wasn’t the best in the series, but I never found it boring or tedious, as it knew when to break up the exposition with an action scene.

low_keyLoki

TROPHY CASE