52 Games. 1 Year. 2018.

#21 Transformers Devastation 9 - PS4 - April 14th - 25 hours
I sort of low key love this game. I know nothing about transformers but I had a blast playing this, it's not as deep or intense as Bayonetta but its similar and incredibly fun to play. The combat feels great and you move around the battles really fast with a mix of melee weapons, guns and of course your transform. The campaign is very short so you're encouraged to go through with all the characters, which I did..In fact I got the platinum trophy which was a pain in the arse and I don't recommend it. One thing I don't like is the scoring system which is more point based than anything so going for the top rank means just extending the battles as long as possible rather than not getting hit. The loot system is pretty cool too and it feels great when you get a sick weapon but later on they become very rare.

Game #45 - Prey
Time: 22 hours

And the bummer of the year (for now at least) goes to Prey, a game I had high hopes for, probably because of the hype it gets around here (although funny enough, most of the people I talk to lately actually dont like the game), but in the end I am left very torn on. It starts off super strong with a great vibe and setting, terrific enemy in the form of the mimic, fantastic music and just a creepy unsettling quality to it that made me love it for the first one or two hours. Then the combat came and it all fell appart for me. I just simply did not like how the game played at all, it never felt satisfying to me, the gunplay is terrible especially early on (it gets a little better later with more skills but it never feels like a "proper FPS" so to say), you feel super weak and the whole thing just felt like a chore. Which was incredibly frustrating because I was loving everything else. But then on top of the unsatisfying gameplay (in my opinion of course), the game drags (I am totally for long games but this one just felt stretched for no reason), the story is kind of a mess and the enemies are just one black goo guy after black goo guy, except one is fire based and the next is electricity based, the game basically peaks with the very first enemy, the mimic. It's funny I played this soon after Assassin0s Creed Origins, and both games proved that if I like how something plays, ill gladly spend ungodly hours doing everything (as I did with Origins), but if not, no matter how cool everything is, if the gameplay doesnt click, in the end, thats what matters in a videogame. I ended up skipping quite a few sidequests because I jsut wanted the game to end at the 20 hour mark, and thats never what you want to feel is it? Like I said, just a big bummer all around, and im very torn on how I feel on it, mostly leaning towards not liking it overall to be honest. Ill certainly never replay it thats for sure. Shame.


Game #46 - Journey
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

This was every bit as wonderful as people said it was, and it truly feels like a journey, no pun intended. Much like Abzu (or Abzu is much like Journey I guess but I played Abzu first), it's a short (very short in fact) linear game, almost walking-sim like as there are very few puzzles, but to reduce it to that is a disservice since it's more of an experience than anything else. Everything about the game is fantastic, from the gorgeous visuals, amazing music, super tight controls, some of the best co-op implementation I've ever seen (I don't have PS+ so I was surprised when a buddy showed up and for the next three levels we played together it was a fantastic experience... and then he died and I was super bummed out), this is an almost perfect production. The only slight against it is that it's way too short, I wish it had at least a couple more levels / zones (I felt Abzu had the perfect lenght), and the pricing since it's hard to recomend such a short experience, no matter how good it is, for 20€ (again, much like Abzu). It's a complete no brainer on sale tho, and something everyone should experience at least once. Unless you don't have a soul that is :(

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March update - 10/52 games completed

Another slow month, but this time actually spent playing a longer game. Trying to follow a system where I have to beat at least one short game before diving into anything larger, so that I do get some progress in.


9. Last Day of June (PC) - 4:00
Heard some nice things about Last Day of June and decided to give it a try for more of a story experience. The game starts really sweet, with a couple enjoying an afternoon by the lake. First thing that pops out is the beautiful art style, which makes the entire game look like a live painting. Things quickly turn sour, however, as the game throws a devastating event at you. You'll spend the next couple of hours trying to prevent history from repeating itself by controlling a number of different characters and trying to alter their actions, hoping for a better result in the end. The setting takes place in a very small town and everyone is connected to each other in one way or another. The gameplay loop of making an action and seeing how it reacts to everyone was interesting enough to keep me playing, but the game does force you to rewatch the same cutscenes over and over again. Other than that, it was a pleasant experience, with an ending that I did not expect.


10. Tom Clancy's The Division (X1) - 63:51
I've had the urge to get back into The Division for quite some time now and have switched over to the Xbox version in anticipation of the promised X patch. That hasn't arrived in time of me beating the game, but nevertheless, I had a ton of fun running through New York City again. There's no denying a title like this is best played with others, and from early on, I tried to run all the missions with random match-making. Results weren't always the best - in some missions I had a hard time finding anyone else to play with, while most others ended up with an incomplete team. Not that it mattered much, since the story is mainly used as a means to reach the endgame, which is where the real fun begins. Throughout the past two years, the developers have added a bunch of new content and improvements that prevent the game from feeling stale. Earning better gear is quick and easy, and on you will most likely breeze through all the difficulty tiers on the way to the last. At that point you are left with grinding and farming for better equipment, so your enjoyment will definitely depend on how you play. Personally, I loved it.

36. Fe


Nice little Adventure game with light puzzles and light stealth elements. The stealth isn't too troublesome and it's a pretty relaxing game for the most part. I beat it in 4-5 hours without 100%ing the collectibles, although you should aim to get 4-5 gems early on to learn the glide ability which is the only extra ability needed throughout the game.

There isn't dialog spoken in the game, there will be text showing up to explain a few things to help you out but otherwise everything is communicated visually and using the creatures' voices.

The visuals won't appeal to everyone but I was OK with it and I found it kinda funny to see the ye olde 'Fog of war' used here, likely to help the game have a more steady framerate.

37. Indigo Prophecy Remastered


Bit of an interesting Adventure game. the QTE and stealth sections got a bit silly by the endgame, and the plot is OK on the surface. I did however enjoy the absurd Matrix-style action scenes esp. in all their PS2 visual glory.

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30. MLB The Show 18 - PS4 - 4/15: No idea on the hours played. I love baseball so this is the 1 sports game I get every year. Will continue playing, but I consider finishing 1 full year in the majors in Road to the Show as finishing the game. 8/10

31. God of War - PS4 - 4/26 - 40 hours: Really enjoyed the direction they took the franchise as the old formula was getting old. It has 1 of the If not the most hypest moment in video game history and the entire game specifically the ending was so well done. Not many games bring a tear to my eye and this game had several moments like that. 9.5/10

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22. Kirby's Blowout Blast - 3DS
Completed 4/12/18
Score - 7/10

Gold in all levels and beat the Secret Path. I really enjoyed this one. It was simple and easy in the main game but found getting all Gold and beating Secret Path was a challenge. I haven't played a Kirby game in years and this was a quick and fun reintroduction to him. This was my first purchase using coins from Nintendo. They were going to expire and just went for it. Really glad I did.



23. God of War III Remastered - PS4
Completed 4/14/18
Score - 9/10

Still love this game. Wanted to do a replay before God of War and with all of its faults, I still love this game. It's just so epic. I was really impressed with how well this game held up both graphically and the amount of fun I had in it. Maybe it's because I played it back in the day but it felt really short this go round. Can't wait to play the new one Friday.

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#22: The 25th Ward: The Silver Case (4-15-2018) | 9/10 | PS4 | ~ 22 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 9 | Great game and for now ending to Kill The Past series
Gameplay - 8 | Easier to control than Silver Case. Adventure Novel so more reading versus inputs.
Sound - 8 | Takada
Story/Online - 9 | Bread & butter is the story. Kill the Past series story is hard to match in industry.
Asking Price- 9 | Great amount of content, 20 hours of story with side cleanup endings once done.

First game of April. 52 games/1year has led me to try out more games/genres than I would normally have. Kill the Past Series (Silver Case, Flower, Sun & Rain, 25th Ward: Silver Case) is a prime example of this. I loved all three games and rank the series one of the highest of any I have ever played.

38. Flix & Chill


This is a short and simple adventure game, with the main goal of playing through 4 short scenarios where you could help get couples into a stronger relationship.
The visuals are pretty minimalist but I quite enjoyed my time with it.

39. Alien Storm MD/Geneis

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

While waiting for Binary Domain to download on my rig, I decided to clear some of the games I got via the MD Collection on Steam. This was an OK-ish game, and although repetitive it was short, being beatable in like 30 minutes. The alien monster designs are quite good IMO, being inspired by Alien series among a few others. I'd say the arcade ver. would have had better animation overall though.

1. Borderlands 2 -- PS4 -- 19th Jan -- 91h -- ★★★★☆
We picked Zero and Krieg and played through the main game about two and a half times and each of the dlcs through at least once. It's a loot n' shootin' good time. Moment to moment gunplay is a lot of fun (except when the game suddenly out-levels you, you have to fight flying enemies or you do the side-missions). Most story mission areas and arenas (i.e.: places with a lot of stuff to kill) were great while most side-missions were just a lot of walking with some feeble jokes. Concerning the writing, it generally varied from obvious to embarrassing. Tiny Tina shouldn't have made it to production. A pre-adolescent white girl ironically using black vernacular has only ever been funny to pre-adolescent white girls ironically using black vernacular.


2. Kingdom Hearts -- PS4 -- 21st Jan -- 42.5h -- ★★★★☆
A heady combination of Saturday morning CGI, straight to VHS Disney and Japanese anime. Profoundly awkward yet somehow still charming. Behind the incoherent coating is a simple and engaging action rpg. There were some issues with dodgy mechanics and movement but the core combat is pretty solid. I only started to really love it when I finished the story and tackled the end-game content (getting all synthesis items, optional bosses etc).


3. Mother 3 -- GBA -- 21st Jan -- 26h -- ★★★★★
Expands on the surreal humour and nostalgia of Earthbound with an inventive narrative structure, rhythm based combat and a whole lot of feelings. The writing reminds me of the kind of oddball, glib and deceptively heartfelt humour of Kurt Vonnegut. The soundtrack and visuals are also happen to be fantastic. Scenarios are constantly surprising and there are just so many character moments and great gags. This game is really something special.


4. Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice -- NDS -- 3th March -- 20h -- ★★★★★
I'd avoided this after finishing the original AA trilogy last year because of its mixed reputation among fans. However, having played it I honestly feel this is a seamless extension to the previous games. For me, it has all the quirky characters, stone-cold whodunnits and immaculate presentation that I associate with the series. The localisation was so good that I had to check who was responsible. Big surprise that it was Alexander O. Smith of FFT, FFXII and Vagrant Story fame.


5. Ace Attorney: Investigations -- NDS -- 31st March -- 23h -- ★★☆☆☆
What a disappointment. When you play a visual novel it lives or dies on the quality of its writing. AAI is written like a shamefully derivative fan-fiction of the Ace Attorney franchise. Anime tropes, side-face character portraits and words words words. Absolutely tone-deaf to boot. I struggled through this one on the promise that AAI2 was the ultimate AA experience only to find AAI2 full of the same obnoxious and lazy writing as the first. Apparently a guy called Takeshi Yamazaki took over writing and directing with the Investigations games and continues to head up the series to date. I don't think I'll bother with the 3DS games after playing these two. I'll give it two stars for having some beautiful sprites.


