Opinion – Page 4 – Savior Gaming

5 Games I just Can’t Care About

There are some games that, regardless of how many times I try to play them or how many times I see trailers, I just don’t care about them. Sometimes it is something to do with the genre, even though I recognize they are objectively great games. Others, it’s simply someone associated with it said something stupid, and I don’t want to reward their bad behavior. Either way, here are five games I just do not care about.

Hollow Knight Silksong is a game I tried to play; I even tried to play the original. I have nothing bad to say about either game. This is not me bashing them. They are objectively great games. Silksong might be the game of the year. I just don’t care to play it anymore than I did. I don’t enjoy the genre really, and these games were no exception.

I know I am supposed to love the God of War series, but I just don’t. In the early games, you could beat them by just mashing buttons. In fact, that is exactly how I beat the first one. The later games did get a bit more tactical, but the repetitiveness never wore off for me. Again, I don’t deny they are great games. It is simply a case that they are not great games to me personally.

Most of you will understand without me saying anything about Call of Duty Black Ops 7, for those that don’t, you probably also buy every Madden and NHL game as well.

The whole Virtual Boy thing can suck my..Sorry I try to keep it family-friendly. I do not approve of this. The requirement of needing to buy between $25 and $100 (depending on what you prefer) accessory on top of a monthly subscription to Nintendo Expansion, just to play like 14 games that mostly gave people migraines years ago, is outrageous to me.

Grand Theft Auto VI is, well, let’s be honest be honest none of us care anymore. We are all sick of waiting and the mind games, and the occasional delays, and the supposed leaks that aren’t leaks, it’s them being a tease. Yeah we are all gonna buy it. But I don’t care about the game. I just want to know what day I can buy the game, and I don’t want to hear another word about it until then. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil 9 trailer 2

I’m already saving my damn money for Re9’s release. The game looks incredible. I like that we haven’t had much look into what the enemies will be like. I want to be surprised by what’s lurking in Raccoon City’s ruins. The enemy we have seen is simply nightmare fuel. Absolutely, this is going to be a late birthday present come February. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

My Kid Made Me Play Dandy’s World

This isn’t really a review so much as it is an acknowledgement of its existence and an experience. My daughter, like many kids loves Roblox. And of course like any good parent,I monitor what she does so I watch her play these games. She started with things like Daycare Story and Obbys.

Eventually,she came across Dandy’s World. For those that haven’t played it or seen it you play as one of a bunch of different characters and will be attempting to avoid their “twisted” counter parts as you fill machines with ichor.

My daughter loves Pebble because he is “super cute” and I have to admit,it really is. That being said, I can’t deny the game is pretty well made and interesting. Each character has its own stats and abilities that make them pretty unique. They can be further customized with items and skins.

The games only real downfall is that you only start with one character and you need to unlock the rest through a combination of buying them with ichor and in game tasks. The ichor can be earned or bought with robux which unfortunately does encourage people to use real money, but the in-game fast can’t be avoided.

All in all,while I would never play this myself,it was a fun way to spend time with my kid. Best wishes,and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Society

Billy Whitney is a good, normal kid living with his rich family in Beverly Hills. His parents favor his sister, Jenny. They don’t like his taste in friends nor care much about his school activities. Billy feels like he can’t escape their vain, detached, materialistic world. How right he really is. When Jenny’s old beau plays a troubling recording for Billy, his whole world turns upside down. People die. He sees things. Jenny’s acting just like their parents, his therapist, and the kids at school. Is Billy losing it, or is something deeper going on?

This was a movie I’d heard about for years but never got to experience until recently. The movie is great at making you wonder what the hell is going on and keeping you glued. The finale is batshit insanity with incredible effects. The acting is solid. I appreciate the uncanny, otherworldly feel to the whole movie. I like the social commentary on the rich feeding off the poor, but it never gets heavy-handed. There’s some really funny moments that don’t spoil the dread the movie maintains. My only real gripe is I feel like they should’ve had Billy’s statis hungry ex girlfriend pop up in the end. Overall, I’d call Society an underrated gem that’s relevant and has one hell of a disturbing ending. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hogwarts Legacy

The dream of many has come true: you’ve been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Set nearly a century before the Boy who Lived would enter its walls, we play as a newly discovered prodigy first setting foot into the school while a goblin revolution looms in the background.

