-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
52 Games. 1 Year. 2019.
- Thread starter Wozzer
- Start date
Main Post
46. Alan Wake's American Nightmare - 5h30 - 18.06
Set in an Alan Wake altered version of the in-game fictional town of Night Springs that resides within the Darkness during a time loop, American Nightmare is really going for the most contrived location award. That's not a knock on the game, it's as cheesy as it needs to be. The structure has its problems though. The entire game happens on three small areas, which you sequentially go through three times in as many time loops doing mostly the same thing. It gets repetitive though in latter days the game tends to cut out some of the busywork. The characters and dialogue evolve throughout though, so the story is always moving forward. I really recommend going through all of Mr. Scratch's videos as the actor is having a good old time with that character.
The gameplay is just as in the main game, with the addition of a couple of new enemies that don't bring all that much new to the game. It's also much easier this time around it felt.
Well that's all of Remedy for me, can't wait for Control.
46. Alan Wake's American Nightmare - 5h30 - 18.06
Set in an Alan Wake altered version of the in-game fictional town of Night Springs that resides within the Darkness during a time loop, American Nightmare is really going for the most contrived location award. That's not a knock on the game, it's as cheesy as it needs to be. The structure has its problems though. The entire game happens on three small areas, which you sequentially go through three times in as many time loops doing mostly the same thing. It gets repetitive though in latter days the game tends to cut out some of the busywork. The characters and dialogue evolve throughout though, so the story is always moving forward. I really recommend going through all of Mr. Scratch's videos as the actor is having a good old time with that character.
The gameplay is just as in the main game, with the addition of a couple of new enemies that don't bring all that much new to the game. It's also much easier this time around it felt.
Well that's all of Remedy for me, can't wait for Control.
51. Garou: Mark of the Wolves (4 hours)
This is just a really fun SNK fighter. The characters are great, the T.O.P. mechanic is great, the spritework and music are great, the PC port... not so great.
Full list to date
This is just a really fun SNK fighter. The characters are great, the T.O.P. mechanic is great, the spritework and music are great, the PC port... not so great.
Full list to date
Shouldve just smacked the game rom into mame or another emulator ;p
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.
Main Post
12. The Legend of Zelda - Spirit Tracks - Finished on 6/11/2019 Time: ~25 hours
I really wanted to play all Zelda titles and this one slipped my grasp so far. I liked Phantom Hourglass but I didn't love it so I gave myself a break before I started this one. In comparison to Phantom Hourglass I found it much better. Good storyline, cool dungeons (you don't have to go through the same floors of the same dungeon to advance a little bit further, all under the pressure of time). In the last dungeon I had to gave in and had to consult a walkthrough because the puzzle there beat me. I felt really stupid when seeing the solution because it was really obvios. I was a little bit disappointed that Linebeck played such a minor role in this game because he was such a charmer in Phantom Hourglass. The last boss was really memorable because it consisted of 4 consecutive phases which reminded me a lot on Sekiro. I think it was one of the hardest Zelda bosses I played because it requires a lot of precision and endurance. I enjoyed roaming the world via train despite being bound to tracks. There is a lot to discover and I haven't seen everything, barely scratched the surface. I am glad that I catched up with this game, it was a pleasure.
Coming up: I am at the final boss of Overcooked and I am 25 hours in AC Odyssey so it will be one of those.
I really wanted to play all Zelda titles and this one slipped my grasp so far. I liked Phantom Hourglass but I didn't love it so I gave myself a break before I started this one. In comparison to Phantom Hourglass I found it much better. Good storyline, cool dungeons (you don't have to go through the same floors of the same dungeon to advance a little bit further, all under the pressure of time). In the last dungeon I had to gave in and had to consult a walkthrough because the puzzle there beat me. I felt really stupid when seeing the solution because it was really obvios. I was a little bit disappointed that Linebeck played such a minor role in this game because he was such a charmer in Phantom Hourglass. The last boss was really memorable because it consisted of 4 consecutive phases which reminded me a lot on Sekiro. I think it was one of the hardest Zelda bosses I played because it requires a lot of precision and endurance. I enjoyed roaming the world via train despite being bound to tracks. There is a lot to discover and I haven't seen everything, barely scratched the surface. I am glad that I catched up with this game, it was a pleasure.
Coming up: I am at the final boss of Overcooked and I am 25 hours in AC Odyssey so it will be one of those.
Main Post
Game #34: Void Bastards (Xbox)
Lost in Space!
Void Bastards is a comic book come to life.
It has some pretty neat gameplay as you try and survive out in space with a handful of enemies aboard every ship you encounter
Its pretty good and definitely worth looking into on Gamepass
Game #35: Just Cause 3 (Xbox)
Welcome home Rico!
Just Cause 3 is a game I have wanted to get into for a while but I just never got around to it, with its inclusion in gamepass it was my chance.
Im happy to say that its a load of fun. The world is vibrant and action packed with so many things to go around and blow up.
A perfect podcast game if thats what you are looking for!
My only complaint would have to be that it didnt get a Xbox One X enhancment although I know this game was a little earlier in the gen. Its a shame though as Just Cause 4 which I may add later in this list just doesnt hook me like this one.
Regardless this is one you should look at especially on sale and on a good PC!
Game #36: Surviving Mars (Xbox)
Science the shit out of this
In Surviving Mars you are tasked with creating a colony of humans on the face of mars. But with no air, water or food it can be quite the challenge.
You start off with nothing but a ship and some upgraded Wall-E's as you begin your journey to bring people to mars. Its pretty fun and can be something to play with a podcast or video in the background for sure as it can be pretty quiet.
Game #37: Grip (Xbox)
Its aight.
This game is alright, with some friends it can be pretty enjoyable and something you play for an hour or two and the move on to something else.
Again I give it a check as it was on Gamepass so for me the money I put into this game is next to nothing so I dont feel burned or anything.
That being said unless its on sale I dont think I would completely agree on buying it.
Again with friends or solo for a little bit its not that bad.
Game #38: My Friend Pedro (PC)
John Wick: Maximum Payne
Wow this game is pretty damn awesome. Its a more acrobatic Max Payne in a 2.5D plane filled with a ton of enemies and of course a ton of bullets!
This game also has a very cool feature where it creates a GIF from your gameplay as a highlight taken from every level
This game is totally one you should put on your list!
Game #39: Supermarket Shriek (PC)
Spoiled Milk
this is another game I tried out on Gamepass and man...I was hoping for something a little bit better.
Never played with someone else but man solo play was just not fun. Just skip unless you have someone else and are both playing via gamepass.
Game #40: Bridge Constructor Portal
Now you are building with portals
This a game I downloaded for those nights you just want to relax and and build some bridges.
Its pretty decent and if you have played another bridge constructor game you know the deal but now you just mix in the portals from Portal (duh)
Game #34: Void Bastards (Xbox)
Lost in Space!
Void Bastards is a comic book come to life.
It has some pretty neat gameplay as you try and survive out in space with a handful of enemies aboard every ship you encounter
Its pretty good and definitely worth looking into on Gamepass
Game #35: Just Cause 3 (Xbox)
Welcome home Rico!
Just Cause 3 is a game I have wanted to get into for a while but I just never got around to it, with its inclusion in gamepass it was my chance.
Im happy to say that its a load of fun. The world is vibrant and action packed with so many things to go around and blow up.
A perfect podcast game if thats what you are looking for!
My only complaint would have to be that it didnt get a Xbox One X enhancment although I know this game was a little earlier in the gen. Its a shame though as Just Cause 4 which I may add later in this list just doesnt hook me like this one.
Regardless this is one you should look at especially on sale and on a good PC!
Game #36: Surviving Mars (Xbox)
Science the shit out of this
In Surviving Mars you are tasked with creating a colony of humans on the face of mars. But with no air, water or food it can be quite the challenge.
You start off with nothing but a ship and some upgraded Wall-E's as you begin your journey to bring people to mars. Its pretty fun and can be something to play with a podcast or video in the background for sure as it can be pretty quiet.
Game #37: Grip (Xbox)
Its aight.
This game is alright, with some friends it can be pretty enjoyable and something you play for an hour or two and the move on to something else.
Again I give it a check as it was on Gamepass so for me the money I put into this game is next to nothing so I dont feel burned or anything.
That being said unless its on sale I dont think I would completely agree on buying it.
Again with friends or solo for a little bit its not that bad.
Game #38: My Friend Pedro (PC)
John Wick: Maximum Payne
Wow this game is pretty damn awesome. Its a more acrobatic Max Payne in a 2.5D plane filled with a ton of enemies and of course a ton of bullets!
This game also has a very cool feature where it creates a GIF from your gameplay as a highlight taken from every level
This game is totally one you should put on your list!
Game #39: Supermarket Shriek (PC)
Spoiled Milk
this is another game I tried out on Gamepass and man...I was hoping for something a little bit better.
Never played with someone else but man solo play was just not fun. Just skip unless you have someone else and are both playing via gamepass.
Game #40: Bridge Constructor Portal
Now you are building with portals
This a game I downloaded for those nights you just want to relax and and build some bridges.
Its pretty decent and if you have played another bridge constructor game you know the deal but now you just mix in the portals from Portal (duh)
Main Post part 1
-------
19. Devil May Cry 5 - 22 hours
This game is the definition of a blast from the past, these days almost nobody is doing AAA games like this. And it's the greatest strength and weakness of DMC5 at the same time - fans would absolutely love this game, but some things were better to leave in the '00s.
First of all, I want to complain about "grey" environmental design and overly simplistic storyline. Levels in DMC5 are mostly the same boring ruins and caves over and over again, the game really lacks memorable locations and places. At least nobody forces you to run through these levels backward like it was in DMC4, but still closer to ending game blends into an uninspiring grayish-reddish mess. The story suffers from lack of depth, cutscenes direction is still top-notch, but the main plot twist becomes obvious way too soon, and after that game doesn't have any surprises left. With how DMC5 ends, it will be very disappointing if Capcom won't make another DMC mainline game - you'll see credits roll right when it feels like the fun is just going to really start.
All those flaws DMC5 redeems with its old fashioned (in a good way) gameplay - it's the same old DMC, only with few precise improvements and additions. If you for some reasons never played other games from this franchise, DMC5 can be described as hypersonic stylish hack'n'slash where you switching between 3 differentmemebers of some japanese boys-band characters, running around the linear levels and killing everything that moves. Sometimes you encounter especially powerful enemies with their own set of attacks and weak spots which leads to another awesome boss battle, and occasionally you can find upgrades and secret challenges in hidden places all around the levels. After completing each level game analyzes your performance and give you the grade, and depending on the score you get rewards that you can spend in a local shop to buy new abilities and upgrades for your characters and weapons. Unfortunately, MTX is available for purchase, but they are completely unnecessary, they're just paid cheats and you really don't need to use them.
The process of killing demons in DMC5 is pure joy, game controls and feels simply amazing, effects and animations look great, and different characters with their own unique style not allowing the player to get bored. OST and sound design are really damn good as well, everything in this game works well and makes you feel like the coolest badass in the world. Though there is one thing, it's obvious that for 3 characters there is not enough playtime in the main storyline, once you starting to get used to one playstyle (Dante is especially unlucky, he keeps unlocking new weapons every half-hour), game forces you to switch to something different and you end up not using anything in its full potential. For those who would like to get more out of this game, you'll have to either play Bloody Palace endless arena mode or replay the story on higher difficulties, which is honestly not much to go with.
Actually, near the end of the game, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that it had a really tight budget - Capcom tried to do the best they could, but in the end, they still had to cut a lot of the stuff. Like, Trish and Lady in this game exist only as part of fan-service, and developers admitted in the interview that they added Kyrie (Nero's girlfriend) in the game only as voice because they didn't have enough money and resources to make a proper model of her. But everything that was achieved despite lack of budget is still made on the really impressive level, and it's especially noticeable in 4K, I mean just look at this:
It's mindblowing how much work they put in just Nico model, such incredible attention to details, they even did her nails! And it's like that with every character model, not everything is perfect (I'm not a big fan of new Trish face, but it's fine), but you can't deny the amount of work developers put in this game.
Despite all the flaws, this game is really well done and fun to play. Yeah, it's mostly about running between closed arenas and killing waves of demons, but the gameplay itself is what makes this game good and helps to forget about monotonous environmental design and barely existing story. I just wish that Capcom will make DMC6 with a higher budget, or relying only on nostalgia and old fashioned gameplay might not work as well as this time.
-------
19. Devil May Cry 5 - 22 hours
This game is the definition of a blast from the past, these days almost nobody is doing AAA games like this. And it's the greatest strength and weakness of DMC5 at the same time - fans would absolutely love this game, but some things were better to leave in the '00s.
First of all, I want to complain about "grey" environmental design and overly simplistic storyline. Levels in DMC5 are mostly the same boring ruins and caves over and over again, the game really lacks memorable locations and places. At least nobody forces you to run through these levels backward like it was in DMC4, but still closer to ending game blends into an uninspiring grayish-reddish mess. The story suffers from lack of depth, cutscenes direction is still top-notch, but the main plot twist becomes obvious way too soon, and after that game doesn't have any surprises left. With how DMC5 ends, it will be very disappointing if Capcom won't make another DMC mainline game - you'll see credits roll right when it feels like the fun is just going to really start.
All those flaws DMC5 redeems with its old fashioned (in a good way) gameplay - it's the same old DMC, only with few precise improvements and additions. If you for some reasons never played other games from this franchise, DMC5 can be described as hypersonic stylish hack'n'slash where you switching between 3 different
The process of killing demons in DMC5 is pure joy, game controls and feels simply amazing, effects and animations look great, and different characters with their own unique style not allowing the player to get bored. OST and sound design are really damn good as well, everything in this game works well and makes you feel like the coolest badass in the world. Though there is one thing, it's obvious that for 3 characters there is not enough playtime in the main storyline, once you starting to get used to one playstyle (Dante is especially unlucky, he keeps unlocking new weapons every half-hour), game forces you to switch to something different and you end up not using anything in its full potential. For those who would like to get more out of this game, you'll have to either play Bloody Palace endless arena mode or replay the story on higher difficulties, which is honestly not much to go with.
Actually, near the end of the game, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that it had a really tight budget - Capcom tried to do the best they could, but in the end, they still had to cut a lot of the stuff. Like, Trish and Lady in this game exist only as part of fan-service, and developers admitted in the interview that they added Kyrie (Nero's girlfriend) in the game only as voice because they didn't have enough money and resources to make a proper model of her. But everything that was achieved despite lack of budget is still made on the really impressive level, and it's especially noticeable in 4K, I mean just look at this:
It's mindblowing how much work they put in just Nico model, such incredible attention to details, they even did her nails! And it's like that with every character model, not everything is perfect (I'm not a big fan of new Trish face, but it's fine), but you can't deny the amount of work developers put in this game.
Despite all the flaws, this game is really well done and fun to play. Yeah, it's mostly about running between closed arenas and killing waves of demons, but the gameplay itself is what makes this game good and helps to forget about monotonous environmental design and barely existing story. I just wish that Capcom will make DMC6 with a higher budget, or relying only on nostalgia and old fashioned gameplay might not work as well as this time.
Games 1-7
Games 8-14
Games 15-21
Games 22-28:
#22
Shooty Fruity
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: March 31, 2019
Playtime: 5h 29m
Part time overworked supermarket clerk simulator, part time sharpshooter range where you get to snipe various fruit species invading your workplace. Multi-tasking is the real challenge in this game - it's usually easy enough to just survive the level, but to make progress you also need to be hitting the specified objectives for it, like tagging a minimum amount of one type of goods, processing a series of specific items in quick succession within a given time frame or destroying a dozen enemies within 3 seconds with a certain weapon type. Managed to get all 3 stars on most levels except for a few overly tedious ones which require you to survive through an endless horde mode for 30+ minutes (that got boring very quickly).
#23
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
PS3
Completed: April 05, 2019
Playtime: 21h 24m
Excellent entry in the classic Tactical Espionage Action series, one of my favorites right along with MGS3. Cranky old Snake is not something I'd expected to see coming in blind into the game, and watching his story spiral to its end was at times both hilarious and solemn/tragic. I love how the gameplay allows for different approaches to get past regular enemies. Mission and level design is clever and keeps throwing in new elements and opponents that keep the gameplay loop from becoming stale. Soundtrack is awesome, especially the title track in what might be the best startup main menu sequence I've ever seen in a video game. Two things that stood out as not quite as good: 1) The story is seriously confusing at times. Like, I've been playing this series from start to finish for the last year without missing anything (I think), and I sometimes had trouble keeping track of who's who or what's what and from which game they all are and how they know/relate to Snake. 2) The team of female brainwashed super-soldier opponents feels kind of out of place both in their design and their backstories, which don't fit with anything else in the narrative.
#24
Hitman 2
PC
Completed: April 06, 2019
Playtime: 96h 11m
Awesome game which continues forward from the first season without changing too much (which in this case, is good). Played through the campaign several times: a blind free-style playthrough, sniper sillent assasin with no saves challenge playthrough (which I again recorded for whatever reason), and an accident-only kill playthrough (with an additional self-imposed rule: try to kill the targets in accidents which wouldn't be exposed by follow-up investigations as murder even after 47 leaves the area, so for example no knock-outs of anyone near the target who could be discovered and questioned later). Also finished the two so far released sniper maps, lots of escalation challenges, and a few elusive targets (I think I'll pass on doing the rest of them though).
#25
The Council
PC
Completed: April 13, 2019
Playtime: 17h 43m
A telltale-like story/dialogue-heavy game with a very interesting late 18th century setting with supernatural elements, featuring lots of branching choices and chances to screw things up. Unlike telltale games, this one has more gameplay elements, for example your character has upgradeable traits and skills. Having an appropriate skill for a given task/challenge can raise your chances of being successful at whatever you're attempting, open up new dialogue options or choices, etc. I enjoyed the well-crafted story, psychological puzzles and detective work in earlier episodes, and the twists in the later episodes. However, I felt the final episode fell somewhat short in details and quality of writing, perhaps because they had to account and tie up all the choices made in prior events. I only did one playthrough, not sure if I want to go for another route to try how other choices end up. And one reason for that is the game does not let you skip any dialog or scenes, even the lines you've already seen. Also, a fair warning: religious people (Catholics especially) may be offended by some of the ideas used in the plot.
#26
Skyworld
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: April 15, 2019
Playtime: 9h 17m
An interesting example of how a strategy/tactics game works pretty well in VR. Gameplay is split between turn-based overworld management layer and real-time battles. In either case you oversee the map as you would a tabletop board game, except you can rotate it and drag-and-drop buildings and units as needed. Played through the campaign and had fun with it, though there are definitely some difficulty/balancing issues, for example you're always starting out with a significant handicap compared to your AI opponent, and the main difficulty hurdle in each mission is at the very beginning where you have no resources and no good units in your army while your opponent already has upgraded armies. If you can survive past that initial phase and secure a steady resource flow to build upgrades, any mission is as good as won already since the AI is otherwise predictable.
#27
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
PC
Completed: April 22, 2019
Playtime: 59h 38m
Great game that fits together perfectly and drew me in instantly with its charming cast of characters and well-built world. It has a decent combat system (though the gem fitting/combination system seemed a bit convoluted at first), good story, lots of areas to explore and characters to talk to without being overwhelming, and a cool soundtrack. My only complain had to do with some technical issues - the PC version started crashing to desktop frequently in the middle of the playthrough, and I had to research the cause (the fix was to play the DX8 version instead of DX9, thankfully it is fully save-compatible).
#28
Super Mario Odyssey
Switch
Completed: June 16, 2019
Playtime: 15h 23m
Very well-made 3d platformer with well-designed levels and gameplay. It has a variety of worlds filled tons of collectibles, mini-games, challenges and secrets. I liked the snappy controls, and enjoyed figuring out how to deal with various challenges and boss encounters. But to be honest the game didn't really leave much of an impression beyond that. I had to play it in short bursts because I kept losing interest after an hour or so. Not really sure why, maybe I need a decent story to keep me interested, and the one in this game is barely there and was obviously not created for adults like me. Or I just wasn't really in the mood for this genre at the moment.
Not finished/dropped playthroughs (didn't grab me):
VR Regatta - The Sailing Game (PC/Vive) - ~1 hour
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f (PS3) - 6-7 hours
Currently playing:
Nier: Automata (PC)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
Elite: Dangerous (PC/Vive)
Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram (PC)
Endless Space 2 (PC)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (PC)
Games 8-14
Games 15-21
Games 22-28:
#22
Shooty Fruity
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: March 31, 2019
Playtime: 5h 29m
Part time overworked supermarket clerk simulator, part time sharpshooter range where you get to snipe various fruit species invading your workplace. Multi-tasking is the real challenge in this game - it's usually easy enough to just survive the level, but to make progress you also need to be hitting the specified objectives for it, like tagging a minimum amount of one type of goods, processing a series of specific items in quick succession within a given time frame or destroying a dozen enemies within 3 seconds with a certain weapon type. Managed to get all 3 stars on most levels except for a few overly tedious ones which require you to survive through an endless horde mode for 30+ minutes (that got boring very quickly).
#23
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
PS3
Completed: April 05, 2019
Playtime: 21h 24m
Excellent entry in the classic Tactical Espionage Action series, one of my favorites right along with MGS3. Cranky old Snake is not something I'd expected to see coming in blind into the game, and watching his story spiral to its end was at times both hilarious and solemn/tragic. I love how the gameplay allows for different approaches to get past regular enemies. Mission and level design is clever and keeps throwing in new elements and opponents that keep the gameplay loop from becoming stale. Soundtrack is awesome, especially the title track in what might be the best startup main menu sequence I've ever seen in a video game. Two things that stood out as not quite as good: 1) The story is seriously confusing at times. Like, I've been playing this series from start to finish for the last year without missing anything (I think), and I sometimes had trouble keeping track of who's who or what's what and from which game they all are and how they know/relate to Snake. 2) The team of female brainwashed super-soldier opponents feels kind of out of place both in their design and their backstories, which don't fit with anything else in the narrative.
#24
Hitman 2
PC
Completed: April 06, 2019
Playtime: 96h 11m
Awesome game which continues forward from the first season without changing too much (which in this case, is good). Played through the campaign several times: a blind free-style playthrough, sniper sillent assasin with no saves challenge playthrough (which I again recorded for whatever reason), and an accident-only kill playthrough (with an additional self-imposed rule: try to kill the targets in accidents which wouldn't be exposed by follow-up investigations as murder even after 47 leaves the area, so for example no knock-outs of anyone near the target who could be discovered and questioned later). Also finished the two so far released sniper maps, lots of escalation challenges, and a few elusive targets (I think I'll pass on doing the rest of them though).
#25
The Council
PC
Completed: April 13, 2019
Playtime: 17h 43m
A telltale-like story/dialogue-heavy game with a very interesting late 18th century setting with supernatural elements, featuring lots of branching choices and chances to screw things up. Unlike telltale games, this one has more gameplay elements, for example your character has upgradeable traits and skills. Having an appropriate skill for a given task/challenge can raise your chances of being successful at whatever you're attempting, open up new dialogue options or choices, etc. I enjoyed the well-crafted story, psychological puzzles and detective work in earlier episodes, and the twists in the later episodes. However, I felt the final episode fell somewhat short in details and quality of writing, perhaps because they had to account and tie up all the choices made in prior events. I only did one playthrough, not sure if I want to go for another route to try how other choices end up. And one reason for that is the game does not let you skip any dialog or scenes, even the lines you've already seen. Also, a fair warning: religious people (Catholics especially) may be offended by some of the ideas used in the plot.
#26
Skyworld
PC VR (Vive)
Completed: April 15, 2019
Playtime: 9h 17m
An interesting example of how a strategy/tactics game works pretty well in VR. Gameplay is split between turn-based overworld management layer and real-time battles. In either case you oversee the map as you would a tabletop board game, except you can rotate it and drag-and-drop buildings and units as needed. Played through the campaign and had fun with it, though there are definitely some difficulty/balancing issues, for example you're always starting out with a significant handicap compared to your AI opponent, and the main difficulty hurdle in each mission is at the very beginning where you have no resources and no good units in your army while your opponent already has upgraded armies. If you can survive past that initial phase and secure a steady resource flow to build upgrades, any mission is as good as won already since the AI is otherwise predictable.
#27
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
PC
Completed: April 22, 2019
Playtime: 59h 38m
Great game that fits together perfectly and drew me in instantly with its charming cast of characters and well-built world. It has a decent combat system (though the gem fitting/combination system seemed a bit convoluted at first), good story, lots of areas to explore and characters to talk to without being overwhelming, and a cool soundtrack. My only complain had to do with some technical issues - the PC version started crashing to desktop frequently in the middle of the playthrough, and I had to research the cause (the fix was to play the DX8 version instead of DX9, thankfully it is fully save-compatible).
#28
Super Mario Odyssey
Switch
Completed: June 16, 2019
Playtime: 15h 23m
Very well-made 3d platformer with well-designed levels and gameplay. It has a variety of worlds filled tons of collectibles, mini-games, challenges and secrets. I liked the snappy controls, and enjoyed figuring out how to deal with various challenges and boss encounters. But to be honest the game didn't really leave much of an impression beyond that. I had to play it in short bursts because I kept losing interest after an hour or so. Not really sure why, maybe I need a decent story to keep me interested, and the one in this game is barely there and was obviously not created for adults like me. Or I just wasn't really in the mood for this genre at the moment.
Not finished/dropped playthroughs (didn't grab me):
VR Regatta - The Sailing Game (PC/Vive) - ~1 hour
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f (PS3) - 6-7 hours
Currently playing:
Nier: Automata (PC)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
Elite: Dangerous (PC/Vive)
Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram (PC)
Endless Space 2 (PC)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (PC)
Alright, let's get my May post out of the way. Only got around to beating 2 games last month since Dragon Quest Builders took me a LOT longer than I initially thought it would and took me into the beginning of this month. Still, some quality stuff was played:
Master Post
Games beat in May:
1. Bayonetta (Switch) | May 5th - 20 hrs | 4/5
2. Metroid: Fusion (GBA) | May 7th - 7 hrs | 5/5
Progress so far:
January - 5 games
February - 1 game
March - 2 games
April - 4 games
May - 2 games
Thoughts on May
1. Bayonetta - I got this as a bonus from buying the physical version of Bayonetta 2 and man, this was a good one. Not perfect, but I'll get to that. I love the world, the characters, and the general style it brings. I actually liked the story more than I probably should have (obviously it didn't make a TON of sense but I really liked the world and while the main villain kinda just... showed up, it was a fun nonsensical video game plot. For what it's worth, I'm someone who enjoys the stupider Resident Evil stories, so take that for what it's worth). I love the little details, like the fact that loading screens let you mess around with Bayonetta's abilities so you're able to practice combos and try stuff out while waiting for the game to get going again. It feels like a game I'm going to want to revisit one of these days. I loved how HUGE and interesting a lot of those boss fights got, although sometimes the fights themselves were just ok (and I wasn't a huge fan of the Jeanne fights, with the exception of that last one). Also I will say the combat system didn't always feel like it clicked all too well. It's really fun and cool to watch, don't get me wrong, but with 100 different combo options, you'd think it'd be possible to pull more than a handful of them off. I was just never able to get a feel for the timing for most of them (and I took time to try and figure the combos out and get better), like there was a bit of lag with each button press. The combos where you're specifically supposed to pause between them were the worst offenders for this. In the end it wasn't a huge deal. I still really liked this game, it has a lot of charm to it. Can't wait to come back to the sequel at some point further down the backlog. 4/5, I liked it quite a lot.
2. Metroid: Fusion - I think this is my first full replay on this year's backlog. Last time I played Fusion was 2017 and I don't think my feelings on it changed. This is a REALLY good Metroid game, despite its more blatant linearity. The SA-X is still intimidating. The moments where things seem to go off script are still fantastic. It has my favorite atmosphere of the 2D games. I'd say the "btw Samus there are like, 10 SA-X roaming around the space station" comment is one of the most unnecessary details they could have added in (and something I hope they at least implement, if they ever remake the game). Other than that though, I don't have a lot to complain about. It's one of my favorite Metroid games and even better, I was able to speed run it in a day. Spent the evening playing it to the end, drinking and ordered Indian food. My kind of gaming night. 5/5, still great.
Master Post
Games beat in May:
1. Bayonetta (Switch) | May 5th - 20 hrs | 4/5
2. Metroid: Fusion (GBA) | May 7th - 7 hrs | 5/5
Progress so far:
January - 5 games
February - 1 game
March - 2 games
April - 4 games
May - 2 games
Thoughts on May
1. Bayonetta - I got this as a bonus from buying the physical version of Bayonetta 2 and man, this was a good one. Not perfect, but I'll get to that. I love the world, the characters, and the general style it brings. I actually liked the story more than I probably should have (obviously it didn't make a TON of sense but I really liked the world and while the main villain kinda just... showed up, it was a fun nonsensical video game plot. For what it's worth, I'm someone who enjoys the stupider Resident Evil stories, so take that for what it's worth). I love the little details, like the fact that loading screens let you mess around with Bayonetta's abilities so you're able to practice combos and try stuff out while waiting for the game to get going again. It feels like a game I'm going to want to revisit one of these days. I loved how HUGE and interesting a lot of those boss fights got, although sometimes the fights themselves were just ok (and I wasn't a huge fan of the Jeanne fights, with the exception of that last one). Also I will say the combat system didn't always feel like it clicked all too well. It's really fun and cool to watch, don't get me wrong, but with 100 different combo options, you'd think it'd be possible to pull more than a handful of them off. I was just never able to get a feel for the timing for most of them (and I took time to try and figure the combos out and get better), like there was a bit of lag with each button press. The combos where you're specifically supposed to pause between them were the worst offenders for this. In the end it wasn't a huge deal. I still really liked this game, it has a lot of charm to it. Can't wait to come back to the sequel at some point further down the backlog. 4/5, I liked it quite a lot.
2. Metroid: Fusion - I think this is my first full replay on this year's backlog. Last time I played Fusion was 2017 and I don't think my feelings on it changed. This is a REALLY good Metroid game, despite its more blatant linearity. The SA-X is still intimidating. The moments where things seem to go off script are still fantastic. It has my favorite atmosphere of the 2D games. I'd say the "btw Samus there are like, 10 SA-X roaming around the space station" comment is one of the most unnecessary details they could have added in (and something I hope they at least implement, if they ever remake the game). Other than that though, I don't have a lot to complain about. It's one of my favorite Metroid games and even better, I was able to speed run it in a day. Spent the evening playing it to the end, drinking and ordered Indian food. My kind of gaming night. 5/5, still great.
Wish I had the time for something like this. So, that would be a video game week. Don't play any RPGs is my advice.
main post
May/June update
Barely getting anything done lately. I hate dropping games because then it feels like I wasted my money, but now I've realized I'm just wasting my time trying to finish games I'm not enjoying.
17. Taiko no Tatsujin Drum Session | PS4 | 20 hours | May 3rd | 4/5★
Much better than the Switch version, but worse than the Vita version. It's alright but I don't think I'll come back to it much. Wish it didn't have dumb online trophies then I could try to get the platinum like I did for the Vita one.
18. Fast RMX | Nintendo Switch | 5 hours | May 22nd | 3/5★
It's a good racer but its kinda basic and plain. The cars, stages, and music are all forgettable but it's pretty fun to play.
19. Beat Hazard Ultra | PC | 30min | May 25th | 3/5★
Steam had a spring cleaning thing where it recommended me to play this again. I don't know how I endured the seizure-inducing lights back when I bought this. Being able to play to your own music is still great though.
20. Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition | PC | 47 hours | June 19th | 3/5★
I'm a huge Tales of series fan, have played almost all of then, so when people say this is one of the best I felt I had to give it a fair chance. The second half is great but wasn't really worth trudging through the terrible 20 hour intro. I gotta say though I'm surprised at how great the cast is. The mascot character isn't annoying since he doesn't speak and the child characters have a lot of personality rather than being stereotypical whiny brats like in other Tales games.
May/June update
Barely getting anything done lately. I hate dropping games because then it feels like I wasted my money, but now I've realized I'm just wasting my time trying to finish games I'm not enjoying.
17. Taiko no Tatsujin Drum Session | PS4 | 20 hours | May 3rd | 4/5★
Much better than the Switch version, but worse than the Vita version. It's alright but I don't think I'll come back to it much. Wish it didn't have dumb online trophies then I could try to get the platinum like I did for the Vita one.
18. Fast RMX | Nintendo Switch | 5 hours | May 22nd | 3/5★
It's a good racer but its kinda basic and plain. The cars, stages, and music are all forgettable but it's pretty fun to play.
19. Beat Hazard Ultra | PC | 30min | May 25th | 3/5★
Steam had a spring cleaning thing where it recommended me to play this again. I don't know how I endured the seizure-inducing lights back when I bought this. Being able to play to your own music is still great though.
20. Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition | PC | 47 hours | June 19th | 3/5★
I'm a huge Tales of series fan, have played almost all of then, so when people say this is one of the best I felt I had to give it a fair chance. The second half is great but wasn't really worth trudging through the terrible 20 hour intro. I gotta say though I'm surprised at how great the cast is. The mascot character isn't annoying since he doesn't speak and the child characters have a lot of personality rather than being stereotypical whiny brats like in other Tales games.
52. missed messages. (<1 hour)
A short, sweet game about empathy and support.
Full list to date
...and that's 52.
A short, sweet game about empathy and support.
Full list to date
...and that's 52.
2019 Challenge: Part 1 (#01-#32)
33. What Remains of Edith Finch
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in June | 100% Completion
I've heard so many positive opinions about What Remains of Edith Finch. So when this was recently added to PS+ subscribers, I decided it's a good time to finally catch up. What Remains of Edith Finch is a walking sim, but unlike any other. It's impressive what Giant Sparrow managed to achieve with this game. It's a mature and depressive tale about titular Finch's family and their curse, with one of the best environmental storytelling I've ever seen in video games. This is one of the best examples of games to play completely blinded, with having a limited knowledge about what exactly it is. Trust me. While it's only 3 hours long, it has suprising amount of unique gameplay mechanics. I was constantly suprised how many diverse and creative ideas were used here for telling a story. If you didn't played What Remains of Edith Finch and you like story-driven games, you really should try it. It's a true masterpiece.
34. missed messages
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in June | 100% Completion
missed messages is a short and bitter-sweet adventure game about love, communication and suicide that was based on real life experiences of the developer Angela He. While it's really short, story is actually interesting and well-written. The whole presentation is very distinct, meshing the visual novel, point'n'click and text messages in a similar manner to Emily is Away. Artstyle is gorgeous. I've completed it four times and got four different endings, each of them giving much more context to May's story. I'm genuinely impressed with missed messages and I will definitely explore Angela He's other games catalogue.
35. Crash Bandicoot | N'Sane Trilogy
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 8 hours | Beaten in June
If I could be honest with you, I wasn't a fan of Crash Bandicoot series. But I always appreciated its value. Crash is one of the well-known platformers from original PSX era, a first game Naughty Dog released on Sony console and is also spearheading a wave of high-profile remakes from Activision. N'Sane Trilogy was a massive success and thanks to that, Spyro and Crash Team Racing remakes were greenlighted, which were always more appealing to me. Vicarious Visions released a high-quality package that was clearly a product of love and which is even more important, remained faithful to the original. Crash Bandicoot is infamous for its difficulty and it clearly shows. "Native Fortress", "High Road" and "Lights Out" gave me some problems last time I played, but this time I managed to finish them without too much issues. "Slippery Climb" is a whole different story, this level was really brutal. I also tried "Stormy Ascent", sadly without success. I will try it again some day.
36. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | N'Sane Trilogy
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 6 hours | Beaten in June
Cortex Strikes Back is my favourite entry in N'Sane Trilogy package. It not only refines the gameplay, has better designed levels ("Snow Go" and "Un-Bearable" are my personal favorites), but also brought a new spin on some of original concepts. Naughty Dog iterated on the same ideas by nailing the formula to the point that everything has a much better pace. Levels are more varied and filled with optional challenges. Crash 2 isn't as unforgiving as a first game in terms of difficulty. It's a more balanced experience, where more demanding segments are totally optional if you weren't interested in completing them. Collecting crystals as a main goal is a good idea, because this gives player a purpose to complete levels, similarly to eggs / orbs in Spyro or precursor cores from Jak and Daxter.
37. Crash Bandicoot: Warped | N'Sane Trilogy
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 5 hours | Beaten in July
So my opinion on Warped is mixed. When I was younger, I've completed it multiple times on PSX and remember it the most from the original trilogy. While I enjoyed how diverse and varied it was in terms of level design, weirdly enough it lacked the same feeling of uniqueness and charm of previous Crash Bandicoot games. Time Warp is a good setup for a time-travelling adventure, but it never felt as straightforward as Crash 1 and Cortex Strikes Back. My favourite levels were on The Great Wall of China, the ones inspired by Arabian Nights and set in Ancient Egypt. The other thing is difficulty, Warped just felt too easy. I also completed Future Tense, a new DLC level which was developed entirely by Vicarious Visions. Future Tense was well-designed, more demanding than most of levels and brought some fresh ideas that weren't available on other Future levels. If a Future Tense was a small taste of what Vicarious Visions is planning for their own Crash game, I'm completely on board.
38. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 27 hours | Beaten in July
While I'm not really a fan of racing games, I was always fond of Crash Team Racing. It was my first game on PSX and I've spent countless hours playing solo on Adventure Mode or playing tournaments with friends from a neighbourhood on a local split-screen. Beenox restored CTR to its former glory with a bombastic Nitro-fueled remake, which contains not only all of original content, but also new modes and maps from Crash Nitro Kart, extended roster of characters and new features like character and kart customization. CTR has so much content, a fully blown Adventure Mode, a lot of singleplayer and cooperative modes (single races, time trials, battle modes, cups). They also introduced multiplayer, which currently has single races and battles. I would love to play Cups in multiplayer. When you finish any race or battle, you receive Wumpa Coins that can be used in an in-game shop called "Pit Stop" with hundreds of unlockables like new playable characters, decals, parts for kart and skins for already unlocked characters. Adventure Mode didn't felt as a grand experience like so many years ago, but I enjoyed it nontheless. Nitro-fueled will be constantly updated with new stuff in a form of seasonal updates, so I decided to write my own impressions in a seperate list dedicated to "Grand Prix" event.
39. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled - Grand Prix
Platform: PS4 | Time played: Ongoing
So this is going to be a little bit different from my usual write-ups. CTR will have a steady amount of content updates in a form of "Grand Prix", seasonal events with brand new tracks, modes and unlockables. I thought it could be interesting if I write my own impressions of each event. This list will be updated till the end of this year.
Nitro Tour Grand Prix (July)
Nitro Tour is a first Grand Prix, so it will probably serve as a template for other tournaments. It works very similar to events from other multiplayer games - some of the stuff are obtained through collecting Nitro Points, the other stuff is available to purchase in a Pit Stop. There were five new playable characters to unlock, including Tawna - Crash's girlfriend from a first Crash Bandicoot game and Trophy Girls who appeared during ending of CTR's Adventure Mode. I really liked a new map, it's one of my favourite maps of entire CTR lineup. Twilight Tour is an outstanding track, hosting a journey through night on Egyptian desert, going inside of a pyramid, then moving within an urban area and a bazaar during daylight. Challenges were interesting, but a progression in unlocking new stuff was a little bit too grindy in my taste. Weirdly enough, I managed to finish a Grand Prix with unlocking a Champion kart.
Back N. Time Grand Prix (August)
Sigh... I was hoping Beenox will give us at least a few weeks of break before starting a new Grand Prix, but nah, Back N. Time started only few days later. Before I go to a new content, there is also the whole controversy with microtansactions I wanted to mention. CTR was promised to be a game without any microtransactions, lootboxes whatsover, so I definitely feel betrayed over a recent announcement. I only hope it won't bite other players, who are interested only in playing the game they paid instead of paying dollars for having more virtual currency. So back to, ummm, Back N. Time. The new Grand Prix has only three new characters - Baby T, Baby Crash and Baby Coco. Baby T is my favourite new character. Prehistoric Playground is not as memorable as Twilight Tour, but is a great track on its own with a lot of shortcuts, some fresh ideas and cool smaller details like Cave Crash from Crash Tag Team Racing and visible inspirations from prehistoric levels of Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Beenox made some smaller changes, so filling Nitro gauge was much easier, Back N. Time never felt as grindy as the first one. I've played significantly less than during Nitro Tour and still managed to unlock everything, with two Champion decals included.
Spyro & Friends Grand Prix (September)
Grand Prix continues, this time with an (un)expected visitors from another realms. Spyro and his frenemies came to CTR as part of a third seasonal event. There is a saying that dragon is in the details and Beenox clearly knows it. I really liked what they did with Spyro Circuit. A newest track drew some inspiration from Reignited Trilogy, retains a similar aesthetics and has a lot of easter-eggs related to original Spyro games. They even explained what was hidden behind a locked door in Artisans homeworld. This track was clearly done with passion and felt more like Spyro than a Shadow Legacy game from NDS I've recently played. In a similar fashion to Back N. Time, they added only three new characters - Spyro (available at the end of Bronze Tier) with Hunter and Gnasty Gnorc in a Pit Stop. I would lie if I didn't say Spyro was my favourite, but I suprisingly liked playing as Gnasty too. The new skins were awesome. Evil Coco, Wizard Joe, Burning Zam, they all had great designs. While I wasn't a fan of "Win as X in online matchmaking" challenges, I never played on mirrored tracks before, so having them as major challenges were great. It made already known tracks more fresh and suprising. So... Last one on a finish line is a Gnorc or something, right?
Spooky Grand Prix (October)
While I've enjoyed past Grand Prixes, I must say its formula started to bore me. This is why I'm so happy that Spooky is a most significant upgrade to CTR up to date. They expanded the game with a new Cup, crossing my fingers for even more "lost" ones. Engine swap feature aka Driving Styles is a game changer, which made a huge impact on character diversity in the lobby. Skillbased matchmaking made races more interesting, considering odds at winning became more balanced. Grand Prix itself has more varied challenges. Chasing ghosts is such a fun experience and fits neatly into a Halloween theme. Nina's Nightmare track reminded me of Prehistoric Playground. It's a solid track with a lot of unique stuff, but it's still not as great as Twilight Tour. I've encountered a bug that locked me out of GP content in Pitstop, luckily this issue was fixed, because new skins are truely something else. Witch Tawna, Dark Coco, Fake Monster Crash, Pirate Papu Papu, Pura in lovely lion outfit, or Werewolf Tiny. So many to choose. New characters... They're okay. Komodo Moe is my favourite from a new lineup, but as it happens I've preferred playing as already present characters with their new skins.
Neon Circus Grand Prix (November)
Spooky event was a breath of fresh air and it seems Beenox is working on even more new stuff for CTR. Neon Circus Grand Prix brought its own batch of changes. The first one is a new mode where you need to move through the highest number of rings before time runs out. It's very similar to flying levels from Spyro games. While Ring Rally is not really anything special, I've got to give a props to Beenox for giving us even more variety in gameplay. There is also a new secret character to unlock by collecting the golden eggs in an Adventure Mode. Unlocking the King Chicken provided a really good challenge. Koala Carnival is a suprisignly straitghtforward track. Simple, yet really well-designed. It's still not even remotely comparable to Twilight Tour and Prehistoric Playground, but I've got a lot of fun from that particular track. It's crazy that with Koala Kong addition, we currently have every major character from an original Crash trilogy. I've never played Crash Tag Team Racing, but I already liked Pasadena as a character and crossing my fingers for her appearance in some capacity during story of future Crash or CTR games.
Winter Festival Grand Prix (December)
Ho, ho, ho. It's time for winter festivities! Winter Festival is a much "calmer" event than last few updates in terms of new content brought to CTR. It doesn't mean Beenox didn't cooked anything special for its sixth Grand Prix, though. Gingerbread Joyride is one of my favourite tracks since Prehistoric Playground, it's a very interesting take on a Christmas-themed track with a lot of shortcuts, fun ideas and unique gameplay mechanics. This time we have not usual three, but five new characters to play. Hasty is definitely the biggest highlight. He's a brand new character introduced to Crash franchise and have a very cool origin, being loosely based on a cut character "Fasty" from original Crash Team Racing. Chick and Stew finally joined the ride after hosting so many Grand Prixes, alongside more obscure characters like Rilla Roo from Crash Bash and Yaya Panda from mobile Crash Nitro Kart games. There isn't too much suprise with new skins, they're all holiday-themed. We also got just another one for Coco - she's my favourite character, but it's ridiculous how much skins she received so far.
So this is it. Winter Festival is a final Grand Prix in 2019 and this is my final entry for this event. Writing this over a half of the year was a blast and I'm sure I will continue in 2020. See you in Rustlands!
40. You Left Me
Platform: PC (itch.io) | Time played: 30 minutes | Beaten in July
You Left Me is another short visual novel made by Angela He. While missed messages was about suicide and friendship, this game is about coping with loss and loneliness in a form of a surreal nightmare. You Left Me was apparently done during a 48 hours game jam, which is really impressive, considering that it can end in a few different ways. I'm digging the style of He's games. Her signature art is so stunningly beautiful and unique. It's style is suprisingly easy to recognize when you got familiar with her work.
41. HRDINA
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 1,5 hours | Beaten in July
There is a common saying in Poland: "The Poles are not geese, have video games of their own". Video game industry in Poland has rapidly grown over the years, but our neighbours from Czechia can said the same about their own games. Mafia is all-time classic, recently concluded Kingdom Come: Deliverance is considered one of the best RPGs released in a last few years, adventure games from Amanita Design are highly memorable titles. But beyond heavy-hitters there are also some smaller games. Games like HRDINA. This is something special, a short and simple platformer with levels generated by rhytm to music of a Czech band Zrni. Controls are a little bit wonky, but these 10 levels were quite fun to finish. Soundtrack is something else, the music is just fantastic and works well with a game formula.
42. Pokemon Black
Platform: 3DS | Time played: 40 hours | Beaten in July
Pokemon Black and White has a reputation of being one of the most divisive entries in the Pokemon series. While I was briefly aware of some of the changes, in retrospect the controversial decision to limit Pokedex only to 150 new Pokemons up to a post-game was a good move. Thanks to that the game felt more unique, new Pokemon were complete unknowns and weren't the same Gen 1 favourites we know and played so many times before. Unova region is suprisingly diverse and different from other regions, especially the Gen 1-4, which were always based around Japan. There is a lot of variety with lush forests, desert, countryside, urban environments, etc. Some of the landmarks are simply breathtaking (with Keanu Reeves seal of approval). For example, the huge bridge to Castelia City caught me completely off guard and Black had much more moments like this. Seasons were an interesting addition, which definitely has some replayability potential. But the best thing about it was a story, which was really good and suprisingly relevant to the modern day world. For now, Black is definitely my most favorite game in Pokemon series.
43. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 8 hours | Beaten in July
Meh, I don't even know where to start with this one. Republic Heroes may share the same looks and aesthethics as the The Clone Wars TV series and uses a same cast, but isn't really an experience worth of your time. It seems like Krome Studios didn't have a clear vision what they want to do here. It is such an underwhelming game. The story is very convoluted and didn't really had a main premise or anything until the very late end. Big props for including Plo Koon and Aayla Secura as playable characters, though. Unfortunately, gameplay itself is lackluster and controls were very unresponsive. While a game is very easy and not really that demanding, I've died plenty of times because of struggling with controls, which didn't worked as it should. And yeah, this is just another remnant of Games for Windows exclusive. This time, I couldn't save my progression, saving was hidden behind a requirement to have GfWL account. Thankfully, a community fix is working. So if you want to play something based on The Clone Wars, Jedi Alliance on NDS is a much better and more cohesive game.
44. Draugen
Platform: PC (GOG) | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in August
Red Thread Games is known from unique story-driven experiences. Draugen is something else too. It's not exactly a walking sim per say. It's not a pure adventure game as well. It's something inbetween, a semi open-world mystery game. Ragnar Tørnquist has proved once again he is one of the better writers in the industry and delivered a well-written story with interesting premise and compelling characters. A main twist was too predictable, but it didn't ruin an experience at all. Draugen has a distinct atmosphere, fictional Norwegian town of Graavik is such a beatiful place with lush and calm landscapes typical for Scandinavian countries, which makes an interesting contrast with a darker story. While the main story offered only 3 hours of content, it was totally worth it.
45. Storyseeker
Platform: PC (itch.io) | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in August
How is it possible I've never heard about this game before? Storyseeker is a smaller exploration game with a very unique, minimalistic take on storytelling. There isn't any main goal, or anything. You're just an explorer, an observer, who went on a journey through this weird and beautiful world. You can end your adventure and settle up at any moment, whenever you want to. You can go in whenever direction and just observe, learn bits and pieces of lore from the natives and piece what exactly happened there. It's such a calming experience, with so many clever ways of picking player interest by just exploring, going into every corner, asking questions what is going on by looking on certain points of interests. I've had such a blast playing this.
46. Spyro: Shadow Legacy
Platform: 3DS | Time played: 8 hours | Beaten in August
I enjoyed Spyro games released during GameBoy Advance era, so this game was on my list for a long time. Shadow Legacy is a completely different experience than a trilogy made by Digital Eclipse. Spyro as an RPG sounded interesting and appealing, but in reality is nothing more than a simple hack'n'slash with some weird and repetitive design choices. While previous Spyro games were always centered around a core ideas that were repetitive (free dragons, collect orbs, etc.), levels were distinct and had a lot of unique gameplay mechanics. Shadow Legacy is set on worlds known from original Insomniac trilogy, but here they're trimmed to a smaller levels that aren't that unique. Basically, you're tasked to fight with shadows and need to rescue X number of people from the Shadow Realm. Then you move to next location where you do exactly the same, until you reach end credits. There is very little of platforming, main story was dissapointing, the game is using already estabilished and known characters. Some of the side-quests were interesting, though. Beside that, I was dissapointed in generic soundtrack. Music was always a huge part of Spyro identity and sadly this wasn't the case here. Overall, Shadow Legacy is a solid game, but never properly used its potential.
47. DARQ
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in August
Chilly platformer with a lovely Tim Burtoneseque artstyle. While it's not that long to complete, well-thought puzzles and a very creative use of gameplay definitely deserves a huge shoutout. Unfold Games is apparently working on a free DLC with new levels, so in a few months this will be even lengthier experience. Because of a developer's transparency, DARQ winded up in a center of controversy related to Epic Games Store. I was really impressed with Unfold Games integrity and stance on exclusivity. Gladly supported them with a purchase. If you aren't interested in "PC storefront wars", DARQ is an outstanding game on its own and is definitely worth picking up.
48. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Platform: 3DS | Time played: 9 hours | Beaten in August
Professor Layton was one of the major reasons why I bought 3DS. Even by saying that, I never expected to like it as much as I did. Greatly enjoyed playing prequel trilogy and Layton's Mystery Journey, so going straight into an original trilogy was a no brainer. Although it was a long time coming! Curious Village is a first game in the series, so obviously a lot of stuff were rough around the edges and a series got better in future installments, especially in a puzzle department. There is a lot of backtracking, there were too many variation of same or similar puzzles and a main setting, a titular curious village of St Mystere isn't that memorable as places from future games. I've found story interesting, a mystery of The Golden Apple was intriguing and a resolution was typical "Laytonesque" type of story, with a mixture of cleverness, Japanese weirdness and some baffling twists, which left me with a massive headscratcher. But this is what Layton games tends to do.
49. Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Platform: PC (GOG) | Time played: 5 hours | Beaten in August
Return to Castle was among one of few shooters released in late 90s and early 2000s I never played. I'm so glad to finally catch up! Wolfenstein 3D was known as a grandfather of FPS genre and years later it was refined even further by Gray Matter Interactive. They released a game that made a huge splash in the past and actually layed ground for franchises like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. What really suprised me was how well it holds up. Gray Matter did a semi-reboot of Wolfenstein 3D and told a completely new story, which was simple, yet interesting. I was suprised with Deathshead appereance, I thought he will be a main villain, but even as a side villain he was really compelling character, so I'm not suprised they used him in future Wolfenstein games. There is a lot of great stuff in RTCW. They brought so many impressive stuff to the table - fantastic level design, more open maps, memorable missions, substantial variety of weapons and enemies. RTCW aged well, considering it was released 18 years ago. I only played with widescreen mod, without any high resolution textures mods whatsover.
50. Beneath a Steel Sky
Platform: PC (GOG) | Time played: 5 hours | Beaten in September
Revolution Software games were a huge part of my gaming memories. I consider myself a fan of Broken Sword series and their Road to El Dorado adaptation. Unfortunately, I never had opportunity to play Beneath a Steel Sky, which was one of their first adventure games. There was someone here on Era who was bugging me to try it. So here you have it! Considering Beyond a Steel Sky is just around the corner, it was a best time to finally delve into Robert Foster's misadventures in a futuristic, dystopian Union City. This is definitely a nostalgic blast from the past. Gameplay was clearly inspired by older LucasArts classic adventure games and it shows. A more serious story, combined with light-hearted dialogue and humor is a crazy mixture, but it works as intended. While I enjoyed most of the game, a final act felt very lackluster.
51. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 10 hours | 2 playthroughs | Beaten in September
Supermassive is a developer of one of my favourite games on PS4, so you may imagine how I was thrilled to play this. Man of Medan is a first entry of smaller, self-contained stories known as The Dark Pictures Anthology. Just like in Until Dawn, gameplay is centered around multiple characters, story has a branching narrative, there are interludes with a chilly narrator, etc. There are some new additions, which make the game even more replayable. I've completed two playthroughs - Theatrical Cut and then replayed it in Curator's Cut. Curator's Cut is a cool idea, it's basically a same story told from another perspective, where you see events from a point of view of other characters which weren't playable at a same point of story. Didn't had opportunity of playing Shared Story and Movie Night, but this will change in a future. Movie Night mode is a fun way to play a game with other people on a same controller, which was actually a way I was playing Until Dawn with my friends. Unfortunately, a smaller scope have a huge impact on Man of Medan. We don't spent as much time with a new cast and as a result, they never grew on me. I never felt they were equally memorable like their counterparts from Until Dawn. The Curator of Stories is a fascinating character, though. They made a great casting with his character, I'm glad he will appear in other The Dark Pictures games.
52. Kind Words
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 2 hours | Beaten in September
When I started 2019 challenge, I couldn't be happier when my first game on a list was Valiant Hearts. It was such a great experience. As it happened, number 52 ended up as something special too. Kind Words is based on a unique idea, where you post and browse anonymous requests written by real-life people and try to answer them in the most kind and helpful way. I'm really a fan of a whole premise - music is outstanding, presentation is solid, and an entire system works like intended. I've posted a request about something that is bugging me in personal life. Got a lot of kind and warmhearted replies. I just wanted to thank all these people, you made me smile.
53. Fable Anniversary
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 16 hours | Beaten in October
Fable was one of these franchises I've replayed multiple times over the years. While I've had multiple playthroughs of The Lost Chapters, I actually never played Fable Anniversary. It was released in a late of Xbox 360 lifecycle, which turned me off from console because of infamous focus on Kinect games and so few core games releases. So after all these years, it ended up in my Steam library. While Anniversary is a faithful remake of The Lost Chapters, has a same story and content with some quality of life features (X360 controller support, achievements, checkpoints, etc), there is also one major change I didn't liked. For some unknown reason, Lionhead decided to move from Fable II and III proprietary engine to Unreal Engine 3 and make a big shift in artstyle. Thanks to that, this interpretation of Albion never felt as fairly-tale like it was in The Lost Chapters. And these faces!... These faces. They were just hideous. The rest of the game is fun exactly like I remembered.
54. I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin' Good Dating Simulator
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 1,5 hours | Beaten in October
So, uhmm... KFC just released a visual novel. Which is essentially a dating sim with Colonel Sanders himself. And it's not even over. You're in an cooking academy with a colorful cast of characters as classmates, where for some reason a talking corgi is your professor! Seriously, what a bizarre take. It's a great ad for KFC, though. They managed to find a specific niche and took it to a whole new level, which is well... good for them, I guess?
55. Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 10 hours | Beaten in October
Youngblood is a standalone semi-expansion for The New Colossus, a joint collaboration between MachineGames and Arkane Studios. Unfortunately, it's so lackluster in comparison to The Old Blood. It may had a fun premise, but is plagued with weird, often bizarre gameplay choices. What were they thinking? There isn't too much story here, which is a shame, because it's something you expect from current Wolfenstein games. Soph, Jess and their friends from Resistance aren't memorable, main villain is a complete joke. I've appreciated that twins were swearing in Polish, though. Our "kurwa" was done right, which caught me completely off guard! I've played in Solo Mode as Soph. Most of the game is structured around grinding side-missions in same locations in order to bulk up for four "main" missions. They are essentially raids with smaller arenas of enemies and a giant boss at the end. You can add two additional boss fights and that's entire Youngblood. Now onto gameplay. You can't save and you're relied on checkpoints. When you die, you aren't only pushed back to checkpoint, but also lose ammo you used before - terrible choice. The same can be said about AI companion. The other sister was competent at most fights, but her AI during raids went completely bonkers, often resulting in equally frustrating and hilarious situations. I appreciate the setting, though. Neu-Paris is one of the most distinct locations in Wolfenstein games. You can clearly feel Arkane influence in level design, with open-ended exploration and multiple paths, either on ground, sewers or on the balconies and rooftops. It's a big step up from Wolf II. Shame that the rest of the game isn't as solid. That said, ending itself sets up some plot ideas for potential Wolfenstein III, which are... well, very peculiar.
56. Rabbids Coding!
Platform: PC (Uplay) | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in October
You can say a lot about Ubisoft AAA games, but their side projects are often something special. Rabbids Coding! is a free game designed for introducing into programming in a more accessible way. As someone who is self-learning programming in a spare time, I was intrigued with the concept. While it may feel like a logic game where you need to move Rabbids and robots into certain places, the game disguise its mechanics as a sneaky way of object-based coding in a form of blocks. Every block has a certain action and condition that are closely tied to programming, requiring from you to create functions and loops that will help you solve the problem you're tasked in either of 32 challenges. There is also a sandbox mode. Rabbids are cutely annoying as always and it's doing its job. If you're never had anything to do with programming, Rabbids Coding! can totally serve as a very neat introduction, either for a younger audience or the ones who are just taking their first steps into a coding world.
57. Gears of War 4
Platform: PC (Microsoft Store) | Time played: 10 hours | Beaten in October
Someone once said, Gears 4 felt like The Force Awakens of Gears of War franchise. It's true... Uhm, all of it. Gears 4 is a very "safe" game, which tries to blend new stuff with extensive banking on a familiar tropes. You can clearly feel it's a Gears of War game. The story wasn't that bad, but a first half felt very disjointed. It was so weird that we were forced to spend so much time fighting with robots. Act 3 was my favourite. Experiencing how The Swarm came to be was the biggest highlight of this game. The other one was a prologue. Hats off to The Coalition. In my humble opinion, this was one of the best ways of retelling the entire franchise ever conceived. Considering I've played original trilogy and read a first novel, the prologue had a powerful nostalgia factor. While I wasn't a fan of most of a new cast (with JD Fenix being a biggest dissapointment), I really enjoyed Kait's arc, so I'm glad she became even more prominent character in Gears 5. The Coalition had a really cool idea for a new war and Kait's arc may develop into a very unique direction. I'm interested how this will play out in a future entries.
58. Gears 5
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 18 hours | Beaten in November
What I could say without any doubts about Gears 4, that The Coalition previous endeavour felt like a too safe experience. Luckily, Gears 5 is a much bolder and more improved take on Gears of War franchise. This time it's not a story of JD Fenix, but his friend Kait. Just after wrapping up JD's arc in a first Act, she receives a mantle of a new protagonist. Gears 5 is her story about becoming a leader, which goes into epic (no pun intended), yet very personal tale. While I originally said a main cast wasn't that memorable like Marcus and his pals, story puts a very unique internal struggle between a main trio, which made them more distinct and interesting in the process. The campaign stayed consistently good for a most of time. There is a big variety of setpieces with franchise trademark linear maps and more open areas with sidequests. Every Act is a unique experience on its own (with Act 3 being the weakest), with a lot of subtle ties to previous games, including People Can Fly's Gears of War: Judgment. RPG-like Jack's skill tree was a neat idea, I enjoyed searching maps in order to find cores required for his upgrades. I really liked how they used Jack for this game, he's much better integrated into a story and is more helpful than ever. Choices and consequences sounds promising, but we will see how this will work in Gears 6. It's definitely one of the strongest games released in 2019.
59. Chorus: An Adventure Musical - Proof of Concept
Platform: PC (itch.io) | Early Access Demo | Time played: 15 minutes | Beaten in November
Summerfall Studios recently started a Fig campaign for a game called Chorus, which is a visual novel that also happens to be an interactive musical. Led by David Gaider, with audio directed by Troy Baker and Laura Bailey casted as a main protagonist it is shaping up to be a very special and unique project. In a final days of crowdfunding campaign, Summerfall released a "proof of concept" demo on itch.io. It's highliting a gameplay by showcasing a song-off contest between Grace and Persephone, one of the rulers of the Underworld with Grace's friend life at stake. Chorus artstyle is truely outstanding, it's such a beautiful game. Laura Bailey already showed her skills in Saints Row sing-a-longs, she's really good at singing. This sequence isn't too long (the game itself is apparently planned to be 2 hours long), but it has three different endings that you can get by choosing different dialogue options, which are pushing songs in a different direction. I really liked what I saw here and will wait for a full release.
60. Backbone: Prologue
Platform: PC (Steam) | Early Access Demo | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in November
Backbone: Prologue is a free demo of a much larger adventure game that is currently in development. I enjoyed a setting. A noir detective story about a racoon detective in a trenchcoat, combined with catchy, beautiful pixelart artstyle is truely something else and has a lot of potential. It's suprising they managed to do such a game on Unreal Engine 4, I would have thought these type of games are more suited for Unity. While a demo is a very limited, Prologue gives an excellent overview what a complete game may be with its gameplay mechanics. The game also serves as good introduction to a main character and a main plot. Eggnut is really at something and I'm actually interested in playing a complete game when it launches in 2020.
61. Star Wars: Battlefront II
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 4 hours | Beaten in November
When EA announced Battlefront II will have a singleplayer campaign and tasked a seprate studio to make it happen, I was thrilled. It was so long since we had a proper singleplayer story set in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Unfortunately, I could write an entire essay about what went wrong with Battlefront II. I will limit myself to the basics, though. An ex-Imperials experiencing fall of the Empire sounded as a good entry point for a story, but in reality everything ended up as predictable. They didn't brought anything new to the table, the story felt like a rehash from already known material from current Canon and what's even worse, most of medias which told a similar stories (like "Battlefront: Twilight Company" and "Lost Stars" novels) did it significantly better. But you know, it's not even the worst thing. Iden Versio and Inferno Squad were boring and shallow. Their motivations and relationships were never properly explored. Story felt "cheap" and uninspired. Missions were so awfully-designed. Motive could tell a such unique tale, but they never really utilised its potential. They even pushed filler content where you play as characters from the Original Trilogy just to boost the playtime! And even with that, the game clocked at roughly 4 hours. Battlefront II is a great game for multiplayer experiences, but I would never recommend it for singleplayer fans. It's such a huge dissapointment. The only thing that "saved" it for me was a late Kylo Ren mission and Shriv as a supporting character. This lovely Duros and his interactions with a main cast and Lando was something else, I would love to play a game about him.
62. Star Wars: Battlefront II - Resurrection (DLC)
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 2 hours | Beaten in November
I must say, releasing a free singleplayer DLC was something I would never expected from EA. But here we are. "Resurrection" is a direct continuation of Iden's story. Set just after events of a post-timeskip cliffhanger, it offers a three new missions that are moving it from a Galactic Civil War to a conflict between Resistance and First Order. What I really liked, that Resurrection is more story-driven than a main campaign, with more cutscenes and gameplay centered around narrative. That said, it's still nothing special - two more hours of Battlefront II, but this time without any fillers. It's wrapping up Iden's story, has some minor and more major ties to the Sequel Trilogy (it was actually cool to see Iden and Shriv reacting to the dectruction of Hosnian Prime, showing it from another point of view) and expands on some plot points that were briefly mentioned in The Force Awakens. There were a lot of new enemies - new stormtroopers, First Order officers, mercenaries, which was a breath of fresh air. Ending was awful, though. I'm aware it was supposed to be dramatic, but I only laughed how bad it was. They didn't delivered at all.
63. Gothic: Playable Teaser
Platform: PC (Steam) | Early Access Demo | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in December
THQ Nordic Barcelona Studio came with a perfect present for Christmas, a playable teaser of a potential Gothic remake. Or maybe not that perfect... Gothic is one of these franchises that are very important to me. It's part of my gaming memories, so it's sad to say that not everything came together like it should. It isn't a straight 1:1 remake, but a reimagining of the whole game with its own take on the Nameless Hero adventure. I didn't liked a new introduction, the original was much better. Nameless Hero received a scroll from Pyrokar, was thrown into a pit and got smacked into face from a first person he met. "Welcome to the Colony" was a powerful way to start a game, because it showed this place is ruthless and not everyone will be friendly towards you. They decided to change it into a cutscene with a destroyed crane and main character being ambushed by snappers, which was weird, embarassing and unnecessary. The other thing I didn't liked was limiting a biggest strength of an original game, which was a sweet spot, a perfect balance between narrative, exploration and worldbuilding. This is not a case here. THQ Nordic should focus on contextualizing player objectives, without outright showing what we need to do. Handholding should be limited. Combat is awful and requires a lot of work. Not everything is bad, though. I enjoyed a tutorial area and thought it was actually a neat addition, because it fleshed out places that weren't properly explored in the original game. New sidequests were fun and NPCs were quite memorable. Choices and consequences may become a good addition to the formula, which may add even more replayability. The Colony recreated on Unreal Engine 4 looks gorgeous, it makes even better impression without a default post-processing filter. So to close by, Gothic teaser shows promise, but requires a lot of retooling. Barcelona Studio has a lot of ambition and I'm perfectly fine they want to make its own spin, but they seem to miss a point what made Gothic... Well, Gothic. I'm crossing my fingers they will do it justice, though, because I would love to play it.
33. What Remains of Edith Finch
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in June | 100% Completion
I've heard so many positive opinions about What Remains of Edith Finch. So when this was recently added to PS+ subscribers, I decided it's a good time to finally catch up. What Remains of Edith Finch is a walking sim, but unlike any other. It's impressive what Giant Sparrow managed to achieve with this game. It's a mature and depressive tale about titular Finch's family and their curse, with one of the best environmental storytelling I've ever seen in video games. This is one of the best examples of games to play completely blinded, with having a limited knowledge about what exactly it is. Trust me. While it's only 3 hours long, it has suprising amount of unique gameplay mechanics. I was constantly suprised how many diverse and creative ideas were used here for telling a story. If you didn't played What Remains of Edith Finch and you like story-driven games, you really should try it. It's a true masterpiece.
34. missed messages
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in June | 100% Completion
missed messages is a short and bitter-sweet adventure game about love, communication and suicide that was based on real life experiences of the developer Angela He. While it's really short, story is actually interesting and well-written. The whole presentation is very distinct, meshing the visual novel, point'n'click and text messages in a similar manner to Emily is Away. Artstyle is gorgeous. I've completed it four times and got four different endings, each of them giving much more context to May's story. I'm genuinely impressed with missed messages and I will definitely explore Angela He's other games catalogue.
35. Crash Bandicoot | N'Sane Trilogy
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 8 hours | Beaten in June
If I could be honest with you, I wasn't a fan of Crash Bandicoot series. But I always appreciated its value. Crash is one of the well-known platformers from original PSX era, a first game Naughty Dog released on Sony console and is also spearheading a wave of high-profile remakes from Activision. N'Sane Trilogy was a massive success and thanks to that, Spyro and Crash Team Racing remakes were greenlighted, which were always more appealing to me. Vicarious Visions released a high-quality package that was clearly a product of love and which is even more important, remained faithful to the original. Crash Bandicoot is infamous for its difficulty and it clearly shows. "Native Fortress", "High Road" and "Lights Out" gave me some problems last time I played, but this time I managed to finish them without too much issues. "Slippery Climb" is a whole different story, this level was really brutal. I also tried "Stormy Ascent", sadly without success. I will try it again some day.
36. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | N'Sane Trilogy
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 6 hours | Beaten in June
Cortex Strikes Back is my favourite entry in N'Sane Trilogy package. It not only refines the gameplay, has better designed levels ("Snow Go" and "Un-Bearable" are my personal favorites), but also brought a new spin on some of original concepts. Naughty Dog iterated on the same ideas by nailing the formula to the point that everything has a much better pace. Levels are more varied and filled with optional challenges. Crash 2 isn't as unforgiving as a first game in terms of difficulty. It's a more balanced experience, where more demanding segments are totally optional if you weren't interested in completing them. Collecting crystals as a main goal is a good idea, because this gives player a purpose to complete levels, similarly to eggs / orbs in Spyro or precursor cores from Jak and Daxter.
37. Crash Bandicoot: Warped | N'Sane Trilogy
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 5 hours | Beaten in July
So my opinion on Warped is mixed. When I was younger, I've completed it multiple times on PSX and remember it the most from the original trilogy. While I enjoyed how diverse and varied it was in terms of level design, weirdly enough it lacked the same feeling of uniqueness and charm of previous Crash Bandicoot games. Time Warp is a good setup for a time-travelling adventure, but it never felt as straightforward as Crash 1 and Cortex Strikes Back. My favourite levels were on The Great Wall of China, the ones inspired by Arabian Nights and set in Ancient Egypt. The other thing is difficulty, Warped just felt too easy. I also completed Future Tense, a new DLC level which was developed entirely by Vicarious Visions. Future Tense was well-designed, more demanding than most of levels and brought some fresh ideas that weren't available on other Future levels. If a Future Tense was a small taste of what Vicarious Visions is planning for their own Crash game, I'm completely on board.
38. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 27 hours | Beaten in July
While I'm not really a fan of racing games, I was always fond of Crash Team Racing. It was my first game on PSX and I've spent countless hours playing solo on Adventure Mode or playing tournaments with friends from a neighbourhood on a local split-screen. Beenox restored CTR to its former glory with a bombastic Nitro-fueled remake, which contains not only all of original content, but also new modes and maps from Crash Nitro Kart, extended roster of characters and new features like character and kart customization. CTR has so much content, a fully blown Adventure Mode, a lot of singleplayer and cooperative modes (single races, time trials, battle modes, cups). They also introduced multiplayer, which currently has single races and battles. I would love to play Cups in multiplayer. When you finish any race or battle, you receive Wumpa Coins that can be used in an in-game shop called "Pit Stop" with hundreds of unlockables like new playable characters, decals, parts for kart and skins for already unlocked characters. Adventure Mode didn't felt as a grand experience like so many years ago, but I enjoyed it nontheless. Nitro-fueled will be constantly updated with new stuff in a form of seasonal updates, so I decided to write my own impressions in a seperate list dedicated to "Grand Prix" event.
39. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled - Grand Prix
Platform: PS4 | Time played: Ongoing
So this is going to be a little bit different from my usual write-ups. CTR will have a steady amount of content updates in a form of "Grand Prix", seasonal events with brand new tracks, modes and unlockables. I thought it could be interesting if I write my own impressions of each event. This list will be updated till the end of this year.
