POST 4 (Games 47-66)
It took me until September to hit 52 games this time out - I'm slipping, man!
Having a baby has cut really deep into my game time, and also into the time I have to write these things up.
47. Sakura Beach - PC, 7/22/18, 56 minutes
★
Rote and boring sound novel; not NSFW, but will not discuss any further.
48. Dead Cells - NSW, 8/21/18, 18 hours
★★★★
I finally beat Dead Cells! Always having the Switch on hand allowed me to chip away at it with a run or two whenever I had downtime. It's an absolutely fantastic Roguevania that nails the "Vania" feel. I own this on PC as well, and the performance on NSW is more than acceptable. I didn't feel a huge need to start another run after the catharsis of finally beating that last boss, but the time I spent on this was truly enjoyable.
49. Peggle 2 + Windy the Fairy/Jimmy Lightning DLC - PS4, 8/26/18, around 7 hours
★★★
Cleaned up my playthrough of Peggle 2 on the PS4. It's unremarkable, it's Peggle. Didn't hold up as well as I thought it would, especially compared to other PopCap games.
50. NBA 2K18 - NSW, 8/27/18, over 20 hours
★★★
I tried the MyPlayer mode again for the first time in years and had a pretty good time. I don't play online (local matches only against friends, with NBA teams) so not having an absolute monster player isn't a deal breaker for me. Where this falls apart is the basketball for me, they put a little too much emphasis on defense this time out, which makes no sense as the NBA actually tightened up the criteria for hand checks this year. It's still good, but playing pickup just wasn't as fun using the default settings. I shouldn't have to adjust the freaking sliders to get a competent game of hoops.
51. Wulverblade - NSW, 9/14/18, over 5 hours
★★
Man, fuck this game! It's fairly competent as side scrolling beat em ups ("belt action" games) go, but the difficulty is just overbearingly hard. I made it all the way to the end, then was stuck on the last boss for more than a year (ragequit). I only picked it back up again when I saw they released an easy mode patch; I redownloaded it, kicked that guy's ass, swore like a motherf*cker, and burned all evidence of this game from my Switch. For the record, I have never done this for any other game (adjusting the difficulty to Easy because I couldn't hack Normal); it's just that goddamn hard.
52. 428: Shibuya Scramble - PS4, 9/16/18, 35 hours
★★★★★
My personal Game of the Year thus far. A truly remarkable visual novel that kept me on the edge of my seat; laughing out loud, getting creeped out by pseudo horror vibes, always in suspense as to what happens next. If you're the type of person who appreciates a good yarn, I can't recommend this game enough.
53. Knights of the Round (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 9/20/18, around an hour 15 minutes
★★★
KotR was the main reason I bought this collection, as it was the one I was most nostalgic for. Sadly it hasn't held up as well as I thought; it's still good times, but I think I would be viewing it far differently if I wasn't viewing it from the perspective of somebody who played it back in the 90's. A solid, if unspectacular beat em up with lots of hilariously cheap deaths.
54. Final Fight (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 9/26/18, around 45 minutes
★★★★
OK, this was a whole lot better. I've never played the arcade version of Final Fight, I cut my teeth on the SNES version. The feel of this game is just so solid - the hits are impactful, and you always feel like you're in full control, any deaths being completely your fault.
55. Captain Commando (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 9/26/18, around 45 minutes
★★★
Like KotR, its mostly the nostalgia talking here. Captain Commando is mechanically far superior to it, but it's just not super great by 2018 standards. Still fun, but some of this shit was clearly designed to munch on your quarters.
56. Grand Theft Auto V - PS4, 9/29/18, 30 hours
★★★★
Oh my God, I finally finished GTAV! (Made it 60% of the way through on the PS3, but had to start from scratch on the PS4.) It was a great ride most of the way through, although it really began dragging towards the end. Not much else to complain about otherwise. They'll need to change things up significantly in GTAVI if they want to keep people's interest, I'd say the base formula is getting long in the tooth (I can't speak for GTA Online, as I only ever played it once back in the day).
57. Vostok Inc. - PS4, 10/7/18, around 15 hours (2nd full playthrough this year, different platform)
★★★
What can I say? I just love clicker games apparently. I beat the NSW version earlier this year (paid full price, no regrets) and when I got this free on PS Plus I couldn't resist. It's not "good" good, but it sure as hell is addictive.
