52 Games. 1 Year. 2018.

I don't think I will finish this challenge it but I hope I can clear my backlog a little.

Ah, let's give it a shot once again. Freelancing making it easier to find time to actually play games, not just buying them.

Completed:

1. Destiny 2
2. Knack 2
3. Uncharted 2
4. Superhot
5. South Park: The Stick of Truth
6. Batman: Telltale Series
7. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
8. Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
9. Shadow of War
10. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
11. SteamWorld Dig 2
12. inFamous: Second Son
13. Diablo 3
14. God of War
15. Marvel Strike Force
16. Uncharted: Lost Legacy
17. inFamous: First Light
18. Until Dawn
19. Deadpool
20. Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn

Game #5 - Virginia
Time: 1.5 hours

A "walking simulator" with slick art style and little else going for it. Virginia starts out strong with a dialogue-free (all the story is told via the various interactions with the environment and characters, but outside of some text files, there is no dialogue or voices) story about a missing person case, and at the same time your own internal affairs investigation into your partner, but quickly devolves into confusing, symbolism filled mess of a story that trues very hard to be "indie movie" like (when you start the game its not "game", its "feature") but fails on every count, mostly because of how short and confusing it is. It mxies various dream scenes with actual scenes which are sometimes hard to distinguish, and goes nowhere with either cases it starts off with. Huge disapointment that I would hardly recomend unless you get it in a bundle or very cheap (I got it for 99cents and I'm still not sure it was worth it).


Game #6 - Mimpi
Time: 2 hours

Very neat puzzle platformer that has you guide Mimpi the dog through various worlds as you manipulte the environment using the mouse to help guide Mimpi to safety. Lovely art and cool puzzles make up for some finicky platforming (it was originally a mobile game afterall), but it's not very long and certainly doesn't overstay it's welcome. Recomended for fans of the genre, especially since it gets quite cheap during sales (along with it's sequel Mimpi Dreams).

Main Post

Original Post. https://www.resetera.com/posts/2732806/

1. Super Mario Odyssey - Just as youd expect this Mario 3d platformer is tons of fun. I really enjoyed the way they implemented 2d platforming sections. I also really liked the things that happened that I would never expect in a Mario game Anyone know how I do regular spoiler tag without the need for people to quote me to see the text?

Main Post


2. Fire Emblem Warriors (Switch) - Jan. 4 - 11 hours, 17 minutes

This is a terrible game. Character models clip between one another and into the floor, especially during special attacks. Music is completely unmemorable at best. Units repeat lines constantly, resulting in you having heard some of them dozens if not hundreds of times by the end of the story. Most of the cast is pulled from the two most recent Fire Emblem games, doing no justice to the history of the series. The characters they took from the most recent games aren't even some of the better ones. Two of the characters I most wanted to unlock that are actually from older games are gated behind post-game grinds. The justification of "too many swords" for why older characters weren't added rings hollow because the game is overflowing with sword-users. The new twin characters are next to worthless, and could have easily been Alphonse and Sharena (who could really use some lore expansion). The story is completely asinine and "anime" in all the worst ways. The DLC seems frankly overpriced.

But goddamn if I didn't get a little emotional at the ending when all the heroes returned to their worlds. It's just another KT Warriors game, but you know what, it's a pretty decent one. And one I'll probably be returning to over the years. If you're looking for a game to just hack away at gigantic armies and to see little cross-game character interactions you won't see elsewhere, this is the game for you.

Should I play Fire Emblem Warriors? If you're not burned out on Fire Emblem or musou games, give it a try. It's not exactly deep or meaningful, but it's certainly a pleasant time-waster.

Time for another update! Yes, yes, I know I just throw beaten short games around me this week. But short games are nice to have when you need a boost at the start of the year and they were in my backlog so they needed to be played! The focus on small games is actually more for the Backlog Blitz than for this challenge. Need to get some +1s going there in case of any... unforseen purchases ;)



Game #5: EMPORIUM
Started 3 Jan. 2018 - Completed 3 Jan. 2018
Verdict: "What?"



Game #6: flOw
Started 3 Jan. 2018 - Completed 3 Jan. 2018
Verdict: Stylish little game made better by trophies.




Game #7: Flower
Started 4 Jan. 2018 - Completed 4 Jan. 2018
Verdict: Still makes me squee with joy and wonder.




Game #8: Journey
Started 4 Jan. 2018 - Completed 4 Jan. 2018
Verdict: A truly unique experience.


_

Master Post!

Here's #3 for me. I gotta keep this momentum up.

Main post: https://www.resetera.com/posts/2732741/


3. Riptide GP: Renegade
Switch | Time Played: 7.0 hours | Rating: 5/10
Wave Racer, this is not. Plays more like Hydro Thunder which isn't bad. The latter half of the races in Career mode is challenging and frustrating but I persevered. I don't care enough about the game to try and unlock all of the racers/vehicles.

I only beat 20-25 games last year, but I'm definitely giving it all this year

Games beat so far,
South park-Stick of truth (PS4)
Splatoon 2 (Switch)
Child of light (PS4)

Games in progress,
South park-The fractured but whole (PS4)
Zelda: BotW (Switch)
Oceanhorn (Switch)
Bioshock-Infinite (ps4)

Burglekutt said:

Original Post. https://www.resetera.com/posts/2732806/

1. Super Mario Odyssey - Just as youd expect this Mario 3d platformer is tons of fun. I really enjoyed the way they implemented 2d platforming sections. I also really liked the things that happened that I would never expect in a Mario game

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Anyone know how I do regular spoiler tag without the need for people to quote me to see the text?

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In the post editor/creator, hit the plus button that's fourth from the right, and then "spoiler" is the second option down.

1. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - Finally finished everything. 999 Moons, all outfits, and all souvenirs. What an amazing game, even after laying this for over 80 hours i want more. Hoping for DLC, although i don't think we'll get any.
   
2. A Hat In Time (PS4) - Went back to this since i didn't get all hourglasses, so i got all of those. Also finished up all the trophies, pretty fun game overall, wish it was a bit harder though.
   
3. Monument Valley (Android) - One of my all time favourite mobile games. Fun puzzles, nice calming music and just really nice art.
   
4. Energy Cycle (PS4) - Simple little puzzle game, nothing special really. Played it for the quick Platinum trophy.
   
5. Monument Valley 2 (Android) - Didn't expect much from this, just thought it would be more Monument Valley. Which it is, but with more complex puzzles.
   
6. Hidden My Game By Mom (Android) - Fun short puzzle game, nothing too special about this. I did enjoy it quite a bit so i got the sequel too.
   
7. Hidden My Game By Mom 2 (Android) - Sequel to the first game(Duh) so it's just more of the same, but with more references to movies n such.
   
8. My Brother Ate My Pudding (Android) - Figured i might as well play this too, sinnce it's a part of the Hidden My Game series. This time i wasn't looking for my game, but i was hiding myself. So really weird things in this game, but overall thought this was the weakest of the bunch
   
9. Tokimeter (Android) - Silly mini game collection where you have to win over a girl. This took me way longer than it should have since i kept messing up on the same 2 mini games.
   
10. 36 Fragments Of Midnight (PSVITA) - Cheap simple platformer. Nothing too good, but nothing really bad about it either. It was only a couple of euro so i'm happy with it.
    
