52 Games. 1 Year. 2019.

saenima · Oct 2, 2019

Main Post

77. Murdered: Soul Suspect - 9h - 17.09

As a ghost detective, you take it upon yourself to solve your own murder so you can move on to the afterlife with your dead wife. Murdered: Soul Suspect has a goofy title and a goofy protagonist, but everything else in it is dreary. From the visuals to the characters to the subject matter. It's a truly ugly ass Unreal 3 game in the sea of ugly ass Unreal 3 games that plagued last gen. I enjoyed it well enough but tbh i don't feel like i would've missed much if i hadn't played it. I suspect i won't remember anything about it in 3 months. Which is a shame, because the premise is very cool.

78. LocoCycle - 4h30 - 24.09

Unlike the last entry, this is a game i won't forget in a long time. For better or worse. After the first live action sequence, i was more than ready to hate it. It was truly awful. But then the game proper starts and i was in shock for about 10 minutes due to how fucking stupid and over the top everything is. This is up there as one of the dumbest premises ever devised for a video game. But it kinda...works? After that first hump, i really got into it and actually had a lot of fun. It's a fairly repetitive game, but i enjoyed coming back to it every day to play a couple of levels and get my daily dose of crazy.

Still not too keen on the live action stuff, it's more miss than hit to me. Mostly due to the acting trying to be funny bad but not getting past just being bad bad. The extensive silly dialogue during gameplay really worked for me though. It's childish and it embraces that fact confidently. The gameplay itself is alright. A mix of brawler and the loosest definition of a shmup. It's not at all challenging unless you're going for perfection. And like i mentioned, repetitive. After the first couple of acts, you've seen most of the ideas, with slight variations moving forward.

Tbh i never much cared about Twisted Pixel's games. Their gameplay ideas never excited me and i always found their games to have a mean streak to them and a hideous art style. So i guess LocoCycle it's their best game :D

Tizoc · Oct 2, 2019

84. Mini Ninjas

Didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped but it is a decent adventure game otherwise.
Should IOI return to it, it'd be nice to have them make it a stealth game ala Sly Cooper series.

modestb · Oct 2, 2019

I'm waaaaay behind so I'll be posting more until I catch up!

Master Post!
September - November

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This game was quite something. I knew that I would like it, as I had seen some friends play parts of the game and I knew I would enjoy it but playing it really just sets this game apart. It is just such a joy to swing around the city as Spider-Man! It is so great to see the people beneath you and react to you like "Spider-Man it's so great to see you" or "oh you're dick" and listen to the radio of Jay Jonah Jameson go crazy is almost always funny and just the changes that the city goes through throughout the story are amazing. Obviously the game owes a great deal to the Arkham series and I'm not sure it's a straight-up Improvement but so much of it is above what those games accomplished that I just can't help but be genuinely impressed. Although I have to say that the stealth in the Arkham series is much more enjoyable but otherwise Spider-Man pretty much kicked its ass.

The game had great emotional moments as well: the death of several main characters, the quote-unquote fall of other characters, the nods towards what future villains and characters would be were set up very very well and I appreciate all of them. I thought Otto was a great final villain and the conflict between him and Peter was laid out very very well and obviously the ending with the disease hit all the emotional marks and I was very moved.

While the traversal in the game is probably the best in any video game I've ever played unfortunately the rest of the game suffers due to the fact that because the traversal is so good everything else looks not quite as good in comparison. The combat, while engaging, is simply not up to that level but it is still more than passable. I'm strongly tempted to do a new game plus mode just to give myself an excuse to 100% clear the game even though I definitely don't have time to do that.. I should be playing new games but I really just want to go back and keep playing this excellent, excellent game!

Final Grade: A

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Going back through the first Gears of War game was overall very pleasant.. I definitely remember now having played at least the first Act or two at some point, but I don't believe I ever finished it. Getting an X1 for Black Friday is feeling more like a good investment. The game shows its age in a lot of ways, a frustrating checkpoint system made me redo several sections hoping that the enemies would be dumb next time so I wouldn't have to do the sequence again.. The big boss fights at the end with the Brumak and General took many tries, as did the Fenix manor battle. I wussed out and set the the sequel to casual.

Despite my difficulties though I still quite enjoyed the experience. The Story was well told, I tried many new gunplay strategies, I liked the level layouts they were very well laid out with several routes and opportunities for flanking. The art design was excellent the visual design for the levels and the enemies were a knockout. I felt the enemies were a little too "bullet spongy" which was annoying but they had a certain gravitas to them that I learned to fear and I liked that. The Corpser boss fight however was just terrible - they really hyped up how scary this creature was going to be and then it just turned into like a little crab that hid in his shell and tried to poke at you and then the game wanted you to do something stupid to kill it and BOY was that disappointing. All in all a good game that I am glad I took the opportunity to playt hrough again; and I look forward to finishing the trilogy and may be looking forward to the 4th game??

Final Grade: B

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

A very interesting improvement on the first game! The combat feels a bit better, but the level design really kicks it up a notch. There's a lot of varied things to hide behind, half the time they snap in and out, or use some mechanism to go up and down that can be used by you or the enemy. No real weird boss fights since they kind of sucked in the first game anyway.

The story definitely aims more for mystery and emotion but to mixed results. Dom's search for his wife is well done, but Marcus remains capable of only anger and it is difficult to empathize with him. Even Tai's suicide comes a bit too early and Marcus doesn't mention it much past its occurrence. The main plot hints at even more mystery with the Fenix family and their connection to the Locust - plus a new threat of infection drives them to madness. Why is the queen basically human???

The game also drops a number of horror elements from the first game to aim more at action. Less dark parts, no berserkers, no weird bats... But I miss those crazy things. They were great enemies! It also feels even more focused towards co-op than the previous one, which obviously reminds me of my first playthrough a decade or so ago with a dear friend. I've included a screenshot of the infamous scene with the giant worm, hahaha (THEY'RE SINKING CITIES WITH A GIANT WORRMMMM!!!).
Onto the third game!
Final Grade - B+

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The wondrous new game in the Hitman series, and I still really love the formula. It is essentially just a rebranded Season 2 to 2016's Hitman which I also loved, but similarly to Baldur's Gate they used the excuse of a similar engine to just improve everything. The level design is excellent, the amount and variety in challenges is superb, the macabre sense of humor is omnipresent.

Hitman 2 emphasizes creativity and freedom for how you approach each level and I'm glad I turn off all hints the first time through to try and figure out in my own way how to accomplish the kills. The options however are appreciated afterwards showing all the different routes is just stellar. The sheer number of times you can kill folks with a fish is astounding! As a stealth game I usually appreciate my Ghost runs but the game is great at getting you to feel more adaptable and clever than something like Dishonored.

One of the strongest ways to praise the game I can think of is to say I wish I hadn't wanted to do this 52 game challenge if only so I could keep replaying it.

Final Score: A

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Holy hell what a game. My experience with Resident Evil is fairly limited, mainly to watching my childhood friend Shawn beat Code Veronica for me and a few incomplete Lets Plays, but this re-imagining of the series was something that just looked great to me, so I decided I'd buy a friend's extra copy off of him and try to make my way through it. I'm also an enormous coward with scary games so frankly I did not think I'd make it to the end BUT I DID IT. On the easiest difficulty. BUT I DID IT.

The visuals are just stunning in the game and pretty horrifying. There's a real focus on DARKNESS and I'm so glad I had an HDR screen to play it on because it was creepy as hell. The puzzles were a bit much in some places but I was able to get through them all without too much of an issue. You get a very good feel for all of the areas in the game as you have to spend juuuust the right amount of time backtracking and working your way around enemies to get to where you need to be.

The story is told well enough, it definitely has some odd bits of the old RE 'camp' to it but it felt overall pretty solid. Characters don't do anything too crazy and everyone seems properly motivated. There's some good stuff with the Sherry/Claire/Annette relationship and Ada/Leon as well. Kind of sad to see her drop off a bridge (How did she survive?!).
Fantastic visuals, amazing atmosphere, entertaining gameplay and story.

Final Grade: A+

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Oh hi, Resident Evil 2! We meet again.
This is my review of the "B" story for Leon. You can choose who to play as for the first go around which unlocks a side story for the other character. It is BASICALLY just the same environments with the difficulty ratcheted up a bit and remixes the floor plans and how you progress.

I liked Leon's story a lot (not quite as much as Claire) and Ada is a cool partner/NPC and focuses a bit more on Umbrella. With the second route you also get the Real Final Boss as well as the True Ending... which I'm not sure was really worth the whole second playthrough business. I'm sure it was great when the original Resi 2 did it back in the day, but it doesn't really feel substantial enough here to justify itself. I definitely had a lot of fun running through again(and kind of kicked the game's ass now that I knew what I was doing) so I suppose I'm glad it gave me a real reason to do it???

Will we see Resident Evil 2 again soon?
P.S. The noire outfits are SUPERB.

Final Grade: A

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Ninjas fight free! Except all the money I spent on it... You're a robot/mech suit/android/who knows who fights aliens in the Solar system after some unspecified apocalypse. Your enemies might be what is left of humanity.. but I really don't know! The game puts a lot of roadblocks in the way to get you to grind and honestly I spent too much time leveling my weapons and such to get a good distance into the story.

You can customize your 'frame' (your class basically) and weapons, and I had a great time swapping between the characters you play and weapons but I also spent a nice chunk of change on the game because damn the starters are boring... I played this game a decent amount on PC already, but having an on-the-go option seemed like a no-brainer for me. Unfortunately I just sort of lost interest in running the missions over and over again to keep it going towards the end. They're all essentially variations on "Drop into map, kill stuff or go to x spot, then run to exit", and while the gunplay/powers are cool most of the time, they're just not strong enough to keep it feeling good. Destiny this is not. It has an excellent art style and certainly looks distinctive, but outside that and the quite frequent content updates, I'm just not looking for a grinding game like this for now. Maybe I'll come back to it again one day.

Mag/Ember/Nova are my girls <3

Final Grade - C+

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Great! Liked it more than the first.. Which I played a good few hours of on the 3DS. That game was a more straight-forward, proof of concept for this game: How to dig up dirt and the occasional gem in 2D and make it interesting. Where the first game was very simple, this adds a whole layer of "metroidvania" skills and tools to help mix up exploration and gameplay that I quite enjoyed. It is very soothing to just head down into the mines, hack through a bunch of dirt and stone blocks to fill up your pack, sell it for loot, grab an upgrade you want, then head back down for more.

There a few "dungeons" of sorts that also help break this up that are more standard Metroidvania puzzles and exploration. Nothing too crazy in terms of gameplay but the art direction is stupidly good. Where the world initially looks like a desert wasteland, you quickly find old ruins, acid swamps, and technological nightmares not too far down in the deeps...

There's an attempt at a story and characters, and while nothing grand they are certainly functional. The robot townsfolk are cute with their beeps and boops, there are some surprise human characters later on that hint at a dystopian backstory and Dot's (the MC) search for her uncle (the character from the first game!) is interesting at least. She makes friends with a floating light who likes to be a jackass and blow things up, but he and Dot become friends and that leads to a touching 'end' between the two that sets up a third game.
A giant leap over its predecessor and a simple but fulfilling game loop plus a dash of great art... make this a worthwhile time.
Final Grade: A-

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Very clever puzzle game. Only a few pictures because I didn't actually finish it.. I love the logical puzzles in this game, moving out "Baba" to "Rock" and see yourself turn into a rock never gets old. Sadly I just don't care that much to keep playing it as puzzles are not my forte. It was fun while it lasted and I'll definitely keep it in mind as a cool novelty to show off some time in the future. Maybe I'll go back to it one day?

Final Grade: B+

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

One of the first mobile games I have put more than a half hour into, AFK arena drew me in with its great art style and promise of progress even when not playing. It lets you build a team that essentially just auto-attack plus a super move, which I suppose is enough for a game that is for general audiences... wouldn't want to put things like choice or strategy into a game now would we hahaha.. Each level of progress showers you with various coins, xp and gems and for the first several days my progress was steady and interesting. I was getting new characters, unlocking new features, upping my squad... But eventually I realized it was all pretty much the same shit over and over, and realized I didn't even WANT any of the new guys I unlocked.

There are many systems and modes working together to get you to keep playing, and while I did spend 5 bucks I do wish there was an option to just pay 60 and get the whole thing. Obviously mobile games just don't work like that, but I saw no reason to read over or get invested in the story/character parts (and there definitely was some of that and it was interesting what I saw) when I knew I'd have to spend actual months or actual hundreds of dollars to hope to see a conclusion of sorts.

Fun for what it was I suppose? Plus some dope art.

Final Score - C

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Can a superb visual style carry a game? Yes, yes it can! Moody and atmospheric, this feels like a game designer's graduation project to show off a keen visual style. It's free also on Steam so actually this may very well be correct haha..

It starts off with an odd narration from the designer (or a character named after them) implying that we are in his thoughts, and at first I was rolling my eyes at a Stanley Parable~esque ripoff but eventually we got to the good stuff. A lot of genuinely creepy imagery ensued as you walk through some environments and try to get to the end. Interesting gameplay you ask? Maybe not but it was quite the haunted house. There's some interesting messaging in the game about finding your own meaning to life and facing fears of rejection buuuuut it was mostly just window-dressing for an excuse to keep going through the scary scenes. A pretty cool experience for what it was.

Final Score: B+

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

A side-scrolling slasher/puzzle game by the guys who made Hotline Miami. The gameplay itself is good enough I suppose, it has levels broken down into "screens" where you have to work your way through, cutting up bad guys. Like Hotline, you and your enemies are 1HKO's which adds to tension, but with any button press it will "rewind" you back to the beginning to try again. This is cool because it fits thematically with the game (we'll get to that) and lets you jump right back in after you fail. It becomes NOT cool when you are trying a level for the 20th time and just have to repeat the same motions again and again trying to get things juuuuuust right. Especially the last couple of levels, this was getting a bit out of hand for me. Overall it was enjoyable enough to play, but the real meat is in the story.

The main character is often teased as "a guy in a bathrobe", which is a funny way to describe a samurai in a cyberpunk~esque future, but we get to see him work through some psychological issues that show he was a real (maybe?) soldier in the not-too-distant past. Each level has a section with the main character attends a session with a 'therapist' who gives him a medicine that makes the screen and music go wonky. It quickly becomes clear that this Doctor is manipulating you and may or may not be the primary antagonist? You also form a friendship with an adorable neighbor girl (who may or may not be real?). You regularly meet others who share your abilities which is neat, but ultimately just means you can only kill them when the plot says you can. It sets up a very interesting tale but leaves MANY questions open and I think needs a full sequel or two to finish completely and ultimately is a bit unsatisfactory I think in terms of telling a whole story - this is obviously just a part 1 of X.

Despite how much the story and gameplay interact with each other, one comes away as being far more compelling than the other.
Final Score - B-

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Bit of a cheap entry as it is quite short buttttt whatever! It's halfway through May and I'm only a quarter through the challenge! So Paramedium is a visual novel where you're a rook "Paramedium", a psychic who looks into paranormal activities and brings supernatural beings to justice. The plot is pretty straightforward, almost like a DnD one-shot - you've arrived at a home that was reported to your organization and you're there to figure out the problem. You meet a cute guy who is also in your org (we'll see him again in the sequel) who tells you to look out and be careful then you head in. You meet a crazy old lady, investigate a bit, then find the spirit who tells a sad tale, then head back down thinking the job is done. Wrong! It was the crazy lady who murdered someone and caused their spirit to be trapped. You fight her off and the guy shows up again to try and save you.

Then it's over. Solid little VN with a couple of gameplay segments (shooting away bad guys projectiles) and very good art. The sequel is supposedly a bit more meaty but this got me interested. Plus it's free!

Final Grade: C+

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Resident Evil 2, vanilla! But not quite vanilla since this is the dreamcast version + a special AI upres mod that looks genuinely great. It also got me to install Playnite, a program that lets me merge all of my launcher games into one very nice looking layout and I can launch emulated games straight through it! Take that, steam..

Anyway, onto the game itself. I do wish I had written this a bit earlier, so I remembered things a bit more crisply but I just loved how invested I got into the game. I don't often go back to the PS1~ era or before of gaming, but after an initial pause following the intro, I basically completed all of Claire A in two big chunks and I had an excellent time. The camera angles are very strange but SOMETIMES used to great effect with the monsters, and there's a lot of tension knowing there's a monster SOMEWHERE around but the F*%#ING camera won't let you see it.. I played on the Easy setting so I was never really threatened too terribly but frankly it was stressful enough.

To compare it straight to the Remake, it is definitely less scary and more goofy. The voice acting is bleh, the story beats and characters get significantly less to do, you barely know the side characters past Sherry/Leon (we'll get to Ada later) but I still liked it. There's more enemy types and locations but it is very similar to the Remake. Also those missing enemy types are basically just evil animals (spiders/bats) and weird naked zombies... Would've been interesting to see their inclusion in RE2Re but it is fine.
But the music/sound effects are just the bomb.
Final Grade: A-

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

RE2! The original, Leon B. I did ClaireA/LeonB again because I've just always heard that they fit best with the story going forward. Perhaps I should've done the opposite here but overall I liked it more than the Leon B in RE2Remake. I can definitely see why old fans were a bit disappointed in the A/B in the remake because quite a bit is different in this B version, you basically spend the 2nd half of each game in completely different places. It was very cool to see the story beats from A actually play out in B (I can't get through this area because as Claire I needed the detonator... I'll keep an eye out for the detonator... oh wait Claire just radioed and said she blew up the wall so I can go through. Of course!! That's me in the previous run!).

