Updating for February, still keeping up a decent pace so far!
11. Assassins Creed Origins: The Hidden Ones (PS4) - 3 February 2018
100% of trophies earned; all quests completed. It's more AC: Origins, but as I loved the base game that's no bad thing. There's some interesting expansion to the story and well-designed encounters, especially the sizeable fort in the centra of the map.
12. Skylar & Plux: Adventure On Clover Island (PS4) - 4 February 2018
100% of trophies earned. A short and fairly enjoyable take on the Ratchet & Clank-style of 3D plaformer, though with combat wholly-melee based rather than having any ranged weapons. The game doesn't have the same charm and polish as the Ratchet series and I don't think that this would have sustained a longer game, but it gets the basics right and makes good use of collectibles to reward exploration, being generally neither too well-hidden nor too obvious.
13. Square's Route (Steam) - 4 February 2018
All 100 levels complete, 95 with 3-star ratings. This is a decent puzzle game that tasks the player with guiding a cube around 2D grid-based levels representing a garden, with the aim being to remove coloured 'weeds' by squashing them with matching colour-codes faces of the cube. For a simple mechanic, Square's Route can get impressively challenging towards the end of its 100 levels, and compelling to try to achieve the 'perfect' minimum-moves completions (though I'm convinced that at least a couple of these are impossible).
Although the game does gradually introduce a few new mechanics, such as moving platforms, teleporters and a few types of enemies, it could still benefit from some more variety in these, and many of the enemies move in real time rather than in the turn-based manner of the rest of the game, making them more of an annoyance than a puzzle challenge. The game would also very much benefit from colour-blind assistance options for its later levels, where a couple of the colours used can appeal very similar, and some way to visualise the colours of the hidden faces of the cube (only three can be seen directly at any given time) would be beneficial.
14. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - System Rift and A Criminal Past(PS4) - 7 and 11 February 2018
Counting the two elements of the season pass as a single game towards my total. 100% of trophies earned in each. It's been great to get a chance to spend some more time in a Deus Ex game - very few games do this kind of freeform gameplay anything like as well. System Rift's bank setting may be well-worn, but this scenario is seen frequently exactly because it can work so well, and this isn't just just a typical heist; A Criminal Past's prison is less frequently seen, but works well. In each case, the areas are just as detailed and polished as those in the full game. The one complaint that comes to mind is partly my own fault, with completionist leanings - but the inclusion of a "no augments" trophy/achievement is an incentive away from many of the mechanics that can make the Deus Ex experience particularly compelling, and would have been better not included.
15. Shadow of the Colossus (PS4) - 27 February 2018
Platinum trophy; complete image gallery unlocked. A really beautiful game that I definitely should have gotten around to playing sooner - but at least by waiting I've had what's probably the 'definitive' experience with it. The setting does a great job of capturing a sense of loneliness and gravitas, with each colossus encounter being a well-designed setpiece, satisfying to beat (even if I did take fairly liberal assistance from a guide). I'd have preferred if the last of the trophies hadn't needed quite as much in the way of grinding, ut beyond that there's not a great deal to find fault with here.
Alright! 52 games done! Yeah I sorta rushed these and played short games for a reason. Felt like I was so close and I wanted to get it done. It was fun racing 52 games in personal record time!
Probably gonna slow down now, play some Sims 4, Fallout 4 and other infinite/long games. Still have a huge backlog tho and I still have my goal of 100 games this year. But if I could finish 52 games in 62 days, I can probably finish 48 more in 303 days. :D
Please excuse my short notes and any spelling and/or grammar mistakes. I am not good at this and I definitely shouldn't try to handle 12 games at the same time...
Game #41: Donkey Kong Country Started ??? 2014 - Completed 1 Mar. 2018
Verdict: I generally dislike 2D platformers but I love this game.
This is one of the games that made me realise games could be nice back when I was a kid. My best friend had pretty much every game released in sweden, but only wanted to play a couple that I didn't like. Since I had no consoles of my own, my only experience with games told me it was a boring thing and I would rather play outside. But then I got to take care of their cats once when they went on vacation and since I had to find something to do at her house I tried a bunch of other games. This was the one that held my interest for more than 15 minutes,. Until 2014, I thought I had beaten it back then, but when I finally got my own copy and played it I realised that I had never reached the snow stages. When I got there I sorta lost the concentration needed to keep playing, and was distracted by other games. When we moved I stuffed it into a box and "forgot" about it. So now I decided to pick up where I left it back then, experiencing new parts of the game! I 100%-ed the game but felt like it wasn't actually that fun to do that. I am not a fan of the genre after all, so while I love this game I think a normal playthrough just grabbing whatever is in my path would have been better. But still, lovely game!
Game #42: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Started 1 Mar. 2018 - Beaten 1 Mar. 2018
Verdict: A great game and the one in the trilogy with the best music.
This one I knew I had not beaten. But I have watched friends speedrun it a lot and a bunch of friends had it when I was a kid so we used to play it together after I discovered my love for the series. This was the first time I beat it on my own. Had a couple of troubles with some animal stages but generally it went pretty good. I thought this was my favoutite in the series but it's actually not! It does have the best music tho.
Game #43: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Started 1 Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: My favourite in the trilogy.
Here's the fav! This one I had barely touched before I played it now. Most of my friends don't like it as much as the other two games and I don't really know why. They have not really talked about it other than saying they just like the other two a lot more. But I like this one, for some reason! It's pretty close between this and the second game but I guess this felt more exciting since it was pretty much new to me.
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A little note about all the games below:
These are all made by the same dev, Tonguç Bodur. I might not like the games but I really admire this dev. He's been active on the steam forums, personally answering people that report bugs with reasons for them being there and then when he fixed what he could. In later games, he's sometimes poking fun at past mistakes made, bad AI and other things like that from his earliest games. The games are short but still feel like they are too long. Generally the most interesting thing about them for me has been to see what has been improved since the last game. I can't recommend these to anyone but I did not have a bad time while playing them, mostly because I watched a TV-series or interacred with friends in Twitch streams while playing.
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Game #44: Drizzlepath Started 2Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: Simply absurd.
I hate to call this game bad, but it is what it is. It's made in the CryEngine and the first time the dev used it, which is quite obvious. There are basically no options to speak of and there are a bunch of technical issues. It most often looks terrible and the copy-pasted trees and grass are horribly obvious. But if you squint you can see that with some more work and experience, this could have been a very pretty game. It is meant to be played in one sitting, which isn't hard since it's about 30 minutes long as long as you follow the obvious path. The dev said on the forum that the monologues you hear at the checkpoints are supposed to be humorous and absurd, and they sorta are. It's like very odd poetry. I'm not sure it's sad that they are a bit hard to hear and that the game lacks subtitles, or that it's good that you don't have to listen to the nonsense, heh. There is no interaction in this game what so ever. Just pressing W and steering with the mouse.
Game #45: Drizzlepath: Genie Started 2Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: Remove most of the game and it could have been good-ish.
This game might have been fine if it was about 5 hours shorter. Unlike the other games that are between 20 minutes and 2 hours, this one is almost 6 hours long. It has two paths, with very different endings. One path is okay-ish while the other is about 4+ hours of only walking. Thankfully, this game has an auto-walk button! Yes, the game basically plays itself. There is one single place where you use the interact button (to flip a single switch) and a couple of places where you need to hop a little, but that is it. The monologues are again poetry-ish stuff that I totally zoned out from. It is made in the Unreal Engine, looks so much better than the first game and has an okay amount of options! While walking to some very samey (but kind of pretty) areas you at least have four or five pretty cool things to look at, but one per hour is not enough to keep me focused on the game. The fact that it has that auto-walk button is pretty much the only reason I finished it (both paths). I could let it walk for minutes with only a couple of pokes on the mouse for steering, while chatting with a streamer that loved hearing me update on how many minutes I had been walking.
