52 Games. 1 Year. 2017.

Sch1sm · Dec 26, 2017

Didn't realise we made it back over here, oh man. Here's my update. Didn't update on the other place past 26, so 27 onward are what's been happening for the last 4 or so months. I tried my best to go hunt down the times, some are approximate. I lost my blurbs, but if anyone has any questions about the games I've played, feel free to swing me a PM. It's been a very 3DS centric year for me.

Thanks for running this as always, Visceral Bowl.

Completed 57/52:

Game 01: Paint It Back (PC) - 28h0m

#Picross clone. Tremendous Picross clone. So good. So smooth. So often confused on the tongue with The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black. Good time wasted. Lots of class hours lost in the first two days alone. Near 30 hours in 4 days. I thrive in this shit.

Game 02: Pony Island (PC) - 3h42m

#Satan? Ponies? More ponies? Where's the island? What's going on? Very boring puzzles with very boring side scrolling.

Game 03: Strata (PC) - 1h06m

#Line puzzler. Simple. Zen. Soundtrack is lovely. Broken achievements so to earn the ones for sets specifically, you only need to complete and perfect the first puzzle of those particular sets, lol.

Game 04: Pictopix (Platform) - 14h30m

#Another Picross clone 'cause who doesn't love Picross? Not as fun as Paint It Back, because you don't have that variation in normal, pro, and master paintings, but a much better UI. Wish you could change key bindings, but it is what it is. Well done game. Has the added bonus of randomized puzzles, so like Paint It Back and HexCells Infinite, it's a forever installed title.

Game 05: Pokemon Moon (3DS) - 64h0m

Game 06: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) - 48h23m

Game 07: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - 39h0m

Game 08: Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS) - 73h0m

Game 09: Mario Kart 7 (3DS) - 14h0m

Game 10: TypeShift (iOS) - 12h0m

Game 11: KAMI 2 (iOS) - 6h50m

Game 12: Shovel Knight (3DS) - 12h0m

Game 13: Mini Metro (PC) - 7h54m

#Devs made some content additions since the last time I played, so I went back and restarted the whole thing. Still a solid train sim, still zen and yet frustrating/worrying all at once.

Game 14: Shifting World (3DS) - 16h0m

Game 15: Rayman Origins (3DS) - 10h50m

Game 16: Rayman 3D (3DS) - 9h30m

Game 17: Picross e7 (3DS) - 25h0m

Game 18: Picross 3D Round 2 (3DS) - 56h0m

Game 19: Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure (3DS) - 12h40m

Game 20: CrossCells (PC) - 3h36m

Game 21: Tekken 7 (PS4) - 105h0m

Game 22: Street Fighter V (PS4) - 90h0m

Game 23: Until Dawn (PS4) - 10h30m

Game 24: Need For Speed (PS4) - 60h0m

Game 25: Civilizations V (PC) - 18h0m

Game 26: Subsurface Circular (PC) - 1h50m

Game 27: Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) - 12h0m

Game 28: Ever Oasis (3DS) - 27h04m

Game 29: BYE BYE BOXBOY! (3DS) - 5h52m

Game 30: Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World (3DS) - 9h25m

Game 31: Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) - 8h11m

Game 32: Mega Man Legacy Collection (3DS) - 21h36m

Game 33: Toki Tori 3D (3DS) - 6h10m

Game 34: Story of Seasons (3DS) - 112h03m

Game 35: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (3DS) – 74h19m

Game 36: Azure Striker Gunvolt (3DS) - 8h42m

Game 37: Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 (3DS) - 5h17m

Game 38: Bravely Default (3DS) - 68h32m

Game 39: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - 12h08m

Game 40: Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) - 286h09m

Game 41: Disc Jam (PS4) - ?h??m

Game 42: The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes (3DS) - 13h0m

Game 43: Stretchmo (3DS) - 8h01m

Game 44: Kid Icarus: Uprising (Platform) - 15h21m

Game 45: Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS) - 43h19m

Game 46: Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS) - 6h39m

Game 47: Yo-kai Watch (3DS) - 26h53m

Game 48: Corpse Party (3DS) - 11h15m

Game 49: Fire Emblem Warriors (3DS) - 13h05m

Game 50: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (3DS) - 22h41m

Game 51: NBA 2K18 (PS4) - 78h0m

Game 52: Pokemon Ultra Moon (3DS) - 36h07m

Game 53: Chime (PC) - 5h46m

Game 54: Doki Doki Literature Club (PC) - 5h0m

Game 55: Life is Strange (PC) - 8h18m

Game 56: Detention (PC) - 5h46m

Game 57: What Remains of Edith Finch (PC) 2h18m

#Good freakin' narrative. Not often I love a walking sim, but this one weaved things together so well that I forgot to eat breakfast. You learn about the Finch family, who immigrated to Washington and had to rebuild their home and lives, by exploring the secrets that home contained for most of the 'main' character's life there. Hidden rooms, keys, and stories lost with time and only revealed with death. Atmosphere on 100.

In Progress:

Heat Signature

Rocket League

Layout:
Game XX: Title (Platform) - 0h0m
#Blurb

JarrodL · Dec 26, 2017

Games 1-27
Games 28-36

#37
Tyranny + DLC
PC (GOG)
Completed: December 06, 2017
Total playtime: 37h 38m
It's a good rpg with lots of dialog options and different ways to play your character - you can be evil in many inventive ways for the glory of Kyros or yourself, or try to circumvent and work around your evil leadership to the best of your ability. Your choices may have serious consequences here - from opening/skipping entire map locations and quest lines to affecting the specifics of the ending you get. The story drags on a bit at the start, but gets more interesting as you finish collecting all the spires - I really enjoyed how the final chapters played out. I liked combat here more than in Pillars although that may be due to lower (normal) difficulty I picked this time. Overall I really enjoyed playing Tyranny, even if it's by no means perfect. For one, it's very visibly stretched thin on budget - there's obvious lack of voice-acting (even for story-critical main characters in some places) and enemy variety, and some areas/quest paths are developed with more detail than others.

Tales from the Tiers DLC
This was a neat little addition to the intro of the game which lets you build some background for your character by making a set of choices for decisions they made during the initial invasion of the Tiers. These choices are more than mere cosmetic roleplaying notes as you may later get unique dialog options/consequences in the game when interacting with characters and factions affected by those decisions.

The Bastard's Wound DLC
The new settlement hub and dungeon were a nice addition, but nothing too amazing. A bit disappointing that they couldn't add any new interesting monsters or opponent types - you're still either fighting the bane or other humans.

#38
Star Wars: The Old Republic
PC
Completed: December 26, 2017
Total playtime in 2017: 307h 46m
Meet the main culprit responsible for me not making it to 52 this year. The playtime includes 2 complete playthroughs I did this year - light-side sith warrior and dark-side smuggler, both all the way from level 1 to level 70 at Iokath, including all side content. Or at least all content playable solo, because that's how I play this MMO for lack of any other proper Star Wars single-player rpg out there. I'd like to say I'm done with SWTOR now, but I still want to play the bounty hunter, jedi knight and sith inquisitor storylines before EA's star wars license expires and this game dies. I doubt I'll be playing the side content any more though, just the main purple missions.

I won't be able to finish any more games this year, so I might as well use this post for my final list:

1. Joe Dever's Lone Wolf HD Remastered PC Completed: January 04, 2017 15h 08m
2. Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls PS Vita Completed: January 07, 2017 22h 42m
3. Knytt Underground PC Completed: January 14, 2017 19h 19m
4. Bloodborne + The Old Hunters PS4 Completed: February 09, 2017 64h 40m
5. The Unfinished Swan PS4 Completed: February 12, 2017 3h 38m
6. Until Dawn PS4 Completed: February 18, 2017 9h 26m
7. Asphyxia PC Completed: February 24, 2017 8h 04m
8. Borderlands 2 + DLC PC Completed: March 03, 2017 63h 51m
9. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment PS1 Completed: March 05, 2017 68h 41m
10. The Order: 1886 PS4 Completed: March 12, 2017 8h 39m
11. Journey PS4 Completed: March 13, 2017 2h 11m
12. Mass Effect: Andromeda PC Completed: July 15, 2017 142h 16m
13. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors PC Completed: April 10, 2017 23h 04m
14. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward PC Completed: April 22, 2017 52h 50m
15. Zero Time Dilemma PC Completed: April 25, 2017 25h 53m
16. Tales from the Borderlands PC Completed: April 28, 2017 10h 23m
17. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 3DS Completed: May 20, 2017 27h 16m
18. Magic Duels: Origins PC Completed: June 05, 2017 36h 23m
19. Friday the 13th: The Game PC Completed: June 29, 2017 68h 55m
20. The Hero Project: Redemption Season PC Completed: July 18, 2017 6h 52m
21. L.A. Noire PC Completed: July 25, 2017 31h 09m
22. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PC Completed: August 02, 2017 23h 09m
23. Metal Gear PS3 Completed: August 05, 2017 7h 03m
24. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake PS3 Completed: August 11, 2017 7h 15m
25. Dead by Daylight PC Completed: August 21, 2017 50h 29m
26. Halo 2 Xbox One Completed: September 03, 2017 11h 10m
27. Killer Instinct PC Completed: September 05, 2017 57h 58m
28. Vanquish PC Completed: September 18, 2017 7h 26m
29. 7 Days to Die PC Completed: October 04, 2017 22h 24m
30. Persona 3 FES PS3 Completed: October 13, 2017 150h 40m
31. INSIDE PC Completed: October 18, 2017 4h 04m
32. Dropsy PC Completed: October 29, 2017 7h 49m
33. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony PC Completed: November 22, 2017 52h 26m
34. Metal Gear Solid PS3 Completed: November 23, 2017 16h 18m
35. P.T. PS4 Completed: November 26, 2017 1h 51m
36. Starcraft PC Completed: December 01, 2017 41h 15m
37. Tyranny + DLC PC Completed: December 06, 2017 37h 38m
38. Star Wars: The Old Republic PC Completed: December 26, 2017 307h 46m

chrominance · Dec 27, 2017

Original post

48. Hidden Folks (PC, 2017) - 5:17
Found all hidden folks.

It's an interactive Where's Waldo, but with more charm. Each landscape is hand-drawn, intricately detailed and crafted with care, but also imbued with a fair amount of whimsy. Everything from the absurd comedy in many of the situations to the human-made sound effects for everything point to a game that must've been almost as fun to make as it was to play. If I had one wish, though, it would be for maybe a few more options for colour schemes--I settled on the black-on-beige but wouldn't have minded a lower-contrast option still to let the ol' eyes rest a little.

Hidden Folks is a lovely game, and it's well worth the low price. Pick it up in the Steam sale while you still can.

chrominance · Dec 27, 2017

Original post

49. Data Jammers: FastForward (PC, 2011) - 0:48
Completed on Normal difficulty.

Back in the days when bundle sites were a dime a dozen, it was easy to load up your Steam inventory with tens, even hundreds of games you had no idea existed and barely had any interest in. Some of those games needed the exposure at any cost, and were bargains; many others were gutter trash you'd probably never play and would likely regret if you did. Data Jammers: FastForward is arguably neither. It doesn't necessarily do a lot to stand out from the crowd, but as a fast-paced action runner, it's actually pretty fun. It helps that the game doesn't outstay its welcome. At less than an hour, Data Jammers has just enough time to introduce you to the core mechanics, throw a couple of enemy types at you, ramp up the challenge considerably, and then say goodbye before you can get bored of the formula.

There's definitely room to expand on the formula, though, and it's a bit of a shame that Data Jammers doesn't bother to. It could also use some UI work; a lot of things happen in the game's short running time, and it's not always clear why you slow down at certain points, or what the various data pickups do. But as bundle games go, Data Jammers seems to be so cheap (and now free to play on Steam) not because of a lack of quality, but a lack of content.

RoaringMdog · Dec 27, 2017

My google drive doc i had with my little write-ups is gone, together with a bunch of other stuff. Fantastic [: I still have a straight up list of games i finished, but nothing else. So i'm gonna post that, and next year i'll start saving my list on my computer, since this isn't the first time the cloud has screwed me over.

1. PS4 - Assassin's Creed 2 Platinum
2. PS4 - Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Platinum
3. PS4 - Trine 3 Platinum
4. PS4 - Jazzpunk Platinum
5. PS4 - Skylanders Imaginators Platinum
6. GEAR VR - Pupil
7. PS4 - Duke Nukem 3D 20th Anniversary World Tour Platinum
8. PS4 - The Bunker Platinum
9. PS4 - Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition Platinum
10. PS4 - Virginia Platinum
11. PS4 - Inside
12. PS4 - Gravity Rush 2 Platinum
13. PS4 - Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage
14. PS4 - Resident Evil 7
15. PS4 - Coffin Dodgers Platinum
16. 3DS - Dragonball Fusions
17. NES - Tiny Toons Adventures
18. NES - Felix The Cat
19. SWITCH - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
20. SWITCH - Master Blaster Zero
21. PS4 - Nier Automata Platinum Platinum
22. PS4 - FreezeME Platinum
23. PS4 - Snake Pass Platinum
24. PS4 - Yooka Laylee Platinum
25. PS4 - Mr.Massagy Platinum
26. PS4 - Late Shift Platinum
27. PS4 - Nubla Platinum
28. PS4 - The World Of Nubla Platinum
29. VITA - Persona 4 Dancing All Night Platinum
30. SWITCH - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
31. PS4 - PS4 - Trials Of The Blood Dragon
32. PS4 - 100 Top Rated Platinum
33. PS4 - Energy Cycle Platinum
34. PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Platinum
35. PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 2:
36. PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 1
37. PS4 - Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens Platinum
38. PS4 - SUPERHOT
39. PS4 - YONDER: THE CLOUD CATCHER
40. PS4 - Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
41. PS4 - Saints Row 4 Platinum
42. PS4 - Knack 2
43. PS4 - Agents of mayhem
44. PS4 - Uncharted:Lost Legacy Platinum
45. ANDROID - The room
46. VITA - My Name Is Mayo Platinum
47. PS4 - Cat Quest Platinum
48. PS4 - Assassins Creed Origins Platinum
49. Vita - Hatsune Miku Project Diva F
50. PS4 - A Hat In Time Platinum
51. PS4 - Star Wars Battlefront 2
52. Android - Animal Crossing Pocket Camp

Sch1sm · Dec 27, 2017

Full list.

Game 57: What Remains of Edith Finch (PC) 2h18m

#Good freakin' narrative. Not often I love a walking sim, but this one weaved things together so well that I forgot to eat breakfast. You learn about the Finch family, who immigrated to Washington and had to rebuild their home and lives, by exploring the secrets that home contained for most of the 'main' character's life there. Hidden rooms, keys, and stories lost with time and only revealed with death. Atmosphere on 100.

Deleted member 9305 · Dec 27, 2017

53. Bound (PS4, 2017/12/25, half a DS4 charge)

It's a neat experience with striking presentation, but the game itself was just okay. The story should have had more emotional impact, but the presentation stomped everything. The ending credits revealed why: tons of demo scene talent and peers were involved. I don't have a PS VR set, but the game offered 3D TV support and it definitely added to the gameplay. The visual depth made the 3D platforming noticeably easier. I've enjoyed my time with Bound, but I'm also glad it came with PSN+. The list price of 20 bucks is a tough sale.

54. DoDonPachi Resurrection (Steam, 2017/12/26, 3.4 hours)

The ports of DonPachi and DoDonPachi on the original PlayStation hooked me on bullet hell SHMUPs and I love them to this day. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about Resurrection aka DaiFukkatsu. CAVE went so over board, it's almost only palatable for the hardest of hardcore CAVE fans. The unnecessary anime chick boss battles, which replaced the awesome military tech bosses of previous games, WHY? I don't mind anime chicks in STGs, but they're so out of place here. The difficulty jump from Novice to Normal isn't very reasonable. I've 1CC'd Novice on my third try, but then Normal hauled me over the coals. The inclusion of 8 (!) arrange modes is nice, but it's ultimately still the same game with minor changes. DDPR might be perfect for a few people, but I'm not one of them.

