Robocop Rogue City

Playing this game out of pure nostalgia 

Genre: FPS
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2023

If you are kid born in the 80s you will know what Robocop is. He is part man and part machine here to uphold the law of New Detroit. This game is basically a First Person Shooter with a bit of detective elements sprinkle in the game. The gameplay is bascially follow the story beats and solve crime. Shoot your way to hordes of bad guys and then solve crime only to get yourself in another situation where you have to shoot more bad guys. I can say the shooting is fun. You really feel like Robocop. You can also pick up wewapons that are scattered all over the floor. I like the shooting of this game even if Robocop moves like a sloth. That is how Robocop should move. What I didn't like is the other stuff. The dectective mode, the branches of storyline and the constant going to point A to point B. This part doesn't make Robocop fun at all.I did played for a couple of hours before calling it quits. So I give this game a C-Rank. The good news is that I get to test our my Playstation Portal and that things works fine. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia

Last game of the year

Game no: 565

Genre: Action
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2025

We start with Prince of Persia the Lost Crown a metroidvania like adventure and we end this year with a Rogue Like game The Rogue Prince of Persia. The game was create by Evil Empire. The same studio that created Dead Cells (which I also played this year. Great game by the way). So this game is basically Dead Cells but in a middle eastern wrapper. Basically there are 10 stages and 3 stages are boss stages. You need to try to complete each stage and if you die you start back in the beginning.

While it does play like Dead Cells there are a lot of differences in the game. The game is much slower than dead cells. There is no magic, there is one primary weapon and one secondary weapon. The secondary weapon uses energy it you only can recharge while you kill other enemies. The last difference that you can wall run and wall jump. The more you do you will get a speed boost which makes movement much more faster. 

I love this game don't get me wrong. I love a good rogue like adventure. But that is it. Since the run that you rely is base on a good loadout that you get. Almost forgot, you have medallions (up to 12) which can give you different kind of buffs such as stronger attacks, extra weapons and healing. So back to your runs. The succesful of your runs depends on your loadout. So this game is really not just a test of skill but of luck. So I was very lucky that my last run got me until the final boss. 
Overall to get the full stories you need to beat the game 20-30 times but I didn't enjoy it that much to play this again and again. Maybe one day I will but as for now I have got my fill of this game. Love the art style, sound and gameplay but the slow pace nature of this game makes it a hard recommendation to continue. A-Rank 

Sword of the Sea

Journey meets Tony Hawk 

Game no: 560

Genre: Action 
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2025

This game tells the story about a warrior that uses a sword as a hoverboard. He needs to traverse the barren land and connect it so that the creatures of the sea can roam freely. Basically the land is dead and he is tasks into giving some life to it. 

The game is simple enough. You control the warrior through the vast open desert waves and while jumping you will do some tricks. Along the way to you will some envirornmental puzzles as well as collected some shards which will you use to upgrade your board. That's about it. I mean a game doesn't have to have that much depth and sometimes they don't need to. This game reminds me of Journey where is the jouney (pun intended) that counts and you don't need complicaed mechanics. You are there just to enjoy the game and view.

I do like that this game doesn't stay your welcome. It is a good 3 hours and then it is done. Short and sweet. In between there is a story but it is told without dialogue so you need to read the other descriptions to get what is it about (I didn't pay attention to the story that much) The only thing I do not like that much is that some snowboarding sections are a little difficult and it can get a bit frustrated 

In the end the Sword of the Sea is a great game to relax and unwind. Great soundtrack. Amazing visual and just at the right time. The perfect game for a night or a couple of nights. I will give this an S-Rank 

Mortal Kombat 1

A new era of Kombat

Game no: 559

Genre: Fighting 
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2023

Mortal Kombat has always been a staple of my gaming library. I enjoyed everyone of them since the original Mortal Kombat for the Genesis. This game has been out for 2 years and everytime I wanted to buy I think it is too expensive. What joy I had when I found out that this game can be played for free on PS+ extra. Netherealm Studios is no stranger in designing fighting game but why do people play their games is always due to the top notch story mode. But sadly this year MK didn't hit the mark. There are a couple things wrong with this game lets break it down one by one. 

In the end of MK 11, the story ends with Liu Kang became the keeper of time and he went on in reshaping a new timelne. Basically they rewrote all the main characters storyline. There are no new characters in this game. Most of them come for past MK lore. The story is servicable enough but when it involves multiverse and many different character. The story can get convoluted. I miss the time when Mortal Kombat just meant the tournament without any fancy over the top storyline. 

