52 Games. 1 Year. 2024. [BacklogBeat]

[chrominance]

main post

1. Grand Theft Auto Online: Los Santos Drug Wars (PC, 2022) - 1:18 + 14:41 in 2023 - January 1

A few Era threads late last year hinted that GTA Online was actually a fun place to be for a solo player who was mostly uninterested in multiplayer. This is a surprise, but not necessarily a huge one; I've played live-service games in the past that seem like they want you to play with others but are entirely viable playing solo without ever having to interact with another human being, like The Division 1 and 2. It's been almost a decade since I last played GTA V, and I'd never taken the PC version for a spin. Plus there was all the recent talk about GTA VI. So hey, let's visit Los Santos again and see what's what.

GTA Online for a completely new player trying to play solo in 2023 is not for the faint of heart. There's a lot to figure out, and the game doesn't make a lot of it easy; new player onboarding is kind of a huge mess. But the worst part is having years' worth of content suddenly open to you, with no guide as to what you might want to play first, and what's going to be locked behind businesses you can't afford, systems you can't access due to player level, or forced multiplayer. Welcome to GTA Online.

After a bunch of Reddit guides and some experimenting I finally got the hint that Drug Wars was a pretty decent place to start. What I found was a bite-sized GTA solo experience, complete with the usual cutscenes where your player character is introduced to some criminal element who slowly inducts you into the empire. In this case, it's Dax and the Fooligans, an upstart group of drug dealers who are in it more for the mind-bending highs than the money. Compared to the main campaign of GTA V, Dax and his crew are downright lovable; they're a fun group to hang out with. The missions are your standard GTA fare for the most part, and there's a set of repeatable missions you'll need to grind to unlock some upgrades for a drug lab you get halfway through the missions (there's that Online aspect rearing its ugly head again).

Overall, Drug Wars was pretty fun, and while I still would rather everything just be a single-player campaign where I can do things like pause the game without worrying about the server timing me out, this is an acceptable compromise for now.

 

[trajon]

I literally *never* finish these, but I always reserve, so I might as well do so again. :-)

I joined the Discord this time, so maybe I'll actually achieve it lol.

 

[Zaimokuza]

Ok, let's try again. I'm reserving this spot on the thread as my main post. Last year I felt like I used too many shortcuts to get to 52, so this year my additional objective is to have longer games on average in the list.

1. Ghostwire: Tokyo. Amazing graphics and art direction, terribly repetitive and uninspired gameplay

2. Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE. The great thing about Kodaka's games is that they know they are bullshit and run with it. I was dubious on the final chapter at first, the third one is quite weak and there are too many qtes, but I generally had so much fun playing it that I gave it at least half a point more than it deserves. Also the art direction is extremely inspired, both in the city and in the labyrinth.

3. 20 Minutes Till Dawn. Not as addicting as I hoped

4. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. I loved this game, everything about it is so adorable and fairy tale-like. The combat may not be the deepest, but the art direction and narration are so sweet and soul healing.

5. GrimGrimoire OnceMore. It's the first time I wish a game was bigger and longer than it is. The combat is the weakest part of the package, units are hard to see and manage when things get busy and I destroyed everything on normal basically by just spamming maxed out Morning Stars. That said, the story and setting are very charming and the story feels a bit rushed, everyone seems to have an interesting characterization and backstory but you don't really get to see it in detail.

6. The Evil Within 2. I despise the camera in this game, it never lets you do what you actually want to do and it's way too close when aiming. the game is good though, i didn't expect to enjoy it this much

7. Dusk. I realized I like boomer shooters, there's not much else to say.

8. Catherine Fullbody. I need more unique games, I'm glad I played this one. Games could be better by shelving "combat systems" for something else in general. The camera was quite a pain, but the puzzles were always inventive and the characters well developed

9. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. The combat system is boring and repetitive, the story has its moments but I cannot take seriously anything regarding Lady Hellbender. The level design is made frustrating by having a double jump but being unable to use it in any meaningful way due to all of the invisible walls.

10. Balatro. Addictive to the point I decided to uninstall it just to stop playing it. A bit unfair but that's to be expected from roguelikes

11. Another Code: Recollection. In a story-driven puzzle game, there are two things I expect to be good: the puzzles and the story. Neither is good. Puzzles are extremely easy apart from a couple (considering both games) and the story isn't particularly interesting. The second game's story doesn't add anything to the first one. Character models look good, though.

12. Resident Evil Village. The only big downside is a terrible effect that looks like compression that I couldn't remove. I like modern resident evil, it's fun, action-packed and even when it takes itself seriously it's always a bit over the top

13. Super Mario RPG. Charming, perfectly paced and fun. The only disappointment is that the bosses are forgettable

14. Paranormasight. A nice visual novel with great presentation and a weird progression at times. It felt underbaked, the game hinted at by the prologue would have been a better game than the actual finished product.

15. Burnout Paradise. Too much Need for Speed and too little Burnout. Seeing during the night was a nightmare and making the adjustments to see in the night made it impossible to see during the day. The game is extremely easy, if you don't take a wrong turn

16. Shadows of Rose. More of the same. Capcom should've shown Ethan's face in the end, that ending scene was ridiculous

17. Super Mario Wonder. Amazing game that distils pure fun. The invisibility section of the very last level is stupid and I gave up on it after more than a hundred lives lost

18. Alice Madness Returns. Incredibly inspired art direction, mediocre writing (or, at least, in the italian version), decent to good platforming and level design (i really like the section in the sky with cards and some of the 3d metroidvaniaish level design) but terrble, awful combat system and camera. Everything falls apart once you have more than a couple of enemies on screen. The game would be better without the minigames

19. Final Fantasy VII. Man this game is old, unbearably so. I had to give up halfway through and mod in invincibility and no random encounters to be able to finish it. It was just tedious. Also, Sephirot's Supernova animation is unhinged, it lasts like a whole minute every time. The story is nice and surprisingly deep at times, even though Vincent and Cid are such forgettable characters despite being part of the main characters. I get why it has its legacy and why it was so influential, it's just not a good videogame in 2024 sadly.

