52 Games. 1 Year. 2021.

Miamiwesker · Mar 14, 2021

This will be my main post, below are the games I have finished so far this year. I have Viveport so I have been trying out many VR games, if you have any suggestions let me know.

I keep track of everything I play and my entire gaming history on backloggd. Here is my page if you want to see more.

Some review summaries with links to full reviews I wrote.

Hypnospace Outlaw - Its cool, simple browser puzzle game that stands out due to the creativity on the fictional world they created. 6.5/10

Walking Dead Saints and Sinners - It nails the feel of fighting zombies better than any VR game I have played. For that alone its worth playing. It could have been something more special if the story aspect was fully developed. That said VR is desperate for great full game experiences, this one is worth trying. 7/10

Cyberpunk - Players like me that just want a collection of deadly varied tools and skills to kill people will find plenty of fun to be had. Combine that with some of the best writing and storylines in gaming and you have the main reason why despite the mountains of problems Cyberpunk has, it is still an impressive game. 8.5/10

Touhou Luna Nights - I really enjoyed all that I played but it ends way too soon, this game is about 6 hours long which felt like it was just hitting its stride by the time it ended. I felt there was much more the game could have offered, we just skimmed the surface of this combat system. 7.5/10

Pixel Ripped 1995 - It's a bit short at like 4 hours so it left me wanting more. A few levels go on a little too long and none of them are classic levels, it's pretty basic. It's the ideas of mixing with the boys world where it shines. Try this if you have VR and love gaming in the 90s. 6.5/10

The Medium - If you are a fan of old school adventure games that have no challenge this will be right up your alley. It's creepy, has a very good story and it's basically stress free; clocking in at about 7 hours it's a mostly painless experience. But I like games with compelling gameplay and there is little of that to be had here. 4.5/10

A Fisherman's Tale - A neat inventive VR puzzle game that is sadly way too short. I loved the idea of manipulating a model within a model and messing with the sizes of different object, shrinking and making them grow. There was much more they could have done with it but at like an hour long it just felt like a test. 4.5/10

Ven VR Adventure - I randomly tried this VR platformer and it's rough. It does the whole Astro not luckys take thing of navigating the world around your head but many times it makes you look way too far down or puts obstacles in the way where you can't see the character. The platforming is basic but solid, the best platformers though add unique elements as you play and this game has very few new ideas after the core mechanics. 3.5/10

The Room VR - A classic escape room game that started on cell phones and works great in VR as it's all about manipulating objects. The game is pretty meaty at 5 hours or so with some good puzzles. There isn't much too it outside realizing what goes where and how pulling the right doohickey at the right way but VR makes it a little more exciting. 5/10

Westworld Awakening - Essentially a high budget licensed guided experience based on Westworld. It's an original story starring a host Katie who is stuck in a horror movie plot with a killer hunting her down. I enjoyed the story, you explore the Delos labs during season 2 after the hosts have taken over. The entire game is just using a data pad on objects and pulling switches. There is almost nothing for the player to think about, everything is spelled out. The only part that requires some game skill is hiding from the murderer which is as basic as it comes. It's mostly just a walking sim where enjoyment will come from how much you enjoy the show. It lasts like 2 and a half hours so it can be played almost like an interactive movie, surprisingly it has good production values. I wouldn't pay to play this, I played on viveport service, so if you have that and like westworld give it a shot. 4/10

I Expect You To Die - A spy movie inspired stylish VR puzzle game where you are seated and have to interact with objects around you to survive evil villain plots. It takes from the absurdity of James Bond with evil traps, elaborate contraptions of death and classic spy tropes. There are eight levels, each can take 20-30 minutes to figure out, basically it comes down to performing certain actions in order. You will be mixing chemicals to create acid to dissolve chains that lets you access the core of the enemy bomb for example. The scenarios get pretty creative but after you figure it out there is nothing more to it. Overall the game will last like 2-3 hours and that's it, I wish it was meatier and maybe had hard mode level or something to flesh it out. Cool VR concept but needs more. 5/10

Control - Control is Remedy's best game and it's by a considerable amount. They have always been inventive with the combat and subject matter but never pulled it together with the level design until now. This is a big action game with over twenty hours of quality content, side stories and secrets galore. Some more care needs to be put into the combat scenarios as to not be as repetitive, that's all that's holding back Control from the elite in the genre. I believe Remedy has something special here with this concept, there is no reason this could not expand into movies or a tv show. Whatever the future plans are I want more of the adventures of Jesse and the FBC. 8.5/10

TMNT Rescue Palooza - A love letter to NES TMNT games, even the horrible first game. This is a beat em up in the style of the arcade games and features remixed levels from the NES games and new levels. The cool thing is as you play you unlock a TON of playable characters, every boss and much more characters are playable. The cast is ridiculous, even the most obscure action figure is represented. I will say something feels slightly off, the levels aren't as well design and the combat just feels a little worse. It's a fun fan made game that reminds me of why I loved these games. 6.5/10

Space Channel 5 VR - Basic rhythm game that is rather stylish, I never played SC5 before but I guess I can see why it has fans. That said the game portion is poor, there is little feedback in whether you are doing the motions correct and there is no degrees of accuracy, you can just do simple hand motions and get by. There is a story mode that lasts about 30 minutes which is pathetic, it's like 4 levels all very easy. There is arcade mode as well but it's not any different. The music is random dance music, nothing too catchy. There are far better VR rhythm games out there. 3/10

hersheyfan · Mar 14, 2021

LonestarZues said:
Congratulations on the 52 hersheyfan !

Thanks Lonestar! I'm probably never managing it this fast ever again lol.

Now to beat the tar out of some longer, half finished games I have in the queue. Cyberpunk 2077, here I come!

BPHusker · Mar 14, 2021

19. Yakuza 0 (PS4) | 3/14/2021 | 30 hrs | 5/5
After years of adding Yakuza games to my backlog, I finally beat my first true Yakuza game after playing through Judgment last year and wow, what a game. The story is incredible and the gameplay is great too. I really enjoy the switching between the main characters and having the story weave in and out. Let me just say, this is one of the best video game stories I've played. Many twists, turns and completely batshit stuff. I was going to play Like a Dragon, but now I want to see the whole storyline, which is going to take a long time, but I am looking forward to it.

djinn · Mar 15, 2021

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9. Tents and Trees Puzzles
Spent many an hour during my free time plodding through the main puzzles. Hugely enjoyable, endlessly repayable and just enough challenge. Probably my favourite mobile game ever.

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10. The Burnable Garbage Day
A clicker game with a surprisingly good story, that is, once you puzzle out the translation. You play as CR-999, cleaning up Earth one piece of trash at a time. You find humans that help them with tasks and try to help put together with robot whilst you're at it. A fairly enjoyable experience, ads were un-intrusive, idle times were no longer them 5 minutes and it was fun to interact with the NPCs.

Sillen2000 · Mar 16, 2021

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February update: 8/52

Managed to get myself up to the expected games beaten in Febrary, though (spoiler alert!) I'm falling behind again in March. Anyway, these are the games I beat a long time ago!

4. February 3rd | Resident Evil 0 HD | Playstation 4 | 4h 5m | Replay | ☆☆½(/5)
Not a great game to start the month with. I first played RE0 when it was first released for PS4 and thought it was a pretty good game, even with its randomly appearing one shotting frogs and annoying slug enemies. Five years have passed since then, and I guess I've wisened (or gotten more impatient?) with time because I have no idea how I could have tolerated so much of this game's pretty terrible aspects back then.

Now, I played the game on hard mode which probably made the experience worse than necessary but it's not like lowering the difficulty will give you a bigger inventory, make the AI attack enemies consistently, make the puzzles at least decent and not just time wasters, shorten the overlong training facility, or make Rebecca stronger than Sherry in RE2. Neither would it change the fact that this game, for some reason, has completely different controls from every single Resident Evil game made either before or after it. You get used to it after a while, of course, but I really don't understand the decision behind that.

And I don't really know why 0 is so annoying compared to previous titles. Item boxes are replaced with item dropping (and swapping) which shouldn't make that much of a difference considering you can see exactly what item you dropped where by looking at the map, but somehow makes the experience a lot worse. Backtracking and collecting a set of items to progress is a series standard, but running around the entire areas here is incredibly tedious. Maybe the issues I have with these RE aspects are heightened a bit by the fact that I've played four other, similar games before this one and that a lot of the original ideas 0 brings to the table just don't work that well. The partner system is more logical than previous games where the Carlos or Steve of the story just runs off on their own for no reason, but it doesn't work that great in practice. The AI isn't at all consistent when it comes to attacking enemies (though I think Billy is a bit more reliable than Rebecca, for some reason), and most of the time the two characters will be separated anyway, so the point of having two playable characters at once doesn't feel that necessary most of the time. It does lead to some cool moments and a pretty fun final boss fight, but most of, the time it feels like a half-baked concept. Maybe if this were a multiplayer game with split screen it would have worked well, but being single player only it more often than not doesn't.

