In keeping with the aforementioned pattern of Kojima’s mostly-great endings, I would also like to nominate “Death Stranding.” For anyone who got into the game enough to make it to the ending, it was one of the most emotionally powerful conclusions I’ve ever played. It left me a blubbering wreck.

“Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” is my favorite ending in recent memory. Just a stunning, powerful, tear-jerking, and cathartic to one of the most haunting and emotionally harrowing games I’d ever played. Everything about it is thrilling and incredible, from the final battle to the final frames.

Your work here has been a model to me in my own critical writing of “trash,” and this piece in particular is an inspiration for me to weather fears of any inevitable “Ehhh you’re thinking about it too much!” responses I’m liable to get. Thank you thank you thank you.

Were people actually saying it was fine then but not now? Or were they saying that it’s always been wrong, it’s just safer to actually articulate that out loud without getting mocked and dismissed? 

It does my heart good to see “Call of Juarez: Gunslinger” here. I played it on a whim and ended up loving it. Even when I then finally played “Red Dead Redemption,” objectively a better game in basically every way, I kept finding myself missing that spark of inspiration and wonder that I had throughout playing CoJ:G.

These are fair criticisms of Moore, but they derail discussion of the equally fair points Leah is raising about comic industry practices.

Now I’m wondering if Kojima’s “Death Stranding” will fit into the Zone subgenre. I already figured it was “The Postman, but weird,” but now I’m suspecting there’s more than a little Roadside Picnic to that game’s world. 

I think it’s more “liberals don’t like us leaving our allies to die (and causing untold bloodshed to come in the region) and alienate even more of the world than we already have because holy fuck.”

“Protect this hot fast-talking teen, please.”

Deep cut, I approve.

Literally no one here is angry, except perhaps those replying to the critical and sarcastic responses with “STOP THINKING CRITICALLY, SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE SEXY SEXY SEX SEX.”

Ernest Scared Stupid.

As someone who only very recently (at age 36) fell in love with Metroid and its descendants like Hollow Knight, I find the term “Metroidvania” to be incredibly helpful in finding more games like that. Maybe I’d be sick of it if I were playing those kinds of games from the start and heard people use it a lot, but damn,…

Sad but unsurprising that none of the obituaries I’ve yet seen have mentioned Brisco. That was his iconic role for me.

This is a fantastic comment. A shame it brought out the predictable torrent of responses.

Thankfully, I already bought it a while back based on Steam reviews that basically said “It’s an Obsidian game, so it’s a brilliant, incredible, broken mess.” But it’s been sitting unplayed in my library ever since.

I believe it, but that show is already supposedly excellent. It takes a special kind of talent to make Gotham entertaining, so his performance there is more of an achievement.

Thank you, I’ve hesitated finally playing it because of those flaws you’ve just mentioned. I will take that advice.

Ugh, this asshole ruined one of the most interesting and offbeat bars in my home town, and they were never able to recover.

Abusive behavior is abusive behavior. Sure, there may be times that call for stress and anger, but let’s not help further normalize the way we excuse abusive, tyrannical behavior from bosses because, oh, he’s under *pressure.*