Media finished in 2020 thread! (Not including movies, just check my letterboxd for that https://letterboxd.com/ricola102/ )

Misery (book) - 9.5/10
Surprisingly I found the most interesting part to be the themes about the relationship between creators and their fans and the meaning of writing. Additionally it's a really terrifying thriller with an excellent concept.

If I had an issue it would probably be that I think it gets really over the top towards the end which would be fine but I found it less scary because the early parts felt more realistic. It still ramps up well and has a satisfying ending but it starts to feel almost goofy.

Probably gonna check out the movie adaption pretty soon

Raging Loop - 9/10
Excellent VN, loved it. Also it's a spooky mystery set in the Japanese countryside so I'm legally obligated to love it.

Gave me Zero Escape nostalgia for a lot of reasons which I won't go too into for risk of spoilers. Some small issues I had was that there's a lot of long exposition dumping in the true ending and the soundtrack felt somewhat forgettable aside from a couple noteworthy tracks

Also I haven't checked out all the extra postgame content yet, I'll get to that eventually

Cutie Honey - 7/10
Pretty fun and short manga. Has that same tone as Devilman where it's constantly jumping between awkward comedy, shockingly great action, and gratuitously horny scenes

The horny comedy and near constant nudity never really landed well but still somewhat charming outside of that. Might check out some other Go Nagai works sometime.

Zashiki Onna - 7/10
Nice and spooky. Art was creepy, did a good job of giving the stalker woman a weirdly off and uncanny look

Gravity Rush: The Animation - Overture - 7/10
Just a nice little OVA that honestly should have been included in GR2 to begin with because it's straight up essential to understanding what happened in between the first and second game. There's also some cool fight scenes

World of Horror - 8.5/10
Really captures the feel of Junji Ito's manga while still having enough of its own identity through pretty unique gameplay. I think its only big problem is it needs more mysteries to play through

Since it's in early access I'm expecting more content so eventually my score might be higher, but it's still totally worth checking out now

Sonic Forces - 6/10
Meh, really good music, pretty bad level design and very short

DOOM ETERNAL - 10/10
RIPPPPPP ANNNNDDDDDD TEEEEAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Somehow not only lived up to DOOM 2016 but somehow completely blew it away. So many options in every situation, every gun is useful, every type of demon is unique and changes up your strategies every time a new one is introduced.

Feels like a successor to DOOM 2 design-wise, with more disconnected levels that have a larger variety of themes compared to the first game. ETERNAL also finally does justice to the hell on earth theme that DOOM 2 tried to have.

I appreciated how this also had a lot more nods to the original games in terms of visual design but wasn't afraid to try weird new stuff like Urdak, which was really cool but I do kind of wish there were more angelic enemies.

Glad there seems to be a lot more campaign replay value compared to 2016, just having achievements that unlock cosmetics alone makes me want to replay and I haven't even touched cheat codes and master levels yet.

Might already be ready to call this my favorite singleplayer fps ever, it's that good

Blood - 9/10
Adored this game, classic fps heavily inspired by horror movies that has spooky atmosphere and fun unique weapons that are powerful enough to accidently kill yourself with most of the time. Only real issue is it's probably the most difficult shooter I've ever played

The first episode doesn't give you nearly enough ammo and has plenty of parts that feel designed to kill first time players not used to the super accurate enemies and unorthodox weapons. But once you get over the trial by fire learning curve, it's so much fun

Just wanna give a couple tips that really helped me: Crouching makes you much harder to hit, really important with all hitscan enemies. Bind the medkit to something very easy to access, also have quick save on a convenient key. And finally, go nuts with TNT, it's always useful

Despite being brutal your first time through, the first episode is perfect in terms of atmosphere, theming and setpieces. You rise from a grave, fight through tons of zombies and cultists onto a train, crash that train into an evil carnival, then go into a gothic castle

It's nonstop fun new ideas and areas for the first two episodes. Episode 2 has an entire level based off the Overlook Hotel which was a highlight. It starts to become a bit less creative after that but still very fun as more enemies and weapons get introduced.

I liked the soundtrack, but it could have used more tracks. Also the protagonist is the coolest most over the top edgy character I've seen in a while, he's like Alucard from Hellsing meets Ash from Evil Dead meets a fucking cowboy. Tons of personality and one-liners, loved him

Hannibal season 1 - 10/10
wow

Inside - 10/10
The most oppressively lonely game I've played since Yume Nikki. Spectacular atmosphere and tons of mechanics that are introduced very naturally with great puzzles.

Feels mostly like an improvement on Limbo for most of it but by the end it becomes something totally unique, can't recommend enough. Also it's really short, beat it in about 3 hours total, and there's not really a low point throughout the entire game.

Saya no Uta - 8.5/10
One of the best pieces of lovecraftian horror I've ever seen. Incredibly uncomfortable and horrifying the entire way through and ends before it can truly stop being shocking.

The concepts and content are so unrestrained that I never had any idea where it would go next and it gets VERY dark and explicit and kept managing to catch me off guard. Honestly I do find it difficult to recommend to most people because of that.

The sound design, music and backgrounds are excellent, has a feel unlike really anything else. If you can handle the content there's something really weird and unique here that I'm glad I finally checked out. (but for real though definitely not for everyone)

BABA IS YOU - 9/10
Cute little puzzle game that explores its unique concept super well. Gets brutally difficult really fast but it's never unfair.

Duke Nukem 3D - 8/10
Really fun dumb action. The weapons all have a real punch, very satisfying to just explode everything. There's some really cool levels that have a ton of detail put into them, making them feel like actual locations, a pretty impressive feat for the time.

Not as good as Blood, but still worth playing. Also I can't tell if I love the character of Duke ironically or unironically.

Hannibal season 2 - 10/10
Incredible, took everything the first season did well and turns it up to 11. The relationship between Will and Hannibal is so engaging, I was constantly trying to figure out what they truly thought of eachother.

Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition - 10/10
Still one of the greatest games I've ever played, tells an excellent story with atmospheric environments dripping with symbolism in a way no other game has been able to recapture.

The enhanced edition patch really is the best way to play this, the full widescreen support and lots of other little touches really add up to make the game even more gorgeous.

I also forgot how scary I used to actually find this, sad that I'm so familiar with it now, wish I could play it blind again.

Princess Remedy 2: In A Heap of Trouble - 8/10
Short and sweet. I love the artstyle, really uses a limited palette super well. Worth the $5 if you enjoy the first game (which is free, try it out)

didn't play up the dating mechanic enough honestly, most of the abilities you can get aren't super useful aside from the heal you can get from the first possible partner.

Celeste - 10/10
Easily the best tough as nails platformer ever made. Amazed it took me so long to get around to finishing it

The music is amazing, all the levels have a unique gimmick that's taught to the player quickly, the controls are tight, the story is touching, just great in pretty much every way

VVVVVV (replay) - 10/10
Still really love this. Lots of good memories of playing this on 3DS, love the C64/ZX Spectrum aesthetic, and the gravity flipping mechanic makes this a super unique platformer (if you can call a game without jumping a platformer)

Also the soudtrack

Need to play something that isn't a 10/10 to mix this thread up