52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
- Thread starter Wozzer
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A bit lttp on this one but I wanted to wait for the entire pack to release before playing any of the dlc. Seeing the criticism this got along the way did make me somewhat worried going in but overall I'd say I had a great time with the Booster Course Pass. It's kinda insane to see a game that's already as big as MK8 get essentially doubled here, the quality of the actual content nonwithstanding I'd say that alone is worth commending. For the actual content itself, well I'd say most of the Tour tracks are just kind of ok at best. Some are quite good like Merry Mountain or Yoshi's Island but other's like Ninja Hideaway are just not fun for me at all. Most of the tracks based off of real world locations end up being too convuluted for a Mario Kart track, even after playing through all of them about half a dozen times each now I still often find myself confuseed on exactly which way to go. I don't mind the idea of changing up the track on each lap but when alternate routes are only blocked off by an often difficult to see arrow it can become difficult to actually distinguish which way you should be going. The map isn't any help here either since every route is just shown on it at once. This confusion even seemed to extend to the ai a lot of the time, with even my first stumbling attempt at each track often being miles ahead of the competition.
Is it just me or is the item balancing after getting worse now? Lightning bolts and blue shells seem to show up way more frequently now. Maybe I'm just misremembering but I'd swear that they were nowhere near as common the last time I played the game. They ended up killing many a good grand prix run while I was going for 3 stars on every cup. Needing to restart the whole thing from the very beginning if you don't win a race due to bad rng feels overly punishing coming off of other racers like Ridge Racer that let you just redo the race you're on. Also I can't believe it but the blooper is actually starting to effect me now, maybe it's just cause I'm unfmiliar with some of these tracks but am I starting to get old?
It's kind of hard to talk about this dlc without mentioning the graphical downgrade compared to base MK8 and the original DLC courses. It's definitely a step down, and some tracks like 3DS Toad Circuit look kinda bad, but I kind of think the whole thing was overblown a bit. As the pack went on a lot of tracks ended up looking pretty great even, and I'd say some like Wii Rainbow Road (my beloved) look about as good as the base game.
I'm really happy with the returning tracks. Being able to play through Koopa Cape, Maple Treeway, DK's Snowboard Cross, and Coconut Mall from Wii is a big part of this for me. They're some of my favourite tracks in the entire series and while they aren't a perfect translation of the original courses (DK's has a very wonky camera, and Coconut Mall has way worse cars on the final turn), they still scratch that nostalgic itch for me. Some of them didn't make the transition as gracefully, I'm really not a fan of how Kalimari Desert was changed here, but ther's a pretty great slection here overall.
This was also the first time I decided to play through a Switch game via emulation on my Steam deck so I might as well throw up some of my thoughts on that. Generally it was a good experience, it looked and ran pretty well for the most part and it even had better battery life than my V1 Switch. There were some issues like the occasional framerate drop or slowdown and Skyhigh Sundae required a mod to fix some rendering issues. Towards the end of my playthrough when I got to playing through 200CC I'd occassionally get some broken rendering on some of the Tour courses as well though reloading the track generally fixed it. So overall I'd say experience of emulating was pretty great, not perfect and I wouldn't actively recommend it over original hardware, but worth it for the convience in my case. One thing it did have over Switch was the ability to use docked mode while on the go, and this was generally pretty cool, even still pprovifing better battery life than the switch. It would have slowdown more commonly though so not every course saw the benefit.
So overall I really enjoyed my time with the Booster Course Pack. It doesn't reach the momental heights of the base game's quality, and often stumbles with the Tour courses but it's still hard to be too harsh on it given it doubled the game's content. I had a lot of fun with it and while I did have issues they weren't that detrimental on the whole. It's definitely hard to imagine how Mario Kart 9 will top 8 now.
4/5
Game 11 - Resident Evil 3 Remake
Time: 8 hours
Platform: XBOX Series X
Rating: 6.5/10
Incredibly disappointing remake compared to 1 and 2 (especially 2), with a super short campaign that apparently cuts a lot of content (which I wouldn't know since I don't remember the OG at all), and some incredibly frustrating sequences with Nemesis chasing you. It's gorgeous and it has that RE gameplay to it for sure (certainly feels more like a "proper" RE game than 6 did), but it's overall just a mediocre RE game, probably down there with Zero in my opinion (which is the only RE game I never finished, that's how much I dislike it).
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I already have my reservation post but I wanted to check in with you guys and see how everyone is doing (like me) who have actually made progress on games but not updated yet! I can't believe I'm actually doing it, but I am. We're roughly 8-9 weeks into the year and I've beaten 9 games!!! I'm also on the precipice of beating like 6-7 other games that I was pecking away at in 2023, so I'm really happy where things are right now. I didn't think this was anything even remotely achievable for me, but here I am actually doing it!
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GAME 8: Final Fantasy VII Remake | REPLAY
PS5 | Finished 18/02/24 | Platinum Achieved | 45 Hours Played (82 Hours Total) | 8.5/10
Man, do I have a complicated relationship with this game. I simultaneously love it, I really do, but also realise just how much of a flawed experiment it is overall. A feeling only exacerbated by my pre-Rebirth 'Get the Platinum' playthrough. One which brought be to the depths of frustration, only to bring me up to some truly incredible moments, brilliant characters, and combat that's far, far more engaging than I initially thought. I could write so much about this game, but I feel that most of it has been said already. From the strange plot that's - yes, even after I finally played the OG - still too alienating for its own good, to the myriad of slow-as-fuck pacing blockers, to the weird (and not in a good way) tonal discrepancies. It's all been litigated and relitigated so many times, so I won't.
As for the Platinum, this was a similarly 'complicated' bag. Thankfully, it's one that I almost wholly enjoyed. Getting in deep with the game's combat and RPG systems showed me just how well-crafted it is all around. Something that doesn't really happen when you're playing it at a 'Normal' standard. Whilst grinding for maxed out Materia was a chore, it felt rewarding in just how powerful it let you feel, making Hard Mode - and the title's multiple endgame superboss gauntlets - into less of a daunting challenge, and more of a 'final test' of your own knowledge, patience, and skill. The single major, major blemish was getting those 9 damn dresses, which was just as tedious as I expected it to be. Ah well, I'm proud to have got the Platinum here, and I'm glad to be able to put the game 'to rest.'
Now bring on Rebirth!
GAME 8: Final Fantasy VII Remake | REPLAY
PS5 | Finished 18/02/24 | Platinum Achieved | 45 Hours Played (82 Hours Total) | 8.5/10
Man, do I have a complicated relationship with this game. I simultaneously love it, I really do, but also realise just how much of a flawed experiment it is overall. A feeling only exacerbated by my pre-Rebirth 'Get the Platinum' playthrough. One which brought be to the depths of frustration, only to bring me up to some truly incredible moments, brilliant characters, and combat that's far, far more engaging than I initially thought. I could write so much about this game, but I feel that most of it has been said already. From the strange plot that's - yes, even after I finally played the OG - still too alienating for its own good, to the myriad of slow-as-fuck pacing blockers, to the weird (and not in a good way) tonal discrepancies. It's all been litigated and relitigated so many times, so I won't.
As for the Platinum, this was a similarly 'complicated' bag. Thankfully, it's one that I almost wholly enjoyed. Getting in deep with the game's combat and RPG systems showed me just how well-crafted it is all around. Something that doesn't really happen when you're playing it at a 'Normal' standard. Whilst grinding for maxed out Materia was a chore, it felt rewarding in just how powerful it let you feel, making Hard Mode - and the title's multiple endgame superboss gauntlets - into less of a daunting challenge, and more of a 'final test' of your own knowledge, patience, and skill. The single major, major blemish was getting those 9 damn dresses, which was just as tedious as I expected it to be. Ah well, I'm proud to have got the Platinum here, and I'm glad to be able to put the game 'to rest.'
Now bring on Rebirth!
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9. Another Code: Recollection (Two Memories) | Feb 08, 2024
Developer: Arc System Works
Genre: Adventure game, visual novel, puzzles
The first of two bundled games, Two Memories is simple, heartfelt game that I think I would have enjoyed more if I was younger. Like Ghost Trick, this is a DS game repurposed for the switch, but this time as a complete graphical overhaul remake. Full 3D character models and whole new puzzles. You play as Ashley, a girl who lost bother her parents 11 years ago, who learns suddenly that her father is alive on a mysterious island. She journeys to the island for answers, but ends up learning secrets not just from her own family, but another family that used to reside on that island...
Ashley solves puzzles and picks up clues, but this mystery feels like it was meant for a younger demographic and so I didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I had. That said, the mystery of the second family tree was enough to keep me interested, and it's a pretty chill experience if you want something low stakes.
I don't plan on playing the second game for a little while, but that will go in it's own post.
10. Helldivers 2 | Feb 16, 2024
Developer: Arrowhead
Genre: Third person mission based Starship Trooper simulator
Great fun to play with friends, pure chaos and shenanigans. Great gunplay, great sound design, great flavor.
11. Poinpy | Feb 16, 2024
Developer: Ojiro Fujimoto
Genre: Arcade, puzzle, casual
Poinpy is an addictive, arcadey game about collecting fruit and running up your score high enough to satisfy an angry creature that's chasing you. You jump and air jump to collect fruit, and when you land on the ground, you deposit your fruit into the mouth of the beast. Generally the goal is to get as much airtime and collect as many extra fruits as possible before touching the ground for an extra bonus.
I beat the main portion in 2023, but there is a puzzle section of the game where you have to collect all the fruit with an extremely limited amount of jumps. Finally finished that in February!
Developer: Arc System Works
Genre: Adventure game, visual novel, puzzles
The first of two bundled games, Two Memories is simple, heartfelt game that I think I would have enjoyed more if I was younger. Like Ghost Trick, this is a DS game repurposed for the switch, but this time as a complete graphical overhaul remake. Full 3D character models and whole new puzzles. You play as Ashley, a girl who lost bother her parents 11 years ago, who learns suddenly that her father is alive on a mysterious island. She journeys to the island for answers, but ends up learning secrets not just from her own family, but another family that used to reside on that island...
Ashley solves puzzles and picks up clues, but this mystery feels like it was meant for a younger demographic and so I didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I had. That said, the mystery of the second family tree was enough to keep me interested, and it's a pretty chill experience if you want something low stakes.
I don't plan on playing the second game for a little while, but that will go in it's own post.
10. Helldivers 2 | Feb 16, 2024
Developer: Arrowhead
Genre: Third person mission based Starship Trooper simulator
Great fun to play with friends, pure chaos and shenanigans. Great gunplay, great sound design, great flavor.
Developer: Ojiro Fujimoto
Genre: Arcade, puzzle, casual
Poinpy is an addictive, arcadey game about collecting fruit and running up your score high enough to satisfy an angry creature that's chasing you. You jump and air jump to collect fruit, and when you land on the ground, you deposit your fruit into the mouth of the beast. Generally the goal is to get as much airtime and collect as many extra fruits as possible before touching the ground for an extra bonus.
I beat the main portion in 2023, but there is a puzzle section of the game where you have to collect all the fruit with an extremely limited amount of jumps. Finally finished that in February!
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6. Star Trek: Borg (PC, 1996/Web, 2023) - 1:50 - February 18
This is basically a lost two-hour interactive episode of Star Trek, set mostly in the Next Generation era and borrowing one of its most infamous recurring stars, John de Lancie's Q. Lovingly restored by a group of fans with the help of AI upscaling, the whole thing is currently available as a browser-based game at https://borgremastered.com/. It's essentially abandoned, not for sale on any digital storefront, and out of print for decades, but who knows when the copyright police might come calling; better play it sooner rather than later.
As an artifact of peak 90s Trek, it holds up surprisingly well. Sure, it doesn't have the writing or acting chops of any of the actual shows, and there's not much to the story. But it feels surprisingly authentic, considering how little of it seems to be carried over from the actual TV shows: the uniforms, possibly some sets, and the assistance of some of the production crew (Michael Okuda and Majel Barrett show up in the credits, among others). I have no idea if the Righteous's bridge or engineering sets existed before the game was made, but if they were scratch-built for this project they were quite well done.
I haven't played too much of Star Trek: Resurgence, last year's TNG-era adventure game from a bunch of Telltale vets, but that game has this uncanny valley effect thanks to everything being rendered in real time and the animations being somewhat stiff and clunky, and the result is a certain distance between you and the action. That's not a problem here; it's like you're watching the actual TV show, and that's very much a good thing. It makes it a lot easier to forgive the many concessions made in the production, from weird story beats and technical details designed very obviously to support a game puzzle, to the relatively unresponsive UI (did I press those buttons already or not?). Granted, that last bit might be as much due to the game's revival in HTML form as anything else; it's hard to tell how authentic some of the classic point-and-click adventure gameplay is when it's been translated manually into a different medium.
This is a game that got middling to poor scores on release, and if you try to approach this as a game on its own merits, you can see why: it's pretty short, the puzzles aren't particularly complicated, and there's not much gameplay to speak of. This very much relies on your love of Star Trek to carry it through, and it's not at all worth playing if you don't really care for the series. Even if you're the target audience, it's certainly not without its flaws. But I did enjoy my time with Star Trek: Borg and think it's a neat artifact for anyone who loved watching the shows it shares its DNA with.
(Random aside: the image above doesn't contain any box art or in-game footage from Star Trek: Borg. I cheated and took a screencap of a scene from Star Trek: First Contact instead. Hopefully you couldn't really tell.)
6. Star Trek: Borg (PC, 1996/Web, 2023) - 1:50 - February 18
This is basically a lost two-hour interactive episode of Star Trek, set mostly in the Next Generation era and borrowing one of its most infamous recurring stars, John de Lancie's Q. Lovingly restored by a group of fans with the help of AI upscaling, the whole thing is currently available as a browser-based game at https://borgremastered.com/. It's essentially abandoned, not for sale on any digital storefront, and out of print for decades, but who knows when the copyright police might come calling; better play it sooner rather than later.
As an artifact of peak 90s Trek, it holds up surprisingly well. Sure, it doesn't have the writing or acting chops of any of the actual shows, and there's not much to the story. But it feels surprisingly authentic, considering how little of it seems to be carried over from the actual TV shows: the uniforms, possibly some sets, and the assistance of some of the production crew (Michael Okuda and Majel Barrett show up in the credits, among others). I have no idea if the Righteous's bridge or engineering sets existed before the game was made, but if they were scratch-built for this project they were quite well done.
I haven't played too much of Star Trek: Resurgence, last year's TNG-era adventure game from a bunch of Telltale vets, but that game has this uncanny valley effect thanks to everything being rendered in real time and the animations being somewhat stiff and clunky, and the result is a certain distance between you and the action. That's not a problem here; it's like you're watching the actual TV show, and that's very much a good thing. It makes it a lot easier to forgive the many concessions made in the production, from weird story beats and technical details designed very obviously to support a game puzzle, to the relatively unresponsive UI (did I press those buttons already or not?). Granted, that last bit might be as much due to the game's revival in HTML form as anything else; it's hard to tell how authentic some of the classic point-and-click adventure gameplay is when it's been translated manually into a different medium.
This is a game that got middling to poor scores on release, and if you try to approach this as a game on its own merits, you can see why: it's pretty short, the puzzles aren't particularly complicated, and there's not much gameplay to speak of. This very much relies on your love of Star Trek to carry it through, and it's not at all worth playing if you don't really care for the series. Even if you're the target audience, it's certainly not without its flaws. But I did enjoy my time with Star Trek: Borg and think it's a neat artifact for anyone who loved watching the shows it shares its DNA with.
(Random aside: the image above doesn't contain any box art or in-game footage from Star Trek: Borg. I cheated and took a screencap of a scene from Star Trek: First Contact instead. Hopefully you couldn't really tell.)
I guess I'll give this another shot this year, even if everything I've played so far has been kind of average.
#1 - Persona 5 Tactica (Xbox Series) - ★★★☆☆
The way this game mixes mechanics from Persona 5, like hitting weaknesses to get extra turns, with the tactical stylings of an XCOM title is quite enjoyable. Though the default difficulty wasn't much of a challenge, it was fun to knock down opponents while spreading the party around for a huge all-out attack on the whole map. Although Tactica is much shorter than Persona 5, it all ends up feeling a bit drawn out. While there are some interesting map designs, the lack of enemy variety means the fights quickly become repetitive. It isn't helped by a fourth act that didn't need to be there and just had the team fighting the same bosses all over again.
The story is OK; it mostly focuses on a new character, Toshiro, with the phantom thieves just kind of being there in the background. The game goes to some interesting places as it explores Toshiro's past, but I can't help but feel like the whole conflict could've been avoided if he'd just gone to therapy. Despite the constant themes of revolution, it's all rather toothless in similar ways to the original Persona 5. Somehow a game where a Japanese politician summons a gun-wielding communist revolutionary has very little in the way of political messages.
#2 - Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD (Steam Deck) - ★★★☆☆
This had some fun Aussie flavour, but it's ultimately a very middling 3D platformer. It's just Banjo Kazooie with boomerangs, right down to the fivejinjos bilbies to collect in each level. The platforming never gets particularly challenging and there's not much in the way of new moves to unlock as the game progresses (learning to swim barely counts).
The authentically Australian presentation does a lot to help Ty stand out. It's still hard to find games with good Australian accents (looking at you, Xenoblade 3) so I enjoyed the concentrated cultural cringe that is the game's voice acting. It's nice to see environments like billabongs and rainforests represented in the game, but the levels often feel too large and empty. I suppose it fits for somewhere as sparsely populated as the Australian bush, but it makes it tedious to track down the ridiculous number of collectibles.
#3 - Puzzle & Dragons Story (iOS) - ★★★☆☆
I was never able to get into Puzzle and Dragons before, but this offline gacha-free version managed to get its hooks into me. Rather than filling your team with monsters and anime hunks from a paid lottery, you now earn drops from fighting enemies that can be spent to create new creatures from a massive elemental family tree. Getting a specific character can become quite a grind, but the gameplay was enjoyable enough that I didn't mind fighting through the same sequences of battles over and over.
Like the original game, it's a mix of match-3 puzzler and RPG where you use your team's skills to mess with the board and rack up ridiculous combos. Since I wasn't as limited by what characters I could get from the gacha, I felt like I could put more thought into team composition - which I needed to, since the game got tough quite fast. This was a fun way to kill some time on the train, but the presentation was pretty barebones and for a game with "story" in the title, it doesn't really have one.
#1 - Persona 5 Tactica (Xbox Series) - ★★★☆☆
The way this game mixes mechanics from Persona 5, like hitting weaknesses to get extra turns, with the tactical stylings of an XCOM title is quite enjoyable. Though the default difficulty wasn't much of a challenge, it was fun to knock down opponents while spreading the party around for a huge all-out attack on the whole map. Although Tactica is much shorter than Persona 5, it all ends up feeling a bit drawn out. While there are some interesting map designs, the lack of enemy variety means the fights quickly become repetitive. It isn't helped by a fourth act that didn't need to be there and just had the team fighting the same bosses all over again.
The story is OK; it mostly focuses on a new character, Toshiro, with the phantom thieves just kind of being there in the background. The game goes to some interesting places as it explores Toshiro's past, but I can't help but feel like the whole conflict could've been avoided if he'd just gone to therapy. Despite the constant themes of revolution, it's all rather toothless in similar ways to the original Persona 5. Somehow a game where a Japanese politician summons a gun-wielding communist revolutionary has very little in the way of political messages.
#2 - Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD (Steam Deck) - ★★★☆☆
This had some fun Aussie flavour, but it's ultimately a very middling 3D platformer. It's just Banjo Kazooie with boomerangs, right down to the five
The authentically Australian presentation does a lot to help Ty stand out. It's still hard to find games with good Australian accents (looking at you, Xenoblade 3) so I enjoyed the concentrated cultural cringe that is the game's voice acting. It's nice to see environments like billabongs and rainforests represented in the game, but the levels often feel too large and empty. I suppose it fits for somewhere as sparsely populated as the Australian bush, but it makes it tedious to track down the ridiculous number of collectibles.
#3 - Puzzle & Dragons Story (iOS) - ★★★☆☆
I was never able to get into Puzzle and Dragons before, but this offline gacha-free version managed to get its hooks into me. Rather than filling your team with monsters and anime hunks from a paid lottery, you now earn drops from fighting enemies that can be spent to create new creatures from a massive elemental family tree. Getting a specific character can become quite a grind, but the gameplay was enjoyable enough that I didn't mind fighting through the same sequences of battles over and over.
Like the original game, it's a mix of match-3 puzzler and RPG where you use your team's skills to mess with the board and rack up ridiculous combos. Since I wasn't as limited by what characters I could get from the gacha, I felt like I could put more thought into team composition - which I needed to, since the game got tough quite fast. This was a fun way to kill some time on the train, but the presentation was pretty barebones and for a game with "story" in the title, it doesn't really have one.
6. Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk | PC | ★★★☆☆ | 2-19
Took a comprehensive analyze piece for me to understand the game. I figured out a coupe of things, but the endings were, allegedly, about mental treatments that I have no knowledge of. This is an absolutely horrifying peek into the head of someone with mental illness, and one that sparks understanding and compassion.
7. Eliza | PC | ★★★☆☆ | 2-22
The story has two intertwining threads: one about AI and ethics, and another about self realization. The former is about as lofty and familiar as the other three thousand works of art you have seen, but made slightly more relevant with recent develop in the field. The latter is undoubtedly originated from genuine personal experience as someone worked in tech in Seattle. I find the latter more intriguing. In a sense, Nora ending is probably the canon one, since that's the path the creator of this game chose: to be a musician and writer.
Evelyn has a lovely voice that is perfect for therapy. I especially love the way some lines are performed with a subtle chuckle held in. Everyone else also sounds causal, professional, or emotional in all the right way. Massive kudos to the voice actors and director.
8. Minit | PC | ★★★☆☆ | 2-22
Cute little action adventure game that clearly hankers back to classic 2D Zelda. Not a challenging game by any means, but the one minute (minit, huh) timer adds a little spice to it. It has a surprising amount of secrets and collectables to compensate fora less than one hour main quest. It got me feel directionless at times, but I guess that's the Zelda 1 experience this game aims at.
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Took a comprehensive analyze piece for me to understand the game. I figured out a coupe of things, but the endings were, allegedly, about mental treatments that I have no knowledge of. This is an absolutely horrifying peek into the head of someone with mental illness, and one that sparks understanding and compassion.
7. Eliza | PC | ★★★☆☆ | 2-22
The story has two intertwining threads: one about AI and ethics, and another about self realization. The former is about as lofty and familiar as the other three thousand works of art you have seen, but made slightly more relevant with recent develop in the field. The latter is undoubtedly originated from genuine personal experience as someone worked in tech in Seattle. I find the latter more intriguing. In a sense, Nora ending is probably the canon one, since that's the path the creator of this game chose: to be a musician and writer.
Evelyn has a lovely voice that is perfect for therapy. I especially love the way some lines are performed with a subtle chuckle held in. Everyone else also sounds causal, professional, or emotional in all the right way. Massive kudos to the voice actors and director.