The story's also just terrible, and really makes me question why they didn't just let the game take place after the first RE instead (and substituting a few of the characters for new ones). It's not like I play Resident Evil for the story, but 0's is almost insultingly bad. Looks great though and despite not having played the Gamecube original, I feel safe in saying that the HD release is probably the way to go. You even get a Wesker mode when beating the game! Not a great Wesker mode, but still.

Definitely the worst Resident Evil game I've played so far (haven't started 6 yet!), but I've played worse games.

Soundtrack highlight:
End-Roll

5. February 7th | Kid Dracula | Playstation 4 | 1h 49m | ☆☆½(/5)
This is just incredibly basic platforming. I'm not one of those who think NES games have inherently aged poorly, but there certainly are a lot of really generic platformers on the system, and while I wouldn't really call Kid Dracula generic since it has a very distinct identity, actually playing it isn't that fun. I'm not really a lover of the NES Castlevanias either (though I definitely like both 1 and 3), but I'd still say their gameplay systems and level designs are usually really good, while in Kid Dracula nothing feels that inspired, and even though you get several different means of attack the homing shot is basically the only one you need for almost the entire game, while the bat and walk-on-ceiling abilities really don't add much (and in the latter's case lasts for way too long without a way to deactivate it). It also suffers from some of the worst slow down I've experienced in recent memory, which I'd assume is because of the detailed graphics and large sprites which is too bad, because for an NES game it looks great.

Don't really have that much more to add. The pharaoh boss was awful because of Kid Dracula's outrageous (even for Castlevania standards) push back when damaged, but the rest of the game was pretty easy. Not really a bad game, but not really a good one either. I really recommend the gameboy version, though (I think? Should probably replay that one).

Soundtrack highlight:
Castle

6. February 11th | Resident Evil | Playstation 4 | 3h 51m | Replay | ☆☆☆☆☆
(I usually beat this at least an hour faster than this, but I felt like watching all the cutscenes, reading every file and saving Chris this time)

Just an incredible game. I feel like it climbs higher on my "favorite games ever" list every time I play it. Like I said in my entry for this game last year, it's the perfect survival horror game and I don't really see how any game could surpass it. It has a genuinely creepy atmosphere, the gameplay has been perfected and the different areas you visit are just perfectly designed. Absolutely nothing feels unnecessary while several rooms are optional and there's almost always a fast way to get back to where you came from without unnecessary backtracking. The different playthroughs with Jill and Chris manage to feel different even though you're playing through the exact same areas, mainly due to their respective partners and different gameplay styles. I certainly prefer the Jill playthrough thanks to her larger inventory, though.

Just like every other amazing game though, the rating doesn't mean the game is without its flaws. Still think both the story and the way in which it's told is pretty poor, as is the writing for basically every character. They never really react in a believable way, and are sometimes stupid beyond belief. This was okay in the PS1 original because... well, it was the PS1 original where both the graphics and voice acting just made the bad storytelling another part of its charm. Here it just doesn't work. Also, Barry looks ancient for some reason. He's supposed to be, like, 40 (I think?) but he looks like he's pushing 60.

Still a 5/5 despite these issues, though. Just what I needed after 0.

Soundtrack highlight:
Moonlight Sonata (Maybe cheating with this one)

7. February 22nd | Tales of Vesperia | Nintendo Switch | 79h 56m | ☆☆☆½
I started playing Tales of Vesperia Febuary 17th 2020, so it was about time I beat it. Don't really know why it's taken me this long. I never stopped enjoying on my previous attempts, but somehow I always put it down in favor of another game (which I seldom do). I have beaten it now, though, and I feel like I may have played it the completely wrong way making it a worse experience than it should have been. What I mean by this is that I was an idiot and decided that I would do basically every side quest in the game, which meant a lot nonsensical backtracking and tons of uninteresting dialogue usually for no reward between almost every dungeon for the duration of the entire game. There are definiely fun side quests and they do a good job fleshing out the world and resolving some character arcs, but most of them are pure filler that drag the game's already pretty slow pacing down so, so much. And it's not like I can really blame the game for this. It's all my fault for wanting to see as much of it as possible, when that obviously wasn't intended. It's like trying to get 100% in Breath of the Wild. Sure, it's possible, but it's pretty clear that this isn't how the developer's intended you to play the game. Just do what you feel like, and don't worry about the rest too much.

The actual game is uneven, but mostly really good (even great at times). I liked every party member (though I wish they were all about five years older to make them more believable) which is something I can't say for most RPGs (not even FF7 which is my favorite game of all time), and while the story takes a good while to get going, I enjoyed it for what it was. I've seen a lot of complaints about the story for the game's third arc, but when seeing it as the third season of a tv series I thought it worked well, and the ending did something very surprising that I really liked.

The actual game part of the game is decent. The only other Tales game I've played is Symphonia, and while I like that one more thanks to a better, more active story Vesperia basically plays just like it but better. The battle system is certainly not my favorite when it comes to ARPGs, but it can be really fun to chain combos and when you really get into it, it's really cool what you're able to do. I had a surprisingly hard time knowing where to go a lot of the time, though. The game explicitly tells you, but the world map is so unwilling to give you any information on where you are that it can be difficult to know where to go. "Go to this continent", the game tells me, but I have no idea which contintent is which! "Go to this villain's base", it later tells me, but not that this is the only time when a boat is needed instead of just being able to fly there, or that the base just looks like rocks. This is probably just a me-problem, but it was really annoying.

So yeah. Good game, but I made it worse for myself than necessary. Don't think my rating for the game would have changed had I played it differently, but still. Oh, and before I forget: great soundtrack!

Soundtrack highlight:
Fury Sparks

8. February 25th | Resident Evil 4 | Playstation 4 | 9h 46m | Replay | ☆☆☆☆
It's a bit too long and I wish I had more control over the camera, but it's still Resident Evil 4. Think that says it all, really.

Soundtrack highlight:
Serenity

Currently playing
Persona 5 Strikers
Ikaruga Arcade Mode 1cc (This was a mistake)

Illusionary · Mar 16, 2021

Sillen2000 Just an FYI that you have Vesperia mistitled and RE4 misnumbered.

Saphirax · Mar 16, 2021

11. Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller (PC)

An indie game where I lost count of how many animation glitches - both hilarious and horrifying I experienced. The game started off interesting but then got convoluted towards the end. Multiple characters and multiple powers combined with the somewhat unlikable cast turned a decent experience into something rough.

12. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (PS4)

Despite enjoying the Witcher 3's Gwent it took a while for me to get used to the gameplay of Thronebreaker. There's way more deck building options here and the gameplay isn't as simplistic. Decent story but the last boss fight was rubbish. Had to completely change my deck to even stand a chance of beating him.

13. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age (PS4)

I loved DQXI when it first came out so when the definitive edition got announced I had to get it (and also platinum it eventually) immediately. The game is so cozy and wholesome that even after almost 90 hours, I'm sad that it's over. The QoL features in this version were a godsend - faster battles, being able to craft anywhere, having your party members follow you...oh and the music was better. Not great, but better than that midi monstrosity in the original.

14. Black Mirror (2003) (PC)

An old gothic PnC game for which I couldn't find a proper image. Had I bothered reading the manual before starting the game I wouldn't have gotten stuck. The atmosphere and the story were my jam, the obtuse gameplay wasn't. There were a lot of times I had no idea what to do next and had to look it up. Unsurprisingly, the main character is a huge asshole. How anyone can stand him is beyond me. Despite everything, I had fun and am glad to see that the second game improves on the gameplay front.

LinguisticGoblin · Mar 16, 2021

March
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16. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
It's been a lot of years since I touched this series. I was never huge on the first two games but I enjoyed them well enough, however for whatever reason 3 felt like an absolute slog to actually finish for some reason - it's been the best part of a decade so I can't really articulate the details of why, but the things that stick out in my mind still are that the climbing portions had long gotten extremely stale, the scripted cinematic chase/vehicle sections were boring with how little agency you had in them, and the story just completely failed to grab me.

Uncharted 4 shares some of those issues. The climbing is still not engaging and plays at its best like a really simplistic 3D platformer, and the carefully setup "surprises" where the ledge or bridge you're using give way never actually elicit any excitement out of me. The sequences where you're being pursued by a vehicle or are effectively on-rails chasing one end up more frustrating than fun because if you do anything outside what the designer's want you to it usually leads to dying and having to start over from a checkpoint.

Where it's a notable improvement, however, is in the writing and more "open" level design for several of the chapters. For a series I hadn't touched in years it does a surprisingly good job at getting me feel nostalgic for the older games at several points and actually seeing returning cast like Sully and Elena in the missions felt...nice? I guess? I dunno, but when Sully started cracking jokes or Elena was bantering with Drake it was just comfortable in a way, there's some genuinely good character writing in there that gives them some real warmth. Even Sam sorta grew on me despite being the (retconned in?) newcomer with no history from prior games. Rafe and Nadine also had pretty normal character motives and personalities that worked for me - I'm not saying some pirate zombies would have been a negative, but keeping the villain's interests strictly mundane and practical worked better for me than what I remember of the other games' own.

