lampreviews Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023 Video Game)

The Best Game of All Time.

[10/10 · 5 June 2023]

My title holds some weight, I know.

Calling a game the "best game of all time" will always be subjective, but to call this game anything but a piece of art is criminal. I've seen a few reviews here that rate 6 and below, and I don't think I've agreed with almost anything they've said. Sure there are some minor story and performance issues, but neither effected me too much in my experience, not to mention the performance issues being a byproduct of this masterpiece being a switch title. And even then, if you have a good enough PC, just pick up a physical copy of TOTK and then play it on your PC, they deserve the money for this title.

This game is not only the sequel to what many considered one of the best games ever made, it is BETTER in every aspect. To call BOTW a better experience is near blasphemy on gaming, don't get me wrong, I love BOTW's setting and story elements as much as the next person, but this game expands on everything BOTW had and MORE, a better setting, a better more fleshed out story, quite literally everything is better.

Unique Mechanics, an Improved world from the previous game, a good story, an amazing score, incredible art direction, good combat, MANY enemies to fight, adding basically an entire maps worth of new area to explore, DUNGEONS ( I continue to hear "these aren't dungeons!" from people, but they are Dungeons. This is just like when people said BOTW wasn't a Zelda game back in 2017. ) and so much more I can't even list off the top of my head as I just did the aforementioned features.

Calling this game DLC shows that you fail to understand what a sequel is. I didn't see people crying over how God of War Ragnarok's map was reused, but because it's Nintendo, it's instantly bad. I'm not trying to defend Nintendo, as they do happen to produce half baked spin-offs quite often, but that's a topic for another review.

This game captivated me like no other, BOTW was a magical experience, and this game caught that feeling into an intricately wrapped gift and gave me the exact same feeling, but a new and fresh experience. I may as well treat this game's existence like the second coming of christ, because dear god have I never loved a game more.

I currently have 100 hours on the game, which may not seem like much at the moment, but I'm not even nearing the completion any time soon.

Tears of the Kingdom is truly something out of this world, and I don't think the gaming landscape is going to see anything like it until the next Zelda game releases, which I have high hopes for.

The Last of Us (2023– )

An Adaptation That Captured The Same Light As The Original Game.

[8/10 · 4 May 2023]

To begin, I'm just going to say it upfront, HBO's The Last Of Us is an incredible show. I won't be comparing the original game and the show very much throughout this review, only doing so when specific points are being made.

First of all, I'd like to start off with the good, that mainly being the characters and world. The world of The Last Of Us will always be one of interest to me, a place that really brings out your true colors. A world that is so full of life, and yet it's one that takes it away before you could take in the first 30 minutes. The characters are written beautifully, the relationship between Ellie and Joel will always be one of complexity. They are two people who have many layers to them, and their interactions and past make it truly special how they are together. The side characters that appear in the show are just as well written, Henry and Sam being stand-outs. They were already amazing in the game, but in this show they felt almost better? The final scene with them in the original is better purely due to the fact you get more time with Henry and Sam, so you get a better connection with them. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good in the show, it was beyond good. The same depth and feeling could be felt as what happens goes down. And don't even get me started on David, he was already sick enough as it was in the game, but they managed to make him worse in the show, a feat that I applaud. '

There's also things such as the Cinematography, Score, Costume Design, and Sound Design that are also amazing. The score being the standout in the previous list, The Last Of Us will always have a fantastic score.

Where I see most people's issues with the series come from are episodes 3, 7, 9, the lack of action, and the lack of Infected in the show. I actually really enjoyed 3 and 7, and thought they were excellently written. Although 7 is probably my least favorite of the series, it managed to feel the exact same as Left Behind did in the game. They also serve the same purposes, Bill in the original was Joel and Ellie's way of getting a car, and it works the exact same in the show. While they do divert off the main path in terms of plot, I believe 3 and 7 are great anyways. I loved episode 9, but I think that's because nearly everyone loves the climax of the original game. I believe it should've been longer, maybe the longest of the series or tied with When Your Lost In The Darkness. And even though they do the same thing done as the game, following nearly every plot point and major part perfectly, I do agree that it felt partially rushed. But I doubt it actually was rushed, more so it just fell behind the rest for whatever reason. Episode 9 is likely my favorite episode, only behind 1 and 8 by just a little bit.

Although I do agree about the lack of infected. I do think that the infected should've been more active, and their lack of appearances in the show is the only reason I didn't rate this a 10. There are multiple places and scenes where I think having Infected would've benefited the show, like Bill's place after he died or in a house during Ellie's solo journey. It feels morose as just a post-apocalypse rather than the post-outbreak it's supposed to be. And of course with the lack of Infected, also comes the lack of action that stimulates some viewer's minds. I believe the show was perfectly fine in terms of action, maybe a few more scenes with the Infected would've helped, but I personally didn't find an issue with the action, as that's not what The Last Of Us is about. Nonetheless, it's still a great show and all the scenes with Infected in them are great.

Overall, I think this show is amazing. It does nearly everything right, and perfectly captures the same light as the original game in terms of Story, Writing, and Character Depth. However, I'd much rather recommend the game.

It's the perfect story, giving you enough time to connect with the characters before they die and feeling even more brutal and depressing than the show. There's a few things that aren't as good, such as Sarah's death or the Bill plotline. But that doesn't matter compared to the rest.

Thank you for reading, and I'll definitely be re-watching this show in the future.

Iron Lung (2022 Video Game)

A Nearly Perfect Experience.

[9/10 · 26 April 2023]

Iron Lung is a nearly perfect experience, only drawn back by a sub-par ending.

The game takes place entirely inside a small submarine that shares the name of the game, the Iron Lung. Your objective is to take photos of signs of life inside of an ocean after an event called 'The Quiet Rapture', where all planets with known life, or possible life vanished.

However, you are not alone in the blood ocean. Something is obviously following you, and that's where the horror of the game comes from. You have a very grainy and low-quality camera, and this camera is your own available window to the outside. Throughout the game, the tension rises about what this creature is until the end of the game, where it appears on the camera, and then at the next location it attacks via a Jumpscare, ending the game.

The game is just as long as it needs to be, builds enough tension as such a pace where it doesn't feel like it's dragging, and is claustrophobic enough where you feel like there is no escape.

However, my one problem is with the ending jumpscare. Don't get me wrong, the jumpscare is pulled off amazingly, but it feels like a let down compared to the rest. That may just be me, in the end, it's an incredible experience, and the 6$ price may seem big, but the creator is an indie developer, so anything counts. :>

( also first review?? Nice!! )

Darling in the Franxx (2018)

Watch Season 1, Don't Stick Around for Season 2

[6/10 · 26 April 2023]

Darling In The FranXX is an amazing anime, up until Season 2. The first few episodes of season 2 are good, but it takes a notable dip overtime, the dip being obvious near the finale.

I'm telling you, giant space 002 almost turned me away from finishing the finale. It was so out of place, it made me laugh more than actually being invested in what was happening. And it's a shame too, considering how amazing the first season started and ended.

Maybe that's due to the Neon Genesis Evangelion inspiration, but it really does hurt to see how hard this series took a fall. Maybe it was time restraints, or maybe it's because they didn't know how to continue the series going forward.

I would've given it a higher score if half of the series wasn't of poor quality compared to the first half.