A Story Of Morri

 FULL STORY OF MORRI, THE STREAMER OF THE WEEK.

My Gamer Tag: A UK Car Registration Plate;

When I first came up with my gamer tag, I wanted it to be something unique but also meaningful. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that my tag was inspired by a UK car registration plate. There’s something about the style and format of those plates that really clicked with me. It felt like it perfectly embodied both my love for gaming and a sense of identity that was cool but not too flashy. It was subtle, but distinct – a perfect reflection of who I am as a gamer.

My First Game: Doom;

Every gamer has that first game that makes them fall in love with the world of gaming, and for me, it was Doom. I remember the first time I booted it up; the adrenaline rush from the fast-paced action and the intense atmosphere was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It wasn't just about shooting demons; it was about getting lost in a different world, a world that was all my own. That was when I knew: I was hooked. Doom taught me what gaming was all about—escape, challenge, and excitement.

Favorite Game: Black Ops 6;

If I had to pick one game that’s my absolute favorite, it would definitely be Black Ops 6. The multiplayer, the strategy, the fast action—it’s all so well balanced. The maps are brilliantly designed, and the thrill of outsmarting an opponent with a clever play or a perfectly timed shot is unmatched. Every game feels different, and there’s always a new challenge waiting around every corner. It’s the kind of game that never gets old, no matter how many times I play it. It’s like a perfect mix of skill and fun that keeps me coming back for more.

Fortnite and SnowRunner: Diversifying My Gaming Experience;

Although Black Ops 6 is my go-to, I do love a bit of variety in my gaming diet. Fortnite and SnowRunner are two games that have allowed me to explore very different experiences. Fortnite is perfect when I’m in the mood for some lighthearted battle royale action. The ever-changing events and new seasons keep things fresh, and the building mechanics add a unique twist to the gameplay. On the other hand, SnowRunner offers a completely different vibe. It’s all about strategy and patience—getting through tough terrain with a truck that might get stuck at any moment. The challenge of conquering the elements and finding creative solutions is something I find deeply satisfying. Both games have a special place in my gaming routine.

FPS: My Favorite Genre;

When it comes to gaming, I’ve always been drawn to first-person shooters (FPS). The immersive experience, the quick reflexes required, and the constant adrenaline rush make FPS games the perfect fit for me. Whether I’m playing Doom, Black Ops 6, or even something more casual like Fortnite, I love the feeling of being right in the action. FPS games allow me to hone my skills and think quickly, and there’s something incredibly satisfying about landing that perfect headshot. FPS is more than just a genre; it’s the heart of my gaming experience.

Gaming as an Escape: A Mental Health Break;

Gaming has always been more than just a hobby for me; it’s been a way to escape from the pressures of real life. Life can sometimes be overwhelming, and the world of gaming has always offered a refuge where I can disconnect and recharge. It’s like stepping into a new world, where I can forget about my problems and focus on the challenge at hand. Whether I'm losing myself in the chaos of a battle in Black Ops 6 or just exploring the world of SnowRunner, gaming helps me manage stress and anxiety. It’s not just a distraction; it’s a tool that helps me keep my mental health in check.

Streaming for Fun: Sharing My Passion;

I’ve recently started streaming, and honestly, it’s been a blast. I don’t take it too seriously; I do it for fun. It’s an opportunity to connect with others who share the same passion for gaming. Whether I’m chatting with viewers or just enjoying a quiet gaming session, streaming has added a whole new layer to my gaming experience. It’s a way to share the highs and lows of gaming with others, and the community that has formed around my streams has been incredibly supportive. It’s not about the followers or the views for me—it’s about having fun and enjoying the moments.

A Dream: Full-Time Streaming;

While streaming is a fun hobby for me right now, I won’t lie—it would be a dream to make it my full-time job. The idea of spending my days gaming, creating content, and building a community is something that excites me. It’s not just about the money; it’s about doing something I love, something that makes me happy, and sharing that joy with others. The more I stream, the more I realize that this could be my future. Who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll be able to turn my passion into a full-time career. For now, I’ll keep streaming, enjoying every moment, and seeing where the journey takes me.