6. Borderlands: The Pre Sequel -- PS4 -- 7th April -- 27h -- ★★★★☆
More lootin' n' shootin'. Only this time in space. We played Fragtrap and Wilhelm and had a pretty good time. Compared to BL2: better classes, shorter class ability cooldowns, worse level design, even worse writing. Regarding the level design: with the lower gravity and double jump, BL:TPS focuses a lot on verticality. Unfortunately, this being an fps (and one we were playing on split screen), we basically couldn't see where we were supposed to be going or where the extremely mobile enemies were constantly floating off to. I appreciate them trying to shake up the mechanics but I wasn't a big fan of this change. The Claptastic Voyage and Holodome dlc's were a good high to finish the series on.


7. Bayonetta 2 -- Switch -- 12th April -- 63h -- ★★★★★
Stylish, challenging and FUN. I took the time to get all Umbran tears of blood. Rodin was particularly fierce but eventually succumbed to a combination of cheese tactics and muscle memory. This is another one of those games that feels like a technological marvel in handheld mode.


8. Doki Doki Literature Club -- PC -- 13th April -- 3.5h -- ★★★☆☆
An experience. I don't know how to critique this effectively without spoilers but I'll try. The foreshadowing using poetry was great. The groundwork put in allowed the first major bombshell to be intense. After that it felt a little weak for me though. More like comedy than horror. The ending was was very atmospheric though.


9. Megaman Legends -- PSX -- 16th April -- 9h -- ★★★★☆
Exploring ruins, upgrading your junk, customising your buster. Lovely low-poly look and a silly little plot. Why can't there be more short adventure games like this?


10. Megaman Legends 2 -- PSX -- 3rd May -- 13h -- ★★★☆☆
While more ambitious in terms of scope and variety, I found Legends 2 to be less enjoyable than its predecessor. Some parts were frustratingly difficult (Birdbots on Nino Island), others parts were just dull. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to have an entire underwater dungeon with slow-motion movement. Honestly, I feel like Capcom rushed this one out. Lots of little things like the transitions between rooms are slightly jarring and damage the experience. Oh well, the visuals, characters and cutscenes are still charming Saturday Morning cartoon fun.


11. Resident Evil 5 -- PS4 -- 19th May -- 12h -- ★★★☆☆
Played this in splitscreen coop mode and it was a rollercoaster. Throughout each level they throw many different scenarios at you that force you to communicate and coordinate. There's great enemy variety and a lot of incentive to upgrade your kit. Really good fun. Well, until you get to a boss fight. My word are these are some of the worst boss fights I've ever seen. This is truly a malignant side-effect of Capcom's obsession with western games back then. I'd give this game a 5 stars for the regular campaign and 1 star for those truly awful bosses. Oh, actually fuck that rotating elevator section too. Would replay though.


12. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 -- NDS -- 21st May -- 15h -- ★★★★☆
Strong Raymond Chandler vibes in this one: surly yet likeable protagonist, criminals large and small and a real humdinger of a mystery tying everything together. Despite this, it doesn't come across as derivative. It has solid character writing with plenty of hilarious dialogue and tense exchanges. Louis is best barkeep. The animated hand-drawn graphite pencil art-style ties in well with the importance of the protagonist's notebook. The music is a perfect fit for the genre. This game has atmosphere in spades. Pity about all the tiresome point-and-click baggage. Hotel Dusk has it's share of obtuse puzzles and frantic backtracking until you trigger a cutscene.


13. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 -- Switch -- 15th June -- 121h -- ★★★★☆
It feels like a long time since a videogame last took me on an adventure like this. I was hooked from the opening few minutes and was never really disappointed. The characters are great, the locations are incredible, the music is often deeply affecting. The plot was admittedly slapdash with some inconsistent antagonist motivations, but the emotional plot points all felt coherent and hit home every time. I loved Rex for a protagonist, he's a good northern lad. Nia and him have a great dynamic too. Honestly, I really grew to like all of the party characters. Yes, even Tora.

The combat system starts painfully slow but becomes engaging for a while before becoming utterly broken near the end. Gameplay-wise, this game suffers from the usual Monolith Soft flaw of having too many damn systems and a ui that's too shitty to keep a handle on it all. Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles 1 though, the progression systems didn't neatly tie in to each other which was slightly disappointing. Other irritations include an overly complicated combat system and dull-ass side quests.

All things considered, by the time I defeated the final boss and watched the credits I knew I wanted to spend longer in that world. I played about 15 more hours of blade pachinko and filler side quests (hello, Dahlia's blade quest) which left a slightly sour taste in my mouth. So, ultimately I don't feel like this is a 5 star game for the ages for me (like XC1). For what it's worth though, I fucking loved this game. Even if the character designs are hilariously inconsistent with the characterisation.


14. Chrono Trigger -- NDS -- 17th July -- 22.5h -- ★★★★★
A replay for me. Chrono Trigger is a marvel of the medium. It kicks off with a pretty chill boy-meets-girl setup at a fair until a science-project gone bad hurtles the protagonists into a roughly 20 hour adventure that just doesn't let up the momentum. These geniuses at Squaresoft solved the goddamn jrpg problem over two decades ago and it boggle the mind that people still regress to pre-Chrono Trigger rpg design. No random encounters, positional based attacks, multi-character combos. This stuff should be standard for all turn-based rpg's released after the year 1995.


15. Hollow Knight -- Switch -- 13th August -- 45h -- ★★★★★
One 107% run and one (failed) attempt at a 5 hour speedrun. The cutest horror game I've played. The setting is engrossing. I've had a few people end up watching me play Hollow Knight for ages who've commented on how good it is to spectate and how relaxing the music is. Hollow Knight wears its influences plainly. It takes From Software's 3-dimensional reimagining of the Meteroidvania and returns it to 2D, bringing a level of mechanical precision that the sub-genre never had before. I'm going to enjoy replaying this one for a long time.


16. God of War (2018) -- PS4 -- 29th July -- 40h -- ★★★★☆
Visually impressive with brutally carthartic combat. The writing was a mixed bag though. GoW has tropey characters and dialogue that would have felt more at home in a cable medical drama than a mythological epic. The relationship between Kratos and Atreus was really interesting to watch develop, however, in my opinion.

I played on the "Give me a challenge" difficulty and it was certainly challenging. Perhaps unfairly so at the start where the options are limited and the combat too slow, particularly with groups of enemies. Generally, the flow of the combat is extremely enjoyable; chaining together axe throws and runic attacks feels great. For me, the valkyrie fights where were the combat really shined. These were tightly focused and challenging encounters that gave a lot of opportunities for creating openings. However, I think the cracks in the combat design start to show during Muspelheim's impossible trails and Niflheim where failure becomes a regular and unavoidable occurrence. To the point where I doubt a no-death run to ever going be possible. This probably seems like a weird complaint but my point is that a well designed action game should have the potential to be mastered. I found Dark Elf Commanders and Revenants straight-up un-fun to fight, to the point where I have to wonder why the developers left them in as-is.

I'm of two minds about the more open map structure, the rpg elements and the equipment system. From one perspective, I have to recognise that I've never played an action rpg with such refined combat. On the other hand, I found equipment looting, crafting and upgrading to be poorly handled and tedious outside of the visual customisation. I felt buried in trash items and punished every time I spent resources when equipment is so quickly replaced. Regarding the rpg elements, I wasn't a fan of the tedious fetch quests, but I never am. Regarding the open map design, I feel that the backtracking for upgrades thing was borrowed from metroidvanias without really understanding why. It kind of works in those games because they're labyrinthine or grindy. Whereas in GoW it just felt like pointless gating, only without the inherently enjoyable movement mechanics while backtracking or map design that naturally has you returning to previously explored areas.

Despite all the complaints, GoW still took me on a fantastical journey with some glorious eye-candy and gave me some chunky visceral bloodshed to indulge myself in and for that I'm grateful. I only wish the experience had been more focused and less eager to please. In my opinion, if it had cut the rpg fluff and had had the courage to fully embrace its setting and it could have been the 10/10 that people had been talking about.


17. Super Metroid -- SNES -- 17th Aug -- 12h -- ★★★★★
Revisiting after a good number of years and it's still a classic. It has some of the atmosphere of Ridley Scott's Alien, particularly at the start. I love the way critters scuttle away from your footsteps as you explore the hostile planet surface and the depths beneath. There are some imperfections, however. At times, the way to progress is frustratingly obtuse and the controls could have been tighter. Regardless, it was a nice return to a simpler time of game design.


18. Celeste -- Switch -- 29th Apr -- 30h -- ★★★★★
I somehow forgot to review this when I played it back in April. Celeste is an absolute triumph. It has perfect controls, great music (that's also adaptive), a relevant and affecting story, some excellent platformer bosses and a boat-load of diverse and well-designed content. It's like a puzzle platformer but unlike other precision platformers that I've played, it's an oddly zen experience.


19. Ni No Kuni 2 -- PS4 -- 1st Sept -- 75h -- ★★☆☆☆
We played this cooperatively, sharing a controller. The brilliant opening gave a promising first impression. However, after a few hours the optimism quickly began to bleed out. The voice acting disappeared, the sense of progress got lost in endless filler side content and the gameplay systems just lacked any sort of fun.

We'd heard that the lack of difficulty was one of the main issues so we played on the newly added hard mode. I'm certain this only exacerbated the game's problems. The combat system is a mess of randomly spaced enemy attack animations with zero wind-up, lack of hitstun and lack of dodge cancelling. This is like an action game created by people who have never played an action game in their life.

The side quests are the usual kind of brain-dead jrpg fluff - mmo-style fetch quests bookmarked by overlong insipid dialogue. Pure filler. Regarding filler, it was strange to see mobile game style timers in the city building mode. There was a half-baked strategy game also.

Sometimes a bit of jrpg nonsense is what you want though. We enjoyed recruiting all of the citizens and ended up finishing all the Dreamer Mazes. Some of Joe Hisashi's music is great. Although, it's the kind of soundtrack that wasn't intended to be played on repeat for 75 hours.


20. Rayman Origins -- PC -- 2nd Sept -- 12h -- ★★★★★
The greatest co-op platformer, in my opinion. The controls tread a fine line between fluid and slippery, which makes for manic moment-to-moment gameplay. Add to this some incredible animation and artwork and playing Origins becomes a kind of slapstick farce where players squash, slide and glide around; all the while slapping each other silly in endless consequence-free grudge matches. The music is also particularly good. As a package, it has so much personality.


21. Kingdom Hearts 2 -- PS4 -- 23rd Sept -- 60h -- ★★★★★
This is the biggest 180 I've ever done on a game. I started this on critical mode in January shortly after finishing KH1 and was immediately frustrated by a couple of things. Firstly, the lack of a dodge roll and, secondly, the fact that the button-mashing tactics that had served me well in the first game were getting me killed, constantly.

I was disappointed because I'd read so much praise for the arpg combat. I got to the first Demyx fight (the water clones guy) and decided it wasn't getting any less frustrating. I'd started to wonder if this was one of those nostalgia things so I put it down for a while.

About 6 months later I gave it another go after watching a bunch of combat guides and reading up on tips, skills etc. Turns out I needed to level my drive forms to get evasive abilities, I needed to abuse reflect and magnet magic and I needed to learn about revenge values. This completely transformed the game into something that made sense. Bosses had attacks that could be evaded in like half a dozen different ways and could not be wailed upon without consequence.

