52 Games. 1 Year. 2017.

[Tizoc]

243. Nioh

Main game completed. Overall I liked the combat but it felt like it lasted longer than it should. Plus I hated all the dieing...

244. Ryu ga Gotoku HD

Played the PS3 ver. of Yakuza 1 and used a guide to help me through. While the HD version's improvements are welcome the core combat feels pretty dull.

 

[Falchion]

Original Post

42) Animal Crossing Pocket Camp - 30 hours - 12/1
Played the shit out of this for the first two weeks after it released but now I've found the gameplay loop wearing very thin. You basically fish the same two spots, hunt bugs in one, and pick fruit in 3 and then walk around giving stuff to residents. It was fun at first, but now I want a deeper Animal Crossing game.

 

[Tizoc]

245. The Samaritan Paradox

This one started out OK but about halfway through, it had some irritating pixel hunting and a few irritating sections. TBH calling them irritating may be unfair; there are timed sections in the game where you need to hide or perform certain actions in order to progress.

One such section was when you stow onboard a ship and as you go up the steps you will be on a floor where someone is coming out of a room. The door is next to a wall edge and the door has a glass hole on it that can be seen through.
Now how you're supposed to hide during this section is kind of silly; if you just click on the wall or the area next to the door, so you could hide behind it when it opens, you will be caught. What you must do is CLICK ON THE GROUND next to the edge so that your character won't be seen by the crew.

That's about the only time such a 'hiding section' has irked me in the game, any such sections are mostly easy. One thing I found a little annoying is that I ended up needing to speak with every NPC about every topic in order for a trigger to occur so I can progress, and this felt pretty time consuming. At least the writing is overall good and the story was quite enticing at least up until the end.
There are some decent puzzles along with weird and annoying ones but the endgame rather soured it for me.

Still I'd recommend it if you like PnCs, but be aware that it was designed using AGS
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/

246. The Shivah

This is a short and simple Point n' Click adventure game from Wadjet Eye. It released originally in 2006, but got updated in 2013 with updated visuals and voice acting.

Overall I really enjoyed it and it had some great writing, dialog and humor. It's a pretty easy and short game and can be beaten in around 2 hours.

 

[Tizoc]

247. Space Quest

This game is pretty much 'King's Quest IN SPACE', but a heck of a lot shorter, esp. once you know what to do. I do like the conept of the game though but it could really go with a bunch of QoL fixes.

 

[LiquidSolid]

Whew, here's the first 26 games I finished this year, I'll post the second in a couple days and then everything else later this month.

OP
Backloggery

Game #01 - Steins;Gate (PSV) - 17/01/17

One of the best visual novels I've played. The setup is kinda long and plodding and I hated the protagonist, Okabe, for a time but when the story starts picking up, it's a thrilling ride to the end.

Game #02 - Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII (PS4) - 27/01/17

The first RTK game I've played since X, specifically because they finally went back to the RPG style systems and I had a had a lot of fun with it. It isn't without its flaws, especially the AI (which cannot be understated, is absolutely terrible, with AI rulers perfectly happy sending tiny armies to their deaths against enormous armies), but it's still a lot of fun to create a character and then throw it into a game, levelling up your stats, forming relationships with characters and working your way up the ranks.

Game #03 - Gravity Rush 2 (PS4) - 07/02/17

When Gravity Rush first came out, I likened it to Assassin's Creed 1, in that the mechanics were there and I felt it had a ton of potential but they hadn't quite figured out the rest yet. With Gravity Rush 2, I think they finally delivered on that potential. The gravity powers are as fun as ever, especially with the improvements they've made and new styles, but this time they added to that with a great, diverse cast of characters, a lot more mission variety, some really cool online functionality and a really entertaining story. One of my favourite games of the year.

Game #04 - Game of Thrones (PS3) - 10/02/17

By far the worst Telltale game I've played. The performance sucks, the writing sucks, the "big" choices don't matter and it just doesn't feel like ASoIaF/GoT at all.

Game #05 - Tales from the Borderlands (PS3) - 15/02/17

One of the best Telltale games I've played, which is a bit of a shock given how little I care about the Borderlands series. Great characters, a really fun story and *shock* pretty decent performance.

Game #06 - Resident Evil 7 biohazard (PS4) - 24/02/17

A huge return to form (and the survival horror genre) for the series. I loved the way they created a clean slate of new characters up until the very end, especially the villains who were all really fun. It's no REmake or RE2 but it's a fantastic starting point that they can continue improving upon. I can't wait to see what they do with RE8 but not until after a return to traditional RE with RE2make.

Game #07 - Steins;Gate 0 (PSV) - 25/02/17

I think I enjoyed this even more than the original. It again took a little while to get going but hanging around all these characters I already really liked, with some new ones added to the mix, and going through some more time travel shenanigans made for a hell of a lot of fun. It's a bit of a "filling in the gaps" story but I think it works really well and I quite liked the more suppressed (and, I guess, depressed) Okabe over the super eccentric and kinda irritating Okabe in the original.

Game #08 - Life is Strange (PS3) - 28/02/17

It's been a while since I first played Life is Strange but I was given this version and it's just as engrossing as I remembered. With this, Dontnod entered Telltale's arena and knocked them out with their first punch. They created a cast of fantastic characters and made your choices feel like they actually had an impact on the story, all without relying heavily on licensed properties.

Game #09 - Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - 11/03/17

Where to start? With Horizon, Guerrilla managed to take everything they're good at, particularly their great combat mechanics, animations and engine, combine it with an open world and then do an incredible job hiring in all the right areas, particularly writing, to create a fantastic game. It's not perfect, the melee mechanics could be dramatically improved and more time and effort could be put into making the side quests more interesting and detailed but for a new IP from a developer that's only made shooters prior to it, it's easy to ignore those flaws, especially when you have a protagonist as great as Aloy, a great story that gets better the further you get into it, amazing combat mechanics and robot fucking dinosaurs.

Game #10 - Final Fantasy XV: A King's Tale (PS4) - 14/03/17

A pretty lame little low budget 2D sidescroller I started while my internet was down and I couldn't download NieR's day one patch. The super low budget shows and it just isn't fun at all.

Game #11 - NieR: Automata (PS4) - 24/03/17

My GOTY 2017 and Persona 5's the only one I can see being able to move it. I was dismissive of the original game when it was first announced but once I eventually played it, I loved it, flaws and all. So to get a sequel to that game with Platinum Games added to the Taro Yoko and Keiichi Okab duo was the perfect combination and it worked incredibly well. Nier Automata is an incredible game from start to finish. The gameplay isn't quite up to par with the Bayonetta's or Metal Gear Rising's but I think that's a good thing as I'm not sure high intensity combat would be a good thing in a 50+ hour RPG. So what they've got works perfectly. The story is everything Taro Yoko is known for: Crazy, relatable and yet super depressing. It's brilliant. And the music is a worthy successor to one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. Amazing game, easily one of my favourites of this gen.

Game #12 - Alone With You (PSV) - 27/03/17

This year I've done something a little different than normal. I've started playing games on my commute rather than just listen to podcasts, browse on my phone or read like I used to. Turns out, those 40 or so minute bus rides add up quick. I already played the PS4 version of this last year but I loved it so much, I wanted to play through it again. Having said that, as the PS4 version was still relatively fresh in my mind from late 2016, I think I made a mistake doing so, as I could still remember enough of the story and puzzle solutions that it didn't really interest me as much as it did back then. So it sadly ended up becoming a bit of a slog doing the numerous playthroughs to get all the endings. I still like the story, characters and world but it didn't come close to that first playthrough.

Game #13 - Batman: A Telltale Series (PS4) - 28/03/17

I found this to be a middling Telltale effort. There's some really cool sequences in there but I really didn't enjoy Telltale's take on Batman. For every interesting thing they did, there were another five pointless or outright dumbs changes they made that screamed "change for the sake of change" and they took me out of the game. And that's before we get into how god awful it looks and runs. I can't imagine how poorly the last gen versions perform.

Game #14 - Gravity Rush 2: The Ark of Time - Raven's Choice (PS4) - 29/03/17

Not much to say about it. Fun little DLC campaign that helped explain Raven's backstory. There were some weak missions in there but I really like Raven, so it was great to play as her. I did like how they diffentiated her moves from Kat's, so it's a pity they couldn't have done something even more substantial with her.

Game #15 - The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (PS3) - 02/04/17

It's weird how much changes in a year. I first played this last year and loved it but this time around, I'd say it was decent but nothing special. It goes in some interesting directions but the dialogue is a bit wooden and the puzzles and characters can get pretty grating at times.

Game #16 - Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (PSV) - 03/04/17

A visual novel I got off PS+ that I decided to give a try. The plot is pretty messy and dragged a lot of the time but I enjoyed parts of it, particularly the steampunk setting.

Game #17 - Home (PSV) - 04/04/17

A very cool, horror themed adventure game. It's short, the setting is really eery and the plot is kinda messed up if you follow it to its natural ending but I really enjoyed it.

Game #18 - LittleBigPlanet Vita DC + Marvel DLC (PSV) - 25/04/17

I bought both LBP Vita DLC packs right before the Marvel ones were delisted in December 2015 and finally decided to play them.

The DC pack is fantastic, basically just a bunch of DC themed levels featuring the Justice League and some notable villains and introducing some fun new mechanics like gliding.

The Marvel pack, on the other hand, consists of three mobile-esque mini-games, one of which, the puzzle one, was actually pretty good, with each Marvel character having their own gimmick you use to finish the levels. But the endless runner and shmup ones were garbage. I played them as much as I could stand before abandoning them. Marvel themed levels in the same vein as the DC pack would've been a million times better.

Game #19 - Full Throttle Remastered (PSV) - 27/04/17

I'd never played this before but I'd heard a lot of great things and was really excited to play it. I wasn't disappointed. The plot, setting, characters, art, music and puzzles are fantastic, making it my favourite of Tim Schafer's adventure games. I think the only thing that frustrated me was the sequence where you're riding around, fighting other bikers to collect items. I had no clue what I was meant to do at that point, so had to look it up.

I really hope now that Double Fine's gone through all of Tim Schafer's old Lucasarts games, they can start on the non-Tim Schafer ones. It'd be a shame if those are just left to gather dust.

Game #20 - Persona 5 (PS4) - 27/04/17

A good game but a big disappointment after Persona 3 and 4. It's strange because I was loving the game for the first 75% or so, particularly the visual style, music and the way it tried to tackle some very relevant social problems (albeit while completely ignoring or mocking other ones), but all it took was one scene in November to turn me against it. It was so poorly written/localised that I couldn't help but laugh. At that point, I started looking at the game with a more sceptical eye and suddenly realised I wasn't a fan of most of the characters or the convoluted mess of a story. Biggest disappointment of the year.

Game #21 - Deponia (PS4) - 30/04/17

Bought as part of the THQ Nordic PS bundle. A decent adventure game, aside from the god awful prick of a protagonist.

Game #22 - Severed (PSV) - 03/05/17

I'm not the biggest fan of dungeon crawlers, so despite loving Guacamelee, I avoided Severed because I figured it wasn't my thing. Turns out I was wrong. I ended up giving it a quick try on a recommendation from a friend and while it took me a little while to get used to the battle system, I was hooked once I did.

Game #23 - Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII - Fame and Strategy Expansion (PS4) - 10/05/17

The first RTK Power-Up Kit to be localised, as far as I'm aware, and it's fantastic. They added a variety of great new features, including one that lets you essentially be a mercenary, and a bunch of new campaigns but most importantly, they dramatically improved the AI. It turns a good game into a great game.

Game #24 - Cosmic Star Heroine (PS4) - 16/05/17

Cosmic Star Heroine's a game that's directly influenced by two of my favourite JRPGs of all time, Phantasy Star and Suikoden, as well as Chrono Trigger (which I haven't gotten around to yet but is obviously held in extremely high regard), so I feel like I was always going to like it. So it's not much of a shock that I found it fantastic. I really liked the characters, particularly the way you can recruit your crew, and world but the battle system is the star of the show, introducing a variety of mechanics and systems that worked perfectly together and make every battle interesting. It's one of the few western takes on a JRPG battle system that I've really enjoyed.

Game #25 - Bastion (PSV) - 20/05/17

Despite loving Transistor and having Bastion in my backlog for years and years, I hadn't played it up until now. Since I started playing handheld games on my commute this year, I've finished far more games than I thought I would and Bastion quickly made it to the top of my list.

I'm really happy I did because it's a fantastic game and I regret taking so long to get around to it. Supergiant have a knack for creating really interesting but completely unique worlds, gameplay that suits those worlds perfectly and some incredible art and soundtracks. The only real issue I have with it is that it hasn't been optimised well for the Vita's screen. Prompts and text are tiny and can be difficult to read. But thankfully, that doesn't stop it from still being a fantastic game. I can't wait for Pyre.

Game #26 - Kona (PS4) - 21/05/17

Kona's a really cool adventure/survival game. It basically throws you into a remote snow covered deserted town and tasks you with solving both a murder mystery and the mystery of what's happened to the town, while surviving the extreme cold and avoiding dangerous wildlife. It took me by surprise just how good it is because I don't remember hearing much buzz around it.

 

[Deleted member 401]

76. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (5 hours)
Hoo boy, this one has a lot of problems. A poorly-written story mode, bland art direction, a terrible final boss, and some of the popular characters in the series have been practically un-personed. And the worst part about it is that all of this, perhaps rightfully, overshadows a legit fun fighting game.

Full list to date

 

[chrominance]

Original post

38. Tengami (PC, 2015) - 1:16
Completed the campaign.

A short and simple puzzle game that's gorgeous to look at. The main form of interaction with the world directly recalls pop-up story books, and there's no end of pages to swipe or tabs to pull. At first, the puzzles use the pop-up mechanics in elementary ways--there's no bridge to cross a gap, but you can pull a tab to make one unfold--but as you get further into the game, elements of the puzzles begin to seep into the pop-up aspects a little more fully. The tactility of the actions here makes the game feel best suited for touchscreen platforms, and sure enough, the game first came out on iOS. (The Android port, strangely, came AFTER the PC port.)

At just over an hour, there's not a ton to the game, and too much of its running time is taken up by simply walking your character around in the world, something you do by clicking on various parts of the screen. But as a small but elegant experience, it's satisfying to play.

 

[Dyna]

My main post (part 1).
My main post (part 2).