8. Minit | PC | ★★★☆☆ | 2-22
Cute little action adventure game that clearly hankers back to classic 2D Zelda. Not a challenging game by any means, but the one minute (minit, huh) timer adds a little spice to it. It has a surprising amount of secrets and collectables to compensate fora less than one hour main quest. It got me feel directionless at times, but I guess that's the Zelda 1 experience this game aims at.
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10. Control: Ultimate Edition (PC) - 2/09
This was a replay to refamiliarize myself with the story and to play the dlc for the first before moving on to Alan Wake II and man. Just perfect in its style, the ever-shifting brutalist bureaucratic spaces, the frequent perspective shifts and framing in basic conversations with npcs, remedy's trademark writing. This is one of the only games I can think of where I tried to read as many of the notes, reports, journals, audiologs, etc. I've always enjoyed the gameplay and felt it was appropriately punishing in spots (but not as difficult as I remember), though there are certain mechanics and mission types like the weapon mods and bureau alert that can feel very underbaked. I played this a with a fix on pc that added a more modern DLSS implementation and heavier ray tracing options. My first time playing this was on the PS4, a version which felt like it was held together with duck tape at times, so seeing the enhanced lighting and shading in areas like the Oceanview Motel were particularly stunning. This is a great melding of Remedy's sharp writing and world-building, a surreal and distinct art style, and a satisfying gameplay loop. If Alan Wake II is Remedy working at full power, I can't play it soon enough.
11. Luck be a Landlord (PC) - 2/18
A fun roguelike with more depth (and even more luck) than you would initially think. Stuck paying an always increasing rent, you spin a slot machine, adding various items such as Bears, Ninjas, and Rabbit Fluff. The core gameplay loop is centered around both the luck of the draw and utilizing what options are given during a run to develop synergies between all your items. Bees, Flowers, Bears, and Honey all gel together, for example, and can create a loop that can multiply whatever money they generate individually. I have enjoyed my time with it, and I've continued to try my hand at higher difficulty runs (increased rent, less options for removing or rerolling items), but the beating it once is fulfilling enough and, depending on your luck, can be completed pretty quickly.
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41. Spikeout (PS5) - A humble mini game in the behemoth that is Yakuza 8, this one has been taking several hours away from me lately because a) its amazing and b) its pretty darn big for a brawler!
The game itself is a rare example of a pure 3D brawler. Think something like Streets of Rage, but in 3D. Now think of a really deep combat system and tough difficulty level, and that's basically SO. Its incredibly addictive as well, thanks to how well said combat is designed, so I keep coming back.
The game is also surprisingly big - its over an hour to finish once, and that's just 4 levels! The first one is fairly short but the other three are way longer, and also where most of the difficulty resides.
To top it off, there's other hidden areas to - in Level 2 you can go via the sewers at one point and this takes you to the same area but in a different direction. The catch? If you choose to then progress to the ship level as normal you'll end up on the other side of the shipping area which is cool, so you get levels 3a and 3b, BUT instead of doing all that, when you exit the sewers and meet up with the main part of level 2 again (fighting the three dudes named after Ducktails characters!) you have the option to go through the warehouse, basically going backwards through the part of the stage you skipped so this basically has you finishing the stage in a basketball court, and you end up in the mall instead of the shipping yard. So I still have more palythroughs to see absolutely everything the levels have to offer.
Meanwhile, most of my runs were just me learning the combat, what works, how to actually deal with bosses, and crowds etc. (still working on that one!)
Combat wise you have your main combo, you can add kicks to said main combo for variety and a different combo ender, you have a charge bar (which can be charged during combos) that leads to different juggle and stun opportunities as well as grab combos... Its by far one of the deepest brawlers Ive played, 2D or 3D and even puts actual Yakuza games (aside you LJ!) to shame with its depth.
All in all, its one of those rare brawlers that actually doesnt get boring. Even Final Fight outstays its welcome in that final level, but this game never gets old. The combat depth and sheer challenge will keep me coming back for many hours to come, which means more of Yakuza 8 will be ignored as I keep getting a little bit better in SO!
In Progress:
Yakuza 8 - 50 hours now, and as mentioned above a good 10 of that is probably Spikeout! Also Im training to be a Pokemon master now...
Mario Vs Donkey Kong - First run cleared, now onto the time attack and Plus levels.
Gimmick - Up to stage 5, its darn tough now, but I am getting better as I replay stages. Its excellent, but real difficult.
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52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
The game itself is a rare example of a pure 3D brawler. Think something like Streets of Rage, but in 3D. Now think of a really deep combat system and tough difficulty level, and that's basically SO. Its incredibly addictive as well, thanks to how well said combat is designed, so I keep coming back.
The game is also surprisingly big - its over an hour to finish once, and that's just 4 levels! The first one is fairly short but the other three are way longer, and also where most of the difficulty resides.
To top it off, there's other hidden areas to - in Level 2 you can go via the sewers at one point and this takes you to the same area but in a different direction. The catch? If you choose to then progress to the ship level as normal you'll end up on the other side of the shipping area which is cool, so you get levels 3a and 3b, BUT instead of doing all that, when you exit the sewers and meet up with the main part of level 2 again (fighting the three dudes named after Ducktails characters!) you have the option to go through the warehouse, basically going backwards through the part of the stage you skipped so this basically has you finishing the stage in a basketball court, and you end up in the mall instead of the shipping yard. So I still have more palythroughs to see absolutely everything the levels have to offer.
Meanwhile, most of my runs were just me learning the combat, what works, how to actually deal with bosses, and crowds etc. (still working on that one!)
Combat wise you have your main combo, you can add kicks to said main combo for variety and a different combo ender, you have a charge bar (which can be charged during combos) that leads to different juggle and stun opportunities as well as grab combos... Its by far one of the deepest brawlers Ive played, 2D or 3D and even puts actual Yakuza games (aside you LJ!) to shame with its depth.
All in all, its one of those rare brawlers that actually doesnt get boring. Even Final Fight outstays its welcome in that final level, but this game never gets old. The combat depth and sheer challenge will keep me coming back for many hours to come, which means more of Yakuza 8 will be ignored as I keep getting a little bit better in SO!
In Progress:
Yakuza 8 - 50 hours now, and as mentioned above a good 10 of that is probably Spikeout! Also Im training to be a Pokemon master now...
Mario Vs Donkey Kong - First run cleared, now onto the time attack and Plus levels.
Gimmick - Up to stage 5, its darn tough now, but I am getting better as I replay stages. Its excellent, but real difficult.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
10/52. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (Xbox Series X) | 19 February 2024 | 85%
What a fun Metroidvania! I had a blast from start to finish, the movement was fun, the level design/platforming was fun, the music/art style are gorgeous! I was hoping for some bosses but oh well! now I'm looking to play the sequel some days in the future! probably my favorite xbox one exclusive so far!
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8. Octopath Traveller 2
WelI gave up. This game tired me out. I'm tired. I'm tired of the grind, the molasses-like pacing and the long worn out battles. I'm tired of boss fights that end with you losing because the boss decided to take 5 turns in a row and spam aoe multi-hit attacks. And I'm especially tired of having to redo battles from stingy checkpoints because you make one error in a fight and it's all over. I can't anymore. This isn't fun.
Okay, first report of the year! I'm having issues since they blocked Resetera from my work laptop.
1. Dere Vengeance
Dere are a series of somewhat tough platformer hell games regarding a rather silly premise of rogue AIs resulting from some government project named "Yandere project" (???). Weird plot aside, these are horror games that are pretty fun, short and entertaining. I play these on my mobile phone.
The dev has created a lot of games (not all of them are platformers, some are visual novels) set in the same world in the past few years and has ben fun seeing him make it grow. I'm a bit of a fan of these games for sure.
2. How Fish are Made
Short narrative experience where you control a fish flopping around some sort of industrial setting, talking to other fishes who don't seem to need to be in water either to live, about Up or Down being right.
I don't know either.
3. Never Seen
I'm gonna start adding links to these kind of games that might be hard to find otherwise. This is is a short visual novel created for O2A2 jam, which is meant to use an incredibly low asset count. Some interesting stuff came out of it for sure. I liked the idea, but the execution seemed a bit too constrained.
4. I have hired this anime girl to talk to you
Another one for that O2A2 jam, this one really got me by surprise. I liked the twist and the idea was well put together. Enjoyable.
5. To Swat A Fly
Intensely creepy, this was the final one I tried from the O2A2 Jam, and easily my favorite. You're interviewing a serial killer to ask for her reasons and more. Things take a turn. Recommended!
6. Baldur's Gate 3
Finally, a "real" game! It took me 144 hours to finish my first run, but I did so much stuff on it that I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Baldur's Gate 3 is an awesome game, only held back by its writing at times and its grounded nature in terms of stakes. Honestly, is it the best game of the generation so far? Probably, but.. it's a RPG well made. I feel like we hadn't had one of those in awhile. I think that impressed a lot of people
I liked it. It's not flawless. The pacing is all over the place: the first act is so cozy in its inception, the second one is absolutely breakneck and the third... pace? what is it? There are some puzzling writing decisions, such as the Emperor turning on you. Actually, the emperor is a terribly written character as a whole, but it doesn't take away that this is great game, a very good adaptation of the tabletop system. Graphics are great, the music is memorable and it controls very well on console. I just wish they had spent more time on the third act. It's just too jarring of a difference in quality after the first two.
Also, yes, the game is horny. Horribly horny. I spent the entire game declining people asking for a piece of my ass. I didn't made it happen, I was just nice, because I was playing as a good cleric. I already had my heart set for Shadowheart. That did not stop anyone else for trying to get into my pants.
I do think BG2 was better though.
7. Those Who Remain
Short horror game which has one amazing, incredibly cool surreal theme: in the shadows, these menacing figures with weapons await for you. You need to stay in the light to avoid them. They won't even move. They are just there, being scary as hell. The game is entertaining, the plot is... okay, the real issue is that the game doesn't really make sense as a cohesive journey. Objectives seem at random, and there isn't really a progression (ie, you get a lighter in one stage, lose it in the next). It also has some strange bugs (I hit one that if I died in some firefighter's station, when I respawned the floor would be gone and I would have to reload) Still, worth trying.
8. Resident Evil 4 Remake
Would I be crucified if I said this is the RE that I've liked the less? It's not a bad game, but it's way too slow for its own good. It's still Resident Evil, but it feels like they didn't really decide what kind of game would it be. I didn't play the original, so that migth affect my appraisal of the game.
I had my fun, graphics are amazing and the game is entertaining, but it seems to lack the charm the previous remakes had.
Main Post
1. Dere Vengeance
Dere are a series of somewhat tough platformer hell games regarding a rather silly premise of rogue AIs resulting from some government project named "Yandere project" (???). Weird plot aside, these are horror games that are pretty fun, short and entertaining. I play these on my mobile phone.
The dev has created a lot of games (not all of them are platformers, some are visual novels) set in the same world in the past few years and has ben fun seeing him make it grow. I'm a bit of a fan of these games for sure.
2. How Fish are Made
Short narrative experience where you control a fish flopping around some sort of industrial setting, talking to other fishes who don't seem to need to be in water either to live, about Up or Down being right.
I don't know either.
3. Never Seen
I'm gonna start adding links to these kind of games that might be hard to find otherwise. This is is a short visual novel created for O2A2 jam, which is meant to use an incredibly low asset count. Some interesting stuff came out of it for sure. I liked the idea, but the execution seemed a bit too constrained.
4. I have hired this anime girl to talk to you
Another one for that O2A2 jam, this one really got me by surprise. I liked the twist and the idea was well put together. Enjoyable.
5. To Swat A Fly
Intensely creepy, this was the final one I tried from the O2A2 Jam, and easily my favorite. You're interviewing a serial killer to ask for her reasons and more. Things take a turn. Recommended!
6. Baldur's Gate 3
Finally, a "real" game! It took me 144 hours to finish my first run, but I did so much stuff on it that I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Baldur's Gate 3 is an awesome game, only held back by its writing at times and its grounded nature in terms of stakes. Honestly, is it the best game of the generation so far? Probably, but.. it's a RPG well made. I feel like we hadn't had one of those in awhile. I think that impressed a lot of people
I liked it. It's not flawless. The pacing is all over the place: the first act is so cozy in its inception, the second one is absolutely breakneck and the third... pace? what is it? There are some puzzling writing decisions, such as the Emperor turning on you. Actually, the emperor is a terribly written character as a whole, but it doesn't take away that this is great game, a very good adaptation of the tabletop system. Graphics are great, the music is memorable and it controls very well on console. I just wish they had spent more time on the third act. It's just too jarring of a difference in quality after the first two.
Also, yes, the game is horny. Horribly horny. I spent the entire game declining people asking for a piece of my ass. I didn't made it happen, I was just nice, because I was playing as a good cleric. I already had my heart set for Shadowheart. That did not stop anyone else for trying to get into my pants.
I do think BG2 was better though.
7. Those Who Remain
Short horror game which has one amazing, incredibly cool surreal theme: in the shadows, these menacing figures with weapons await for you. You need to stay in the light to avoid them. They won't even move. They are just there, being scary as hell. The game is entertaining, the plot is... okay, the real issue is that the game doesn't really make sense as a cohesive journey. Objectives seem at random, and there isn't really a progression (ie, you get a lighter in one stage, lose it in the next). It also has some strange bugs (I hit one that if I died in some firefighter's station, when I respawned the floor would be gone and I would have to reload) Still, worth trying.
8. Resident Evil 4 Remake
Would I be crucified if I said this is the RE that I've liked the less? It's not a bad game, but it's way too slow for its own good. It's still Resident Evil, but it feels like they didn't really decide what kind of game would it be. I didn't play the original, so that migth affect my appraisal of the game.
I had my fun, graphics are amazing and the game is entertaining, but it seems to lack the charm the previous remakes had.
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42. Hoa (PS5) - This one passed me buy on release. Its a 2D platformer with a gorgeous hand drawn artstyle with a terrific soundtrack. You play as a character who's trying to trace back their steps to their home, which faciliates you exploring several areas and doing many a platforming challenge.
Its a pretty sedate platformer, with low difficulty and no fail state that I can recall. Easiest (though not entirely accurate) comparison would be something like Gris or Artful Escape. Though in this case I think the platforming is a tad more "challenging" (which is a cute way of saying the other two were even easier still!)
You get a new power at the end of each area which is then used in the next, and the game is constantly throwing new ideas at you, but if your like me and have played tons of platformers over the years this one will be a cinch.
Overall, its a gorgeous experience. The art and soundtrack really elevate a fairly easy game. It doesnt outstay its welcome and is always entertaining. And while it is fairly simple, the last area does have a lot of fun with turning things upside down (literally) for the player. It was on sale recently hence my purchase and I thoroughly recommend it.
43. Mario Vs Donkey Kong (Switch) - Another platformer, but one with more puzzle to it! DK has stolen a bunch of toys and its up to Mario to get them all back, and smack some sense into poor ol' DK!
The game is separated initially into 8 worlds. Each with 6 short stages, then two final stages per world. Stages are short (often clearable in seconds when you know how) and its basically up to you to grab the key however possible, head through the door to the next area, then grab the toy. You'll encounter enemies, switches, cannons, vines, and more as you race through the stages. You'll also find many a moving platform and they kinda suck (more on that later).
After finishing the initial stages you unlock the "plus" stages which gives you another 8 worlds of content but this time instead of getting a key, you get a Mario toy who carries the key itself, and you have to navigate the stages with them and both of you need to reach the exit. Its a nice twist on the existing formula that really shakes things up nicely, adds difficulty to it, and ends up being really fun and different.
There's also 16 more stages after this - you need gold stars to unlock them. Said stars are gotten from "perfecting" stages - which means getting all 3 presents in a stage then finishing said stage all in one go. It adds a nice extra something to these short stages, and often asks you to do some more fun platforming to reach them all. I ended up getting all gold stars because why not!
And lastly, there's time trial challenges. These are fun to begin with thanks to your extensive moves list, but get more annoying later on because: moving platforms! Remember I mentioned them before? See one of my biggest pet platformer hates when it comes to speeding through these levels is getting stuck waiting for a platform... and in this game it feels hard coded that your always waiting - you always just miss your platform, so you'll end up waiting until the platform comes back round... it destroys momentum and just makes later time trails annoying - the time limits are fine, that isnt the problem, but no one wants to spend several seconds waiting for a platform each time... and it happens way too often.
Overall time trial moving platforms aside its a great little platformer. Its not particularly hard, or super long, but the levels are well crafted, it looks WAY better than the GBA counterpart, and its very hard to put down!
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
Its a pretty sedate platformer, with low difficulty and no fail state that I can recall. Easiest (though not entirely accurate) comparison would be something like Gris or Artful Escape. Though in this case I think the platforming is a tad more "challenging" (which is a cute way of saying the other two were even easier still!)
You get a new power at the end of each area which is then used in the next, and the game is constantly throwing new ideas at you, but if your like me and have played tons of platformers over the years this one will be a cinch.
Overall, its a gorgeous experience. The art and soundtrack really elevate a fairly easy game. It doesnt outstay its welcome and is always entertaining. And while it is fairly simple, the last area does have a lot of fun with turning things upside down (literally) for the player. It was on sale recently hence my purchase and I thoroughly recommend it.
43. Mario Vs Donkey Kong (Switch) - Another platformer, but one with more puzzle to it! DK has stolen a bunch of toys and its up to Mario to get them all back, and smack some sense into poor ol' DK!
The game is separated initially into 8 worlds. Each with 6 short stages, then two final stages per world. Stages are short (often clearable in seconds when you know how) and its basically up to you to grab the key however possible, head through the door to the next area, then grab the toy. You'll encounter enemies, switches, cannons, vines, and more as you race through the stages. You'll also find many a moving platform and they kinda suck (more on that later).
After finishing the initial stages you unlock the "plus" stages which gives you another 8 worlds of content but this time instead of getting a key, you get a Mario toy who carries the key itself, and you have to navigate the stages with them and both of you need to reach the exit. Its a nice twist on the existing formula that really shakes things up nicely, adds difficulty to it, and ends up being really fun and different.
There's also 16 more stages after this - you need gold stars to unlock them. Said stars are gotten from "perfecting" stages - which means getting all 3 presents in a stage then finishing said stage all in one go. It adds a nice extra something to these short stages, and often asks you to do some more fun platforming to reach them all. I ended up getting all gold stars because why not!
And lastly, there's time trial challenges. These are fun to begin with thanks to your extensive moves list, but get more annoying later on because: moving platforms! Remember I mentioned them before? See one of my biggest pet platformer hates when it comes to speeding through these levels is getting stuck waiting for a platform... and in this game it feels hard coded that your always waiting - you always just miss your platform, so you'll end up waiting until the platform comes back round... it destroys momentum and just makes later time trails annoying - the time limits are fine, that isnt the problem, but no one wants to spend several seconds waiting for a platform each time... and it happens way too often.
Overall time trial moving platforms aside its a great little platformer. Its not particularly hard, or super long, but the levels are well crafted, it looks WAY better than the GBA counterpart, and its very hard to put down!
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
7: Persona 3 Reload. End: 2/19/2024.
Remakes are an interesting aspect of this industry. This version of Persona 3 takes into consideration the changes made in later Persona games to deliver a more pleasant user experience. And on that aspect, it completely works. It is still, fundamentally, Persona 3. But it also removes certain aspects that the series itself had left behind over the years. The result is a damn satisfying and more pleasant experience, but at the cost of some of that expanded content that fans had gotten used to (although DLC hints that some of that content could be coming back).
8: Battletoads in Battlemaniacs. End: 2/22/2024.
This game is hard. This game is really hard. Some of the levels are truly brutal.
Remakes are an interesting aspect of this industry. This version of Persona 3 takes into consideration the changes made in later Persona games to deliver a more pleasant user experience. And on that aspect, it completely works. It is still, fundamentally, Persona 3. But it also removes certain aspects that the series itself had left behind over the years. The result is a damn satisfying and more pleasant experience, but at the cost of some of that expanded content that fans had gotten used to (although DLC hints that some of that content could be coming back).
8: Battletoads in Battlemaniacs. End: 2/22/2024.
This game is hard. This game is really hard. Some of the levels are truly brutal.
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12. Toem | Feb 18, 2024
Developer: Something We Made
Genre: Photo-taking adventure game
I loved running around and taking photos in this funny little game. You can take photos of all the wildlife to fill out your compendium, you can complete quests for silly characters that are more like riddles (they don't tell you exactly what they want), or you can take whatever goofy photo that springs to mind. I'll return to it later to get all the photos I missed. If the platinum is easy, I might even go for it.
13. Adios | Feb 19, 2024
Developer: Mischief
Genre: Narrative, drama
This is a small, quiet, "bottle episode" game that is a narrative drama. You're an old pig farmer who has been quietly working with the mafia to dispose of questionable things (pigs aren't picky about what they eat, you see). The game starts on the day you decide to cut ties with the mafia, knowing that it may mean the end of your life.
What follows is an exploration of your life. You spend the day doing chores with your farm, alongside a mafia hand who you've befriended over the years, as he tries to convince you to reconsider. You both know the end of your life is coming, and the day is spent in quiet peace as you get your affairs together.
What makes this stand out is the voice acting and use of the dialogue system - it isn't complicated, but it illustrates the feeling of wanting to say something but being unable to in a really effective way. If you like small, character driven dramas, then give this a try when it's on sale.
14. To Swat A Fly | Feb 20, 2024
Developer: lunaraydue
Genre: Visual novel, game jam (not a genre I know but shh)
Thank you dskzero for the link, I played this one thanks to your post and will probably play the others!
Neat visual novel, well made with the constraints in mind. The fact that it's voice acted is pretty cool. I got all 3 endings in around 10 minutes. I think it's worth checking out.
15. A Little to The Left | Feb 21, 2024
Developer: Max Inferno
Genre: Puzzle, cosy, casual
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. What seems initially like a "tidy this thing up" casual experience becomes a bit of a puzzler as you have to figure out how the game wants you to connect certain items together. It's not just about putting things back where they go, it's about finding similarities in seemingly unrelated objects.
Only downside is, I played it on xcloud on my phone and it was a bit laggy. I'm sure I would have had a better experience if I played it literally any other way.
12. Toem | Feb 18, 2024
Developer: Something We Made
Genre: Photo-taking adventure game
I loved running around and taking photos in this funny little game. You can take photos of all the wildlife to fill out your compendium, you can complete quests for silly characters that are more like riddles (they don't tell you exactly what they want), or you can take whatever goofy photo that springs to mind. I'll return to it later to get all the photos I missed. If the platinum is easy, I might even go for it.
Developer: Mischief
Genre: Narrative, drama
This is a small, quiet, "bottle episode" game that is a narrative drama. You're an old pig farmer who has been quietly working with the mafia to dispose of questionable things (pigs aren't picky about what they eat, you see). The game starts on the day you decide to cut ties with the mafia, knowing that it may mean the end of your life.