This is just the beginning of my gaming story. Who knows what the future holds? Whatever happens, I know gaming will always be there to keep me grounded and entertained.

The Rise of MAJ: A Gamer's Journey to Stardom

The Rise of MAJ: A Gamer's Journey to Stardom 

In the vast and vibrant world of gaming, a new star is rising. Meet MAJ, a passionate and dedicated gamer with a dream to make it big. With a unique gamer tag born from the fusion of two usernames, MAJ is a force to be reckoned with. His journey is a testament to the power of hard work, determination, and a love for gaming that knows no bounds. 

The Early Days: A Gaming Legacy Born:

MAJ's gaming odyssey began with the classic Sonic on the original gaming system before PS1. Who would have thought that this iconic game would spark a passion that would last a lifetime? As he grew older, his love for gaming only intensified, and he discovered new worlds, new characters, and new challenges that fueled his enthusiasm. 

Call of Duty: The Game That Changed Everything:

But it was Call of Duty that truly captured MAJ's heart. This first-person shooter game became an obsession, and he spent hours honing their skills, mastering strategies, and perfecting his gameplay. Call of Duty was more than just a game – it was a gateway to a community, a culture, and a way of life.

A Gaming Portfolio: 200 Games and Counting!:

With a gaming repertoire that spans at least 150-200 games, MAJ is a true gaming aficionado. From the thrill of Mario Kart to the adventure of Super Mario, he explored it all. His gaming story is a testament to his insatiable curiosity and his desire to experience everything the gaming world has to offer.

RPGs: The Ultimate Challenge:

But MAJ's true love lies in RPGs (Role-Playing Games). There's something about immersing oneself in a virtual world, creating characters, and embarking on quests that speaks to his soul. RPGs offer a level of depth, complexity, and engagement that few other games can match.

MW2: The Game That Started It All:

MAJ's gaming story took off with MW2 (Modern Warfare 2). This game was the catalyst that propelled him into the world of competitive gaming. He couldn't stop playing, and his passion only grew stronger with each passing day.

Streaming with a Purpose:

Today, MAJ streams his gameplay to a growing audience. But his motivation goes beyond mere entertainment.

He streams to: 

 Make his brother's dreams come true 

 Turn his passion into a successful career 

 Spread love, positivity, and inspiration to his viewers 

 Make his parents proud and show appreciation for his supporters 

A Bright Future Ahead:

In the next 5 years, MAJ sees himself as a famous gamer, achieved his dreams. He hopes to join a top gaming team, compete in international tournaments, and make a name for himself in the gaming world. With dedication, perseverance, and a bit of luck, he’s confident that he can achieve greatness. 

The Power of Gaming :

MAJ's story is a testament to the power of gaming to transform lives. It's a world where people can come together, share experiences, and build communities. Gaming has given MAJ a sense of purpose, a creative outlet, and a platform to inspire others. 

Join the Journey:

As MAJ continues their rise to gaming stardom, he invite you to join him on his journey. Follow his streams, watch his gameplay, and be inspired by his passion and dedication. Who knows? You might just discover a new favorite game or a new passion that changes your life forever.

In the world of gaming, MAJ is a name to watch. With his unique blend of skill, creativity, and charisma, he’s destined for greatness. Join the MAJ squad and be a part of his epic journey to the top!

The Story of Yatchinator: A Gaming Journey

 The Story of Yatchinator: A Gaming Journey

How I Came Up With My Gamer Tag: It’s funny how things come together. My friends used to call me Josh, but for some reason, my grandmother couldn’t quite pronounce it, so she called me "Yatch." The name stuck, and over time, I combined it with my love for the Terminator franchise to create my gamer tag: "Yatchinator." I loved the way it sounded, and it became my identity in the gaming world. 

My First Game: The Beginning of My Journey The very first game I ever laid my eyes on was Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo system. My aunt bought it for me, and I can still remember screaming with joy when I got it. That was the beginning of everything. It opened up a whole new world for me, and I’ve been hooked on gaming ever since.

