Here we go with my first update. I know this list seems slim, but I am on track for 26 this year, which is what I am aiming for. In my defense, I sunk all the time into Parkitect.
1) The Sea Will Claim Everything (PC) - 1/5 - completed story
The questing of The Sea Will Claim everything is comprised almost exclusively of extremely tedious chores that are almost entirely tangential to the story that Jonas Kyratzes wanted to tell. The game's story and themes are delivered via exhausting and self indulgent blocks of text.
2) Decap Attack (GEN) - 3/5 - completed campaign (with save states) via the Sega Genesis Collection (PSP)
Slippery controls are rather slippery but expressive, and I love the elements of lofi horror. However, the level design is pedestrian, and the inventory based powerup system is awkward.
3) Parkitect (PC) - 4/5 - completed campaign mode
Campaign scenarios are unimaginative, and the social ride sharing elements encourage extravagant and impractical designs. The game is a bit unpolished. While Parkitect is weaker than its obvious inspiration (Roller Coaster Tycoon), the game's basic skeleton is still very engaging.
4) Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (GBA) - 2/5 - completed both campaigns
Unique and creative systems are cool in theory but are poorly balanced or underbaked in practice. For instance, the card battle system has elements of both deck balancing and action scheduling, but the chaotic battle system and under-powered combos discourage interesting strategies. Great pixel art and one awful escort mission with Winnie the Pooh.
5) Metroid Prime Pinball (DS) - 4/5 - finished campaign mode
A static camera and clean, pre-rendered visuals make this one of the most playable video pinball games that I have ever completed. The campaign structure works way better than Fuse's previous effort, Mario Pinball Land. However, the content is a little light, and there aren't any systems in place to increase the longevity of the game. Annoying screen gap, bad flipper physics, and no quick save.
Next up: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (which I have heard is a 50 hour game... oh well...)
Game #38 - Tetris 99
Time: Who knows, it's hard to stop
When people joked developers were going to turn everything into battle royale, Tetris used to come up a lot as a completely absurd example of that possibility. Well it turns out, not only did the mad men actually did it, it's actually fantastic and works amazingly. There's not much to describe here, it's basically Tetris played simultaneously vs 98 other players, and the last one remaining wins. That's it, no game modes, barely any options, what you see is what you get. But for a free game, what you get is a ton of fun and a ton of frustration because shit is hard man! People are too good at Tetris, as of this writing I am still chasing the illusive win (the best I got was 5th twice), but that feeling of "just one more go" is huge in this. Also it's free with zero mtx (unless you want to count it as a way to push nintendo online as a mtx) and that's always nice to see, because they could have easily charged 5 or 10 bucks for this.
Edit: I did get my win finally heh. Yeah this game is dope.
Game #39 - World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth
Time: A few dozen hours, not much this time.
Decided to resub recently after stopping (as usual) last year, since they finally introduced the Kul Tiran allied race, so I leveled a KT Druid to max level. The race itself is quite fantastic, great models and animations, but unfortunately the game is still in a bad state and this expansion continues to not be very good. And on top of that, it seems I just can't do this game solo as I once could anymore, and since I'm not raiding anymore (all of my posse quit back in december), I guess i'll take a peek at the new raid in LFR and call it a day again. Might resub again for 8.2 for some old god / tentacle goodness, but no matter how good that patch is or is not, nothing saves this expansion from mediocrity. Shame, because Legion was fantastic.
Game #40 - Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
Time: 50 hours
Another awesome From Software "Souls" game, although this one is by far the biggest departure from the formula yet, but at the same time, it maintains enough of it's qualities that I'll still lump it with the others. Part Tenchu, part Souls, you follow the Wolf on his journey to rescue his young master, and on the way you will encounter the usual assortment of interconnected zones and extremely hard bosses. Game play is a lot faster than the souls games, and the grappling hook adds a layer of verticality I will miss when I go back to the old games. It's extremely punishing of course, but that is par for the course. My only problem with the game is that I feel the last third or so isn't very good, as it
becomes WAY too punishing (the last boss was so hard that I didnt even feel any sense of acomplishment when I finally killed it, I just wanted the game to be over) and the zone changes in a way that you cant freely explore and use stealth anymore, thus negating what you were doing for most of the game
, and that didnt sit well with me. Still, absolutely fantastic, and From's hot streak continues.
Game #41 - What Remains of Edith Finch
Time: 2 hours
I'm usually very hot and cold with walking sims, as I tend to either love them or hate them. Well Edith finch clearly falls on the love camp, in fact it's probably the best one of the genre I've played yet. Gorgeous setting (and super detailed, damn there is a lot of stuff in these rooms) as you walk from room to room reading about the finch family, each little story using it's own neat gameplay twist to the storytelling, in this very touching, and very depressing story, Edith finch is never boring, and during it's short length manages to be quite varied in both the stories it tells and the things you do. Just a fantastic game overall and one that everyone should play. The only downside is the performance on XB1 is shockingly bad, but hey, it was "free" on gamepass so can't really complaint.
Game #42 - Minit
Time: 1.5 hours
Really neat Zelda-style game where you only have 1 minute (Minit, get it?) to play before you die and have to restart, with the catch being you keep whatever item or puzzle solution you acomplished in the next run. So in the end it ends up being more of a puzzle game as you try to figure out how to do a specific task inside 1 minute so you can proceed elsewere in the next minute. Certainly original, it's very short (speed runs take like 20mins I believe) as it took me about an hour and half to finish it, but I only got like half the items, so for completionists you can probably get more out of it, especially since there is also NG+. All around, a great idea, great execution, even if the art style didnt do much for me.
Game #43 - Elder Scrolls Online
Time: 30 hours for now
I'm a big fan of ESO and a huge pet fanboy, so when they announced Elswyr with the Necromancer class I knew I was going to jump back in, I just didnt expect to jump back in so soon. Bought the Summerset expansion on sale and 100%'ed it with a new Warden character, and I had a blast. Still one of my favorite mmos, and easily the one you can most easily play as a single player rpg imo, the summerset story was cool and the zone looks gorgeous. Lot's of quality of life improvements to the game these days too since the last time I played, and the community is as healthy as ever. Will update more throughout the year when I play Morrowind which I bought at launch and never really play much, and of course, when Elswyr comes out and I fully dive in for the Necromancer.
Game #44 - Slay the Spire
Time: No idea, a lot
One of my favorite games from last year (which ironically was one of my least favorites for the first 20 hours or so) slipped back into my daily routine when I decided to try the steam workshop mods and oh boy... people are going crazy with mods. Basically Slay the spire 1.5 these days, between entire new zones to explore, new items, cards and bosses in the existing zones, new events and most importantly, a bunch of new classes / decks that range from ok to "wow these seem done by professionals", the modding scene has completely revitalized the game for me and I look forward to lose countless more hours just trying out all these new decks people are doing. One of the biggest examples of why sometimes PC gaming is really really cool.
Game #45 - Operencia the Golden Sun
Time: 20 hours
My very first dungeon crawler and much like visual novels last year, this might have opened up a whole new genre for me, because I had a blast. I love how colorful the game is, it has great level and enemy variety, and for me most importantly, lots of cool looking skills and abilities (one of my biggest problems with these games at first glance was always how drab and static they look). the story is your standard fantasy fare, but I give them points for trying to create their own lore and universe. The levels are big, with lots of secrets to discover, including using various abilities that you aquire a long the way to backtrack to previous levels and discover new secrets, which was really cool. It's not the hardest game (even tho it has a bit of a difficulty spike later on) but I had a lot of fun and am now looking forward to trying out other games in the genre.
Game #46 - Gears of War 2
Time: 10 hours
Wow, not only does this completely hold up, but I think I liked it more this time than I did back on release on the 360. A fantastic sequel up there with Uncharted 2 when it comes to sequel improvements, the COGs are back with a much better paced, better looking, just better overall story compared to the somewhat simple Gears 1. Great level variety, actual colors besides gray (lol), the same fun cover based gameplay and some neat story beats that are still unresolved to this day (as far as I know, the whole Queen stuff) make this a overall near perfect package (for what it is of course). The only bad thing against it is some god awful vehicle levels that really kill all momentum and are super frustrating. Still, well worth revisiting (or playing it for the first time) especially when its native 4k on the XB1 and it's on gamepass (as is the entire series).
Game #47 - Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Time: 25 hours
Very mixed feelings on this one, as I'm actually a fan of the TR reboot series, at least for what it is (as opposed to what it's not, a "proper" Tomb Raider game), and this one does a lot of things well but also falls flat on just as many things. I have to start with how gorgeous it looks, because my god, it's easily one of the best looking games I've ever played. It actually made me use the photo mode for the first time, it just looks absolutely fantastic. Gameplay is still great, with a few new moves compared to the previous games, a bunch of new weapons (but let's be real, all you use is the bow anyway) and some great big semi-open world zones to explore and fuck around with. Unfortunately, the story is awful, and most of the good content is completely optional, like the various challenge tombs which are quite well made and should be part of the main game (it's also by far the closest the reboot has been to the classic games), it's no wonder the DLC is mostly new challenge tombs. There is a huge skill tree but most of the skills you get feel inconsequential, you can upgrade all the weapons but they barely feel diferent, there are suits to craft but the abilities you get from them are barely noticiable, it basically has a bunch of systems that feel utterly pointless in the end. Still, its a big game, its fun to play and gorgeous to look at, so I would still recomend if youre a fan of the reboot.
Game #48 - Supraland
Time: 15 hours
Wonderful surprise with this, as I never heard of it and it turned out to be quite the little gem, even if I was pretty checked out near the end, but that might say more about me and puzzle games than the actual game itself. Anyway, basically a first person puzzle game not unlike a Portal, with shades of "metroidvania" where you are collecting new powers to be able to progress in new zones and more importantly, solve new puzzles. Great art style (Im a sucker for the whole "living toys" motif with games), a cute story but more importantly great puzzles that more than once made me go "wow I can actually do that?" make for a impressive package, especially since it is basically a one person joint. Like I said initially, It's a little too long and feels bloated near the end, as I was pretty much eady to be done with it and I didnt even get even half the secrets in the game (completionists will have a field day with this one), and the combat is absolute trash, but still very much worth playing.
Game #49 - Burning Daylight
Time: 50minutes
Neat little walking sim with fantastic visuals and a cute if abstract neo-futuristic story. It was a school project from The Animation Project made by 12 students and it's quite impressive for what it is. It's very short as you can finish it in under an hour, but it's free on Steam and well worth it for the visuals alone in my opinion.