11. Energy Cycle 40 Minutes (PSVITA) -
    

Total Games Finished : 11

Working on:

Miracle Girls Festival
Guardians Of The Galaxy
36 Fragments Of Midnight (PS4)
Patapon Remastered

I always struggle to finish games. Having a post in this thread might be a good thing....

Games Finished: 9/52

1: What Remain of Edith Finch (PS4 Pro) (01/01)
Really polished experience but I didn't care much about the Finches, and for a game that is all about this family it's really not a good point.

2: Steamworld Dig 2 (Switch) (04/01)
It's ok, a bit on the easy side, just turn off your brain and dig for a few hours, mostly played while listening to a podcast.

3: Hidden My Game By Mom (android) (05/01)
It's short, it's stupid, it's funny and it's free.

4: Statik (PS4 Pro) (07/01)
Cool Puzzle game in VR, a bit short and easy but with some good ideas.

5: Hidden My Game By Mom 2 (android) (10/01)
see number 3

6: My Brother Ate My Pudding (android) (13/01)
see number 3

7: Gorogoa (Switch) (20/01)
I respect the craft and the art, but it's short and manage to be a bit repetitive in its puzzle :(

8: Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4 Pro) (21/01)
Feels good, looks good, with a great world and great lore.

9: Prey (PS4 Pro) (21/01)
A good Arkane game set in space.

Now Playing:

The Sexy Brutale (PS4)
Hellblade : Senua's Sacrifice (PS4)
Cuphead (XB1)
A bunch of stuff.....


List of shame (or how many games I finished in previous years):

2014 : 23
2015 : 13
2016 : 7
2017 : 14

#1 Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy + 8 3DS - January 5th - 16 hours
I was really impressed with this game, it looks and plays great, the 3D effect is one of the best. I like Ace Combat games but I'm not very good at them but this one has manoeuvres which makes it a lot easier. The game only lasts like 3-4 hours but there are 4 difficulties and extra/survival missions which I did all of.

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1) Assassin's Creed: Origins: (Uplay, 55 hours)
I really liked this one. I'm not a big Assassin's Creed guy, but the setting caught my interest, and now I'm really glad I played it. I think the main quest line could be a little better, but the side quests are mostly great. Of course they aren't all bangers, but there are so many and most I enjoyed doing. This game is also making me interested in Assassin's Creed lore, which I didn't think would ever happen.


Currently playing:
Night in the Woods
Arcade Archives Vs. Super Mario Bros.
Trails Evolution: Gold Edition

And I'll start Yakuza 5 soon, probably tomorrow.

Game #1: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [PC] - 3 Hours

Completed - 5 January
Gameplay Time: 3 hours
Score: 10/10

What did I just played?
The perfect mix between story and gameplay, the phenomenal soundtrack, the beautiful art, the ending...
Easily one of the best games I've ever played.

Alright, gonna try to do this this year, if only to keep track of what I play even if I don't make it to 52 !


PC | ~1.5 hours | January 1st
Short and lovely puzzle game. The art is incredible, the mechanics are clever but intuitive, the way each frame reveals its "secrets" is simply wonderful. It's on the simpler side though, which was fine for me since I didn't have the temptation to cheat at any point, it might be an issue for people who are used to puzzle games, but I still say it's worth it.



3DS | ~18 hours | January 5th
Decided to replay this since I'm in the mood for visual novels and the likes these days. It's been long enough since I played it that I didn't remember how most of the cases panned out. I still love this series and I'll try to get to the other ones this year too, including a couple I've never played.



PC | 3.5 hours | January 9th
Can't say too much because this game is best experienced by going in completely blind but wow, what an experience. It takes a while to get started but once it does it takes you on an unforgettable ride.



PC | 9 hours | January 18th
Supergiant's latest is very different from Bastion and Transistor, it's also my favorite. This is a weird mix between a visual novel and a fictional sport game, and it works ! The gameplay is exhilirating and winning or losing is full of consequences for your new friends. The characters are compelling and I cared for all of them in the end, even some that weren't a part of my team, I agonized over . The art direction is simply gorgeous and as usual with Supergiant, the soundtrack is amazing. I can't recommend this game enough.

Boy Wander said:

OK, I'm going to give this a go. I've tried at the other place in the past and usually either fail miserably or give up documenting my progress. Let's see if I can do better this year...

Haven't finished anything yet but for my first set of games, I'm planning.

1. Golf Story (In Progress)
2. Splatoon 2 Single Player campaign
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. Steamworld Dig 2
5. Hey, Pikmin! (In progress)
6. Last of Us Remastered
7. Metroid Samus Returns
8. Yakuza Zero
9. Uncharted 4
10. Horizon Zero Dawn

Let's see if I can polish that little lot off by end of February,lol.

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Game 1 - Golf Story (Nintendo Switch) about 20 hours

Thoroughly enjoyed this game which is a nice mix of RPG-lite and golf sim. The golf controls are simple and the golf game is not in any way an accurate simulation, but that's not the point. The point is that the golf is fun, the script and characters are well-written and engaging and the whole thing has an endearing 16-bit aesthetic. I'd award this game a solid 8/10 and recommend to Switch owners that they purchase the game.

01 | Life is Strange: Before the Storm | PC
Time: 12 hours
Score: 6/10

Before the Storm does away with the time travel story of the original Life is Strange and instead decides to focus more on the relationship of Rachel and Chloe, a risky move that ultimately turns out pretty well. Rachel and Chloe are two interesting characters in their own right and the story of their relationship is both sweet and heartbreaking. Yet I had hoped that Deck Nine would have also gone more in depth not only in how the relationship started but how it ended, as everyone who has played the original knows by now. What lead Rachel to do the things we did? To these questions we don't really get an answer. I'm also a bit let down by the last episode, which features some questionable scenes and doesn't have the memorable moments of the first two episodes. But overall Before the Storm seems like a good way to wrap up the story of Max, Chloe, Rachel and all others caught up in the events in Arcadia Bay.



02 | Quantum Break | PC
Time: 14 hours
Score: 8/10

Finally, a good time travel story. It is clear that Remedy has put a lot of effort in designing their world and the consistency and logic applied to their fantasy science is admirable. The characters are great and well written, the story is interesting throughout and their are quite a lot of plot twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. I also liked the live action show. Seriously, who wouldn't want to have cast members of The Wire such as Aiden Gillen and Lance Reddick in their game? Now, as awesome as the story might be, the game is let down by uninspired gameplay. They tried to incorporate some time travel gimmick in the combat moves but it's not very convincing. The platforming also falls flat. Luckily most combat encounters are quite easy (at least on medium difficulty) and for the majority of the time you will be listening to dialogue, exploring your surroundings and reading through personal correspondence anyway.

03 | Pillars of Eternity | PC
Time: 100 hours
Score: 8/10

I played Pillars at launch and gave up after Act 2. The game has come a long way since then. Combat has been balanced better, there have been much needed changes to the keep and with the White March expansion Obsidian knocked it out of the park. This time I also chose for the more challenging Path of the Damned difficulty, giving much more weight to your choices and decisions outside of the narrative. I gave the game another shot in preparation of Deadfire and it turned my initially negative opinion around entirely. That doesn't mean there are no issues with the game. Choice & consequence is disappointingly shallow, just like the various factions and your interactions with them in the game. Most of your companions are (at best) tangential to the main storyline and don't have much input overall in the game. Caed Nua still feels like a cheap mobile game (although the Endless Paths are pretty fantastic). And the game, like many others, suffers from an inverted difficulty curve, especially on Path of the Damned. Struggling with a pack of wolves in the first hour while being able to defeat the final boss without micromanagement. But Obsidian has addressed and recognized all those issues and will seemingly try to do better in the sequel. Which makes me very excited for Deadfire.