Ada got done DIRTY in this game. A lady in a dress who is a crack shot that is just looking for her boyfriend... genuinely stupid cover story. Way better in Remake. Also their 'romance' is pretty forced and the voice acting is atrocious. Still fun though! Silly True End is still Silly.

Final Grade: B+[/quote]

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Shovel Knight - Spectre of Torment is the first shovel knight dlc I managed to beat despite having bought the damn collection 3 times.. It does the usual Shovel Knight "go to various themed levels and beat up awesome bosses to get a damn solid plot" thing to a T. The titular Spectre is a man whose past we see in glimpses (with great images of him brooding off a castle), playable and otherwise. It also sets up the world as we see it in Shovel Knight - how the Order of No Quarter is formed, the enchantress and why Black Knight is how he is, that one weird adventurer kid.. All good stuff.

The gameplay is very good but the magic powers are a bit too lopsided, the healing power is so strong it never felt right to use magic for anything else. Also there's a suit that stops spikes / pits from being OHKO which saved me from going crazy. Spectre himself has a neat "diagonal slash" to all his moves that gives you a cool sense of mobility but ultimately it still feels a bit too clunky like Shovel Knight - its NES roots are just a bit too old for me. Hollow Knight remains on his throne!
Final Grade: B+

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Another cute Paramedium game. I actually paid for this one so I'll be honest I expected a bit more meat to it buuuuuuut nah not really? There's a couple extra 'gameplay' segments which are cool but nothing substantial. I'd liken it to a DnD adventure: show up to find a problem, bit of a twist, action beat or two then resolve it. Honestly might steal this plot for a DnD sidequest now that I think about it...

The art is just great however and I like the two main characters. They've got a lot of witty banter between them and chemistry. The "bad guy" and young girl character are spooky & sympathetic simultaneously which is what you really want from ghosts I suppose. The voice acting is decent enough and I'm more tempted now to get their follow up work, Faulty Apprentice. It's also been a hot minute since I played a visual novel for real.

Pretty decent!
Final Grade: B-

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Resident Evil Remake... I've got a bit of history with this series, and this game. I tried to play probably ~20 years ago at my brother's place when he was in college. Got eaten by the first zombie MULTIPLE times and just said fuck it and went back to MGS. Here I am on the Resident Evil train however, and now I have to say how I feel about this one.

First things first - I'm pretty sure I enjoyed RE2 more. I was certainly more compelled by it? The mansion is a very cool environment but it also had lots of little annoying bits to it as well - namely the doors on the map not being labeled and at least two sections where you just have to straight up backtrack and not in a cool way (namely the serum section) which is pretty annoying. I also played the Switch version meaning the load times were noticeable, but not terrible.

The game looks and sounds excellent, and the enemies were MOSTLY pretty great. I'm not sure I "get" what Hunters are or what their point is, Crimson Heads were already great additions to the game and the Hunters only show up like 3 times? Anyway the enemy design was great.
The story is pretty barebones and honestly terrible what there is of it. It starts off interesting enough but basically every major plot point following it is told via document and, barring the Barry 'twist', is essentially never ever brought up in a cutscene. Like, I knew Wesker was a bad guy 2 hours before the end, why didn't Jill react that way to him? She saw the pictures of the Umbrella team too! The increased focus on puzzles compared to 2 was sometimes neat but almost always more of a drag. Find X item and put it in Y slot. It felt more organic in 2 and there were maaaany times when I got to a puzzle, did half of it then realized the thing I found 3 hours previously, that I put in a box because obviously I did, was what I needed to finish the puzzle. And did they do something interesting with this fact, like ambush me along the way or putting a story beat knowing I'd have to head back? Of course not don't be silly.

All in all I definitely enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'd ever actually go and replay it, unlike RE2, remake and original. This game is probably the closest I've come to awarding half-stars (4.5/5), but I have decided against it.
Final Grade: B+

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Great music! Solid premise! Decent story but ends waaaaay too short. Itch-io is selling a lot of these..
I need to write a full review here!

Final Grade: C

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Hollow Knight round 2!! Playing it again with the dlc on the switch. I ended up not even completing that much DLC content but... Damn this is still such a great game. It took a while to get used to the switch's controllers, I definitely felt worse at the game than I did when I originally played it on PC. Visually it is basically identical so that was nice at least, not having to suffer downgrades.

The game is still exceptional, it has an amazing world and plays extremely well. Knowing generally where to go and what to do I feel like I cut my time in half with the game, but I also went out of my way to keep track of little side spots I found (there are now helpful map pins you can get!) so I also found a lot more stuff (I believe I went from 60~% game completion on PC to 90% on Switch) and got all of the caterpillars!! That was my real goal in all this, reuniting the caterpillar family.

Oozing in atmosphere and with wonderful sound direction, journeying through Hollow Nest was very moving. There's enough playfulness, fear, and sorrow in appropriate amounts that the game never feels like *One Thing*, but does all of them equally well. Deepnest though sweet jesus... The City of Tears is probably still my favorite area, with the music and rain throughout that really pushes a wondrous sense of melancholy for this lost civilization. The side characters are a treat as well, from the sad fate of the miner bug to all of the great shopkeeps (including the map couple, who are just wonderful. I'm sad he sleeps the whole rest of the game though!) and the dream nail that lets you read their minds is a treat.

Originally I was shooting for one of the new endings added in the last DLC, but frankly the new last boss was so crappy and Not-Fun to fight (in stark contrast to the old last boss, who was awesome) that after the 20th try I said fuck it and just youtubed the ending. I kept the picture though from that ending because it is dope as hell.

I'm eagerly awaiting Hollowsong!

Grade: A

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

One of my favorite games in existence is Super Mario 64. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of that game, and I would credit no small portion of my love to video games for it. And so with a heavy heart I have to say that the successor to Mario 64 - Mario Odyssey - is BAD. Well I don't know if it is bad, but I certainly strongly disliked it.

First off, it looks and sounds pretty nice. That's more or less the end of my compliments for the game. Well not really, Cappy as a mechanic and character is quite clever, I just don't think it turns out to ever be very fun? Like, I got turned into a TRex and smashed through boulders and it was.... okay? I feel like something is wrong with me but it's just how I feel. Turning into Goombas and jumping to make giant stacks is pretty cute though.

My real issue with the game - the moons. Moons are the "stars" from old games only in this game, you don't get stars through working your butt off or doing something particularly clever, no, you get stars for anything dumb that looks out of place or special in an area. Now there are plenty of "clever" moons or tough moons that require you to go through a lot to get them, but most are not. Basically just move the camera around a bit to see where they're tucked away at and go ground pound something once and they're yours. But to move on between levels you need a certain number of moons and... why do the difficult moons when the easy ones are right there?

The controls for Mario also feel VERY off. Mario as a character is extremely "slippery" and I constantly felt like I was fighting him more often than the challenges presented. It could be the Joy Cons fault but I don't own a pro-controller (is it time to get one?) so that's what I was working with. I might go back to it one day just to really finish it, as I only got to about the 2/3rds point in my time with it (according to some guides I looked up), but honest to god - I just wasn't having a damn bit of fun. Waste of $40.

Ugh.

Final Grade: F

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

GRANT US EYES!! Bloodborne is the 4th game in the "Soulsborne" series (and the game that turned it from the Souls series to that silly name), and it is in my opinion, still the best of them. Although in fairness I haven't beaten Dark Souls 1 in a while... Bloodborne has a character creator and RPG elements like leveling and item stats, and that helps play into a nice sense of build and weapon variety. The builds certainly aren't as diverse as the regular Souls series, but Bloodborne has something else going for it - Trick Weapons. The weapons in bloodborne (the main hand ones anyway) all have a unique gimmick: they transform with the L1 button from a one-handed form to a two-handed form and change their attack patterns and style. In my first playthrough of Bloodborne I used one weapon almost exclusively - the Threaded Cane. It is a fancy walking cane you can bludgeon and poke enemies with that can transform into a lengthy whip blade. To transform back, you jam it into the ground with a polite "tut" and a hearty clang that through the entire game NEVER got old. What could top it this playthrough? How about a short-sword turned Massive Hammer and a mace turned BUZZSAW!

Now, to be clear, these weapons were not as cool as my first playthrough, and that diminishing return held true for the rest of the game. Bloodborne was a transcendent experience the first time through, the games' shifting horror from confusion to beasts to Eldritch madness to melancholy resignation is really best done only once, but I still was drawn to the game every day I wasn't playing it, for the joy of smashing and rending beasts and bosses. It's just a joy to look at, in a horrifying way, the architecture is beautifully gothic, the enemies are still horrifying and elicit a strong sense of "What the hell is this thing" even when I know exactly what they are and how to kill them.

For this playthrough I focused mainly on the DLC, The Old Hunters, which I never finished during my Platinum run a few years back. I do think it is a solid addition to the game, expanding on the lore and making the Lovecraft influences even more prominent (Oh hi weird fish people from a small fishing village set to kill outsiders...) and beating the final boss The Orphan in a single attempt felt pretty damn good.

All in all a fantastic experience and I'm so glad I replayed this game. Arcane Build Playthrough 2021 maybe? The worst part about the game however, is how sharply it contrasted with another From Software/Miyazaki directed game I was playing through at the same time... but we'll get to Sekiro later.

Final Grade: A

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Sekiro is the latest effort by From Software and director Miyazaki, creators of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and I have finally gotten around to playing through about half (it seems, maybe 2/3rds?) the game. I've stopped at that point because after playing it for 3~ hours today and another session or two each 2+ hours I realized: have I ever actually turned off the game after one of these sessions and felt satisfied? Had fun? Felt like I really did something enjoyable or cool or... anything noteworthy really? The answer to these are just no, honestly.

In fairness to Sekiro, I'm using some cheats on the PC version to make myself a decent amount stronger after having just an annoying time in the early game. I beat 4~ bosses and was frankly REALLY tired of stomping all over the regular enemies and then getting my ass handed to me by the boss repeatedly. I felt like I was making no improvements, and honestly the combat just wasn't very fun. There is an increased emphasis on parrying mechanics, which is cool and I dug that in Bloodborne, but it doesn't really feel satisfying to perform sucessfully because there's not a whole lot of feedback other than the clanging of swords (which does sound great!). The combat is also like 90%+ just regular ass dudes with regular weapons and that is a little... I dunno, not interesting?

Sekiro departs pretty majorly from the Soulsborne games - no levels, no stats (well, very few stats that are raised only after killing enough bosses) no character creation, no piecemeal story... There's real cutscenes in this game! With dialog! And characters who have like... motivations! and arcs! You'd think I would dig this, but honestly? Nah. It is set in Sengoku Japan, and that should be awesome. And in fact, a lot of it IS awesome. But its just not quite what I'm looking for? Or maybe the gameplay isn't as fun so the surrounding stuff just isn't as interesting?

I am tempted to blame it on using the trainer, but honestly I was having 0 fun when I started and began to have minimal fun when I used the boosts because then I actually, ya know, progressed sort of regularly but.. I mean I used trainers for Dark Souls 1 and 3 the first time and I still fucking loved those games.

It is tremendously unfortunate (mostly because I spent like 40 bucks on the game when I could've just borrowed it from a friend) but I think I am finished with Sekiro. I don't really care to see the ending to the story or characters, I am not interested in seeing what "enemies" are around the next bend or the areas they're set in. I turned off Bloodborne and every time I couldn't wait to get back in. Every time I turned off Sekiro I just felt tired.

Final Grade: F

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Nemesis, the supposed black sheep of the family.. in a way I can see why, but I really really liked it! The game has only one protagonist this time: Jill Valentine. Jill is pretty serious in RE1 but generally is portrayed as always out of her depth.. she has developed a bit since then and is more serious and out for revenge on Umbrella. The game however kicks off with the zombies having already overrun Raccoon City, which is great from an action point of view but I was very interested to see "Early" outbreak RC. Where RE2 sort of dropped the ball with "being in a city in a zombie outbreak", you are primarily stuck in a few larger locations and there aren't THAT many zombies, especially at once. RE3 fixes that in a big way.. there are lots of zombies roaming the streets with you and they respawn very often.

The new big bag, Nemesis, is the big talking point of this game. He is definitely terrifying when he shows up and is clearly a response to two big 'weakness' in the first two games - once you clear up an area of enemies, you essentially have free run of the place until a certain small handful of story sections that will repopulate enemies (REmake 1 tried to fix this with Crimson Heads, who will reanimate later on in the game, presumably after you've taken down all the regular zombies) and even then, later in the game you tend to have a good amount of ammo so taking out a few extra enemies is pretty easy. How does Nemesis fix this? By chasing you through zones like a dog and not wanting to go down easy! Like RE2Remake, he goes down with a bunch of hits but not for very long. While Nemesis shows up in the first 30~ minutes and stays until the end of the game, there are plenty of long stretches where he doesn't show up at all for a while that serves fine in terms of breathing room, there's basically no section where the point is to get something complicated done while he is harassing you.

The story isn't bad, Jill has to work with a small mercenary company that may or may not be the bad guys (The Russian guy obviously is, the cute hispanic guy who flirts with Jill obviously isn't) and they have to work their way out of a zombie and puzzle infested city. The usual right? There's a neat twist in that when you get several hours in and it looks like the game might be ending.... BOOM! Nemesis has a rocket launcher and your ticket out of town goes down. What is more unfortunate about the story - the writing and voice acting is garbage. "They won't stop me this is my, last escape.." is a line you'll see a lot - and it was physically painful to read each time. Each document you find is written in Google-Translate level English straight from Japanese, obvious phrases and expressions included. Did they have no editors on this game? At all?! And the voice acting for basically everyone but Jill is horrendous, and even she is not great. Also the ending is a bit meh, we get no real closure on Nemesis, other than we learn he was probably a STARS member. It would've been better as a character we know, like the movies.

I can't believe I said something nice about the movies...

Not as groundbreaking or clever in design as the first game, nor interconnected and charming as the second game, but I really really enjoyed the new look at Raccoon before its fall, and the very spread out area maps and sense of exploration you get to enjoy while being chased by a freaky mutant. Starsssssss....

Final Grade: B+

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

For a very long time I've wanted to be into Tetris. It was a game I looked at and was like "I'm pretty sure I'd like that, I should get it at some point". But that opportunity never really came but then! Tetris Effect came out late last year on PSVR and everyone said it was amazing! Transcendent! Spiritual! It's announced a few weeks ago it is coming to PC and VR and I say "Here we go! Epic Store be damned..."

Now that I'm 'finished' with it: Yeah this is pretty damn good. Honestly I think I'd prefer a Lumines VR to this but it is pretty great. Tetris is very addicting I just wish I wasn't so terrible at it, hahaha. The main draw is "Journey" mode that takes you through 20~ odd songs and levels that have strong themes tied to moving through the world, and the music accompanying them is generally very very good. The game begins and ends on VERY strong tracks and honestly sags a bit the entire rest of the way, but they're hardly bad or even mediocre. Just not that great? I made it all the way through and I loved the ending, almost Nier Automata-esque in a way. Not that great of course but good!

Then I played a few of the extra modes, they're kinda whatever as far as I could tell EXCEPT: there's a challenge mode that has weird quirks pop up every 15-30 blocks or so - Giant pieces, no ghost drops, inverted view and controls... it was awesome! I will definitely be going back and playing this more, but since I saw the end credits I'm calling it finished!

Final Grade: A-

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Every year I feel like there's 5 or so indies that come out that everyone talks about for a while, get a few nods at the GOTY discussions, but never really win out anything. Your Hollow Knights, your Baba is Yous, your Insides. Yuppie Psycho isn't going to be one of those games, but it damn well should be.

You are Brian, a young man, recently graduated, in a dystopian Alt-1990's and you've gotten a dream job at a MegaCorp in The Big City - but something is weird about your work place... its basically a Lovecraftian nightmare? Well not Lovecraft, but there's plenty of messed up shit. There's a witch on the loose in this building, and she's slowly driving everyone to madness and despair. You're a secret Witch Hunter, here to bring her down and save the company. There's a fantastic set of side characters, each are mostly one note of course but they hit that note with charm and style. There's an excellent gag where one of the "faceless" employees (those without a dialogue portrait!) goes to introduce himself, and one of the named characters says they don't have time for everyone's name hahahaha

The gameplay is an isometric style older "puzzle" game, with some light stealth elements as well. You're moving throughout the building trying to find out more about the witch and how to defeat her. You have the help of a handy robot Sitra (who is, unsurprisingly, more human than she appears)and your aforementioned quirky colleagues. The game has a very strong horror element, and there's a great variety of monsters and scares along the way to one of several endings. As it is all pixel art, it can't really be terrifying like Resident Evil 2 REmake, but it is inventively creepy and often enough horrifying to set my toe a tappin'. Ironically, where the Resi series also knows how to cut horror with humor, Yuppie Psycho follows its lead with MANY laugh out loud and quirky moments. A character who rides a horse around the office (that horse later gives you some real sage advice), over the top sound effects for characters, and a scaredy-cat main character provide a superb juxtaposition with horror and humor.

I had to use a guide on a few sections because I really wanted to finish the game today, but after looking up the answers I saw immediately what the dev was going for 99% of the time, no bullshit troll logic puzzles like old adventure games, it is all fairly straightforward. The gameplay may not have been too out there to write home about, but its charm, wit, humor and macabre situations made this a real joy to play.