There's a strange charm to the shameless lack of self-awareness of KH2. Although I was slightly bored by the Disney worlds, finding them somewhat lacking in respect for the source material. Like KH1, I found most enjoyment in the endgame content. KH2 was incredible in this regard, with the data battles basically turning the game into a boss fest with a tacked on rpg. Honestly, I struggle to think of another series that has this many unique and well-designed boss encounters. It was like discovering Ys again. Needless to say, I'm am fully psyched for KH3. I'm sorry to everyone that I doubted.


22. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep -- PS4 -- 4th Oct -- 60h -- ★★★☆☆
Coming off of KH2, I found Birth By Sleep quite stiff and bare-bones in comparison. I thought the premise of seeing the story told from 3 different perspectives was neat although the story itself was, predictably, a bunch of nonsense. It seems like it would have been a really impressive portable title. But as it stands, it's an enjoyable game.


23. Fallout -- PC -- 12th Oct -- 16h -- ★★★★☆
Fallout 1 still stands up. This was a first time playthrough for me and, despite some rough-edges, it still tells a unique story and oozes with atmosphere as it does so. I was annoyed that I had had to use a guide to find the water chip because I'd allowed the super mutants to kill the ghouls in Necropolis. It also has some fiddly controls. Overall, some essential wrpg stuff.


24. Mega Man Zero -- GBA -- 14th Oct -- 5h -- ★★★☆☆
The best part of Mega Man games is the inevitable boss-rush in the last level where you discover that your countless failed attempts on the individual bosses have forged you into an unstoppable machine that can overcome what would have once seemed impossible without losing a single life. Mega Man Zero had some tacked on rpg mechanics, a lazy attempt at an open overworld and a lot of re-used environments. The gameplay was solid though, so I had fun.


25. Final Fantasy IX -- PSVITA -- 26th Oct -- 53h -- ★★★★★
For me, this is the peak of the Final Fantasy series. The first few acts of the game that see you hurled around the Mist Continent, desperately trying to thwart Queen Brahma's ambitions are so, so good. Every field area has it's own gameplay gimmick, is framed by dialogue and given closure with a boss. Most towns see the party split off to enact parallel vignettes providing opportunities for characterisation and humour.

After leaving the Mist Continent the game starts to slow down, space out and involve more backtracking, however. And although there are occasional returns to form throughout, it never shows the same density of quality. The last boss is still completely left-field although is actually a pretty fun and challenging fight. Maybe not Uematsu's best work but there are some absolute classics regardless.


26. Snatcher -- Sega CD -- 6th Nov -- 9h -- ★★★☆☆
Very stylish but the writing was a bit pervy and derivative. Despite some weak writing, however, the central mystery was solid and the characters were entertaining. I did not appreciate having to trigger the same dialogue options multiple times to advance the plot. This became ludicrously arbitrary at times, at which point a guide was mandatory. It was a fun ride though. Nothing beats the moments when Metal Gear informs you that there's something moving on his motion sensor and the music kicks in.


27. Panzer Dragoon Saga -- Sega Saturn -- 14th Nov -- 11h -- ★★★☆☆
Very unusual. Unique visual design and unique aerial combat. The plot felt like a classic 80's anime. The boss fights and cutscenes were neat. I found the level design and regular encounters somewhat uninspired though. It was okay but I wouldn't call it a must-play.

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24. The Legend of Zelda - NES
Completed 4/16/18
Score - 8/10

Never beat this as a kid but always wanted to. I think I usually stopped around the 8th dungeon. I remembered quite a bit but there were some really tricky points that I had no clue where to go. Some of these enemies are a real pain in the ass too. Gannon was a total pushover but his dungeon took me probably 2 hours due to how confusing it is. I guess I could have looked up a map but I wanted to try and do it without. Not sure if I would recommend playing without maps... Overall I still had a blast and plan to play through all of the Zelda games (outside of CD-I) but going to take my time.

April has been a slow gaming month for me so far (2-3 busy weeks IRL) but I at least I was able to finish two games over the last couple of days.

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#30 A Raven Monologue (PC) | 0.1h | April 16 | ★★½


More like an interactive novel and it's super short but at least it's free. I liked the art style and the music but didn't really get the story (it's told without words). When I read up on it it started to kinda make sense (at least the interpretation I've read).


#31 SOMA (PC) | 7.1h | April 18 | ★★★★


What a great game. Superb atmosphere and sound design and a good story which had me hooked until the end. And there's so much to explore which tells you even more about the place you're in right now. I didn't mind the horror elements too much even though I'm usually not someone who overly enjoys horror games/movies (played it in safe mode). There aren't any jump scares or anything but it rather has a haunting atmosphere which makes you feel tense all the time. As I already mentioned there's quite a lot to explore and sometimes it can even feel a bit like a walking simulator. The puzzles are overall well done but not too difficult.

28. Tales of Vesperia - 18/04/2018



I went to a lot of effort to get the PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia, and I'm really glad it was worth it in the end.

I played for 70 hours and there was rarely a time where I was bored or compelled to stop playing, which JRPGs usually struggle with. The game is fat with meaningful content, the graphics have barely aged a day, and the soundtrack is really good for a series that's struggled with having good music for a long time. Best of all is the raw, easy to grasp combat system that gradually unveils new interesting and fun mechanics that naturally flow into combat (unlike Berseria and Zestiria throwing micromanagement and tutorials at you 20 hours in). It's by far the best Tales game and now one of my favourite games period.

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25. Superhot (XB1)
Completed: 4/4/18
Time: 3 hours?
Rating: 8/10

Heard a lot of good things about this game but never bought it. Was pleased to see it make a GwG and gave it a whirl. Really interesting game and a bit of a chilling story to it. Would highly recommend.

26. Horizon Zero Dawn + Frozen Wilds (PS4)
Completed: 4/17/18
Time: 60 hours
Rating: 9/10

Great game. I wasn't a huge fan at first but as I kept playing I really got drawn into the combat and the story. To put in perspective how much I loved this game, I made the effort to get a platinum trophy for it. As a reference, outside of a TellTale game, the only other game I have a platinum for is Bloodborne. The Frozen Wilds DLC is pretty damn great as well.

27. Oxenfree (XB1)
Completed: 4/18/18
Time: 3-4 hours?
Rating: 7/10

This type of adventure game usually isn't y cup of tea, but after putting in a lot of hours (for me for one game) in HZD it was a great palette cleanser. The story is fairly interesting which is vital in a game such as this.

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34. Men of Valor - 9 hours
Surprisingly hardcore FPS, especially comparing with modern games of this genre, on normal difficulty protagonist is weak and dying after few shots, and game saving your progress only on level load - and levels can be big and filled with thousands of traps and enemies, forcing you to be as careful as possible. I don't like hard games much, but in case of Men of Valor it works and creating unique for genre atmosphere where you not feeling like superhero and desperately trying to survive in extremely hostile environment. This game shows like no other that Vietnam war was hell, i was never really interested in this topic, but Men of Valor stimulated my interest for this part of history, too bad wikipedia page on my languages are crap and not very informative. This game is not for everyone, but if you don't mind challenge and lots of sudden, sometimes unfair deaths, then it's worth giving it a try for amazing atmosphere.

21/52 games finished

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Game 18 - Silent Hill 2 (PS2) - 3 hours, 23 minutes - 5/5

More SH series replaying. Still probably one of my top 3 favorite games of all time. An absolute classic.

Game 19 - Yakuza 0 (PS4) - 29 hours, 44 minutes - 4.5/5

Replayed this so I can finally play Kiwami (i've had it since launch) before wrapping through the rest of the series. Did an amended/mostly main story playthrough to save time. Kiryu is still the love of my life.

Game 20 - Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2) - 4 hours, 41 minutes - 3.5/5

This one has really grown on me over the years. I used to not care for it at all but I've really come around overall. This does a lot of interesting things aesthetically and atmospherically, especially in context of the series.

Some gameplay elements are really rough (some combat stuff, the inventory, and such) but this is definitely a sum of its parts thing for me.

Game 21 - Soma (PC) - 9 hours, 42 minutes - 4.5/5

Finally a Frictional Games release I can get fully behind! My typical issues are here (the enemy design and AI in particular) but I was really won over by the plot and world building. Everything felt really ambitious.

Also gotta give credit to the scare factor. I have a severe fear of open water/sea creatures so parts of this game (especially a bit in the last third) made me feel like I lost 20 years off of my life. I don't know if I've ever been more scared playing a game. Fun times.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Slow month. Played a bit of a couple of longer games but have decided to put those back into the backlog. This year will be all about beating as many backlog games as I can manage, while next year will be all about longer games. That probably means I won't even get to 52 beaten games next year!



Game #69: Bioshock (Remastered)
Started 25 Mar. 2018 - Completed 13 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Fantastic game, horrible version.




Game #70: Owlboy
Started 14 Apr. 2018 - Completed 15 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Cute but uninteresting and annoying.




Game #71: The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles
Started 14 Apr. 2018 - Completed 16 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Just as good as the first game, for the same reasons.




Game #72: Pinstripe
Started 16 Apr. 2018 - Completed 16 Apr. 2018
Verdict: It didn't click with me, but it's not bad in any way.




Game #73: Qora
Started 16 Apr. 2018 - Completed 16 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Mesmerizing.




Game #74: Half-Life 2 (Update Mod)
Started 17 Apr. 2018 - Beaten 18 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Still one of the best games in the genre.




Game #75: Half-Life 2: Episode One
Started 18 Apr. 2018 - Beaten 19 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Weakest of the Half-Life 2 parts.




Game #76: Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Started 19 Apr. 2018 - Beaten 19 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Just as good as the main game.


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Master Post!

Games 21-30 coming in!

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21: Dragon Quest 1

Simple and charming. And much shorter than my memory had indicated.

22: Super Mario World

It holds up really well. Yoshi is a great power-up and really changed the dynamic in many ways.

23: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

One of the best 2D platformers ever made.

24: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

One of the best video games ever made.

25: Super Castlevania IV

Old school whip action.

26: Star Fox

Revolutionary for its time. Holds up decently well. Need to do a replay of Star Fox 64 later to compare.

27: Mega Man X1

One of the best Mega Man games.

28: Breath of Fire II

That translation is really something else. But buried beneath that awful translation is a real gem.

29: Lufia & The Fortress of Doom

Old school JRPG fun. Some elements definitely belong in the past.

30: Dragon Quest II

Speaking of old school JRPG fun. But it's a little more cumbersome than the first game because of certain design choices.

I can't believe I'm already at 30 games...

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35. Rise of the Tomb Raider - Cold Darkness Awakened DLC - 3 hours
Eh, really shitty DLC with incredibly frustrating gameplay. New enemies feels out of place (zombies in Tomb Raider, really?) and they keep endlessly respawning, probably to distract and keep player annoyed every 5 minute. Map is small and boring, puzzles serve no real purpose and story is non-existent. Seriously, what's the point of all this, only to fill season pass? If that so, then as much as i love main game, but season pass are simply not worth it, maybe Blood Ties can be considered as okay DLC, but everything else is just bloated garbage.