The gameplay is another thing. There is something different for MK than other fighting games. Each blow that we land on our opponent we can feel it hitting which is great. The not so great part is that the fights are a bit cherograph. We know what is going to happen based on the move sets of each character. Granted that is most fighting games but unlike Street Fighter or Tekken where the moves are fast and we can change move on the fly, Mortal Kombat seems a much more slower endavour. Other than that the gimmick for this year game is the Kameo system. This is basically your second fighter that you can call when you need an assist. It is not a tag another person in but its basically pressing R1 and hoping that the character will land the move to give you some space. It works well but after a while you won't want to use it that much because it doesn't give that much depth. Besides the the Test Your Might, Sight, and Luck are not availble to play in offline mode which sucks. 

Honestly this game is a letdown. Mortal Kombat in my opinion peaked at MK X and after that they are trying to see if they can replicate the same formula that made it fun like before. They really should take some inspiration from MK 9 where it is just a fun game all around with fast kombat. I finished the story mode and watch the DLC Khaos Reign which I am not going to do a review for because they just add 4 more new characters. I give this game a B-Rank. Good thing it was free to play...  

Star Wars Jedi Survivor

 Finally after 3 months I finish the game

Game no: 554

Genre: Action
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2023

After the critically acclaim Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Respawn is back with the sequel which is Jedi Survivor. I honestly don't remember what happen in the events of Fallen Order that much but in Jedi Survivor years have past and we start off alone. Most of the main crew fro the first game has all scattered to other places and eventually we will reunite with them for another grand adventure. It terms of story, this game has the mcguffin that everyone needs to get in order to get to the main area that is curcial for the Jedi's survival. I find the story to be hit or miss. I mean I get the importance of it but I am not invested in it too much. I am more inerested in Cal's story rather than the side characters in the game. 

In terms of gameplay this game plays like a modern Metroidvania where for every sotry beat you will get a power up or an ability that will let you advance to places that you can't before. Along the way you will find bad guys to swing your lightsaber against. This time the game will give you 5 different lightsaber stances to choose from which are single blade, dual blade, dual handed, blaster and crossguard. Each provides a unique style of gameplay and there is a strategy on how you have to switch styles to fight each enemy. As for me I just prefer the dual blade and dual handed style because it is fast faced and you can really do crowd control with those stances. Other than that this game has a lot of platforms where you need to time your jump perfectly to proceed to the next area. 

There are a lot that I liked about the game. I like the fact that combat is the best part about the game. I think the team in Respawn nailed the combat mechanic perfectly. This game should be played in hard or normal mode since parrying is a big part of the gameplay but I wanted to be an actual Jedi so I lowered the difficulty to be easy. The platforming is also fun. Once you know where to get everything seems to just glide. So that is practically the gameplay.

There are a couple things I don't like about the game. The first is being the map. The map is so complicated. Even if its a straight path to get to point B. Some of the paths are not clearly defined. You'll end up going in circles round and round until you find the excat path to take. But only after a lot of trial and error since most of the time I ended up dying multiple times again and again which is really frustrating. The story is okay I guess. I mean the first one is better. The stakes are not as high as the previous one I guess.

Other than that I like a lot about this game.The combat is face paced and the parrying is precise. The different stance makes it fun to play around. BD-1 as a character is awesome. In this game he has a bigger role and you get to play around with him besides just using the binoculars. The platforming is fun and I think that what makes me come back to this game. It is really a fun game to begin with 

In the end, I finish the game until the end credits. The ending does set up the final game and hopefully the last of the trilogy. This is a great game for any Star Wars fan or any fan of great gameplay. I'll be giving this game an S-Rank. One of my top 10 games of the year. 

The Plucky Squire

 A game with so much potential but didn't stick the landing

Game no: 532
Genre: Action
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2024

When they first annouced this game. It looks so amazing and whimsical. A game where you jump from hand drawn pictures to a 3D plane was like magic. So I had to try this,  and it was free on PS Plus Extra so why not. My views on this game is very mixed I guess. First of all you play at Jot. The hero of the book. Jot basically save Mojo World from the evil Humpgrump. Since it is a story. You are following a path that is based on the story book. That is until Humpgrump got a magic stick that pushes Jot out of the book and into the real world which is the kids bedroom. 

The gameplay consist of hitting enemmies with your sword and sloving puzzles invovling replacing words in the book. By replacing certain keywords in the book you can change the outcome of the story. For example, the river is dry. Replace it full then water would come out of it. It makes for some very interesting puzzle solving.  Between the games you are treated to some minigames like a different style of gameplay such as a punch out style or a shooter style. The main part of the game is the 3D sections where you can jump out of the book via portals to slove certain enviornmental puzzle on the other side of the book.

