DeathscytheX

I have to agree with DX, this game is checking all my boxes as well. Combat isn't difficult but can be extremely punishing if you fuck up (thank you spear gang bangs, you fuckers can die in a fire. Most of my deaths I can attribute to getting surrounded by 3-4 spear dudes all attacking as soon as I start laying into one). Luckily once you learn attack patterns and the right timing to parry attacks it's a cake walk. Not entirely to hip on the changing combat stances in combat as it's kind of clunky but I do enjoy how each has advantages over certain enemy types (I really love the attack patterns of basic Wind Stance, that kick at the end is so satisfying to watch connect on a spear enemy). I really enjoy sneaking around and sniping people with my half-bow or fucking with people by killing someone in the open and hiding and systematically knocking people out one by one. When Yong said it does Assassin's Creed better then Assassin's Creed he wasn't kidding (and I haven't even gotten into playing with Ghost Stance yet). Stealth in this game is extremely fun and isn't tedious at all (just wish you could assassinate Mongol leaders instead of critically damaging them, not that they're hard to kill it'd just speed up the liberating process).
I'm honestly not that far into it. I've put maybe 15-18 hours in but most of that has been wandering the visually stunning island doing side shit (like side tales, mythic tales (man were those duels stunning and difficult at the same time (this was before I mastered parrying attacks, got fucked up multiple times in both duels), liberating areas, and hunting down all those Sword Kits/Inari Shrines/Shinto Shrines/etc) and overall just fucking around (I've only done 4-5 actual story quests that's how much I'm just enjoying running around being a sneaky samurai). There's just to much shit to get side tracked on, really fucking with my gamer ADHD (so many shinies >.<).
I can't honestly comment on the story yet since, as I noted, I'm not that far but what little I've seen has been really good. I'm liking the whole dichotomy of watching Jin struggle between being a Samurai and becoming the Ghost, how he's rationalizing it is extremely interesting and I can't wait to see how it all plays out (sadly I already know how the game ends, damn my curiosity, but that's not deterring my enjoyment of the story so far).
Quite honestly this is by far one of the best games I've played in a long time and if it wasn't for Cyberpunk coming out this year would probably be my game of the year even though I've only put 15-18 hours into it. It's been a long time (since Nier actually) that I've really enjoyed playing a game this much (I'm enjoying it so much I'm going through withdrawals when I can't play it). SP really outdid themselves with this game.

Ok. This game checks all my boxes. It's not brutally difficult on the normal setting. It requires some strategy and patience, but overall the combat is simple, satisfying, and just fun. Its about as casual as a Zelda game but with different mechanics that aren't really comparable. I'm fully into the ghost style play now. I just got the longbow with explosive arrows, and a few new armor sets. Smoke Bomb is my favorite quickfire since I have the assassination tree maxed. If I ever screw up in get caught I can just pop smoke and initiate chain assassinations to thin out big groups surrounding me.

The duels are visually stunning. I've done The Heavenly Strike and The Curse of Uchitsune so far and the imagery SP was able to pull off in this game is almost next gen worthy.

Also f*ck all the reviews that bashed the story. I'm loving this story so far. Its def an old school samurai tail with eastern influences when it comes to story telling.

There isn't really anything to see. Its just some NPCs walking around and a claw of jormag looking thing.

I played the opening last night, took a few encampments, and did the first few parts of the main story. The combat is simple and fun. Since I don't have any stances yet, I must dodge and parry before attacking, I may beable to get an opening strike kill on the first guy in a group. After that you'll just get killed recklessly massing heavy and light attack. Shield bearers will strike twice and then you must break their guard with heavy strikes followed by a killing blow with the regular attack. Standard enemies without shields can be instakilled outside of a standoff if you time your held down heavy attack right. Spear carriers cannot be blocked and you must parry their attacks. They go down fast, but they hurt if you get hit. And the brute I encountered is like a spear enemy but he swings his massive weapon 3 times before you can strike him. He doesn't go down quite as easily.

I did my first camp infiltration as a "ghost" and it was pretty fun. You press the touch pad to get enhanced hearing. This will spot every enemy within range through walls. You move much slower in this mode but you can toggle it seamlessly. Since it was the intro to assassinations, I'm sure it was much easier than it will be later down the road. None of the enemies were really crossing paths to where they could see a dead body yet.
I'm not sure the extent to how punishing dying is yet. I died once when I got too confident at the first encampment. I took down several grunts, a brute that kicked my ass because I hadn't grasped his 3 strike attack pattern yet, and then I killed the leader only to get taken out by a grunt that was still around. It made me do the whole encampment again. But I did it with easy the second time since I knew what to look for. I got my first few talent points and I'm going to invest in the blocking tree where I can auto block arrows by holding down the guard button. That seems to be pretty important to my play style. I don't need the dodge roll just yet since the standard parry seems to be very good as is.

Yeah I'm def going full ghost. From someone that slaughters everyone loud and proud in MGS games, this game actually makes assassinations look fun. I have 80 hours of vacation I need to burn and I just haven't been able to without good conscience since the whole madness with COVID. Now that its died down I'm taking the week off for this.

