TJ Denzer Avatar Image

TJ Denzer

JohnnyOlMan
johnnyolman

Favorite Games:
  • Xenogears
  • Bionic Commando
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

186 games reviewed
79.2 average score
80 median score
72.0% of games recommended

TJ Denzer's Reviews

At age 3, TJ Denzer ran away from his family on a vacation in Colorado. They found him at the local arcade, standing on a chair and playing SNK's World Heroes. Years later, TJ still has an obsessive passion for video games, from the technically sound to the absolutely artistic. When not digging into a game with his wife, he's hunting down good beer to enjoy with bad movies and friends.
9 / 10 - Chivalry 2
Jun 8, 2021

I often hear folks talk about their "comfort food game" – that game in which they can turn their mind off and just go at it for pure good feels and satisfaction. I feel like Chivalry 2 is that game for me. If it was even just that it’s a game in which I can pulp a folk or two with a big honkin’ sword, axe, or whatever I can get my mitts on to often hilarious effect, I would be satisfied. That said, Torn Banner and Tripwire Interactive have poured no shortage of love into this game’s environments, objectives, classes, and player customization. It’s that dedicated level of support that will keep me coming back to the game and crossing swords for a long time to come.

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With its strong cast of characters, complicated and compelling cases, and a good combination of new and classic elements in a good, lengthy prequel story, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is courtroom drama I couldn’t put down till I saw a mystery through to the end.

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9 / 10 - Psychonauts 2
Aug 23, 2021

It’s wild to think how many years of development are here in this game, but the end product is undeniably polished and top-to-bottom good gaming.

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9 / 10 - Deathloop
Sep 13, 2021

Colt and Julianna’s rivalry keeps the tension and stakes high and it’s a loop I’ll be going back to over and over again, whether to break it or break other players for trying to break it.

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Oct 20, 2021

Resident Evil 4 VR is one of the most surprising delights of my entire year. Every part of the base game is here, and it all fits and feels right. Every bit of the schlock, fear, and intensity is joined by a well-thought-out array of VR gunplay, puzzle-solving, melee, and other satisfying interactions. Resident Evil 4 is one of the absolute high points of the entire franchise. This is a full-on adaptation of it with nothing left out. If you weren’t cool with the narrative, scares, or schlock before, this probably won’t change your mind. But if it was the controls bothered you, this is easily the best and most enjoyable version of Resident Evil 4 to ever come out.

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Mar 21, 2022

Ghostwire: Tokyo is, first and foremost, beautiful. Its realistic city elements blended with the ethereal and supernatural create a cornucopia of amazing visuals and sound. Even when the hardware struggles to keep up sometimes, it’s never so much so that the game loses that sense of mystery and awe. Just as well, a big part of that is Tango Gameworks’ creative adaptation of Japanese mythology and lore. Their takes on monsters, demons, ghost stories, and various legends come to life in a massive variety of fascinating ways, whether it’s the situations you encounter, the ways you fight against them, or the elements that aid you.

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Apr 28, 2022

The original Rogue Legacy was an incredible step forward for rogue-lite games. It helped to establish a lot of cool elements that games after it would mimic in many ways. I wouldn’t say Rogue Legacy 2 reinvents the wheel here. Instead, it polishes that wheel to a sheen, gives it fresh treads, some fancy spinners, and makes it an all-around better version of the wheel we knew and loved. If you loved the first Rogue Legacy, then Rogue Legacy 2 is very likely to capture your heart as well. If you’re jumping into this series for the first time at Rogue Legacy 2, you’re in for one of the most fleshed out, fun, and varied rogue-lite action-platformers that the genre has to offer.

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Simply put, this might just be the ultimate intersection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fandom and beat ’em up arcade style

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Jul 26, 2022

Between a compelling story, beautiful music, and deep combat system, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an awesome adventure for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

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Aug 4, 2022

All in all, it’s a game I could lose hours on in the blink of an eye, just like it was the first day of the rest of my life. A, for excellence.

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9 / 10 - Beacon Pines
Sep 21, 2022

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a softy when it comes to good stories, but I’ve still played quite a few games and seen enough narratives of all kinds to think it’s hard to floor me these days. Or so I thought, anyway. I’m not sure if I was caught off guard or if Beacon Pines really is just that good. It’s pretty easy to see that its art and music are both top notch. Ultimately, this is also a story good enough that I’d love more people to see it so I can talk to them about it. It might not be the longest game, and the thrill of the exploration may bottleneck a bit at the end, but the changing course, different routes, and ultimate ending of Beacon Pines are still more than worth exploring for any fan of narrative adventure.

