52 Games. 1 Year. 2019.

Mashdyno · Jan 6, 2019

2016 - 40
2017 - 36
2018 - 39

Running Total: 32/52

Currently Playing:
Death Stranding - PS4

Completed:

1. Ori and the Blind Forest - XB1
Completed - 1/6/19
*Amazing game. Beautiful visuals, spot on controls, challenging puzzles and great music. Ori and the Will of the Wisps shoots to the very top of my most anticipated list. 9.0/10

2. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - PSVR
Completed - 1/12/19
*My favorite VR experience to date. The boss fights in particular are a standout. Excited to see more from this team. 8.5/10

3. Life is Strange: Season 2 - XB1
Episode 1 Completed - 1/13/19
*The characters are just not as strong as season 1. By the end of the episode I was definitely drawn in. The music continues to be awesome and really sets the tone. Ready for episode 2! 8.0/10
Episode 2 Completed - 6/7/19
*A little slower than the first episode but I enjoyed it. The characters make stupid mistakes that aren't up to the player which is kinda frustrating. Still interesting to see where the season goes though I can tell which characters are going to pop up in the near future. 7.0/10
Episode 3 Completed - 9/12/19
*Really enjoyed this episode. The music was great as always and it really ends on a great cliffhanger. Ready to see what happens to the Diaz brothers next! 8.0/10
Episode 4 Completed - 11/30/19
*This was another very enjoyable episode. Im not going to wait for episode 5 to drop on Game Pass. I dont want to have to wait 3 months so Im going to grab it when it releases. Ready to see how they wrap this story up! 8.0/10
Episode 5 Completed 12/6/19
*Im so thankful for Game Pass because I was able to experience this game episodically. I typically wait for all episodes to release before diving in but was able to play as they were released. For the finale I went ahead and purchased it because I didn't want to wait. I really liked the final episode although I wasn't thrilled with the ending. Overall I really enjoyed this season, much more than I thought I would. I still prefer the first season but Dont Nod did a great job with this as a follow up. Excited for Tell me Why, hopefully it comes to Game Pass. 8.0/10

4. Banner Saga 2 - PS4
Completed 1/27/19
*This series is definitely not for everyone. Most of the story is presented in text with lightly animated stills and dialogue options. The story is a bit hard to follow at times and some decisions led to outcomes that I didn't expect. The tactical combat is still among the best in the genre and the music is fantastic. Taking a break from the series to play other games before jumping into the finale. 8.0/10

5. Resident Evil 2 - PS4
Completed 2/2/19
*Horror games are not my forte but Ive been powering through and really really enjoying them. This is the scariest, most tense game Ive ever played and I loved it. Mr. X is an absolute terror and made me uneasy even when I wasn't playing just thinking about him. Im very excited to see where this series goes next. 9.0/10

6. Banner Saga 3 - PS4
Completed 2/6/19
*Every new entry into this trilogy added a new mechanic and the finale did not disappoint. Wave based battles added a new strategic element that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story was great and had some choices that really changed the outcome. I hope Stoic continues making games in the same vein, this world was very cool and I would love to see more. 8.5/10

7. Kingdom Hearts III - PS4
Completed 2/18/19
*I never finished KHI and didn't even start KHII but wanted to give this a try anyway. I started out really disliking this game but it really grew on me. Its by no means a great game by storytelling or even game-play standards but I had a great time playing it. Im glad I gave this a shot and I might pay a little more attention the next time they announce another KH game. 8.0/10

8. Superhot - PS4
Completed 2/19/19
*Super-Hot-Super-Hot. I heard a ton about this game when it first came out and just hadn't gotten around to playing it. Grabbed it on sale last week and ran through it in a couple of sittings. Really great tactical game that makes you feel like a badass. Its almost a puzzle game in some aspects. Superhot is the most innovative shooter Ive played in years! 8.5/10

9. Anthem - PS4
Completed 3/13/19
*If this game would have been a single player rpg with no live elements I probably would have enjoyed it much more. The story is very loose and doesn't really get interesting until the very end of the game. The traversal is obviously the star of the game and does deserve some praise. The gear is completely uninspired and the missions are mostly the same. Visually the game is stunning. As an overall package it just doesn't deliver. I thought about holding onto the game to see the additional content but with so many games to play I just cant justify it. 7.0/10

10. The Division 2 - PS4
Completed 4/9/19
*A true improvement over the original. Ubisoft did a great job creating a world with plenty to do. The "invasion" at the end game is a great way to refresh the world for the content drops that arrive each month or so. Washington DC was a great choice for a location, so much more interesting than New York was. I only wish the story was more involved. Its also fun to upgrade gear but most gear is uninspired and dull. 8.0/10

11. Battlefield V - PS4
Completed 4/26/19
*I was actually surprised at how much I like the War Stories. They were much longer than I thought they would be and almost had an open world feel to them. There was way too much stealth and most firefights ended with me cheesing them somehow. The best mission was the final mission which I believe was added after the launch. Played once game of Firestorm and crazily enough, got first. My first BR experience and I pretty much hid the entire game. 7.0/10

12. Days Gone - PS4
Completed 5/26/19
*Great game. Starts slow and is far from perfect but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope Bend gets the chance to make a sequel, it could be really special. 8.5/10

13. Rage 2 - PS4
Completed 6/3/19
*Amazing combat. It feels like ID gave Avalanche the Doom code and let them make their own game around that. The driving and story were not great. The environments were pretty diverse but the actual locations were very similar. Some great character design for the main characters, most NPC's were very last gen looking. 8.0/10

14. LA Noire - PS4
Completed 6/16/19
*I never finished this game last gen and grabbed this on the cheap during black Friday last year. It definitely feels like a last gen game mechanically but I was blow away by how good the facial animation tech still looks. Its incredibly impressive and still looks good today. The detective game play is pretty canned but still fun. Enjoyed the game and glad I finally finished it. 7.0/10

15. Slay the Spire - PC
Completed 7/13/19
* I feel weird saying completed but I finished a run with Ironclad. It took me 9 tries but I had so much fun doing it. This game is perfectly balanced and finding cards that work together is pure joy. Cant wait to jump in with the 2 other playable characters. 9.0/10

16. Hitman 2 - PS4
Completed 7/19/19
*Great level design, especially the final location. Had a ton of fun finding my way through each location. Top notch follow up to the first Hitman of this gen. 8.0/10

17. Metro: Exodus - PS4
Completed 7/26/19
*This was a game of highs(sorta) and lows. The one thing that stood out to me was the non VO sound design. Gunfire, ambient noise, monster growls. They had great weight to them and I really appreciate great sound design. The story was pretty good, I dont remember a ton from Last Light but the "Dark Ones" weren't mentioned at all in this game. Some environments were amazing to look at but overall the game lacked polish in the visuals. The controls were sometimes clunky as hell especially when driving vehicles. The VO was very hit or miss, some wonky writing as well. Overall had fun with it but not exactly dying for more in this franchise. 7.0/10

18. Far Cry: New Dawn - PS4
Completed 8/4/19
*I didn't really like this game. Ive played all of the Far Cry games this side of FC3 and this is my least favorite. There are some improvements such as the companion abilities and base building but the story missions were really terrible. The final missions are a confusing mess and were not fun at all. Specifically the fight with the twins, my god. The "final boss" was also very weak. Boring attack pattern that never really changed. I will say that that the added abilities near the end of the game were cool, particularly the Ubisoft really needs to reboot this series and give us something more than just a new location. Im glad they didn't announce Far Cry 6 for next Spring following the same mold. 6.5/10