55. Doki Doki Literature Club (Steam, 2017/12/27, 5 hours)

Play this, blind if possible, don't stop until you see ending credits. The game is free on Steam. It's a Visual Novel with excellent production value, story and characters. I was really impressed by it all. The western based Team Salvato killed it. Disclaimer: This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.

56. A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build (Steam, 2017/12/27, 2 hours)

Nice little puzzle game in which the player needs to build not "a", but many good snowmen and snowomen. You are required to stack up each snowperson with one small, one medium and one large snowball. Sounds easy enough, but roll around too much and you end up with two large balls, oh no. Luckily you can undo moves or completely reset the current puzzle. The whole experience is pretty brief and the difficulty somewhat casual. The presentation, especially the animation is charming and needlessly delightful: you can even hug each snowperson, if so inclined.

[index]

Bastion · Dec 27, 2017

Game 1-Criminal Girls 2 Party Favors-2016-Vita-Beaten on January 2nd
-I really enjoyed the grind in this game. I usually hate grinding but this game makes it very easy to do so. Fun little game that took about 25 hours. 8/10

Game 2-Shantae Half Genie Hero-2016-Vita-Beaten on January 6th
-This was the perfect game after the long grind of my previous game. Very light-hearted and fun! Perfect on the Vita! 8/10

Game 3-Alone With You-2016-Vita-Beaten on January 14th
-While this adventure game wasn't great, it was very relaxing to play which is what made me enjoy it overall. 7/10

Game 4-Call of Duty Infinite Warfare-2016-PS4-Beaten on January 15th
-I might be in the minority that only play the story mode in Call of Duty games and have to say that I never tire of them. They are like a summer blockbuster. I really liked the on ground parts of his game but didn't really like the flying portions. Still waiting for a return to WWII. 8/10

Game 5-Severed-2016-Vita-Beaten on January 17th
-I really enjoyed this game outside of a few difficulty spikes here or there. Great atmosphere and great touch controls which I usually hate. 9/10

Game 6-Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7-2012-Vita-Beaten on January 19th
-This was the weakest game I have played in a long time. This game was before Lego characters talked so all it is is a disjointed story with very weird grunts/sounds from the characters. I really like the Harry Potter universe but this game is just bad. At least I got it super cheap from a PSN sale. 4/10

Game 7-Neverending Nightmares-2016-Vita-Beaten on January 21
-I really enjoyed this little (2 hours long)horror game. It had great atmosphere and sound especially with headphones on. The title explains the game perfectly as you keep repeating the same nightmare over and over again with slight differences everytime you die. The story is slight but interesting as well. 7/10

Game 8-Trails of Cold Steel 2-2016-Vita-Beaten on February 17
-Over the last 13 months, I have beaten all four of the recent Trails games and have loved every single one of them. This one took me 50 hours which is why this is he first game I have beaten in almost a month. If you like RPG's this is one of the best. 10/10

Game 9-World of Final Fantasy-2016-Vita-Beaten on February 25
-Where January was meant for shorter games for myself, February has been dedicated to longer RPG's. I really enjoyed this game for the most part. It was great to see all the supporting stars from previous Final Fantasy games. The story was not great but kept me interested for the most part. I finished the game with the original bad ending and then saw all that I had to do to get the good ending and just decided to call it. I watched the good ending on YouTube. I had just had enough of all the random battles at that point. 8/10

Game 10-Odin Sphere Leiftrauser-2016-Vita-Beaten on April 1
-Wow. Where did March go? I played a lot of games in March just didn't finish any. I finally beat this game on April Fools Day and as a game, it is no joke. What a great game! I really enjoyed the gameplay and while the environments repeated themselves over and over, the gameplay made up for it. 9/10

Game 11-The Walking Dead Episode 3 Above the Law-2017-PS4-Beaten on April 2
-I am a sucker for all these Telltale games. Can't get enough of them. If you liked the previous games, you will like this. I like how Clem is really developing as a character as she is gets older. 9/10

Game 12-Mr. Shifty-2017-Nintendo Switch-Beaten on April 22
-I really liked this game as it's like the Hotline Miami series, which I love. If it hadn't been for the slowdown in the Switch version, I think I would have liked it better than the Hotline Miami games. 8/10

Game 13-Guardians of the Galaxy The Telltale Series Episode 1-2017-PS4-Beaten on April 29
-I feel like this was the weakest of any Telltale series game. It was boring as I had to start the game over three different times because I fell asleep. I do really like the opening song "Why Can't I Touch It" by the Buzzcocks. Hopefully the series will pick up with future episodes. 6/10

Game 14-What Remains of Edith Finch-2017-PS4-Beaten on April 29
-Favorite game of the year so far. Great atmosphere and strange(in a good way) story. Loved the Holloween music in one of the stories! 10/10

Game 15-Full Throttle Remastered-2017-Vita-Beaten on May 1
-I have to admit that I didn't really like this game. If it wasn't for an online guide, I would have never beaten the game. It also was very choppy(not the frame rate but the game)which I'm not sure if that was in the original game or not. 5/10
Last edited by Bastion; 05-01-2017 at 07:56 PM.

Game 16-Gal Gun Double Peace-2016-Vita-Beaten on May 22
-Inreally don't have much of an opinion on this game. It is a on rails shooter where you shoot girls. Without a gun peripheral it just isn't much fun in my opinion. 5/10

Game 17-The Walking Dead: A New Frontier-Episode 4 Thicker than Water-2017-PS4-Beaten on May 25
-Again, good episode. 9/10

Game 18-The Walking Dead: A New Frontier-Episode 5 From the Gallows-2017-PS4-Beaten on May 31
-I really liked the entire series and thought this was a good concluding episode. Not as good as the first two but still good. I am looking forward to what happens next as the ending sets it up pretty well. 8/10

Game 19-Assassin's Creed Unity-2014-PS4-Beaten on June 4
-I really enjoy the Assasin Creed games. I haven't played all of them so I haven't got burned out on them yet. I only play the story missions so it keeps me focused because the map is just filled with tons of things to do so it can be overwhelming. I didn't try the co-op missions in this game so I can't speak to those at all. 7/10

Game 20-The Little Acre-2016-PS4-Beaten on June 5
-This is a very brief(about two hours) point and click adventure game. I had an average time with this average game. I got this for a couple of $$ on a PSN sale and played it as I knew it was really short. 6/10

Game 21-Quantum Break-2016-Xbox One-Beaten on June 15
-I absolutely loved this game. Had I finished this game last year, it would have been one of my favorite games of 2016. I love the time powers and I really like the mixture of game and tv show. This game had great production value and is something you just don't see much. I think Defiance is the only other game that had a show go along with it. 10/10

Game 22-Destiny-2014-PS4-Beaten on June 18
-I bought Destiny the day it came out back in 2014 and played it for awhile but then quit. Now with Destiny 2 right around the corner, I decided it was time to finish the game and all of the expansions. I have to say that I really enjoyed the gameplay. The story wasn't great but I was never bored. This summary is for the original Destiny only and will be adding the dlc add-ons as I play through them. 8/10

Game 23-Destiny The Dark Below DLC-2014-PS4-Beaten on June 18
-This was the first expansion to Destin and added three story missions to Destiny. It took me about an hour to get through all three story missions. It was more of the same but still good. 8/10

Game 24-Destiny The House of Wolves DLC-2015-PS4-Beaten on June 19
-This was the second expansion for Destiny and I liked this much more than The Dark Below as it had better atmosphere in my opinion. 9/10

Game 25-Destiny The Taken King DLC-2015-PS4-Beaten on June 21
-This was a great addition to Destiny. Really enjoyed the story missions. Now for the Rise of Iron. 9/10

Game 26-Ghostbusters VR Now Hiring Episode 1-2017-PSVR -Beaten on June 23
-This was a fun little experience for $4 from the recent PSN sale. It was only about 15 minutes but it was fun and very cool to be in the Ghostbusters universe. Recommended if you get it for $5 or under. 7/10

Game 27-Rogue One: X-wing VR Mission-2016-PSVR-Beaten on June 23
-This was a great VR experience and if you love Star Wars, it will be a highlight of your gaming life. This was awesome! It makes you feel like you are there shooting down the tie-fighters. It did only take me only 16 minutes to beat it but it was a free download since I own Star Wars Battlefront. I also came away a little dizzy but not bad. 10/10

Game 28-Destiny Rise of Iron DLC-2016-PS4-Beaten on June 25
-I am now ready for Destiny 2. Really enjoyed this expansion. More Destiny. 9/10

G ame 29-Guardians of the Galaxy The Telltale Series Eposode 2-2017-PS4-Beaten on June 26
-Hmm..... I love what Telltale has done with the Walking Dead and Batman and pretty much everything else but I am not feeling this series. Maybe it's because I feel the franchise is just plain weird. I don't know. 5/10

Game 30-Fate: The Silent Oath-2017-PSVR-Beaten on June 30
-I really enjoyed this adventure even though it did make me a bit dizzy. The game was short and rough around the edges but still a great experience. I hope to see a AAA game do this type of game! 7/10

Game 31-Spider Man Homecoming VR-2017-PSVR-Beaten on June 30
-I really wasn't very impressed by this experience. It was ok but the graphics were really rough. It was cool shooting from my webslinger(via two PS moves). It only lasted maybe 15 minutes but it was free! 5/10

Game 32-Outlast Whistleblower DLC-2014-PS4-Beaten on July 8
-I love survival horror games so game is right up my alley. I really liked the main game and this dlc was just as good if not better. Very atmospheric and dark. Looking forward to playing Outlast 2 soon. 10/10

Game 33-Titanfall 2-2016-Xbox One-Beaten on July 10
-I loved this game. The mixture of shooting and platform was perfect. The only thing that I didn't like was the assembly line level as I just didn't know where to go. 9/10

Game 34-Soma-2015-PS4-Beaten on July 19
-This game was awesome. It was a very unsettling experience which I loved! I really liked the story and gameplay. The only thing that I thought was a bit annoying were the "monsters". Even though the weird "monsters" helped make the game more tense, it seemed like they were very random and hard to escape at times. I think that was the point overall, but still annoying. 9/10

Game 35-Sniper Elite 3-2014-PS4-Beaten on July 23
-I have always loved sniping in games, and his game lets you snipe all the time and does it wonderfully! I never get tired of the slow-mo effect when sniping and watching the bullet penetrate the body of the enemy. Great stuff! 9/10

Game 36-House of the Dead IV along with HOTD IV SP-2012-PS3-Beaten on July 25
-This was the first House of the Dead game I have played to completion and I enjoyed it a lot. Very cheesy story and voice acting but that's ok as it's an arcade game. It looked good on the PS3 and works very well with move. Not quite the same as the old light gun games though. Those guns felt better. 7/10

Game 38-Tokyo Xanadu-2017-Vita-Beaten on July 26
-This was a great, modern day action rpg. If you liked the Trails of Cold Steel games with the action of Ys and the personality of Persona 4, this game is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed all 40 hours I played and actually played to get the true ending after the credits originally rolled which I have never done before. That says something. 10/10

Game 39-House of the Dead III-2012-PS3-Beaten on July 26
-After beating HOTD IV yesterday, I decided to go ahead and play III. I liked this one better simply because it had shotguns instead of uzi's. 7/10

Game 40-Night in the Woods-2017-PS4-Beaten on August 6
-This game was very chill and easy to enjoy. I enjoyed the coming of age story and the conversations that took place throughout the game. The story does end up a bit strange but I am open to anything when it comes to video games. 8/10

Game 41-Rime-2017-PS4-Beaten on August 7
-This game is in the same vein as Ico, Journey, Abzu, and Bound. I find all of these games incredibly relaxing to play. There really is nothing negative to say about the game other than the story is really non-existent until the end where it becomes quite touching. Great experience! 10/10

Game 42-Batman The Enemy Within Episode 1 The Enigma-2017-PS4-Beaten on August 8
-I loved the first Batman Telltale game and so far, I love Season 2. Batman fits so well into this type of game. It is my favorite Telltale series by far. 10/10

Game 43-Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice-2017-PS4-Beaten on August 11
-Wow! This game is one of the best games I have ever played. Maybe my new favorite game. Unbelievably good. Superb graphics, audio and atmosphere. I loved every second of it. 10/10

Game 44-For Honor-2017-PS4-Beaten on August 12
-For Honor was free this weekend to try so I downloaded it and played the entire story campaign. I really liked the sword gameplay but the story was weak. This game had beautiful graphics and overall really enjoyed my time with the game. 7/10

Game 45-Frisky Business(2017)-PS4-Beaten on August 13
-I have started enjoying visual novels the last couple of years on the Vita so when I saw this game on sale for like $7 I got it without looking at length or any game is very short short-like an hour short-but is a fun little visual novel. There are some typos which is make it seem a bit amateurish but for the most part the writing is ok. Most visual novels are quite long so having a short visual novel was nice. 6/10

Game 46-Blackwood Crossing(2017)-PS4-Beaten on August 14
-Hmmm......Not really sure about his game. It was short(about three hours) but would have taken forever without a guide to help get me through it. I liked the graphics and the ending but everything else was ok. The worst part about this game was how slow the main character moved. 6/10

Game 47-Tacoma(2017)-Xbox One-Beaten on August 16
-I have played a lot of "walking simulators" the last couple of years and really enjoy them. If I am being honest, this was one of the weakest. It was very short and a bit boring overall. The graphics were very basic and there was nothing really that stood out. The twist ending at the end was good, but predictable. 6/10

Game 48-Undertale(2017)-Vita-Beaten on August 17
-This was one of the most unique games I have ever played. Great writing and humor, especially in the latter part of the game. I loved the fighting mechanics of this game as well. Very clever! I also liked that it was short-around 5 hours or so. Two negatives-I didn't like the 4:3 screen. It would look much better if the game filled the whole screen. It made font quite small on the Vita. I also thought he main character should walk much faster. Give me a run button please! 8/10

Game 49-Sniper Elite 4(2017)-PS4- Beaten on August 21
-I loved this game even more than Sniper Elite 3. The sniping just never gets boring. Love the WWII time period as well. Great game! 10/10

Game 50-Uncharted The Lost Legacy(2017)-PS4-Beaten on August 27
-Great game! Love the graphics and gameplay. The only thing I didn't like as much were the characters. While not bad, they just weren't as funny as Drake. Missed the Drake-Sully interaction. With that said, everything else was superb! 9/10

Game 51-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: A TELLTALE SERIES EPISODE 3: "MORE THAN A FEELING"(2017)-PS4-Beaten on August 31
-Well it is more of the same which means it ok. I continue to just not like this universe and find it a bit boring. The best episode so far in this specific series. 6/10

Game 52-Life is Strange Before the Storm-Episode 1-Awake(2017)-PS4-Beaten on September 2
-Well I hit the 52 mark with a game I was really looking forward to as I enjoyed the original. I thought episode one was a very good starting point and look forward to episode 2. 8/10

Game 53-Deadpool(2015)-PS4-Beaten on September 4
-I recently watched the Deadpool movie and loved it so I thought I would try out this game, especially since it was cheap on the PAX PSN sale. Overall, the game is ok. I enjoyed e gameplay, for the most part, as I love hack and slash games. This game also had guns which was fine. The biggest issue with this version of the game was that the game paused for a second, almost like it was loading, literally at least once a minute if not more. Outside of this, the frame rate was good but that really hampered the overall enjoyment of the game for me. 5/10