 My Favorite Game of All Time: One game that has stuck with me throughout the years is Chrono Cross. The characters immediately captured my heart. I felt every emotion when something happened to them, and the score was so breathtaking that it stood the test of time for me. It’s my favorite game of all time, and it helped me get through a lot of tough moments during my teenage years. For that, I’ll always be grateful.

 The Games That Come in 2nd and 3rd: My second favorite game is The King of Fighters. I have my brother Edgar to thank for introducing me to it. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but I quickly fell in love with the characters and their designs. The story was gripping, and while some people might criticize the graphics, for me, gameplay has always been king. I even met so many friends through the game, and many of them have become like family to me. In third place is Jade Empire, the first RPG RTS game I ever played. I loved the freedom it gave me and how rich the system was. I’ve beaten the game more times than I can count. I still hope that one day it will come back, whether as a remaster or a completely new game. 

How Many Games Have I Played? Where do I even start? I’ve played millions of games over the years. At first, I stuck mostly to fighters, but then I began to branch out. I’ve played everything from FPS and RPGs to action-adventure, puzzle platformers, horror, and more. I guess you could say I just love gaming!

 My Favorite Game Genre: Though I play all kinds of games, FPS holds a special place in my heart. I grew up on classics like Halo, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Counter-Strike. I’ve also embraced newer games like Fortnite, Valorant, and Overwatch. There's something about the rush of shooting and tactical gameplay that just never gets old for me.

 My Gaming Journey: I started off like any other kid, playing games casually. Growing up as a Mexican kid in San Antonio, Texas, I didn’t know how far gaming could take me. But then, I stumbled into the world of competitive fighting games. I began traveling back and forth between Austin, Dallas, and Houston to play against stronger opponents. Eventually, I attended a massive event in Las Vegas called the Evolution Championship Series (EVO). It was eye-opening, meeting new people, trying new food, and seeing new places. It wasn’t cheap, but I don’t regret a single penny spent on those experiences. For over 10 years, I’ve been competing in fighting games. I cut my teeth on games like Street Fighter 4, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, and Third Strike. But King of Fighters is the game I excelled in the most, becoming one of the best in my city. That game isn’t easy to master, so I’m proud of the progress I’ve made.

 The Rage-Inducing Game: Demon Souls If there’s one game that made me rage like never before, it’s Demon Souls. That game was brutal and infuriating. It pushed me to my limits, and I won’t lie—there were many moments where I wanted to quit.

Streaming Sharing My Passion With the World: People kept telling me, "You should stream, man. You play so many games, why not share your passion?" And they were right. I really wanted to do it. With the help of my brother Mauro, who built me a beast of a gaming PC, I finally got started. All I needed was a mic and a camera, and here I am, streaming for the world to see. 

Why I Stream: I stream because I want to share my love for gaming with the world. I want to meet cool people, share stories, and experience the joy of gaming together. My dream is to go full-time as a streamer. Gaming is my passion, and I love everything about it. I hope to make a living doing what I love while building a community that appreciates the same.

Delta Force: Hawk Ops alpha

 

Delta Force: Hawk Ops alpha test draws in 10x more players than Concord

The Delta Force: Hawk Ops is currently hosting a free-to-access alpha test on PC via Steam an its own launcher. The upcoming free-to-play shooter from Team Jade boasts several multiplayer modes, as well as a singleplayer campaign based upon classic movie Black Hawk Down.

Anyone can currently request access to the alpha which includes the Hazard Ops and Havoc Warfare modes.

It’s unclear when the alpha test will actually end as that information doesn’t appear anywhere on the official website or FAQ. What we do know though, is that the test is doing very well on Steam.

According to statistics on SteamDB, the test hit a peak concurrent player count of 20,524 on August 8. It hit just over 18,000 on its first day, and topped out at 17,524 on August 9.

As I write this, there are 11,439 people playing the game.

Those are some impressive numbers. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that they don’t include people playing via the game’s official launcher.

While it’s not a direct comparison or arguably even a very fair one to make, I couldn’t help but remember how well Concord’s open beta went just a few weeks ago. Despite letting anyone join in on the fun, Sony’s first-party live-service shooter drew in just 2,388 concurrent players. That means Delta Force: Hawk Ops managed to grab 10x more players on Steam.