Nitro Tour Grand Prix (July)
Nitro Tour is a first Grand Prix, so it will probably serve as a template for other tournaments. It works very similar to events from other multiplayer games - some of the stuff are obtained through collecting Nitro Points, the other stuff is available to purchase in a Pit Stop. There were five new playable characters to unlock, including Tawna - Crash's girlfriend from a first Crash Bandicoot game and Trophy Girls who appeared during ending of CTR's Adventure Mode. I really liked a new map, it's one of my favourite maps of entire CTR lineup. Twilight Tour is an outstanding track, hosting a journey through night on Egyptian desert, going inside of a pyramid, then moving within an urban area and a bazaar during daylight. Challenges were interesting, but a progression in unlocking new stuff was a little bit too grindy in my taste. Weirdly enough, I managed to finish a Grand Prix with unlocking a Champion kart.
Back N. Time Grand Prix (August)
Sigh... I was hoping Beenox will give us at least a few weeks of break before starting a new Grand Prix, but nah, Back N. Time started only few days later. Before I go to a new content, there is also the whole controversy with microtansactions I wanted to mention. CTR was promised to be a game without any microtransactions, lootboxes whatsover, so I definitely feel betrayed over a recent announcement. I only hope it won't bite other players, who are interested only in playing the game they paid instead of paying dollars for having more virtual currency. So back to, ummm, Back N. Time. The new Grand Prix has only three new characters - Baby T, Baby Crash and Baby Coco. Baby T is my favourite new character. Prehistoric Playground is not as memorable as Twilight Tour, but is a great track on its own with a lot of shortcuts, some fresh ideas and cool smaller details like Cave Crash from Crash Tag Team Racing and visible inspirations from prehistoric levels of Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Beenox made some smaller changes, so filling Nitro gauge was much easier, Back N. Time never felt as grindy as the first one. I've played significantly less than during Nitro Tour and still managed to unlock everything, with two Champion decals included.
Spyro & Friends Grand Prix (September)
Grand Prix continues, this time with an (un)expected visitors from another realms. Spyro and his frenemies came to CTR as part of a third seasonal event. There is a saying that dragon is in the details and Beenox clearly knows it. I really liked what they did with Spyro Circuit. A newest track drew some inspiration from Reignited Trilogy, retains a similar aesthetics and has a lot of easter-eggs related to original Spyro games. They even explained what was hidden behind a locked door in Artisans homeworld. This track was clearly done with passion and felt more like Spyro than a Shadow Legacy game from NDS I've recently played. In a similar fashion to Back N. Time, they added only three new characters - Spyro (available at the end of Bronze Tier) with Hunter and Gnasty Gnorc in a Pit Stop. I would lie if I didn't say Spyro was my favourite, but I suprisingly liked playing as Gnasty too. The new skins were awesome. Evil Coco, Wizard Joe, Burning Zam, they all had great designs. While I wasn't a fan of "Win as X in online matchmaking" challenges, I never played on mirrored tracks before, so having them as major challenges were great. It made already known tracks more fresh and suprising. So... Last one on a finish line is a Gnorc or something, right?
Spooky Grand Prix (October)
While I've enjoyed past Grand Prixes, I must say its formula started to bore me. This is why I'm so happy that Spooky is a most significant upgrade to CTR up to date. They expanded the game with a new Cup, crossing my fingers for even more "lost" ones. Engine swap feature aka Driving Styles is a game changer, which made a huge impact on character diversity in the lobby. Skillbased matchmaking made races more interesting, considering odds at winning became more balanced. Grand Prix itself has more varied challenges. Chasing ghosts is such a fun experience and fits neatly into a Halloween theme. Nina's Nightmare track reminded me of Prehistoric Playground. It's a solid track with a lot of unique stuff, but it's still not as great as Twilight Tour. I've encountered a bug that locked me out of GP content in Pitstop, luckily this issue was fixed, because new skins are truely something else. Witch Tawna, Dark Coco, Fake Monster Crash, Pirate Papu Papu, Pura in lovely lion outfit, or Werewolf Tiny. So many to choose. New characters... They're okay. Komodo Moe is my favourite from a new lineup, but as it happens I've preferred playing as already present characters with their new skins.
Neon Circus Grand Prix (November)
Spooky event was a breath of fresh air and it seems Beenox is working on even more new stuff for CTR. Neon Circus Grand Prix brought its own batch of changes. The first one is a new mode where you need to move through the highest number of rings before time runs out. It's very similar to flying levels from Spyro games. While Ring Rally is not really anything special, I've got to give a props to Beenox for giving us even more variety in gameplay. There is also a new secret character to unlock by collecting the golden eggs in an Adventure Mode. Unlocking the King Chicken provided a really good challenge. Koala Carnival is a suprisignly straitghtforward track. Simple, yet really well-designed. It's still not even remotely comparable to Twilight Tour and Prehistoric Playground, but I've got a lot of fun from that particular track. It's crazy that with Koala Kong addition, we currently have every major character from an original Crash trilogy. I've never played Crash Tag Team Racing, but I already liked Pasadena as a character and crossing my fingers for her appearance in some capacity during story of future Crash or CTR games.
Winter Festival Grand Prix (December)
Ho, ho, ho. It's time for winter festivities! Winter Festival is a much "calmer" event than last few updates in terms of new content brought to CTR. It doesn't mean Beenox didn't cooked anything special for its sixth Grand Prix, though. Gingerbread Joyride is one of my favourite tracks since Prehistoric Playground, it's a very interesting take on a Christmas-themed track with a lot of shortcuts, fun ideas and unique gameplay mechanics. This time we have not usual three, but five new characters to play. Hasty is definitely the biggest highlight. He's a brand new character introduced to Crash franchise and have a very cool origin, being loosely based on a cut character "Fasty" from original Crash Team Racing. Chick and Stew finally joined the ride after hosting so many Grand Prixes, alongside more obscure characters like Rilla Roo from Crash Bash and Yaya Panda from mobile Crash Nitro Kart games. There isn't too much suprise with new skins, they're all holiday-themed. We also got just another one for Coco - she's my favourite character, but it's ridiculous how much skins she received so far.
So this is it. Winter Festival is a final Grand Prix in 2019 and this is my final entry for this event. Writing this over a half of the year was a blast and I'm sure I will continue in 2020. See you in Rustlands!
40. You Left Me
Platform: PC (itch.io) | Time played: 30 minutes | Beaten in July
You Left Me is another short visual novel made by Angela He. While missed messages was about suicide and friendship, this game is about coping with loss and loneliness in a form of a surreal nightmare. You Left Me was apparently done during a 48 hours game jam, which is really impressive, considering that it can end in a few different ways. I'm digging the style of He's games. Her signature art is so stunningly beautiful and unique. It's style is suprisingly easy to recognize when you got familiar with her work.
41. HRDINA
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 1,5 hours | Beaten in July
There is a common saying in Poland: "The Poles are not geese, have video games of their own". Video game industry in Poland has rapidly grown over the years, but our neighbours from Czechia can said the same about their own games. Mafia is all-time classic, recently concluded Kingdom Come: Deliverance is considered one of the best RPGs released in a last few years, adventure games from Amanita Design are highly memorable titles. But beyond heavy-hitters there are also some smaller games. Games like HRDINA. This is something special, a short and simple platformer with levels generated by rhytm to music of a Czech band Zrni. Controls are a little bit wonky, but these 10 levels were quite fun to finish. Soundtrack is something else, the music is just fantastic and works well with a game formula.
42. Pokemon Black
Platform: 3DS | Time played: 40 hours | Beaten in July
Pokemon Black and White has a reputation of being one of the most divisive entries in the Pokemon series. While I was briefly aware of some of the changes, in retrospect the controversial decision to limit Pokedex only to 150 new Pokemons up to a post-game was a good move. Thanks to that the game felt more unique, new Pokemon were complete unknowns and weren't the same Gen 1 favourites we know and played so many times before. Unova region is suprisingly diverse and different from other regions, especially the Gen 1-4, which were always based around Japan. There is a lot of variety with lush forests, desert, countryside, urban environments, etc. Some of the landmarks are simply breathtaking (with Keanu Reeves seal of approval). For example, the huge bridge to Castelia City caught me completely off guard and Black had much more moments like this. Seasons were an interesting addition, which definitely has some replayability potential. But the best thing about it was a story, which was really good and suprisingly relevant to the modern day world. For now, Black is definitely my most favorite game in Pokemon series.
43. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 8 hours | Beaten in July
Meh, I don't even know where to start with this one. Republic Heroes may share the same looks and aesthethics as the The Clone Wars TV series and uses a same cast, but isn't really an experience worth of your time. It seems like Krome Studios didn't have a clear vision what they want to do here. It is such an underwhelming game. The story is very convoluted and didn't really had a main premise or anything until the very late end. Big props for including Plo Koon and Aayla Secura as playable characters, though. Unfortunately, gameplay itself is lackluster and controls were very unresponsive. While a game is very easy and not really that demanding, I've died plenty of times because of struggling with controls, which didn't worked as it should. And yeah, this is just another remnant of Games for Windows exclusive. This time, I couldn't save my progression, saving was hidden behind a requirement to have GfWL account. Thankfully, a community fix is working. So if you want to play something based on The Clone Wars, Jedi Alliance on NDS is a much better and more cohesive game.
44. Draugen
Platform: PC (GOG) | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in August
Red Thread Games is known from unique story-driven experiences. Draugen is something else too. It's not exactly a walking sim per say. It's not a pure adventure game as well. It's something inbetween, a semi open-world mystery game. Ragnar Tørnquist has proved once again he is one of the better writers in the industry and delivered a well-written story with interesting premise and compelling characters. A main twist was too predictable, but it didn't ruin an experience at all. Draugen has a distinct atmosphere, fictional Norwegian town of Graavik is such a beatiful place with lush and calm landscapes typical for Scandinavian countries, which makes an interesting contrast with a darker story. While the main story offered only 3 hours of content, it was totally worth it.
45. Storyseeker
Platform: PC (itch.io) | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in August
How is it possible I've never heard about this game before? Storyseeker is a smaller exploration game with a very unique, minimalistic take on storytelling. There isn't any main goal, or anything. You're just an explorer, an observer, who went on a journey through this weird and beautiful world. You can end your adventure and settle up at any moment, whenever you want to. You can go in whenever direction and just observe, learn bits and pieces of lore from the natives and piece what exactly happened there. It's such a calming experience, with so many clever ways of picking player interest by just exploring, going into every corner, asking questions what is going on by looking on certain points of interests. I've had such a blast playing this.
46. Spyro: Shadow Legacy
Platform: 3DS | Time played: 8 hours | Beaten in August
I enjoyed Spyro games released during GameBoy Advance era, so this game was on my list for a long time. Shadow Legacy is a completely different experience than a trilogy made by Digital Eclipse. Spyro as an RPG sounded interesting and appealing, but in reality is nothing more than a simple hack'n'slash with some weird and repetitive design choices. While previous Spyro games were always centered around a core ideas that were repetitive (free dragons, collect orbs, etc.), levels were distinct and had a lot of unique gameplay mechanics. Shadow Legacy is set on worlds known from original Insomniac trilogy, but here they're trimmed to a smaller levels that aren't that unique. Basically, you're tasked to fight with shadows and need to rescue X number of people from the Shadow Realm. Then you move to next location where you do exactly the same, until you reach end credits. There is very little of platforming, main story was dissapointing, the game is using already estabilished and known characters. Some of the side-quests were interesting, though. Beside that, I was dissapointed in generic soundtrack. Music was always a huge part of Spyro identity and sadly this wasn't the case here. Overall, Shadow Legacy is a solid game, but never properly used its potential.
47. DARQ
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in August
Chilly platformer with a lovely Tim Burtoneseque artstyle. While it's not that long to complete, well-thought puzzles and a very creative use of gameplay definitely deserves a huge shoutout. Unfold Games is apparently working on a free DLC with new levels, so in a few months this will be even lengthier experience. Because of a developer's transparency, DARQ winded up in a center of controversy related to Epic Games Store. I was really impressed with Unfold Games integrity and stance on exclusivity. Gladly supported them with a purchase. If you aren't interested in "PC storefront wars", DARQ is an outstanding game on its own and is definitely worth picking up.
48. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Platform: 3DS | Time played: 9 hours | Beaten in August
Professor Layton was one of the major reasons why I bought 3DS. Even by saying that, I never expected to like it as much as I did. Greatly enjoyed playing prequel trilogy and Layton's Mystery Journey, so going straight into an original trilogy was a no brainer. Although it was a long time coming! Curious Village is a first game in the series, so obviously a lot of stuff were rough around the edges and a series got better in future installments, especially in a puzzle department. There is a lot of backtracking, there were too many variation of same or similar puzzles and a main setting, a titular curious village of St Mystere isn't that memorable as places from future games. I've found story interesting, a mystery of The Golden Apple was intriguing and a resolution was typical "Laytonesque" type of story, with a mixture of cleverness, Japanese weirdness and some baffling twists, which left me with a massive headscratcher. But this is what Layton games tends to do.
49. Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Platform: PC (GOG) | Time played: 5 hours | Beaten in August
Return to Castle was among one of few shooters released in late 90s and early 2000s I never played. I'm so glad to finally catch up! Wolfenstein 3D was known as a grandfather of FPS genre and years later it was refined even further by Gray Matter Interactive. They released a game that made a huge splash in the past and actually layed ground for franchises like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. What really suprised me was how well it holds up. Gray Matter did a semi-reboot of Wolfenstein 3D and told a completely new story, which was simple, yet interesting. I was suprised with Deathshead appereance, I thought he will be a main villain, but even as a side villain he was really compelling character, so I'm not suprised they used him in future Wolfenstein games. There is a lot of great stuff in RTCW. They brought so many impressive stuff to the table - fantastic level design, more open maps, memorable missions, substantial variety of weapons and enemies. RTCW aged well, considering it was released 18 years ago. I only played with widescreen mod, without any high resolution textures mods whatsover.
50. Beneath a Steel Sky
Platform: PC (GOG) | Time played: 5 hours | Beaten in September
Revolution Software games were a huge part of my gaming memories. I consider myself a fan of Broken Sword series and their Road to El Dorado adaptation. Unfortunately, I never had opportunity to play Beneath a Steel Sky, which was one of their first adventure games. There was someone here on Era who was bugging me to try it. So here you have it! Considering Beyond a Steel Sky is just around the corner, it was a best time to finally delve into Robert Foster's misadventures in a futuristic, dystopian Union City. This is definitely a nostalgic blast from the past. Gameplay was clearly inspired by older LucasArts classic adventure games and it shows. A more serious story, combined with light-hearted dialogue and humor is a crazy mixture, but it works as intended. While I enjoyed most of the game, a final act felt very lackluster.
51. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 10 hours | 2 playthroughs | Beaten in September
Supermassive is a developer of one of my favourite games on PS4, so you may imagine how I was thrilled to play this. Man of Medan is a first entry of smaller, self-contained stories known as The Dark Pictures Anthology. Just like in Until Dawn, gameplay is centered around multiple characters, story has a branching narrative, there are interludes with a chilly narrator, etc. There are some new additions, which make the game even more replayable. I've completed two playthroughs - Theatrical Cut and then replayed it in Curator's Cut. Curator's Cut is a cool idea, it's basically a same story told from another perspective, where you see events from a point of view of other characters which weren't playable at a same point of story. Didn't had opportunity of playing Shared Story and Movie Night, but this will change in a future. Movie Night mode is a fun way to play a game with other people on a same controller, which was actually a way I was playing Until Dawn with my friends. Unfortunately, a smaller scope have a huge impact on Man of Medan. We don't spent as much time with a new cast and as a result, they never grew on me. I never felt they were equally memorable like their counterparts from Until Dawn. The Curator of Stories is a fascinating character, though. They made a great casting with his character, I'm glad he will appear in other The Dark Pictures games.
52. Kind Words
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 2 hours | Beaten in September
When I started 2019 challenge, I couldn't be happier when my first game on a list was Valiant Hearts. It was such a great experience. As it happened, number 52 ended up as something special too. Kind Words is based on a unique idea, where you post and browse anonymous requests written by real-life people and try to answer them in the most kind and helpful way. I'm really a fan of a whole premise - music is outstanding, presentation is solid, and an entire system works like intended. I've posted a request about something that is bugging me in personal life. Got a lot of kind and warmhearted replies. I just wanted to thank all these people, you made me smile.
53. Fable Anniversary
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 16 hours | Beaten in October
Fable was one of these franchises I've replayed multiple times over the years. While I've had multiple playthroughs of The Lost Chapters, I actually never played Fable Anniversary. It was released in a late of Xbox 360 lifecycle, which turned me off from console because of infamous focus on Kinect games and so few core games releases. So after all these years, it ended up in my Steam library. While Anniversary is a faithful remake of The Lost Chapters, has a same story and content with some quality of life features (X360 controller support, achievements, checkpoints, etc), there is also one major change I didn't liked. For some unknown reason, Lionhead decided to move from Fable II and III proprietary engine to Unreal Engine 3 and make a big shift in artstyle. Thanks to that, this interpretation of Albion never felt as fairly-tale like it was in The Lost Chapters. And these faces!... These faces. They were just hideous. The rest of the game is fun exactly like I remembered.
54. I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin' Good Dating Simulator
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 1,5 hours | Beaten in October
So, uhmm... KFC just released a visual novel. Which is essentially a dating sim with Colonel Sanders himself. And it's not even over. You're in an cooking academy with a colorful cast of characters as classmates, where for some reason a talking corgi is your professor! Seriously, what a bizarre take. It's a great ad for KFC, though. They managed to find a specific niche and took it to a whole new level, which is well... good for them, I guess?
55. Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 10 hours | Beaten in October
Youngblood is a standalone semi-expansion for The New Colossus, a joint collaboration between MachineGames and Arkane Studios. Unfortunately, it's so lackluster in comparison to The Old Blood. It may had a fun premise, but is plagued with weird, often bizarre gameplay choices. What were they thinking? There isn't too much story here, which is a shame, because it's something you expect from current Wolfenstein games. Soph, Jess and their friends from Resistance aren't memorable, main villain is a complete joke. I've appreciated that twins were swearing in Polish, though. Our "kurwa" was done right, which caught me completely off guard! I've played in Solo Mode as Soph. Most of the game is structured around grinding side-missions in same locations in order to bulk up for four "main" missions. They are essentially raids with smaller arenas of enemies and a giant boss at the end. You can add two additional boss fights and that's entire Youngblood. Now onto gameplay. You can't save and you're relied on checkpoints. When you die, you aren't only pushed back to checkpoint, but also lose ammo you used before - terrible choice. The same can be said about AI companion. The other sister was competent at most fights, but her AI during raids went completely bonkers, often resulting in equally frustrating and hilarious situations. I appreciate the setting, though. Neu-Paris is one of the most distinct locations in Wolfenstein games. You can clearly feel Arkane influence in level design, with open-ended exploration and multiple paths, either on ground, sewers or on the balconies and rooftops. It's a big step up from Wolf II. Shame that the rest of the game isn't as solid. That said, ending itself sets up some plot ideas for potential Wolfenstein III, which are... well, very peculiar.
56. Rabbids Coding!
Platform: PC (Uplay) | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in October
You can say a lot about Ubisoft AAA games, but their side projects are often something special. Rabbids Coding! is a free game designed for introducing into programming in a more accessible way. As someone who is self-learning programming in a spare time, I was intrigued with the concept. While it may feel like a logic game where you need to move Rabbids and robots into certain places, the game disguise its mechanics as a sneaky way of object-based coding in a form of blocks. Every block has a certain action and condition that are closely tied to programming, requiring from you to create functions and loops that will help you solve the problem you're tasked in either of 32 challenges. There is also a sandbox mode. Rabbids are cutely annoying as always and it's doing its job. If you're never had anything to do with programming, Rabbids Coding! can totally serve as a very neat introduction, either for a younger audience or the ones who are just taking their first steps into a coding world.
57. Gears of War 4
Platform: PC (Microsoft Store) | Time played: 10 hours | Beaten in October
Someone once said, Gears 4 felt like The Force Awakens of Gears of War franchise. It's true... Uhm, all of it. Gears 4 is a very "safe" game, which tries to blend new stuff with extensive banking on a familiar tropes. You can clearly feel it's a Gears of War game. The story wasn't that bad, but a first half felt very disjointed. It was so weird that we were forced to spend so much time fighting with robots. Act 3 was my favourite. Experiencing how The Swarm came to be was the biggest highlight of this game. The other one was a prologue. Hats off to The Coalition. In my humble opinion, this was one of the best ways of retelling the entire franchise ever conceived. Considering I've played original trilogy and read a first novel, the prologue had a powerful nostalgia factor. While I wasn't a fan of most of a new cast (with JD Fenix being a biggest dissapointment), I really enjoyed Kait's arc, so I'm glad she became even more prominent character in Gears 5. The Coalition had a really cool idea for a new war and Kait's arc may develop into a very unique direction. I'm interested how this will play out in a future entries.
58. Gears 5
Platform: PC (Steam) | Time played: 18 hours | Beaten in November
What I could say without any doubts about Gears 4, that The Coalition previous endeavour felt like a too safe experience. Luckily, Gears 5 is a much bolder and more improved take on Gears of War franchise. This time it's not a story of JD Fenix, but his friend Kait. Just after wrapping up JD's arc in a first Act, she receives a mantle of a new protagonist. Gears 5 is her story about becoming a leader, which goes into epic (no pun intended), yet very personal tale. While I originally said a main cast wasn't that memorable like Marcus and his pals, story puts a very unique internal struggle between a main trio, which made them more distinct and interesting in the process. The campaign stayed consistently good for a most of time. There is a big variety of setpieces with franchise trademark linear maps and more open areas with sidequests. Every Act is a unique experience on its own (with Act 3 being the weakest), with a lot of subtle ties to previous games, including People Can Fly's Gears of War: Judgment. RPG-like Jack's skill tree was a neat idea, I enjoyed searching maps in order to find cores required for his upgrades. I really liked how they used Jack for this game, he's much better integrated into a story and is more helpful than ever. Choices and consequences sounds promising, but we will see how this will work in Gears 6. It's definitely one of the strongest games released in 2019.
59. Chorus: An Adventure Musical - Proof of Concept
Platform: PC (itch.io) | Early Access Demo | Time played: 15 minutes | Beaten in November
Summerfall Studios recently started a Fig campaign for a game called Chorus, which is a visual novel that also happens to be an interactive musical. Led by David Gaider, with audio directed by Troy Baker and Laura Bailey casted as a main protagonist it is shaping up to be a very special and unique project. In a final days of crowdfunding campaign, Summerfall released a "proof of concept" demo on itch.io. It's highliting a gameplay by showcasing a song-off contest between Grace and Persephone, one of the rulers of the Underworld with Grace's friend life at stake. Chorus artstyle is truely outstanding, it's such a beautiful game. Laura Bailey already showed her skills in Saints Row sing-a-longs, she's really good at singing. This sequence isn't too long (the game itself is apparently planned to be 2 hours long), but it has three different endings that you can get by choosing different dialogue options, which are pushing songs in a different direction. I really liked what I saw here and will wait for a full release.
60. Backbone: Prologue
Platform: PC (Steam) | Early Access Demo | Time played: 1 hour | Beaten in November
Backbone: Prologue is a free demo of a much larger adventure game that is currently in development. I enjoyed a setting. A noir detective story about a racoon detective in a trenchcoat, combined with catchy, beautiful pixelart artstyle is truely something else and has a lot of potential. It's suprising they managed to do such a game on Unreal Engine 4, I would have thought these type of games are more suited for Unity. While a demo is a very limited, Prologue gives an excellent overview what a complete game may be with its gameplay mechanics. The game also serves as good introduction to a main character and a main plot. Eggnut is really at something and I'm actually interested in playing a complete game when it launches in 2020.
61. Star Wars: Battlefront II
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 4 hours | Beaten in November
When EA announced Battlefront II will have a singleplayer campaign and tasked a seprate studio to make it happen, I was thrilled. It was so long since we had a proper singleplayer story set in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Unfortunately, I could write an entire essay about what went wrong with Battlefront II. I will limit myself to the basics, though. An ex-Imperials experiencing fall of the Empire sounded as a good entry point for a story, but in reality everything ended up as predictable. They didn't brought anything new to the table, the story felt like a rehash from already known material from current Canon and what's even worse, most of medias which told a similar stories (like "Battlefront: Twilight Company" and "Lost Stars" novels) did it significantly better. But you know, it's not even the worst thing. Iden Versio and Inferno Squad were boring and shallow. Their motivations and relationships were never properly explored. Story felt "cheap" and uninspired. Missions were so awfully-designed. Motive could tell a such unique tale, but they never really utilised its potential. They even pushed filler content where you play as characters from the Original Trilogy just to boost the playtime! And even with that, the game clocked at roughly 4 hours. Battlefront II is a great game for multiplayer experiences, but I would never recommend it for singleplayer fans. It's such a huge dissapointment. The only thing that "saved" it for me was a late Kylo Ren mission and Shriv as a supporting character. This lovely Duros and his interactions with a main cast and Lando was something else, I would love to play a game about him.
62. Star Wars: Battlefront II - Resurrection (DLC)
Platform: PS4 | Time played: 2 hours | Beaten in November
I must say, releasing a free singleplayer DLC was something I would never expected from EA. But here we are. "Resurrection" is a direct continuation of Iden's story. Set just after events of a post-timeskip cliffhanger, it offers a three new missions that are moving it from a Galactic Civil War to a conflict between Resistance and First Order. What I really liked, that Resurrection is more story-driven than a main campaign, with more cutscenes and gameplay centered around narrative. That said, it's still nothing special - two more hours of Battlefront II, but this time without any fillers. It's wrapping up Iden's story, has some minor and more major ties to the Sequel Trilogy (it was actually cool to see Iden and Shriv reacting to the dectruction of Hosnian Prime, showing it from another point of view) and expands on some plot points that were briefly mentioned in The Force Awakens. There were a lot of new enemies - new stormtroopers, First Order officers, mercenaries, which was a breath of fresh air. Ending was awful, though. I'm aware it was supposed to be dramatic, but I only laughed how bad it was. They didn't delivered at all.
63. Gothic: Playable Teaser
Platform: PC (Steam) | Early Access Demo | Time played: 3 hours | Beaten in December
THQ Nordic Barcelona Studio came with a perfect present for Christmas, a playable teaser of a potential Gothic remake. Or maybe not that perfect... Gothic is one of these franchises that are very important to me. It's part of my gaming memories, so it's sad to say that not everything came together like it should. It isn't a straight 1:1 remake, but a reimagining of the whole game with its own take on the Nameless Hero adventure. I didn't liked a new introduction, the original was much better. Nameless Hero received a scroll from Pyrokar, was thrown into a pit and got smacked into face from a first person he met. "Welcome to the Colony" was a powerful way to start a game, because it showed this place is ruthless and not everyone will be friendly towards you. They decided to change it into a cutscene with a destroyed crane and main character being ambushed by snappers, which was weird, embarassing and unnecessary. The other thing I didn't liked was limiting a biggest strength of an original game, which was a sweet spot, a perfect balance between narrative, exploration and worldbuilding. This is not a case here. THQ Nordic should focus on contextualizing player objectives, without outright showing what we need to do. Handholding should be limited. Combat is awful and requires a lot of work. Not everything is bad, though. I enjoyed a tutorial area and thought it was actually a neat addition, because it fleshed out places that weren't properly explored in the original game. New sidequests were fun and NPCs were quite memorable. Choices and consequences may become a good addition to the formula, which may add even more replayability. The Colony recreated on Unreal Engine 4 looks gorgeous, it makes even better impression without a default post-processing filter. So to close by, Gothic teaser shows promise, but requires a lot of retooling. Barcelona Studio has a lot of ambition and I'm perfectly fine they want to make its own spin, but they seem to miss a point what made Gothic... Well, Gothic. I'm crossing my fingers they will do it justice, though, because I would love to play it.
Last edited:
53. Battletoads - NES (2 hours)
The game's reputation for difficult levels and poor design is earned, but the core gameplay is fun, and there's a lot of variety for an NES beat 'em up.
Full list to date
The game's reputation for difficult levels and poor design is earned, but the core gameplay is fun, and there's a lot of variety for an NES beat 'em up.
Full list to date
Main Post
Early June update due to reached milestone!
Game 47: [DLC] Garden Flipper (PC) | 16 Hours | 06/03/2019 | 8/10
An expansion for House Flipper that adds a large amount of content, the time shown shows how long it took me to complete the added jobs and renovate and sell the added houses. There's a lot of new stuff in terms of props to add around the houses, although if you're too ambitious the game has trouble rendering everything and it can cause glitches. With new stuff comes new chores, things like planting things and adding ponds are fine enough but rolling grass can be painful, especially if you messed up on the positioning. Overall, a fun enough excuse to revisit a great game.
Game 48: Team Sonic Racing (PC) | 17 Hours | 06/11/2019 | 8/10
Sumo's last Sonic racing outing is one of my favourite games of all time, and while it's still a solid effort it doesn't come close to Transformed. The big gimmick in the team stuff which is generally boring and is a major annoyance in single player. I stopped trying to play Hard difficulty early on when I realized it was a waste of time to do so when AI will activate their team ult at the very end of the level and overtake you, which caused many a reset because I wanted to do the optional challenges as well. The gimmick modes in the single player are cleverly designed and reward people who understand drifting so I generally found them to be a challenging highlight. The rest of the game is fine, if boring because it's all sonic stuff. Just bring Blaze to the Sonic & Sega games and forget this one happened, and especially forget the gacha unlocking thing.
Game 49: Late Shift (PC) | 1 Hours | 06/14/2019 | 6/10
A fun enough watch/play thing. I had watched some other playthroughs of this game many months ago and decided to play/watch it myself. My favourite part is when the old man beats up the main character and turns him into a goober, although I didn't get that ending. Overall, it's like a 2 star movie but as a game experiment thing it's a good proof of concept, and probably lead to Bandersnatch happening which was a bit better as a movie thing I guess.
Game 50: Sethian (PC) | 2 Hours | 06/16/2019 | 7/10
Cool game about learning an ancient language, I played the game like halfway through months ago and only finally finished it now. It's interesting enough although I needed a walkthrough because one part is kind of obtuse.
Game 51: Wheels of Aurelia (PC) | ~2 Hours | 06/16/2019 | 5/10
A holdout from my Humble Treasure Trove fun time I had last month. It's a fun enough concept, you choose different things to say with the up and down keys while driving a car through the streets of Italy with the left and right keys and spacebar. The game can be finished in 20 minutes but there are a bunch of different endings and while I liked the concept the execution just wasn't interesting enough for me to find more than like 4 endings.
Game 52: Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled (PS4) | 10+ Hours | 06/21/2019 | 10/10
The recent Crash and Spyro remakes have been stellar for me personally and this game is the first time in a long time I've been actively excited for its release months out. It's here now and boy oh boy I am an incredibly happy boy. It's not all sunshine and rainbows; the game's online state right now is playable but incredibly buggy, the rotating store approach isn't one I enjoy and Beenox doesn't seem to know exactly what it's doing with wumpa coins right now, and there are some changes made to the physics that negatively impact some courses and some shortcuts are harder and weirder. However, the rest of the game is absolutely fantastic. Aside from the aforementioned changes, the gameplay is recreated perfectly here. The changes made to the super turbo pads and the blue fire boost you get from them is legitimately one of the best changes they could have made to the game, by and large the nitro kart tracks are better here than they are in their original game. This game is definitely going to be my Game of the Year this year unless something major happens within the rest of the year.
Early June update due to reached milestone!
Game 47: [DLC] Garden Flipper (PC) | 16 Hours | 06/03/2019 | 8/10
An expansion for House Flipper that adds a large amount of content, the time shown shows how long it took me to complete the added jobs and renovate and sell the added houses. There's a lot of new stuff in terms of props to add around the houses, although if you're too ambitious the game has trouble rendering everything and it can cause glitches. With new stuff comes new chores, things like planting things and adding ponds are fine enough but rolling grass can be painful, especially if you messed up on the positioning. Overall, a fun enough excuse to revisit a great game.
Game 48: Team Sonic Racing (PC) | 17 Hours | 06/11/2019 | 8/10
Sumo's last Sonic racing outing is one of my favourite games of all time, and while it's still a solid effort it doesn't come close to Transformed. The big gimmick in the team stuff which is generally boring and is a major annoyance in single player. I stopped trying to play Hard difficulty early on when I realized it was a waste of time to do so when AI will activate their team ult at the very end of the level and overtake you, which caused many a reset because I wanted to do the optional challenges as well. The gimmick modes in the single player are cleverly designed and reward people who understand drifting so I generally found them to be a challenging highlight. The rest of the game is fine, if boring because it's all sonic stuff. Just bring Blaze to the Sonic & Sega games and forget this one happened, and especially forget the gacha unlocking thing.
Game 49: Late Shift (PC) | 1 Hours | 06/14/2019 | 6/10
A fun enough watch/play thing. I had watched some other playthroughs of this game many months ago and decided to play/watch it myself. My favourite part is when the old man beats up the main character and turns him into a goober, although I didn't get that ending. Overall, it's like a 2 star movie but as a game experiment thing it's a good proof of concept, and probably lead to Bandersnatch happening which was a bit better as a movie thing I guess.
Game 50: Sethian (PC) | 2 Hours | 06/16/2019 | 7/10
Cool game about learning an ancient language, I played the game like halfway through months ago and only finally finished it now. It's interesting enough although I needed a walkthrough because one part is kind of obtuse.
Game 51: Wheels of Aurelia (PC) | ~2 Hours | 06/16/2019 | 5/10
A holdout from my Humble Treasure Trove fun time I had last month. It's a fun enough concept, you choose different things to say with the up and down keys while driving a car through the streets of Italy with the left and right keys and spacebar. The game can be finished in 20 minutes but there are a bunch of different endings and while I liked the concept the execution just wasn't interesting enough for me to find more than like 4 endings.
Game 52: Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled (PS4) | 10+ Hours | 06/21/2019 | 10/10
The recent Crash and Spyro remakes have been stellar for me personally and this game is the first time in a long time I've been actively excited for its release months out. It's here now and boy oh boy I am an incredibly happy boy. It's not all sunshine and rainbows; the game's online state right now is playable but incredibly buggy, the rotating store approach isn't one I enjoy and Beenox doesn't seem to know exactly what it's doing with wumpa coins right now, and there are some changes made to the physics that negatively impact some courses and some shortcuts are harder and weirder. However, the rest of the game is absolutely fantastic. Aside from the aforementioned changes, the gameplay is recreated perfectly here. The changes made to the super turbo pads and the blue fire boost you get from them is legitimately one of the best changes they could have made to the game, by and large the nitro kart tracks are better here than they are in their original game. This game is definitely going to be my Game of the Year this year unless something major happens within the rest of the year.
Main Post
29. Super Mario World - SNES
Completed 6/16/19
Score - 10/10
Still one of my favorite games of all time. This game holds up so well and I can still hear the amazing tunes in my head. It's a toss-up between this and 3 for my favorite Mario, they are both so close to perfection. This was the first time where I uncovered all of the secret areas and tackled the insanely hard levels. I loved everything about it and very happy to see how well it held up!
30. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes - 3DS
Completed 6/21/19
Score - 7/10
I played it solo and had a really good time for the most part. The end of the game was very difficult playing solo but maybe it gave me a unique challenge outside of the co-op. I think the co-op could be a blast but I was never able to find a game. Most of the bosses were fun and clever...I really hated the Vulture boss though, I imagine he sucks in both solo or co-op. Overall I enjoyed my time in the game and found the puzzles and challenges fair. I wish I could find co-op players to give that a go but I had no such luck.
31. Devil May Cry 2 - PS4
Completed 6/21/19
Score - 5/10
First time playing...last time playing. I was always intrigued when people said how awful this game was. I looked up videos and while bland, it still looked ok. NOPE. It was bland, boring and ridiculously easy. I died so many times in DMC 1, I don't think I died once in this. I played both Dante and Lucias campaign and they were both super bland. I have no idea what I did in this game, no idea who the villain was and no idea what I did the entire time. Now I understand people that are shocked that the series continued after this. It's still not the worst game I have ever played and it wasn't over the top awful like CoJ The Cartel...so it's not even the worst game I played this year. Unless you want to complete the entire series like me...you can definitely skip this game.