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#32 D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (PC) | 8.0h | April 20 | ★★★½


D4 is a very unique adventure game which was a lot of fun to play. Super bizarre characters and story that make the game really entertaining throughout. The story itself sounds boring at first, you're playing an ex-cop who investigates his wife's death, but it is presented in a very unique way. The gameplay is light, even less than in a Telltale game I'd say. The controls can be a bit inaccurate from time to time though. However, my main complaint with the game is that it ends on a cliffhanger to which we'll probably never see the conclusion. But I knew that before I started to play the game.

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36. Luxor 3 - 7 hours
Great casual game, basically Zuma clone in Ancient Egypt decorations, but i love this game more than original Zuma. Everything in it made really well, from level design to sounds and music, devs have all the rights to have "Premium Casual Games" slogan. It's good to see so good casual game from 2007 after playing bunch of shitty HOGs from the same year, really shows that it's not the age problem, it's all depends on how much effort devs are willing to put in their games. Luxor 3 still plays great even 10 years after release, i enjoyed it a lot.

40. Binary Domain


Decent enough TPS, though it feels more like a bog standard Cover shooter but you blow up robots as enemies. I liked the characters and plot and could see potential in a sequel if it ever gets made.

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17) Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Steam, 68 hours)
i wish this game had a higher budget. Especially the lack of VA in many scenes hurts this game a lot. Still, I enjoyed it, although maybe not as much as the first game.


18) Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ (Steam, 9 hours and 30 minutes)
Another Pixel Puzzles game, pretty much the same as all the other ones, except this one has a boring, but thankfully optional, minigame attached to it.


Currently playing:
Yakuza 6
Detective Pikachu

#23 Life Is Strange - 7 PS4 - April 23rd - 12 hours
I liked this game overall but.. the game hooks me in with good and interesting characters, a great soundtrack and world that is fun to look around and interact with but lets me go with a rushed final episode that fails to deliver a good ending and take into account the choices you made throughout the game. It went a little Mass Effect 3. Also that lip syncing is just terrible.

Aiming to put some serious work into clearing up my backlog a bit over the course of this year, so here goes.
So many classics I've never as much as touched, sitting in their boxes waiting to be played.

Reality was interfering a lot with my gaming in the first quarter of the year, so I've only got back into the groove in April.

Oh, and a public pledge to keep me motivated: whether or not I complete the challenge, I promise to complete at least 10 games in Japanese until the beginning of 2019. I could really use this practice.

The format I'm going to use for reviews:


#1: Bayonetta (04/07)
Nintendo Switch – 12 hours – English
Verdict: 4.5 / 5

Glad I finally got around to playing this masterpiece with the 1+2 bundle for the Switch. Loved the stylish nonsense of the story and characters. Vigrid hit all the right notes for me in terms of the atmosphere. Not really a part of the 'git gud' crowd, so I buttonmashed my way through the story on normal and called it quits without ever learning the combos, not really interested in replaying it for the challenge either. Despite some complaints I've seen in the past, this difficulty is very appropriate for someone of fairly average skill like myself, as long as you take care to dodge.

#2 Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (04/15)
PS4 – 19 hours – English
Verdict: 3 / 5

I have a very special relationship with the Kingdom Hearts series. Playing KH2 is probably what got me into gaming. I've played the first game (after loving 2) during my teenage years before, but never managed to complete it – apparently younger me did not possess neither the sheer skill to get through the gauntlet of final bosses while underleveled, nor the brains or patience to go back and grind some more. This time around I came prepared and finally saw the ending without much struggle.

It's still as endearing as ever, but doesn't really hold up all that well in the gameplay department. The levels are confusing and require tons of running around blindly to advance through, and the combat ranges from mediocre to downright frustrating (flying enemies and bosses are the worst).

#3 Furi (replay) + DLC "One more fight" (04/23)
PS4 – 3.5 hours – English

Furi was my GOTY in 2016, but I never got around to playing through the DLC before, so I decided to go through the story once more before trying to beat the new bosses to brush up on the combat. It is still great both in terms of gameplay and the atmosphere, and I loved the new boss on Furi difficulty. The other (Furier) fight that unlocks once you beat him proved to be too hard for me, although I might come back to beat it at some point.

Now playing:


King's Bounty: The Legend (PC, RU)
Aiyoku no Eustia (PC, JP)
Dies Irae ~Amantes Amentes~ (PC, EN)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC Evolution (PS Vita, JP)
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (PS Vita, EN)
Dirt 4 (PS4, EN)
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory (PS4, JP)
VS. SUPER MARIO BROS (Switch, EN)
Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm (Switch, JP)
Pokemon Yellow (3DS, EN)

I'll try not to start any new games before I cut this list down to at least 5, but we'll see how it goes.

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37. Season Match - 2 hours
Very basic match-3 game with balance issues on some specific stages, not terrible but not good either. Good thing it's possible to finish it in one go while waiting for trading cards drop, there is also last achievement for arcade mode completion but i just can't play this game for another 2-3 hours, gameplay lack of depth and overall this game is meh, even for casual genre.

[Continued From]

14. God of War: Ascension | PS3 (7.5/10) - 4.19.18

Finished just in the nick of time, I managed to complete every God of War game prior to the newest installment this year. I had heard middling things about this entry so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it's honestly a very solid God of War entry. I think franchise fatigue had blinded people to some of the merits of the game. Changes to combat were enough to make the game feel refreshing, the puzzles were the best among the spinoffs, and the sense of scale was on par with God of War II. I understand the complaints about the story, however, and it does feel like an unnecessary entry in the grand scheme of things. Ascension felt like it was attempting to modernize the series without making serious concessions to elements of the game that hadn't aged well. Uncharted-esque climbing sequences were a welcome addition, however, as they made the world feel less like arenas sandwiched between puzzles and cutscenes.

15. God of War (2018) | PS4 (9.5/10) - 4.22.18

Just when I thought I was done with God of War, they pull me right back in...

With far and away the best entry in the franchise by a country mile and a shoe-in for my Game of the Year. Even setting my expectations low after the strong impression Monster Hunter: World left on me, the hype lived up to expectations and surpassed them. What's most impressive about this title is that it reimagines the franchise without abandoning what makes God of War so unique or betraying the (sometimes ugly) past. God of War (2018) is all about grappling with a haunting specter of the past that threatens ruin at almost every turn, which feels like a meta take on the series itself. It does all this while having a superb story about responsibility, parenting, and the cycle of violence and revenge that the prior trilogy indulged in to the point of excess. Complaints that it doesn't feel like God of War are totally unfounded, keeping the brutality of prior entries but tempering it with purpose. Other than a few minor plot contrivances, my only complaint about the game is that it teased so much but denied the player the chance to see everything they wanted. That may be a wise choice when considering the potential for God of War to tackle a whole new mythology, but I can't help but feel like Sony Santa Monica was holding out on me a bit. Part of me hopes that an expansion ala Frozen Wilds will give me a taste of what I'm looking for, but I suspect that the responsibility will fall on the shoulders of its sequel. If this title is anything to go by I think it will.

16. Beyond: Two Souls | PS4 (7.0/10) - 5.23.18

After a particularly slow month in gaming for me, I finally finished Beyond: Two Souls. I played the game with my girlfriend, her as Jodie and myself as Aiden; though it was fun to have both of us engaged, the actual gameplay was unevenly balanced and the game failed to communicate what each role would entail. My girlfriend isn't a huge gamer so button prompts and quicktime-events often tripped her up, while I was stuck with a relatively easy job using a button and two analog sticks at any given time. Despite the name, co-op felt like an afterthought.

The game itself, however, was far better than I expected. Given other peoples' apprehension I expected a convoluted, nonsensical mess. I thought that skipping around memories was a powerful tool for understanding certain characters, though, and would recommend others play it the way it was intended rather than the linear path offered. Though the gameplay was sometimes awkward and even downright unnecessary at times-- standing up from a chair shouldn't be a button prompt unless there's a choice not to-- ultimately I thought it was at or above its peers in the genre. The writing was good and even had moments of greatness, but was bogged down by an over-reliance on tropes without meaningful subversion. This is especially true in regards to the Navajo chapter, which was at best racially insensitive and exploitative even though it tries to portray the Navajo people themselves in a positive light. Scenes like this make me feel wary of David Cage's ability to write about heavy themes with the appropriate amount of respect and understanding they require. Beyond: Two Souls plays best when it explores its own concepts and themes, taking itself so seriously that I can't help but find the experience endearing.

17. Mad Max | PS4 (5.0/10) - 5.25.18

While I'd hesitate to call Mad Max a bad game, it struggles to be anything more than completely average in almost every respect. There are moments where the appeal stands out, when you're cruising through the desert at a hundred miles per hour, jumping off ramps and crashing into enemy cars. But there are also moments when the game feels like an utter slog, a pointless open world where almost no meaningful content exists. The main story is almost laughably bad, only a couple characters getting enough development to make me care even the slightest bit about them. Technical issues, such as audio and video getting out of sync during important cutscenes, mar the experience further. And the final boss? Just as tedious and poorly thought-out as everyone claims.

18. Pyre | PC (8.5/10) - 5.28.18

Against all expectations, this might be my favorite of Supergiant's games. That's high praise considering their reputation; Bastion and Transistor are two of the greatest indies I've ever played, and Pyre surpassed them in some respects. While it lacked the sheer impact of a few select scenes in its predecessors, the overall experience was entirely unique in gaming. It was linear, yet branching, and I earnestly felt like my decisions had weight and impact even though the number of endings you can achieve are relatively few. The characters feel real and alive. Its heroes and villains alike are complex and carry heavy burdens. Even though I had spent far more time with some characters than others, the feelings I carried for my companions were real and tangible.

The gameplay was what surprised me most. I hadn't expected sacrificial basketball to be so endearing or so nuanced, but by the end I felt like I had achieved some mastery over its systems. While in some respects I felt that I was 'cheating' the game by choosing some characters or items, I soon realized that the enemy too was entirely willing to play unfair. This tendency towards chaos and rule-breaking felt appropriate in the context of the game's themes, which emphasized the oppression of rigid and self-serving laws that only seek to keep those in power stay in power. The freedom to play the game how I wanted, to choose who to send off and who to keep exiled, perfectly encapsulated the core of the game.

19. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus | PS4 (7.5/10) - 6.22.18

Like the first game, Wolfenstein II is incredibly charming in its unapologetic hatred of Nazi bullshittery. Its characters ooze charm and the gameplay is better than ever before. It's a shame, then, that a few frustrating moments and an anticlimactic ending keep it from greatness. I read somewhere that the game feels like it was built for PC players, a sentiment I grew to share the more I played. From grenades that have little audio-visual feedback before being blown to smithereens to enemies that surround you at every corner while you slowly turn your camera, it felt like the game was punishing me for using a controller. I would feel successful and powerful one moment and be torn to shreds by an enemy I hadn't even seen the next, a situation made worse by BJ's cripplingly low health. I ultimately enjoyed the game quite a bit, but I'd recommend ignoring the tongue-in-cheek difficulty settings and turn it down to the most comfortable setting.