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9 / 10 - Grounded
Sep 26, 2022

Of all the survival games I’ve played, Grounded is easily one of the coolest. The very theme of it is fun and the execution is pretty on target too. Playing as micro-sized kids in a vast yard full of pests and threats is really interesting, the story keeps exploration intriguing, and the progression, whether alone or with friends, feels satisfying. I’m not fond of how hard it is on normal difficulty alone, or the lack of variety among nearly required gear, but it really gets all the more delightful with friends helping. Even then, there’s plenty of ways to enjoy Grounded solo, too. Between Creative Modes, multiple difficulties, and a nice set of accessibility options, Grounded feels like one of the strongest entries to the survival genre in a long time.

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Oct 17, 2022

Between removing the movement grid, adding more strategic options, new characters, new abilities, and expanding and revising the roster in an enjoyable story, Sparks of Hope feels like another exceptional collaboration between Ubisoft and Nintendo.

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Jan 26, 2023

Not only is the 2023 Dead Space remake good, it takes everything that made the 2008 game good and makes it better, even outright swapping out certain weak points of the original to make a top-to-bottom must play for anyone looking for a good scare in their games.

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Mageseeker is perhaps my favorite thing to come out of Riot Forge publishing yet. Digital Sun has already proven that they have a good grasp of what makes an action-RPG fun, but they put their chops to great work here, bending a highly interesting corner of League of Legends lore to their style. Sylas fits them well, and they make his story sing in turn. Between compelling ability-stealing combat, chain-flinging traversal, an ever-expanding and upgradeable arsenal, and a beautiful musical score guiding another awesome visual and narrative interpretation of League of Legends, Mageseeker is an incredible time. Whether you’re a fan of League of Legends or not, this is a journey worth seeing through to the end.

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May 30, 2023

All-in-all, this game rekindled my love of the franchise, and I can’t wait to see how Street Fighter 6 grows over time.

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Jul 13, 2023

I had my doubts about if Jagged Alliance 3 could really tap the joy I felt in commanding mercenaries back in Jagged Alliance 2. This is a series that predates most tactical strategy we know, but it’s had some bumps along the road. Jagged Alliance 3 can’t be counted among those bumps. It’s a proficient and beautiful return to form for this franchise with a wealth of options inside and outside combat. It’s also a tough game to overcome, but with all of the options at your disposal, finding your path through the breathtaking landscapes of Grand Chien should be an exciting and varied blast every time. I’ll have a hard time putting anything else in the strategy category above this when the year ends.

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9 / 10 - Pikmin 4
Aug 14, 2023

Pikmin 4 almost always had fun surprises in store with me for each day’s adventures. Every biome, cave, and challenge brought about new threats and surprises, and my versatility between my own upgrades and those to Oatchi and our Pikmin made sure we almost always had new and fun ways to approach each situation. Pikmin 4 does a good job of retracing steps in the series, bringing back features that players liked, and making them feel good in the new setting. It also keeps the new adventure compelling with fun objectives and loads of secrets. Oatchi is a clear contender for Shacknews Best Pet of 2023, and Pikmin 4 might just be the best blend of charming and intense that I’ve played all year.

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Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon truly feels like a surprise treat this year. I’ve played a lot of good mech games, but few have ever given me the sheer depth of customization in both cosmetics and functionality that we have here. It’s like a dream come true. Certainly, it’s not the easiest game to beat and there are bosses that turn that dream into a temporary nightmare. However, when the answer is always just build a cooler, stronger mech, there’s little I can complain about beyond replaying missions to get there. It took a long time for Armored Core to come back and show a new generation why we loved these games back in the 90s and 2000s, but I couldn’t be happier it’s here. Maybe I’ll see you in the field and we’ll see who’s the real ace. I look forward to it.

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Oct 12, 2023

As unfairly challenging as I could find Lords of the Fallen to be, I also appreciated its creativity. The Umbral world and mechanics surrounding it made for an extremely compelling and risky adventure where I often rode the line between safety and death. I feel like the game could have done better at making the threat of Umbral more than escalation of foes up to an unkillable pursuer that could one-shot me, but I can’t deny I was tickled by the possibilities and always curious of what was on the other side. Mix its intertwined-worlds mechanics into good melee, magic, and archery in a beautiful gothic setting and 2023’s Lords of the Fallen feels like something I’ll more than remember for what it did right and how it set itself apart. The duality of this game’s settings is both dastardly and dazzling.

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