Game #50 - Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
Time: 18 hours
Another great entry in the genre-morphing Steamworld series, this time tackling the card game genre, and while I really liked it, I can't help but feel a little disapointed in the end. The art style is fantastic as usual, maybe even the best the series has looked, the soundtrack is great and the mubling "voices" the characters speak with are cute as usual, but it's the card mechanics where the game shines, but also ultimately fails. At first glance its a really solid card game, with some really interesting twists on the deck building and card management gameplay, but you eventually stick with one strategy and setup throughout the game simply because its just much better or effective than any other wacky combos you can come up with (the game has quite a lot of card variety actually). In the end its more of a adventure game where your attacks happen to use card mechanics than a actual card game, you cant take your characetrs and build your decks to duke it out in multiplayer for example (which would be great), there is a simple arena at a certain point of the game but its just a series of fights where you end up using the same deck/strategy you already do in the rest of the game. some sort of draft mode would have done this wonders, but like I said, its more of a adventure or rpg, and less of a card game. For what it is its quite fun, and meaty if you want to look for every treasure, but at the same time, the difficulty is all over the place (its way too easy on normal for most of the game but on hard the bosses are too punishing), it re-uses a lot of bosses, and the game doesnt let you explore all the mechanics it offers. Still well worth it, but not sure if the premium price tag is justified (its 24.99 vs 19.99 all the other games were at launch) for what is probably the weakest in the Steamworld series.
Game #51 - Life is Strange
Time: 14 hours
It's controversy time ladies and gentlemen, as I finally decided to finally this super acclaimed time travel story, and came out not only incredibly disapointed, but really wondering what people see in this. Dontnod tries to do the Telltale formula of adventure / story with choices, only to completely fumble (in my opinion of course) by having it's two lead characters be completely unlikeable, especially Chloe, who is by far one of the worst characters I've ever experienced in a vieogame. I ended up not caring about anything going on because I disliked the characters so much, so there was no personal involvment and I just wanted to get it over with (which also made me pretty much B-Line the story and ignore all the hundreds of objects you can interact with and get little scenes, which is a neat idea I'll admit). Fantastic soundtrack and a cool art style (even if plagued with a bunch of technical issues, at least for me) were pretty much the only things that made me keep going. Not sure if I can be arsed with Before the Storm, knowing it focuses on Chloe, but at least LiS2 is a whole new cast, so hopefully it resonates more with me.
Game #52 - Last Epoch
Time: 18 hours
I very rarely purchase early access games, as I struggle to keep up with constant updates, and just in general prefer to play the finished products as Im not much into replaying games. But I couldnt resist this diablo-like because as a pet fanboy, it seemed to have classes right up my alley, and the genre is made to be replayed anyway so I should have no issue going back to it after a few months or when its live. And I'm glad I did, as I really enjoyed what is in here at the moment, and I think this shows some real promise for when it goes live next year. It's very reminiscent of Grim Dawn, and while they are propping up the whole time travel as its big gimmick, its really the class system where the game shines. Five classes (only 4 present in early access so far) each with three different masteries gives this a ton of build variety and possibilities, and then you have the fact that each skill in the game has it's own skill tree, so even the same masteries can be built differently, and it gets really crazy and exciting. I'm sure in the end there will be the usual best builds as usual, but it sure is refreshing and fun to mess around with the various ways you can customize each skill. As for story content you get 2 acts (out of at least 4 it seems), with the time travel gimmick of revisiting the same locales in different eras, which is neat. There are "end game" modes in the game atm, a dungeon-run with a boss at the end and various affixes on the mobs, very much like the Diablo 3 rifts, and then a arena mode which is basically horde mode with endless waves of mobs and you try to get to the highest wave possible (getting loot every 5 waves). Nothing amazing but it should get the job done for loot grinding needs. They still need to add multiplayer, and A LOT of polish, but like I said, its very promising and the class system is fantastic. Hopefully it pans out when it releases next year.
Game #53 - Steamworld Dig
Time: 5 hours
Wanted to replay this before playing the sequel since I imagine it would be harder to go back to it after, and it still holds up nicely. Great art style as usual for the Steamworld games (looks super sharp on the Switch screen too), great responsive gameplay and the addictive loop of digging for money to buy upgrades to dig for more money never gets old, especially because the game isnt very long so it doesnt overstay its welcome. Some call it a proof of concept for the sequel but I still love the first one, even in it's simplistic design.
Game #54 - Steamworld Dig 2
Time: 8 hours
Fantastic sequel that improves on the first game in every way possible, becoming overall a much more complete package and game. Better visuals, more locations, a lot more powers to get, a new upgrade system that really makes you want to search for upgrade items, and the same adictive dig for money -> upgrade loop the first game had, but much more of a actual metroidvania this time. One of the better and more improved sequels I've ever played, and hopefully Image & Form makes goes back to this series, even tho I wouldnt necessarely mind a sequel to their other Steamworld "genres".
Game #55 - The Technomancer
Time: 23 hours
Another janky-ass Spiders action rpg, and mediocre outing from this strange developer. The Technomancer, a sort of sequel to Spider's previous Mars War Logs starts off well, it looks nice, the combat is ok-ish but the story is interesting and it has quite a few mechanics that you expect from a big budget rpg, from various sidequests, relationships with your companions, companion quests, you name it. The problem is that after a few hours and you leave the first main zone, you realise the whole game is spend mainly in two zones, and if like me, you tend do to all the quests, the game keeps sending you back and forth between these two zones, with a ton of mindless combat in between you and your objectives, always in the exact same spots (because enemies respawn), and it just becomes a huge chore. It's ok for a budget-Mass Effect, but its hard to recomend, unless you have a soft spot in your heart for these janky Spiders rpg I guess, and even then, I struggled to finish it. Bummer :/
Game #56 - Shovel Knight
Time: 6 hours
Been putting this off for years even tho I always heard how good it was, after playing a few 2d games on the Switch lately and since this was on sale before it increases in price permantely I decided to double dip on the Switch and finally play it, and it's better than I could ever imagine. Near perfect 2d platformer reminiscent of the classic Megaman games (except, at least in Shovel Knight's case, using melee instead of shooting), this is one of those games where every aspect just oozes quality. Fantastic art style with a ton of awesome little animation touches and ton of variety in the levels, great gameplay with lot's of items to collect and use, awesome soundtrack, good lenghty campaign with new game+ unlocking at the end, great bosses, hard but not super punishing, like I said, just fantastic overall and one of the best platformers I ever played. Bonus points for how crisp it looks on the Switch's screen, really makes me want to get the Megaman games on the it now instead of another platform.
Game #57 - Yoku's Island Express
Time: 6 hours
What a wonderful game this was, top to bottom one of those cases where I liked pretty much everything about it (or almost). I should say that I'm biased because the "metroidvania" genre is one of my favorite genres and even tho it seems we have more and more of those each day (to think that just a few years you could barely find any!), I feel like this one is not only one of the best, but it certainly rises above most and even people tired of the genre should not overlook it. A brilliant combination of pinball and platforming, with gorgeous graphics, super cute characters, great level and world design and some actual compelling side content (it's mostly fetch quests but at least you have narrative reasons to be a completionist instead of just collecting more missile containers), I would say this is near perfect, if only for the fact that it can be a little finicky because of it's nature as a pinball game (sometimes the ball will just get away from you and fall down a cliff, or you cant do a precise jump to get a collectible like you would if you had full control of the character like a normal game, which was one of the reasons I didnt explore for more collectibles after I finished the game) but that is a very small nitpick. Just fantastic overall and a must for fans of the genre.
Game #58 - Gato Roboto
Time: 3 hours
And we keep the metroidvania train rolling with this neat new game from Devolver (easily one of the best indie publishers at the moment), where you play as a cat in a mech suit. Do I need to say more? Ok fine. The best way I can describe Gato Roboto is "competent". Or "polished" I guess. It does what it sets out to do very well, but it's very short (my completion was 82% from those 3 hours so its not like I skipped a lot of stuff) and certainly not very original. It plays great (I love how fast your character moves), it has good level design and a cute story, with a 8bit gameboy-esque artstyle (including being in black and white) and soundtrack, and it certainly checks off all the metroidvania marks, it just doesnt do anything else beyond that. I enjoyed it a lot and it's very cheap compared to most indies these days, so I would easily recomend it, just know going in that it will scratch the metroidvania itch for a short while and that's about it.
Game #59 - Mana Spark
Time: 6 hours
A clear case of how perception of value changes with what you paid for it, Mana Spark is a neat little rogue like dual stick shooter, that unfortunately doesn't have much going for it in terms of content and especially not against the bigger games in the genre. It ticks all the boxes, it has various items you can collect that will show up in later runs, some characters to unlock, and some upgrades to your character to start later runs stronger, but it never feels like it has enough tools to tackle the crazy difficulty it can get to. There arent many items to collect and most of them end up being useless, you only have your main weapon so each run feels very same-y (it doesnt help the tilesets dont change much), the small dev has said he would like to do dlc with new items and whatnot, which goes to show how little content the game has. The gameplay was neat at first, with more emphasis on slow deliberate shots (your bow is very slow compared to other similar games), but it quickly gets stale and in later levels, 1 missed shot can easily get you killed, and unlike something like Enter the Gungeon where every run feels fresh, here it just felt like a chore to have to do those earlier levels again and again. Still, like I initially said, I paid $2 for it on sale, so I feel like I got my money's worth and I enjoyed my time with it, even if I have no desire to keep grinding to eventually luck out on a run and "finish" it (if you ever finish these games).
Game #60 - Octopath Traveler
Time: 70 hours
Oh boy... don't remember the last time I started so hot on a game to end up borderline hating it by the end. Beautiful art style (at least on the small Switch screen, not sure how good all those pixels would look blown up on a big screen and much less in the PC version) and a cool combat system that I was really into for the first 20 or so hours, but about the time you finish all the first chapters on each character you pretty much seen all the game will offer. There is barely any interaction between the characters, the game basically acts as if each is alone story wise, the stories are very simple and while the characters are good (I love the idea that one is a apothecary or another is a teacher), they never do much with it besides the basic premise of each story. It feels like you are playing 8 mediocre jrpgs smooched together for no reason. The combat, while great and flashy, gets very repetitive, and annoying near the end when bosses start negating the whole shield breka mechanic the whole game had been using. By the end I just wanted to be done with it and im not surprised so many people drop it. Huge wasted opportunity for something special, it's a shame.
Game #61 - Pikuniku
Time: 3 hours
Pikuniku is a 2D puzzle platformer with some funny writing and story that is short enough to never overstay it's welcome and bizarre enough to make it well worth going through, despite some physics-y blunders here and there. I really like the art style, it reminds me of games like Parappa or Katamari, the graphics are quite simple but they have a ton of charm and lots of little details even in it's simple sprites. Gameplay is a bit floaty and like I said, a bit physics-y sometimes (like rocks not going where you want them to go when you push them, stuff like that) but it never gets too frustrating, and the game is overall easy enough anyway. It has a bunch of funny little minigames too, I just wish there was more to it, as it feels like its over way too soon. At about 3 hours long, its a shorty and well worth playing, but it feels like its teasing something grander that never comes. Also, this among other games recently have placed Devolver very high in my go-to publishers.