Game #46: Bottle Started 2Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: Cute environments and a real step forward.
Here is when I realised this dev had some potential. This one is kinda pretty and has a couple of interactions (woho!). Still nothing that even remotely resembles a puzzle or anything but there are stuff to look for outside of the path, the story is told in a completely different way and it is sorta creepy. In a way. It's about 20 minutes long but needs to be played twice to get all the achivements. The other playthrough needs to be done in a "noir" mode that unlocks after you finish the game once. It has a black and white grainy filter and a slightly different ending but it felt pretty pointless to be honest.
Game #47: Drizzlepath: Grass Started 2Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: At least it managed to make me jump.
Wow, interaction! Still mostly walking and no puzzles. It just asks you to click stuff in the right order basically. This game actually also made me jump more than once because I didn't expect this dev to make a game with any spooky things in it. This one was actually fascinating and had some really nice looking areas. It was a huge step forward from the last game.
Game #48: Nephise Started 2Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: It has a pretty wolf, which is all I will remember about it next week.
Nephise is the name of the character you play in this. Basically all you know about her is that she wants to collect some orbs. It is called a puzzle game on the store page but I don't agree. Sure, there is one simple puzzle to solve and collecting the "collectible orbs" and the four statues that work as puzzle pieces are all there is to do in the game, but it's still more of a simple "walking sim". The wolf is pretty tho!
Game #49: Nephise Begins Started 3Mar. 2018 - Completed 3Mar. 2018
Verdict: More pretty animals!
This is basically the same game as the first Nephise, but in another setting. Instead of a guardian wolf there is another animal. Instead of collecting four statues for a puzzle, it's four skulls. Instead of collectible orbs, there are shiny mushrooms. It works but feels like it's just a reskin of the last game. A pretty reskin tho!
Game #50: The Hunting God Started 3Mar. 2018 - Completed 3Mar. 2018
Verdict: A step back.
I don't have much say about this. Almost nothing at all. The story monologue things is back, and it's still something that I couldn't really care about. The different chapters had different kind of environments to walk through but they were not really that interesting. All in all it felt a little like a step back.
Game #51: Bottle: Pilgrim Started 3Mar. 2018 - Completed 3Mar. 2018
Verdict: It has some nice variation at least!
Like the last one this had a bunch of different environments, but these were much more different from each other. The story was actually a little more interesting, but still nothing really note-worthy.
Game #52: Nephise: Ascension Started 3Mar. 2018 - Completed 3Mar. 2018
Verdict: The most interesting game by Bodur.
This one sticks out. There are cutscenes where you get to see Nephise (and I was a little disappointed to see that she's a lady with very little clothes and very jiggly boobs), a bunch of interaction, a platforming course and enemies that you have to avoid. This one was actually pretty fun to play and it was nice to see which way the dev seems to be going.
9. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) (Around 15 Hours) (4/5)
Going into Uncharted 4, I had some idea of what to expect. When the game originally came out I played through the first 8 chapters, but not having finished the first 3 games before, I couldn't quite appreciate it as much and stopped play, but here we are, just having finished 1,2 and 3 for the first time. Uncharted 4 does not start out like an Uncharted game. While there is a high adrenaline mission of sorts at the start, it starts of way slower and sets the tone for the intro, slow. However, the more you play as time goes on, the more you learn what Uncharted 4 does best, the gameplay. This is in no way talking bad about the amazing story, which is the grittiest, most mature story in the series, with the return of Drake's supposedly dead brother, Sam. Throughout the game we watch Nate deal with being a married man and dealing with Sam's obsession over the treasure. The gameplay is amazing, Naughty Dog has added so much new stuff without it being overwhelming, such as the grappling hook, being able to slide down mountains and being able to use a pick to climb to greater heights. Shootouts are as fun as ever and allow for more freedom to move around in the greater arenas that the game provides. Uncharted 4 stands as the most beautiful looking game on the PS4, whether it's Madagascar, Scotland or even breaking into an Italian auction, the game never fails to impress visually, and conveys story through the scenery.
Uncharted 4 may be a slog to begin with, a greater focus on story, interesting characters, fun gameplay and amazing visuals keep this game from slipping to a 3/5.
9. Hitman Go (4 hours)
This game has little more than aesthetic similarities to the main Hitman games (although the Blood Money opera house level is a nice touch), but it's a fun and tricky puzzle game nonetheless.
I think I've played this game too much, I've done at least 20 playthroughs by now, and while the emotional core of the story still resonates powerfully the more I play it the more I recognize the little niggling flaws inherent into the game's design.
36. Adelantado - Book 3 / 10h20 - completed 04.03.18
Although not much really changes from previous entries, it's still the best of the bunch, due to more interesting and varied maps. This series was a decent time waster that served its purpose but i might be done with TM games for a while.
Alright! 52 games done! Yeah I sorta rushed these and played short games for a reason. Felt like I was so close and I wanted to get it done. It was fun racing 52 games in personal record time!
Probably gonna slow down now, play some Sims 4, Fallout 4 and other infinite/long games. Still have a huge backlog tho and I still have my goal of 100 games this year. But if I could finish 52 games in 62 days, I can probably finish 48 more in 303 days. :D
36. Adelantado - Book 3 / 10h20 - completed 04.03.18
Although not much really changes from previous entries, it's still the best of the bunch, due to more interesting and varied maps. This series was a decent time waster that served its purpose but i might be done with TM games for a while.
Genre. Time Management games. Puzzley Resource management, usually on a single screen and very limited, but this series actually has a good amount of exploration and town building grafted onto it.
I find them ideal for podcasts, involved but not too much.
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.
Currently playing:
Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
XCOM: Enemy Within (PC)
20. Halo: Spartan Assault - 5 hours
Eh, even for what it is, i can't say i liked this game much, it's not very engaging and overall forgettable by all accounts. I played it on windows tablet, and while there is native touch support, controls are clunky, aiming is inconsistent, and throwing grenades while strafing is impossible. At least it's really cheap, but i wouldn't recommend this game to anyone except Halo universe fans.
12. Mega Man 8 - PS4
Completed 3/3/18
Score - 6/10
SOOO CHEEESY! I actually haven't laughed this hard at a game in a very long time. Dr. Light's voice was so amazing (awful) that every time he spoke I would crack up. If it wasn't for the sled riding (jump , jump, slide, slide) parts and some of the Wily areas... I probably would have given this a higher score. It almost deserves it for Dr. Light alone. I always heard good things about MM9 so I am excited to see the series get back to a better stride after these last two games.
Genre. Time Management games. Puzzley Resource management, usually on a single screen and very limited, but this series actually has a good amount of exploration and town building grafted onto it.
I find them ideal for podcasts, involved but not too much.
9. Doom - 02/20
Wasn't a huge fan of this game. The combat is very fast and adrenaline-fueled which ultimately just stressed me out. Mechanically it plays great, but always worrying about getting killed due to lack of cover and smart enemy AI made it less enjoyable for me. My favorite bit was exploring the environments for secret pathways and upgrades which I did enjoy a lot.
10. Steins;Gate (Replay) - 03/02
Originally played this on the PC, but thought it would be fun to play through it again on the Vita, and it's still one of my favorite visual novels, and favorite stories in games period. Every one of the main characters is interesting in their own way, and the way the story develops and takes off is phenomenal. It also explores time travel theories in a way I haven't seen done anywhere else in entertainment. I do have some minor issues with it, and there are very few significant choices made by the player, but that doesn't detract from the experience. It does use some common anime tropes and is a little slow at the start, so it isn't for everyone, but I would still recommend it to anyone interested in interactive narratives.