40 | Mini Ninjas | PC
9 hours | Completed Dec. 7th

This was a really positive surprise! I picked it up some time ago from Square Enix store's sales out of curiosity and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of cool gameplay elements you wouldn't necessarily expect from a little platformer/adventure game aimed at children. You can possess animals, use your hat as a boat in water, deflect enemy arrows with your sword, craft potions etc. Good variety in level design, quite a few unlockable characters to choose from and a lot of freedom in how you choose to approach the fights - you can even stealth your way through some levels! The graphics are pretty nice too although I'm not a fan of the main characters' looks. The boss fights were basically quick time events which was a bit of a bummer but nothing else really rubbed me the wrong way. I'm still pretty astonished at how much fun I had playing this game, would absolutely recommend this to everyone who enjoys action adventure games!

41 | Picross 3D | DS
51 hours | Completed Dec. 10th

Great puzzle game! Mostly played this while watching some livestreams etc. I completed all levels from beginner to normal on perfect, I decided to pass on the hard levels for now since I'm pretty burned out from the game. Not much else to say about this one, if you're looking for a good and simple puzzle game try it out. Might have to pick up Picross 3D: Round 2 for the 3DS next!

 

[chrominance]

Original post

39. AVSEQ (PC, 2012) - 1:35
Completed the campaign.

The idea behind AVSEQ is neat--a pseudo-rhythm-game puzzle where you connect the dots to unlock notes in the song. In practice, though, AVSEQ feels like a bit of a mess. The best music games really incorporate the music into the gameplay and make you feel like you're building on the song, but this never really happens in AVSEQ. The music itself is fine, though not necessarily all that memorable, but it's the gameplay mechanics that I think really let it down.

It's telling when half the Steam discussions are about how to cheese the game. The basic gameplay loop is that fragments of notes fall from the ceiling, and you have to link them together before they reach the bottom in order to collect them. Fragments come in one of three colours, and can only be linked with like-coloured fragments or with white fragments that serve as links between colours. As you collect fragments, white notes will appear, which you can also collect; you have to collect a minimum number of notes to pass the stage while catching as many fragments as possible, as any you drop will subtract from your note score. As the game progresses, more colours are introduced, white fragments with different effects appear, and the pace of the game generally increases.

Unfortunately for me, the game's pace increased well beyond my ability to cope with it, and it feels like the game is actively hindering your ability to play it. First, the act of linking together fragments never feels right. At first, I used a mouse on my desktop computer, but found myself unable to catch all the fragments and routinely falling well behind in note count by about halfway through the game. At first it seemed like it was too laborious to race across the screen with the cursor; Steam threads suggested shrinking your window size. But even at 800x600 I ran into issues. The mouse just feels too indirect a method of control; the fragments beg for you to reach out and touch them, to link them directly with your finger.

So the next option was to grab my touchscreen laptop and play that way. But then you run into a second issue with the game, which is that it seems not to connect fragments sometimes, even when it feels like you dragged or clicked over a fragment. This often happened at the beginning of a chain, which is bad because those are usually the notes lowest on the screen and thus can cost you quite a few notes through what feels like control sloppiness. Even when I picked up the stylus that came with the laptop, I found it unable to grab fragments sometimes.

Finally, I gave in and used what I consider to be a pretty bad bug in the game, except that it also felt like one I needed to finish the game: if you hit pause while playing the game, you can still chain fragments just fine. So the gameplay loop suddenly became one where I'd wait a few seconds for the screen to fill up with fragments, pause the game, and connect max chains to my heart's content before waiting another few seconds and starting the loop again. So AVSEQ ends up being crushingly difficult, requiring incredibly quick and precise reflexes, or mind-numbingly easy. There's no in-between.

One suggestion for allowing multiple levels of difficulty might be to allow for some degree of snap-to-fragment motion, to allow for a bit of imprecision when trying to chain fragments. Considering how hectic the game gets in later stages, and considering the trouble I had starting chains even on lower levels using the touchscreen, I wonder if this would be a simple quality-of-life fix. But I ain't no game designer, and in any case the creators of AVSEQ have likely moved on long ago. As it stands, I'm not sure I like AVSEQ very much, though the ideas behind it are sound.

 

[Tizoc]

248. Space Quest V

After losing interest with SQ2, 3 and 4, I managed to stick around long enough to finish the 5th game. It has some decent puzzles but the lack of highlighting when moving your cursor on items is pretty irritating. Furthermore, there were some sections that i really disliked like the battle ship mini game which is easier with save scumming but is otherwise pretty dull, as well as the part late in the game where you need to save your Engineer.
With some QoL changes a (fan) remake could greatly improve on the experience of this game.
It has some nice humor otherwise.

249. Uncharted 3

Gotta say I enjoyed this game a lot more than 1 and 2. As is it is tied with 4 in my personal ranking of the series.
As is I only have LL and the Vita game to play in the series.
I enjoyed the first half a lot more than the 2nd, although I will agree that the ship graveyard section is visually impressive. Heck the majority of the game looks fantastic, but I didn't like the shooting all that much. They tried to scale it down but the Heavies in this game are annoying to deal with due to how tanky they are, even on Easy.
I do have a few qualms with the characters and the plot but I'll give ND props for giving us more Sully in this game.

 

[jcnet]

I'm wondering if I should join this challenge next year, i'm super on the fence, it seems like an honorable way to clear a backlog but at the same time I feel like maybe the challenge is used in ways that ignore the intent (clearing backlog) it kind a saps the fun out of it when people treat it as a speedrun and just coount games they play regardless of if they beat it.

 

[InquisitorAles]

I'm wondering if I should join this challenge next year, i'm super on the fence, it seems like an honorable way to clear a backlog but at the same time I feel like maybe the challenge is used in ways that ignore the intent (clearing backlog) it kind a saps the fun out of it when people treat it as a speedrun and just coount games they play regardless of if they beat it.

Click to shrink...

Personally this challenge didn't affected my playstyle during this year, i managed to beat around 55 games so far and dropped halfway even more games. Just play games like usual and don't force yourself into speedrun, participate in this challenge just for fun so it won't be a big deal if you don't reach 52 beat games before end of the year.

 

[Spyware]

I'm wondering if I should join this challenge next year, i'm super on the fence, it seems like an honorable way to clear a backlog but at the same time I feel like maybe the challenge is used in ways that ignore the intent (clearing backlog) it kind a saps the fun out of it when people treat it as a speedrun and just coount games they play regardless of if they beat it.

Click to shrink...

Ignore how other people treat it! Some seem to aim for the highest numbers, some just count for their own sake even tho reaching 52 seems impossible for them, some seem to count every single game they touch even if only playing for 10 mins and others treat it like a backlog challenge. Whatever you want to do is fine, it's not a competition, it's a challenge against yourself. Just have fun! :)

 

[chrominance]

I'm wondering if I should join this challenge next year, i'm super on the fence, it seems like an honorable way to clear a backlog but at the same time I feel like maybe the challenge is used in ways that ignore the intent (clearing backlog) it kind a saps the fun out of it when people treat it as a speedrun and just coount games they play regardless of if they beat it.

Click to shrink...

I think you have to make the challenge whatever you want it to be. The only literal prize is recognition in this thread, and even then, I doubt very many people are keeping track of everyone who's accomplished the goal (aside from VisceralBowl, bless them). I do agree that I think the spirit of the challenge was to count games you finished, or spent a significant amount of time in if the game doesn't really have an ending (ex. multiplayer games). But ultimately, the only person who can keep you accountable is you. If the idea of the challenge is still compelling to you, I say do it, and ignore the people who don't feel like they're doing it in the same spirit you're doing it in.

 

[chrominance]

Original post

40. Shelter (PC, 2013) - 1:08
Completed the campaign.

In real life, I screamed while in the game, the large bird swooped down and tore one of my babies almost literally from my breast.

Shelter is a short game, but it's surprisingly efficient when it comes to forming an emotional attachment. It's very pretty (though somewhat lacking in contrast) and has a great soundtrack to boot. Highly recommended.

 

[Melkaz]

#50 Thomas Was Alone VITA- ★★★☆☆ Finished 02/12/2017 4 hours played

Double dipped when the VITA version went on sale, never got far in the steam version.
Who knew simple blocks could have so much personality! Quite a fun game for it's price point.

#51 Uncharted: The Lost Legacy PS4- ★★★★☆ Finished 10/12/2017 8 hours played

Wow this caught me by surprise! Uncharted 4 kinda left a bad taste in my mouth due to it being far longer than it needed to be. This game was exactly what I needed, a shorter tighter game.
This makes me think Uncharted still has life in it even without the main cast. Chloe really is a fantastic character, Nadine I'm still on the fence about..I also liked the tongue -in-cheek chatter throughout the game. For instance when

Spoiler: character

Sam

found a crate and they responded with something like "of course it's a crate!" and while discussing the Drakes Chloe commented that Sam came out of nowhere in a sarcastic voice.


One game left to go, I'm currently playing through Night in the Woods, F1 2017 and Gran Turismo Sport. So most likely Night in the Woods will be my #52.

 

[Bunga]

I'm wondering if I should join this challenge next year, i'm super on the fence, it seems like an honorable way to clear a backlog but at the same time I feel like maybe the challenge is used in ways that ignore the intent (clearing backlog) it kind a saps the fun out of it when people treat it as a speedrun and just coount games they play regardless of if they beat it.

Click to shrink...

I'm kinda on the fence about taking part next year as well. Not sure if it'll help you but I too worried about it potentially leading to rushing games and sapping enjoyment, so instead of setting a target amount of games for completion over the year, I think I might set a target amount of hours played. That way the hours can be spread across any number of games, completed games, dropped games, replays, you can take as much time as you want over a particular game as it will all contribute to the total - completing more games is just a potential (likely) biproduct of the approach.

 

[Dyna]

My main post (part 1).
My main post (part 2).

42 | White Day: A School Named Labyrinth | PS4
~10 hours | Completed Dec. 11th

I have mixed feelings on this game. On one hand I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere, exploring the school, discovering the ghost stories and talking with the other characters but on the other hand I loathed the janitor enemies that are just annoying instead of scary. The game has a lot of replayability thanks to the different story paths you can take and I'd love to explore it a little more but I'm not sure if I'll return to it any time soon because of the janitors. I know they needed some form of danger in the game but... ugh. Very interesting game though, I liked the rumour notes and little mysteries scattered throughout the school and the soundtrack was unique to say the least. Some small bugs and weird things here and there but performance was solid. I want to say I really like this because I truly do think it's very unique and it even pioneered some modern horror game elements (as it is a remake of a 2001 game) but the frustrating enemies prevent me from fully recommending this. Very interesting game nonetheless.

43 | Resident Evil 7: Not A Hero & End of Zoe DLC | PS4
3.5 hours | Completed Dec. 13th

I felt like these two deserved a spot on my list as a "double feature." I really enjoyed Resident Evil 7, so much in fact that I purchased the season pass as well which is something I never do. Anyways, after the first two DLC packs (that were okay at best) I was anxiously waiting for the promised story add-ons and while they took their sweet time I think they turned out pretty good in the end. Not A Hero was the one I was less excited for but it was a neat action-packed continuation to the main story. Chris doesn't look or sound like Chris but it didn't bother me too much, still had fun. The boss fight reminded me of Resident Evil 5, pretty crazy. End of Zoe was way more interesting in my opinion, I liked Joe Baker a whole lot and combat was super fun. This felt really Resident Evil in all of its wackiness. I think Capcom struggled to find a way to wrap up this story for a while but in the end it worked out alright. I wish these would've been longer though and I wouldn't have minded more of the scariness of the main game but I'm pretty content with this package as a whole. If you haven't played Resident Evil 7 yet, the Gold Edition looks like a pretty tight deal. I'd recommend it for sure.

 

[LiquidSolid]

Second half of my games done. I'll follow this up with my last bunch of games near the end of the month, when I'm positive I won't finish any more.

OP
Backloggery

Game #27 - God of War (PSV) - 27/05/17

I got this via cross-buy years ago and it's been sitting in my backlog ever since but with GoW 2018 coming, what better time to play the Vita versions? BAD idea. This is a BAD port, with bugs, crashes and trophy glitches galore. The only way to avoid the trophy glitches is to play the entire game in Flight mode and everything else, you just have to deal with. I probably should've given up on it at some point but I gradually managed to beat everything, even the Challenges of the Gods.

Game #28 - Quell Memento (PSV) - 30/05/17

A great little puzzle game that had been in my backlog for years. It does a great job introducing a bunch of gimmicks that work well on their own, with a number of levels dedicated to them, and then combining them to create more complex and interesting puzzles.

Game #29 - Tekken 7 (PS4) - 13/06/17

The best Tekken since Tekken 5 waaay back on the PS2 and PSP. It's absolutely packed with content with a fantastic roster, ton of clothing and accessories (with a special shout out to the NJPW content), a variety of different modes (though the exclusion of Team Battle is some real bullshit), decent attempt at a story mode and significant online features. It's pretty crazy, though maybe not unexpected coming from a game that's been out in arcades for over two entire years at this point. As far as the story goes, I'm not a big fan of their ridiculous attempts to humanise a monster like Heihachi but it's great to FINALLY be done with the Heihachi vs Kazuya bullshit. Most importantly, the core gameplay is still there and insanely fun. And the addition of Rage Art/Drive, as well as the fantastic use of slow-mo, can make for some thrilling fights.

Game #30 - FEZ (PSV) - 22/06/17

Another game that's been sitting in my backlog for years, in fact I believe I bought it on the Vita version's launch in 2014, and I prioritised playing on my commute. Given some of the impressions I remember from back then, I was kinda expecting to be blown away by FEZ and surprised when I wasn't. I guess my expectations were too high. But I did still like it. The level design is really impressive, even if it can get frustrating trying to navigate through all the levels trying to find ones with puzzles I can solve. It's a real pity we'll seemingly never get FEZ 2.

Game #31 - Yakuza 0 (PS4) - 26/06/17

I'm a huge Yakuza fan and have been playing them ever since the first one came out back on the PS2 but it took me a while to buy and play 0 because I was still so burnt out on Yakuza 5 and its awful pacing from December 2015/January 2016 (though it was still a great game).

Having played all the English localised Yakuza's, I can comfortably say 0 is one of the best games in the series and the best opportunity to jump into the series in a long time. The story is really interesting and adds a shocking amount of context to Yakuza 1's story. Majima makes for a really fun and interesting playable character. And Kiryu's as badass as ever.

About the only complaints I have is that the various fighting styles lack a lot of the depth I want from Yakuza's fighting styles, especially in comparison to Kiryu's main Dragon of Dojima style. Oh and they brought the crappy old baseball minigame back instead of using Yakuza 5's good one.