04 | Tyranny | PC
Time: 40 hours
Score: 8/10

Tyranny is the overlooked little brother of Pillars of Eternity. Its sales suffered mainly from a poor marketing campaign and an unfortunate release date. Yet where Pillars of Eternity feels like a relatively safe grand adventure RPG, Tyranny aims to shake things up. It puts you into the position of Fatebinder, a travelling judge with the authority to deliver verdicts and root out treason in the empire of the evil overlord Kyros. Sounds great? It is. You are tasked with resolving a dispute between two armies allied to Kyros who are invading an independent nation. The amount of reactivity in this game is ridiculous, to be honest. There are so many options to achieve this task, ranging from allying with one of the two armies to forsaking both and remaining a fully independent member of the court. And there are more options I won't spoil. Whatever path you take, influences the locations you visit, the quests you receive and it all comes full circle in a satisfying manner in the last act. Your companions are all mostly directly related to the main plot of the game and the choices you make influence their behavior and opinion of you. The writing is excellent and playing judge (and executioner) feels very rewarding and consistent with your role in the game. There are multiple issues with the game though. Combat is relatively shallow compared to Pillars, the level-up system is pretty awful and the second act tends to railroad you in the path Obsidian wants you to stick to. But I can't fault such a (relatively low) budget game for that when it is willing to go the extra mile in other aspects. Tyranny is a typical example of a game that aims for the stars and lands upon the moon.



05 | Expeditions: Viking | PC
Time: 30 hours
Score: 7/10

Viking is the successor to the sleeper hit Conquistador but takes the series in an altogether different direction, not only from tropical South America to the frosty beaches of Denmark and Scotland but also away from a more strategically minded RPG to a classic CRPG. Part of this move is a success, as the writing and choice & consequence in the game are a significant improvement. But on the other side the strategical elements related to managing your hird, feeding them and keeping them content, have been reduced from essential to very easy. Which makes them more of a chore than something challenging to manage. But luckily the combat is solid, if a little easy, and the setting is well realized. You also have multiple options to go about your playthrough, from playing a diplomatic and (relatively) peaceful thegn out to secure political allies, to being a badass viking raiding coastal towns and churches for plunder. Both styles allow for different endings. The only thing I didn't like is how your ending is heavily tied to two arbitrary values, prosperity and power, and it's not explained very well that it's best to max out one of the two instead of going for balance. I didn't have this problem but many others did, I've noticed.



06 | Final Fantasy XV | PC
Time: 40 hours
Score: 5/10

I rarely play JRPG's but having built a new rig I was eager to play Final Fantasy XV. The game looks absolutely stunning and manages to evoke an atmosphere reminiscent of a roadtrip adventure. This is the game's biggest strength along with the personality that Square Enix has bestowed upon the four main characters. While the writing ranges from mediocre to poor across the entire adventure, the game more than makes up for it with charm and personality.

Then why is this only getting a 5? Well there are multiple reasons: the side-quests are absolutely atrocious and range from bad to terrible. The four guys aside there are nearly no fleshed out NPC's, you'll rarely be doing anything meaningful and the game is too easy to make the progression and leveling system meaningful. Besides that the combat isn't anything to write home about. And worst of all the storyline is a gigantic mess. It's very clear that this game changed in direction a lot over its development duration.There are interesting concepts and features but rarely are they fleshed out well. Take the boss fight in Altissia for example: gorgeous set piece and animations all ruined by non-existent gameplay mechanics. You'll be in that wonderfully beautiful city for maximum an hour and then the story advances again. What the hell?

Final Fantasy XV is clearly a very flawed game but despite that I couldn't help but enjoy some of its aspects. No idea if I'll return for post-game content though.



07 | The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit | PC
Time: 2 hours
Score: 6/10

Short, sweet and full of human tragedy. A nice, enjoyable vignette in the Life is Strange universe. This has made me excited for the second season.



08 | Vampyr | PC
Time: 30 hours
Score: 7/10

Great atmosphere and voice acting make Vampyr one of the best titles of 2018 so far. The combat is equally enjoyable, if a little simplistic. The game also does a good job of tempting you to stray from the path of the righteous by awarding XP for embracing NPC's so peaceful playthroughs will force you to work with much less XP, making some boss fights very challenging. What I liked less is the dialogue wheel and the lack of control over Jonathan in those dialogue wheels. The dialogue itself ranges from banal to interesting but the biggest issue is that you cannot skip single lines or you will skip the entire part that the NPC is speaking. Very frustrating.

Overall Vampyr is a well executed and original take on both the RPG genre and vampire games though.



09 | Kingdom Come: Deliverance | PC
Time: 90 hours
Score: 9/10

An extraordinarily beautiful open world that truly feels like a real place...Warhorse Studios have set the bar very high with their interpretation of 15th century Bohemia. The splendour of all the forests, towns and hamlets is even more highlighted by the vibrant graphics and day and night system that significantly contribute towards the immersion factor.

Next to that the game also features surprisingly good writing and all of the main characters are very well written and have their own side-quests which spin off from the main story. The game at times feels like a blend of the more sandbox like approach of The Elder Scrolls games and the more narrative focused The Witcher 3. Kingdom Come aims to combine the best of both worlds and more often than not succeeds in this enormous undertaking. The combat is impactful and satisfying and there is a lot of choice and consequence present in the various main and side quests.

Negative points? There are still some bugs left, some parts are not executed that well (thinking about infiltrating the camp, the monastery) and the combat lock can be very annoying in fights against multiple enemies.

But overall Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a massive success, especially considering this is Warhorse's first try at creating a gigantic historically inspired open world RPG. Count me in for the sequel.



10 | Shadow of the Tomb Raider | PC
Time: 20 hours
Score: 5/10

+ Beautiful locations and set pieces
+ Less combat encounters
+ A bit of character development
+ Underwater sections
+ Challenge tombs are cool

- Story is still awful
- Writing and side characters range from mediocre to bad
- Progression is the same as in previous games and very unsatisfying
- Side quests are mostly bad
- Piranhas...whose idea was this?

Game didn't do a lot for me. It has refined the formula that has been building up over the rebooted series but none of it feels like a real step forward, we keep retreading the same territory over and over again. Lara, a few scenes aside, remains a mostly uninteresting character and besides Jonah there is actually no one worth mentioning in this story. It's kind of amazing how the developers manage to create such beautiful locations and populate them with the most boring characters imaginable.



11 | Call of Cthulhu | PC
Time: 10 hours
Score: 6/10

Call of Cthulhu promises you a detective RPG in the popular Lovecraft setting but after a few hours it becomes clear that this is a different kind of game. The RPG elements the game introduces you to rarely come into play and never feel like they matter. The sanity system also feels like a bit of a missed chance. On the other hand the game is quite an enjoyable walking simulator with a great atmosphere. I do wish there were more open levels such as when first entering Darkwater. Because after that chapter most of the game you will be going down a linear path, going where the game tells you to go. Overall Call of Cthulhu still feels like a solid effort at capturing the genre, even though the limitations of the budger are quite clear.