29. Super Mario World - SNES
Completed 6/16/19
Score - 10/10
Still one of my favorite games of all time. This game holds up so well and I can still hear the amazing tunes in my head. It's a toss-up between this and 3 for my favorite Mario, they are both so close to perfection. This was the first time where I uncovered all of the secret areas and tackled the insanely hard levels. I loved everything about it and very happy to see how well it held up!
30. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes - 3DS
Completed 6/21/19
Score - 7/10
I played it solo and had a really good time for the most part. The end of the game was very difficult playing solo but maybe it gave me a unique challenge outside of the co-op. I think the co-op could be a blast but I was never able to find a game. Most of the bosses were fun and clever...I really hated the Vulture boss though, I imagine he sucks in both solo or co-op. Overall I enjoyed my time in the game and found the puzzles and challenges fair. I wish I could find co-op players to give that a go but I had no such luck.
31. Devil May Cry 2 - PS4
Completed 6/21/19
Score - 5/10
First time playing...last time playing. I was always intrigued when people said how awful this game was. I looked up videos and while bland, it still looked ok. NOPE. It was bland, boring and ridiculously easy. I died so many times in DMC 1, I don't think I died once in this. I played both Dante and Lucias campaign and they were both super bland. I have no idea what I did in this game, no idea who the villain was and no idea what I did the entire time. Now I understand people that are shocked that the series continued after this. It's still not the worst game I have ever played and it wasn't over the top awful like CoJ The Cartel...so it's not even the worst game I played this year. Unless you want to complete the entire series like me...you can definitely skip this game.
MAIN THREAD
COMPLETED | 36
#31: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight (6/11/2019 ) | 8/10 | Xbox One| ~ 5 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -8 | A fun MetroidVania that brings a solid small package
Gameplay -8.4 | Good looking & good controlling game, limited enemy types.
Sound - 8 | Good but limited soundtrack
Story/Online - NA | If there was a bigger story I missed it, true ending was interesting though.
Asking Price-8 | Enjoyable game, just wish there was a little more to see/do.
While I did enjoy this game and would recommend to anyone, it also never really caught me as doing anything amazing. There is nothing wrong with being a solid well made game, I just feel like I missed a certain feeling others felt when playing this game after reading others thoughts.
#32: Gears of War ( 6/12/2019 ) | 8/10 | Xbox One| ~ 7 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -8.2 | First Gears game, thoroughly looking forward to rest of series now.
Gameplay - 8 | Not everything is a hit, but for a third person shooter the game was a joy to play
Sound - 8 | Good selection of sounds, most of the time drowned out by intense gunfire.
Story/Online -7 | Story throws you into world without any context and leaves you with none either.
Asking Price-8 | It was fun and didn't overstay its welcome
First time playing a Gears game and really enjoyed it. The level design is very uneven but the controls still feel solid and gunplay feels great. Will be very cool to see how the game gets better with each release (And nice thing for me can jump straight into them for free with Gamepass). One thing I found odd was how it presented its story. I never really cared about the characters or why we where saving the world. It threw you into an already existing world without ever feeling like telling you any backstory on anyone/thing.
#33: Super Mario Galaxy (6/13/2019 ) | 9/10 | Wii | ~ 15 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -9 | One of the most unique ways I have ever seen a series try to reinvent itself.
Gameplay -8.8 | Besides a sometimes wonky camera/confusing aspect, the game has some of the most creative and fun sections in series
Sound -9 | A good soundtrack. Picking up the ice/fire item brings the most satisfying track
Story/Online -NA| Save the princess, save the worl.....GALAXY
Asking Price-9.67 | Tons of hidden secrets and new things to explore after the end credits
A risk taking game that never falls flat on trying something new. I will admit I was not a fan of the games style or controls at first but by the end of the game loved both. Really interested in trying #2 as so many things could be refined a little better, but overall what a joy of a game.
#34: Luigi's Mansion (6/15/2019 ) | 9/10 | 3DS XL | ~ 8 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -9 | A unique game that had me 100% it
Gameplay -8.6 | Loved exploring the rooms and the designs of each area. Wish there was more enemy types
Sound -8 | The humming in this game is top notch. Some cool tracks also
Story/Online -8 | The environment tells a cool story of the inhabitants of the mansion
Asking Price-9 | Game made me want to 100% it. I would definitely recommend and look forward to #2
Everything is really odd about this game, but it comes all together and actually works.
#35: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (6/19/2019 ) | 10/10 | 3DS XL | ~ 24 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -10 | A game about 72 hours that I actually beat in 72 real hours.
Gameplay -9.2 | Playing for the first time, the gameplay loop is very addicting and leads to interesting dynamics on when/what to do.
Sound -10 | Masterpiece, one of my favorites.
Story/Online -8 | Nothing crazy is fleshed out but each section tells interesting narratives.
Asking Price-9.67 | I love this game, its got a ton to see and do and I feel like I only scratched the surface to its mysteries.
I played OOT a few years okay and found it good/okay. The best argument people could present was that at one point in time the game was fantastic. Playing it for the first time years later, not everything holds up very well but its original design still made an enjoyable game years later. Now jump forward and played Majora's Mask for the first time. Not only does the game hold up well with the loop created but it holds its own and is easily a masterpiece in my eyes. I beat the game in less than 72 real hours (Which is sad an impressive since the game logged me at 24....). Once I started I couldn't stop. Also the soundtrack is really really good. It sets the mood to every area perfectly.
#36: Guacamelee! 2 (6/23/2019 ) | 8/10 | Xbox One | ~ 8.5 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 8 | An improvement over the first game in every way and fun title to play
Gameplay - 9 | Controls great and presents the player with a variety of task without any harsh penalties for trying.
Sound - 8 | Its got some really good sounds in the game but they all blend together.
Story/Online - 8 | Humor in this game is top notch
Asking Price- 8.67 | I didn't 100% the game like the first one, but there is even more to see and do.
Had a weird dilemma with this game as its in all ways better than the first one. Oddly enough though I didn't want to 100% it like I did with the first one. Easily a top 10 MetroidVania game
COMPLETED | 36
#31: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight (6/11/2019 ) | 8/10 | Xbox One| ~ 5 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -8 | A fun MetroidVania that brings a solid small package
Gameplay -8.4 | Good looking & good controlling game, limited enemy types.
Sound - 8 | Good but limited soundtrack
Story/Online - NA | If there was a bigger story I missed it, true ending was interesting though.
Asking Price-8 | Enjoyable game, just wish there was a little more to see/do.
While I did enjoy this game and would recommend to anyone, it also never really caught me as doing anything amazing. There is nothing wrong with being a solid well made game, I just feel like I missed a certain feeling others felt when playing this game after reading others thoughts.
#32: Gears of War ( 6/12/2019 ) | 8/10 | Xbox One| ~ 7 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -8.2 | First Gears game, thoroughly looking forward to rest of series now.
Gameplay - 8 | Not everything is a hit, but for a third person shooter the game was a joy to play
Sound - 8 | Good selection of sounds, most of the time drowned out by intense gunfire.
Story/Online -7 | Story throws you into world without any context and leaves you with none either.
Asking Price-8 | It was fun and didn't overstay its welcome
First time playing a Gears game and really enjoyed it. The level design is very uneven but the controls still feel solid and gunplay feels great. Will be very cool to see how the game gets better with each release (And nice thing for me can jump straight into them for free with Gamepass). One thing I found odd was how it presented its story. I never really cared about the characters or why we where saving the world. It threw you into an already existing world without ever feeling like telling you any backstory on anyone/thing.
#33: Super Mario Galaxy (6/13/2019 ) | 9/10 | Wii | ~ 15 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -9 | One of the most unique ways I have ever seen a series try to reinvent itself.
Gameplay -8.8 | Besides a sometimes wonky camera/confusing aspect, the game has some of the most creative and fun sections in series
Sound -9 | A good soundtrack. Picking up the ice/fire item brings the most satisfying track
Story/Online -NA| Save the princess, save the worl.....GALAXY
Asking Price-9.67 | Tons of hidden secrets and new things to explore after the end credits
A risk taking game that never falls flat on trying something new. I will admit I was not a fan of the games style or controls at first but by the end of the game loved both. Really interested in trying #2 as so many things could be refined a little better, but overall what a joy of a game.
#34: Luigi's Mansion (6/15/2019 ) | 9/10 | 3DS XL | ~ 8 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -9 | A unique game that had me 100% it
Gameplay -8.6 | Loved exploring the rooms and the designs of each area. Wish there was more enemy types
Sound -8 | The humming in this game is top notch. Some cool tracks also
Story/Online -8 | The environment tells a cool story of the inhabitants of the mansion
Asking Price-9 | Game made me want to 100% it. I would definitely recommend and look forward to #2
Everything is really odd about this game, but it comes all together and actually works.
#35: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (6/19/2019 ) | 10/10 | 3DS XL | ~ 24 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall -10 | A game about 72 hours that I actually beat in 72 real hours.
Gameplay -9.2 | Playing for the first time, the gameplay loop is very addicting and leads to interesting dynamics on when/what to do.
Sound -10 | Masterpiece, one of my favorites.
Story/Online -8 | Nothing crazy is fleshed out but each section tells interesting narratives.
Asking Price-9.67 | I love this game, its got a ton to see and do and I feel like I only scratched the surface to its mysteries.
I played OOT a few years okay and found it good/okay. The best argument people could present was that at one point in time the game was fantastic. Playing it for the first time years later, not everything holds up very well but its original design still made an enjoyable game years later. Now jump forward and played Majora's Mask for the first time. Not only does the game hold up well with the loop created but it holds its own and is easily a masterpiece in my eyes. I beat the game in less than 72 real hours (Which is sad an impressive since the game logged me at 24....). Once I started I couldn't stop. Also the soundtrack is really really good. It sets the mood to every area perfectly.
#36: Guacamelee! 2 (6/23/2019 ) | 8/10 | Xbox One | ~ 8.5 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 8 | An improvement over the first game in every way and fun title to play
Gameplay - 9 | Controls great and presents the player with a variety of task without any harsh penalties for trying.
Sound - 8 | Its got some really good sounds in the game but they all blend together.
Story/Online - 8 | Humor in this game is top notch
Asking Price- 8.67 | I didn't 100% the game like the first one, but there is even more to see and do.
Had a weird dilemma with this game as its in all ways better than the first one. Oddly enough though I didn't want to 100% it like I did with the first one. Easily a top 10 MetroidVania game
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.
Main Post
Last edited:
Main Post part 1
-------
20. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode 4 - Dangeresque 3 - 3 hours
This time another episode of Strong Bad series is focused on parodying action movies with all possible tropes and cliches from seasonal Hollywood blockbusters. With the difference that the whole movie is filmed in an extremely amateurish manner and all the roles are played by the main characters of the Homestar Runner universe (and of course most of them are not really good actors either). And just as expected, it filmed so badly that in the end, it turned out to be a good thing.
Parody on the parody is not the easiest genre, so at first, those overly theatrical acting and intended stupidity of the storyline doesn't look really inspiring. But once the story starting to slowly accelerate and bring more of typical for Strong Bad craziness, and it becomes no less fun than any previous episode in this series. Ridiculously amateurish scenes editing and "special effects" only adds up to the unique charm of this story, and occasional edgy jokes and one-liners are still always land right on the target.
There is one problem, because of strict linear nature of storytelling in this episode, all side-activities were reduced even more. For example, there is no comic drawing mini-game this time, even as part of the cutscene. But at least "Extended Play" was significantly improved, so be sure to load the last autosave after completing the episode to see the bonus scenes and "interviews". In short, Strong Bad keeping up as very decent comedy series, and unless developers somehow will manage to fuck up in the last episode, this will be one of the best Telltale games.
-------
20. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode 4 - Dangeresque 3 - 3 hours
This time another episode of Strong Bad series is focused on parodying action movies with all possible tropes and cliches from seasonal Hollywood blockbusters. With the difference that the whole movie is filmed in an extremely amateurish manner and all the roles are played by the main characters of the Homestar Runner universe (and of course most of them are not really good actors either). And just as expected, it filmed so badly that in the end, it turned out to be a good thing.
Parody on the parody is not the easiest genre, so at first, those overly theatrical acting and intended stupidity of the storyline doesn't look really inspiring. But once the story starting to slowly accelerate and bring more of typical for Strong Bad craziness, and it becomes no less fun than any previous episode in this series. Ridiculously amateurish scenes editing and "special effects" only adds up to the unique charm of this story, and occasional edgy jokes and one-liners are still always land right on the target.
There is one problem, because of strict linear nature of storytelling in this episode, all side-activities were reduced even more. For example, there is no comic drawing mini-game this time, even as part of the cutscene. But at least "Extended Play" was significantly improved, so be sure to load the last autosave after completing the episode to see the bonus scenes and "interviews". In short, Strong Bad keeping up as very decent comedy series, and unless developers somehow will manage to fuck up in the last episode, this will be one of the best Telltale games.
54. Life is Strange: Before the Storm (9 hours)
It may not be as fantastic, in the fanciful sense, as the first game, but it still charts a compelling story of human drama.
Full list to date
It may not be as fantastic, in the fanciful sense, as the first game, but it still charts a compelling story of human drama.
Full list to date
Main Post
47. Assassin's Creed: Origins - 64h50 - 21.06
Origins is a monster of a game. My jaw figuratively dropped when i saw the whole map. And despite some inevitable repetition toward the end, it really feels like a natural and much needed evolution for the series. AC never felt as good to play as here, from traversal to combat to gameflow, everything feels better and most of the jank traditionally present in the series is gone. It easily became second nature to control Bayek. The world design is magnificent and there's a true wonder to exploration. I tried a bit of the Discovery Tour but after almost 90 hours of Origins + DLC i didn't get far, though i can clearly see myself reinstalling it in the future for this feature alone. It fast became one of my favourite worlds to just be in. Oh and it's an absolutely beautiful game as well.
The change to a less structured narrative does make the game feel a bit disjointed plot wise though. But nothing to worry about, as Origins is essentially another Ubisoft Revenge Plot. By now i've played them all. The parts concerning the birth of the Creed are actually more interesting than Bayek's personal journey i feel. Some of the side quests were much more interesting i thought. One called The Bride in particular hit me:
I still think Ezio's trilogy has a special place in AC history but i gather that Origins has legitimately become my favourite one.
48. The Hidden Ones - 8h10 - 22.06
This first DLC gets deeper into the Brotherhood storyline but it's a bit of a miss as neither the characters nor the plot are given enough time to develop anything worthwhile. There are a few threads here and there that show promise but they never go anywhere. The world itself is a major downgrade to the main game. It doesn't feel as organic or believable, relying a bit too much on gamey paths to separate the different areas. It does have my favourite fortress in the entire game though, a massive place that gave me Anor Londo vibes. It's otherwise a bit of a forgettable expansion.
47. Assassin's Creed: Origins - 64h50 - 21.06
Origins is a monster of a game. My jaw figuratively dropped when i saw the whole map. And despite some inevitable repetition toward the end, it really feels like a natural and much needed evolution for the series. AC never felt as good to play as here, from traversal to combat to gameflow, everything feels better and most of the jank traditionally present in the series is gone. It easily became second nature to control Bayek. The world design is magnificent and there's a true wonder to exploration. I tried a bit of the Discovery Tour but after almost 90 hours of Origins + DLC i didn't get far, though i can clearly see myself reinstalling it in the future for this feature alone. It fast became one of my favourite worlds to just be in. Oh and it's an absolutely beautiful game as well.
The change to a less structured narrative does make the game feel a bit disjointed plot wise though. But nothing to worry about, as Origins is essentially another Ubisoft Revenge Plot. By now i've played them all. The parts concerning the birth of the Creed are actually more interesting than Bayek's personal journey i feel. Some of the side quests were much more interesting i thought. One called The Bride in particular hit me:
We prevent a woman from committing suicide due to grief over the loss of her loved one. We advise her to go back to her family on her hometown, which she refuses and then we part ways. Hours of play later i randomly pass by her hometown and there she is, happily singing on a small hidden stage. Implication being she took our advice to heart and found new joy in her life. Which i found pretty cool.
I still think Ezio's trilogy has a special place in AC history but i gather that Origins has legitimately become my favourite one.
48. The Hidden Ones - 8h10 - 22.06
This first DLC gets deeper into the Brotherhood storyline but it's a bit of a miss as neither the characters nor the plot are given enough time to develop anything worthwhile. There are a few threads here and there that show promise but they never go anywhere. The world itself is a major downgrade to the main game. It doesn't feel as organic or believable, relying a bit too much on gamey paths to separate the different areas. It does have my favourite fortress in the entire game though, a massive place that gave me Anor Londo vibes. It's otherwise a bit of a forgettable expansion.
26. Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed - 26/06/2019
A game that could shove any Mario Kart into a locker and take its lunch money, SART is racing perfection with blazing fast gameplay and a museum of Sega history and fanservice; there are stages based off of Panzer Dragoon and Burning Rangers!
Unfortunately it's not all sunshine, as the game can also be too hard for its own good. A meaty challenge with a steep learning curve that feels good to master, that's great, but on the higher difficulties the game flat out cheats with racers who can pull ahead of you completely without drifting, and a single shot by a random item can spell your doom. It's almost deal breakingly frustrating for such a technical experience.
A game that could shove any Mario Kart into a locker and take its lunch money, SART is racing perfection with blazing fast gameplay and a museum of Sega history and fanservice; there are stages based off of Panzer Dragoon and Burning Rangers!
Unfortunately it's not all sunshine, as the game can also be too hard for its own good. A meaty challenge with a steep learning curve that feels good to master, that's great, but on the higher difficulties the game flat out cheats with racers who can pull ahead of you completely without drifting, and a single shot by a random item can spell your doom. It's almost deal breakingly frustrating for such a technical experience.
Been a while since I posted. Dropped AC Odyssey and started playing Destiny 2 again. Still buying more then playing. Nothing changes :)
Main Post
7. PREY | May 11th
It's been a long wait and another long wait after that. As it always with me, since I didn't get the game on release, it took some time to buy it and play it. I can tell that I liked the game, but overall it was a bit less than I expected. Takes maybe a bit too much time to finish it (with some sides) and ending part was really, really weird. Playing it on PS4 was not helping, last 20 minutes were feeling like constant loading after loading. Anyways, enjoyed the game, it's just last parts felt weird. The ending though ;)
8. A Way Out | May 13th
A Way Out was a pretty nice little adventure with some laughs in it. Nothing special like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, but still, had fun playing it in coop.
7. The Walking Dead: Michonne | May 17th
Been a while since I played The Walking Dead Telltale games and since they went out of business, I thought I'll finish everything that's left. Nothing special about this one. At this point, I can't really remember the story right :D
8. Destiny 2 | May 30th
Started playing Destiny 2 once again in May. Annual Pass was kind of meh so I mostly stayed away from the game. Decided to get back in before Season of Oppulence. I think this Season is best what they had to offer since Forsaken and I'm once again enjoying my time with Destiny. It was really nice seeing all familiar faces from DestinyERA. Already bought Shadowkeep even though it looks meh for now.
9. World War Z | June 11th
Even though I am still yet to beat some levels, I guess I can put it on the list since I dumped A LOT of time into this one (work). Honestly, I'm pretty surprised game turned out how it is right now. It was quite fun to play with 4 people in a team. It's a dumb shooter and that's it.
10. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier | June 26th
A New Frontier was kind of meh? I constantly asked what the fuck, most of characters were acting really fucking dumb and this whole season felt the same. Ending of Episode 1 was amazing, the rest - meh. Last one on the way.
11. TABS: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Very interesting idea. Never came across anything like it. Totally will return when it's out of Early Access. Had blast playing, it's pretty fun.
Main Post
7. PREY | May 11th
It's been a long wait and another long wait after that. As it always with me, since I didn't get the game on release, it took some time to buy it and play it. I can tell that I liked the game, but overall it was a bit less than I expected. Takes maybe a bit too much time to finish it (with some sides) and ending part was really, really weird. Playing it on PS4 was not helping, last 20 minutes were feeling like constant loading after loading. Anyways, enjoyed the game, it's just last parts felt weird. The ending though ;)
8. A Way Out | May 13th
A Way Out was a pretty nice little adventure with some laughs in it. Nothing special like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, but still, had fun playing it in coop.
7. The Walking Dead: Michonne | May 17th
Been a while since I played The Walking Dead Telltale games and since they went out of business, I thought I'll finish everything that's left. Nothing special about this one. At this point, I can't really remember the story right :D
8. Destiny 2 | May 30th
Started playing Destiny 2 once again in May. Annual Pass was kind of meh so I mostly stayed away from the game. Decided to get back in before Season of Oppulence. I think this Season is best what they had to offer since Forsaken and I'm once again enjoying my time with Destiny. It was really nice seeing all familiar faces from DestinyERA. Already bought Shadowkeep even though it looks meh for now.
9. World War Z | June 11th
Even though I am still yet to beat some levels, I guess I can put it on the list since I dumped A LOT of time into this one (work). Honestly, I'm pretty surprised game turned out how it is right now. It was quite fun to play with 4 people in a team. It's a dumb shooter and that's it.
10. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier | June 26th
A New Frontier was kind of meh? I constantly asked what the fuck, most of characters were acting really fucking dumb and this whole season felt the same. Ending of Episode 1 was amazing, the rest - meh. Last one on the way.
11. TABS: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Very interesting idea. Never came across anything like it. Totally will return when it's out of Early Access. Had blast playing, it's pretty fun.
Last edited:
Main Post
32. Hollow - Switch
Completed 6/25/19
Score - 3/10
Awful. Everything about it was awful. The movement speed was pathetic and made the game a complete chore to play. It reminded me a bit of walking in Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, which was rough in that game but way worse here when you have to shoot at enemies. The enemy design is lame and there are really only 3 different things you shoot at. The game is extremely dark and it's hard to see anything, like that GOT episode. I had to turn the contrast all the way up just to figure out what I was doing. Everything looks the same and I spent so much time aimlessley walking around not having a clue what to do. I didn't think I would play a game worse than The Cartel this year...but this takes the cake. Not sure I have played anything that left me this upset. I usually try to find some good in a game...this has barely any. Some of the sound design was ok... and I was able to finish it but overall it's awful. Maybe it is better on the PC? It definitley has the worst map I have ever used in a game. What the heck was up with all those random naked women pictures? Don't buy this game!
Want more answers? Wait for Hollow 2. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https:///wp-content/uploads/2018/02/9EACA1DB-1CF0-4926-AB60-52E9BABB87F2.jpeg
32. Hollow - Switch
Completed 6/25/19
Score - 3/10
Awful. Everything about it was awful. The movement speed was pathetic and made the game a complete chore to play. It reminded me a bit of walking in Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, which was rough in that game but way worse here when you have to shoot at enemies. The enemy design is lame and there are really only 3 different things you shoot at. The game is extremely dark and it's hard to see anything, like that GOT episode. I had to turn the contrast all the way up just to figure out what I was doing. Everything looks the same and I spent so much time aimlessley walking around not having a clue what to do. I didn't think I would play a game worse than The Cartel this year...but this takes the cake. Not sure I have played anything that left me this upset. I usually try to find some good in a game...this has barely any. Some of the sound design was ok... and I was able to finish it but overall it's awful. Maybe it is better on the PC? It definitley has the worst map I have ever used in a game. What the heck was up with all those random naked women pictures? Don't buy this game!
Want more answers? Wait for Hollow 2. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https:///wp-content/uploads/2018/02/9EACA1DB-1CF0-4926-AB60-52E9BABB87F2.jpeg
Weekly update 25!
Super late update! I have been so busy these last few days.
56. RAGE (PC) | 19th Jun - 19hrs | 5/5
57. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC) | 22nd Jun - 8hrs | 3/5
58. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (PC) | 23rd Jun - 9hrs | 3/5
_____________
Master Post!
Super late update! I have been so busy these last few days.
56. RAGE (PC) | 19th Jun - 19hrs | 5/5
I have owned this game basically since release on 360 and I have always felt like it would be a game that would suit me. And I still never got to it before we sold the game and the console. I did get it on PC too tho, in some Bethesda bundle, and swore to play it. It took me years but here I am! And as expected, I absolutely loved it. I chose to play the game on Ultra Nightmare and it was just the right difficulty for me. Encounters were tense, I had to use cover and it was important to switch between the different weapons based on what I was up against. The nailgun in rebar mode was my most used weapon and I had lots and lots of fun with that one. Money was tight (until I could abuse the online poker minigame) and the races were challenging in just the right way. I still won on the first try most of the time but I had to fight for it. After some tweaking to remove most of the texture pop in issues and playing around with my own personalized ReShade settings, the game also looked super good at times. Some blotchy textures messed with the ability to take good screenshots but it was very nice during play. All in all one of the best experiences of the year.
57. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC) | 22nd Jun - 8hrs | 3/5
I don't remember why I got the sudden urge to play this again. I think a friend mentioned the game and I remember liking it a lot when I played it ten years ago when I got sent Dark Athena for review (but then something happened and they didn't want the review anymore). I got it on GOG a couple of years later but never got to it, like so many other games. It was fascinating to play it again, I remembered some parts clearly and had completely forgotten other things. While the game has a lot of charm and really feels like a cheesy action movie (in a good way) is also has some serious flaws that hamper the enjoyment. The stealth works badly and the AI is unfair. I would still say it scores a "high" 3 because I had a lot of fun most of the time. The voice acting is a joy too!
58. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (PC) | 23rd Jun - 9hrs | 3/5
Unlike Butcher Bay I have not played this one before. I never got to it when the review got cancelled. It almost feels bad to give this the same score as Butcher Bay because it is not as good. But 3/5 still represents how this felt to play and it's not a bad game. They are very similar. The same cheesy action movie thing applies here and it's very fun to play at times, but also the stealth issues and unfair AI. The last couple of hours is not as good tho and that's where it falls short compared to its predecessor. I still recommend people check out both of the games if the theme interests you, they are both worth a chance.
_____________
Master Post!
Main Post
49. INSIDE - 3h20 - 24.06
I can't do justice to INSIDE with some quick little blurb. I also don't want to spoil anything. This is one of the most unsettling, weird and beautiful games i've played. It got under my skin and rattled me the whole way through to its horrifying climax. I urge everyone who reads this to play it. Really.
50. The Curse of the Pharaohs - 16h30 - 24.06
Unlike The Hidden Ones, i did like this very much. It brings a much more interesting territory to explore and also a more compelling story and side quests. And the new Afterlife conceit is pretty neat and well realized. I loved Aaru especially. I particularly like how this is not afraid to get weird as well.
49. INSIDE - 3h20 - 24.06
I can't do justice to INSIDE with some quick little blurb. I also don't want to spoil anything. This is one of the most unsettling, weird and beautiful games i've played. It got under my skin and rattled me the whole way through to its horrifying climax. I urge everyone who reads this to play it. Really.
50. The Curse of the Pharaohs - 16h30 - 24.06
Unlike The Hidden Ones, i did like this very much. It brings a much more interesting territory to explore and also a more compelling story and side quests. And the new Afterlife conceit is pretty neat and well realized. I loved Aaru especially. I particularly like how this is not afraid to get weird as well.
Yeah, plus one on all of this! Nice little writeup. :)
INSIDE is a game I have watched several Let's Plays of after finishing it because I love to see what others think of it all.
29. Castlevania (Switch)
Recommend? It's a classic game, but later sequels - namely III and IV - are much better
30. Castlevania: Bloodlines (Switch)
Recommend? If you like old-school Castlevania games - absolutely
I had never played Bloodlines before so was happy having the chance to do so on the Collection. It's a fun CV game. I like IV better, but still a great game
31. Sonic and Knuckles (XBox One BC)
Recommend? If you are a Sonic Fan, then yes
I'm not a huge Sonic fan (2 is my favorite by a mile), but this game did impress me with how open the levels were and if one were inclined to do so gives it a lot of added replayability
32. Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox one BC)
Recommend? Yes, a fun on-rails shooter
This was my first time playing any game from this series and was impressed with the gameplay.
33. Castlevania III (Switch)
Recommend? Yes
This game really was a major achievement when it was released and IMO the toughest Castlevania for the NES/SNES. The ability to switch characters and alternate routes really lead to a lot of content
34. Castlevania IV (Switch)
Recommend? Yes
Growing up this was my favorite Castlevania and to this day it still is. Just a masterpiece for that style of CV games
35. Contra (Switch)
Recommend? If you want to see how the series started
I had never, ever played any Contra game prior to getting the Collection on the Switch. The OHK makes it a very difficult game with some frustrating moments (this applies to all three games that I played and will mention below)
36. Super C (Switch)
Recommend? If you liked the first Contra
Pretty similar to the first Contra, despite different level design nothing really stood out to me
37. Contra III (Switch)
Recommend? If you like Contra and Super C, this surpasses them by a good bit
Since this was from a time where games made huge leaps in generations, this game is really polished and has expands on the NES contra games
38. Shadow of War (Xbox One)
Recommend? Yes.
I never played any of this game prior to the major patch that came out last summer which really negated a lot of the elements that gave this game bad press so I can only speak for what I did play. This game was a blast, esp since I'm a Lord of the Rings fan. I was lukewarm about Shadow of Mordor, but I thought this game really refined the gameplay from that game and made everything regarding it much more fun to play
Recommend? It's a classic game, but later sequels - namely III and IV - are much better
30. Castlevania: Bloodlines (Switch)
Recommend? If you like old-school Castlevania games - absolutely
I had never played Bloodlines before so was happy having the chance to do so on the Collection. It's a fun CV game. I like IV better, but still a great game
31. Sonic and Knuckles (XBox One BC)
Recommend? If you are a Sonic Fan, then yes
I'm not a huge Sonic fan (2 is my favorite by a mile), but this game did impress me with how open the levels were and if one were inclined to do so gives it a lot of added replayability
32. Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox one BC)
Recommend? Yes, a fun on-rails shooter
This was my first time playing any game from this series and was impressed with the gameplay.
33. Castlevania III (Switch)
Recommend? Yes
This game really was a major achievement when it was released and IMO the toughest Castlevania for the NES/SNES. The ability to switch characters and alternate routes really lead to a lot of content
34. Castlevania IV (Switch)
Recommend? Yes
Growing up this was my favorite Castlevania and to this day it still is. Just a masterpiece for that style of CV games
35. Contra (Switch)
Recommend? If you want to see how the series started
I had never, ever played any Contra game prior to getting the Collection on the Switch. The OHK makes it a very difficult game with some frustrating moments (this applies to all three games that I played and will mention below)
36. Super C (Switch)
Recommend? If you liked the first Contra
Pretty similar to the first Contra, despite different level design nothing really stood out to me
37. Contra III (Switch)
Recommend? If you like Contra and Super C, this surpasses them by a good bit
Since this was from a time where games made huge leaps in generations, this game is really polished and has expands on the NES contra games
38. Shadow of War (Xbox One)
Recommend? Yes.
I never played any of this game prior to the major patch that came out last summer which really negated a lot of the elements that gave this game bad press so I can only speak for what I did play. This game was a blast, esp since I'm a Lord of the Rings fan. I was lukewarm about Shadow of Mordor, but I thought this game really refined the gameplay from that game and made everything regarding it much more fun to play
Main Post part 1
-------
21. Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals - 2 hours
Oldschool adventure game, with the unique atmosphere and story based on Enki Bilal graphical novel, but with tons of technical issues and frustrating gameplay. It shows that this game was made by great artists and writers, and not very good designers and coders.
Problems appear right from the start - Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals working in widescreen mode only with black borders, and any change of resolution to something that doesn't match native display resolution causing enabling of V-Sync and 60FPS cap. All terminals that you need to use in this game are flickering like crazy and can cause an epileptic fit. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, I've never seen the PC exclusive game with such terrible mouse controls. It's like you playing on the lowest difficulty with ridiculous mouse acceleration, mouse pointer always moves with different speed and it's almost impossible to point this damn thing on anything small.
Considering that Nikopol is Myst-style adventure and there is no active points highlight, with such terrible controls this game turns into literal torture. Most of the puzzles in this game are based on the blatant pixel hunting, and without the ability to highlight point of interest finding most of the items becomes a non-trivial and frustrating task on such detailed backgrounds. Moreover, even if you have all the required items to solve the riddle, it's still can be hard to deal with them because you need to use those items in VERY specific points on the screen, and it's a terrible combo with sluggish controls like in this game. There is action scenes where you need to act quickly or protagonist will be killed and you'll be forced to start all over again - and sometimes it means replaying huge chunks of the level while watching and listening again all these unskippable dialogues and cutscenes. The icing on the cake - the fact that some of the puzzles can be failed but the game will continue anyway, so you can keep wasting your time, trying to understand what to do, while the only solution is to load the last save.
Developers had on their hands an impressive source material, but they failed in making a good game out of this. Nikopol can be barely considered as a standalone product because it barely introduces players to the game's world, and without reading the original visual novel or at least watching a movie adaptation called Immortel (Ad Vitam) random player will have a hard time trying to understand what the hell is going on in this game. In short, it's better to avoid this game unless you are a huge fan of this type of games and got it with a -90% discount.
-------
21. Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals - 2 hours
Oldschool adventure game, with the unique atmosphere and story based on Enki Bilal graphical novel, but with tons of technical issues and frustrating gameplay. It shows that this game was made by great artists and writers, and not very good designers and coders.
Problems appear right from the start - Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals working in widescreen mode only with black borders, and any change of resolution to something that doesn't match native display resolution causing enabling of V-Sync and 60FPS cap. All terminals that you need to use in this game are flickering like crazy and can cause an epileptic fit. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, I've never seen the PC exclusive game with such terrible mouse controls. It's like you playing on the lowest difficulty with ridiculous mouse acceleration, mouse pointer always moves with different speed and it's almost impossible to point this damn thing on anything small.
Considering that Nikopol is Myst-style adventure and there is no active points highlight, with such terrible controls this game turns into literal torture. Most of the puzzles in this game are based on the blatant pixel hunting, and without the ability to highlight point of interest finding most of the items becomes a non-trivial and frustrating task on such detailed backgrounds. Moreover, even if you have all the required items to solve the riddle, it's still can be hard to deal with them because you need to use those items in VERY specific points on the screen, and it's a terrible combo with sluggish controls like in this game. There is action scenes where you need to act quickly or protagonist will be killed and you'll be forced to start all over again - and sometimes it means replaying huge chunks of the level while watching and listening again all these unskippable dialogues and cutscenes. The icing on the cake - the fact that some of the puzzles can be failed but the game will continue anyway, so you can keep wasting your time, trying to understand what to do, while the only solution is to load the last save.
Developers had on their hands an impressive source material, but they failed in making a good game out of this. Nikopol can be barely considered as a standalone product because it barely introduces players to the game's world, and without reading the original visual novel or at least watching a movie adaptation called Immortel (Ad Vitam) random player will have a hard time trying to understand what the hell is going on in this game. In short, it's better to avoid this game unless you are a huge fan of this type of games and got it with a -90% discount.
Thanks :)
I usually don't really watch LP's of games i've played but i'm curious as well with this one. It feels really personal, and full of meanings anyone could take from in their own way. Do you have any suggestion of interesting Inside LP's to watch?
Original post:
52. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Beat Oxide after lucking out with the weapons. Going to try and 100% the base game but I'm not in a rush for that. My skills aren't what they were like when I was younger :V
52. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Beat Oxide after lucking out with the weapons. Going to try and 100% the base game but I'm not in a rush for that. My skills aren't what they were like when I was younger :V
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.
Main Post
27. Breath of the Wild - 28/06/2019
I used to fucking legitimately hate this game, but I've come to realize that was in part because I fought against it every step of the way and played it as a traditional Zelda experience on top of the often annoying experimentation going on. I have hopes that the upcoming sequel will iron out the kinks and bring back some of the traditional elements of Zelda without sacrificing the advancements in BOTW.