Game #32 - King's Quest (PS4) - 30/06/17

The King's Quest reboot caught my interest from its announcement but since it was so expensive here, I waited for a decent sale before buying and playing it. I really liked it. The puzzles are all fairly logical, the writing is really good and the way each episode takes place at a different point in the King's life is a neat storytelling device. The only thing that seems really dumb is how the Epilogue isn't included in the Season Pass. After Episode 5's ending, I thought the Epilogue was a much needed little addition, so to only sell it separately or within the Complete Collection is pretty dumb. I can imagine a lot of people didn't think it was worth the extra cost and missed out on it.

Game #33 - God of War II (PSV) - 02/07/17

I wasn't sure I was going to bother with this port after my awful experience with first God of War's Vita version but I heard a lot less complaints about this port. I still encountered a couple of crashes and, to be safe, played this one on Flight mode like I did the first, but it is a much better port overall. GoW2 is still a great game. It might throw Kratos' character under the bus but it does it with style and some incredible set pieces.

Game #34 - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - A Criminal Past (PS4) - 03/07/17

Mankind Divided was a disappointing game for me, personally, but I still love Deus Ex enough to make sure I played both pieces of DLC and this was a pretty good one. The prison environment and character interaction reminded me a lot of Chronicles of Riddick, albeit much smaller, which was a lot of fun. I can't say it felt much like Deus Ex though, it basically just had me thirsting for another Riddick game.

Game #35 - Syberia II (PS3) - 07/07/17

Bought years ago on sale and I only just got around to playing it while waiting for FFXII: The Zodiac Age's release. I'm not much of a fan. I like the fantastical world as much as I did in the original game but I had a lot more trouble with jank in this one. I realise it's a pretty old game at this point but getting stuck on the edges of the environment is always frustrating and when there's a bunch of small objects in a small area that I'm constantly getting stuck on, it's infuriating. There was also a barrel at one point that I had to run around for a couple of minutes before I somehow managed to find the perfect spot for the prompt to finally appear. I still like the world and am interested in checking out Syberia 3 at some point but this game got way too frustrating at points.

Game #36 - What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) - 08/07/17

I liked The Unfinished Swan because I thought there were some fantastic ideas in there but I didn't think everything came together that well, so I waited for a sale before buying Edith Finch and I regret doing so. What a weird, wonderful and touching game. They play around with a bunch of different mechanics in the individual stories and unlike The Unfinished Swan, it all works and fits in so perfectly. One of my favourite games of the year.

Game #37 - The Sexy Brutale (PS4) - 09/07/17

I added this game to my wishlist when it came out because of the Giantbomb Quick Look but by the time it went on sale and I bought it, I'd completely forgotten what it was about. So it was a bit of a surprise to find out that it's a time travelling murder mystery puzzle/adventure game and a really fun one at that. I just love the structure of it, figuring out how each character was killed and then what you need to do to save them. And the way everything came together at the end was great.

Game #38 - CounterSpy (PSV) - 10/07/17

Yet another game that's been sitting in my backlog for years. I bought it back when it first came out in 2014 but never got around to playing it, so now that I've been playing games on my commute, it was pretty high on my list of games I wanted to finish.

CounterSpy's a weird game. It's a 2.5D stealth game with procedurally generated levels but a lot of the levels generated are impossible to get through without setting off an alarm and raising the DEFCON level. If the DEFCON level reaches DEFCON 1, it's game over. You earn money finding collectables in levels and then use them to buy weapons, tech and ammo. All of this leads to a somewhat difficult learning curve when you start a campaign, as you have barely any money, weapons or equipment. Once you've bought the weapons you want though, it gets significantly easier and you can often deal with even the more difficult generated levels.

While it took me a little time to get used to it, once I did, I really enjoyed it. It has really great art design, which was clearly heavily influenced by 60s James Bond and The Man from UNCLE. My biggest issues were probably just with the Vita port. The framerate is pretty awful at times and there were a bunch of times it crashed.

Game #39 - Root Letter (PSV) - 17/07/17

A decent visual novel but very flawed. The best ending is pretty good and wraps up every plot thread I could think of in a satisfying manner but it's only possible to get on a second playthrough at the earliest. And then when you look at the other endings, only one of them kinda fits with the story, the rest are nonsensical and poorly shoehorned into a story they don't fit in. And on top of it all, the protagonist is an asshole, calling two characters by their super insulting nicknames ("Bitch" and "Fatty") even though he barely knew them and found out their real names. Every time he mentioned them, it took me completely out of the game.

Game #40 - Axiom Verge (PSV) - 29/07/17

I can't say I'm a huge Metroidvania fan but Axiom Verge is a pretty fantastic game. It's very Metroid-esque but there's some really cool new ideas in there, particularly some of the abilities, weapons and bosses, that make it completely stand out in the Metroidvania sub-genre. The Address Disruptor in particular is just a really cool idea that's used in a bunch of unique, cool ways. I think the only part I didn't particularly like was the final boss, who's bullshit on Normal, let alone Hard.

Game #41 - Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4) - 31/07/17

I was really disappointed with Final Fantasy XII when it first came out because while I loved the first two thirds of the game, the last third is a bit of a rushed mess. After getting over the disappointment though, I still ended up looking back at it as one of my favourites in the series. So when The Zodiac Age was announced, with all the changes from the International Zodiac Job System version, a host of new additions and a graphical upgrade, I couldn't wait to play it. The issues I had with the original release are still there but there's so much good about the game that I'm willing to overlook them. The addition of a second job opens things up so much, providing so many different combinations you can go with. The combat system is fantastic, giving you a ton of control over your characters behaviour which makes things so easy once you've got things set up how you want them and the ability to speed things up makes some of the more tedious areas and grinds so much better. And finally, while the graphical upgrade isn't huge, it tidies things up a lot. I love it.

Game #42 - Late Shift (PS4) - 01/08/17

I bought Late Shift largely because I really liked The Bunker last year but sadly, didn't find it anywhere near as good. I thought the acting was really good, especially for a FMV game, but the writing was poor at best. The leaps of logic to get Matt into the situation he gets in is just ridiculous and his relationship with May-Ling feels completely unearned. To top it off, to get all the endings, you need to play through it a dozen times and there's no chapter select, so it quickly becomes a chore to play.

Game #43 - Goosebumps: The Game (PS4) - 02/08/17

An adventure game and an incredibly basic one at that. There's nothing remotely interesting about it, aside from a couple bouts of childhood nostalgia. It was on sale but even then, it was probably too expensive.

Game #44 - 2064: Read Only Memories (PS4) - 07/08/17

I heard good things about Read Only Memories' original PC release a couple years ago, so the new version had been on my radar for a while. After numerous delays, I didn't buy it at launch because it was a really bad time for me, especially with all the amazing games coming out, but I finally made time for it this month and I wasn't disappointed. There's a lot of things to love about the game, particularly the cyberpunk setting and the diverse, well written cast of characters (Turing in particular). About the only major complaint I have is that the developers encourage multiple playthroughs to get the five endings but since there's not that deviation from the set path, it can get really tedious playing through the game over and over but with different dialogue at points. It's a big downer after loving the first playthrough.

Game #45 - Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (PS3) - 23/08/17

Step one in my quest to finish the entire Kingdom Hearts series before 3 finally comes out. I started this version over 3 years ago and only just got back to it now. After a lot of time put into it, I finally managed to not only finish it on all difficulties, but also finished the journal, obtain all weapons and complete all the gummi missions. It's a good game, with some really interesting ideas and cool areas, but at the same time, is very flawed. The combat and platforming are clumsy, the levels inconsistent and the gummi ship mini-game is outright awful. But having said that, in the context of when it came out, I still enjoyed it.

Game #46 - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) - 30/08/17

I "pre-ordered" The Lost Legacy when I bought Uncharted 4's expansion pass last year and it was one of the best deals I've ever had. I never really agreed with the extremely loud, hyperbolic Uncharted 4 complaints but it did have some issues that put it a couple notches below Uncharted 2 in my opinion. The Lost Legacy, on the other hand, has none of those issues, with a far more upbeat tone and much faster pacing and they did it all without Bruce Straley. It re-uses a lot of mechanics from Uncharted 4 and features some throwbacks to previous Uncharted set pieces but the dynamic between Chloe and Nadine and the setting are the stars of the show, completely differentiating it from the others. I can't wait to see what this creative team does after Druckmann finishes The Last of Us Part 2.

Game #47 - Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness (PSV) - 31/08/17

I watched the first season of Psycho-Pass leading into this game, so my immediate impression of the game was quite positive, even if it was really weird the way they insert two new characters into the main cast. But after playing my way through the game, I was left with the incredibly tedious task of getting all the other endings. Most visual novels help avoid this by skipping repeated text and while Psycho-Pass does have this feature, it's often useless. There's huge chunks of the game that are 99% the same as they were in another playthrough but since that 1% is new, it considers everything new, so won't skip any of it. I first dealt with this by reading everything but after a couple of new endings, I'd had enough and just mashed through everything that wasn't noticeably different. It sucks because I probably did miss some small details I would've liked but even though I was skipping through text, it still took an absurd amount of time to finish it, so I can't imagine how long it would've taken if I hadn't done it.

After all that, I find myself considering it a below average visual novel. It had a lot of potential and a bunch of cool moments but was way too wordy and tedious to get all endings.

Game #48 - Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 1: Awake (PS4) - 31/08/17

A great start to the new series. It's hard to believe this was developed by a completely different developer AND running on a completely different engine. I found Chloe kinda cringey at the start, like it was written by a couple of middle aged dudes who had no idea how teenagers act, but it got much better the further I played and loved her by the end. Can't wait for the next two episodes and to see where they go with the story.

Game #49 - The Walking Dead: Michonne (PS3) - 01/09/17

One of the better Telltale games in recent years, from what I've played anyway. I think being limited to three episodes led to a much more interesting, tighter story, with less filler and more meaningful choices. Of course, it's still a Telltale game, so the choices still don't have that much of an impact on the story and it ran like pure trash, but that's kinda what you expect going into a Telltale game.

Game #50 - Minecraft: Story Mode Deluxe (PS3) - 04/09/17

A much longer, much more mediocre Telltale game than Michonne. I was hoping Minecraft: Story Mode would be a repeat of Tales from the Borderlands, where Telltale weren't limited by established characters or a certain type of story and could go nuts creating a fun story and cast of characters but that wasn't the case. Instead, I got a story that I can only describe as boring and a bunch of uninteresting characters. There's a couple of cool scenarios in the second set of episodes, particularly Episode 6's haunted house, but they're not enough to make up for the rest.

Game #51 - Yakuza Kiwami (PS4) - 16/09/17

A good remake of what was, in hindsight, probably the worst (mainline) game in the series. Not that the original was bad, it was a good starting point for the series, but it didn't quite click the way the series did from Yakuza 2 onwards. Having said all that, I really enjoyed the added context to a lot of the characters actions, as well as the improvements the remake inherited from Yakuza 2 to 0.

The Majima Everywhere system was an interesting addition but I'm not sure I liked it. On the one hand, it was fun to have a consistent challenge throughout the game, but on the other, it didn't make much sense in regards to the story, led to you quickly being over levelled and could get really annoying if you just wanted to run somewhere without interruption.

Regardless, decent game. I can't wait for Yakuza 6 and Kiwami 2, remake of the best game in the series, Yakuza 2.

Game #52 - Undertale (PSV) - 17/09/17

I'd been putting off playing Undertale for a while but I couldn't do it any longer with a handheld version available. One of my friends insisted I go for the pacifist ending, so I made the effort to do it, even though it drew out my playtime quite a bit. But it was worth it, the ending was really cool. Undertale's a really brilliant game. Charming, well written, well designed and the soundtrack is fantastic. I might come back to it somewhere down the line to get the other endings.

 

[Ted]

Done, super happy! It's been fun but now I really want to get deeper into some longer/multiplayer games into the new year. List including links to short reviews for those interested can be found here:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2017.693/#post-107759

I hope someone is running this again next year and thanks to VisceralBowl for doing such a stellar job for the last few year. Thanks man, it's been a blast.

 

[Tizoc]

Original post:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2017.693/page-2#post-316296

250. Gorogoa

This is a pretty short Puzzle game where you must guide a boy to collect 5 fruit into a bowel in order to stop a monster or something?
The gameplay mainly involves moving pictures along a 4 square grid. Some pictures have other pictures beneath them when you move between squares on the grid. Certain actions or events could play out in a few of the pictures and you will need to move around pictures in order to progress.
There is some nice artwork in the game and the movement of the pictures on the grid is pretty clever and leads to some amusing events or actions that can solve a puzzle your on.

It's a pretty solid puzzle game, and I was fine with its length but the price point may not appeal to everyone. It is still worth getting if you can ever get it for cheap.

251. Tales

This game was such a slog to play through and it had a few puzzles that could've been explained better.
The game's plot is interesting: You play as a new Librarian who must stop an ancient entity from destroying all known legends and stories that had been passed down through the ages. The entity, Oblivion, does so by contaminating and corrupting the books in the library.

You gain the ability to enter the worlds of the books in the library in order to find items and allies to help you defeat Oblivion.
For the most part the puzzles are fine but you will end up going back and forth between book worlds for items and the entire traversal is pretty slow taking up to 30 seconds to go back and forth between books to get an item. At least the selection of books were interesting; I for one had never heard of Gargantua and Pantraguel until this game.

The game feels like it could've been a lot better were it made on something other than AGS, but as is and despite its flaws has some good promise. If one can look past its slow progression and traversal, they'll find a solid PnC game underneath.

 

[InquisitorAles]

Main post part 2

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59. Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate - 18 hours
I guess it's good for 18 hours expansion, though they focused more on story rather than on showcasing new dwarf faction. They reused a lot assets and even forced to revisit one specific map 4 times during campaign with minor changes, but i liked HoF campaign overall more than original one. Storyline goes much faster and it's a great thing after that crazy long 55 hour campaign in original. It ends with cliffhanger and teaser of Tribes of the East expansion, but i'm not going to do the same mistake i've made with Hammers of Fate and give it a time to rest before immediately going for next chapter, i was so burned out after original HoMMV i dropped this expansion after first mission and finished it only now, few years after original.

 

[CurrY]

#54 Super mario odyssey

 

[chrominance]

Original post

41. Chains (PC, 2008) - 2:29
Completed the campaign.

I'm very far behind in this year's challenge, and so in a bid to catch up, I've been trying to play a bunch of games in my Steam backlog that are supposed to be short. Chains isn't actually one of those games, but it did pop up while I was browsing through my library. It looked a little homebrew, like someone's first major game release. And for all I know, maybe it is. But it's also a good reason not to judge a book by its cover. Chains turns out to be quite a varied and interesting puzzler.