Game #62 - The Swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse
Time: 35 hours
And another Devolver Digital gem for me, as this mix of rogue like and zelda was a wonderful surprise. Fantastic 2d art and really cool take on what Zelda would be like as a rogue like, the only downside to this is the repetition which might be too much for some (a lot?) of people, but much like Assassin's Creed Origins / Odyssey where I loved to play the game so I didnt mind doing the ridiculous amount of content those games had, here too I loved the gameplay and the "gameplay loop" so I didnt mind the repetition. Basically you have to play a zelda style adventure complete with dungeons, items to get, gear and challenge dungeons where you need to use specific items (like zelda), and then do it all over again with a new character six times to properly finish the game. Your level carries with you to the new run and you can "buy" items at the end to carry over also so its all actually very forgiving, and each run brings in new challenges, higher tiers of gear and new items to use. I loved my time with it but like I said initially, I can also see it getting repetitous for some people, so take my love with a grain of salt.
Game #63 - Iconoclasts
Time: 11 hours
The year of the metroidvania (for me at least) continues with Iconoclasts, one which focuses more on story and puzzles than combat and upgrades. At first glance Iconoclasts looks like your average metroidvania, but it's actually very light on the usual upgrades you get in the genre (you don't even upgrade your health for example), while still maintaining zones locked out by later powers. What it does is focus heavily on story and dialogue, it is by far the wordiest platformer I have ever played, there is a TON of dialogue, and quite long cutscenes and just chaacters talking. I can totally see how this is divisive and might turn people off (I've seen people calling it boring) but I loved that aproach to it, it makes it different than usual, the story was good (and surprisingly deep/dark), the characters have a lot of personality and it made me kept wanting to move forward (as opposed to wanting to move forward to find the next missile upgrade). The pixel art is fantastic, one of the best I've seen in fact, with a ton of little animation details and great looking locations. The combat isnt particularly hard, but the bosses are really varied and using a lot of different tactics and mechanics. The game is also heavy on the puzzles to get around, so know that going in. I really loved the game, it ticked all the boxes for me, and if I had to point out a negative, it would be the fact that the upgrade system is really a afterthought and since the only thing you get from chests is materials for upgrades, it really makes exploration and completion completely unnecessary, it really is best played just following the main path through the story.
Game #64 - Golf Story
Time: 17 hours
Sometimes you play a game that is just wholesome and makes you feel good, Golf Story is one of those games. A wonderful little rpg that uses golf as a substitute for various "rpg mechanics", and does it so in super inventive ways. The actual golf game itself is shockingly legit too, and very fun to play. Writing is funny and the story is very silly but pretty good, it has a meaty campaign that doesnt overstay it's welcome, wonderful 2d art with lots of varied locations and courses, and a whimsical soundtrack that fits right in the genre. Just a wonderful game all around, marred only by a awful difficulty spike in the last tournament that made me lose about 2 hours just retrying it (the rest of the game is quite easy until then), and I really hate when games do that. Still, easily recomended as it does something different and does it well.
Game #65 - Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
Time: 8.5 hours
Easily one of the best "metroidvanias" I have ever played, this really came as a surprise to me because I hadn't enjoyed the previous game (Risky's Revenge), but Pirate's Curse does everything right, and barring the slightly frustrating last level (and the odd fan service nature of the whole thing), this really is just a fantastic game in every sense. I played it on Switch portable, so the art style really pops in the Switch's screen, with vibrant colors, great aniamtions, and since its portable on a smaller screen, the pixelated nature of it isnt as rough as it would be on a bigger screen. Fantastic soundtrack and above all, pitch perfect gameplay with great level design, a cool take on level-based exploration (its not open world like others of the genre) and a nice lenghty runtime that never overstays it's welcome, there really is little negative I can say about this game. If you like the genre, it's a absolute must play, simple as that.
Game #66 - Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero
Time: 7 hours
Very disapointing sequel to the fantastic Pirate's Curse, as this foray into the HD world fumbles on pretty much every aspect besides the art (and even that is arguable). Less metroidvania and more traditional platformer this time around, but somehow with MORE backtracking, 1/2 Genie Hero just feels like a pale imitation of it's precursor, as the gameplay isnt as tight, the level design isnt as good, the soundtrack pales in comparison and like I said, even the art while very pretty is missing some of the pixel art "heart" the previous game had. It's also a shorter adventure, and all the various side modes the game has that strip even more of the metroidvania features did nothing for me. It's still a good game on it's own I guess, and a fun platformer, but as a sequel to Pirate's Curse, it's ultimately a failure.
Game #67 - Kamiko
Time: 2 hours
Mixed feelings with this one, as I really enjoyed what it does, but it's so short and playing it again with different characters doesnt change anything in the game or unlock anything, so in the end you can finish the whole thing, with the first (and arguably best) character in under 45 minutes. The pixel art is nice, especially on the Switch's smaller screen, and the action and small puzzles are well done, like I said I quite liked what it does here, the level design is good, I just ultimately wish there was more of it, or that at least playing with the other characters changed anything. It's cheap (I got it for 2€ on sale) so I dont want to be too hard on it, but I cant help be feel disapointed in the end.
Game #68 - Fairune
Time: 3 hours
This one on the other hand (because I got the Fairune games along with Kamiko) was fantastic. A sort of retro-looking Zelda with less focus on combat (in fact, there is basically no actual combat, you run into enemies to kill them as long as they are not too high level) and more focus on puzzles, with great level design, puzzles that never got too frustrating or obtuse (although if there is a negative to the game, it was sometimes it was hard or nigh impossible to notice you could actually walk off screen to a new zone as it looked like it was a dead end, this stumped me a couple of times), the art style is simple but charming, the soundtrack is great and the whole thing was just a joy to play. It's not very long at about 3 hours if you explore a lot, but it's super worth playing, and the sequel is apparently at least twice as long and more fully featured, which has be very excited seeing as I very much enjoyed this first one.
Game #69 - Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Torna The Golden Country
Time: 21 hours
Did you like Xenoblade Chronicles 2? Well this is more of that, so its fantastic. But for realsies tho, this is a really good piece of DLC (or expansion I guess, since it's stand alone), working as a prequel to Xeno 2, although not as much as I thought it would be. Without getting into spoiler territory, it's very focused on Torna's story, in fact, it's very focused in general, much more so than the "main game". Gone are the gacha blades, each of the 3 characters has 2 blades and thats it, which actually makes the game stronger in my opinion. Good story, lots of side content, two big zones to explore, a very welcome dialing back on all the ridiculous fan-service (it's still there but much less than Xeno 2), same great combat system and overall just same great game. Completely must have for fans of Xeno 2, but be warned, not all questions are anwsered that you might expect from a prequel.
I finished almost 30 games this year. The first one was GRIS and the last one was Ape Out. I will list the most important ones as I played some lesser games in 2019:
GRIS (Switch) - Pretty beautiful game with some very good OST and that's about it. The game is around 5 hours long.
Vane (PS4) - I buyed it on pre-sale and was very disapointed with the game. 5 hours long.
RE5 (PC) - Replaying the game with a friend on PC for the first time. This game is better than I remember. 6 hours long.
Hellblade (Xbox One) - Replayed it one Xbox One X because the gamepass. One of the most imersive gaming experiences I ever had. 7 to 8 hours.
Firewatch (Xbox One) - A very walking sim. I usually dont like this genre but this game is good. 5 hours long.
Onimusha HD (Xbox One) - Replaying it after years and was better than I expected. Storywise its no good but the gameplay cracks it. 6 Hours long.
Bloodborne (PS4) - Replayed it for the 10th time. I just love this game. The game is finisheable in around 25-35 hours the first time.
Dark Souls III (PS4) - Replayed it for "i dont know how many times". This was the first run I tried with a newbie friend. He ceased to play and a continued till I finished it alone. Around 40-50 hours lenght.
Dark Souls Remastered (PS4) - Speed Run play with less than 6 hours. My personal record are below 4 hours. Around 35-45 hours lenght.
Spyro The Dragon Remaster (Xbox One) - The best game of the franchise. Liked it very much and i probabily will play the other games in the collection. The first game lenghts around 7 hours.
Resident Evil 2 Remastered (PC) - This was one of my hypes this year and I was not disappointed. A very good game and a perfect remaster. All playthroughs are around 15 hours.
Kingdom Hearts III (Xbox One) - Never finished a KH before. I never liked Disney setting or characters but I found KH3 a very good game overall. I finished the game with 50 hours.
Unruly Heroes - I liked the game but expected much more from it. It's not a bad game just didnt reached my expectations. Around 10 hours.
Metro Exodus (Xbox One) - One of the best first person shooters I ever played. I loved every second of this game and I recommend it for everbody who likes FPS. I reviewed it. I finished it with around 30 hours.
Far Cry New Dawn (Xbox One) - Played this game to make a review. I didnt like it very much. I think i rushed this game in 8 hours.
Anthem (PC) - Another review and a game I was very disapointed with this game overall. I finished the campaign with 20 hours.
Crackdown 3 (Xbox One) - Better than I expected. I never had hype for this game and was not disappointed. 8-10 Hours.
Devil May Cry 5 (Xbox One) - One of the best action games i ever played. A must buy for anybody who likes action. I reviewed it. 12 to 15 hours.
Bayonetta 2 (Switch) - Replayed it to check if DMC5 was a better game hahahahaa. 6-8 hours.
Ape Out (Switch) - Very good graphics and music. The gameplay could be better but overall it was a good game. 3-4 hours.
Current playing Dragon's Dogma on PC which is by far the best version of this game and i'm currently waiting for Sekiro to come out.
23. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (PS4) | 13th Mar - 5 hrs | 3/5
It was alright. Really enjoyed the levels with a timer. Those ones just seemed to flow better. The voice actor for Ezio though... just wow. Sounded nothing like the original and didn't even try. It was hilarious which was not the desired emotion me thinks.
This was a little longer than I remembered. An overall decent adventure game, but is hampered by a little bit of 'pixel hunting', or to be more precise, you will sometimes need to find an item that may not be easily visible and need to look at every nook and cranny to find it.
Using NVidia Inspector I managed to get the textures and anti aliasing to be pretty good resulting in a cleaner presentation. Some textures however remain low quality, likely due to budget but otherwise the game has some nice visuals from time to time.
Smash Bros is a pretty great series and is a must for any great party but as the 5th installment it does nothing to set it really apart from the previous entries.
The main thing is that EVERYONE IS HERE, this is super cool but at the end of the day they are all characters I have played. Yes we do have new characters added to the roster but the number is small.
the "story" mode is an absolute snore, I feel sad for anyone who actually sat and finished it. The gameplay is fine although it just feels like maybe a faster Smash 4.
If you find it on sale thats great, I personally wouldnt dream of buying this game at full price, thankfully I didnt have to.