11. Steins;Gate 8-bit - 03/05
This is a short sequel/spin-off that plays like an old text-based adventure game. It ties the Steins;Gate universe to that of Chaos;Head, the first game in the Science Adventure franchise. It is very difficult to figure out what to do sometimes, and while it has some entertaining dialogues I really wouldn't recommend playing it.
Currently Playing:
Stein's;Gate 0
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
#11 Picross DS - 9.5DS - March 5th - 74.30 hours
Well like 7 months later I finally finished every puzzle in Picross DS. This was my first time playing Picross and I totally loved it, the way you self teach yourself new techniques as you get better is rewarding, at first you think how can I not take a few guesses here and there but there is always a way. One of the best value for money games I've ever bought, paid just £3. I've ordered Picross 3D but I should probably take a little break before diving in..
17. Gears of War 2 - XBOX 1 - 3/5 - 11 hours: That scene with
Dom and Maria
still brings a tear to my eye. The game starts of slow, but by the end I don't want it to end. 9.5/10
18. Batman: Arkham Asylum - PS4 - 3/6 - 15 hours: Being itching to replay this game for awhile and it's still as good as I remember. I really liked the being tied to Arkham Island/Asylum. The game doesn't feel bloated like Arkham Knight. 8.5/10
19. Batman: Arkham City - PS4 - 3/9 - 18 hours: After playing this and Asylum I'm hoping we get something similar to them and not something like Arkham Knight. 8/10
Game #43: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Started 1 Mar. 2018 - Completed 2Mar. 2018
Verdict: My favourite in the trilogy.
Here's the fav! This one I had barely touched before I played it now. Most of my friends don't like it as much as the other two games and I don't really know why. They have not really talked about it other than saying they just like the other two a lot more. But I like this one, for some reason! It's pretty close between this and the second game but I guess this felt more exciting since it was pretty much new to me.
Hey cool another person who prefers 3. I think it just has such unique and fun level design and the bonuses are better than they've ever been. Plus, as much as I love David Wise, the soundtrack for 3 is magical.
Hey cool another person who prefers 3. I think it just has such unique and fun level design and the bonuses are better than they've ever been. Plus, as much as I love David Wise, the soundtrack for 3 is magical.
Yeah I have been talking to a couple of people about it and the level design, the atmosphere and the soundtrack just make the whole thing such a superb experience!
I guess i reached the character limit on my first post so i'll make this post the new main.
37. The First Templar / 15h50 - completed 06.03.18
A surprisingly enjoyable hack and slash. It could have used a budget, polish and some fresher ideas but it held my attention. I am a sucker for the linear action game with some exploration and side objectives template though, and this game perfectly scratched that itch. I'm also a sucker for the setting so there's that.
Not gonna lie though, it's a very mediocre game overall. The animations are clearly unfinished, with no transitions, making the cutscenes look like a stop-motion marionette show, which is hilarious in its own right. The visuals are bland though there are a few interesting locations. The combat is not very involved and the upgrade system is undercooked. I just dumped points in whatever i could get every couple of chapters, with barely a thought. It made no real difference. There are a few interesting levels based on exploration rather than combat and those were clearly the highlights for me. The story is somewhat interesting but not very well told and the voice acting is not much better either. A special mention to Marie, one of our companions. She's one of the most annoying and badly written characters i've seen in quite some time. Her entire dialogue throughout the whole game consists of two things: complaining so that our hero mansplains every story beat and idea to her; or going on about every other thing being a girl thing. It's grating. At least she was less boring than crusades marine guy, the other companion.
Don't regret playing it but will probably forget everything about it in a couple of weeks.
38. Star Wars: Dark Forces / 9h40 - completed 10.03.18
I had tried to play this several times before but something always happened. Incompatibility, deleted saves, corrupted saves, etc. Finally finished it this time and it was well worth it. One of the best 90's FPS, it's a shame it gets so overlooked, although the save/lives system has probably got something to do with it.
The level design is really good and there's a lot of variety in scope and visuals, considering the limitations of the time, the enemy roster is also varied and the last few levels get very challenging. Some weapons are not very good though: grenades and mines are very hard to use without ending up harming yourself and the rocket launcher is like a wet fart. An explosive wet fart. The blasters are fun though.
A very solid game that initiates my Star Wars trip. Have a few of those that i've never played and i wanna go through some of them this year.
39. Deadlight / 5h - completed 18.03.18
Although it's a short game, the last couple of chapters made me just want to get it over with. Ending your game with an escort mission is not a good idea, especially when the game also ramps up the action at the same time from a very deliberate and ponderous pace to constant run and gun action. Despite the very weak ending, i still enjoyed it.
The story is cliché and has one of those eye rolling twists that you can see coming a mile away but it mostly doesn't get in the way. Dialogue is juvenile and the voice acting made me wish i was playing a mute character. The environmental storytelling is where the game shines though. The world is filled with little details that take you back to when things went really wrong. The atmosphere also adds to the world building and it makes the game worth playing for these reasons alone.
I wish the game had a couple more chapters and a few more opportunities for shooting zombies as it was actually satisfying but what was there was alright.
As a special note, i wish creators in general just got over this annoying trend of using sexual violence upon women as a lame crutch to make us want to care. Just stop it.
40. Braveland Pirate / 9h10 - completed 04.04.18
A nifty but not very deep strategy game. You sail around between islands, defeating foes and acquiring treasure with which to upgrade your crew. The combat is a more simplistic King's Bounty but it's fun enough to carry the game through. The art style is alright but i didn't find the character design very appealing. And the main character just looks like any hard rock singer from the mid 2000's. Enjoyable in short doses.
41. Braveland / 3h30 - completed 08.04.18
A much shorter game than Pirate, this is the original game in the series. It's also much easier and less rewarding. Will probably play the other game in the series (Wizard) shortly as they're very enjoyable if nothing else.
42. Remember Me / 9h20 - completed 10.04.18
Despite all the jokes around the title, it's still one of last gen's most interesting action games in my opinion, even if a very flawed one. The characters mostly fall into cliché territory, while the plot is interestingly told but it also falls into well trodden paths by its conclusion. And i still don't get why people whose memory has been erased start mutating into Slender men but i guess videogames. The combat has some interesting ideas and it does get somewhat challenging towards the later chapters due to some fierce encounter design, though it never really shines when compared to stalwarts of the genre. I'd call it serviceable. The memory manipulation sequences are some of the highlights when it comes to the gameplay and it's a shame they're not given enough time to be more fleshed out.
But it's the setting, along with the magnificent art design that truly shines and makes this world come alive. Rarely have i come across a game with such a strong and unique visual identity that just makes me stop and gawk at it. From the white, sterile aesthetic that is punctuated by strong warm colors permeating most of the upper world, to the oppressive and chaotic, but lived in underworld, this game is a beauty still to this day.
I do think that the game loses steam towards the last third as repetition sets in and good ideas seem to run out. I still recommend it to anyone looking for a cyberpunk Uncharted where instead of running and gunning, you make your own combos and kick ass all around Neo-Paris.
43. Picross Luna 2 / 60h - completed 26.04.18
Well my laptop's hard drive is on its deathbed, which means my access to games has become somewhat limited for now. On the upside, this coincided with my return into the Nintendo fold through a 2DS i just bought, so that's at least something.
Picross Luna 2 is a mobile picross game that i've been playing on and off since January. It's a cut above the average fare due to the lovely art style, game feel and functionality. It's the first game on this list that i haven't 100% completed, but the latter puzzles are all of the 'too big for its own good' variety. Since i just got the aforementioned 2DS where i now have access to the lovely Picross E series, i decided to just call it quits and move on.