Chains is a match-3 game, in that you have to match 3 or more orbs together to make them disappear from a game board. But this ain't no Bejeweled clone, no sir. In fact, very few puzzle games I can think of manage to do as much with a limited set of puzzle mechanics as Chains does in its twenty levels. At first, you're just making chains of orbs and making them disappear. Later, the orbs have point values and you have to make a chain that adds up to a specific sum. Then that conceit gets thrown away, and instead you have to complete a puzzle in a specific amount of time. So far, nothing special.

It's around the fourth level that you realize there's a lot you could be asked to do. The fourth puzzle stops a lot of people in its tracks, but it's quite neat: you have a drain pipe that slowly fills up with orbs, and you have to make chains often enough that the pipe never gets completely clogged. It's still a timed puzzle, but it begins to take on a different dimension from just "clear X orbs in Y minutes."

If I had one complaint about Chains, it's that some of the puzzles rely much less on specific skills or a sudden epiphany, and much more on sheer luck. Later levels seem to require specific sequences of orbs to come up to survive, and if you don't get that combination, you could be screwed through no fault of your own. This only happens one or two times in the endgame, but when there's only twenty levels and your progress is strictly gated, it can feel like you're just going through the motions until the random number generator finally gives you a puzzle you're able to solve. You know there's an issue with the difficulty curve when you spend an hour on a single puzzle, and follow it with a puzzle that takes mere seconds to solve.

If you're someone who likes to take your time with puzzles, Chains may not be for you. But if you have a certain tolerance for randomness and time pressure, it's a cheap and cheerful way to pass the time.

 

[electroflame]

Let's go, 2017! This'll make year number four (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).

Game 1: Quantum Break (PC ~11 hours)
Not as good as Alan Wake, but I still enjoyed it.

Game 2: Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (PS4, ~6 hours)
Kind of short, but I can't say no to more of a good Souls-game.

Game 3: The Last Guardian (PS4, ~9 hours)
Yikes, didn't like this at all. Very over-rated, with frustrating controls, boring gameplay and a camera that seems to actively do the wrong thing on purpose. As a fan of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, this is easily the weakest of the three.

Game 4: Dishonored 2 (PC, ~30 hours)
Not as good as I was expecting coming from Dishonored 1, but I still enjoyed it, performance issues aside.

Game 5: The Amazing Spider-man (PC, ~13 hours)
Not an amazing Spider-man game, but I still enjoyed my time with it.

Game 6: Ms. Splosion Man Co-op (PC, ~7 hours)
Bad, bad, bad. The co-op doesn't work very well, and honestly expects far too much of you most of the time. Coordination with your teammates is required, almost to an unrealistic degree. Didn't enjoy, especially near the end.

Game 7: Gravity Rush 2 (PS4, ~35 hours)
Can't say no to more Gravity Rush!

Game 8: ABZU (PC, ~1.5 hours)
"Meh" the game. Nothing really wrong with it, but nothing really stood out as amazing either.

Game 9: Shovel Knight (PC, ~7 hours)
Great retro platformer. Really enjoyed it.

Game 10: Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (PC, ~7 hours)
Not as good as the main game, but still pretty fun.

Game 11: Just Cause 3: Sky Fortress (PC, ~3 hours)
Game 12: Just Cause 3: Mech Land Assault (PC, ~3 hours)
Game 13: Just Cause 3: Bavarium Sea Heist (PC, ~3 hours)
Grouping these together: Not very good DLC. The jetpack's fun, though.

Game 14: NieR: Automata (PC, ~37 hours)
Fun, but some of the gameplay gets very repetitive.

Game 15: INSIDE (PC, ~3 hours)
Cool short-story in game form, much like LIMBO.

Game 16: Yooka-Laylee (PC, ~23 hours)
As a Kickstarter backer, this turned out being what I wanted and more. Basically a modern Banjo-Kazooie.

Game 17: Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment (PC, ~ 4 hours)
Again, not as good as the main game, but still pretty fun.

Game 18: The Expendabros (PC, ~ 1 hour)
Mini-Broforce. Still fun.

Game 19: Gauntlet: Slayer Edition (PC, ~4 hours)
Decided to retry this after hating it on release. It's basically a completely different game now, and was actually pretty enjoyable in co-op. Not a very good Gauntlet game, though.

Game 20: The Amazing Spider-man 2 (PC, ~7 hours)
Took all the wrong cues from the first game. I still had fun, but it's definitely a worse version of the first game.

Game 21: Undertale (PC, ~8 hours)
You are filled with determination.

Game 22: Clustertruck (PC, ~3 hours)
"Meh". The shtick wears thin pretty quickly. The last boss is pretty horrible, too.

Game 23: The Turing Test (PC, ~5 hours)
Basically Portal, if Portal was a boring and uninspired derivative of itself.

Game 24: Owlboy (PC, ~8 hours)
Pretty good, if a bit bland. I didn't dislike it, but the game kind of falls apart in the last third or so.

Game 25: Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PC, ~46 hours)
Played this to see if it truly was a "fixed" version of the release Dark Souls II. It's better (i.e. I didn't hate it, and I enjoyed it at times), but it's still the worst Dark Souls.

Game 26: SuperHOT (PC, ~5 hours)
Super. Hot. Super. Hot.

Game 27: Crash Bandicoot (PS4, ~7 hours)
Game 28: Crash Bandicoot 2 (PS4, ~10 hours)
Game 29: Crash Bandicoot Warped (PS4, ~9 hours)
Game 30: Crash Bandicoot Trilogy Gem/Relic Cleanup (PS4, ~10 hours)
Great remaster/remakes. Some wonky physics aside, they're very faithful. Crash 1 hasn't aged well at all, though (mostly for the lack of analog stick support in the original).

Game 31: Prey (PC, ~28 hours)
System Shock in all-but-name. My PC Game of the Year.

Game 32: Vanquish (PC, ~7 hours)
Very disappointed in this. Didn't enjoy it at all, and the writing was atrocious.

Game 33: Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4, ~35 hours)
Okay, but not great. Massively over-hyped.

Game 34: Human Fall Flat (PC, ~6 hours)
Surprisingly fun in co-op. I really liked it for what it is.

Game 35: Hitman: Season 1 (PC, ~10 hours)
I'm not a huge Hitman fan, but this is actually pretty good. I liked it.

Game 36: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4, ~8 hours)
Great Uncharted game. I wish it was a bit longer, but otherwise no complaints.

Game 37: Trials Fusion (Xbox One, ~6 hours)
Meh.

Game 38: Trine (PC, ~6 hours)
Double-meh.

Game 39: Assassin's Creed: Rogue (PC, ~13 hours)
My opinion might've been different if I played it when it released, but it's a super clunky entry into the franchise. The ship combat is still a blast, though.

Game 40: Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ (PC, ~17 hours)
Disappointment of the Year. I really enjoyed the first game, but this threw out all the good and double-downed on the bad. The horrible fan-fiction-level story aside, it's just a bad game.

Game 41: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch, ~30 hours)
Amazing. Really enjoyed my time with this. Definitely the Switch's GOTY.

Game 42: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch, ~35 hours)
Terrible. A boring, empty open world with scattered, copy-paste dungeons. The sense of wonder fades quickly when you realize the core game loop is built on monotony and repeating the same, basic actions with little sense of accomplishment. Easily the most over-hyped game of 2017, and if I hadn't played Shadow of War it would've been my Disappointment of the Year.

Multiplayer or open-ended games

Game 43: Rec Room (PC, Vive)
Who needs a real club hangout?

Game 44: Raw Data (PC, Vive)
One of the best VR games. Those robots never knew what hit 'em.

Game 45: Counter Fight (PC, Vive)
Yes, it's a little basic. But now I can run my own ramen shop while throwing hot pans at thieves!

Game 46: Zombie Training Simulator (PC, Vive)
Zombies are significantly scarier in VR, so I enjoy shooting at non-threatening card-board cutouts of them.

Game 47: Space Pirate Trainer (PC, Vive)
Not really training me to be a Space Pirate, instead it's teaching me to be an awesome gunslinger that can utilize bullet-time like Neo.

Game 48: Audioshield (PC, Vive)
I enjoy punching things in VR, and I enjoy music, so therefor I must enjoy punching music.

Game 49: Uncharted 4 Multiplayer (PS4)
This can be ridiculously fun at times, and completely frustrating other times. The matchmaking is honestly one of the worst I've ever experienced. Still pretty fun in 2017, especially with the new-ish modes.

Game 50: Team Fortress 2 (PC)
Cry havoc, and let slip the hats of war. Also, great for making free money during an event.

Game 51: Rocksmith 2014 (PC)
Oh yes, I do enjoy rocking out occasionally.

Game 52: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (PC)
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And that's 52, making this my fourth year squeaking by with just enough games!

 

[chrominance]

Original post

42. A Bird Story (PC, 2014) - 1:27
Completed the campaign.

As an in-between game to tide people over while To the Moon 2 was in development, A Bird Story is not exactly related to its much more famous predecessor, but many of To the Moon's touchstones remain: a lovely piano soundtrack played by the game's developer, an RPG Maker-built world with little interactivity, and a story unconventional for video games. It doesn't work nearly as well as To the Moon did, mostly because the story isn't as compelling. It's a simple tale of a lonely boy who one day finds a bird in need. And... that's kind of it. To the Moon worked in part because of how it turned on its head what you thought you knew about the story's subject, but that kind of revelation never occurs here. Instead, we get a few artistic conceits that often work okay (the lack of dialogue, the world shifting around to emphasize important areas while cutting out unneeded ones) and some that don't as much (the blurring of reality and imagination). And since the story doesn't do as much heavy lifting this time, the almost complete lack of meaningful activities for you to do in the game becomes more glaring.

For what it is, A Bird Story isn't a bad way to pass an hour, but it's not up to the standard of To the Moon.

 

[chrominance]

Original post

43. The Expendabros (PC, 2014) - 1:05
Completed the campaign.

Broforce is a ridiculous, over-the-top homage to ridiculous, over-the-top action movies from the 80s, so of course an action movie franchise starring aged stars from the source material would make a good cross-promotional fit. And so we have The Expendabros, a free bite-sized version of Broforce starring what I'm guessing are bro-ified characters from the last Expendables movie. Sure, whatever.

I haven't actually played Broforce yet, so I don't know if Expendabros is indicative of what you'd find in the main game. If it is, it sounds like I can expect two things: chaos and disaster. At its best, Expendabros feels like distilled badassery; as you progress, you unlock new bros with different skills, which all feel balanced for maximum carnage, but with crucial Achilles heels that you have to constantly manage as the game swaps you into new characters. But the game also has its share of difficulty spikes, most obviously the next-to-last level. It's when the game gets really chaotic that your ability to manage everything is truly tested, and it can often take a lot of trial and error to make it through. I found myself losing track of my character on the screen, and also what character I was controlling at the time (is it the minigun guy, the knife-throwing guy, or the grenade launcher guy? oops, it's the grenade launcher guy). I'd also like to take particular issue with the controller binding screen, which is impossible to use because of the text being way too large for the screen. I had to figure out through trial and error what all the buttons did, and I'd forget every so often.

Still, for the most part, The Expendabros is a solid bite-size platformer/shooter, and what it lacks in running time it more than makes up for in explosions.

 

[JonathanNielson]

The sweet taste of victory! Thanks for bringing this thread over, it was my favorite thing about the old forum, so I'm glad to see it live again. At one point in the year I was on track to beat over 70 games. But then I fell way behind, and it took enough effort just to get finish at all.

Overall, this year I tried to focus on my Wii U and PS3 backlogs, and I'm basically done with them at this point. Next year is all about 3DS and Vita, while playing all the new games I can't help myself from playing. Here's to a better 2018!

THE STATS:

Completed: 52/52
Total Time Spent Playing = 1272 Hours (53 Days LOL)
Average Time Per Game = 24 Hours
Most Played Game = PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS (220 Hours)
Most Played Platform (By # of Games) = PS3 (16 games)
Most Played Platform (By # of Hours) = PS4 (341 Hours)

1: Fallout 4 - 27 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 1/13/2017
"A truly fantastic game riddled with bugs and performance problems. I'll probably replay it on PC to at least alleviate the framey nightmare that is downtown Boston."

2: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - 17 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 1/15/2017
"Really fun game, that probably is a few hours too long, though it's not too big an issue. Will likely go back for the Platinum soon."

3: Three Fourths Home - 2 Hours (Vita)

Finished 1/20/2017
"Deeply moving story-driven game that really caught me by surprise. It took about an hour to beat it, but I spent another hour, at least, going through all the extras. Truly excellent."

4: Xenoblade Chronicles - 63 Hours (Wii)

Finished 2/05/2017
"Never have I love/hated a game more than this. Incredible world, music, characters, and gameplay sit next to grim balancing issues and incredibly cringy writing and performances. Perhaps my favorite game ever that I absolutely couldn't wait to be done with. Weird feeling."

5: Actual Sunlight - 2 Hours (Vita)

Finished 2/06/2017
"Decided to play this while I waited for Nioh to be delivered and was caught off guard by it's emotional weight. It's a small, dialogue driven game with minor movements and choices throughout the world. It's a very impactful story about depression and suicide."

6: Wolfenstein: The New Order - 16 Hours (PS4)

Finished 2/18/2017
*Platinumed: 02/19/2017, 14 Hours*
"Always been a big shooter fan, but this game surprised me with just how fun its gameplay was, on top of an interesting story and incredible atmosphere. Both the lean and armor mechanics were interesting and well implemented. Pretty fun trophy list, too. Highly recommended."

7: Nioh - 46 Hours (PS4)

Finished 2/26/2017
"I've never played a Souls game before, so this was my first experience with the genre and I absolutely loved it. The setting and gameplay are truly fantastic and beating a game has probably never felt so good. Never tried cocaine, but I imagine beating a Nioh boss feels pretty similar. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a challenge."

8: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 180 Hours (Switch)

Finished: 4/8/2017
"An all-consuming, beautifully melancholic adventure. It's eaten almost all of my free time for the past five weeks. This game is an absolute must-play."

9: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - 9 Hours (Wii U)

Finished: 4/12/2017
"Occasionally moments of greatness, but it's largely spoiled by a remarkably sanitized feeling to the whole thing. I'd recommend to puzzle lovers, but otherwise I wouldn't bother."

10: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - 12 Hours (PS4)

Finished - 4/19/2017
*Platinumed 4/20/2017 - 8 Hours*
"Not quite as good as the base game, but more of good thing is great, in this case."