I really enjoyed the open-level design of the Madagascar level and others too. The game excelled right there at letting you go through it at your own pace poking around for side-content and getting an actual sense of exploration and adventure out of it that the hours of hugging cliffsides and jumping between poles of huge pits never managed to evoke at all. The Italian manor mission and more puzzle focused chapters were pretty fun too. I've heard Lost Legacy is shorter but more like these parts and I'm excited to play it now if so, despite being kind of weirded out by Nadine being one of the leads when she's an apparent war criminal in U4 whose main interaction with you is two miserable scripted bossfights that might as well have been cutscenes.

17. Bloodroots
I hate these kinds of comparisons but it felt kinda like a much more mobile and 3D take on Hotline Miami as depicted by Genndy Tartakovsky for me. The combat is extremely fluid with a big emphasis on getting into a rhythm as you smoothly flip, leap, stab, slash, and sometimes dive through enemies - constantly one hit away from death and relying on your capacity for planning violent mayhem and thinking on the fly to find a way to clear each stage. I really love how so many weapons double as mobility tools, combined with their limited uses it leads to a really interesting pacing where you're often figuring out new strategies on each attempt as you adapt to the tools on offer and plot out both your path through the environment as well as each precise kill you'll make as you go through it. The "setpiece" moments also all feel really natural thanks to some really clever work disguising them as your own idea; I'd often not even realize I'd just done exactly what the devs wanted until I had finished doing it and could see how my path had been planned before I even took it. It also has a few "genre shift" moments I appreciated - a simple flick of the camera to a side on view and dumping the right weapons on you turns it into a 2D platformer, another section pulls back and rains in projectiles to almost be a bullet hell briefly.

Storywise it's a "weird west" setting set in a fictional world's frontier region with a fun mix of saloons and outlaw gangs contrasting to some bizarrely advanced steampunk looking tech like lasers and jetpacks, anachronistic touches like the odd disco ball, rolling natural valleys and mountainscapes littered with unrealistically expansive bandit/army buildings, and a dash of the supernatural with witches and ghosts. There could still be some of the problematic elements westerns are known for with regard to appropriating indigenous American culture or depicting elements of it in a racist fashion but I'll be honest and just say I didn't notice the usual culprits like feather bonnets or noble savage tropes showing up and don't feel qualified to dig into it to dissect specific elements that could still relate back to that. It is, however, probably fair to say even if you're not a cowboy or a sheriff and the story doesn't really have you interacting with anyone framed as a "native" as a villain I imagine just using the trappings of the period for the backdrop could bother some, so fair warning on that.

That said - I really recommend this if you enjoy games with frantic, fierce combat with an emphasis on graceful movement. It looks real pretty too.

18. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
It does, proportionately, more of what I liked in Uncharted 4 - exploring a wide open hub level, getting into firefights with setpieces that are exciting to clamber through and make use of, solving puzzles - and less of what I generally dislike about the series such as lengthy "climbing" sections without anything to spice them up and the highly scripted chase/vehicle sections.

I'm a bit weirded out they suddenly decided to make Chloe Indian when she was previously - to the best of my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong here because I might just be making an assumption that some comic book I never read or cutscene I forgot contradicted before this - a tanned, white Australian woman who was (and still is) voiced and acted by a white woman, with no mention of any immigrant status or particular affinity for India despite both coming up here. It feels off, I guess, to take her and "make her" into an Indian character instead of just making an Indian character, preferably played by an Indian person. Especially when IIRC Naughty Dog had already caught heat before this came out for making Nadine black while keeping Laura Bailey in the role from when she was previously white during production.

And speaking of Nadine, I'm still not sure what to make of her? Like she's fine in this game most of the time but there's the nagging reality that she's a former mercenary who led a company which was explicitly involved in coups, massacres, and probably war crimes based on some idle enemy chatter in 4. Like I just don't get the narrative disconnect here where she's treated as if she was idk some high paid bodyguard or something else "dangerous but arguably moral" while she's explicitly...not, like even remotely. I couldn't really get attached to her and still don't like her as a protagonist.

19. Typeshift
It's a (English only) word-puzzle game where you have a few columns of letters beside eachother and have to swipe them up and down to make words across a central row, with you solving the puzzle once you use every letter on the columns in a word. There's a sort-of scoring system where there's a set of per-designated words which are designed to solve a puzzle without re-using any letters, making them the most efficient way to do it - and it tracks how many you find for each puzzle. But it also tracks how many words total you can make before using all the letters, as well as how many words you've found in all. It's an open-ended sorta challenge where you choose whether you want to try focus on finding those key words or if you're trying to flex your vocabulary and planning skills to find as many as possible. There's also a sort of crossword like mode where you get given hints for words and then have to "solve" them by making the words with the columns and tapping on the appropriate hint to confirm it, as well as a daily challenge that measures how fast you can finish the puzzle.

It comes with a fair few puzzles for free and sells more in bundles. I bought a couple after doing most of the default puzzles of the type I was interested in but got burned out/bored before finishing them, they were only a few euro so I didn't really mind. If you like scrabble or crosswords or really any kind of word-puzzle games at all it's probably worth giving it a try given, again, it's free to do the default packs and the dlc/mtx are cheap.

Neil98 · Mar 16, 2021

13. Professor Layton and the Curious Village HD Android

nacimento · Mar 16, 2021

6. Langrisser (PC/Steam) | 25th Feb - 30hrs | ★★★★

Really solid SRPG which combines the hero-based SRPG template with large armies. A remake of the game from the early nineties, Langrisser is not particularly deep regarding characters and story, but the SRPG gameplay more than makes up for it. The branching paths are a nice addition, even though they lead to some backtracking. It is a pity you alway keep your experience when backtracking, which takes away some of the challenge. Overall my fist playthrough took me around 12 hours, but it took me 30 hours to finish all endings. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who likes an old-school SRPG that still feels fresh.

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KtotheRoc · Mar 17, 2021

16: Bravely Default II. End: 3/16/2021. (3.5)

A turn-based JRPG with great gameplay and a mostly by-the-numbers story. A solid game for JRPG fans.

nacimento · Mar 17, 2021

7. Yakuza 4 (PC/GamePass) | 10th Mar - 33hrs | ★★★★ ½

The Yakuza series keeps delivering. Yakuza 4 follows its four protagonists through their Kamurocho adventures until the four paths meet for the grand finale. Its easy to see the improvements done from Yakuza 3 regarding gameplay and some of the minigames. The story is strong as well even though some turns feel slightly exaggerated. The new protagonists are good, even though none reaches the heights of Kiryu himself. Overall its another great Yakuza adventure and a step up from Yakuza 3.

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gitrektali · Mar 17, 2021

13. Bloodroots - 4/5

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Hot damn, this game was pretty awesome. Hotline Miami's one-hit style gameplay with the aesthetics of Samurai Jack packed into a fairly gripping revenge tale. You can basically pick up anything in the environment and use it as a weapon. The animations, executions, and general traversal were excellent. Once you start tossing and picking up weapons, there's a very real rhythm to the game that's usually lacking in this genre. The boss fights were inventive, and I loved the level design as well. I'm honestly shocked at how little was said about this game in media and forums. I finished it in 7 hours, and really enjoyed my time with it. It's also fairly challenging, but the game does offer accessibility options instead of a traditional difficulty mode.

iceblade · Mar 17, 2021

LonestarZues said:
I work from home so that helps, but on average I play about 4 hours a day during the week and some weekends I play 8+ hours per day others I don't play at all, just depends if I have plans or not.

Blindy said:
I think to beat this challenge it's about the type of games you pick, I don't know how it's humanly possible to pull this off doing this with all RPGs from a time perspective. Picking some shorter games help for this. I game 3 hours a day usually and on weekends maybe 5-6 hours a day?

Josh5890 said:
It depends. I try to get at least a couple hours in every night. Right now I at that time of year where I am watching more films in the evening with Oscar season in full swing (huge movie buff), so my gaming a little smaller. It should pick up soon.

This is my first year doing the challenge. Personally I am trying to find that balance between shorter and longer games while at the same time remembering that this is for fun and that I shouldn't stress over it. I'm trying to average a game a week and for the most part I am achieving it. I'm looking forward to hooking up an Xbox I bought and trying Gamepass. That should open me up to a lot more games.

Cupcake Knight said:
Not trying to complete everything in a game should help, too. I enjoyed Hitman 3(with 1 and 2) so much that it became a time sunk. Only have beaten 7 game so far, with this pace I can't make it to 52. This includes one full playthrough of Automata. I spend some time with Slay the Spire, but never beat the Last Act, I don't think finished it.

A bit late for this, but still - thank you all for the replies. They're really helpful :D. Good thing is I can usually play around 3 hours a day on most days, so it seems like it'd be possible if laying a bit more and also playing more shorter games...

hersheyfan said:
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Delayed February update, so I lumped it in with half of March. 52 games plowed through, did it in 2 1/2 months!

Congrats on beating the challenge :D. Really really quickly too... Well played :D.

Would you recommend The Complex? It seems pretty good from the description you provided.

hersheyfan · Mar 17, 2021

iceblade said:
Congrats on beating the challenge :D. Really really quickly too... Well played :D.

Would you recommend The Complex? It seems pretty good from the description you provided.

