Masodo

Let's just get straight to it: the price is way too high. In my region it's $40, which is honestly not okay for what you get. Definitely wait for a sale on this one. And the content really should've just been part of the base game to begin with, like it was with the original Persona 3 FES. That said, if you grab it on sale, loved Persona 3, and especially loved the combat, there's still something here worth having. You get another 20-30 hours of new content, though about 95% of that is a single dungeon, with the remaining 5% being story, showing what happens after the events of the main game, plus some genuinely nice character interactions, with a strong focus on Aigis, which I really loved seeing since she's one of my favorite characters in the game. So if you were into the dungeon-crawling and combat side of things, you'll probably have a good time here. But if the dungeon parts weren't really your thing, or you're not up for grinding through another 20 hours of one, your best bet is honestly just watching the story bits on YouTube instead. That said, if you do decide to grab it like I did, one of my main reasons was wanting to 100% the game on Steam, since you literally can't get there without this DLC. You also get some great new music, the ability to listen to Persona 4 and 5 soundtracks in-game, and a genuinely gorgeous new UI in the menus, maybe the best-looking one across every Persona game I've played so far, for me. Most importantly though, it delivers a good epilogue to the main story, giving the original ending a really nicely done sense of closure.

Right after falling in love with Persona 5 Royal, I jumped straight into Persona 3 Reload. And somehow I fell in love all over again. The story is easily the best part, and reason enough on its own to play this game. It tackles what might be the most important question there is, the meaning of life and what actually makes life worth living, and it genuinely gets to you. There's a quote from Victor Hugo, "Melancholy is the happiness of being sad," that took on a whole new meaning for me after this story. The combat was already insanely good in Persona 5, but here it feels even more polished and refined, and it ended up giving me even more fun. The equipment system improved too, and instead of only finding or buying gear like in P5, you can craft it here as well. There were also a lot more bosses this time, and the rewards felt way more satisfying, but I still preferred the bosses themselves, and the overall gameplay variety, in Persona 5. I also missed the little puzzle segments, though I'm probably alone on that one. Persona is obviously known for its great music, and Persona 3 is no exception, the soundtrack here is unbelievable and elevates pretty much everything happening on screen. Persona soundtracks are easily some of the best I've ever heard in games, and my soundtrack playlist has grown yet again because of this one. Where the game falls a bit short for me is the social side. The side characters you build bonds with felt weaker, and both their designs and their personalities felt a lot less varied, the cast in Persona 5 felt a lot more diverse and distinct from one another. The interactions with and between characters were still good, just not quite on the same level. Romance interactions and events were also fewer and weaker, there were fewer places to visit, fewer shops overall, and fewer free time activities to do in general. Socializing was simply a bigger and better experience there. Both games are incredible, just in different ways, and I can only recommend both. Go with Persona 3 if you want an emotional, deep story with a slightly better combat system, at the cost of weaker social interactions. Go with Persona 5 if you want more social interaction, alongside a great story, combat system, and music. The ending stuck with me for days after finishing it, and it's one of those endings I don't think I'll ever forget. It taught me so much. "Follow your heart. Fight for what you can change; and accept the things you can't." One of many quotes in the game about what it means to live, and one of the most poignant, beautifully haunting set of words I've ever heard. I'll carry it with me for the rest of my life.

The last 10 days of my life have basically just been Persona 5. I completely neglected real life, ended up with 144 hours of playtime on Steam, and I don't regret a single second of it. Going in, I knew nothing about Persona. I'd heard a few banger soundtracks, recognized 2-3 characters from seeing them around and wondered why they were dressed like that, and knew it was turn-based. That's it, that's all I had. 144 hours later, I can say I love this game. The insanely cool art style, the charm it has, the music, and especially the characters. I never expected to fall this hard for it. I'm generally a big turn-based RPG fan, so I figured I'd probably enjoy it, but I did not expect that spending time with these characters, following their stories and everything they go through, and just settling into the daily rhythm of the game would end up being my favorite part of the whole experience. And on top of that, it's easily one of the best turn-based games I've ever played, and one of the best JRPGs, period. It also gave me a bit of a crazy JoJo vibe from the Personas themselves, with a touch of Death Note energy sprinkled in (hope someone else picks up on that haha). Difficulty wise it was a bit too easy for my personal taste, but that honestly makes it perfect for beginners, especially if you've never touched a turn-based game or JRPG before. I genuinely don't understand how I didn't play this sooner, what was wrong with me. This game has everything I love: an incredible story, well written and cool characters, a great world, and amazing music. What more do you want? I got so attached to this game and its characters that saying goodbye to them made me genuinely sad, but just as happy hearing how their futures turn out and seeing how everyone grew stronger in their own way along the way. If I managed to convince even one person to play this, I hope your "life will change" the same way mine did. And there's no better time to jump in, with a Persona 4 remake and Persona 6 both on the horizon. I'm already planning my Persona 3 run next, plus a second playthrough of this one. What more could you want.