So I can say I like the art style. The art is very pleasant to the eyes. Reminds me of an old school children's book. The narrator even has that British accent. The combat is fun. A single button combat and there are some sections of the game it changes play styles but the game is clearly catering for kids because of how easy it is. Plus it has good accesibility options which is great in my book. The thing I didn't like is that this game is so tedious. It keeps repeating the same gameplay again and again which makes after a couple of chapters you get frustrated and want it to be over. Some sections of the game last for quite a while which makes is super frustrated. Another thing about the gameplay is that you really don't know what to do and you will just end up doing a lot of trial and error stuff to figure out what to do next. That for me is a big no in  my book

But how did I finish the game even if I didn't quiet enjoyed it. The answer is youtube. I played up to chapter 6 and then just watch the rest of the gameplay on youtube. Since I do find the story very interesting. The endgame was not bad. The final boss moves from a 2D and 3D plane. Overall I give this game a B-rank. I just don't have the patient for it. 

Astro Bot

This is a love letter to Playstation 

Game no: 531
Genre: Platformer
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2024

What can I say about Astro Bot that no one else can say. I can say that this is a fun game. This game hits all the right notes spanning 30 years of PlayStation history and finally I can say that it's been a long while where a game can make me smile to play from start to finish. So lets begin my Astro Bot review. We all know that this game is going to be great since the first time I played Astro Bot is from the preloaded PS5 game Astro's playroom. This time Team Asobi manage to do the same game but made it 10 times bigger. 

The game premise is simple. You have to save 300 of your robot freinds scattered throughtout the galaxy and you need to travel to each planet in the specific galaxy to rescue them. At the end of the level. The number of bots your rescued will unlocked the boss for that galaxy and once you beat them you have a specfic VIP bot (more on that later) that will unlock the specific planet with that bot gameplay. Since I am not sure when you will read this so I can share with you the VIP bots that come with their own unique gameplay is Ape Escape(PS1 classic), God of War (plays excatly like the actual game), Uncharted (my favoruite), Loco Roco (I miss this game) and Horizon Zero Dawn (I have to play this game one day). The VIP bots provide some variety into an already polish gameplay. 

Astro comes with a lot of special items to aid him in his quest. Items like the Chicken and Dog which provides vertical and horizontal boost. The Frog hands which acts like boxing gloves, the rock outfit which gives shielding against rocks and heat. There are also enviornmental items like the mouse that makes Astro sink and a sponge that makes Astro suck a lot of water. Each of them provides a unique gameplay and I wish that they could make more stages like this. Sometimes it is just one stage and then you can't use the powerup again. I think that a miss oppurtunity. There are also some stages that requires the gyro controls from the DualSense. I can say that this game uses all the features of the DualSense controllers.

I think the star of these games are the VIP bots. We need to resque 300 of them and out of the 300 there are 140 VIP bots from PlayStation history. Some are well known based on what they are wearing (Solid Snake or Crash Bandicoot) to the obsurce ones (Vib Ribbon and Incredible Crisis) to the who are these people again (No idea??). They don't tell us who are these characters since by rescuing them you'll get a short description on what they were famous for rather than thier name. The bots play a role in advancing the gameplay since the hub world needs a certain number of bots in order to go to the next galaxy. The PS5 is also a character in this game in where you need to rescue the parts scrattered throughout the galaxy. Overall you can see me smiling everytime I got something that reminds me of my past gaming history 

After beating the game there are a lot of secrets to get such as portals to the lost galaxy (shorter versions of the actual stages), puzzle pieces and the best part challenge levels. Challenge levels are basically hardcore challenges of platforming where you have only one chance to get from start to finish without dying. The challenges range from easy to extremely hard. If you mange to beat them all you will be treated to the Master Level Challenge which is by far the most awesome challenge of all (It took me 1 hour to get through). Other than that there are 8 bit stages and glass floor stages. The game really just wants to you play more of it 

After finish the 20 hour game you are left with a satisfied conclusion to a very special game. It doesn't overextend its welcome but I wish it had more. I hope that this game sells a lot and team Asobi can make something else using Astro Bot as the star. So far I can say this is my number 1 game of the year and I will give this an S-Rank 

Ghost of Tshushima Return to Iki Island

The DLC that gives some backstory about Jin's past 

Game no: 530
Genre: Action 
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2021

