Ilya Lyashuk

GTA6

Said it before but damn - 2026 is absolutely *STACKED*

"Back in the day"...this is still me. As a kid growing up with NES, playing Genesis and N64, in my teens on my 360/PS3, there were tons of games I didn't like. Just...moved on. Still the same today. Don't have the energy to hate, much more fun to talk about things I enjoy.

Wrapped up another one today: Avowed ⚔️ I was originally going through it before starting Ghost of Yotei and returned to it and finally finished after about 78 hours. My thoughts? It's not without its flaws but I really, really enjoyed it! The visuals struck me right away. Playing on an OLED, everything from the colors to the VFX were quite beautiful. While it's not the most technically impressive, I was constantly surprised at how good it looked thanks to some great lighting effects (UE5) and great texture work (photogrammetry?) Unfortunately things weren't as good performance wise. I played it on my Series X and played in both 60FPS and 40FPS modes and it was screen tearing galore. Annoying, but not game breaking. Still, I adored the variety when it came to the environments. From the tropical climate and greenery of Dawnshore to the dusty, rocky plains of Shatterscarp, each felt distinct and interesting to explore. I had a natural desire to just go off in any direction to see what I could find, and Obsidian stuffed this game to the brim with points of interest. I never felt like I was checking off a list but rather just going off and seeing what I could find. The music was also fantastic with heavy Elder Scrolls vibes, making exploration all the more satisfying. World/level design was a treat, where towns and cities, while not on the scale of something like Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, felt inviting with clever layouts, plenty of NPCs to talk to, side quests, bounty boards, etc. There are tons of nooks and crannies and secret areas to find filled with chests, loot and hidden lore. It felt a bit like Dragon Age: Inquisition wherein it's not a full blown open world but a collection of large open zones, each unique in their own ways from the people in them to quests and main story beats, and I liked that approach. I liked meeting and learning about the different races. Orlans came off a little goofy looking but I got used to it lol. Script/dialogue was pretty great overall, as to be expected from the awesome writers at Obsidian. Nothing really felt out of place. I didn't feel like there were a *ton* of super memorable characters bar a few, but everyone from your average NPC to the main cast had excellent vocal performances. And damn did it feel like some conversations just went on and on (not a bad thing!) with loads of different dialogue options to choose from. I do wish there were more companions to tag along with as only 4 felt a little limited, but Kai was a personal highlight. Any game that lets you buddy up with Brandon Keener (Garrus) is A-Ok in my book. Marius and Giatta were cool too. I was also surprisingly hooked on the combat and I was...not expecting that? I mainly play as a sword and board type warrior in RPGs (at least at first), and damn did everything just feel really...'crunchy' with some nice hit feedback. Swings felt like they really connected with enemies and were pretty damn satisfying. Crafting and upgrading/enchanting weapons and armor was nice and simple. I also experimented with dual wielding pistols, dual wielding magic wands and daggers and it never really got old. There are so many ways to make your playstyle your own and I appreciated that. All in all, I had an awesome time. Didn't know what to expect going in but I'm happy I found time to play through it - Obsidian did a nice job. Now I'm even more pumped to jump into Outer Worlds 2...when I find the time 😅 #Avowed #XboxSeriesX

October 4, 2005 20 years ago today, BioWare revealed their next-gen RPG 'Project SFX', officially titled Mass Effect at Xbox's X05 event in Amsterdam. It also gave us our first look at Commander Shepard's original model. #MassEffect

That's a wrap on Death Stranding 2! Rolled credits after 60 hours across the main story and some additional side quest lines. What an incredible game. Right from the start the pacing was improved over the first game and kept that up throughout most of the experience. Mexico and Australia felt way livelier than the UCA in the original - packed with more things to do and discover. I loved trekking through all the different environments (deserts, riverbeds, forests, snowcapped mountains, etc). Musical score was on point every step of the way with some really powerful moments that hit me hard. The visuals were stunning, unsurprisingly. The first game was a showpiece on PS4 and this one's no different. Excellent image quality, rock solid framerate, so many stunning vistas everywhere you look and the character models are easily some of the best in any video game. Insane detail packed into the environments. Kojima team flexed that Decima. Can't wait to see what Horizon 3 looks like. The performances of the characters were fantastic too, felt like the team captured every nuance of each person's mannerisms and emotions. It all shined through, even though some of the writing was completely nuts lol. There are definitely some heavy MGSV vibes when it comes to combat, gunplay, base infiltration and enemy encounters. Better stealth, more options and choices on how to engage, and just a lot more variety. Menus felt easier to use, weapons were fun, streamlined cargo management, and I liked the addition of the APAS upgrades. Overall there's just so many more ways to engage with the game. The boss battles were NUTS too and I wished there were more of them. It is definitely full of crazy shit when it comes to the world and characters. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the cinematics and watching characters interact, but it's one of those where I'm sitting and going "damn I wonder if it gets crazier than this..." and yup, it sure does every time. To that end though, the last couple hours were some of the wildest "Kojima" I think I've seen lol. Absolutely epic finale. This is definitely not a game for everyone, as I think the first one proved too, but with as much as I loved the first one, I enjoyed this even more. Bring on more madness with OD and Physint! #DeathStranding2 #PS5Pro