Game 13: Tetris 99 (Switch)
Where we droppin boys?
Tetris 99 is competitive Tetris with 98 other players (yeah this is pretty much Tetris BR)
currently its a Nintendo exclusive although hopefully eventually it reaches other platforms.
Tetris is a classic and with its fantastic gameplay I cant help but always push for one more try and being at the top of the Tetris hill.
Its fun and its free! so if you have Nintendo Online its a must get :D
Game 14: One Leaves (PC, 100%)
Pass the smoke...
So...this game is ass. Its short which is kind of them but its ass.
The game is an ad to combat smoking (specifically in teens). You may be wondering why the hell id play this and well...its because of the Xbox achievements (I played the Win10 version)
They are super easy with the hardest one being you have to speedrun the game (around 5mins a game). getting all achievements (that spicy 1000G!) it takes about 2-3hrs. I just popped some youtube videos and pretty much just played as I looked at the screen at the corner of my eye.
The game is garbage but if you want an easy 1000G its free and its not that broken, it didnt crash on me once and the achievements tracked correctly. I wouldnt reccomend this under any other circumstances tbh.
11. Worms Open Warfare 2 (2007, PSP) ★★★☆☆
It's a good 2D Worms game, you launch missiles, sheep, and banana bombs at the other worms and hope yours live slightly longer. This is a pretty packed game, with 30 campaign levels, a bunch of puzzle stages, time trials, and of course there was ad-hoc multiplayer support. However, I had forgotten Worms gameplay could be this slow. Levels will regularly stretch past the 10 minute mark on bigger stages, which is frankly on the long side for a portable game. I guess the PSP has a sleep mode, but nowadays the battery is so unreliable it will still drain very fast.
It's also annoying when you're playing one of the longer levels that's clearly mapped out as a very precise puzzle, requiring an exact execution of steps, because the CPU pulls off some impossibly precise trick-shot against the wind direction, pushing your last worm into a landmine. The game isn't very difficult, per say, but they do progressively stack the deck against you in the later worlds, with tough 4-v-1 fights testing your patience. Worms is a fun game at its core, but this version feels slow, a bit imprecise, and parts of the campaign feel designed to explicitly forbid you from having fun. They'll regularly give you missions without weapons, or only the boring standard ones. Give me Holy Hand Grenades and Concrete Donkeys, Super Sheep and Banana Bombs! Let me enjoy your game, please!
12. Mr. Driller (2001, WSC) ★★★☆☆
Mr. Driller is a fun arcade-style puzzle/action game that was ported to loads of devices. Your goal is to drill all the way to the bottom of a well full of colourful blocks. Grab air tanks along the way and avoid getting crushed by blocks that begin falling after you loosen the structural integrity of the well. Fun concept, colourful levels, several difficulty modes, and some decent tunes too. My only complaints are that the drilling sound effect gets grating since it sits very loud in the mix, and that it's dissapointing this doesn't attempt some screen-flipping action on WonderSwan Color as I would have expected. If you bought a PlayStation Classic, this is on there, and I recommend giving it a go for an hour or so.
13. Grim Fandango Remastered (2015, PC) ★★★☆☆
Feels like one of the greats from the point & click adventure genre. The game certainly borrows from Mexican and Middle-American cultural iconography, but still feels relatively unique and wholly-formed in how it turned out. The premise, which has you selling travel packages to the recently deceased coupled with the smooth-talking slimeball persona of Manny Calavera are a great starting point for all kinds of comedy. However, this game really highlights the limits of this style of storytelling. Once you have outlined all the options, every puzzle can be overcome through either logic or trial and error. The real puzzle is just making sure you have examined all possible options.
I think this game ironically kinda falls apart in the story department, especially in the last Year. You'd think these adventure stories should focus on delivering a coherent narrative, but the frequent one-year skips consistently break this cohesion. There's definitely some moments where I'm pretty sure major developments were left dangling, too. Did I ever collect the tools for Glottis? Does the workers revolution ever move forward? Why did Manny even inspire that in the first place, again? It's possible I've simply forgotten some of these moments of resolution, but not everything winds up feeling essential. Towards the end they're really taxing your patience, too, when the game suddenly asks you to completely take the stakes of a character dying due to a lack of driving seriously. Did cars pre-date this race of demon? It's moments like that which constantly annoy you along the way, carelessly filing away at the carefully laid worldbuilding foundations.
20. Assassins Creed Odyssey - Legacy of the First Blade: Played thru all 3 episodes/chapters and absolutely loved it. That ending with
Aya being part of Alexios/Cassandra's bloodline
made me get up out of my seat in happiness. Can't wait for the next game which will probably tie up this "trilogy" with Layla and the bloodline. In the meantime we still have the Atlantis dlc to look forward to.
21. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - 1st game with Mario that I've ever finished. Really fun game that's constantly throwing new enemy types at you to keep it fresh. Was a bit on the easy side and the humor was hit and miss. Bought the edition with the Donkey Kong dlc, but not sure I'll play it anytime soon.
22. Metro Exodus - The tension for the last quarter of the game was palpable. The music playing during some of those segments was really well done as well. Really loved the slow burn as well. I was hesitant to finish it as I was pretty sure I was going to get the bad ending, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Liked: Stages. Some character designs. Overall game concept (minus the team aspect)? Disliked: Netcode. 3v3. Summons system. General controls and UI.
What hasn't already been said about this game? It's disappointing compared to the stellar PSP game, the decision to turn it into a team brawler with weird objective moba-y elements (summon crystals) was an unwanted change in direction, and the net play experience is awful. I played with a good wired connection but due to the wifi of other players and the games own poor netcode I sometimes experienced slowdown below ten frames per second. The bravery vs HP attacks system is interesting in concept but executes poorly in an everyone-can-fly 3d brawler with unintuitive (built for arcade?) controls and overstuffed UI.
Granblue Fantasy (2014)
I haven't 'completed' the game (lol) but I did play through what is likely the most important story event of the year, so this will be my post for the game though I'll keep playing it throughout the rest of the year.
What a great event! It totally delivered on my expectations. The pacing and hype-building were great! The inclusion of more characters like Siero(!!!!) and Cagliostro was amazing! The perfect blend of Granblue lore dump and yaoi tear-jerker. The fucking 'i'm going out for a bit!' scene! Revealing the true identity of a two-year-old gacha character (Lucio) is such a rare and cool thing, especially since he's SUCH a big deal. I've been fighting primals with this guy forever and suddenly I find out he's God's Dude. Damn. Granblue is great!
Touhou Koumakyou - Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (2002)
I've been interested in Touhou since around 2011 but never made the push to download any games or read the translations of the print works. Until now. Like a lot of people, I expected the Danmaku gameplay to be too inaccessible and possibly not even fun. I saw the character designs around and liked them, but wasn't aware of the setting or tone.
Oh shit, I love this setting and this tone. Touhou is brilliant. The game communicates to you so much using relatively little. It speaks to you with an unmistakable degree of love behind its creation. No wonder that Undertale's Toby Fox was inspired by ZUN.
As for the Danmaku gameplay, I'm surprisingly into it. The music and my love for the setting and characters are pushing me to try to 1 credit clear the mainline games. I haven't managed a 1cc of EoSD yet, I've moved on to Perfect Cherry Blossom for now since EoSD is one of the harder games in the series according to what I've read online. I'm planning to work on 1ccing PCB, Infinite Night, and Mountain of Faith and then maybe returning to try to do so with EoSD.
21. Gunman Clive HD (NSW) Beaten 1/21/2019, 33 minutes (From the Gunman Clive HD Collection)
3/5
Incredible value pricing for the NSW collection made this a no-brainer, always glad to support talented one person teams. The first Gunman Clive is an old 3DS favorite of mine, and its lost none of its charm.
22. Blackwell Convergence (PC) Beaten 1/26/2019, 2.1 hours
4/5
And the third Blackwell game bites the dust! I feel this is the game where the series finally came into its own - Rosa was a lot more tolerable in this one, and the puzzles made a lot more sense. Great atmosphere, as always.
23. Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition (NSW) Beaten 1/21/2019, around an hour 15mins. (main game, epilogue, extras)
2/5
Some sections where shit got real (spoilers redacted), but overall I really don't see how this game won a bunch of awards. If you're going to give me almost no gameplay, you better knock it out the park with whatever it is you have left... which this game was nowhere near accomplishing.
24. Flower (PC) Beaten 2/16/2019, 90 minutes
4/5
Time hasn't been as kind to Flower as I would have liked, as the indie scene has come a long way since its heyday. Still, thatgamecompany's PS3 classic still makes me happy just playing it - it's very Zen.
25. Life is Strange: Before the Storm (PC) Beaten 2/25/2019, 9.9 hours
4/5
I originally didn't like this very much, as it was a helluva transition going from Max's skillset to Chloe's more... pedestrian selection. But it eventually grew on me, and I may just have liked Before the Storm more than the original game. I liked it so much, in fact, that....
26. Life is Strange: Season 1(PC) Beaten 3/4/2019, 18 hours
4/5
...I started up a playthrough of LiS season 1, despite having already finished it on the PS4, just to remember what happened before rolling into Life is Strange Season 2. Some of the dialogue is really, really wooden in retrospect, but it's still a great game.
27. Life is Strange: The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (PC) Beaten 3/9/2019, 1.2 hours
3/5
A gentle amuse bouche of a game, I needed to play through this to set me up for Life is Strange Season 2, or so I was told. AACS was kind of hackneyed, and you could see where the story was going from a mile away. The mechanical improvements from Life is Strange 1 were much appreciated, though - there's just so much more interactivity than we used to have.
28. Life is Strange 2, Episode 1: Roads (PC) Beaten 3/11/2019, 3 hours
3/5
I've only finished the first episode for now, am waiting to play the rest of it as this game has Humble Monthly/PS Plus written all over it (I mean, shit's already free on Xbox Game Pass). That first episode though - while it escalated quickly, there's a whole bunch of interminable humdrum throughout that feels like DontNod doesn't know where it's going. I'm interested enough to see where it goes - you don't see too many games set in Trump's America, after all.
29. Devil May Cry V (PC) Beaten 3/17/2019, 14.7 hours
3/5
Mechanically, DMCV is a beautiful game. Dante in particular requires more skill to maximize than pretty much any character action protagonist ever created, including Bayonetta. Nero's no slouch, either, and V introduces a fun new "ranged" style to the series that, while not as solid feeling, is still pretty enjoyable. But goddamn, was this game beginning to bore me to tears in the second half. Too much walking through samey corridors and crushing similar encounters. Yeah, I ended up cheesing some of the last few encounters in Devil Hunter mode just to be done with it - not because I couldn't handle the challenge, but because I couldn't stand playing the game anymore and wanted it to be over so I could play the Division 2. Still, deserves 3 stars for how much fun I had in the first half of the game.