What follows is an exploration of your life. You spend the day doing chores with your farm, alongside a mafia hand who you've befriended over the years, as he tries to convince you to reconsider. You both know the end of your life is coming, and the day is spent in quiet peace as you get your affairs together.
What makes this stand out is the voice acting and use of the dialogue system - it isn't complicated, but it illustrates the feeling of wanting to say something but being unable to in a really effective way. If you like small, character driven dramas, then give this a try when it's on sale.
Developer: lunaraydue
Genre: Visual novel, game jam (not a genre I know but shh)
Thank you dskzero for the link, I played this one thanks to your post and will probably play the others!
Neat visual novel, well made with the constraints in mind. The fact that it's voice acted is pretty cool. I got all 3 endings in around 10 minutes. I think it's worth checking out.
Developer: Max Inferno
Genre: Puzzle, cosy, casual
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. What seems initially like a "tidy this thing up" casual experience becomes a bit of a puzzler as you have to figure out how the game wants you to connect certain items together. It's not just about putting things back where they go, it's about finding similarities in seemingly unrelated objects.
Only downside is, I played it on xcloud on my phone and it was a bit laggy. I'm sure I would have had a better experience if I played it literally any other way.
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9. Tangle Tower
This is extremely my thing. The mystery is great, the characters are great, setting, music and puzzles are all great. My only nitpick is that the conclusion wraps up a little abruptly. This is as close to perfect you could get with mystery adventure games.
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GAME 9: We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie
PC | Finished 23/02/24 | All Achievements Earned | 11 Hours Played | 8/10
After the relative marathon was getting the FFVII Remake Platinum, this was a really lovely breath of fresh air. Yes, it is very similar to the first game, but in many ways it feels like a fully realised version of it. Where I came away from that game feeling like the concept of Katamari had not met its full potential; with this I 100% feel like it has. The greater variety in levels, objectives, visual humour, and written humour all combine to make what I'd consider to be a perfect example of an 'iterative sequel.' Doesn't hurt that the soundtrack is, once again, brilliant. Whilst I'd have preferred if getting all the achievements was a bit less tedious (having to replay levels 3-4 times to get all the Cousins isn't fun), this was overall just a really pleasant time.
GAME 9: We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie
PC | Finished 23/02/24 | All Achievements Earned | 11 Hours Played | 8/10
After the relative marathon was getting the FFVII Remake Platinum, this was a really lovely breath of fresh air. Yes, it is very similar to the first game, but in many ways it feels like a fully realised version of it. Where I came away from that game feeling like the concept of Katamari had not met its full potential; with this I 100% feel like it has. The greater variety in levels, objectives, visual humour, and written humour all combine to make what I'd consider to be a perfect example of an 'iterative sequel.' Doesn't hurt that the soundtrack is, once again, brilliant. Whilst I'd have preferred if getting all the achievements was a bit less tedious (having to replay levels 3-4 times to get all the Cousins isn't fun), this was overall just a really pleasant time.
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SlasherMcGirk's 52 Games 2024
Game 8 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Release data: 1/26/24
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, PC
Review Score
10/10
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes the yakuza series to new heights and redifines everything the last title introduced into a more well rounded experience. An easy go to joke I always find myself thinking while playing is calling the game, Like a Dragon: Infinite Content because the game is just brimming with so much activity and things to see it's almost daunting. My playthrough ended at the 114 hour mark and that was just completing the campaign, side quests and achievements and not even 100%ing the game or checking every to do box. It was one of the rare times while playing a game that I felt like I was feeling a well crafted 10/10 experience and did not want it to end. Despite having some minor nitpicks when it comes to the story and overall main plot line being a bit on the weaker side, Infinite Wealth has some of the best character moments and scenes of any Yakuza game and truly rewards players that have played all of the titles in the series. It's also not heavy handed or daunting for any new comers of the franchise to play or keep up but your mileage will definitely be hindered if you haven't at least played the previous RPG title Like a Dragon as it is a direct continuation of that games characters and development.
Infinite Wealth is a dual character swapping story with the characters of Ichiban and mainstay protagonist Kiryu. The game is billed as equal part of both characters, although I think the game favors a little bit on Ichiban's side and that's frankly okay. He is the new mainline protagonist. Having said that, despite at the time me thinking Yakuza 6 was a fantastic send off for Kiryu, Infinite Wealth brings to the forefront that this is really the end for Kiryu. The game quickly tells you our hero is at his end, quite literally. How the game treats our hero and is inevitable end greatly reminds me of Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4. "This...this is my final mission" and after playing Infinite Wealth I think they did this game and and it's send off for this character way better than MGS4 did for Snake. Hell, Infinite Wealth's send off for Kiryu is one of the better ones in fiction for a character that has been in a dozen stories and like I said earlier is just so so much more rewarding for players that have been there all the way. Completing tasks and memoires on his literal bucket list before he goes, remembering iconic series events as he walks the streets of the past and give his final thoughts and make his peace felt truly special. Not only that but Infiinite Wealth actually closes plots and character moments from characters introduced all throughout the series that Kiryu has interacted with and makes a fantastic farewell for characters we have not seen in such a long time. Some actual genuine surprises that in hindsight make total sense. It's a testament to RGG studio that can make me feel so emotional to characters that were introduced as minor role in one game and build them up to compelling people that really make you appreciate the craft of the world and the impact that Kiryu has had on it. It's truly marvelous and even if the game got everything else wrong I would say that any long term fan would still be required to play it just for these moments. Thankfully the rest of the quite large package also punches above it's weight.
In regards to Ichiban's side of the game's story being mainly in Hawaii is a really refreshing locale for the series. It's not the first tropical location but taking place in America but still feel very at home with other series locales is a nice touch. The mix of english and japanese voices is a little funny at times but this is one of those things you just have to suspend your disbelief in, realistically no body should know so much japanese but it doesn't work any other way. Infinite Wealth is by far the biggest game yet in the series, Hawaii alone is the single largest map but not only that the game has the full Yokohoma and Kamurocho locales. Truly make the epic feel global. It's got that open world scale but that homey linear lived in feel. The maps are littered with tons of restraunts, famous locales, activities, shops, games and everything and inbetween. One of the series strengths is how accurate to life each locations feel with a lot of the real brands at the real spots and being able to see or even interact with them. I don't know the legalize or how the team do it but it's amazing. Some of the big standout mini games in infinite wealth are Sujimon and Dodonko Island. Sujimon is kinda a spoof on pokemon and it's essentially a funny bestiary and capturing of enemies in the game. You can then battle other NPC's with your captured enemies and do a little elite four spoof story. It's a alright diversion and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. There is enough to sink your teeth into if it's your thing, although I found the actual battles extremely minimalistic and purely just a use a stronger mon. No strategy at all. That's the thing in this franchise, even if you don't like a particular game or side activity none of it is required and as soon as it's introduced you can drop it. Even if it starts to feel like a drag simply move on do something else and then dabble back in it later and repeat. That's the beauty of this games content. There is just enough depth to make it not mindless but any annoyance just move one and come back later and it will feel a bit fresher. The other large and largest mini game in Infinite Wealth is Dodonko Island which is a animal crossing style game. You have an island that you can create and furnish with different amenities and furniture and invite guests to stay at and try to please them and earn money. It's feels like a hotel simulator. You also have your own house to fully decorate as well. There is a lot of assets to this mode and small activities like bug catching, fishing and resource gathering that help you build and gain money to keep things running. I can see how some people can get truly sucked into and put dozens and dozens of hours into. I rather liked it myself but after about 10 hours I feel like I got my worth out of the game and felt like I have seen and done everything which is still a crazy amount of time for a single minigame. Plus it's not a worthless adventure cause you can make and send money into the real game as well so completing does have a good reward and payout. On top of those two big modes there is still countless yakuza staples like baseball, golf, poker, mahjong, karaoki, shogi, and tons more . Don't forget several full fledged arcade games in the arcade that will always give you a, just one more thing to do all with their own in game stats and achievements lists feel.
As for the core gameplay of the RPG itself it is a refined version of the last game. Not too many drastic changes here. More quality of life improvements than anything else. I didn't find anything fundamentally wrong with the last tile so I'm glad not much has changed. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to play a high budget turn based game in 2024. Hell despite it being turn based with all the follow up actions and character bonding attacks the game almost feels like it's all happening in real time when you get into the grove of things. Plus I could not gasp harder the first time I used Kiryu's limit breaker style special and literally broke the rules of the game and turning it into a beat um up for a minute. One of my favorite specials of all time now. Just so awesome. The game runs on a character class system, with characters all having their own unique starting job and as you play you can unlock new jobs that can be shared across the board. I really like the the way the game introduces them from learning them from different experiences the group does in Hawaii. All jobs give the characters a unique look and different color schemes and when you learn new moves in a class you can add a select number of them into your repertoire to use at anytime. This makes all the characters feel truly unique and special and fitting to your playstyle and your preference. I dont the gameplay is really rewarding in the strategy aspect as I feel the game is very focused on levels and enemy balancing. The game is rather easy almost to it's detriment. It doesn't bother much because with how flashy and satisfying it is watching the combat play out. The animations and attacks are really fun and engaging.
Overall the story with Infinite Wealth really feels like it's split in the middle dividing it's time with Ichiban's Hawaii adventure and his involvement with a yakuza cover up and cult ordeal and Kiryu's last hurrah as he tries to overcome his past trauma's and help Ichiban. The grand scale of Ichiban's plot doesn't feel as epic or dramatic as series past's plots but while it takes forever to get going, I thought the simplicity of it and in a fresh locale did feel nice. Just wish I could change some minor story beats to make just a bit more sense but honestly they are minor. I was always impressed to the actors and scenes constantly in this huge game and never felt bored or tired of anything going on and that is rather impressive for such a long game. Like I said at the start the characters, character moments and character progression is at the forefront of what makes Infinite Wealth stand out. On paper the story is as simple as it gets. The game is overly satisfying through and through though. I can easily say after completing it that Infinite Wealth was not only just a super memorable fulfilling experience, it's overall the best game in the Yakuza franchise and something I very much doubt any game will be able to top this year. Infinite Wealth already is one of if not my favorite game this generation and deserves it's 10/10 score.
Platinum #203
Game 8 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Release data: 1/26/24
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, PC
Review Score
10/10
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes the yakuza series to new heights and redifines everything the last title introduced into a more well rounded experience. An easy go to joke I always find myself thinking while playing is calling the game, Like a Dragon: Infinite Content because the game is just brimming with so much activity and things to see it's almost daunting. My playthrough ended at the 114 hour mark and that was just completing the campaign, side quests and achievements and not even 100%ing the game or checking every to do box. It was one of the rare times while playing a game that I felt like I was feeling a well crafted 10/10 experience and did not want it to end. Despite having some minor nitpicks when it comes to the story and overall main plot line being a bit on the weaker side, Infinite Wealth has some of the best character moments and scenes of any Yakuza game and truly rewards players that have played all of the titles in the series. It's also not heavy handed or daunting for any new comers of the franchise to play or keep up but your mileage will definitely be hindered if you haven't at least played the previous RPG title Like a Dragon as it is a direct continuation of that games characters and development.
Infinite Wealth is a dual character swapping story with the characters of Ichiban and mainstay protagonist Kiryu. The game is billed as equal part of both characters, although I think the game favors a little bit on Ichiban's side and that's frankly okay. He is the new mainline protagonist. Having said that, despite at the time me thinking Yakuza 6 was a fantastic send off for Kiryu, Infinite Wealth brings to the forefront that this is really the end for Kiryu. The game quickly tells you our hero is at his end, quite literally. How the game treats our hero and is inevitable end greatly reminds me of Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4. "This...this is my final mission" and after playing Infinite Wealth I think they did this game and and it's send off for this character way better than MGS4 did for Snake. Hell, Infinite Wealth's send off for Kiryu is one of the better ones in fiction for a character that has been in a dozen stories and like I said earlier is just so so much more rewarding for players that have been there all the way. Completing tasks and memoires on his literal bucket list before he goes, remembering iconic series events as he walks the streets of the past and give his final thoughts and make his peace felt truly special. Not only that but Infiinite Wealth actually closes plots and character moments from characters introduced all throughout the series that Kiryu has interacted with and makes a fantastic farewell for characters we have not seen in such a long time. Some actual genuine surprises that in hindsight make total sense. It's a testament to RGG studio that can make me feel so emotional to characters that were introduced as minor role in one game and build them up to compelling people that really make you appreciate the craft of the world and the impact that Kiryu has had on it. It's truly marvelous and even if the game got everything else wrong I would say that any long term fan would still be required to play it just for these moments. Thankfully the rest of the quite large package also punches above it's weight.
In regards to Ichiban's side of the game's story being mainly in Hawaii is a really refreshing locale for the series. It's not the first tropical location but taking place in America but still feel very at home with other series locales is a nice touch. The mix of english and japanese voices is a little funny at times but this is one of those things you just have to suspend your disbelief in, realistically no body should know so much japanese but it doesn't work any other way. Infinite Wealth is by far the biggest game yet in the series, Hawaii alone is the single largest map but not only that the game has the full Yokohoma and Kamurocho locales. Truly make the epic feel global. It's got that open world scale but that homey linear lived in feel. The maps are littered with tons of restraunts, famous locales, activities, shops, games and everything and inbetween. One of the series strengths is how accurate to life each locations feel with a lot of the real brands at the real spots and being able to see or even interact with them. I don't know the legalize or how the team do it but it's amazing. Some of the big standout mini games in infinite wealth are Sujimon and Dodonko Island. Sujimon is kinda a spoof on pokemon and it's essentially a funny bestiary and capturing of enemies in the game. You can then battle other NPC's with your captured enemies and do a little elite four spoof story. It's a alright diversion and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. There is enough to sink your teeth into if it's your thing, although I found the actual battles extremely minimalistic and purely just a use a stronger mon. No strategy at all. That's the thing in this franchise, even if you don't like a particular game or side activity none of it is required and as soon as it's introduced you can drop it. Even if it starts to feel like a drag simply move on do something else and then dabble back in it later and repeat. That's the beauty of this games content. There is just enough depth to make it not mindless but any annoyance just move one and come back later and it will feel a bit fresher. The other large and largest mini game in Infinite Wealth is Dodonko Island which is a animal crossing style game. You have an island that you can create and furnish with different amenities and furniture and invite guests to stay at and try to please them and earn money. It's feels like a hotel simulator. You also have your own house to fully decorate as well. There is a lot of assets to this mode and small activities like bug catching, fishing and resource gathering that help you build and gain money to keep things running. I can see how some people can get truly sucked into and put dozens and dozens of hours into. I rather liked it myself but after about 10 hours I feel like I got my worth out of the game and felt like I have seen and done everything which is still a crazy amount of time for a single minigame. Plus it's not a worthless adventure cause you can make and send money into the real game as well so completing does have a good reward and payout. On top of those two big modes there is still countless yakuza staples like baseball, golf, poker, mahjong, karaoki, shogi, and tons more . Don't forget several full fledged arcade games in the arcade that will always give you a, just one more thing to do all with their own in game stats and achievements lists feel.
As for the core gameplay of the RPG itself it is a refined version of the last game. Not too many drastic changes here. More quality of life improvements than anything else. I didn't find anything fundamentally wrong with the last tile so I'm glad not much has changed. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to play a high budget turn based game in 2024. Hell despite it being turn based with all the follow up actions and character bonding attacks the game almost feels like it's all happening in real time when you get into the grove of things. Plus I could not gasp harder the first time I used Kiryu's limit breaker style special and literally broke the rules of the game and turning it into a beat um up for a minute. One of my favorite specials of all time now. Just so awesome. The game runs on a character class system, with characters all having their own unique starting job and as you play you can unlock new jobs that can be shared across the board. I really like the the way the game introduces them from learning them from different experiences the group does in Hawaii. All jobs give the characters a unique look and different color schemes and when you learn new moves in a class you can add a select number of them into your repertoire to use at anytime. This makes all the characters feel truly unique and special and fitting to your playstyle and your preference. I dont the gameplay is really rewarding in the strategy aspect as I feel the game is very focused on levels and enemy balancing. The game is rather easy almost to it's detriment. It doesn't bother much because with how flashy and satisfying it is watching the combat play out. The animations and attacks are really fun and engaging.
Overall the story with Infinite Wealth really feels like it's split in the middle dividing it's time with Ichiban's Hawaii adventure and his involvement with a yakuza cover up and cult ordeal and Kiryu's last hurrah as he tries to overcome his past trauma's and help Ichiban. The grand scale of Ichiban's plot doesn't feel as epic or dramatic as series past's plots but while it takes forever to get going, I thought the simplicity of it and in a fresh locale did feel nice. Just wish I could change some minor story beats to make just a bit more sense but honestly they are minor. I was always impressed to the actors and scenes constantly in this huge game and never felt bored or tired of anything going on and that is rather impressive for such a long game. Like I said at the start the characters, character moments and character progression is at the forefront of what makes Infinite Wealth stand out. On paper the story is as simple as it gets. The game is overly satisfying through and through though. I can easily say after completing it that Infinite Wealth was not only just a super memorable fulfilling experience, it's overall the best game in the Yakuza franchise and something I very much doubt any game will be able to top this year. Infinite Wealth already is one of if not my favorite game this generation and deserves it's 10/10 score.
Platinum #203
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44. Gimmick (PS4/Evercade) - This was one heck of a journey... from disliking the game due to my inability to aim the main weapon, to absolutely adoring the game and plat'ing the PS4 version...
So Gimmick is this terrific little Famicom game from Sunsoft, its hard as nails, it looks gorgeous, and has amazing audio. The two main challenges I faced when I started playing were the controls (you have a slight "slide" to your movement so you gotta be careful when doing the tighter platforming bits), and the way your main attack works - which you hold down to charge in order to fire, but also because the shot doesnt go straight ahead but rather in an arc so you really gotta learn it inside out in order to even stand a chance to be able to hit things...
This took me way too long to learn! I ended up playing through the Evercade version instead of the PS4 version (both have save states, but it just felt more at home on my Evercade EXP). Not sure if something clicked, or enough time passed that I ended up learning how everything worked.
Well either way over time Ive become rather adept at the movement (can navigate any jumps perfect) and understand how to aim the weapon perfect. And wow the game just straight up TRANSFORMS after learning this.
So after replaying the stages dozens of times, I basically learned every single enemy position back to front. The positions of the arrow dudes in stage 4? No prob, the assault course half way through stage 3? Piece of cake! And so on... The game is incredibly well made, with really tight level design that never leans on one gimmick (sorry) for more than a stage or so, its constantly swapping things up and its just a real blast. Its fast paced, its clever, and the movement and attack mechanics blend together so perfectly that its really hard to pick fault at the game...
Even bosses are pretty great - but again have learning curves. The stage 2 pirate boss? Easy to hit when you know how, but a nightmare until then. Stage 5's cannon/tank tag team? You need attack mastery to get anywhere here. The final bosses? Tough but both fair.
And lastly, for that real ending - you gotta find all the hidden collectibles (one per stage) which will cause an island in the sky to appear, where you tackle the real final boss (Count Dracula with a Light Saber... kinda).
The hidden items are really well done. Instead of modern shitty collectibles that add fuck all to the game, this is more like Limbo or Inside (for you young'uns) which basically reward you for exploring off the main path and you get a tough platforming challenge - at the end your item awaits. Stage 1 does this magnificently well by having the item above your start point - and the whole thing basically works to teach you how the main attack can be jumped on to reach high points. Its a nice safe way to learn this, as all further instances will be tough as heck - starting in stage 2's "time things right and ride a canon ball over to the item) all the way to the spike filled challenge on stage 6. They also give tons of points, so basically extra lives, and you REALLY need them!
So there were a couple of small differences between versions - might be in my head - but the canon item in stage 2 felt easier to get on the PS4, but the final mirror on stage 6 felt way harder compared to Evercade's (maybe a controls issue? No idea). Well the main difference that's instantly noticeable is just which version each port is based on - PS4 gets Japan, Evercade gets EUR - which means for trophy fans you start with around 3-5? lives, while you have 9! on the Evercade. And yes, that does make one way harder than the other! You'll basically have 12 lives by screen 2 on the Evercade version, which is so damn handy!
But either way, I eventually managed to clear the sky castle on the PS4, save the girl, and get the plat. Its tough, but so darn satisfying to do. I really cant recommend the game enough.
In Progress:
Yakuza 8 - Oh, I have an island mini game that's sorta Animal Crossing but not boring. 60 hours, chapter 6, nowhere close to being done, game of the year, no doubts. Nothing is giving me the same enjoying this one is.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
So Gimmick is this terrific little Famicom game from Sunsoft, its hard as nails, it looks gorgeous, and has amazing audio. The two main challenges I faced when I started playing were the controls (you have a slight "slide" to your movement so you gotta be careful when doing the tighter platforming bits), and the way your main attack works - which you hold down to charge in order to fire, but also because the shot doesnt go straight ahead but rather in an arc so you really gotta learn it inside out in order to even stand a chance to be able to hit things...
This took me way too long to learn! I ended up playing through the Evercade version instead of the PS4 version (both have save states, but it just felt more at home on my Evercade EXP). Not sure if something clicked, or enough time passed that I ended up learning how everything worked.
Well either way over time Ive become rather adept at the movement (can navigate any jumps perfect) and understand how to aim the weapon perfect. And wow the game just straight up TRANSFORMS after learning this.
So after replaying the stages dozens of times, I basically learned every single enemy position back to front. The positions of the arrow dudes in stage 4? No prob, the assault course half way through stage 3? Piece of cake! And so on... The game is incredibly well made, with really tight level design that never leans on one gimmick (sorry) for more than a stage or so, its constantly swapping things up and its just a real blast. Its fast paced, its clever, and the movement and attack mechanics blend together so perfectly that its really hard to pick fault at the game...
Even bosses are pretty great - but again have learning curves. The stage 2 pirate boss? Easy to hit when you know how, but a nightmare until then. Stage 5's cannon/tank tag team? You need attack mastery to get anywhere here. The final bosses? Tough but both fair.
And lastly, for that real ending - you gotta find all the hidden collectibles (one per stage) which will cause an island in the sky to appear, where you tackle the real final boss (Count Dracula with a Light Saber... kinda).
The hidden items are really well done. Instead of modern shitty collectibles that add fuck all to the game, this is more like Limbo or Inside (for you young'uns) which basically reward you for exploring off the main path and you get a tough platforming challenge - at the end your item awaits. Stage 1 does this magnificently well by having the item above your start point - and the whole thing basically works to teach you how the main attack can be jumped on to reach high points. Its a nice safe way to learn this, as all further instances will be tough as heck - starting in stage 2's "time things right and ride a canon ball over to the item) all the way to the spike filled challenge on stage 6. They also give tons of points, so basically extra lives, and you REALLY need them!