I used to fucking legitimately hate this game, but I've come to realize that was in part because I fought against it every step of the way and played it as a traditional Zelda experience on top of the often annoying experimentation going on. I have hopes that the upcoming sequel will iron out the kinks and bring back some of the traditional elements of Zelda without sacrificing the advancements in BOTW.
55. one night, hot springs (<1 hour)
No, this isn't some fanservice game, this is a short and cute little visual novel about the Japanese trans experience. It offers a branching storyline and insight into the state of LGBTQ+ affairs in Japan and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world.
Full list to date
No, this isn't some fanservice game, this is a short and cute little visual novel about the Japanese trans experience. It offers a branching storyline and insight into the state of LGBTQ+ affairs in Japan and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world.
Full list to date
53. Max Payne 3
This game would've been better if it were half as long. As much as I enjoyed the bullet time mechanic, and its mix of cover and run and gunning, the enemy waves became too boring and really dulled my enjoyment of the game.
A solid 3rd person shooter but not one I'd rank as best of the best. Visually it is a top of its class though.
This game would've been better if it were half as long. As much as I enjoyed the bullet time mechanic, and its mix of cover and run and gunning, the enemy waves became too boring and really dulled my enjoyment of the game.
A solid 3rd person shooter but not one I'd rank as best of the best. Visually it is a top of its class though.
Main Post 3! Click here for Main Post 1 (1-37) and here for Main Post 2 (38-69)
Game #70 - Steamworld Heist Ultimate Edition
Time: 15 hours
The last of the Steamworld games in my playthrough, and easily my favorite, as this 2D take on the X-Com formula works wonderfully, while still maintaining the same great artstyle, humour and world building the series is known for. A nice long campaign with a ton of missions to do, lots of characters to unlock (even tho realistically you end up only using the same core of 4 or 5 throughout), lots of loot (and hats!) to collect, and just pitch perfect turn based strategy action makes this not only the best of the Steamworld games (I know, it's weird to compare them since they are all different genres) but cements the series as one of my favorites in many years, as it keeps reinventing itself in new ways and the end result is always at the very least "good" if not "great". I both want a sequel to Heist because I loved it so much, but also a new take on a new genre, because they keep knocking it out of the park.
Game #71 - Fairune 2
Time: 7 hours
Less of a sequel and more of a refinement of the first game, its a much longer campaign, better art (that doesnt take just half the screen this time!), many more locations, more (and harder puzzles), more items, just a much more complete game, and thus, a much better game. Just like the first one, the focus is primarely on puzzles and exploration as combat is relegated to bumping into enemies (and insta kill you if you arent high enough level), but the puzzles and level design are great and this is very recomended for fans of zelda style games and the like. The only downside, if I have to point one, is that it replies a little too much on hidden walls as puzzles, and since some are easy to miss and ou can completely block progression because of it, it might piss people off (I had to resort to videos / FAQs a few times). Still highly recomended as the whole package of Fairune Collection is just amazing value.
BONUS: Fairune Origin + Fairune Blast
These are a couple of modes that unlock after you finish Fairune 1 and 2 in the collection, but they are so short and simple that it doesnt warrant a proper spot on the list, but still I reckon they deserve a mention. Origin is a 15min long stripped down (even compared to Fairune 1) version of Fairune, cute for what it is and good for that very last puzzle itch, and Blast is a top down shooter not unlike the final boss sequences from the main games, and much like those, its pretty terrible lol.
Game #72 - Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
Time: 8 hours
Still one of my favorite "metroidvanias" ever, now with added zones and bosses (although to be fair, I couldnt tell you whats new since I barely remembered the original release lol), none of which apparently add much to the game (nor do they detract from it tho). Fantastic art style (that looks gorgeous on the Switch's portable screen), still the same great gameplay and level design, good length, not too hard unless you want to tackle the harder optional challenges, just a near-perfect example of the genre in my opinion, and a must play for any fan of said genre. I've never played the sequel, something which I need to fix soon.
Game #73 - Hunter's Legacy
Time: 6 hours
A neat little metroidvania with some simple art and janky gameplay but good level design and some cool ideas like using the right stick to move your minimap to see if theres any chests around, or when you use switches you get a on screen indicator showing you which gate opened, which I was enjoying for what it was until a horrible last level that bumps the difficulty by a factor of ten thousand for no reason, and the worst last boss I remember seeing, with random attacks and weak points you cant even access unless he does specific attacks which are... random, coupled with the aforementioned janky gameplay (precise it is not) made me actually rage quit (or rather rage delete) the game at the last boss. Not that im losing much since the story is basically nonexistant, but its a shame because I enjoyed it for the most part, but that last level and boss made me retroactively hate the game. In a sea of Metroidvanias, this is NOT the way to go about standing out. Avoid.
Game #74 - Warhammer 40k Inquisitor Prophecy
Time: 28+ hours
I will preface this by saying I did not play Inquisitor Martyr, the "main" game this standalone expansion builds on, so I cant speak on how bad it was at launch or how it is or isnt good these days, I can only speak about Prophecy, in fact I will add a second caveat which is the fact I am a huge pet/minion fanboy. So with that said, did I enjoy Prophecy? Very much so actually, I think it's quite fantastic for what it sets out to do, I had a ton of fun with it and will probably continue playing it now and then after finishing the campaign. The main draw, for me (and for the expansion really) is the new summoner class, and in my opinion it's one of the best summoner classes I've seen in a long time. You can build a army of pets that will just swarm everywhere, you can play with big lumbering robots instead that do a lot of damage but you can only have a couple out at a time, or you can mix and match. I always joke about summoner classes that if the game plays itself, its doing a good job, and you can definitely make the game "play itself" with a swarm build. I really like the look of the game, it's very grim-dark as one expects from a Warhammer 40k game, it ran great usually sticking to 60fps even with a ton of mecha spiders running around (again, I can speak for how badly the original game ran), the voice acting, particularly the main character, is fantastic, and the campaign is quite meaty, as it took me about 24 hours to do every main and side mission (the narrative ones at least, theres infinite amounts in the end game). Lastly there are a few end game modes, multiplayer and pvp, so all around I felt it was great, but at the same time, I felt it was made especially for me as a fanboy of pet classes, so if you dont like those, stick with the main game and the new 2.0 patch I guess.
Game #75 - Forager
Time: 18 hours
Super streamlined resource-gathering / building style game (think Stardew Valley and the like), with a heavy focus on the gathering part, and a much more action-y feel than most games in it's genre. You move much faster than you usually would in these games (and with various upgrades you move even faster and gather resources even faster), there is a giant skill tree to unlock and every perk pretty much feels like an upgrade so you constantly feel like leveling up, there isnt a overwhelming amount of stuff to build which I like, everything is very streamlined to make it fun instead of a chore. Also, compared to most of the genre, its not very long, as you can pretty much do or see everything in about 20 hours tops. The dev has a road map with various content updates coming, and I will definitely jump back in when these hit, but with a lack of any sort of end game and having done pretty much everything now (own all the lands, have almost all the perks and items), I feel I'm pretty much done with the game. And you know what? That is a good thing, as closure is something these games sorely tend to lack.
Game #76 - PictoQuest The Cursed Grids
Time: 10+ hours
Not much to say about this one, it's a neat little picross game with a healthy amount of puzzles and cute art style. It has some "light rpg mechanics" as the game calls it, but it basically boils down to enemies attacking you making some levels basically have a "timer", you can use health potions to get health (aka time) back but anyone remotely familiar with Picross games won't even need to. It's cheap so if you are itching for some more Picross in your life, you could do worse, its certainly enjoyable.
Game #77 - Turok
Time: 10 hours
Nice surprise with this one as I did not expect to enjoy it so much, nor expect it to hold up so nicely. The new HD remaster looks good enough, especially on the Switch's smaller screen, but what I really liked was the fantastic level design, they really don't make them like these anymore do they (well, except with the wave of retro style FPS coming out lately, I guess they do again). Having to actually look on every nook and cranny of each level to find keys to be able to progress on later levels was super satisfying, there are a ton of weapons to use and they feel great, enemy variety isnt the best and neither are the locations you visit (at least visually) but overall I had a great time and it really made me want to play the vastly superior sequel as soon as possible.
Game #78 - Cat Quest
Time: 8 hours
Cat Quest is one of those games I feel weird talking about, as I actually quite enjoyed overall, but I don't think I could recomend it to anyone, unless it's in a bundle or in a cheap sale. A simple action-rpg with fantastic art style (it really carried the game for me, I love the "walking on a world map" style) and serviceable gameplay, but the game doesnt have much going for it (you basically have a sword swing, various magics that mostly boil down to aoe attacks, and a dodge), and while the writing is cute (expect MANY cat-puns), the game is basically a long string of fetch quests and it gets SUPER repetitive. I did most of them (finished at level 75, couldnt be arsed to grind to do the level 99 sidequest) because, like I said, I mostly liekd the art style and overall cuteness. There's a new game+ and a "mew game" which introduces various modifiers, but I cant imagine anyone would want to replay the game after they finish it tbh.
Game #79 - Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas
Time: 10 hours
Decided to replay / finish (I never finished it on PC originally) this on Switch to scratch my Zelda itch before Link's Awakening hits, and I qutie enjoyed my time with it (I had already liked it on PC). Looks great in portable mode and it has a meaty campaign with various islands and dungeons to explore, items and spells to get, you know the deal, it's a shameless Zelda clone (I don't even mean that in a bad way). The optional content in particular is quite good and you can tell it was added after the game's iOS origins, but the main content is certainly passable, if a little simple (lot's of box pushing puzzles). It runs well, it feels a little janky to play but nothing that ruins the experience, and like I said initially, it scratches that Zelda itch that everyone gets now and then. Its a neat little game and well worth it in a cheap sale, as long as you dont expect actual Zelda quality.
Game #80 - Turok 2 Seeds of Evil
Time: 15 hours
Wow, easily one of the best sequels I've ever played, Turok 2 takes the Turok formula and improves it in every way, creating one of the funnest first person shooters I've ever experienced. It has, or tries to have a story this time around, with some alien lady asking you to do various things, but it's all pretty shit and unnecessary, that's not what you're here for. Awesome weapons, fantastic soundtrack and enemy variety, huge sprawling levels with fantastic map design (except those damn Blind Ones caves, fuck those caves!), just an awesome package all around. The levels are much more varied than the first game, with each of the 6 levels being in different locations, with various jungles, cities, ruins, caves, alien locations and more waiting for you to explore. And explore you must, because like the first game, you really need to explore every nook and cranny of these levels to find not only the keys for the next levels, but also new passive abilities that gate some areas off until you come back with new pwoers (unfortunately this "metroidvania" flavor sounds better than it actually is, as it becomes a bit annoying having to get them all to finish the game and the huge levels dont help this). Better graphics, better enemies, better weapons (cerebal bore!), just a better game and a must play for any fan of the genre, especially compared to the FPS games we get these days (the single player portions at least).
Game #81 - Masters of Anima
Time: 8 hours
Wow what a welcome and unexpected gem this was, basically a indie Pikmin with a little more focus on combat and action rpg-y mechanics, this ended up being one of my favorite games of the year, and I just wish it was a bit longer because I felt I was just scratching the surface. You control Otto, a Anima Shaper who is able to control various types of minions, color coded not unlike Pikmin, with each serving a purpose both in combat and in puzzles (you need your guardians to tank the enemies while your archers shoot them from safe positions and your mana sappers sap the enemies and refill your mana for example, and at the same time, you use these guardians to push heavy objects, the archers to shoot out of reach levers or corruption shrines, and the mana sappers to summon giant golems you can control to clear pathways). It all works very well and intuitively, there are 5 types of minions to unlock and use, and 11 levels to explore in the campaign. If you try to complete the side objectives and collect all the items you could get some time out of it, but unfortunately if you just go for the story objective you can finish it in about 5 to 6 hours (took me about 8 as I was collecting everything until about halfway when it started getting trickier and I noticed your leveling up and extra health/mana bar from the various zelda-like collections from exploring dont really affect much in the normal difficulty). Good voice acting, cute story, great look (reminds me alot of the torchlight games with it's top down view and cartoony graphics) and really fun gameplay make this a very easy recomendarion, especially if you are looking to scratch that Pikmin itch.
Game #82 - Ninjin Clash of Carrots
Time: 5 hours
Pretty bummed out about this one, it starts off neat but quickly turns into a frustrating mess that just made me want to delete the game. Ninjin is a mix of runner and bullet-hell shooter, with a great art style (reminds me of Parappa or something along those lines) and some funny writing. Gameplay seemed alright, youre always running but you can dash all over the relatively small arenas, and you can slash and shoot projectiles. It was harless fun for awhile, but like I said, it quickly ramps up the difficulty into ridiculous frustrating levels, as new enemy types have all sorts of random patterns and the screen is cluttered with both projectiles or stuff to impede your view (like rockets that leave smoke trails as they pass), and in later levels the game even starts taking your abilities away from you, which is NEVER fun in any game. It got so bad that I started using the "easy mode" equipable items (which cut your health taken in half but you become unable to get S ranks, but I wasnt even beating the levels anyway let alone getting S ranks), and even with those some of the later levels and bosses were hard. But I mainly did it to get through the game because it was either that or just outright dropping and deleting it like I initially said. The game actually became kinda fun again with the easy mode items, but by then the horrible taste it had left in my mouth wasnt going to go away. I got it very cheap (as do most people that play it I assume) but even at the buck fifty or whatever it was I still wouldnt recomend it. Huge disapointment.
Game #83 - Blossom Tales
Time: 7 hours
Back to the good stuff with this one, as it's one of the, if not the best "zelda clone" I've played in ages. While I certainly enjoyed Oceanhorn, this is the game I can safely recomend to anyone needing a proper Zelda fix. Great art style (particularly on the Switch portable, as the smaller screen really does wonders for the very block graphics on bigger screens), good music, a very cute and whimsical story (I really like how they use the granpa telling his grandchildren a story in stuff like recaps when you resume a game, or even in gameplay as sometimes granpa will go like "and then Lily faced off against pirates... or was it ninjas" and you have to choose) and fantastic dungeons really make this a very strong package overall. The only negatives are it's length as it's a bit on the short side (took me about 7 hours for main story and quite a bit sidestuff, at least as I encountered it), and the gameplay is a bit "loose". It's also VERY easy, but personally challenge isnt something I look forward in Zelda games anyway (at least combat challenge). I really liked this, and would easily recomend to any Zelda fan out there, especially on sale.
Game #84 - Torchlight 2 (Switch)
Time: 30+ hours
Torchlight 2 joins Diablo 3 in the "fantastic port" club, as the list of portable dungeon crawlers grows on the Switch. I played Torchlight 2 on PC many years ago, and I can happily say this is pretty much a perfect port (for better or worse, more on that later). It looks gorgeous on the smaller Switch screen, as the cartoony art style really helps not feel dated, and the performance is quite good, only really dropping frames when shit gets way too chaotic. Panic Button did a fantastic job with the port both visually and control / UI wise, much like Diablo 3 it works perfectly on console, and the UI is quite funcional even on portable. The game itself is still a great dungeon crawler, if a bit dated by today's standards, as it pretty much has the story / campaign and...little else. A endless dungeon opens up when you finish, and you can start a New Game +, but that's about it, the game has no actual "end game systems" to speak of, which is one of the problems with the "perfect port". As good as it is, its as vanilla as you can get, so there are no new additions or quality of life changes. For example, you still CANNOT fully respec your character (much like the original), which is a HUGE detriment for these types of games, as you want to experiment with builds, and here you simply cant do that (a simple respec potion was pretty much a must have mod in the PC), you also can't change the difficulty, so if you want to raise (or lower I guess) the difficulty, you need to start a whole new character. Still, at around 25-30 hours for the story mode, I would still recomend this as it's still a great game and plays (and looks) wonderfully portable.
Game #85 - Astral Chain
Time: 29 hours
Another great outing by Platinum (I'm not even the biggest Platinum fan in the world to be honest) and I'm really glad I picked it up as it was completely off my radar pretty much until the reviews hit, and it ended up being one of my favorite games of the year. Right off the bat, this has to be the best looking game on the Switch, at least portable (I don't do docked so the Switch is 100% a portable system for me). Just fantastic visuals, solid framerate (30 of course, it's still a Switch heh), great art style, just a awesome looking game all around. The gameplay is actually very different from the "usual" Platinum game, it plays nothing like Bayoneta or DMC, which I think might drive some people away but I loved that about it. It takes some getting used to and the game locks you out of several mechanics early on (its a meaty game afterall), but once it clicks it's a ton of fun. The story couldnt be more "anime", so it's a bunch of incomprehensible bullshit, in the best way (points for the awesome cutscenes that Platinum are known for, they are here in a big way). Add to this a million little details like being able to recolor your gear, your Legions (your pet / mech things) and even your UI (!), a bunch of silly sidequests, a lengthy campaign with post-game content, and overall you get a great package both for people "one and done" with games, and for those that like to keep playing and get the most out of their purchases. Highly recomended.
Game #86 - Super Metroid
Time: 10 hours
For being one of, if not my favorite genre of videogame, the DREADED METROIDVANIA (sorry, it cracks me up how some people are so averse to that term), it's surprising I never actually played one half of what gives the genre it's unofficial name (I did play the other half, aka SOTN). Well, with Nintendo Online finally introducing SNES games to it's lineup, I felt it was time to correct this mistake. So, does Super Metroid live up to it's legendary 25 year history of STILL being one of best games in this genre? Well, yes it does, and not only that, playing it now it's quite uncanny how truly ahead of it's time the game was. The game still looks great (SNES era 2D usually holds up to this day, it's no wonder most indies try to emulate the look), the level design is absolutely ridiculous in quality, it's very meaty with a ton of zones and hidden shit, a bunch of weapon upgrades and skill items (a lot mroe than I thought), a million little details that you dont even see in games these days let alone 25 years ago
honestly this is a near perfect videogame, especially on it's genre, and if I HAD to nitpick, it would be that the timing needed for some of the skills you get (wall jump and super jump) is a little finicky, but like I said, that is just a nitpick in a otherwise near-perfect game. Oh and the soundtrack is amazing, because of course it is.
Game #87 - Blasphemous
Time: 25 hours
Sometimes it feels that developers make games specifically for you, like they have some sort of brain scanning machine that checks all the stuff that you like, blends it all together and pop out a game just for you. Blasphemous is that for me. A religious-gothic Metroidvania with amazing pixel art and a ton of Dark Souls-like sidequests, a meaty campaign with a ton of locations and enemies, and while it ticked every box for me and I loved it, I can just as easily see it being divisive and not gel with people. The game is quite grotesque artistically, and it uses a lot of religious themes and imagery, which I love (although I am not religious in the slightest), which can turn people off. Gameplay wise, it plays ok although you don't have much in your arsenal, you only have a sword and you can unlock a few special moves and magic spells, but most of the game you will be using the same moves. It's really the level design, the interconnected zones and the many Souls-style obtuse sidequests that really made me love it and make me want to explore every nook of the game (it took me 25 hours to get 95% completion, but you can just as easily finish the game in abotu 10-12). The music is good but very subdued, there's a nice weightness to the character and combat, hits feel visceral, and like I said before, the art and aniamtions are just amazing, particularly on the smaller Switch screen where I played it. I loved it, and I feel it's at the very least a very good game in it's genre, but I've seen other people be dismissive of its gameplay and platforming, so your mileage may vary.
Game #88 - Axiom Verge
Time: 10 hours
Keeping the "metroidvania" train going, this time with a replay of one of the best the genre has seen the last few years, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed my playthrough this time around just as much as I did originally on PC, maybe even more so if only for the fact that I played on Switch portable this time around, and the smaller screen does wonders for the game's... peculiar art style (ok, its just ugly alright?). Heavily inspired by Metroid and HR Giger, Axiom Verge tells a neat little sci-fi story of a scientist stuck in a bizarre dimension, meanwhile having great level design and more items and weapons than you can shake a stick at. As mentioned before, the art style is a bit on the ugly side, both because it emulated a 8bit style (instead of most indies that go for 16bit) but also by choice as it's very alien and bizarre, using a lot of garrish colors and weird architecture. The soundtrack, while great, is just as off-putting as the art style, all of which makes for a game that always had me with an unease feeling in the back of my mind. It's not horror per se, but its unconfortable, it's hard to explain. Also hard to explain, how it was made by just 1 guy, which is a ridiculous acomplishment. A must play for any fan of the genre, particularly on a Switch or Vita as the smaller screen really helps the art style in my opinion.
Game #89 - The Office Quest
Time: 3 hours
This was a cool little point and click puzzle game, and while the gameplay is quite simple (it started as a iOS game so most of your interactions are limited to clicking various objects and if you have the correct item, it automaticall uses it), the puzzles are quite good and especially charming, as the art style really brings the game together. It's not very long and some puzzles can be a bit obtuse (I had to check a solution for one of them), but if you can find it cheap it's well worth your time if you are a fan of point and click games (this one more puzzle and less adventure tho).
Game #90 - The Messenger
Time: 11 hours
After hearing such mixed feelings on this one, I went in half-blind, only knowing that its a 2D platform action game that shifts into a "metroidvania" halfway through (which apparently is the contention point for a lot of people?), but it honestly ended up being one of my favorite games I played this year. I think it's one of those rare cases where I loved pretty much everything about it. Amazing artstyle, both in 8bit and 16bit modes, one of the best soundtracks I've listened to in ages, fantastic tight gameplay with various powers to get (especially when the game becomes proto-metroidvania), funny writing with a bunch of meta-jokes, a lengthy campaign, just overall absolutely fantastic and I will be very curious to see what the developers make next. It's also another banger from Devolver who are quickly becoming one of my favorite publishers.
Game #91 - The Messenger Picnic Panic
Time: 2 hours
Neat little DLC for The Messenger with a new tropical island setting and some cameos from familiar faces from the main game, that unfortunately ends up being a bit too hard for it's own good and is very frustrating at times (which I never thought the base game was). Art and soundtrack are still great, and theres a couple of good bosses, but some really bad sections drag the whole thing down. Still, its only about 2 hours long and more importantly, its free, so it's hard to complain. Still worth playing if you liked the base game.
Game #92 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey the Fate of Atlantis
Time: 25 hours
Whew, this was massive. After the super disappointing Legacy of the First Blade, this one got back on track similar to the Pharaohs DLC for Origins, with three massive new lands to explore and a heavy focus on the more supernatural aspect of Odyssey. Amazing visuals (probably better than anything in the main game), great zones, the story is ok and more content than you know what to do with, plus new skills to obtain, new gear, pretty much everything you want from a expansion like this. If you liked Odyssey and want more of it, you can't go wrong with this DLC (even tho it doesnt really resolve anything, but hey, its better than pulling some horseshit like Legacy did).
Game #93 - Severed
Time: 5.5 hours
And now for something completely different, both for myself and for Drinkbox Studios, Severed is a dungeon crawler with touch based combat (think Fruit Ninja) with a really cool art style and great soundtrack. The art style is really striking, managing to both be very colorful but also very creepy. Various dungeon crawler puzzles to solve, some abilities to get to help you both in combat and also to unlock new zones, and various upgrades to get to your character make this short adventure quite enjoyable. The only problem is playing it on the Switch, it gets quite unconfortable after a while since you need to hold it with one hand (so the other swipes the screen) so short sessions are in order, which isnt a bad thing I guess as the game isnt very long.
Game #94 - Untitled Goose Game
Time: 3 hours
Wonderful little gem of a game, this stealth puzzler I guess you can call it has you play the titular goose as you have to do an assortment of mischievous tasks as you harass various people across a neighbourhood. Great art style with some really cool animations, fantastic soundtrack, really clever puzzles and great gameplay make this an all around fantastic game, I only wish it was a bit longer, as the main game is very short (about 2 hours, a bit more if you get stuck on a puzzle), and the new objectives that open up when you finish arent as polished as the ones in the main game.
Game #95 - The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening (2019)
Time: 10 hours
A little bummed about this one as it could have easily been a GOTY contender but the unfortunate frame rate issues really bring down the experience. It's still a fantastic remake of a classic Zelda title (although far from the BEST ZELDA GAME EVER as some say), there clearly is a ton of love put into this, I love the visual style and graphically, again if the frame rate issues didnt exist, it would be one of the best looking games on the system. Fantastic soundtrack and the same great gameplay as ever, it's a bit uneven as the first 2 or 3 dungeons are way too simple and easy, and overall it's not a very long game (especially for a Zelda) but it's still a must play for fans of the series and Switch owners, with the caveat that you will notice those rame rate dips all the time until they patch it, if they ever do. shame really, everything else is great.
Game #96 - UnEpic
Time: 15 hours
It's the second time this year where a game I enjoyed for the majority of it's length completely shits the bed in the last level and retroactively ruins the whole game for me. First was Hunter's Legacy (also a metroidvania) and now UnEpic. In fact, UnEpic is a weird game because I don't think it's particularly good but I actually really like it, until the end. The writing is horrible, full of memes and pop culture references (I mean it's not even references, one bit has Futurama's Zoidberg just run across the screen for no reason, like what?), the graphics arent very good, the gameplay is super janky, and yet I like it's rpg systems, it has a big meaty campaign with good level design, good character customization and lots of weapons, and most of all, it has "heart". That is, until the last few zones completely ruin the game by introducing rage inducing mechanics and making so if you built your character in a certain way it becomes nigh impossible to progress. The last "level/boss" is mind bogglingly bad. It's a shame because its clear the creator liked the genre, and his follow up game Ghost 1.0 is a much better effort.
Game #97 - Timespinner
Time: 6.5 hours
Nothing stops the metroidvania train as we have another one, this time from Chucklefish, and it's another good one. Great 16-bit style art style (it's by far the closest to a actual SNES game I've seen in awhile) and good snappy gameplay backed up by a neat story with lots of writing (which is very serviceable), this is a very well crafted metroidvania that while it doesnt do much new or different (the time-stop mechanic is very unutilized after the start of the game), what it does it does well and its fun throughout. A bit on the easy side and not very long, but multiple endings (which you can easily see in the same playthrough) and post game game content after the "end" (for the real ending) gives this one a notch above average and make it very worth while, especially if you are a fan of the genre.
Game #98 - Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap
Time: 4 hours
Wow, this was...short. A remake of Wonder Boy III, this new version boasts gorgeous new graphics but the same old gameplay, for better or worse. The game actually has a interesting proto-metroidvania structure as you get new powers to allow you to progress to later levels and even collect items in previous zones you missed, but the whole thing is over way too soon (I'm spit balling the 4 hours I posted, the save actually said 2 hours and a bit, but it doesnt count deaths) and you never have the freedom to use all your animal forms as you would like (and as you do in the proper metroidvania-like Monster Boy), and the old school gameplay is a bit TOO old school with a super short range on your sword, weird collisions and short jumps, the whole thing feels stiff. Still, it's very pretty and the structure is novel, and it's short enough not to be offensive. Disapointing but still worth it if only to compare with Monster Boy.
Game #99 - Chasm
Time: 10 hours
Another day, another metroidvania... you would think I would be sick of them by now but nope, still into them. Chasm's "big hook" is that it's procedurally generated, and that seems to scare people away from it, but in reality it's one of those things that if you didnt know was a thing, you wouldnt even notice. It generates a "seed" at the start sure, but for all intents and purposes it still plays and acts like a normal metroidvania, you still get specific skills and items to bypass previously locked zones, you still backtrack for secrets, etc. Good pixel art, good gameplay, music is a little subdued and the story is pretty inexistant, but I think overall its a very well made game that ticks all the boxes tghat a metroidvania should. It wont blow anyone away but if you are looking for another fix for this genre, it's worth playing.
Game #100 - Feudal Alloy
Time: 8 hours
Another low-tier metroidvania, this time with a medieval steampunk theme (which is at least original). The art style is actually pretty cool, if very same-y throughout the game, but the gameplay feels quite loose and janky (I havent died this much in one of these in ages, and not because it's particularly hard). Level design is alright and you get the standard powers you get in everyone of these (double jump, air dash, etc), it all feels very been there. done that. Recomended only for metroidvania fanboys like myself who are always looking for the next fix, everyone else has a ton of much better options. It's not bad per se, but it's not exactly good either, and it's probably my least favorite of the genre I played this year, and I played a lot.
Game #101 - The Outer Worlds
Time: 30 hours
Absolutely fantastic action rpg that more than scratches that Fallout-itch, The Outer World is a tighter, leaner, mroe focused game than Bathesda's outings usually are, with the same great writing that Obsidian has gotten us used to, great combat and just a wodnerful (and colorful) world to explore. Easily one of my favorite games of the year, I have little bad to say about it, it has rgeat quests with fantastic writing as I said, the combat feels good, lots of weapons to use, it never outstays it's welcome (it's shorter than the Bathesda games but to it's credit in my opinion) and is just a joy to play from start to finish. Outstanding work by Obsidian and I can't wait to see what they do next under Microsoft's wing.
Game #102 - Juicy Realm
Time: 10+ hours
Very cool dual stick shooter roguelike, much in the same vein as Enter the Gungeon or Nuclear Throne, and while it doesn't really do anything new, what it does it does very well, it's super charming and most importantly, very fun to play. Nine characters with various abilities to use, a ton of weapons to unlock and various difficulty modifiers that you unlock as you finish the game on previous difficulties should keep people busy for awhile, but the game isn't very hard (it's certainly easier than the other games I mentioned) and there are only five levels / biomes per run. Still, it looks gorgeous with really cool 2d art and character desing, and the weapons and powers you use are super wacky so it's worth it if you are looking for something to scratch the ETG itch (and you are done with ETG of course).
Game #103 - Yaga
Time: 9.5 hours
Ah, that feeling when you really like a game but can't help but feel a little disapointed with it in the end. Yaga is a really cool, very well made folklore based action rpg where you play a one handed blacksmith off in various adventures for his Tzar. The game is very original, which is a rarity these days, from the folksy story and music, the dialogue all in rhymes, various mechanics I haven't seen in other games, like a bad luck system that makes you get more xp as your bad luck raises but at the risk of your weapon breaking or losing your money, just everything about this little gem is well made. Great voice acting, story is actually well told with your decisions throughout affecting the outcome, gameplay feels fast and snappy with a mix of melee and throwing your hammer Thor style, the only negative and the reason I'm a little disapointed is that it's very short. At 9 hours, a metroidvania for example would be fine, but a action rpg not so much, especially when the base price is $25 (although I got it for $20 with the launch discount). A easy recomendation when it's like 50% off or something, as I said I really like it, but the short length makes it hard to recomend at full price.
Game #104 - Sparklite
Time: 10 hours
Another case of what could have been, much like Yaga earlier, Sparklite starts off super strong but ultimately it doesnt live up to its potential and it's short length is a bummer for a action rpg (much like Yaga). Sparklite is a action rpg with a dash of roguelike in it (I say dash because the roguelike nature ends up being very under utilized), as you adventure down into the land from your airship base in order to defeat 5 bosses in 5 different areas of the map. The world map changes every time you do a "run" (hence the roguelike), but this stops being a issue early on as you get some upgrades and basically just go to the zone you need to be in as you kill the bosses. Much in the same way as you might need to do "money runs" early on to afford upgrades but later zones give a lot more currency so you usually end up with more than you can spend. Great pixel art reminding me of Celeste, good whimsical music and some cool items to use make this a very enjoyable action rpg in the first half, but you quickly get more upgrades than the game can handle and it becomes quite easy, and the roguelike nature becomes a afterthought. Add to that the game isnt very long at around 8 to 10 hours, with only 5 zones / bosses to deal with, which in a action rpg feels short. Much like Yaga it feels like when the game is done introducing systems to you, it ends and you end up not using a lot of them. It's a shame, especially since the trend of indie games launching at premium prices makes it harder to recomend them unless they are on sale. A good game that could have been great.
Game #105 - Vaporum
Time: 15 hours
2019 was the year of new genre apreciation for me, as earlier in the year I grew to love Visual Novels, a genre I had never touched before, and now between Operencia and now Vaporum, I think I love dungeon crawlers, another genre I never really dabbled in before. Unlike most dungeon crawlers where you have a party, in Vaporum you play a single character trapped in a hellish steampunk (with a dash of horror mixed in, think Bioshock) facility with no memory of who he is or how he got there. The story is pretty cliche but it has some nice twists and turns (and a great ending), but it's the gameplay and puzzles where it really shines. Fantastic levels, lengthy campaign, great puzzles, good skill tree to build your guy in various ways, great look and vibe and amore snappy real time take on the dungeon crawler formula makes this a super fun time and a easy recomendation for any fan of the genre, or anyone wanting to give the genre a try. The only personal downside is that I played portable on Switch and some of the secret buttons and whatnot you need to press in the enviroment were very hard to spot, but that is a nitpick of the particular version I played. One of my favorites this year for sure.
Game #106 - Remnant From The Ashes
Time: 25+ hours
One of the best surprises this year, as I gre to like this more and more as I played it, especially in co-op, to the point where it will probably be in my top 10 for 2019. Essencially a third person shooter take on the Souls games, as it shares a lot of the same DNA with the Souls series(bleak world, "bonfires" that respawn all the enemies, a "estus flask" healing item you can upgrade with more charges and recharges at a "bonfire", and of course, brutal difficult bosses complete with fog gates) but the third person nature still makes it feel different enough compared to something like Lords of the Fallen. The story is both nonsense and most of the story beats arent even resolved (not sure if they plan to add content or not), but you play these games for the exploration and combat, and it excells at both. Shooting feels fantastic, great sound effects on the weapons, a ton of weapon and weapon mods (basically your special skills) to craft from boss drops (again, like the Souls games), and a fantastic implementation of co-op makes this just a super fun game to play especially with friends. I still want to jump on some coop session or even restart the game even after finishing, that's how much I liked it.
Game #107 - Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn
Time: 90 hours / ongoing
After hearing about how good FF14 was these days, with it getting better and better with each expansion, I decided to finally give it a go as the complete edition had a nice sale recently, and while this will only cover the ARR (A Realm Reborn) stuff, I do have every expansion and will most likely cover them in a 2020 entry. Anyway, FF14 is a strange beast, as it's not the easiest mmo to get into, especially if you're coming from WoW. The GCD is very long making for a very slow gameplay experience in the first few hours, but to it's credit it does get much better as you get more skills later on, mainly because the game has a lot of skills that are off the GCD so you end up weaving skills as other skills are coming off cooldown in a neat way and it actually ends up feeling quite unique in that sense. The game itself is pretty much what you expect out of a mmo, just very polished with some great classes, good dungeons and pretty graphics. It also has a heavy focus on story but the story in ARR is pretty bland, and the voice acting is terrible (both things apparently greatly improve in the expansions, including a whole new voice cast). Still, it manages to scratch both the Final Fantasy and the WoW itch at the same time, and I will at least play the expansions and try out other classes before my free month is up. Even if I dont resub (which I most likely won't), I'm already happy with what I played and the consensus is the best is yet to come. Oh and +1 brownie point for the nicest community I've ever seen in a mmo.
Game #108 - Metropolis Lux Obscura
Time: 3 hours
I guess I had one more in me, unfortunately it's fucking awful and not the best note to end this year on. Let's get the positive out of the way... err I like the comic book style art style. At least when it's not shoving boobs in my face like it's trying to appeal to my inner 14 year old. In fact, the whole thing feels like it's a horny 14 year old's idea of what Noir is. Just a terrible story (multiple endings and apparently they are all shit, I only saw 2 of them), "hardboiled" in the worst way (like I said, like a horny 14 year old would imagine noir). The actual gameplay outside the comic book style vignettes is a super basic and pretty shitty match-3 game that relies even moreon RNG than most match-3 games. Just a shitshow all around and a waste of 3€ or whatever I spent on it in the winter sale. Probably the worst game I played this year. AVOID.
Game #109 - Gorogoa
Time: 2 hours
One last good entry to end the year on a better note than the trash that was Lux Obscura, and what a good note this is. A fantastic puzzle game about manipulating images and perspective, with great art style and very cool puzzles (how do these creators come up with some of this stuff is beyond me). It's a shortie at 2 hours but it doesnt overstay it's welcome and it's very worth your time, especially if you catch it on sale. One of my favorites this year.
