u/Viking1360

Metroid Dread: BURNED! 🔥
The wheel has spoken, and the fires have been fed. Our supreme leader tasked me with this burn, and it is done!

For the record, this is a good game, but I have some real problems with it.

On the surface, it’s a Metroid game. New planet, Samus has once again managed to lose all her powers and upgrades, and it’s time to explore a sprawling map to find them all again. Business as usual! Honestly, that part was fine. The level design was cool, each zone felt different and unique, and the enemy types were okay. There were a lot of recycled enemies with new skins, but hey, I get it.
Now, onto the stuff that REALLY ground my gears.

First up: THE DAMN E.M.M.I.!
I’m not usually a fan of cat-and-mouse chase sequences, but making them a one-hit death with a damn near impossible parry mechanic? Not cool, Nintendo. NOT COOL.
The first couple were manageable, but once these metallic nightmares started seeing through walls, things got a little ridiculous. And being forced to escape through water before getting the Gravity Suit? Absolute misery. I went from exploring an alien planet to desperately trying to escape a murderous Roomba with legs. I was NOT having a good time.

And that brings me to my next point: THE FINAL BOSS.
Raven Beak is one of the most frustrating bosses I’ve ever had the displeasure of fighting. My thumb is still recovering from the sheer amount of button-mashing required to take this feathered bastard down.

It took me the better part of TWO HOURSto beat this asshat. TWO. HOURS. And while I eventually emerged victorious, it left a pretty sour taste in my mouth after what was otherwise a fun experience.

Am I frustrated with certain aspects of this game? Yes.
Did the final boss make me want to rage-quit, abandon civilization, and become a monk on some forgotten mountain? Also yes.

Do I regret playing it? No. Despite all the rage, the good outweighs the bad. The exploration is fun, the world is interesting, and underneath all my complaints, there’s a solid Metroid experience here.
My final score: 6.5/10.

Maybe this is a classic “git gud, son” moment for me. Maybe I need to spend some time reflecting on my life choices and questioning why I put myself through this torment.

But you know what? I BEAT THE DAMN THING.
Raven Beak is dead, my thumb is destroyed, my sanity is questionable, and the Devil has been appeased.
And honestly? That’s good enough for me. 🔥

Snuck one in at the finish line! Going to do a little pros and cons for this one.
Pros
Amazing story. The devs clearly knew the source material and respected it enough to make an amazing new Star Wars story set during the Clone Wars. (Suck it, Disney.)
The companions are so good. Every single one has a compelling story that I genuinely wanted to complete. They were all really well-written. Yes, I had my favorites — cough Trick cough — but they were all great.
The voice acting was superb. Whoever did Kabby deserves some awards, lol.
Cons
This game was an unoptimized mess. I had tons of crashes, frame-rate issues, screen tearing — you name it. I really dislike Unreal Engine because of this. It feels like developers don't optimize a damn thing and just expect users' hardware to make up for it, and that's just dumb. I was forced to redo no less than six missions because of crashes, and every single one happened at the end cutscene of the mission! I started saving every turn just to save myself some time, lol.
They really needed an exhaustion mechanic. Something that forced you to rotate your party would have added some much-needed variety. I loved my main squad, but being forced to use some of the other members would have made things more interesting.
Don't get me wrong, this was a great game, but it could have been an amazing one.
Also, for the record, I'm awful at tactical RPGs, so I played this on story mode and had an absolute blast.
All in all, this game was an 8.5/10 for me. It could have been a 10/10 if not for the performance issues.

A complete overhaul!!!!!! FOR FREE!!!!!! In September!!!!! I don’t need to sink another 1000 hours into this game but everything I think I’m out they drag me back in. Good hunting my fellow Witchers I won’t be coming up for air when this comes out.