30. Puzzle Agent 2 (PC) Beaten 3/17/2019, 3.4 hours
2/5
I unironically loved the first Puzzle Agent, and its trippy take into the heart of Scoggins, Minnesota - an indie, comedy flavoured Professor Layton that said what it needed to say and got out. Sadly, Telltale didn't manage to impart the same quality into the sequel - bad dialogue, bad plot, bad puzzles.
GAME #07: When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
Hugecalf Studios - PC - ★★★☆☆
Completion State:
Completed 103/104 levels, 31 with all three medals awarded (75% Steam achievements. 31 hours)
Comments:
I've never really played a bridge builder type game but do generally love building games so when I saw that Curve Digital were helping yet another small British studio get a game out in the wild I couldn't help but pick it up. And I'm glad I did though I didn't expect to spend quite so much time with it.
I assume most of the tools are at this point pretty rote for fans of the genre but for me the whole idea was pretty novel and interesting. The game essentially asked me to use a limited set of supports, ramps and the like to get my little skier from one side of the map to another.
The levels start quite easy with fairly straightforward structures needing to be built to perhaps support a chair lift or to enable a motorcycle to leap across a mountain crevasse but they quickly progress to a point where if I was trying to complete all goals set by the game I had to start to think a little outside of the box.
There are three goals, represented by stars, for each level. The first is awarded for simply passing the win conditions for the level (usually get n number of winter sports enthusiasts across the line and occasionally collect n number of specific collectables), the second is awarded for picking up all of the gold star collectables in the level (usually only one or two) and the third is awarded for completing the level using less resources (in currency) than the target. In most instances getting the first two wasn't that hard once I had worked out the best method but the third can be really really tricky and I have to admit I largely gave up on meeting these requirements on the later levels as it was simply more fun to just create a cool contraption.
Luckily getting all three goals is not in any way mandatory to move to the next level. Areas are instead simply gated by a total number of earned stars target which is pretty generous and allowed me to unlock all areas pretty quickly. In my case I unlocked all the areas long before I had completed even the third or fourth mountain.
It's a fun concept but I felt it slightly outstayed it's welcome in the campaign mode. I do feel though that's more on me than the game. It feels a little silly to complain about too much content as it's all ultimately good it's just that the way the difficulty ramps up isn't really quite what I'd like. It only really increases the complexity in a more of the same way rather than building on more complexity layers.
Overall I'd say I enjoyed what I played and it's a solid foundation for such a small studio.
Finally got around to finish the 2nd run (Claire), so now I can add it to the completed list. I already liked Leon's story but I think Claire's was even better. I preferred the pacing in the 2nd run since they cut out some stuff from the main run which meant less backtracking (I guess it also helped that I already knew where most of the stuff was).
Graphics are pretty good and I've got nothing to complain about in regards to the performance. Compared to RE1 HD it also played well with M&KB, thank god. The story itself wasn't one the best I've played but it certainly does the job and is entertaining. But it's all about the atmosphere the game delivers. There aren't that many jump scares (another plus) but you can always hear something sighing or other noises somewhere.
Great game and I'm certain it will end up in my top 3 this year. Looking forward to REmake 3.
This is the second time I play this game, but due to a couple of different reasons it felt completely different. Since I now played it on PC instead of PS4 I took the opportunity to use a mod! I picked the Unpredictable Alien mod because it sounded pretty interesting. It changes certain AI behaviors so that the Alien roams a lot more and becomes, well, more unpredictable. I wasn't the least bit scared by the Alien last time, just annoyed that it never ever left me alone. This time I got a sense of safety sometimes, just for it to be suddenly shattered by a rushing Xenomorph from the other end of the area. It made a huge difference, much more than I thought it would. It also made me feel like I had time to check for collectibles which meant I got the whole story this time. If I hadn't modded the game it would probably have been a 3/5 but with the mod the game really gets a chance to show off everything it does well. The locations are very well made and it really feels true to the original movie. The computer and audio logs tell an interesting backstory and the story you get to play through works well too. The game is a bit too long tho. It didn't really feel padded in the way many other games do but some parts could have been removed or cut down in length. I was planning on playing through the DLC and do a second playthrough of the main game but I didn't wanna risk getting tired of it. Gonna leave that for another time. But I'll definitely be back!
Had a road trip so got a few games done on my Switch.
24. Gris (Switch) | 15th Mar - 4 hrs | 4/5
Great little platformer. Some great visuals and every new ability was an awesome addition. Biggest flaw was how short it was.
25. 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (Switch) | 15th Mar - 3 hrs | 2/5
Somewhat interesting but looks like a PS2 era game. I got no real history besides broad strokes and it just ends. Like I thought I chose wrong and got a game over scenario. Nope, that was the end.
26. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch) | 17th Mar - 12 hrs | 3/5
It's cute and fun in spurts. Controls felt off from past 2D Mario games. Odyssey is way better.
#14: Red Dead Redemption 2 (3/11/2019) | 10/10 | PS4 | ~ 65 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 10 | A fantastic game that I appreciated more the longer I played Gameplay - 8.8 | The most impressive living open world you will come across. Input lag was my biggest issue for negatives Sound - 10 | Voice acting is phenomenal and it is accompanied by a stellar soundtrack Story/Online -8.5 | Story is a 10, Online is a 7. Arthur's journey was well told and one I won't forget Asking Price- 10 | There is so much to do and explore in this game. You will easily get your moneys worth.
#15: Pixel Puzzle Collection (3/19/2019) | 9/10 | Android | ~ 74.5 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 9 | A free game that consumed my time and mind to get to 100%. Got me into other games similar. Gameplay - 8.4| Its straightforward Picross with some really cool puzzles from Konami games Sound - 8| I did over time turn the sound off but the game carries some tunes from older gems Story/Online - NA| Its straight puzzles Asking Price-9 | I don't normally play phone games and I spent over 70 hours on this one. Its great, its free and thats all you need.
Wow. I'm genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I played a bit of Modern Warfare's multiplayer back in the day, but I'd never touched a Call of Duty campaign before. It being one of the PS+ games for the month is the only reason I bothered, and I'm super glad that I did.
The story is nothing to write home about, but some of the scenarios presented during the campaign are shockingly...interesting? I was expecting mindless war action, but there were several moments throughout the campaign that gave me pause. I'm honestly not sure if some of the social commentary I think the game touches upon is actually intentional, but either way; 'Death From Above' was incredibly brutal in how it depicts the horrors of modern warfare. 'All Ghillied Up' is a fantastic level, too.
I obviously don't have a strong frame of reference for how the original looked, but they clearly put some effort into this. The scenery was stunning most of the time. Gameplay holds up, and the guns sounded good. Nothing to complain about as far as presentation goes. Hopefully they keep this up and give us Modern Warfare 2 Remastered, because now I'm excited to finally learn what No Russian means.
05. TOGETHER VR (Steam VR WMR, 2019/02/10, 1.3 hrs)
My VR honeymoon is still in full swing and to check off the girl friend sim from the "try it all" to-do list, this game seemed perfect. You hang out in a pretty apartment with a very cute girl, who really seems to hate wearing a bra. There are four activities: darts, VR shooter (how meta), rock paper scissors and helping her to "find a lost envelope on the book shelf" game while you not look up her skirt. Everything is very scripted and the player is mainly there for the ride. Presentation and model are top notch, but the game part is serviceable at best and merely the means to fill the void.
06. God of War (PS4, 2019/02/23, ~30 hrs)
The series was always a bit juvenile and dumb fun. This one is all grown up though. The combat, trials of parent hood, skill tree and equipment complexity; it's all very mature. I really enjoyed the experience, its revelations and character development. The clashing mythologies was so nicely done. The story telling throughout the journey glued the open world travels effortlessly together. The overall production value can only be described as god tier: presentation, art direction, sound fx, music, attention to model detail, all amazing and awe inspiring. This is how it's done, the perfect triple A big budget game, no micro transaction, no loot box lottery, no bullshit.You give them 60 coins and get a wicked videogame in return.
07. Devil Engine (Steam, 2019/03/03, 4.7 hrs)
March is Intergalactic SHMUPreciation Month and there's a lot to appreciate about Devil Engine. I would place this STG in the peak 32 bit era in terms of sprite work and CD based soundtrack. The gameplay isn't bullet hell, but more fast paced classic shoot 'em up action. Clearing the game is challenging, but also very satisfying. The dev team went the whole nine with unlocks, extras, modes and challenges. This game isn't a bare bone arcade game and more of an extended home release. Devil Engine is hell of a SHMUP (pun intended).
08. ALLTYNEX Second (Steam, 2019/03/17, 2.7 hrs)
SHMUPreciation Month continues with a FM Towns STG remake in 2.5 D. The shoot 'em up action aged really well. Saving mankind from extinction by a rouge AI is a pretty good reason to destroy hostiles with a standard shot, that specials up into homing lasers. There's also a light saber for maximum close range damage with a brief but high impact laser beam special. The 5 stages are pretty short and a clear takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on how much the player cheeses the bosses. The gameplay is super fun and a proper power trip. The 3D models look fine, but the textures are the biggest weak point of the presentation. The whole game looks a bit like a Dreamcast spec'd game rendered in HD.
#16 Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver - 6.5 PC - Mar 10th - 10 hours
Liked the story and atmosphere, good voice acting and the shifting world is pretty impressive for the time. The gameplay doesn't quite hold up as well. While the metroid like world design is good, awkward platforming and an abundance
of block puzzles were a bit lame. The different ways you can finish an opponent are cool but mostly useless and respawning enemies got annoying, especially mid puzzle.
#17 Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 2 - 7.5 PC - Mar 15th - 10 hours
First off this game was an absolute pain in the arse to get running on a modern PC, got there eventually though. I thought this was better than the first game in nearly every way. The writing/voice acting is still great, the game looks good at a high resolution and the gameplay is much improved. The puzzles have much more variety and the controls and combat are better, although a bit messy when it comes to fighting groups. The thing that was not as good is the world design, its much more linear with little exploration. Also the save system was worse and quite annoying, was not uncommon to go over an hour without a save point, on a game where I'm worried it might crash at any moment...
#18 Red Faction Guerilla - 7.0 PS3 - Mar 20th - 9 hours
Enjoyed it for what it is, chaotic destruction with very impressive physics. A good play while listening to podcasts and it was the right length to not outstay its welcome
27. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Vita) | 20th Mar - 11 hrs | 5/5
Haven't played this in years. Still awesome. First time I played this I found Raiden quite annoying but not so much this time. Maybe having played MGS4 and MGR helped. But Rose still sucks.
27. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Vita) | 20th Mar - 11 hrs | 5/5
Haven't played this in years. Still awesome. First time I played this I found Raiden quite annoying but not so much this time. Maybe having played MGS4 and MGR helped. But Rose still sucks.