Game #70 - Steamworld Heist Ultimate Edition
Time: 15 hours
The last of the Steamworld games in my playthrough, and easily my favorite, as this 2D take on the X-Com formula works wonderfully, while still maintaining the same great artstyle, humour and world building the series is known for. A nice long campaign with a ton of missions to do, lots of characters to unlock (even tho realistically you end up only using the same core of 4 or 5 throughout), lots of loot (and hats!) to collect, and just pitch perfect turn based strategy action makes this not only the best of the Steamworld games (I know, it's weird to compare them since they are all different genres) but cements the series as one of my favorites in many years, as it keeps reinventing itself in new ways and the end result is always at the very least "good" if not "great". I both want a sequel to Heist because I loved it so much, but also a new take on a new genre, because they keep knocking it out of the park.
Game #71 - Fairune 2
Time: 7 hours
Less of a sequel and more of a refinement of the first game, its a much longer campaign, better art (that doesnt take just half the screen this time!), many more locations, more (and harder puzzles), more items, just a much more complete game, and thus, a much better game. Just like the first one, the focus is primarely on puzzles and exploration as combat is relegated to bumping into enemies (and insta kill you if you arent high enough level), but the puzzles and level design are great and this is very recomended for fans of zelda style games and the like. The only downside, if I have to point one, is that it replies a little too much on hidden walls as puzzles, and since some are easy to miss and ou can completely block progression because of it, it might piss people off (I had to resort to videos / FAQs a few times). Still highly recomended as the whole package of Fairune Collection is just amazing value.
BONUS: Fairune Origin + Fairune Blast
These are a couple of modes that unlock after you finish Fairune 1 and 2 in the collection, but they are so short and simple that it doesnt warrant a proper spot on the list, but still I reckon they deserve a mention. Origin is a 15min long stripped down (even compared to Fairune 1) version of Fairune, cute for what it is and good for that very last puzzle itch, and Blast is a top down shooter not unlike the final boss sequences from the main games, and much like those, its pretty terrible lol.
Game #72 - Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
Time: 8 hours
Still one of my favorite "metroidvanias" ever, now with added zones and bosses (although to be fair, I couldnt tell you whats new since I barely remembered the original release lol), none of which apparently add much to the game (nor do they detract from it tho). Fantastic art style (that looks gorgeous on the Switch's portable screen), still the same great gameplay and level design, good length, not too hard unless you want to tackle the harder optional challenges, just a near-perfect example of the genre in my opinion, and a must play for any fan of said genre. I've never played the sequel, something which I need to fix soon.
Game #73 - Hunter's Legacy
Time: 6 hours
A neat little metroidvania with some simple art and janky gameplay but good level design and some cool ideas like using the right stick to move your minimap to see if theres any chests around, or when you use switches you get a on screen indicator showing you which gate opened, which I was enjoying for what it was until a horrible last level that bumps the difficulty by a factor of ten thousand for no reason, and the worst last boss I remember seeing, with random attacks and weak points you cant even access unless he does specific attacks which are... random, coupled with the aforementioned janky gameplay (precise it is not) made me actually rage quit (or rather rage delete) the game at the last boss. Not that im losing much since the story is basically nonexistant, but its a shame because I enjoyed it for the most part, but that last level and boss made me retroactively hate the game. In a sea of Metroidvanias, this is NOT the way to go about standing out. Avoid.
Game #74 - Warhammer 40k Inquisitor Prophecy
Time: 28+ hours
I will preface this by saying I did not play Inquisitor Martyr, the "main" game this standalone expansion builds on, so I cant speak on how bad it was at launch or how it is or isnt good these days, I can only speak about Prophecy, in fact I will add a second caveat which is the fact I am a huge pet/minion fanboy. So with that said, did I enjoy Prophecy? Very much so actually, I think it's quite fantastic for what it sets out to do, I had a ton of fun with it and will probably continue playing it now and then after finishing the campaign. The main draw, for me (and for the expansion really) is the new summoner class, and in my opinion it's one of the best summoner classes I've seen in a long time. You can build a army of pets that will just swarm everywhere, you can play with big lumbering robots instead that do a lot of damage but you can only have a couple out at a time, or you can mix and match. I always joke about summoner classes that if the game plays itself, its doing a good job, and you can definitely make the game "play itself" with a swarm build. I really like the look of the game, it's very grim-dark as one expects from a Warhammer 40k game, it ran great usually sticking to 60fps even with a ton of mecha spiders running around (again, I can speak for how badly the original game ran), the voice acting, particularly the main character, is fantastic, and the campaign is quite meaty, as it took me about 24 hours to do every main and side mission (the narrative ones at least, theres infinite amounts in the end game). Lastly there are a few end game modes, multiplayer and pvp, so all around I felt it was great, but at the same time, I felt it was made especially for me as a fanboy of pet classes, so if you dont like those, stick with the main game and the new 2.0 patch I guess.
Game #75 - Forager
Time: 18 hours
Super streamlined resource-gathering / building style game (think Stardew Valley and the like), with a heavy focus on the gathering part, and a much more action-y feel than most games in it's genre. You move much faster than you usually would in these games (and with various upgrades you move even faster and gather resources even faster), there is a giant skill tree to unlock and every perk pretty much feels like an upgrade so you constantly feel like leveling up, there isnt a overwhelming amount of stuff to build which I like, everything is very streamlined to make it fun instead of a chore. Also, compared to most of the genre, its not very long, as you can pretty much do or see everything in about 20 hours tops. The dev has a road map with various content updates coming, and I will definitely jump back in when these hit, but with a lack of any sort of end game and having done pretty much everything now (own all the lands, have almost all the perks and items), I feel I'm pretty much done with the game. And you know what? That is a good thing, as closure is something these games sorely tend to lack.
Game #76 - PictoQuest The Cursed Grids
Time: 10+ hours
Not much to say about this one, it's a neat little picross game with a healthy amount of puzzles and cute art style. It has some "light rpg mechanics" as the game calls it, but it basically boils down to enemies attacking you making some levels basically have a "timer", you can use health potions to get health (aka time) back but anyone remotely familiar with Picross games won't even need to. It's cheap so if you are itching for some more Picross in your life, you could do worse, its certainly enjoyable.
Game #77 - Turok
Time: 10 hours
Nice surprise with this one as I did not expect to enjoy it so much, nor expect it to hold up so nicely. The new HD remaster looks good enough, especially on the Switch's smaller screen, but what I really liked was the fantastic level design, they really don't make them like these anymore do they (well, except with the wave of retro style FPS coming out lately, I guess they do again). Having to actually look on every nook and cranny of each level to find keys to be able to progress on later levels was super satisfying, there are a ton of weapons to use and they feel great, enemy variety isnt the best and neither are the locations you visit (at least visually) but overall I had a great time and it really made me want to play the vastly superior sequel as soon as possible.
Game #78 - Cat Quest
Time: 8 hours
Cat Quest is one of those games I feel weird talking about, as I actually quite enjoyed overall, but I don't think I could recomend it to anyone, unless it's in a bundle or in a cheap sale. A simple action-rpg with fantastic art style (it really carried the game for me, I love the "walking on a world map" style) and serviceable gameplay, but the game doesnt have much going for it (you basically have a sword swing, various magics that mostly boil down to aoe attacks, and a dodge), and while the writing is cute (expect MANY cat-puns), the game is basically a long string of fetch quests and it gets SUPER repetitive. I did most of them (finished at level 75, couldnt be arsed to grind to do the level 99 sidequest) because, like I said, I mostly liekd the art style and overall cuteness. There's a new game+ and a "mew game" which introduces various modifiers, but I cant imagine anyone would want to replay the game after they finish it tbh.
Game #79 - Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas
Time: 10 hours
Decided to replay / finish (I never finished it on PC originally) this on Switch to scratch my Zelda itch before Link's Awakening hits, and I qutie enjoyed my time with it (I had already liked it on PC). Looks great in portable mode and it has a meaty campaign with various islands and dungeons to explore, items and spells to get, you know the deal, it's a shameless Zelda clone (I don't even mean that in a bad way). The optional content in particular is quite good and you can tell it was added after the game's iOS origins, but the main content is certainly passable, if a little simple (lot's of box pushing puzzles). It runs well, it feels a little janky to play but nothing that ruins the experience, and like I said initially, it scratches that Zelda itch that everyone gets now and then. Its a neat little game and well worth it in a cheap sale, as long as you dont expect actual Zelda quality.
Game #80 - Turok 2 Seeds of Evil
Time: 15 hours
Wow, easily one of the best sequels I've ever played, Turok 2 takes the Turok formula and improves it in every way, creating one of the funnest first person shooters I've ever experienced. It has, or tries to have a story this time around, with some alien lady asking you to do various things, but it's all pretty shit and unnecessary, that's not what you're here for. Awesome weapons, fantastic soundtrack and enemy variety, huge sprawling levels with fantastic map design (except those damn Blind Ones caves, fuck those caves!), just an awesome package all around. The levels are much more varied than the first game, with each of the 6 levels being in different locations, with various jungles, cities, ruins, caves, alien locations and more waiting for you to explore. And explore you must, because like the first game, you really need to explore every nook and cranny of these levels to find not only the keys for the next levels, but also new passive abilities that gate some areas off until you come back with new pwoers (unfortunately this "metroidvania" flavor sounds better than it actually is, as it becomes a bit annoying having to get them all to finish the game and the huge levels dont help this). Better graphics, better enemies, better weapons (cerebal bore!), just a better game and a must play for any fan of the genre, especially compared to the FPS games we get these days (the single player portions at least).
Game #81 - Masters of Anima
Time: 8 hours
Wow what a welcome and unexpected gem this was, basically a indie Pikmin with a little more focus on combat and action rpg-y mechanics, this ended up being one of my favorite games of the year, and I just wish it was a bit longer because I felt I was just scratching the surface. You control Otto, a Anima Shaper who is able to control various types of minions, color coded not unlike Pikmin, with each serving a purpose both in combat and in puzzles (you need your guardians to tank the enemies while your archers shoot them from safe positions and your mana sappers sap the enemies and refill your mana for example, and at the same time, you use these guardians to push heavy objects, the archers to shoot out of reach levers or corruption shrines, and the mana sappers to summon giant golems you can control to clear pathways). It all works very well and intuitively, there are 5 types of minions to unlock and use, and 11 levels to explore in the campaign. If you try to complete the side objectives and collect all the items you could get some time out of it, but unfortunately if you just go for the story objective you can finish it in about 5 to 6 hours (took me about 8 as I was collecting everything until about halfway when it started getting trickier and I noticed your leveling up and extra health/mana bar from the various zelda-like collections from exploring dont really affect much in the normal difficulty). Good voice acting, cute story, great look (reminds me alot of the torchlight games with it's top down view and cartoony graphics) and really fun gameplay make this a very easy recomendarion, especially if you are looking to scratch that Pikmin itch.
Game #82 - Ninjin Clash of Carrots
Time: 5 hours
Pretty bummed out about this one, it starts off neat but quickly turns into a frustrating mess that just made me want to delete the game. Ninjin is a mix of runner and bullet-hell shooter, with a great art style (reminds me of Parappa or something along those lines) and some funny writing. Gameplay seemed alright, youre always running but you can dash all over the relatively small arenas, and you can slash and shoot projectiles. It was harless fun for awhile, but like I said, it quickly ramps up the difficulty into ridiculous frustrating levels, as new enemy types have all sorts of random patterns and the screen is cluttered with both projectiles or stuff to impede your view (like rockets that leave smoke trails as they pass), and in later levels the game even starts taking your abilities away from you, which is NEVER fun in any game. It got so bad that I started using the "easy mode" equipable items (which cut your health taken in half but you become unable to get S ranks, but I wasnt even beating the levels anyway let alone getting S ranks), and even with those some of the later levels and bosses were hard. But I mainly did it to get through the game because it was either that or just outright dropping and deleting it like I initially said. The game actually became kinda fun again with the easy mode items, but by then the horrible taste it had left in my mouth wasnt going to go away. I got it very cheap (as do most people that play it I assume) but even at the buck fifty or whatever it was I still wouldnt recomend it. Huge disapointment.
Game #83 - Blossom Tales
Time: 7 hours
Back to the good stuff with this one, as it's one of the, if not the best "zelda clone" I've played in ages. While I certainly enjoyed Oceanhorn, this is the game I can safely recomend to anyone needing a proper Zelda fix. Great art style (particularly on the Switch portable, as the smaller screen really does wonders for the very block graphics on bigger screens), good music, a very cute and whimsical story (I really like how they use the granpa telling his grandchildren a story in stuff like recaps when you resume a game, or even in gameplay as sometimes granpa will go like "and then Lily faced off against pirates... or was it ninjas" and you have to choose) and fantastic dungeons really make this a very strong package overall. The only negatives are it's length as it's a bit on the short side (took me about 7 hours for main story and quite a bit sidestuff, at least as I encountered it), and the gameplay is a bit "loose". It's also VERY easy, but personally challenge isnt something I look forward in Zelda games anyway (at least combat challenge). I really liked this, and would easily recomend to any Zelda fan out there, especially on sale.
Game #84 - Torchlight 2 (Switch)
Time: 30+ hours
Torchlight 2 joins Diablo 3 in the "fantastic port" club, as the list of portable dungeon crawlers grows on the Switch. I played Torchlight 2 on PC many years ago, and I can happily say this is pretty much a perfect port (for better or worse, more on that later). It looks gorgeous on the smaller Switch screen, as the cartoony art style really helps not feel dated, and the performance is quite good, only really dropping frames when shit gets way too chaotic. Panic Button did a fantastic job with the port both visually and control / UI wise, much like Diablo 3 it works perfectly on console, and the UI is quite funcional even on portable. The game itself is still a great dungeon crawler, if a bit dated by today's standards, as it pretty much has the story / campaign and...little else. A endless dungeon opens up when you finish, and you can start a New Game +, but that's about it, the game has no actual "end game systems" to speak of, which is one of the problems with the "perfect port". As good as it is, its as vanilla as you can get, so there are no new additions or quality of life changes. For example, you still CANNOT fully respec your character (much like the original), which is a HUGE detriment for these types of games, as you want to experiment with builds, and here you simply cant do that (a simple respec potion was pretty much a must have mod in the PC), you also can't change the difficulty, so if you want to raise (or lower I guess) the difficulty, you need to start a whole new character. Still, at around 25-30 hours for the story mode, I would still recomend this as it's still a great game and plays (and looks) wonderfully portable.
Game #85 - Astral Chain
Time: 29 hours
Another great outing by Platinum (I'm not even the biggest Platinum fan in the world to be honest) and I'm really glad I picked it up as it was completely off my radar pretty much until the reviews hit, and it ended up being one of my favorite games of the year. Right off the bat, this has to be the best looking game on the Switch, at least portable (I don't do docked so the Switch is 100% a portable system for me). Just fantastic visuals, solid framerate (30 of course, it's still a Switch heh), great art style, just a awesome looking game all around. The gameplay is actually very different from the "usual" Platinum game, it plays nothing like Bayoneta or DMC, which I think might drive some people away but I loved that about it. It takes some getting used to and the game locks you out of several mechanics early on (its a meaty game afterall), but once it clicks it's a ton of fun. The story couldnt be more "anime", so it's a bunch of incomprehensible bullshit, in the best way (points for the awesome cutscenes that Platinum are known for, they are here in a big way). Add to this a million little details like being able to recolor your gear, your Legions (your pet / mech things) and even your UI (!), a bunch of silly sidequests, a lengthy campaign with post-game content, and overall you get a great package both for people "one and done" with games, and for those that like to keep playing and get the most out of their purchases. Highly recomended.
Game #86 - Super Metroid
Time: 10 hours
For being one of, if not my favorite genre of videogame, the DREADED METROIDVANIA (sorry, it cracks me up how some people are so averse to that term), it's surprising I never actually played one half of what gives the genre it's unofficial name (I did play the other half, aka SOTN). Well, with Nintendo Online finally introducing SNES games to it's lineup, I felt it was time to correct this mistake. So, does Super Metroid live up to it's legendary 25 year history of STILL being one of best games in this genre? Well, yes it does, and not only that, playing it now it's quite uncanny how truly ahead of it's time the game was. The game still looks great (SNES era 2D usually holds up to this day, it's no wonder most indies try to emulate the look), the level design is absolutely ridiculous in quality, it's very meaty with a ton of zones and hidden shit, a bunch of weapon upgrades and skill items (a lot mroe than I thought), a million little details that you dont even see in games these days let alone 25 years ago
blowing up the underwater tube with a bomb for example, who thinks of that shit?
Game #87 - Blasphemous
Time: 25 hours
Sometimes it feels that developers make games specifically for you, like they have some sort of brain scanning machine that checks all the stuff that you like, blends it all together and pop out a game just for you. Blasphemous is that for me. A religious-gothic Metroidvania with amazing pixel art and a ton of Dark Souls-like sidequests, a meaty campaign with a ton of locations and enemies, and while it ticked every box for me and I loved it, I can just as easily see it being divisive and not gel with people. The game is quite grotesque artistically, and it uses a lot of religious themes and imagery, which I love (although I am not religious in the slightest), which can turn people off. Gameplay wise, it plays ok although you don't have much in your arsenal, you only have a sword and you can unlock a few special moves and magic spells, but most of the game you will be using the same moves. It's really the level design, the interconnected zones and the many Souls-style obtuse sidequests that really made me love it and make me want to explore every nook of the game (it took me 25 hours to get 95% completion, but you can just as easily finish the game in abotu 10-12). The music is good but very subdued, there's a nice weightness to the character and combat, hits feel visceral, and like I said before, the art and aniamtions are just amazing, particularly on the smaller Switch screen where I played it. I loved it, and I feel it's at the very least a very good game in it's genre, but I've seen other people be dismissive of its gameplay and platforming, so your mileage may vary.
Game #88 - Axiom Verge
Time: 10 hours
Keeping the "metroidvania" train going, this time with a replay of one of the best the genre has seen the last few years, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed my playthrough this time around just as much as I did originally on PC, maybe even more so if only for the fact that I played on Switch portable this time around, and the smaller screen does wonders for the game's... peculiar art style (ok, its just ugly alright?). Heavily inspired by Metroid and HR Giger, Axiom Verge tells a neat little sci-fi story of a scientist stuck in a bizarre dimension, meanwhile having great level design and more items and weapons than you can shake a stick at. As mentioned before, the art style is a bit on the ugly side, both because it emulated a 8bit style (instead of most indies that go for 16bit) but also by choice as it's very alien and bizarre, using a lot of garrish colors and weird architecture. The soundtrack, while great, is just as off-putting as the art style, all of which makes for a game that always had me with an unease feeling in the back of my mind. It's not horror per se, but its unconfortable, it's hard to explain. Also hard to explain, how it was made by just 1 guy, which is a ridiculous acomplishment. A must play for any fan of the genre, particularly on a Switch or Vita as the smaller screen really helps the art style in my opinion.
Game #89 - The Office Quest
Time: 3 hours
This was a cool little point and click puzzle game, and while the gameplay is quite simple (it started as a iOS game so most of your interactions are limited to clicking various objects and if you have the correct item, it automaticall uses it), the puzzles are quite good and especially charming, as the art style really brings the game together. It's not very long and some puzzles can be a bit obtuse (I had to check a solution for one of them), but if you can find it cheap it's well worth your time if you are a fan of point and click games (this one more puzzle and less adventure tho).
Game #90 - The Messenger
Time: 11 hours
After hearing such mixed feelings on this one, I went in half-blind, only knowing that its a 2D platform action game that shifts into a "metroidvania" halfway through (which apparently is the contention point for a lot of people?), but it honestly ended up being one of my favorite games I played this year. I think it's one of those rare cases where I loved pretty much everything about it. Amazing artstyle, both in 8bit and 16bit modes, one of the best soundtracks I've listened to in ages, fantastic tight gameplay with various powers to get (especially when the game becomes proto-metroidvania), funny writing with a bunch of meta-jokes, a lengthy campaign, just overall absolutely fantastic and I will be very curious to see what the developers make next. It's also another banger from Devolver who are quickly becoming one of my favorite publishers.
Game #91 - The Messenger Picnic Panic
Time: 2 hours
Neat little DLC for The Messenger with a new tropical island setting and some cameos from familiar faces from the main game, that unfortunately ends up being a bit too hard for it's own good and is very frustrating at times (which I never thought the base game was). Art and soundtrack are still great, and theres a couple of good bosses, but some really bad sections drag the whole thing down. Still, its only about 2 hours long and more importantly, its free, so it's hard to complain. Still worth playing if you liked the base game.
Game #92 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey the Fate of Atlantis
Time: 25 hours
Whew, this was massive. After the super disappointing Legacy of the First Blade, this one got back on track similar to the Pharaohs DLC for Origins, with three massive new lands to explore and a heavy focus on the more supernatural aspect of Odyssey. Amazing visuals (probably better than anything in the main game), great zones, the story is ok and more content than you know what to do with, plus new skills to obtain, new gear, pretty much everything you want from a expansion like this. If you liked Odyssey and want more of it, you can't go wrong with this DLC (even tho it doesnt really resolve anything, but hey, its better than pulling some horseshit like Legacy did).
Game #93 - Severed
Time: 5.5 hours
And now for something completely different, both for myself and for Drinkbox Studios, Severed is a dungeon crawler with touch based combat (think Fruit Ninja) with a really cool art style and great soundtrack. The art style is really striking, managing to both be very colorful but also very creepy. Various dungeon crawler puzzles to solve, some abilities to get to help you both in combat and also to unlock new zones, and various upgrades to get to your character make this short adventure quite enjoyable. The only problem is playing it on the Switch, it gets quite unconfortable after a while since you need to hold it with one hand (so the other swipes the screen) so short sessions are in order, which isnt a bad thing I guess as the game isnt very long.
Game #94 - Untitled Goose Game
Time: 3 hours
Wonderful little gem of a game, this stealth puzzler I guess you can call it has you play the titular goose as you have to do an assortment of mischievous tasks as you harass various people across a neighbourhood. Great art style with some really cool animations, fantastic soundtrack, really clever puzzles and great gameplay make this an all around fantastic game, I only wish it was a bit longer, as the main game is very short (about 2 hours, a bit more if you get stuck on a puzzle), and the new objectives that open up when you finish arent as polished as the ones in the main game.
Game #95 - The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening (2019)
Time: 10 hours
A little bummed about this one as it could have easily been a GOTY contender but the unfortunate frame rate issues really bring down the experience. It's still a fantastic remake of a classic Zelda title (although far from the BEST ZELDA GAME EVER as some say), there clearly is a ton of love put into this, I love the visual style and graphically, again if the frame rate issues didnt exist, it would be one of the best looking games on the system. Fantastic soundtrack and the same great gameplay as ever, it's a bit uneven as the first 2 or 3 dungeons are way too simple and easy, and overall it's not a very long game (especially for a Zelda) but it's still a must play for fans of the series and Switch owners, with the caveat that you will notice those rame rate dips all the time until they patch it, if they ever do. shame really, everything else is great.
Game #96 - UnEpic
Time: 15 hours
It's the second time this year where a game I enjoyed for the majority of it's length completely shits the bed in the last level and retroactively ruins the whole game for me. First was Hunter's Legacy (also a metroidvania) and now UnEpic. In fact, UnEpic is a weird game because I don't think it's particularly good but I actually really like it, until the end. The writing is horrible, full of memes and pop culture references (I mean it's not even references, one bit has Futurama's Zoidberg just run across the screen for no reason, like what?), the graphics arent very good, the gameplay is super janky, and yet I like it's rpg systems, it has a big meaty campaign with good level design, good character customization and lots of weapons, and most of all, it has "heart". That is, until the last few zones completely ruin the game by introducing rage inducing mechanics and making so if you built your character in a certain way it becomes nigh impossible to progress. The last "level/boss" is mind bogglingly bad. It's a shame because its clear the creator liked the genre, and his follow up game Ghost 1.0 is a much better effort.
Game #97 - Timespinner
Time: 6.5 hours
Nothing stops the metroidvania train as we have another one, this time from Chucklefish, and it's another good one. Great 16-bit style art style (it's by far the closest to a actual SNES game I've seen in awhile) and good snappy gameplay backed up by a neat story with lots of writing (which is very serviceable), this is a very well crafted metroidvania that while it doesnt do much new or different (the time-stop mechanic is very unutilized after the start of the game), what it does it does well and its fun throughout. A bit on the easy side and not very long, but multiple endings (which you can easily see in the same playthrough) and post game game content after the "end" (for the real ending) gives this one a notch above average and make it very worth while, especially if you are a fan of the genre.
Game #98 - Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap
Time: 4 hours
Wow, this was...short. A remake of Wonder Boy III, this new version boasts gorgeous new graphics but the same old gameplay, for better or worse. The game actually has a interesting proto-metroidvania structure as you get new powers to allow you to progress to later levels and even collect items in previous zones you missed, but the whole thing is over way too soon (I'm spit balling the 4 hours I posted, the save actually said 2 hours and a bit, but it doesnt count deaths) and you never have the freedom to use all your animal forms as you would like (and as you do in the proper metroidvania-like Monster Boy), and the old school gameplay is a bit TOO old school with a super short range on your sword, weird collisions and short jumps, the whole thing feels stiff. Still, it's very pretty and the structure is novel, and it's short enough not to be offensive. Disapointing but still worth it if only to compare with Monster Boy.
Game #99 - Chasm
Time: 10 hours
Another day, another metroidvania... you would think I would be sick of them by now but nope, still into them. Chasm's "big hook" is that it's procedurally generated, and that seems to scare people away from it, but in reality it's one of those things that if you didnt know was a thing, you wouldnt even notice. It generates a "seed" at the start sure, but for all intents and purposes it still plays and acts like a normal metroidvania, you still get specific skills and items to bypass previously locked zones, you still backtrack for secrets, etc. Good pixel art, good gameplay, music is a little subdued and the story is pretty inexistant, but I think overall its a very well made game that ticks all the boxes tghat a metroidvania should. It wont blow anyone away but if you are looking for another fix for this genre, it's worth playing.
Game #100 - Feudal Alloy
Time: 8 hours
Another low-tier metroidvania, this time with a medieval steampunk theme (which is at least original). The art style is actually pretty cool, if very same-y throughout the game, but the gameplay feels quite loose and janky (I havent died this much in one of these in ages, and not because it's particularly hard). Level design is alright and you get the standard powers you get in everyone of these (double jump, air dash, etc), it all feels very been there. done that. Recomended only for metroidvania fanboys like myself who are always looking for the next fix, everyone else has a ton of much better options. It's not bad per se, but it's not exactly good either, and it's probably my least favorite of the genre I played this year, and I played a lot.
Game #101 - The Outer Worlds
Time: 30 hours
Absolutely fantastic action rpg that more than scratches that Fallout-itch, The Outer World is a tighter, leaner, mroe focused game than Bathesda's outings usually are, with the same great writing that Obsidian has gotten us used to, great combat and just a wodnerful (and colorful) world to explore. Easily one of my favorite games of the year, I have little bad to say about it, it has rgeat quests with fantastic writing as I said, the combat feels good, lots of weapons to use, it never outstays it's welcome (it's shorter than the Bathesda games but to it's credit in my opinion) and is just a joy to play from start to finish. Outstanding work by Obsidian and I can't wait to see what they do next under Microsoft's wing.
Game #102 - Juicy Realm
Time: 10+ hours
Very cool dual stick shooter roguelike, much in the same vein as Enter the Gungeon or Nuclear Throne, and while it doesn't really do anything new, what it does it does very well, it's super charming and most importantly, very fun to play. Nine characters with various abilities to use, a ton of weapons to unlock and various difficulty modifiers that you unlock as you finish the game on previous difficulties should keep people busy for awhile, but the game isn't very hard (it's certainly easier than the other games I mentioned) and there are only five levels / biomes per run. Still, it looks gorgeous with really cool 2d art and character desing, and the weapons and powers you use are super wacky so it's worth it if you are looking for something to scratch the ETG itch (and you are done with ETG of course).
Game #103 - Yaga
Time: 9.5 hours
Ah, that feeling when you really like a game but can't help but feel a little disapointed with it in the end. Yaga is a really cool, very well made folklore based action rpg where you play a one handed blacksmith off in various adventures for his Tzar. The game is very original, which is a rarity these days, from the folksy story and music, the dialogue all in rhymes, various mechanics I haven't seen in other games, like a bad luck system that makes you get more xp as your bad luck raises but at the risk of your weapon breaking or losing your money, just everything about this little gem is well made. Great voice acting, story is actually well told with your decisions throughout affecting the outcome, gameplay feels fast and snappy with a mix of melee and throwing your hammer Thor style, the only negative and the reason I'm a little disapointed is that it's very short. At 9 hours, a metroidvania for example would be fine, but a action rpg not so much, especially when the base price is $25 (although I got it for $20 with the launch discount). A easy recomendation when it's like 50% off or something, as I said I really like it, but the short length makes it hard to recomend at full price.
Game #104 - Sparklite
Time: 10 hours
Another case of what could have been, much like Yaga earlier, Sparklite starts off super strong but ultimately it doesnt live up to its potential and it's short length is a bummer for a action rpg (much like Yaga). Sparklite is a action rpg with a dash of roguelike in it (I say dash because the roguelike nature ends up being very under utilized), as you adventure down into the land from your airship base in order to defeat 5 bosses in 5 different areas of the map. The world map changes every time you do a "run" (hence the roguelike), but this stops being a issue early on as you get some upgrades and basically just go to the zone you need to be in as you kill the bosses. Much in the same way as you might need to do "money runs" early on to afford upgrades but later zones give a lot more currency so you usually end up with more than you can spend. Great pixel art reminding me of Celeste, good whimsical music and some cool items to use make this a very enjoyable action rpg in the first half, but you quickly get more upgrades than the game can handle and it becomes quite easy, and the roguelike nature becomes a afterthought. Add to that the game isnt very long at around 8 to 10 hours, with only 5 zones / bosses to deal with, which in a action rpg feels short. Much like Yaga it feels like when the game is done introducing systems to you, it ends and you end up not using a lot of them. It's a shame, especially since the trend of indie games launching at premium prices makes it harder to recomend them unless they are on sale. A good game that could have been great.
Game #105 - Vaporum
Time: 15 hours
2019 was the year of new genre apreciation for me, as earlier in the year I grew to love Visual Novels, a genre I had never touched before, and now between Operencia and now Vaporum, I think I love dungeon crawlers, another genre I never really dabbled in before. Unlike most dungeon crawlers where you have a party, in Vaporum you play a single character trapped in a hellish steampunk (with a dash of horror mixed in, think Bioshock) facility with no memory of who he is or how he got there. The story is pretty cliche but it has some nice twists and turns (and a great ending), but it's the gameplay and puzzles where it really shines. Fantastic levels, lengthy campaign, great puzzles, good skill tree to build your guy in various ways, great look and vibe and amore snappy real time take on the dungeon crawler formula makes this a super fun time and a easy recomendation for any fan of the genre, or anyone wanting to give the genre a try. The only personal downside is that I played portable on Switch and some of the secret buttons and whatnot you need to press in the enviroment were very hard to spot, but that is a nitpick of the particular version I played. One of my favorites this year for sure.
Game #106 - Remnant From The Ashes
Time: 25+ hours
One of the best surprises this year, as I gre to like this more and more as I played it, especially in co-op, to the point where it will probably be in my top 10 for 2019. Essencially a third person shooter take on the Souls games, as it shares a lot of the same DNA with the Souls series(bleak world, "bonfires" that respawn all the enemies, a "estus flask" healing item you can upgrade with more charges and recharges at a "bonfire", and of course, brutal difficult bosses complete with fog gates) but the third person nature still makes it feel different enough compared to something like Lords of the Fallen. The story is both nonsense and most of the story beats arent even resolved (not sure if they plan to add content or not), but you play these games for the exploration and combat, and it excells at both. Shooting feels fantastic, great sound effects on the weapons, a ton of weapon and weapon mods (basically your special skills) to craft from boss drops (again, like the Souls games), and a fantastic implementation of co-op makes this just a super fun game to play especially with friends. I still want to jump on some coop session or even restart the game even after finishing, that's how much I liked it.
Game #107 - Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn
Time: 90 hours / ongoing
After hearing about how good FF14 was these days, with it getting better and better with each expansion, I decided to finally give it a go as the complete edition had a nice sale recently, and while this will only cover the ARR (A Realm Reborn) stuff, I do have every expansion and will most likely cover them in a 2020 entry. Anyway, FF14 is a strange beast, as it's not the easiest mmo to get into, especially if you're coming from WoW. The GCD is very long making for a very slow gameplay experience in the first few hours, but to it's credit it does get much better as you get more skills later on, mainly because the game has a lot of skills that are off the GCD so you end up weaving skills as other skills are coming off cooldown in a neat way and it actually ends up feeling quite unique in that sense. The game itself is pretty much what you expect out of a mmo, just very polished with some great classes, good dungeons and pretty graphics. It also has a heavy focus on story but the story in ARR is pretty bland, and the voice acting is terrible (both things apparently greatly improve in the expansions, including a whole new voice cast). Still, it manages to scratch both the Final Fantasy and the WoW itch at the same time, and I will at least play the expansions and try out other classes before my free month is up. Even if I dont resub (which I most likely won't), I'm already happy with what I played and the consensus is the best is yet to come. Oh and +1 brownie point for the nicest community I've ever seen in a mmo.
Game #108 - Metropolis Lux Obscura
Time: 3 hours
I guess I had one more in me, unfortunately it's fucking awful and not the best note to end this year on. Let's get the positive out of the way... err I like the comic book style art style. At least when it's not shoving boobs in my face like it's trying to appeal to my inner 14 year old. In fact, the whole thing feels like it's a horny 14 year old's idea of what Noir is. Just a terrible story (multiple endings and apparently they are all shit, I only saw 2 of them), "hardboiled" in the worst way (like I said, like a horny 14 year old would imagine noir). The actual gameplay outside the comic book style vignettes is a super basic and pretty shitty match-3 game that relies even moreon RNG than most match-3 games. Just a shitshow all around and a waste of 3€ or whatever I spent on it in the winter sale. Probably the worst game I played this year. AVOID.
Game #109 - Gorogoa
Time: 2 hours
One last good entry to end the year on a better note than the trash that was Lux Obscura, and what a good note this is. A fantastic puzzle game about manipulating images and perspective, with great art style and very cool puzzles (how do these creators come up with some of this stuff is beyond me). It's a shortie at 2 hours but it doesnt overstay it's welcome and it's very worth your time, especially if you catch it on sale. One of my favorites this year.
Last edited:
Just about meeting my usual target of 4+ games per month in June, but in that time I've also beaten episode 2 of the Fate of Atlantis DLC for Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which gets counted once I've beaten all three episodes. I'm also very nearly at the end of Katana Zero, but didn't quite get it beaten in time for June.
31. Golf Peaks (Switch) - 2 June 2019
All puzzles completed (109/109). Golf Peaks is a relaxing puzzle game based on miniature golf courses, with gameplay coming in the form of selecting shots from a group of options presented, alongside one of four grid-based directions to aim, with the goal of course of getting the ball into the course's hole. It's a simplistic concept, but works well, with a gradually expanding range of terrain types making up each course to keep things varied - from quicksand that swallows up the call, to slippery ice tiles and automated conveyor belts. With a limited choice of shots for each stage, ultimately everything can be solved by brute-force trial-and-error if needed, but generally the solutions are fairly accessible, while maintaining difficulty for the later stages to keep the game satisfying. With roots as a mobile game, Golf Peaks isn't anything especially ambitious, but it's an enjoyable, relaxing affair all the game.