Final Grade: A

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Gears of War 3
#27
Xbox One
Beaten August 3rd

This is a bit of a difficult review to type as I have essentially spent the past 6 months playing Gears 3... Anyway there's a lot to like about the third Gears, it more or less wraps up the story and characters, lots of neat gameplay improvements, LOOKS tremendously better than the old games. But I guess it isn't as good? Or maybe its the best? I don't really know!!

This was the Gears I had never played and knew basically nothing about (other than, SPOILERS!! DOM DIES?) so I was looking forward to getting to it. That said, it took me 6 months to beat it so I guess I didn't like it all that much, right? The shooting felt good as always, but basically no new guns? Or rather they had some special new ones but I essentially had The Old Standy layout of HammerRifle + Shotgun + bolter/machine pistol. That said it still felt pretty good to shoot up the bad guys... if only it still wasn't the same damn bad guys + some new boring ass ones! The Lambent, which were introduced near the end of 2, show up in full force and they look awesome. Glowy yellow guys who love to blow up 90% of the time, they look very imposing but unfortunately are just reskins of the grubs or just plain annoying to fight.

Moving to a more positive note, the art direction/level design for 3 is off the charts. This game looks great, a VERY diverse set of levels for each chapter, you're in a brown/grey desert for like a half hour and that's it. And they made a Corpser boss not suck! It wasn't great or anything but... starting off, you're on a big boat and you get to see all the colors of the paintings and items of the crew on board, it feels like a very "lived in" space, and I thought that was great. Also they realized the 'stormy' areas of previous games were the coolest so they decided to end the series on a high note with a bitchin' "Maelstrom" area for the last fight.

However, we do have to talk about the story. The intro was honestly great, set up that General WhoCares had ditched everyone and humanity is on its very last leg - then General WhatsHisFace comes back and everything goes to shit and.... Marcus's dad is still alive?!!? That's nuts, lets go find him!! Then the pacing goes completely to shit as switch to Cole as a main character putzing around the mainland. I actually really like this section, we get a lot about Cole which is great plus we see how "ordinary" folks are trying to get by in this fucked up post apocalyptic world. It just takes WAY too long and doesn't really fit with the stuff they had you do the first hour. And then none of it has basically any pay-off later so.... Also, Dom and Marcus's dad. I thought these would be great scenes, but honestly they felt pretty meh. Dom did a sacrifice to get everyone to safety, but for what? So everyone could get some gas for a dude who had a transport to take them to a town that who even remembers what the fuck is there?

And honestly, that's Gears of Wars story in a nutshell - do a bunch of menial shit, going from random point A to point B to get some menial McGuffin, then mosey your way back to the end point and then NEXT CHAPTER. Nothing feels like it really counts for anything... you feel like a Cog in a machine that stumbles your way into importance. And maybe that's what they're going for, but in the entirely trilogy no one ever calls it out or does anything with that idea.

THAT SAID - I love the ending. Marcus being a broken shell is a perfect ending, yeah, Lambent and Grubs defeated, but everyone he cares about other than Anya is dead... what the hell is left for him? This mirrors humanity in general. Sure the big bads are dead... but what the hell is even left for us?

Final Grade: B-

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Ion Maiden (aka Ion Fury)
#28
"Beaten" August 30th
PC

Ion Fury, previously known as Ion Maiden, is an Old-School FPS in the vein of Doom, Wolfenstein and Duke Nukem 3D. You play as Shelly "Bombshell", a policewoman (private security? Something) whose night out drinking is ruined by a mad scientist and his army of cybernetic goons, so you head out into that crazy city to kick some ass with a small army's worth of weapons.

First and foremost, the story is basically nonexistent. You get more from the splash screen than you do for the entire first half of the game that I finished. And hey that's fine, some games don't need a story. There's a few bits here and there of Dr. Bad Guy (not his actual name) monologueing through a screen at Shelly and she has some witty retort to him, but that's about all you get. Shelly herself has comments about things that are going on but they're usually just some hardass/snarky one liners rather than any actual window into who her character is. She's not even a one-dimensional character, just seems to say things just to break up the fights.

Gameplay wise things are thankfully much deeper. There are about 7~8 guns that I unlocked, all of which have some sort of alternate fire mode to play around with. There's a revolver with auto aim, a shot-gun with built in grenade launcher, incediary dual SMGs... a very nice selection of killing tools. Sadly the enemy variety is not quite where it needs to be, the vast majority of enemies are the hooded humanoid goons that just use your own kind of guns against you that you need to maneuver around. There's a few other oddball cybernetic enemies, skulls on spider legs, armored centipedes, that kind of thing, but the bread and butter is the basic humanoid enemies. Their AI is pretty dumb, they are sometimes placed in clever areas to force you to think on your toes in case of a trap, but the actual AI just has them mostly stand there and shoot at you. This is an old school shooter so you are CONSTANTLY flying around the map, so it might be a bit too difficult to judge your shots if you and the enemy are both moving all of the time..

I only completed about half the game and then I stopped. It is a very good game for what it is, the level layouts are very cool and expansive, lots of neat things to look at and potentially shoot, many nooks and crannies to find ammo/health/shields.. but ultimately it wasn't really growing and I just wasn't having too great a time. I've been trying to make sure I don't just "Finish" games because I feel like I Have To for this 52-game challenge, and this is one of the ones I decided to put to bed. All in all a solid retro shooter that while I ultimately have no nostalgia for, I still quite liked.

Final Grade: C+

SamuelG · Oct 2, 2019

Here's my September update! And here's my full list!

59) Creature in the Well (PC)

Honestly my biggest disappointment of the year. Felt like it had a novel idea, but absolutely no idea what to actually do with it. Became super repetitive super quickly.

60) Gears 5 (PC)

On the other hand, a super awesome surprise. Felt like a holy shit awesome return to form for the franchise. I loved it. I'm so excited for more.

61) Devil's Hunt (PC)

Annnnd right back to terrible. At least I expected this one to suck. An absolutely awful beat 'em up thing.

62) Remember Me (PC)

I've owned this for so long and I finally got around to beating it. I dunno why it took so long. I really enjoyed the story, art, music, but the combat is awful.

63) Scanner Sombre (PC)

Another one I've owned for seemingly forever. Little confusing, but its central gimmick is so so good.

64) Sayonara Wild Hearts (iOS)

This is where I promptly discovered the Apple Arcade. Sayonara Wild Hearts is one of the best things I've played this year, honestly likely a GOTY candidate. Loved it.

65) Assemble With Care (iOS)

Another Apple Arcade game, loved it. Take apart little objects and put them back together while telling a simple and cute story about family.

66) Possessions (iOS)

Cute little puzzle game. Not too much too it, but good time waster.

67) The Get Out Kids (iOS)

Cute little adventure game. Apple Arcade is great for this stuff.

watdaeff4 · Oct 3, 2019

Challenge Complete!

51. Devil May Cry 5 (Xbox One)
Recommend? Yes. One of, if not the, best character action games as well as a GOTY contender
This game is so damn good it's wanting me to keep replaying it. The gameplay is sublime

52. Link's Awakening Remake (Switch)
Switch? It's Zelda - hell yes
While I may not love this game as much as some, it's still a master piece and one of the best games of the year

53. Gears 5 (Xbox One)
Recommend? Yes
Gears 5 has probably gone down as my favorite gears game. Can't wait to see what comes next

Now PLaying:
Astral Chain
Days Gone

Bosh · Oct 3, 2019

MAIN THREAD
COMPLETED | 52

#50: The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening DX (9/29/2019) | 8/10 | 3DS XL| ~ 16.5 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -8 | Fun GBC Virtual console game that still plays great in 2019
Gameplay -8.2 | While the menu usage is annoying the overall game is a joy to play. Game had good design
Sound -7 | Decent soundtrack, GBC audio holds it back (Whenever I play the switch I can see this area a big improvement!)
Story/Online -8 | There isn't a lot told, but what is is really good and makes you think a lot about the game/world
Asking Price-9 | Great game, glad I played it and look forward to playing remake in future

C69C5CB55F71028A51D93ED364F27AB45C224CCA

zelda-twilight-princess-my-nintendo-picross_1024x1024.jpg

#52: My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ( 10/3/2019 ) | 8/10 | 3DS XL | ~ 9 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -8 | Great free MyNintendo game. Scratches the Picross itch.
Gameplay 7.8 | Overall really good, did the standard Picross & Micross (Not fan of Mega). Felt a tad easy for the 45 levels it gives you but still enjoyable
Sound -7 | Farily basic zelda sounds added to game
Story/Online -NA | You puzzle
Asking Price-8 | Good content for a free game. Worth the time playing

Weiss · Oct 4, 2019

44. Wandersong - 04/10/2019

An incredibly charming narrative adventure game that uses one single mechanic for everything and yet never makes it boring. It's thin on actual gameplay and completely empty of challenge, so the game's writing has to carry the whole thing. Whether that works depends on if you're into that Undertale style of helping everyone you come across, which thankfully I'm a huge fan of.

LonestarZues · Oct 6, 2019

Master Post

69. Destiny 2: Forsaken - Looks like I'm back on my Destiny kick. Feels so good to get in there and shoot aliens with all the different weapons. Forsaken had a solid story and activities to do. Shadowkeep is next. I just need to find space for it in between all the games I'm currently playing as well.

Currently playing: The Witcher 2, Final Fantasy 8 and Destiny 2 with Concrete Genie joining them on Tuesday.

Tizoc · Oct 6, 2019

85. Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon

This was a curious Strategy style game, where you command ships and battle against other enemy ships and bases. The game is set in the Treasure Planet film's setting, taking places many years after the film's events. If anything it can be seen as a sequel of sorts.
I wasn't sure how I would be dealing with stuff in the game so I play it on Easy although it did have more lengthy battles in a few levels.
Still it is a curious and interesting game esp. with Disney giving the OKs to have it be made.
Incidentally enough, the devs of this game would go on to work on Bully and Max Payne 3 for Rockstar.

5pectre · Oct 6, 2019

24. Double Dragon Neon

Great game overall. Very 80s vibe with all the tropes and funny dialogue.

Only thing that annoyed me was that in some areas you can't move up and down, and are locked in to a single plane. And with how the mechanics of the game work it's almost impossible not to take damage.
I also thought stage 6 was impossible till I found that I could ALSO equip a stance. Made things WAY easier.

4/5 - took me a little over 3 hours to complete.

main thread

Rhaknar · Oct 6, 2019

Game #95 - The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening (2019)
Time: 10 hours

A little bummed about this one as it could have easily been a GOTY contender but the unfortunate frame rate issues really bring down the experience. It's still a fantastic remake of a classic Zelda title (although far from the BEST ZELDA GAME EVER as some say), there clearly is a ton of love put into this, I love the visual style and graphically, again if the frame rate issues didnt exist, it would be one of the best looking games on the system. Fantastic soundtrack and the same great gameplay as ever, it's a bit uneven as the first 2 or 3 dungeons are way too simple and easy, and overall it's not a very long game (especially for a Zelda) but it's still a must play for fans of the series and Switch owners, with the caveat that you will notice those rame rate dips all the time until they patch it, if they ever do. shame really, everything else is great.

Main Post

Deleted member 401 · Oct 6, 2019

77. Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road - Arcade (2 hours)
Between the player character's slow movement, the fast and dense enemy projectiles, and bosses that take the concept of the "damage sponge" to insane heights, this is easily one of the worst games I've ever played.

Full list to date

Ted · Oct 7, 2019

Update time!

Below are games 20 - 29:

Super Lucky's Tale;
Dropsy;
Forza Horizon 4;
Yoku's Island Express;
Dota Underlords;
The Silent Age;
Mudrunner;
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus;
Void Bastards; and
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Main list is here.

GAME #20:Super Lucky's Tale
Playful Corp - PC - ★★☆☆☆

Completion State:
Beat the Kitty Litter and reclaimed the Book of Ages (8.5 hours, 600/1000 Xbox achievements)

Comments:
A very OK 3D platformer. Worth a play through but there's nothing outstanding here.

GAME #21: Dropsy
Tendershoot/A Jolly Corpse - PC - ★★★★☆

Completion State:
Met Dropsy's biological mother (5.2 hours, 83% Steam achievements)

Comments:
Brilliant point and click adventure with great puzzles and an interesting overarching story line to drive it all forward.

GAME #22: Forza Horizon 4
Playground Games - PC - ★★★★☆

Completion State:
3 starred all original stories, business and PR stunts. Reached level 20 in all race types (224 hours, 1,000/1,000 Xbox achievements)

Comments:
Fab single player car-pg with a very well realised rural Britain. Multi-player isn't what I want from it and I'd love a way to just race PvP without the hoops but the single player aspect more than makes up for it for me. So many hours lost thinking I'll just boot it up for a quick race and ending up spending an hour modding and fine tuning a car!

GAME #23: Yoku's Island Express
Villa Gorilla - PC - ★★★☆☆

Completion State:
Saved Mokumana (~8hrs)

Comments:
Charming pinball, platform puzzle game with an excellent chilled sound track.

GAME #24: Dota Underlords
Valve - PC/Mobile - ★★★★☆

Completion State:
Completed all 25 levels of the protopass (121hrs)

Comments:
My first experience with anything Dota or anything battle chess and I loved almost all of it. I played mostly against bots but had a lot of fun figuring out good combinations. I'm sure I'll continue to play here and there going forward.

GAME #25: The Silent Age
House on Fire - PC - ★★★☆☆

Completion State:
Completed the game (4.3 hours, 79% Steam achievements)

Comments:
Cool, short point and click adventure game with an interesting premise, good story and nice voice work. The puzzles are fairly simple and the world is fairly linear but that's fine with me. You never deal with useless inventory items or have overwhelming amounts of choice, it's one of the few point and clicks where I never needed to look anything up.

GAME #26: Mudrunner
Saber Interactive - PC - ★★★☆☆

Completion State:
Completed all [non-DLC] maps and challenges (30.5 hours)

Comments:
More of a puzzle game than a driving game but I loved it. It's slow and after a few maps you've really seen it all but for what it is its rather good. Oh yes and fuck Deluge.

GAME #27: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Machine Games - PC - ★★★★☆

Completion State:
Started a revolution (13 hours, 285/100 Xbox Achievements)

Comments:
Great gamey game of shooting unambiguously shitty people without needing to be crass.

I'm not a Wolfenstein regular but this game seems to give some good backstory for William and the whole thing ties together well. The overarching theme of hope is not lost amongst the very deliberate ultra-violence right down to the song that plays over the credits.

Great stuff.

GAME #28: Void Bastards
Blue Manchu - PC - ★★★☆☆

Completion State:
Indefinite detention (~20 hours)

Comments:
Good run based game with a super cool art style but it gets a little repetitive with too few enemy types and fairly simple procedural level design.

GAME #29: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
ArtPlay - PC - ★★★★☆

Completion State:
Got all three endings, 98.10% map clearance (20.5 hours)

Comments:
Great game. Lot's of silly dumb fun. I had to tweak the controls a little but once I did it felt pretty good, there's nothing too complex here but enough so that it doesn't feel samey or repetitive.

The shard concept is very cool and gives plenty of variation to the moment to moment gameplay.

The were a few moments where I really didn't know what to do next (including the first two endings) but after a quick google search I was always back to it.

Lot's of fun to be had here.

Skikkiks · Oct 7, 2019

Main Post

Here's a long overdue update due to life and CTR Team Racing taking over my soul for a fair bit of the summer. No pictures to avoid spamming like a nerd!

Game 53: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) | 10 Hours | 06/28/2019 | 8/10

I backed this way back when the kickstarter started and it delivered to my expectations. Controls how'd you expect, there's lots of variety to the enviornments, the slew of wacky enemies, the equipment and the strategy with the use of shards. Overall I have not much to say, it was pretty swell.

Game 54: [DLC] Guacamelee 2: Proving Grounds (PS4) | 3 Hours | 06/29/2019 | 8/10

Guacamelee 2 was one of my favourite games of last year but I only got around to this DLC because it decided to release at the end of December so I almost completely forgot it existed up until a few days before I completed it. If you played the first game's DLC challenge mode, nothing here should be a surprise. The challenges are cool and you get cool shit for doing them. If you like the game it's worth your time.

Game 55: Katana ZERO (PC) | 3 Hours | 07/08/2019 | 7/10

Katana ZERO is a pretty good Hotline Miami-esque experience from the people that published Hotline Miami. The stuff they do with the story and the dialogue choices are generally neat. An alright experience.

Game 56: Sticks & Bones (PC) | 40 Minutes | 07/08/2019 | 6/10

A goofy funny pirate game thing. Has some solid comedy moments and the variety of random gameplay styles, while not necessarily super interesting, keep the game fresh enough to keep you interesting for its short time in the sun.

Game 57: Touhou: Luna Nights (PC) | 9 Hours | 07/20/2019 | 9/10

While I am familliar with the Touhou franchise I don't really care about the franchise nor do I care much about shoot 'em ups. However, the reception for this game did peak my interest so I tried it out for myself and I was blown away by it's quality. It controls like a dream, the platforming is solid but the mechanics and boss battles are where it really shines. Learning boss patterns is fun but it's made even more fun here with the graze and time slow mechanics which become crucial as it becomes your main source of health and mana regeneration. The bosses here are tough as nails but they are incredibly designed around those mechanics where once you get that understanding and can put it into practice, they become easily thwarted and it feels satisfying as hell to do so. The throwing out of used pop cans from the vending machines into little waste bins is one of my favourite little things in games.