As always in situations like this, it can be hard to gauge people’s thoughts on the game, as social media posts range from “it’s the worst thing since Covid” to “it’s the best thing since garlic bread.”

What I can tell you is that it was good enough to bring FRANKIEonPC back. He hadn’t posted a game-based video in 9 months, choosing instead to focus his efforts on two interesting mini-documentaries. But for whatever reason, Delta Force brought him back into the fold.

Personally, I completely forgot the alpha was happening and haven’t requested access. Looks like I’ll need to address that and see what all the fuss is about.

Have you played it? If so, let me know what you think. Does it have a future, or is this going to be yet another free-to-play flash in the pan?

Flintlock

 

Flintlock: Siege of Dawn mixes fantasy and gunpowder – Review

In many ways, Flintlock: Siege of Dawn lives up to its namesake. A flintlock s a beautiful weapon but also an inconsistent and often unreliable one, just as likely hit the target as it is to miss or fail completely. As a follow-up to the impressive Ashen, Flintlock: Siege of Dawn is A44 attempting to enter the double-A gaming market with a cinematic 10-15 hour adventure that’s worth playing thanks to being on Game Pass, but struggles to justify itself outside of that.

Flintlock’s world and story immediately grabbed my attention. You play as Nor, a sapper in a world of black powder and knights and trench warfare. An army is currently barely holding off a never-ending tide of the dead pouring out of a fortress where a strange portal has opened up. The world is under siege, and based on the deep trenches, sandbags and devastation, it’s obvious this fight has been going non-stop for quite some time. Nor’s father figure has gone on a suicide mission to blow the portal up, so she persuades her commander to let her give chase.

Really, it’s the world and its massive potential that speaks to me the most strongly. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s mixture of black powder weapons, swords, magic, fantasy and more reminds me a little of Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage trilogy, a series of books where people were able to use black powder to fuel their magic. There are a lot of cool elements mixed in this game and while that can sometimes lead to a slightly muddled visual style, it’s a world I think has oodles of potential for great storytelling.

Unfortunately, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s storytelling isn’t great. It has its moments, including some genuinely good interactions between Nor and Enki, but overall the plot is barebones and the writing often trips over itself. Nor’s hatred of the Gods and her motivation to kill them all is barely explored, nor are the companions she gathers along the way, despite the game repeatedly telling us she is close to them. Her feelings toward Enki seem to fluctuate wildly between cutscenes and in-game banter, too, which really doesn’t help the development of their relationship which should be the central pillar of the whole story.

As for Nor, there are a few moments where she shines as a character, but mostly she’s another forgettable lead character that doesn’t have an effective or engaging arc. And it’s a real shame that A44 never plays into her military role as a sapper, which historically is someone who focuses on things like demolitions, breaching fortifications and clearing minefields. Instead, she’s just a generic soldier who hits things with her axe.

The developers describe Flintlock as a “souls-lite” in the game’s official blurb. It’s easy to see why: your resources are lost upon death and must be collected, there are bonfires where you can stop to rest (which respawns enemies) and you even have a healing flask with limited uses. I admit that when I realised it was taking inspiration from the Souls genre, I let out a sigh and exclaimed “Oh God, not another one.” Truthfully though, Flintlock is only a Souls-like in the vaguest of terms, barely grazing the idea, almost as if it just wants to be able to lay claim to the term for marketing reasons. The bigger hallmarks of the Souls genre, such as difficulty and depth of builds are missing entirely.

I’d argue Flintlock takes more inspiration from something like the modern God of War games. The over-the-shoulder camera, the semi-open environments, the combat and a lot more remind me of Kratos’ journeys than Dark Souls or Elden Ring. Another useful point of comparison is the recent Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden which was also a double-A game trying to punch above its weight.

Nor’s main weapon is her axe which she swings with a tap of the shoulder button, but she can also unload her black powder pistol which is the only way of interrupting enemy attacks when they flash red. Getting black powder charges back can only be done by smacking the enemy with the axe, for some inexplicable reason, while regular attacks can be dodged, blocked or parried if you’re feeling fancy. Enki also plays a role in combat by dashing in for quick attacks at your command which builds up a special meter that stuns foes, leaving them open to an arse-kicking. He can also unleash some God powers to help turn the tide of battle.