#11. Turok Dinosaur Hunter
Couldn't resist replaying this game on Switch. Lemme tell ya... the semi-popular opinion that Turok and other N64 shooters "don't hold up" is just flat-out wrong. Going back to the N64 originals might be rough since that controller is definitely not well-suited to the genre, but with a modern control scheme, Turok is better than it ever was before. It was an absolute blast to replay it on Switch with a Pro Controller and gyro controls. Better than Doom, better than Quake... and thanks to the fact that it runs at native resolution and 60 frames per second (albeit with some occasional dips), I'd even go so far as to say it's currently the best FPS on the Nintendo Switch. And I don't care what anybody else says, the platforming is fucking fantastic. 5/5 - "Great"
Comments:
What a fabulous little point and click adventure puzzle game. Thanks Spyware for recommending it in this thread.
It's got a truly charming art style and equally charming general puzzle design. As the player I took control of Lumi, granddaughter of a person who has mysteriously gone missing and who it turns out is fairly vital to the running of Lumino City. Lumi has to find her grandfather by journeying through Lumino City, solving a series of puzzles along the way in order to progress.
The city Lumi explores is beautifully modelled, architecturally thrilling and full of idiosyncratic people and places. A paranoid photography that lives in a house that is a camera, a cat loving Mayor suffering from dementia and a Ferris wheel that doubles as a washing line are all features of Lumino City, a place that whilst eccentric, makes an odd kind of sense once you fully explore it.
The art style absolutely makes this game what it is but is also the cause of one or two moments in the game where it is a little too easy to miss something. The way depth of field is presented in game very occasionally ends up blurring objects or places that are genuine points of interest and this made one or two areas more confusing than they perhaps should have been on my first play through. It's worth keeping in mind here though that I am very colour blind and my visual acuity is far from the best so there is every chance that what isn't obvious to me is obvious to others.
The puzzles generally start off really very simple but ramp up to the point where you may well need a pen and pad for some of them (33436/55443/22113/44336/3343666/5544363), one even requires a little dexterity and accurately timed responses which I generally don't expect in a game such as this.
Regardless of a few tiny issues, it's a mostly relaxing, joyful, interesting and gently paced adventure with a quirky story. I enjoyed my time with it a lot.
GAME #09: Sky Force Anniversary
Infinite Dreams - PC - ★★★☆☆
Completion State:
Completed all the missions on normally, most of the missions on hard and a few of the missions on insane (12.9 hours 59% achievements)
Comments:
Nice old school shoot 'em up. Screen moves up, I direct my craft with an analogue stick, I press one of three buttons, things go boom in one of three way. I don't care that it's simple, I don't care that there isn't many levels, I just care that it's not too hard and it's always fun.
Each of 9 missions (technically 8 in the main campaign) has three difficulties, Normal, Hard and Insane which changes the health pool and offensive capability of enemy craft as well as applying points and star (currency) multipliers. You can only initially select normal and higher difficulty levels are unlocked via completing all four mission objectives: destroy 70% of enemies; destroy 100% of enemies; collect all humans; and remain undamaged. I imagine for more experienced or capable SHMUP players this might be frustrating but for lil' ol' me it was a fine way of scaling up the difficulty, giving me a chance to cut my teeth on a level before having to really concentrate. While playing the missions I collected stars as currency and used these to upgrade my craft or for single use upgrades. The two upgrade paths work hand in hand so you are essentially levelling up you main weapons and weapons that you will then have to purchase ammo for at the start of each level. Again, some folk might find this frustrating but I quite enjoyed the self-made challenges it allows for like "do I really need to buy any energy shields for this untouched run?". The persistent upgrades also add a little in terms of finer granularity to the difficulty which is nice for someone like me who is absolutely terrible at anything that even resembles a bullet hell.
You unlock levels based on completion of the previous level alongside some pretty arbitrary previous objective completion counts. It's all in all not that bad but some of the level gating does feel a little tight and I did find myself forced into having to repeat levels to progress.
All in all though, not much more to be said than it looks nice, plays well and is good single or local 2P fun.
19. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (12 hours)
For what this game lacks in lead English language VAs without terrible political beliefs, it excels over the original Devil May Cry in just about every way. The combat is more varied, the characters and story are more compelling, and the punishment for death is less, well, punishing this time around.
#9 Devil May Cry 5 - What a fun love letter to its fans. I have nothing to say that has't already been said. Except for about V cause V sucks. Like he's fine and cause he's only fine he sucks.
#10 Modern Warfare remaster - For a game that was once the height of quality campaigns, this has not aged well. It's kinda shit. I think the worst part is the sound mixing as you can barely ever hear important information like where to go to in the middle of a fight to not die. Even the big moments lose a lot of impact cause of paper-thin characters. Also the remaster kinda runs bad.... which is really weird to say....
#11 Killzone 2 - Been meaning to replay this for a minute and then digital foundry did a great video on it so I decided to dust off my old OG PS3 and spend the day with it. Two big take aways: I feel really stupid having defended the input lag as "it adds good weight to the game" because you control like shit. That input lag is rough. Still playable, just be ready to miss a lot. 2) This campaign should get more credit. I forgot about all the fun little things it had before they were full dead than brought back like boss fights, fun silly weapons, interesting moral dilemmas, big dramatic speeches from charismatic villains. Also bots for multiplayer. Really enjoyed spending the day with it.
Finally really committed to trying a SMT game and I ended up finishing it. This was mostly in part to the easy mode that was included here I'm sure. Some of the dungeon map design and bosses were no joke.
Ended up doing the chaos route even though I spent like half of the playthrough trying to get the neutral one. At least I avoided some messy/difficult bosses, it seems.
Game 17 – Resident Evil 0 (PC) - ~3 hours – 2/5
It sure is Resident Evil 0. Similarly to Code Veronica this feels like classic style stretched to its limits. Map design, the inventory, combat, are all a downgrade from the other entries and there isn't much of anything else here to draw you in.
I wish the HD remaster of the remake of RE1 looked as good as this one did.
Game 18 – Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (PC) - ~9 hours – 2/5
I've been something of an defender for this game in the past but I played through it again over the past few weeks and yikes. There's still bits of promise throughout (the soundtrack and first few levels/areas are great atmospherically) but things go off the rails later. Things feel like they're held together with duct tape by time you get to the end in terms of mechanics and the glitches.
Can't see myself wanting to return to this beyond the first few levels.
#16: Alan Wake (3/21/2019) | 7/10 | Xbox One | ~ 11 Hours | Recommend: N
# Overall - 7.4 | A good idea with poor execution. Its design constantly interferes with the great areas Gameplay -7.4 | Poor controls, a majority of the environments are a dark forest. Saving grace are set pieces Sound -8 | Had an okay soundtrack. Voice acting ranged from good to meh. Background noises typically good. Story/Online - 7| Game story is okay. Poor ending. Some characters overstay there welcome Asking Price- 6.33| The game is 25% phenomenal and 75% bad filler. Cutting some of the filler out would of been a better experience.
This has been one of the bigger letdowns in games for me. Having not owned a X360 at the time I was excited to finally get my hands on it on Xbox One. The initial chapter is really good and filled every expectation I was looking for. What followed though constantly hampered all the good parts in the game. No matter the location of the chapter, it always filtered you through forest for a large portion weaving you from interesting lively areas to constant dark forest with a few enemies thrown at you. Having a lot of filler in a game can be okay but the controls are clunky and the enemies never really elevate to anything past what you see in the initial chapter leaving you with to much repetition. For every great idea you have to wade through a sea of repeated looking sections. The "horror" sections are always presented to you or scripted in a way that nothing is shocking. I played around at one point and decided to dodge my way through large portions of chapters which probably didn't help how I viewed the enemies. I would be curious what the developers could do with the series if they ever had another crack. There is some fantastic ideas in the game, it just needs some large tweaks.
8. Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 85 hours
As someone who enjoyed the previous two Tomb Raider games, I have mixed feelings about this one. It's not bad, but some design decisions sure tarnished my overall experience about this game. Like at some point when game restricts you to use just one costume in the city hub or you won't be able to talk with NPCs and take sidequests. Or when they put some collectibles and challenges at points that are hard to reach and too far from campfires and required to watch through all animations and waste 10 minutes just to get them and run back to campfire. Or skills that are mostly for special bullets and enemy finishers, but there are like 1 hour of actual shooting and action in this game?
Again, when you just play the main story and tombs as it goes, it's quite entertaining and decent game - story and writing are still far from best, but they nailed the adventure and exploration atmosphere. To 100% the game it will take something around 25-30 hours, which is a nice amount (especially if you'll get it with a major discount), just a typical AAA singleplayer junk for those who love this type of games. Those other 50 hours I spent were in photomodes, both in-game and Nvidia Ansel - to be honest, graphics in this game are very uneven and quality may differ significantly in different places, but damn, it sure fun to just fly around for an hour or so after work, trying to capture some interesting screenshot. So yeah, if you love taking screenshots, then you absolutely need to get this game, believe me, it's worth it.
That was without it. Found out earlier this morning there was extra dlc missions that continued the story. Started googling around about the game because I felt like I was missing something.
Will have to checkout American Nightmare sometime. I can definitely see my enjoyment for it being raised from more fleshed out mechanics
That was without it. Found out earlier this morning there was extra dlc missions that continued the story. Started googling around about the game because I felt like I was missing something.
Will have to checkout American Nightmare sometime. I can definitely see my enjoyment for it being raised from more fleshed out mechanics
Yeah they are quite important, sadly. At least they included them with the PC version of the game, but for 360 you have to get them separately.
Based on what you said I would say American Nightmare would suit you much better. But the two extra episodes for the first game is important for that story too!
Yeah they are quite important, sadly. At least they included them with the PC version of the game, but for 360 you have to get them separately.
Based on what you said I would say American Nightmare would suit you much better. But the two extra episodes for the first game is important for that story too!
Looks like I can download the two DLC missions for free so will have to give them a whirl in the near future. I will be interested trying out Quantum Break as well. Remedy built really good areas in Alan Wake its the in-between areas that dragged on and made me lose interest
One quick example was this mission. You see the power plant across the water. Do some weaving around an area of generator and downed lines. Go onto a bridge (which was cool)). Get off the bridge, go up a path. Say hi to a lady (Another cool environment!), leave the power plant, go around the side and flip a switch, come back to the lady, go through the tunnel. Leave the tunnel to save your friends. Friends are fine, survived the helicopter crash. Make your way back towards the safe room in the dam. Friends get inside then some pipe falls so Alan has to find another way. Player weaves up a number of staircases. On top of the dam. Run from a tornado (That was cool part) then finally the level was over. Every area is also littered with the same enemies which becomes more of a chore since the mechanics are not as fleshed out.
If they cut a bit of the game and to around 8-9 hours I do think it would of been a better game and could retain the story they where telling. Even simple things like taking out the portion of flipping the switch above, that's an easy 10 minutes that adds up quickly. I will have to play American Nightmare though, thanks for the suggestion!