20. Bloodborne (100%) | PS4 (9.0/10) - 7.10.18

Since I've been in a slump for a few months now and my game completion has slowed to a crawl, I decided to play something comfortable, a classic. Bloodborne was sitting on my shelf, only one trophy away from the platinum. I had already done most of the hard work on my last playthrough, taking on the defiled chalices and defeating the secret boss inside, but the final ending eluded me. So I decided to wrap that up with a neat little bow. The game holds up great even if I think fans ignore some really frustrating design decisions, and makes me all the more excited for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

21. Super Mario Odyssey | NSW (8.5/10) - 7.13.18

What better game to start my journey into the Nintendo Switch's library than Super Mario Odyssey?

In many ways, the game feels like an experience tailored specifically for the system. From the motion controls for the joy-con to a wide range of HD rumble mechanics and a style that works perfectly in both docked and undocked forms, Odyssey sets out to explain why anyone and everyone can love and enjoy the console it's housed on. And for the most part, it works. The game is a packaged experience of Nintendo's philosophy, an entertaining experience that doesn't overstay its welcome but provides plenty of challenge and opportunity to keep on playing past the point of completion. The game is polished like a diamond, consistent in quality throughout the kingdoms. The few problems I had with it seem minor and nitpicky, and it accomplishes everything it sets out to do. A must-have for the system.

22. Kirby Star Allies | NSW (7.0/10) - 7.21.18

Everything about this game is, in a word, adorable.

There's something endearing about a game so unashamed of its own nature. Kirby Star Allies is all about making friends in unlikely places, hugging your partners to earn their power, and kisses. Reviews are correct to suggest the game is easy and at times I felt like they could have bumped up the challenge some. But I appreciate that in a renaissance of difficulty in gaming that we get games like this. Lazy days playing a relaxing game on the couch with a partner are underrated.

23. Sonic Mania Plus | PS4 (7.5/10) - 7.25.18

It can be hard to judge a game like Sonic Mania without the context of prior games. I've never really picked up a Sonic title before this one, but I'd heard such good things about it that I thought it might be a good place to start. So when I picked up on some of its flaws or things that simply grated on my nerves, I couldn't help but feel like I was coming from a different place than longtime fans, the people this game was made for.

Nonetheless, I can say with confidence that Sonic Mania is a solid game. It has plenty of content for the asking price, each world is lovingly crafted and can play in wildly different ways depending on the path you take, bosses are varied and interesting, and the art style is nearly perfected. My major grips with it lie in how frustrating it can be. From platforming sections that feel at odds with the gotta-go-fast nature of the game to enemies that come out of nowhere to knock out your rings, I just couldn't help but feel like I was being punished at nearly every turn. Losing several times in a row to a boss that you know how to beat only to be forced back to the beginning of the zone is, simply put, torturous. For some zones, the trek back is leisurely and entertaining, but for others it feels like trudging through mud while mosquitoes nip at your face. That challenge might prove enticing for some. For me, I just wanted to go fast.

24. Mega Man | PS4 (4.5/10) - 7.28.18

The third game in a row that marks the beginning of my trek into a series I missed playing as a kid.

Approaching Mega Man from the beginning proved more frustrating than enlightening. Despite recommendations that I start with the second game in the series, I wanted to get past this one first as a way to better understand the roots of the series. Some part of me regrets that, but another recognizes how hard this game would be to go back to. Mechanically speaking, there's nothing wrong with how it plays. Mega Man himself controls just fine, and I appreciate the variety in boss weapons even if it felt like a game of rock-paper-scissors against the bosses themselves. But the level design... if it was meant to drive me bonkers then it thoroughly succeeded. Nearly every stage hosted an annoying gimmick that slowly taught me to hate each and every one of them. Until the final few stages, bosses mostly felt like a race against time as you knock out their health before they can finish you off. Then they throw out the Yellow Devil and all I could do was writhe and die and try again and again.

Thank God for the pause trick.

25. Golf Story | NSW (8.0/10) - 7.30.18

Okay, I'll admit it: I think Nindies is a fun, catchy little term. It usually refers to games that are seeing ports to the Switch in hopes of breathing new life into a game that could be just as good on the go. Golf Story isn't one of those games. The Nintendo Switch is the only place you'll be playing it, but it honestly feels like that's exactly where it belongs. Portability is especially useful in a game that's as easy to pick up and put down as Golf Story, and I loved the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) uses of HD rumble.

Golf Story is delightful in nearly every way, a humble tale of a goofy protagonist in a world filled to the brim with golf-related shenaniganry. I was surprised at how varied the content of the game was, its golfing system robust and its minigames addicting in their own right. But I was most impressed with how entertainingly lighthearted the game itself turned out to be, engaging enough for me to want to know what happens next but mellow enough to feel like I could turn it off when I needed to. That's an aspect of portable games I often feel is lacking, and why I'm hesitant to pick up a game like Dark Souls on the Switch.

26. Mega Man 2 | PS4 (7.0/10) - 7.31.18

If there's one thing I appreciate about the first Mega Man game, it's that I better understand why people are so keen on Mega Man 2. In every respect it's an improvement on the foundation built by its predecessor. Its level design feels more fair and intuitive, weapons are more interesting and varied (even if Metal Man's power is incredibly overpowered), and the bosses themselves are more fun to fight. There were still a few annoying gimmicks and frustrating levels, but nothing that comes close to Guts Man's brutal opening gauntlet from the original.

One big problem from the first title remains, though: success is more dependent upon trial-and-error or a reliance on prior knowledge. My girlfriend is a fan of the series and has been a great help in deciding which stages to tackle in what order and what weapons to save up on, because I can't even imagine trying to figure out some of these things on my own. How was I supposed to know I needed to bring Bubble Lead of all things to the final boss? What the heck was with that strange puzzle boss that needed Crash Man's weapon? I know these sorts of tips and tricks were popular back then but they're better left in the past.


[Continue Here]

I have gotten lazy with the write-ups so let's do some quick fire of my thoughts of the games I have played of 2018! I commented on Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death pages, maybe even ions ago so we will start from 2 till present.

JANUARY

2) Demons Souls(PS3) 12/10-1/19

The game that started the entire Soulsbourne phenomenon, the game really is best meant to be played ahead of other games since the future installments bring much more to the table than this game. I ended up playing games like Bloodborne, and Dark Souls 2/3(Some of 1 too) so I ended up leaving this game as the last of the series to played which is a mistake but by no means is this game outshined entirely and is absolutely playable still to this day. I never quite got the world tendencies personally speaking but I will say that the dungeons are very well done, the NPC involvement is arguably the best in the series and some of the boss fights aren't so bad. Sadly, there are quite a few bosses, particularly towards the end game that fall under being a "Gimmick" which is a letdown as you'd expect the end game bosses to bring much more to the table. The game starts off much more harder but as you level up and progress, the game does get easier(For me speaking) and I can only say a few of the boss fights gave me a difficult time, as I legit first or second tried quite a lot of the bosses. Having to run from Point A to Point B during a boss battle to win stinks and is more trial/error than skill which the latter is so important for the identity of these games. Same with obtaining a weapon in the middle of the battlefield and needing to use it to win if you are of a certain build. The framerate is rather abysmal and the game suffers from borderline unplayable sound design that ends up hampering the experience and the lack of online play at this point was a bummer, particularly one boss that is infamous for this incorporation.....hence why a lot of people including myself began this game right before the end of Feb.

Should you play it? Yay or Nay?
I would think so, even with online play shutdown and all. If you have any experience with Souls games, you have a clear leg up as I think the majority of people saying this game is cripplingly hard are the ones who had this game become their 1st Souls experience IMO. If you boost up your vitality and endurance, I think you will have a smooth trip for the most part and I don't really consider myself that great of a Souls player personally speaking but I know enough towards what to do(Crowd control, not get greedy) to hold my own. The story is simple enough to be enjoyable and there is a good amount of content to feel this game is worth your purchase. Very good game that while it doesn't touch Bloodborne or other entries in this genre, is responsible for the backbone and foundation of these great games so it always has my respect.


3) Parappa the Rapper Remastered(PS4) 1/21, 1/24

This game has some nostalgia for me but I can't say that I remember much of it besides having that very catchy Stage 1 Chop Chop Master Onion level for a PSN Underground Demo. The story is very cute/simple, the music for the most part is catchy and the presentation is more than enough for this style of game. However, what is the problem with this game, particularly the remaster on the PS4? If you at all care about the skill of the game and want to succeed in the game's rhythm segments which are a good chunk of the game, you will find what are borderline unfair segments in the game since there is a clear button input delay that effects the overall game and is enough to hurt the game's key attribute of needing to hit a certain button to succeed in the story. I don't know it got into final production that the buttons are not synched together but it makes the experience borderline unplayable as there are at times, particularly the final 1-2 levels that you are button mashing the prompts not in the hopes of mastering the game but to advance to the next level and to beat the game and I don't think that is the way the game should be played.

Should you play it? Yay or Nay?

The game's nostalgia factor and concept on paper are not enough to overcome the shortcomings that the game often has(Game length which is maybe 2 hours at best.....the aforementioned lousy button input delay) so if you are playing this, you basically have to treat this game as if the game isn't meant to be a barometer of skill and that there is no point of wanting to master the game mechanics. I don't know how people are able to get "Cool!" in this version of the game personally speaking but I was treading just enough water to advance to the next level of the game. Still, I will say that the game is at least playable unlike PaRappa the Rapper PSP....which has to be THE worst version of the game put out, the delay is even worse for that one!

4) Parappa the Rapper 2(PS4) 1/26-1/28

I will give this game the credit that it is better than it's predecessor but is that really saying much? The game does offer up more length but the hell if that annoying, mandatory tutorial that plays EVERY SINGLE pre-level was necessary to have and is there to be a borderline length pad of the game. I think the songs are just as catchy as the original and the bonus levels even if simple and one note are a nice addition. The story is so batshit crazy and over the place that you cannot help but just laugh, it feels like something out of SpongeBob Squarepants just as far as the lunacy of it all goes. The game is better than the first in the button input delay but it still is far from perfect so again this game is not to be taken seriously from a skill standpoint of wanting to master the game because the final level I was compelled to button mash and try to be borderline close enough to the sweet spot of pressing the button to progress. This game ran me a couple of hours and almost doubles the game length of the original but that is more of a indictment on the first game than a compliment on the second game.

Should you play it? Yay or Nay?

My thoughts on the first game hold true for this game but this game does offer up more content and more bang for your buck which was almost enough to tip the iceberg for this being a yes personally speaking but the shortcomings of the game segments of this well.....video game are too much to have it join the fate of the first game. I have yet to play Umjammer Lammy but I got to say, I was expecting more out of these two games to at least be playable as far as button input goes given it's a RHYTHM game and I was terribly disappointed in this because outside of this, these games had me. The catchy songs, the cute nature, yeah they are short but they could have been pure fun and not be mindless confusion of what to press to excel at the game that I felt I needed to do just enough to progress and nothing more.

41. Bionic Commando (2009)


For the most part I enjoyed the game, but I honestly have no idea what the freakin' plot is about. Much of the game is basically you going towards a marker while taking down enemies and swinging around.
The game is rather repetitive with various sections feeling longer than they should be, but I like its non-cover shooting approach.
All in all it is a flawed game but one that I can't help but like, at least the first 3/4s of it at least.