Game 58: Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch) | 42 Hours | 08/17/2019 | 9/10

An excellent entry into the franchise and probably the best entry post-Awakening. The main gimmick here that seperates it from the rest of the franchise is the school stuff, and while it does get a little rote as you get closer to the end, delegating duties and teaching your kids is a fun way to train you characters into murder warlords. The turn based gameplay is as good as its always been and the little changes they've made here and there are generally pretty good. I chose Dimitri for this first run and I found the story to be good and I found Dimitri to be a fun character, especially when he goes full Punished after the time skip.

Game 59: Distraint: Deluxe Edition (PC) | 110 Minutes | 08/17/2019 | 5/10

An alright little 2D horror game. Not really that good but it knows how to craft a spooky atmosphere. It only screams at you a couple of times, which is a plus.

Game 60: Metal Gear Solid (PS1) | 12 Hours | 08/26/2019 | 10/10

Even though this game originally released 21 years ago and some aspects of it are dated now, it's easy to see how this game became an industry defining masterpiece. A lot of the stuff here, like how it captures a mood with its ambient music, the behaviour of the AI and the cutscene direction, makes it feel ahead of its time. The stuff that might feel dated, like the random fourth wall breaks that get blurted out every so often, just become funny in hindsight and add to the game's charm. Snake is an excellent protagonist and his interactions with the other characters are where the games charm lies. Calling people on the codec basically functions like looking up GameFAQ posts which also makes it feel ahead of its time as many modern games are criticized for handholding while this game was doing it in 1998. Not as if it isn't sorely needed however, some of the stuff the game wants you to do would be nonsensically cryptic without it. The gap between the two Sniper Wolf fights is one of my favourite experiences I've had playing a game and it'll stick with me forever. The second phase of the Metal Gear REX phase however can kick rocks and that will also stick with me forever.

Game 61: Minoria (PC) | 5 Hours | 09/07/2019 | 8/10

Minoria is the latest game from rdein, the developer of the Momodora games, and it's pretty great. Nice aesthetic, fun platforming and challening combat are the highlights of the game. Not much to say about this one either. It's neat!

Game 62: River City Girls (PC) | 7 Hours | 09/13/2019 | 9/10

This is a great time. Mechanically, it isn't the best around. On a pure combat level, while River City Girls is fun in and of itself, Fight N' Rage and the soon-to-be-mentioned Streets of Fury EX allow for wackier combos and more frantic gameplay. However when compared to those games, River City Girls excells in every other way. Every aspect of the presentation is great from story to characters to music to general aesthetic, it's just a really great package I can see myself coming back to.

Game 63: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (Switch) | 8 Hours | 09/14/2019 | 8/10

This was a game I bought for my 3DS years ago but dropped midway through due to myself getting lost and the game getting lost in the shuffle. After such a long time I started a new playthrough on my Switch and ran through it and it's good! A fun metroidvania with good controls, good platforming and a lot of charm.

Game 64: Untitled Goose Game (Switch) | 4 Hours | 09/20/2019 | 8/10

Everyone's favourite meme game that has taken the world by storm, Goose Game is pretty great. While a fair chunk of how good it is lies in the inherent charm of being a goofy goose that exists to cause people pain, there's a lot of fun puzzle solving to be had as you make your way through the few areas. This gets expanded further with the post game puzzles which do stretch what you think is possible in a game about a goose and provide some fun brain teasers. There's more to goose game than just being a honking meme.

Game 65: Streets of Fury EX (PC) | 2 Hours | 09/28/2019 | 7/10

While this game clearly aims to be a 'kusoge' and its visual style seems to harken back to such classics as Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game and Dong Dong Never Die, Streets of Fury EX is mechanically an excellent beat em up. Each character has many different combo strings, heavy and special attacks that can all be stringed together seamlessly for nutso combos. You'll run through both campaigns in little time but you'll unlock plenty of stuff as you do. Also, for whatever reason, accomplished fighting game players Ryan Hart and Kayane are in the game. As well as the Nostalgia Critic of all people, who ended up being the most fun character I chose, of all people.

Game 66: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD (PS3) | 15 Hours | 09/30/2019 | 8/10

Metal Gear Solid 2 is an interesting thing. While the gameplay is greatly improved from the first game, I find it falters in a lot of areas. The opening cutscene and the tanker mission are so great, when you get to the proper 'plant' campaign it suffers heavily. MGS2 conceptually makes for an interesting sequel on paper, but in practice is actually rather boring. It does all this shit with its story and makes all these teases and hints on the games true nature, but ultimately half the game is bomb defusal and running around the boring looking Big Shell shooting down cyphers and awkwardly doing boring stuff. This is a stark contrast to the first game, which puts you in weird ass scenarios constantly and makes for a more interesting game. The entire game being a retread of the first game doesn't help these things, and while the game gives you an explanation as to why, it really comes too late and doesn't really mitigate the feelings of boredom I had while I was playing it. The one positive is that the bosses on the whole feel better this time around, espeically this game's Metal Gear fight vs the first game, though I think Gray Fox from MGS1 is the best fight from either game. The game really does try its damndest to course correct after the torture part doing all sorts of wacky shit but it doesn't make up for how boring the game truly is.

saenima · Oct 8, 2019

Main Post

79. Full Throttle Remastered - 3h30 - 26.09

I grew up with LucasArts games, such as DotT, The Dig or Fate of Atlantis. But Full Throttle was one of the big titles that i never got around to back in the day. And playing it now after all these years, it feels a bit disappointing. I liked the world and characters quite a lot, but the game around it is paper thin and not very enjoyable. The action sequences are more annoying than exciting. Having to go around an endless road defeating enemies in a poor Road Rash facsimile in a trial and error fashion to progress is not my idea of fun. Especially in a point and click adventure. As for the puzzling, there's not much to it. It's a pretty easy game. I still recommend it though, exclusively on the strength of the writing and the lovely art style.

80. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 15h30 - 26.09

It's a beauty. That's the first thing that was always present on my mind playing this. I can live well on a lower budget diet, but i do like candy now and then. And nothing speaks luxurious and expensive like a Naughty Dog joint. From the visuals to the animations to the setpiece spectacle, this game really grabbed me. It has pacing issues, though my problems seem to diverge a bit from most criticisms i have read regarding it. I was pretty ok with the exploring and the climbing and the storytelling. It was the shooting bits that i wanted to fast forward. Not because the gameplay is bad, it's not. But because i just wanted more of the other stuff. The grand story itself is the weakest link here, i feel. I enjoyed the brothers' relationship, but didn't really care about any of the pirate stuff. Loved Nadine though, and look forward to Lost Legacy.

I usually play games on normal, with some exceptions. I feel like i need to replay this on a higher difficulty in order to get more out of the combat though, because this was a breeze compared to the older Uncharted games. Which aren't known for their challenge. It's also more reigned in and grounded than the older games.

This feels like the perfect point to end Drake's story and i hope that's what happens.

81. Anthem - 32h30 - 07.10

I'll just quote what i wrote about this on another thread:

saenima said:
So i finally finished Anthem's main storyline. Was doing most side content up to a point, but then the game kinda funnelled me to the last mission, so i did that and immediately lost all interest in going back. Overall, i found it really mediocre.

Writing wise, it's an extension of modern Bioware, which i find grating. The story is another saviour Jesus type story, though our main character doesn't even get a name, or nickname, or anything. We are called Freelancer by everyone from start to finish, which feels weird seeing as there are many other Freelancers in this world. Imagine being simply called Ex-Soldier throughout all of FF VII. The dialogue and voice acting has that Bioware Bro Banter quality, that i personally find extremely annoying. Everyone has to sound like they're the coolest cat in town. Sorry but no one talks like that except douchebags. Though it also has its genuinely funny moments. Brin is awkward and funny, Faye has some good stuff and the dude that wants to outlaw puddles has his moments.

The gameplay is extremely repetitive and the 'encounter design' borderline insulting. We got a variety of flying to point X, holding button on mcguffin and slowly chipping away waves of distant enemies you can barely tell apart until your Special attack fills up, at which point most encounters end. And that's literally it. Oh and sometimes you have to carry thing from point A to point B as well. It's just so unimaginative and derivative of the wrong parts of something like Destiny. Talking of that game, i spent a good chunk of this game thinking 'this is exactly like Destiny but much worse.'

Anthem is also kinda broken still, after all these months. I lost count at the amount of times i got booted out to the main menu or that the game straight up crashed.

I had little faith in Bioware's future going in and Anthem just drained the rest.

Deleted member 401 · Oct 8, 2019

78. Guacamelee 2 (8 hours)
Guacamelee was already a fun game, and the sequel is largely more of the same. I will say there is something refreshing about being able to play as X'tabay, though.

Full list to date

Illusionary · Oct 9, 2019

I've fallen somewhat behind in my updates here; various excuses, but let's get this fixed - to start with, here's my update for August, taking me up to 48 games completed. I'm now over the 52-game target, but more on that in my update for September!

Main post here

42. Miles & Kilo (Switch) - 9 August 2019
Completed with all levels S-ranked and all achievements (except those for time trials) unlocked. Developing nicely from Kid Tripp, to which this is pretty much a direct sequel, Miles & Kilo is again a 2D side-scrolling platformer. The game now frees itself from the auto-running approach seen in Kid Tripp, but I'd actually encourage that as the best, most satisfying way to play, with all levels very much being beatable in auto-run mode - and it might as well be required if you plan to attempt S-ranks, which depend in part on a tight time limit. Brightly-coloured pixel-art is once again used to good effect, but with a significant resolution increase allowing a much more appealing end result and end-of-world boss encounters bring some refreshing variety to the gameplay. Overall, however, Miles & Kilo feels largely to be more of the same - but as neither game is especially long (there are now 36 levels here), this isn't really a bad thing!

43. A Short Hike (Steam) - 17 August 2019
Completed with all achievements unlocked. Thoroughly wholesome is how I'd describe my overall impressions coming away from this gem of a game, which sees players take control of Claire, a young bird, as she undertakes the eponymous 'short hike' to the peak of the island on which the game is set. The game uses an overhead perspective, with a fairly low-resolution graphical style which, rather than being a negative, is actually quite fitting to the overall vibe here. The gameplay sees you seeking out golden feathers, which grant the ability to perform successive 'double jumps', crucial to the climb to the summit, through exploration, interaction with the various other, somewhat anthropomorphised, animal characters that inhabit the island and the completion of tasks that range from simple fetch quests to races, a volleyball variant and the ever-popular fishing - all coming together to create a very satisfying experience.

44. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) - 24 August 2019
Platinum trophy earned; completed on normal difficulty with 100% map exploration, 100% of items collected, 100% of demons/shards catalogued. I'm a Kickstarter backer for Bloodstained and so was coming to the game with fairly high expectations; an initial disappointment with the myriad and ongoing technical issues that the Switch version had resulted in me - somewhat begrudgingly - picking up a PS4 copy as well, but from there out I was thoroughly impressed.

Bloodstained faithfully captures the feel of the Iga-vania games (of which I still need to play more!), tight controls and techniques, challenging boss encounters and a fantastically well-designed world/castle to explore. Exploration is satisfying throughout and rewarding, with secrets to discover around every corner and there's a well-developed item/skill/crafting system to exploit. Grinding/leveling is there for those who want it, with all 'shards' (Bloodstained's skill system) being able to level up in two areas as well as the core experience system and the game is driven on by a fittingly dark but coherent story. Despite the recent glut of new releases in the 'Metroidvania' genre, Bloodstained still manages to stand out, probably being the best recent attempt to follow the pure Castlevania model (though of course, Hollow Knight is still superior for the genre as a whole!).

45. The Shivah (Steam) - 25 August 2019
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked and all three endings. With Unavowed's addition to Xbox Gamepass (for PC), before getting stuck into that I felt that I ought to finish exploring Wadjet Eye's back-catalogue of point-and-click adventures - hence the next few entries here! The Shivah is one of Wadjet Eye's earlier games, centred around a Rabbi who becomes caught up in the murder of a former congregation member. Compared to many games in the genre this is a rather short game, readily complete-able within 1-2 hours if you know what you're doing and with the 'puzzle' gameplay mostly based around conversations rather than item manipulation (a common theme in many Wadjet Eye games, to varying extent). There are some interesting moral themes here (but the Jewish theming shouldn't be seen as a detractor for anyone, as it's not crucial beyond giving the plot its basis) and overall this is a satisfying experience, though the story isn't as fleshed out as many of Wadjet Eye's more recent releases.

46. Primordia (Steam) - 26 August 2019
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked and all seven endings. Very different in setting from The Shivah, Primordia takes place in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world, now inhabited only by sentient machines after the apparent extinction of humans. I'm generally a fan of sci-fi, so the mystery and open questions presented by the game world made for a compelling experience, and ultimately the story comes to a satisfying finish, especially with the variety of choices available at the very end. In terms of the gameplay, Primordia's puzzles mainly follow the more traditional item-based approach and for the most part avoid becoming too obscure, though on occasion there are situations where it's easy to overlook a vital item (I had a guide to hand to help with this sort of thing). What stands out about the game, though, looking back on it, is definitely the philosophical/moral themes, focused around the rights and wrongs of collectivism and similar. An impressive achievement.

47. Resonance (Steam) - 27 August 2019
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked and both endings. Another sci-fi outing from Wadjet Eye, though in this case with a more contemporary/near-future setting. Puzzles are as enjoyable as usual, with a nice balance between those which are object-based and those arising from conversations, and without becoming too obscure. Resonance differentiates itself, however, with the multiple playable characters, each with specific characteristics that make them suitable for particular scenarios - it's satisfying to work out how best to approach each situation from the increased range of options that this presents. The plot does a good job of driving the game forward and maintaining interest throughout, though with less prominence of deeper themes it feels less meaningful that some of Wadjet Eye's other games.

48. A Golden Wake (Steam) - 28 August 2019
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. Another solid adventure game from Wadjet Eye, though in my mind not among their best. The setting, 1920s-30s Miami, is decent enough, though not one that I would typically find to be as inherently interesting as many, and Alfie, the main protagonist, isn't a particularly sympathetic character, often coming across as overly self-centred. Puzzles are generally well-designed, as usual from Wadjet Eye, though a little on the easy side, such that the game as a whole isn't as memorable as it might be. So, overall I'd still say that A Golden Wake is worth playing, but look first to the other games in Wadjet Eye's extensive catalogue.

Terra · Oct 9, 2019

After my August was swallowed up by Fire Emblem, Apple Arcade exploded my September and i honestly might actually complete this challenge. Not that important, but would be neat!

Games Beat in August: 1
Games Beat in September: 7
Total Games: 40/52

33. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Aug 21st, 70hrs, 5/5

What a fantastic experience for a first Fire Emblem. Buckets of lovable characters make this sprawling epic extremely enjoyable. The tactics are a bit easy, but honestly i am bad at tactics, so I'm okay with that. It ate pretty much every free hour in August, and i really wish i had the time to do all the routes, but will probably be content with the 1 and a half that i currently am through.

34. Control, Sept 6th, 20hrs, 5/5

I've been waiting for the game experience to challenge Sekiro this year, and Remedy delivered. With a game that delivers the right balance of creepy, horror, and intrigue, Control is a haunting, thrilling ride that more than many other games this year, put me in the mindset of desperately wanting to get back to it and play more. I platinum-ed this game. I almost never do that, even with GOTY tier games. I couldn't wait to go back, and I'm dying to get the DLC's. Fantastic.

35. Super Metroid, Sept 11, 9hrs, 5/5

Wow i've just been playing incredible game after incredible game in this stretch haven't I? I haven't played Super Metroid in many years at this point, and I was curious to know with a more mature mindset, and 5-6 years of an absolute Explosion of Metroidvanias, if this one would still hold up as the absolute classic. Well it definitely does. The game controls and looks like a dream still, the only complaints i had were most that the Joycon layout was poor, especially the select button. The game is so tightly designed, you constantly find secrets, and new areas as you weave around the world, and I only found like 70% on this playthrough haha, so there is still way more to find. Overall this progenitor of a genre still stands as a Titan in it. Love it.

36. Blasphemous, Sept 21, 15hrs, 3.5/5

Blasphemous is an enjoyable, but not groundbreaking metroidvania. The game is extremely beautiful to look at, and the music is fantastic. The hack and slash and platforming combat is fun enough, and sometimes at it best moments borders on great, but it feels like it never quite finds that sweet spot like Hollow Knight did. Sometimes it feels too simple, sometime it feels too complex, its just never quite reaches its potential. The wierd dark souls like questlines for upgrades can be really rough. You can really miss a lot of upgrades and i'm not sure if that was the best direction to take things in either. Overall i still enjoyed myself, but this doesn't quite elevate itself beyond "fun for fans of the genre".

37. Assemble With Care, Sept 22, 1hr, 3/5

Apple Arcade go! This service has been absurdly good for me, and the first game i checked out was Assemble with Care, a story game with light puzzles. This game is trying to be something like Florence, a bittersweet saccharine experience. And man does it deliever. Honestly the story was kinda too sweet and sappy for me. Its all fairly predictable though. The Workaholic single father and his acting out daughter. A pair of sisters who are completely different need to find common ground. Meh. The actually repairing puzzles themselves though, i liked quite a bit. They aren't ever difficult, but there is something so satisfiying about pulling things apart and fixing them, it just stimulates my brain haha. I wish i could get just a puzzle game about that tbh.