19. Devil May Cry 5 - PS4
Completed 8/10/19
*I had an unbelievably good time with game and I am not a series veteran at all. I struggled with the controls at first but once I was comfortable it was an absolute joy to play. The story was easy enough to follow even though I dont know much of the what happened previously. Visually the game is stunning. Great character models, amazing environments and disgusting enemies to slay. Some of the lip sync was off but it didn't bother me. Capcom has put out great game after great game and made a fan of me. Looking forward to the next DMC which is something Ive never said before. 9.0/10

20. Assassin's Creed Odyssey - PS4
Completed 9/10/19
*Absolutely loved this game. I never buy DLC but I grabbed the season pass because I just didn't want it to end. One of, if not, the best open world game Ive ever played. 9.0/10

21. The Gardens Between - XB1
Completed 9/12/19
*God bless Gamepass. This game caught my eye during some sort of sizzle reel. So happy that it was available on Gamepass so I could give it a try. Really cool puzzle game with time manipulation mechanics. Pretty short but had a great time with it. 8.0/10

22. Borderlands 3 - PS4
Completed 10/5/19
*I wanted to see this series evolve a bit more than it did with BL3. It wasnt a bad game at all but it felt like I was playing a remastered last gen game. The story was pretty inconsequential and the world(s) were all pretty similar in tone at least. Id like to see a more fleshed out story or more exploration in the inevitable BL4. Still had fun shooting things and getting new gear but when the credits rolled I was ready to move on. 8.0/10

23. Control - PS4
Completed 10/16/19
*A very strange game with an awesome setting and really cool lore. The story was pretty entertaining as well although I would have liked a little more. The combat was ok, frustrating at times with some extreme difficultly spikes. Some enemies take almost all of your health with 1 hit while others do expected amounts of damage. The weapons are cool but the powers are the standout. Ill probably go for the platinum trophy but I wont be holding on to this for the DLC. 8.0/10

24. Gears 5 - XB1
Completed 10/22/19
*I know its starting to become cliche to say this but god bless Game Pass. I almost felt bad playing this game without actually purchasing it at retail. That being said, this is a considerably weak entry to the series. Some game-play design is very uninspired and boring. Most encounters ended with the game throwing an elite at you or maybe 2 elites towards the end. Also, some of the character models look very bad compared to other contemporary examples. The open world bits were fine but the landscapes were a little barren, possibly intentionally but made the trip between locations pretty boring. Ultimately, I had a good time with the game but I wasn't blown away. 7.5/10

25. The Outer Worlds - XB1
Completed 11/1/19
*I almost felt bad playing this with Game Pass. A great game that kept me interested all the way up until the end. I didn't do much in the final area and started skipping side quests to finish the story. I loved the dialogue options and the ability to talk your way out of an obstacle. Enjoyed the story and characters, some really great voice acting. I wish the gear/inventory system was done a bit better. 8.5/10

26. Afterparty - XB1
Completed 11/2/19
*Really cool setting and world building. Awesome voice acting. The writing was hit or miss for me. There was an abortion joke at the very beginning of the game that was really bad. Some other left leaning comedy as well that didn't really bother me but held back what was otherwise great writing. I was ready to be finished at the end but this was a cool little game to play as a change of pace. 7.0/10

27. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - PS4
Completed 11/6/19
*Glad to see the campaign make a comeback this year. This is one of my favorite COD campaigns ever. Good characters, amazing visuals, awesome sound design. At the end of the campaign they show a Polaroid of the 4 main characters and I knew all of their names which is not something I would normally expect from a COD game. It almost felt like playing a next gen game at times, impressive lighting. Cant wait to see what next year's iteration looks like on PS5/XB2. 8.5/10

28. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan - PS4
Completed 11/11/19
*Visually this game is incredible, really nice character models and environments. I loved the setting of this game but it never really went anywhere and then just ended. A big step down from Until Dawn IMO. Ill check out Little Hope but my expectations are now a bit tempered going forward. 7.0/10

29. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - PS4
Completed 11/27/19
*This is exactly the Star Wars game that we wanted and needed. Really good story with intimate moments from great characters on both sides of the fight. Visually the game is fantastic and the music is exactly what I want from a Star Wars game. I personally did not love the combat. By the end you definitely have more tools at your disposal but I still didn't enjoy getting gang attacked by 6 enemies at once and getting stun locked constantly. I know, I know I should block more but c'mon Im a Jedi, let me feel powerful. Nevertheless, I cant wait to see where they go next with this series. Nice job, Respawn. 9.0/10

30. Wolfenstein: Youngblood - PS4
Completed 11/30/19
*I heard a lot of mediocre impressions of this game but I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had. The combat is fantastic. Fast, fluid with a nice level of customization to the weapons. The story wasn't very involved but there are a ton of missions and a good amount of things to do. The one thing that I didn't like was the backtracking and the inability to fast travel from anywhere. It really would have made it a lot more fun if I didn't have to trek to a metro map that isn't always easy to find. 8.0/10

31. Super Mario Bros U Deluxe - Switch
Completed 12/9/19
*I fucking hate this game. Played it coop with my 5 year old son and dear god was it miserable. It just reinforces the fact that I do not like side scrolling games pretty much across the board. I obviously suck at them because this game had certain spots that were very difficult and the fact that the game forces you back to the world select screen if you die is just a recipe for frustration. Anyway, fuck this game. 5.0/10

32. Concrete Genie - PS4
Completed 12/15/19
*I really enjoyed this game and was pleasantly surprised but its unique game-play and tone. Visually the game is amazing and knowing that the team is relatively small is quite impressive. I didn't love where the game-play went in the final 3rd of the game but it wasn't enough to keep me from really liking this game overall. 8.0/10

Quit List:

Celeste - I think I just need to come to terms with the fact that I don't like side-scrolling platformers. Just not for me.

Madden 19 - I haven't been into Madden for quite a while but I seem to get tricked into buying it every year. I didn't event make it through an entire game before I quit. I felt like I was stuck in mud and had no control over my character.

Void Bastards - Pretty cool game with some fun progression and great visuals. I also really like the sound design, some of the characters make some really eerie sounds. In the end its a little too hard for me and not in a fun way. Glad I tried it though.

The Outer Wilds - Really cool open ended game play that asks the player to think outside the box and figure out how the world fits together. Ultimately I got bored and frustrated with the controls. I probably picked the wrong planet to start with but I have too many games in my backlog to linger with this one. May revisit someday.

Dragon Quest XI - I never quit playing games when I'm this deep but I just don't have the will to continue. I'm near the final boss and hit a difficulty spike that I just don't care enough to push past. I had fun with the game but it didn't do enough to really make it great. Need to move on and hit my backlog before the the next 12 insane months of game releases start.

Into the Breach - I actually really had fun with this game. Nearly finished the game on my first run. Then I started running into situations that felt cheap and not fun. Glad I was able to play this with Game Pass and is something I would consider buying on mobile if it gets ported.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 - I actually like this game quite a bit. I love the tactical combat and the RPG systems. The story is meh as well as the writing. Im not a fan of the difficulty spikes and there is too much trial and error in the 2nd half of the game. Its also a bit too long.

hersheyfan · Jan 6, 2019

Post 1: Games 1-10

Master list

Really tearing through them this year. I've made a mini-goal to hit 52 as soon as I possibly can (by beating games already in progress and shorter games), just to see how fast I can manage it.

1. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series (PC)
Beaten 1/1/2019, 10.9 hours
3/5
Surprisingly fun Telltale game. There's a lot of great dialogue, and there's some nice plot arcs for Guardians fans to enjoy. Some characters were written way too whiny for their own good, but overall I had a lot of fun with this.

2. GRIS (PC)
Beaten 1/1/2019, 3.5 hours
4/5
One of the most strikingly beautiful 2D games I've ever played (or heard). The gameplay is competent but nothing special - it doesn't matter though when everything else is this off the charts.

3. Jamestown (PC)
Beaten 1/1/2019, 2.2 hours (beaten game on Judgement, beaten around half the challenge levels)
4/5
Got gifted this after waiting for literal years for it to go on sale (by my reckoning, Jamestown has never been on sale since I joined steam, which was way back in March 2015). Really, really fun game, bullet hell feel on par with the genre greats.

4. Florence (iOS)
Beaten 1/2/2019, 1 hour or so
5/5
It's a simple game with not much to it really. And the story is pretty predictable. But how it makes you feel when you're playing it makes all the difference. A game that truly captured the essence of falling in love for the first time, and how relationships change.

5. The King of Dragons (NSW)
Beaten 1/2/2019, 35 minutes or so
2/5
Part of the Capcom Beat-Em-Up Collection
God, it's really getting difficult slogging through the crappier selections in the Beat em Up Collection. King of Dragons is pretty bad by today's standards, although I still harbor some fond memories of playing it. At least I only have two good games remaining! Roll on, Battle Circuit.

6. Ben Wander Presents: A Case of Distrust (NSW)
Beaten 1/5/2019, around 3.5 hours
3/5
I'm a sucker for noir, so I picked this up in the eShop holiday sales. Bad move - the touch controls on the Switch are pretty imprecise, making it difficult to click some onscreen items. But the onscreen cursor's scrolling is so damn slow that I ended up switching between the two methods whenever it was convenient, which is obviously not ideal. As for the game itself, there was a bit too much backtracking from suspect to suspect, but overall it was still pretty enjoyable.

7. Noitu Love 2 Devolution (PC)
Beaten 1/5/2019, 114 minutes (including a hard crash that forced a full reset)
4/5
I am now officially a fan of Joakim Sandberg's work. I need to buy Iconoclasts pretty damn soon!
NL2D is a hyperkinetic action game of the highest order, in the vein of Treasure's quirkier work. The control scheme is a little funky (mouse and keyboard for an action platformer), but it becomes second nature soon enough.

8. Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story (PC)
Beaten 1/5/2019, 88 minutes
4/5
I enjoyed this game quite a bit more than the first "Lost Phone" title - using social engineering to finesse your way into accessing phone functions is still as addictive as ever, and I liked the plot of this quite a bit more; the twist certainly hit a lot harder.

9. Cellar (PC)
Beaten 1/5/2019, 37 minutes
2.5/5
An average puzzle game with shades of horror; you're essentially running through several floors of an basement while being pursued by monsters. To be honest there's really not a lot of game here, but it's decent while it lasts.

10. Cat Quest (NSW)
Beaten 1/6/2019, Around 8 hours
4/5
This game was surprisingly fun! Despite its rather copious amount of asset reuse the light action RPG/loot collecting gameplay had me stuck to my Switch for the better part of a day. Will double dip on this when it gets cheap enough on Steam, I want an archival copy. The Gentlebros are a developer to watch!

Tizoc · Jan 6, 2019

4. The Curse of Monkey Island

Felt pretty bummed out the past few days so felt like playing something familiar and cheery for me and this was it.
I really like the game's visuals and the gameplay is OK although I would've MUCH liked it if there was a way to integrate a hotkey to highlight intractable objects as I got stuck at a few parts because I didn't pick up an item or two because I couldn't see or know where they were.
Non the less I still enjoyed my time with the game.

UnexpectedEnemy · Jan 6, 2019

I managed to complete 62 games last year, so let's see what I can do in 2019!

Currently Playing & Looking to Complete Over the Next 3-4 Months:

Gris (Switch)
Heroki (Switch)
Mom Hid My Game! (Switch)
Mr. Shifty (Switch)
Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)
Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)
Chasm (PS4)
Timespinner (PS4)
Ashen (Xbox One)
Below (Xbox One)
Part Time UFO (Mobile)
Florence (Mobile)

Completed:

N/A

Spyware · Jan 6, 2019

Weekly update 1!

Finished 3 games this week. More than expected actually, since I was gonna start the year by playing some long games. But things happened and I kept playing these games instead!

1. A Way Out (PC) | 1st Jan - 16hrs | 4/5

This feels more like a Fares game than Brothers did. This one makes me think of the movies he made before going in to game development and since I liked them I think it's a good thing. I love the whole co-op only thing and I had a blast playing this with my little brother. We played it three times. The first time we ended up playing Vincent's way, then we played through again with a focus on Leo to see his side. The last run, which we did this year, we did to pick up the last achievements and look for any fun moments we missed. There are some really nice and fun hidden scenes in the game!

2. Party Hard (PC) | 1st Jan - 22hrs | 4/5

I had seen both my brother and SO play this a little and thought it looked pretty fun. When I finally got around to playing it myself I found it to be absolutely fantastic. I pretty much could not stop playing. Just one more try, I just wanna beat this level with one more character, just one more level! Dying/getting caught never angered me, I just had to go right back and try again! Another tactic, another way, activating traps in another order. The free DLC is superb, adding a great level and a character that changes the whole game when you play him on other levels. The bigger DLC added some amazing and hard levels and was definitely worth buying. The last part of the last level wasn't fun for me tho, so that was a bit of a bummer. But overall just a fantastic game.

3. AIRHEART (PC) | 4th Jan - 22hrs | 4/5

This popped up on my Steam front page or Discovery Queue last year and I immediately wishlisted it. Bought it now during the sale. I dunno what draw me to it but I think I just had this craving for a twin-stick game and this looked adorable. I really love the look of it! I started out playing it on easy but quickly found it to be too easy. You basically lost nothing when you got shot down by the pesky sky pirates, which felt strange. Before going to far and spoiling the game for myself I switched to the hard difficulty. I would maybe have preferred something slightly less harsh but overall the hard difficulty is good. Loved the loop of fishing, killing pirates, picking up the loot, flying back home and building better parts so that I could fly, fish and fight on the next layer of the sky. I also really liked what little story there is to it and I look forward to playing the story focused prequel thing that was released recently.

_____________

Master Post!

Rhaknar · Jan 6, 2019

Game #6 - Far Cry Primal
Time: 27 hours

Really liked this as it caught me by surprise, not only for giving you a great open world to explore and play in, but also for being low-key the best "pet" game I've played in ages. I'm a bit pets / minions fanboy so I wasnt really expecting the pet system to be so good (especially after the AC Origins / Odyssey system was so underwhelming), but here its a hgue part of the game, the pets actually kill enemies for you and have different skills, there are a bunch of different ones to tame (including legendary ones) and hell, your character is known as the Beast Master so thats how important that aspect of the game is. Another thing I really liked is the verticality that the grappling hook allows you, lots of cool mountain climbing and rope swinging moments. Great looking game, great sounding game (tons of anaimal noises in the forrests, which was especially nerve wrecking at night), gameplay is great because bows are the coolest weapon and I'll hear no argument against that, just overall really fun "shooter" full of content to do (as is the case with most Ubi games, for better or worse).