Game 54-Skylar and Plux Adventure on Clover Island(2017)-PS4-Beaten on September 5
-This was a very fun, little platform platformer. It only lasted a couple of hours and you can tell that it wasn't made by a triple AAA studio, but I still had a lot of fun. 7/10

Game 55-Michael Jackson The Experience HD(2012)-Vita-Beaten on September 9
I love Michael Jackson songs but am not a huge fan of music rythm games. This one is the best one I have played simply because I love the songs. I got the game free on the day the Vita launched due to a PSN glitch that gave the full game free instead of the demo. 7/10

Game 56-Dying Reborn(2017)-Vita-Beaten on September 10
-I enjoyed the game overall even though it was very rough in many areas. It is a horror game where your goal is to solve puzzles to escape the room. I got it for under $5 which is what I would recommend and no more. 6/10

Game 57-Color Guardians(2015)-Vita-Beaten on September 11
-I really enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. It was an endless runner that makes you constantly switch colors and lanes to pick up orbs. If you don't switch to the correct color at the right time, you will run into an object that kills you. Luckily there are checkpoints that save it from being too frustrating, the bosses add more challenge to the game and were fun in hindsight but frustrating at the time. Solid little game. 7/10

Game 58-Manifest 99(2017)-PSVR-Beaten on September 16
-This was a great little vr experience. I say experience because it wasn't really a game. The only gameplay involved is looking around with your eyes looking for things. Still a nice experience and would recommend it for the price. 9/10

Game 59-Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!(2014)-Vita-Beaten on September 20
-I had to double check that I had the title rigt and yes, there are five explanation points. Anyway, this was a fun fighting game. I played through three characters in story mode and then played through all the characters stories in the "After Story" mode which is a visual novel with one fight(one round) per story. Enjoyed it overall but the story was a bit stupid. 7/10

Game 60-NBA 2K16(2015)-PS4-Beaten on September 21
-I wanted to play the story mode that Spike Lee directed. It was ok. Now I'm ready for NBA2K18. 7/10

Game 61-J-Stars Victory VS+(2015)-Vita-Beaten on September 24
-This was an ok game. I played through the story mode. Really this was about clearing space on my memory card for Dangonranpa v3 which comes out his week. 7/10

Game 62-Butcher(2017)-Switch-Beaten on September 29
-I love this game! I loved the gunplay and the atmosphere and the music and the entire game. It is a like Doom in 2D with a mix of Hotline Miami. Highly recommended! 10/10

Game 63-The Evil Within-The Assignment DLC(2015)-PS4-Beaten on October 1
-I beat the main game a couple of years ago and recently bought the DLC during a PSN sale. I figured it was time to play it with The Evil Within 2 coming out soon. Anyway, I really enjoyed this dlc. It was much more stealth based which I really enjoyed and had great horror atmsohphere! 9/10

Game 64-The Evil Within-The Consequence DLC(2015)-PS4-Beaten on October 3
-Again, I really liked this dlc for the same reasons as The Assignment. Good horror atmosphere. 9/10

Game 65-The Evil Within-The Executioner DLC(2015)-PS4-Beaten on October 5
-Thisw as much different than the other two DLC's and that ok. Is was action based and a lot of fun. Bring on The Evil Within 2! 8/10

Game 66-Detention(2017)-PS4-Beaten on October 6
-As I continue to play horror games this month, this was a 2D sidescrolling game that just came out on PS4. I have to say that that 2D does not work very well for horror in my opinion. This was an ok game with good music and atmosphere but one I was looking forward to getting over. 6/10

Game 67-The Invisible Hours(2017)-PSVR-Beaten on October 14
-This is my new favorite PSVR game. It was sooo good. Keep in mind that this is a story driven murder mystery where I played as an observer only. The idea is to figure out who committed the murder by following all the different people and listen to their conversations. As long as you can live with a game with actual gameplay besides moving around, this comes highly recommended. 10/10

Game 68-Don't Knock Twice(2017)-PSVR-Beaten on October 15
-I love horror movies and horror games but I think that horror games in VR are now my favorite way to experience horror. This game is exactly what you would expect. You walk around a scary house with jump scares. It works very well and I enjoyed my 3-4 hours with it. Of course it's a little roug h around the edges but still a good horror experience. More please! 7/10

Game 69-The Bellows(2017)-PSVR-Beaten on October 16
-I continue my horror game binge with another short PSVR game. This game could have a lot better had it had any sort of story but it didn't. Iit did have good atmosphere but depended solely on a few jump scare. Don't Knock Twice is much better in every aspect. 5/10

Game 70-Soul Dimension Episode 0(2017)-PSVR-Beaten on October 16
-This is the weakest of the last three short PSVR horror games I have beaten. It had terrible movement and voice acting with a story hat made no sense. There was a crazy boss battle that made no sense as well. The only cool thing was the ending and the promise of more episodes to come. As of now, I don't think I would buy them. 4/10

Game 71-Batman The Enemy Within Episode 2-The Pact(2017)-PS4-Beaten on October 18
-This episode was probably the weakest episode from the Telltale Batman games. It just didn't have a lot of interesting parts. With that said, it was still pretty good. 7/10

Game 72-Life is Strange Before the Storm Episode 2: Brave New World(2017)-PS4-Beaten on October 21
-This episode was very chill and didn't have anything to big happen. Overall it was good but a bit slow. Great music! 7/10

Game 73-Outlast 2(2017)-PS4-Beaten on October 24
-I really liked this game as I continue horror game month. Did I like it as much as the first game? Yes I did. The only annoying thing is the fact that you constantly have to have the video camera turned on which is basically night vision. It just ruins the look of the game for much of the game. 8/10

Game 74-Super Mario Odyssey(2017)-Switch-Beaten on November 4
-This was a very fun game but still way overrated by the media outlets. It's the only 3d Mario game I have ever beaten so that is saying something. I think the weakest part of the game is the story and npc's which is a big deal for me which is why I don't think this game is a 10. 9/10

Game 75-Fire Emblem Warriors(2017)-Switch-Beaten on November 7
-I have never played a Fire Emblem or Musou game to completion until this and I really enjoyed it. The story was hard to follow and I didn't know the characters like I would if I was big into Fire Emblem but the gameplay of hack and slash is like comfort food. Relaxing. 8/10

Game 76-Hidden Agenda(2017)-PS4-Beaten on November 7
-This game is a PlayLink game which Sony is starting to push where you control the game with your phone and play with groups of people to make decisions. It was a lot of fun playing this with my daughter who doesn't play video games but loves CSI shows. This game had great atmosphere and decent graphics but sometimes tpscenes would cut away real fast making it seem like the game was rushed a bit. Fun with a group for sure and recommended. It is very short-about two hours. 7/10

Game 77-Sonic Forces(2017)-Switch-Beaten on November 11
-This as the first Sonic game I have ever beaten. I have played a lot of them and just feel like I'm not in control of the game due to how fast it plays. This game was the same way but I finished becasue it was on a portable. I did enjoy the boss fights. 6/10

Game 78-Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus(2017)-PS4-Beaten on November 27
-I really enjoyed this game as expected as I really liked the previous games in the series as well. You can't go wrong with killing Nazis! 9/10

Game 79-Batman The Enemy Within Episode 3: Fractured Mask(2017)-PS4-Beaten on November 29
-This Episode was a bit slow but enjoyed it overall. I really like the relationship between Batman and Catwomen so I try to make sure that they end up together, not sure if that is possible in the end or not. 7/10

Game 80-Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy-The Telltale Series Episode 4 Who Needs You(2017)-PS4-Beaten in December 3
-Overall, I have really enjoyed all the Telltale games but this one has been my least favorite. This was my favorite episode of this series.. now for the finale. 7/10

Game 81-Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy-The Telltale Series Episode 5 Don't Stop Believin(2017)-PS4-Beaten in December 3
-This was the finale for this season and it was ok. It was ok enough that I will eventually play the next in this series but will wait for the first sale. 7/10

Game 82-Knack 2(2017)-PS4-Beaten on December 9
-I really enjoyed the first Knack back when the PS4 launched and I liked this one even more. I don't understand why people hate on this series so much. It's lighthearted and a lot fun. 9/10

Game 83-Mom Hid My Game(2017)-Switch-Beaten on December 24
-This was a fun and strangle little puzzle game. It lasted about an hour but I really enjoyed it. Your mom hid your DS(it looks like a DS) and you have to find it without your mom seeing you. Quirky game. (8/10)

Game 84-Accounting+(2017)-PSVR-Beaten on December 26
-While very short, I really loved this experience and it made me laugh out loud which games never do. For $10-$11, I would recommend picking it up. 8/10

Game 85-Doki Doki Literature Club(2017)-Steam PC-Beaten on December 27
-The visual novel part was kind of boring and I enjoy visual novels. What happens after is super cool though so I enjoyed it overall. 8/10

Game 86-Star Wars Battlefront 2(2017)-PS4-Beaten on December 30
-I played the single player campaign and had a good time with it. It is a beautiful game but a little generic in the gameplay department at the same time. 7/10

Game 87-Star Wars Battlefront 2 Ressurection DLC(2017)-PS4-Beaten on December 30
-See my previous write up. Exactly the same. 7/10

Deleted member 401 · Dec 27, 2017

80. Killer Instinct: Season One (4 hours)
Killer Instinct's different seasons are all one game, but their respective single-player modes appear to be different enough that I'm gonna count them separately. Anyway, Killer Instinct 2013 is a lot of fun, but the combo system isn't as intuitive as I expected, and it's a shame how little there is in the game to flesh out the characters - they each only have one intro line and one victory line, and their story mode endings don't help much, either.

Full list to date

newgamewhodis · Dec 27, 2017

I think I inadvertently achieved this goal this year through a process I like to call "two months of unemployment."

Cyclonesweep · Dec 27, 2017

Coming to a close zero chance I make it this year. Next year I feel like I might have a better chance. I am building a way to actually do this.

Deleted member 401 · Dec 27, 2017

81. Subsurface Circular (2 hours)
A short but fascinating dialogue-based adventure game that deals with questions revolving around automation and artificial intelligence.

Full list to date

chrominance · Dec 28, 2017

Original post

50. Flotilla (PC, 2010) - 1:10
Completed three seven-month adventures.

One of Blendo Games's early efforts, Flotilla can be summed up in three words: turn-based Homeworld. Considering how few games have tried to duplicate the Homeworld formula, this alone makes Flotilla interesting. Combine that with a roguelike structure much like FTL, and you have the recipe for something truly unique and compelling.

So what's wrong with this picture? Nothing, really, except that every adventure you embark on in Flotilla has a seven-month deadline. According to the game's minimal lore, you only have that long to live before a terminal condition claims your life; until then, you've resolved to fly around the galaxy with your two ships and wreak havoc like the good ol' days. Or something like that. Each adventure, then, takes roughly twenty to thirty minutes to play. The events you run into change from adventure to adventure, and having later encounters that relate to earlier decisions you've made is a nice touch. But ultimately, it feels mostly like you're shuffling the same deck of event cards each time, with no way to stop the inevitable: inside of about half an hour, you will die. And then you start again.

On the one hand, this is an admirable restriction of scope for an indie developer; scope creep kills a lot of games, and Flotilla is compact enough that its various mechanics feel well thought out and fun to play with. Flotilla really nails the feeling of space naval combat, more so than even Homeworld itself in some ways. As you set up each turn and watch the ships do their ponderous dance around one another, there's a real feel of weight you don't normally see in space combat games.

On the other hand, this means Flotilla is a tantalizing proof of concept for a larger game that's unlikely to ever come. Brendon Chung has since made games like Atom Zombie Smasher, Thirty Flights of Loving, and most recently Quadrilateral Cowboy--all intriguing games that are nothing like one another or Flotilla. Considering it's been seven years since Flotilla first came out, the likelihood of another game that builds upon the foundation of this one is small. But hey, better to leave 'em wanting more, right?

Bii · Dec 28, 2017

Cyclonesweep said:
Coming to a close zero chance I make it this year. Next year I feel like I might have a better chance. I am building a way to actually do this.

Yeah, right there with you. I capped my year off with Horizon: Zero Dawn for my 26th game.

bobnowhere · Dec 28, 2017

Main Post

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.

InquisitorAles · Dec 28, 2017

Main post part 2

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62. Cars Mater-National - 3 hours
Well, it's not bad after all for licensed game. A bit too short for semi-openworld game, but i guess it's a good arcade racing game for fans of Cars universe, animation in story cutscenes is very close to movie quality.

His Majesty · Dec 28, 2017

34 | Pyre | PC
Time: 12 hours
Score: 8/10

A visual novel featuring basketball like gameplay, it didn't sound like something I would enjoy but I was wrong. Pyre features a wonderful cast of diverse and interesting characters, it is actually one of the few games released lately which really made me care about its NPC's. From the overly enthusiastic and noble Sir Gilman to the reserved and weathered Jodariel, your companions and opponents are all multi layered characters worth getting to know. The story itself is rather simple and so is its setup and execution. As usual in Supergiant games, the art and music is absolutely wonderful. Every opponent is given its own theme song, which can vary from punk rock to drum 'n bass and medieval tunes. The Rites themselves are equally enjoyable, if a little too easy in the early stages of the game. In the latter stages you can tweak the difficulty yourself using titan stars. I also like that losing doesn't mean the end of the game but does have consequences for your game. My record in the rites was 24-2 I think, losing one important liberation rite.

Overall I really enjoyed Pyre and it's certainly worth checking out, even though it is a vastly different game from Bastion and Transistor.

35 | What Remains of Edith Finch | PC
Time: 3 hours
Score: 8/10

I have played my fair share of walking simulators and I can safely say now that What Remains of Edith Finch is the best one yet. It tells a mysterious yet grounded story of the Finch family. Besides dialogue and books, typical instruments to convey information in those type of games, it mixes things up and also makes use of more unconventional means through short gameplay segments. This really helps to break up the usually monotone gameplay and also lends more strength to the small vignettes surrounding every character. Lewis' story was probably my favourite and resonated really well with me, in large part due to the excellent 'minigame'. Some of them are hit and miss but overall I really like them. The mansion you explore is extremely detailed, I just wish there was a bit more interactivity with some of the interesting looking items.

The major downside is that the game is fairly short (2-3 hours) and maybe a bit too linear. However changing this might have negatively influenced the excellent pacing throughout the game.

Highest rated game: Divinity: Original Sin 2 (10)
Lowest rated game: Outlast (3)
Average score: 6.9

Main post (#1-33)
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Tambini · Dec 28, 2017

#84 Castlevania Symphony of the Night ★★★★.5 PlayStation - December 28th - 7.30 hours
I like to replay this around Christmas and with that, looks like I'm done for this year.

DionardoLicaprio · Dec 28, 2017

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

Main Post

His Majesty · Dec 29, 2017

35 | What Remains of Edith Finch | PC
Time: 3 hours
Score: 9/10

I have played my fair share of walking simulators and I can safely say now that What Remains of Edith Finch is the best one yet. It tells a mysterious yet grounded story of the Finch family. Besides dialogue and books, typical instruments to convey information in those type of games, it mixes things up and also makes use of more unconventional means through short gameplay segments. This really helps to break up the usually monotone gameplay and also lends more strength to the small vignettes surrounding every character. Lewis' story was probably my favourite and resonated really well with me, in large part due to the excellent 'minigame'. Some of them are hit and miss but overall I really like them. The mansion you explore is extremely detailed, I just wish there was a bit more interactivity with some of the interesting looking items.

The major downside is that the game is fairly short (2-3 hours) and maybe a bit too linear. However changing this might have negatively influenced the excellent pacing throughout the game.