So there were a couple of small differences between versions - might be in my head - but the canon item in stage 2 felt easier to get on the PS4, but the final mirror on stage 6 felt way harder compared to Evercade's (maybe a controls issue? No idea). Well the main difference that's instantly noticeable is just which version each port is based on - PS4 gets Japan, Evercade gets EUR - which means for trophy fans you start with around 3-5? lives, while you have 9! on the Evercade. And yes, that does make one way harder than the other! You'll basically have 12 lives by screen 2 on the Evercade version, which is so damn handy!
But either way, I eventually managed to clear the sky castle on the PS4, save the girl, and get the plat. Its tough, but so darn satisfying to do. I really cant recommend the game enough.
In Progress:
Yakuza 8 - Oh, I have an island mini game that's sorta Animal Crossing but not boring. 60 hours, chapter 6, nowhere close to being done, game of the year, no doubts. Nothing is giving me the same enjoying this one is.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
PC | Feb 03 | 3.9 h | 3.5/5
I didn't enjoy the selection of stickers as much as I thought I might.
I would have liked a horizontal note pad background. Everything was more vertical and I would have liked more options. Certainly not bad DLC by any means, maybe I was getting burned out.
PC | Feb 05 | 3.5 h | 2.5/5
Nice to be able to play as an elderly character. The story is fairly goofy but I do appreciate you can't change the routes. I only played it twice and the characters are set in stone.
In my first playthrough, the character I chose didn't want to pursue a romantic relationship; they asked if we could just stay friends. The second route had the same events even though I "chose" someone else to pursue. I don't hate that. It's like you can't change them to be whatever you want. You have to take them as is.
I do wish there was more incentive to replay like achievements, even just in game, or something to unlock. But ultimately it is the same game regardless which route.
PS4 | Feb 05 | 5 h | 3/5
Meaningful story that has to lift the poor platforming controls. It's very creative to play through the main character's journal of her real life and then experience her fantasy story.
However, the platforming sections are mostly unfun. Non-precise jumping and repetitive puzzles.
PS Streaming | Feb 10 | 2 h | 4/5
I felt like I was a detective. Lots of walking and reading but it was a pleasant experience.
PC | Feb 12 | 31 h | 3/5
Finally finished this one and I am glad to be done with it. I did not have the nostalgia to carry me through the outdated gameplay and vague storytelling.
Good: First off the music is a masterpiece. Nearly every song is perfection. Beautiful work.
I do appreciate more storytelling and even more important, character development. Not only for Cloud, but other party members are shown to grow; they learn from past mistakes, share trust, encourage each other. I did not complete Yuffie's missions, but I am disappointed Vincent's felt very bare boned.
Bad: I'm not going to nitpick every little thing that annoyed me because I would be typing for awhile. My two major issues is the vague storytelling further into the game and the poorly aged mechanics.
There are multiple times the characters yell out, "what is going on?" and frankly, I have to agree with them. My excitement drastically plummeted once I left the first city. The storytelling becomes increasing vague with characters withholding information and talking in riddles/incomplete sentences.
Some of that could be due to the size of the game. Maybe they had to cut out dialogue or explanations? Maybe there's poor translation that I can't understand? Maybe it's simply a trope of JRPGs for the main cast to be vague as possible to create "mystery." I don't know exactly why but it's not great story telling. Thankfully late into the game, there are more explanations; certainly not for everything, but some explanation.
I HATE when games give you a wide selection of party members to form your team, only to have sections forcing you to play those under-leveled, mediocre members. Then you cannot see everyone in your group. You have to call them. But you can only call them in certain conditions. Then manually change their gear and materia, one by one. I haaaaaate this. Yay for modern quality of life changes we have now because this sucks.
31 hours isn't bad to spend into a JRPG and beat it. But I was struggling to finish it toward the end. I wanted the experience to be over. It damped my spirit so that I don't have much of an interest in Remake.
PC | Feb 22 | 24 h | 3/5
It doesn't do anything exceptional but strangely addicting. I was a little overwhelmed with everything it throws at you in the tutorial; however it does stay at a slow pace and easy to learn.
It's not in depth with the stat management or storytelling. Easy to pick up but also easy to become repetitive once you meet the characters.
It seems like a couple of the achievements are bugged so instead of spending more time repeating stories in hope they pop, I'll move on.
PC | Feb 23 | 5.4 h | 2.5/5
It's a cute idle game but it becomes stale quickly. You start with a bunny that digs coins for you, you use the coins for new food or decor to attract new bunnies, then repeat.
The models are well crafted and adorable. There are new decor pieces for each season that's fun.
When you're building a steady income stream, there is a lot of waiting around. Thus the idle gameplay is a bummer by simply waiting to unlock new things.
Really the downside was the AI bot-terflies that help pick up coins and clear clutter for you. I have watched five coin bots sit in one place for a few seconds before finally deciding to all collect one coin that disappears in front of them. Ultimately doing nothing sometimes. This was not a one time occurrence.
There is one particular winter decor that constantly trapped all the bots until I deleted it. They felt like a hindrance on top of chores.
PC | Feb 23 | 1.35 h | 5/5
More of a great one. Only wished there were more levels so I could continue playing.
PC | Feb 25 | 18 h | 2/5
The ending is still powerful. I strongly remembered that scene from the PSP nearly 12 years ago.
I can't remember much of the combat from then so I can't compare. It did feel fluid, easy to learn. Naturally as a Final Fantasy game, there are extra missions and grinding you can complete if you didn't get enough.
But the story up to that point is mediocre and, following OG's FFVII pattern, convoluted so even the main character is confused on wtf is happening.
I hate how things are very suddenly mentioned, or not explained. The more I play of FFVII, the more questions I have and I don't believe I will ever personally be satisfied.
Main Post
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45. Arzette (PS5) - This one was a curious game. Its taking the terrible Zelda CDI games, but making a very similar game (in all but name and characters) and making it... good? Honestly this may end up being my surprise indie title for this year, because I totally expected this to mainly just be a meme game leaching off the awful cutscenes from Zelda CDI but what's included is both a loving tribute and a decent platformer.
The cutscenes are of course lovingly designed to look just like the CDI cutscenes - so that means some questionable art/proportions, exagerated character animations and all that, honestly it really cant be stated enough how well they mimicked the look and feel of these. I also really appreciate how expressive the main heroine is, there's some genuinely funny moments in the game (plus a real badass conclusion, which honestly sorta felt at odds with the light hearted nature the game was sorta going for).
The gameplay itself is that of the CDI Zelda games - explore areas, find items, use items in other areas to open up new areas and continue on the story. Beat bosses and all that. Even the basic movement, rupees (or was it rubees...) and shop set up is lifted closely from the CDI games. The main difference is that this game controls really well. Like, its perfect. You character feels slick and responsive, you have a variety of great attacks to easily vanquish enemies, and its a genuine joy to leap around the many areas.
Graphically... its actually pretty gorgeous in parts. The cutscenes are an acquired taste (I love them for the attenion to detail), but the backgrounds to locations legit look great. Really high quality, super detailed, and nice to look at. As I revisited the areas quite a lot (for 100% completion), I actually welcomed returning to levels just to see the BGs. Not to mention the soundtrack is also excellent, each stage having a very nice theme to go alongside it, which again sorta feel appropriate for the game they are homaging. Sprite wise the characters are animated ok, and detail wise its nice to have sprites that are aiming to not just be 8bit looking sprites or low detail pixel characters (as all too many indies are..) but rather something more suitable for the 16bit-ish era the CDI was weirdly positioned in.
Overall my only real issues were in the middle(ish) of the game where I was sorta stuck/progressing slowly on where to go next. You'll open a number of areas quickly but then quickly realise that you cant do much in most, and every time I got a new power Id revisit them until I finally found the couple of powers I needed (mainly the double jump) and suddenly everything moved into hyperdrive and I was done before I knew it. Also, the end boss was surprisingly short and easy - I expected something longer/more challenging, but its over almost before it begins. But that doesnt really bother me. The game is a great send up of those CDI games, but also stands on its own as an excellent platformer that looks, sounds and plays great.
46. Journey to Sillius (Evercade) - Continuing on with my Sunsoft kick after the amazing Gimmick, I decided to give this one a shot (rather than roll right into Blaster Master!) and I cant say Im disappointed with my choice. This game is a treasure, albeit one that's as hard as a game made by Treasure lol.
So Sillius is a 2D action game with some lite platforming. You shoot anything that gets in your way, and lots of things get in your way. Its only 5 stages long, but those 5 stages are long! Even the first stage is a decent length, with me struggling to claw my way to the midboss and end of stage bosses. Right off the bat its pushing lots at you. You start off with a pistol and shotgun (spread shot) with the shotgun having limited ammo (and honestly, not immensely useful in most situations compared with a turbo firing pistol). Its the standard thing, run left to right, avoid enemies that emerge from the right and destroy them as quick as possible. Enemies take several hits each to kill, hense why turbo fire options is so nice to have. In retrospect things start off easy in stage 1 - enemies are easy to deal with and the stage is pretty flat and straight forward. The boss adds an extra challenge because the leaping things that emerge from the chopper can be jerks, but again, in retrospect that's pretty tame!
As you go on, the levels very quickly get harder. Level 2 has more dangerous enemies and layouts. The floor lasers being perhaps the most dastardly - quick to fire, hard to see, and require super fast reactions to evade. And then you get a boss fight with angled shots and a grapple arm which does insane damage!
Stages 3 and 4 likewise keep piling on the pressure, stage 4 also has some pretty precise jumping to deal with over our good friend "bottomless pits" and dont think for a second enemies let up when your navigating said pits! On the bright side, despite the continued barrage of attacks on both stages, including tough mid bosses, the actual stage bosses on both are pushovers. Win one for me!
And then the final level takes a sharp turn for the weird. Instead of enemies coming at you by the dozen, its all an auto scroller, only platforming challenges and no enemies. And obviously it doesnt take it easy - it not only requires pixel perfect jumps, but you cant waste time either - the game is insanely strict when it comes to the scrolling - if you drop behind even slightly your either taking damage or losing a life guaranteed...
However after a few retries, I did figure out how to pretty much tackle the level flawlessly, its far from impossible or even unfair... but yeah there's no way most people wont screw up on their first time here.
And the final boss(es)? Not all that bad actually! The penulitmate boss is a ship that you damage on both the right and left sides - you have to wait for the ship to raise up just high enough to run underneath it... honestly not all too dissimilar to the basic idea of R-Type's third stage where you navigate around a huge ship. The final fight is against a rock? creature, weakspot is its head. It'll keep walking toward you until its in range and it then attacks. Thankfully by this point you'll have gotten the grenade launcher, so its just a matter of using this in the fight and its an easy win.
My first run had me using save states to learn each level. Its really not an easy one to clear and requires a lot of prior knowledge of placement, decent reactions and also some luck in the ammo/health drops (which bring a new level to the word "uncommon"). However I did go back and do a legit run (with me increasing my continues thanks to a handy cheat in the game to access the options menu!), took me around 3 continues but I did manage a no save state run, and had an absolute blast while doing it. Its definitely not for everyone, the difficulty might scare people off, but the game is so slick, smooth, and an audio/visual treat that I loved it instantly, which explained why I spent the last few hours playing it until I managed to clear it "proper". Next up is the original Blaster Master!
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
The cutscenes are of course lovingly designed to look just like the CDI cutscenes - so that means some questionable art/proportions, exagerated character animations and all that, honestly it really cant be stated enough how well they mimicked the look and feel of these. I also really appreciate how expressive the main heroine is, there's some genuinely funny moments in the game (plus a real badass conclusion, which honestly sorta felt at odds with the light hearted nature the game was sorta going for).
The gameplay itself is that of the CDI Zelda games - explore areas, find items, use items in other areas to open up new areas and continue on the story. Beat bosses and all that. Even the basic movement, rupees (or was it rubees...) and shop set up is lifted closely from the CDI games. The main difference is that this game controls really well. Like, its perfect. You character feels slick and responsive, you have a variety of great attacks to easily vanquish enemies, and its a genuine joy to leap around the many areas.
Graphically... its actually pretty gorgeous in parts. The cutscenes are an acquired taste (I love them for the attenion to detail), but the backgrounds to locations legit look great. Really high quality, super detailed, and nice to look at. As I revisited the areas quite a lot (for 100% completion), I actually welcomed returning to levels just to see the BGs. Not to mention the soundtrack is also excellent, each stage having a very nice theme to go alongside it, which again sorta feel appropriate for the game they are homaging. Sprite wise the characters are animated ok, and detail wise its nice to have sprites that are aiming to not just be 8bit looking sprites or low detail pixel characters (as all too many indies are..) but rather something more suitable for the 16bit-ish era the CDI was weirdly positioned in.
Overall my only real issues were in the middle(ish) of the game where I was sorta stuck/progressing slowly on where to go next. You'll open a number of areas quickly but then quickly realise that you cant do much in most, and every time I got a new power Id revisit them until I finally found the couple of powers I needed (mainly the double jump) and suddenly everything moved into hyperdrive and I was done before I knew it. Also, the end boss was surprisingly short and easy - I expected something longer/more challenging, but its over almost before it begins. But that doesnt really bother me. The game is a great send up of those CDI games, but also stands on its own as an excellent platformer that looks, sounds and plays great.
46. Journey to Sillius (Evercade) - Continuing on with my Sunsoft kick after the amazing Gimmick, I decided to give this one a shot (rather than roll right into Blaster Master!) and I cant say Im disappointed with my choice. This game is a treasure, albeit one that's as hard as a game made by Treasure lol.
So Sillius is a 2D action game with some lite platforming. You shoot anything that gets in your way, and lots of things get in your way. Its only 5 stages long, but those 5 stages are long! Even the first stage is a decent length, with me struggling to claw my way to the midboss and end of stage bosses. Right off the bat its pushing lots at you. You start off with a pistol and shotgun (spread shot) with the shotgun having limited ammo (and honestly, not immensely useful in most situations compared with a turbo firing pistol). Its the standard thing, run left to right, avoid enemies that emerge from the right and destroy them as quick as possible. Enemies take several hits each to kill, hense why turbo fire options is so nice to have. In retrospect things start off easy in stage 1 - enemies are easy to deal with and the stage is pretty flat and straight forward. The boss adds an extra challenge because the leaping things that emerge from the chopper can be jerks, but again, in retrospect that's pretty tame!
As you go on, the levels very quickly get harder. Level 2 has more dangerous enemies and layouts. The floor lasers being perhaps the most dastardly - quick to fire, hard to see, and require super fast reactions to evade. And then you get a boss fight with angled shots and a grapple arm which does insane damage!
Stages 3 and 4 likewise keep piling on the pressure, stage 4 also has some pretty precise jumping to deal with over our good friend "bottomless pits" and dont think for a second enemies let up when your navigating said pits! On the bright side, despite the continued barrage of attacks on both stages, including tough mid bosses, the actual stage bosses on both are pushovers. Win one for me!
And then the final level takes a sharp turn for the weird. Instead of enemies coming at you by the dozen, its all an auto scroller, only platforming challenges and no enemies. And obviously it doesnt take it easy - it not only requires pixel perfect jumps, but you cant waste time either - the game is insanely strict when it comes to the scrolling - if you drop behind even slightly your either taking damage or losing a life guaranteed...
However after a few retries, I did figure out how to pretty much tackle the level flawlessly, its far from impossible or even unfair... but yeah there's no way most people wont screw up on their first time here.
And the final boss(es)? Not all that bad actually! The penulitmate boss is a ship that you damage on both the right and left sides - you have to wait for the ship to raise up just high enough to run underneath it... honestly not all too dissimilar to the basic idea of R-Type's third stage where you navigate around a huge ship. The final fight is against a rock? creature, weakspot is its head. It'll keep walking toward you until its in range and it then attacks. Thankfully by this point you'll have gotten the grenade launcher, so its just a matter of using this in the fight and its an easy win.
My first run had me using save states to learn each level. Its really not an easy one to clear and requires a lot of prior knowledge of placement, decent reactions and also some luck in the ammo/health drops (which bring a new level to the word "uncommon"). However I did go back and do a legit run (with me increasing my continues thanks to a handy cheat in the game to access the options menu!), took me around 3 continues but I did manage a no save state run, and had an absolute blast while doing it. Its definitely not for everyone, the difficulty might scare people off, but the game is so slick, smooth, and an audio/visual treat that I loved it instantly, which explained why I spent the last few hours playing it until I managed to clear it "proper". Next up is the original Blaster Master!
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
Shadowman16 you say so much about Journey to Sillius but you don't mention just how much the score kickass as. A top tier NES tune right here.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BDAJS_8RSA&list=PL1059BF37B1B0FE79&index=3
I did say it was an audio/visual treat though ;) But yeah, the game is a technical masterclass for the NES. It really surprised me just how good it was - both in terms of music, and how good it looks/runs. Im admittedly not very familiar with Sunsoft, but between this, Gimmick, and their NES Batman games they seem pretty adept at making the console sing!
If your on a sunsoft NES kick don't forget and try out Gremlins 2! It's up to their quality standards.
Not familiar with that one, will have to give it a look thanks :)
9. Dead Space Remake
This game is so good. In fact, it's so good that while playing it all I could think about at time was how bad The Callisto Protocol was in comparison, which I was tricked into playing.
Anyway, this is Dead Space, just better. It looks fantastic, is a lot of fun, and despite still keeping those multipart quests that aren't the best, it's still so relevant as it was back then. Super recommended, I loved it. Also Kendra is adorable.
10. Silent Hill: The Short Message
Despite my well documented funny opinions about Silent Hill, I'm a pretty big fan. I enjoyed The Short message, but it's incredibly barebones, and besides the loop and the chase sequences there is very little Silent Hill-esque in here, mostly by how obtuse it is, and how the lack of subtlety hurts the idea. I think the voice acting an horrible dubbing (why can't I play it in japanese anyway?) really hurts such a narrative focused game. It's still entertaining, at least until the last chase sequence which is incredibly frustrating, plus the MC modelling isn't really that great compared to the amazing environments. An odd one.
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GAME 10: Sonic The Hedgehog
PS5 | Finished 25/02/24 | 1 Hours 30 Minutes Played | 5/10
Whilst I can't deny the game's appeal and obvious success, I feel that - when playing it today - it's let down by multiple, fairly major, factors. Its incredibly short length being a big one, which would be OK if it weren't combined with multiple levels that simply aren't as fun as they should be. Labyrinth Zone is just pure frustration (and its music just as jarring), and Marble Zone is such a major momentum-stopper after the timeless fun that is Green Hill. Even outside of those two, none of the remaining 3 levels really live up to what's set out in the first.
However, it's here that I can really see some of the 'fundamentals' that made the Sonic franchise so beloved. Its ingenious health system, the layered level designs with plenty of unique gimmicks, and the joy that is gaining momentum. In levels such as Star Light or the aforementioned Green Hill, I got a real sense of what this franchise is all about, and what it was 'about' was quite enjoyable. It's just a shame that a whole 3rd of the experience (I did not attempt the special stages) just wasn't that fun.
GAME 11: Sonic CD
PS5 | Finished 25/02/24 | Good Ending | 4 Hours Played | 6/10
This one was... weird. It takes the mostly-linear style seen in Sonic 1, and replaces it with something far more 'exploratory'. One of taller, thinner stages full of multiple paths. For me this is where the game shined the brightest, as the mini-puzzles of trying to time travel alongside the level-by-level search for the robot generators made each stage feel far more 'unique' than they might've been had I simply rushed through them. Yet, it still feels like it doesn't fully realise its own potential, as many levels are filled with these weird repeating elements that simply aren't that fun to explore or to blast through. Elements such as the annoyingly-linear finale to the final main act, or the equally-as-annoying electricity hazards in Wacky Workshop. Any which way, the game was definitely a lot more fun to actually play through than its predecessor, with nothing nearly as bad as Labyrinth Zone taking up a grand chunk of its playtime. Doesn't hurt that the soundtrack is just... so damn good. Then I realised I could switch to the Japanese soundtrack and I realised that that was even better. Just incredible stuff there.
GAME 12: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
PS5 | Finished 26/02/24 | 3 Hours Played | 8/10
*Now* I'm starting to get it. Sonic 2 is everything that made the first game great, but better in practically every way. Its levels are both more varied, whilst simultaneously avoiding the pitfalls of Labyrinth and Marble Zones. Its visuals are a noticeable improvement. The gimmicks it has are far more fleshed out and, more importantly, less frustrating overall (its approach to water being a major example of this). Its pacing is better, its music more refined, and so on. I'm hard-pressed to find anything that this game does, that Sonic 1 did better, outside of *maybe* their very first levels. As such there's really not much more for me to say.
GAME 13: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
PS5 | Finished 27/02/24 | 4 Hours Played | 9/10
This is *easily* my favourite of the main trilogy. It feels like a full culmination of every pitfall and triumph that came before it, with very little to actually keep it down. As such there's not really much else to say; I'm honestly very, very surprised to see the trajectory of these games go so consistently up every single time. The art design is spectacular, the stages are so much more dynamic and surprising, the story is actually a 'thing' now (with really cute little transitions between stages), and its bosses are both numerous and genuinely fun to fight. The very few things I can point to as being 'negatives' would be Sandopolis Zone 2, some elements of Carnival Night, that one time I got trapped underground with no escape, and the slightly-off pacing due to its status as two 'separate' titles. However, none of those stop me from seeing how this is considered such a classic. Whilst I was starting to 'get it' with Sonic 2, this is where I fully get why these classic games are so beloved. Just amazing.
ADDENDUM: Sonic Origins Plus
Platinum Achieved
The collection 'Sonic Origins Plus' is how I chose to play these games. Why? Cause wide-screen's great, I could not care less about live systems, and it's simply the most 'complete' way to play these games at the moment. Whilst I'm sure there are many flaws that I, a complete casual, can't see, actually playing these games was fine. I didn't run into any bugs or weird moments, and the games felt perfectly fine to play whilst looking super-sharp at 4K. Similarly, the added Mission Mode (and the trophies tied to it) was a nice extra, and the overall presentation - including the animated cutscenes - was genuinely great. So whilst I won't give this a score, I'll just say that I'm not 'disappointed' to have experienced these games for the first time this way.
GAME 10: Sonic The Hedgehog
PS5 | Finished 25/02/24 | 1 Hours 30 Minutes Played | 5/10
Whilst I can't deny the game's appeal and obvious success, I feel that - when playing it today - it's let down by multiple, fairly major, factors. Its incredibly short length being a big one, which would be OK if it weren't combined with multiple levels that simply aren't as fun as they should be. Labyrinth Zone is just pure frustration (and its music just as jarring), and Marble Zone is such a major momentum-stopper after the timeless fun that is Green Hill. Even outside of those two, none of the remaining 3 levels really live up to what's set out in the first.
However, it's here that I can really see some of the 'fundamentals' that made the Sonic franchise so beloved. Its ingenious health system, the layered level designs with plenty of unique gimmicks, and the joy that is gaining momentum. In levels such as Star Light or the aforementioned Green Hill, I got a real sense of what this franchise is all about, and what it was 'about' was quite enjoyable. It's just a shame that a whole 3rd of the experience (I did not attempt the special stages) just wasn't that fun.
