@changos: not necessarily. Popularity doesn’t automatically equate to quality and/or veracity. Sometimes a popular film or documentary can be both popular and very good. However, a lot of people only like particular formulas, fast pacing/ constant action, or only want “happy endings.” On the whole, a majority of theater goers will often pay money time and time again for what is familiar and what conforms to their own biases, rather than being willing to watch something outside of a particular genre or even franchise. This is why so many movies are repetitive, missable, and forgettable. It’s also why Matt Walsh’s “documentaries” are applauded by the choir to which he’s preaching. Certainly, if you want to feed your confirmation bias, a person can read audience reviews for ideological positions that they already agree with and base their selection of a movie accordingly. But someone who does this isn’t a critic I’m going to trust at all.

I was expecting Alien Romulus, Longlegs, Wild Robot— familiar and bigger movies. It’s actually nice to see a list of films that I really haven’t heard much about yet, which are very likely good dramas. Anymore, if you don’t try to get out of the information silo, you might think that all filmmakers are just working on Marvel wave eight or another Spiderman reboot.

@ntstambo2: especially in its current form, Lords of the Fallen is a very good game— everything I hoped it would be. Full confession: I’ve loved all of the Souls games, and this game in that context isn’t particularly original. But the Umbral Lamp and Umbral Realm do actually make the game even more enjoyable to me than Dark Souls 1-3 and even the beloved Bloodborne. Elden Ring reigns supreme at this point (IMHO), but LOTF is wonderful. Again, I didn’t play it at launch— only many months after with multiple patches.

@kirkalbuquerque: I have played them all, and once you get past the tutorial level in Lords of the Fallen, it’s really a good example in the genre. Highly imitative? Yes. But also innovative in some of its additions— I’ve had as much fun playing it as I had playing Shadow of the Erdtree.

@Samyar991: I would recommend trying it again. Like Cyberpunk 2077, I think this game deserves revisiting and credit to the developers for improving the game. I would actually give it a 9 out of 10.

@randomguy6969: as someone who played and enjoyed Dark Souls II, Lords of the Fallen seems quite easy in comparison. You get another chance, after being killed, to live in the Umbral Realm, and the number of save points (vestiges and vestige flower beds) is much more generous than almost any Souls game. That said, I do think they balanced the difficulty recently, and I have only played the most recent version of the game.

So, I didn’t play this until all of the patches updated the game and addressed many of the launch issues. That said, this game now deserves a much higher score in its current form. I have played all of the From Software Games, and while Lords of the Fallen is at times nearly a copy of a Souls Game (right down to familiar enemies and environments), what points it doesn’t earn in originality, it earns back for its innovations. The Umbral Realm is more than just eye candy— it provides for genuine suspense, since the longer a player stays in the shadowy world, the more the threat increases, including an overpowered reaper that eventually shows up and wreaks havoc. The Umbral additionally plays into some very clever level designs that go beyond anything found in a Souls game. Also, bloodstains are replaced with red lanterns that actually lead you to enemies that killed other players, giving you the chance to avenge them. The Unreal Engine 4 graphics are an improvement to the visuals in Elden Ring, and in its current state, the game seems as polished as Bluepoint’s Demon Souls remake on the PS5. To me, it plays like a successor to the recent version of Demon Souls, while providing a little more narrative clarity than the typical Souls Game. It’s definitely imitative of From Software’s work, but if imitation is the highest form of flattery, Hexworks is a fan girl of everything From Software has done. This game in its current form, after all the work on patches, etc., deserves some love. I would give it a 9 out of 10 without hesitation. It’s a great game, so GameSpot should really revisit the game and give an update on this review. I’m not sure if some higher up in a publishing company put pressure on the developers to release the game too soon, but I think the people who made the game certainly should receive accolades for getting it to the state it is currently in. Great job!

@dmblum1799: In the Mouth of Madness is pretty amazing. The Descent is still one of the all time greats. But we should have some Vincent Price in here somewhere too :)

Give me a Baldurs Gate 3, a couch co-op like Mario Wonder, etc..

I’m sure some of the “live service games” are great— I’ve enjoyed Hell Divers, for instance. But as a general business strategy, I’m thinking people are tired of games you pay for and then have to keep paying for with micro transactions. Plus, consumers are tightening up their spending in general right now.

Don’t believe this negative review, especially if you liked the original Ghosts and Goblins and Ghouls and Ghosts games back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era. This captures the fun of the classic games and adds a wonderful two player co-op experience that was a blast to play with my son. And the difficulty settings make the game quite easy if you want it to be. Granted, I’m a fan of difficult games. But I also appreciate rewards after making it through difficulty. And this game offers the same reward of opening up new areas on a map and encountering some satisfying boss fights and helpful power-ups. I just wish the game was even longer. I give this game an 8. It would have gotten a 9 if it had a bigger map.