This game was part of the Director's Cut version. But in order to access it you need to play until chapter 2 of the game which is around 20 hours. So I think it was great for me to get through the game for the first rather than play it again. If you want to see my review of the game you can check my previous review but as for this game there are a couple things that I want to touch on 

In this game, Jin found that there are a group of Mongols that are camp on Iki island that are dangerous than the normal Mongols since they have the ability to make the other Mongols go crazy. Jin has to go there and stop them but when he arrived he found out that his clan was the cause for the island demise. So this game is more about redemption for the other inhabitants of the island. Other than that he needs to face the fact that he has to work through his demons of the death of his father. It makes this game a more personal experince 

The island is 1/5 smaller than the main game. You can finish the game in around 5 hours with another 4 hours if you want to complete it. Gameplay is the same as before. There are two different things is that now your horse has an attack where he will ram people. Other than that combat has been more strategic where you need to attack the shaman first before attacking the rest of the mongols since the shaman gives them a boost in strengh. There are also a new move witht he grappling hook which I like. There is also a travelsal stage with using the hook which is also great. Oh and there are cats you can pet.

Overall the DLC did what it was supposed to do. It tells a story that helps complete the whole package of Jin. The gameplay is the same so there nothing to special about that and it ends at the right time. Overall this has been a great experince of the original game and as well as the DLC. But it is more or less the same so I will give this game an S-Rank as well 

Ghost of Tsushima Directors Cut

This is one of the best games I've played 

Game no: 529
Genre: Action 
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2021

This is going to be one fo my long widing post about a game I played. This is my second game of the year that is consider current gen. Ghost of Tsushima is a game that came out in 2020 for the PS4 which is close tot he PS4 end of life. The game was considered a masterpiece and I can tell you that there is a lot of things that I have never seen in a game before that this game do very well. This is going to be a two part review. A review of the main game and the review of the DLC (Iki Island). 

Ghost of Tsushima is the story about a Samurai named Jin Sakai and how has to stop his island from being invaded by Mongols that is lead by the ruthless Kothal Khan. From the moment you start the game and when you ride through the intro screen you are amazed at how beautiful this game look. This I can say it is one of the most beautiful game on the PS5. Everything looks so stunning with the lighting effects and weather. This game has also the option to turn it into black and white or as they call it Kurusawa mode. I didn't like this effect that much since everything looks good while in colour. As for the story this game is a story about redemption and honor. In order to save his island Jin must forgo the teachings of the samurai and become something more. A "Ghost" as they say. I love the story from start to finish.

Now let's talk about gameplay which is going to be the main topic of the discussion. This game plays a lot like any open world game. You have markers and each markers will lead you to a story beat. You settle the story and then get experince points where you use to buy upgrade points. It's basically that in a nutshell. The map is huge with 3 different regions. The maps have settlements that are occupied by mongols and you need to liberate them. Them oment you liberate them you will gain the fast travel to the area. What makes this game unique is that there is not HUD display on screen. Usually with most open world game there is a map where they will show where is your next objective. This game however has a minimal UI system. To find out where you have to go. You just have to swipe up on the controller and  the wind will take you to the direction on where do you want to go. I find that this system makes playing the game very immersive. The villages are the source of you upgrading your weapons, sub weapons and armor. You only have 2 main weapons which is your katana and your smaller knife for assisnations. To upgrade it you must collect
their in game currencies which consist of supplies, bamboo, wood, leather, iron, silk. The numbers are abitiary but a certain amount will nap you the upgrade. Along the journey you will also get a lot of different armor sets. Which its its own unique properties, like more damage better health or stealth. If you can maintain a no hit combo for 7 kills you will unlock like god mode where you can one hit kill 3 people. There aer 4 types of enemies and combat consists of 4 types of stances.  Each  stance is suitable for a particular enemy (sword, shield, staff and brute) and this makes you have to change strategy when confronting with multiple enemies that surround you. The game doesn't have a lock on system but it seems to know where to attack next.I find that amazing. I've played more than 50 hours in and I am not stlll not sure how the combat can be so engaging and still fun. There are also some stealth sections to the game and sometimes you need to be quiet so that you won't be overwhlemed by a horde of enemies 

There is only one thing I don't like about this game that is you can skip a particular cut scene. You have to see it through. I get it that it's to preserve the story but some of the stories I do find a bit too boring a tedious. Other than that are just nitpicks I guess. Your skill tree ends but you will still have more upgrade points to be used. I also forgot there is an online factor in this game but I didn't play it since this game is really outdated and therre is no one playing at the servers and it's kind of a rouge lite mode. Nohting to interesting  Some of clothes suck and the color options also doesn't help. Everything else about this game is a masterpiece. I am glad that I played this game 3 years in after everyone has played this. This game is best experince without anybody giving ideas in yopur head on what the game is supposed to be. 