This year definitely going to play more "horror" games in my 52. Its a genre I have barely touched so got a lot of good stuff on my list. Should be a scary year :)
Its going to be a good year of games! An even better part was I already bought all these games over the last few years so today me doesn't have to spend a penny on any of those (Besides Resident Evil 2).
Once I get through that list I might have to buy a copy of Haunting Ground off Ebay. Saw it on the Top 51 Era Horror list and it looks awesome. Starting Sekiro Shadows Die Twice today and in a week and a half half going to start Fatal Frame!
#17: Crypt of the NecroDancer (3/22/2019) | 8/10 | VITA | ~ 7 Hours | Recommend: M
# Overall -8 | Aggregate of 4 components below. Decimal rounded up or down by personal bias. Gameplay -8 | It took a little while to get used to but once you get the hang of it you are flowing with the beat Sound -8 | Not only are there some good beats in the game but they are excellently worked in with the controls Story/Online -7 | Its serviceable but not the key focus. If it wasn't there you wouldn't notice much of a difference Asking Price-8.33 | Lot of different ways to play. With variety of characters, items and floor layouts you get the "One more run" feeling often
Probably last game for the month. Before recommending I would advise someone watching a quick gameplay video as the movement is very unique. This is a fun game though that gives you a variety of options to play as well as a ton of side stuff to do. Each level seems daunting at first until you get the flow of characters that are introduced at every turn. I have seen the credits roll but that won't be the last time I play this game! Last floor got a very lucky drop at the start (OP Crossbow) that made the round quicker than the previous 3
20. Mega Man (1 hour)
This definitely feels like an unrefined version of what was to come in its sequels. The controls are loose and the level design isn't always great. Still, it's Mega Man at its most basic form.
#15
CLANNAD
PC
Completed: February 25, 2019
Playtime: 101h 54m (started in 2018)
A well-written, but also very long VN. The classic case of "too long for its own good" in my opinion. Went into it blind, haven't watched any of the anime adaptations (which are supposedly pretty good). The story switches gears constantly from sad to funny and back again, and the true ending path might be the saddest thing ever written. I can't say it's managed to become my favorite VN of all time, but it did succeed in making me quite emotional multiple times. Other good points: some unexpected "scenarios" (the word for routes in this game) that go places you wouldn't expect, and lots, lots of choices that branch the dialog you get later - sometimes significantly, sometimes just a little. The steam release features improved resolution for visuals, in-game Dangopedia (don't ask) explaining Japanese slang terms and achievements. Bad points: the length + you pretty much have to play this with a guide to reach the true end and see all hidden bits and pieces of the story.
#16
Blind
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: March 02, 2019
Playtime: 4h 33m
VR adventure/puzzle game with a touch of psychological thriller theme to it. It features a cool distinct B&W art style and an interesting main mechanic - the protagonist is blind and has to employ "echolocation" to briefly reveal the surroundings by tapping the cane or other items against surfaces or listening to outside sounds like thunder. In other words, everything is shrouded in darkness until either you or something else makes a sound. Most puzzles thus have you staggering in the dark trying to locate items or objects you need to interact with. The story was decent and puzzles weren't bad, I enjoyed the game. The constant cane tapping becomes an annoyance, but fortunately the game isn't long enough for that to be a serious problem.
#17
Neverout
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: March 05, 2019
Playtime: 2h 57m
Very minimalistic VR puzzler revolving around a singular concept of changing room's gravity relative to the surface you're standing on. There are over 60 levels, but all of them are basically a tiled cube with an exit which you must reach and some obstacles/puzzles to make it harder. The controls consist of two buttons - move forward and turn. Most levels are trivial and take less than a minute to figure out - if I didn't get stuck on one of the last levels because I misunderstood its puzzle the playtime would be a lot shorter. Overall was hoping for a bit more than I got with this one, but oh well.
#18
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
PC
Completed: March 09, 2019
Playtime: 131h 05m (started in 2018)
Huge RPG with excellent turn-based combat and tons of well-written quests and characters. Improves on the first game in a lot of ways, including my main gripe - disappointing story and characters. By virtue of including personal stories, adding possible relationships between party members and loads of dialog (all of it fully voiced, by the way), this game succeeded in making me care a lot more often than its predecessor. Another welcome addition: many large quests now have different possible paths for completion - for instance, the starting tutorial Fort Joy area can be escaped from in like 5-6 different ways. As for the combat, it was the strongest part of the first game and Larian managed not to break its magic here. I loved the ending, the lead-up to it, the epic final battle and cool epilogues for everyone involved remind me a lot of the feeling I had after finishing the Baldur's Gate trilogy for the first time. Good old times. There's one big issue I have with DOS2 though, and that is the level-gating. It's real, it seems to be everywhere and it's annoying and tiring as hell. Maybe it's partially my fault for playing on Classic difficulty, but I can't tell you how many times I had to retreat from an encounter until I had more experience when the enemies were a mere 1-2 levels above my party. To be more precise, my main problem isn't with the level-gating per se (the aforementioned BG2 had it as well, and I didn't mind), but with the fact that it kept happening even though I did my best to gather all extra XP by completing all side quests I came across, except a select few I decided to avoid for roleplaying reasons. I shudder to imagine how hard it would be if I tried to mainline the story quests only.
#19
Steins;Gate Elite
PC
Completed: March 10, 2019
Playtime: 31h 53m
I played the original VN last year, and absolutely loved it (highly recommended to anyone not 100% allergic to VN genre). Never watched the anime though, so decided to pick this Elite version up to support the developer and replay the true ending path. Having finished it, I'm of a mixed mind on whether to recommend it as a good way to experience this awesome story. On one hand, there's modern resolution support, animated scenes do make it a bit more lively, the anime style art is occasionally not that bad, and they didn't screw up anything REALLY important in the story too bad. It's still Steins;Gate. On the other hand, the anime style art is still more often than not really bad in comparison, and Elite is missing at least about 15-20% of original VN's text that was cut from the anime. None of it is crucial, but it does feel like the story in Elite is less cohesive as result of these cuts (it's especially bad in Faris's chapter, it's like cut in half). Also, they removed most of interactivity with your phone (ability to make calls, and choose whether to answer your phone or miss the call on purpose), that led to fun branching dialog opportunities in some places. Finally, in Elite they replaced the original excellent intro song, which imho did a great job of setting up the mood, with this, um, slightly less good intro from the anime. I guess I'll still go with the original as the better version to choose if you only play one of them.
#20
Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: March 14, 2019
Playtime: 3h 31m
This is actually my first time playing any Angry Birds game, never got to try on smartphones. I found it rather engaging and fun, but not very deep. Gameplay basically boils down to simply searching for the most efficient way to shoot the very first "bullet" game loads into your slingshot, ideally killing every pig and bringing as much of the structure down as possible. Managed to complete all 52 or so currently available levels with perfect 3-star score.
#21
Knockout League
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: March 21, 2019
Playtime: 3h 39m
Have you ever played a beat'em up or fighting game and wondered what it would be like to perform the dodges, blocks and punch combos physically, yourself, instead of just tapping a button on your controller of choice? This game was made for you, then. It's pretty interesting, to defeat an opponent you need to: a) learn their pattern of attacks; b) find vulnerability openings in their attacks; and c) knock them out before they do that to you and before the time runs out. Word of caution, though: it's EXHAUSTING. After just a couple fights, I was already gulping air like fish out of water, and had to take breaks often to catch my breath and wipe the sweat away. The game even features an optional "burned calories" meter setting, and it's not a joke, the required tempo in some fights seems crazy even on normal tier of difficulty. I wish there was some pause longer than a few seconds in between fights, maybe something to do in your base/training ring. As it stands, by the end I was just happy it was all over and I could rest.
Currently playing:
Hitman 2 (PC)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PC)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
Nier: Automata (PC)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
The Council (PC)
+ monthly VR games
28. Marvel's Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps (PS4) | 22nd Mar - 6 hrs | 4/5
More of the same but when the same is one of my top 3 games from last year, I don't mind. Story not as good but the still a lot of fun and such a likeable cast.
21. Mega Man 2 (1 hour)
The only Mega Man game I've ever beaten before yesterday, and one that has really earned its place in gaming culture. Boobeam Trap aside.
22. Mega Man 3 (2 hours)
A noticeably longer and more difficult game than the first two, but honestly, it pales in comparison to Mega Man 2 for the most part.
12. Tetris 99 (Switch)
Took a few tries but eventually I got the 1st place. Pretty intense game and a nice spin on the Battle Royale formula. I'd much rather play this than regular Battle Royale as I suck at aiming...
13. Track and Field (Xbox 360)
Played a single round on Track and Field on Xbox Live Arcade for score, so I could submit for the Twin Galaxies scoreboard. Great game and especially a fun button masher at parties.
I play with a Hori VX-SA arcade stick.
14. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | PS4 (8.0/10) - 3.21.19
A fitting end to Nathan Drake's tale-- and perhaps the start of a whole new adventure. The change in staffing was more than apparent in how Uncharted 4 approaches its characters and storyline without abandoning the core identity of the series. Nathan Drake is the same in many ways, but is also more nuanced, a matured man who's struggling to find the balance in his life without the excitement of adventure and exhilaration of exploration. The graphically impressive character models do a fantastic job of adding emotion to the characters and beauty to the world despite the relatively grounded setpieces that it features. There are still plenty of death traps that force you to solve journal-based puzzles that rarely leave you scratching your head for more than a moment, but even those feel less like impossibly-constructed tombs and more like the hijinks of a paranoid pirate captain. Driving vehicles in a semi-open environment and choosing one of multiple paths to climb are features that make it seem less scripted than other Uncharted games, and the choice between stealth, melee, and long-ranged tactics all compliment fantastically designed levels and combat encounters that make Drake's Fortune blush bright red with envy. A Thief's End is undoubtedly the most exciting, nuanced, and varied game in the series and is a fitting entrance into a generation all too aware of the legacy of the last generation; that legacy too was shaped by Uncharted.
15. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | PS4 (9.0/10) - 4.2.19
[Review in Progress]
16. Yoshi's Crafted World | Switch (7.0/10) - 4.4.19
[Review in Progress]
16. Prey (2017) | PC (7.5/10) - 4.18.19
[Review in Progress]
17. The Sexy Brutale | PC (7.0/10) - 4.24.19
[Review in Progress]
18. Ratchet & Clank | PS3 (7.5/10) - 5.12.19
[Review in Progress]
19. Cosmic Star Heroine | Switch (7.5/10) - 5.28.19
Cosmic Star Heroine takes all the bloated, messy features of classic JRPGs and trims the fat so thoroughly that at times I almost missed things like grinding, save points, and random encounters. But their removal-- along with the addition of modern RPG staples like shared team experience-- ultimately made for a better game, and one that doesn't utterly rely on nostalgia to remain fun. While its story is light-hearted, I enjoyed the characters and got a chuckle out of the on-the-nose humor. There's room for improvement and I'm excited to see what the developer brings to the table next, because I think they have a fantastic grasp on the genre and could bring a fresh, modern perspective on some old classics.