Thanks! 😁

Uh... The Complex definitely isn't "great" in a traditional sense, but if you can get it for cheap (like, 50% off or better) and are in the mood for a B-movie, you'll get your money's worth! The achievements are also pretty easy, if you're into that.

Dead Guy · Mar 18, 2021

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Late in writing these out once again but I'm actually off to a pretty good start this year:

1) Pokemon: Fire Red | GBA | 41 Hours | February 3rd, 2021 | 4.5/5

Starting the year off with a long one. I've actually been casually working on this game for about the last 3 years so it's nice to finally get it done so I can move on to other things.

Although I was big into the Pokemon Anime as a child, I never had a Gameboy and so was never able to experience the games except for a the few times my friends were playing it. I finally got my first handheld in 2012 and started my Pokemon journey there with Black 2. I was instantly hooked and so decided I needed to go back to experience all the earlier gens when I got the chance.

So here we are, back at the game that started it all (well a remake of that game to be precise). Even though I had never played the original, I found this one very nostalgic as it brought me back to my days as a very young kid when Pokemania was taking over the world back in 1999. Ash, Misty and Brock are still the best trio in my eyes and I can't imagine there's any bias to that whatsoever.

This game just oozes charm and the simplistic graphics of the GBA give it a wonderful atmosphere that is very distinct from the later games in the series. Kanto is still the region that I remember best and it was great to visit all the towns and cities from the TV show and the memories that came with them. I actually loved that this game is quite a bit smaller than the later ones as well. Kanto was never daunting to me like some of the other regions I've previously played through and because of that, I was able to really take my time enjoying each new route and city on my journey to claim all 8 badges. The world is varied enough to keep each new area fresh and there's still loads of good content to keep you playing even after you beat the elite 4.

I really don't have any major negative things to say about this one. It's a wonderful remake that allows you to go back to a time when completing the Pokedex was an actual real possibility, and experience the roots of a franchise that would take the world by storm. I guess if you're coming from one of the more recent games and expecting the same amount of content in this one you may be let down a bit, but the simplicity and smaller feel of this game really adds to its charm. Anyone who loves Pokemon will love this game too.

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2) Portal | PC | 2 1/2 Hours | February 20th, 2021 | 5/5

My second play-through of the original Portal, this time for my Youtube channel.

This is still an absolute classic game and while it has since been completely overshadowed by its sequel, there is still a lot here to enjoy. The story seems non existent at first but as you continue on through more and more tests, it becomes apparent that something is very wrong. Portal has since become a corner stone of Valve software and it's easy to see why.

This game still looks fantastic and is a complete joy to play. The mechanics are simple enough for anyone to understand and get the hang of, and yet they do so much with them that some maps are a real challenge to get through. I can imagine there would be some great speed runs for this game nowadays. The concept is so ingenious and it's executed perfectly here. This is one of only a handful of games I would recommend to someone who has never played a video game before. Very casual friendly with a mysterious and interesting story, this game is one of the best ways to show someone not into the medium just how fun and engaging video games can be. Truly showcasing how far video games have come since Super Mario World.

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3) Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy | PC | 5 Hours | February 25th, 2021 | 3.5/5

Game #19 in the Nancy Drew series. I would say this one is not one of my favorites but is still pretty enjoyable and probably among the better group of games in the series. Nancy travels to Ireland as the Maid of Honor for an old friend's wedding. Once she gets there though a big problem has arisen; the groom is missing! Did he get cold feet? Did he take a header off the cliff into the sea below? Is he just playing a dumb prank? It's our job to figure out what happened to him and maybe unravel the mystery of who or what the strange figure flying around the castle is as well.

This entry in the series features a great location and some fantastic music. Ireland is a beautiful country and is well represented here. Unfortunately the Irish themselves fare a little worse as one of the most prominent suspects is a crusty old Irishman whose major defining character trait is an uncomfortable hate for the English. One of my viewers even went so far as to say he's secretly an IRA member haha. It's really bad. The only other Irish character is the bride herself and she seems oddly blasé about her husband to be bailing right before the wedding. It's an interesting cast for sure.

Puzzles are pretty decent but there are a few I ran into that I thought were very obscure for a game of this difficulty level. There's also a bad one near the end where you have to dispose of dangerous chemicals that anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of chemistry can tell you aren't actually very dangerous at all (water does not blow up when mixed with potassium for example).

Overall a decent entry in the series but not one of the absolute best.

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4) Super Mario 64 | N64 | 15 Hours | March 2nd, 2021 | 3.5/5

The game that started my love of gaming in the first place. Super Mario 64 will always hold a special place in my heart no matter how old I get. When I found out I was getting laid off back in July of 2020 (along with the entire facility of 350 people) I suddenly found myself with some extra free time at work as motivation plummeted and no one cared anymore. I decided to download this gem on one of the work computers to help kill time at work during my last few weeks there. I never managed to get it finished before we got the boot so I decided to finish it up at home so I could include it in this list.

120 stars is a lot to collect but I managed to do it with the help of Youtube for a few hard to find stars. How does the game hold up? Actually pretty decently considering its age. However the camera is definitely a major issue now and it'll easily be the reason for the vast majority of your deaths, not any of the actual enemies in the game. Trying to get it oriented for a tricky off screen jump can be be a total pain in the ass and it's an absolute nightmare in areas with timed jumps like Rainbow Cruise and Tick Tock Clock. Probably didn't help that I was using a keyboard instead of an actual controller either.

Aside from that the game still plays great and the vast, vast majority of the stars are easily obtainable after a couple attempts. Flying controls like shit unfortunately but it happens so rarely in the game it's never really that big of an issue. The level design is still fantastic after all these years and even on the limited hardware of the N64 no two levels feel alike. You'll have a ton of fun just exploring each level to find each star and power-up. Nothing is too confusing and the platforms naturally lead you to where you need to go. Still a classic and a fantastic revisit every time.

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Rhaknar · Mar 18, 2021

Game #16 - Call of the Sea
Time: 6 hours
Platform: Xbox Series X
Rating: ★★★

This was a really cool puzzle adventure that once again seems like a perfect fit for Gamepass (where I played it), as otherwise I probably wouldn't have tried it, and I guess would have been worse of because of it. The story is pretty cool and the visuals are gorgeous, but some of the puzzles were real head-scratchers that had me reach for a guide as I don't really have much patience for puzzles these days, even if overall I don't think it's that hard. It's also not very long so it's easy to recommend, even if it doesn't do anything particularly amazing, it's still worth experiencing, especially if you like puzzle games.

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Weiss · Mar 18, 2021

6. Psychonauts - 18/03/2021

It's been 13, maybe 14 years since I played Psychonauts without some kind of obnoxious glitch.

I love this game, live and breathe it. The kind of game where the art design is so stellar I can remember individual frames of levels in a way that plenty of other games just struggle with getting me to remember entire worlds.

Psychonauts 2 is (hopefully) coming this year and I've been ready since 2005.

Tizoc · Mar 19, 2021

44. Mail Mole

An indie 3D platformer with voxel graphics. The game consists of 8 worlds, each with their own theme and set of levels that you must clear in order to progress. Molty, the protagonist, is always burrowed underground but can be hurt by certain hazards.
The game overall controls fine and the levels are well designed. They're not too long and can encourage speeding through them quickly once one gets a hang of the controls. It has a lovely soundtrack.
If you're looking for a light platforming experience, this may be up your alley, through the fact that you don't see Molty can come off awkward coming from platformers of yesteryears.

InquisitorAles · Mar 19, 2021

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6. Resident Evil 3 - 80 hours
Even though Resident Evil 3 is a fun game, it can't be considered as a faithful remake. While RE2 2019 was a great game on its own, Resident Evil 3 misses the mark and feels more like DLC rather than a standalone product. My full impressions about this game can be found in my video review - https://youtu.be/YI6V-Sn5wbw

Valkerion · Mar 19, 2021

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16. Yakuza 0 - (8/10) 3/20/2021 - PC
Great story and characters. Love that I can see so many Japanese celebs and music in a series. While I got some issues with the combat I love the story in both games I played in this series 0 and Kiwami. It plays out like a well made drama. That said despite all the praise 0 got I was really looking forward to it but was disappointed. The story is a 10 but the game is long winded AF. And they really conjured their inner kojima for that ending. Sadly game crashed on the credits so I did not get a clear save/achievements but I'm not sitting through that again lol. Great game but the conversations went on forever in the first half. Would love to keep going with the series but I need a break after this.

17. Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Closed Beta 2 - (9/10) 3/21/2021 - PC
Video Review (well impressions this time!)
It was just a beta test but I'm pretty sold on this so far. The gameplay loop seems like it will be easy to get lost for hours in. It's definitely PSO2 under the hood and has a lot of carry overs in it store mechanics when those eventually go live, but just straight up playing was really fun. I hope they have lots of instanced dungeons and what not too to entice co-op play. Similarly I hope bosses like the Dragon and what not re-appear. Felt like a mix of Xenoblade but with Genshin's combat almost. Also loved the combat effects. Hopefully the final game and my PC are optimized enough to get that 4k gaming in! I'll probably skip further betas until its closer to release but I really enjoyed it.