As a kid into my young adult years, I loved the world of Harry Potter. I found the lore and worldbuilding fascinating while not really being too invested in Harry himself. While the personal politics of J.K. Rowling have soured my taste for Potter, I was curious if all the hype around the project was warranted.

First, I will say the game excels at bringing Hogwarts to life. The castle is a breathtaking marvel to explore; fans of the books and movie are in for one hell of a treat. It was really cool to make friends, each with their own interesting sidequests, and actually attend classes. There is a vast landscape outside of the castle into Hogsmeade village, the Forbidden Forest, and more. For a while, I had a blast exploring all I could. The game offers a lot of character customization options and there are plenty of spells to learn- including the Unforgivable Curses (you can bet your ass I learned those puppies). The game has plenty of Wizarding World fan service…

However, this game gets incredibly stale and becomes a slog once the wonder wears off. Combat essentially boils down to Arkham-lite; the Unforgivable Curses break the game if you want to cruise through the last third of it. The main story is meh. The friend questlines are more interesting than the main game’s. One huge issue I had is that the game is overly stuffed with fetch quests and scavenger hunts for pointless collectables. Given the vast bestiary and enemy pool they could have drawn from, enemy types are pretty limited. There isn’t much Hogwarts life at Hogwarts Legacy- classes, dueling club, races all end quickly enough. You can pick your house, but it has no weight to the story or how the characters react to you. After the first ten hours, I felt like I was merely grinding to finish the story.

In the end, Hogwarts Legacy isn’t terrible but far from what it could’ve been. Potter-heads will love it, but the casual gamer will pick up on the bloat and repetitive nature of the game. I bought it for $25, which I’d say is a fair price for the fun I got out of it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain America: Brave New World

Some time has passed since Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Sam Wilson faces his first crisis as Captain America. When former Cap and friend, Isiah Bradley, tries to assassinate former Hulk antagonist, now president, Thad Ross without any recollection, it’s up to Sam to prove his friend’s innocence. With his new Falcon, Joaquin Torres, they find a network of conspiracy and mind control led by a familiar foe out to not only ruin Ross but make him the thing he hates the most…

Captain America: Winter Soldier is one of the best movies in the MCU. Brave New World feels like a dumbed-down callback with unused Hulk sequel assets. Anthony Mackie tries his best to keep this weak script afloat, but he ultimately fails. Giancarlo Esposito gets wasted as a villain who ultimately doesn’t go anywhere; bless the man for trying. What really cripples this movie is Harrison Ford phoning in his performance as Ross; the late William Hurt damn near played the obsessed, power-hungry general in Incredible Hulk as well as the smaller return cameos in the MCU til this. The main villain is the Leader, who was also set up in the Incredible Hulk movie, and he looks godawful. He also doesn’t have his psychic powers from the comics, nor does he want to dominate a world of gamma-radiated evolved monsters. He’s a salty, sickly looking broccoli man who spouts your typical end-credits spiel. And Red Hulk is basically a glorified cameo in the end. The action scenes are fine. The movie runs at a decent pace and isn’t overly long.

In the end, Cap 4 isn’t the worst I’ve seen from the MCU ( I’m looking at you Thor: Love and Thunder ) but it’s totally skippable. Fantastic 4: First Steps gave me hope for the MCU and I’m hoping Mackie will get some good Cap time in the next 2 Avengers movies, but until then, stick to the Chris Evans trilogy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (sn1)

During an exploration on the moon, a strange object was found. A space dumpster. Inside the long sealed empress of evil, Rita Repulsa, is unleashed to conquer Earth. Zordon, an ancient alien wizard, and his trusty robot servant Alpha 5 spring into action. Zordon has Alpha find five teenagers with attitude from the nearby city of Angel Grove. Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Kimberly were chosen to become the Power Rangers, the only heroes mighty enough to stop the forces of evil…

If you grew up as a 90’s kid as Savior and I did, this show is peak nostaglia as you can get. Fighting, monsters, a colorful giant robot fighting said giant monsters- what else can any kid ask for? Hell, I was a Power Ranger for Halloween the years I wasn’t Batman. The first season with the classic 6 rangers is lightning in a bottle. The core 6 had good chemistry and for the first 60-episode season, it is it cool seeing the characters grow. For example, Billy starts as a weak, stereotypical nerd who gradually becomes the team’s tech wizard as well as a competent, confident fighter. The show’s structure is aligned with self-contained episodes but the multi-part arcs are some of the show’s highlights. The evil Green Ranger arc that introduces the legendary Tommy into the group is still awesome all these years later. The original Zords are iconic: the Mastodon, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, Sabre-Tooth Tiger, Tyrannosaurus, and the Dragon Zord. The theme is one of my all-time favorites and I still smile each time I hear it; the music all around kicks ass.