Of course, there’s a bit more to the combat than what I’m describing, but overall it’s a simple fighting system that feels quite decent, especially when you get the hang of the slightly odd parry timing, but doesn’t grow much across the game short runtime. The general pace of fights does speak to that whole Souls-lite thing, encouraging you to wade in for a hit or two before backing out again, and I found the idea of interrupting opponents with a black powder blast to the face satisfying. That said, I wish the camera would pull back a little when the game decides to throw a lot of enemies on the screen at once, especially since the combat system does not feel great when fighting a lot of foes.

There’s a reasonable amount of platforming in Flintlock, and to the developer’s credit, they really let you use Nor’s double-jump and air-dash to get around the environments. But its during the leaps and bounds that Nor’s floaty physics comes into play, giving it a sense of weightlessness. It doesn’t help that sometimes she’ll bump into a ledge and turn sideways instead of immediately grabbing on, which does admittedly look hilarious. Sometimes though, she doesn’t grab on at all, which is considerably less hilarious.

Enki helps out with the platforming by occasionally being able to open purple portals in the air which he and Nor can traverse. It’s a cool idea but its primary function is to form shortcuts and is otherwise rarely ever used.

There are a lot of hints that Flintlock was intended to be even more ambitious than it is. For example, there are random villages you can enter where the goal becomes to fight and defeat the leader, at which point the village is freed and all the people will magically move back in like nothing ever happened. A coffee shop opens up as a reward, giving you an extra use of your healing flask, some nice new cosmetics and maybe a side quest or two. Liberating these towns is kind of fun, but it’s a gameplay mechanic that also feels entirely separate from the rest of the game. It doesn’t really fit in with anything else.

Then there’s Sebo, a coin-based mini-game that Nor can play with random people she encounters. And I really do mean random people – you’ll find Sebo players in the strangest locations, including in rooms where you just wiped out a bunch of enemies. I guess the idea was to mimic the success of Gwent in The Witcher 3 but instead of putting Sebo players in sensible locations they just put them wherever. These Sebo players are also the only NPCs who will actually react to your presence because all the rest will ignore you and your antics. Even if you swing your axe in a village, you can’t smash anything and nobody will comment on your poor manners.

In Conclusion…

Rating: 3 out of 5.

⭐⭐⭐

Like a flintlock pistol, the shots that Siege of Dawn fires don’t always hit the mark. Its combat is fun but simplistic, its world is beautiful and vast but has very little in and is largely static, its story is brimming with potential that it never fully taps into, and its platforming is too floaty. Each element it brings to the table needs a more fine tuning.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn isn’t a bad game, but it does feel more like a proof-of-concept for a much better idea, which is why I’d love to see a sequel, although the early player numbers make me worried that it will never happen. Given the ending, it seems like A44 are intending on there being more to this world.

If you have Game Pass it’s absolutely worth checking it out. On a personal level, I actually had a lot of fun with it, but on a more critical level, the whole game needed more time in the oven.

The Freshpots Golden Phenomenon: A Gamer's Journey to Streaming Stardom

 The Freshpots Golden Phenomenon: A Gamer's Journey to Streaming Stardom

Meet Freshpots, the streamer who's taking the gaming world by storm with his infectious enthusiasm and gaming prowess! With a name inspired by a YouTube video featuring Dave Grohl, Freshpots has carved out his own unique niche in the streaming universe.

The Origin Story of Freshpots:

It all started with a YouTube video featuring Dave Grohl, and the name stuck! But Freshpots' gaming journey began at the tender age of 7/8, with the iconic Nintendo NES and Mario All-Stars. Little did he know that this was just the beginning of an incredible adventure.

Gaming Favorites:

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction takes the top spot, followed closely by Mortal Online 2 and League of Legends. With a soft spot for ARPGs, Freshpots is always on the lookout for the next gaming adventure. He shares, "I love the action-packed gameplay and character customization that ARPGs offer. It's a genre that never gets old!"