18. Phantasy Star Online 2 Global Server - (7/10) 3/28/2021
Another MMO! I've been playing this almost nightly since the start of the month with the goal of getting a class to 75, getting some cool weapons, and finishing a "season" of the games version of a battle pass. Well I did it! It was pretty entertaining too. It's a fun game still but its pretty overwhelming and hard to understand. Thankfully this month was the Anniversary so I got huge boosts towards my goals aside from the battle pass. I'll probably pop in this game for another few months but not daily. I enjoy the gameplay loop but New Genesis can't come soon enough.

Also check out my neato cool character!

BPHusker · Mar 19, 2021

20. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Saturn) | 3/19/2021 | 1.5 hrs | 4.5/5
I got an OSSC recently and decided to play some of my older consoles and picked SFA2. I'm shocked how good this game still looks. It seriously looks like an almost arcade perfect port. The sprites and animation are great and it looks great in motion. The only negative for me is how bad the cpu ramps up in the last handful of fights. I probably used 20-25 continues between the last 3 fights. I guess I didn't think I sucked that bad at Street Fighter. Ha

Optional Objectives · Mar 19, 2021

No. 17 - A Tavern for Tea - 3/5

This is a short, 20 minute riff on the barista/bartender subgenre. The proprietor of the teahouse/tavern (the brewmaster?) comes with the attitude that anyone who comes through the door sits on equal terms as a customer. They have magic tea brewing abilities and no menu, so the player follows dialogue cues to brew three ingredients together in the same style as Coffee Talk. The plot consists of getting an adventurer, tired of adventuring, and their enemy, a demon lord, to chat and go off together. Standard fantasy subversion stuff.

I did kind of enjoy the simple time looping mechanic - each time you restart the conversation, you have more knowledge of how to direct it with different brewed drinks. The adventurer and demon lord, meanwhile, seem to experience it for the first time, with no prior memory of a shared moment. That quickly turns into a path where you get to know whether your two customers would want to talk (they do) and how to get them to have a shared experience that could kick things off. It's an interesting spin on the usual method of replaying a visual novel with a fast forward button for dialogue that the player has already read. The game is too short to make much of it - I wonder if the designer even sees the same possibility in the mechanic, or if it was just a side-effect of how they put the game together.

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Exile In Mudville · Mar 20, 2021

PREVIOUSLY...IN THE 52 GAMES THREAD...

19) Wilmot's Warehouse (XB1X) - March 20th - So I've been in the midst of the Yakuza series, as previously stated. But sometimes I need to decompress, and at first, Wilmot's Warehouse, a logistical fetch quest puzzler, offered just that kind of relaxation. Towards the end, it was kind of a stressful grind though, as I couldn't get the warehouse in order enough to fulfill some conditions, but the game moved along - nothing keeping me from just progressing through the narration and item collection Then, when I finished picking up new inventory - the game just...ends, no endless mode or New Game+ to finish out the modifications book, at least not on the Xbox One version. A shame because this is the kind of game that I probably would play more of with casual and at-my-own-pace post-game content. On the plus side it's got a wonderful soundtrack, I just wish I could enjoy everything about this game more than I do. With only an expert mode that would frustrate me a lot more, all I can really do with it is clear space. (17.9 hours, about 10 of these hours were idling/falling asleep during the quarterly Stock Take) (2.5 out of 5 stars)

20) Yakuza Kiwami 2 (XB1X) - March 28th (Main Story)/March 29th (Majima Saga) - Does the Dragon Engine make the difference here? Not sure. Even taking the updated systems/UI/world updates out of the equation, this is miles ahead of the first Yakuza Kiwami, in terms of an incredibly compelling story, larger and smaller character development, and a more interesting variety of side activities (including the ridiculous Clan Creator and the return of Cabaret Club). In general though I'm just glad there's more humanity in this game with regards to how a lot of the protagonist allied leads end up, not to mention - Ryuji Goda is the best lead antagonist I've met in the series so far, with a consistent and unflappable attitude, drive, and ethical code that's put into contrast versus how Nishikiyama's characterization devolved through Yakuza 1, especially compared to how focused and intense he was 7/17 years prior in the game world. Even Goro Majima gets a tiny bit of a personality balance and shockingly peaceful closure on Yakuza 0, mostly through The Majima Saga miniseries. Probably locked in as my second favorite in the series so far, behind 0, mostly on account of the sharp pivot away from the severe nihilism of the previous game. (83 hours and 11 minutes - 81:01 Main Story, 2:10 Majima Saga) (5 out of 5 stars)

21) Maquette (PC) - March 29th - Kind of reminiscent of The Unfinished Swan as far as the puzzle/walking sim hybrids go, Maquette has some neat ideas for puzzle design but (like the Unfinished Swan) doesn't do a whole lot more with it than the narrative requires, which in Maquette's case is just kind of a "there" story about a couple that falls in and out of love that probably could have used a bit more of a response framing. I'd like to see more of something designed with these sorts of puzzles in a larger world with a deeper story someday. Leaning mildly positive though, just because of the music - including a cover of "San Franciscan Nights" that sounded like it could have been a Free Design b-side, and a delicious chunk of prog-influenced indie rock by Cannons and Clouds. (just about 3 hours) (3 out of 5 stars)

22) Yakuza 3 Remastered (PC) - April 5th - It's been roughly 10 years since the last time I played through Yakuza 3, back on a PS3 that I regrettably no longer have. So much of the game was a blur, until most of it came back. What starts off as what might be misconstrued as mostly-filler Yakuza when played in a vacuum stands out as the document of Kiryu attempting to find some kind of family structure outside the poisonous influence of organized crime, only to be pulled into Okinawa turf wars that inevitably all lead back to fighting the latest movers and shakers in the Tojo Clan, in the name of protecting people he cares about the most. So much of this ties back into the past and the future (but still the past) of the series, and looking at it after 0 and the Kiwamis makes it all the more obvious. The new central characters in this volume (both on the ally and antagonist sides) have a ton of personality as well, with the Ryudo Family (especially Rikiya and Mikio) being some of my favorite people in the whole series so far. I'll be honest too - 3 needs a Kiwami remake at this point, mainly to streamline a lot of the slow paced and fetch-heavy Orphanage content, but also to give much more spotlight to Rikiya and Mikio, who honestly deserve to have their own spinoff chapters in a speculative Kiwami 3. I will say that relatively speeding through this one has made me more than ready to jump into the almost entirely new-to-me Yakuza 4 just to see where the story beats go next. (50 hours, 27 minutes) (4 out of 5 stars)

23) Yakuza 4 Remastered (PC) - April 13th - So I was going to start this and Yakuza 3 Remastered on XB1X, but there were a few technical hang-ups - namely a clear graphics and presentation ceiling due to the games still being in the first iteration of the older engine (without video settings on the Xbox, continuing was futile), and controls that couldn't be remapped on consoles (I really needed walk on the Right Bumper, not to mention batting and darts controls were much better with the mouse). In any case, Yakuza 4 is a lot closer in content and wide open space to 0, and with many more threads to tie together. The new protagonists all have real unique style to them as far as gameplay, and (outside of Kiryu, who's always worn what he's stood for on his sleeve) some very complicated motivations and behaviors. Of course, it wouldn't be Yakuza without these types of people in its world. Much like 3, there's a lot of elements that are brought together, not just the loose ends from 1 through 3, but when going through the series 0 first, you get a lot more understanding of Majima from that game via Saejima's story - and what's amazing is 0 doesn't even really let on the huge twists that were part of its prehistory that are revealed in 4, some great work in making sure players understand what happened via the characters involved (even if they'd played the original 4 on PS3). That shit, at least to me, is brilliant narrative. In any case, Yakuza 4 itself is an absolutely solid game that gets a little bit indulgent in its past conventions and design (for better and for worse), and a bit more ridiculous in the wrap-up department.

I had two overall series realizations related to the very intertwined Yakuza 3 and 4, though. First, it's an inevitability that we're going to have an Orphanage reunion game of some sort in the next decade set 15-20 years after they began their lives there. The notion that I had was Taichi as a lead in a wrestling related story that ties back to Okinawa and his family in multiple ways. Second, about a third of the way through the game I looked at Kido and thought "this is the Kamurocho protagonist of the 2020s at some point". After everything that went down with him though, I'm even more sure of that, with this game being his origin story, and with the potential of having to go through similar tribulations that Kiryu and Majima did in the 80's and 90's. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up after the consequences of this game (and every game that follows) are resolved. (95 hours) (4 out of 5 stars)

24) Yakuza 5 Remastered (XB1X) - April 27th - I'll tell you what, for a series that is so fucking much, Yakuza 5 is the height of being so fucking much, almost to the point of detriment. There's a whole lot to do and see and experience, seeing as how we're taking on 5 characters in 5 cities. with unique gameplay shifts for four of them. Often the ambition gets outta control, with regards to Saejima and Haruka's chapters and focuses especially. This time out, Saejima has an entire act in his chapter devoted to hunting, and the pace is unlike anything else but totally enjoyable. However once he gets to his city, the quality of his chapter falls off a giant cliff, as the treatment of Sapporo is the most uninspired design in the whole series. Haruka, meanwhile dance battles and rhythm games, which play well, although the quests that you get as part of this job feel like they're just piled on.