58. The Walking Dead: Michonne - PC, 10/13/18. 3.8 hours
★★★
It was fun enough while it lasted, but nothing much really happens in the Walking Dead: Michonne. The mini series run time is too short for you to get really emotionally invested in any characters, save one of the villains I suppose.
59. Warriors of Fate (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 10/14/18, around 45 minutes
★★
Easily the crappiest game I've played through so far as part of the Belt Action collection. I have a little nostalgia for this, and there's certainly less cheap kills in WoF vs. say, Captain Commando, but the feel just isn't as good. Also, who the hell designed that useless archer guy? He's completely useless!
60. Space Channel 5: Part 2 - PC, 11/1/18, 2 hours
★★★★
I went on a run through Mizuguchi's Dreamcast classic one more time - it's been long enough that I don't remember most of it. Still fun, still catchy as all hell, well worth what Sega charge for it during Steam sales (a dollar or so? Jesus).
61. Hollow Knight - NSW, 11/1/18, 30 hours
★★★★★
I wasn't going to buy this again, I totaled the game on Steam last year (it was on my personal GotY list). Then it went on sale for half off on the eShop IIRC, and I caved yet again. Hollow Knight is still a masterful experience, and is (for my money) the greatest Metroidvania game ever created.
62. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Castlevania Requiem) - PS4, 11/4/18, 9 hours, 197%
★★★
Just to be sure all that shit I wrote about Hollow Knight above wasn't pure BS, I bought and played through SotN (for the 6th time or so?) by way of Castlevania Requiem. To be clear, the 3 star rating doesn't reflect SotN's quality: it's still a great game, definitely 4 stars/8 out of 10 or so when judged by modern standards, if a little dry (Dawn of Sorrow is better, and is probably still a 5 star game). However, this port is pretty lazy - it's the PSP ISO shoved into an emulator, and while that's fine enough you certainly don't get a lot for your money.
63. Injustice 2: Legendary Edition - PC, 11/13/18, 4.7 hours
★★
For some inexplicable reason I had a lot less fun with this game versus the first Injustice. The story sure made a whole lot less sense, and there was just something off about how the game gives you parts with stats, like the game. I guess it was cool that I got to play as a Ninja Turtle? That joy lasted all of two matches, I regret buying this even for cheap.
64. Minit - PC, 11/24/18, 2 hours
★★★★
A bite sized shot of classic Zelda with a unique premise - you only ever stay alive for one minute. To explain further would be to spoil things. Fun game, pick it up in a sale.
As a caveat, I'm aware that my playtime is low, but thats by no means a 100% playthrough.
65. Fight N' Rage - PC, 11/24/18, 5 hours (3pt)
★★★
An incredible feeling side scrolling beat em up in the vein of Streets of Rage, but modernized. It's clear that the people who made this game have a deep love for both beat em ups and 2D fighting games, and the skill you can utilize when pulling off chains is unreal. There's plenty of replay value as well for a game of this type, some pretty obtuse branching paths leading to a boatload of endings, as well as Street Fighter style dojo modes where you train to master combos.
So why the 3 star rating? Having played through all three characters, I feel one of the selectable characters (the bull dude) just didn't fit in much to the type of game this was; I understand wanting to put in a Mike Haggar type to satisfy the archetype but he simply feels much less satisfying to play as.
66. Sunset Overdrive - PC, 11/26/18, 27 hours
★★★★
I'll just quote myself from the OT to save time:
It took me until September to hit 52 games this time out - I'm slipping, man!
Having a baby has cut really deep into my game time, and also into the time I have to write these things up.
47. Sakura Beach - PC, 7/22/18, 56 minutes
★
Rote and boring sound novel; not NSFW, but will not discuss any further.
48. Dead Cells - NSW, 8/21/18, 18 hours
★★★★
I finally beat Dead Cells! Always having the Switch on hand allowed me to chip away at it with a run or two whenever I had downtime. It's an absolutely fantastic Roguevania that nails the "Vania" feel. I own this on PC as well, and the performance on NSW is more than acceptable. I didn't feel a huge need to start another run after the catharsis of finally beating that last boss, but the time I spent on this was truly enjoyable.