38. Sayonara Wild Hearts, Sept 22, 1hr, 3/5

Its hard to describe when a music/experience game just doesn't quite hit you in the same transcendent ways that other people experience them. "Idk, it was solid, just wasn't blown away" is perfectly satisfactory reasoning, but it just feels lacking when others seem to find the same experience much more affecting. I myself played Just Shapes and Beats earlier this year, and i think that game is utterly incredible, one of the best music game experiences I've played in a long while. And yet SWH didn't do that for me. I liked it, the big pop songs were fun, most of the connecting pieces were a little muted for me. I would recommend playing with a controller if you are on iphone as well. I had a good time with it, but its wasn't a GOTY list good time personally.

39. What The Golf?, Sept 29, 9hrs, 4.5/5

A game that captured my heart and is picture perfect for phones, what the golf is charming, legitimately funny, and a great game in the vibe of Warioware. There a surprising amount of content too, i was at around 90% completion when I finished. I got a bit burnt out on it by the end actually, but it was super fun regardless

40. Possessions, Sept 30th, 1hr, 2/5

It's a small puzzler that filled an hour of work downtime adequately. That's about it. Nothing special about it.

Illusionary · Oct 9, 2019

Getting myself fully up-do-date after my post yesterday, here's my September update - and challenge complete!

Main post here

Wozzer - FYI

49. Shardlight (Steam) - 1 September 2019
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked and all three endings. The last game of Wadjet Eye's back-catalogue for me before Unavowed, Shardlight once again takes a post-apocalyptic setting; contrasting with Primordia, this is still a world inhabited by humans, but the widespread infection of the population with the 'Green Lung' plague makes for a decidedly downbeat, even depressing atmosphere. This is, however, used to good effect, allowing the plot to explore themes around privilege and scarce resources. Wadjet Eye's signature low-resolution pixelart is once again here, giving a nice retro feel to the game and in terms of gameplay, the puzzles are generally logical, though tending a little towards the more tricky end of the spectrum - but satisfying to solve as a result. Key to a good adventure game is of course the plot, and for Shardlight this is compelling throughout, very much making the player invested in the fate of Amy, the protagonist, and offering an ending with a message of hope - if you choose to take it!

50. The Hex (Steam) - 7 September 2019
Completed with the 'true' ending and all achievements unlocked. From the developers of Pony Island comes this wonderfully subversive follow-up. Set in an old bar with six video game protagonists - from a sorceress to an anthropomorphic weasel - coming together, a mysterious phone call warns of an upcoming murder - and the game proceeds from there. You'll take control of each character in turn, with gameplay following the style of the games from which they originate - 2D platformer, XCOM-like tactics and more. The mechanics of these segments aren't particularly extensively developed - but the 'point' of the game comes really from its plot, with frequent fourth-wall-breaking and a satisfying tying-together of the disparate backgrounds of the characters. I'll not go into more detail to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say, The Hex gets a strong recommendation from me.

51. Shotgun Legend (Steam) - 13 September 2019
Completed on normal difficulty with all items/upgrades collected and all achievements unlocked. This is, essentially, NES The Legend of Zelda, but with a shotgun rather than a sword. The concept actually works rather well, with the ranged combat focus being an entertaining twist on the formula. As with Zelda, many of the 'dungeons' can be attempted out of order, encouraging a very open approach to exploring the overworld, which also includes a good number of well-judged secrets. There's not much in the way of puzzle gameplay that's seen in the later Zeldas, though arguably that's just a result of following the first Zelda as a template, and as the game isn't especially long (somewhere around 7-10 hours unguided, depending on how much you explore and seek collectibles) it remains enjoyable throughout.

52. The Office Quest (Switch) - 16 September 2019
Complete playthrough. A more modern take on the point-and-click adventure than those from Wadjet Eye that I've recently played through. The Office Quest sees a bored office worker escaping from his mundane day job and adventuring through a series of increasingly surreal environments. This is clearly coming from casual/mobile game roots, with uncomplicated interactions throughout while still allowing a satisfying sense of achievement from completing the puzzles that it presents - and which, despite the surreal settings, are almost always approachable and avoid causing frustration. There's no obvious plot here, but the game has a great sense of humour which ensures that there's still a strong incentive to keep playing, with a well-judged length - somewhere around 3-5 hours - meaning that the game doesn't overstay its welcome.

53. Effie (PS4) - 23 September 2019
Platinum trophy. Effie is a bright, colourful 3D platformer that first came to my attention from an impressive trailer, and for the most part live up to its promise, without being an overly memorable experience. Level design is generally decent, with some satisfying secrets to seek out. However, there's quite a limited variety of enemies throughout the game and overall each area, while being decently-sized, feels quite empty. Controls are solid and combat, for what's here, works well enough, but it's really quite simplistic. A few special moves that are learned later in the game build on this a little, but not enough to make for a particularly compelling mechanic. There's enjoyment to be had here, but if you're willing to look to games that are a little older, there are better examples of the genre that I'd recommend first.

54. Konami Pixel Puzzle Collection (Android) - 28 September 2019
Completed both standard and expert modes with no hints used. Well, this was quite the time-sink! With over 500 puzzles to solve, Konami's Pixel Puzzle Collection will last even the most dedicated picross fan a long time. There's a nice range of difficulty, ramping up well as you solve more puzzles - until you've solved each puzzle, you can't choose which come up, with them instead being presented to you in a somewhat 'random' order, other than easier/smaller puzzles generally coming first - and the game neatly avoids the potential for frustration that could arise if coming up against a particularly tricky puzzle by offering three 'slots' for puzzles to be attempted with progress saved, plus an additional one for multi-part 'boss' puzzles.

The touch interface is well-designed for the mobile format; beyond that, if you enjoy picross, or logic puzzles generally, you can be sure that you'll have a good time here. Once you've solved each of the puzzles once, an 'expert' mode opens up - this features exactly the same puzzles (plus a handful of additions), but the key difference is that you lose the functionality allowing cells to be marked as blank. The added challenge here is more one of memorisation/visualisation and far from essential, though it's a decent enough way of extending the playtime if you're dedicated and on't find it too frustrating.

Overall, this is one of the best mobile picross games that I've come across of late, very much recommended.

Snowfruit · Oct 10, 2019

main post

Haven't updated since like June, I've been inundated with games ever since Fire Emblem came out.

21. Fortnite Season 9 | July | PC | 3/5★

Not a bad season at all but not the best.

22. Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers | July | PC | 5/5★

This is now my favorite final fantasy game. The best story in the series, so many memorable moments, great fights, and great music.

23. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Golden Deer) | Nintendo Switch | 95 hours | August 16th | 3/5★

The best Fire Emblem game I've played. Exploration and side activities add so much to the series, I can't go back to just menus after this. The Golden Deer side unfortunately felt pretty weak, wish I had picked a different one to start.

24. Erica | PS4 | 2 hours | August 21st | 3/5★

Best played in a room with other people around you shouting what to pick, great times.

25. Fire Emblem Three Houses (Blue Lions) | Nintendo Switch | 31 hours | August 23rd | 4/5★

A much better route compared to the Golden Deer. Better story and characters and the fights were a bit more fun too.

26. Superhot | PC | 2 hours | August 25th | 5/5★

It's the most innovative shooter I've played in years.

27. Fight Crab | PC | 4 hours | August 28th | 3/5★

A bit clunky but still fun.

28. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana | PS4 | 56 hours | August 31st | 4/5★

Just another Ys game, feels kinda like Celceta. I loved mapping the entire island and finding stowaways, there's a great sense of progression. The story felt like nonsense though and the characters a bit one-dimensional.

29. Catherine: Full Body | PS4 | 21 hours | September 5th | 3/5★

The additions they made to this weren't that great honestly. They feel out of place but the new puzzle gameplay segments feel great.

30. F-Zero | SNES (Switch) | 2 hours | September 7th | 2/5★

My first time playing this game, thanks to SNES on Switch. It's actually pretty fun, more so than the SNES Mario Kart also available but there's not much else to it.

31. Astral Chain | Switch | 21 hours | September 10th | 3/5★

Game suffers from poor pacing and bland environments but the combat is grade S platinum goodness. Wish you didn't have to control two different things at once since it feels clunky though and had more traditional platinum style combat.

32. Fortnite Season X | PC | October 8th | 2/5★

This game is starting to get pretty boring here. Wonder how long they can really keep this going.

33. AI: The Somnium Files | PS4 | 35 hours | October 9th | 5/5★

The later half of this year has been great. I feel like my game of the year has been replaced 3 or 4 times already, this one being the latest. The absolute best game I've played so far this year. Thrilling story, memorable characters, and filled with comedic moments. The puzzle sections can be a bit obtuse to figure out but not too annoying to knock against it.
I was really worried about it too considering how Zero Time Dilemma turned out but now I see that Uchikoshi (the writer) is back and better than ever.

sQr · Oct 11, 2019

sQr` Main post | Status: 54 / 52

January | Played 13 Games | 4 Platforms | Total playtime: 51 hours 12 minutes [ Finished | 8 ]

Hidden Agenda | Playstation 4 Pro [ 4 ]
Finished on 1/1/19 | 4 hours 14 minutes
Florence | iPhone XS Max [ 8 ]
Finished on 1/1/19 | 0 hours 42 minute
I Expect You to Die | Playstation VR [ 8 ]
Finished on 3/1/19 | 4 hours 13 minutes
Celeste | Xbox One X [ 10 ]
Finished on 7/1/19 | 8 hours 36 minutes | Replay
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | Xbox One X [ 6 ]
Finished on 19/1/19 | 7 hours 1 minutes this year | Started in 2018
GNOG | Playstation VR [ 7 ]
Finished on 19/1/19 | 2 hours 22 minutes | All trophies
ELOH | iPhone XS Max [ 7 ]
Finished on 25/1/19 | 2 hours 45 minutes
Beat Saber | Playstation VR [ 9 ]
Still playing after 31/1/19 | More than 45 hours this year | Started in 2018

February | Played 9 Games | 4 Platforms | Total playtime: 42 hours 36 minutes [ Finished | 3 ]

Resident Evil 2 Remake | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 6/2/19 | 8 hours 49 minutes
Just in Time Incorporated | Playstation VR [ 7 ]
Finished on 23/2/19 | 2 hours 2 minutes this year | Started in 2018
Metro Exodus | Xbox One X [ 9 ]
Finished on 26/2/19 | 20 hours 48 minutes

March | Played 14 Games | 4 Platforms | Total playtime: 105 hours 50 minutes [ Finished | 4 ]

OlliOlli | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 3/3/19 | 10 hours 7 minutes
Doom VFR | Playstation VR [ 6 ]
Finished on 7/3/19 | 2 hours 33 minutes
OlliOlli 2: XL Edition | Xbox One X [ 8 ]
Finished on 13/3/19 | 13 hours 52 minutes
Farpoint | Playstation VR [ 7 ]
Finished on 13/3/19 | 4 hours 45 minutes

April | Played 8 Games | 4 Platforms | Total playtime: 68 hours 21 minutes [ Finished | 3 ]

Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice | Playstation 4 Pro [ 9 ]
Finished on 8/4/19 | 81 hours 12 minutes | Platinum trophy
Rocket League | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Hit the limit on 20/4/19 | 5 hours 3 minutes
Hearthstone | iPad Pro 12.9 [ 8 ]
Hit the limit on 28/4/19 | More than 20 hours this year

May | Played 7 Games | 3 Platforms | Total playtime: 77 hours 44 minutes [ Finished | 1 ]

Days Gone | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 21/5/19 | 61 hours 5 minutes | Platinum trophy

June | Played 14 Games | 3 Platforms | Total playtime: 49 hours 13 minutes [ Finished | 6 ]

A Plague Tale: Innocence | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 2/6/19 | 16 hours 1 minutes | Platinum trophy
Blood & Truth | Playstation VR [ 7 ]
Finished on 10/6/19 | 5 hours 9 minutes
Human Fall Flat | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 21/6/19 | 4 hours 46 minutes | Replay
Battlefield V | Xbox One X [ 6 ]
Finished on 22/6/19 | 5 hours 57 minutes | Campaign
Spyro Rypto's Rage | Reignited Trilogy | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 28/6/19 | 12 hours 34 minutes | Platinum trophy
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 28/6/19 | 11 hours 34 minute

July | Played 8 Games | 3 Platforms | Total playtime: 46 hours 33 minutes [ Finished | 4 ]

Forza Horizon 4 | Xbox One X [ 9 ]
Finished on 1/7/19 | 14 hours 25 minutes this year | Started in 2018
Horizon Zero Dawn | Playstation 4 Pro [ 9 ]
Finished on 13/7/19 | 14 hours 44 minutes this year | Started in 2018 | Platinum trophy
Ghost Giant | Playstation VR [ 7 ]
Finished on 14/7/19 | 3 hours 46 minutes | Platinum trophy
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 21/7/19 | 13 hours 57 minutes

August | Played 9 Games | 3 Platforms | Total playtime: 59 hours 9 minutes [ Finished | 8 ]

Thomas Was Alone | Xbox One X [ 8 ]
Finished on 1/8/19 | 2 hours 56 minutes
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune | The Nathan Drake Collection | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 11/8/19 | 6 hours 19 minutes
Hue | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 17/8/19 | 4 hours 33 minutes
Driveclub VR | Playstation VR [ 6 ]
Finished on 17/8/19 | 10 hours 45 minutes | 3 star all race
The Gardens Between | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 19/8/19 | 2 hours 17 minutes
Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII | Playstation 4 Pro [ 7 ]
Hit the limit on 19/8/19 | More than 10 hours 30 minutes
Ratchet & Clank | Playstation 4 Pro [ 9 ]
Finished on 25/8/19 | 15 hours 8 minutes
Hitman GO: Definitive Edition | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 28/8/19 | 8 hours 55 minutes | Platinum trophy

September | Played 11 Games | 5 Platforms | Total playtime: 71 hours 3 minutes [ Finished | 3 ]

Control | Playstation 4 Pro [ 9 ]
Finished on 16/9/19 | 23 hours 44 minutes | Platinum trophy
Gears 5 | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 19/9/19 | 10 hours 17 minutes
Untitled Goose Game | New Nintendo Switch [ 8 ]
Finished on 22/9/19 | 7 hours 13 minutes | All "Do-to-list" and Speedrun

October | Played 12 Games | 5 Platforms | Total playtime: 85 hours 58 minutes [ Finished | 3 ]

The Surge 2 | Playstation 4 Pro [ 7 ]
Finished on 5/10/19 | 35 hours 48 minutes
Concrete Genie | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 12/10/19 | 11 hours 13 minutes | Platinum trophy
Seyonara Wild Hearts | IPad Pro 12.9 [ 7 ]
Finished on 15/10/19 | 1 hours 8 minutes
Assemble with Care | iPad Pro 12.9 [ 8 ]
Finished on 15/10/19 | 1 hours 32 minutes
Spyro Year of the Dragon | Reignited Trilogy | Playstation 4 Pro [ 8 ]
Finished on 22/10/19 | 17 hours 47 minutes | Platinum trophy
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) | Xbox One X [ 8 ]
Finished on 26/10/19 | More than 31 hours 41 minutes

November | Played 4 Games | 3 Platforms | Total playtime: 80 hours 57 minutes [ Finished | 1 ]

Death Stranding | Playstation 4 Pro [ 9 ]
Finished on 20/11/19 | 56 hours 41 minutes

December | Played ? Games | ? Platforms | Total playtime: ? hours ? minutes [ Finished | ? ]

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Xbox One X [ 8 ]
Finished on 1/12/19 | More than 17 hours 34 minutes
A Fisherman's Tale | Playstation VR [ 7 ]
Finished on 3/12/19 | 3 hours 2 minutes | Platinum trophy
Lonely Mountains: Downhill | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 4/12/19 | 6 hours 26 minutes
My Friend Pedro | | Xbox One X [ 7 ]
Finished on 7/12/19 | 3 hours 32 minutes [ 7 ]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening |The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Nintendo Switch [ 9 ]
Finished on 15/12/19 | 17 hours 50 minutes
Return of the Obra Dinn | Playstation 4 Pro [ 10 ]
Finished on 25/12/19 | 15 hours 19 minutes | Platinum trophy
Hidden Folks | iPhone XS Max [ 6 ]
Finished on 27/12/19 | 6 hours 49 minutes | All objectives

CrazyAznKT · Oct 11, 2019

Oh man, I've been playing a lot of bigger games this year compared to last year, by this time last year I had already hit 52 games I think. I waited so long to do this update that I kept forgetting what I had finished haha. I really need to do these impressions earlier and more frequently, there's so many thoughts I had that I forget now.

Main Post

MAY GAMES
26. Holedown (iOS) | 24th May - 6hrs | 5/5

Mobile game of the year! I haven't been playing as many mobile games this year (hoping to make time to use the Apple Arcade trial) and while this may be a basic brick breaker game, the amount polish in this title and the lack of ads gives it a fantastic sense of game feel.