The issues with Yakuza 5 don't stop there - from a disjointed story, to the "Where's Poochie" treatment that Majima gets through the game, to the most floundering cast of antagonists in the whole series, to the fact that they had the chance to completely redesign karaoke but chose not to, to just a lot of elements that seemed half finished and were never fixed for the remaster. The scope is heavy, and there's really no way they could effectively Kiwami this game as a single volume. I can honestly tell that Nagoshi and his crew had to make 0 as a reaction to this game, just to reign in bad design habits that were creeping up in 3 and 4 and went out of control in 5. The worst thing about Yakuza 5 though, is outside of Haruka, who's really great in this one, none of the returning characters (protagonist or NPCs alike) have the same growth moments that they did in previous games - even worse, Saejima feels like a rerun of Yakuza 4 with less interesting sidekicks and Akiyama doesn't feel like Yakuza 4 even happened to him at all, besides the connection of "Oh yeah I know these people now I guess".

All that said, Shinada is a great new character (and I swear he must have been originally workshopped as a disgraced pro wrestler, which makes me want a wrestler main character even more), and all the other new NPCs (besides the main villains) are a lot of fun to fight and interact with, especially Takasugi in Nagoya, who's probably my favorite heroic scumbag in a good while. So much of the new gameplay as far as Sub Stories is a lot of fun as well, and the new batting mechanics in Shinada's are the best ever. I just wish that the frustrating moments of the game and story and pacing didn't feel like they dominated the landscape. At least I'm headed into another Dragon Engine game, the previous two of which have been off the charts amazing partially because of the set design, but I still feel like I need a breather. (103 hours and 41 minutes) (3 out of 5 stars)

25) Katana ZERO (XB1X) - April 28th - Foolishly, I tried to start Yakuza 6 immediately. But no, I need a little bit of cushioning, so I started my Yakuza vacation with one of the most intense action games of the last 3 years, what could possibly go wrong?

A lot of modern indie games that owe their existence to the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy or Natsume's NES action masterpieces (think Shadow of the Ninja/Shatterhand/Power Blade) always seem to miss some key elements in what makes the design work. Katana ZERO not only nails exactly those intangibles, but brings in a brutal narrative that's a bit of Hotline Miami and a bit of Lone Wolf & Cub, with a backdrop of an alternate reality that invokes America's ambivalence towards veterans of the Vietnam War, especially those that suffered from PTSD, experimental drug side effects, and long term chemical weapons effects for years after returning from a fight many of them never wanted to be in the first place. Gameplay and controls are tight, even though sometimes RNG and spawn patterns don't always play nice with that aspect of it in later sections. And the last boss is a little anticlimactic after last area and penultimate room puts you through some serious paces. Still, this is a hell of a retro action game with a lot to give in terms of a deep multi-layered story. (6 hours 30 minutes) (4 out of 5 stars)

26) The Swapper (PC) - April 30th - I first played through the PS4 version of The Swapper in 2017 during a Metroidvania marathon on Twitch. It ended up easily being the most interesting game I played out of a collection of 35 titles. I wanted to revisit it again with a bit more attention to secrets and design and I gotta say it still holds up just as well. Incredibly tense atmosphere, unique puzzle design that provides new challenges to the end, and one of the most unique sci-fi stories I've seen in a while. Play it if you never have, folks - you won't regret it. (5 hours 45 minutes) (5 out of 5 stars)

27) The Touryst (XB1X) - May 1st - Wrapped up this game I started on back in November when it hit Game Pass. The puzzles and quests were mostly pretty good. Some silly and lighthearted writing and dialogue that fit, but i felt like something was lacking in the impact of the game. My other real complaint was the cheapness of a couple of aspects of the quest (mainly the arcade game side quest and the final boss). Also some aspects of progression on side quests seemed deliberately tough to figure out without a guide. This game was okay though, the sort of 7 out of 10 work that Shin'en has been doing pretty consistently with their original projects since they started. (7 hours) (3 out of 5 stars)

Tizoc · Mar 20, 2021

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45. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

Gameplay wise I find it still holds up and has a nice integration of its gameplay and story.

Blindy · Mar 20, 2021

ratchet+and+clank+going+commando+wallpaper.jpg

12) Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando(PS3 as apart of the R&C Collection)
3/8-3/14

Such a good game, such an improvement over the original. From the more forgiving checkpoints to the outstanding weapon experience feature that turns your solid weapons into fully upgrade monstrosities to the twist and turn story that was simple yet cool to the STRAFING, this was an excellent sequel. Had to be my 3rd time playing through this one, I didn't 100% this as I don't have the time to hunt down all of the hidden collectables and grind for the RYNO but I had a good time with this game. The game does pick up in difficulty later on and I do want to say the same problem exists in the original that it does in this game, the checkpoint system isn't perfect and if you do die in the middle of an area and have to respawn, you aren't giving back your ammo and to make matters worse, the boxes don't regenerate often if at all so there will be times your just forced to buy ammo and lose up the opportunity to buy something you might have been savings up for because the ratchet alone isn't going to destroy the influx of enemies that appear on a screen. Another gripe I would say is the cost of later weapons or better yet mandatory video tapes are ridiculous and this sort of ruins your chance to get all the weapons on a 1st playthrough, which I guess Insomniac was pushing for a NG+ to get the later weapons with a challenge mode that helps your bolt currency gain.

I am finding it a pattern that the R&C PS3 versions suffer from slowdown with too many enemies on a screen at a time which sucks but nothing that makes this totally unplayable. The core gameplay is great and it is probably my favorite R&C game of the ones I have played and it still holds up really well, even in 2021.

13) Ghosts 'N Goblins: Resurrection(NSW)
2/25-3/18
LEGEND* DIFFICULTY

And I finished both LOOP 1 and LOOP 2 of Ghosts 'N Goblins Resurrection the other day. I can't say I enjoyed my game because I died so much and to so much RNG BS but I really did like the game It feels like the double jump was missed that was so important in Super GNG but the game does offer up a variety of weapons, some useless(Wrecking ball, Lance which is inferior to the dagger in every facet) to important(Dagger and Bow & Arrow). Sucks to accidentally get hit into or land on one of the useless weapons as up until you get a skill that allows you to hold 2(or 3 if you can get enough magic fairies) weapons so you don't get screwed off the drop RNG.

Some levels were super fun like the dragon ride section of AREA 3(2nd half), others have iffy platforming areas like Hellfire Hamlet PART 2 where enemies spawn out of thin air and to compound that it's either goo spitting spiders coming down throughout the level or well placed spitting plants that a knockback launches you below to either climb all over again or in the dark level/loop 2 has a bullshit Red Artimer which can tank a few hits and is ridiculous elusive, leaving you very limited wiggle room on how or when to hit it.

A lot of the game is based on RNG(Random Number Generator) where it depends on when the enemies spawn or the item drops/armor drops you get, or how the enemy attacks as to how you progress throughout the game. Game can be partially infuriating in that regard. Especially on Loop 2 where the shadow levels suck the fun out of some parts of Loop 1 with even tougher enemy spawns and even more enemies on the field.

Very few technical issues, including a couple of times(Especially in one late game level) the game being completely unplayable with the screen going to black and you clipping into the abyss(Literarily). Story is simple GNG of saving the captured princess and a kingdom taken over by darkness, the true ending which I didn't do requires a whole bunch of needing to look up a guide because there are 3 bonus minigames hidden that are required to be completed for it but I felt satisfied doing this on Legend mode(Hardest difficulty) twice so that was good enough .

You have Legend mode which is 2 health and 2 checkpoints, Knight which is 3 health and 4(?) checkpoints usually, Squire is 4 health and the same amount of checkpoints as Knight, and Page I imagine is the easy, peasy mode which I never even tried. I tried all 3 difficulties but went all the way on Legend difficulty which was as expected very, very tough. Talking spending 4-5 hours just on one part of the level type of hard. I had to take a week break in between Loop 1 and Loop 2 due to the frustration, since in typical GNG fashion, you are expected to run through the game twice to officially beat the game, only this game incorporates the different shadow levels.

The game is hard but nowhere did I feel it was impossible which is all I need to push on. I disagree with some of the obstacles placed but nowhere can I say this is impossible. Now I did lower the difficulty on half of the Loop 2 run because again it is pure insanity what is expected on that mode but when you choose a mode at the very start, your locked in.......me lowering Legend mode does not mean you go to Knight mode but rather the enemy spawns are less but same checkpoints, same health so not a walk in the park at all.

GNG:R is the type of game you need to know what your walking into to enjoy it. You should expect to die a ton, should expect RNG that throws little monkey wrenches throughout your journey, you should expect a ton of failure but a sense of jubilee when you finally get a new checkpoint/AKA PROGRESS! or beat a boss.........which BTW the levels are 1000X harder than the bosses, whose difficulty doesn't change on different difficulty. I enjoyed myself with the game but man there were some cheap deaths that had me tilted, I think it happens to the best of them. The game is very short if your a pure button pushing master but for 99.9% of us, there is good length with the game, putting in a couple of hours a day on the game had this run a few weeks for me for both loops which is essentially 14 stages(10 are mandatory).