49. Peggle 2 + Windy the Fairy/Jimmy Lightning DLC - PS4, 8/26/18, around 7 hours
★★★
Cleaned up my playthrough of Peggle 2 on the PS4. It's unremarkable, it's Peggle. Didn't hold up as well as I thought it would, especially compared to other PopCap games.
50. NBA 2K18 - NSW, 8/27/18, over 20 hours
★★★
I tried the MyPlayer mode again for the first time in years and had a pretty good time. I don't play online (local matches only against friends, with NBA teams) so not having an absolute monster player isn't a deal breaker for me. Where this falls apart is the basketball for me, they put a little too much emphasis on defense this time out, which makes no sense as the NBA actually tightened up the criteria for hand checks this year. It's still good, but playing pickup just wasn't as fun using the default settings. I shouldn't have to adjust the freaking sliders to get a competent game of hoops.
51. Wulverblade - NSW, 9/14/18, over 5 hours
★★
Man, fuck this game! It's fairly competent as side scrolling beat em ups ("belt action" games) go, but the difficulty is just overbearingly hard. I made it all the way to the end, then was stuck on the last boss for more than a year (ragequit). I only picked it back up again when I saw they released an easy mode patch; I redownloaded it, kicked that guy's ass, swore like a motherf*cker, and burned all evidence of this game from my Switch. For the record, I have never done this for any other game (adjusting the difficulty to Easy because I couldn't hack Normal); it's just that goddamn hard.
52. 428: Shibuya Scramble - PS4, 9/16/18, 35 hours
★★★★★
My personal Game of the Year thus far. A truly remarkable visual novel that kept me on the edge of my seat; laughing out loud, getting creeped out by pseudo horror vibes, always in suspense as to what happens next. If you're the type of person who appreciates a good yarn, I can't recommend this game enough.
53. Knights of the Round (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 9/20/18, around an hour 15 minutes
★★★
KotR was the main reason I bought this collection, as it was the one I was most nostalgic for. Sadly it hasn't held up as well as I thought; it's still good times, but I think I would be viewing it far differently if I wasn't viewing it from the perspective of somebody who played it back in the 90's. A solid, if unspectacular beat em up with lots of hilariously cheap deaths.
54. Final Fight (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 9/26/18, around 45 minutes
★★★★
OK, this was a whole lot better. I've never played the arcade version of Final Fight, I cut my teeth on the SNES version. The feel of this game is just so solid - the hits are impactful, and you always feel like you're in full control, any deaths being completely your fault.
55. Captain Commando (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 9/26/18, around 45 minutes
★★★
Like KotR, its mostly the nostalgia talking here. Captain Commando is mechanically far superior to it, but it's just not super great by 2018 standards. Still fun, but some of this shit was clearly designed to munch on your quarters.
56. Grand Theft Auto V - PS4, 9/29/18, 30 hours
★★★★
Oh my God, I finally finished GTAV! (Made it 60% of the way through on the PS3, but had to start from scratch on the PS4.) It was a great ride most of the way through, although it really began dragging towards the end. Not much else to complain about otherwise. They'll need to change things up significantly in GTAVI if they want to keep people's interest, I'd say the base formula is getting long in the tooth (I can't speak for GTA Online, as I only ever played it once back in the day).
57. Vostok Inc. - PS4, 10/7/18, around 15 hours (2nd full playthrough this year, different platform)
★★★
What can I say? I just love clicker games apparently. I beat the NSW version earlier this year (paid full price, no regrets) and when I got this free on PS Plus I couldn't resist. It's not "good" good, but it sure as hell is addictive.
58. The Walking Dead: Michonne - PC, 10/13/18. 3.8 hours
★★★
It was fun enough while it lasted, but nothing much really happens in the Walking Dead: Michonne. The mini series run time is too short for you to get really emotionally invested in any characters, save one of the villains I suppose.
59. Warriors of Fate (Capcom Belt Action) - NSW, 10/14/18, around 45 minutes
★★
Easily the crappiest game I've played through so far as part of the Belt Action collection. I have a little nostalgia for this, and there's certainly less cheap kills in WoF vs. say, Captain Commando, but the feel just isn't as good. Also, who the hell designed that useless archer guy? He's completely useless!