44. Super Mario 3D Land / 11h20 - completed 07.05.18
An interesting mix of the 2d and 3d sensibilities that the Mario games have been exploring for decades, 3D Land is a fantastic game, but not one without flaws. Mainly, the difficulty is very uneven throughout and there's a couple of levels on the last world that are just silly brutal and that rely too much on Dark Mario shenanigans. There were also a few situations where i had trouble with geometry due to the lack of a 3D perspective, noticeably hurting gameplay. This game was clearly designed to be played with the 3D on. Despite that, i would say that a very good chunk of the game is very easy though.
The visuals feel very familiar, with a few standout levels that really show what this little portable can achieve. The music didn't really impress me much and it just feels overly recycled from other entries in the series. It's inoffensive though.
Though this post reads somewhat negative, the fact remains that i still think 3D Land is really good and worthwhile. It's as joyous and lovely as any of the best Mario entries and kept a smile on my face for most of my playthrough.
45. Picross e / 8h30 - completed 13.05.18
The first title in this excellent series developed by Jupiter. Apart from Picross 3D, my favorite incarnation in the genre. It's snappy and user friendly, though asking if the player wants help before every single puzzle does get a bit tiresome. Nothing too serious though.
46. Picross e2 / 14h20 - completed 25.05.18
The second title in the series is a meatier offering, with more puzzles and a minor visual upgrade. It introduces micross puzzles, which are larger images segmented into smaller puzzles.
47. Professor Layton and the Curious Village / 12h20 - completed 28.05.18
One of my all time favorite series, despite only having played two of the titles so far, the Layton games ooze joy and charm like few others. This is mainly due to the lovely art and the absolutely fantastic Tomohito Nishiura music. There's a very strong sense of place and atmosphere that is somewhat surprising, bearing in mind this is a DS game after all. The plot is nothing to write home about and quite predictable, but the characters have plenty of personality, with some funny dialogue sprinkled throughout. The menus are just as lovely as in any other Level-5 game. I find those to be one of their strong suits. Well, except for White Knight Chronicles, which was a mess in that regard.
The puzzles, which are the meat of the game, are quite hit or miss depending on personal taste. I can't stand sliding puzzles and i'm not really a fan of maths puzzles either, so i kinda just gave those a couple of minutes before looking up the solutions and moving on. But for the most part, i really liked them and strove to complete all of it. There's also plenty of extra content after finishing the game, from extra puzzles to artwork, character sheets, the soundtrack, etc.
Still a very enjoyable entry. Tackling Pandora's Box next.
48. Picross e3 / 12h20 - completed 29.05.18
A bit of a step back from the second game. Gone are the micross puzzles, substituted with mega picross puzzles, of which i'm not really a fan. They fundamentally change the way you approach the board, but not in a way that i find interesting. They become more of a spatial guesswork game instead of the clear logic game that picross is. Or maybe i'm just a lazy idiot. This third entry also has less puzzles overall, which is another small negative. Still worth it though, for their low price.
49. Message Quest / 1h20 - completed 15.06.18
A short little story with some simplistic puzzles thrown in. Loved the art but there isn't really much else here. The world and writing is somewhat interesting but this being just a first episode in a series that might or might not be continued didn't really inspire me to get that involved.
50. Picross e4 / 13h30 - completed 17.06.18
The fourth instalment in the series is almost identical to the last one. It streamlines the puzzle progression a bit but that's it. It's basically just more puzzles, including bonus puzzles for those who got the previous entries.
Played the Android version, which is a pos. It's full of bugs throughout and it completely broke near the end, leaving me no possibility to finish it. Bah
52. Abzû / 2h completed 13.07.18
A beautiful game that ultimately ends up feeling very shallow. The swimming feels really good and i liked the atmospheric environments, despite the almost complete lack of chances for exploration. But after finishing it, i don't see what it's trying to say, if anything. Journey is the obvious and unflattering comparison here. That game had so many wonderful little moments and such a poignancy to its tale, that Abzû just feels like a poor imitation of it.
53. Gears of War Ultimate Edition / 9h50 completed 15.07.18
For the last 10 years or so, i was thoroughly convinced that i had played the first two entries in the series. This last week disabused me of that notion. After being perplexed for the first 2 hours or so, i realized that i had actually never played this game, but just the second one instead. And maybe parts of 3, i'm not sure anymore. And what a game Gears is. This version is absolutely stunning in parts, and the art really shines with this makeover. The campaign is excellent and full with great encounter design, though the game is not really hard. The plot and characters are dumb but there's some points where it was clear it wasn't really taking itself too serious, which is pretty ok. And there aren't many mechanics more satisfying than hitting that perfect reload just in time to rain death upon a Boomer.
I didn't really like this iteration of what was one of my favorite series in the past. I've always loved MGS for the characters and the silly stories, but this somewhat more grounded take just does nothing for me. It's still silly at points but it doesn't feel the same. The visual style and the lack of any kind of personality on Snake's part probably has a lot to do with it. I miss Hayter's camp.
The game feel is pretty good, but what you're actually doing just feels like a more boring version of MGS past. Or maybe i'm just over with this kind of gameplay, not sure. It took me 7h to finish the main campaign and one side mission, i couldn't be bothered to go for more. Looking back on that time, 90% of it was literally waiting and looking through binoculars and getting caught and starting over from checkpoints and doing the same stuff again. I'm not one to demand changes instead of adapting to game design, but this particular game would benefit greatly from being able to save anywhere. For me, at least.
Having played about 3-4 hours of Phantom Pain by now and not really having much fun with it so far, i think these MGS V games are just not for me. Which is fine.
55. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag / 49h50 completed 28.07.18
An alright entry in the series. The story takes a while to go anywhere but the last few chapters were the strongest. I actually did like the present day stuff more than in past entries. Ubisoft is clearly having fun with itself here. The main missions are among some of the weakest gameplay bits in here though. Too constricting and too many tailing missions. I literally lost it and threw my controller at one in particular. You probably know which if you played it.
The world itself is a joy to explore, and that's what matters most to me in an AC game. Sailing feels great and my best time was had at sea, either just exploring or taking down those forts. On foot gameplay gets infuriating at times though. AC always had a bit of a problem with animation priorities and navigation, but i've never felt it as much as in this game. A good chunk of my patience was drained by Edward having problems going in a straight line and not holding on to every piece of scenery he passes by. The combat is just terrible in its implementation as well. I like the options in theory, but ended up just upgrading my holsters and shooting every non basic enemy i couldn't stealth. And the AI is laughable as well. It's a world of blind people out in the Caribbean. Also a shoutout to the portuguese actually speaking portuguese, but that voice acting was baaaad.
All in all, despite the many flaws, i enjoyed it. Right behind the Ezio trilogy for me. Haven't played any of the more recent ones yet though.
56. Mega Man 2 / 2h50 completed 30.07.18
Finally played through one of the true classics. And it lives up to its reputation. The only fault that stood out to me were that a few levels felt too short or undercooked, with not much going on in them. But there weren't many of those. The rest of the game is nigh on perfect. Excellent level and enemy design. Fantastic bosses. Tight controls and a more manageable difficulty. Especially after the first game. I am quick saving the shit out of these games though, so there's that.
The music is great as well, i sometimes just sat at the weapon select screen enjoying it. And Mega Man is just adorable in here. So charming. Loved it.
57. Mega Man 3 / 4h20 completed 30.07.18
This game took a turn. I hated it for the better part of an hour, was ready to quit on it and curse whoever ported this. The first couple of levels i went through were bad, the enemies infinitely annoying and the slowdown was killing me. After dying over 20 times to the same enemy because of having to fight it at under 10 fps,i was ready to leave it. But i'm glad i didn't. This game gets so much better after that hump. Not Mega Man 2 good, but almost. It also ended up being an easier game, with energy being given out like candy. The ending also feels rushed. Anyway, that's another done in the series.