GAME 11: Sonic CD
PS5 | Finished 25/02/24 | Good Ending | 4 Hours Played | 6/10
This one was... weird. It takes the mostly-linear style seen in Sonic 1, and replaces it with something far more 'exploratory'. One of taller, thinner stages full of multiple paths. For me this is where the game shined the brightest, as the mini-puzzles of trying to time travel alongside the level-by-level search for the robot generators made each stage feel far more 'unique' than they might've been had I simply rushed through them. Yet, it still feels like it doesn't fully realise its own potential, as many levels are filled with these weird repeating elements that simply aren't that fun to explore or to blast through. Elements such as the annoyingly-linear finale to the final main act, or the equally-as-annoying electricity hazards in Wacky Workshop. Any which way, the game was definitely a lot more fun to actually play through than its predecessor, with nothing nearly as bad as Labyrinth Zone taking up a grand chunk of its playtime. Doesn't hurt that the soundtrack is just... so damn good. Then I realised I could switch to the Japanese soundtrack and I realised that that was even better. Just incredible stuff there.
GAME 12: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
PS5 | Finished 26/02/24 | 3 Hours Played | 8/10
*Now* I'm starting to get it. Sonic 2 is everything that made the first game great, but better in practically every way. Its levels are both more varied, whilst simultaneously avoiding the pitfalls of Labyrinth and Marble Zones. Its visuals are a noticeable improvement. The gimmicks it has are far more fleshed out and, more importantly, less frustrating overall (its approach to water being a major example of this). Its pacing is better, its music more refined, and so on. I'm hard-pressed to find anything that this game does, that Sonic 1 did better, outside of *maybe* their very first levels. As such there's really not much more for me to say.
GAME 13: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
PS5 | Finished 27/02/24 | 4 Hours Played | 9/10
This is *easily* my favourite of the main trilogy. It feels like a full culmination of every pitfall and triumph that came before it, with very little to actually keep it down. As such there's not really much else to say; I'm honestly very, very surprised to see the trajectory of these games go so consistently up every single time. The art design is spectacular, the stages are so much more dynamic and surprising, the story is actually a 'thing' now (with really cute little transitions between stages), and its bosses are both numerous and genuinely fun to fight. The very few things I can point to as being 'negatives' would be Sandopolis Zone 2, some elements of Carnival Night, that one time I got trapped underground with no escape, and the slightly-off pacing due to its status as two 'separate' titles. However, none of those stop me from seeing how this is considered such a classic. Whilst I was starting to 'get it' with Sonic 2, this is where I fully get why these classic games are so beloved. Just amazing.
ADDENDUM: Sonic Origins Plus
Platinum Achieved
The collection 'Sonic Origins Plus' is how I chose to play these games. Why? Cause wide-screen's great, I could not care less about live systems, and it's simply the most 'complete' way to play these games at the moment. Whilst I'm sure there are many flaws that I, a complete casual, can't see, actually playing these games was fine. I didn't run into any bugs or weird moments, and the games felt perfectly fine to play whilst looking super-sharp at 4K. Similarly, the added Mission Mode (and the trophies tied to it) was a nice extra, and the overall presentation - including the animated cutscenes - was genuinely great. So whilst I won't give this a score, I'll just say that I'm not 'disappointed' to have experienced these games for the first time this way.
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10. Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?
I love fmv games and Wales Interactive always puts out fun stuff. WPMOUM is a darkly funny whodunit. Felicity and June's actresses are the real standouts, June's especially. I managed to get all routes by accident lol. My one complaint is they don't tell you in the menu which conversations you've 100%. I used a guide for the last route since I'd played through the game some 7 times and forgotten a lot of what I had clicked through already. Getting the true ending is tricky and requires a very precise route, so if you do stumble on it, well done.
I've been playing too many long games at the moment so I'm struggling to actually finish anything. Still going through LaD: IW (60 hours in) as well as Legendary Tales (30 hrs) and Helldivers 2. Took a break from these to complete Chants of Sanaar the last few days and I'm glad I did as it's an amazing game:
4 - Chants of Saanar - PS5 - 10hrs - 27/02/24 - 10/10
Beautiful game with a unique central mechanic translating languages. It takes its cue from Obra Dinn by giving 4 words to correctly identify in one go to validate them and move on, very smart.
4 - Chants of Saanar - PS5 - 10hrs - 27/02/24 - 10/10
Beautiful game with a unique central mechanic translating languages. It takes its cue from Obra Dinn by giving 4 words to correctly identify in one go to validate them and move on, very smart.
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Got a REALLY small game in and a really big one for the month of February.
05 | Sludge Life: The Big Mud Sessions
No rating on this one. It's a 20 minute demo that was more of the same stuff I saw in the first one - smoke ciggy, tag paint, walk around. Loved it, especially the ending visuals with the Big Mud track. Shit's tight
06 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Ever since wrapping Yakuza 7, I've been eagerly waiting for the release of 8 and I'm really happy to report that it lived up to those expectations and then some. It's a massive step-up in gameplay as they refined a lot of what made 7 great and amped up by adding in things like the ability to move party members, combo moves, and some really fun new combat classes to play as.The game's story manages to hit this perfect balance of being goofy and lighthearted while also being dramatic and emotionally heavy, especially in the later half of the game when Ichiban and Kiryu go seperate ways. I really want to give this game a 10/10 for being one of the best gaming experiences I've had in awhile, but I've got a bunch of little hangups with the finale, but honestly, those might go away as the game stops being so fresh in my mind. I spent almost 70 hours in this game, but I know there's plenty more waiting in Ijincho and Hawaii to see. Gonna come back and finish up more of the side content. Absolutely fantastic game, front to back.
Got a REALLY small game in and a really big one for the month of February.
05 | Sludge Life: The Big Mud Sessions
No rating on this one. It's a 20 minute demo that was more of the same stuff I saw in the first one - smoke ciggy, tag paint, walk around. Loved it, especially the ending visuals with the Big Mud track. Shit's tight
06 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Ever since wrapping Yakuza 7, I've been eagerly waiting for the release of 8 and I'm really happy to report that it lived up to those expectations and then some. It's a massive step-up in gameplay as they refined a lot of what made 7 great and amped up by adding in things like the ability to move party members, combo moves, and some really fun new combat classes to play as.The game's story manages to hit this perfect balance of being goofy and lighthearted while also being dramatic and emotionally heavy, especially in the later half of the game when Ichiban and Kiryu go seperate ways. I really want to give this game a 10/10 for being one of the best gaming experiences I've had in awhile, but I've got a bunch of little hangups with the finale, but honestly, those might go away as the game stops being so fresh in my mind. I spent almost 70 hours in this game, but I know there's plenty more waiting in Ijincho and Hawaii to see. Gonna come back and finish up more of the side content. Absolutely fantastic game, front to back.
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Three star February is go!
8. Tomb Raider Remastered ★★★
What a fascinating game to finally play in full, back in the day I'd ran aimlessly around the first stage and tutorial manor multiple times, but never actually truly played TR.
So this had been on my to play list for a long time now, the recent trilogy remaster offering the perfect starting point.
TR is a game that's simultaneously aged better than it's often given credit for, while paradoxally, has in fact aged in some of the ways it's often critiqued for in the modern day.
Playing with tank controls is still the way forward, with the completely unexplained and camera warping modern controls added to this remaster doing more harm than good unfortunately. Still one can adapt to the tank controls quite quickly and it doesn't start becoming much of a problem until later stages start getting a bit tight with the movement.
The same can be said for the overall gameplay, not to say it starts at the peak and ends as a dud, actually a lot of the game's later stages have some strong level design in places, but the emphasis on janky combat with tougher, spongier foes, alongside a ton of gotcha traps of instant death, can make late stage TR a bit of a mission to endure, but it's worth it.
The game's groove is definitely in the midgame, which balances most of the various elements that make up TR well. Tomb Raider's platforming plays by specific rules which as it turns out was a pretty clever way to do early 3D platforming, with the maps effectively being a grid system of sorts, on paper this means you can nearly guarantee how jumps will turn out, well almost, there's still a fair bit of early 3D jank in play.
Level design is damn impressive for how early into the 3D era this was, lots of looping and layered maps, even when I was getting frustrated by "lmao BOULDER" moments and more slow block pushing than should be allowed, I'd always remain engaged by the overall stage design.
That said, it was trying my patience a bit near the end, it's hard not to save scum because each new room starts feeling like "right, how am I to suddenly die this time?", I aimed (and succeeded) at keeping under 86 saves which apparently was a PS1 memory card limit back in the day, a nice accolade though I'd have saved myself a lot of grief by just saving a lot more.
The remaster itself is unfortunately a mixed experience, modern visuals can be far too dark in some areas and there's a recurring issues where key items or wall switches can be so hard to see that you have to flip to the OG visuals like a pseudo detective vision to reveal that you've been standing in front of a key for minutes.
Shout out to how well this game handles swimming, dunno why early 3D games like this and SM64 had this figured out from the jump only for the entire industry to regress but oh well.
9. Mario vs Donkey Kong ★★★
Now for a different flavour of puzzle platformer.
My sheer hunger for any new DK content has led me to this, a game which I always knew was gonna be one of the most seven out of tens to ever seven out of ten.
And yep, here it is, a perfectly well made and polished puzzle platformer.
The original GBA game had actually escaped me, so this was all new, though having played its DS touch screen focused sequel and its GB predecessor, I had a good idea of what I was in for.
Despite not playing the original, I feel pretty confident saying that it suffered from the GBA's limitations on pre rendered visuals and audio, so this switch release is an absolute leap in both departments.
Oddly it feels like a step back in ideas to the GB Donkey Kong, maybe, it's been a while since I played that. A lot of emphasis here is one the trio of red, blue and yellow switches that swap out ladders, blocks and such, maybe a bit too much.
I do like how you build up to a lemmings like stage per world of guiding the mini mario toys you collect each stage, it adds a nice capstone to each world alongside the DK boss fight.
Now really, I'm not quite finished because despite rolling credits, it turns out this game has pulled a SM3D Land with its post game (or should that be 3D Land pulled a Mario vs DK GBA?), and each world has a second version that actually merges the mini mario escort (now only one Mario) with the base game's get the key to the door formula. I can't help but feel this game could've really used a level editor like its DS sequel had, this really stuck out to me as the two new worlds for this version of the game had elements that very much reminded me of Super Mario Maker 2's 3D World mode, but I suppose in a world with SMM2 then it's not like a big selling point.
As well made as the game is, it doesn't inspire much excitement in me, despite the title placing Mario and DK on equal billing, this is very much yet another Mario game, a spiritual successor the DK arcade lineage sure, but you know, even those games are basically just more Mario-verse. DK exists as boss and nothing more, the stage gimmicks and enemies mostly hark to Mario series tropes with only a few nods to DK Jr really making me think of things more DK flavoured.
In a sense it's fun to see that Nintendo went back to Mario and DK's shared lineage and kept it going, even into diminishing returns march of the minis hell, it just can't hope to match up to the platforming of mainline mario or DK.
But damn that's a nice DK character model, he has so much charisma, Mario could never
10. Penny's Big Breakaway ★★★
If the above platformer is a perfectly safe and polished seven out of ten that's just like "sure, whatever" to me, here's the other type, a scrappy, rough around the edges title with higher highs and lower lows that inspires more of a reaction in me, one of frustration unfortunately as Penny's big break somewhat stumbles out the gate.
I don't exactly take joy in knocking this title, I actually had HIGH hopes, like potential top 5 of the year level high hopes. A brand new 3D platformer from the team behind Sonic Mania? entire mechanics built around the central yo-yo gimmick that adds an in universe touch to every move in your arsenal? that's my jam!
Alas, this is the glitchiest game I've played in some time, falling through the floor in the tutorial stage mere minutes into the game was a grim sign of things to come, this game shadowdropped and I really think it should'nt have, it's come in hot and amounts a lot of small frustrations that add up.
On the positive side, the core of PBB is like glimpsing an alternative dimension 3D Sonic game, stages are linear yet open and with a lot of potential to use momentum in platforming, this also gives PBB an edge where it doesn't feel like a full homage and stands out on its own gameplay merits.
What I did feel though is that despite the strong base, even putting aside the glitches and finicky moments of control quirks and lacking feedback, the game's stages are pretty hot and cold, and that cold stretch places itself in the mid game where gimmick wise it's spinning its wheels.
I also think that the game is too generous with mid air movement options, it has a touch of that Mario Odyssey like ability to flex on gravity, except in a more linear environment that makes it far too easy to bypass entire stretches of levels and not have to try particularly hard to do so, leaving an odd feeling that the game is arguably at its best when using these tools yet using them can negate a lot of the craft and leads to that sense of sameyness that permeates a chunk of the game.
I was happy to find the final few worlds managed to step back up and become more engaging, overall though while I had hoped for the next 3D platforming showcase, I got something that was more like one of those decent but not standout N64 platformers, you know, like your Chameleon Twists and the like.
I'd definitely say for people to wait for some patches and/or a sale, I dove in blind, I was that hyped, but I do feel a bit burnt.
11. Splatoon 3: Side Order ★★★
You get a rouguelite, you get a roguelite, every franchise gets a roguelite!
It's a pretty malleable formula and one Splatoon adapts to pretty well, just not quite enough to be a true contender for just one more run.
Following on from the order concept that lost out to the anarchy in the final splatfest of Splatoon 2 that ended up determining the theme for Splatoon 3, the roguelite here takes place in an intentionally sterile techscape, and since this is Splatoon, even that concept gets given enough pizazz to stand out.
The structure involves a pretty expected run of challenge rooms, thirty floors with a boss at 10, 20 and 30, said rooms utilise a small batch of options (close the enemy spawning portals, protect the splat zone, guide a tower etc) in mini arenas full of varying elevation. The enemy variety is fairly lacking, I can't help but think they could've cribbed some existing enemies from the single player and especially the horde mode salmon run to flesh out the roster.
The tricky thing about single player modes in Splatoon is that not all weapons, specials and sub weapons adapt well outside their multiplayer origins, and this can be a fiddly issue for Side Order, my runs with the charger (a sniper lite) and the roller (a melee weapon designed around close range one shots now in a mode with enemies that mostly resist one shots) felt inherently awkward at times.
I beat the mode on my sixth run with the octobrush, as much as I love the umbrella in style, my skills always lie with the brush. As always Splatoon's story beats manage to be more engaging than they should be, why am I so into this squid lore? always up for more Pearl and Marina content and the mode ends on a solid enough high.
I started a bit down on the mode, it won me over, perhaps not enough to really warrant throwing an extra £20 onto Splatoon 3, still it's fleshed out the pretty robust content of the game's offerings further and you really just don't get many shooters with this much going on anymore.
12. Helldivers 2 ★★★
I'll be quick with this one, it's a solid excuse for 4 friends to get together and shoot bugs n' bots, it's not doing much I haven't seen in numerous other games of this structure and I'll fully admit that I'm not quite sure exactly why this one has blown up so much on the internet.
On the other hand, a AA (I think) playstation title having such success is something this industry and sony could really use right now, so ultimately that's a win.
Functionally the gameplay is on point, it's a bit of a slog grinding out the new abilities with a limited amount of standard weapons, I enjoy it enough with friends, I just wouldn't bother playing with randoms, it doesn't have its hooks in me nearly enough for that.
8. Tomb Raider Remastered ★★★
What a fascinating game to finally play in full, back in the day I'd ran aimlessly around the first stage and tutorial manor multiple times, but never actually truly played TR.
So this had been on my to play list for a long time now, the recent trilogy remaster offering the perfect starting point.
TR is a game that's simultaneously aged better than it's often given credit for, while paradoxally, has in fact aged in some of the ways it's often critiqued for in the modern day.
Playing with tank controls is still the way forward, with the completely unexplained and camera warping modern controls added to this remaster doing more harm than good unfortunately. Still one can adapt to the tank controls quite quickly and it doesn't start becoming much of a problem until later stages start getting a bit tight with the movement.
The same can be said for the overall gameplay, not to say it starts at the peak and ends as a dud, actually a lot of the game's later stages have some strong level design in places, but the emphasis on janky combat with tougher, spongier foes, alongside a ton of gotcha traps of instant death, can make late stage TR a bit of a mission to endure, but it's worth it.
The game's groove is definitely in the midgame, which balances most of the various elements that make up TR well. Tomb Raider's platforming plays by specific rules which as it turns out was a pretty clever way to do early 3D platforming, with the maps effectively being a grid system of sorts, on paper this means you can nearly guarantee how jumps will turn out, well almost, there's still a fair bit of early 3D jank in play.
Level design is damn impressive for how early into the 3D era this was, lots of looping and layered maps, even when I was getting frustrated by "lmao BOULDER" moments and more slow block pushing than should be allowed, I'd always remain engaged by the overall stage design.
That said, it was trying my patience a bit near the end, it's hard not to save scum because each new room starts feeling like "right, how am I to suddenly die this time?", I aimed (and succeeded) at keeping under 86 saves which apparently was a PS1 memory card limit back in the day, a nice accolade though I'd have saved myself a lot of grief by just saving a lot more.
The remaster itself is unfortunately a mixed experience, modern visuals can be far too dark in some areas and there's a recurring issues where key items or wall switches can be so hard to see that you have to flip to the OG visuals like a pseudo detective vision to reveal that you've been standing in front of a key for minutes.
Shout out to how well this game handles swimming, dunno why early 3D games like this and SM64 had this figured out from the jump only for the entire industry to regress but oh well.
9. Mario vs Donkey Kong ★★★
Now for a different flavour of puzzle platformer.
My sheer hunger for any new DK content has led me to this, a game which I always knew was gonna be one of the most seven out of tens to ever seven out of ten.
And yep, here it is, a perfectly well made and polished puzzle platformer.
The original GBA game had actually escaped me, so this was all new, though having played its DS touch screen focused sequel and its GB predecessor, I had a good idea of what I was in for.
Despite not playing the original, I feel pretty confident saying that it suffered from the GBA's limitations on pre rendered visuals and audio, so this switch release is an absolute leap in both departments.
Oddly it feels like a step back in ideas to the GB Donkey Kong, maybe, it's been a while since I played that. A lot of emphasis here is one the trio of red, blue and yellow switches that swap out ladders, blocks and such, maybe a bit too much.
I do like how you build up to a lemmings like stage per world of guiding the mini mario toys you collect each stage, it adds a nice capstone to each world alongside the DK boss fight.
Now really, I'm not quite finished because despite rolling credits, it turns out this game has pulled a SM3D Land with its post game (or should that be 3D Land pulled a Mario vs DK GBA?), and each world has a second version that actually merges the mini mario escort (now only one Mario) with the base game's get the key to the door formula. I can't help but feel this game could've really used a level editor like its DS sequel had, this really stuck out to me as the two new worlds for this version of the game had elements that very much reminded me of Super Mario Maker 2's 3D World mode, but I suppose in a world with SMM2 then it's not like a big selling point.
As well made as the game is, it doesn't inspire much excitement in me, despite the title placing Mario and DK on equal billing, this is very much yet another Mario game, a spiritual successor the DK arcade lineage sure, but you know, even those games are basically just more Mario-verse. DK exists as boss and nothing more, the stage gimmicks and enemies mostly hark to Mario series tropes with only a few nods to DK Jr really making me think of things more DK flavoured.
In a sense it's fun to see that Nintendo went back to Mario and DK's shared lineage and kept it going, even into diminishing returns march of the minis hell, it just can't hope to match up to the platforming of mainline mario or DK.
But damn that's a nice DK character model, he has so much charisma, Mario could never
10. Penny's Big Breakaway ★★★
If the above platformer is a perfectly safe and polished seven out of ten that's just like "sure, whatever" to me, here's the other type, a scrappy, rough around the edges title with higher highs and lower lows that inspires more of a reaction in me, one of frustration unfortunately as Penny's big break somewhat stumbles out the gate.
I don't exactly take joy in knocking this title, I actually had HIGH hopes, like potential top 5 of the year level high hopes. A brand new 3D platformer from the team behind Sonic Mania? entire mechanics built around the central yo-yo gimmick that adds an in universe touch to every move in your arsenal? that's my jam!
Alas, this is the glitchiest game I've played in some time, falling through the floor in the tutorial stage mere minutes into the game was a grim sign of things to come, this game shadowdropped and I really think it should'nt have, it's come in hot and amounts a lot of small frustrations that add up.
On the positive side, the core of PBB is like glimpsing an alternative dimension 3D Sonic game, stages are linear yet open and with a lot of potential to use momentum in platforming, this also gives PBB an edge where it doesn't feel like a full homage and stands out on its own gameplay merits.
What I did feel though is that despite the strong base, even putting aside the glitches and finicky moments of control quirks and lacking feedback, the game's stages are pretty hot and cold, and that cold stretch places itself in the mid game where gimmick wise it's spinning its wheels.
I also think that the game is too generous with mid air movement options, it has a touch of that Mario Odyssey like ability to flex on gravity, except in a more linear environment that makes it far too easy to bypass entire stretches of levels and not have to try particularly hard to do so, leaving an odd feeling that the game is arguably at its best when using these tools yet using them can negate a lot of the craft and leads to that sense of sameyness that permeates a chunk of the game.
I was happy to find the final few worlds managed to step back up and become more engaging, overall though while I had hoped for the next 3D platforming showcase, I got something that was more like one of those decent but not standout N64 platformers, you know, like your Chameleon Twists and the like.
I'd definitely say for people to wait for some patches and/or a sale, I dove in blind, I was that hyped, but I do feel a bit burnt.
11. Splatoon 3: Side Order ★★★
You get a rouguelite, you get a roguelite, every franchise gets a roguelite!
It's a pretty malleable formula and one Splatoon adapts to pretty well, just not quite enough to be a true contender for just one more run.
Following on from the order concept that lost out to the anarchy in the final splatfest of Splatoon 2 that ended up determining the theme for Splatoon 3, the roguelite here takes place in an intentionally sterile techscape, and since this is Splatoon, even that concept gets given enough pizazz to stand out.
The structure involves a pretty expected run of challenge rooms, thirty floors with a boss at 10, 20 and 30, said rooms utilise a small batch of options (close the enemy spawning portals, protect the splat zone, guide a tower etc) in mini arenas full of varying elevation. The enemy variety is fairly lacking, I can't help but think they could've cribbed some existing enemies from the single player and especially the horde mode salmon run to flesh out the roster.
The tricky thing about single player modes in Splatoon is that not all weapons, specials and sub weapons adapt well outside their multiplayer origins, and this can be a fiddly issue for Side Order, my runs with the charger (a sniper lite) and the roller (a melee weapon designed around close range one shots now in a mode with enemies that mostly resist one shots) felt inherently awkward at times.
I beat the mode on my sixth run with the octobrush, as much as I love the umbrella in style, my skills always lie with the brush. As always Splatoon's story beats manage to be more engaging than they should be, why am I so into this squid lore? always up for more Pearl and Marina content and the mode ends on a solid enough high.