Highest rated game: Divinity: Original Sin 2 (10)
Lowest rated game: Outlast (3)
Average score: 6.9

Main post (#1-33)
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Tizoc · Dec 29, 2017

254. Yakuza Kiwami

Despite the improvement to the combat and overall QoL additions, this game remains my least favourite in the series. I felt the game dragged a little longer than it should. I didn't enjoy the leveling up system all that much esp. since my attack power doesn't really feel like it went up once I maxed out Life :/

chrominance · Dec 29, 2017

Original post

51. I Expect You to Die (PC VR, 2017) - 2:39
Completed all operations and went on vacation.

My Oculus Rift is over a year old, and I've had a few regrets about buying it--partially because of the odious politics of its founder, who has since left the company, but mostly because I just haven't used it very much. When the headset originally launched, it only came with an Xbox One controller, and you were limited to sitting and standing experiences involving that controller or the remote control that came with it. It was fine enough for what it was--VR is a neat enough experience that having your hands in game isn't strictly necessary--but it does necessarily limit you to certain types of games, nearly all of which made me nauseous. I was particularly disappointed by American Truck Simulator, which I was so excited to try in VR but ended up making me queasy within ten minutes.

I hedged on buying a Touch for the longest time. What pushed me over the edge was someone I know who works with VR games telling me that motion controllers "give you your hands back." I Expect You to Die seemed like a good way to ease into motion-controller VR for the first time: it could be played without room-scale (which will never happen in the bedroom my PC is in), and thus was entirely stationary and unlikely to cause motion sickness. The game is basically like the footage I saw from Job Simulator, in that you manipulate a whole bunch of objects in your general vicinity to often-humorous effect. But unlike Job Simulator, I Expect You to Die has a goal: you're a secret agent who has to execute a number of operations to steal classified info or spoil a fiendish plot to destroy the world. I haven't played Job Simulator yet, but giving you an objective to strive towards makes all the difference to me, and the puzzles in the game are difficult enough that you have to stop and think a bit, but not so hard that you'll be stumped for very long.

The game is a bit short; you'll complete everything within two hours, which makes it an easier game to recommend when it's on sale. Oddly, the one major problem I had with the game isn't that it's too short, but that it makes you replay an awful lot of it. Though most of the puzzles let you sit around for as long as you like thinking up a solution, there are times when quick thinking is of the essence. Fail these moments, and you'll have to start each operation over from the very beginning. What follows is an occasionally tedious re-enactment of all the actions you've done up to that point, just so you can perform the one timed feat again. The mission added in a recent update, First Class, doubles down on this by asking of you a certain amount of dexterity as well, which the Oculus Touch controllers are only mostly equipped to handle. In an ideal environment for VR, I expect some of this will be less of a problem, but in my cramped bedroom I had my fair share of hands not responding to movement or not being able to grab stuff because one of my controllers left the field of view of one of the cameras.

Overall, I Expect You to Die is a great game to get if you're just getting started with VR. The puzzles are entertaining and require some indirect thinking of you, and there's a lot of goofy discoveries to be made (try to see what you can wear as a hat, for example). Recommended.

chrominance · Dec 29, 2017

Original post

52. What Remains of Edith Finch (PC, 2017) - 2:10
Completed all stories.

I think the less you know about What Remains of Edith Finch, the better. I myself only knew that it was a series of vignettes, that half the rooms in the Finch house were locked for some reason, and that it's one of the best games of the year. With arthouse games like these, I tend to be ambivalent about widespread praise; Inside was the critical darling from last year that I could never get into, and as much as I wanted to love Firewatch it fell just a little bit short. But know that What Remains of Edith Finch is everything people say it is. It's marvelously inventive in how it takes what could have been a passive narrative experience and makes it genuinely interactive. It's full of intricate details in one of the most densely packed, compact game worlds I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. And it illuminates a wonderful cast of characters in vignettes that range from tragic to euphoric, and sometimes even both at once.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a GOTY list to update. And a breath to catch--just under the wire, I made it to 52 games!

Dyna · Dec 29, 2017

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

46 | SIMULACRA | PC
3.5 hours | Completed Dec. 24th

This was a very unique and interesting experience for the most part. You somehow get your hands on a missing person's phone and you're trying to find out what happened to her by going through her chat logs, apps etc. and every bit of interaction is done through the phone. The phone UI feels very believable and it's actually quite immersive. The game is really fucking unsettling in the beginning and there are occasional scares here and there that keep you on edge but honestly the story takes a huge dip in quality near the end which was such a bummer. Despite the amateurish and borderline horrendous acting in the game I was really engaged till the last 30 minutes or so. I'm not going to reveal anything about the story but I just thought the way it all spans out is so... lame. Nonetheless an interesting few hours and like nothing I have played before but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it because of the story (and the acting to some extent).

47 | Abzû | PS4
~1.5 hours | Completed Dec. 25th

I went in expecting underwater Journey but this didn't really grip me in the same way as that game did. Abzû is very pretty to look at, yes, but I felt zero connection to the main character or the world around me. This felt super short too even though I explored the areas quite a bit. It's a beautiful game but because I didn't really feel anything while skimming through it I wouldn't put it in the same league as Journey. Also there were some strange little FPS hitches here and there even though I played it on a PS4 Pro. Still a neat little experience I guess.

48 | Epistory - Typing Chronicles | PC
4.5 hours | Completed Dec. 28th

An action RPG where you play as a girl riding a fox and everything from killing enemies to opening treasure chests is done by typing. It's a pretty neat concept and it works quite well too. The difficulty is fair, I feared it would be a cakewalk but some of the later arena fights (or "nests") are pretty intense and tiring for your hands. The artstyle's cute, everything in the world is made out of paper/book pages, sort of reminded me of Tearaway. The almost non-existent story kind of made me roll my eyes but it's whatever, it didn't get in the way of gameplay. I'd recommend this for the current Steam sale price (about 6€) if you're looking for something light to play.

Deleted member 17549 · Dec 30, 2017

Full list

December:

Earthbound - ★★★★
Earthbound has a few tedious mechanics, particularly the harsh penalty for dying, and it does a bad job of pointing the player in the direction of story progress. If I had played the game without outside help I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it, but thankfully there are these things called walkthroughs and savestates. I loved the game's mysterious vibe, the soundtrack and all the unexpected places the story takes you.

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - ★★★★
My favourite Shovel Knight campaign thanks to Specter Knight's fun moveset. The new remixed soundtrack sounded a bit off to me since I'm so used to the awesome original tunes.

Deleted member 16876 · Dec 30, 2017

I lost my document that I wrote the games in so I will just have to list them without the order they were played in.

1. God of War
2. God of War II
3. God of War Chains of Olympus
4. God of War Ghost of Sparta
5. God of War Ascension
6. Dishonored
7. Outrun Online Arcade
8. Captain Falcon
9. GTA Liberty City Stories
10. GTA Vice City Stories
11. GTA China Town Wars
12. Dungeons & Dragons Tower of Doom
13. Dungeons & Dragons Shadow of Mystara
14. Wolfenstein 2009
15. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
16. The Godfather 2
17. Tekken Tag Tournment 2
18. Batman Arkham Origins
19. Jojo's Bizzare Adventure: All Star Battle
20. Castlevania: Rondo of the Blood
21. Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day
22. Killer Is Dead
23. The King of Fighters XIII
24. Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
25. Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
26. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
27. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
28. Resistance 3
29. Yakuza: Dead Souls
30. Streets Of Rage 2
31. Batman Telltale Series Season 1
32. Soulcalibur II HD Online
33. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
34. Tokyo Xanadu
35. Final Fight
36. Playstation All Star Battle Royale
37. Samurai Shodown V Special
38. Danganronpa V3
39. Steins;Gate
40. Steins,Gate 0
41. Dynasty Warriors 8
42. Berserk and The Band of The Hawk
43. Killzone Mercenary
44. Lumines Electronic Symphony
45. Street Fighter X Tekken
46. Retro City Rampage DX
47. Gravity Rush
48. The Last Blade 2
49. Garou: Mark of The Wolves
50. Metal Slug 3
52. Metal Slug 1
53. Metal Slug 2
54. Metal Slug X
55. Captain Commando
56. X-Men Arcade
57. Doki Doki Literature Club

I still have some games I didn't count such as Yakuza 0 and that's because I played them with a friend by passing the controller so I will have to replay it for it to count.

Deleted member 1265 · Dec 30, 2017

Did we ever find someone to run this thread for 2018?

LiquidSolid · Dec 30, 2017

My final set of games for the year:

OP
Backloggery

Game #53 - Final Fantasy X (PS4) - 04/10/17

Final Fantasy X is a game I loved when it first came out but later, particularly after FFXIII came out, started looking back at with jaded eyes. So it was really interesting going back and finding myself loving FFX all over again. There are some issues, particularly with the early 2000s voice acting, but the story is one of the best in the series and despite its linearity, they do a great job making its world feel like a real world and providing detours so you're not just walking down a road the entire game.

The remaster doesn't add a bunch of new features like FFXII: The Zodiac Age (except for Americans, who never got the International version of FFX) and the characters look a like plastic-y at times but overall, it's a fantastic remaster and I absolutely love the cross-save functionality they added. A lot of games have cross-save functionality but it stands out far more to me for a game of FFX's size to have it. Being able to throw my PS4 save over to my Vita, play it on my commute and then throw it back to my PS4 once I get home, is amazing.

I think my only big issue with FFX is the grind you need to do to even be competitive against the Dark Aeons or Penance. You literally have to spend hours grinding monsters to get specific drops that you can then use to fill all the gaps in the sphere grid and max your stats out. It's brutal and broke me back when I first tried doing it on the PS2. I succeeded this time but it's an extremely stupid grind.

Game #54 - Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) - 11/10/17

The next handheld game on my list. I bought Diabolical Box when it first came out, having played Professor Layton and the Curious Village only a few months beforehand, but found that it felt more like an expansion pack than a proper sequel. I ended up getting burnt out about halfway through and quit playing it. Thankfully, getting back into it provided a nice synopsis when I started it back up again, so I could jump in where I left off and I found that with a lot of distance since I'd last played one of these games, I really enjoyed it. Wrapping up all the puzzles in a charming as hell game works so well. I'm not sure I'll try and follow this up with the third Layton game (or any others) but I definitely need to get Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, which I've been putting off for a while.

Game #55 - Everything (PS4) - 12/10/17

A crazy game. The sheer scale of its sandbox, as well as the number of animals and objects in it, is insane. The controls can get a little frustrating at times, particularly when you want to become something but the game won't let you, but it's forgivable given everything you can do in it. For the time I played it, I loved it as a nice chill out game. But once I felt like it had just devolved into trying to find the last however many encyclopedia entries, I moved on.

Game #56 - Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 2: Brave New World (PS4) - 20/10/17

A solid second episode. Like the first episode, it started out kinda weird with the Principal being kinda all over the place, but once it settled in, it was a great ride. Some great moments between Chloe and Rachel, which makes it all the more heart breaking knowing what's coming. Can't wait for Episode 3.

Game #57 - Pokemon Black 2 (DS) - 25/10/17

I got back into Pokemon in a big way last year after injuring my ankle (right before the GO craze hit too) and being stuck in bed for a couple of weeks. As a result, I ended up playing through most of the Pokemon games that'd been sitting unfinished in my backlog. This year I wanted to get the last few done and I started with Black 2, which I bought a few years ago but never even started as I hadn't finished Black 1 yet. To a lot of people, direct sequels to series that are normally one and done can seem boring but I find it really interesting because they let you revisit those worlds and characters at later dates and explore both new locations and old locations that may've gone through some changes. So jumping into Black 2 was really cool. You start in a completely new location with characters from the first game reappearing almost immediately and go from there. And it's crazy how much new content packed on top of the previous game. Easily one of my favourite Pokemon games, up there with Platinum.

Game #58 - Final Fantasy IX (PS4) - 25/10/17

The last time I played Final Fantasy IX was in the early 2000s with my little brother playing shotgun (the PS1 version let you assign control of some characters in battle to a second controller) and while it didn't immediately surplant FFVII as my favourite Final Fantasy, it did get there eventually. So when Square Enix announced the PS4 port at Sony's TGS Conference, I was really excited to play it again and see if it lived up to my memory. I probably would've put off playing it for a while but since I was using the free PS4 theme that came with it, constantly hearing the main theme every time I turned my PS4 on fed my desire to play it immediately.

Turns out, my memory wasn't wrong. It's an incredible game, even today. I still love the characters, especially Vivi, the world, the settings and the story. The battle system is still a little slower than FFVII or VIII but there's now the option to speed things up to help with that.

The port could be better, as it has giant touch screen-like interfaces, grey borders, often blurry backgrounds and an awful trophy list. But on the bright side, it does bring with it higher resolution character models and pre-rendered cutscenes, which look fantastic, as well as the new QoL/cheating options like super speed.

Game #59 - Pyre (PS4) - 31/10/17

A really weird mix of sports-like gameplay, RPG systems and an adventure game style story and structure that works incredibly well. So well, in fact, it's supplanted Bastion and Transistor as my favourite Supergiant game. It's a tremendous piece of game design, particularly the structure of the game because winning and losing at specific times has real consequences and you may even be incentivised to lose at times. I could go on about Pyre for a while but I'll just stick with: I loved the characters, even including some of the opposition ones, I love the art style and I'm continually impressed at just how amazing Supergiant's soundtracks are.

Game #60 - Chrono Trigger (DS) - 03/11/17

Chrono Trigger never came out in PAL format on the SNES or PS1, so the DS release was the first legitimate chance I ever had to play it. Sadly, when I did buy it, I was kind of tired of playing DS JRPGs and it got lost in my backlog. But with my move to play handheld games on my commute this year and having run through most of the Vita games I wanted to play, I took a look at my DS backlog and Chrono Trigger immediately stood out.

I'm guessing a lot of what Squaresoft and Enix did in Chrono Trigger hasn't had the same effect on me that it did on people back in the 90s but I still really enjoyed it. First and foremost, I LOVE time travel stories in games, particularly ones where you can do something and then see the effects in a later time period, so it played right into my interests. But what stood out the most to me was its pacing. So long as you know where to go, Chrono Trigger often moves along at a very quick pace that never gets boring. It's an excellent game.

Game #61 - Pokemon SoulSilver (DS) - 16/11/17

The final (mainline) Pokemon game left in my backlog because I wanted to save one of the best for last. Gold/Silver was a favourite of mine way back when it first came out because of the scale of the joint Johto/Kanto regions, as well as the fantastic starters, so playing through the remakes was a really cool experience. Earning all 16 badges is still a really cool stand-out feature, to the point where I'm surprised Game Freak haven't gone back to that well. I'm amazed at how much content is packed into this remake, which is most noticeable in Kanto, as I vividly remember it feeling empty in the original games. And the addition of walking Pokemon is awesome. It still, sadly, retains some of GSC's flaws, particularly the awful grind between the eighth badge and Pokemon League, but the rest is so great that I'm willing to ignore it. Between Platinum, BW2 and HGSS, I think I now have a very obvious fave three Pokemon's.

Game #62 - Dreamfall Chapters (PS4) - 16/11/17

I've been interested in checking out the Longest Journey/Dreamfall games for years but never really got the opportunity to, so when Chapters went on sale earlier this month, I jumped on it. I found the start really confusing because I haven't played the first two games and it never really spent any time trying to explain anything. But the more I played, the more I picked up and I really started to get into it. Performance was all over the place and it's a pretty janky game but I loved the world, characters and story it told. I'm surprised we don't have more games/movies out there that somehow manage to have both the sci fi and high fantasy genres covered but it's cool to see here. I really hope we get a fourth game in the series that follows up on where Chapters ends.