32. The Messenger (Switch) - 9 June 2019
Completed with all 45 power seals collected. An excellent combination of Ninja Gaiden-style platforming with Metroidvania exploration, with attractive pixelart presentation and an intriguing story premise - there's a reveal about half-way into the game that puts the plot really nicely into perspective and draws you in to wanting to see it through to completion. I enjoyed the gameplay throughout, with great level design, responsive controls and satisfying moveset with which to navigate the world. I do, however, share the commonly-expressed view that the Metroidvania elements of the game are weaker than those where the focus is more on core platforming, and there's a little too much unnecessary padding towards the end. In these later stages, it would also have been nice to see some more subtle direction to guiding the player towards the next key area/objective than The Messenger presents - text riddles are all that it currently uses, rather than much in the gameplay/environment itself, in the way that classic Metroid typically would, for example. These criticisms don't, however, ultimately detract all that much from a very enjoyable experience.
33. Gato Roboto (Switch) - 21 June 2019
Completed with 100% of items collected. After a break to play through the latest Assassin's Creed: Odyssey DLC (which will get reported once I've completed all episodes), I'm back to another Metroidvania - this one attractive by its relatively short length and, well, what's not to like about its cat + mech suit premise! Gato Roboto is actually much more Metroid than Castlevania, without any direct levelling-up mechanic, and the strictly monochromatic presentation gives the game a distinctly retro feel. While it's always satisfying to acquire new upgrades, on balance those on offer here are fairly predictable and the gameplay isn't all that deep - but over its short length (the game can be completed in around 3-4 hours if you're not aiming for 100% completion), it doesn't overstay its welcome.
34. Cadence of Hyrule – Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (Switch) - 28 June 2019
Completed with 100% of items collected. While I was never much good at Curse of the NecroDancer, I can't resist a new Zelda game, whatever form it comes in - and I'm pleased to say thatI didn't regret this purchase. Cadence of Hyrule doesn't have the same punishing difficulty as the original NecroDancer, and the rhythm-based movement/combat mechanic actually works really nicely in a Zelda setting. Now, if taken just as a Zelda game, this probably would be towards the lower end of my ranking of the series (procedurally built dungeons are always going to struggle the hand-crafted offerings of traditional Zelda games), but the whole experience is elevated dramatically by the absolutely *fantastic* take on Zelda's already iconic soundtrack, with very catchy and diverse remixes/combinations of many classic pieces. Having completed the game once through, I don't feel an immediate compulsion to replay it, but there's excellent support for those who do, with a number of different characters available, a perma-death mode and daily challenge runs.
31. Golf Peaks (Switch) - 2 June 2019
All puzzles completed (109/109). Golf Peaks is a relaxing puzzle game based on miniature golf courses, with gameplay coming in the form of selecting shots from a group of options presented, alongside one of four grid-based directions to aim, with the goal of course of getting the ball into the course's hole. It's a simplistic concept, but works well, with a gradually expanding range of terrain types making up each course to keep things varied - from quicksand that swallows up the call, to slippery ice tiles and automated conveyor belts. With a limited choice of shots for each stage, ultimately everything can be solved by brute-force trial-and-error if needed, but generally the solutions are fairly accessible, while maintaining difficulty for the later stages to keep the game satisfying. With roots as a mobile game, Golf Peaks isn't anything especially ambitious, but it's an enjoyable, relaxing affair all the game.
32. The Messenger (Switch) - 9 June 2019
Completed with all 45 power seals collected. An excellent combination of Ninja Gaiden-style platforming with Metroidvania exploration, with attractive pixelart presentation and an intriguing story premise - there's a reveal about half-way into the game that puts the plot really nicely into perspective and draws you in to wanting to see it through to completion. I enjoyed the gameplay throughout, with great level design, responsive controls and satisfying moveset with which to navigate the world. I do, however, share the commonly-expressed view that the Metroidvania elements of the game are weaker than those where the focus is more on core platforming, and there's a little too much unnecessary padding towards the end. In these later stages, it would also have been nice to see some more subtle direction to guiding the player towards the next key area/objective than The Messenger presents - text riddles are all that it currently uses, rather than much in the gameplay/environment itself, in the way that classic Metroid typically would, for example. These criticisms don't, however, ultimately detract all that much from a very enjoyable experience.
33. Gato Roboto (Switch) - 21 June 2019
Completed with 100% of items collected. After a break to play through the latest Assassin's Creed: Odyssey DLC (which will get reported once I've completed all episodes), I'm back to another Metroidvania - this one attractive by its relatively short length and, well, what's not to like about its cat + mech suit premise! Gato Roboto is actually much more Metroid than Castlevania, without any direct levelling-up mechanic, and the strictly monochromatic presentation gives the game a distinctly retro feel. While it's always satisfying to acquire new upgrades, on balance those on offer here are fairly predictable and the gameplay isn't all that deep - but over its short length (the game can be completed in around 3-4 hours if you're not aiming for 100% completion), it doesn't overstay its welcome.
34. Cadence of Hyrule – Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (Switch) - 28 June 2019
Completed with 100% of items collected. While I was never much good at Curse of the NecroDancer, I can't resist a new Zelda game, whatever form it comes in - and I'm pleased to say thatI didn't regret this purchase. Cadence of Hyrule doesn't have the same punishing difficulty as the original NecroDancer, and the rhythm-based movement/combat mechanic actually works really nicely in a Zelda setting. Now, if taken just as a Zelda game, this probably would be towards the lower end of my ranking of the series (procedurally built dungeons are always going to struggle the hand-crafted offerings of traditional Zelda games), but the whole experience is elevated dramatically by the absolutely *fantastic* take on Zelda's already iconic soundtrack, with very catchy and diverse remixes/combinations of many classic pieces. Having completed the game once through, I don't feel an immediate compulsion to replay it, but there's excellent support for those who do, with a number of different characters available, a perma-death mode and daily challenge runs.
S.T.A.R.S Beret - 39/52 Games (19 first playthroughs, 20 replays)
Game 36 – Jake Hunter: Ghost of the Dusk (3DS) – 11 hours, 3 minutes – 3/5
Finally got around to giving a Jake Hunter game a go after missing the DS ones at the peak of my point and click/visual novel adventure gaming obsession. This was pretty solid, if not a bit clunky. Some of the investigations were tricky to trigger the exact right moment and sometimes it isn't clear exactly how to progress plot elements (sometimes you have to examine/look at someone instead of talking to them to move things forward) but it isn't too bad as there aren't any fail states that I'm aware of.
Definitely preferred the main plot chapter to the smaller ones but this is a pretty nice overall package. Am definitely open to trying to get back to the DS games in addition to playing any future games that see a NA release but I'm not sure how likely that is of happening.
Game 37 – Rise of the Tomb Raider (PC) – 23 hours, 30 minutes – 2/5
A pretty big improvement over the 2013 reboot. The narrative managed to be even worse but I checked out of it 2 seconds in anyways. Really enjoyed some of the areas in the game through the Geothermal Valley. The Lost City is aesthetically displeasing and is where the game started to lose appeal. There's too many collectibles and of course you don't have to get them all if you don't want to but there isn't anything compelling to be done, still. It throws any good will it earned earlier in the back half of the story/main line progression when it turns into a corridor shooter again but otherwise there's potential here. It's still not very good but it was infinitely more playable than TR2013.
I played on Extreme Survivor which was kinda a mistake. I appreciated the gameplay changes made with the difficulty but the lack of checkpoints was more trouble than it was worht. I had to repeat a few sections a few times and a decent amount of those times weren't my fault due to game crashes or the platforming acting wonky.
Game 38 – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (PS4) - ~20 hours – 4/5
Replayed as part of the trilogy port. It's still great and one of my faves. Case 5 is a bit overlong but otherwise it's solid in full. Looking forward to playing the rest of the series again.
Game 39 – Call of Cthulhu (PS4) - ~12 hours – 2/5
Loved the atmosphere and art direction but there wasn't much else to this for me. The gameplay was a lot less involved than I expected it to be to the point where this was approaching walking simulator territory. That's fine and I love a lot of walking simulators but this isn't a great one and it could've been so much more.
ONWARDS! After a really slow start I'm now over the 40-mark with half the year left to go.
#1-20
#21-40
41. Tetraminos (PS4) - 30/06/19 - ~4 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
Why do developers bother making Tetris copies when they *always* end up feeling half baked? The developers of Tetraminos makes a few errors in judgement right away by:
a) introducing a colour mechanic that means a line clear of a single colour is worth more points (not an awful idea in and of itself), but one that fails due to the importance of using colour to identify piece shape and orientation at a glance during high level play;
b) not using the now established rotation system of Tetris, meaning that some T-Spin setups are incredibly hard to manoeuvre through;
c) introducing new piece shapes including a one block, a two line, a three line, and perversely, a three by three 'plus' shape which is GUARANTEED to ruin any clean stacking you've achieved to that point.
Chuck in sluggish controls, generic presentation, and hey!, you've got a knock-off Tetris Bingo!
The game is split between endless mode, challenge mode (with line goals on each stage), and puzzle mode. The puzzle mode takes queues from the worst mode in Lumines, whereby certain shapes must be cleared using a limited number of pieces. Not fun.
42. Windstorm / Ostwind (Switch) - 14/07/19 - ~12 hours (100%)
A movie tie-in to a German franchise no one in the UK cares about.
Ride a horse around a loose open world, complete missions, and find collectibles.
It should have been shit, and by all accounts, the atrocious performance and frequent crashes and soft locks made the game hard to really enjoy. And yet, I continually came back to this game despite having much better games to play because I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the thing. It's ropey, it's often frustrating, but it's all relaxing, and bucolic. Could have done without having to pick bits of much out of my horses hooves every few stages, but as a package I enjoyed Windstorm more than I disliked it.
43. Super Destronaut DX: Intruder Edition (Vita) - 26/07/19 - ~2 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
I played the vanilla release of Super Destronaut last year and said it was an extremely average Space Invaders clone. This is still largely how I feel about this new, retail edition. However, I will give the developers credit for smoothing out performance, adding additional modes, and working with Eastasiasoft to produce a pretty nice limited retail print.
It's very unlikely I'll ever go back to this one, for as I mentioned last year, there are many superior games in this style. Makes me really wish for a Decimation X port to newer platforms though - it remains the gold standard for Space Invaders clones for me.
44. Woodle Tree Adventures (Switch / PS4) - 28/07/19 - ~3 hours (Credits / 100% Trophies [PSN])
No one ever sets out to make a bad game. And when games are developed almost entirely by one person it's really hard to write up a hatchet job review, knowing that it's almost certainly inexperience rather than malice that has led to a game not really fulfilling its potential. There is lots to rag on here like the fixed (and often broken) camera, etc, so instead, let's talk positives.
Similarly to Gem Smashers, after beating the game on the Switch and realising how quick it would be to grab all the trophies on my PSN account, I double dipped, hence the slightly longer clear time.
45. Plantera (Vita) - 29/07/19 - ~7 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
An enjoyable idle game that has you planting up a garden and harvesting your crops either by tapping furiously, or by leaving the game to play itself and have weird blue helpers pick up after you instead. It's surprisingly addictive, and I found myself actively tapping for the vast majority of my play time. The last few trophies were collected using time manipulation on the Vita - cheating I know, but after 5+ hours, there really isn't anything to see here. There's no wider meta game like Clicker Heroes et al and I felt comfortable that I'd 'beaten' the game legitimately, having cleared all the grindiest trophies through play rather than cheats.
46. Inside (PS4) - 30/07/19 - ~5 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
Just wow. Firstly, I have no idea how I managed to go this long without a) playing the pseudo-sequel to one of my all time favourite games, Limbo; and b) seeing spoilers for any of this game's set-pieces of story beats.
What an astonishing followup to Limbo this is. Playdead looked back at the formula, a cinematic platformer with physics puzzles and environmental storytelling, and then just absolutely went to town.
Inside is, without doubt, one of the most visually arresting games I've ever played, with animation and environmental design that is incredibly assured. In addition, the audio design is consistently atmospheric, using silence, drones, and industrial foley perfectly. It's just an astonishing production.
I won't spoil any of the game itself, but the pacing, length, puzzle difficulty and just overall package is breathtaking. Easily the best thing I've played this year.
I played through the whole game totally blind, then went back with a guide to mop up trophies. It's so good.
47. The First Tree (PS4) - 01/08/19 - ~5 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
I feel like I should have enjoyed this game more than I did. It's a pensive, exploration based game where you guide a fox through lush landscapes looking for collectibles and paths that further the narrated story about a man who's recently lost his paternal parent. Generally I'm a big fan of narrative games, and exploration games, and 'art' games, but the writing here just didn't gel with me at all. Additionally, the delivery of the lines was done with a weird sort of breathless affect that made me feel quite uncomfortable.
If a character is to appear confessional, they need to feel genuine. The dialogue here just didn't sound like the type of thing real people would say, and each line reminiscing on the past began to wind me up by the end of the game, rather than drawing me in to the protagonist's story.
Did a full second playthrough to mop up collectibles (many of which were frustratingly missable, causing me to have to restart the game several times early on..), and whilst I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game, I just don't think the narrative is enough of a draw to recommend this one. A really nice concept, just not executed that well.
48. Planetarium (PSP) - 02/08/19 - ~4 hours (Credits)
A surprisingly touching visual novel / kinetic novel. There's no romance here, no high school slice of life stuff. This is a post-apocalyptic character driven story that explores themes of purpose, human nature, and our relationship with technology. I did not expect to get into this as much as I did. Played a bit in bed, then took my Vita with me when I had a bath. Next thing I know I'm getting out of the tub, skin all wrinkly, 3 hours later as the credits rolled.
I played the fan translated PSP edition which carried with it a few soft locks that required me to boot the game again, but I've since found out it's available in English on both Steam and Switch. Absolutely worth 'playing' if you don't mind a bit of reading.
49. Minefield (PS4) - 05/08/19 - ~1 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
It's Minesweeper. Yet it's a 1.5gb download.
50. Panzer Dragoon Mini (GG) - 05/08/19 - ~4 hours (100% Achievements [RA])
I actually beat this game start to finish last year, but that was before the game had been adapted to support achievents on RetroAchievements. This new set meant beating the game on normal and hard, whilst finishing every boss in the game with at least half health.
Most of the game is reasonably straight forward, but in total it probably took a good 5 or 6 full runs to actually collect every trophy. A couple had issues popping, but members of RA were extremely helpful in troubleshooting and then recoding the offending Achievements to help me as well as any others who may go on to attempt to master the game. A really fun 8-bit rail shooter that equips itself much better than games like Space Harrier did on the more powerful Mega Drive.
51. Super Mario World (SNES) - 08/08/19 - ~8 hours (Credits, ~50% of hidden exits)
I never had a Super Nintendo growing up, and as such my exposure to classics like SMW have come purely from emulation. I've picked up SMW a fair few times, played a world or two, and then moved on. It was only when staying with a friend that we committed to 'beating' the game, mainly so I could tick it off my gaming bucket list. FFVII and Resi4 next week, perhaps?
It's genuinely fantastic. The only times I found myself getting fed up, were in the boss stages (which run out of steam very early, and seem repeated mainly for cart economy), and in a couple 'maze' style levels which made progress a bit of a chore. Overall though, having got through maybe 70 odd exits, I feel confident in saying its a masterpiece, and one I'm genuinely sad I never gave time to until now.
52. Time Pilot (Arcade) - 10/08/19 - ~2 hours (#1 on Leaderboard, looped game)
The Arcade Club in Bury is one of the best places I have ever been in my life. A huge warehouse with 300-odd arcade machines in perfect working order, all set to free play across two floors. I've been 3 times in the last year, despite a visit being a 600 mile round trip from my house. It is absolutely worth it.
On my most recent visit, I decided to really dedicate some time to a single machine. My brother knuckled down on Flicky, topping its leaderboard (until the very end of our 12 hour visit when someone narrowly pipped his score with the initials 'POO'), whilst I really got into Time Pilot. 3 or 4 bottles of beer later, I'd finally looped the game (beating its 5 stages and boss) and taken the top spot on the board from another die hard who I'd been watching earlier in the day.
A great experience, and a great golden-era Konami game. I also had a chance to play Time Pilot '84 that day for the first time, but was surprised by how much of a loveless experience it was in comparison. Stiffer controls, uglier graphics, and less character all round.
53. Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (GBA) - 19/08/19 - ~16 hours (Credits, All Gems)
It's remarkable how close to the PS1 original this handheld Crash game feels: maddening difficulty spikes; inconsistent art style; wildly variable controls. It's all here!
There are 20 stages and 4 boss battles in this game. Beating the game was hard enough, but going back to collect every crate, and then finish every bonus and gem area perfectly drove me nearly to some form of Bandicoot insanity. I don't believe any child beat this game fully as a kid, when I, an almost 33 year old man, lost 30+ lives on certain stages.
Technically to beat the game properly I need to beat the speed times for each stage to get the gold ankhs, but on how I feel right now, fuck that for a game of soldiers.
54. Die Original Moorhuhn Jagd (GBC) - 20/08/19 - ~90minutes (100% Achievements [RA])
Basically Duck Hunt. It's fun enough, but did people really buy physical copies of this game in the early 2000s? It's just a shooting gallery with a single 90 second mode, as well as a 'tournament' mode which asks you to reach a certain score each round to be allowed to continue.
55. Shadow of Lootbox (PS4) - 21/08/19 - ~4 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
Anyone remember DLC Quest for Xbox Live Indie Games? It made a lot of the same jokes that Shadow of Lootbox attempts to make in a short, snappy package. It lasted exactly as long as it needed to to sell its punchline.
Shadow of Lootbox runs on several hours longer in order to try and skewer some more contemporary gaming trends (crafting, in game ads, early access, etc). It's extremely average, repetitive despite each stage offering a new gimmick, and often feels broken in ways unintended. The core of the game is built around opening lootboxes you either find in game or buy using limited currency to top up health, ammo and experience. The story was 16 levels long, and required me to revisit earlier stages to mop up a missable trophy I skimmed by accidentally.
The Dungeon mode, unlockable on completion, was not particularly fun at all. The game's combat was pretty stiff and turgid throughout the main campaign, with paltry enemy variation and no discernable strategy to beat any of the monsters. It seems absolutely bananas that the reward for finishing the game was a gauntlet of enemy bun fights. The lootbox system behind the game's core even meant that some of the stages became almost impossible as ammo would become non existent. When I beat it, I had to approach from an almost 'survival horror' style mindset of resource management, carefully choosing the optimum time to gamble on the lootboxes in my inventory.
56. Mind Labyrinth VR Dreams (PSVR) - 22/08/19 - ~2 hours (100% Achievements [RA])
After some initial issues with Move controller mapping (I would assume that English was not the developer's first language as the in-game help and tutorial wasn't tremendously helpful), I actually quite enjoyed this plaintive, meditative romp through 11 mini 'dream' worlds. The graphics and audio were pretty lush and helped create a sense of place. Less successful was the game's use of quotations throughout to promote mindfulness, connectivity and well being. Almost all of these came from the Dalai Lama, and it just felt like a lazy way to give the game direction and purpose. Tetris Effect, Rez, Child of Eden - all of these games explore very similar themes without having to resort to cheap quotes that hover in the sky. Nice enough.
57. DLC Quest / Live Freemium or Die (PC) - 23/08/19 - ~2 hours (100% in-game 'Awardments')
To prove my own point RE: Shadow of Lootbox, I went back and played through DLC Quest and its sequel / add-on again.
Yup, it's the better game.
The framework may be simpler (a retro styled platformer), but the jokes land much more often, and it manages to attack many of the prevailing trends of the early 2010s, much more efficiently than ...Lootbox manages to for the late 2010s.
The sequel campaign is perhaps a bit weaker than the original, as it relies on gaming tropes like being able to take damage and precision platforming that the original eschewed. Still a good time though.
58. Croc's World (PS4) - 24/08/19 - ~1 hour (100% Trophies [PSN])
A painfully average platformer. The type of game a fledgling developer pumps out to get a feel for the game engine or coding environment they're using, i.e. a straight rip off of Super Mario Bros but without any of the depth or finesse in level design.
60 levels, few of which last more than 30 seconds. A handful that are maddeningly difficult alongside the majority that offer next to no challenge. It's beaten and deleted, and that's about as much as anyone could say.
59. Storm Boy (PS4) - 24/08/19 - ~30mins (100% Trophies [PSN])
An adaptation of a children's book of all things. Having not read the book / been read the book as a child, some of the weight of the story was lost on me I feel, but this was a brisk, visually pretty game that at least tried something a little different in how it took scenes and activities alluded to in the book / via printed illustrations, and brought them to life. I imagine this would appeal to younger players, but I'm doubtful of it having the return value a children's book does, as naturally the game has to do things with pacing and 'gamified' elements that a book of course doesn't.
60. Super Kids Racing (PS4) - 24/08/19 - ~30mins (100% Trophies [PSN])
I was upset when Microsoft shuttered the Xbox Live Indie Games channel. I always liked sifting through the games spewed onto the service in search of hidden gems. There was utter tosh, sure, but this was mainly because games were peer reviewed and then chucked up for a buck. No one at Microsoft cared about the games' visibility on the storefront, or content (unless it was reported as being particularly heinous).
For the longest time, publisher owned digital store fronts maintained a level of curated integrity though, far from the messiness of XBLIG. This went for Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, and whilst Steam had long been a crapshoot of quality since the greenlight days, it was mostly guaranteed that the games you bought on your consoles were at least checked over and given a loose seal of quality by one of the big boys at the top.
This certainly isn't the case anymore. The Switch seems particularly swamped in the current climate, with what feels like hundreds of games launching digitally a week, many just straight ports of cheap and nasty mobile titles. The PS4 seems desperate to play catch up though, with games like Super Kids Racing feeling like a project that took an afternoon to produce using nothing but the built in tutorials for Unity, and the cheapest asset pack available.
Collision detection? Sporadic, or outright missing. Graphics? upscaled pre-PS1 textured models. Lighting and shadows? Pffft. Interface? Truly disgusting - you press the 'O' button to pause the game.
Utterly terrible, and yet strangely enjoyable as it suggests there may be more ugly treasures to find, buried a little deeper within the Playstation Network!
#61-80
#1-20
#21-40
41. Tetraminos (PS4) - 30/06/19 - ~4 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
Why do developers bother making Tetris copies when they *always* end up feeling half baked? The developers of Tetraminos makes a few errors in judgement right away by:
a) introducing a colour mechanic that means a line clear of a single colour is worth more points (not an awful idea in and of itself), but one that fails due to the importance of using colour to identify piece shape and orientation at a glance during high level play;
b) not using the now established rotation system of Tetris, meaning that some T-Spin setups are incredibly hard to manoeuvre through;
c) introducing new piece shapes including a one block, a two line, a three line, and perversely, a three by three 'plus' shape which is GUARANTEED to ruin any clean stacking you've achieved to that point.
Chuck in sluggish controls, generic presentation, and hey!, you've got a knock-off Tetris Bingo!
The game is split between endless mode, challenge mode (with line goals on each stage), and puzzle mode. The puzzle mode takes queues from the worst mode in Lumines, whereby certain shapes must be cleared using a limited number of pieces. Not fun.
42. Windstorm / Ostwind (Switch) - 14/07/19 - ~12 hours (100%)
A movie tie-in to a German franchise no one in the UK cares about.
Ride a horse around a loose open world, complete missions, and find collectibles.
It should have been shit, and by all accounts, the atrocious performance and frequent crashes and soft locks made the game hard to really enjoy. And yet, I continually came back to this game despite having much better games to play because I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the thing. It's ropey, it's often frustrating, but it's all relaxing, and bucolic. Could have done without having to pick bits of much out of my horses hooves every few stages, but as a package I enjoyed Windstorm more than I disliked it.
43. Super Destronaut DX: Intruder Edition (Vita) - 26/07/19 - ~2 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
I played the vanilla release of Super Destronaut last year and said it was an extremely average Space Invaders clone. This is still largely how I feel about this new, retail edition. However, I will give the developers credit for smoothing out performance, adding additional modes, and working with Eastasiasoft to produce a pretty nice limited retail print.
It's very unlikely I'll ever go back to this one, for as I mentioned last year, there are many superior games in this style. Makes me really wish for a Decimation X port to newer platforms though - it remains the gold standard for Space Invaders clones for me.
44. Woodle Tree Adventures (Switch / PS4) - 28/07/19 - ~3 hours (Credits / 100% Trophies [PSN])
No one ever sets out to make a bad game. And when games are developed almost entirely by one person it's really hard to write up a hatchet job review, knowing that it's almost certainly inexperience rather than malice that has led to a game not really fulfilling its potential. There is lots to rag on here like the fixed (and often broken) camera, etc, so instead, let's talk positives.
- I really like the art style.
- I like the lack of pressure - death causes a loss of position rather than collectible progress.
- The music, although seemingly aleatoric in places, actually created a decent ambient backing for the experience.
- Control is mostly decent, with the character having a decent weight to them, and buttons usually responsive.
- Short and sweet. Certainly didn't outstay its welcome!
Similarly to Gem Smashers, after beating the game on the Switch and realising how quick it would be to grab all the trophies on my PSN account, I double dipped, hence the slightly longer clear time.
45. Plantera (Vita) - 29/07/19 - ~7 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
An enjoyable idle game that has you planting up a garden and harvesting your crops either by tapping furiously, or by leaving the game to play itself and have weird blue helpers pick up after you instead. It's surprisingly addictive, and I found myself actively tapping for the vast majority of my play time. The last few trophies were collected using time manipulation on the Vita - cheating I know, but after 5+ hours, there really isn't anything to see here. There's no wider meta game like Clicker Heroes et al and I felt comfortable that I'd 'beaten' the game legitimately, having cleared all the grindiest trophies through play rather than cheats.
46. Inside (PS4) - 30/07/19 - ~5 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
Just wow. Firstly, I have no idea how I managed to go this long without a) playing the pseudo-sequel to one of my all time favourite games, Limbo; and b) seeing spoilers for any of this game's set-pieces of story beats.
What an astonishing followup to Limbo this is. Playdead looked back at the formula, a cinematic platformer with physics puzzles and environmental storytelling, and then just absolutely went to town.
Inside is, without doubt, one of the most visually arresting games I've ever played, with animation and environmental design that is incredibly assured. In addition, the audio design is consistently atmospheric, using silence, drones, and industrial foley perfectly. It's just an astonishing production.
I won't spoil any of the game itself, but the pacing, length, puzzle difficulty and just overall package is breathtaking. Easily the best thing I've played this year.
I played through the whole game totally blind, then went back with a guide to mop up trophies. It's so good.
47. The First Tree (PS4) - 01/08/19 - ~5 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
I feel like I should have enjoyed this game more than I did. It's a pensive, exploration based game where you guide a fox through lush landscapes looking for collectibles and paths that further the narrated story about a man who's recently lost his paternal parent. Generally I'm a big fan of narrative games, and exploration games, and 'art' games, but the writing here just didn't gel with me at all. Additionally, the delivery of the lines was done with a weird sort of breathless affect that made me feel quite uncomfortable.
If a character is to appear confessional, they need to feel genuine. The dialogue here just didn't sound like the type of thing real people would say, and each line reminiscing on the past began to wind me up by the end of the game, rather than drawing me in to the protagonist's story.
Did a full second playthrough to mop up collectibles (many of which were frustratingly missable, causing me to have to restart the game several times early on..), and whilst I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game, I just don't think the narrative is enough of a draw to recommend this one. A really nice concept, just not executed that well.
48. Planetarium (PSP) - 02/08/19 - ~4 hours (Credits)
A surprisingly touching visual novel / kinetic novel. There's no romance here, no high school slice of life stuff. This is a post-apocalyptic character driven story that explores themes of purpose, human nature, and our relationship with technology. I did not expect to get into this as much as I did. Played a bit in bed, then took my Vita with me when I had a bath. Next thing I know I'm getting out of the tub, skin all wrinkly, 3 hours later as the credits rolled.
I played the fan translated PSP edition which carried with it a few soft locks that required me to boot the game again, but I've since found out it's available in English on both Steam and Switch. Absolutely worth 'playing' if you don't mind a bit of reading.
49. Minefield (PS4) - 05/08/19 - ~1 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
It's Minesweeper. Yet it's a 1.5gb download.
50. Panzer Dragoon Mini (GG) - 05/08/19 - ~4 hours (100% Achievements [RA])
I actually beat this game start to finish last year, but that was before the game had been adapted to support achievents on RetroAchievements. This new set meant beating the game on normal and hard, whilst finishing every boss in the game with at least half health.
Most of the game is reasonably straight forward, but in total it probably took a good 5 or 6 full runs to actually collect every trophy. A couple had issues popping, but members of RA were extremely helpful in troubleshooting and then recoding the offending Achievements to help me as well as any others who may go on to attempt to master the game. A really fun 8-bit rail shooter that equips itself much better than games like Space Harrier did on the more powerful Mega Drive.
51. Super Mario World (SNES) - 08/08/19 - ~8 hours (Credits, ~50% of hidden exits)
I never had a Super Nintendo growing up, and as such my exposure to classics like SMW have come purely from emulation. I've picked up SMW a fair few times, played a world or two, and then moved on. It was only when staying with a friend that we committed to 'beating' the game, mainly so I could tick it off my gaming bucket list. FFVII and Resi4 next week, perhaps?
It's genuinely fantastic. The only times I found myself getting fed up, were in the boss stages (which run out of steam very early, and seem repeated mainly for cart economy), and in a couple 'maze' style levels which made progress a bit of a chore. Overall though, having got through maybe 70 odd exits, I feel confident in saying its a masterpiece, and one I'm genuinely sad I never gave time to until now.
52. Time Pilot (Arcade) - 10/08/19 - ~2 hours (#1 on Leaderboard, looped game)
The Arcade Club in Bury is one of the best places I have ever been in my life. A huge warehouse with 300-odd arcade machines in perfect working order, all set to free play across two floors. I've been 3 times in the last year, despite a visit being a 600 mile round trip from my house. It is absolutely worth it.
On my most recent visit, I decided to really dedicate some time to a single machine. My brother knuckled down on Flicky, topping its leaderboard (until the very end of our 12 hour visit when someone narrowly pipped his score with the initials 'POO'), whilst I really got into Time Pilot. 3 or 4 bottles of beer later, I'd finally looped the game (beating its 5 stages and boss) and taken the top spot on the board from another die hard who I'd been watching earlier in the day.
A great experience, and a great golden-era Konami game. I also had a chance to play Time Pilot '84 that day for the first time, but was surprised by how much of a loveless experience it was in comparison. Stiffer controls, uglier graphics, and less character all round.
53. Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (GBA) - 19/08/19 - ~16 hours (Credits, All Gems)
It's remarkable how close to the PS1 original this handheld Crash game feels: maddening difficulty spikes; inconsistent art style; wildly variable controls. It's all here!
There are 20 stages and 4 boss battles in this game. Beating the game was hard enough, but going back to collect every crate, and then finish every bonus and gem area perfectly drove me nearly to some form of Bandicoot insanity. I don't believe any child beat this game fully as a kid, when I, an almost 33 year old man, lost 30+ lives on certain stages.
Technically to beat the game properly I need to beat the speed times for each stage to get the gold ankhs, but on how I feel right now, fuck that for a game of soldiers.
54. Die Original Moorhuhn Jagd (GBC) - 20/08/19 - ~90minutes (100% Achievements [RA])
Basically Duck Hunt. It's fun enough, but did people really buy physical copies of this game in the early 2000s? It's just a shooting gallery with a single 90 second mode, as well as a 'tournament' mode which asks you to reach a certain score each round to be allowed to continue.
55. Shadow of Lootbox (PS4) - 21/08/19 - ~4 hours (100% Trophies [PSN])
Anyone remember DLC Quest for Xbox Live Indie Games? It made a lot of the same jokes that Shadow of Lootbox attempts to make in a short, snappy package. It lasted exactly as long as it needed to to sell its punchline.
Shadow of Lootbox runs on several hours longer in order to try and skewer some more contemporary gaming trends (crafting, in game ads, early access, etc). It's extremely average, repetitive despite each stage offering a new gimmick, and often feels broken in ways unintended. The core of the game is built around opening lootboxes you either find in game or buy using limited currency to top up health, ammo and experience. The story was 16 levels long, and required me to revisit earlier stages to mop up a missable trophy I skimmed by accidentally.
The Dungeon mode, unlockable on completion, was not particularly fun at all. The game's combat was pretty stiff and turgid throughout the main campaign, with paltry enemy variation and no discernable strategy to beat any of the monsters. It seems absolutely bananas that the reward for finishing the game was a gauntlet of enemy bun fights. The lootbox system behind the game's core even meant that some of the stages became almost impossible as ammo would become non existent. When I beat it, I had to approach from an almost 'survival horror' style mindset of resource management, carefully choosing the optimum time to gamble on the lootboxes in my inventory.
56. Mind Labyrinth VR Dreams (PSVR) - 22/08/19 - ~2 hours (100% Achievements [RA])
After some initial issues with Move controller mapping (I would assume that English was not the developer's first language as the in-game help and tutorial wasn't tremendously helpful), I actually quite enjoyed this plaintive, meditative romp through 11 mini 'dream' worlds. The graphics and audio were pretty lush and helped create a sense of place. Less successful was the game's use of quotations throughout to promote mindfulness, connectivity and well being. Almost all of these came from the Dalai Lama, and it just felt like a lazy way to give the game direction and purpose. Tetris Effect, Rez, Child of Eden - all of these games explore very similar themes without having to resort to cheap quotes that hover in the sky. Nice enough.
57. DLC Quest / Live Freemium or Die (PC) - 23/08/19 - ~2 hours (100% in-game 'Awardments')
To prove my own point RE: Shadow of Lootbox, I went back and played through DLC Quest and its sequel / add-on again.
Yup, it's the better game.
The framework may be simpler (a retro styled platformer), but the jokes land much more often, and it manages to attack many of the prevailing trends of the early 2010s, much more efficiently than ...Lootbox manages to for the late 2010s.
The sequel campaign is perhaps a bit weaker than the original, as it relies on gaming tropes like being able to take damage and precision platforming that the original eschewed. Still a good time though.
58. Croc's World (PS4) - 24/08/19 - ~1 hour (100% Trophies [PSN])
A painfully average platformer. The type of game a fledgling developer pumps out to get a feel for the game engine or coding environment they're using, i.e. a straight rip off of Super Mario Bros but without any of the depth or finesse in level design.
60 levels, few of which last more than 30 seconds. A handful that are maddeningly difficult alongside the majority that offer next to no challenge. It's beaten and deleted, and that's about as much as anyone could say.
59. Storm Boy (PS4) - 24/08/19 - ~30mins (100% Trophies [PSN])
An adaptation of a children's book of all things. Having not read the book / been read the book as a child, some of the weight of the story was lost on me I feel, but this was a brisk, visually pretty game that at least tried something a little different in how it took scenes and activities alluded to in the book / via printed illustrations, and brought them to life. I imagine this would appeal to younger players, but I'm doubtful of it having the return value a children's book does, as naturally the game has to do things with pacing and 'gamified' elements that a book of course doesn't.
60. Super Kids Racing (PS4) - 24/08/19 - ~30mins (100% Trophies [PSN])
I was upset when Microsoft shuttered the Xbox Live Indie Games channel. I always liked sifting through the games spewed onto the service in search of hidden gems. There was utter tosh, sure, but this was mainly because games were peer reviewed and then chucked up for a buck. No one at Microsoft cared about the games' visibility on the storefront, or content (unless it was reported as being particularly heinous).
For the longest time, publisher owned digital store fronts maintained a level of curated integrity though, far from the messiness of XBLIG. This went for Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, and whilst Steam had long been a crapshoot of quality since the greenlight days, it was mostly guaranteed that the games you bought on your consoles were at least checked over and given a loose seal of quality by one of the big boys at the top.
This certainly isn't the case anymore. The Switch seems particularly swamped in the current climate, with what feels like hundreds of games launching digitally a week, many just straight ports of cheap and nasty mobile titles. The PS4 seems desperate to play catch up though, with games like Super Kids Racing feeling like a project that took an afternoon to produce using nothing but the built in tutorials for Unity, and the cheapest asset pack available.