11: Super Rude Bear: Resurrection - 5 Hours (PS4)

Finished - 4/29/2017
"A tightly constructed, brutal platformer with a great twist. Also the soundtrack is really really good."

12: Pokemon Go - 100+ Hours (Android)

Put Down - 5/1/2017
"A really killer concept wrapped up in a pretty mediocre game. I enjoyed it enough to play over 100 hours and get to level 28, but overall I've finally put it down because of its issues."

13: Bayonetta - 13 Hours (PS3)

Finished - 5/4/2017
"Never have I played a game this committed to over-the-top style. Incredibly fun and engaging, with some of the best enemy design I've ever seen. It's technical performance holds it back in certain areas and some of those QTEs are truly terrible. Overall, loved it and I'm looking forward to playing the sequel."

14: Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number - 8 Hours (Vita)

Finished - 5/5/2017
"Not quite as good as the first game, but still really fun. The art, music, and overall style are absolutely incredible. I think this sequel lost some of the original's gameplay magic when it expanded it's levels and slightly randomized them."

15: Escape Plan - 4 Hours (Vita)

Finished - 5/7/2017
"Great style born from the art, animation, and sound design. The controls are so maddeningly difficult to manage that it almost sucks all the fun out of it. Ultimately, it's enjoyable, but it doesn't make it easy on the player to enjoy it."

16: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - 6 Hours (Wii U)

Finished - 5/8/2017
"Amazing art style. Total commitment to an utterly amazing aesthetic goes a long way. The gameplay is surprisingly fun on top of it all, with a lot of unique, fun mechanics blended in. It probably could have been a bit longer, which is something I don't typically say, but I really enjoyed it."

17: Fat Princess - 3 Hours (PS3)

Finished - 5/11/2017
"Fun art style, sound effects, and story. Gameplay is somewhat enjoyable in single player, but the single player is very very short. The little I played of multiplayer was not at all enjoyable. It feels like playing multiplayer Pikmin if each player controlled a single Pikmin. Overall, pretty okay, but not great."

18: Tokyo Jungle - 17 Hours (PS3)

Finished - 5/15/2017
"Weirdly compelling little game. I don't usually enjoy survival elements, but I think this game's unabated commitment to survival as the core mechanic makes it work. In general, I'm struggling to pin down what I really like about it, but I definitely enjoyed it overall."

19: Prey - 30 Hours (PS4)

Finished - 5/18/17
"Given the studio's pedigree, I knew I would love this game--and I did. There were some frustrating moments, but the amazing setting, atmosphere, music, and systems-driven gameplay are an extremely potent mix."

20: Bayonetta 2 - 10 Hours (Wii U)

Finished: 5/25/2017
"Once you get past the jarring fact that Nintendo published this game somehow, you can enjoy a relatively shorter jaunt of non-stop fun, as compared to the first game. Many aspects are improved greatly over the original, and while I still loved the game I can say that I did enjoy the first game a little more. Hoping for a possible threequel."

21: Beyond Good and Evil HD - 12 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 5/27/2017
"Had to see what all the hullabaloo was about, and I must say I was caught off guard by this game. The atmosphere and style are incredible, particularly for that era of game. That said, it is definitely a PS2 game what with it's nightmarish camera and clunky controls. Looking past that, I see myself joining the ranks of fans waiting for a sequel!"

22: Nintendo Land - 16 Hours (Wii U)

Finished: 6/1/2017
"Expertly crafted collection of some of the most interesting uses of the Wii U concept. Not every game is fun, but they all offer a window into how the Wii U might have been utilized, but almost never was. Also, that Metroid game is straight up awesome."

23: Twisted Metal (2012) - 7 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 6/2/2017
"A pretty good game buried under bad controls and fucking nightmarish level design in some missions. Also, the acting is straight up bad and the game just generally lacks polish. I'm interested to see if this series will live again."

24: Paper Mario: Color Splash - 32 Hours (Wii U)

Finished 6/9/2017
"A masterclass in visual and audio design, that is almost completely ruined by a few moments of intense frustration and bad gameplay design. Overall I enjoyed it, but it sure didn't make it easy at times."

25: Overwatch - 80 Hours Continuing (PS4)

"Finished" 06/12/2017
"A game of a generation that I will continue to play for a long time. Incredible characters and gameplay. Not much I can say that hasn't already been said about this achievement of a game."

26: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 9 Hours (Wii U)

Finished: 06/17/2017
"Unfortunately, I did not have much fun with this game at all. Despite its incredible art, music, sound design, and level design, the core movement and actions were very frustrating in their mushy-ness. I was sad that I spent way more time spewing curses at the controller than I did smiling at the wacky, beautiful game world. This isn't a bad game, by any stretch, but its moments of frustration outweigh the fun."

Post Continues Here

 

[Deleted member 401]

77. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (13 hours)
Okay, this game is a lot of fun, and the story and writing are on fucking point, but it also has a ton of damage sponge enemies that you can't even stealth kill. If anything, that aspect of the game is a good incentive for playing, say, Prey 2017 instead.

Full list to date

 

[chrominance]

Original post

44. Luxuria Superbia (PC, 2013) - 1:40
Gold on all flowers.

Luxuria Superbia is the most abstract game about sex I've ever seen. It's somehow completely wholesome and incredibly obvious about its intentions at the same time. The basic idea is that you have twelve "flowers" you have to fill with colour by touching nubs on the walls. But you can't do it too fast; filling the flower completely with colour before its time is bad. Everything needs to happen in its own time, which basically means you need to colour the walls only most of the way, and rack up points for as long as possible before finally colouring in all the walls and then gathering the seeds that pop up as a result.

Watch a video and you can see where this is going pretty quickly, assuming you have even a remotely dirty mind. Which is what this game is counting on, really. The act of playing Luxuria Superbia ends up feeling like you're teasing the controller, gently caressing and lightly prodding at the analog sticks, careful not to be too vigorous at first. Every so often the game throws out a double entendre, printed in a tasteful slab serif like the one you'd find on the cover of an upscale women's magazine. The soundtrack isn't seductive so much as bizarrely whimsical. The overall effect, then, isn't really sexy, but playfully absurd. This feels wholly intentional, and is maybe the best thing about the game.

The only real problem, then, is that it's a one-trick pony. The different flowers do require somewhat different angles of attack--some of them like a vigorous rub, while others appreciate a gentle touch--but ultimately, you're really just doing the same thing time and again. Before too long, the absurdity gives way to a sort of boredom, of going through the motions, prolonging the tease artificially to meet some arbitrary standard. This being a Tale of Tales joint, it's hard to say whether this, too, is an intentional effect or not. But it does mean that the game wears out its welcome before you've technically completed everything in the game.

 

[Dyna]

My main post (part 1).
My main post (part 2).

44 | Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World | 3DS
21.5 hours | Completed Dec. 18th

Kind of mixed feelings on this one. I bought it on release day but I just kind of played it throughout the year in short sessions because I found the game quite frustrating. The port itself is pretty solid, looks really nice and colourful on the 3DS screen and the added Poochy levels are alright I guess but the game itself just isn't that great in my opinion. Level design varies from very fun to tedious and straight up annoying, the checkpoint placement is all over the place and for a Yoshi game it sure can feel unfairly punishing at some times. Screwing up in this game felt way more irritating than, say, dying in the Souls games in my opinion. Not a horrendous game by any means but my enthusiasm towards it kept steadily fading away while playing it. I guess Yoshi games just aren't my cup of tea.

45 | Gorogoa | PC
1.5 hours | Completed Dec. 19th

Now this was an amazing puzzle game! I absolutely adored the art style and the way the game functions in general, it's just so beautiful and unique. The puzzles weren't too difficult but figuring them out and watching everything click in place was super satisfying. The price for the Steam version was a bit hard to swallow because it's so short but to be fair, it's a really high quality product all around so I'd say it can justify the price tag. Hopefully it will get some sort of sequel, I'd love to see more.

 

[MrNewVegas]

Will the 2018 link be posted in this thread as it's closed? Going to follow this thread to make sure I get in for next year.

 

[bobnowhere]

In no particular order:

1. Assassin's Creed Revelations (37 Hours) Steam

The adventures of old man Ezio. It takes some weird story turns but is a satisfying end to his story.

2. Batman - The Telltale Series (11 Hours) Steam

Interesting take on the classic tale, terrible performance even on a monster PC.

3. Black the Fall - (4 Hours) Steam

Think Inside but set in a totalitarian steampunk...ish setting. In some ways superior to Inside, especially story-wise.

4. Crosscells (3 Hours ) Steam

Another number puzzler from the mind behind Hexcells, this time based on squares.

5. Figment ( 5 Hours ) Steam

Light Action RPG, mostly puzzler. Great style. Some of the VO is poorly recorded but the original songs are amazing.

6. INSIDE ( 6 Hours ) Steam

Limbo on steroids.

7. J.U.L.I.A. Among the stars ( 7 hours) Steam

Great little adventure games with similarities to an HO game. Puzzles galore.

8. Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy ( 12 Hours) Steam

One of their there better efforts, the main characters are very different to the movies though. Starlord is probably the weakest.

9. Phrase Shift ( 4 Hours) Steam

Letter shifting game where you move the words that make the clue to reveal the answer.

10. Push (2 Hours) Steam

Short puzzler where you solve the required numerical/symbol sequence on a 3D surface.

11. Refunct (<1 Hour) Steam

A short puzzle platformer about bringing a world back to life.

12. Rise of the Tomb Raider (30 Hours) Steam

Stunning looking action adventure game. A lot of annoying content gates means you have to keep returning to areas.

13. Ryse: Son of Rome (10 Hours) Steam

Action game set in Rome, obviously! Not that long but beautiful and good story. Pretty easy and repetitive combat system though.

14. Scanner Sombre (2 Hours) Steam

Short walking sim where you use a laser scanner to illuminate a dark cave system in the effort to escape. Nice little game and the final kicker is a tear-jerker.

15. Stories: The Path of Destinies (7 Hours) Steam

Nice little ARPG where the choices you make during each run slowly inform you of a greater truth allowing you to reach the true ending. Can get a little repetitive.

16. Submerged (7 Hours) Steam

A beautiful adventure game set it the flooded ruins of civilisation about a girl trying to save her brother.

17. SUPERHOT (5 Hours) Steam

Superhot, superhot, superhot, superhot, superhot... It will get burned into your brain.

18. Tangrams Deluxe (4 Hours) Steam

A variation of Tangrams, use the pieces to create another image. Decent version, placement doesn't demand extreme precision so doesn't get frustrating.

19. Turmoil (8 Hours) Steam

Strategy simulation about drilling for oil. Good fun and yes, you can become the Burn Slant-Drill company.

20. The Walking Dead Season 2 (14 Hours) Steam

As grimdark as always, I just wish something nice would happen at some point.

21. The Witcher 3 + both DLC (159 Hours)

Probably the greatest game ever made.

22. XCOM 2 (50 Hours) Steam

Makes great changes compared to one and being the plucky invaders is a nice changeup.

23. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen (50 Hours) Steam

Makes, even more, improvements and introduces, even more, factions to compete and cooperate with.

24. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (11 Hours) XBOX One

Nice HD upscaling. Added some levels that weren't present in the original release.

25: Forza Horizon 3 (58 Hours) XBOX One

Fanatasic racer, as an Australian it's nice to see familiar sights though how the geography links together is pretty funny!

26. Quantum Break (19 Hours) XBOX One

The integration of TV and game is new and well done, some of the mechanics less so.

27. Gears of War 4 (23 Hours) XBOX One

The characters are pretty boring compared to the original trilogy but it's still well done.

28. Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (11 Hours) Steam

Good fun, lots of puzzles, good cases. Only complaint is that the main story is barely touched upon, it's just a series of non-related cases with a little overall story here and there.

29. Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry (9 Hours) Steam

Meaty DLC adventure, pretty linear and main story heavy and deals with some pretty serious issues. Pretty bleak at times.

30-32. Uncharted 1, 2 and 3 (PS4)

Replayed all three remakes, were the first games I played on PS4! As fun as always, some janky encounter design but unparalleled storytelling.

33. The Last of Us Remaster (PS4)

Gave up on it in the PS3 era, not sure why loved it this time.

34. Infamous Second Son (PS4)

Fun powers seemed a little less interesting than the first 2.

35. Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4)

Stunning looking action adventure game. A lot of annoying content gates means you have to keep returning to areas. Some interesting DLC that I don't have on PC.

36. The Order: 1886 (PS4)

Somewhere there is a game in this interactive novel. :P Enjoyed it, just wanted more agency.

37. Uncharted 4 (PS4)

Stunning looking and lots of new and interesting characters. Shooting still a little annoying.

38. Far Cry 4 (PS4)

Like most Ubisoft tick all the boxes open world game, it wears out it's welcome but an improvement on 3.

39. Mass Effect Andromeda (PS4)

So little interesting happens that I can barely remember it.

40. Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)

A stunning looking game, a little repetitive but great storytelling.

41. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)

They really struggle with character and story here, I just wish they could match it to the outstanding mechanics.

42. Destiny (PS4)

Finished all but the final DLC will get to it eventually. Great shooting, nonsensical story.

43. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4)

A massive open world, too much Batmobile, still a great entry in the franchise.

44. Doom (PS4)

Super old school awesomeness. Took me a while to get used to it as I'm too used to slow ponderous cover-based shooters.

45. Far Cry Primal (PS4)

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would, loved the aesthetic.

46. Ghost Recon Wildlands (PS4)

Go to an area, do all the things, move on. Great world to live in, hollow otherwise.

47. Titanfall 2 (PS4)

The best Single player campaign in ages. Massive amazing mechanics that only last one level!

48. Assassin's Creed Unity (PS4)

Nowhere near as bad as I feared, good story, maybe too much to do though.

49. Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4)

Fun brother/sister dynamic, best AC in a long time.

50. Just Cause 3 (PS4)

Shoot, bang etc... A more cohesive experience that 2. Performance very poor at times.

51. Call of Duty: Infinite War (PS4)

Surprisingly good campaign really enjoyed it.

52. Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4)

Brilliant, want more.

53. Killzone: Shadow Fall. (PS4)

Good improvement on the first games, still feel like a 4ft midget playing it.

54. iFAMOUS: First Light. (PS4)

Good story, very grindy though.

55. Assassin's Creed Origins (PS4)

Loved it, did everything, first time I've done that in an AC game.

56. Dirt 4 (PS4)

Hated the fog, long and not enough variation

57. Agents of Mayhem (PS4)

Even though the city seems very small, enjoyed this one a lot. Great personality.