Game #63 - Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds (PS4) - 21/11/17

My opinion of Horizon had cooled off a bit before I started playing Frozen Wilds but jumping back in, I was reminded why I loved it so much. It's an incredibly fun game to run, jump and fight robot dinosaurs in, and Frozen Wilds only adds to that as a fantastic piece of DLC. What's immediately noticeable are the graphical improvements. How they somehow made what I'd consider this gen's best looking game even more beautiful, I have no idea. The snow looks stunning, while the improvements to the motion capture performances make a noticeable difference. The new robots are terrifying, especially the one that's revealed at the end of the main storyline. And the side quests show significant improvement over the original game, with far more interesting objectives and characters. Frozen Wilds has boosted Horizon up a couple of spots on my GOTY list and based on the improvements they made to it, I can't wait to see what Guerrilla does with the inevitable sequel.

Game #64 - Hidden Agenda (PS4) - 27/11/17

Hidden Agenda got a bit of a rough reception from journalists but I really liked it. As a huge fan of Until Dawn (still the GOAT narrative adventure game IMO), I was looking for a spiritual sequel to that game and I think it mostly delivered. Sure, it's a LOT shorter and is clearly lower budget but the graphics still look fantastic and the writing is still some of the best in the genre, presumably because it's written by the same two filmmakers who wrote Until Dawn.

Game #65 - Pokemon Ultra Moon (3DS) - 18/12/17

When I finished Sun last year, I rated it up with my favourites in the series but in hindsight, there's a lot of things that drag it down. One is the number of pointless cutscenes and conversations, especially at the beginning of the game, but another is its linearity. That aspect wasn't quite as bad as it was in XY, where you're walking on a straight path from beginning to end, but it's close enough and makes replaying it incredibly tedious. So playing through Ultra Moon was a pretty disappointing experience. Catching the changes they made was fun, especially the new TRR post-game story, but there were nowhere near enough to keep it interesting or fix the fundamental flaws in the original game. It's really disappointing that this is the end of Pokemon's Gen 7 and it felt like it started with a bang but ended with a whimper. SuMo really could've used a proper sequel like BW2 with new locations and a redesigned route through the game to make it far more interesting.

Oh and the addition of the Ultra Wormhole grind to catch all the legendaries in the post-game is maybe one of the worst grinds I've ever had to do. The random element to encountering them is awful, especially once you're down to just one or two remaining.

Game #66 - Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 3: Hell Is Empty (PS4) - 21/12/17

It's hard to talk about this without getting into spoilers but I thought Before the Storm was a good game that's better than the original in some ways and worse in others. Ultimately though, I felt it was disappointing in the way it felt pointless given where the original ended. Bonus negative points to Square Enix Europe, who in moving up the release date for US/EU ended up delaying the Aus/NZ release and the only response we got was extremely patronising.

Game #67 - Final Fantasy X-2 (PS4) - 24/12/17

I loved X-2 on the PS2 because the combat system is amazing and the mission structure was a really fresh idea for FF and those parts still hold up but man, the story and dramatic changes to FFX's characters and world is way worse than I remember. I still had a lot of fun playing it and getting 100% completion but it was a struggle caring about anything that happened.

Last Mission never came out in English before the HD Remaster, so it's interesting playing it now. I went in basically expecting Via Infinito 2 but instead I got a SRPG roguelike with procedurely generated levels and an overly complicated job system. It's weird and I wasn't liking it all at first but it grew on me the further I got. Not enough to actually like it but I think it's a decent little game.

Game #68 - Blackwood Crossing (PS4) - 27/12/17

Given the cartoony art style, I started this while taking a break from Hellblade and looking for a more light hearted game to bring me down a bit. What I got instead was a pretty good adventure game with a story that was equal parts bizarre as it was sad. Good game though.

Game #69 - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4) - 27/12/17

One of the main reasons why I play games is to experience different, well, experiences and perspectives. While I've never really been a fan of Ninja Theory and have been very critical of them in the past, when it was revealed they were going to attempt to provide a respectful representation of a mental disease like psychosis in Hellblade, with input from experts and people who have it, I was immediately intrigued. I still didn't play it at launch because I wanted to see how it'd be received but I finally bought it earlier this month and made sure it was first priority once I finished FFX-2.

In one word: Wow. I had some issues, particularly with the combat, but the setting, level design, story, characters, audio design and production values blew me away. I loved it. It's easily one of the most intense games I've ever played, in large part thanks to the brilliant audio design that basically requires headphones, to the point where I needed to take breaks after an hour or two of playing it. It's really impressive what they pulled off with what was by all accounts a mid tier budget. Their use of "FMV" in particular is really cool, almost always disguising them enough that they didn't stand out in contrast to the rest of the game. I do think they stood out a little too much a couple of times but that's the kind of small thing I'm happy to ignore.

Bonus points for including their documentary with the game. It was a really cool insight into the game's development, particularly the representation of psychosis, so is IMO a must watch after finishing the game. Pity about the audio sync issues it has though.

Game #70 - Syberia 3 (PS4) - 30/12/17

Syberia 3's been sitting in my backlog for months because I found out there were a bunch of annoying bugs in it shortly after I bought it. So I waited and waited for a patch, which finally came out in November and I only just found the time to play it.

The Syberia world is really interesting and weird, so it was really cool to finally see it realised in a modern game and I liked a lot of the game's puzzles but the end goal of the game just felt lacking. Gone is the mythical "Syberia" carrot at the end of the stick, replaced with "help these nomadic people continue their migration." I can ignore the jank, the bad animations and the terrible voice acting but at least give me some kind of exciting end goal.

Tizoc · Dec 30, 2017

Original Post

255. Rakuen

Rakuen is an adventure game designed using RPG Maker. A hospitlized boy and his mother travel to a dream-like world, Rakuen, where cute creatures known as Leebles exist. There they seek to awaken Morizawa in order to grant the boy his desired wish.
As the boy sets out to awaken Morizawa, he must explore the pasts of the other people hospitlized in the rooms of the floor he is in along the way solving puzzles and interacting with the denizens of the dream-like world of Rakuen

The game has some light puzzle elements but where it shines are in its setting, characters, themes and its story. There's some nice humor in some of the dialog and the cutesy characters are a delight lead to a relaxing experience....most of the time. The game has a wonderful soundtrack too that can be cheerful and relaxing.
This game made me tear up a bunch of times, and the music just adds to the atmosphere in certain scenes.

Azriell · Dec 30, 2017

Fourth year done. Bringing the list over from the other site.

Code:

January
No    Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
01.   Virginia                                                  (4/5)      01.07
02.   Saints Row - Gat out of Hell                              (4/5)      01.13
03.   This War of Mine - The Little Ones                        (4/5)      01.26
04.   Bard's Gold                                               (4/5)      01.30


February
No    Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
05.   The Flame in the Flood                                    (5/5)      02.01
06.   Gauntlet - Slayer Edition                                 (4/5)      02.11
07.   Resident Evil 4                                           (4/5)      02.18


March
No    Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
08.   The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild                  (5/5)      03.21


April
No    Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
09.   Wonder Boy - The Dragon's Trap                            (4/5)      04.26


May
No    Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
10.   Kamiko                                             (3/5)      05.07
11.   Stardew Valley                                            (4/5)      05.16
12.   Shovel Knight                                             (4/5)      05.19
13.   Void Pyramid                                              (4/5)      05.21


June
No   Game Title                                                 Score      Completion Date
14.  Shovel Knight - Plague of Shadows                          (3/5)      06.01
15.  Headlander                                                 (2/5)      06.14
16.  Shovel Knight - Specter of Torment                         (5/5)      06.19
17.  Solitairica                                                (5/5)      06.21
18.  Ramble Planet                                              (3/5)      06.24
19.  Mr. Shifty                                                 (4/5)      06.24


July
No   Game Title                                                 Score      Completion Date
20.  Machinarium                                                (4/5)      07.01
21.  Until Dawn                                                 (5/5)      07.20


August
No   Game Title                                                 Score      Completion Date
22.  Super Motherload                                           (2/5)      08.09
23.  Super Motherload                                           (-/-)      08.15
24.  Graceful Explosion Machine                                 (5/5)      08.28
25.  XCOM 2                                                     (5/5)      08.28
26.  Ironclad Tactics                                           (3/5)      08.30


September
No   Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
27.  The Adventures of Lolo 2                                  (4/5)      09.08
28.  ActRaiser                                                 (4/5)      09.08
29.  Sky Blazer                                                (4/5)      09.13
30.  Undertale                                                 (5/5)      09.14
31.  Kirby's Dream Course                                      (4/5)      09.15
32.  inFamous - Second Son                                     (4/5)      09.18
33.  Battleborn                                                (3/5)      09.19
34.  The Swindle                                               (2/5)      09.21
35.  Overwatch                                                 (5/5)      09.27


October
No   Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
36.  Just Cause 3                                              (3/5)      10.03
37.  Super Mario Land - 6 Golden Coins                         (4/5)      10.04
38.  Pan-Pan                                                   (3/5)      10.08
39.  Statik - Institute of Retention                           (4/5)      10.16
40.  Super Mario Land                                          (1/5)      10.31


November
No   Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
41.  Invisible Inc.                                            (3/5)      11.01
42.  Life is Strange - Episode 1                               (3/5)      11.02
43.  Sherlock Holmes - Crimes and Punishments                  (4/5)      11.06
44.  Life is Strange - Episode 2                               (4/5)      11.09
45.  Life is Strange - Episode 3                               (4/5)      11.15
46.  Life is Strange - Episode 4                               (4/5)      11.17
47.  Life is Strange - Episode 5                               (5/5)      11.17
48.  Mafia III                                                 (3/5)      11.30


December
No   Game Title                                                Score      Completion Date
49.  King's Quest - Chapter 2                                  (3/5)      12.01
50.  Deus Ex - Mankind Divided                                 (2/5)      12.08
51.  Stranger Things                                           (3/5)      12.13
52.  Ronin                                                     (4/5)      12.18

Illusionary · Dec 30, 2017

With Assassin's Creed Origins beaten last night I think that's me done for the year, ending with a total tally of 72 games beaten - so this will be my final update here, for December. My master posts begin here.

67. Super Bomberman (SNES) - 2 December 2017
Story mode completed. A classic for a reason, Super Bomberman creates some very entertaining gameplay from simple grid-based bomb-laying mechanics. While the single-player isn't where the game most excels, especially given little variety in level layout (despite graphical changes), but it's still decent fun in brief spurts.

68. The Room Two (Steam) - 3 December 2017
All chapters complete. In large part this sequel presents more of the same puzzles as seen in the original The Room, but that's not a bad thing and the game now sees some welcome variety in scenarios. There's often a larger interactive area in play ar any one time, which means that there are a few times when searching for the next step of progress is ocassionally frustrating, but a generally well-judged hint systems works well to limit that. Continued high prodction values throughout make this a nice package overall, despite being a mobile port.

69. Super Bomberman 2 (SNES) - 8 December 2017
Story mode completed. Very similar in many ways to the first game, but when it comes to single-plater there are some very welcome improvements, most significantly from varied arena layouts and a wider range of power-ups to spice up the gameplay. Beyond that, it's mostly more of the same solid gameplay from the original game.

70. Doki-Doki Literature Club! (Steam) - 12 December 2017
Visual novels aren't usually a genre that I have much interest in, but the very positive write-ups that I've seen of this game had me intrigued enough to give it a try, and it's certainly a memorable experience - in a good way! To say much in the way of specifics about how the game/story progresses would be a spoiler, but suffice to say that it's very much not what the outer facade might suggest!

71. Back to Bed (Steam) - 22 December 2017
All levels completed, 100% of achievements earned. This is a fairly simple but enjoyable puzzle game, with the objective of guiding a sleepwalker 'back to bed' using a couple of types of movable objects to guide their path. With 30 levels, each of which also has a hard-mode variant, the game has is a decent length and despite the complexity of levels being limited, some of the later levels present a moderate challenge and accompanying satisfaction from completion.

72. Assassin's Creed Origins (PS4) - 30 December 2017
Platinum trophy, all quests completed. The year's break has really paid off here. Origins brings a huge, detailed recreation of Ancient Egypt and an enjoyable reinterpretation of the previously-typical gameplay loop and combat mechanics, allowing both a more action-focused take in gameplay and more freeform stealth, depending on your preference. The revenge-based plot could be a little stronger, but the distinctive characters and likeable protagonists help to offset that.

Deleted member 401 · Dec 30, 2017

82. Street Fighter V (7 hours)
MvCI: "I'm a well-made fighting game with some glaring issues!" SFV: "Hold my beer."

Full list to date

ohitsluca · Dec 30, 2017

52 games was my goal at the start of last year, and I'm pretty surprised and happy I actually did it lol. Picked the perfect year too... Played a ton of great games. Night in the Woods might sneak in before the year is done. Here's my list:

12-26-17

Completed: Life is Strange: Before the Storm (PC)

12-25-17

Completed: Metal Gear Solid (PS1C)

12-18-17

Completed: Cuphead (PC)

Completed: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)

12-12-17

Completed: Doki Doki Literature Club (PC)

11-28-17

Completed: Evil Within 2 (PS4)

11-26-17

Completed: Xenoblade Chronicles (3DS)

11-21-17

Completed: Golf Story (Switch)

11-15-17

Completed: Steamworld Dig 2 (Switch)

11-07-17

Completed: Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PC)

Completed: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

09-04-17

Completed: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)

Completed: Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)

09-03-17

Completed: Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Switch)

08-29-17

Completed: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4)

08-16-17

Completed: Nioh (PS4)

08-10-17

Completed: Bloodborne (PS4)

08-02-17

Completed: Tacoma (PC)

08-01-17

Completed: Crash Bandicoot (PS4)

07-25-17

Completed: Splatoon 2 (Switch)

07-13-17

Completed: Snake Pass (Switch)

07-12-17

Completed: Until Dawn (PS4)

07-05-17

Completed: Life Is Strange (PC)

07-04-17

Completed: The Evil Within (PC)

06-28-17

Completed: New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)

06-23-17

Completed: New Super Mario Bros (3DS)

06-17-17

Completed: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PC)

06-09-17

Completed: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)

05-19-17

Completed: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)

05-10-17

Completed: What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)

05-09-17

Completed: Little Nightmares (PS4)

04-04-17

Completed: Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Switch)

04-01-17

Completed: Nier: Automata (PS4)

03-20-17

Completed: Little Inferno (Switch)

03-16-17

Completed: Yakuza 0 (PS4)

03-13-17

Completed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

03-03-17

Completed: Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)

02-23-17

Completed: HITMAN (2016) (PC)

02-21-17

Completed: Rise of the Tomb Raider (PC)

02-10-17

Completed: A Normal Lost Phone (iOS)

Completed: Journey (PS4)

02-09-17

Completed: Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4)

02-02-17

Completed: Resident Evil 4 (PC)

01-27-17

Completed: Batman: Arkham City (PC)

01-24-17

Completed: Resident Evil 7 (PC)

01-22-17

Completed: Abzu (PC)

Completed: Titanfall 2 (PC)

01-12-17

Completed: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (3DS)

01-11-17

Completed: DOOM (2016) (PC)

01-08-17

Completed: The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (PC)

01-07-17

Completed: Chrono Trigger (3DS)

01-04-17

Completed: Virginia (PS4)

Completed: Final Fantasy XV (PS4)

01-01-17

Completed: Batman: The Telltale Series (PC)

AHA-Lambda · Dec 30, 2017

Ok here we go (this list does not include any DLC completed, and any episodic games noted here are where the last episode was released and played this year - with the exception of the new episode of Higurashi, as each episode has been a separate purchase):

1: Tyranny
Old school style CRPGs are not overly my thing but this was rather neat in the use of its premise of taking the path of evil in a fantasy world for a change.