I started a bit down on the mode, it won me over, perhaps not enough to really warrant throwing an extra £20 onto Splatoon 3, still it's fleshed out the pretty robust content of the game's offerings further and you really just don't get many shooters with this much going on anymore.
12. Helldivers 2 ★★★
I'll be quick with this one, it's a solid excuse for 4 friends to get together and shoot bugs n' bots, it's not doing much I haven't seen in numerous other games of this structure and I'll fully admit that I'm not quite sure exactly why this one has blown up so much on the internet.
On the other hand, a AA (I think) playstation title having such success is something this industry and sony could really use right now, so ultimately that's a win.
Functionally the gameplay is on point, it's a bit of a slog grinding out the new abilities with a limited amount of standard weapons, I enjoy it enough with friends, I just wouldn't bother playing with randoms, it doesn't have its hooks in me nearly enough for that.
February update
Main post
Week 9: 12 games complete
7. Sonic Adventure 2 - 9 hours | Steam Deck | 31-Jan → 7-Feb (replay)
After replaying SA1 last year and being a bit disappointed I was worried I'd feel the same about this one, but for me at least it holds up, even if only via nostalgia. The storyline is still as nuts as ever, and I think now I can look back at the insane edginess of Shadow with just fondness.
The Sonic/Shadow stages are obviously the highlight of the game. Even if they are pretty on rails a lot of the time the sense of speed rushing through the stages feels good, and the homing attack is satisfying to use. The mech stages are fun in a brain dead sort of way, and I think the hunting stages aren't as bad as people make out. I've never played Heroes/Shadow/06, and I probably shouldn't, but I am weirdly tempted after this…
8. Planet of Lana - 4½ hours | Steam Deck | 9-Feb → 15-Feb
Glad I picked this up. If you've played Limbo or Inside, then the physicsy puzzle platformer gameplay will feel very familiar, but the addition of the companion character Mui, allows for a lot of puzzles that feel unique to this game. It doesn't quite match the level of inguinity of Inside in my opinion but there's definitely still enough meat on the bone in terms of gameplay.
Where this feels completely different from Limbo / Inside is that while those games nailed a dark, depressing vibe, Planet of Lana's world is a beautiful, bright painted world. To go along with the stunning visuals, the soundtrack is amazing. It's almost John Williams like at times, and there's a musical sequence towards the end of the game that is really special.
9. Metroid: Zero Mission - 4½ hours | GBA emulated on Steam Deck / PC | 10-Feb → 17-Feb (replay)
Gave up waiting for Nintendo to add this to NSO so decided to play it on Steam Deck instead. It's amazing how good Samus feels to control in the GBA games - 20 years later the movement in this game still feels tighter and snappier than most games that release today (including Dread IMO).
I think I'd probably class this as one of the best remakes in gaming history? The original Metroid literally defined a new genre, but is a pain to play now (or even 20 years ago). This game makes it a delight to play while largely preserving it's spirit. I think I'd still pick Super as my favourite 2D Metroid but this comes close. I even actually quite like the stealth interlude, especially the resolution of regaining your suit along with the decoded power-ups.
10. Kirby's Dream Land - 1 hour | Game Boy emulated on PC | 23-Feb → 23-Feb
So the only Kirby game I've ever played was The Forgotten Land, which I enjoyed and thought I should give some of the 2d entries a try. Seeing as I've got my shiny new emulator to test out I figured why not give the original a try.
Overall the game is short and sweet. There's not much in the way of gameplay aside from floating and sucking but seeing as you can finish the game in an hour that's not the end of the world. What I really liked was the amount of character they managed to squeeze into that tiny puffball even on the game boy. The animations really do make him (and Dedede) come to life.
11. Assassin's Creed Revelations - 12½ hours | PC | 21-Feb → ?
Finally finished off Ezio's trilogy. These games are so frustrating - the core concept of playing as a parkour assassin in a historical city is awesome, and I even like the idea of there being a sci-fi angle to it with people in the modern day trying to discover hidden artefacts through reliving the past. But there's so much in the execution I just hate. Desmond looks like and has the personality of a potato, and I hate the other modern day characters too (especially fake Stephen Merchant). And apparently the cliffhanger ending from the last game was just sorta resolved offscreen. To be honest I hate the whole Assassin v Templar dynamic and think the series would be way better without it. Some of the writing veers into toxic 2010s "gamer"-ness as well IMO (particularly around how it treats women).
As for gameplay, Ezio just doesn't feel good to control. Most of the parkour is just holding free run and pointing in a direction as he goes through pre-canned animations, until suddenly he decides to leap into an abyss instead. I genuinely think these games would be way improved by not having guards on the rooftops outside of strongholds - it ruins the fun of traversing across the city, and it's so unrealistic. It basically takes me out of the experience as well as ruining my fun. Overall I don't regret playing these three games, and there's clearly some great thought that went into making them, but they also contain a lot of stuff I really don't enjoy and I don't think I'll be playing any other games in the series.
12. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - 2 hours | Game Boy emulated on PC | 25-Feb → 27-Feb (replay)
Another Game Boy classic down in the name of emulator testing. I will never get over the difficulty curve of this game. The game is designed so you can visit the six zones in any order, but clearly they tweaked the difficulty so that none of them is too difficult to be "World 1". But then the final level once you've beaten every zone is possibly the hardest mandatory level in any 2D Mario game that I can think of. It's a huge level full of tricky platforming, followed by a three phase boss fight, with no checkpoints. I enjoyed the challenge but it is a bit jarring after sleepwalking through most of the rest of the game.
What this game managed to pull off technically in comparison to its predecessor is almost as impressive as the SMB1 → SMB3 jump for advancement on the same hardware, but for me the physics are just a bit off compared to the titans of the 2D series (3, World, Wonder). It's still worth playing though. And it was great for testing out my emulator, this game must have revealed more bugs than any other. Clearly they were pushing the original Game Boy to its limits.
Game of the Month: It's close with Planet of Lana but I have to give it to Metroid: Zero Mission
Next up: I've been working my way through Pokémon Gold, and just started Resident Evil VIllage. Also planning to play Chants of Sennaar and Donkey Kong '94.
Main post
Week 9: 12 games complete
7. Sonic Adventure 2 - 9 hours | Steam Deck | 31-Jan → 7-Feb (replay)
After replaying SA1 last year and being a bit disappointed I was worried I'd feel the same about this one, but for me at least it holds up, even if only via nostalgia. The storyline is still as nuts as ever, and I think now I can look back at the insane edginess of Shadow with just fondness.
The Sonic/Shadow stages are obviously the highlight of the game. Even if they are pretty on rails a lot of the time the sense of speed rushing through the stages feels good, and the homing attack is satisfying to use. The mech stages are fun in a brain dead sort of way, and I think the hunting stages aren't as bad as people make out. I've never played Heroes/Shadow/06, and I probably shouldn't, but I am weirdly tempted after this…
8. Planet of Lana - 4½ hours | Steam Deck | 9-Feb → 15-Feb
Glad I picked this up. If you've played Limbo or Inside, then the physicsy puzzle platformer gameplay will feel very familiar, but the addition of the companion character Mui, allows for a lot of puzzles that feel unique to this game. It doesn't quite match the level of inguinity of Inside in my opinion but there's definitely still enough meat on the bone in terms of gameplay.
Where this feels completely different from Limbo / Inside is that while those games nailed a dark, depressing vibe, Planet of Lana's world is a beautiful, bright painted world. To go along with the stunning visuals, the soundtrack is amazing. It's almost John Williams like at times, and there's a musical sequence towards the end of the game that is really special.
9. Metroid: Zero Mission - 4½ hours | GBA emulated on Steam Deck / PC | 10-Feb → 17-Feb (replay)
Gave up waiting for Nintendo to add this to NSO so decided to play it on Steam Deck instead. It's amazing how good Samus feels to control in the GBA games - 20 years later the movement in this game still feels tighter and snappier than most games that release today (including Dread IMO).
I think I'd probably class this as one of the best remakes in gaming history? The original Metroid literally defined a new genre, but is a pain to play now (or even 20 years ago). This game makes it a delight to play while largely preserving it's spirit. I think I'd still pick Super as my favourite 2D Metroid but this comes close. I even actually quite like the stealth interlude, especially the resolution of regaining your suit along with the decoded power-ups.
10. Kirby's Dream Land - 1 hour | Game Boy emulated on PC | 23-Feb → 23-Feb
So the only Kirby game I've ever played was The Forgotten Land, which I enjoyed and thought I should give some of the 2d entries a try. Seeing as I've got my shiny new emulator to test out I figured why not give the original a try.
Overall the game is short and sweet. There's not much in the way of gameplay aside from floating and sucking but seeing as you can finish the game in an hour that's not the end of the world. What I really liked was the amount of character they managed to squeeze into that tiny puffball even on the game boy. The animations really do make him (and Dedede) come to life.
11. Assassin's Creed Revelations - 12½ hours | PC | 21-Feb → ?
Finally finished off Ezio's trilogy. These games are so frustrating - the core concept of playing as a parkour assassin in a historical city is awesome, and I even like the idea of there being a sci-fi angle to it with people in the modern day trying to discover hidden artefacts through reliving the past. But there's so much in the execution I just hate. Desmond looks like and has the personality of a potato, and I hate the other modern day characters too (especially fake Stephen Merchant). And apparently the cliffhanger ending from the last game was just sorta resolved offscreen. To be honest I hate the whole Assassin v Templar dynamic and think the series would be way better without it. Some of the writing veers into toxic 2010s "gamer"-ness as well IMO (particularly around how it treats women).
As for gameplay, Ezio just doesn't feel good to control. Most of the parkour is just holding free run and pointing in a direction as he goes through pre-canned animations, until suddenly he decides to leap into an abyss instead. I genuinely think these games would be way improved by not having guards on the rooftops outside of strongholds - it ruins the fun of traversing across the city, and it's so unrealistic. It basically takes me out of the experience as well as ruining my fun. Overall I don't regret playing these three games, and there's clearly some great thought that went into making them, but they also contain a lot of stuff I really don't enjoy and I don't think I'll be playing any other games in the series.
12. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - 2 hours | Game Boy emulated on PC | 25-Feb → 27-Feb (replay)
Another Game Boy classic down in the name of emulator testing. I will never get over the difficulty curve of this game. The game is designed so you can visit the six zones in any order, but clearly they tweaked the difficulty so that none of them is too difficult to be "World 1". But then the final level once you've beaten every zone is possibly the hardest mandatory level in any 2D Mario game that I can think of. It's a huge level full of tricky platforming, followed by a three phase boss fight, with no checkpoints. I enjoyed the challenge but it is a bit jarring after sleepwalking through most of the rest of the game.
What this game managed to pull off technically in comparison to its predecessor is almost as impressive as the SMB1 → SMB3 jump for advancement on the same hardware, but for me the physics are just a bit off compared to the titans of the 2D series (3, World, Wonder). It's still worth playing though. And it was great for testing out my emulator, this game must have revealed more bugs than any other. Clearly they were pushing the original Game Boy to its limits.
Game of the Month: It's close with Planet of Lana but I have to give it to Metroid: Zero Mission
Next up: I've been working my way through Pokémon Gold, and just started Resident Evil VIllage. Also planning to play Chants of Sennaar and Donkey Kong '94.
February update:
4. Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator (PC, 2024) - 29:39 - February 8
5. Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage (Android, 2021) - 22:21 (continuing from 2022/2023) - February 9
6. Star Trek: Borg (PC, 1996/Web, 2023) - 1:50 - February 18
Two gacha games and an interactive movie: really getting the most out of my gaming time this February, lol. After being lukewarm at best on Resleriana, I am somewhat dismayed to discover that it fully has its hooks in me (it's now my #1 game by hours played, yikes), though not to the point where I spend actual money thankfully. But it's much more of a time sink than Colorful Stage is, so I don't know that that's a victory for me regardless. Star Trek: Borg was an interesting surprise this month; I'm glad I got to play it, though it's not a particularly complicated or interesting adventure game aside from the Star Trek and FMV stuff. It's still up at https://borgremastered.com/ if you're interested!
More interesting to talk about are the games I haven't finished. With Rebirth coming out today, I decided to set aside Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for a bit to try and wrap up Final Fantasy VII before I start Rebirth. This won't happen; I probably won't even make it to the end of disc 1 unless I spend a bunch of time on the game tonight. My Palworld playthrough has also been on hold because of the above two games, so basically most of my February was dominated by games I wanted to play but then put on hold because other games came up that I felt I should play instead. That's going really well.
Some other highlights: Balatro came out and it's genius. As with most roguelikes, the question becomes how to decide when I can record a completion: I've already beaten the game once with the Red Deck, so I could potentially add it to the list now. Or I could do what I did with Brotato and go for unlocking everything and beating the game once with every character, which will take a lot longer. I'm leaning towards the latter because the game is super fun and melts time, but we'll see.
And against my better judgment, I've started a THIRD gacha game: NieR Reincarnation, which is due to close at the end of April. So far, I don't think I'd recommend this one: the gameplay isn't interesting at all, and the story bits are delivered sporadically enough that I think you would genuinely have a better time watching it all on YouTube. I kind of want to get through a few more chapters before I abandon it but it's honestly pretty mindless. If it didn't have connections to the other NieR games I would never have even bothered.
Quick March preview: I'll probably start Rebirth before finishing FF7, but I would like to finish FF7 next month if possible. Then I'm hoping to trade off between Infinite Wealth and Rebirth, and maybe try to polish off the rest of the existing Palworld content. Balatro I think will just be a regular thing of playing a game or two every so often. And then, uh, more Resleriana. I'm hoping with this one I can at least settle into a routine, now that the early game is over and it's mostly rejigging what I have for various weekly events.
4. Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator (PC, 2024) - 29:39 - February 8
5. Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage (Android, 2021) - 22:21 (continuing from 2022/2023) - February 9
6. Star Trek: Borg (PC, 1996/Web, 2023) - 1:50 - February 18
Two gacha games and an interactive movie: really getting the most out of my gaming time this February, lol. After being lukewarm at best on Resleriana, I am somewhat dismayed to discover that it fully has its hooks in me (it's now my #1 game by hours played, yikes), though not to the point where I spend actual money thankfully. But it's much more of a time sink than Colorful Stage is, so I don't know that that's a victory for me regardless. Star Trek: Borg was an interesting surprise this month; I'm glad I got to play it, though it's not a particularly complicated or interesting adventure game aside from the Star Trek and FMV stuff. It's still up at https://borgremastered.com/ if you're interested!
More interesting to talk about are the games I haven't finished. With Rebirth coming out today, I decided to set aside Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for a bit to try and wrap up Final Fantasy VII before I start Rebirth. This won't happen; I probably won't even make it to the end of disc 1 unless I spend a bunch of time on the game tonight. My Palworld playthrough has also been on hold because of the above two games, so basically most of my February was dominated by games I wanted to play but then put on hold because other games came up that I felt I should play instead. That's going really well.
Some other highlights: Balatro came out and it's genius. As with most roguelikes, the question becomes how to decide when I can record a completion: I've already beaten the game once with the Red Deck, so I could potentially add it to the list now. Or I could do what I did with Brotato and go for unlocking everything and beating the game once with every character, which will take a lot longer. I'm leaning towards the latter because the game is super fun and melts time, but we'll see.
And against my better judgment, I've started a THIRD gacha game: NieR Reincarnation, which is due to close at the end of April. So far, I don't think I'd recommend this one: the gameplay isn't interesting at all, and the story bits are delivered sporadically enough that I think you would genuinely have a better time watching it all on YouTube. I kind of want to get through a few more chapters before I abandon it but it's honestly pretty mindless. If it didn't have connections to the other NieR games I would never have even bothered.
Quick March preview: I'll probably start Rebirth before finishing FF7, but I would like to finish FF7 next month if possible. Then I'm hoping to trade off between Infinite Wealth and Rebirth, and maybe try to polish off the rest of the existing Palworld content. Balatro I think will just be a regular thing of playing a game or two every so often. And then, uh, more Resleriana. I'm hoping with this one I can at least settle into a routine, now that the early game is over and it's mostly rejigging what I have for various weekly events.
Even though I kept track last year I forgot to notify the OP after I posted, ah well. Life was messed up, still is, but at least there's video games.
1) Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome [2005, PS2, ArtePiazza/Square Enix] - 55 hours - 10/10
The best the DQ7 engine ever looked. Maximum coziness and a ton of excellent additions to the original game. A great fan translation to boot.
2) Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon [1992, DOS, Westwood Studios/SSI] - 18 hours - 6/10
I liked the first game and this game scratches a lot of the same itches but geez, Westwood went extreme into troll design with this one. Even if they got permission from their new dads at Virgin Games to make actual EOTB3, I don't know if I'd trust them at all with it.
3) Metal Max Returns [1995, Super Famicom, CreaTech/Kuusoukagaku/Data East] - 55 hours - 9/10
First major new revelation of the year so far. I knew parts of this game were cool but I didn't expect so much out of Mad Max: the Shonen Anime: The Video Game. Only complaints are that the translation can be a little bit on the edge (but it's apprently pretty faithful to the original) and the later bounty boss hunts can get a bit long winded.
4+5) Dreams of the Awendale: Scenarios 1 and 2 [2024, Windows, Kei Nakamura] - 16 hours (Scenario 1) + 14 hours (Scenario 2) - 10/10
On my second day of playing this, I jokingly called it "George RR Martin's Wizardry Gaiden". The game would go as harsh as possible in regards to story development and design to prove me right. Fantastic game, but also not for everybody (dark and dense themes, especially with regards to brutal historical mistreatment of women in a religious monarchy and other corruption factors entailing, as well as grotesque and revealing enemy designs). What's really incredible is that this one was free and done by a single developer.
6) Faxanadu [1987, NES, Hudson Soft] - 8 hours - 9/10
A replay of an old favorite from some 35 years ago, Faxanadu was (in a lot of ways) the game that really expanded my mindset on action-adventure, and at the time I saw this as a deeper and more structurally sound version of Zelda II. With its ties to Dragon Slayer it was so much more, even If I didn't know that yet. In a lot of ways this was my true gateway to appreciating RPGs of all sorts.
7) Ys III: Wanderers From Ys [1991, NES, Advance Communications Company/Falcom/Victor] - 6 hours - 8/10
On the audiovisual level this was a lesser product than the 16 bit versions (PC Engine CD inclusive). But it managed to be a more enjoyable run, mostly because it didn't have the problematic technical funkiness of those 16 bit versions either. Very solid version of the game.
8+9+10) Linda³ Again [1997, PS1, AlfaSystem/MARS/NEC/Sony] - 21 hours (Scenario B) + 12 hours (Scenario A) + 45 hours (Scenario C) - 10/10
I did not pace myself very well for this game, which meant bracing myself was difficult as well. This game is a lot, and it's glorious and amazing in some of the same ways Earthbound is, but you have to engage with it in a healthy way. Not just because the first two Scenarios (especially A) have story beats that can mess some people up. Scenario C is endurance and careful coordination and management of being in the right places at the right times to complete side quests and even to set up goals of catching rare animals. An incredible game worth playing that I never want to touch again as long as I live, and it's mostly my fault.
11) Legacy of the Wizard [1987, NES, Nihon Falcom/Broderbund] - 12 hours - 7/10
My breather game in the middle of Linda probably wasn't the most appropriate but it did feed a lot of nostalgia. Drasle Family was the reason I bought Ys for Sega Master System, and also the reason that I jumped at getting Sorcerian for DOS. No regrets ever revisiting this even if I might get stressed by block manipulation and have to savescum puzzles pretty hard in the later phases.
12) Minoria [2019, Windows, bombservice/DANGEN] - 9 hours - 9/10
My cooldown/recovery game after Linda. Given the dark subject matter maybe not the best? But I'm a big rdein fan and I pushed this off for too long. Much better designed than I expected given the way it came together after the collapse of the original Momodora V. Still maintains a lot of the tough and rewarding styles of boss fights from Reverie Under the Moonlight as well, which was great to see.
13) Ganpuru: Gunman's Proof [1997, Super Famicom, LENAR/AsciiSoft] - 6 hours - 9/10
Awesome Link to the Past in the weird Old West. Extremely silly, sometimes a little dark, but still a lot of fun. Reminded me a whole lot of The Frog For Whom The Bell Tolls with regards to humor delivery.
14) ASTLIBRA Revision Gaiden: The Cave of Phantom Mist [2024, Windows, KEIZO/WhisperGames] - 32 hours - 10/10
It's more of the ASTLIBRA post-game, but there's SO MUCH MORE than that. The extra quests and extra arena content, as well as Quality of Life enhancements that I wouldn't mind seeing backported to the main game, made this the best value in DLC I've seen in a long time. Hopefully what's next doesn't take another 15 years though.
Next update (probably):
Dragon Quest VI for the DS
A replay of La-Mulana for PC
Metal Walker (GBC)
Dreams of the Awendale Scenario 3
Perihelion: The Prophecy (Amiga)
1) Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome [2005, PS2, ArtePiazza/Square Enix] - 55 hours - 10/10
The best the DQ7 engine ever looked. Maximum coziness and a ton of excellent additions to the original game. A great fan translation to boot.
2) Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon [1992, DOS, Westwood Studios/SSI] - 18 hours - 6/10
I liked the first game and this game scratches a lot of the same itches but geez, Westwood went extreme into troll design with this one. Even if they got permission from their new dads at Virgin Games to make actual EOTB3, I don't know if I'd trust them at all with it.
3) Metal Max Returns [1995, Super Famicom, CreaTech/Kuusoukagaku/Data East] - 55 hours - 9/10
First major new revelation of the year so far. I knew parts of this game were cool but I didn't expect so much out of Mad Max: the Shonen Anime: The Video Game. Only complaints are that the translation can be a little bit on the edge (but it's apprently pretty faithful to the original) and the later bounty boss hunts can get a bit long winded.
4+5) Dreams of the Awendale: Scenarios 1 and 2 [2024, Windows, Kei Nakamura] - 16 hours (Scenario 1) + 14 hours (Scenario 2) - 10/10
On my second day of playing this, I jokingly called it "George RR Martin's Wizardry Gaiden". The game would go as harsh as possible in regards to story development and design to prove me right. Fantastic game, but also not for everybody (dark and dense themes, especially with regards to brutal historical mistreatment of women in a religious monarchy and other corruption factors entailing, as well as grotesque and revealing enemy designs). What's really incredible is that this one was free and done by a single developer.
6) Faxanadu [1987, NES, Hudson Soft] - 8 hours - 9/10
A replay of an old favorite from some 35 years ago, Faxanadu was (in a lot of ways) the game that really expanded my mindset on action-adventure, and at the time I saw this as a deeper and more structurally sound version of Zelda II. With its ties to Dragon Slayer it was so much more, even If I didn't know that yet. In a lot of ways this was my true gateway to appreciating RPGs of all sorts.