A Lifetime of Gaming:

From Nintendo NES to SNES, Gameboy, and beyond, Freshpots has played it all! With a brother and sister who introduced him to the world of gaming, he's been hooked ever since. He reminisces, "My brother playing games like Street Fighters, Ninja Gaiden, and Zelda: Link to the Past on the SNES got me into gaming. And my sister's Gameboy, with Tetris and Pokémon Red, further fueled my passion."

The Highs and Lows:

Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Battletoads may have been frustratingly hard, but they're still beloved memories. Freshpots laughs, "Who can forget the pod race level in Battletoads? I'm still not sure if I ever beat it!" And who can forget Mario Party 1 for the N64 - a game where Freshpots reigned supreme! "I was the king of that game among my friends. The mini-games were so much fun!"

Why Stream?

For Freshpots, streaming is about connection, community, and sharing the joy of gaming. He explains, "I love talking to people and hearing about their days, good or bad. It's a great way to connect with others who share similar interests." He adds, "I'm not the best at giving advice, but I'm a good listener. And when it comes to games, I'm always eager to share my experiences and learn from others."

The Streaming Journey:

Freshpots' streaming journey began with a simple goal: to have fun and share his passion with others. He never expected to grow a following, but word spread, and his channel started to gain traction. He shares, "Seeing 5/6 new followers the other day made me incredibly happy. It's amazing to think that people enjoy watching me play games and chat with me."

What's Next?

With a growing following and a passion for improvement, Freshpots is dedicated to creating an engaging and visually appealing stream experience. He's working on upgrading his stream quality, adding new features, and interacting more with his audience. Join him on his journey and be a part of the Freshpots phenomenon!

The last several decades of Star Wars video games have been spotty, to say the least.

 The last several decades of Star Wars video games have been spotty, to say the least. 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was a rare standout, a big adventure from one of the world’s biggest publishers that still felt bold and experimental. A lot has happened since then, and now a sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is back with more, more, and more

A lot of the edge Fallen Order had isn’t here, but that’s a product of time; AAA games playing footsie with Dark Souls was more novel back then. Instead, developer Respawn Entertainment took what worked before and went all in, stomping on the gas and fully committing to the story and characters we met before. Survivor feels huge, dense, and super got-dang expensive, and after just a few hours of playing the game’s action-packed intro on Coruscant (I skipped that part during the press preview), its heart-stopping 150GB download size started making sense.

Despite playing for around 30 hours before seeing Survivor’s credits, I ended up leaving much of its world(s) unexplored. This is an ambitious Metroidvania that straddles the line between meticulous level design and open-world map game, that also desperately wants to tell a profound Star Wars story about found family, faulty institutions, and the personal costs of resistance. You also get to chat with a Scottish slug-man about fishing, maintain a garden on the roof of a grungy saloon, and play dress-up with Cameron Monaghan. I definitely felt the bloat at times (especially near the end), but between the effective emotional core at the narrative’s heart and the game’s fast and heavy platforming action, Survivor showed up ready to work.

The band doesn’t always get back together

We’re reunited with Cal Kestis five years after the events of Fallen Order, and it’s not exactly a happy reunion. The Scooby Gang from the first game has broken up, due to events only hinted at in the game. The novel Battle Scars from Sam Maggs fills in those blanks, but you don’t need to know exactly what happened to understand it probably sucked. Cal, now piloting Greez Dritus’ Mantis ship by himself, has been working with Saw Gerrera to undermine the Empire at every opportunity, but is struggling with a lack of results. But before he can contend with burnout, he’s forced to crash-land on backwater planet Koboh after a mission goes sour and the Mantis is damaged.

On Koboh, not only is Cal reunited with Greez, he stumbles into a conflict that’s been brewing since the days of the High Republic. Throughout the story Cal is forced to confront the dark side of the Jedi Order (figuratively and literally), and reconcile a looming fissure between wanting to stand up to the Empire and a growing desire to build a life with his found family. Star Wars’ longstanding theme of balance on an existential scale runs parallel with the more human conundrum of finding (and even defining) value in balance on a personal level. And to its credit, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is honest enough to grasp at a bunch of questions and answer “I don’t know,” in a way that feels genuine rather than like the kind of fence-sitting that games at this scale tend to lean into.