2: Furi
To be honest I hated this. It was simply too damn hard, to the point of being an utterly exhausting experience. Turned it down to easy just to finish it, but not a worthwhile experience at that point.

3: Icey
A neat 2D character action game that also has a meta Stanley Parable-esque narrator to mess with; plenty of secrets to uncover with this one.

4: Axiom Verge
Hype bit me on this one, I felt it was a pretty average metroidvania tbh.

5: Steamworld Heist
Ooh, I loved this! A turn based tactics game with light RPG mechanics from the Steamworld Dig devs; a very satisfying playthrough indeed.

6: Hyper Light Drifter
An adventure title that is rewarding to explore, and with a tense and impactful combat system.

7: Resident Evil VII
Resident Evil was in bad shape going into this year, and it has managed to deliver something both new for the series yet modern, and that also echoes its original horror roots. A very worthwhile experience, and one that has given me faith in this franchise for the first time since RE4.

8: The House in Fata Morgana
Quite simply one of the best Visual Novels I have experienced to date. A tragic and beautiful tale, with a superb OST.

9: Bleed 2
Much like the first, but no bad thing. A fun, quick action filled romp in the vain of Contra etc.

10: 2064 Read Only Memories
Got into playing this after enjoying VA11 HALL-A so much, and finding out there was a connection between the two. That doesn't come up to much but the game is still very worthwhile as a point and click story driven cyberpunk adventure that clearly takes inspiration from Snatcher.

11: Pillars of Eternity
As I mentioned above, old school CRPGs aren't really my thing despite my attempts to get into them, pushed through this one anyway.

12: The Turing Test
A short and sweet puzzle game that clearly is trying to ape itself as a sort of more serious portal in aesthetic. Will happily fill a weekend though.

13: Torment Tides of Numenera
Now I've not played its predecessor (Planescape Torment) but this did grab me unlike the 2 previous CRPGs I mentioned. A very strange almost alien world, with an intriguing story, and while the combat may be pants as everyone says i appreciated just how little there was of it in general across the game, as it's much more interested in dialogue and exploration.

14: Stories Untold
A neat horror anthology collection of 4 "short stories". Interesting and novel experience, but I wish there was more chapters in it akin to the first one i.e. the text adventure.

15: Dex
Tries to be a sort of 2D Shadowrun. This came out of nowhere for me really, and surprisingly grabbed me.

16: Styx Shards of Darkness
The latest entry in the stealth series no one is paying attention to. Much like the first game, a very enjoyable and effective stealth game, owing to its open and wide natured level design .

17: Nier Automata
I'm going to admit first up, I really enjoyed this game, but I struggle to see why so many are calling it one of this year's best. The plot while thematically strong is narratively lax, the side quests are almost all terrible, and the game really starts to wear thin and becomes very repetitive if you take the time to do everything, I'd almost recommend not doing alot of the side quests so as not to bloat out the playtime.
That said the combat system is stylish and effective, the characters are interesting, the themes strong, the structure of the game itself is unique (well ok Nier 1 already did it but unique to everything these days still), and the visual style of the game is very very striking and at this point is already rather iconic.

18: Full Throttle Remastered
A funny classic PnC adventure, and I just really appreciate having Mark Hamill in it as a villain on top.

19: Yooka Laylee
Sue me, I really liked this game. Fine it ain't perfect (the gibberish voices are incredibly annoying, the minigames are pants, and the casino level is a real lowlight) but it's a very effective old school platformer, and I'm really not sure why so many didn't take to it. The camera was perfectly fine I felt, and the worlds were all big enough for thorough exploration and were varied enough to stand out. If you liked old school platformers of this ilk back in the day but were scared off by the reviews, honestly I'd recommend to give it a shot on sale.

20: Higurashi Chapter 5 Meakashi
The Continuing story of Higurashi, and the first of the Answer Arcs, showing an alternate take on Chapter 2. Not much to say on it really as it's a continuing story.

21: Prey
Easily my GOTY. I still can't believe that in 2017 we received a worthy successor to System Shock 2, just astounding.

22: The Walking Dead Season 3
Well... it was better than Season 2... But Telltale really just has lost that spark at this point.

23: Danganronpa Another Episode
I really didn't think this was as bad as I'd been led to believe. It's a standard but silly and fun 3rd person shooter in the danganronpa universe. If you like the series, I'd give it a go.

24: Crash Bandicoot
Man, this was a lot harder than I remember, but ever so rewarding to do again. A real classic.

25: Crash Bandicoot 2
I'd actually not played this one back in the day, so a whole new classic Crash experience for me this year, and I think it may now be my fav of the 3, getting a good balance on the difficulty between the trilogy (although dear god those gems that require level backtracking can seriously die in a fire).

26: Crash Bandicoot 3
Was my fav Crash game as a kid, but I think it may be too easy now actually, certainly the easiest of the 3. Still fun to playthrough though.

27: Detention
A novel 2D Korean horror experience.

28: The Sexy Brutale
A rather quirky but undeniably stylish point and click puzzle adventure.

29: Mr Shifty
Like Hotline Miami but if the player had short range teleportation, really quite fun.

30: Pyre
Probably the most unique game of the year; part VN/choose your own adventure and part sports game. I wouldn't have imagined myself playing a game of that description if it weren't for Supergiant's pedigree but I'm glad I did.

31: Tacoma
Didn't have the same impact as Gone Home for me sadly, it just simply doesn't have the running time to fully explore the story and themes that it clearly wants to.

32: Night Trap
Ah, the infamous one, and yet the infamous nature is what drew me to it, despite the calls of it being a bad game. Now I know why.
The cheesy stuff that people want to see that caused the controversy? Well good luck actually watching it if you're trying to also play the game as you must continually flick between different monitors of the house to capture monsters, else it be overrun and game over. The game itself at that point is simply pressing the right button at the right time.

33: Subsurface Circular
An interesting little short story affair from Mike Bithell.

34: Rakuen
Very much like To The Moon, get your hankies ready as you'l be crying buckets over this.

35: Uncharted The Lost Legacy
The uncharted formula has worn kinda thin for me at this point but it's nevertheless still a fun ride and clearly well put together.

36: Sonic Mania
I've never actually played a 2D Sonic game in full before this one. I don't think I'll do it again after this either.
In a year where Crash Bandicoot was criticised laughably as being the Dark Souls of platformers, I can't believe no one called this out on unfairly old school designs e.g. limited lives, timers, beginning 2 act levels all the way from the start upon failure. A hugely frustrating game that took me too damn long to beat.

37: Dishonored Death of the Outsider
Surprisingly deals with more of the series lore than the actual Dishonored 2, but it's largely more of the same experience, and in no bad way that is. That said the removal of the chaos mechanic and a replenishing mana meter are very welcome additions.

38: Danganronpa V3
Probably my number 2 GOTY. The most utterly insane plot yet of any of the Danganronpas and I loved it, nutso ending and all.

39: South Park The Fractured But Whole
Same South Park humour as before but with a better combat system that means you can't just sleep through every battle like in the last game.

40: Call of Duty WWII
Meh, a pretty standard military shooter campaign, nothing special.

41: Cuphead
I simply adore this artstyle, and the game is a damn good tough but fair and rewarding challenge.

42: Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy
Yawn, utter yawn. One of TT's worst yet.

43: Monument Valley II
A visually nice, and rather relaxing puzzle game that's never too taxing.

44: Scanner Sombre
Certainly very unique among other "walking simulators" that you can't see anything without the aid of your laser pointer gun to paint the room around you. Visually stunning and rather chilling through the ending.

45: Rage
Very LTTP on this one but thought to try after enjoying DOOM so much last year. The gunplay is just brilliant,as expected from id. The rest? Servicable.
It's obvious this game was id trying to cast it's ambitions wider, but it comes across as that first attempt; nothing else here has the depth or variety needed to stand out, and the plot is a great nothing which doesn't even really kick off until the last act. But if you can get it cheap (and you definitely can these days) I'd still give it a go on account of the great gunplay if nothing else.

46: Outlast 2
I preferred this to the original Outlast on account of the themes and premise this time around being more effectively chilling rather than a rote insane asylum. Very much got vibes here that reminded me of the film Mother! through this as well, which is a real plus in my book

47: Ode
It's a short, cute combo of Rez with Super Monkey Ball.

48: Reigns Her Majesty
Reigns is a novel concept (managing a kingdom via a tinder-like interface) but it was too darn obtuse in terms of how to actually complete the game, almost requiring a walkthrough. The sequel isn't much better in this regard sadly, but at least it removed the timer element from the first.

49: Quantum Break
This was just plain dull.

50: Finding Paradise
Sequel of To The Moon. Doesn't have the same impact as that understandably but still very much a heart felt and emotional tale that will bring a tear by the end.

51: Minecraft Story Mode Season 2
If you'd have told me by the start of the year that of the 3 Telltale seasons I complete this year that I'd like this the most, i'd have called you crazy.
It's still unrelenting cringey and childish, but it feels like this time there are more pronounced stakes and villain here, and not a plot that simply stops embarassingly like in S1.

52: Life is Strange Before the Storm
I was sceptical like many of a prequel by a different (unknown!) dev but Deck Nine delivered in spades a very worthy successor to the original. I compel you not to get a smile on your face at the D&D or the theatre scenes!

53: Bridge Constructor Portal
I've never played a bridge building puzzle game like this before, and I doubt I'll another. It started off fine, simple puzzles to get to grips with things, but by the half way mark the game was simply an exercise in frustration in no how to solve the puzzles but making the solutions work. You will know exactly what you need to do, but you'll be off on an angle so slightly at one bit that you fix that then affects the balance of other preceding and succeeding parts. It becomes more akin to balancing a rube goldberg machine simulator than an actual puzzle game.

54: Wolfenstein 2
Simply, a fun, pulpy action romp much like the first.

Mr.Deadshot · Dec 30, 2017

I close my list with 54 games (some of them addons) beaten and it's one of the best games of this year:

#54 Prey
AMAZING - This game took my by surprise. I am not the biggest fan of FPS/RPG-hybrids like Deus Ex, Bioshock, System Shock because they are often slow paced with some busy-work. But Prey is such a finely crafted experience with one of the best stories in 2017. It was tremendous fun from start to finish with a good sense of progress and character developement and decission-making that felt important. I don't have any complains at all. Great art-style and soundtrack, fantastic writing and execution. And I love Sci-Fi. What more to ask for? Maybe a sequel! One of the forgotten gems of 2017, easily Top 5 in my personal GOTY-list.

It has been an amazing year overall and I still have stuff from this year to play deep into 2018. I just bought NIOH - Complete Edition from the rest of my christmas-money and pre-ordered Monster Hunter Worlds. Now I concentrate on thinning out my backlog and saving money for real-life-housing. I will participate in this challenge next year but my main focus will be the 2018 Backlock Blitz (This year's thread) to motivate myself to buy not too many games. Kudos to VisceralBowl for maintaining this challenge.

Bii · Dec 30, 2017

Main post: https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2017.693/#post-93760

And the games I finished in December. I was able to eek out ABZU today.

24. Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope | Switch | 5.50 hours | 7.0/10
A solid 2D side-scroller. I didn't deviate much from the main quest and it took me a few tries at the end when you have to face all the bosses again.

25. ACA NEOGEO Garou: Mark of the Wolves | Switch | 1 hour | 7.5/10
I had forgotten how cheap Grant was but then I remebered he wasn't even the final true boss. So, uh, I'm gonna have to git gud to face Kain.

26. Horizon: Zero Dawn | PS4 | 43.50 hours | 9.5/10
When I started Horizon, it reminded me a lot of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A fair comparison many others have made who have played both games. Horizon shines strongly in its storytelling, diverse cast, and technical visuals. I'll have to get The Frozen Wilds but will reserve to tackle that sometime next year.

27. ABZU | PC | 1.70 hour | 6.0/10
Not so much a game but a journey. Visually stunning and the music really pulls you in. I really like the peppy/cheery parts of the game.

Wazzy · Dec 30, 2017

I'm not going to finish this year again but I keep getting more and more games out of the way each time I try which is nice. I had to bring my list over because I had forgotten about the challenge when the drama happened. Thankfully it made it's way over here.

Completed:
1. I Am Setsuna[Complete]

2. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse[Complete]

3. Persona 5[Complete]

4. Digimon World Next Order[Complete]

5. Resident Evil VII[Complete]

6. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward MSQ[Complete]

7. Watch Dogs[Complete]

8. Radiant Historia[Complete]

9. Final Fantasy Type-0[Complete]

10. Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood MSQ[Complete]

11. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments Of Forgotten Past[Complete]

12. Starcraft[Complete]

13. Fire Emblem:Echoes[Complete]

14. Suikoden[Complete]

16 Suikoden II[Complete]

17. Steins Gate [Complete]

18. Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade[Complete]

19. Danganronpa V3 [Complete]

20. Breath Of The Wild[Complete]

21. Horizon Zero Dawn[Complete]

22. Hidden Agenda[Complete]

23. Brave Exvius Season 1[Complete]

24. Watch Dogs 2[Complete]

25. Night In The Woods[Complete]

So I got halfway this year and a lot of these games were massive. I have about 7 games I'm almost done that will probably be finished for the 2018 list so I think 2018 is going to be the year I actually beat this. New forum, new goals. :P

Odoru · Dec 30, 2017

My list as 2017 comes to a close! For the third year in a row I failed to really keep track of my thoughts on what I played beyond a simple list, but it was a great year for games! Here is to hoping 2018 provides just as many great memories.

1. Final Fantasy XIV: STORMBLOOD – PC – throughout the year

2. Rocket League – PC/PS4 – throughout the year

3. Overwatch – PC – throughout the year

4. Hearthstone – PC/Mobile – throughout the year

5. Fire Emblem Heroes – Mobile – throughout the year

6. World of Warcraft: Legion – PC – throughout the year

7. Batman: The Telltale Series – PS4 – 8 hours

8. Inside – PS4 – 4 hours

9. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 – Vita – 80+ hours

10. Gravity Rush – PS4 – 8 hours

11. Pokemon Sun – 3DS – 40 hours

12. Resident Evil 4 – PS4 – 12 hours

13. Resident Evil 7 – PS4 – 8 hours

14. Tokyo City Rumble – 3DS – 3 hours

15. Yakuza 0 – PS4 – 77 hours

16. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker – WiiU – 30 hours

17. Tales of Berseria – PS4 – 40 hours

18. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment – Switch – 8 hours

19. Nier: Automata – PS4 – 35 hours

20. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – 3DS – 28 hours

21. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch – 54 hours

22. Neo Turf Masters – Switch – 10+ hours

23. Persona 5 – PS4 – 92 hours

24. Puyo Puyo Tetris – Switch - 20+ hours

25. Mario Kart 8 – Switch - 20+ hours

26. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd – PC - 55 hours

27. Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice – 3ds – 30 hours

28. Friday the 13th – PC - 100 hours

29. Injustice 2 – PS4 – 20+ hours

30. Little Nightmares – PS4 – 5 hours

31. Sonic Mania – Switch – 9 hours

32. Splatoon 2 – Switch – 20+ hours

33. Crash bandicoot – PS4 – 10 hours

34. Metroid: Samus Returns – 3DS – 11 hours

35. Divinity: Original Sin 2 – PC – 103 hours

36. Cuphead – PC – 8 hours

37. ARMS – Switch – 10+ hours

38. Golf Story – Switch – 15 hours

39. Steamworld Dig 2 – Switch – 9 hours

40. South Park: The Fractured But Whole – PC – 23 hours

41. Uncharted The Lost Legacy – PS4 – 8 hours

42. Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga – 3DS – 20 hours

43. Super Mario Odyssey – Switch – 30 hours

44. Player Unknown Battle Grounds – PC – 50 hours

45. Danganronpa V3 – PS4 – 40 hours

46. Wolfenstein 2 - PC – 10 hours

47. Fire Emblem Warriors – Switch – 10 hours

48. Animal Crossing Pocket Camp – Mobile – 15 hours

49. Wonder Boy and the Dragons Trap - Switch – 6 hours

50. Horizon - PS4 – 20 hours

51. Xenoblade 2 – Switch – 105 hours

52. Doki Doki Literature Club – PC – 3 hours

chrominance · Dec 31, 2017

I'll be busy prepping for a New Year's Eve party tonight, so I'm calling it here. It was looking pretty bad for me at one point, but some emergency triage of my Steam backlog got me the games I needed to squeak in under the wire at 52 games exactly.