2,3,1 so far :)
58. Gears of War 2 / 9h40 completed 07.08.18
A fantastic campaign that builds on the first game and adds a lot of variety throughout most of its run time. It's rare to find two levels where the player is asked to do the exact same thing. Every sequence is designed to offer something new and different, and it mostly works. The exception is a big chunk of the finale, which didn't really work for me. It just becomes too much, even by Gears' standards. Too many turret sequences as well. The music becoming too bombastic towards the end didn't help matters either. Despite this late inconsistency, what comes before it is so good that it can't really be tarnished by it.
The controls are perfectly weighted and the level and encounter design always feel fresh and well thought out. I would put it close to Uncharted 2, one of my favorite linear romps. Only the story and characters fall far behind it. None of it is near any believability or even has much competent writing. I like Baird though. He's better here than in the first game.
Gears 2 was the only one in the series that i had significantly played before, so it's all gonna be fresh going forward.
Double Agent has probably become my favorite Splinter Cell. It's jankier than earlier games and has plenty of annoying bugs. It's level design and soundtrack are inferior to Chaos Theory. The ending is underwhelming, all things considered. Nevertheless, what it has going for it is quite awesome and i was left wanting for more. I made a thread about it before i was completely finished (that got zero replies lol), so i'll just transcribe the OP here:
Due to the two great things that are Xbox BC and all three last gen Splinter Cell games being on it, i finally got an easy way to play them. I had played the original trilogy and loved every game in it, even Pandora Tomorrow, but for several reasons, i've never played past them.
Even after hearing that the PS3/360 version of Double Agent was the inferior one, i jumped in anyway, and well, it's still a really good game. Although the engine and gameplay are markedly inferior to what the series was at around Chaos Theory, a lot of the surrounding systems and design decisions more than make up for it. Namely, the undercover agent angle that permeates the entire plot and mission structure. For those unfamiliar with the game, our character Sam Fisher infiltrates a homegrown terrorist group. Undercover, the player must enact this group's commands, which vary from assassinating an innocent victim as initiation into the group to bombing a cruise ship. What makes it interesting though is that there are often alternate objectives given by the NSA, which sometimes conflict with the terrorist objectives, which you mostly have to achieve concurrently while hiding what you're doing from the terrorist group. There are also missions that take place at the group's headquarters, throughout which you slowly build a case against them, through deception and manipulation. It's this push and pull between two groups with which you're trying to build trust with that gives the game its edge. And there are some very interesting decisions to be made. Somewhat late game spoiler:
After the cruise mission, you have a choice to make, either blow the ship up and mess your standing with the NSA, or jam the signal and take the failure as a mark against you regarding the terrorist's trust towards you. But, more interestingly, there is a third way. You can frame one of the terrorists, with whom you were developing a connection with, to take the blame for you, the trade off being that her death will be on your hands.
It's a magnificent structure that only falters at times by not being more in depth. But what's there is sometimes exhilarating.
I keep coming back to this game. Finished it 5 times now, on hard this time around. It's a really good example of the linear adventure, though there is a fair amount of exploration to go along with the bombast. TR 2013 still has some of my favorite traversal in a game. The way Lara flows through the scenery once you get into the groove is admirable. The shooting is very competent and even exciting at times on this harder difficulty. The setpieces vary in engagement and quality, and there sure are a lot of them. The story is lacking and the writing atrocious, while Lara's voice actress is just terrible all around. She does not sell Lara in any way.
But the main attraction, to me at least, is the island. It's just a big Metroidvania playground, full of interesting and charming locales. I love exploring these areas, though i know them by heart already.
61. Wolfenstein: The New Order / 21h completed 27.08.18
A replay of my favorite 2014 game. It still holds up pretty well. The gameplay is great though never revelatory, the shooting feels good and there's almost old school exploration in there. Almost but not quite, as most levels are still mostly corridors with a few branching paths and dead ends. It felt quite like the breath of fresh air back in '14 anyway, and it's still welcome design today. But there's enough hidden stuff to make it worth exploring. The perk and commander systems are also fantastic ways to spice up the approaches to nazi killing.
But what makes this game so dear to my heart is the wrapping around the shooter. Everything on display, from the writing to the acting and direction, the soundtrack and art direction. Everything about the storytelling and the worldbuilding just feels right. As someone who has played the whole series throughout the years, i was definitely not expecting such maturity from Wolfenstein. Don't get me wrong, it's still pulp. But it's good pulp. Early Tarantino pulp almost. And it lets itself be subtly emotional like few games do.
All said, it didn't shook me like the first time around but that's understandable. Still one of the greats.
62. Quantum Break / 17h50 completed 30.08.18
If i were to think of this game only as an action experience, ignoring everything but gameplay, i would have found it mediocre and definitely Remedy's worst game. It feels undercooked in that regard. The powers are interesting and fun to use but the game rarely calls on you to use them beyond a couple of combos that are more than enough to take care of everything it throws at you. It's also a very fragmented game, in which the set pieces are few and far between. I would imagine there's about a couple of hours of shooting encounters in there. Most of the game is spent exploring and playing more narrative moments. Far from being a complaint on my part, this actually elevated the game for me, as i loved the story and most of the characters. I found myself rushing through yet another encounter arena in order to get to the next story beat. Aiden Gillen is the highlight here. After years of watching his villainous overacting in GoT, it's refreshing to see him portray an interesting and conflicted character, who is easy to sympathize with, seeing as you can fill his shoes at intervals and shape parts of the narrative. What surprised me the most were the live action segments though. To be clear, they're not very good and they're cheesy as hell. But they're not absolutely terrible like i thought they'd be. They give us some interesting character development. They are bad when action happens though. But i loved this world, and that's my through line with Remedy games. They always get me that way.
One thing that i want to add is that QB is one of the most beautiful gamed i've ever played. From the environments to the characters, from the absolutely insane visuals when time shit happens to the extremely slick UI. I loved everything about the visuals of this game and often found myself standing in awe at what was in front of me. Outstanding work.
Quite enjoyed this RPG and man it did remind me how much I miss the FF series if not jRPGs in general. While it did have some parts that I felt dragged on or could've been shorter, it was a nice satisfying RPG for me.
25. Amy in Sonic the Hedgehog
This is a neat romhack where you get to play as Amy, who plays similar to her Sonic Advance ver., in Sonic 1. Amy controls well and has great animations that match well with the game's visuals. The 2 button control scheme for her reminds me of Platformers of the 80s and 90s and I didn't mind using button combinations for performing certain actions.
They did it. This is a great version of a great game. I have been skeptical of this remake ever since it was announced. I've thought that it was losing something with the added fidelity. And while that is true, I think it also gains a lot. This remake is in a lot of ways the exact same game as the original, but after playing both of them back-to-back I think there's room for them to exist together. I hope this game doesn't come to replace Team Ico's version, but I do hope it continues to live alongside it.
Game 5: Celeste (NSW, 2018) - dev. Matt Makes Games
I know it's the first 2018 game I've played besides a remake, but regardless Celeste is my current GOTY and it's going to take something special to top it. It's a great platformer. It's difficulty strikes the balance between challenging and frustrating, it's controls are tight, and it's mechanics are fun and inventive. It also has a nice art style and great soundtrack, and if it stopped there I would have been more than happy with it. But where Celeste really excels is with its story. It's a great depiction of a character with mental illness wrapped in a compelling personal narrative surrounding by larger mysteries that are interesting enough to keep things moving without ever taking over the character story. It can be a little heavy-handed sometimes and part of me says that it should let the metaphor speak for itself a little more, but another part of me appreciates the earnestness that comes along with being so explicit. I actually think it's sort of great that Madeline's mental illness is presented as both a metaphor and as a real thing. I sometimes think stories rely on the former as a way to avoid dealing with the latter, and Celeste almost does that but then blinks and I think it's a better game for it. It's also an incredibly charming game, and it's going to stick with me for a while.