12 | State of Mind | PC
Time: 10 hours
Score: 8/10

State of Mind submerges you in a dystopian world where the role of technology, the consciousness and humanity are put into question. Around those teams Daedalic Entertainment has managed to craft an intriguing story with a well rounded cast of characters. The strong suit of the game is in its dialogue and plot, less so in the various environmental puzzles you encounter. Still, State of Mind does a much better job tackling this kind of genre than Telltale has ever done in the last few years. The game is a slow burn but very enjoyable for people who like narrative driven games.

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2. Cabelas Trophy Bucks - 4 hours
I expected some shitty outdated hunting simulator, but this game is more close to Moorhuhn series, simple arcade shooter with unrealistic bonus abilities like x-ray vision and slow-mo. I prefer such type of hunting simulators (not like i'm big fan of hunting at all, but still) over that boring ugly shit like Hunting Simulator 2007 or whatever, at least Cabelas Trophy Bucks was kinda fun to play in small portions.

Games Beaten (6/52)

1. Demon Front - 13/01 (PGM Arcade)
One of the main games I used to play in the arcade in my town and I finally got to a chance to play it to completion, the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but the rest of the game is as fun as I remember, a great Metal Slug clone

2. Metal Slug 3 - 18/01 - 1.5h (PC)
My favorite Metal Slug, so a replay is always welcome, beating it with only 45 continues is not for anyone

3. Metal Slug X - 18/01 - 0.9 (PC)
Had some fun in online coop with this one, not as hype as 3, but still great

4. Ys SEVEN - 28/01 - 22.8h (PC)
First time with the game, not among the best of the franchise but an enjoyable entry nonetheless and a better foray into a new gameplay system than Ys VI. Great soundtrack at the very least

5. Dark Souls III + Ashes of Ariandel and Ringed City - 02/04 - 64:24 (PC)
Not a complete run but beat all bosses on NG. Had an absolute blast with it, it's exactly what I've wanted out of a sequel of Dark Souls and might actually surpass the original for me

6. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - 28/04 - 62h (PC)
Much better game than i expected from impressions, great cast, music and nicely paced, nearly 100% play-through but seems i missed some character notebook entry and sidequests

1. Life is Strange: Before the Storm


Wow each episode felt lengthier than an episode of the original game. I enjoyed it overall. There isn't much in terms of puzzles and is more of a light adventure game. I do like some of the themes it introduces though and it made me like Chloe as I don't recall caring much for her in the original game.

orthodoxy1095 said:

In the post editor/creator, hit the plus button that's fourth from the right, and then "spoiler" is the second option down.

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Game #7 - Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception
Time: 7 hours

And we end the PS3 trilogy with...kind of a bang? I won't say a whimper because I liked it and thought it was good, but either I've hit diminishing returns or the game flat out just isn't as good as 2. Less set pieces, enemies seemed a lot more bullet spongy, and it had a wee bit too much "been there done that", with yet another truck chase (now with horses), yet another collapsing hidden city, etc. Still, it's a fun romp, voice acting is still fantastic and it's still a gorgeous game that I would easily mistake for a current gen title. It also felt shorter than 2, as my time player proves it. I think I might need a break before I tackle 4, even if I'm super curious to see what a actual current gen Uncharted looks like.


Game #8 - Dex
Time: 9 hours

Very cool 2D cyberpunk action rpg, one of those little gems I have little bad to say about. Story follows the titular Dex as she finds herself mixed up in a war between activist hackers and government rulers, with a lot more going on underneath. Story is a bit cliche but its well told, there is a TON of writing in the game, between the many sidequests and main quest (npcs have a lot of shit to say let's leave it at that), all voice acted, quite well in fact, for a indie game. Art is really nice, even if it has a little of that "flash game" style to it. Melee and weapons at your disposal, an extensive skill tree, lots of sidequests and a meaty main quest that doesnt overstay it's welcome make this just a terrific game all around.


Game #9 - The Deed
Time: 30 minutes

Neat little murder simulator where the objective is to murder your sister and then plan evidence in order to frame someone. Each game plays out in 3 acts, where first you have to talk to several people in the house and obtain 2 items, a murder weapon and a piece of evidence, then you act out the murder and finally there is a interview to see if you suceeded in getting away with it or not, almost like a board game. It's a very short game, I did 2 runs, as I failed the first one and got caught (lol) and managed to sucessfully get away with it the second time. There isn't much to it but it's neat and different, so it's worth playing for the novelty of it, especially since it's so cheap and most likely in your library from some random bundle. You can replay it and try to frame different people and whatnot, but by then you already got everything you are going to get out of the game to be honest.

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1) Uncharted Lost Legacy: Completed 1.1.18
It was really slow for me to get into, but I returned to it after a long break in chapter 5 and really got into it.
2) New Super Mario Brothers U: Completed 1.5.18. 19 hours, 44 minutes
I have had this game since I got my wiiu in 2013 and somehow never finished it. For a year my wiiu was in storage. Now it is out and I finally finished this game.

1. Mystic Quest Legend (SNES) - (13 hours) ★★☆☆☆
This game has a history in America but for us Europeans this was our first Final Fantasy RPG. I recall reading about it in a magazine called Club Nintendo Extra and it looked like the sort of game I liked to play but never could find in stores (at that time I had only rented Secret of Mana once). Anyway, now that I've finally played it I think its bad name might be because its release left a bad taste among American RPG fans but honestly I found it enjoyable and comparable to some of the better NES RPGs. It had some good idea and a couple of nice dungeons but it's almost completely devoid of challenge; battling enemies mostly means mashing the A button as fast as you can. But it feels like a Square Soft game, one I would still advise to skip unless you're a completionist but I think that at the time I would've really enjoyed it.

2. Oxenfree (Switch) - (4 hours) ★★☆☆☆
I just don't know about this game. For about 5 Euros I can't complain but although I like what it tries to do on a mechanical level (how the dialog-system works and tuning with the radio) it never seems to want to do anything else than tell you a story. In the case of Oxenfree the story just didn't interest me and there was no progression in the gameplay that I could fall back on.

3. DOOM (Switch) - (14 hours) ★★★★★
I had played this already on PC and PS4 but because it's such a great game I also got the Switch port. After the gyro aiming was patched in I started another playthrough and played through the whole campaign again. It plays beautifully in handheld mode and the ability to play this everywhere is just mind-blowing.

4. Bayonetta (Switch) - (12 hours) ★★★★★
Just like DOOM, Bayonetta is a game that I replay on quite a regular basis. The Switch version was my third playthrough and it runs great as expected. Can't wait to also play through Bayonetta 2 and 3 later.

5. Cave Story+ (Switch) - (6 hours) ★★★★☆
Played through this game in co-op mode and enjoyed every second of it. I now know why this game is held in such high regards and why it inspired so many to create their own games. It's an interesting blend of action, platforming and adventure with a great setting.

6. Axiom Verge (Switch) - (11 hours) ★★★★☆
My favorite Metroid-like since Super Metroid, it's that good.

7. Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers 2 (NES) - (1 hour) ★★☆☆☆
A friend brought his cart with me and honestly it doesn't compare to the first game.

8. Probotector (NES) - (1 hour) ★★★☆☆
Probotector is still very much playable and still one of the best co-op games on the NES.