58. Lego City Undercover (PS4)

Good fun, too much stuff that requires upgrades gets a little frustrating. Constantly having to go back to places.

59. South Park: The Fractured But Whole (PS4)

Great improvements on the mechanics and great story. Really well done.

 

[Tizoc]

252. Tokyo Xanadu eX+

This game lasted way longer than it should @_@. I enjoyed the action RPG elements of it, but its Vita roots are very apparent with the dungeon design, esp. since it really feels held back by the Vita's limitations.
While I enjoyed the overall gameplay and combat, I advise those willing to play it to play it in short sessions, as the combat can burn one out. I didn't care for the plot and just skipped all cutscenes and mainly just read the notes in the game's pause menu.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Bigger update, original post is here

#47 Y's 8: Lacrimosa of Dana
GREAT - A great JRPG with an awesome battle system. The dialogues can get a bit wordy here and there, but the gameplay is pure fun. I didn't enjoy the Dana segments as much as the rest of the game, but whenever you play as the full party it's one of the best action-rpgs around. Also exploring is very rewarding and motivating to find new stuff to craft better items.

#48 Yakuza 0
AMAZING - Another near perfect entry in one of my favorite video game sagas of all time. This might even be the best game in the whole franchise, yet I have a soft spot for Yakuza 2 which might forever by my favorite one. Greatly enjoyed the characters and story and even most of the minigames. Finished both the real estate and night club stuff, something I normaly don't do in the Yakuza games.

#49 For Honor
GREAT - I played this a lot when it was new but only multiplayer. It's a great PvP game with some unique sword-fighting mechanics. Probably the best versus sword fighting of any game. The whole gear and prestige system is debatable but I enjoyed it for well over 50 hours. I recently worked through the campaign. To be honest, the meat of this game lays in it's multiplayer. The campaign isn't more than a glorified tutorial to get to know all the classes. The story is highly forgettable and the mission design is pretty straight forward. And oh yeah, it's a BEAUTIFUL game. Great graphics.

#50 The London Heist
GOOD - Easily the best PlayStation VR Worlds game. It's short but it shows perfectly what VR is capable of. Tha highway chase was one of the most intense VR sections I played to date. Fantastic stuff and makes me looking forward to Blood & Truth

#51 Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
GREAT - Wow, what an intense game. I freaked out more than once because of all the jump scares but it is so much fun to play. Really makes you feel like sitting in a rollercoaster while shooting stuff. Shooting in VR is even better than with real lightguns.

#52 Fallout 4: Automatron
GREAT - Currently working my way through Fallout 4 GOTY and I finished this DLC. I like the new compagnion Ada and the whole story line of this one was good. I love the helmet you get when you finish the DLC :)

#53 Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop
GOOD - It's cool to have your own vault. The story-line around this one was only okay and building all that stuff to make experiments on the inhabitants wasn't that great. But finding and clearing the abandoned vault was a lot of fun. I stumbled into this unintentional and didn't even know that it's part of the DLC until I checked my trophy-list. All the DLCs really enhance the overall Fallout 4 experience.

 

[Rokal]

Final update for the year since my PS4 Pro died and I won't be finishing any of the other stuff I was playing any time soon :x

December

53: Cuphead - 16 Hours

I greatly enjoyed playing through this with a friend over a few weekends. The visuals & audio are obviously the star of the show, but the boss variety is great too. There was a nice mix of regular bosses, flying bosses, bullet hell sections, and run & gun levels. The vast majority of the game felt very fair, only a few bosses where abilities could combine in either trivial or terrible ways felt like they strayed into the "unfair" camp since you could have a really hard attempt or a really easy attempt. The beautiful visuals go a long way in making the game less frustrating than it could have been, since every boss and phase feels like a treat. There were several times I died early in a fight due to poor play and was happy to have the opportunity to focus on the visuals while my poor partner had to try to finish the fight alone. The amount of love & attention to detail that went into the presentation of this game is going to be extremely hard to top.
9/10

54: NieR: Automata - 45 Hours

After finishing Route A I wasn't sure I wanted to play more NieR: Automata. I ended up finishing the remaining Routes and seeing the final conclusion. While I'm glad I did, as those sections gave much needed context to the story and delivered an excellent conclusion, I was still left thinking that this game could have used some serious editing. I would have preferred just one Route that removed the repetition of Route B and providing a satisfying conclusion by itself. I came away from the game with pretty mixed feelings: the game does some really interesting things and the way it seamlessly transitions between genres and perspectives is really impressive. I'm not actually sure that the gameplay is much fun most of the time compared to other Platinum titles though. While the story is great, I thought SOMA (which I also played this year) handled very similar subject matter in a much more coherent and interesting way.
7/10

 

[Tizoc]

253. Back to the Future the game

While the limitations of the Telltale Tool are apparent here, this was a lovely little adventure game. The humor's good and there are some decent puzzles here as well. One issue I felt while playing is how clueless Marty feels in the game, like he keeps second guessing himself during dialog or something.
Still this game goes to show how well Telltale were in the traditional PnC genre before they started making their light adventure games (which are still good!), and it'd be cool if they can gradually get back to that.

 

[Deleted member 9305]

49. Shikhondo - Soul Eater (Steam, 2017/11/11, 1 hour, 100%)

This bullet hell SHMUP is great. Presentation and music are stellar. Gameplay is keeping it simple and uncomplicated. You dodge the bullet curtains, you shoot 'em up, you eat the souls of fallen yokai (ghosts). Everything is very competent, but a bit more variation in enemy formations and bullet patterns would have been nice. The multi phase bosses make up for this though. The game is running on Unity, so the beautiful visuals scale nicely to whatever res your display is supporting. I'm going to revisit Shikhondo a lot, such a fun game.

50. Nail'd (Steam, 2017/11/26, 12.7 hours)

I've missed MotorStorm, a lot, and this racing game did a pretty great job filling the void. Nail'd is "limited" to ATV and motocross bike. The tracks are vertical, narrow, twisted, demand agility and nimbleness. The racing is a joy, no excessive rubber banding, if you manage to carve out a lead; it's yours until you mess up. The events are varied, plentiful and make good use of the available options. Big ups for the optimization, the game runs like greased lightning while looking surprisingly stunning for a 7th gen game. 4K@60Hz brings out tons of detail, pleases with track readability and tight controls.

51. Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4, 2017/12/10, 2.5 DS4 charges)

The developer MachineGames did such a great job with this worthy addition to the series. Excellent gunplay, relentless enemies, pure evil to be purged are the perfect excuse for this epic FPS killing spree. The alternative history setting allowed for such fun and crazy events. The story and its characters not sugar coating the horrors of fascism. There are a few nasty difficulty spikes due to level design, hostiles combination and placement. Some trial&error is required to solve certain fire fight puzzles. I've enjoyed this wicked shooter a lot.

52. Claybook [Early Access] (Steam, 2017/12/22, 3.5 hours)

It took one single gif on a re-tweet to get me on board. You open your Claybook, pick a chapter (read level) and mess around. There are objectives, puzzles and challenges. Clearing them will be rewarded with up to 3 stars. There's a timer and an online leader board for each level. You don't have to compete though. It's pretty easy to make your own fun, toy around with a co-op buddy, create your own levels and even publish them via Steam Workshop. The gameplay itself is a bit like Katamari Damacy. You roll around in various shapes, dig into and add clay. There are lots of physics and dynamic liquids. The player's movement can be rewind, so even the most demanding maneuver can be saved and frustration is kept to a casual minimum. This game is a lot of fun. Everything seems in place, even for its Early Access status. There could be more content, but the devs already added more chapters with various updates. I will definitely revisit this unique gem once it was released proper.

[index]

 

[Spyware]

> Master Post!

Thief Gold - PC - Completed Nov 14

I have been a bit hesistant to play this because people keep saying it's one of the best stealth games of all time. And I am a huge stealth fan. Aaaaand... I can't say I liked it much. I don't even know what to say about it. It was just a slog. I don't even know why I finished it. It sort of felt like I had to or something. Ugh.

​

Diablo III - PC - Beaten Nov 16

I had never played Diablo 3 before, even tho I bought it right after they changed the whole game with Loot 2.0. Finished the campaign in co-op and had fun, but I am not gonna be playing what I think people see as the main game. I would probably keep playing for a long time if I didn't have such a huge backlog to play instead. I had a lot of fun.

​

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PC - Beaten Nov 18

Pretty much the exact same as for the base game, campaign beaten in co-op. It's more of the same and it was good.

​

Hero of the Kingdom - PC - Completed Nov 18

This is Fetch Quest: The Game and... I liked it!? It's basically go to this point and gather that for person A. Get reward! Then go to person B and trade the reward for another item. And so on for all eternity (about 4 hours). It sounds like the most boring game of all time but I really liked it. A casual click here click there game. It was just what I needed.​

Pokémon Moon - Nintendo 3DS - Completed Dec 20

I don't like it. This hurts to say because I usually love playing Pokémon, especially nuzlockes. And I just didn't have fun with this at all. A bunch of the new Pokémon are amazing, the quality of life changes are great but... no.
The story is frustratingly uninteresting. The routes are basically short straight roads from one story part to another with nothing interesting in them. The totems were a fun idea but very underwhelming after I had heard they made nuzlockes hard. I didn't lose a single Pokémon to a totem fight. I will probably never replay this, which is sad. Not gonna pre-order the next Pokémon and that is even more sad. This game made me feel like Pokémon is not for me anymore. At least I can still replay the older ones!

​

Pokémon Sun - Nintendo 3DS - Completed Dec 20

You might wonder why I played Sun after disliking Moon so much. Well, I played them at the same time. I put two 2DSes in front of me and played both side by side. I had some special nuzlocke rules linking them together. But everything I said above obviously applies to this one too.​

90 games! I beat my previous record (since I started keeping track)! Now I'm just gonna play Fallout 4 for the rest of the year.

 

[JonathanNielson]

Original Post Here

27: SteamWorld Dig - 4 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 06/18/2017
"While waiting for Demon's Souls to come in the mail, I picked up this game on Vita and I'm very glad I did. It takes everything I remember loving about those old Flash games about mining and gives them a fun little upgrade system wrapped in gorgeous art. One of the few games I've played recently that I wish had been longer!"

28: The Swindle - 23 Hours (Vita / PS4)

Finished: 06/21/2017
"This is a game I was looking forward to playing for some time, and I'm glad I was finally able to. This is a clever, charming little heist game. Unfortunately the experience is hampered pretty considerably by the unwieldy controls. You'll more or less be fighting them the whole time. Other technical problems abound, including an inhumane framerate in later levels on the Vita, as well as a few bugs. Ultimately, the game is worth playing, but don't play it on Vita."

29: Stranded: A Mars Adventure - 3 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 06/25/2017
"I needed a bit of a break from Demon's Souls, so I picked up this little platform on Vita, and I'm glad I did. It's simple and straight forward, but is well executed and doesn't overstay its welcome. Also, it's got a pretty fun trophy list for those who are interested."

30: The Unfinished Swan - 3 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 06/26/2017
"Continuing my streak of Vita indie games, I played the Unfinished Swan and loved it. The core mechanic is brilliantly unique and fun, and Giant Sparrow does a masterful job implementing variations on the theme. While the central mechanic of throwing paint blobs never changes, they way those paint blobs affect the world is constantly being thrown on its head. The writing, narration, and music are also fantastic. If you haven't played this game yet, I highly recommend taking a few hours to do so."

31: Demon's Souls - 40 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 7/3/2017
"Finally finished this beast of a game. While it certainly doesn't control as well as modern Soulsborne games, it's still a really solid game. This is continuing my streak of playing every Souls game not actually named Dark Souls XD. I've played Nioh, Demon's Souls, and some Bloodborne at this point. I'm quickly becoming a big fan of the genre."

32: Hue - 5 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 7/4/2017
"A phenomenal little puzzler with a really clever color-switching mechanic. I came for the puzzles, but the quality of the voice acting, writing, art design, and music all took me by surprise. Also, an indie Unity game that actually runs well on Vita! I highly recommend this game!"

33: Crash Bandicoot (Remastered) - 5 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 7/9/2017
"A great reminder as to why 3D platformers aren't a thing anymore, but it is a pretty good one, to be sure. The music and new art style are really really great, on top of some stellar animation. Overall, I enjoyed it and may even go back for the platinum."

34: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (Remastered) - 6 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 7/11/2017
"Definitely a more polished game than the first. The difficulty spikes have been smoothed out into a better curve, while the game overall is definitely more difficult. Level design is distinctly more creative and fun in this one as well. Overall, I'm enjoying the series so far."

35: Crash Bandicoot Warped (Remasterd) - 5 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 7/12/2017
"The best of the trilogy by a long shot. With far more variations on mechanics and level design, I feel the game could have actually been longer to flesh out some of these ideas more. Either way, the gameplay is the most satisfying in the series, even if it still definitely feels like a game from 20 years ago."

36: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Remastered) - 12 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 7/13/2017
*Platinumed: 7/13/2017 +2 Hours*
"A big step up for Naughty Dog at the time, and it shows in a lot of ways. Overall, the game isn't easy to go back to. The controls are often painful, and the camera is absolutely terrible. Despite all that, a fun game with incredible animation manages to shine through and left me looking forward to the sequel."

37: Jak II (Remastered) - 17 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 7/18/2017
*Platinumed: 7/18/2017 +2 Hours*
"This... is not a good game. The core game has changed drastically from its predecessor, and it's worse in almost every way. The game is so incredibly painful to play by today's standards, and the story/characters do very very little to make up for it. Visually, it's a huge leap forward from the first game, but you'll quickly forget about that as you're throwing your controller through the TV after the game robbed you of yet another checkpoint. Also, I never want to hear the word 'sector' ever again."

38: Jak 3 (Remastered) - 11 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 7/19/2017
*Platinumed: 7/19/2017 +3.5 Hours*
"WOW WOW WOW. What a turnaround!! Jak 3 is a masterful showcase in trimming the fat, and is a testament to how minor design changes can have drastic effects. The game content isn't necessarily easier than the second, but by actually giving out checkpoints more regularly, the game is infinitely more enjoyable."

39: Crypt of the Necrodancer - 10 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 7/30/2017
"This has quickly become one of my favorite games of all time and easily my top favorite rhythm game. The music is the driving force in this game and it is incredibly infectious. I found myself on several occasions bouncing my knee subconsciously, only to realize I was bouncing to last level I had played hours ago. I HIGHLY recommend this game."

40: Super Time Force Ultra - 6 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 8/3/2017
"A really excellent core mechanic wrapped in great art, audio, and fun characters. The game didn't grab me quite as much as I thought it would, but I'd chock it up more to my mood than to the game itself. It's a unique little game that is definitely worth checking out."