7. Zelda - A Link between Worlds Finished at 4/22/2018 Time: ~15 hours

Awesome remake. The wall mechanic fits so perfectly. I am most astonished about the dungeon design. They went away from the "find the dungeon item and it solves the dungeon for you" to a more universal approach where each dungeon is unique and can be conquered in any order (mostly). I highly enjoyed strolling through the world and doing the dungeons "on the way". The graphics are super tight and it is just an ode to A Link to the Past. Actually, I wanted to play Zelda: Spirit Tracks at some point but right now I am not sure if I can go back to the Zelda-DS-era in fear of a massive disappointment after this phenomenal game. It is a must for Zelda fans!

Coming up next: Ace Attorney - Justice for all. Already at the last case, but it is tough!

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38. Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey - 4 hours
Playable, but still really bad kids platform game. Have securom drm on it, and that's why i couldn't even run it first - managed to fix it by switching game language on English and only then drm window with serial key request appeared. And Steam for some reason didn't tracked my playtime properly, so i can't write review on it because i didn't played enough. Very basic even for kids game, there is campaign and story, but once you've done there is nothing else to do, even though game allow you to revisit each princess world. Some scenes are creepy as fuck, even ending ripped straight from "The Shining" movie, like what the hell.

I've slowed right down this last fortnight being back at work after some time off, very close to finishing A Way Out with my partner though, and have also been plodding through Sparkle 2 on my commute - just two trophies left for finishing the main campaign on medium and high difficulty.

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39. Chromadrome 2 - 7 hours
Decent runner game, but it could have been better if not that psychedelic graphics, this game epilepsy nightmare. All those flashing lights and effects can give you a headache even if you don't have problems with your health, i'm not sure what the hell devs were thinking. But other than graphics, game is good, have around 100 arcade levels and several other modes, it might worth giving it a try if you're into runner genre.

It feels soooo good when you finally play games that has been in the backlog for +10 or even +15 years! Wohooo!



Game #77: Paradise
Started 20 Apr. 2018 - Completed 21 Apr. 2018
Verdict: They should have just translated the graphic novels instead.




Game #78: Syberia
Started 22 Apr. 2018 - Completed 23 Apr. 2018
Verdict: A really good point and click with a great main character.



Game #79: Syberia II
Started 24 Apr. 2018 - Completed 25 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Part 2, and almost as good.


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Master Post!

42. EDF 4.1 Wing Diver The Shooter


A shmup style game based on EDF series where you play as a Wing Diver. The game is pretty much score based but it uses a sort of energy meter that special weapons can consume which when it hits 0 you need to wait a second for it to instantly recharge. This one is my main issue with the game as I would much enjoy wasting these damned alien invaders with the stronger weapons without having to worry about overheating!

The game continues to have EDF's lovely narmy dialog too which is a plus even though it can feel distracting at times.

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40. Elven Legacy - 5 hours
Standalone DLC for Fantasy Wars, strategy game that basically Fantasy General clone. Really hard and challenging, but fun game if you're into genre.

This is probably my last update for a while due to... personal stuff. Still aiming for 100 games but seeing as there are 8 months left of the year I'll reach that without really trying, I think.
Just a note if someone wonders where the crazy game completing person went.



Game #80: Blackbar
Started ??? 2014 - Completed 26 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Too short.




Game #81: Resonance
Started 26 Apr. 2018 - Completed 26 Apr. 2018
Verdict: Fun ideas that make it stand out.

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Master Post!

29. Kirby's Return to Dreamland - 28/04/2018


This might actually be the best Kirby game. It's actually pretty challenging by the franchise's standards and the visual design is excellent. I might have to give the edge to Robobot despite its lack of difficulty if only because the level design, lore (yes it's important shut up) and Ride Armor were really good.

I actually did it, 52 games a year, even though I gave up the challenge!

1. Ace Attorney: Trails and Tribulations
Contrary to most people, I don't think this is the best one in the series. Perhaps it's just because I personally don't like supernatural element in this kind of games. It does have the best villain in the series though.
Score: 4/5

2. Portal
A brilliant game. The best kind of puzzle games are not the hardest ones, but the ones that make sure people can complete them and also feel proud about it. Portal hits that sweet spot of difficult that makes everyone feel clever.
Score: 5/5

3. Gorogoa
Beautiful little puzzle game. I have to say some puzzles are not very intuitive, or maybe it's just me not good at them. The price is a bit high for the length of the game.
Score: 3/5

4. Fear Effect
The setting is still cool to this day. The graphic and art direction are on point. It's a good attempt at mixing old Chinese folklore with modern setting. We need more games like this today. Not "white guy goes to exotic locations", but actual Chinese/India/... people.
Score: 3/5

5. ICO
The castle is the best character in the game. The huge interweaving maze is fun to explore. The "combat", if I can even call it that, doesn't add anything except frustration to the game.
Score: 4/5

6. Resogun
The difficulty setting can help get a STG novice into the genre. I wish the visual design is more varied.
Score: 3/5

7. Spec Ops: The Line
The story is interesting, maybe not as some people make it to be, but a certain step up from genre average. The gameplay is absolutely mediocre, but a good thing about shooter is that even when the gameplay is not particularly original, it can still be enjoyable.
Score: 3/5

8. Ace Attorney: Justice for All
Surprisingly my favorite in the series. I like the different perspective the last case brings in: what if your client is guilty? It's a shame that the series never digs deeper into the moral side of a defendant lawyer.
Score: 4/5

9. Zoku Satsuriku no Django: Jigoku no Shoukinkubi
It's literally a combination of The good, the Bad, and the Ugly, A Fistful of Dynamite, and post apocalypse sci-fi. Not the most original VN, but one of the most entertaining for sure. Gen Urobuchi went out of the VN business with a banger.
Score: 5/5

10. White Album 2: mini After Story
A fandisc to White Album 2. Doesn't really add anything to the story. Touma looks quite nice in wedding dress though.
Score: 3/5

11. Mirror's Edge
Some interesting ideas, but sometimes it's frustrating when you just can't perform that one action that is required. The story is typical DICE quality. Fantastic visual direction.
Score: 3/5

12. Bound
Meh. Feels like a student project.
Score: 1/5

13. Valkyria Chronicles 4
I posted my impression in the import thread.
Score: 4/5

14. Splatoon 2
I don't understand why the single player focuses so much on platforming. The multiplayer is addicting, but Nintendo's network infrastructure is not helping.
Score: 3/5

15. Sly Cooper and the Theivius Raccoonus
Some minigames have rather shitty design to be honest, but it's a jolly experience overall.
Score: 3/5

16. Tiny Metal
Up until the last mission, the game is a cake walk. The last mission does remind me of every reason why I love Advance Wars so much.
Score: 2/5

17. White Album 2 -Shiawase no Mukougawa-
The new materials are actually very valuable addition to the story, especially the new ending. Personally it's the best ending of the game. A story like WA2 should not end with fairytale-like happy ending. It should end with nemesis and break.
Score: 5/5

18. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien -Latest Edition-
This one wins my heart with the subtlety of the writing. It establishes the characters very well through the normal daily dialogues and really makes me sympathize with the protagonist. Good to see them in Muv-Luv!
Score: 4/5

19. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of Forgotten Past
My second favorite DQ behind V, it captures the essence of an adventure like no other. Job system adds depth to the gameplay which I wish can make a comeback in the future.
Score: 5/5

20. Setsuei
A romantic VN about folklore and mystery. Recommendable for those who are into this sort of things. I happened to like this stuff.
Score: 3/5

21. Subsurface Circular
Some interesting ideas in there, but the plot has a few loopholes.
Score: 2/5

22. BioShock
The plot is kinda just there, a reason to explore Rupture. Rupture is one of the best videogame locations ever.
Score: 4/5

23. BioShock Infinite
This is visual novel kind of story lol. I like the gameplay, but I wish I could carry more than two guns. In general I prefer the original's combat, but Infinite brings enough unique ideas with it that I wouldn't call it a downgrade.
Score: 4/5

24. EVE Burst Error
Holy shit the ending is ridiculous. The game is great up until the last few hours. The male protagonist reminds me of classic film noir tough guy detectives, but with the addition of Japanese goofiness. The female protagonist is something very rarely seen in this medium. I don't remember seeing a horny female protagonist in videogame ever (horny in the sense of wanting men, not in the sense of doing weird sexy post for no reason like Bayonetta).
Score : 4/5

25. Runaway City
Even if it's just an old eroge with a story that is a poor excuse for sex scenes, it drops some nostalgia bomb. Comparing this game to today's VNs, you can see Japan has changed so much in the last 20 years.
Score: 2/5

26. Cross†Channel
Score: 5/5

27. Planetarian ~Chiisana Hoshi no Yume~
It plays out exactly like you would expect, but it's still a beautiful little story that doesn't waste your time. I wonder why more VN developers don't make this type of short and sweet VN. Maybe it's difficult for physical distribution?
Score: 4/5

28. Wonderful Everyday
The story goes from very interesting to cliche around Hasaki's chapter. Yuki and Takuji are all the game needs, Tomosane and Hasaki are too mundane for this story. But the game is more than just the story, it blends everything together perfectly: story, art style, and music. It's very good VN.
Score: 4/5

29. Tales of Berseria
Solid JRPG all around. I love the main cast except Rokurou. Playing on higher than normal difficulty is required.
Score: 4/5

30. Super Mario Odyssey
My first legit Mario game, and I love it. Too bad other 3D Mario games don't focus as much on exploration. It does have more Moons than it needs though.
Score: 5/5

31. BALDR SKY Dive 1 "Lost Memory"
One of the better si-fi world created in VNs. There's one thing I particularly love about this game: the interleaving of story and gameplay. The gameplay serves as a good tool to make the player emotionally in sync with the protagonist. For example, when I want to save someone and some trash mob gets into my way, that moment I feel like I share the same frustration as the character in the story.
Score: 4/5

32. BALDR SKY Dive 2 "Recordare"
Some games have crazy ending, some are too crazy that they are bad. BSD2 ending's craziness wraps around the bad point and becomes good again.
Score: 4/5

33. Ever17
Upon replay the weakness of the game is more apparent. The pacing is absolutely awful, I don't even know what Sora's route has to do with anything. The writing is as dry as a manual. Games like WA2 have shown me how interesting and lively normal life can be, there's no excuse to write an emergency situation as boring as this.
Score: 3/5

34. CLANNAD
What a dumpster fire of a VN. Senseless humor, abrupt plot development, corny tragedy. Kyou's route is pretty good though, but it takes more than a few pages from Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. Came in with the expectation of one of the best VNs ever made, left disgusted.
Score: 2/5

35. West of Loathing
The first and hopefully not the last WRPG I beat. Love the humor. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither should you. The quests become homogeneous in the late game.
Score: 4/5

36. Sakura Wars
For a 1996 game it's an impressive achievement.
Score: 3/5

37. Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix
The bug rape scene though, how the hell did it get pass?
Score: 3/5

38. Great Ace Attorney
The jury system and the Holmes deduction system are terrible. An interesting story, or rather, the beginning of an interesting story, underneath a not so fun game.
Score: 3/5

39. Family Project
Score: 5/5

40. Great Ace Attorney 2
Score: 4/5

41. The beginner's Guide
Score: 4/5

42. Narcissu
Personal experience makes this game more relatable to me.
Score: 4/5

43. Shin Megami Tensei
Aged like cheese, but it has a sense of grandness that is unrivaled in the whole franchise.
Score: 3/5

44. Muramasa: the Demon Blade
The beauty of the art makes me forgive the repetitiveness.
Score: 4/5

45. Chusingura46+1 S
Even the dogshit translation cannot fully bury the intriguing story.
Score: 3/5

46. EVA: Girlfriend of Steel
It's actually EVA! The cutscene and the voice acting are like taken straight out of the anime. The story has too many plotholes to even worth the effort of trying to fit it into the main storyline.
Score: 3/5

47. Flower
Six axis control is trash.
Score: 2/5

48. Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer
Influence from Chinese Wuxia novels is apparent. But it's still a very "Japanese" game. The plot twist is so, so stupid.
Score: 3/5

49. Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Finally beat the game. Took me about 3 years. The strongest weapon type is staff, who would have thought?
Score: 4/5

50. The Legend of Hero: Trails of Cold Steel 3
Score: 3/5

51. Celeste
Some levels are too long, I feel like they should have checkpoints in between.
Score: 4/5

52. Risk of Rain
Would never even touch it without co-op. This game is only remotely fun when playing with friends.
Score: 2/5

Hooray!