9. Crimson Shroud (3DS) - (1 hour) ★★★☆☆
It has some great ideas but the execution left a lot to be desired. I would've liked a full-length game in this style but with a richer setting and more variation in enemies.

10. Bayonetta 2 (Switch) - (9 hours) ★★★★★
I prefer the level design, enemy variety, encounter design and pacing of Bayonetta 2 over the original, but the balance is just completely off which is such a shame. Still an excellent game though.

11. Kamiko (Switch) - (1 hour) ★★★☆☆
I exchanged my golden coins for this game, you can play though it in one hour but it's quite fun.

12. Shadow of the Colossus (PS4) - (10 hours) ★★★★☆
I never finished the original on PS2 but I was practically blazing through this game on PS4. The remake is so damn gorgeous and it has so many great moments, excellent game.

13. Yakuza 0 (PS4) - (33 hours) ★★★☆☆
Yakuza for me is a series that has some great and some terrible elements and I just can't make up my mind whether in general I like the sereis or not.

14. The Stanley Parable (PC) - (2 hours) ★★★☆☆
This was a game I heard so much about but never played it, thanks to my Monthly Humble Bundle subscription I gave it a try and it didn't disappoint. I like games that speak through their mechanics and while The Stanley Parable can get a bit meta for my taste I enjoyed it for what it was.

15. Doki Doki Literature Club (PC) - (6 hours) ★★★☆☆
I haven't seen all the endings and not willing to go through the trouble of doing exactly what it wants me to do but this was clever. I just really, really, don't like this style of visual novel even though it's way more than that. It was tough to keep doing nothing for hours.

16. God of War 2018 (PS4) - (20 hours) ★★★★★
Amazing game, one of the best of this generation. I wasn't feeling the gameplay for the first half of the game but God of War certainly hits its stride in the second half while building up to a great finale.

17. Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS) - (70 hours) ★★★★★
The main game took me about 70 hours and I'm still working on the post-game content but this is probably one of my favorite 3DS games of all time. I liked making builds for my party, retiring some units to kickstart new ideas, and on top of that there's the excellent sense of exploration and the mapping on the bottom screen.

18. Steamworld Dig 2 (Switch) - (7 hours) ★★★★☆
I liked the first game a lot but the sequel improves on it in every area. It's twice as long to begin with but there's also a much better sense of progression and customizability.

19. Florence (Android) - (1 hour) ★★★☆☆
Pretty nice visual novel type of game with small Wario Ware-like interactions that really complement the message of the game.

20. Kirby's Planet Robobot (3DS) - (10 hours) ★★★★☆
Triple Deluxe blew my mind and yet Planet Robobot improves on it in every single way IMO. As always it lacks challenge but looking for the cubes in every level and unlocking EX stages is a lot of fun. Kirby is at its best when they double down on a gimmick IMO and it just works so well in this game.

21. DanganRonpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita) - (~30 hours) ★★★☆☆
I can't make up my mind about this game. On one hand I really liked the mysteries, the characters were merely okay, the story was promising but didn't deliver IMO and man do I hate those action sequences during trials. All in all I liked Goobdye Despair a little better than the first game, part 3 will have to wait at least a year though.

22. Inside (Switch) - (3.5 hours) ★★★★☆
Amazing port of an amazing game with an amazing art direction. The values used in shadows and highlights are so well balanced and accompanied by ambient occlusion and screen space reflections that I just had to stand still every now and then to look at how well the environments looked.

23. Splatoon 2 (Switch) - (7 hours) ★★★★☆
Still planning on playing the multiplayer mode more often but I thought the single player mode was alright, it was on average a little better than the first game but didn't reach the same heights IMO. Octo Expansion will have to wait for a year or so.

24. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS) - (36 hours) ★★☆☆☆
I'm a big Fire Emblem fan but this particular entry really disappointed me from a gameplay perspective. It's a remake from what's known as the 'black sheep' of the series so it's not going to sour me on the series but it's the one Fire Emblem game that I'm not going to replay.

25. Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon (Switch) - (15 hours) ★★☆☆☆
I've rarely played a game that was as mediocre as this one, where it feels like it was always meant as a mediocre game and nails what it tries to be. It's sort of clunky and unpolished, has a plethora of design problems but it was still quite entertaining. In fact I even look forward to a sequel.

26. Burning Fight (NEO GEO) (Switch) - (1 hour) ★★☆☆☆
It's okay for what it is, as a beat em up it does nothing outstanding and it feels like a generic re-skin of countless other games in the same genre but on the positive side it felt like a retro version of Yakuza 0. It takes place in the same are that Sotenbori is based on and ends in a similar way too.

27. Thimbleweed Park (Switch) - (11 hours) ★★★★☆
This game at times almost rivals the greatest LucasArts classics but misses that mark because it does some weird things like occasional resetting the inventory after finishing a chapter and then you have to remember where you found something, or arbitrarily locking you out of solving a puzzle because you're supposed to do that (very same thing) a bit later in the game.

28. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country (Switch) - (23 hours) ★★★★★
Amazing expansion, it retroactively also makes the base game better because now some characters make more sense. I liked the cast and world design, Torna stacks up against the series' best IMO.

29. Octopath Traveler (Switch) - (65 hours) ★★★★★
I finished Cyrus' story and will probably finish the other stories later this year. Even though pacing was odd due to the structure of the game I immensely enjoyed this game, it's battle-system is perhaps the best in any turn-based RPG I've ever played (yes, that includes press-turn and it's variants).

30. Kingdom Hearts Final Remix (PS4) - (26 hours) ★★☆☆☆
The art direction remains impressive and it really nails the Disney look, but that gameplay hasn't aged well at all.. It's playable but around the end it literally does everything I hate in RPGs like having multiple boss fights back to back without the ability to save or change weapons, and making party members disappear for no good reason. I'm glad this is over with.

31. Limbo (Switch) - (3 hours) ★★☆☆☆
I found Inside so brilliant that I bought Limbo immediately afterwards, but what a disappointment that was to me. It emphasises platforming over puzzles but that's okay, and there are some pretty interesting platforming challenges in Limbo. But Inside set my expectations way too high, especially in terms of environmental storytelling.

32. Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Switch) - (33 hours) ★★★★★
33 hours includes World of Light on Normal difficulty, unlocking all characters for multiplayer and a couple of mini-tournaments at work. This game is a love letter to video games and every moment makes me smile from ear to ear. I genuinely enjoyed discovering new Spirits even if I rarely use them but it's just great to remember characters from games you haven't seen in decades.

33. Tiny Barbarian DX (Switch) - (13 hours) ★★★★☆
This was a really nice action platformer that I played in co-op with a friend of mine. Controls are tight, references to popular games are done tastefully and the challenge is just right.

34. Probotector II (NES) - (<1 hours) ★★★★☆
I think I like this one slightly better than the original Probotector even though I really dislike the jungle level. The game makes up for it with its awesome bosses and the overhead stages which I liked better than the pseudo-3D stages of the first game.

I'm gonna give this a go. I beat 3 games last year, so this might motivate me to actually play more.

1. Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC) - Completed 18 Jan (17 hrs) - ★★★★

Fun campaign, but the multiplayer is really great. I'll continue to play it, but given I've beaten the campaign, will consider it complete.