Like many show’s there’s some dull episodes here and there. Because of the use of Japanese footage, there is quite a bit of repetition to the Ranger and Zord scenes. This show looks goofy and over the top, but to a charming degree. A couple of times in the first season, plotlines do repeat, just slightly altered. As a kid I remember thinking Bulk and Skull, the comic relief bullies, were annoying, and they are, but they grew on me. Rita is a goofball villain with a shrill voice and neither her or her lackeys are competent, but damn if it isn’t funny.

In the end, Power Rangers is a fun, goofy, kids show but it’s still plenty of fun. Whether you’re riffing it with friends, or getting hyped whenever you hear “It’s Morphin Time!”, the first season of Power Rangers is a good, light-hearted time in our dreary world I recommend. May the power protect you.

Dead Space (2023)

We live in a world of nostalgia and remakes, most of which exist for a quick cash grab. DeadSpace was a classic in horror gaming. Well, thankfully, the folks at Motive understood the assignment. Dead Space is honestly the best horror remake I’ve played, beating Resident Evil 2 (2019) .

The story at it’s core is virtually the same. What changes is everything around it. Issac is no longer a mute protagonist but rather is voiced by the same VA as Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 as well as given a much-needed backstory, adding to the pathos of the engineer. All the characters are flushed out more. The story is told with a deeper narrative emphesis instead of being hidden away in the logs around the ship.

The Ishimura has expanded. Now there are side missions that make you want to retrace your way through the doomed vessel. There is a price, however. Combat has drastically improved but so have the nercomorphs. The weapons are the same but reworked so that the Plasma cutter won’t easily carry you through the whole game. Ammo is much more scarce so you do have to get creative. On the flipside, the necromorphs are smarter, more aggressive, and respawn more throughout the ship. The necromorphs are nothing short of nightmare fuel. The attention to realism, especially when chopping them down, is nothing short of masterwork.

Perhaps what I really admired was that Motive fixed nothing that didn’t need it. The controls are basically the same as 2 and 3. They replaced the annoying gravity jump mechanic with the booster jets from the later games. Parts like the meteor shower and the congestion boss are no longer a pain in the ass but are arguably highlights now. Every weapon has a good pro and con to it. The atmosphere, creatures, story and experience have either remained pure terror or have been carefully elevated.

Unfortunately, this is an EA game. While well-loved by critics and players, they canceled the Dead Space 2 remake, so as of now, this slice of horror game perfection is all we have. Stranger things have happened but I cannot recommend this horror masterpiece enough. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

God of War: Ragnarok

Winter has fallen since Baldur was slain. Kratos and Atreus struggle to evade Freya’s fury and fear the wrath of Odin. Odin comes, accompanied by an enraged, grieving Thor, looking for peace. After an awesome battle between the former god of war and the god of thunder, the duo finds themselves on a new journey, uncovering Odin’s cruelty, Loki’s destiny, and testing the strained relationship of Father and son…

Being the very first game I played on my PS5, I was blown away. Ragnorak is easily the best game in the series. The story and voice work are S-tier. Kratos and Atreus are incredibly developed. I was pleasantly surprised by how fun Atreus was to play and how invested I got in his story. Kratos vs Thor is nothing short of legendary. I loved the game’s depiction of Odin, Thor, and Heimdall. Visually, the game is breathtaking. The music is powerful. My only real complaint is that the Norse saga is basically closed now and where the GOW series is going, I don’t know, but I wish we got a little more in Norse myth. In the end, GOW 5 is an incredible sequel and easily one of the best games on Ps5 I can’t recommend enough. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Conjuring: Last Rites trailer

Nothing in modern horror has possibly made me sadder than the decline and implosion of the Conjuring universe (that should never have been a cinematic universe to begin with). This film looks better than The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It but after the flood of pointless spinoffs and steadily bad sequels, I can’t say I really care about the “final” Conjuring. All I can hope for is that the saga goes out on a fairly positive note. May the gaming gods bring you glory.