Total hours played: 1111:10 hours, or about three hours a day. This is actually down from last year by about 20%. My gaming time dove off a cliff in June and never recovered; this is probably due to me finding a bunch of people to play Pokemon Go with, which has surprisingly taken up a significant chunk of my time since then. (I stopped tracking Pokemon Go hours a few months beforehand so I have no idea how many hours I've spent playing, but there's probably hundreds of hours not covered in this tally.)

Top 10 games by playtime:

Persona 5 (PS4) - 186:56
Fire Emblem Heroes (Android) - 83:40
Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey (PC) - 74:00
Yakuza 5 (PS3) - 69:44
Yakuza 0 (PS4) - 66:08
Paint It Back (PC) - 55:53
Gravity Rush 2 (PS4) - 43:08 (including Raven DLC)
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PS4) - 39:30
Prey (2017) (PC) - 33:10
NieR Automata (PS4) - 32:20

Plan for next year: Who knows? I'm not sure if I'm in the twilight of my gaming career or just a temporary lull, but I'm excited for surprisingly few games in 2018 and I wonder if I'll be spending even fewer hours gaming next year. On the other hand, three hours a day is a LOT already, so it's not like I couldn't afford to play fewer things. I'll still be in the challenge, though; fewer 30+ hour games might help!

JohnPaulv2.0 · Dec 31, 2017

I'm glad this challenge survived the move. I enjoy reading all your mini-reviews and impressions so please keep writing them. I didn't make it to 52 games again this year. I did, however, continue to work my way through more classics that I'd missed, wracking up a rough total of 938 hours of game time along the way.

1. Gothic -- PC -- 2nd Jan -- 30h -- ★★★★☆
I finally got the incentive I needed to play this game after watching A Love Letter to GOTHIC's Open World Design. In this regard it didn't disappoint. Somehow, every part of the open world seems intentional. I particularly liked how every pack of enemies felt like a vital resource for experience and items. Terrible combat and bugs with a rushed and buggy latter-game but, overall, a rich and gratifying rpg experience that many games today could learn from.

2. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations -- NDS -- 15th Jan -- 20h -- ★★★★☆
A fantastic third installment to the original trilogy. Great music, great characters and more twists than a Spanish soap opera.

3. Battlefield 1 -- PC -- 1st Feb -- 23h -- ★☆☆☆☆
This game feels like a Sisyphean hell devised for the punishment of Counter Strike players who were too verbally abusive during their time on Earth. An eternity of holding a sprint button before getting blindsided on your way to an objective; map control a distant and bitter memory from other, better designed, games. I actually had a lot of fun in my 100+ hours of Bad Company 2 back in the day, which I credit to more consumate map design.

4. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Crushing) -- PS4 -- 3rd Feb -- 10h -- ★★★☆☆
I love the first half or so of this game. The gameplay starts to become unstuck in Syria though. Restrictive combat arenas and unflinching enemies undermine the potentially fluid gameplay of the Uncharted series, validating the series's most unfavourable, and often underdeserved, perception: chest-high wall simulator. Despite that there are fantastic sections throughout and the spectacle and the banter dazzle and entertain.

5. Nioh -- PS4 -- 25th Feb -- 61h -- ★★★★☆
Nioh's attack animations are the best. There are few games where executing basic combos gives me such visceral gratification. Although a From clone in many respects, there are some contributions to the action genre that are unique and engaging: zone control in the form of Yokai realm(/s?), timed stamina recovery and a fully fledged loot system complete with smithing, enhancement, item abilities, ability inheritence etc. Unfortunately, I think the difficulty balance is quite wonky in places. Once you master the mechanics, most humanoid bosses become trivially easy in the late-game until they start throwing 2 at you at once, forcing you to resort to cheap tactics. Said cheap-tactics can also completely trivialise the game if you don't resist the temptation to use them.

6. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters -- PS4 -- 28th Feb -- 12h -- ★★★★★
Playing Nioh made me want to replay Bloodborne again. So I ran another character through the dlc and most of the main game. Bloodborne is just a clear winner for best game of all time for me. No other game strikes such a perfect blend of agency, challenge, mastery and atmosphere.

7. Dark Souls: The Ringed City -- PC -- 2nd April -- 10.5h -- ★★★★☆
I was let down by the initial area but not by the proceeding ones. The ending blew me away. Sad to see Dark Souls go but it's clear that From Software need a clean creative slate.

8. Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade -- GBA Android -- 3rd April -- 35h -- ★★★★☆
Playing this with save-states is definitely cheating. However, abusing the RNG to maximise level-up stat bonuses became an obsession that utlimately diminished my enjoyment. I'm looking forward to playing a FE game without the temptation to explore all possible permutations at any given juncture. That aside, the mechanics were tight; as I'd expect from the same studio who made Advance Wars. I'll probably skip the more anime games on the 3DS and go straight to Echoes or the upcoming Switch entry though.

9. Zelda: Breath of the Wild -- Switch -- 14th April -- 105h -- ★★★★★
This game feels like being a kid again and visiting someone else's house. You get to run around and explore the garden, climb some trees, poke about for frogs in the pond, pick up a stick, get bored of the stick, find a better one and so on. Absolute freedom. I love that the creativity applies to the combat too. Which is suprisingly engaging for a Zelda game. What was up with that terrible voice-acting though? As a brit, I was thoroughly uninpressed at the attempts at classical English.

10. Nier: Automata -- PS4 -- 12th May -- 40h -- ★★★☆☆
I was actually quite disappointed with Nier: Automata. I love that it plays with genre and narrative structure. There's also some killer music, voice-acting and animation work in there as well. But the combat and story fell flat for me. The combat because the enemy design doesn't encourage any particular strategy other than the occasional dodge and the story because the lack of a strong overarching plot. To expand on the storytelling: it feels like Yoko Taro wrote a bunch of moments that he felt were impactful but were undermined by their detatchment from an overarching plot. The original Nier, by comparison, had a central, engaging core from which all other events derived context and therefore meaning.

11. Final Fantasy Tactics -- VITA -- 28th May -- 43h -- ★★★★★
What a classic. The praise is well-deserved. Characters with complex and sympathetic motivations and some consummate faux-Shakespearean dialogue. A refreshing contrast from the maudlin dross that dominants the genre. The rpg systems were flexible and rewarding and the strategy gameplay was tight.

12. Shovel Knight: Spector of Torment -- VITA -- 1st June -- 6h -- ★★★☆☆
I liked the agility of Spector Knight. I didn't like how he kept accidentally sticking to walls. I preferred the airtight gameplay of the original but overall a pretty good time.

13. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- PS4 -- 25th June -- 33h -- ★★★★★
I like open-world games that have fun mobility options and allow the player to chill out between activities instead of constantly overwhelming them with ungratifying busy work. San Andreas is pretty much perfect in this respect. Rockstar had clearly made the effort to vary the gameplay for each main story mission which kept it fresh. The difficulty of some of the longer missions without checkpoints was initially frustrating but I actually ended up appreciating the tension.

14. Mario Kart 8 -- Switch -- 30th June -- 40h -- ★★★★★
For moment-to-moment gameplay I don't think Mario Kart can be beat. Corner sliding, boosting through shortcuts and avoiding attacks is just the perfect blend of reactive skill, control and strategy. 40 hours was the time it took me to get 3 stars in all Grand Prix but this will be the go-to multiplayer game for a good time yet.

15. System Shock 2 -- PC -- 1st July -- 12h -- ★★★★★
This was like Bioshock meets Dead Space with Doom's running speed. Atmosphere in spades and some surprising level design given the spaceship setting.

16. Crash Bandicoot -- PS4 -- 5th July -- 6h -- ★★★☆☆
A fun platformer with more jank than I remember. Dodgy collision detection and input latency slightly undermined the experience.

17. Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- Dolphin -- 15th July -- 21h -- ★★★★☆
Lots of charm and creativity in SMG2. It felt like there was a new idea for almost every star. Loved the castle time trials. I found the individual levels a little short for my liking, however. And I think I just don't find the weighty controls of Mario games as fun as twitchier platformers. I managed all 120 gold stars but didn't bother with hunting for the green ones.

18. Ori and the Blind Forest -- PC -- 20th July -- 11h -- ★★★★★
Fast, fluid and responsive platforming with beautiful and dynamic visuals. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

19. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood -- Wii VC -- 1st August -- 8h -- ★★★★★
My first classicvania. When I took out the first boss and got that Dark Souls rush I knew I'd been missing out. I've found myself humming along to the soundtrack while playing.

20. Earthbound -- SNES Android -- 4th August -- 30h -- ★★★★☆
Despite having played some of the games inspired by Earthbound, this still felt unique. It has a certain almost inexplicable quality to it; a tone that's ironic yet sincere, surreal and deeply nostalgic. I'm generally not a fan of turn-based rpgs and Earthbound didn't do a great deal to elevate itself above its peers in the gameplay department. I could listen to the Sky Runner theme for hours.

21. Vagrant Story -- VITA -- 30th Aug -- 34h -- ★★★★☆
Vagrant Story is beautiful, poorly designed and extremly engrossing. The gorgeous low-poly aesthetic and lonely atmosphere of this cult classic has long had me curious but I'd failed several times to push through the frustration of the initial few hours. The tutorials do not adequately explain the intricacies of the workshop, the relative importances of affinity, class and type, the impact of dp/pp or any of the many reasons your meticulously planned weapon is dealing 1 damage to its intended target. Even online resources can't always be trusted here; such is the cryptic nature of the mechanics.

Occasional victories of mechanics mastery were hard-won but felt equally rewarding. Unfortunately, the post-boss stat growth roulette was also against me. Half way through my playthrough my agility had barely moved from its base level meaning I was constantly missing attacks. My luck changed with +3 agility from a boss followed by two agility elixirs dropping. At this point, I'd gained a solid understanding of the mechanics, amassed a versatile collection of grips, blades and elemental gems and mastered the timing of chain attacks. The difficulty promptly broke and I flipped from scraping by to god mode before slapping me in the face with a enourmous difficulty spike at the last boss.

Overall a unique experience of overcoming adversity with incredible presentation. However, I can't call it a 5/5 because a) your mastery of the mechanics mean nothing when you don't have the requisite weapon parts + gems on your first playthrough to avoid dealing no damage and b) for a game so reliant on fiddling around in menus they sure are some shitty menus.

22. Samorost 3 -- PC -- 3rd Sept -- 5h -- ★★★★☆
Samorost 3 had all the things I love about Amanita Design's games: delightful interactions with curious environments, adorable animations, surreal humour and a stellar soundtrack from Tomáš Dvořák. I particularly enjoyed the protagonist imitating noises on his horn improv jazz style.

23. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory -- PC -- 6th Sept -- 14h -- ★★☆☆☆
I liked the Mission Impossible vibe and Sam Fisher's sardonic attitude. However, I don't think I understood the point of this game. Walk slowly, choke out a guard, walk slowly, choke out a guard, hack a terminal. Thief 1 and 2's core design starts with this foundation but distinguishes itself by expanding the experience with meaningful resource management and risk-reward choices in how you use your bag of tricks to navigate non-linear environments.

24. Sonic Mania -- Switch -- 16th Sept -- 6h -- ★★★☆☆
A consumate homage to the classic Megadrive games. Some pretty good music and relatively good flow to the levels but I'm not sure that the Sonic franchise ever really had a flawless gameplay formula. Some frustrating boss battles. I really didn't enjoy the secret final final super Sonic boss.

25. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One -- PS3 -- 16st Sept -- 11h -- ★★★★☆
A really solid co-op experience. And a substantial one at that too. Plenty of levels with their own unique gameplay gimmick and plenty of destructive tools. We eventually discovered the unstoppable power of combining the beams of multiple Critter Strikes. Turning bosses into giant pigs never got old. Turning swarms of enemy robots into a sea of fire-breathing hell-pigs never got old. More Cpt Quark and Nefarious is always a good thing.

26. Castlevania IV -- SNES -- 30th Sept -- 5h -- ★★★☆☆
My expectations were high after playing Rondo of Blood as my first Classicvania the other month and, unfortunately, Castlevania IV just didn't quite have the same magic for me. Slightly lack-lustre visual design and mediocre music (that jazzy Submerged City track was ambitious but ended up feeling like some kind of keyboard cat Thelonious Monk). Sub-weapons seemed extremely rare. Way too easy up until an extreme difficulty spike in the boss rush leading up to Dracula. And I'm just going to come out and say it: tickling enemies with the droopy whip looked dumb and felt silly.

That being said, Castlevania has some solid base gameplay: whipping enemies, dodging attacks and utilising the right sub-weapon for the situation. So I had fun overall.

27. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 -- Megadrive -- 1st Oct -- 2h -- ★★★★☆
A replay of a classic. I feel like the first few levels of this one flow better in terms of level design than anywhere else in the series. Something about how you find yourself bouncing from enemy to enemy. Maybe the difficulty is tuned just about right for how fast you can reasonably react with such a small viewport.

28. Suikoden 2 -- VITA -- 3rd Oct -- 40.5h -- ★★★★☆
I finally understand the praise. Recruiting soldiers, growing your castle, wanting to kill the shit out of Luca Blight. What a good jrpg.

In fact, Suikoden 2 had one of the few turn-based combat systems that I've genuinely enjoyed in a long while. And I think that's largely down to its rapid pace. Instead of dwelling on lengthy individual attack animations, attacks come out in rapid succession, often firing-off simultaneously. Regarding pace, the events of the story also rattle along at a decent speed with characters joining and leaving and areas of the map opening and closing. There are a number of powerful moments in the story and I loved how the bonds between the primary protagonists are reflected by their synergy in combat.

My main criticism is that most of the soundtrack is painfully obnoxious, specifically pretty much any tune that plays while in a town or the castle. Thankfully the battle themes and the track that plays during any emotionally significant moment are all really strong so it's easy to put some other music on while playing. Also, what the hell happened to the localisation in and around Tinto? It's like they didn't have time to localise the literal translation and it ends up sounding like Half Life 2 Full Life Consequences. I didn't mind too much though, it was kind of hilarious.

29. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon -- GBA -- 13th Oct -- 10.5h -- ★★★★★
A replay of my favourite Igavania, ironically not directed by Igarashi. Tight controls, challenging encounters and an amazingly diverse magic system to explore. Cruising around with double runspeed, the Roc Wing and a close familiarity of the layout of Dracula's castle results in some seriously satisfying flow. I can't believe no other game has copied the Battle Arena. Probably my favourite part of CotM.

Two criticism I have: vanishingly small drop rates make some items not worth farming for and the run animation is kind of lame.

30. Professor Layton and the Curious Village -- NDS -- 14th Oct -- 12h -- ★★★★★
Absolutely charming and refreshingly placid. I was initially concerned that the majority of the puzzles were going to be trick questions after a slew of them near the start but there ended up being a good range of questions. A perfect game to play in short bursts. A true gentlemen never checks online for puzzle solutions.