41: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 10 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 8/22/2017
"The first (maybe last?) Uncharted game without good ol' Nathan Drake leaves something to be desired. It is undoubtedly the best to play in the series, and the voice acting and writing are still phenomenal. The overall story left me missing the old gang, more than anything."

42: PLAYERUNKOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS - 232 Hours (PC)

First Chicken Dinner: 8/31/2017
"One of the best games I've ever played. Hands down. The tension and payoff are more extreme than most horror games, and its silly jankiness gives it a lot of charm. I will easily play another 100 hours of this at least."

43: Knack II - 14 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 9/7/2017
"A surprisingly good brawler, especially coming off such a lack-luster first entry. It definitely goes on a little bit longer than it probably should, but it's not terrible. Its greatest downfall is its absolutely abysmal writing. It's close to the worst writing I've ever seen in a game."

44: Ico - 7 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 10/17/2017
"A bit of a rough one to play in 2017, but the vision shines through despite the clunkiness. I'm not sure I particularly *liked* playing Ico, but it certainly gripped me. The old school saving and progress systems are really difficult to swallow, but the atmosphere is pretty remarkable."

45: Blur - 13 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 10/18/2017
"Blur is a game I had played at a friend's house 8 years ago and never forgot about. Going back to play it properly now, I can say that Blur is definitely a good game--but I'm not quite sure why it gripped me so much back then. Either way, I'm glad to have finally played it."

46: Super Meat Boy - 6 Hours (Vita)

Finished: 10/23/2017
"Despite the fact that I've been playing games my whole life, I've never experience FLOW like I have in Super Meat Boy. By the end of the game I was playing nearly subconciously at times, and it was pretty remarkable to experience. The game is phenomenal and is very much worth your time."

47: Wolfenstein: The New Colossus - 13 Hours (PS4)

Finished: 11/03/2017
"Playing Wolfenstein in 2017 is one of the most emboldening and cathartic experiences I've ever had. This game is a masterwork of story, character, and tone and is one of only a handful must-plays in 2017. Despite the gameplay coming up short at times, this is a very worth GOTY contender."

48: Super Mario Odyssey - 50 Hours Hours (Switch)

Finished: 11/18/2017
"After taking out hundreds of Nazis in Wolfenstein, Super Mario Odyssey was a hard turn in the other direction. Turns out playing those two games back-to-back was a great choice, because Odyssey was the magical, warm hug I needed. It's stunningly beautiful, delightful to play, and is surprisingly huge. First Mario game I've 100% and it was well worth it."

49: God of War - 8.5 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 11/30/2017
"I'm playing the old God of War games before the new game comes out in order to better understand the transition and transformation of the character and game design. That said, this game is ROUGH. Kratos is an unbelievably bad character in his one-note nature and the gameplay is frustrating far more often than it is fun. Go back to this one at your own risk."

50: God of War 2 - 12.5 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 12/17/2017
"God of War 2 is worse than its predecessor in almost every way, largely because it doubled down on everything that was bad in the first game, while keeping everything else basically the same. Kratos is somehow even less relatable as a protagonist and the gameplay is even more frustrating. I seriously never want to see another QTE in my life, after finishing this game. At least it's much prettier than the first."

51: Katamari Forever - 8 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 12/20/2017
"I haven't turned around on a game the way I did Katamari in a long time. At first, it's brazenly bizarre aesthetic through me for a loop, and I did not enjoy it. I'm glad I decided to keep going though, because by the end, I was almost all smiles. Never played anything quite like it."

52 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - 3 Hours (PS3)

Finished: 12/22/2017
"Brothers is a game that is more than the sum of its parts. From a technical standpoint, the PS3 port is pretty bad (nightmarish screen tearing, game-breaking bugs, stuttering), but the fantastic game underneath shines through anyway. The ending is really really special. I highly recommend this one, though I would probably give the PC version a go over the PS3."

On Deck: Puppeteer (PS3)

 

[Ranmo]

Annnd done. My 52nd game ended on a high note with Vanquish. It was a blast to participate this year and I look forward to 2018! Congrats to those who have finished and good luck to those who are still working on those 52 games!

 

[chrominance]

Original post

45. Auditorium (PC, 2012) - 4:44
Completed all levels.

Auditorium presents itself as a music game, which is kind of true. Each level presents you with a flow of light particles that you manipulate using various discs of influence to fill in music generators; fill all of them in and you complete the song, allowing you to move to the next level. But really, the music is maybe the third most important thing in the game. The second most important thing is visual: the light that you bend and colour to your will, in addition to generating the music, is also very pretty to watch, even at the hilariously low resolution the game plays in (it was originally a port of a Flash game). But the most important thing of all is flow mechanics. Auditorium is a game all about splitting, contorting, and throttling flows.

The first half of the game has a pretty logical progression, with new discs being introduced well into the late stages of the game with different and uniquely useful properties: some push in different directions, others attract, and some act as reflective surfaces. All discs can also colour light that touch or cross their boundaries. In the last few levels, though, the complexity of what you're being asked to do threatens to overwhelm what seems like a fairly simple system but in reality is a complex system of physical and gravitational interactions. By the finale, it was easy to come to a partial solution that nevertheless represented a dead end. Worse, you don't really get any indication of what you're doing wrong or what you could change to improve things. And because everything is governed by physics, it's easy to fudge things such that placing a disc a few pixels either way can be the difference between complete failure and stunning success. This doesn't make Auditorium a bad puzzle game, though; it just means you're going to have to do a lot more trial and error than in other puzzle games, and the lack of a True Solution is both a blessing and a curse.

For me personally, Auditorium began to wear out its welcome by the end. The basic concept is sound, but I found myself wishing for a game that more obviously led to elegant solutions, as opposed to the many solutions I built that boiled down to "I don't know just fudge the placement here so that some of the light turns red sometimes and it kind of fills up the meter hurray."

 

[chrominance]

Original post

46. Back to Bed (PC, 2014) - 1:10
Completed all levels.

Bob is a narcoleptic, the game first tells us. Your job, as his nocturnal guardian angel, is to ensure he doesn't sleepwalk his way into doom in the labyrinthine dreamscape of his own mind. Back to Bed is a simple puzzle game with a healthy coat of surrealist paint. It looks great, and the puzzles are mostly satisfying; my only issue is that many of the more difficult ones require some quick reflexes, and should you fail to get everything right, setting everything back up again can be a pain. But for a game this short, that's mostly forgivable; you're never stuck on any one puzzle for too long anyways.

 

[His Majesty]

33 | The Evil Within 2 | PC
Time: 25 hours
Score: 8/10

As a huge fan of the first game, I was very excited for the sequel. And while The Evil Within 2 is a great game in its own right, I do rate it a bit lower than its predecessor. It makes a lot of improvements on the technical side and the gameplay feels much smoother. Aesthetically the game also looks excellent, with thematically appropriate environments for all the antagonists you encounter in the game. The open world parts in the game are well done, although the pacing of the plot suffers of course. The plot itself is less interesting than the first one, which relied heavily of the mystery surrounding what the fuck was happening. This time you are aware what is going on already. This removes quite a lot of tension from the game, which is far from ideal for a horror game.

I sincerely hope Tango Gameworks is allowed to create The Evil Within 3 and that they manage to recreate the constant feeling of unease and wonder present in the first game. Combine that with all the improvements made in The Evil Within 2 and it would make one hell of a horror game.

Highest rated game: Divinity: Original Sin 2 (10)
Lowest rated game: Outlast (3)
Average score: 6.7

Main post

 

[chrominance]

Original post

47. Pulse (PC, 2015) - 1:42
Completed the campaign.

Pulse is one of those Kickstarter games I'd inadvertently saved for a rainy day, but its concept sounded interesting at least: you play a blind girl who navigates entirely through echolocation. How would this translate into gameplay and visuals, I wondered? Would it work much like an experimental game I saw once that had no visuals at all, and asked you to only use your hearing to experience the world? What kind of interesting mechanics would echolocation bring to the table? Would the game give you any sense of what it was like to be blind?

The answers to all of these questions turn out to be disappointing. Eva's ability to use sound in lieu of sight to navigate and sense the world around her is purely an aesthetic conceit. Sure, throwing the cuddly Mokos around allows you to illuminate parts of the world for limited periods of time. But in practice, you don't even need to throw Mokos at all; you could probably make it through the entire game without them if not for three or four specific places where you have to put a Moko into some kind of mechanism to unlock a gate. Echolocation isn't used as a mechanic at all, but merely as a unique visual style that serves to obfuscate and abstract the world around you. What's left is a 3D platformer, and not a particularly interesting one at that. Worse, it seems to be allergic to mouse and keyboard controls; I spent a while banging my head around one timed platforming puzzle that seemed impossible to execute. I quit the game, connected a controller, reloaded my save, and discovered I could jump further and more reliably for no apparent reason.

All of this is wrapped in a story that barely involves the player or explains anything about your character or her motivation. Near the end of the game, the "villain" of the piece (such as it were) asks you to stop doing what you're doing so that your people can remain safe. But what is it that you're doing in the first place? Why are you doing it? All you have are frustrating allusions explained to you by a mystical spirit bird that follows you around and narrates the game for you. It's a rather dry affair that doesn't leave much of a lasting impact.

I'd still love to see a game that tries to tackle echolocation as a game mechanic. This isn't it.

 

[InquisitorAles]

Main post part 2

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60. Shadowgrounds Survivor - 3 hours
Surprisingly short sequel. Original Shadowgrounds was far from amazing, and Shadowgrounds Survivor is even worse, it's just boring and feels really unnecessary. Only thing that was improved is physics, but everything else was dumbed-down, kinda disappointing.

 

[Skikkiks]

After the implosion of the other site, I opted to just post my list when I finished and I feel like I'm done until the new year so here we go. Thoughts added for games I didn't do thoughts for on the other site.

Game 1: Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (Vita) | 67 Hours | 01/14/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 2: VVVVVV (Vita) | 3 Hours | 01/22/2017 | 4/5
Game 3: Owlboy (PC) | 8 Hours | 01/23/2016 | 4/5
Game 4: Gravity Rush 2 (PS4) | ~40 Hours | 02/01/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 5: Refunct (PC) | 25 Minutes | 02/06/2017 | 3/5
Game 6: Fire Emblem: Heroes (Android) | 10+ Hours | 02/09/2017 | 3/5
Game 7: Yakuza 0 (PS4) | 30 Hours | 02/16/2017 | 4/5
Game 8: Horizon Zero Dawn | 46 Hours | 03/08/2017 | 5/5
Game 9: Yooka Laylee (PS4) | 21 Hours | 04/16/2017 | 4/5
Game 10: Little Nightmares (PS4) | ~3 Hours | 04/29/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 11: Voodoo Vince Remastered (PC) | 10 Hours | 05/13/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 12: RIME (PS4) | ~4 Hours | 05/31/2017 | 4/5
Game 13: Typoman (PC) | 3 Hours | 06/05/2017 | 3/5
Game 14: Flow Free Hexes [DLC] (Android) | 10+ Hours | 06/17/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 15: Dyscourse (PC) | 52 Minutes | 06/21/2017 | 3/5
Game 16: [Replay] Crash Banicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (Vita) | ~5 Hours | 07/02/2017 | 5/5
Game 17: [N. Sane] Crash Bandicoot (PS4) | ~9 Hours | 07/07/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 18: [N. Sane] Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS4) | ~8 Hours | 07/11/2017 | 5/5
Game 19: [N. Sane] Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PS4) | ~7 Hours | 07/13/2017 | 4/5
Game 20: Kamiko (Switch) | 3 Hours | 07/17/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 21: Ovivo (PC) | 2 Hours | 07/17/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 22: Another Story: Raven's Choice (PS4) | ~4 Hours | 07/19/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 23: Everything (PC) | 5+ Hours | 07/20/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 24: Disoriented (PC) | 3 Hours | 07/23/2017 | 2.5/5
Game 25: Splatoon 2 (Switch) | 8 Hours+ | 07/24/2017| 4/5
Game 26: Parappa The Rapper Remastered (PS4) | 3 Hours | 07/31/2017 | 4/5
Game 27: Transistor (PS4) | ~6 Hours | 08/02/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 28: The Sexy Brutale (PC) | 5 Hours | 08/07/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 29: Pyre (PC) | 9 Hours | 08/12/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 30: Yo Noid! 2 (PC) | 90 Minutes | 08/13/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 31: Headlander (PS4) | ~6 Hours | 08/15/2017 | 3.5/5
Game 32: Hollow Knight (PC) | 22 Hours | 08/26/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 33: Red Trigger (PC) | 40 Minutes | 08/26/2017 | 2.5/5
Game 34: [Replay] Crash Team Racing (PS1) | ~4 Hours | 08/29/2017 | 5/5
Game 35: Yakuza Kiwami (PS4) | 25 Hours | 09/02/2017 | 4/5
Game 36: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch) | 30 Hours | 09/11/2017 | 4.5/5
Game 37: The Magic Circle (PC) | 3 Hours | 09/20/2017 | 4/5

• Meta gimmick game with a unique art style, interesting story and a fun gameplay gimmick

Game 38: Marvel vs Capcom Infinite (PS4) | 10+ Hours | 09/23/2017 | 3.5/5

• Fun to play but boy howdy did they shit the bed with this.
  Spoiler

  At least they had Thanos s throw a hadoken at the end of the story.

Game 39: Cuphead (PC) | 14+ Hours | 10/02/2017 | 5/5

• Other than some RNG and dumb visual-obscuring foreground gimmickry a fantastic near flawless piece of entertainement and my personal GOTY

Game 40: South Park: The Fractured But Whole (PS4) | 21 Hours | 10/21/2017 | 4.5/5

• While the story doesn't reach the batshit heights of Stick of Truth's story, the improvements to the gameplay make up for it. Not neccessarily an improvement over SoT but it keeps the quality and stands equal to it, I'd say.

Game 41: [Replay] South Park: The Fractured But Whole (PS4) | 10 Hours | 10/23/2017 | 4.5/5

• After beating the game I did a Token Experience run for the plat. Easy to barrel through the game when you know everything and just focus on main story completion.

Game 42: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) | 28+ Hours | 10/30/2017 | 4.5/5

• This is what I personally wanted from 3D Mario. Inventine worlds and a fantastic controlling character with interesting mechanics make exploring an absolute treat.

Game 43: Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back (PS4) | 90 Minutes | 11/01/2017 | 2.5/5

• It's Bubsy. Could be a lot better, could be a lot worse. For what Bubsy is, however, it's simply ok.

