gameingrants

[gameingrants]

Bloodborne

Bloodborne is my all-time favorite game for several reasons. Bloodborne struck a particular cord in me when I first played it because it combined a magnificent art style with an absolutely incredible story and outstanding gameplay mechanics.

Bloodborne, the best I can describe it, is if H.P. Lovecraft created a game about using blood and putting eyes inside your head to ascend your humanity to become a fourth dimension creature/god. As crazy as it sounds, it is probably crazier if and when you play it.

When I first played bloodborne, I was scared of the game, but it was in overcoming any fear and pushing forward toward the next obstacle that I found so much joy. It is a gratifying game when you feel you have made progress because they are games that can be and are very challenging. It is that feeling, that high, that I am forever chasing when I play the game today because once you know and understand the game, it losses its charm of danger and fear.

Another thing that I love about the game is the art style. If you look up Prague in the Czech Republic, that is almost the exact style throughout most of this game. It is dark and ominous, but something about it is pleasing to the eye, or at least my eye. Later sections closely resemble the hell section of "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch. The areas are dark and full of creatures that make no sense, particularly one creature located in a tower high above the starting area that sends a glowing light out that affects your character if you are within its vision. However, the art pales in comparison to the story this game offers.

Although I will not be able to do the story of bloodborne justice in the short time I have to describe it, I will do my best. You play as a Hunter tasked with ending the "night." The night is something that happens from time to time and is brought on by the use of healing blood. Blood is used to heal people, but too much blood drives people mad and turns them into horrible beasts. As the night drags on, the beats get worse and worse, and eventually, you reach a point where you are fighting creatures that don't seem to be from this world at all. That is where I will leave my brief description to not spoil this masterpiece of a game. But how does the game work?

Bloodborne is a game that fits within the family of games like Dark Souls, which means it has many similarities with the mechanics of these games, such as how weapons are upgraded, how dying and respawning works, and how currencies work. The basics are that when you die in the game, you lose all of your currency where you died, but all of your healing and utility items are refilled. When you die, you are transported back to the last lantern you rested at, and these are your checkpoints.

However, as awful as that might sound, that is part of the fun. The fact is that if and when you die, you lose your progress, but you have a better idea of how to play the game in the future. In that cycle of reward and punishment, I find the most enjoyment from Bloodborne.

It is in all of these different aspects of Bloodborne that it becomes the game I love and adore and not only my favorite game but one of if not the best game I have ever been able to play. The combination of a horrifically beautiful world combined with a story that is equally amazing as it is confusing toped, with beautiful gameplay mechanics, creates a game that I find to be the best of them all. That is why Bloodborne is my favorite game.

[gameingrants]

The Last of Us

The last of Us is widely considered by anyone who has played it to be one of if not the best stories ever told in videogame format. It is a story that fills you with every emotion you can imagine.

The Last of Us is a game I love because it can make me feel for characters in a video game in a way I never thought possible, from sadness and despair to anger and frustration, joy and happiness. I also love this game because it changed my perspective on love and what it means to love someone.

The Last of Us is a game that takes place in 2023 in a post-apocalyptic world where most of the world's population has been taken over by a mutated Cordycept funges that have turned the population into a form of zombies. We play as Joel Miller, a middle-aged man who worked as a courier to deliver goods to whoever paid the highest price. We were tasked with delivering Ellie Williams, a 14-year-old, to a rebel group working to develop a cure for the disease.

To start, I love the Last of Us so much because the relationship between Joel and Ellie is, in many ways, something I simply cannot describe. Joel lost his daughter at the begging of the outbreak, and Ellie had been abandoned by everyone she had ever known. With that in mind, we can start to see how the two of them needed each other in many ways.

The relationship between Joel and Ellie slowly develops throughout the game. In the game, Joel and Ellie's journey takes them about a year. With all of that time, it is not hard to see how these two broken people slowly start forming a father-daughter relationship by the end of the game.

Because the two characters are becoming closer, you grow with them and become invested in their safety. Due to this constantly changing and altering relationship, you will experience all the emotions you can imagine. So it only stands to reason that with every accident and hiccup in the road along the way, we are thrust into all of these emotions.

However, the emotions that this game made me feel were not new to me, but the context for them was. The Last of Us was a game that presented the idea of loving someone so much that you would put your own life on the line and put yourself through hell to save them. Seeing that from two characters knowing that they hated each other in the beginning, truly touched me in a way that is hard to describe.

For all these reasons, the Last of Us is a true masterpiece of video gaming that has resonated with me and anyone who has played it. It is because it moves us and allows us to think about the wider world. That is why The Last of Us is one of my all-time favor it and most loved games.

[gameingrants]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

When talking about gaming, it is almost impossible not to recognize the juggernaut of a franchise that Call of Duty (CoD) has become over the years. One of the games that has propelled the series to its height was CoD Modern Warfare or CoD 4. This game may not have sold the most copies, but it laid the groundwork for the fantastic trilogy that would come from it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is one of my all-time favorite games because not only was it one of the first games that introduced me to what games could be, but it also told a fantastic story and laid the groundwork for the games to come.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was initially released in 2007, and its remastered version was released in 2016. Like most of the games, it follows the basic temple of you playing and a soldier fighting in different missions towards a goal with no bigger picture. It is the essence of the basic first-person shooter.