31. Tales From Borderlands -- PS4 -- 23rd Oct -- 10.5h -- ★★★★☆

Some of the best comedy writing in a videogame in my opinion. Loved the chapter intros. I think it made great use of the setting by introducing a bunch of inadequately prepared protagonists to the madness of Pandora. Some animation boo boos here and there with some obvious rushed segments in the last chapter. Played it "co-op" which adds a real tension to the timed choices.

32. Destiny 2 -- PC -- 24th Nov -- 47h -- ★★★★☆

Sublime gunplay undermined by ill-considered game systems. Much like it's predecessor then. Only with too little endgame grind rather than too much. I actually appreciate that the grouping tools require a bit of social coordination from the players. The Leviathan raid was a serious highlight. Maybe one day Bungie will figure out how to make an mmo.

33. Super Mario Odyssey -- Switch -- 26th Nov -- 55h -- ★★★★★

Super good. Combines the open levels of Mario 64 with the focused design of the Galaxy games. Moons are rewarded for every demonstration of skill or curiosity, making every corner of every level rife with opportunities for interaction. The new movement options with Cappy are great fun. Taken to the next level by things like the sense of adventure, the New Donk City festival and a fantastic soundtrack.

34. The World Ends With You -- NDS -- 27th Nov -- 26h -- ★★★★★

I actually put this down years ago due to the cringe-worthy opening dialogue. I'm glad I gave it another go. The story presents a decent mystery with likeable enough characters. The payoff was underwhelming but I enjoyed the journey. The real draw was the utterly unique combat and equipment systems.

In combat, I struggled to master both screens at once, but given the themes of interdependence, I'm not sure if you're actually supposed to. Regardless, the customisable touch screen combat is excellent and the overwhelming nature of battling across two screens gives the sense that you can always improve.

35. Yakuza 0 -- PS4 -- 3rd Dec -- 68h -- ★★★★☆

There's something like 15-20 hours of high-stakes encounters and brilliant cinematics in amongst 100+ hours of zero budget optional side-content of varying quality. My time spent playing the good samaritans of Kamurocho and Sotenbori was enjoyable enough, even if some of the dialogues dragged, but the main plot was where Yakuza 0 really shined. Kiryu and Majima are the manliest of man. Beast style and slugger style <3

36. Zelda BotW DLC -- Switch -- 17th Dec -- 25h -- ★★★★☆

I caught up on the Master Sword trials and The Champion's Ballad. I loved the gauntlet challenges and the new objectives in the overworld. I feel like there wasn't much effort made to integrate the content and rewards into the existing game or other dlc's though. It was particularly disappointing that the dlc armours can't be upgraded.

37. The Legend of Zelda -- NES -- 22nd Dec -- 10h -- ★★★★☆

A first time playthrough for me. Hard as nails, even with save-states. I pity the poor children of the 80's playing this without internet guides. Still, I understand that punishing and cryptic was de rigueur for that generation. All things considered, the level of consummate design makes it hard to believe this was a game from 1986.

And that's probably all I'll finish this year. Currently playing Mother 3, Secret of Mana and Kingdom Hearts 1.5.

Deleted member 401 · Dec 31, 2017

83. Night in the Woods (8 hours)
This game is all about characters who feel trapped by their situations in life, and for a topic not often touched upon in the video game medium, it's handled quite strongly and relatably.

Full list to date

Chrixter · Dec 31, 2017

Challenge completed for the third year in a row. I decided to revisit a lot of old favorites this year (including a Mario binge), and so nearly half of my list consists of replays.

1. Bloodborne (1/1/2017)
2. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (1/1/2017)
3. New Super Mario Bros. (1/6/2017)
4. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (1/7/2017)
5. New Super Luigi U (1/8/2017)
6. Super Mario Land (1/9/2017)
7. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1/9/2017)
8. Super Mario Bros. (1/9/2017)
9. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1/11/2017)
10. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1/12/2017)
11. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1/12/2017)
12. Super Mario Galaxy (1/21/2017)
13. Dishonored 2 (1/23/2017, 16:20)
14. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (1/26/2017)
15. Bayonetta 2 (1/27/2017)
16. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1/31/2017)
17. Super Mario 3D Land (2/2/2017)
18. Super Mario 3D World (2/4/2017)
19. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Season 9 (2/8/2017)
20. FTL: Faster Than Light (2/18/2017)
21. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - A Criminal Past (3/9/2017)
22. Dark Souls III - The Ringed City (4/20/2017)
23. NieR: Automata (4/26/2017)
24. Horizon: Zero Dawn (5/3/2017)
25. What Remains of Edith Finch (5/4/2017)
26. Prey (5/10/2017)
27. Emily is Away Too (5/31/2017)
28. Persona 5 (7/1/2017)
29 & 30. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild & The Master Trials (8/10/2017)
31. Tacoma (8/11/2017)
32. Immortal Planet (8/12/2017)
33. Sonic Mania (8/16/2017)
34. Sonic the Hedgehog (8/18/2017)
35. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8/19/2017)
36. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (8/19/2017)
37. Sonic CD (8/19/2017)
38. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (8/26/2017)
39. Kirby's Epic Yarn (9/3/2017)
40. Subsurface Circular (9/4/2017)
41. Tokyo Dark (9/8/2017)
42. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (9/22/2017)
43. Cuphead (10/1/2017)
44. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (10/9/2017)
45. Super Mario World (10/11/2017)
46. Super Mario Kart (10/11/2017)
47. Star Fox (10/12/2017)
48. Star Fox 2 (10/12/2017)
49. Yoshi's Island (10/14/2017)
50. Yoshi's Woolly World (10/20/2017)
51. A Mortician's Tale (10/25/2017)
52. Super Mario Odyssey (11/8/2017)
53. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (11/10/2017)
54. Doki Doki Literature Club! (12/20/2017)
55. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Champions' Ballad (12/23/2017)
56. Super Mario Maker (12/31/2017)

Theswweet · Dec 31, 2017

Well, I did it. Here's my final update for 2017!

#43 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Completed 11/17/17
#44 Rodea: The Sky Soldier – Completed 11/18/17
#45 Pikmin 3 – Completed 11/20/17
#46 Touhou 16: Hidden Star in Four Seasons – Completed 11/20/17
#47 Hue – Completed 11/21/17
#48 Billy Hatcher & the Giant Egg – Completed 11/25/17
#49 Senran Kagura: Shinobi Refle – Completed 11/25/17
#50 Horizon: Zero Dawn – Completed 11/30/17
#51 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Completed 12/13/17
#52 Tokyo Xanadu eX+ – Completed 12/31/17

I decided, really on a whim, to tackle the challenge this year. Honestly I didn't really expect to meet the deadline. Hell, even a few months back I was woefully behind schedule. But I did it, and with that gauntlet of longer games at the end too! Here's my thoughts on the last few games...

Captain Toad - I originally skipped this when it came out. I thought it was probably a bit too expensive, and now that the Wii U is dead and buried I decided to take a look. It was fun! But I'm definitely glad I waited to play it. If I had bought it full price I'd have been pretty pissed.

Rodea: The Sky Soldier - This was a surprisingly fun romp from the creator of Sonic and NiGHTS. It has quite a few problems (especially at the final boss), but I'm glad I played it. I feel like if you're going to play this, I'd recommend emulating it with a mouse.

Pikmin 3 - I got this with Mario Kart 8 back when there was that promo. I played about halfway through, put it down, and I only really got back to it recently. I think it's either my favorite or least favorite Pikmin, and I'm still not quite sure where I'd put it. It's going to be hard to go back to not always having a map with Pikmin 4!

Touhou 16: Hidden Star in Four Seasons - I've seen Touhou everywhere for years, but I haven't really given it a proper chance. The steam release was a good excuse to finally tackle it, and using my arcade stick was definitely the way to go! I'll be playing more of the series for sure.

Hue - Another game that I played through at a friend's place. This one took 2 sessions, but it was still a pretty quick play. It was fun, but I'm glad I ignored the story. The puzzles were really neat!

Billy Hatcher & the Giant Egg - Already not a great game, and the PC version is even harder to recommend. Nonetheless, I went out of my way to beat the PC release since I had it and it was a bit of a novelty.

Senran Kagura: Shinobi Refle - No comment.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - My friend had been bugging me to play this for months and I have to say that with my (somewhat tempered) expectations going in, I had a great time! It'll be interesting to see what the inevitable sequel does. I wonder if it'll be a PS5 title, or PS4, though.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - I've got a review coming for this one, but my basic thoughts are that it's a great game that could've been fantastic with a few changes. It's a *very* flawed game, but man if I don't love it despite that.

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - This is the definition of an ok game. The combat is fine, not amazing, but fun. The music is good. The graphics are obviously held back by the game's Vita roots. The story borrows a LOT from other Falcom titles. Hell, the game itself is basically an amalgamation of various Falcom tropes, particularly the Trails/Kiseki series. I definitely prefer the normal ending to the True Ending, but it'll be interesting to see where the series goes from the After Story. I imagine the next game will be much better.

Bii · Dec 31, 2017

Thank you to all who have posted their thoughts/opinions. I read them all. :D

Main post: https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2017.693/#post-93760

28. Worms Pinball | PC | 0.25 hour | 2.0/10
Okay, had to sneak in a quick title before the new year. The game only has one board and it's a fun board to play on. Given the era in which this game was released (late 90's), I can see myself putting in a good chunk of time in this back then. As it stands, it's not a game I would replay as modern pinball video games have progressed significantly in the past two decades.

orthodoxy1095 · Dec 31, 2017

heavy breathing while waiting for new thread

J.W.Crazy · Dec 31, 2017

Didn't think I'd make it. Way more work this year so I played a lot more shorter games and experiences and went longer times without playing. Hopefully I can get some longer, more fulfilling games in next year.

Original post:https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2017.693/page-2#post-138313

Teggy · Dec 31, 2017

LOL, I played a bunch of short games today and finished about a half an hour ago and didn't realize the timer was up almost 7 hours ago XD

TheManWithoutFear · Dec 31, 2017

I'm definitely not gonna make it this year, I blame Persona 5 and Nier for being awesome and making me wanna spend so much time in them. Here is my final list, I look forward to achieving the 52 game dream in 2018.

1) Assassin's Creed 2
2) Batman Arkham Asylum
3) Walking Dead Season 1
4) Bastion
5) Tales from the Borderlands
6) Resident Evil 7
7) Mirror's Edge Catalyst
8) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
9) FTL
10) I Am Setsuna
11) Mass Effect Andromeda
12) Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls
13) Ori and the Blind Forest
14) Walking Dead Season 2
15) Walking Dead: Michonne
16) Walking Dead: A New Frontier
17) 999
18) Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
19) Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
20) Destiny 2
21) Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
22) Uncharted 4
23) Until Dawn
24) Nier Automata
25) South Park: The Fractured But Whole
26) Persona 5
27) Assassin's Creed Origins
28) What Remains Of Edith Finch
29) Dreamfall Chapters

Currently playing: Horizon: Zero Dawn, Tales of Hearts R, Wolfenstein 2

Upcoming: Doom, Watch Dogs 2, Hitman, Batman Arkham City, Superhot, Danganronpa V3, Undertale, Steins Gate, Steins Gate 0

NHale · Dec 31, 2017

Final update of the year. Didn't make for the 2nd year in a row but considering how little I played for 2-3 months it's a surprise it ended up so close to 52.

Game 46 - MLB The Show 17 ★★★★☆
It's really hard to explain what makes MLB The Show franchise so appealing even when the improvements seem so little on the surface but the gameplay actually makes up for the rest. In the sports gaming world there is no other game that actually makes you feel like the actual game on the moment action. While Diamond Dynasty and Road to the Show received some very important quality of life improvements and Diamond Dynasty keeps cementing their place as the best Ultimate Team mode from any sports game, Franchise Mode keeps receiving very little attention and it shows especially when compared to the depth of the same mode on the NBA 2K series. But while it needs improvement in some areas (Franchise and AI strategy especially late game) it still stands on the top of the sports gaming world.

Game 47 - 36 Fragments of Midnight ★★☆☆☆
After 30 minutes I thought this was actually a very under the radar kind of game. It was challenging while engaging but then everything clicked and I started to realize that the random level design of each new game, was just the same 15 types of obstacules on different parts of a level. Still the game is not bad (unless you play it on the Vita where the framerate/judder is so bad that the gameplay suffers) but unfortunately it doesn't have any lasting appeal because of the lack of leaderboards or daily events.

Game 48 - FIFA 18 ★★★★☆
Funny how numbers work when I just wrote that MLB The Show was the best sports game I played but then gave the same score to FIFA 18 which is a game that I found very troubling while enjoyable in some regard. But that's the difference between a 7/10 and a 9/10 game (to me 5/5 has to be a 10/10 game not 9/10). FIFA 18 is such a stupid game that makes the best case for the possibility of the engine having a cheat mode for the AI that makes the game harder to win just because it decided it was going to be this way, or just have you suffer 90th minute goals every single time just because they want you to suffer. Squad battles this year made this mechanic come out of the woodwork with a vengeance but while everyone wants to believe the game is fair, there is a lot evidence going around that tells you otherwise. Besides that, squad battles is a fantastic introduction to the Ultimate team mode, career mode is still trash and the schedule goes completely unrealistic if you reach February alive on every competition (enjoy play 4 games in 8 days!) while other modes continue without any major and much needed overhaul. Still it's the best way to play football on a virtual pitch that made some improvement to the gameplay aspect (movement and AI).

Game 49 - Rory McIlroy PGA Tour ★★★☆☆
Playing this game 2 years after it launched is like playing a complete different game because how much EA added to the game since the barebones release. Career mode is much more meaty with all new courses added but the gameplay is still very simplistic especially compared to Golf Club 2 while very random because of the traditional stats based career mode progression where your player begin with poor shots which creates randomize situations where the same shot 2 times end up with 2 complete different results because of stats. Also the AI is very unbalanced on career mode, when they simply post unbelievable low scores on hard courses but then go just -2 on very easy courses while you go -18 easily. As a standalone Rory McIlory PGA Tour is not a bad golf game, it's very arcade on the core but you can extract some fun from it, but on the same world as Golf Club 2 it definitely feels like a second tier game that needs to free itself from the shackles of traditional design.

Eblo · Dec 31, 2017

Final update for the year. Time to take it slow from now on and never play this many games in one year again.

Alundra: November 28-December 8
It's like a classic JRPG with Zelda gameplay. Alundra has some terrible collision bugs the make time-based navigation and ice pillars puzzle all the more unnecessarily difficult. Very interesting story. Story gets good. Dense game, would be even better if half the dungeons didn't look the same. Dozens of especially clever puzzles. Too many damage sponges for my liking.

The Room Tribute: December 14
Replay.

3D Dot Game Heroes: December 15-21
Soulless, sterile. Ugly. It has its strengths, but there is no substitution for the real Zelda. It tries to be a throwback classic title, but it throws back to the absolute worst things. There are "puzzles" where a room has several cracked tiles, only one of which takes you to a lower floor. The others are pits that hurt the player. There is absolutely no fucking way to know which is which. Out of health? Tough shit, have fun getting back to this room. Oh wait, you won't. It actually got to the point where I wished I was playing Sonic 06 instead. And so...

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006): December 21-24
This playthrough was done through via Xenia. This game plays like a dream on emulator. Rock solid 60fps, nearly nonexistent load times. Now it's only bad for its design rather than performance.

Lollipop Chainsaw: December 26-28
Fun. Funny. Knows exactly what it is. A bit repetitive. Rule of cool, fun and funny. Nice ending.

Guacamelee!: December 29-31
Cool Mexican Metroidvania. References to other games are too on the nose, and the outdated memes are just horrible and immersion-breaking. Much better melee combat than Metroid. The combat is integrated with platforming.

52 Games. 1 Year. 2017.

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