JUNE GAMES
27. Pokemon Ultra Moon (3DS) | 4th Jun - 226hrs | 4/5

I started this game early 2018 and I had been putting it off a lot because I contracted the Pokerus and didn't want to waste the EV training potential (despite not really engaging in competitive Pokemon play). Because of that, I had to grind a bunch of lesser-used Pokemon and grinding was tedious so I just kept putting it off for games I enjoyed more. However! I still really enjoy this title and I had a good time hunt clearing out much of my Living Dex with this game - especially with all the legendaries! Docked a point because I wish this was the original release of Sun and Moon and also for us to have gotten a "third game" in the group.

28. Pokemon Omega Ruby (3DS) | 25th Jun - 128hrs | 5/5

3rd gen was my favorite gen growing up, and with this remake, it continues to be my favorite! In fact, it's soured my opinion of SM/USUM a bit. Bring back DexNav! Bring back PSS! I get the pain of long-time Pokemon fans now. This game was also great for filling out the Living Dex, not as many legendaries but DexNav made collecting multiples of the same species much easier. The additional Delta scenario was a really nice addition to the story too!

JULY GAMES
29. Jackbox Party Pack 5 (Switch) | 5th Jul - 8hrs | 4/5

Had a few hangouts with friends to play this collection over the months. I wish more of my friends were into obtuse trivia because I love You Don't Know Jack but it's a bit hard to introduce people to. Split the Room is fun but a bit challenging so playing it tired/drunk can create some boring sets. Mad Verse City is also similar fun and requires more brainpower, I kept trying to rhyme words that were way too big haha. Patently Stupid requires the right group, if the people you're playing with aren't inventive it doesn't work at all. Zeeple Dome is fun but it might be my least played of the bunch.

30. Pokemon X (3DS) | 17th Jul - 76hrs | 3/5

I... I haven't played every generation of Pokemon yet but this is my least favorite game. The story is so disjointed, I kind of didn't know who the main villain was for most of the game. Having a group of five friends travel with/near you throughout the game is one of the neatest things I've seen though, I'd be okay with that coming back. This is also my least played because I set out to fill my Living Dex and there was already a lot of overlap.

31. Super Mario Party (Switch) | 18th Jul - 12hrs | 5/5

I've been fairly disappointed in the last few Mario Party games, but this game came in swinging! I've been playing more party games this year and this has to be my favorite. The ups and downs of involvement are great for casual conversation but the constant teasing by friends on bad rolls is good fun too. The minigames are fantastic, I love the new (?) music based minigames (bring back rhythm heaven). And this is the first game I've been able to get my nieces to want to play with me since they have more chances to win against me!

AUGUST GAMES
32. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm (PS4) | 23rd Aug - 13hrs | 3/5

I was feeling nostalgic and I had never actually owned any of these games myself. There was a great sale for the 4 main titles in the series and I had to jump on it. I might not get to the others any time soon but I hear they get better. This one is just so repetitive with its story mode. Can't wait to get to play more characters in the later entries but this one just kinda burned me on it a bit.

33. Mega Man (PS4) | 27th Aug - 3hrs | 3/5

(I couldn't resist with the art) This game just feels weird, a lot of the staples of the franchise aren't here yet. You only fight six robot masters, you have to go and pick up their powers instead of getting them after you beat them, you can't jump into the boss transitions doors, etc. I don't hate this game or anything, I just feel like it's not one I would want to revisit much. Music is great though.

34. Mega Man II (PS4) | 28th Aug - 3hrs | 5/5

Now this is a Mega Man game! I totally get the hype for this game now! That title screen is amazing! The bosses are iconic, the music is even better than the last game, and most importantly, you can jump into a boss transition door!

35. Mega Man III (PS4) | 29th Aug - 3hrs | 5/5

Title screen isn't as good... but hey look, you get to fight the Mega Man II bosses again! That's fun. Music is still good, bosses still feel fairly fresh. Also that ending fakeout is amazing.

36. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (3DS) | 30th Aug - 20hrs | 3/5

I think I got stuck on a dungeon and put this down for a while? It's cool how the games connect, I miss gimmicks like this. I don't like this game nearly as much as Oracle of Ages, having two versions of the map feels tighter than four and the dungeons overall in Ages felt better designed. Despite my low score, I still enjoy this game a fair amount. I'm glad I finally played these Zelda games, they're interesting takes done by a third party with lots of unique gameplay.

SEPTEMBER GAMES
37. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (PS4) | 19th Sep - 40hrs | 5/5

Best expansion everrrrrr. There was actually a lot left in High Rank for me to do but it felt tedious just min-maxing the late game. I feel like I've actually learned a lot of even older stuff like augmentation by going through this expansion. I'm so glad to have so much new content to play and collect with more updates incoming! The end game area is really interesting too; it makes me wonder if they're using it to test a massive change in the format of the next game?

38. Picross Lord of the Nazarick (Switch) | 21st Sep - 38hrs | 5/5

This is my favorite among all the licensed Picross games. The puzzles aren't all faces for a change! And there's a bunch of color Picross puzzles! I could do without all the clip Picross puzzles though, that got a bit tedious after a while. I still need to watch Overlord so I had no idea who the characters were and skipped all the cutscenes. (Also thank god for decent artwork on a licensed Picross for me to make this banner for a change)

39. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (Switch) | 26th Sep - 22hrs | 3/5

I thought I missed this kind of game because I played them a lot as a kid, but this is a really tedious experience. I enjoy it enough and like playing it with any friends that may have it but I didn't need to go out of my way to get it so soon. You have to do so much grinding for what feels like so little. I'll gladly play the DLC though.

OCTOBER GAMES
40. Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Feat. The Legend of Zelda (Switch) | 2nd Oct - 8hrs | 5/5

I felt obligated to beat this before I picked up Link's Awakening. I had also never beaten the original Crypt of the NecroDancer. I think it's neat that the map is randomized for each playthrough but I probably won't do a second playthrough for a while. I did also find it odd how so many items weren't necessary to beat the game but I had fun regardless. The enemy patterns felt much more simple than Crypt of the NecroDancer's later levels so that made this more enjoyable for me. Also, it was great to play as Zelda for a change!

41. Hitman 2 + Expansion Pass (PS4) | 6th Oct - 50hrs | 5/5

This is one of my games of the generation and it may even have become one of my favorite games of all time. I love that they remastered the levels from the first game with new features added from this one. I found the new maps more enjoyable as a whole this time (I still might like Paris the most though). I'm so impressed that they managed to give all the maps a unique feel to them. Despite having "mastered" each of the new levels, I feel I have so much left to do in this game! Sad to see the expansion pass be done but they're still updating the game and they say there's a third coming. I just love this game so much!

42. Untitled Goose Game (Switch) | 6th Oct - 5hrs | 5/5

Boy, this game sure blew up didn't it? I feel like this game wasn't quite what a lot of people thought it would be at first or that it would have nearly as much stealth involved. I really appreciate the ubiquitous love for this game and all the memes that have come out of it, I'd been following this game for years and am blown away at how popular it got. From a game enthusiast standpoint, I love that this game isn't necessarily inventive in its gameplay but it's gameplay presented in a context that we have never seen before.

43. Mega Man IV (PS4) | 6th Oct - 3hrs | 4/5

I was told this was one of the harder Mega Man games but I wouldn't know because I abuse the hell out of the rewind function haha. I generally don't like this game as much as II or III - the robot masters don't stand out as much to me and Dr Cossack wasn't that compelling. Not quite a terrible Mega Man though, I still had fun.

44. Resident Evil HD Remaster (PS4)| 9th Oct - 27hrs | 4/5

I really wanted to play some horror games this month and I kept putting off this classic! I probably played it in some of the worst ways possible though. Chris is a terrible choice for first-time players, his limited inventory and lack of a lockpick was an experience killer to me, I hated backtracking so much during his campaign, especially when I wasn't familiar with the map. I had a friend argue that this was good game design because it forces you to think more. I think that's great in theory but terrible in practice if it's your first time playing. The second mistake I did was being overly confident when I was doing my Jill campaigns. I thought I could play through massive parts of the game without saving because I thought it would be easy, but I ended up losing 4 hours of a no save run, then later I started saving but I was still overly confident and lost 2 hours of that run. Agh! But it's a great came, lots of amazing moments of tone setting and legitimate gameplay driven fear when you hear groans and don't see anything. It has its fair bit of clunkiness still but I enjoyed it a lot, can't wait to start RE2 for the first time next.

Spamlynguist · Oct 11, 2019

CrazyAznKT said:
Oh man, I've been playing a lot of bigger games this year compared to last year, by this time last year I had already hit 52 games I think haha. I waited so long to do this update that I kept forgetting what I had finished haha. (edit: accidentally hit enter so I'm slowly updating the impressions)

Main Post

Yesss, I've missed these sick-ass banners!

CrazyAznKT · Oct 11, 2019

Spamlynguist said:
Yesss, I've missed these sick-ass banners!

Woah what? Someone pays attention? Haha, thank you so much!

Tizoc · Oct 11, 2019

86. Trine 2

I enjoyed this a lot more than the first game, even though the physics are as wonky as the first. Although it has a few stages less than the first game, their overall length is about 20-30 minutes each. Non the less I found it a solid puzzle platformer with some of the best visuals in a video game.

rahji · Oct 12, 2019

16. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice - Finished on 10/2/2019 Time: ~45 hours

Very nice ending to the second trilogy. I really enjoyed the seance-sessions but for the next I wish for a new revamped courtroom system.

17. Batman: Arkham Knight - Finished on 9/27/2019 Time: ~30 hours

A very good Batman game, but Spider-Man spoiled me a little because of the agility. Controlling and just moving Spider-Man feels great and I had to get used to a more slow Batman. Besides that it is a fantastic game. Maybe they overdid it with the Batmobile because you use it a lot, maybe too much. I also missed that there are so few inside environments

Coming up: Currently downloading Monster Hunter World. This will be a long one!

Memory Pak · Oct 12, 2019

Final round of import curiosities. One day my backlog will only consist of long games and I'll regret crossing off all the short ones this year.

33. Rhyme RiDER Kerorican (2000, WSC) ★★☆☆☆
So this is a WonderSwan Color exclusive. A jazzy rhythm game by the folks behind PaRappa and Vib-Ribbon, and it sure is... something else? You play as Kerorican, she's an astronaut going up against the evil army of a pig. Her mission? Stroll down the streets of 4 levels & free the bad guys from piggy's control, by kicking them or doing some kind of dance move in tandem with the rhythm.
Where it gets interesting is in the details: every enemy has a different button combination you need to either memorise, or read off of 10 playing cards that came with the game - dividing your attention. Enemy patterns are randomised too, so there's no "blindfolded DragonForce on Expert" prizes to be won here. Add to this the additional wrinkle that you hold the console in a sideways slanted position for this game, rather than horizontal or vertical... It's pretty clear why this has never been ported elsewhere.
Look, this game has interesting ideas, fun colourful visuals, the packaging with the playing cards is cute, and the sound is on the verge of frying the internal speaker (there's even some vocal tracks here!), but the gameplay is pretty sub-par. Very unforgiving timing, even on the easy one-button mode. Some enemies give you almost no reaction time to avoid, and the random generation means you can't even memorise the patterns or songs because they'll differ. While I can see that they're trying to add replay value here, I think it has the opposite effect. A neat curiosity for the nichest of audiences.

34. From TV Animation presents One Piece: Grand Battle! Swan Colosseum (2002, WSC) ★★★☆☆
Well there's one hell of a long title, huh? This is another Dimps-developed arena fighter, presumably based on their earlier work on Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit, but this time sporting the One Piece license. I don't know anything about the manga and just played this because it's generally considered one of the best WonderSwan games not called Final Fantasy. Don't think that title is entirely deserved to be honest, it's a game most easily won by button mashing, and they repeat the same mistake from Digimon where they only use the B button for attacks in combination with directional inputs. I think moving jump to the 'up' D-pad would free up the A button to add 3 or 4 additional attacks, to add some depth here. At least conventional health bars are back.
Sound and presentation wise this is definitely a step above the usual fare on this console, and it's kinda interesting seeing these characters and how they mine seemingly very samey themes (pirates, marines) well enough to create a diverse roster.

35. Buffers Evolution (1999, WS) ★★★☆☆
Another system exclusive, this one from Bandai. The game shares some similarities with Sonic the Hedgehog, in that you play as animals and have to run through stages as fast as possible. Where it differs, is that Buffers Evolution borrows more heavily from Transformers. So, your robotic falcon, lion and rhino get a bunch of possible transformations (jetski, boat, plane, etc.) which you'll need to use to make it through levels faster.
Good core idea, but in practice the combination of the plane (for horizontal speed) and the drill forms (lets you destroy certain blocks and cling to walls) is almost always the best option. Additionally, there's no real goal here besides reaching the end and beating your own times. There's no in-game story, no worldbuilding, and as soon as you discover the plane+drill combo there's little incentive to try again with inferior evolutions. With18 levels, plus 18 different challenge stages, and decent music, this one has a lot more content than most games on the platform do - although you can still blitz through everything in an hour or two.

silkysmooth said:
I regret to inform everyone that I will not hit 52 games this year

However I should be able to pull off reading 52 books this year instead!

Might honestly be the preferable achievement here! ;)

Deleted member 7279 · Oct 12, 2019

I regret to inform everyone that I will not hit 52 games this year

However I should be able to pull off reading 52 books this year instead!

I did a horrible job keeping updated this year and am probably less than halfway to 52 this year.

May try again next year though!

Rhaknar · Oct 12, 2019

Game #96 - UnEpic
Time: 15 hours

It's the second time this year where a game I enjoyed for the majority of it's length completely shits the bed in the last level and retroactively ruins the whole game for me. First was Hunter's Legacy (also a metroidvania) and now UnEpic. In fact, UnEpic is a weird game because I don't think it's particularly good but I actually really like it, until the end. The writing is horrible, full of memes and pop culture references (I mean it's not even references, one bit has Futurama's Zoidberg just run across the screen for no reason, like what?), the graphics arent very good, the gameplay is super janky, and yet I like it's rpg systems, it has a big meaty campaign with good level design, good character customization and lots of weapons, and most of all, it has "heart". That is, until the last few zones completely ruin the game by introducing rage inducing mechanics and making so if you built your character in a certain way it becomes nigh impossible to progress. The last "level/boss" is mind bogglingly bad. It's a shame because its clear the creator liked the genre, and his follow up game Ghost 1.0 is a much better effort.

Main Post

Weiss · Oct 12, 2019

45. Yooka-Laylee: The Impossible Lair - 12/10/2019

A little rough around the edges but genuinely a game that can stand up with the 2D greats. The music is impeccable, level design is strong, it's the DKC4 we never got.

Then you get to the final level and it's actual torture, so don't buy this game unless it's patched to be less terrible.

InquisitorAles · Oct 13, 2019

Main Post part 1

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27. Crysis Warhead - 4 hours
Don't have much to say about this game, it's just painfully mediocre. They decided to change the original Crysis concept into a more standard, linear FPS game, but they stuck somewhere in between. Too many "ride through the corridor to the next checkpoint" moments and storyline is abysmally bad, it has one of the worst cutscenes in AAA games ever - they are all overly-dramatic, doesn't make any sense and going on for WAY too long.

CrazyAznKT · Oct 13, 2019

silkysmooth said:
I regret to inform everyone that I will not hit 52 games this year

However I should be able to pull off reading 52 books this year instead!

I did a horrible job keeping updated this year and am probably less than halfway to 52 this year.

May try again next year though!

The fact that you're also doing 52 books this year is amazing! Best of luck to you!

Deleted member 401 · Oct 13, 2019

79. The Miskatonic (2 hours)
A really awkwardly put-together game, but charming, funny, and with some solid horror.

Full list to date

Weiss · Oct 14, 2019

46. Astral Chain - 14/10/2019

A delightfully dumb adventure through anime schlock. I won't even pretend that the gameplay was half as compelling as the batshit story, but newcomers to Character Action titles can definitely get a kick out of it as the game doesn't ask too much of you.

Bastion · Oct 15, 2019

Bastion said:
Game 1-Life is Strange 2 Episode 1 Roads(2018)-PS4-Beaten on January 1
-First game beaten this year was a good one! I really enjoyed this one a lot even if it might have started a bit slowly. I really look forward to episode two later this month. 8/10

Game 2-The Gardens Between(2018)-Switch-Beaten on January 2
-I really enjoyed this short puzzle game about the magic of childhood and childhood friendship. 8/10

Game 3-Meditation for January 2-Fill the space(2019)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on January 2
-I really love his idea and it will make it really easy to get to 52 games. Maybe I shouldn't count them? I'm going to when I feel they are really good. What the heck! The goal for today's game is really a breathing exercise game. That's how I beat it. There is a dot in the middle of a big circle and all you have to do is hit a button to make the dot grow. Your goal is to fill the entire circle. Hold the button too long and the dot goes back down to its original size. I beat it when I started pressing the button to match my breathing. 8/10.