Overall Ghost of Tsushima is a great game and really this will be my game of the year if a certain robot didn't come thiis year as well (more on that later in the months). Next I will review the DLC. Overall this game is an S-Rank for me.

Spider-Man 2

A sequel that keeps me wanting more 

Game no: 517
Genre: Action   
Platform: Nintendo 64
Release Date: 2023

Insomniac games release one of the best super hero games with 2018 Spider-Man. The improve of the iteration with Spider-Man Miles Morales. Now 5 years later we get a full sequel which is Spider-Man 2. Does this game deliver or they still can improve on it? Let's find out 

Spider-Man 2 continues the story of Peter Parker which he is trying to juggle life such as having a career and a girlfriend with also being your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The only difference is now that he has Miles to tag along to help him in his adventures to save the city. The first 1 hour of the game see you fighting of Sandman in an awesome display of graphics and loading power of the Playstation 5. Basically you can get this level of detail with the old console. This time he is join by his friend Harry Osborn which is alive thanks to the alien symbiote in his body. The main bad guy here is Kraven the Hunter and he is really powerful for a human in my opinion. The story has a lot of ups and down. But basically if you seen Spider-Man 3 it follows almost the same plot but with a twist in the middle and end 

Gameplay consist of getting to point A to point B, hitting a lot of enemies and then moving the story along to point C. Between the story missions there are a lot of side missions such as science experiments, drone racers, symbiote nests and more. Gone are the crimes that you need to complete in order to get 100% but if you want you can just complete it just for fun. This time controlling Spider-Man combat and traversal is easier since there are action commands on the screen and you can active it with a simple tap (after that it will cooldown for a while). You also have specific story mission for the different Spider-Men and each of them are not the same and some are very thoughtful and sad. Returning as well are the Mary Jane mission which honestly is one of the best parts in the game since Mary Jane is a bit overpowered in this game since they gave her a gun. 

So what did I like about this game? Honestly everything in this game is awesome. After playing through the story missions and the side stories and collecting all the collectables. I wanted more. I didn't want to stop being Spider-Man. Which brings me to the not great thing about this game. First of all the repetitive combat. After you fight wave of wave of enemies, you will become a bit annoyed by it. I had to lower down the difficulty just to get all the bad guys finished as fast as I can. The other complain I have (which is more of a bummer) is that after you are done playing the game, you are actually done. There is nothing much you can do except for swinging around and flying around New York. The game took 30 hours to complete but it feels like a short time. Couple with all the parts you collect to upgrade your suits and get all the unlockables. There is pretty much nothing much to do 

So Spider-Man 2 did a lot of things better than the first one. This is one of the games that is confirm going to be in my top 3 of game of the year. Sadly this will probably be my last game of this year unless I really want to start playing again. I have a job and I want to try to do as much as I can. So what does that mean for my gaming time. It is going to be less and limited. So honestly, I don't mind. I have 2 more games I am hoping to finish this year but with 45 days remaining I don't think I can. Oh yeah... I give this game a S-Rank. Must play  

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart

I tried so hard and got so far 

Genre: Action
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2021

Ok, don't get me wrong. This is a great game by Insomniac games but I don't know why it took me forever to try to beat it. Probably this game is not for me. Let's dive in and see what was missing in my book. So this game is after the last Ratchet and Clank game which I thoroughly enjoyed (review here) where you start the game off as our dynamic duo. Halfway throughout the story, some bad guys came around and then the you are off to another adventure.

The game plays like a standard Ratchet and Clank. You get weapons, you shoot bad guys, you navigate terrains. Rinse and repeat. During the game there are some puzzle sections involving Clank and a spider robot. What makes this game apart from the previous iterations is that the power of the PS5 SSD drive. This time you are dealing with dimensional travel where you can be transported into another different dimension in a split second when you jump inside a portal. The different dimension means that the story is trying a different take on the bad guys, even heroes. You have another Lombax (apparently Ratchet is Lombax, and here I thought he was a cartoon fox type creature) named Rivet. Both of them control the same only with different story beats.