2. NBA 2K18 (PC) - Completed 26 Jan (121 hrs) - ★★★★★

Finished a season of MyGM with the Celtics. Won the Championship and then went through all of the off-season activities - I'll probably continue playing every now and then, but I think I can call it finished.

Still the best series in sports, particularly if you're like me and pretty much stick to the franchise mode. The new story-based additions to MyGM are silly and at times completely unrealistic, but it added a bit of fun. I'd love for them to expand on this.

3. Civilization VI (PC) - Completed 28 Jan (4 hrs) - ★★★★

Just a quick game to refresh myself before the Rise and Fall DLC drops.

4. DOOM (PC) - Completed 6 Feb (10 hrs) - ★★★★★

This is the 2016 reboot and it is ridiculously fun. I can't believe I waited this long to play it - absolutely absurd story (in a good way), but just some of the best gunplay I've experienced for some time. Wow.


5. Civilization VI: Rise and Fall (PC) - Completed 13 Feb (30 hrs) - ★★★★

Really solid expansion - loved the use of eras and Loyalty, as they added another sort of mini game to focus on as I was building my Civ. I'll return to this off and on, but will consider it done for now.

6. XCOM: Enemy Within (PC) - Completed 14 Mar (5 hours) - ★★

I loved Enemy Unknown, but for whatever reason, EW didn't click with me. I'm sure it's good, but I'm just not feeling it. I'm giving up and putting it away.

7. Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds (PS4) - Completed 21 April (15 hours) - ★★★★★

One of the best expansions I've ever played.

8. Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - Completed 21 April (52 hours) - ★★★★★

I bought this with a PS4 Pro not long after release and I can't believe I waited this long to play it. A lock for one of the top 5 or so games of the generation for me - great story, some of the best open world gameplay and combat I've experienced and even though I've been playing in 4K on PC for a couple of years now, it takes things to another level with the HDR addition. Amazing.

9. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (XBO) - Completed 28 April (12 hours) - ★★★★

Just the campaign. Really fun with an interesting enough story. Well worth a run-through if you're into Call of Duty campaigns and it looks great in 4K. Apparently the multiplayer is shit, but I didn't bother trying it.

10. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall (PC) - Completed 3 May (4 hours) - ★★★

I've been sitting on this one for years. It was great to get back to this world, but overall, the DLC was just fine.

11. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches (PC) - Completed 6 May (3 hours) - ★★★

Again, another solid piece of DLC. Finally ready to play Dishonored 2...

12. Dead Rising 3 (PC) - Completed 7 May (2 hours) - ★

I enjoyed the little I played, but I encountered endless crashes while trying to complete an early story mission. Marking it off here, but for fucks sake.

13. Battlefield 1 (PC) - Completed 19 May (26 hours) - ★★★★

Beat the campaign and have played some of the multiplayer. I liked the different little 'War Stories' and how it split things up in the campaign and the multiplayer is a shitload of fun. I'll keep playing it, but marking it off here.

14. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (PC) - Completed 10 June (26 hours) - ★★★★★

Brilliant. Another game I've been sitting on for a long time and now I'm a touch sad that it's over. But man, I've got the urge to do another playthrough of TW3 after this.

15. Titanfall 2 (PC) - Completed 25 June (6 hours) - ★★★★

Another really good shooter campaign, but built around the bond between a 'pilot' and his Titan. BT is awesome.

16. Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PC) - Completed 5 July (39 hours) - ★★★★

One of the better AC games and a vast improvement on Unity (which I still enjoyed). I mainly played as Evie, but switched to Jacob for the more 'brawler' type missions. Pretty good story, too, but the present day stuff was flat again - it hasn't been good since the Ezio days.

17. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) - Completed 9 July (7 hours) - ★★★★

This could've easily been a full-priced title. Another great entry in the series and Chloe was a great choice for the main character.

Lets try this year!

So far, I just finished Paper Mario Color Splash (huge surprise!)

Reserved

Original post: https://www.resetera.com/posts/2847654/

Game #3 - Batman The Telltale series s1 - ps4 - 1/5/18

It was jarring playing a this after recently playing Life is Strange, I almost forgot Telltale games run like complete ass. The story however was excellent, outside of the villain. It legit felt like a comic story line

2017: 68 games (455.4h)

Completed in 2018:


Click on the game title for a short write-up.

Have failed every year, but I think this will be my year. My backlog is immense, including the entirety of the Wii U catalog it feels like. This shall be the year though, even games like Persona, while I've beaten before, have yet to platinum, so will probably go for that and count that this year. That being said, let's go to #1...


#1



Took a shade over 3 hours to get the credits to roll, and what a damn ride.

Woops. Two more! :D



Game #9: Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet
Started 5 Jan. 2018 - Completed 5 Jan. 2018
Verdict: So bad it's funny.



Game #10: Trials Fusion
Started 6 Jan. 2018 - Beaten 6 Jan. 2018
Verdict: Fun and frustrating at the same time.


_

Master Post!

Main post here.



2. Planescape: Torment EE
PC - 06/01/2018 - 21 hours - 8.5/10

Last time I beat this game was more then 10 years ago. The story, dialog and companions are still the best ever put in a video game imo. But I found the game a lot more flawed then I remembered gameplay wise. There's a bunch of combat but it's pretty much all brain dead. There's a ton of cool spells but, as a mage, I maybe cast a dozen during the entire game because fights would end so fast there was no point. Why does the Thief class even exist? You can bash 99% of every locker and door open and there are very few traps. This version of the game also would crash on average once an hour.

I'll have to dig up and find my PSP. There are a number of games that I've been meaning to play.

Main post: https://www.resetera.com/posts/2732741/


4. Metal Slug X
PC | Time Played: 1.2 hours | Rating: 7/10
I thought I had played and finished Metal Slug 2 years ago (Metal Slug X is an upgraded version of 2). I guess I haven't because I don't remember any of the levels at all. Still a solid Metal Slug game and makes me want to go through the other six Metal Slug games.

Hi there
First year I try this 52 GPY challenge, I want to complete more games and chip away my backlog ha ha. Plus it'll be fun to look back what I did this year. Let's do this then.

This is my main post.


1. PREY
Started on : 01/01/2017 - Completed on : 01/06/2017
Platform : PS4 | Time Played: 35 hours

Verdict : Great FPS and one of the greatest games of 2017. It's basically BIOSHOCK in spaaaaace so I was bound to love it. The only gripes I'd have with the games would be the endgame which is less interesting than the other parts of the game and the ending

Click to expand...

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2. Doki Doki Club Literature

Genre : Visual Novel (I guess ?)
Started on : 01/06/2017
Completed on : 01/07/2017
Platform PC | Time Played: Roughly 5 hours |

Verdict : It was kind of cool. Best is go in blind and have no expectations.

Will beat next :
Doki Doki Litterature Club
Chaos Child
Yakuza 0
Oxenfree
Mario+Rabbids
Disgaea 5

Link to Main Post

Game 1. Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent ★★★ 4 Hours (Jan 1st to Jan 6th) - PC

Cheesy goofy story. Some puzzles were head scratchers mostly due to awkward wording.

1. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix - 06/01/2018



First game of the year is go. It's definitely aged well as the rest of the series has gotten stupider with its messy plot, and the gameplay is top notch and ranks up there with other high quality character action games.