1. What Remains of Edith Finch - Finished on February 9 - 2 hours, 30 minutes
I enjoyed this game a lot. The narrative focuses on a quirky family with many members who meet their untimely and early deaths. Although Edith the narrator seems to always hint that something sinister lurks in her family's home, there are no jump scares or really many tense scenes. Many members of the Finch family feel like they are stuck in the past. Their familial home still has bedrooms of deceased family members scattered around, sealed off forever until you find a hidden passage to get in. For a family trying to beat a family curse, this reverence to the past borders on sickening. The demise of family members ranges from weird to trippy to downright sad. Baby Gregory was tough to play through because you just knew what was going to happen. The same for Lewis who had such a nice life in his imagination juxtaposed against the mundane life of working in a cannery. The focus on the past and being cursed reminds me a little bit of Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. Both families seek to escape the haunting past and almost are stuck living inside of a monument to it. The final scenes, though somewhat expected, still hit me hard.
2. The Walking Dead Season 1: Episode 4 (PS4) - Finished on February 10 - 2 hours, 30 minutes
I finally rejoin Lee, Clem and the gang in Savannah. They find a house and eventually do find a boat with which they would be able to escape. There are several key moments where people come clean with things they have been holding back. I've always thought of Ben as a little whiny and a little pathetic but the way he must have felt holding all of that in regarding Kenny and his family would have driven me to do the same thing he did. I saved Ben because the way I play these games is to try to be as nice as possible to everyone. I know this is impossible because sometimes your choices have polarizing outcomes depending on your group. In the end I chose Ben to come with me along with Omid and Christa over Kenny because I know Clem likes him more than Kenny. The event that happens to Lee at the end was something I have been expecting and bracing myself for for a while so the emotional impact of that is minimal for now.
3. The Walking Dead Season 1: Episode 5 (PS4) - Finished on February 10 - 2 hours
The epic conclusion of Season 1 is here. My boy Ben finally completes is story arc of standing up for himself and then promptly dies in the worst way possible. I always thought I would get a final confrontation and showdown with Kenny about the fate of what the group does but he gets bodied by a bunch of old folks cancer survivors and then instead of just shooting Ben in the head and leaving with Lee he just completely gives up and tries to fight several dozen walkers by himself right after talking about how he can't believe his wife gave up and left him. I genuinely dislike Kenny for much of the game. Decisions regarding him always seem more like do I appease him or oppose him. He hates me and is flaky as fuck when I'm in danger almost regardless. But damn did the dude deserve to go out better than he did. Like give him a couple guns and a ton of bullets to just mow down zombies so that everyone else could get through. Throughout all five episodes of this series everyone is always convinced that Lee is a total piece of shit. Even the crazy station wagon guy is ready to kill Lee despite Lee and Clem not stealing from him. I do like how some of my past decisions are brought back, such as killing one of those dudes in episode 2 with the pitchfork or leaving Lilly behind when she kills Carly. In the end though, Clementine cares about Lee enough to shoot him rather than allow him to turn into a walker.
4. Bayonetta - Finished on February 25 - 11 hours, 30 minutes
I really enjoyed this game. I struggled at the beginning to get a real feel for the mechanics and I still am struggling to grasp some of the story. By the end of the game I was dodging like a true pro. I will say the game is flawed though. The camera at times had me going back and forth quickly between two backgrounds and forced me to stop and figure out which direction to move in to keep going. The QTEs where you die if you fail and failing destroys your rank are terrible. There were some downright awful chapters where you are riding a motorcycle or playing some shmup. At times things feel disjointed with the random cutscene thrown in or that kissing animation when you clear a verse and can move on. I feel like the flow of combat is so good that breaking it up takes away from the game. I enjoyed boss fights though. I do think the witch time mechanic was great but sometimes my timing looked and felt fine but I was punished. I am hoping Bayonetta 2 is a little more forgiving in this regard. I have heard that many of my problems with Bayonetta are fixed for the sequel so I am hoping that I have even more fun crushing my foes in that game.
#15: Bayonetta (3-7-2018) | 8/10 | Switch | ~ 12.5 Hours
# Overall - 8 | The game is over the top fun with fantastic controls and enemies Gameplay - 9 | I can't count the amount of times I said that was insane from over the top action Sound - 8 | Its catchy soundtrack matches the crazy gameplay Story/Online - 8 | The story is okay mixed with excellent dialogue to keep you laughing along the way Asking Price- 8.33 | Great amount of content for single player game taking around 12.5 hours to finish.
This game is a pure joy with everything over the top (Story, characters, levels, enemies & attacks) and was fun start to finish.
3. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch, 2017) - 70:45 (+12:12 in 2017) Completed the campaign.
I typed out a whole thing for this and then lost it all because of an errant click on the Close Tab button. So instead, you get this truncated review.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a mess of a game: frequently entertaining, often endearing, but a mess all the same. Easily its biggest issue is the blade system, which is basically a single-player, monetization-free implementation of lootboxes in a game that not only didn't need it, but arguably suffers immensely from it. You feel it every time you run into a side quest requiring field skills you don't have; every time you have to open another core crystal only to find some common blade trash that serves no purpose; every time you open up another attack blade on Nia, who really does not need anything but healer blades but is forced to use whatever you bond with her unless you want to use one of the rarest items in the game to move a blade to someone else. I'm sure there are worse ways to have implemented this system, but I can't think of many.
Besides that, Xenoblade 2's major sins are all the same ones that plague a particular type of JRPG: too many systems that are too poorly explained, too many side quests that feel like they waste your time, too much emphasis on quantity over quality, and too many challenges that feel thrown in just to annoy you (hello Spirit Crucible Elpysm you awful dungeon you). And yet, it's that sprawl that also gives Xenoblade 2 some of its particular character. I can absolutely imagine a leaner, meaner version of Xenoblade 2 that I'd enjoy a lot more. But I guess in some ways it wouldn't quite feel like Xenoblade 2 anymore, either.
I never finished the first Xenoblade, so I guess the fact that I saw the ending of Xenoblade 2 is a testament to its quality on some level. But I also find myself quite ready to leave it behind. I can see why other people love the game and call it one of their favourites, but I don't think I can quite bring myself to do the same.
21. Pacific Liberation Force - 0.5 hours
10 year old trash, that suppose to be arcade helicopter game. Can be finished in like 30 minutes, including tutorial, not worth getting even with -95% discount.
Man, this sucks. I loved this game to bits when I played it, I called it the best PS3 game ever, but the entire time I played it this time was just a tooth grinding slog. I think I need to take a break from games for a bit.
I will say that the writing was still top notch though. It's impossible to not be invested in the game's story and lovable cast.
#17 The Wolf Among Us (PC) | 7.6h | March 08 | ★★★★½
Already played all episodes when they got first released but my girlfriend really enjoys TT games and so we played through it together. A very adult and thrilling detective story set in the Fable universe and in my opinion still the best game Telltale made so far. I'm yearning for the sequel.
Feel like this game is longer than I remember it. The puzzles are mostly easy but navigating through the areas is rather lengthy which is prob. why it felt like it was long. Decent Adventure game otherwise IMO.
4: Outrun 2 (8/2/2018) ★★★★★
I decided to play Outrun 2 because it has different stages and I loved it. The game was great (off course it was since it is Outrun) and looks great. If I had to choose between this and SP then I choose that as the stages are better though not by much. 5: Monkey Island 2 Revenge of Le Chuck(10/2/2018) ★★★★
Good follow up to the original and with an even better setting. The game's art and the music were great and atmospheric. I was also surprised by the plot twist, I didn't see it coming. The reason I didn't give it the full score was the cliffhanger.