Main Post

Wozzer · Jan 6, 2019

Main post can be found here.

saenima · Jan 6, 2019

Main Post

2. The Gardens Between - 2h40 - 06.01

A nostalgia trip through childhood's endless play days, The Gardens Between is also a cleverly designed puzzle game. Each vignette brings us a different theme based on a memory and also some new mechanics to play with. Despite not being a hard game, it's certainly inventive and very imaginative. It's also very, very cute. The music is a bit underwhelming but that's it, i really liked everything else about it. Short and sweet.

Deleted member 401 · Jan 6, 2019

3. Warriors of Fate (1 hour)
Another solid Capcom beat 'em up that just doesn't really do it for me thematically. I do like that the one guy bites his opponents' faces, though.

Full list to date

Deleted member 32615 · Jan 6, 2019

Update: January 7th, 2019

Game 3: Portal 2 (PC) (4 Hours) (3/5)
This is about my 5th play through of Portal 2 and I think I'm starting to see the flaws in it. Portal 2, for most of the game, is amazing but towards to end it feels like a slog. The original Portal succeeded while being short and not too complex. Towards the end of Portal 2 you get a lot of things thrown at you in a short amount of time, making the game feel rushed with some tedious boring puzzles. The early game however is so spot on to what Portal should be. Fun puzzles, fun story, fun characters, everything just works properly. Wheatley is one of my favourite characters in all of gaming but the fact he's gone for half the game really brings the mood down for me. The segments of going to old Aperture are great fun too, really showing the skills of the writers at Valve to make something dark yet comedic.

So overall, not as good as the first because of the end game, but still damn fun

Original Post

Wozzer · Jan 7, 2019

Main post can be found here.

Blindy · Jan 7, 2019

1) Super Smash Brothers Ultimate- World of Light Adventure Mode(Nintendo Switch)
BEATEN 1-1-2019

Thoughts:

I totally can see how people say this goes a little long on the tooth and can get repetitive often at times but honestly, as long as you take your time and not decide to overrush beating this, I think the pacing doesn't become a problem. There were even sessions that I enjoyed myself and wanting to do more right after work. Whole adventure was pretty good, got about a 98% in it. Some pretty tough spirits to go after but thankfully none were off putting from unlocking a character or progressing in a story but you will have some tough moments and I played this on Normal mind you. The boss battles were pretty easy for the most part if you aren't crippling yourself, I just wish there were more creative ways to get better stats with the given attribute system. The posion side effect is USEFUL while others are like complete duds and I just looked the other way on when given a choice to obtain them or not. The final boss battle was challenging and makes complete sense of the (un)friendly fire so I liked the struggle between darkness and light. I repped Donkey Kong mostly for this but I am sure there is fun if you were to alter it and use different characters.

Very good mode altogether, might run about 5-10 hours too long but besides that, I enjoyed my 30 hours or so with it. A real homage to Nintendo and characters throughout video game history and a lot of "OH YEAH I remember that!" attached to it all.

LonestarZues · Jan 7, 2019

Master Post

Decided to fire up my PSVR for the 1st time this year and play thru Bound. Going to continue thru my replay of the Dragon Age series with the Awakening expansion for Origins. Will also be starting Into the Breach sometime this week.

Rhaknar · Jan 8, 2019

Game #7 - 999
Time: 20 hours

I'll preface this by saying I had zero (no pun intended) interest in Visual Novels, it just wasnt a genre that appealed to me, perhaps because the idea of reading text on still images was just boring to me, or that I just associate the genre with dating sims / romance stories, either way, it was basically a dead genre to me. Well, much like with Monster Hunter World last year, 999 has opened me up to a whole new genre, as I absolutely not only loved it, but am excited to play the sequels and other famous VNs like Danganronpa for example. But anyway, its impossible to talk about 999 without going into spoilers, so I'll just say its a fantastic blend of puzzles and a crazy fucked up story, which might or might not make sense depending on how you feel about the subject (again, trying to be vague here). Great puzzles for the most part (some frustrating ones had me run to a guide tho), lenghty story that you really need to see all endings to fully apreciate, good artwork and good writing for the most part (even if a little "anime" in some parts, like characters repeating what was just said or had just happened like they do in most anime) make up for just a fantastic experience. My only complaint is the one fan-service character that has no business whatsoever in looking the way she does, but apparently thats a series staple so I just roll with it, since it in no way deminishes the game, it's just awkward and out of place. Japan gonna Japan I guess.

Main Post

Usul · Jan 8, 2019

Do replays and finishing the same game on multiple systems count? Can't see anything on this in OP.

Reserved

/52

Rhaknar · Jan 8, 2019

Usul said:
Do replays and finishing the same game on multiple systems count? Can't see anything on this in OP.

Reserved

/52

to be honest, "anything" counts, or you decide what counts really. Some people list dlc seperate as "games", some dont, it's up to you.

Replays most deffinately count, but for example, if you play the same game twice in the same year, you cant list it twice, thats one of the few rules. You can list it in different years "like if you replay a game you listed last year" tho, which happens a lot for games you dont actually finish but still dedicate a fair amount of time of every year to them, like a mmo or a MP shooter or a moba.

Dyna · Jan 8, 2019

My main post.

1 | Football Game | PC
1.5 hours | Completed January 2nd

This popped up in my Steam discovery queue during the winter sale and it looked very intriguing so I decided to give it a try. It's a short mystery game set in 1987. You play as Tommy, a boy who needs to get to his important football game and also figure out what's going on with him and his girlfriend. Although it isn't a horror game, there's an eerie sense of mystery surrounding you and I liked the ambiguous atmosphere throughout the game but in the end, I felt a bit let down by the way the story wrapped up. Still, for the 2€ price tag (and less than an euro on sale) I'd recommend it if you enjoy thrillers and point and click adventures (don't expect any real puzzles though).

2 | Life is Strange | Xbox One
16 hours | Completed January 7th

I finally decided to give Life is Strange a chance since it was added to Game Pass on Xbox. Sixteen hours of gameplay in total of which only a few were actually interesting and/or enjoyable to me. Yeah, this was a bit of a bummer... I did not have high expectations since I'm not the biggest fan of this type of adventure game but I still went into it with an open mind because I was intrigued by the Twin Peaks-ish vibe and I enjoyed Heavy Rain and a few of the Telltale games. However, I started to realize the game was more "13 Reasons Why" than Twin Peaks as it went along and although I wanted to see the story to the end I didn't really enjoy most of it. There were some cool, actually touching moments sprinkled here and there during the episodes and I didn't mind the soundtrack (the menu music rules!) but overall this just did not stick with me like it apparently did for a lot of others. The rewind ability was alright and it was cool that you had the ability to mess around with it to change dialogue choices etc. but on the other hand, I couldn't help but feel that it sort of hurt the core of the game in a way. Yes, you still had to make big, difficult choices but it does still give you the option to just freely explore every possible outcome in most situations which is sort of a double-edged sword in my opinion. I don't know, like I said, this game didn't really do it for me and I most likely won't check out the prequel or the sequel but I'm glad I gave it a chance at least. It's cool to see Dontnod Entertainment creating all these different types of games though, seems pretty bizarre that Remember Me, Life is Strange and Vampyr are all from the same studio!

saenima · Jan 8, 2019

Main Post

3. Far Cry 4 - 37h10 - 08.01

main-qimg-98f3d80640b52e1f7462d7eee5a64f5b

The fourth numbered entry is a monster of two heads; on one hand, it's an exhilarating take on the Ubisoft formula: great combat, a beautiful and excitingly vertical world to explore and a shitload of 'content'. On the other hand, it's a very silly tale where every character tries its darndest to either be the edgiest edgelord that has ever edged or just the biggest asshole possible.