Game 44: Kindergarten (PC) | 3 Hours | 11/04/2017 | 3/5

• Groundhog day esque puzzle game where you're a little child and horrible things happen. It's alright.

Game 45: Emily is Away (PC) | 25 Minutes | 11/06/2017 | 2.5/5

• MSN simulator where you try to have a meaningful relationship. It's ok, the emotional stuff didn't work for me personally.

Game 46: Mimpi Dreams (PC) | 83 Minutes | 11/08/2017 | 3/5

• An alright puzzle platformer where you play as cute dog. Not much else to say about it.

Game 47: The Frozen Wilds (PS4) | 12 Hours | 11/14/2017 | 4/5

• Horizon Zero Dawn DLC which ended up just being more Horizon. That isn't a bad thing by any stretch.

Game 48: Far From Noise (PC) | 75 Minutes | 11/14/2017 | 3.5/5

• Interactive story with a car hanging halfway off a cliff. A pretty good, relaxing little time.

Game 49: Ittle Dew 2+ (Switch) | 8 Hours | 11/20/2017 | 4.5/5

• A largely improved sequel to the original Ittle Dew. A title that has a structured difficulty curve that can be ignored to explore wherever you want at your own leisure. Combine that with fun puzzles and fun combat and its probably one of, if not the best, zelda-like out there.

Game 50: Fire Emblem Warriors (Switch) | 10+ Hours | 11/27/2017 | 3.5/5

• Good playing musou with lots of content marred by a meandering, horrible roster and a rather mediocre story.

Game 51: Knack 2 (PS4) | 11 Hours | 11/29/2017 | 3/5

• A large improvement over Knack 1, marred by a length the game doesn't really justify having. Torturing Knack is enjoyable.

Game 52: Guilty Gear XRD Rev 2 (PS4) | 6+ Hours | 12/05/2017 | 4/5

• It's more guilty gear now with 2 more characters and some other QOL improvements. Hooray!

Game 53: Contrast (PS4) | ~3 Hours | 12/06/2017 | 2.5/5

• Weird 3D puzzle platformer where you become a shadow for some 2D puzzle platforming. Nothing exceptional aside from some odd movement shenanigans with the physics system.

Game 54: What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) | 106 Minutes | 12/09/2017 | 4.5/5

• Best 'walking simulator' I've played by a country mile. The premise of Gone Home if it snorted some cocaine and took LSD. Really resonated with me on an emotional level.

Game 55: Battle Chef Brigade (Switch) | 7 Hours | 12/25/2017 | 4/5

• Cool melding of match 3 puzzling and character based action all wrapped up in a game about cooking. Oddly reminiscent of Pyre due to its uniqueness.

Game 56: Universal Paperclips (PC) | 9 Hours | 12/27/2017 | 4/5

• A clicker game based off the thought experiment of a 'paperclip maximizer'. A highly engaging clicker that escalates to the point of borderline absurdity.

Game 57: West of Loathing (PC) | 6 Hours | 12/30/2017 | 4/5

• Stick people comedy RPG. Lots of solid humour with a lot of charm. As an RPG, it's mechanically solid to boot.

 

[InquisitorAles]

Main post part 2

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61. Platypus - 1.5 hours
Short but fun old-school side-scroller. Hardcore shoot-em-up with a twist - all graphics except some UI elements made from clay aka "Claymation Graphics". Interesting idea but nothing else, worth to look at without high expectations.

 

[DionardoLicaprio]

1: Gears of War Judgement [XB360] - 12h

Really enjoyed this one, last one before I play Gears 4 with my brother on PC.
So far this was my favorite along with Gears of War 3, I don't care about reviews really, but I don't understand the scores. I only played single player, story is shit, sure. But every gears story is average at best.
The gameplay and presentation are stellar, and it is my favorite CO-OP game so far along with 007 Everything or Nothing and Halo 3.
I would give it a solid 8/10

2: Superhot [PC] - 4h

Very good FPS, nice surprise, nothing to say here. Just play it.
I would give a 7/10

3: Game of Thrones [PC] - 14h

One of my favorites Telltale games, will never surpass The Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us but I really liked it. There were some glitches, and it didn't look great, but the story kept me going.
7/10

4: Watch Dogs 2 [PC] - 21h

I was one of the few people that really enjoyed Watch Dogs 1, played it almost twice because I lost a save and I still thoroughly enjoyed all the way.
The sequel doesn't disappoint, even though I liked the first, I still thought the changes in the sequel in terms of style were very good, the characters are likeable, the story is ok, graphically is really awesome, a good improvement over the first.
Overall a great Open World game. Can't wait for the third.
8/10

5: Assassin's Creed Unity [PC] - 25h

From the main games, this was the one left to finish, for some reason I just didn't feel like playing AC for a good while after Syndicate (had skipped Unity because bugs). And after looking at that map, I just ignored almost every side quest or chest in the game, and once I focused on the main story missions, it was sweet. Much better than expected, and one of my favorite AC, the combat was really good, the parkour felt amazing (with a few glitches here and there) and I actually liked the characters and the evolving relations between them.
For me, gets a solid 8.

6: Resident Evil 7 [PC] - 9h

First time I've finished an horror game, tried Outlast, played Alien Isolation for 6 hours and didn't finish. But this is true survival horror, I can actually try to survive by saving stuff I can use later and think if I want to confront an enemy in a certain situation.
Just incredible game, I will remember this one.
The only other RE I've played and finished was RE6 which I found it was dumb fun.
This gets a 9/10 from me.

7: For Honor [PC] - > 40h

Campaign was ok, multiplayer phenomenal, but ended up stop playing it because of the server problems, it really is a shame, I can see greatness in this franchise.
This gets a 8/10 from me.

8: Homefront: The Revolution [PC] - 14h

The game is fixed, at least technically, I've finished this one a few months ago and really enjoyed it all the way through, bought it after the free weekend they offered. The customization of weapons in "real time" is awesome, graphics are amazing, gameplay is simple but satisfying, story could be better.
Would give it an 7.5/10. Recommended.

9: Homefront: The Revolution - The Voice of Freedom [PC] - 45m
First DLC, really solid. 7/10.

10: Homefront: The Revolution - Aftermath [PC] - 45m
Second DLC, again really good, just very short. 7/10.

11: Homefront: The Revolution - Beyond The Walls [PC] - 2h
Absolutely loved this DLC, better than the others, really cool short story in the same universe. 8/10

12: Halo 3: Reach [XB360] - 10h

Been playing the Halo and Gears games with my brother, this one was solid, the story was ok, but the gameplay is where Halo shines and it's enjoyable.
Score: 7/10.

13: Halo 4 [XB360] - 8h

Couldn't care less about the critics, what an awesome game, best gameplay in the series. Best story in the series (but that's not saying much really). Cool art style, best performance playing split-screen. Very enjoyable experience.
Score: 8/10

14: Burnout Paradise [PC] - 12h

I don't think I need to say much. It's Burnout, pure fun.
It can't dethrone the king Burnout Revenge, but it came close to it.
Excellent port for PC.
Score: 9/10

15: The Order: 1886 [PS4] - 8h

It was a short game, but very enjoyable. The story was interesting, the lore was awesome, gameplay was solid. There were some missed opportunities for sure, but overall I really liked it.
For me, for the price I've payed and the expectations I had, it's an 8/10.

16: Ratchet & Clank [PS4] - 12h

This reboot of a franchise I really love, is the definition of fun in videogame format. Even though I would love the 60fps that prior games offered, the game is absolutely fantastic.
Insanely close to perfection - 9.5/10.

17:Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [PS4] - 16h

I had little expectations for this game, Uncharted has always been a franchise that, to me, is the blockbuster of the gaming world, and that's awesome, but it would never be as memorable as, for example, The Last of Us.
But this game caught me by surprise, insanely good gameplay, amazing story, jaw-dropping sequences and vistas, and a surprisingly good multiplayer. This game has it all.
If the pacing was slightly better, it would be a 10 - 9.5/10.

18:F.E.A.R [PC] - 12h

This game is awesome, the story is told normally through exploration, the gameplay is brilliant, the graphics are good (the game is kinda old, and it shows in the graphics department), the A.I. is the best I've ever compete against.

Every encounter was meaningful, the only thing that could've been much better is the story, it's very forgettable.
For me, gets a 8.5/10.

18:inFamous: Second Son [PS4] - 15h

One of the first PS4 games I've played, I always enjoy the infamous games, so again, Sucker Punch doesn't disappoint, great game. Even though the story is mediocre, I actually grew to care about the characters and enjoyed my journey with this game.
Really interested to give the standalone DLC a try.
For me, it gets a 8/10.

19:Halo 3: ODST [XB360] - 7h

I enjoy play every Halo because I do it splitscreen. This game was cool. Halo never was a big deal to me, and this game doesn't change that, it's fun though.
A cool 7.5/10.

19:What Remains of Edith Finch [PC] - 2h

I would not dare to spoil this game, even though "Walking Simulators" aren't my thing, this game changes explores the idea of walking simulator with actual gameplay entwined with the story. What an emotional and beautiful ride.
There was one of the stories that I still remember and will probably never forget.
Amazing, 9/10.

20:P.T. [PS4] - 2h

I don't care if this isn't a full game, there are indies that take this long.
Obviously I didn't dare to play this alone, I had a friend playing with me, this fucked up experience that master Kojima created is just insane. I cannot imagine a full game based on this, I would probably not play it alone though.
Concise perfection, 10/10.

20:Call of Duty: Black Ops [PC] - 8h

There were only 3 Call of Duty games I haven't played - Ghosts (which I never will), World at War and Black Ops.
It was time, the story was actually amazing, the characters awesome and the gameplay solid as always from CoD. I was very surprised by this game.
9/10

21:Killzone: Shadow Fall [PS4] - 11h

It's killzone, I knew what was coming and I enjoyed it, story with a lot of misses but gameplay was ultimately enjoyable and the graphics good.
Wish the game could shoot for the 60fps though, it would have been an overall smoother experience. The multiplayer was surprisingly good.
7/10


22: Assassin's Creed -- (replay #2) [PS3] - 15h

The first entry to this franchise was never my favorite, it's actually the worst in the franchise for me, but I did enjoy this playthrough more than the first one.
6/10

23: Assassin's Creed 2 -- (replay #2) [PS3] - 14h

Obviously, this is an insane improvement over the first AC game, and I really enjoyed replaying it. There are some things in the ending and some sequences that still bother me, but overall a great game.
8/10

24: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered [PS3] - 9h

I've played the first Uncharted on PS3 and found it mediocre, but I'm glad I replayed now on PS4.
I've never seen a game improving so much with the performance bump. 60fps really makes this game for me, the shooting is way more fun. I'm pretty sure the PS3 version is sub-30fps.
7/10

25: Gears of War Judgement - Aftermath [XB360] - 2h

It was a fun DLC, didn't expect much and was actually surprised, it's fun.
6.5/10

26: Sunset Overdrive [XB1] - 11h - 4/oct

Easily one of the best games I've played this year, and without a doubt, one of the most fun.
Absolute joy from beginning to end, I just hoped that the "dash" move was there since the beginning.
Crazy good, you did it again Insomniac, 9/10

27: Halo Combat Evolved: Anniversary Edition (MCC) [XB1] - 10h - 2/nov

MasterChief Collection was one of the reasons I got an XB1, so I had to start with the first one.
60fps does make a difference, and the first game is much more enjoable played this way.
8/10

28: Gears of War Ultimate Edition [XB1] - 10h - 7/nov

This was the worst Gears game by far, but I had to try it again on the XB1, and the improved visuals and smoother frame rate really helped this game, I did not enjoy playing it on the 360 at all, glad I gave it another shot.
7/10

29: Call of Duty: WWII [XB1] - 6h - 19/nov

I always enjoy Call of Duty campaigns and this was no one was no exception, it was a pleasure to play. There were a few memorable moments and cool characters.
7/10

30: Halo 5: Guardians [XB1] - 6h - 26/nov

Very disappointed, I expected much better than this, extremely forgettable story, please don't let me play as Locke again. Still, the gameplay is brilliant and the multiplayer doesn't suffer the same fate as the campaign.
7/10

31: Gears of War 4 [XB1] - 16h - 28/dez

I'm impressed. I expected this one to be a similar Halo 5 disappointment, I was so wrong. ACT I was awful in my opinion, but right at the start of ACT II, WE ARE BACK!
The gameplay, visuals, sound, voice acting and cheesiness are all stellar, along with Sunset Overdrive as the best Xbox exclusive this gen. Cannot wait for the sequel with The Coalition.
What a surprise. 9/10
---------------------------------------------------
-------And now, for the Multiplayer Games I've played through the year, and where I spent most of my time.
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32: Destiny 2 [PS4] - 103h

This is a complicated game to describe, on one had, I had a lot of fun in the first weeks after release, and playing this CO-OP with a friend was a blast. On the other hand, the end-game is really lacking, and Bungie are ignoring their fans.
Also, the Eververse is cancerous.
Still, thinking about the cool moments provided by Destiny 2, I'll give it a 8/10.

33: Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris [PS4] - 15h
The number of hours represents the playtime of D2 after the release of the DLC.
It's ok, it doesn't fix the endgame, and it has massive wasted potential.
5/10

34: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds [XB1] - 20h

Still playing this game, it's definitely a very, very rough diamond. I see potential, but the performance and rubber banding stops it from being amazing.
The first (and last) chicken dinner was very tasty though.
8/10

35: EA UFC 2 [PS4] - ??h

I have no idea how much I've played this game, but as a big fan of the sport, I'm not seeing myself stopping soon.
7/10

36: Titanfall 2 [PS4] - ??h

Played the campaign last year, but still playing the amazing multiplayer, always a pleasure.
8/10

37: Guitar Hero Live [PS3] - ??h

I actually got into Guitar Hero last year, and this year was a continuation of the fun.
7.5/10

38: Clone Hero [PC] - ??h
Same as above, this version played with the Xplorer (360).
8/10

39: Fortnite: Battle Royale [PS4&PC] - ??h

Great fun, much more arcade-y than PUBG, but I play Fortnite because my friends also play it.
7/10

 

[Deleted member 401]

78. Passpartout: The Starving Artist (2 hours)
Perhaps not the best time I've had this year, but it really captures some of the stress that comes with trying find inspiration under a deadline.

79. What Remains of Edith Finch (1 hour)
A fascinating look at the myriad ways that one can die and the various emotions that can come with death. It also experiments with its controls and gameplay a good deal more than most other walking sims.

Full list to date