6: Counter Spy(9/3/2018) ★★★★★
This game is a masterpiece that deserves to be played, the style, the music, and tone is great. Not to mention the gameplay feels great. I really recommend it and urge people to play it, I think it's on sale in the European PSN right now and you should grab it and get the online trophy before the servers go down if you are about them. It is very easy to get this trophy so don't wory about grinding or anything, as the game is two hours long but has tons of replayability.
#18 A Normal Lost Phone (PC) | 1.5h | March 09 | ★★★½
The game's premise is that you find a phone and go through it to learn something about its owner. You read their texts, emails and look through other apps. I don't think there's a game you can compare it to, games like Orwell or Emily come close but it's still something else imo. The puzzles (mostly finding out which password to use) were easy once you knew what to look for. I won't talk about the story itself since that's the only thing that really matters in the game and I'd suggest that you go in blind. I recommend this to anyone who likes story driven games and doesn't mind reading a lot (I had to read some conversations twice because I missed the essential part the first time).
#18 A Normal Lost Phone (PC) | 1.5h | March 09 | ★★★½
The game's premise is that you find a phone and go through it to learn something about its owner. You read their texts, emails and look through other apps. I don't think there's a game you can compare it to, games like Orwell or Emily come close but it's still something else imo. The puzzles (mostly finding out which password to use) were easy once you knew what to look for. I won't talk about the story itself since that's the only thing that really matters in the game and I'd suggest that you go in blind. I recommend this to anyone who likes story driven games and doesn't mind reading a lot (I had to read some conversations twice because I missed the essential part the first time).
38. Star Wars: Dark Forces / 9h40 - completed 10.03.18
I had tried to play this several times before but something always happened. Incompatibility, deleted saves, corrupted saves, etc. Finally finished it this time and it was well worth it. One of the best 90's FPS, it's a shame it gets so overlooked, although the save/lives system has probably got something to do with it.
The level design is really good and there's a lot of variety in scope and visuals, considering the limitations of the time, the enemy roster is also varied and the last few levels get very challenging. Some weapons are not very good though: grenades and mines are very hard to use without ending up harming yourself and the rocket launcher is like a wet fart. An explosive wet fart. The blasters are fun though.
A very solid game that initiates my Star Wars trip. Have a few of those that i've never played and i wanna go through some of them this year.
So, I did actually own the DS version of this game, and I started it, got through chapter 1, was intrigued ... And then life happened and I forgot about it. I'm so glad they re-released it because this game is an absolute gem. I've spent a stint in hospital this last week and this game has been my companion, and I fell absolutely in love with it. I'm honestly sad I'm finished now, but at 100% completion... There's no more story for me to discover. But the memories shall remain !
I really liked the game's topic since I dig this kind of Orwellian stuff. The gameplay is quite simple and similar to A Normal Lost Phone. You go through someone's phone and try to find information, though in this case the information you find is used to incriminate the phone's owner. I just think it was a bit too short. I finished the game 6 times (with 5 different endings) in under 2h. I would have preferred a longer game and fewer different endings because once you figure out what to look for you can finish the game in like five minutes. That's why I think Replica doesn't really have a high replay value despite having 12 different endings. But the price is fair and people who enjoy this kind of game will get 1-2 hours out of it.
22. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 4 hours
I've played MW for the 3rd time, and damn, this game aged well, still one of the best CoD campaigns ever. Even though i've played MW Remaster 1.5 years ago when Infinite Crapfare was released, it was interesting to compare original and remastered version, difference is noticeable, but not always in favor of remastered version. If it's not crappy Activision pricing (game never received more than -50% discount), i would recommend it to anyone who love singleplayer FPS games without unnecessary crap, just plain and simple fun.
23. Culpa Innata - 14 hours
Despite dated graphics, this game aged well in therms of story and world building. It reminded me Blade Runner, another forgotten adventure game, that was made by Westwood in 90s, but Culpa Innata more focused on "talking" stuff rather than "point'n'click" stuff, which is great. Gameplay is non-linear and depends on how well player interrogate suspects , wrong choice in dialogue can affect investigation progress greatly. Game is like 80% of well-written, fully voiced dialogues, and 20% of regular point'n'click stuff - and the last part is what holds the game from being perfect. It feels like devs was afraid to go all in for dialogues part and desperately trying to make Culpa Innata more "game-ish", sometimes those pixel hunting puzzles seriously hurts story. There is only few examples of such weird design, but one specific example annoyed me greatly - at some point bartender from Stardust club disappeared without a trace, and i had no idea why this happened. I searched whole club, found nothing and gave up and looked in walkthrough, only to find out that in this moment curtain on club scene should be opened - but it wasn't opened in my case! After reading carefully through whole walkthrough, i figured out that i didn't noticed small list with wax recipe, and that's why curtain didn't opened and i couldn't progress further, which is ridiculous and ruined immersion. All that stuff about butterflies and renovators also felt out of place, and a lot questions related to that part of story left unanswered. But, outside those isolated examples, this game still worth playing it just for story, just force yourself through first hour and it'll hook you in once all that investigation talk starts to happen
Games 14-17:
#14
Drakengard
PS2
Completed: March 02, 2018
Playtime: 25h 44m
This game is part musou (crowd-fighting) action game with some rpg elements, part fire-breathing dragon airborn combat simulator. Controls are rather uncomfortable in either case, and took a long time getting used to. The slow/laggy 3rd person camera in ground missions was especially frustrating. Story takes place in some sort of medieval fantasy world with magic and monsters, the specific details, rules and history of which were only hinted at and never explained enough. Unlocked all the endings except the final one which had stupidly unrealistic requirements - screw that, game, I'll just youtube that shit. All the story paths were pretty grim, some borderline depressing. Which is kind of refreshing - I don't think I have played anything this unapologetically dark and hopeless in a long time (since Cry of Fear, to be exact).
#15
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
PC
Completed: March 03, 2018
Playtime: 7h 08m
Another entry in the series, another new character to play as, with his own load of personal troubles and people to care about and watch out for. I liked it - it's a good story with plenty of shocking/thrilling moments which is what I ultimately like playing Telltale games for. Clementine's portrayal was pretty close to how I played her in the 2nd game, and I was happy with how things turned out in the end for her. What I really didn't like in this game - and other Telltale games, since it seems to be a common theme - is how after a "who-do-you-save" binary choice, the person who survives is soon quickly gotten rid of anyway.
(Ava, in this case.)
This truly felt like a ridiculous and stupid death that only happened because the developers didn't have the budget or time or whatever, to make this decision matter by keeping the character alive.
#16
Persona 4: Golden
Vita
Completed: March 07, 2018
Playtime: 126h 32m (started in 2017)
Amazing game that I won't soon forget. Stylish presentation, lots of gameplay & quality of life improvements compared to P3, a wide cast of charmingly-written characters, cool story, and a great soundtrack. I finished almost all side quests and fused over 90% of all available personas, something I never bothered to do in previous installments. Having manual control over squadmates solved all my gripes about poor tactics AI in P3 and made combat quick, efficient and enjoyable. Being able to pop out of a dungeon at any time using some easy-to-find items to save and then continue from the level where you left off is awesome (no more fear of losing hours of unsaved dungeon crawling progress because of a power surge or a random opponent's Hama/Mudo spells). Reaching the true ending felt like an end of a journey full of fond memories, it's a shame the game hides it a bit too well for its own good so that some people may never see it. The only thing I didn't like was how Kanji and Naoto were written/handled in a weird way and were too often used purely for comic relief.