The two wannabe leaders of the resistance group we spend the whole game being an errand boy for are insufferable and i'm glad i got the chance to kill both. Pagan Min is kinda the lesser or three evils tbh. At least he seems to be having fun being a brutal dictator. All the side characters have that Ubisoft seal of tryhardness present in all of their present day games. The dialogue is mostly terrible. Funnily enough, the secret ending at the beginning is the one that felt right and most personal. Which can be seen as a statement in and of itself.

Getting back to the gameplay, the game really shines here. Exploring the Kyrati mountains is a joy and the emergent gunplay is as good as it has ever been in the series. I could do with less eagles though. I also wish there were more discrete, expansive levels embedded into the open world. Those were a good break from the wandering around. I lost count at the good laughs i had with the AI/physics combo. And the bugs everywhere.

Deleted member 1759 · Jan 8, 2019

Usul said:
Do replays and finishing the same game on multiple systems count? Can't see anything on this in OP.

Reserved

/52

It really is up to you. I count replays and usually I even count DLCs as their own "game" (if they're at least 2h long). But I don't count each episode of episodic games as its own "game". Some other people do. There's no doing it right or wrong.

KiDdYoNe · Jan 8, 2019

Ahhhh, last year was such a failure I didn't even expect it to be so lame. Let's hope 2019 will be hall of fame for me.

Fire Bocchi · Jan 8, 2019

main post

first game of the year is finished, was my third playthrough, on new game plus to get the last 2 trophies that could be gotten on new game plus

Deleted member 1759 · Jan 8, 2019

Main Post

#1: Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PC) | 78.4h | Jan 08 | ★★★★

Starting the year off great with this gem of an RPG. I'm neither a big fan of isometric games nor of turn-based/strategic combat in RPGs but D:OS2 still managed to keep me invested right until the end. The things I liked the most about the game - and the thing I value the most in any game - were the story, the characters, and the choices/consequences. A great narrator, interesting characters, well written but at times also fun dialogue and it actually felt that the choices I made had a significant impact. Another thing I liked was the exploration and world design. A lot of different areas to explore with a lot of little secrets to find which rewarded you with some good loot. Speaking of loot, there is a lot of it and it sometimes can get a bit overwhelming. But I enjoy comparing the new stuff to the stuff I already use and then ponder if extra physical armor is worth the loss of a +2 Constitution boost for example. And since you can have a party of up to four characters, this can sometimes take more time than you thought it would.

But there are also things I didn't like that much. As I mentioned I'm not a big fan of turn-based combat but I kinda liked it here until I hit the 60h mark and then just had enough of it. It just wasn't fun for me anymore and I actually started to use a trainer with Fast Kill and Unlimited AP to "skip" some of the fights. But it could have also been my own fault (kinda) since I didn't fully embrace all the options the combat system gave me. Also, the Nameless Isles was by far the most boring and tedious area in the game and I didn't have a good time exploring it. Luckily it was also quite short.

But still, D:OS2 is an incredible game and everyone who likes RPGs should give it a try. If you are like me and don't enjoy turn-based combat, you'll still have a good time with it. And if you like turn-based combat, you're gonna love it.

Majora's Mask · Jan 8, 2019

Will try to do the challenge this year! As a preface I will say that my only personal rules are that I will only count the DLC that is at least 10 hours long and that for multiplayer games I will say I finished them only if I put at least 50 hours only. Same for games that have seemingly no end (like Stardew Valley).

Will see how it goes! Last year I don't think I finished even 10 games so if I achieve this it will be quite the feat :p

Deleted member 401 · Jan 8, 2019

4. Armored Warriors (1 hour)
Okay, this is more like it. A really cool setting, sub-weapons, and the ability to equip parts from fallen enemies make for a highly entertaining experience.

Full list to date

Ailanthium · Jan 8, 2019

1. Red Dead Redemption 2 | PS4 (9.0/10) - 1.7.19

Despite standing as a juggernaut in the industry, Rockstar has failed to grasp me in its claws... until Red Dead Redemption 2. Going into the game with only a basic understanding of its predecessors, I was expecting to find myself disappointed after all the hype surrounding it. That couldn't be further from the truth. And that's not because the criticisms levied at it are unearned; the bread-and-butter gameplay mechanic, shooting, is underwhelming at best and frustrating at worst. Fistfights are hardly any better, and quicktime events rarely feel like anything but unnecessary padding. The fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 is such a fantastic game in spite of all that is impressive in its own right. Its story, characters, and worldbuilding are unparalleled. The sense of, dare I say it, immersion is deeper than almost any other game I've ever played... even if that very immersion can be infuriating.

But maybe that too was all part of the plan. You just gotta have faith.

2. Return of the Obra Dinn | PC (7.0/10) - 1.8.19

A detective game that refuses to just give you the answers, Return of the Obra Dinn challenges the player with discovering the truth behind the many, many deaths aboard the eponymous Obra Dinn. Its mechanics are well thought-out, giving the player just enough wiggle room to make some guesswork without allowing them to brute force it. I have two major problems with the game:

Forcing the player to backtrack through every dead body to find specific scenes is a tedious retread and discouraged me from investigating specific leads because I knew it would take me less time to simply narrow the victim (or in some cases, the culprit) down and lock in three more fates. If they allowed you to access scenes straight from the book, either by teleporting you straight to the scene or letting you hear the voices that play during it, I would have been much more thorough and would have felt like my time was better respected.
The overall narrative is, frankly speaking, not all that impressive. I knew from the get-go that there would be some mysterious evil force causing the events to unfold, but I was hoping they might tie into the unique mechanics of the game. Instead of crafting a wholly original story with the same aesthetics as the kind of tale The Return of the Obra Dinn invokes, the game feels more like a hodge-podge recreation fit into a video game form.

3. Into the Breach | PC (8.0/10) - 1.12.19

There are few games that I could unexpectedly lose hours and hours of my life to in what seems like a blink of an eye. The Civilization series in notorious for this, and my addiction to Civilization 4 many moons ago has kept me away. But most strategy games don't really capture me like that did, and so, I felt pretty comfortable playing Into the Breach with the expectation that I'd play it for maybe eight or nine hours and be done with it, happy with my experience.

What must be a couple dozen hours later, I feel myself getting sucked in, bit by bit. I'll play it for just one more match, just one more island, until I realize that my night is over and all the other video games I wanted to play need to be saved for another day. There's an immense satisfaction to victory. Everything feels like it's within my control, and that my failures are the result of poor planning or an obvious oversight. The different squadrons feel unique mechanically, but the similarity in their goals-- destroy the enemy or move them the hell away, scraping by until the battle finally ends-- lends itself to a potent core gameplay loop. Into the Breach is a fantastic strategy game and a love letter to the classic 'squish alien bugs with giant robot fists' sub-genre.