Shadow of Rose was a lot of fun too, with a perfect length, not too long, not too short. Worth mentioning, you're playing a woman with long hair in a Resident Evil game, which is honestly a rarity, we all know Capcom loves their short-haired women haha. I liked that Rose gets to use her supernatural powers, even if there wasn't a ton you could do with them, it left me wanting more and made me love her a lot. I really hope we get a full game centered on Rose someday. No shop or real way to change your loadout, which was a bit of a shame since I always love that stuff, but given the length of the DLC I get why it's not there. Enemy variety was lacking too, only two types, which felt like a missed opportunity. Still, I really enjoyed the puppet/hide-and-seek section. It's definitely not a must-play on its own, but if you want more of Village or more of Rose, it's absolutely worth it.

It's great seeing Ethan Winters' story continue. He's not one of my favorite RE protagonists, but we can all agree he's an incredible dad. Location and atmosphere-wise, this is my favorite RE entry. It shares that same vibe as my favorite, RE4, a village (it's literally in the name lol), dark and isolated in the woods with no one around to help. Village takes it further with the snow, and I love that dark, snowy forest feeling so much. And just like RE4, there's also a castle to explore, which was such a great callback and one of my favorite areas in the whole game. The locations in general gave me a bit of a FromSoftware vibe at times, though I don't know if anyone else picks up on that haha The game also pulls a lot of the best elements from other RE titles: the RE4 inventory system, the shop mechanic, even a short Mr. X-style chase from RE2. It's brief and doesn't hit quite the same feeling as Mr. X, but overall the game feels built from many of the best parts from the series. The balance between action and puzzles is great too, something Capcom is generally really good at, though I always want more puzzles since I love that side of horror games especially. The Lords (guess that's the best way to describe the antagonists) are also really well done, cool designs and well-built-up throughout the game. I also just really loved the story of this Resident Evil in general. Definitely recommend this game, even if I'd have liked a few more straight-up horror moments. If you love RE4, you'll love this too. Also cool that you get the choice between first and third person. And then there's Bela, she's such a baddie, honestly reason enough for me to play this game haha

Visually, this is the most stunning game in the trilogy. The jungle in Peru looks beautiful, and the entire Maya theme, atmosphere, and sound design have such an incredible vibe. The GUI got another clean upgrade, and I really liked the new look and progression of the skill tree. Also, Jonah gets way more screen time here he’s an absolute GOAT and I loved seeing him get a bigger role. The tombs and puzzles are the biggest in the series and were tons of fun. Lara makes a lot of mistakes in this chapter and goes through some solid character development, paired with one or two cinematic moments that literally gave me goosebumps. I liked the concept behind the story, though I'm not sure if the antagonist was executed well; they definitely could have done more with him. However, I didn't really like the pacing of the gunfights. It feels like the game tried a bit too hard to fix the "army slaughtering" issue of the prequels, but ended up making things worse. The fights feel much rarer this time around, but when they finally happen, they just drag on for way too long. I would have much preferred more frequent, smaller patrols instead especially with the jungle setting, which offers so many cool opportunities for that. On top of that, the combat is way too easy even on higher difficulties, making upgrading your weapons feel completely pointless. There is also barely any enemy variety; it feels like they actually cut down on different enemy types compared to the previous game, which is a shame because they could have done so many cool things here. Overall, it’s a beautiful conclusion to the trilogy, and if you enjoyed the previous titles, you will definitely love this one too.

Pretty much everything in this game is a massive upgrade from the 2013 title. The graphics look stunning, and the platforming and climbing mechanics got a huge level-up. My biggest issue with the first game was the lack of puzzles, so I was incredibly happy to see way more of them here, and they are much more creative. The skill tree, weapon upgrades, and the general GUI got a nice overhaul too. The storytelling is also way better this time, and the characters and their development feel much more refined than in the prequel. The combat feels much more "realistic" and less like a PvP shooter this time. It still makes no sense how many people Lara kills, but at least the fights feel grounded and you can't just stand out in the open tanking bullets. Instead of PvP, we got the Endurance Mode this time. It’s a neat survival mode where you fight hunger and cold, upgrade your gear during the run, and extract relics at an escape point. You can even mix it up with funny perk and handicap cards. It's a fun distraction, even if it doesn't have a ton of replay value. An absolute blast of a sequel!

Had this sitting in my Steam library for 10 years and definitely should have played it way sooner! I love the jump and run parts, and the camera work is super fun. The combat feels really smooth, the bow is incredibly satisfying, and I really liked the island's lore and Japanese aesthetic. I’d definitely recommend playing on Hard if you want even a bit of a challenge, since it’s quite easy. The story is a mess, however. It has the worst ludonarrative dissonance I've seen. One second Lara is crying over a deer, and the next she’s stacking bodies like the Punisher. It makes no sense. The puzzles were cool, I just wish there were more of them. Also, I’m shocked this still has an "active" multiplayer! Total throwback to that era where every story game had a multiplayer mode, like the old Assassin's Creed games which I loved. It was actually a lot of fun.

I absolutely love seeing more of Raccoon City and the overall vibe! Jill is such a badass and her dynamic with Carlos is great. It’s honestly a bit short and has no real puzzles. Nemesis unfortunately doesn’t give you the same feeling as Mr. X, but the boss fights against him are cool. It felt a bit like a DLC for Resident Evil 2, but I still had much fun. It’s a fine game, but not a must-play only if you want to see more of Raccoon City or the story around RE2.

My favorite Resident Evil story! I absolutely love the atmosphere of the police station and the perfect mix of action and puzzles. It’s so cool to see Leon’s beginnings again, and the bond between Claire and Sherry is insanely sweet. Such an incredible remake.