Game 4-The Walking Dead The Final Season Episode 3 Broken Toys-(2019)-Switch-Beaten on January 18
-This was my favorite episodes ever in this series. It was action packed, emotional and had me really thinking with my decisions. So good! Can't wait for the finale! 10/10

Game 5-God of War(2018)-PS4-Beaten on January 20
-This game was great! Great looks, great sound, great combat. Everything about it was great. However, I do think I enjoyed he PS3 God of War games more. 10/10

Game 6-Bury Me, My Love(2019]-Switch/PC via GPD Win-Beaten on January 20
-I loved this visual novel/text adventure about the plight of a Syrian refugee trying to get to persons Europe. The game highlights many of daily issues that refugees face, especially women. The game is really a text conversation between the wife who is leaving Syria, and the husband who is in Syria. Educational and emotional. The Switch version froze on me numerous times so finished on my Win. 10/10

Game 7-Ruiner(2017)-PS4-Beaten on January 22
-I knew I would like this game and I did. Dark, dirty, Hotline Miami like. Just good, old fun. It did have some noticeable slowdown(felt like lag) and I do think attacking enemies could feel better with better rumble. Good game. 8/10

Game 8-Resident Evil 2 Remake(2019)-PS4-Beaten on January 28
-Survival horror is probabaly my favorite genre of games and this ranks near the top of my all time favorites. So good! 10/10

Game 9-Opus The Day We Found Earth(2017)-Switch-Beaten on January 30
-This as a short little adventure game that was pretty good. I didn't like it at first but the little robot grew on me as I played. 7/10

Game 10-Drowning(2018)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on February 1
-This short game is a walking simulator where you basically walk and read about a young person that is struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide. I thought it was very powerful and did not overstay it's welcome. 9/10

Game 11-The Hong Kong Massacre(2019)-PS4-Beaten on February 8
-I loved this game! This is a mix of Hotline Miami and the slow momof Max Payne. Great fun! Too bad the story was stupid and really non-existent. 9/10

Game 12- Resident Evil 2 Remake Leon 2nd Run(2019)-PS4-Beaten on February 11
-Playing it through the second time with slightly different story beats was just as good as the first time. 10/10

Game 13-VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action(2017)-Vita-Beaten on February 14
-I enjoyed this visual novel but I still think it is a bit overrated. There are just to many people whose stories are just a waste and the time would be better served with the main characters. Looking forward to the sequel. 8/10

Game 14-Cosmic Star Heroine(2018)-Vita-Beaten on February 20
-This is the second straight gMe that I played on the Vita and it reminds me how much I love this device. I love the Switch too but sometimes having a smaller device is better. Anyway, I loved this ten hour rpg. Had a great time with it. Was it perfect? No, but very few complaints. 9/10

Game 15-2064 Read Only Memories(2017)-Vita-Beaten on February 25
-I enjoyed this point and click visual novel with puzzle elements. It was my least favorite of the three Vita games I recently beat but still a good time. 7/10

Game 16-36 Fragments of Midnight(2017)-Vita-Beaten on February 25
I never expected to beat this game. I played it a few times when it first came out and got like 3-6 fragments before died. The I picked it up a few days ago and got to 30 pretty easily and so I decid d to try it again today and got all 36 fragments in my second try. Fun little game. 7/10

Game 17-Metro Exodus(2019)-PS4-Beaten on February 27
-I have really liked this series a lot and I enjoyed this one too but it is my least favorite of the series. 7/10

Game 18-A Way Out(2018)-PS4-Beaten on March 2
-I really enjoyed playing this game with my daughter. It wasn't perfect and would prefer it to not have split screen, but it was a fun cooperative game that got quite sad at the end. 7/10

Game 19–Crackdown 3(2019)-Xbox One-Beaten on March 5
-I enjoyed the overall gameplay loop but I am glad it was a a relatively short game because it was starting to get monotonous by the end of the game. I got this game via a $2 Gamepass for two month special, so for that, it was great! 7/10

Game 20-Ape Out(2019)-Switch-Beaten on March 9
-Inactually beat this game a couple of days ago but just finished the post game extra level Ape-In and it literally took me three days and about 200 tries to finally beat the extra level. Frustrating but super fun! I loved everything about this game. The graphics, the music, the way the ape runs, and of course, the Hotline Miami inspired gameplay. 10/10

Game 21-Crow the Legend, Kingdom Heart VR Experience, Fate Grand Order VR(2019)-Beaten on March 10
-I didn't feel like doing each one of these separately was fair so I put them all together. I loved the Crow The Legend animated short. It was great! Kingdom Hearts was a huge let down but more is supposedly coming. Fate Grand Order was really meant for one purpose. In order-10/10, 2/10, 6/10

Game 22-Valley(2019)-Switch-Beaten on March 13
-I really liked this game. It was what a AA game was like back in the PS2 era. Fun game but it is mostly a walking or rather sprinting/jumping simulator with some combat and one boss fight in the game. I also like the mysterious story. 8/10

Game 23-RD(2019)-PC Via GPD Win-Beaten on March 16
-Terrible game that should not have been made.

Game 24-12 is Better than 6(2019)-Switch-Beaten on March 16
-I really can't get enough of Hotline Miami style games and this one was pretty good. I liked he black, white and red color choice for the game and the fact that I could play guns blazing or stealthily. 7/10

Game 25-The Walking Dead The Final Season Episode 4 Take Us Back(2019)-PS4-Beaten on April 21
-This was a good ending to a series I have enjoyed since the first episode. I think I would have preferred the sad ending to the happy ending but it was still good. I don't theink we have seen the last of this series. 8/10

Game 26-Trails in the Sky the 3rd(2017)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on May 4
-Halfway to 52 and what a game to do it with. I have loved the entire series and while this is my least favorite in the series, it still a great game. I just love the world and it was great to see all the characters again. I did miss the cites and other NPC's which is why I am giving it an 8/10.

Game 27-Katana Zero(2019)-Switch-Beaten on May 10
-Loved his game! Such a fun action experience. Some stages were a bit too hard for my taste but I got through them. Great slowdown technique too. 10/10

Game 28-Ritual of the Moon(2019)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on May 18
-I played this game for about five minutes every day for 28 days which is what the game calls for. It's about witch being exiled to the moon and all you do is click on the planet and some advice pops up on the screen. You then go into a building and click on some shapes and then draw a shape. You then leave the building and decide whether to move the comet away from a planet or have it crash into one of two planets. My big takeaway is why did I do this for 28 days I guess I thought there would be a big payoff in the end. Nope. Stupid game. 1/10

Game 29-Battlefield Bad Company(2008)-Xbox 360-Beaten on May 25
-So I was browsing my back lock and came across the Bad Company series and decided to play the single player campaign. Reviews were quite positive back in 2008. Oh how things have changes. The shooting felt terrible, the dialog was terrible and it just wasn't very good. With that said, I will play the sequel very soon to see if it is better. 6/10

Game 30-Trails in the Sky Zero no Kiseki(2010)-PSP-Beaten on May 29
-I loved this game and the entire Trails series. It's so charming and well made. I played the English translation and while it wasn't perfect, I am so grateful for the people that take a ton of time out of their lives so people have a chance to play game. Now for Ao. 10/10

Game 31-Observation(2019)-PS4-Beaten on June 6
-I liked he atmosphere of this game but overall I found it a bit boring and slow. The puzzles were a bit to sciencey for my tastes but it makes sense since the game takes place in space. The ending was very interesting so we'll see what the sequel eventually brings. 6/10

Game 32-One Piece Grand Cruise(2018)-PSVR-Beaten on June 11
-This was more of an experience than a game a star it was about half an hour of content. It was neat but super short. It was fine for the $5 I spent on it. 5/10

Game 33-One Night Stand(2016)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on June 12
-I enjoyed this short visual novel about the morning you wake up after a one night stand and the awkwardness of it. It was very short but I really liked the graphics. 7/10

Game 34-A Plague Tale: Innocence(2019)-PS4-Beaten on June 16
-I loved his game for the most part. I loved the setting and the characters and the story. I even came about to like the rats. There were a few frustrating parts but my most pleasant surprise since Hellblade. 9/10

Game 35-Blood and Truth(2019)-PSVR-Beaten on June 17
-This was a fun, summer blockbuster game for me. The story was good and the gameplay was fun. Great Vr game. I look forward to more in the series which it appears will happen based on the ending. 8/10

Game 36-Missed Messages(2019)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on June 18
This was was a free visual novel which I thought was a powerful look at depression and suicide. Recommended. 9/10

Game 37-NBA2K VR Experience(2016)-PSVR-Beaten on June 18
-Thisw as a short, fun experience and well worth the couple of bucks I paid for it. It had you doin* shooting drills. Basic and simple but fun for 30 minutes. 6/10

Game 38-Bloodstaind Curse of the Moon(2018)-Switch-Beaten on June 19
-This was an old school game that played just like the old Castlevania games. The game was pretty good. 7/10

Game 39-Rise of the Tomb Raider Blood Ties(2016)-PSVR-BEATEN ON June 25
-I loved this vr game. While it was about two hours it was great searching around Croft Manor solving puzzles. 9/10

Game 40-Trails in the Sky Ao No Kiseki(2011)-PSP-Beaten on June 30
-I just beat this game and took my 62 hours to do so and I loved every minute of it. Such a good rpg. Now I will look to play Nayuta soon and then Trails of Cold Steel 3 this Fall. 10/10

Game 41-Devil May Cry 5(2019)-PS4-Beaten on July 3
-I really enjoyed this game as I have all the Devil May Cry games. Great stylish action!! 9/10

Game 42-Project Lux(2019)-PSVR-Beaten on July 5
-This VR game was ok. I really like the idea of having a visual novel within vr but overlal, the story wasn't boring and you were in one room the entire game. Get me a Dangonranpa game like the demo and I would be there day one. Another issue is that one prt of the game one of the characters is talking in Japanese and there's is not captions. Unexeptable. 5/10

Game 43-Chrono Trigger(2011)-PS1 Classic on PSP-Beaten on July 9
-Beating this game in the mid 90's would have been a completely different experience for me I think. After all the Trails game I have beaten lately, this game fell flat. It was good but I really would have had no idea What to do had it not been for a guide. The PS1 version is also a little rough but played that version so I could easily use cheats which made the game much more tolerable. I have been a bit negative but my expectations were very high as it is always praised as one of the greatest games ever. 7/10

Game 44-Luna(2019)-PSVR-Beaten on July 9
-What a lovely little game about a bird bringing life back into the world. So chill and relaxing. Perfect game for a hot July afternoon. 10/10

Game 45-Final Fantasy XIII-2(2014)-PC-Beaten on July 14
-This was an ok sequel. I really liked FF 13 but this ones story was just crazy and I didn't like jumping around to different times. Still looking forward to Lightning Returns. 7/10

Game 46-Archlion Saga(2019)-Switch-Beaten on July 19
-This was a three hour long rpg by Kemco that just came out. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It was a nice quick diversion. 7/10

Game 47-Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction(2007)-PS3-Beaten on July 19
-I loved this game! So good For a 12 year old game. The Platfoming was great, the action was great with so many crazy weapons to choose from. Lookingforward to playing the rest of the PS3 games. 10/10

Game 48-The Static Speaks My Name(2015)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on July 20
-This was a fifteen minute game about depression, psychosis and suicide. It's the only game that I ever remember hanging myself in. I saw it on a List of great indie horror games so gave it a try. It's not very good. 4/10

Game 49-the uncle who works for Nintendo(2014)-Browser game-Beaten on July 21
-The was a short little TWINE game that was kind of weird about two childhood friends during a sleepover. It gets weird and then ends suddenly. Kind of interesting. 7/10

Game 50-Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty(2008)-PS3-Beaten on July 23
-This was about a four hour game. It was good but I really did miss Ratchet and Clank being together. Still very good and a tone of fun.. 8/10

Game 51-Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions(2007)-PSP-Beaten on July 24
-While I end he game overall, the story was very confusing wit all the different names and the Shakespearean language. Not the classic I hear people gush about in my opinion. 7/10

Game 52-Medal of Honor Heroes(2006)-PSP-Beaten on July 26
-Made the goal with just under half the year left. This game was pretty good especially for a FPS on a handheld in 2006. It reminded me of the PS1 Medal of Honor games only with shorter missions. The multiplayers was no longer available so it was the campaign only which was fine with me. 7/10

Game 53-Hitman(2016)-Xbox One-Beaten on August 5
-I really enjoyed his game and it is the first Hitman game i have ever beaten(except Go). It was a fun stealth game even though i didn't play it very stealthy most of the time. I also thought the story was confusing. I look forward to getting the dlc once it's on sale. I do own Hitman 2 so I am excited for that. 8/10

Game 54-Hitman 2(2018)-PS4-Beaten on August 7
-I own all the games in this series but just got around to beaten the most recent two and I loved them. Loved the stealth gameplay and the environments. So good. I will haveplay the others sometime soon. 9/10

Game 55-Ratchet and Clank A Crack in Time(2009)-PS3-Beaten on August 13
-I liked this game a lot but not as well as the others in the series because for most of the game, Ratchet and Clank aren't together. This really takes away from the game in my opinion. Outside of that, it's great fun. 8/10

Game 56-Secret Agent Clank(2008)-PSP-Beaten on August 13
-This was a decent game that really needed to have two analog sticks. I played it on PSP but should have played it on Vita instead. It was a game focused on Clank with a little Ratchet and Captain Qwark thrown in to mix things up. 7/10

Game 57-Eliza(2019)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on August 16
-I loved this very high quality visual novel about the dangers of technology. Very interesting and well made. 10/10

Game 58-Hellboy:The Science of Evil(2008)-PSP-Beaten on August 17
-Why did I play this game? I had it on my PSP back log and knew it was short so I decided to play it. It was kind of nice to have a very linear, short game that was mostly a hack and slash. Unfortunately, the game was average at best. 5/10

Game 59-Ratchet and Clank into the Nexus(2013)-PS3-Beaten on August 19
Another Ratchet and Clank game and another awesome, fun experience. Loved it! Hopefully we'll will see some games in this series going forward as they are so fun. 10/10

Game 60-Telling Lies(2019)-PC via GPD Win-Beaten on August 30
-I loved this FMV game. So good and interesting piecing the story together. 10/10

Game 61-Stranger Things 3 The Game(2019)-Switch-Beaten on September 3
-I love this series and this game was a fun diversion. Was it good? It was repetitive, had slowdown, and really made the story quite choppy but I still enjoyed it. 7/10

Game 62-Blair Witch(2019)-Xbox One-Beaten on September 6
-As September rolls around, I start playing more horror games and this one was very good. I loved the isolation I felt in the woods and also really lIke's the last chapter even though it did drag on too long. It had lot of slowdown but that didn't hurt my enjoyment of the game.

Game 63-Erica(2019)-PS4-Beaten on September 21
-Great fmv game! Good, thrilling story and great acting. It is short more like a movie but I want more of games like this. 10/10

Game 64-Affected The Manor(2018)-PSVR-Beaten on September 21
-This was a very brief(40 minutes) haunted house walkthrough. For $8 it's ok. 6/10

Game 65-Spirit Hunter Death Mark(2018)-Switch-Beaten on October 13
-I really enjoyed this adventure game. It was perfect for the season and was 10 hours roughly which is a good length. 9/10
-

Tizoc · Oct 16, 2019

87. Trine 2: The Goblin Menace

This expansion was shorter than the main one in stage count but it ups the puzzle difficulty a bit. Pretty decent overall but Trine 1 and 2's janky physics can work against it sometimes :P

Weiss · Oct 16, 2019

47. VA11-HALLA - 16/10/2019

I never thought I'd be a VN guy, but VA11-HALLA did a number on me. Jill is an immediately engrossing lead character and the myriad of faces that come and go through your dinky little bar are always a treat. It's rare for a game to be so focused on humanity and not just The Heroes of the story.

Rhaknar · Oct 16, 2019

Game #97 - Timespinner
Time: 6.5 hours

Nothing stops the metroidvania train as we have another one, this time from Chucklefish, and it's another good one. Great 16-bit style art style (it's by far the closest to a actual SNES game I've seen in awhile) and good snappy gameplay backed up by a neat story with lots of writing (which is very serviceable), this is a very well crafted metroidvania that while it doesnt do much new or different (the time-stop mechanic is very unutilized after the start of the game), what it does it does well and its fun throughout. A bit on the easy side and not very long, but multiple endings (which you can easily see in the same playthrough) and post game game content after the "end" (for the real ending) gives this one a notch above average and make it very worth while, especially if you are a fan of the genre.

Game #98 - Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap
Time: 4 hours

Wow, this was...short. A remake of Wonder Boy III, this new version boasts gorgeous new graphics but the same old gameplay, for better or worse. The game actually has a interesting proto-metroidvania structure as you get new powers to allow you to progress to later levels and even collect items in previous zones you missed, but the whole thing is over way too soon (I'm spit balling the 4 hours I posted, the save actually said 2 hours and a bit, but it doesnt count deaths) and you never have the freedom to use all your animal forms as you would like (and as you do in the proper metroidvania-like Monster Boy), and the old school gameplay is a bit TOO old school with a super short range on your sword, weird collisions and short jumps, the whole thing feels stiff. Still, it's very pretty and the structure is novel, and it's short enough not to be offensive. Disapointing but still worth it if only to compare with Monster Boy.

Main Post

KiDdYoNe · Oct 17, 2019

21. What The Golf | October 16th

Hey I thought those Apple Arcade games will be short! 12 hours later, What The Golf is done and 100%'d. Neat... puzzle game? I really liked all the inspiration that made it to the game and hated the levels with little control that felt random. Overall, very nice addition to the Apple Arcade.

22. Assemble With Care

Another great puzzle game from Apple Arcade family. Besides it's having a beautiful art style, I loved the little story they created. It's kinda... touching. Lovely game. Oh and the sound with all the clicks - simply amazing. If that's what Apple Arcade will be going on with, they really have something going on.

As the year coming to an end I'm still hoping to make it this time. I'm almost halfway through and I guess It's a big step up from the last year already. Next one will be... Crash Bandicoot? Probably, yes. I was thinking about trying for MGSV but Death Stranding is around and I probably won't finish MGS in time.