4. Super Mario Bros. | NES (7.0/10) - 1.27.19

This game is not just a classic; it's the classic. In my childhood I remember watching my dad load up Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. on the NES and attempt, for what must have been the hundredth time, to get through all the levels in one go. He knew the warps, he knew the stages, but the brutality of the game (and many, many others like it) kept him from completion. I fared no better as a child, and as an adult...

Well, it still kicked my ass. But save states (included as part of the NES classic 'experience' - yippee!) carried me through all eight worlds, each level punishing me more than the last. Overall it's a satisfying and tight experience, especially compared to other games of the time, but it's also unfair in ways that I'm glad we've moved past. Having rote memorization included in timed stages was an awful idea, for one. Not so much a fan of enemies like the Hammer Bros, either, if only due to their ubiquity in the final levels of the game. Other aspects of the game are timeless fun, and the starting point of a franchise that earns every bit of praise it's given.

5. Final Fantasy | NES (5.0/10) - 1.28.19

The decades have not been kind to the original Final Fantasy. The evolution of JRPGs-- and every other genre for that matter-- has continued to blow me away. Final Fantasy is more a mimicry of tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons than its successors, most obvious in its use of spell slots and repertoire of classic tabletop enemies (with excellent spritework based on Amano's work). While I don't necessarily think that basis is a bad thing on its own, the lack of conveniences that you might get with a dungeons master who handwaves trivial things like 'item weight' or 'travel time' is sorely missed. The Peninsula of Power, the easiest grinding spot in the game, was boring but far from the worst grind I've ever faced. The game was otherwise fairly easy all things considered; save states, once again a staple of my classic game adventures, saved my bacon on more times than I could count. That was in part due to the random nature of encounters and the ease with which a battle could suddenly turn for the worst because you ran into a mob of Cockatrices who decided they don't want you to enjoy the game for a hot second.

Of course, playing the original version was not without caveats; the style was something I could get over. But the numerous broken spells, the items that didn't act the way they were supposed to, bugs that made an entire class awkward to play? Oof. This was all mitigated by following a guide, which handily told me what to avoid and what was broken (to my benefit or against it), and without it I likely never would have finished.

6. Kingdom Hearts III | PS4 (9.0/10) - 2.2.19

There was little chance that this game could deliver on every single one of its promises, and littler chance still that it could satisfy every fan's high expectations. But in spite of that, it doesn't stop trying, its earnest attempts to wrap up several plot arcs up in a nice little bow contrasted by the start of a whole new saga. The idea of tying the story of a mobile game so thoroughly into the future of Kingdom Hearts is daring, and something few would attempt. But Nomura has proved time and time again that his story will not be contained by traditional conventions, and that is what makes Kingdom Hearts III so fantastic.

Well, that and a fantastically fun battle system. In retrospect, Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix may have the more balanced, challenging, and ultimately rewarding experience, Kingdom Hearts III is all about entertainment. Some may find the lack of true challenge a turn-off, but I'm eagerly awaiting the addition of more postgame bosses, a new difficulty in Critical Mode, and perhaps even a dungeon ala KH2:FM. The experience we got was more than satisfactory, and as I slowly grind away at the platinum trophy I can't help but wish I could be as entranced by each world as I was the first time around.

7. Final Fantasy II | PSP (6.5/10) - 2.11.19

For a franchise as long as Final Fantasy, no two people will likely ever agree on exactly how they'd rank each game. The common consensus is born out of a thousand differing opinions, often at odds with itself over criticisms and influenced by nostalgia and age-old feuds. I expected to differ from the consensus in some ways, sure, but I didn't expect for it to happen so soon. Which is to say that for all its faults, and as a product of the oldschool roleplaying game style, I found Final Fantasy II to be fairly enjoyable. It's not without its flaws, but for all the hate it gets for its battle system I really can't say I mind it. Sure it's a little funny that having your characters hit each other in battle can be an easy way to grow your health stat, but it's no more tedious than fighting the same enemy a thousand times over to grind with perfect efficiency. And luckily, grinding was never really necessary; so long as you equip most everyone with a good shield, go out of your way for the best items in each area, and fight most enemies you come across, you'll probably be fine.

Okay, sure, the Blood Sword might have helped against the final boss. But I probably could have beaten him just fine without it, even if I had decided long before fighting it that I would run away from every single battle in what was admittedly a pretty cool final dungeon. That's not to mention the story, which despite being effectively a retelling of Star Wars was actually fairly engaging and epic in its scope. I do wish the characters were more fleshed out, but the Emperor of Palamecia is a fantastic villain and I couldn't help but root for our plucky underdog heroes to rise against him.

8. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | Switch (7.0/10) - 2.17.19

[Review in Progress]

9. Onimusha: Warlords | PS4 (6.5/10) - 2.18.19

[Review in Progress]

10. Final Fantasy III | DS (6.5/10) - 2.27.19

[Review in Progress]

11. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | PS4 (7.0/10) - 3.4.19

[Review in Progress]

12. Final Fantasy IV | PC (7.5/10) - 3.11.19

[Review in Progress]

13. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception | PS4 (7.5/10) - 3.15.19

[Review in Progress]

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 9, 2019

Game 2 done. I'm off to a good start. But I think a lot of these PSVR games are rather short.

2. Tetris Effect (PS4) | 8th Jan - 4ishhrs | 4/5
I'm not done with Tetris Effect yet, but I finished the campaign. Many modes so plenty of replayability. In VR it is mind blowing how they took a simple game like Tetris and made it a visual wonder.

mrpookles · Jan 9, 2019

I'll try this again, knowing I won't finish it... I still find it enjoyable, though.

Currently playing:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Switch)
Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (PC)

Immediate backlog:
Hollow Knight (Switch)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

Rhaknar · Jan 9, 2019

Game #8 - Doki Doki Literature Club!
Time: 5 hours

Where to even begin with this one, as it's impossible to convey why I loved it so much without spoiling it or even comparing to other things I also loved (as that might also ruin it by proxy). I'll just say that like everyone already heard, Doki Doki is a Visual Novel that looks like a bubbly dating sim VN on the outside, but is something else entirely on the inside. I struggled to get through the first hour, hour and half or so, but in retrospect, even that is needed for the full experience. And that's what is is, an amazing experience in my opinion. Go play it, its free. Even if you don't like visual novels, go play it, seriously.

Main Post

InquisitorAles · Jan 9, 2019

Main Post part 1

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1. Mass Effect - 30 hours
Amazing story and atmosphere... With badly aged combat and controls. I love this game for its universe and characters, but shooting parts are terrible, guns feel like crap and cover-based system as boring, enemies AI is braindead. Controls are very stiff, for some reason character refuses to run outside battles, and you spent a lot of time just slooowly walking to the next point of interest. Mako driving is good for creating a feeling of exploration but at the same time, it controls terribly. If you haven't played this game before and love story-driven games, definitely just pick an easy difficulty and blast your way through shitty combat, this game is absolutely worth it. But if you want to replay it just for sake of nostalgia, don't.

Sch1sm · Jan 9, 2019

Just gonna reserve this on the off chance I bother myself to commit.