This was a revolutionary game for me because I had never played anything like it. It was my first real taste of what gaming could be and the worlds that could be created in this sort of format. That is where my love for this game comes from, as everything was new and different. There was nothing I had as a reference for things that had been done before, so I could enjoy the game for what it was at face value.

Additionally, I think this game offered a very basic but good story. It had characters you could get behind and reasons to feel for those around you. However, what it did more than anything was laid the foundation for the games to come after it. For example, Captain Price is a recurring character in all of the Modern Warfare titles, and we all first met him in the original Modern Warfare. From then on, he became a staple of the CoD franchise, and even people who do not play the games will likely recognize him.

It may be a bias of nostalgia, but regardless, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will always be one of my favorite games. Because of the story and my history with it, there will never be a game that replaces how it makes me feel.

[gameingrants]

Doom

Doom 2016 is one of the now seven games in the series. Like its predecessors, it is a game designed around running and gunning with a heavy emphasis on gore. In addition, this game also has a fantastic soundtrack to complement the gameplay. Which I why I love this game.

Doom is a game many people avoid due to its heavy hand in gore and violence. However, that is a bit of an overreaction. Yes, the game is violent and very gory, but that is what we have come to expect from Doom games. This is what the fanbase has come to love, as the grit and action keep us going and is a great way to blow off a bit of steam.

As for the soundtrack, this game would not be what it was if it was not for the fantastic work of Mick Gordon, soundtrack composer. Gordon created a unique collection of tracks that work beautifully together. Gordon wrote a combination of heavy metal, electronic music, and various sounds. This seemingly odd combination created the perfect soundtrack for a violent and gory game.

In my opinion, when you combine a game full of violence and gore and overlay a fantastic heavy-metal soundtrack over it, you end up with the Doom games. The perfect way to let off steam while killing demons from hell. That is why I love Doom.

[gameingrants]

God of War

God Of War 2018, for the longest time, was one of my all-time favorite games. It told a fantastic story of a father and son and a story of not letting your past determine your future. On top of the amazing story being told, the gameplay is wonderful.

God of War 2018 is an incredibly captivating game that takes place in the Norse mythology realms. You play as Kratos, the Greek god of war, as he is forced to take up arms against the Norse Gods. The game's main objective is to bring your wife's ashes to the highest point in all the realms. You take on this journey with your son Atreus.

One of this game's most interesting and exciting parts is the interactions between Kratos and Atreus as they become closer. Evidently, their unnamed mother was the glue of the family, and without her, it has become challenging for the two to interact. However, that is the beauty of the situation; because of this unfortunate circumstance, the father and son can grow closer, and each breaks down their barriers to allow the other to become closer.

Another major part of this story concerns Kraytos's past, and although I am not going into detail, I will simply say that Kreytos's past is riddled with him killing and being cursed by the Gods of Greek Mythology. Kraystos is in Norse mythology because he killed all the Gods where he is from. Now Kratos has to learn to be a father when all he has ever known was death and destruction as the God of War. Now, enough with the story; let's talk gameplay.

In God of War, 2018, Kraytos's weapon of choice is a battle axe named the Leviathan, with lots of inspiration and nods toward Mjolnir. With the axe as our weapon of choice, many mechanics are based on combos and charge attacks. One of the benefits of combos is that when done right, fighting feels more like a dance than anything else; at times, gliding across the arena from enemy to enemy with fluid motions that rely on good timing rather than more potent weaponry. However, that is what makes it so beautiful.

For me, God of War 2018 tells a fantastic story that is compelling and riveting. It has so many layers to it as a father and son grow closer together for survival and each other. On top of that, the fighting adds the perfect amount of difficulty and fun to complement the incredible story around it. That is Why God of War 2018 is one of my favorite games.

[gameingrants]

Red Dead Redemtion 2

Red Dead Redemption 2, or RDR2, as I will be referring to it throughout the rest of this article, was released in 2018 by Rockstar Games. It is an open-world story game set in the fictional version of the American west during the tune of the 20th century. We play as Arthur Morgan in an outlaw gang named the Dutch van der Linde Gang.

The main story follows the gang directly after their golden age has ended, and as such, we are watching as the group slowly falls apart. This is a long process that takes place throughout the whole game that is 50 hours long if you stick to the main story and up to 177 hours long if you do everything the game offers. With that time, RDR2 creates a sense of family and friendship between all the characters I have never seen in any other game. All the characters add to the story in some way, whether it is a direct plot point or just random dialogue while sitting around a fire.

RDR2 makes excellent use of being a new game because it takes full advantage of what today's headwear offers. This is expressed in the environments the game has. For example, the game offers areas in the snowy mountains of the Rockies to the swamps of Lemoyne based off of Louisiana. There are deserts that we would most commonly associate with the American west and even the plains and plateaus similar to the midwest. With all of that, I have yet to mention that these areas have dynamic weather and day/night cycles.