Main Post

Deleted member 401 · Oct 17, 2019

80. Contra III: The Alien Wars (2 hours)
Contra III, having more buttons and more power to work with than its predecessors, brings some fun new tricks to the table.

Full list to date

Deleted member 401 · Oct 17, 2019

81. The Room (2 hours)
A neat little puzzle game with a nice physicality to its gameplay and cosmic horror elements.

Full list to date

FreddeGredde · Oct 18, 2019

Main Post
Games 21-25:
21. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Sep 29 | 19:00hrs | rating: 3.5/5

Easily the most focused and puzzle-based Zelda game, now with 3D graphics. But having played the original not too many years ago, it was a somewhat unexciting experience.

- GAMEPLAY: It's simple and easy but still satisfying. The world is so focused that it never gets boring.
- AUDIOVISUALLY: Beautiful and charming, and I was never bothered by the frame drops. Music was also nice, although it missed some energy compared to the original soundtrack.
- STORY/PRESENTATION: It has charming characters, but the plot is built on a cliché that I've never been a fan of.
- MULTIPLAYER: None. I took turns playing with a friend though, and because the game is so focused compared to other Zelda games, it never gets boring to watch and give suggestions.

I feel a little weird after finishing this. I've only played the original once, but I was very impressed back then, immediately calling it my favorite 2D Zelda game. This time though? I'm a little "meh" on it. Maybe because the series simply works best the first time around, when it's all new. Or maybe I just prefer the more expressive movement and gameplay of the platformer classics I've played lately.

22. Captain Toad | Oct 6 | 11:00hrs | rating: 2.5/5

The no-jump puzzle dioramas from Super Mario 3D World were turned into a full game. But in my opinion, it's way too repetitive to fill up a whole game.

- GAMEPLAY: Very simple, you move Toad around and occasionally turn levers. Some levels include a first person cart ride where you shoot turnips. It works, but it's not very interesting.
- AUDIOVISUALLY: Absolutely one of the best-looking games on Switch, very charming. The music is also memorable.
- STORY/PRESENTATION: The "story" is split up into 4 books, where one Toad or another gets kidnapped at the beginning and saved at the end. There's no sense of place or adventure, just levels that quickly feel meaningless.
- MULTIPLAYER: For this Switch version, you can play the entire game in co-op, but the levels aren't built for it. It's still the feature that made me come back and eventually finish the game, but often it's completely impossible for both to stay alive as the level is crashing down behind you.

It's a polished and well-designed game, but clearly aimed for children. It's never challenging, neither the puzzles or the mechanics, and except for the beautifully crafted environments, there's no variation and no surprises.

23. Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Oct 11 | 62:30hrs | rating: 3/5

I used to love the Fire Emblem series, especially the Radiance series and to a lesser extent Awakening. But it was really hard to get into this one because of all the slow side-stuff and no sense of progress.

- GAMEPLAY: At its core, it's still a lot of fun to move around your characters and feel awesome when your tactics worked out. But the monestary parts get tiring really fast, and there's just too much customization for my tastes. I also miss encountering new faces on a journey and get them to join the team.
- AUDIOVISUALLY: Ugly and inconsistent visuals, and although the music is good, it's been better in some of the older games.
- STORY/PRESENTATION: It's nice that ALL lines in this dialog-heavy game have been voiced. But the story being grounded in the monestary ruins the adventurous feeling of the older games, and it's way more repetitive.
- MULTIPLAYER: None.

At first I was really into it, but the extra fluff got so boring that I lost interest. Luckily you can skip all of that and proceed directly to the next battle, which made it tolerable. I'm still excited about the series, but I hope they change things up for the next game.

24. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | Oct 16 | 14:07hrs | rating: 4/5

I didn't play this Banjo-Kazooie imitation duo's first game (though I'm sure I'd like it), but this 2D platformer is right up my alley.

- GAMEPLAY: It's like a less weighty Tropical Freeze, and I actually prefer it over Retro Studios' DK games. It might feel a tiny bit wonky at times, but it's mostly a joy to play. The mix of platforming levels and overworld puzzles makes for great variation.
- AUDIOVISUALLY: The music is very cozy and atmospheric, and the visuals are nice enough. I got immersed in a way I haven't in a long time!
- STORY/PRESENTATION: I really like the idea of a difficult final level that you can access at any time, and make it easier by finishing more and more of the rest of the game. Many characters are charming and funny, but the actual story is maybe too basic, and the ending is too abrupt.
- MULTIPLAYER: None.

I haven't played anything "Rare" in ages (they were my favorite developer back in the N64 days), so it might be nostalgia talking, but this was a special experience to me. I loved it despite a few flaws.

25. Gato Roboto | Oct 18 | 2:33hrs | rating: 2/5

As a cat, you have to explore this tiny metroidvania map in a mecha suit.

- GAMEPLAY: It's extremely simple, but does the job okay. Nothing is all that creative though, and some things (the wall-jumping and air-pressure sailing) could have been less wonky.
- AUDIOVISUALLY: The cat animations are cute, but I'm ultimately not a fan of the monochromatic graphics (you'll unlock color filters though) even though they occasionally got me Gameboy-nostalgic. The music is extremely forgettable.
- STORY/PRESENTATION: The standard "land on planet and stop the evil within" plot, but with a not-too-bad twist at the end.
- MULTIPLAYER: None.

I really bought this game because of the cat animations, but it's a very short and forgettable adventure that I only recommend if you've played every other metroidvania and want even more. At least it's inexpensive.

Next up:
Untitled Goose Game
Overcooked 2
Luigi's Mansion 3

Tizoc · Oct 18, 2019

88. Trine 3

For Trine 3, Frozenbyte tried their hand at a 3d platformer and for the most part they did a good job at it! The one thing complicating things however is Amadeus as having him move objected around in 3D is a bit tricky in some situations.
Unfortunately, the game is incomplete, as the game just ends at about 2/3 of the way through the game's story.
If it had 3-4 more stages to finish everything up, I think it would be far more well received.
I recall Frozenbyte having financial troubles at around that time, but seeing as things seem to have improved for them now, I am hoping they can consider going back and finishing up Trine 3.

Deleted member 401 · Oct 19, 2019

82. Mortal Kombat 11 (26 hours)
This is Mortal Kombat. You know the drill, wonky animation, awkward gameplay, tons of unlockables, and some of the best single-player content in the genre.

Full list to date

Deleted member 401 · Oct 19, 2019

83. Faerie Solitaire Harvest (15 hours)
Good ol' solitaire.

Full list to date

5pectre · Oct 20, 2019

25. Double Dravon IV

The game is trash.
1/5

26. Castlevania

Classic
5/5

27. Super Punch-Out!!

I love this game. 2nd to last guy is clearly the hardest in the game.
5/5

28. Punchout

This game is incredibly tough compared to Super.
4/5

29. 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker

Incredible that this was a full retail game back in the day. There's not a lot of content and there's not much to do to optimize your scoring.
3/5

30. Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion

Great beginner RPG. Got my daughter really into to. I thought the game got incredible hard half way through till I realized that you could power up the characters with money!?
4/5

31. Deathsmiles

Completed the game on one credit but skipped the Extra stage. Fantastic shooter.
5/5

32. Ultra Street Fighter IV

1 credit clear for padding
5/5

33. Street Fighter X Tekken

1 credit clear for padding
5/5

34. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

1 credit clear for padding
5/5

35. Skullgirls 2nd Encore

1 credit clear for padding
5/5

36. Capcom vs SNK 2: EO

I love this game. Love the fact that theres different end bosses depending on how you did.
1 credit clear for padding
5/5

37. Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ultimate All-Stars
1 credit clear for padding
4/5

Main Thread

Deleted member 9305 · Oct 20, 2019

29. Muse Dash (Steam, 2019/07/05, 6.1 hrs)

Do you like to tap along catchy tunes while getting stabbed in the face with colors, quirky animations and adorable cuteness? Well, it's your lucky day. Let me tell you about Muse Dash. This rhythm game is very easy to pick up and let's you have fun no matter what the player's skill is at. Masters can prove their skills with accuracy, perfect combos and high scores. The progression is based on levels gained by playing the game. The better you play, the faster you progress. New songs get unlocked by reaching certain levels. There are so many songs and especially in the first 2/3 the player gets showered with content. The song unlocks slow down in the last third with a bit more emphasis on replaying songs with higher difficulty. This never felt like a grind. Revisiting previous played songs, with a bit more skill, is a lot of fun in itself, because each songs got little challenges, which unlock new characters and familiars (read: perks and modifiers). The song selection is peak "anime", lots of chinese/japanese/engrish pop, rock, dance. I had a blast unlocking all songs and will keep this game installed forever.

30. Part Time UFO (Android, 2019/07/10, 5-6 hrs)

You're an adorable little UFO, that crashed on Earth and you need to work part time to make a living. The gameplay is physics puzzles crossed with claw crane (also known as UFO Catcher in Japan) mechanics. The jobs are brief bursts of fun, perfect for mobile. Presentation is delightful, amazing sprite work, each scene sports little jokes and everything gets tied together by lovely chip tunes. HAL Laboratory killed it, instant classic.

31. Switch 'N' Shoot (Steam, 2019/07/20, 5.3 hrs)

Master class in gameplay minimalism. The SHMUP's title says it all: you switch and shoot, everything with one button. Each button press results in one shot and a change in direction, either left or right. The hostiles rain down ala Space Invader. The action is easy to pick up and hard to master. Precision aim and wild shimming require some practice. Hard hitting sound effects and screen shake make every kill super satisfying. Every other kill an upgrade will drop. Catching upgrades in the middle of the chaos is a skill in itself. The player will warp into the next zone after 4 upgrades. Not catching upgrades and milking a stage for score is an option, but the flow of hostiles will increase steadily and treading water becomes hard quickly. The player will eventually run into boss like obstacles, but the arcade shooting is pretty much endless. Switch 'N' Shoot is definitely a neat little gem.

32. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Steam, 2019/08/04, 7.6 hrs)

Good game, amazing experience. The hack'n'slash action is nicely paced with environment puzzles. The star of the show is the stellar mo-cap performance and acting. The story a slow descent into madness in norse mythology dressing. They killed it with the audio and sound design. The art direction is the icing on the cake. I've enjoy Hellblade a lot and will definitely replay the VR version in a year or two.

[index]

sabertoothzombie · Oct 20, 2019

Getting closer...

Main Post

August

29. Control (PS4) 15 hours - I loved it, and will be coming back to it to clean up side quest stuff soon

September

30. Astral Chain (Switch) 21 hours - I kind of liked the game, but not as much as I was hoping to. Nothing felt amazing, but I might just not have been as good with the combat
31. FAR: Lone Sails (Switch) 2 hours - Love this game, double dipped on it to support the dev
32. A Short Hike (PC) 1 hour - Short and sweet, gave me a bit of a Night in the Woods vibe when talking to the other charatcers
33. Greedfall (PS4) 32 hours - Combat can be a bit repetitive, zones look very similar, and cities are a bit sparse, yet I really like the game. Fun RPG, interesting setting
34. Assemble With Care (iOS) 1 hour - Decided to jump into some Apple Arcade, this was enjoyable for what it was, though very easy to figure out what to do
35. Sayonara Wild Hearts (iOS) 1 hour - My enjoyment of this game was hampered by the fact that I played it with touch controls on an iPad
36. Untitle Goose Game (Switch) 2.5 hours - Really fun, much shorter than I thought it'd be. None of the puzzles were all that difficult, just really fun to mess with people

October

37. Storyseeker (PC) 1 hour - I didn't like this. I kinda got lost figuring out what to do and finally got it after a bit.
38. Concrete Genie (PS4) 8 hours - Good game, fun to draw on stuff. The game doesn't really do alot with any other mechanic though (stealth is nothing, end game is completely different and short)
39. Where the Goats Are (PC) 45 minutes - Depressing, like really depressing
40. Indivisible (PS4) 30 hours - Got the Plat, I enjoyed the game, but my god the backtracking is wayyyy too much
41. Mandagon (PC) 30 minutes - Weird, free game. I didn't understand the story of it, still...looks nice

Deleted member 1265 · Oct 21, 2019

fatyoshi- 76/52 Games (46 first playthroughs, 30 replays)

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Game 73 – Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PS4) – 25 hours, 45 minutes – 2.5/5

It's more Assassin's Creed. If you liked II, you'll probably like this one. Likewise if you didn't. There really wasn't much new going on here.

This does take hits in my favor in a few places, though. The gameplay as a whole feels a lot less polished than II. This was during a period of annual releases for the series and it truly shows. Everything from that platforming down to the combat feels notably more janky than it did in the previous entry. It wasn't a big deal on average but some of the missions that required more precision were a disaster due to the messy gameplay.

In addition to this I wanted to talk a bit about the 100% sync conditions. These are optional and they don't have to be done but I also feel like if you're going to throw in content for your game they should at least have some base level of thought put into them. More often than not these 100% requirements are outlandish and/or go against the grain in terms of how the game is played. Being asked to not be spotted or take damage in missions that go on for more than fifteen minutes isn't so much a challenge as an exercise in tedium. Especially when you factor in any of the gameplay idiosyncrasies. Again, I understand that these are optional and "for fun"/extra but don't pad your game out with trash content just because.

It looks like I have only one more of the Ezio games in the series to go. I'm trying to work my way through the series (I have access to all the mainline games) but I think I'm gonna need to take a couple months break before Revelations. That one is looking to be just as much, if not more redundant than this one was.

Game 74 – Apotheon (PS4) – 18 hours, 41 minutes – 2.5/5

A bit out of my wheelhouse in terms of genre/content but I gave this a go due to the interesting aesthetics.

The most appealing part of the game for me was the map exploration and the side quests. There's a lot of fetch questy type things but I enjoyed visiting areas and unlocking new pathways and the like. At least when I wasn't getting mobbed by enemies every five seconds.

It was the enemies and combat where things became more problematic, which is too bad since there's so much of it. There's a nice weightiness to things but in terms of actual movement it feels like there's no rhyme or reason to what's happening. Doing a stab, overhead swing, or other attack felt completely up in the air and at times calling for precision that wasn't a good time. Trying to outmaneuver bosses by doing a faster jab attack but instead doing a slow arching swing resulting in a miss or taking damage got old early in and never improved. Add in various glitches such as getting (you or enemies) knocked through the wall/ceiling into inaccessible areas and getting trapped, set pieces not working, treasure chests getting trapped in stage geometry, and it was an unfortunately rough experience.

I'd love to see this or something similar to it with more polish. There's a solid framework but as it is, it wasn't there for me.

Game 75 – 2064: Read Only Memories (PS4) - ~12 hours – 3/5

Great world building, characters, atmosphere, and music let down by some less than stellar gameplay (and in the case of the PS4 port, glitches). I wish some of the mini-games or more intensive gameplay elements were more fleshed out since they really put a damper on things. The combat scenario especially felt broken.

Game 76 – Lili: Child of Geos (PS4) – 6 hours, 7 minutes – 2.5/5

A nice relaxing adventure game with a standout art style. There's not a lot of substance to the gameplay and it always isn't clear how to proceed but it isn't a bad way to spend a few hours.

KtotheRoc · Oct 21, 2019

Main Post

Finished Games 53-60

53: Soulcalibur VI (Start: 8/6/2019. End: 9/5/2019)

I played the main story mode, all the character stories, and Libra of Souls. I had fallen out with this series after V, but picked this up as part of a sale and enjoyed coming back to the world of SoulCalibur.

Played on PS4

54: Pilotwings (Start: 9/6/2019. End: 9/7/2019)

I enjoyed giving this game a whirl to test on SNES Online. It felt like one of the games that Nintendo should have put on the SNES Classic. Glad it's here.

Played on SNES Switch Online.

55: Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Start & End: 9/8/2019)

This game is still hard. This game is still fun.

Played on SNES Switch Online.

56: Tales of Xillia (Start: 8/27/2019. End: 9/13/2019)

Thanks to having access to a PS3, I decided to catch up on some of the Tales games I missed. I blazed through this game. I only played Jude's story.

Played on PS3.

57: Tales of Xillia 2 (Start: 9/15/2019. End: 9/24/2019)

Speaking of catching up, I also made my way through this game as well. It was much darker than the usual Tales fare. And one of the last fights was more frustrating than it was worth.

Played on PS3.

58: Link's Awakening Switch (Start: 9/25/2019. End: 9/28/2019)

Remaking a classic Gameboy game on a modern system is never easy. But I think they did an admirable job bringing back Link's Awakening. The ending is still as effective as ever.

Played on Nintendo Switch.

59: Banjo-Kazooie (Start: 10/5/2019. End: 10/18/2019)

So I never really got into this game before. I dabbled in it. And I don't have an Xbox One. But thanks to my brother, I was finally able to finish Banjo-Kazooie. Feels good to finally close the book on this one.

Played as part of Rare Replay on Xbox One.

60: Dragon Quest XI S (Demo Start: 8/21/2019. Demo End: 8/23/2019. Game Start: 9/27/2019. End: 10/21/2019)

Yes, I played the original on PS4 last year, and I dove back in to the world of Erdrea again this year. This is still an incredible game, and that it runs so well on Switch is a marvel. But the bonus superbosses are not that fun. Yikes.

Played on Nintendo Switch.

52 Games. 1 Year. 2019.

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