Rhaknar · Mar 21, 2021

Game #17 - Haven
Time: 14 hours
Platform: Xbox Series X
Rating: ★★★★★

Wonderful surprise as I wasn't really sure what to expect of this and it ended up being one of my favorite games in a long time. An action rpg with some truly unique gameplay, both in traversal and combat, with gorgeous visuals and really strong writing, telling a simple tale of a young couple trying to escape their Romeo & Juliet style matchmaking society, it's not often you see a videogame focused solely on a couple's relationship, but both protagonists are super cute (and super horny lol) and the writing is really good, it all feels like a joy to play and experience. I wish there was a bit more variety in the locations you explore, but that's not enough to sour me on the game, and I loved it from begining to end.

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Bosh · Mar 21, 2021

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COMPLETED 25

Latest batch of 5.

Getting into the Shmup genre, Sky Force Anniversary was a fun game that was definitely a good intro into the genre.
Maquette was very dissapointing. It was had janky controls on console and told a lifeless story. Puzzles were ruined by invisible walls forcing you to solve it in specific ways versus any creative way possible.
Axiom Verge - Replay, played with Arcade stick as controller. Still great and fun way to replay game.
Remnant - It has its faults, but I enjoyed the experience from start to finish. I do wish guns had more incentive as nothing could replace Hunting rifle.
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - What a fantastic game. I enjoy Star Wars but don't go crazy about them. You can clearly see the influences for this game, but it stands on its own two feet and has phenomenal environments.

KtotheRoc · Mar 22, 2021

17: HyperDot. End: 3/21/2021. (3.5)

A game all about dodging. And one that made me want to pull my hair out in frustration, but beating a level felt so satisfying.

Snowfruit · Mar 23, 2021

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9. Friday Night Funkin' (PC, 3 hours) Mar 23

I'm surprised how little this game is talked about on this site with how many millions of views stuff about it gets on youtube.
This is a really neat DDR-style rhythm game with great music and cool visuals.
You can play it from your browser here for free;

Friday Night Funkin' by ninjamuffin99, PhantomArcade

The coolest rhythm game

ninja-muffin24.itch.io

Only gripe I really have with it is the game starts to miss inputs at hard difficulty and there's no way to change your keybinds.
But that's where the beauty of it being on PC comes in.. This game has such a great mod community with people constantly making more content for it. I can make custom characters show up or even play a new song not in the base game for example.

If you want to download/mod it, I'd recommend versions like this one: https://gamebanana.com/gamefiles/download/14457
This one has options added in so you can change the input system and lets you use dfjk instead of wasd/arrow keys otherwise some songs on hard will feel impossible.

music example (sound on)

Jay_AD · Mar 23, 2021

Snowfruit said:
main post

9. Friday Night Funkin' (PC, 3 hours) Mar 23

I'm surprised how little this game is talked about on this site with how many millions of views stuff about it gets on youtube.
This is a really neat DDR-style rhythm game with great music and cool visuals.
You can play it from your browser here for free;

Friday Night Funkin' by ninjamuffin99, PhantomArcade

The coolest rhythm game

ninja-muffin24.itch.io

Only gripe I really have with it is the game starts to miss inputs at hard difficulty and there's no way to change your keybinds.
But that's where the beauty of it being on PC comes in.. This game has such a great mod community with people constantly making more content for it. I can make custom characters show up or even play a new song not in the base game for example.

If you want to download/mod it, I'd recommend versions like this one: https://gamebanana.com/gamefiles/download/14457
This one has options added in so you can change the input system and lets you use dfjk instead of wasd/arrow keys otherwise some songs on hard will feel impossible.

music example (sound on)

Games that are not sold for money on consoles or steam might as well not exist on era, no matter how good or popular they are otherwise.

This seems neat, I'll definitely play it. Gonna have to use that mod to be able to use my Stepmania button config though.

Cipher Peon · Mar 23, 2021

My main post!

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March
April
May
June
Summer
Final

52 games? No problem. I got this.

60/52

And all games ranked from best to worst!

Pokemon Stadium
Super Mario Galaxy
Fatal Frame
Va-11 Hall-a
Demon's Souls
Five Night At Freddy's
Doom Eternal
Doom 2
NEO The World Ends With You
Doom
Resident Evil 7
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
Returnal
Persona 5 Royal
Pokemon Shining Pearl
Doki Doki Literature Club
Bugsnax
Persona 5 Strikers
Shin Megami Tensei V
New Pokemon Snap
Doom 3
Hotline Miami
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Guardians of the Galaxy
Overcooked
Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
Doom 64
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
A Hat in Time
Silent Hill Origins
Doom (2016)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Towerfall
The Pathless
Back 4 Blood
Halo Infinite
Yugioh: Dark Duel Stories
Warioware: Get It Together!
The Great Ace Attorney
Castlevania
Little Nightmares II
The Outer Worlds
Resident Evil: Village
Gears Tactics
Clubhouse 51 Games: Worldwide Classics
Mighty Gunvolt Burst
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2
Yoshi's Crafted World
Nier: Replicant
Pokemon Ultra Moon
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Scarlet Nexus
Injustice 2
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Luigi's Mansion 3
World's End Club
Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?
Prinny 2

Rhaknar · Mar 24, 2021

Game #18 - Limbo
Time: 4 hours
Platform: Switch
Rating: ★★★★★

A modern day classic that spawned a horde of clones ever since it came out back in 2010, and even 10 years later, it totally holds up, having a perfect mix of amazing athmosphere, gorgeous graphics, amazing sound design and fantastic puzzles. It looks particularly good on the Switch's screen as many 2D games do, and I just had a blast with it just like I had back when I first played it. HIghly recommended both for first timers or just to replay in 2021.

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djinn · Mar 26, 2021

Main Post

11. Eliza
Gifted to me by zulux21 and I have to say a huge thank you for that because this turned out to be amazing. Like flat out amazing. The perfect game for me post surgery, I enjoyed every minute of it. It's thought-provoking, tender and heartbreaking in a thoroughly researched and well produced VN. Having experienced mental health issues as both a sufferer and as a nurse, this felt uniquely suited to my tastes. Great game.

Tizoc · Mar 27, 2021

46. Steamworld Dig

If i have one critique of this game, it'd be that it can come off as a grind in order to get some upgrades. Grind might not be the proper word here; resources are finite but plentiful and one can always explore and dig around to find the gems needed to level up the town and to buy upgrades, but it can be a bit time consuming.
All in all though I quite liked the game; an action adventure game where you explore underground, finding upgrades and secrets filled with gems or orbs in order to use for upgrades. I might replay it in the future and see if I can earn the speedrunning cheevo.

Tiny Hawk · Mar 27, 2021

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Final March update, I guess? I've been back at work, so I haven't had much time to sink into gaming like last month. Still though, games are being played.

22. Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC) | 23rd Mar - 12.2hrs | 3.5/5
Didn't expect to like this one so much. I dig the 20vs20 combat in Multiplayer and having the option of playing as a hero to wild out on the other team. Campaign was alright. It gave a good sampling of what the game can do and tried to weave a story throughout each level. Heavy on the fan service and very straightforward. This game is a lot of fun and I'm probably gonna have this on rotation since a lot of my friends also have it thanks to Epic Games Store.

23. Star Wars: Battlefront II - Resurrection (PC) | 24th Mar - 1.7hrs | 2/5
Eh. I could've lived without this. It's not bad, it's just alright.

24. Adios (PC) | 27th Mar - 1.2hrs | 4/5
Don't remember where I heard about this (probably Twitter), but Adios sure was something. There's not a whole lot going on with the gameplay that will blow you away. You walk and talk with the other characters and sometimes get to do activities. The game's biggest strength is in the narrative. Adios has some fantastic writing and performances from the actors to deliver a really morbid slice of life story. It's very short and to the point, only showing the most important aspects of this day. I wish the game had more choices to expand and possibly influence the events, but honestly, I don't think it needs it. It's fantastic the way it is.

And a thought on a game I tried for awhile.

??. Monster Hunter World (PC) | ~12.1hrs
Putting this one on the backburner for now. I saw the Paul W.S. Anderson adaptation starring his wife and wanted to see if the source material was any good. I'm kind of put off by how long it takes to complete the missions and how much grinding I'll have to do for materials. That being said, I really liked what I played - the combat feels super heavy, the way hunts are structured is fantastic, and the monsters are all so unique and interesting. There's no better feeling than completing a quest after 20 minutes. It definitely feels like something I have to sink more time into it than I want at the moment. Maybe I just need to hunt with friends.