Collision detection? Sporadic, or outright missing. Graphics? upscaled pre-PS1 textured models. Lighting and shadows? Pffft. Interface? Truly disgusting - you press the 'O' button to pause the game.
Utterly terrible, and yet strangely enjoyable as it suggests there may be more ugly treasures to find, buried a little deeper within the Playstation Network!
#61-80
Last edited:
Main post here
June update
27- Fell Seal -38h40m- 4/5
Amazing SRPG indie, big surprise here. If you have cravings for a FF Tactics/Tactics Ogre game, buy this game ASAP. The job System and the gameplay is a 1:1.
You can even customice your portrait characters simply by putting a .png file in the portrait folder. A lot of jobs+Advanced jobs+secret jobs to chose from, wide range of difficulties to make the game to your liking, from a very easy experience to a challenging one.
Altough it's very cliche the story it's interesting, classical in this type of games.
Grab this gem and stop complaining about "no FF: tactics ever again".
28- Path of exile:Legion - 30h- 3/5
Decent expansion, happy days for melee classes with the rework. The new legion mechanic it's a fun piñata loot thing.
29- Bloodstained Ritual of the Night -11h48m- 5/5
Can't really believe the game finally came this good, not even in my wildiest dreams.
Super fun metroidvania with A LOT of shards (skills) to mess arround and play the way you want, good level design, with some areas better than others.
Good OST as you can expect from the fantastic composer. The art is controversial, IMO this 2.5D lacks souls, you can even say it's ugly, it's a shame because concept art with the 2D sprites was amazing.
All in all, one of the top games this year has to offer and looking forward to see more games by Iga, but PLEASE, make it 2D with sprites.
30- Ys Celceta -20h18m- 3/5
Overall a good YS game, good OST as you can expect from the series & good cast of playable characters, the gameplay it's same as YS seven, 3D with no platforming.
Although I must say, the game lacks the usual challenge the bosses usually offers, the easiest game of the saga so far, by a long shot, in fact some bosses are even anti climatic with the level of difficulty.
31- BloodBorne+Old Hunters DLC -34h50m- 5/5
Has been sitting forever in the backlog, finally I played it and ate it in less than a week.
Firstly, fantastic setup with THE BEST art, lore, story and OST of all the soulsborne games in my opinion.
Gameplay wise, the game is faster than the others, although I must say the consumable potions mechanic REALLY needs to go, it's just a hinder when you are stuck in a boss or a new area and the enemies there don't drop potions.
Almost all the bosses fight are memorable, frenetic fights with amazing OST to make it even more epic, especially the DLC ones.
With all the games completed now, my personal ranking: DKS3>DKS1>BB>DKS2>SEKIRO>DEMON SOULS.
Now playing:
- Observation (on the verge of drop)
June update
27- Fell Seal -38h40m- 4/5
Amazing SRPG indie, big surprise here. If you have cravings for a FF Tactics/Tactics Ogre game, buy this game ASAP. The job System and the gameplay is a 1:1.
You can even customice your portrait characters simply by putting a .png file in the portrait folder. A lot of jobs+Advanced jobs+secret jobs to chose from, wide range of difficulties to make the game to your liking, from a very easy experience to a challenging one.
Altough it's very cliche the story it's interesting, classical in this type of games.
Grab this gem and stop complaining about "no FF: tactics ever again".
28- Path of exile:Legion - 30h- 3/5
Decent expansion, happy days for melee classes with the rework. The new legion mechanic it's a fun piñata loot thing.
29- Bloodstained Ritual of the Night -11h48m- 5/5
Can't really believe the game finally came this good, not even in my wildiest dreams.
Super fun metroidvania with A LOT of shards (skills) to mess arround and play the way you want, good level design, with some areas better than others.
Good OST as you can expect from the fantastic composer. The art is controversial, IMO this 2.5D lacks souls, you can even say it's ugly, it's a shame because concept art with the 2D sprites was amazing.
All in all, one of the top games this year has to offer and looking forward to see more games by Iga, but PLEASE, make it 2D with sprites.
30- Ys Celceta -20h18m- 3/5
Overall a good YS game, good OST as you can expect from the series & good cast of playable characters, the gameplay it's same as YS seven, 3D with no platforming.
Although I must say, the game lacks the usual challenge the bosses usually offers, the easiest game of the saga so far, by a long shot, in fact some bosses are even anti climatic with the level of difficulty.
31- BloodBorne+Old Hunters DLC -34h50m- 5/5
Has been sitting forever in the backlog, finally I played it and ate it in less than a week.
Firstly, fantastic setup with THE BEST art, lore, story and OST of all the soulsborne games in my opinion.
Gameplay wise, the game is faster than the others, although I must say the consumable potions mechanic REALLY needs to go, it's just a hinder when you are stuck in a boss or a new area and the enemies there don't drop potions.
Almost all the bosses fight are memorable, frenetic fights with amazing OST to make it even more epic, especially the DLC ones.
With all the games completed now, my personal ranking: DKS3>DKS1>BB>DKS2>SEKIRO>DEMON SOULS.
Now playing:
- Observation (on the verge of drop)
Main Post
51. Adam's Venture: Origins - 4h20 - 25.06
All i wanted was a low budget, janky, no combat Uncharted. And i got that, sort of. As a bonus i also got a Toxic Masculinity Asshole Simulator. The titular character is a misogynistic asshole, completely played in earnest and without a hint of irony or self awareness. And the lady that accompanies him is the worst game representation of a woman i've seen since i can remember. Gross all around.
The game itself is exactly what i expected but worse than what i was hoping for. There is no exploration as everything is a tight corridor, and the puzzles are devoid of relation to the game. It's like someone gathered the worst Professor Layton puzzles and dumped them in this game at regular intervals with no rhyme or reason.
52. Portal - 2h10 - 25.06
I needed a palate cleanser after that last game so i gave this yet another run to round up the 52. I've finished Portal too many times to count by now. And it's always a delight.
51. Adam's Venture: Origins - 4h20 - 25.06
All i wanted was a low budget, janky, no combat Uncharted. And i got that, sort of. As a bonus i also got a Toxic Masculinity Asshole Simulator. The titular character is a misogynistic asshole, completely played in earnest and without a hint of irony or self awareness. And the lady that accompanies him is the worst game representation of a woman i've seen since i can remember. Gross all around.
The game itself is exactly what i expected but worse than what i was hoping for. There is no exploration as everything is a tight corridor, and the puzzles are devoid of relation to the game. It's like someone gathered the worst Professor Layton puzzles and dumped them in this game at regular intervals with no rhyme or reason.
52. Portal - 2h10 - 25.06
I needed a palate cleanser after that last game so i gave this yet another run to round up the 52. I've finished Portal too many times to count by now. And it's always a delight.
Weekly update 26!
We're halfway through the year now! I like the pace I am keeping, I can even slow down and still hit 100 (or 104 if I wanna "beat the challenge twice").
Another week of me being very easy to influence btw, but I like it.
59. Beyond Good & Evil HD (PS3) | 25th Jun - 10hrs | 5/5
60. Shadwen (PC) | 27th Jun - 9hrs | 4/5
61. Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry (PC) | 30th Jun - 5hrs | 4/5
_____________
Master Post!
We're halfway through the year now! I like the pace I am keeping, I can even slow down and still hit 100 (or 104 if I wanna "beat the challenge twice").
Another week of me being very easy to influence btw, but I like it.
59. Beyond Good & Evil HD (PS3) | 25th Jun - 10hrs | 5/5
The streamer friend I have been mentioning a couple of times started playing this, but this time it wasn't a case of not wanting to be spoiled. I completed this on 360 when the HD version was released and loved it. Seeing it again for the first time since I beat it just gave me this intense feeling of having to do another playthrough. For some reason we had it for both 360 and PS3, so now I played the PS3 version instead. Since my friend is playing it on PS2 I get to see what it looks like on the original consoles, and I'll just say I am happy I have this version. I have nothing bad to say about this game, except maybe that the camera could be better. But it never really annoyed me or anything so it's fine. The humor, charm and gameplay is just as I remember it, which is with lots and lots of love. The pacing and the variety is great through the vast majority of the game with the dips still being really good. As said, there is nothing I can bash the game for. Play it if you haven't!
60. Shadwen (PC) | 27th Jun - 9hrs | 4/5
I played this in a stream series I had when I was a streamer. Every day during December up until Christmas Day I tried out and showed off the first 1-2 hours of a bunch of smaller games that I felt could be hidden gems. After getting used to the thing about time standing still when I wasn't moving I immediately got sucked into the game and loved it. I was sad when the two hours were over and hoped to be able to continue playing very soon. But I found so many gems during those months that it still went back to the backlog to be played "soon" instead of soon. Then Spamlynguist posted about beating it in the Discord a week back and here we are! I played it twice, starting with a non-lethal run followed immediately by a run where I killed everyone and let the girl see me do it. I can't say which run I liked more. It was a bit frustrating sometimes to do the non-lethal run because the girl got stuck in hiding places a bunch of times, which meant I had to rewind a whole lot or restart from a checkpoint. I learned to look for the sign of it tho so it didn't mess with the experience too much. Speaking of the rewind feature, it makes the game super easy but it's also what makes it so fun. Without it the game would be more annoying than enjoyable. The lethal run was fun too and a lot more challenging. Separating the guards to be able to kill them without being seen required a bit more work than expected. Great game, absolutely recommended.
61. Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry (PC) | 30th Jun - 5hrs | 4/5
I totally forgot this game exists! I planned to play it straight after I finished AC4 but I completely forgot to do it. I even uninstalled the game! I was gonna start playing Rogue but this popped back into my mind and I figured I should play it first. I think I would have linked it less if I played it straight after AC4 since it doesn't change up the gameplay at all, so it's a good thing I forgot it. Freedom Cry (ironically) strips away the freedom of exploration that was in AC4 and is completely built on a bunch of missions, which I think works very well for it. It sort of feels like a longer game stripped of most of the padding and condensed into a 5 hour experience with a great story and likable main character (unlike AC4). The combat looks a bit more brutal due to the different way Adéwalé fights compared to Edward, but all in all it's basically just more of AC4 and that means I like it.
_____________
Master Post!
Thanks to summer vacation I've been getting a lot more of my backlog cleaned up. Besides the 5 games I actually beat this month, I've been sinking a lot of time into my first play through of Skyrim (I'm playing an Imperial who HATES magic, which means the whole "you're the Dragonborn" thing made him a little cranky and he spent the month refusing to speak to the Greybeards, opting to chill around Whiterun and do good deeds for people so he feels less gross about being able to magically yell at people. After doing the "A Night to Remember" quest and being chased by dragons every few days though I think he's just pissed off enough to want to go demand some answers from the old men. I think we're gonna have a Hero's Journey story here, folks). Plus every game I've played this month has been good to great. Needless to say, it's been a quality month of gaming for me.
Master Post
Games beaten in June:
1. Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube) | June 3rd - 15 hrs | 4/5
2. Dragon Quest Builders (Switch) | June 8th - 45 hrs | 4/5
3. Bioshock (PS3) | June 14th - 15 hrs | 4/5
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) | June 25th - 15 hrs | 5/5
5. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS3) | June 28th - 8 hrs | 4/5
Progress so far:
January - 5 games
February - 1 game
March - 2 games
April - 4 games
May - 2 games
June - 5 games
Thoughts on June
1. Super Mario Sunshine - I went into this with the attitude of "get as many shine sprites as you need to beat the game". So in other words, the eight named sprites in each world and whatever secret shines I happen to find on the island through natural exploration. I've never beaten this game, much less 100%'d it but I wasn't feeling the blue coin hunt so I just went with the flow and had a pretty great time. Not all of the shines are winners and I found myself way more frustrated than I thought I'd be on a few of them, but man, I can't help but love the guts on them for following Mario 64 by making a smaller scope location and basing everything around the water pack instead of just making "Mario 64: 2". Also the cutscenes and voice acting are the exact amount of video game stupidity I crave. This game can just be good fun and it was a good way to kick off the summer. I like it, 4/5.
2. Dragon Quest Builders - This game is probably the reason I didn't play more games in May. I knew it was long, but I also forget that this is a JRPG spin off so I think I underestimated how much of a time sink it would be. Anyway, I adore this game, mostly because it's not even about Minecraft style building, it's essentially a 3D City Building game. Kind of, anyway. The fact that the main goals are to build specific rooms and buildings for your town is my kind of thing. Pharaoh for the PC is one of my favorite games, mostly because you get to build the city yourself and there's specific goals to meet, and for a good while this game hits that kind of flow. If Chapter 1 were it's own game, I'd have been pretty satisfied with it. Sadly half of the chapters focus way too much on combat and not enough on building the town, and while I like that the game plays like a 3D top down Zelda, the combat just isn't great if it's the main focus of the chapter. I also wish your towns were bigger or that the goal was to expand them to be larger than the plot of land you stumble upon. Still, I really like this game, especially the final boss fight (nothing gives me a better feeling of video game wholesomeness than when the entire community of characters game comes to your aid together during the final showdown). It could have been better but I have a soft spot for this one. 4/5, good game.
3. Bioshock - I can see why people liked this one. The world is incredibly interesting and as someone who knows a few too many hard libertarians, the Ayn Rand send up was amusing. Before I actually encountered a Big Daddy, I was terrified. After that, I was more afraid of splicers popping up out of nowhere than them, which I found amusing. I will say combat gets a bit tedious when you die over and over. I like that the world doesn't reset when you die, but enemies feel like damage sponges most of the time and after the fourth or fifth time getting killed by a few mooks or a Big Daddy because you didn't have access to more health kind of gets annoying. But hey, the big plot twist that everyone was really shocked by when it came out actually got me. I was SHOOK. I also probably should have seen it coming, but like... damn, that moment was powerful. 4/5, really good stuff.
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - This has been 3 years coming for me. When Prime 4 was announced I decided to play and beat the original Prime trilogy one by one, each summer (in other words, Prime 1 in 2017, 2 in 2018 and Prime 3 this year). This was worth the wait. Yeah it was a little more linear and straightforward but taking it for a more streamlined, action focused ending to the trilogy after how sprawling Echoes got was kind of fun. I liked the multiple planets and I think it's the most visually interesting game of the trilogy because of it (even if I like the overall aesthetic in Prime 2 more). The lack of interesting planet lore log entries was kind of a shame (there were a few but I can't really remember them, and I just beat the game last week), but the actual story going on was a neat alternative. I wish the other hunters were more fleshed out but I did like that they were there and it led to some memorable moments (two in particular: 1) the soldier on the Pirate Homeworld being Gandrayda, which actually fooled me, and 2) Dark Samus forcing Rundas to impale himself with his own icicles while you watch, which is brutal even by Metroid standards). I even liked the Grapple Lasso as the central gimmick. Using it in a fight was really satisfying, I just love the feedback from the controller when you rip something off with the lasso. I have a few nitpicks about this one (most of them are related to the various "Wii-isms", but that's an entirely different discussion) but I was satisfied with it. 5/5, great end to the trilogy.
5. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - This is my second replay of the backlog so far. The first and last time I played it was 2015, when I 100%'d it. This time around I just wanted to chill out and do a bare minimum play through. Like last time, I had fun with it. After playing the sequels two years ago and flipping between liking them and being enraged (for Jak II it was the cheapness of the difficulty, for Jak 3 it was the damn CARS), I forgot how pleasant this one was. Also how much freedom it gives you to do levels in whatever order you want once you're in one of the three hub areas (even the final level lets you pick what order to do things!). I'd definitely run into some tasks that just weren't any fun, but luckily I was able to just turn around and find something else to do. The frustrating tasks are either optional (besides the fishing mini game, if you want to go to Misty Island) or you have to explore a level for a while before you find them. It's very forgiving in that regard. I do wish there were some more memorable tasks, it feels like a lot of the game just kind of... happened. It's a charming time though. The cutscenes are great, the voice actors were REALLY solid at their jobs for a game from this era, even if Daxter is... uh... more grating than I remember him being. It's a fun, Dreamworks movie-esque story and I like that. Also, the soundtrack is fantastic. Not every track is memorable but there's some real nice pieces of music in this one (Sentinel Beach is my favorite. It has me nostalgic for my childhood, and I didn't even play this game when I was a child!). It's a consistently decent game with a lot of elements I adore, I just may come back to this one again sometime. 4/5, what a charming game this is.
TOTAL SO FAR: 19 games, 26 weeks left.
Master Post
Games beaten in June:
1. Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube) | June 3rd - 15 hrs | 4/5
2. Dragon Quest Builders (Switch) | June 8th - 45 hrs | 4/5
3. Bioshock (PS3) | June 14th - 15 hrs | 4/5
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) | June 25th - 15 hrs | 5/5
5. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS3) | June 28th - 8 hrs | 4/5
Progress so far:
January - 5 games
February - 1 game
March - 2 games
April - 4 games
May - 2 games
June - 5 games
Thoughts on June
1. Super Mario Sunshine - I went into this with the attitude of "get as many shine sprites as you need to beat the game". So in other words, the eight named sprites in each world and whatever secret shines I happen to find on the island through natural exploration. I've never beaten this game, much less 100%'d it but I wasn't feeling the blue coin hunt so I just went with the flow and had a pretty great time. Not all of the shines are winners and I found myself way more frustrated than I thought I'd be on a few of them, but man, I can't help but love the guts on them for following Mario 64 by making a smaller scope location and basing everything around the water pack instead of just making "Mario 64: 2". Also the cutscenes and voice acting are the exact amount of video game stupidity I crave. This game can just be good fun and it was a good way to kick off the summer. I like it, 4/5.
2. Dragon Quest Builders - This game is probably the reason I didn't play more games in May. I knew it was long, but I also forget that this is a JRPG spin off so I think I underestimated how much of a time sink it would be. Anyway, I adore this game, mostly because it's not even about Minecraft style building, it's essentially a 3D City Building game. Kind of, anyway. The fact that the main goals are to build specific rooms and buildings for your town is my kind of thing. Pharaoh for the PC is one of my favorite games, mostly because you get to build the city yourself and there's specific goals to meet, and for a good while this game hits that kind of flow. If Chapter 1 were it's own game, I'd have been pretty satisfied with it. Sadly half of the chapters focus way too much on combat and not enough on building the town, and while I like that the game plays like a 3D top down Zelda, the combat just isn't great if it's the main focus of the chapter. I also wish your towns were bigger or that the goal was to expand them to be larger than the plot of land you stumble upon. Still, I really like this game, especially the final boss fight (nothing gives me a better feeling of video game wholesomeness than when the entire community of characters game comes to your aid together during the final showdown). It could have been better but I have a soft spot for this one. 4/5, good game.
3. Bioshock - I can see why people liked this one. The world is incredibly interesting and as someone who knows a few too many hard libertarians, the Ayn Rand send up was amusing. Before I actually encountered a Big Daddy, I was terrified. After that, I was more afraid of splicers popping up out of nowhere than them, which I found amusing. I will say combat gets a bit tedious when you die over and over. I like that the world doesn't reset when you die, but enemies feel like damage sponges most of the time and after the fourth or fifth time getting killed by a few mooks or a Big Daddy because you didn't have access to more health kind of gets annoying. But hey, the big plot twist that everyone was really shocked by when it came out actually got me. I was SHOOK. I also probably should have seen it coming, but like... damn, that moment was powerful. 4/5, really good stuff.
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - This has been 3 years coming for me. When Prime 4 was announced I decided to play and beat the original Prime trilogy one by one, each summer (in other words, Prime 1 in 2017, 2 in 2018 and Prime 3 this year). This was worth the wait. Yeah it was a little more linear and straightforward but taking it for a more streamlined, action focused ending to the trilogy after how sprawling Echoes got was kind of fun. I liked the multiple planets and I think it's the most visually interesting game of the trilogy because of it (even if I like the overall aesthetic in Prime 2 more). The lack of interesting planet lore log entries was kind of a shame (there were a few but I can't really remember them, and I just beat the game last week), but the actual story going on was a neat alternative. I wish the other hunters were more fleshed out but I did like that they were there and it led to some memorable moments (two in particular: 1) the soldier on the Pirate Homeworld being Gandrayda, which actually fooled me, and 2) Dark Samus forcing Rundas to impale himself with his own icicles while you watch, which is brutal even by Metroid standards). I even liked the Grapple Lasso as the central gimmick. Using it in a fight was really satisfying, I just love the feedback from the controller when you rip something off with the lasso. I have a few nitpicks about this one (most of them are related to the various "Wii-isms", but that's an entirely different discussion) but I was satisfied with it. 5/5, great end to the trilogy.
5. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - This is my second replay of the backlog so far. The first and last time I played it was 2015, when I 100%'d it. This time around I just wanted to chill out and do a bare minimum play through. Like last time, I had fun with it. After playing the sequels two years ago and flipping between liking them and being enraged (for Jak II it was the cheapness of the difficulty, for Jak 3 it was the damn CARS), I forgot how pleasant this one was. Also how much freedom it gives you to do levels in whatever order you want once you're in one of the three hub areas (even the final level lets you pick what order to do things!). I'd definitely run into some tasks that just weren't any fun, but luckily I was able to just turn around and find something else to do. The frustrating tasks are either optional (besides the fishing mini game, if you want to go to Misty Island) or you have to explore a level for a while before you find them. It's very forgiving in that regard. I do wish there were some more memorable tasks, it feels like a lot of the game just kind of... happened. It's a charming time though. The cutscenes are great, the voice actors were REALLY solid at their jobs for a game from this era, even if Daxter is... uh... more grating than I remember him being. It's a fun, Dreamworks movie-esque story and I like that. Also, the soundtrack is fantastic. Not every track is memorable but there's some real nice pieces of music in this one (Sentinel Beach is my favorite. It has me nostalgic for my childhood, and I didn't even play this game when I was a child!). It's a consistently decent game with a lot of elements I adore, I just may come back to this one again sometime. 4/5, what a charming game this is.
TOTAL SO FAR: 19 games, 26 weeks left.
Last edited:
Here's my June update, and the full list is here.
30) Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PC)
My favorite part of this game is the one where you kill the Nazis. So all of it, basically.
31) Cut Loose (PC)
Slightly iffy on including this one, but I played the whole thing on the E3 showfloor and there's no plans to release the game. Cute little student project about paper people with silly faces fighting with scissors.
32) The Sinking City (PC)
Combat sucks, but the game has a great story, lovely atmosphere, and I honestly enjoyed it.
30) Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PC)
My favorite part of this game is the one where you kill the Nazis. So all of it, basically.
31) Cut Loose (PC)
Slightly iffy on including this one, but I played the whole thing on the E3 showfloor and there's no plans to release the game. Cute little student project about paper people with silly faces fighting with scissors.
32) The Sinking City (PC)
Combat sucks, but the game has a great story, lovely atmosphere, and I honestly enjoyed it.
Sorry for the wall of text, haven't made an update in a while so the impressions posts got fused together.
Games 41 to 58
41. What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) 4/5
The only "walking simulator" type title I've ever played that I liked enough to finish again (beat it initially on Steam). Really great game, excellent writing.
42. Katana Zero (PC) 3.5/5
A 2D action platformer with a unique concept - your player character has the gift of precognition, which allows you to analyze ways to murder your way through rooms full of goons, slow motion samurai style. Also has some nice dialogue options, allowing you to switch things up a bit plot wise as you go.
43. Forager (PC) 4/5
Hands down, the biggest surprise I had this year. Forager is a game about gathering materials and building an ever growing money spinning machine in the most efficient way possible. If this game clicks with you, its going to click hard, and you'll be playing it for days. Highly recommended.
44. Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers (PC) 3/5
I bought the Disney Afternoon Collection on sale for this game alone! Lots of great memories from my childhood. Its a pretty easy romp as far as games from this era go, but its still plenty challenging if modern difficulty presets have dulled your skills. Thankfully it has a built in rewind feature, which is a godsend.
45. Witch and Hero (PC) 3.5/5
A half decent port of one of my favorite 3DS indie games. As the titular Hero, roll around 1 screen levels trying to knock back approaching mobs from getting to your pal the Witch, who sits in the center of the screen (petrified into a statue). When you build up enough power, haul ass back to the Witch to have her temporarily turn human and unleash hell. Very satisfying game.
46. EDF 4.1: Wingdiver The Shooter (PC) 1/5
One of the worst shmups I have ever had the misfortune to play. Even the gloriously cheesy EDF histrionics cant save it, avoid.
47. DmC Devil May Cry (PC) 2.5/5
After beating DMCV earlier in the year, I decided to revisit DmC on PC to see what I thought of it in 2019, while the recent sequel was still fresh in my memory. While the game isn't really bad per se (nowhere near as bad as some people made it out to be), it just feels like so much more of a chore to play than the mainline series, and I was relieved when the game ended.
48. Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 2 Watanagashi (PC) 3/5
Damn, that was a helluva gap between beating the first chapter and getting around to beating this second game (I finished Higurashi Ch. 1 in early 2017, IIRC). Perhaps it has to do with my personal disappointment at the plot snapping back into insipid slice of life stuff after the horrifying hellscape of Higurashi Ch. 1's last third. Yes, I've since gathered that the series generally follows this pattern in terms of pacing, but I guess I was just so roundly disappointed that I shelved it for literal years. After finally playing through Ch. 2, I can say that it's not as good as Ch. 1, and the horror aspects near the end of the game don't play out nearly as well. Still, I'm intrigued enough to push on to Ch. 3… someday.
49. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (PC) 4/5
How many times can I finish AA1 and not get sick of it? Quite a few times, as it turns out. The PC version looks great and plays well, with the exception of the infamous "rotating vase" puzzle from case 5 - damn, did it take a helluva long time to figure out the correct placement. The error tolerance felt a whole lot more strict than the 3DS version.
50. Guns, Gore, and Cannoli 2 (PC) 2.5/5
A whole lot longer than the first game, and wears out its welcome pretty damn quick. You'd think that shooting Nazis and zombies would be a whole lot more fun than filling garden variety goombahs with lead, but there was just something missing here that I couldnt quite place.
51. Framed (PC) 3/5
Part of the Framed 1/2 Collection, Framed has a unique concept in that you have to rearrange the "frames" of a comic book panel in order to make sure your hero/ine comes out the other end in one piece. Sounds pretty simplistic for a puzzle game, but the game ramps up the complexity of these puzzles as the game goes on. That said, I felt like the idea had worn out its welcome by the end of the game - itll be a while before i play Framed 2.
52. Tesla Vs. Lovecraft (PC) 3.5/5
A suprisingly competent twin stick shooter thats packed to the gills with Eurojank. It instills variety by having your weapons and powerup drops be randomly generated, and there's a lot of replay value here if you want it due to the slow drip of upgrades and the existence of second and third tier difficulty campaigns (should you wish to grind some more). Note: I'd avoid buying this on the Switch, as having to play this using Joycons instead of a proper controller sounds hellish.
53. Seers Isle (PC) 4/5
Very well done fantasy themed choose your own adventure visual novel, with choices that really feel like they matter, and a pretty significant amount of possible outcomes/endings. Nice dreamy artstyle and score, I really enjoyed this.
54. Gato Roboto (PC) 3.5/5
My streak of pre-purchasing and blasting through Devolver Digital titles at launch continues! (My Friend Pedro is next, but Bloodstained's sheer excellence is forcing me to beat it before starting MFP.) Gato Roboto is a simple, charming Metroidvania in which you play as a cat who crashlands on an alien planet… and happens across a large, feline-compatible warmech. The monochrome visuals (with swappable palettes) are reminiscent of Downwell, while the gameplay is straight Metroid (not MetroidVania) with a Mega Man combat feel. Short and sweet. Warning: game has an inverse difficulty curve, and gets piss easy by the end (especially if you're diligent about finding secrets).
55. Detroit: Become Human (PS4) 4/5
I've been putting off playing Detroit for far too long, and finally got around to it. Far and away the best game David Cage and Quantic Dream ever made; the interface is modernized (well, as modern as a QTE game can get), the graphics are phenomenal, and there are a lot of choices that really feel like they matter, even more so than Heavy Rain did. Outstanding work!
56. Our World Has Ended (NSW) 2/5
Despite a quirky, unconventional premise and a promising start, Our World Has Ended is, in the end, a decidedly poor visual novel. The game is packed to the gills with crude innuendo (nothing R-rated, mind) which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing in and of itself, if it didn't override every other damn thing in the entire plot. The characters are all shallow caricatures of well-worn anime archetypes, and the plot nearly stops making sense at several junctures. I nearly gave up on OWHE after the game smacked me with a gut-punch plot twist a little over half way through (a complete change of tone from the 9 or so hours I had read previously), then proceeded to immediately revert to its usual brainless nonsense not 15 minutes later. Arghhhh.
57. Bloodstained (PC) 4/5
This is a legitimate IgaVania, in 2019, and for some people that's all they needed to hear. The PC version seems to be relatively free of the technical issues that plagued the console versions. It's not without its warts - the level design/art design for the last 10% or so of the game is really bad, and was clearly done when they were almost out of budget. And some of the IgaVania template's more old school aspects - like endless farming of the same enemy in the hopes of getting a rare drop - don't hold up as well as I'd like. But it's still a fantastic game, and I'd preorder a sequel immediately if they announced one.
58. Raiden IV: Overkill 3/5
Fun shmup overall, but the Overkill mechanic doesn't do it for me - basically, blast already-defeated large enemies even further to have them drop point boosts, which is just annoying and not fun. The regular arcade mode is where it's at!
Games 41 to 58
41. What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) 4/5
The only "walking simulator" type title I've ever played that I liked enough to finish again (beat it initially on Steam). Really great game, excellent writing.
42. Katana Zero (PC) 3.5/5
A 2D action platformer with a unique concept - your player character has the gift of precognition, which allows you to analyze ways to murder your way through rooms full of goons, slow motion samurai style. Also has some nice dialogue options, allowing you to switch things up a bit plot wise as you go.
43. Forager (PC) 4/5
Hands down, the biggest surprise I had this year. Forager is a game about gathering materials and building an ever growing money spinning machine in the most efficient way possible. If this game clicks with you, its going to click hard, and you'll be playing it for days. Highly recommended.
44. Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers (PC) 3/5
I bought the Disney Afternoon Collection on sale for this game alone! Lots of great memories from my childhood. Its a pretty easy romp as far as games from this era go, but its still plenty challenging if modern difficulty presets have dulled your skills. Thankfully it has a built in rewind feature, which is a godsend.
45. Witch and Hero (PC) 3.5/5
A half decent port of one of my favorite 3DS indie games. As the titular Hero, roll around 1 screen levels trying to knock back approaching mobs from getting to your pal the Witch, who sits in the center of the screen (petrified into a statue). When you build up enough power, haul ass back to the Witch to have her temporarily turn human and unleash hell. Very satisfying game.
46. EDF 4.1: Wingdiver The Shooter (PC) 1/5
One of the worst shmups I have ever had the misfortune to play. Even the gloriously cheesy EDF histrionics cant save it, avoid.
47. DmC Devil May Cry (PC) 2.5/5
After beating DMCV earlier in the year, I decided to revisit DmC on PC to see what I thought of it in 2019, while the recent sequel was still fresh in my memory. While the game isn't really bad per se (nowhere near as bad as some people made it out to be), it just feels like so much more of a chore to play than the mainline series, and I was relieved when the game ended.
48. Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 2 Watanagashi (PC) 3/5
Damn, that was a helluva gap between beating the first chapter and getting around to beating this second game (I finished Higurashi Ch. 1 in early 2017, IIRC). Perhaps it has to do with my personal disappointment at the plot snapping back into insipid slice of life stuff after the horrifying hellscape of Higurashi Ch. 1's last third. Yes, I've since gathered that the series generally follows this pattern in terms of pacing, but I guess I was just so roundly disappointed that I shelved it for literal years. After finally playing through Ch. 2, I can say that it's not as good as Ch. 1, and the horror aspects near the end of the game don't play out nearly as well. Still, I'm intrigued enough to push on to Ch. 3… someday.
49. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (PC) 4/5
How many times can I finish AA1 and not get sick of it? Quite a few times, as it turns out. The PC version looks great and plays well, with the exception of the infamous "rotating vase" puzzle from case 5 - damn, did it take a helluva long time to figure out the correct placement. The error tolerance felt a whole lot more strict than the 3DS version.
50. Guns, Gore, and Cannoli 2 (PC) 2.5/5
A whole lot longer than the first game, and wears out its welcome pretty damn quick. You'd think that shooting Nazis and zombies would be a whole lot more fun than filling garden variety goombahs with lead, but there was just something missing here that I couldnt quite place.
51. Framed (PC) 3/5
Part of the Framed 1/2 Collection, Framed has a unique concept in that you have to rearrange the "frames" of a comic book panel in order to make sure your hero/ine comes out the other end in one piece. Sounds pretty simplistic for a puzzle game, but the game ramps up the complexity of these puzzles as the game goes on. That said, I felt like the idea had worn out its welcome by the end of the game - itll be a while before i play Framed 2.
52. Tesla Vs. Lovecraft (PC) 3.5/5
A suprisingly competent twin stick shooter thats packed to the gills with Eurojank. It instills variety by having your weapons and powerup drops be randomly generated, and there's a lot of replay value here if you want it due to the slow drip of upgrades and the existence of second and third tier difficulty campaigns (should you wish to grind some more). Note: I'd avoid buying this on the Switch, as having to play this using Joycons instead of a proper controller sounds hellish.
53. Seers Isle (PC) 4/5
Very well done fantasy themed choose your own adventure visual novel, with choices that really feel like they matter, and a pretty significant amount of possible outcomes/endings. Nice dreamy artstyle and score, I really enjoyed this.
54. Gato Roboto (PC) 3.5/5
My streak of pre-purchasing and blasting through Devolver Digital titles at launch continues! (My Friend Pedro is next, but Bloodstained's sheer excellence is forcing me to beat it before starting MFP.) Gato Roboto is a simple, charming Metroidvania in which you play as a cat who crashlands on an alien planet… and happens across a large, feline-compatible warmech. The monochrome visuals (with swappable palettes) are reminiscent of Downwell, while the gameplay is straight Metroid (not MetroidVania) with a Mega Man combat feel. Short and sweet. Warning: game has an inverse difficulty curve, and gets piss easy by the end (especially if you're diligent about finding secrets).
55. Detroit: Become Human (PS4) 4/5
I've been putting off playing Detroit for far too long, and finally got around to it. Far and away the best game David Cage and Quantic Dream ever made; the interface is modernized (well, as modern as a QTE game can get), the graphics are phenomenal, and there are a lot of choices that really feel like they matter, even more so than Heavy Rain did. Outstanding work!
56. Our World Has Ended (NSW) 2/5
Despite a quirky, unconventional premise and a promising start, Our World Has Ended is, in the end, a decidedly poor visual novel. The game is packed to the gills with crude innuendo (nothing R-rated, mind) which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing in and of itself, if it didn't override every other damn thing in the entire plot. The characters are all shallow caricatures of well-worn anime archetypes, and the plot nearly stops making sense at several junctures. I nearly gave up on OWHE after the game smacked me with a gut-punch plot twist a little over half way through (a complete change of tone from the 9 or so hours I had read previously), then proceeded to immediately revert to its usual brainless nonsense not 15 minutes later. Arghhhh.
57. Bloodstained (PC) 4/5
This is a legitimate IgaVania, in 2019, and for some people that's all they needed to hear. The PC version seems to be relatively free of the technical issues that plagued the console versions. It's not without its warts - the level design/art design for the last 10% or so of the game is really bad, and was clearly done when they were almost out of budget. And some of the IgaVania template's more old school aspects - like endless farming of the same enemy in the hopes of getting a rare drop - don't hold up as well as I'd like. But it's still a fantastic game, and I'd preorder a sequel immediately if they announced one.
58. Raiden IV: Overkill 3/5
Fun shmup overall, but the Overkill mechanic doesn't do it for me - basically, blast already-defeated large enemies even further to have them drop point boosts, which is just annoying and not fun. The regular arcade mode is where it's at!