Game #10 - EvilQuest
Time: 4 hours

A surprisingly decent action rpg (or Zelda-like to get an idea of what style of action rpg) that unfortunately looks, well, quite bad. If you can get over the graphics (looks like something made in paint really), you will find a short but enjoyable simple game of a evil ruler trying to destory the world. Various spells and gear to obtain, dungeons to conquer and items to get to be able to get to following zones (sounds familiar?) make the short runtime (finished it in about 4 hours) a breeze to get through. Again, if you can get over the looks...


Game #11 - LiEat
Time: 3 hours

First of all, don't let the horrible steam banner scare you off. Nor the kinda-sorta rpgmaker look to it. This is a fantastic quasi-jrpg investigation game that has better story and world building in it's 3 hour duration (about 1 hour each chapter) than most 80 hour games. Just fantastic storytelling, and fun mechanics too, even if the gameplay is quite easy and just there as a mechanism to push forward the story. Huge surprise, and I now wish there was more of this, I want more stuff in this universe and with these characters. Hell, I want a "proper" game from this universe. Great stuff, hugely recomended.

Main Post

Rhaknar said:

Game #11 - LiEat
Time: 3 hours

First of all, don't let the horrible steam banner scare you off. Nor the kinda-sorta rpgmaker look to it. This is a fantastic quasi-jrpg investigation game that has better story and world building in it's 3 hour duration (about 1 hour each chapter) than most 80 hour games. Just fantastic storytelling, and fun mechanics too, even if the gameplay is quite easy and just there as a mechanism to push forward the story. Huge surprise, and I now wish there was more of this, I want more stuff in this universe and with these characters. Hell, I want a "proper" game from this universe. Great stuff, hugely recomended.

Main Post

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One of the many games rotting in my library that I haven't gotten to yet. Just installed so hopefully I'll get around to it soon, sounds worth it.

Game #2: Halo 2: Anniversary [XB1] - 8 Hours

Completed - 7 January
Gameplay Time: 8 hours
Score: 9/10
First time playing the anniversary version of the game, it looks good, it plays amazing, the art is incredible, another amazing soundtrack.
I would be more mad about the cliffhanger if I hadn't experienced it before.

Tried last year but gave up pretty early as i hit a time where i just didn´t feel like playing games at all.

So this year will definitely be the year.

Game #1: Yakuza Kiwami
Finished: January 7th
Play Time: 21 hours.
Score: 3/5 Stars.
Since i finished 0 earlier last year, i didn´t really bother with the side quests in kiwami. They weren´t really that interesting and i was here mostly for the main story, which i liked a lot. You can definitely tell that this is a remake of a game that came out over 10 years ago. Now the wait for the confirmation of Kiwami 2!

Game #2: Uncharted 2
FInished March 23rd.
Play Time: I dunno, like 12 hours?
Score: 2/5
Hard Quit 1, because legit bad game. 2 was overall better, but still think the controls are bad. Drake controls like Mario on ice surfaces. What IS this. But what made the game just a 2/5 were the last couple chapters. Those Zombie enemies were garbage.

Game #3: God of War (2018)
Finished: April 30th.
Play Time: Fucking playstation doesn´t have a way to tell so like 35 hours i guess.
Score: 5/5
Sick ass game.

Game#4: Dragon Quest XI
Finished: Oktober 4th.
Playtime 79 hours.
Score: 5/5
Not gonna bother writing a lot. Since i´m not gonna get close to the 52, this is basically just to track for myself.
Great game.

Main post

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2. Doki Doki Club Literature

Genre : Visual Novel (I guess ?)
Started on : 01/06/2017
Completed on : 01/07/2017
Platform PC | Time Played: Roughly 5 hours |

Verdict : It was kind of cool. Best is go in blind and have no expectations.

My main post.


1 | Little Nightmares | PC
3.5 hours | Completed Jan. 3rd

A dark and disturbing little adventure, reminded me of Inside quite a bit. The game sort of had an "adults' bedtime story" vibe which I really liked, it didn't go full on horror but was genuinely creepy during the stealth and chase sections. The controls and physics felt pretty good, like they had some weight to them. The camera perspective made some jumps a bit difficult but other than that I liked the pseudo-2.5D view. The story was pretty vague and mysterious but I don't really mind games leaving things open to interpretation. Overall I enjoyed Little Nightmares and I'll probably check out the DLC at some point too.


2 | Darkwood | PC
28 hours | Completed Jan. 7th

I didn't know much about this game but I picked it up during the Steam winter sale because of the high praise it was getting and it definitely didn't disappoint. It's a pretty harsh survival horror game where your goal is to escape from the woods that consume anything and everything around you. The 2D top-down perspective might be a bit off-putting at first glance but the game plays really well and it's seriously scary. The world of Darkwood is rotten, disgusting and hopeless - and so are the characters and creatures you encounter throughout the game. The story is really intriguing and the game does a great job fleshing out the world with notes, photos and other tidbits of lore you'll find while exploring. The game is quite challenging but not straight-up unfair, it doesn't spell everything out for you so you have to experiment what certain items do for example by experimenting for yourself. The main character also keeps track of main story events in his journal and scribbles locations/landmarks on the map when you're near them but it's up to you to make sense of it all. The game has a day and night cycle and when it's night-time you really don't want to be outside. The nights in this game are no joke - you never know what will happen even if you're glued to the wall in a well-lit room and armed to the teeth. The nights are eerie and dangerous and the sound design honestly rivals the likes of Silent Hill in my opinion. I could go on and on about this game and the terrifying moments I had with it but I'd rather people played it for themselves so if you're a survival horror fan, please give Darkwood a chance, it's a fantastic game and it's an amazing accomplishment considering it's mostly made by only three guys. They have crafted something truly special and I wholeheartedly recommend this game.

Alright, it's getting quite ridiculous now. I know. I had a bunch of longer games lined up but wasn't in the right mood for them. So instead I went and beat three more games. Yeah...



Game #11: Drawn: The Painted Tower
Started 7 Jan. 2018 - Completed 7 Jan. 2018
Verdict: Beautiful and easy.



Game #12: Drawn: Dark Flight
Started 7 Jan. 2018 - Completed 7 Jan. 2018
Verdict: Pretty much part 2 of The Painted Tower.




Game #13: Drawn: Trail of Shadows
Started 7 Jan. 2018 - Completed 7 Jan. 2018
Verdict: Prettiest in the series, worst story and puzzles.


_

Master Post!