1/52

1. one night, hot springs (PC) - < 1h

2.

In progress:

Hidden Folks
Halo 2
The Room
GRIS

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 9, 2019

3. Steven Universe: Save the Light (Switch) | 9th Jan - 13ishhrs | 4/5
I'm not a fan of turn based games unless the controls are real simple. Luckily they are here. The big draw is it's a Steven Universe game. So if you're a fan of the show, this game will be right up your alley.

Phendrana · Jan 10, 2019

Main Post

[4/1/19 - 10/1/19]

I tried to come into this game with an open mind. I'd obviously heard plenty of criticism for it, but there also seems to be a very vocal group of people on Resetera who stand their ground and proclaim it to be the best. I was hopeful that I'd end up in the latter camp, but...unfortunately I won't be joining their ranks. Origins isn't a bad game, but it's definitely the worst so far imo.

For a game that copies and pastes so much from Arkham City, it's baffling to see how much of a downgrade it is in pretty much every way. The combat feels noticeably worse. So many of the combat scenarios are obnoxiously designed too, with every second room just throwing twenty guys at you and calling it a day. The map design is nowhere near the level of previous games, either, which makes the predator rooms way less fun. Even the boss fights were mostly dull and annoying.

We also have to talk about performance. I only played City for the first time around six months ago, so it was jarring to see how much worse this game runs. The framerate could be atrocious at times, both in combat and especially when flying around the city. That sucks, because it made traversal much less fun overall. I encountered lots of weird bugs as well. Several times I dealt the last blow on an enemy only for one of the knocked out guys to get up and start shooting at me. I had checkpoints not save properly. I had sound not play sometimes. And apparently this is nothing compared to how the game was at launch!

It's not all bad. I really liked the sections where you had to investigate crime scenes, and it was a well-executed origin story for the Joker. These Arkham games are kind of like pizza for me, anyway, so even a mediocre one was a fun time overall. Hopefully the bar being lowered like this will also help me overlook some of the things people take issue with in Arkham Knight, too.

~15 hours. 6.5/10

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 10, 2019

4. Celeste (Xbox One) | 10th Jan - 4ish hrs | 4/5
At first I didn't get all the hype with Celeste being in so many top 10 lists. I get it now. I did have to turn on the assists quite a few times the last few chapters.

Sendou · Jan 10, 2019

ggapp.io page

Platform breakdown:

1 - Switch

#1 Mom Hid My Game! (Switch)

Neat little game. Ending made me laugh. 3/5

1. Mom Hid My Game! (Switch) | 3rd Jan - 2hrs | 3/5

FallenGrace · Jan 10, 2019

1 - God of War (1st Jan, 40 hours)
It was....fine. Just fine. Never cared for the characters, found the combat kinda bland and the lack of bosses or enemy variety was quite a let down. Great art and visuals though but not special in any way. 7.5/10

2 - Assassins Creed Origins (11th Jan, 60 hours)
Well for what I took to be an overhaul of the series this was a huge let down. Boring combat, same old Ubisoft open world, and a story that felt disjointed and afraid to actually commit to anything for long with completely forgettable villains. Egypt looked nice though and I liked Bayek, Aya and Layla but I feel like they were completely wasted in this. 5/10.

Deleted member 401 · Jan 10, 2019

5. Battle Circuit (1 hour)
This might be the highlight of the collection. This game is bursting with character, has a decent selection of special moves to pull from, and I was surprised when I reached the end of the game sooner than I expected.

Full list to date

saenima · Jan 11, 2019

Main Post

4. Florence - 50m - 09.01

Florence has a very Sundance-y feel. That bittersweet cute, not quite drama slice of life, punctuated with poppy indie music and artistic people going through life and love. It shows us a period in the titular character's life through interactive vignettes, and here was the highlight for me. These interactions are pretty well thought out and managed to steal a few smiles from me. The art is also a great part of why the game worked for me. And despite it being just short of an hour, it ended exactly when it needed to.

5. Spec Ops: The Line - 6h30 - 10.01

A haunting retelling of Heart of Darkness, The Line mostly succeeds at it, but some of its components sabotage it. Starting with its faults, the gunplay is mostly serviceable but it really lets you down once it ups the challenge. It just doesn't give you the mobility or options to deal with the latter onslaught of wave after wave of meat it throws your way. I just gritted my teeth and brute forced my way through the last couple of chapters. It was not fun. Which might be part of the point actually. Until then, most of the gameplay served to propel the narrative and the world we inhabit for the duration of the game. And what a well realized world it is. Rare is the game that manages to make so much of so little. Yager wrung every interesting visual idea they could from Dubai and the horrors within. Despite being a last gen game, it's a truly beautiful one, and its exquisite art direction puts many modern games to shame. A pity the same can't be said about the character design, which is passable at best. Speaking of characters, none of the secondary ones has much depth to them, and they can be quite annoying at times. Walker, the main character, is clearly the sole focus here. His descent into madness through the horrors he witnesses and perpretrates is the story, and on that front i think the game succeeds for the most part. It is a bit heavy handed at times, but there is also subtlety to be found here. I went through all the endings and all of them are quite grisly and devastating. They all work pretty well too imo. It's a very flawed gem, but it's one of those games where i can love its faults as much as its strengths.

6. Tacoma - 3h - 10.01

I wasn't feeling Tacoma at first. Found the idea interesting, but the first hour or so left me cold. I inferred something would happen but i didn't see why i should care. But then great writing started happening. Characters were fleshed out, connections revealed themselves and everything started falling into place. It's not a particularly deep story but there are some later surprises that really made it worthwhile. And i liked the characters a lot, despite my short time with them. There's a wealth of character building hidden away in the AR devices everyone carries and in little notes you find everywhere. Nat and Bert were the protagonists in my game. Loved the ending as well. Was expecting something wholly different but i'm very glad it bucked my expectations.

InquisitorAles · Jan 11, 2019

Main Post part 1

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2. The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian - 6 hours
This game is uninspired, badly designed trash with terrible controls and shitty combat. It has so many baffling design choices, they somehow managed to fuck up such simple concept as mindless beat'em'up with collectibles. Those horrific QTEs on every action you need to do... Hook in this game is something else, to throw it you need to mash A and D buttons, and there is no guarantee that it would reach the right spot, if you stand not in perfect position for throw, then your character would throw it somewhere outside the screen. Moreover, there is a glitch when instead of attack your character can start trying to throw the hook, and you can't quickly cancel this action and become completely defenseless for a few seconds. It wasn't a big problem, but then several extremely frustrating and badly designed boss battles happened, which 100% convinced me that this is one of the worst games I've ever played. Thank god this trash was removed from digital stores and no one can buy it by accident anymore.

5pectre · Jan 11, 2019

4. The Witness (X1) - Another game from the backlog completed :D

What a fantastic games this is! I love puzzle games and this is a really rexaling one too. Lots of varied "logik test" puzzles and they were very fun to solve. Feels so good to struggle in an area to finally figuring things out and activating the laser.
There's 11 lasers to activate in 11 areas and lots of hidden puzzles. You only need 7 lasers to unlock the entrance to the final area (which I did), but I think I approached it a bit wrong as I was stuck in the quarry for the longest time.