#17
Sunset Overdrive
XB1
Completed: March 09, 2018
Playtime: 16h 57m
Open-world parkour game with endless horde-mode-style enemy spawns and mission-based light-hearted story that never for a single moment lets you take it seriously. It can be lots of fun if you're in the mood for such a game, which I was. The traversal mechanics are fun to use and gameplay in general is designed to keep you constantly on the move - grinding, bouncing, wall-running or making crazy leaps across buildings. What I didn't like is the empty open world with nothing really interesting to do except main story missions. Most side missions are pretty boring of the "go to that spot on the map and kill/pick up/destroy something; now repeat the same thing in 2-3 other spots on the map." variety, which gets old quickly.
Currently playing:
Steins;Gate (PC)
Divinity: Original Sin (PC)
Drakengard 2 (PS2)
Bayonetta (PC)
Persona 4: Arena (PS3)
Sunset Overdrive DLC (XB1)
This game rocks. I think what's most surprising is that there apparently weren't many updates in the game design from the 1989 original (to the point where it's literally just a paint job over the old game) but it still feels fresh and modern. There's some unintuitive hidden stuff clearly based on old school game design, but Wonder Boy holds up phenomenally for what it is.
#16: Axiom Verge (3-11-2018) | 8/10 | Switch | ~ 15 Hours
# Overall - 8 | Great Metroid style game that has its own ideas and unique abilities. Gameplay - 8.6 | Map is well thought out with good amount of enemies. Loved Trace's abilities. Sound - 8 | Great soundtrack. There were a few noises though that don't sound great blasting through a TV. Story/Online - 7 | Interesting world and characters but story is more to keep the gameplay going. Asking Price- 9 | Big map, tons of hidden collectibles. On of the better Metroidvaina games made.
Game 11. Xenosaga Episode III
Finished up the Xenosaga trilogy. Great cap to the series but the seams are very clear. Much like with Xenogears it just leaves you wanting more. Would love to have Shion's adventures in Old Jerusalem. Witht the third game they really nailed the formula. Would love to see more refinement.
Game 12. After years of trying I finally finished Mother 3. Such a fantastic game, if not a bit overrated. Chapter 7 drug a bit much but overall a really enjoyable experience.
13. Singularity - Xbox 360
Completed 3/10/18
Score - 6/10
Trying to clear out some of my 360 games that might not get the bump to Xbone. This one was alright. It had some good ideas and I really enjoyed a few of the puzzle-esque areas. The whole thing just felt a little half-baked. Interesting plot with boring characters. Some fun mechanics that were totally underutilized, the gunplay was fun at times and other times it was a pain. I figured it would be short but I was surprised when it wrapped up. It's always tough to see fun mechanics added to a game and then you get to barely explore them.
It aged pretty well considering it's a 2002 game (the Community Modpack helps a lot in that regard). Kind of an open-world game but it has a very linear story. The story itself was entertaining and well written, really enjoyed my time with it. The gameplay on the other hand can feel a bit dated, especially the shooting and driving (but it's a 2002 game after all) and the game is quite difficult overall, at least for me. I liked that you have to figure a lot of stuff out on your own, there aren't a lot markers or a journal which tell you what to do next. Also it's worthwhile pay attention to things which are said in the cutscenes since they may point you in the right direction or give you an alternative approach. I had two or three crashes but luckily the game autosaves quite often.
8. Bring You Home (iOS) - ★★★
Cool little puzzle game. It has a fantastic art style, but most of the puzzles rely on trial and error since you can't possibly know how your character is going to interact with certain objects. On the plus side, most of the death animations are really neat, so you don't really mind failing puzzles.
9. Love You to Bits (iOS) - ★★★★
Bring You Home got me interested in finally playing Love You to Bits. It's another puzzle game, where you're tasked with rebuilding some dude's robot girlfriend, but is a bit better Bring You Home. Again, the art style is fantastic. Definitely worth picking up.
10. Ben-Hur - ★
My new go-to for worst game I've ever played. This is some free shitty movie tie-in published by AOL, and developed by some studio that should be completely ashamed of this. Downloaded it because it's free, and a very easy 1000 GS, but it is so not worth it.
11. Wolfenstein 2 - ★★★★
I liked this game a lot. It's the first game I really sunk my teeth into on my new Xbox One X, and it looks absolutely stunning. MachineGames has cranked this bitch up to 11. It's crazy and even more over-the-top than the first game. Plus, ya know, you get to kill some Nazis.
12. Battlefront 2 - ★★★
I'm surprised at the hate this campaign received. It's not going to win any awards for best narrative, but it's a decent little Star Wars story that I enjoyed from start to finish, even if it is a pretty cliché revenge tale. This game looks gorgeous on the XB1X, and DICE should really be commended for their attention to detail when it comes to visuals and sound direction.
13. Destiny 2 - ★★★
This is kind of cheating. I definitely "beat" this game last year on PS4, where I have all three classes at max light. But I rebought this on XB1, leveled up two new Guardians, and put enough time in to have finished several other games. So I'm counting it.
In Progress:
Fable Anniversary
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Bayonetta
Super Mario Odyssey
After hating Battlefield 4 earlier this year I was weary of going back in to another EA Published FPS (completely different devs I know) but Titanfall 2 was as fantastic as I had heard, and then some. Easily one of my favorite FPS shooter campaigns... ever really, and one of those games I jsut cant say anything bad about. Looks amazing, runs like a dream, great gameplay between the aeriel acrobatics of pilot and the mech action of the Titan, great weapons, great shooting feel, actual good writing (and funny too, I love how you constantly had little dialogues with BT during the action), story is alright but the level variety is great, just a super fun game that no first person shooter fan should pass on. I know these games are usually short but man I wish it was a bit longer, I just didnt want it to end, should have been 2016 Doom lenght, that's about the only blemish on the game really. Super recomended.
This has been in my PSN library for years unplayed. Not sure what inspired me to play it now but I did. I really liked the aesthetic to this game so it's too bad the gameplay itself wasn't very enjoyable. The concept itself was great and could've been something special but the execution is very janky/glitchy at times. Towards the end of the game a box I needed to hold down a switch disappeared and I had to repeat 10-15 minutes of progress which was a pretty big annoyance. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things but it put a damper on what already wasn't the greatest experience.
Definitely worth a look still if you're into puzzle games and are aware of the potential glitches/issues.
Did a replay in co-op with a friend (except for Ada which was solo). This one has really turned around for me after absolutely hating it at launch. I'd actually go as far as saying it's my fave of the action trilogy (4-6) of RE games which I know is a bit of a contrarian opinion.
Countering really clicked for me on this playthrough so I really look forward to future mercs runs now that I can consistently pull things off without getting reamed.
Game 11 – Life is Strange (PS3) - ~8 hours – 4.5/5
This was like $2 on PSN the other day and I figured the quick and easy plat (this is a replay) would be worth the price since it would help me earn $10 (for a $8 profit) in PSN balance thanks to Sony Rewards.
I still like this a lot. Episode 5 is a huge disaster on most fronts but I enjoy the rest so much that it isn't enough to tarnish things. It really is too bad they clearly ran out of budget and one of the endings (not to say the other didn't but it's still a night and day difference) got shafted in particular.
Before the Storm has much better music though, I will say.
I only played this to boost towards Sony Rewards credit as mentioned above. This 100% is not for me though so thank god for multitasking. :)
Game 13 – Minecraft: Story Mode S1 – (PS4) - ~12 hours – 1.5/5
The completionist in me screws me again in regards to these Telltale games. I don't play or have a particular interest in Minecraft so I don't know why I bothered with this but it is probably my least favorite Telltale game in a joint tie with the Game of Thrones one.
I have access to S2 and will probably play through it soon just to be done but hoo boy do I wish I wasn't like this.