Game 16

Nights of Azure 2, Switch
Fun little Dynasty Warriors like with a lot of fan service and a cute story. I had a lot of fun with it. Incidentally when I google image searched this, google thinks the game is part of the tropico series, lol.

Game 17

Yakuza 6, PS4
God dammit I love the Yakuza series. Super sad to see the end of Kiryu, and fighting into buildings from the streets breaking shit and pissing people off is my favorite thing ever and I hope it is in Kiwami 2.

17. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - 03/28
Enjoyed this game a lot. Improved upon the first game in almost every way. The Skirmishes feel a little tacked on, and there are too many sidequests imo - which I suppose I didn't HAVE to do - but overall a really great RPG. Likely to be on my GOTY list.

18. Detective Pikachu - 04/09
Didn't know what to expect from this one. Bought it almost entirely on the charm seen in the trailers and it really lives up to my expectations in that regard. The plot was a bit underwhelming, but was more developed than expected from a Pokemon game. I actually think I would have liked for there to be more QTE sequences or at least longer ones. Would recommend this one for fans of Ace Attorney/Adventure games, but maybe not for people who like a lot of action in their games. Looking forward to seeing what the live action movie does with the source material whenever that comes out.

19. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 04/14
It's a real shame this game was initially announced as a DLC to Uncharted 4, because honestly without being directly compared to Uncharted 4, this could have easily sold for $60. There's a lot more here than you would think and while it does have less content than Uncharted 4, it does by no means feel short or like an afterthought. This is the second best Uncharted game in my book, behind Uncharted 4 and slightly above Uncharted 2 and 3.

20. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition - 04/16
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy put me in the mood for more games like it, so I immediately jumped right into this one. Shouldn't have waited so long to get around to playing this game either cause it's quite good. It feels a bit unfair to compare this to the Uncharted games, since Tomb Raider does a lot of things differently in this genre that I really appreciate. The Bow mechanics are well implemented and is way more fun for me to use than any of the guns in other similar games. In addition, the Tombs, platforming, and story are also worth your time, even though the story can get a bit hokey at times. The characters in this game are more enjoyable and better developed than the next game I played which is.....

21. Rise of the Tomb Raider - 04/28
On a feature list Rise of the Tomb Raider surely looks better than the first reboot game, but it feels like in a lot of places the developers took the wrong lessons from their previous success. There are more areas, combat mechanics, crafting, and there is more story, but it loses a bit of the focus from the first game as a result. The overall story and characters are far less interesting than the previous game. Plus, the changes to the combat make it more difficult, but also more frustrating. The one area where this game still shines is in the platforming. This is still an overall good game, but takes a step back from the previous entry on many levels and made me less excited for Shadow of the Tomb Raider as a result.

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

Main Post

Feb cont.

20. Samorost 3 - 5 hrs

Too fiddly....didn't enjoy the puzzles very much. Love the art.

21. Grow Up - 6 hrs

This was okay but I'm really sick of these mechanics.

March

*22. Into The Breach - 14 hrs

This is an amazing game which needs to be played more than I have.

23. Dying Light - Enhanced Edition - 50 hrs

I absolutely loved this once I finally got into it after all these years. Glad I put the effort in. Can't wait for a sequel!

April

*24. NiNoKuni 2 - 80 hrs

I really loved my time with this, though its not a -great- RPG. I got hooked on the kindgom building, as basic as it was.

*25. Minit - 4 hrs

Fantastic little game that I beat twice.

26. Bloodborne + Old Hunters - 60 hrs

I'm really proud I went back to this...I thought this game ruined DS games for me 3 years ago. But I finally went back and loved it.

27. Dark Souls 3 - 46 hrs

And with that I've beaten all the Soulsborne series...going to reply 1 and 2 with DLC soon. Oh and maybe the DLC for this one.

27 games / 450 hrs / 2018

My backloggery

Main Post

#11 A Way Out (PS4)

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41. RIP 3: The Last Hero - 2 hours
Last game in trilogy pack, and that's the case when to much features is not a good thing. First RIP was very primitive and boring game, basically Crimsonland meets Beach Head - you controlling a turret and shoot everything that moves. RIP 2 surprisingly improved original formula, it had more variety and overall better balanced. But in RIP 3 devs stepped over the line and most of new changes made gameplay worse. New types of enemies is frustrating and not fun, like instakill ghost with random movement patterns or railgun tanks that shoots in player immediately after appearing on screen so it's impossible to dodge their first attack. New skill tree is nice, but for some reason devs streamlined weapons selection, it's not random anymore and you usually forced to pick new weapon, even if new weapon sucks and you don't want to use it. There is something wrong with balance too, on normal difficulty game become too easy, game gives you tons of powerups and it's possible to just strafe in circles and shoot everywhere to succeed. Enemies spawn is also feels really slow and broken, sometimes there is no enemies on screen for 5 seconds and they usually comes from same direction, so basically kill first wave - wait five seconds - kill next wave that the same as previous one - repeat 10 times. From positive side, devs tried to add proper story and some variety in locations, finally there is not just wastelands and forests, some levels take place in cities and even space. Overall, it's still a good game, but RIP 2 remains best in this franchise, despite cheap look it may worth trying to play those games if you want to kill time or just try something simple and fun.

43. Rambo The Video Game


An on-rails shooter with arse graphics but my kind of shooting. Granted I'm being more lenient on the game because of its on-rails nature and while it has its flaws I did quite enjoy its core gameplay. QTEs were a bizarre addition to this game though.

44. Wanda: A beautiful Apocalypse


This is a light adventure game about 2 robots who meet each other in a world that once teemed with life (for lack of a better term). Together they travel through the ruined world to see if they can find any other robots still functioning.
The game has some lovely music and its primary gameplay involves puzzle areas. The game has dialog presented in the robots language which could make it difficult to figure out what they're conveying to each other, but it is cute IMO.
The game is short and can be beaten in under 3 hours. Some cheeovos didn't unlock during my playthrough and while the movement and pacing can be rather slow, it's an adorable game in the same vein as To the moon and A Bird Story.

Game #47 - God of War
Time: 40 hours (give or take, theres no timer)

I was never super into the god of War series, even tho I played every game. I enjoyed the gameplay and they were certainly great visual spectacles, but I disliked Kratos so much that it was hard for me to care much about anything going on in them. Thankfully, that changes in this latest entry, as Santa Monica not only created a much better game overall, but the writing and storytelling, especially when it comes to Kratos, is miles ahead anything in previous games. Kratos finally feels like a human being and not a cartoon for rage-filled teenagers, his relationship with Atreus (BOY!) is fantastic and the writing and banter between them is super well done. Gameplay wise, the game is basically a action RPG now, with leveling, quest and sidequests, a semi-open world to explore, abilities and spells, crafting, upgrading, pretty much everything you would encounter in any action rpg. the new behind the shoulder camera works great, the combat feels super satisfying, the graphics are amazing (as usual for Sony first party games I guess), the soundtrack is euqally impressive, its just a rgeat package overall. Unfortunately, the game kinda lost me near the end, both for stuff that happens in the story, and some of the optinal challenges being less than fun to do, so around the 30 hour mark I was about ready to be done wtih it, but those first 20 hours or so were amazing. Still a fantastic game overall and highly recomended, can't see what they do next (hopefully sooner rather than later).

Main Post

February:

5) Donkey Kong Country(SNES) 2/3

Now I played this game last year on the 3DS but I had gotten an SNES Classic in early 2018 and decided to give one of my favorite games of all time a test run on the godly SNES controller and what can I say about this game? The game is simple, very fun, offers a little challenge and there are hardly if at all any cheap deaths. I think the best way to go about this is to write a review for this game with the SNES controls since I legitimately played this game last year and shared my thoughts on the game. This game simply put feels so good on the SNES controller, you know a game means so much to you that you have the controls memorized despite having not touched the game in decades. The game for me can be beaten in under 90 minutes personally speaking but I got so much nostalgia and good feels diving back into this. I wish DKC2 and DKC3 were apart of the SNES Classic, I would have loved DKC2 to be apart of this and would have dived right back into that too. The ability to hold down the run button, the game feels so smooth swimming under water in comparison to the 3DS version, it is a night and day feel and that isn't a knock playing this on the 3DS, actually the game is more than playable and still good.

Should you play this? Yay or Nay?

This game was so well crafted and is well ahead of it's time as far as being a platformer goes, the game easily holds up extremely well still in 2018 and I still get thrills playing it. I even tried to speed run the 1st world with the SNES controller and ran through it quick though later levels forced me to go back to my precise, borderline methodical methods. This game still stands as not only one of my childhood memories but also being one of my favorite games of all time. Easy play for the few video gamers in this world who have yet to play this.

6) Resident Evil Revelations(PS4) 2/8-2/25

So I finally finished Resident Evil: Revelations, this game only totaled me a little over 7 hours but it felt like the game dragged on quite a bit. This might be because the final boss took me about an hour alone in itself. I cannot stress enough how bad the dodging in this game is, to the point that the final boss(On normal mind you)became ridiculous and it stressed you having enough custom parts on a gun to make the damage enough to stun the boss before he pops you. What a lousy final boss fight, I get it being difficult but the 3 phases were ridiculous and it took me running to the item box and changing up equipment to down the fucker. Final bosses are difficult in games for a reason, I get that, I do but here is what it comes down to: Forcing a weakness of the game down your throat for the grand climax of the game. Even if the dodging stinks in this game, the game doesn't necessarily force it upon you outside of maybe 2 parts of the game but the frustrating part is making it mandatory vs the final boss who is a borderline bullet sponge is where they got it wrong.