7) Ys III: Wanderers From Ys [1991, NES, Advance Communications Company/Falcom/Victor] - 6 hours - 8/10
On the audiovisual level this was a lesser product than the 16 bit versions (PC Engine CD inclusive). But it managed to be a more enjoyable run, mostly because it didn't have the problematic technical funkiness of those 16 bit versions either. Very solid version of the game.
8+9+10) Linda³ Again [1997, PS1, AlfaSystem/MARS/NEC/Sony] - 21 hours (Scenario B) + 12 hours (Scenario A) + 45 hours (Scenario C) - 10/10
I did not pace myself very well for this game, which meant bracing myself was difficult as well. This game is a lot, and it's glorious and amazing in some of the same ways Earthbound is, but you have to engage with it in a healthy way. Not just because the first two Scenarios (especially A) have story beats that can mess some people up. Scenario C is endurance and careful coordination and management of being in the right places at the right times to complete side quests and even to set up goals of catching rare animals. An incredible game worth playing that I never want to touch again as long as I live, and it's mostly my fault.
11) Legacy of the Wizard [1987, NES, Nihon Falcom/Broderbund] - 12 hours - 7/10
My breather game in the middle of Linda probably wasn't the most appropriate but it did feed a lot of nostalgia. Drasle Family was the reason I bought Ys for Sega Master System, and also the reason that I jumped at getting Sorcerian for DOS. No regrets ever revisiting this even if I might get stressed by block manipulation and have to savescum puzzles pretty hard in the later phases.
12) Minoria [2019, Windows, bombservice/DANGEN] - 9 hours - 9/10
My cooldown/recovery game after Linda. Given the dark subject matter maybe not the best? But I'm a big rdein fan and I pushed this off for too long. Much better designed than I expected given the way it came together after the collapse of the original Momodora V. Still maintains a lot of the tough and rewarding styles of boss fights from Reverie Under the Moonlight as well, which was great to see.
13) Ganpuru: Gunman's Proof [1997, Super Famicom, LENAR/AsciiSoft] - 6 hours - 9/10
Awesome Link to the Past in the weird Old West. Extremely silly, sometimes a little dark, but still a lot of fun. Reminded me a whole lot of The Frog For Whom The Bell Tolls with regards to humor delivery.
14) ASTLIBRA Revision Gaiden: The Cave of Phantom Mist [2024, Windows, KEIZO/WhisperGames] - 32 hours - 10/10
It's more of the ASTLIBRA post-game, but there's SO MUCH MORE than that. The extra quests and extra arena content, as well as Quality of Life enhancements that I wouldn't mind seeing backported to the main game, made this the best value in DLC I've seen in a long time. Hopefully what's next doesn't take another 15 years though.
Next update (probably):
Dragon Quest VI for the DS
A replay of La-Mulana for PC
Metal Walker (GBC)
Dreams of the Awendale Scenario 3
Perihelion: The Prophecy (Amiga)
47. Blaster Master Boy (Evercade) - This one is a bit of a weird one, not a Blaster Master game but rather a rebranding of another game, its not too surprised to learn that it is actually a Bomberman spinoff, you know since it plays so darn much like Bomberman!
The game is broken up into stages - levels have different numbers of stages - maybe just a couple, maybe several, all are capped off with boss battles which are a mix of fairly easy, and fairly challenging.
The stages themselves just ask you to find the key in each stage, then reach the exit (the exit is always in the top corner of a stage, so its really just a case to find the key). You'll want to gather supplies as you play as they will end up being vital later in the game. The way you destroy stuff? Bombs, of course. It plays just like Bomberman to be honest... you put down bombs, you destroy blocks and enemies that are in your way. Its simple, but fast paced and surprisingly additive.
Bosses usually have a trick to them - whether it be having them eat a bomb, figure out their pattern to take them out without taking too much damage, to... well the one with the moving bricks just sucks... just use the direction bombs and hope lol.
My issue with the game is basically that there are a few instances where you need to use special items to navigate certain areas - rubber ring for water, some sort of spike protectors, and a lamp for dark areas. Now, these items arent hard to come by, and as long as you keep a decent stock of them, the game is simple, but... well you can really mess yourself up with the lamps late in the game. See - some levels are pitch black, so you'll constantly be popping lamps because they dont last the entire level, just a few seconds. And while there's no shortage of little underground areas to explore in earlier levels (prompted by stairs), these are also fully pitch black. So on my second attempt, I ignored every last one of these - and yeah they are a waste of time - you might get some good stuff, or just waste all your lamps. The issue could have been fixed by having lamps last way longer, but nope instead you just gotta know the levels well and only use lamps when needed in main levels.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
The game is broken up into stages - levels have different numbers of stages - maybe just a couple, maybe several, all are capped off with boss battles which are a mix of fairly easy, and fairly challenging.
The stages themselves just ask you to find the key in each stage, then reach the exit (the exit is always in the top corner of a stage, so its really just a case to find the key). You'll want to gather supplies as you play as they will end up being vital later in the game. The way you destroy stuff? Bombs, of course. It plays just like Bomberman to be honest... you put down bombs, you destroy blocks and enemies that are in your way. Its simple, but fast paced and surprisingly additive.
Bosses usually have a trick to them - whether it be having them eat a bomb, figure out their pattern to take them out without taking too much damage, to... well the one with the moving bricks just sucks... just use the direction bombs and hope lol.
My issue with the game is basically that there are a few instances where you need to use special items to navigate certain areas - rubber ring for water, some sort of spike protectors, and a lamp for dark areas. Now, these items arent hard to come by, and as long as you keep a decent stock of them, the game is simple, but... well you can really mess yourself up with the lamps late in the game. See - some levels are pitch black, so you'll constantly be popping lamps because they dont last the entire level, just a few seconds. And while there's no shortage of little underground areas to explore in earlier levels (prompted by stairs), these are also fully pitch black. So on my second attempt, I ignored every last one of these - and yeah they are a waste of time - you might get some good stuff, or just waste all your lamps. The issue could have been fixed by having lamps last way longer, but nope instead you just gotta know the levels well and only use lamps when needed in main levels.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
SlasherMcGirk's 52 Games 2024
Game 9 To the Moon
Release 2011
Platforms PC, IOS, Switch
Review Score
2/10
Are you ever in the mood to cry and feel sad? I like an emotional sad story just as much sometimes as good horror movie for the scares. To the Moon is always a title that many people bring up for it's sheer emotional impact. It's been on my wishlist for years, waiting for a playstation vita port or a steep discount on steam. Finally broke down and bought it on switch because I was in the mood for this style of game. I was pretty pumped by the sheer number of positive praise I've heard. After playing To the Moon I am left scratching my head at what anybody sees in it. Let me assure you, this isn't a mentality of pride that this reviewer is so tough he can't cry and since he didn't the game sucks. Far from it. It's one of the most clunky story based games I've ever played. In terms of story and gameplay.
To the Moon is a game that was created in RPG maker so by default it's not a looker or smooth to play. In fact i found it to be very frustrating to play. For a game where you just move small 2D sprites and just click on things it should not feel this irratating. Barely any animations in the characters at all. Walking to and from places is slow and stiff. Then at times I felt like my characters would continue walking way after I've stopped holding the button. Constatly was stuck on items in the background and sometimes turning to face an object to examine it I would have to walk backwards and turn to that direction to get a prompt rather than just being able to press left or right on the Dpad when pressed up against an object. Normally I would not complain so much about controls in a visual novel style adventure game but you spend half the time walking around and collecting random "memories" before being forced into a dull sliding puzzle to trigger the next story theme.
Before I even talk about the story, the presentation of it is really off putting to me too. I don't even know if that the right way of wording it but I don't know how else to say it. All dialog is in small speech bubbles. Now that I think about it, it feels like a comic bubble. So bits of dialog is presented in small bits of a time by characters, which is kinda annoying to read in small text. It's not like a visual novel text box. Just have a few character portraits and text boxes would have helped so so much more. I don't know if it's an RPG maker limitation but either way, I hated it. Conversations never are very long or detailed. Everything is presented as a matter of fact in short bursts.
I was expecting a lot more to actually read in this game. I was expecting a lot more. Everything felt like the cliff notes version of the story and I was wanting more details and depth. I found it really hard to get attached to the characters becuase I feel like not much of anything actually happens to them. Everything about the story fell completly flat for me. There is no other way to say it. I was really expecting a big turn and some gut punches in the end but I was left saying "Wait it's over?" I don't need any M. Knight style of twists but I was expecting more weight given the high praise of people getting emotinal. I've cried over games before and game stories have made me sad but To the Moon was as one note as it gets. Once you see the direction in the first 45mins of the game it doesn't pivot or change from there.
I don't wanna be a contrarian compared to everyone else but I can not reccommened this game at all. I had RPG maker style mindset from the get go, so this is not a case of too high of realistic expectations. Everytime I have heard anybody talk about this game I never hear them say why they like it other than the fact it made them cry. Never any details or moments. I see that, that in and of itself is telling. There are much much better visual novel adventure style games that are worth your time than this title. Go play House of Fata Morgana instead if you wanna cry.
Game 9 To the Moon
Release 2011
Platforms PC, IOS, Switch
Review Score
2/10
Are you ever in the mood to cry and feel sad? I like an emotional sad story just as much sometimes as good horror movie for the scares. To the Moon is always a title that many people bring up for it's sheer emotional impact. It's been on my wishlist for years, waiting for a playstation vita port or a steep discount on steam. Finally broke down and bought it on switch because I was in the mood for this style of game. I was pretty pumped by the sheer number of positive praise I've heard. After playing To the Moon I am left scratching my head at what anybody sees in it. Let me assure you, this isn't a mentality of pride that this reviewer is so tough he can't cry and since he didn't the game sucks. Far from it. It's one of the most clunky story based games I've ever played. In terms of story and gameplay.
To the Moon is a game that was created in RPG maker so by default it's not a looker or smooth to play. In fact i found it to be very frustrating to play. For a game where you just move small 2D sprites and just click on things it should not feel this irratating. Barely any animations in the characters at all. Walking to and from places is slow and stiff. Then at times I felt like my characters would continue walking way after I've stopped holding the button. Constatly was stuck on items in the background and sometimes turning to face an object to examine it I would have to walk backwards and turn to that direction to get a prompt rather than just being able to press left or right on the Dpad when pressed up against an object. Normally I would not complain so much about controls in a visual novel style adventure game but you spend half the time walking around and collecting random "memories" before being forced into a dull sliding puzzle to trigger the next story theme.
Before I even talk about the story, the presentation of it is really off putting to me too. I don't even know if that the right way of wording it but I don't know how else to say it. All dialog is in small speech bubbles. Now that I think about it, it feels like a comic bubble. So bits of dialog is presented in small bits of a time by characters, which is kinda annoying to read in small text. It's not like a visual novel text box. Just have a few character portraits and text boxes would have helped so so much more. I don't know if it's an RPG maker limitation but either way, I hated it. Conversations never are very long or detailed. Everything is presented as a matter of fact in short bursts.
I was expecting a lot more to actually read in this game. I was expecting a lot more. Everything felt like the cliff notes version of the story and I was wanting more details and depth. I found it really hard to get attached to the characters becuase I feel like not much of anything actually happens to them. Everything about the story fell completly flat for me. There is no other way to say it. I was really expecting a big turn and some gut punches in the end but I was left saying "Wait it's over?" I don't need any M. Knight style of twists but I was expecting more weight given the high praise of people getting emotinal. I've cried over games before and game stories have made me sad but To the Moon was as one note as it gets. Once you see the direction in the first 45mins of the game it doesn't pivot or change from there.
I don't wanna be a contrarian compared to everyone else but I can not reccommened this game at all. I had RPG maker style mindset from the get go, so this is not a case of too high of realistic expectations. Everytime I have heard anybody talk about this game I never hear them say why they like it other than the fact it made them cry. Never any details or moments. I see that, that in and of itself is telling. There are much much better visual novel adventure style games that are worth your time than this title. Go play House of Fata Morgana instead if you wanna cry.
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Only two games in February, but after a better January I'm still about on par so far for the year:
7. South of the Circle (PC - GOG) | 16 February 2024 | 7/10
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. South of the Circle tells a well-written, affecting story of the relationship between two university academics, relived in the memory of the protagonist after a plane crash on the way to a research expedition to the Antarctic, alongside also following his attempts to find rescue from the crash. Gameplay is mostly very light, with the core mechanic being dialogue choices through choosing the 'mood' of a response rather than specific lines (for example, fear, empathy or enthusiasm). It's a system that works better than I honestly expected, though only a handful of these choices are actually meaningful to future events.
While it's perhaps disappointing that a greater degree of branching isn't possible, that's arguably outside the scope of what the game aims for and at the overall end, even if the differences in events don't account for much of the time that we see them playing out, they still feel quite deeply meaningful. This isn't a game with particularly lofty aims, but what it attempts it makes a laudable success of.
8. A Little to the Left (PC - Steam) | 27 February 2024 | 7/10
All levels + free DLC completed. A solid puzzle game that will appeal to the "neat freak" in any of us, mostly A Little to the Left's tidying and ordering-based puzzles are mostly pleasantly satisfying to solve, just occasionally veering into having intended solutions that are just a little too obscure. All very attractively presented and with an enjoyable theme around cats underlying the stage progression.
7. South of the Circle (PC - GOG) | 16 February 2024 | 7/10
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. South of the Circle tells a well-written, affecting story of the relationship between two university academics, relived in the memory of the protagonist after a plane crash on the way to a research expedition to the Antarctic, alongside also following his attempts to find rescue from the crash. Gameplay is mostly very light, with the core mechanic being dialogue choices through choosing the 'mood' of a response rather than specific lines (for example, fear, empathy or enthusiasm). It's a system that works better than I honestly expected, though only a handful of these choices are actually meaningful to future events.
While it's perhaps disappointing that a greater degree of branching isn't possible, that's arguably outside the scope of what the game aims for and at the overall end, even if the differences in events don't account for much of the time that we see them playing out, they still feel quite deeply meaningful. This isn't a game with particularly lofty aims, but what it attempts it makes a laudable success of.
8. A Little to the Left (PC - Steam) | 27 February 2024 | 7/10
All levels + free DLC completed. A solid puzzle game that will appeal to the "neat freak" in any of us, mostly A Little to the Left's tidying and ordering-based puzzles are mostly pleasantly satisfying to solve, just occasionally veering into having intended solutions that are just a little too obscure. All very attractively presented and with an enjoyable theme around cats underlying the stage progression.
Second half of February was a bit lighter, mostly due to a few longer still-in-progress titles.
Main post (#138)
18. Hoa
Steam Deck / 23. 2. 2024 / 2h
Backlog stat: on wishlist since 24. 8. 2021
While the visuals are fantastic, the rest suffers a quite bit. Extremely basic platforming and puzzling, barebones animations, and while I really liked the music, it was very poorly implemented, with near-inexistent dynamic arrangement, even hard cuts on some transitions. It is a $15 game that feels and plays like a $3 game. I don't necessarily regret playing it, but I wouldn't recommend it either.
19. Avicii Invector
PS5 / 24. 2. 2024 / 2h
Backlog stat: on the shelf since 30. 4. 2020
I bought this on a big discount and still under the influence of the Thumper brilliance, but never got around to it. It is exactly what you'd expect, a solid rhythm game with neat visuals, but one that doesn't add much, or anything, to the genre. It wholly depends and relies on the song selection, and since I never really cared for Avicci's output, this game probably hit even less because of this. Apart from 2-3 tracks, the rest was definitely in the "cannot wait till it's over" category for me. But for someone that's a fan, I can see this being well worth checking out.
20. RiME
PS5 / 27. 2. 2024 / 6h
Backlog stat: on the shelf since 27. 5. 2019
What a surprise. I held off on playing it as I've heard many negative opinions on it from friends I can really relate my tastes to, but for my money, they were dead wrong. Beautiful world, great animations, fantastic music, heartfelt underlying narrative and just the right length. Sure, the platforming is very basic, so are the puzzles, but I don't feel these were as detrimental as some make it out to be. I was completely engaged, enamored, and, by the end, quite emotional. It doesn't stand neck to neck with the greats of the genre, but it isn't far off either.
Main post (#138)
18. Hoa
Steam Deck / 23. 2. 2024 / 2h
Backlog stat: on wishlist since 24. 8. 2021
While the visuals are fantastic, the rest suffers a quite bit. Extremely basic platforming and puzzling, barebones animations, and while I really liked the music, it was very poorly implemented, with near-inexistent dynamic arrangement, even hard cuts on some transitions. It is a $15 game that feels and plays like a $3 game. I don't necessarily regret playing it, but I wouldn't recommend it either.
19. Avicii Invector
PS5 / 24. 2. 2024 / 2h
Backlog stat: on the shelf since 30. 4. 2020
I bought this on a big discount and still under the influence of the Thumper brilliance, but never got around to it. It is exactly what you'd expect, a solid rhythm game with neat visuals, but one that doesn't add much, or anything, to the genre. It wholly depends and relies on the song selection, and since I never really cared for Avicci's output, this game probably hit even less because of this. Apart from 2-3 tracks, the rest was definitely in the "cannot wait till it's over" category for me. But for someone that's a fan, I can see this being well worth checking out.
20. RiME
PS5 / 27. 2. 2024 / 6h
Backlog stat: on the shelf since 27. 5. 2019
What a surprise. I held off on playing it as I've heard many negative opinions on it from friends I can really relate my tastes to, but for my money, they were dead wrong. Beautiful world, great animations, fantastic music, heartfelt underlying narrative and just the right length. Sure, the platforming is very basic, so are the puzzles, but I don't feel these were as detrimental as some make it out to be. I was completely engaged, enamored, and, by the end, quite emotional. It doesn't stand neck to neck with the greats of the genre, but it isn't far off either.
February Update:
Main Post
16. Cats Hidden in Jingle Jam (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Don't remember where I found this game but it's short, sweet and 100% accurate in the title. I would've liked to see a few more levels outside of the one, but it was nice for what it was.
17. Macbat 64 (Steam Deck) - 6/10
This was probably my least favorite of the low poly, N64 type games by this group. Everything felt unconnected and more basic. It's not bad but felt more like a project than a game.
18. Mystery Hotel: Hidden Object Game (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Standard HOG that tries to weave in a story. It was good for the most part but you need to replay levels constantly which leads to quick times since most objects don't move. It does last a fair amount of time for the cost though. Worth it if you like HOGs.
19. Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds (PS4) - 8/10
Made sure to finish this before I finished the main game. I enjoyed this section of the game and it didn't really feel like DLC, just a higher level area that is an extension of the main game. I think it works really well in that aspect but if it came out after I finished the main game…it would be a bit awkward.
20. Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - 9/10
I started this back when it first launched and bounced off it very quickly. It's hung with me to try it again but something just didn't click initially. It actually took someone getting me the Tallneck Lego for my bday last month that pushed me to give it another go. I ended up falling in love with the game. The combat finally clicked, the world building mystery was fun and I was actually enjoying exploring an open world. I still think the fast travel system is a tad BS and frankly there are too many quests and craft things to acquire…but overall this was an absolute blast. Playing on my PS5, I thought it not only looks amazing but looks better than many current gen games. I'll have to jump on the sequel soon!
21. Super Star Path (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Interesting spin on a space shooter. It's like a color match puzzle combined with a space shooter. It gets a tad difficult later in the game. The upgrade system is pretty garbage but outside of that, there is a lot of fun here. It's unique, and short. Worth giving it a shot if you want something offbeat.
22. Duck Season (Meta Quest 3) - 8/10
I knew it got creepy, but I didn't know it went as dark as it did. This was a pretty immersive game and took me back to my childhood playing the NES with the zapper. Messing with the random games thrown around and trying to figure out what was going on was a blast. If you have VR, give this a go…but be warned it is not a light hearted game by any means.
Main Post
16. Cats Hidden in Jingle Jam (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Don't remember where I found this game but it's short, sweet and 100% accurate in the title. I would've liked to see a few more levels outside of the one, but it was nice for what it was.
17. Macbat 64 (Steam Deck) - 6/10
This was probably my least favorite of the low poly, N64 type games by this group. Everything felt unconnected and more basic. It's not bad but felt more like a project than a game.
18. Mystery Hotel: Hidden Object Game (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Standard HOG that tries to weave in a story. It was good for the most part but you need to replay levels constantly which leads to quick times since most objects don't move. It does last a fair amount of time for the cost though. Worth it if you like HOGs.
19. Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds (PS4) - 8/10
Made sure to finish this before I finished the main game. I enjoyed this section of the game and it didn't really feel like DLC, just a higher level area that is an extension of the main game. I think it works really well in that aspect but if it came out after I finished the main game…it would be a bit awkward.
20. Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - 9/10
I started this back when it first launched and bounced off it very quickly. It's hung with me to try it again but something just didn't click initially. It actually took someone getting me the Tallneck Lego for my bday last month that pushed me to give it another go. I ended up falling in love with the game. The combat finally clicked, the world building mystery was fun and I was actually enjoying exploring an open world. I still think the fast travel system is a tad BS and frankly there are too many quests and craft things to acquire…but overall this was an absolute blast. Playing on my PS5, I thought it not only looks amazing but looks better than many current gen games. I'll have to jump on the sequel soon!
21. Super Star Path (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Interesting spin on a space shooter. It's like a color match puzzle combined with a space shooter. It gets a tad difficult later in the game. The upgrade system is pretty garbage but outside of that, there is a lot of fun here. It's unique, and short. Worth giving it a shot if you want something offbeat.
22. Duck Season (Meta Quest 3) - 8/10
I knew it got creepy, but I didn't know it went as dark as it did. This was a pretty immersive game and took me back to my childhood playing the NES with the zapper. Messing with the random games thrown around and trying to figure out what was going on was a blast. If you have VR, give this a go…but be warned it is not a light hearted game by any means.
48. Choo Choo Charles (PS5) - There are times where I wanna play big AAA games, and then there's times I wanna relax for a couple of hours playing an indie horror game about a demonic train/spider... thing! But seriously, this is why indie games rock, because we can get crazy concepts like this, which end up actually being kinda fun!
The game is part horror, part walking sim (I guess) - your brought to an island to help hunt the monster "Choo Choo Charles" - whom as mentioned, is an evil train that's been killing the locals. You immediately get access to a train with a machine gun mounted on it, so the gameplay loop is basically just you upgrading the train stats + weapons so that you can eventually defeat Charles. There's also some stealth sections which are laughably easy - but thankfully short so they dont interrupt the train hunting!
Its simple, its really not hard, the side missions are laughably simple but I loved exploring the overworld as you never know when you'll hear that haunting siren call that is Charlies train horn, and its a mad dash back to your train hoping you reach it in time before you get tossed around like a rag doll.
GOTY? Hardly, but a really fun little horror game much like how I adored Bloodwash last year for setting its sights on a certain concept and sticking with it perfectly.