If Funimation can dub anime from VA's homes, you'd think ANET could manage this. The last ep had a great story but the emotion of it was def lost in the lack of voice acting. This seems to be an important episode.

I seriously can't wait until Friday. Hell I'm even considering calling in just so I can get more time with this (upside is I am off all weekend). Well that or just not sleeping at all and playing it until I go into work (this is one of the few times I've pre-ordered a digital copy, it's been sitting on my PS4 pre-installed since last week and taunting me daily).
I had to laugh when Yong said it does Assassin's Creed better than Assassin's Creed Can't wait to see if there's truth in that statement since I'm pretty much going to be going full Ghost mode for this (I love Samurai and everything but you don't shoot off Tenchu vibes like this and not expect me to play it like a Ninja).

I trust this more than I do the reviews which seem to be mostly positive but mixed.
TL;DW
Pros: Fun combat, Beautiful environment, Do anything anywhere (for the most part) and play anyway you want. Enemies don't get more HP as you go deeper into the game to negate your skill and strength increase, but they will kill you faster if you're not careful. Basically typical what SP has done with inFAMOUS in terms of combat. Kill fast, die fast. Don't be reckless.

Cons: No lock on system occasionally causing you to attack the wrong enemy while in a stance that was meant for another, side quest repetition after about 30 hours.

I watched this last year before I ever saw an ep of Clone Wars or Rebels. I got to this ep tonight and have a greater appreciation for it. Its def not my favorite animated lightsaber duel ever, but the meaning behind it is super impactful and masterfully done. Maul was a really good character through both series. I actually felt sorry for him when he died. Kenobi had empathy for him in the end. If you didn't catch the nuances of this very short and brief encounter, this video will give you a whole new appreciation for it. 

Oh yeah. I forgot about how BS that final mission was.

Rebels is a polar opposite of Clone Wars. I care about the characters less and most my excitement comes from seeing established characters like Leia, Yoda, Vader, Lando, and even Hando.
But the writing is waaaay better. The story is less predictable. Its not folly after folly. But the animation quality is shit, Lightsabers are too thin, and its like the series is a video game that loses FPS during intense moments. They should have stuck with the same animation studio. I hope one day we get a legit collab with a top tier anime studio like Madhouse to get a high quality hand drawn Star Wars series. Preferably an Ahsoka series, or even an Old Republic series. 

He legit been lookin 60 since Dune, and now hes like 120.

I haven't watched this yet but I've seen what happens mostly at the end. I'll get around to it one day but I will say the special effects look pretty bottom tier from what I've seen. Blue screen bridges and CGI ships will never compare to models and real sets. There comes a time where flashy lights everywhere, is just too much and even in the most distant future its non-functional.
I'll always prefer TOS movie bridges as they looked the most mechanical while being futuristic. They still hold up to this day. TOS series and TNG series sets were products of their time. TOS heavy red theme def clashes with modern times... but so does the Enterprise D's 90's minivan interior beige.

Maybe its good this way. Some series fall flat as more games are made. Despite what people say about Mass Effect 3's ending. It personally didn't bother me. Was it the best? no, the ending of the first game that I chose was the absolute best. Nothing will ever top that for me. I don't have any emotional investment into these games, but I probably would have been pissed if I did. A lot of people on my facebook feed seem to feel the same. It also could be that MGS2 effect. While the game wasn't bad, people were mad that you weren't Snake anymore, and its regarded as the worst MGS of the series.
If anyone cares to know why I loved my ME1 ending tho
 

The media is actually trying to hide behind the argument that its "woke" when it's really people overall don't like the story. Most notably what you have in the spoiler section.
 

Everything is open here pretty much if they made it... but if anyone tests positive they shut down for 3 days and have a specialty cleaner come in and disinfect the entire facility.

I finished The Clone Wars. I guess the show tried to balance between a child/young person's show while keeping the interest of older star wars fans. Overall I liked it, but at times it was so exhausting I had to take a week off from it. the last 2 seasons were the best, and it really shined When Ahsoka left the order and Fives uncovered the conspiracy. From that point forward was the best stretch of the entire series. The chilling ending scene was fantastic.
The Star Wars live action universe can really use Cad Bane and Hondo. Through all the muck of the first 4 seasons, Their episodes were among my favorites. I would have rather had them featured more than some of those eps that featured way too much mysticism like the light side/dark side planet, or the droids adventure arc. 
Either way I'm pretty excited to see Ahsoka and Rex in Mandalorian S2 now.

I don't see a second lockdown coming, not without even more civil unrest. Honestly if they try it, everyone should just disregard it completely. I don't see law enforcement trying to expend energy to stop it on a massive scale after what's been going on the past few weeks. Its amazing how this is all of the sudden an issue again after massive gatherings, rioting, looting, and destruction of property. The media said nothing about CV for weeks, and now all of the sudden everyone needs to stay at home. The only reason the riots were as bad as they were in the first place was because people are bored and frustrated and had nothing better to do.
Nothing should close, but workers shouldn't be penalized for not going to work. People that don't feel safe can stay home, but we cannot function as a society like this. We can't do more stimulus, the government is taking in less income tax right now with how historically high unemployment is. We're pass the lockdowns.