From what I heard that this game is short at 6 hours in. But after 3 hours in, I think I saw enough to make an honest opinion on the game. It is the same thing repeated over and over again. Head to an area, fight the bad guys, rinse and repeat. After a while I find that game play a bit tedious and boring. The game however is a masterpiece to look at. It basically a visual vomit of particle effects and colors flying around. You can actually lose your bearing since there are so many things happening on screen that you forget that there are actually people are trying to short at you

In the end, this game is for the hardcore fans of the series. I am sadly am not one of them. Good thing this game was free from the PS plus extra catalogue. So no gripes there. So after all in all, I give this game a B-Rank. Good enough I guess. Now let's play a different game 

Trek to Yomi

Reminds me of an old classic 

Game no: 509
Genre: Action 
Platform: PS5 
Release Date: 2022

Trek to Yomi is about a tale of loss, love, revenge, duty and honor. It is basically a whole package. You play as Hiroki a samurai warrior in task of protecting the village. What it doesn't say that the events leading up to your village demise will lead you to a path of discovery of your true self. This game is presented like an old Japanese samurai movie. It all black and white just with different hues. It even comes with a old film grain filter so that you can make it feel like your in an actual movie. It is however a 2.5D game where you only can move in either left or right with the occasional free roam. The camera is already at a fixed point and it doesn't get annoying since the path is just straightforward.

Combat in this game is amazing. It reminds me of the old PS1 game Bushido blade. Where you only have 1 to 3 swipes to kill your opponent. You have only 3 buttons, light, heavy attack and block. The challenge comes in your stamina meter so that you can't just spam the button over and over again to kill the enemy (I did that and I find that you die faster by doing that). So in this game you need to observe what you enemy is doing and attack when there is an opening. It gives this game a layer of strategy and honestly it is quite fun when you get to execute 5 bad guys around you with just prefect timing. You also have the aid of projectile weapons when you need a breather and there is more enemies on screen. 

The game is not that long and you can play it at small chunks at a time and still have a great time. The story for me is a mixed bag. You will either like it or you don't. There are multiple story branches to choose from and that will make the outcome different. I choose the really bad ending but it okay. After the end I was satisfied at what the game want to give me. A great action game. In the end Trek to Yomi is not for everyone. The game rewards you for patience and I did enjoy my time with it. S Rank for me. 

Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy

This is the longest time between games that I finally finish a game

Game no: 501
Genre: Action  
Platform: PS5 
Release Date: 2021

When I first booted this game up I knew that I was knew I was in for a treat since my only knowledge of Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG) is only through the MCU. I can say that the only similarities are the characters of from the movies. Everything else is different in every way. We got Star-Lord who knew he was half alien since they address it when he was young. Gamora who apparently killed Thanos in this timeline and now is just a hired assassin. Drax who is actually like the movie counterpart. Rocket and Groot who are also the same but with some subtle differences here and there. 

I thought that this game would play like a Final Fantasy 7 Remake where you can switch between 5 characters in
combat but it turns out that you play the entire game as Star-Lord since you are the leader of the group. Star-Lord arsenal consist of his two elemental guns which has a standard fire with a reload cooldown. The guns doesn't provide that much damage but the special moves that he has is enough to provide with variety in combat. The difference of combat in this game is that you control the other Guardians via action prompt on screen. Each guardians are AI controlled but you can assign commands for extra and more powerful attacks such as Rocket's bombs or Gamora extra slice. Sprinkle with some puzzles, platforming, some mini games and story you got yourself an awesome adventure 

The story is an epic one. The reason why I stayed in the game is that I this story basically shows the beginnings of them starting to hate each other and by the end they become a family who loves each other and would sacrifice everything to save the other person. The story however is a long one with clocking at close to 18 hours is like watching a space opera unfold. Everyone has a chance to shine in this game even Groot even though he doesn't talk that much.

What I liked about this game is that the story is engaging and combat are fun to play. You really get the sense of being in a team when you are fighting together. There are also puzzle segments which is Guardian has a special unique skill where  you as Star-Lord need to
navigate and tell them what to do. It gets a bit confusing  at time but the voice prompts are there to help you. There are also flying segments where you control the Milano but that is not anything special. But this game really overstayed its welcome by being a bit too long and too repetitive in the combat sense. You end up going to one area to fight the same group of bad guys only to end up fighting the same group of bad guys in front as well. At the end I am like when will this end. 

In the end I preserved and watch the end credits and I can say that this is one of the best narrative games I've played in a long while. This is already a contender for game of the year for me but I know this game is not for everyone. I give an A-Rank due to the gameplay being repetitive despite an awesome story and combat mechanics