The worst part of the game is the dodging mechanic, I truly wish there was a run button for this game because lets be honest, Jill is wearing tight spandex and isn't luggingaround a Rocket Launcher or big guns for some portion of the game. The dodge mechanic is so bad in this game, I know its a 3DS port so the game won't utilize all the buttons on a Dualshock 3 or 4 or XBOX controller but still....some of the buttons serve no purpose, you could not tell me that the dodge button could not have been better? Hell I would have loved a roll mechanic like in Gears of War. Running in narrow tight hallways against enemies who can easily grab you with such a half assed dodge mechanic is rather maddening.

The story is clique as hell, and the side characters were dull and were one note characters(Voice acting is awfully wooden if I have to be honest outside of Chris and Jill)...it sort of suffers from Tomb Raider reboot syndrome in that regard. The gunplay was pretty good as a RE4 clone and there was enough ammo in the later portions of the game even though the game got stingy with herbs which stressed the need to scan enemies and your full surroundings to get those necessary healing items. The game isn't all bad but it also had much that could have been approved upon.

What the game does right is give you tons of different weapons to use at your arsenal to switch around for different situations, pretty solid enough checkpoints that aren't crippling when you die, borrows from the great Resident Evil 4 as far as combat goes and the different variety of obstacles/puzzles put into the game help the game massively. The combat might be the best part of this game as it doesn't stray off from Resident Evil 4 and if anything tries to offer up something different with the scanning system that is vital in netting you ever important herbs or ammo. This game is heavily CPU Co-Op so having a decent enough AI makes all the more difference, I can only recall maybe one time that I was yelling out at the AI so trust me, this isn't Gears of War 1 Dom type of awful AI.

Should you play it? Yay or Nay?

Resident Evil: Revelations isn't necessarily scary but it has that Gears of War/Dead Space tank mode that you'll either like or dislike only without the cover fire. I like the survival action genre this series became as Resident Evil 4 is a beloved game of mine so I don't mind it…..when it is done correctly which this game doesn't necessarily do. The aforementioned flaws really do cripple what could have been a great game and instead makes it into just an average game that you will play, you might enjoy and then you beat and gladly put it down. The game offers up a Mercernary mode but I did not play that which is why I won't put a yay or nay down as the game could go either way as far as a purchase goes. I feel I got enough of a fix doing the single player campaign and I think the game doesn't overstay it's welcome so for a 6-7 hour campaign, the game isn't great but nor is it unplayable or bad. It's just there.

7) RUINER(PS4) 2/21-2/28

KILL THE BOSS! Picture Hotline Miami's gunplay and utilization of different weapons + Furi's dodging mechanics/overall pace and you have RUINER. So far so good but I get the vibe this isn't a game that's going to last very long at all so I think for the 9.99 pricetag I bought it digitally for, I think I will get enough value out of this game. Game probably needs a 2nd playthrough on the harder difficulty as I decided to play it safe and stick to Normal. Game takes the best of both worlds from two games I adore so this has been right up my alley. Add a neat cyberpunk feel and music to go alongside this(Think I read it right that the Manga/Anime BERSERK's composer contributed music for this?!?!) and I think this game is going to end up being a very pleasant surprise from what was a damn good year in video gaming already. Game deserves more hype and I think the frantic pacing, the high intense gameplay and solid music make for a great couple of hours you will get from this game.

Should you play it? Yay or Nay?

Very solid game, I would get it while it is on sale granted because the drawback is the game length but I think it is meant to be a two playthrough game one on normal, next on hard(Would have loved some optional stuff, I think there is a battle arena and the DLC offers up a little something but I would have liked it in the base game!). Might be something I look back and replay on Hard. I wish there were more bosses admittedly as well but besides those two gripes, I think the game is fantastic. I can't tell you how great the ability to switch off and on skill points to adjust to enemies or obstacles with different powers truly is, whoever decided on that saved the day for this game. One obstacle stresses the use of a shield, the next will want you to go truly offensive. Gives you so many different ways to play the game altogether. What a frantic, fun pace, sometimes intense game. I cannot imagine how crazy it will be on Hard, I felt the game wasn't too bad on Normal. Of course I died quite a few times but I never felt I got cheated out of anything which is a benchmark of a solid game in this genre.

Main Post

Tfw none of the games you finished this month were on your "currently playing" list from last month, haha. I'm been in the middle of so many big games since January and so close to finishing them, I can't wait to do write ups of them soon!

20. Assassin's Creed Black Flag: Freedom Cry (PS4) - 1/4 (Completed Mar 31, 2018)
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So to be honest, I mostly played through this because it was short and it was just sitting on my hard drive and I wanted to get it out of the way so I could delete it. I remember hearing a lot of good things about this when it first came out, but I don't get the praise at all. Granted, my experience was extremely tainted by it crashing it ~4x in my 4-5 hours of playing it. I loved Black Flag and this does recapture that gameplay very well, it might just be that that gameplay has not aged well, especially compared to Origins.

21. Accounting+ (PSVR) - 3/4 (Completed Apr 15, 2018)
Main Story | 100% Trophies

There's actually very little gameplay in this game. I spent a lot of time standing around listening to characters do their thing followed by doing a small simple action. I'd also watched a lot of the original version before because it made the rounds on YouTube due to its association with Justin Roiland. The new content isn't that plentiful, but one bit truly disturbed me and that alone made my rating a bit higher than I would have up to that point. I also love that there's (seemingly?) an ARG that fans are invested in. It's cheap and short so if you hadn't had all the content spoiled to you, check it out.

22. Assassin's Creed Origins: The Hidden Ones (PS4) - 3/4 (Completed Apr 18, 2018)
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Wanted to get through as much ACO as I could before God of War came out. I think that was a bad idea because I may be a bit burned out on AC for now. I was hardly paying attention to the side quest dialogue most of the time and the gameplay is just as solid as ever. I was pretty surprised by how big of an area the DLC was, it was totally worth the asking price to me. The story was also interesting since it introduces the reasoning behind one of the tenets of the Creed, makes me wonder how they'll handle the other two.

23. Never Stop Sneakin' (Switch) - 2/4 (Completed Apr 28, 2018)
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I hate that I keep seeing cool looking games only for them to be rogue-likes. The idea of a game that emulates the look of MGS1 is awesome, it's and aesthetic that isn't revisited often, but that's most of what this game has to offer because the gameplay just isn't there. It was interesting at first: the only controls you have to worry about is movement, everything else is automatic. Progress was feeling good for maybe the first two hours, but after a while you start to see how little content is actually in the game. I had to put it down for a while because it was so repetitive. New abilities are unlocked as you play but they're still randomly found, so there aren't new mechanics that change how you play introduced beyond maybe the stealth camo. There's only a handful of bosses and you stop seeing new ones after a few runs. There's random cutscenes but nothing ever builds up to them or comes out of them, there isn't even anything different about your last run, there's no final boss. There's just nothing to push you on to finish the story because you're just doing the same things for hours. In my opinion, rogue-likes live or die by the amount of content they have to offer. If there were ever an expansion to this game or a sequel with much, much, much more content, I would not be opposed to checking it out, but I cannot recommend this game.

24. God of War (2018) (PS4) - 4/4 (Completed Apr 29, 2018)
Main Story

There seems to be a lot of cynicism around this game and how games need to have fun gameplay at every second and that this game sacrifices too much to present a stronger, more grounded narrative, etc. I guess addressing that is for another thread at another time, but I quite enjoyed this game. I love Norse mythology and was impressed by how much effort went into supplementary materials to read about said mythology along with how the story kept me coming back for more. The combat is perfectly difficult even on normal, and the haptic feedback of throwing and retrieving the ax really sold me on the game early on. I feel like I'm stepping on eggshells when talking about this game because there seem to be such polarizing opinions of it, but I don't think this game is perfect, nor do I think its innovative in any way, but I find it really well executed in every way it's promised.

31GhostsIV said:

I've managed to play so many games this year that I feel like I might be able to manage the challenge, so here goes (games I count as 'finished' in bold, even ongoing games like SFV).

1) A Night in the Woods
Completed a single playthrough. It was ok, but not interesting enough to warrant a second run. Oxenfree was a much more entertaining version of this kind of game.
2) Batman - A Telltale Series
Single playthrough - platinum trophy. Picked this up on PS Plus - it's a Telltale game, so if you enjoy TT and Batman it's hard not to recommend, despite a few silly narrative and character choices.
3) Tekken 7
Platinum trophy - Great fighter and a much better overall value package than Street Fighter V with roster, modes etc
4) Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
I have a love/hate thing with this game, it's good that the fighting itself is so great. The in-game economy and 'live events', not so much.
5) Shadow of the Colossus
I first attempted to play the HD version on PS3 but shelved it due to the terrible controls - no such issue here. I finally beat the game and now know what the fuss was about - highly recommended.
6) Sky Force Anniversary
I had nothing to play, so dug this little mobile port out of my PS Plus backlog. Glad I did - yes, it's full of mobile FTP mechanics (that you don't need to pay real money for) but i'm a sucker for a classic 2D-style arcade shooter. Worth a look if you need to scratch that itch.
7) Undertale
Played through once, passive apart from the bosses that I murdered. Entertaining for the running time, but fell short of the extremely high praise it received IMO.
8) Hellblade - Senua's Sacrifice
Platinum trophy - I enjoyed this game a lot - sometimes the swordplay could be a little one dimensional, but as the game's runtime is only around 6-8 hours, it didn't outstay its welcome. I thought it was stunning to look at, too. Would definitely like to see more games of this quality/price point.
9) Far Cry 5 (platinum trophy)
I enjoyed this game a lot. Yes, it's yet another instalment of the Ubisoft formula. No, the story isn't as good as it probably should be - but I couldn't put it down since I bought it a week ago until I got the last trophy earlier, so definitely recommended unless you've just been playing another Ubi open world game, in which case I'd play a palate cleanser first lest you go mad chasing seemingly endless icons around the map.
10) Minit (First run)
Fun little game with a really interesting premise. Will likely go back to polish off the trophies.

--- In progress ----

• Trials Fusion: Awesome Max Edition
Picked it up in the Easter sale. I'm pretty rough but getting better. Will consider it 'beaten' when I've got medals on all of the vanilla tracks. I love the standard game, but I think the Unicorn levels are awful so far.
• Knack
Playing through this with my son. He loved it initially, but we seem to have both forgotten about it. Make of that what you will...
• The Sexy Brutale
Recommended by a friend, and I couldn't get into it. Will try again though as I feel like i'm missing something.
• Polybius
Really fun classic shooter/epileptic fit waiting to happen. I've only scratched the surface though.
• Rez Infinite
Picked this up last year - I love it but i'm stuck on the fourth story mission. Will definitely return to polish it off.
• Crash Bandicoot (from the trilogy collection)
I want to finish this, but the level i'm stuck on is driving me nuts. Might go back, we'll see...
• Mad Max
I may shelve this, it's painfully MEDIOCRE
• Q*bert Rebooted
• Trackmania Turbo

---Upcoming---

God of War...

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11) God of War
Played to Platinum Trophy
I'm sure I have nothing to say that hasn't been mentioned already. If you have a PS4 and enjoy single player games, you need this in your life.

Coming up: Beyond Two Souls on PS Plus, and considering picking up DK for my dust-gathering Switch.