I love Red Dead Redemption because it is a beautiful game with a fantastic set of characters and a compelling story to match. It perfectly combines the human element of life with a world that feels like real life. Because this game is so compelling and breathtaking, it has earned a special place in my heart.

[gameingrants]

Grand Theft Auto 5

Grand Theft Auto 5, or GTA 5 as it is most commonly referred to as was released in 2013 by Rockstar games. This was the seventh installment of the GTA franchise and has become the most popular of the games in the franchise since its release. 

GTA 5 is a story-based game in an open world that the play can explore anytime. The game follows the lives of the three main characters, Michel, Trevor, and Franklin, as they battle with government entities and each other while they work towards the next big heist. At its heart, GTA 5 is the age-old story of trying to escape the system by rebelling against it. 

GTA 5 is not an amazing game but rather just a good game. Because GTA 5 does nothing particularly well as far as mechanics are concerned. For example, the driving controls are okay but not exceptional, the fighting controls are all things considered flawed, and the overall movement is sometimes outdated and frustrating. However, within the bounds of this game, it all fits together and works together well. As strange as it sounds, because GTA 5 is broken, it adds to the experience and fits the game. That said, the story is what truly makes this game for me. 

GTA 5's story is very long, with the main story taking about 31 hours to complete the main story and up to 81 hours if you strive to complete everything the game has to offer. But it is all worth it because not only are you able to get sucked into the story, but you are also able to connect with the characters. GTA 5 is trying to tell the story of being human and making mistakes. The whole reason the story has the plot it does is because of mistakes and decisions that took place ten years before the game takes place. It is for that simple reason that this game holds my interest. 

For me, what makes GTA 5 a great game comes down to no single detail or mechanic. It is in all of the great storytelling and lackluster mechanics that this game becomes something special. It stands out as its own game and as a keystone of its franchise and genre. In an almost ironic twist, the game is perfect because it is broken. That is why GTA 5 is one of my favorite games.

[gameingrants]

Fire Watch

Fire Watch is a game by Compo Santo released in 2016. This is a mystery story game that revolves primarily around two characters, Henry and Delilah. These two characters are both fire watchers in the mountains of Wyoming. The main story is a combination of these two characters working through their personal baggage combined with something even stranger happening.

The story starts with Henry's backstory, which consists of how he met and married his wife, Julia, and how they had a beautiful and happy marriage. However, Julia develops dementia, and her condition declines rapidly, which leads to Henry taking a job as a fire watch to get away from the world. This is when he meets Delilah, his boss and soon-to-be friend.

Over the next few weeks of the story, these two become closer, and we are immersed in this beautiful world where we have small takes to complete that allow us to hike through and explore the wilderness this game has to offer. It's around this point where there are signs starting to emerge that there's more to this game than meets the eye. A strange man is looking at you from a ridge line one night, and then no sooner your watch tower and home are ransacked.

The story starts to take off after this, so for the sake of not spoiling this great game, I will leave the overview at that.

This game does many things really well, not only in the story that is being told but how it tells it and the way the environment adds to everything as it's happening. When it comes to the story, this a very cathartic story that truly emanates real emotion as if you are actually there in the moment experiencing the highs and lows of Henry's story. As I mentioned, the environment is a big part of the storytelling. This is because as you're following the story, you're also hiking through the world. For example, during one of the many conversations between Henry and Delilah, where they're just having a conversation between friends that is deep and intimate, you crest a ridge line and see the orange and yellow sun starting to dip below the treeline on a far-off mountainside as it casts a beautiful glow into the valley below.

For me, this is a story everyone should be exposed to for its beauty and humanity. It's a compelling story that leads you to dark places at times and is still able to pull you back out of them. Ontop of all of that, there is a wonderful world to explore during it all.

[gameingrants]

Dirt Rally 2.0

Dirt Rally 2.0 is a rally cross simulator that has quickly become one of my favorite games. Dirt Rally 2.0, or "Dirt" as I'll be referring to it, is one of the more prominent names in the rally gaming industry, offering better graphics and a more forgiving play style than other titles. Dirt also provides more realistic controls for many of its historic vehicles aiding in the immersion this game offers.

Dirt offers a few different race locations with different tracks varying in length, difficulty, and duration. There are also a few game modes, such as a career mode, rally cross, historic, and time trials, to name a few. Each mode has challenges and skill curves that allow them to be different and stand out as fun and engaging.

For me, these details come together to create a fun and enthralling game that pulls you in and keeps you interested. Dirt has a way of creating a world that makes you feel present in the driver's seat. You feel every bump and hear every clank of the car as it roars through the undergrowth and soar over hill crests. You are on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next call from your co-driver as you stew in anticipation and anxiety, waiting for the next turn.

It is in every detail that this game has to offer that I find myself always wanting more. It is in every detail that this game has to offer, that I find myself always wanting more. It is how you enter a turn, slowing down just in time, pulling the hand brake to throw the rear end out, to then floor the gas into the next turn. This rush of adrenalin is why I love this game.