So before I say anything else, here's an admission: I've never played a first-person dungeon crawler before, and from the outset I had the distinct impression I wouldn't like them. But Shin Megami Tensei is a series that always manages to bring me back in by the end, and Strange Journey is no different. While the maps could be incredibly frustrating and it's first SMT game that's forced me to look at a guide just to progress, at its core it had that classic, dark-but-still-very-anime feeling that makes Atlus games so unique. The alignment system actually has gameplay ramifications, for better or worse, and the characters that represent those alignments are much more interesting than the likes of Jonathan and Walter (at least in the original Shin Megami Tensei IV). There are still some major problems with it, and the game's budget definitely shows, but it's a worthy entry in the franchise and scratches that itch while I wait and wait and wait and wait for Shin Megami Tensei V.
Games in Progress:
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
Hollow Knight
Immediate Backlog:
Finding Paradise
Doki Doki Literature Club
The Last Guardian
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy VI
Fun week! I started both of these games during the fall but got busy with other games and they just kept falling further and further down the priority list without me really noticing. A couple of weeks back I sort of stumbled upon them again (was thinking of starting Far Cry Primal and a Switch game) and just decided I had to beat these before moving on to another Ubi/Switch game. Beating both of them now felt really good.
25. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PC) | 24th Mar - 63hrs | 4/5
Last year I played a bunch of spin-off Asassin's Creed games, talking about how I used them as a way to slowly get back into the series after my experience with AC3 killed off the love I had for it. Even tho I got this game at release I am glad I didn't play it until now. Had I played it when I was still annoyed by my AC3 experience it wouldn't have been "fair" to the game and I probably wouldn't have liked it even close to how much I did now. But now I was ready to get back into the series and tackle another main game! Finally! And this is a good one. My only problem with is was that I never really became best friends with the controls. But it was mainly just a minor annoyance at most, and not all the time. The rest was great! Loved the characters and the naval battles. The underwater parts were freaky. I am deathly afraid of deep water! Had no idea that this was a part of the game so that was a nice (and creepy) surprise for me. I even enjoyed the Abstergo parts. Overall a really great experience. Now I am definitely ready to keep playing the series (at a nice pace!).
I wasn't interested in this when they announced it. I have never been a Go player (it doesn't really work in the northern woods of Sweden) and the first generation is far from my favorite even tho it's the one I started with. But I saw two friends stream it at release and just got this feeling that it might be for me too after all. And it just looked so good graphically! And the Eevee was just too cute with the hairstyles and accessories. I got it digitally the same night and do not regret it. When people ask me if it's good I typically answer that it's a good game when you know what it wants to be. I know they claim this is not a spin-off but I feel like it definitely is. And that isn't bad. It helped me see it for what it is and not compare it to the "main games". I still miss things like abilities and the capture mechanic isn't really my thing. But it doesn't take away from the game too much. The battles are fun with nice animations and it's fun going through the Kanto story again. I have not played it for ages. I really like the changes they made to that journey story-wise. My team at the end was the same one I had for most of the playthrough. Clarinet the shiny Pidgeot, Baritone the Nidoking, Soprano the Wigglytuff, Zither the Arcanine, Oboe the Gyarados and Cello the Eevee.
Main Post Games 6-10:
6. New Super Mario Bros. U | Feb 5 | 25hrs | rating:4.5/5
An absolute blast if you have someone to play with, which is really the whole point of the game.
- GAMEPLAY: The collision detection is a little stricter which occasionally surprised me when I died from jumping "on" an enemy, but other than that, it's near perfection. Each level has its own little gimmick, and it makes it fresh and varied. The main thing that separates Mario from other platformers is the abundance of well-designed secrets, so it's always satisfying to go out of your way just to see if anything is there. - AUDIOVISUALLY: Looks plain and the music is nothing special. Worst aspect of the game for sure. - STORY/PRESENTATION: The standard Mario plot. I like that the world map is back though, as it helps the game feel like a journey, and it's satisfying to see where the road takes you. - MULTIPLAYER: Compared to most other co-op platformers, this one has "friendly fire" on, so you have to communicate and collaborate, and it elevates the game so much and makes it one of my favorite co-op games!
SMB3 and SMW were more creative and impressive considering release dates, but for me, the co-op of NSMB just takes it to a new level.
7. Tetris 99 | Feb 23 | 15:14hrs | rating:3/5
Online Tetris matches against 99 opponents, rinse and repeat.
- GAMEPLAY: It's the standard modern tetris (you can keep spinning and moving even after pieces have landed), so there's no challenge until you're overwhelmed by garbage sent from the opponents, which usually only happens when you're top 10, or earlier on for random reasons. Once you've won a few times, there really is no sense of progression, since it just starts over again without any difficulty increase.
Practicing T-spin setups is always fun, but I'd rather do it in Puyo Puyo Tetris. - AUDIOVISUALLY: Generic really. - STORY/PRESENTATION: Extremely simple, you just press start and go. The stats page is also a bit too limited, only showing how many first places you've got, but not second or third places. - MULTIPLAYER: There's only online multiplayer against 99 strangers, and the interaction is limited. Could have been cool if a friend could join on your Switch.
All in all, it was fun to brush off my Tetris skills, but it didn't hold my attention all that long, since there's no sense of progression. After 20-30 wins, I felt very done.
8. Pikuniku | Feb 26 | 3:15hrs | rating:3.5/5
This is a super silly story-focused game where you do light platforming and kick things.
- GAMEPLAY: I like that it's so sandboxy and interactive, but the controls are quite limited and clunky. It doesn't matters too much though, as the focus is silliness and not tight gameplay, and the game is over before it gets tough. You do gather upgrades in the form of costumes/hats, but unfortunately they're used as one-time gags, and after that they're useless. - AUDIOVISUALLY: Simple but cute. The leg animation is a lot of fun! The music gets on your nerves, but in a good way. - STORY/PRESENTATION: Entertaining and snappy. I suppose you can call the plot deep considering the genre, but it's not like that matters for the experience. - MULTIPLAYER: There's a separate multiplayer mode where you mostly just fool around in 9 levels. It's easy, but entertaining if you have some imagination. We laughed a lot! Unfortunately very short.
I recommend this game! The slapstick humor is spot-on, and "kick to interact with things" is a fresh mechanic. With tighter controls and more use of the upgrades (with increasing complexity), a sequel could do great things!
A short comedy adventure story with a bit of walking and a bit of menu selecting.
- GAMEPLAY: Walk down a corridor, read text and occasionally click on stuff. It's the simplest thing possible, and I get that gameplay isn't the point, but that makes this game not for me. - AUDIOVISUALLY: Visuals are ugly but cute enough. Music is actually good! - STORY/PRESENTATION: It's quirky and humoristic. I just can't care since the gameplay itself doesn't hook me. - MULTIPLAYER: None.
I'm repeating myself, but although the plot and events are entertaining, I'm always bored to death when the "game" happens. And since it's always obvious what to select in the menu to win, I might as well watch a video of it.
10. Super Luigi U | Mar 5 | 12hrs | rating:4/5
Very similar to NSMBU, but shorter and harder levels.
- GAMEPLAY: It took a while to get used to Luigi's higher and floatier jump, but it opens up for even more acrobatic moves, so it's fine. The level design is much more focused, which is more fun in some ways (quicker levels, smaller area to search for star coins), but worse if you're co-op:ing, because there's often just no space for more than one player. - AUDIOVISUALLY: Exactly the same plain visuals as NSMBU. - STORY/PRESENTATION: Exactly the same as NSMBU. - MULTIPLAYER: Since the level design requires more perfection, it's harder or near impossible with two people, but you can bubble yourself and let just one person run through the tightest spots. It's still a lot of fun!
I'll just never get tired of playing through level after level. Hopefully Mario Maker 2 has co-op and is just as stimulating.
Next up:
Still gotta finish Monster Boy
Baba is You
Captain Toad
9. Sunset Overdrive - 22 hours
Honestly, I expected a lot more from this game. Considering the cult following it has, I expected some underrated masterpiece, and that probably played a role in my first impressions about this game. I should have to keep my expectations in check because it's really just another 3rd person open-world game, but with colorful style and crazy movement and guns. Outside of story missions, there's not much to do except collecting garbage around the city - and they REALLY overdid with this, because there are literally hundreds of trash that waiting for you to pick up on basically every corner, and this process is tedious as hell and distract you from going to next mission point (unless you have better self-control than me and can ignore this crap).
Shooting itself is fun because the movement is fluid and guns are really different and fun, but there are not many enemies variations either, so it becomes repetitive way too fast. There is supposedly a lot of variety in power-ups, which are called Amps and Overdrives, but honestly, when I looked at the list for the first time and tried to decided which one of them I really need, the one that has a chance to spawn explosion or the one that freezes the enemy, I just gave up quickly and pick those that were available and didn't care about them until the credits roll. It doesn't help that most of these power-ups you need to buy before trying them, so yeah, I really couldn't be arsed to try to figure out all this stuff when combat as fine as it is. It's not like I was swimming in money at the end of the game, so looks like it also requires to grind a lot in order to buy everything, and while I liked Sunset Overdrive combat, I didn't like it THAT much.
There are also those annoying tower defense missions that I hated with a passion, and every time I had to play them because of the story I was thinking only about "When this shit finally ends?!". In theory, it might be fun if you like that type of gameplay, there are a lot of traps you could place at roads where waves of enemies spawn, but again, it's just didn't click with me and I couldn't force myself to bother with this stuff. The fact that rewards for this were Amps, which I didn't care either, wasn't helping in making me care about this part of gameplay.
I know I might sound too negative, but this game functionally is not that bad, combat is fun (in small portions), the story is far from amazing, but engaging enough to keep playing, and humor and style may be too subjective, but it was fine by me and made me legitimately smile a few times. The PC port is a mixed bag as well, keyboard+mouse controls are good enough, but for some reasons they removed co-op mode that was available in the console version, and there are no proper graphical settings you can change outside resolution (and LOD in this game really could use some uplifting), not even a "real" fullscreen, game always runs in borderless fullscreen. At least performance looks more or less solid, and I didn't experience any bugs or crashes during my playthrough.
Overall, Sunset Overdrive feels like a solid "above average" game, nothing spectacular, but nothing offensively bad, too overcomplicated in some ways, and too simple in others. You may probably like it a lot though, because some of the issues I had with this game are very subjective and you may not even notice them, so get it on sale and be ready to refund it if first impressions would be bad. No harm in trying though.
After all the praise i was really underwhelmed by Sunset Overdrive. Played it for 3 hours and deleted it immediately. It was more annoying than anything else.