60. Space Channel 5: Part 2 - PC, 11/1/18, 2 hours
★★★★
I went on a run through Mizuguchi's Dreamcast classic one more time - it's been long enough that I don't remember most of it. Still fun, still catchy as all hell, well worth what Sega charge for it during Steam sales (a dollar or so? Jesus).
61. Hollow Knight - NSW, 11/1/18, 30 hours
★★★★★
I wasn't going to buy this again, I totaled the game on Steam last year (it was on my personal GotY list). Then it went on sale for half off on the eShop IIRC, and I caved yet again. Hollow Knight is still a masterful experience, and is (for my money) the greatest Metroidvania game ever created.
62. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Castlevania Requiem) - PS4, 11/4/18, 9 hours, 197%
★★★
Just to be sure all that shit I wrote about Hollow Knight above wasn't pure BS, I bought and played through SotN (for the 6th time or so?) by way of Castlevania Requiem. To be clear, the 3 star rating doesn't reflect SotN's quality: it's still a great game, definitely 4 stars/8 out of 10 or so when judged by modern standards, if a little dry (Dawn of Sorrow is better, and is probably still a 5 star game). However, this port is pretty lazy - it's the PSP ISO shoved into an emulator, and while that's fine enough you certainly don't get a lot for your money.
63. Injustice 2: Legendary Edition - PC, 11/13/18, 4.7 hours
★★
For some inexplicable reason I had a lot less fun with this game versus the first Injustice. The story sure made a whole lot less sense, and there was just something off about how the game gives you parts with stats, like the game. I guess it was cool that I got to play as a Ninja Turtle? That joy lasted all of two matches, I regret buying this even for cheap.
64. Minit - PC, 11/24/18, 2 hours
★★★★
A bite sized shot of classic Zelda with a unique premise - you only ever stay alive for one minute. To explain further would be to spoil things. Fun game, pick it up in a sale.
As a caveat, I'm aware that my playtime is low, but thats by no means a 100% playthrough.
65. Fight N' Rage - PC, 11/24/18, 5 hours (3pt)
★★★
An incredible feeling side scrolling beat em up in the vein of Streets of Rage, but modernized. It's clear that the people who made this game have a deep love for both beat em ups and 2D fighting games, and the skill you can utilize when pulling off chains is unreal. There's plenty of replay value as well for a game of this type, some pretty obtuse branching paths leading to a boatload of endings, as well as Street Fighter style dojo modes where you train to master combos.
So why the 3 star rating? Having played through all three characters, I feel one of the selectable characters (the bull dude) just didn't fit in much to the type of game this was; I understand wanting to put in a Mike Haggar type to satisfy the archetype but he simply feels much less satisfying to play as.
66. Sunset Overdrive - PC, 11/26/18, 27 hours
★★★★
I'll just quote myself from the OT to save time:
Well, I just finished Sunset Overdrive today, after 27 hours.
As a first timer, I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. The game doesn't make the best first impression - the game implies that the Style mechanics are critical to your success, and shooting people while grinding around like a lunatic is key to the gameplay. They also chose to lead with some rather weak tower defense levels with rather substandard mechanics. Fortunately, as it turns out you can largely ignore all of that stuff: the TD levels are few and far between, and while staying mobile is definitely important you can definitely get away with fighting enemies mostly on the ground.
As for the obvious, the movement mechanics are absolutely glorious, and are collectively the best mobility suite I've ever seen in an open world game, bar none. I may not have "needed" the style (as I mentioned, I prefer to fight mostly on the ground), but while moving around I always made it a point to string along as many movement chains as I could without touching the ground - it's like playing Tony Hawk. The world is nice and colorful, and while some of the humor is hit and miss, the wackiness grows on you and it helps keep things interesting. The soundtrack is catchy enough, although I outgrew most punk rock a long time ago.
Basically its the irreverent tone and general structure of Saints Row 2 + the super solid weapon feel of Ratchet and Clank + the freedom of movement granted by, say, Prototype (but taken even further). Fantastic game, and well worth full price.