1. Mirror's Edge Catalyst - 11 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/5

2. Epistory: Typing Chronicles - 5.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/7

3. Tacoma - 2.25 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/8

4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 65 hours
#Played on NS - finished 1/10

5. Little Nightmares - 3.25 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/10

6. SteamWorld Dig 2 - 8.25 hours
#Played on NS - finished 1/12

7. Soma - 8 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/13

8. Axiom Verge - 15.5 hours
#Played on NS - finished 1/23

9. Gorogoa
#Played on iOS

10. Celeste - 11.5 hours
#Played on NS - finished 2/23

11. Monument Valley 2
#Played on iOS - finished 3/10

12. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

13. The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
#Played on PC - finished 6/25

14. Yoku's Island Express

15. Icey

16. Unravel 2 - 5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 8/2

17. Fe - 6.75 hours
#Played on PC - finished 8/26

18. Guacamelee 2 - 14.25 hours
#Played on PC - finished 8/28

19. Far Cry 5 - 17 hours
#Played on PC - finished 9/4

20. Marvel's Spider-Man
#Played on PS4

21. Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 30 hours
#Played on PC - finished 9/18

22. God of War
#Played on PS4 - Finished 10/2

23. Rime - 5.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 10/22

24. Ghost of a Tale - 14 hours
#Played on PC - finished 11/1

25. Destiny 2 (replay)

26. Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris

27. Destiny 2: Warmind

28. Destiny 2: Forsaken

29. Batman Arkham Origins (replay)

30: Batman Arkham Origins: Cold, Cold Heart

31. Assassin's Creed Odyssey

32. Donut County

33. Assassin's Creed Rogue

34. Darksiders III

35. The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories

36. Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut

37. Florence

38. Q.U.B.E. 2

39. ELEX

40. Risen


Note to self regarding games I haven't finished yet but put significant time into: Monster Hunter World, The Surge, Legend of Zelda, Dead Cells

Game #12 - The Last Guardian
Time: 12 hours

Can a game be considered amazing even if it has a myriad of problems? If it can, then that game is The Last Guardian. Just a fantastic experience, a genuine "adventure" the likes of only Breath of the Wild really instilled in me recently, but at the same time, its plagued with a ton of problems. The boy controls like a wet noodle, the camera is terrible at times, the frame rate is awful even on the Pro and half the time you can see it was originall a PS3 game, the puzzles can get quite obtuse and as it's been well touted by many people, Trico refuses to do what you tell him half the time. But at the same time, sometimes it looks outright amazing, Trico especially is straight out of the uncanny valley (his animations and maneurisms are outright spooky if you are a dog person), the game has icnredible set pieces, a lot of good puzzles and platforming (even if the boy controls like a wet noodle and some of the puzzles are obtuse like I said), and it was one of the few games that actually brought out some emotion out of me. I absolutely loved it and it would make my GOTY list in any year I played it, flaws and all (and there are many).


Game #13 - Expand
Time 1.5 hours

Very cool minimalistic puzzle game where you navigate a square through various mazes avoiding hazards and opening up new paths. As usual with these games, the graphics are very simple but they do the job nicely, especially sicne it uses a lot of perspective tricks to grow and shrink the mazes. Soundtrack is also great as it matches the crescendos with the various mazes. It's short enough that it doesn't overstay it's welcome so its a easy recomendation if you like these types of games.

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#2 Super Mario Odyssey - 10 Switch - January 7th - 42 hours
First 3D Mario I've 100%ed. This game oozes creativity, the controls are perfect, there's surprises round every corner and it has a boat load of content. Only negatives were it was pretty easy other than a few post game challenges and the coin grind at the very end was a bit of a pain but that's only for competitions.

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2. Lone Echo (PC VR, 2017) - 7:16
Completed the campaign.

The content of Lone Echo--its story, its gameplay mechanics, its presentation--are all things that can stand on their own merits, without the novelty of VR. But more than that, Lone Echo feels thoughtfully designed to take advantage of everything VR has to offer. And it manages to do all this without even requiring roomscale, which is a pretty neat trick.

I suppose the best way to describe Lone Echo is a first-person adventure game. You inhabit Jack, an Echo droid unit and first mate to Captain Olivia Rhodes. The two of you run a space station together, Kronos II, but Olivia's being reassigned to bigger and better things. As is always the case when someone is two days from proverbial retirement, something goes wrong on the station, and it's up to the two of you to figure out how to fix it. There's a lot of flicking switches, finding batteries, cutting through blast doors, and a bunch more Space Mechanic 101 interactions.

The novelty, then, is two-fold. First, navigating the station in zero gravity feels pretty good. I did have a few queasy moments, mostly to do with abuse of the jetpack you get about a third of the way through the game; it turns out coming to sudden stops a lot can really screw with your equilibrium. In any case, between your various thrusters and the use of your arms to grab onto walls, objects, and pretty much everything else to push and pull your way across the station, getting around feels mostly natural and surprisingly nausea-free most of the time. The only real artificiality to the experience is that turning around using the analog stick uses the snap-to-angle method of turning commonly used to reduce motion sickness. That, and the natural impulse to turn yourself by holding onto something with both arms and pulling one arm in doesn't actually work here.

Second, the somewhat mundane activities you engage in during the game are made novel because you're manually manipulating everything instead of pressing A to cut through hatch. It's the kind of novelty that will probably fade as more games figure this stuff out, but Lone Echo has what feels like a pretty mature "language" of VR game interactions and puzzles to go along with them. It probably also helps that your circumstances lends an urgency that makes the ordinary seem a little more extraordinary. There are parts in the late game especially that ask you to do a lot with the toolset you've got; suffice it to say that flying down a hallway has rarely felt so tense.

Lone Echo is a clear early VR highlight, and it's definitely worth your time and money if you've got the gear for it.

2. Beneath a Steel Sky


Decided to replay this, and I still enjoyed it. However I did chance upon recalling some of the elements of the game that I disliked. For one there is some pixel hunting required in order to find some interactable objects (looking at your finger print metal panel...), and then there's actually figuring out what to do next. I would for a time roam around trying to figure out what to do after speaking all dialog and interacting with as many objects as possible.
A 'To do list' like in Thimbleweed Park is one QOL element these 90s adventure games could've done with :V

Still I really enjoy the game for its humor, music and voice acting. There's a decent mix of British and American accents that can seem a bit jarring but the performance of the actors is very good that it remains entertaining.
Joey continues to be one of the best sidekicks in PnCs.

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Would like to give this a try this year. Have only ever managed to finish 52 games in a year once before.

Completed: (Game titles link to impressions posts)
1. Yakuza 0 - 01/07
2. Hollow Knight - 01/11
3. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - 01/19
4. Cuphead - 01/22
5. Adventures of Mana (Vita) - 02/02
6. Monster Hunter World - 02/02
7. Dragon Ball FighterZ - 02/05
8. Titanfall 2 - 02/12
9. Doom (2016) - 02/20
10. Steins;Gate (Replay) - 03/02
11. Steins;Gate 8-bit - 03/05
12. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix - 03/08
13. Steins;Gate 0 - 03/12
14. Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 2 - 03/14
15. Kirby: Star Allies - 03/18
16. Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 3 - 03/20
17. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - 03/28
18. Detective Pikachu - 04/09
19. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 04/14
20. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition - 04/16
21. Rise of the Tomb Raider - 04/28

Currently Playing:
God of War (2018)
Persona 3 Portable

Main post here: https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2018.13773/page-5#post-2784229

3. Mini Ghost / 4h - completed 08.01.18

First Impressions: Had this on Steam for a while now. Bought it because it was cheap and looked like a cool little Metroidvania. 8bit artstyle and good music. It's a free to play prequel to Ghost 1.0, from the makers of Unepic.

The Thick of It: I suck at hard games. That being said, Mini Ghost is challenging but not in a frustrating way (for the most part). Simple but enjoyable level design and there's a lot of user maps on the Workshop, though i'm probably not gonna try them as i had my fill with the game itself. The visuals and music are straight out of the NES but don't really stand out among similar games.
Enjoyed my time with the game but the last boss kinda soured me a little bit. You're juggling the boss, several enemies, stairs you need to navigate to hit the boss, a lava pit and stunlocking hits. Yeah, it's as fun as it sounds.

Conclusion: A fun game very worth playing. Interested in playing the actual main game at a later date.