After the initial area I went and solved the blossom tree area but the powerline just vanished into the ground? So I decided to go left around the map solving the Symmatri area, the Desert and then got to the Quarry. Here I was presented with puzzles with no introduction!? Took some time but I figured it out. Found out later in the game that the introduction was presented in the Marsh lol
In the castle area there was 4 mazes and I had to go to YouTube to find a solution for Maze #3 as I couldn't figure it out at all. Sound queues was the key which I totally didn't pick up on. Another I had to look up was a puzzle with an apple and a x/y coordinate board that made no sense to me at all?

Skipped the area with the Big Red tree in the house. Made no sense at all to me. Skipped the Greenhouse at the beach as I couldn't get in. Skipped the Bamboo forrest as I couldn't find any puzzles? And I didn't even find the Tree House area?

Only thing it needed, in my opinion, was some ambient music. Some puzzles are brutal though and you realle have to concentrate hard, so maybe that's the reason they left it out? I had some chillwave running in the background.

5/5

Main Thread

robjoh · Jan 11, 2019

InquisitorAles said:
Main Post part 1

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2. The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian - 6 hours
This game is uninspired, badly designed trash with terrible controls and shitty combat. It has so many baffling design choices, they somehow managed to fuck up such simple concept as mindless beat'em'up with collectibles. Those horrific QTEs on every action you need to do... Hook in this game is something else, to throw it you need to mash A and D buttons, and there is no guarantee that it would reach the right spot, if you stand not in perfect position for throw, then your character would throw it somewhere outside the screen. Moreover, there is a glitch when instead of attack your character can start trying to throw the hook, and you can't quickly cancel this action and become completely defenseless for a few seconds. It wasn't a big problem, but then several extremely frustrating and badly designed boss battles happened, which 100% convinced me that this is one of the worst games I've ever played. Thank god this trash was removed from digital stores and no one can buy it by accident anymore.

How did you ens up buying this gem? I must say that I am impressed that you finished it. I would have quite after the first frustrating battle.

InquisitorAles · Jan 11, 2019

robjoh said:
How did you ens up buying this gem? I must say that I am impressed that you finished it. I would have quite after the first frustrating battle.

It was on -90% few years ago on Steam I guess, and I was buying a lot of games back then, especially the old ones.

Bond · Jan 11, 2019

OG Post

Game #1 - Resident Evil
Platform: PS4 Pro
Time: 12.5 hours
Rating: ★★★★★

Fantastic game. I have played the original game countless times but never truly experience the remake. Picked up the remaster on PS4 several years ago and never entirely gave it a whirl. Definitely a great version which combines the original, with new twists. Making for a completely different experience from the PlayStation One, it without question is the definitive version.

5pectre · Jan 11, 2019

5. Out Run (Switch) - All Goals

M2 did it again with a fantastic port of one of my favorite arcade games of all time. On top of that they added Special Mode where you can unlock upgrades for the car. Steering Wheel (more grip), Bumper (less slowdown when hitting cars), Engine (top speed 352km/h) and Tires (no slowdown outside track). Really fun additions for a veteran like myself.

5/5

Main Page

Metroidfan09 · Jan 11, 2019

finished 44 games last year and now hoping to finish 52, 1 for each week of the year. Already at 2

1. Detroit: Become Human - Loved it, bit wary at first after disliking Beyond two Souls but imo had a great story, graphically incredible and decent enough acting all round (Over 10 hrs?)

2. Devil May Cry 3 - Finished up playing all 5 DMC games before 5 hits in March, my new favourite beating DMC1 (13 hrs)

Now onto Transistor and finish Hollow Knight!

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 11, 2019

5. Job Simulator (PS4) | 11th Jan - 4ish hrs | 2/5 Platinum
It was cute at first but I feel like each level should have been 1/2 as long and just have a few more levels. First platinum of the year. Quite an easy one.

Weiss · Jan 11, 2019

2. Starlink: Battle for Atlas - 11/01/2019

starlink-battle-for-atlas-characters-pilots-special-abilitie-f25c3.jpg

I got the Digital Deluxe Edition for half off at $50, which I think is a good price for this game.

Starlink is as frustratingly flawed as it is good. The character writing will click just as often as it flounders, turning fun tropey characters into boring pieces of cardboard and back again with no warning. The gameplay is a little too much of a number cruncher and obsessed with stat boots to be a fun space shoot em' up, which is a crying shame but once you actually upgrade your favourite ship and character (which will be the Arwing and Fox without fail because Star Fox is why anyone cares about this game) with your best guns and mods you find yourself blazing around and turning on a dime, and it's altogether really satisfying just getting lost in these massive alien worlds and documenting different kinds of plant life.

I really want a sequel but that's probably not going to happen, so I hope that somehow the team behind this game gets to make a new Star Fox game, because they absolutely nailed the implementation of the gang into this game, paying respect to them without overpowering the entire narrative.

Deleted member 32615 · Jan 12, 2019

Update: January 12th, 2019

Game 4: Metro Last Light Redux (PC) (8 Hours) (3/5)
Honestly I feel bad giving this game a 3/5. The last half of the game is beautiful and one of the best endings in a game I've ever played, but there are some moments in the game that make me have to stop and say that it's a great game with some big flaws. Metro Last Light is a perfect sequel to 2033, staying underground for most of the game and making more use of the factions from the last game (Communists, Nazi's etc). Last Light has some amazing gunplay that you expect from the Metro series and some interesting guns on their own, I went through the whole game pretty much using a revolver that shot shotgun shells and god it was a blast. There are some levels of Last Light that just aren't very good, such as Sundown, a level set entirely in a swamp and it feels more tedious than fun. There are some features introduced that barely have any impact on the gameplay (ie Night Vision) and things like the railcar that should be fun, but end up confusing or boring. The ending sequence though GOD it's amazing, for people playing through the games I'll put a spoiler tag, but you'll understand once you get there.

The ending sequence with the dark one is so interesting and makes up a lot for some of the games flaws. The fight against the communists in D6 is also one of the most cinematic shootouts of all time and while the abrupt ending doesn't feel perfect, it feels like a great end for Artyom as a character

Now I'm really excited for Exodus, only a month away! As for what I'm playing next? I'm not sure, Resi 2 and KH3 are out later this month so I might play some shorter games. Probably some console games too considering my first 4 have been PC

Original Post

Tizoc · Jan 12, 2019

5. Outland

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Finally got to play this after years of owning it on at least 3 platforms XP
The colour switching got pretty annoying by the late game esp. when the combat wasn't all that interesting and the platforming or hazards required proper switching between the 2 colours.

PC90 · Jan 12, 2019

Original Post

2) Kio's Adventure (Steam - January 11th - 3 hours - 3/5)
Decent game, although it's too funny (unintentionally? hard to say) to be a horror game. The translation is terrible, but honestly? It kinda adds to the charm of the game.

Currently playing

Paint it Back
Kara no Shojo

Rhaknar · Jan 12, 2019

Game #9 - What Never Was
Time: 20 minutes

Very short first person puzzle / narrative driven game about a girl retrieving her childhood stuff from her grandfather's house and discovering there was more than meets the eye to the old man. What a shame this is so short, I would definitely play a full / "real" game in this universe, it certainly left me intrigued (I wonder if its proof of concept for something bigger?). Good graphics, good puzzles (what litle there are), good voice acting, just... its way too short to mean anything. Still worth the 20min off your time imo.

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52 Games. 1 Year. 2019.

QA Architect at Riot Games

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