So time for a confession I’ve never beating this game I’ve played it countless times but never rolled the credits until today!!!! A fun little palate cleanser for me while I work on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 onto the next burn 🔥

Aether & Iron Review — 9.8/10
Some games tell you a story. Others drop you into a world and let the weight of it settle on your shoulders.
Aether & Iron is a masterpiece of knowing exactly what it wants its setting to be. An alternate 1930s New York, where mankind has abandoned the streets for the skies, living among floating cities known as Islands in the shadow of a mysterious illness called the Wasting.
Every piece of this world feels deliberately crafted. The art deco architecture, the grimy streets, the brass and machinery of steampunk—it all comes together into a setting that feels simultaneously beautiful and decaying. A world where the skyline glitters above you while something darker lurks beneath it.
And the writing? Top notch.
The game is fully voiced, which is no small feat for an indie studio making a CRPG with this much dialogue. Every character feels like they belong to this strange, desperate world.
You play a down-on-her-luck smuggler trying to claw her way back into relevance after a job goes spectacularly wrong. But in a city ruled by people far more powerful than you, getting back on your feet is easier said than done. Before long, you're caught in a web of powers far beyond your station.
And that's where Aether & Iron really shines.
Because you constantly feel like the man is getting you down—the system, the powers that be, the people with money and influence, all pushing down on a protagonist who is just trying to survive. There's something wonderfully noir about being the smallest person in the room and realizing everyone else has already decided your fate.
If I were judging the game purely on its world, writing, characters, and atmosphere, this would easily be a 10/10 for me.
Where it falls slightly short is the combat.
I never quite felt like my build fully came online until later in the game, and I found myself wishing the game had leaned even further into its narrative RPG roots. I would have loved something closer to Disco Elysium, where combat could be almost entirely replaced by skill checks, choices, and consequences. Let me talk my way out of a fight, fail spectacularly, roll the dice, and live with whatever disaster follows.
That said, these are relatively small complaints in what is otherwise an exceptional experience.
Aether & Iron — 9.8/10.
If you love CRPGs, noir storytelling, intricate worlds, or games where the atmosphere is practically another character, I highly recommend giving this one a shot.
Sometimes the city doesn't want you to win.
Sometimes it just wants to watch you struggle beneath the weight of it.

I’m the best at what I do... and what I do isn’t very nice!
A quick little burn to kick off August. It took me about two hours to beat, and hell yes, I cheesed this game with save states. 😂
It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill side-scrolling platformer. The hitboxes were all over the place, which led to some frustrating moments, but overall it was still a fun little game.
6.5/10. It loses half a point because now my old-ass thumb hurts.

Ground Zero BURNED!!!
I'm going to start by saying this was a good game, but the most frustrating part is that it could have been a great one. The bones are all there, but the execution stumbled in a few key areas.
For a survival horror game, it started to overstay its welcome. It took me about 8.5 hours to finish, and with the branching paths, you'd need a full second playthrough to experience everything. Maybe I'll revisit it down the road, but not anytime soon.
The story was good, and I thought the premise was a solid alternative to the classic zombie survivalhorror formula. Unfortunately, it was let down by some weak writing toward the end and a few wooden voice performances. That said, it's an indiegame, so I'm willing to give it a bit of a pass there.
My biggest issue with this game?
THAT. FUCKING. BOAT.
Whoever came up with that bullshit deserves to be keelhauled.
Overall, I'd give it a 7/10. I'd love to see more from this development team, and I'd definitely like to see more classic survival horror games in general.

Fun and very short little third person cover based shooter. Story was nonsense but hey they al can’t be winners. Never beat this game as a kid so happy to fix that now. 7/10 a fun way to kill the morning.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic — BURNED!
The taint of the dark side has been cleansed from my record.
Overall, this is a very good game, and I can absolutely see why it's so beloved and considered a classic. It honestly makes me a little sad seeing just how good BioWare was back in the day. I really hope they can find that magic again someday.
9/10.
I'm deducting a point for some long-standing bugs that are still present and for the lack of achievements. I know that's a small thing, but I need my dopamine, man.

Never beat this classic as a kid time to burn that shame from my record!

This game is the embodiment of the word mid. From graphics to the uninspired power of friendship story lines. To the god awful starters this is the first Pokemon I boxed my started after getting it to its final evolution. I hope the next Pokemon game is better and they learned from this.

Fantastic bullet hell! Great story I’m a sucker for lovecraftian style stories.