It really feels like I’m a sad and tired Jedi

The skeleton holding all that narrative muscle together is an interstellar Metroidvania adventure comprising several locations, but none as massive as Koboh. Introduced as a rural backwater full of prospectors and criminals, Koboh becomes a bustling hub that not only houses the bulk of Survivor’s side content, but also acts as a sort of funnel toward major story beats. It’s an interesting vibe, almost like Metroid Prime minus the jarring biome shifts. Excursions to other locations vary in size and scope, as Survivor’s story isn’t structured the same way Fallen Order’s was in terms of locations as “levels,” so to speak.

Read More: The 10 Best Star Wars Games Ever Made

Weirdly enough I found this approach reminiscent of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (shoutouts to the OoE sickos out there). I’ve seen disappointment from peers on this part, since exploring different planets was a big attraction in the first game. But I appreciated Survivor’s focus on building up a singular location in the Metroidvania tradition, with the additional locations adding variety and flavor without demanding proportionate time investment, especially since Survivor has a slight padding problem in its later hours, during which I felt the escalating story was interrupted by chunks of “gameplay for the sake of gameplay.” It was frustrating to be so invested in the goings-on just to come to a screeching halt to deal with an hour of bouncing around on space balloons.

You may not be running around a bunch of different planets, but there’s certainly no lack of running around to do. And it feels great to do so, even if there were times I wanted the game to just get on with it and wrap up a few hours earlier. I may have resented those space balloons for impeding my path to the ending, but I have to admit they were fun. Cal Kestis is a hell of an acrobat in Jedi: Survivor, with much more speed and weight to his movements than in Fallen Order. He’s also more capable from the get-go, instead of forcing you to slog through the usual trope of having to re-learn everything.

With a bag of new tricks to learn along the way, some truly badass setpieces are spun around what can be boiled down to a nerdy guy jumping on rocks. There’s one sequence in particular that would unfortunately anger the Spoiler Police to get into, but it follows a notably excruciating puzzle and was so sick I completely forgave the game entirely for its heinous crime. It’s a testament to how rock-solid Survivor’s fundamentals are.

More money, more problems. And more cool stuff too

Perhaps predictably, Survivor is less rock-solid on a technical level. It’s important to note I was playing a review build of the game ahead of a day-one patch, and I imagine whatever problems that persist after that will eventually be smoothed over as well. Nevertheless, throughout my time with the PlayStation 5 version I experienced a routinely unstable frame rate, multiple crashes, and occasional glitchy tomfoolery (mostly the fun kind). I’ve heard each version has its own set of performance woes, but you’ll have to seek out individual perspectives on that front. Overall though, after fiddling with my TV and settling the game to favor a solid 30fps over an unstable 60fps, things were fine far more often than not. A game this massive is gonna come with rough edges out of the gate, and it could have been a lot worse, at least on PS5.

What really stands out to me after playing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor all the way through is how it manages to tell what feels like a focused, grounded story about a single person. If you sift through all the messiness inherent to such a massive project, you can really see all the effort put into making Cal Kestis not just a more interesting character to play as, but making his presence felt in this universe. Star Wars prequels often suffer from having to reset the board, so to speak, because everything has to lead to the “Everyone is Dead” setting established in the movies. There’s some of that here of course, but the writers found a clever way to subvert it, with a conflict that doesn’t need to have galaxy-shattering ramifications to feel crucial for both the characters and the player.

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All the problems Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has are clearly and unsurprisingly tied to its ridiculous scope. There’s stuff piled on top of stuff, and not all of it feels substantial, fully baked, or in some cases functional. But the foundation Respawn laid in Fallen Order is still here, and everything about Survivor that’s connected really shines. The characters are more fleshed out and their conflicts are compelling and relatable. The level design is appreciably authored in that way that makes “Metroidvania” a stupid-looking word that means so much. And when it comes to combat, there are so many different ways to brutalize droids and Stormtroopers, the combo video community will feast for years to come. It’s a hearty stew, even if you still have to watch the sodium.