49. Blaster Master (Evercade) - My expertise with the series is limited to the excellent recent releases (Blaster Master Zero 1-3), the first of which being a remake of the original game. And... well my short review is play Blaster Master Zero instead. Usually Im down for retro titles, and a good portion of this one is excellent (and it wouldnt surprise me if the Japanese release is a bit better designed) but I have issues with it.
But first, the game itself is a mix of two genres - a side scrolling platformer where you drive around in a tank, and a top down run and gun section.
The tank stuff is almost all excellent, and while its maze like, a good online map will help you out there. The controls are snappy, your tank gets great firepower early, and you even get an undersea upgrade early.
BUT
The game has two issues - the first being that hover energy almost never drops. And its a damn useful power up. You'll probably go most of the game outside of the couple of times you NEED it never using it, because fuel runs out so quick and its almost impossible to get more. Enemies should drop it, but they either drop nothing or health (which at least is plentiful).
The other option is the wall climb ability that you get at the end of the game. Problem is, if you drive off the edge of any ledge, it activates - say you want to jump a spike pit - you cant drive to the edge to jump because the game will drive you into said pit, so you have to jump just before and hope that's enough clearance to reach the other side. Its legit shit and really ruins the last platforming section because you'll fall into spikes so much (not helped, again, by the complete lack of hover power ups).
The top down stuff kinda sucks though. Its funny, I had issues with the newer Zero games because you get too overpowered in these, and now I see why they went that route. Because having weapons that are either super weak or just have rubbish hit boxes ruins any sense of fun these bits should have. You'll spend have your time wondering why the fully upgraded weapon is going through the enemies, or why you cant hit the damn boss. I opted for save states for boss entrances initially so that I didnt have to replay the entire stage (and hope I can keep my weapon powered up), but found I needed them because the bosses were so bad... there's a glitch not unlike MM1's Elec Beam glitch where you can basically pause the game after landing a grenade hit on bosses to destroy them perfectly. Not gonna lie, that helped against those garbage frog fights.
All in all, the game was fun (because tank rocks) but it definitely got worse the further I played. I feel the nerf the remake did to the difficulty, and super buff the weapons got helped so damn much. Its an excellent concept and does work most of the time, just not all of the time.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
The game is part horror, part walking sim (I guess) - your brought to an island to help hunt the monster "Choo Choo Charles" - whom as mentioned, is an evil train that's been killing the locals. You immediately get access to a train with a machine gun mounted on it, so the gameplay loop is basically just you upgrading the train stats + weapons so that you can eventually defeat Charles. There's also some stealth sections which are laughably easy - but thankfully short so they dont interrupt the train hunting!
Its simple, its really not hard, the side missions are laughably simple but I loved exploring the overworld as you never know when you'll hear that haunting siren call that is Charlies train horn, and its a mad dash back to your train hoping you reach it in time before you get tossed around like a rag doll.
GOTY? Hardly, but a really fun little horror game much like how I adored Bloodwash last year for setting its sights on a certain concept and sticking with it perfectly.
49. Blaster Master (Evercade) - My expertise with the series is limited to the excellent recent releases (Blaster Master Zero 1-3), the first of which being a remake of the original game. And... well my short review is play Blaster Master Zero instead. Usually Im down for retro titles, and a good portion of this one is excellent (and it wouldnt surprise me if the Japanese release is a bit better designed) but I have issues with it.
But first, the game itself is a mix of two genres - a side scrolling platformer where you drive around in a tank, and a top down run and gun section.
The tank stuff is almost all excellent, and while its maze like, a good online map will help you out there. The controls are snappy, your tank gets great firepower early, and you even get an undersea upgrade early.
BUT
The game has two issues - the first being that hover energy almost never drops. And its a damn useful power up. You'll probably go most of the game outside of the couple of times you NEED it never using it, because fuel runs out so quick and its almost impossible to get more. Enemies should drop it, but they either drop nothing or health (which at least is plentiful).
The other option is the wall climb ability that you get at the end of the game. Problem is, if you drive off the edge of any ledge, it activates - say you want to jump a spike pit - you cant drive to the edge to jump because the game will drive you into said pit, so you have to jump just before and hope that's enough clearance to reach the other side. Its legit shit and really ruins the last platforming section because you'll fall into spikes so much (not helped, again, by the complete lack of hover power ups).
The top down stuff kinda sucks though. Its funny, I had issues with the newer Zero games because you get too overpowered in these, and now I see why they went that route. Because having weapons that are either super weak or just have rubbish hit boxes ruins any sense of fun these bits should have. You'll spend have your time wondering why the fully upgraded weapon is going through the enemies, or why you cant hit the damn boss. I opted for save states for boss entrances initially so that I didnt have to replay the entire stage (and hope I can keep my weapon powered up), but found I needed them because the bosses were so bad... there's a glitch not unlike MM1's Elec Beam glitch where you can basically pause the game after landing a grenade hit on bosses to destroy them perfectly. Not gonna lie, that helped against those garbage frog fights.
All in all, the game was fun (because tank rocks) but it definitely got worse the further I played. I feel the nerf the remake did to the difficulty, and super buff the weapons got helped so damn much. Its an excellent concept and does work most of the time, just not all of the time.
Original Post:
52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]
9: Golden Sun. End: 2/24/2024.
A classic RPG published by Nintendo (and developed by Camelot) for the GBA, Golden Sun has had a dedicated fanbase hoping for its return for some time now. Golden Sun has a lot going for it. An excellent soundtrack, interesting puzzle mechanics, and some rather flashy (for the GBA) battles. But it also has some things that date it terribly. A character attacking empty air if someone else defeats the opponent is not common nowadays for a reason (and wasn't even particularly common in Golden Sun's day). Still, the magic system of the game (called "Psynergy" in-game) is one of the more unique aspects of Golden Sun and something I wouldn't mind seeing again.
10: Mega Man Zero. End: 2/26/2024.
Another Mega Man spin-off series. Another solid 2D action game. The Mega Man Zero series in particular has some interesting mechanics that let it stand apart from other entries in the franchise.
About the only complaint I have with it is its translation. Thankfully Capcom has gotten better at this as the years have gone on. Still a rock solid game.
11: Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. End: 3/2/2024.
After committing Tax Evasion, Turnip Boy is back to rob a bank. A charming little game with a protagonist who I believe does not know what is actually going on around him, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is exactly what it claims to be. You have a certain amount of time (which can be extended in-game) to get as much money as you can while Turnip Boy robs a bank. Sometimes we don't need games to be complicated.
A classic RPG published by Nintendo (and developed by Camelot) for the GBA, Golden Sun has had a dedicated fanbase hoping for its return for some time now. Golden Sun has a lot going for it. An excellent soundtrack, interesting puzzle mechanics, and some rather flashy (for the GBA) battles. But it also has some things that date it terribly. A character attacking empty air if someone else defeats the opponent is not common nowadays for a reason (and wasn't even particularly common in Golden Sun's day). Still, the magic system of the game (called "Psynergy" in-game) is one of the more unique aspects of Golden Sun and something I wouldn't mind seeing again.
10: Mega Man Zero. End: 2/26/2024.
Another Mega Man spin-off series. Another solid 2D action game. The Mega Man Zero series in particular has some interesting mechanics that let it stand apart from other entries in the franchise.
About the only complaint I have with it is its translation. Thankfully Capcom has gotten better at this as the years have gone on. Still a rock solid game.
11: Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. End: 3/2/2024.
After committing Tax Evasion, Turnip Boy is back to rob a bank. A charming little game with a protagonist who I believe does not know what is actually going on around him, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is exactly what it claims to be. You have a certain amount of time (which can be extended in-game) to get as much money as you can while Turnip Boy robs a bank. Sometimes we don't need games to be complicated.
SlasherMcGirk's 52 Games 2024
Game 10 Alien Vs Predator (Arcade)
Release 1994
Platforms Arcade
Review Score
8/10
Whoa a AvP beat um up where I can play as the Predator and beat and blast the shit out of aliens with a decent combo system. I still have nightmares of AvP SNES but this one is a blessing. Always looked for it arcades but only caught it a couple of times. Cmon Capcom Rerelease this shit. Find a way.
Now after playing Alein vs Predator fully through an arcade machine, my appreciating for the title is just that much more. It does a decent job of respecting the IP while at the same time delivering an above average arcade beat um up. Attacks feel good when landing and you have quite the amount of moves at your disposal. It sometimes feels like you can combo enemies for day once you understand what your character can do. Adding street fighter style special moves also helps keep the gameplay fresh and rewarding a bit more than your typical button mashing brawler. AvP also has more enemy variety than I would have initially thoguht. More than just the regular enemy. Lots of different shapes and color vareties are on display. While being an arcade game the game doesn't feel as cheap or quater munchery as some of it's peers which contributes to how much fun it is to play. One of the better arcade beat um ups released in the 90's.
Game 10 Alien Vs Predator (Arcade)
Release 1994
Platforms Arcade
Review Score
8/10
Whoa a AvP beat um up where I can play as the Predator and beat and blast the shit out of aliens with a decent combo system. I still have nightmares of AvP SNES but this one is a blessing. Always looked for it arcades but only caught it a couple of times. Cmon Capcom Rerelease this shit. Find a way.
Now after playing Alein vs Predator fully through an arcade machine, my appreciating for the title is just that much more. It does a decent job of respecting the IP while at the same time delivering an above average arcade beat um up. Attacks feel good when landing and you have quite the amount of moves at your disposal. It sometimes feels like you can combo enemies for day once you understand what your character can do. Adding street fighter style special moves also helps keep the gameplay fresh and rewarding a bit more than your typical button mashing brawler. AvP also has more enemy variety than I would have initially thoguht. More than just the regular enemy. Lots of different shapes and color vareties are on display. While being an arcade game the game doesn't feel as cheap or quater munchery as some of it's peers which contributes to how much fun it is to play. One of the better arcade beat um ups released in the 90's.
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SlasherMcGirk's 52 Games 2024
Game 11 Tomb Raider Remastered
Release Date (1996) 2024
Platforms PS4, PS5, PC, Switch and Xbox series
Review Score
6/10
I only breifly played the original Tomb Raider back in the day for just a bit, as back then I only really delved deep into TR2. Now going back to it with the 2024 Remaster Collection, I can give a much more time forward look at it. The core fundementals of the game play still show in spades. The tight level design really does show in many of the levels and it's expertly crafted prescion platforming does stand apart even like 30 years later. The remaster does a fantastic job with it's updated visuals to keep the intended look of the game while ironing out some outdated polygons and it was a fantastic design choice to be able to switch between updated visuals and the original look with a simple button press. I was constantly switching back and forth between them. The original graphics while super dated does have a nostalgia window completly unique to the graphics of that time period that you don't see too often anymore. New control method's exist for players who refuse to adopt the original controls. Normally this wouldn't annoy me so much but the game is so expertly designed in almost precise grid that the original controls are what defines the gameplay to begin with. I will never complain about more options in a game though and certainly not for a remaster but I do encourage people to try to the original controls.
Having said all that playing Tomb Raider in 2024 the game as much fun as it has been to relive and experiance comes with equal parts of frustrations and design choices that I do not miss. Tomb Raider has really reminded me of a time when some of the biggest hurdles of early 3D gaming lies entirley in the camera. Tomb Raider is a platformer that requires precise jumps and timing and I am constantly trying to battle the camera to be able to see where I am running or going. So many times the camera is centered on Lara's chest or facing directly at her giving me no indication on where my feet are positioned in comparison to where I am looking to jump too. The remaster does try to incorparate a modern style camera flick, but it just doesn't work much of the time and it never stays in place and always seems to snap back to the original view point. Most of the games in this era had button held fixed first person viewpoint to help get a better look at surroundings to which this game has as well. This is sometimes your only way to view whats around you but when you let go of that button it will snap back to that original view. I completly understand this was the norm of the day and experiancing it again after 30 years of modern gaming will certainly irk anybody who goes back but I can't say I entirely can blame the game for the time period it was in.
I also am just not a fan of it's saving system. Whether that be the crystals or unlimited saves. I played TR on the PC back in the day so I'm used to unlimited savings as it is for this series. TR is a game that has a lot of traps and tight jumps that a lot of the time leads to instant deaths. I don't know if it's just modern gaming that has made this more annoying to me know more than anything but I do remember feeling like this back in the day but I feel like the game encourages save scumming. It felt like I was playing on a emulator and was constantly refreshing my save. Because let me tell you, if your going into this game blind for the first time you will die a lot. I mean a lot. There are no checkpoints, even between finishing levels it's all manual saves. You die you go back to your previous save no matter what. It's been quite some time where I have to constatnly remind myself to keep saving becuase I would play do a large amount of stuff then die and have to constantly keep replaying sections over and over again. It's built into my DNA at this point that saving is for quiting my play session or after finishing a level. It took a lot of mindpower to keep myself saving constantly. I always wanna complete sections before savings and I would constantly die and hate myself for not saving. I play a lot of old games but this game really tested my patience when it comes to this. Also towards the end of the game the enemies just are constantly swarming you bum rushing into you and it's extremely hard to deal with. The enemy design at the end was really frustrating.
The level and map design are always these games biggest strenghts and weaknesses. For the most part the games are sharply desigened and are great at rewarding exploration. Their are numerous secrets and things to collect that reward keen eyed players. Platforming feels really great when you get in the groove and still to this day the precise prescion required to make jumps or traverse feels unique even to this day. This is not auto jumping of Uncharted or the reboot franchise for sure that a lot of people are used to for sure. There are few levels in the game that I really was impressed with it's layout and structure. Although we equal amount of priase does come with caveats as well for me. There are some levels where I really couldn't not figure out what to do or where to go. Whether that be an alcove that is just out of view of the camera or a room hidden in the mess of graphic blocks that is hard to see or seeing the door in the distance and just not knowing how the heck do you get over there? One thing to note about the remaster is with the updated look they have taken some liberites to changing how the stage looks and that can be a hamper when traversing the level. Keys are especially hard to see and are so small and blend in to the background. I've skipped numerous keys in stages that were in plain sight, spending so much time looking around only to switch back to the original graphics mode and see a bright key right out in the open. That and having modern lighting in the remastered graphics can some times leave the stages to look rather dark making it hard to naviage compared to how always bright the original mode looks. Also Remasterd graphics sometimes add ceiling and open light sources that were not there in the original and sometimes it takes me a second to realize that those are not areas I can reach and were just added in for atmosphere. Switching between OG and Remaster graphics was fun but almost a straight up gameplay mechanic needed if playing soley in Remastered.
Overall playing Tomb Raider was very nostalgic because it really did show it's warts and all that is totally 100% because of it's era in gaming and while I found it overall frustrating to go back to, I did admire it's design choices and what it accomplished and can see why other games tryied to mimick it's style.
Game 11 Tomb Raider Remastered
Release Date (1996) 2024
Platforms PS4, PS5, PC, Switch and Xbox series
Review Score
6/10
I only breifly played the original Tomb Raider back in the day for just a bit, as back then I only really delved deep into TR2. Now going back to it with the 2024 Remaster Collection, I can give a much more time forward look at it. The core fundementals of the game play still show in spades. The tight level design really does show in many of the levels and it's expertly crafted prescion platforming does stand apart even like 30 years later. The remaster does a fantastic job with it's updated visuals to keep the intended look of the game while ironing out some outdated polygons and it was a fantastic design choice to be able to switch between updated visuals and the original look with a simple button press. I was constantly switching back and forth between them. The original graphics while super dated does have a nostalgia window completly unique to the graphics of that time period that you don't see too often anymore. New control method's exist for players who refuse to adopt the original controls. Normally this wouldn't annoy me so much but the game is so expertly designed in almost precise grid that the original controls are what defines the gameplay to begin with. I will never complain about more options in a game though and certainly not for a remaster but I do encourage people to try to the original controls.
Having said all that playing Tomb Raider in 2024 the game as much fun as it has been to relive and experiance comes with equal parts of frustrations and design choices that I do not miss. Tomb Raider has really reminded me of a time when some of the biggest hurdles of early 3D gaming lies entirley in the camera. Tomb Raider is a platformer that requires precise jumps and timing and I am constantly trying to battle the camera to be able to see where I am running or going. So many times the camera is centered on Lara's chest or facing directly at her giving me no indication on where my feet are positioned in comparison to where I am looking to jump too. The remaster does try to incorparate a modern style camera flick, but it just doesn't work much of the time and it never stays in place and always seems to snap back to the original view point. Most of the games in this era had button held fixed first person viewpoint to help get a better look at surroundings to which this game has as well. This is sometimes your only way to view whats around you but when you let go of that button it will snap back to that original view. I completly understand this was the norm of the day and experiancing it again after 30 years of modern gaming will certainly irk anybody who goes back but I can't say I entirely can blame the game for the time period it was in.
I also am just not a fan of it's saving system. Whether that be the crystals or unlimited saves. I played TR on the PC back in the day so I'm used to unlimited savings as it is for this series. TR is a game that has a lot of traps and tight jumps that a lot of the time leads to instant deaths. I don't know if it's just modern gaming that has made this more annoying to me know more than anything but I do remember feeling like this back in the day but I feel like the game encourages save scumming. It felt like I was playing on a emulator and was constantly refreshing my save. Because let me tell you, if your going into this game blind for the first time you will die a lot. I mean a lot. There are no checkpoints, even between finishing levels it's all manual saves. You die you go back to your previous save no matter what. It's been quite some time where I have to constatnly remind myself to keep saving becuase I would play do a large amount of stuff then die and have to constantly keep replaying sections over and over again. It's built into my DNA at this point that saving is for quiting my play session or after finishing a level. It took a lot of mindpower to keep myself saving constantly. I always wanna complete sections before savings and I would constantly die and hate myself for not saving. I play a lot of old games but this game really tested my patience when it comes to this. Also towards the end of the game the enemies just are constantly swarming you bum rushing into you and it's extremely hard to deal with. The enemy design at the end was really frustrating.
The level and map design are always these games biggest strenghts and weaknesses. For the most part the games are sharply desigened and are great at rewarding exploration. Their are numerous secrets and things to collect that reward keen eyed players. Platforming feels really great when you get in the groove and still to this day the precise prescion required to make jumps or traverse feels unique even to this day. This is not auto jumping of Uncharted or the reboot franchise for sure that a lot of people are used to for sure. There are few levels in the game that I really was impressed with it's layout and structure. Although we equal amount of priase does come with caveats as well for me. There are some levels where I really couldn't not figure out what to do or where to go. Whether that be an alcove that is just out of view of the camera or a room hidden in the mess of graphic blocks that is hard to see or seeing the door in the distance and just not knowing how the heck do you get over there? One thing to note about the remaster is with the updated look they have taken some liberites to changing how the stage looks and that can be a hamper when traversing the level. Keys are especially hard to see and are so small and blend in to the background. I've skipped numerous keys in stages that were in plain sight, spending so much time looking around only to switch back to the original graphics mode and see a bright key right out in the open. That and having modern lighting in the remastered graphics can some times leave the stages to look rather dark making it hard to naviage compared to how always bright the original mode looks. Also Remasterd graphics sometimes add ceiling and open light sources that were not there in the original and sometimes it takes me a second to realize that those are not areas I can reach and were just added in for atmosphere. Switching between OG and Remaster graphics was fun but almost a straight up gameplay mechanic needed if playing soley in Remastered.
Overall playing Tomb Raider was very nostalgic because it really did show it's warts and all that is totally 100% because of it's era in gaming and while I found it overall frustrating to go back to, I did admire it's design choices and what it accomplished and can see why other games tryied to mimick it's style.
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Main Post
February update:
07. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (Xbox One - 2022) | Fev/02 - 12hrs | 5
The Good: The 2D sprites with the 3D cenarios are charming
The Bad: No aspect of the game has much personality
As interested as I am for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, I think this action-RPG "prequel" is very underwhelming. Even if the game looks good and plays well, it's too devoided of anything remarkable. It's funny because it's "city management" elements are something that usually I'm very fond of, but it didn't work for me in this one.
And the writing... ugh... I really hope Hundred Heroes does better than this.
08. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy - 1994) | Fev/06 - 4hrs | 7.5
The Good: Interesting level design with more focus on exploration
The Bad: Way too easy
Very cool platformer starring the villain of the previous game. Even if Wario it's not as good to control as Mario, the mix of level design and power ups makes up for a good time. And I really enjoy how the team that worked on GB Mario games were always trying to do something different.
09. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Nintendo Switch - 2024) | Fev/21 - 25hrs | 8
The Good: The excellent platform challenges through the map
The Bad: Story seems to have some potential that has not been fully explored
Hey, there's a new Prince of Persia, and it's great! The search action aspect of the game works really well. Mount Qaf really feels like a 2D version of the huge cenarios from Sands of Time. Sargon feels amazing to control, and each ability he gains adds to both combat and exploration.
I wish the story and characters were better developed. The ending is kinda rushed and there's a lot that the game doesn't explain well. But as a pure metroidvania, and especially as a platformer game, The Lost Crown is easy to recomend.
10. Balatro (PC - 2024) | Fev/25 - 10hrs | 9
The Good: The amazing feeling when you trigger lots of multipliers in a single hand
The Bad: Losing track of time
Now that's a nice surprise! This deck builder roguelike with poker rules is the most addicting I got with the genre since Slay the Spire. I'm not well versed with poker, but the game is very easy to pick. And besides all the fun possibilities that you can have on a run, the aesthetics here are amazing, both audio and visuals.
I see myself playing this for a long time through the year. Highly recommended.
February update:
The Good: The 2D sprites with the 3D cenarios are charming
The Bad: No aspect of the game has much personality
As interested as I am for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, I think this action-RPG "prequel" is very underwhelming. Even if the game looks good and plays well, it's too devoided of anything remarkable. It's funny because it's "city management" elements are something that usually I'm very fond of, but it didn't work for me in this one.
And the writing... ugh... I really hope Hundred Heroes does better than this.
The Good: Interesting level design with more focus on exploration
The Bad: Way too easy
Very cool platformer starring the villain of the previous game. Even if Wario it's not as good to control as Mario, the mix of level design and power ups makes up for a good time. And I really enjoy how the team that worked on GB Mario games were always trying to do something different.
The Good: The excellent platform challenges through the map
The Bad: Story seems to have some potential that has not been fully explored
Hey, there's a new Prince of Persia, and it's great! The search action aspect of the game works really well. Mount Qaf really feels like a 2D version of the huge cenarios from Sands of Time. Sargon feels amazing to control, and each ability he gains adds to both combat and exploration.
I wish the story and characters were better developed. The ending is kinda rushed and there's a lot that the game doesn't explain well. But as a pure metroidvania, and especially as a platformer game, The Lost Crown is easy to recomend.
The Good: The amazing feeling when you trigger lots of multipliers in a single hand
The Bad: Losing track of time
Now that's a nice surprise! This deck builder roguelike with poker rules is the most addicting I got with the genre since Slay the Spire. I'm not well versed with poker, but the game is very easy to pick. And besides all the fun possibilities that you can have on a run, the aesthetics here are amazing, both audio and visuals.
I see myself playing this for a long time through the year. Highly recommended.