BPHusker · Mar 27, 2021

21. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS4) | 3/27/2021 | 35 hrs | 4.5/5
What a game! I really can't say much without spoiling things but what I will say is that it is my first Vanillaware game and I'm not interested in going back to their other games. The art, characters and story is great and probably the best looking animation in a game. The game is basically a visual novel with a tower defense mini game. This is a pretty damn good Sci Fi story that will keep you guessing. Highly recommended!

nacimento · Mar 28, 2021

8. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (Switch) | 24th Mar - 6.5hrs | ★★★ ½

With DKC 3, I finally copleted the original DKC trilogy. And the third game is also a solid and wildly varied platformer. I did enjoy the new map, even though it's style over substance. I also didn't had any issues with Kiddy Kong, irregardless of the hate he often receives. I did find less charming than the first game, with the new enemies being more elaborate but less classic in their design. But maybe that is nostalgia speaking, since I played the first game in the distant past (even though I replayed it last year. So overall another strong platformer, even though I still believe that the first game is by far the best after playing all three at last.

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Blindy · Mar 28, 2021

14) Yakuza 0 1/30/21-3/23/21

The game didn't take that long but I played games in between this so it did take nearly 2 months in retrospect. I did a majority of substories for both Majima & Kiryu and did a little bit of their side content(Real Estate/Club). I really enjoyed the game and there is so much content that I don't know how people get so divulged into doing every single bit of content. The main story is fantastic and yeah some of the logic goes out the door in the story for "Yakuza pride" where most of the villains instead of taking easy way outs, want to fight with honor and forego the objective of eliminating the threat but putting that aside, the story had so many twists and turns that I enjoyed it. I liked the 2 chapter per character and having two different people's perspective ultimately coming together late game as it gives you two different perspectives on one main storyline. The combat is very good as I played this on Hard mode and felt I had a real challenge and made the healing drinks all the more important. Each character has 3 different stances and you can gain new moves off either doing side content with mentors who you beat to learn new moves or through the minigames that range from blackjack to real estate to showgirl club to save the currency you earned through fighting or doing side content or main story. You can also build your health bar with the said currency along with tons of other attributes like building your heat/meter that allows you to perform strong KO moves while enemies are on the ground or stunned.

Story feels like a drama and a wild chase with so many twists and turns and the voice acting was very good(All in Japanese but with English subtitles). Very few glitches/performance issues if at all playing this on a PS5, game ran me about 55 hours give or take. Can't say too much bad of the game, some of the game mechanics like purchasing items(Where you have to have an open slot to engage with a vendor) and the item box are outdated mechanics that are best gone from the game from a fun standpoint but that's pure nitpicky. Really enjoyed my 1st ever Yakuza game overall, definitely plan to run through the rest of the series...........just not anytime soon understandably LOL.

15) Oddworld: Abe's Oddysse(New N Tasty) 3/21/21-3/27/21

"Great ideas, iffy execution" is the best way I can sum up this game. The concept of a puzzle game with a very weak character needing to outsmart the opposition to save his imprisoned race from peril is great. Very self explanatory, very engaging and the Abe character is pretty lovable in the sense that he is so inferior and weak but has his tricks up his sleeves to end up saving the day. The execution/gameplay is where the game is a bit of a fart(pun intended) for me. Some of the jumping mechanics have very slippery mechanics that end up costing you when jumping over OHKO mines or jumping into the enemies gun range. You can do a great jump one time, and the next jump you do, carries forth momentum to have you slip into death. The game is very short but the replayability is in trying to save all 299 fellow Mudokans that take strategy to save(Abe's race), sadly I don't recall the number I got but I read afterwards that you need to have saved 150 of the bastards to get the good ending. I didn't and that didn't turn out so well for Abe at the end of the day :(.

I try and scale how much I liked the game because it's a remaster of a PS1 title but the little nuances of gameplay not being perfect drags the game down for me. Everything else is fine with it, I don't even mind the game length of it which lasted me about 7 hours or so. Using telekinesis to take over the opponent's bodies is so cool and the endgame ability you get is even cooler. The jumping is unnecessarily poor though but I get it, Abe is suppose to be weak and etc. Doesn't make it fun necessarily to have a character that slides upon jumping sometimes or having a delay of a second upon button command when at times you need the command ASAP to survive!

djinn · Mar 29, 2021

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12. Beyond Oasis
A good example of an old classic that has aged like milk. This was bad. I don't even know why I finished this.

ThorHammerstein · Mar 29, 2021

djinn said:
Main Post

12. Beyond Oasis
A good example of an old classic that has aged like milk. This was bad. I don't even know why I finished this.

Why not go for Crusade of Centy? That's a proper good time.

djinn · Mar 29, 2021

ThorHammerstein said:
Why not go for Crusade of Centy? That's a proper good time.

I don't know what that is. Is it in the Mega Drive collection?

ThorHammerstein · Mar 29, 2021

djinn said:
I don't know what that is. Is it in the Mega Drive collection?

Not sure but it's a fun game.

djinn · Mar 29, 2021

ThorHammerstein said:
Not sure but it's a fun game.

This looks quite good.

ThorHammerstein · Mar 29, 2021

djinn said:
This looks quite good.

I rather enjoyed it (have played through perhaps 3-4 times) and saw in your main post that you're playing a good amount of MD/Gen games so I thought that'd be a good rec. :)

Illusionary · Mar 29, 2021

djinn said:
I don't know what that is. Is it in the Mega Drive collection?

The European release was titled Soleil. Unfortunately it's not in the recent collection.

djinn · Mar 29, 2021

Illusionary said:
The European release was titled Soleil. Unfortunately it's not in the recent collection.

Well that's a shame. I'll keep an eye out for it, tho, if it comes up in the Steam workshop.

bushmonkey · Mar 29, 2021

I spent so long on Assassins creed that this is the first game I've finished in 2 months now. I'm hoping to pick up speed again now that this ordeal is over:

6 - Assassin's creed: Valhalla - PS5 - 200hrs / 29th March - 7/10
I really enjoyed Eivor and the world you explore but the game just dragged on far too long and I was glad to get to the end. Every arc was very well written and the characters were all engaging but the cut scenes were terrible in general with awkward pauses and too many talking heads. I expected better from Ubisoft, it's a massive step back from the ACs of old in that respect.
The combat is often deriled but I had no issues with it. I found my weapon combination of a small quick axe and a large Dane axe and, along with the abilities and the bow, there was enough variety to keep it engaging.

Next games: Disco Elysium and It takes two then I'll dive into Yakuza:Like a dragon

Lord Fanny · Mar 29, 2021

Alright, so I have too much to do for the end of the month, so I don't see myself beating anything else in the next few days, so I'm closing out March. Main post with all months here.

Lord Fanny said:
Completed Games (25/52)

March:
23. Persona 5 Strikers - PS5 - 30 hours, 40 minutes
24. Devotion - PC - 2-3 hours
25. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2 - PS5 - 2-3 hours

As predicted, this month slowed things way down, largely because P5S was such a long game, and in general I didn't have as much time due to various things. April will probably take a similar route, as Outriders is the next game I'm getting and it's looking to be a pretty long one, and I will probably start Disco Elysium at the end of this month which I know is also lengthy. But still almost halfway there by April isn't too shabby.

Completed Games (26/52)

April:

26. Outriders - Xbox Series X - 17 hours, 32 minutes

LonestarZues · Mar 30, 2021

Master Post

March 2021

16. Persona 5 Strikers - If it had been turned based it probably would've been a 10/10. Only issue I had with it was the combat and it was so frustrating early on that I put it on easy and left it there for the rest of the game. I really love the characters and all the interactions they have with each other and if this is goodbye for them I'm going to miss them. The music as is to be expected was top tier and will be listening to it for the foreseeable future.

17. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Was a replay and still a great game. Great voice casting and the smaller scope compared to City/Knight gives the game more of a immediacy that I feel are lacking in the other games. I still enjoy those games, but Asylum is a notch above them.

18. The Order 1886 - Was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Does some stuff that I don't like, but it was competent cover shooter with great visuals and would've loved to have seen a sequel as there's a lot of potential in the world that Ready at Dawn created.

19. Yes, Your Grace - Enjoyable enough king simulator with some hard choices to make. Reminded me of the choices you make as you're traveling in the Banner Saga games. My people were hating me by the end though lol. The surprisingly great music in the game added to the mood and always seemed to hit the right notes when it was needed.

20. Dragon Age: Origins - Replay which included Stone's Prisoner, Leliana's Song, Return to Ostagar and Warden's Keep. Love the world and characters and also a great soundtrack. Also what other game can you hear 30 Seconds to Mars during the credits?

21. Maquette - After Chapter 3 looked up all puzzle solutions as the gameplay was getting annoying. Not really a puzzle person, but wanted to see the story thru as it had some great voice acting and very relatable moments. Great music as well. Used Shazam to find out info on several songs.

22. Marvel's Avengers - Despite all its flaws I still enjoyed the campaign. Loved all of the Avengers notably Kamala Khan and her relationship with her dad and Bruce Banner. The repetitive enemy types did get grating after awhile, but being able to switch which Avenger you're controlling was enough over my 15 hours to keep the gameplay fresh. I'll probably revisit the game when the Wakanda dlc drops and I'll probably play both Hawkeye dlc's then as well.

23. Dragon Age Origins: Awakening - In my top 5 dlc/expansions list. Can't say enough how much I love the world, lore, characters in the Dragon Age Series. Playthrough includes both post Awakening dlc's as well. Which do knock down the score a bit for me.

52 Games. 1 Year. 2021.

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