20. River City Girls. Terribly written story (nice ending though), repetitive gameplay but extremely charming graphics and animations (bar cutscenes)

21. Need for Speed Rivals. Awesome concept, awful execution. All online session had something wrong with them: infinitely long loading times, crashes in the middle of the game, cars casually clipping in and out of the asphalt. Going at full speed and trying a maneuver is really frustrating when you get abruptly disconnected from your own single player mission.

22. Ace Combat 7. The game was incredibly fun and engaging, plus I'd never played a dogfighting game. The cutscenes at times also looks incredible (whenever there aren't humans around, mostly). The plot is generally good but is a bit too adolescent at times. Some other times it's incredibly frustrating though. In an Ace Combat 8 they should fix the proportions, those jet sized factories and building don't really work.

23. Buckshot Roulette. A nice little game

24. Lunacid. Hey, I liked this game. Sadly the final boss wasn't very interesting and the game is very buggy. I haven't done the special endings

25. Hi-Fi Rush. Terrible platforming and movement system in general (why can't I dash through the level?) but great combat and fun writing

Spoiler: All completions!

1. Ghostwire: Tokyo (PC) | 1st Jan - 10hrs 12min | 3/5
2. Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE (Switch) | 8th Jan - 25hrs+ | 4/5
3. 20 Minutes Till Dawn (PC) | 10th Jan - 1hrs 32min |3/5
4. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Switch) | 17th Feb - 10hrs+ |4.5/5
5. GrimGrimoire OnceMore (Switch) | 20th Feb - 7hrs 35min | 4/5
6. The Evil Within 2 (PC) | 7th Mar - 15h 10min | 4/5
7. Dusk (PC) | 9th Mar - 7,4 hrs | 5/5
8. Catherine: Fullbody (Switch) | 11th Mar - ?? | 4/5
9. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (PC) | 13th Mar - 15h 4min | 3/5
10. Balatro (PC) | 18th Mar - 16,3hrs | 5/5
11. Another Code: Recollection (Switch) | 19th Mar - ??hrs | 2.5/5
12. Resident Evil Village (PC) | 21st Mar - 11.4hrs | 4/5
13. Super Mario RPG (Switch) | 25th Mar - ??hrs | 4.5/5
14. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Switch) | 31st Mar - ??hrs | 4/5
15. Burnout Paradise (Switch) | 2nd Apr - ??hrs | 4/5
16. Resident Evil Village - Shadows of Rose (PC) | 5th Apr - 3hrs | 4/5
17. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) | 8th Apr - ??hrs | 5/5
18. Alice: Madness Returns (PC) | 13th Apr - 12.4hrs | 3/5
19. Final Fantasy VII (PC) | 19th Apr - ??hrs | 3/5
20. River City Girls (PC) | 22nd Apr - 6.7 hrs | 3.5/5
21. Need for Speed Rivals (PC) | 24th Apr - 9.8 hrs | 3/5
22. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (PC) | 29th Apr - 14.9hrs | 4.5/5
23. Buckshot Roulette (PC) | 29th Apr - 26 min | 3/5
24. Lunacid (PC) | 7th May - 7.2hrs | 3.5/5
25. Hi-Fi Rush (PC) | 3rd June - 9.3 hrs | 4/5

 

[G-X]

in for the 3rd year - already a good way through a few games

 

[digit_zero]

Reserving.

Backlog has gotten too long, looking forward to trying to complete this as motivation to avoid playing all the same games over again.

 

[LightBang]

Reserved. Want to give this a try.

 

[OGlol]

Reserving this, going to try and add all my MP stuff as well this time.

 

[Ikon]

Ok, let's see if I can complete this this year!

JANUARY

1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NSW) 2024-01-10
Counting this as I saw credits on the last DLC course finally.

FEBRUARY

2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (NSW) 2024-02-07
I've had this sitting at the final boss for quite some time. Finally taking the time to beat him pissed me off quite a bit to be honest. Even in hindsight I think both new Donkey Kong Country games were a mistake.

MARCH

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (NSW) 2024-03-10
Closed this out at last. Played the original back in the day and remember liking it. Played it with my kids this time and they liked it fine enough - I was not quite so certain annymore outside of the phenomenal presentation.

Currently playing:
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Steam)
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Ubisoft Connect)

 

[sQr]

sQr` | 2024 Progress | 18/52

• Planet of Lana | Xbox Series X | 3 hours 42 minutes
• Evil West | PlayStation 5 | 9 hours 10 minutes
• Death Must Die | Steam Deck OLED | 10+ hours and counting
• The Last of Us Part II Remastered - No Return | PlayStation 5 | 15+ hours | All things unlocked
• Fortnite | PlayStation 5 | 8+ hours
• NBA 2K24 | Xbox Series X | 5+ hours
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Remake) | PlayStation 5 | 3 hours 34 minutes | Platinum trophy
• Brotato | Steam Deck OLED | 4+ hours and counting
• God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla | PlayStation 5 | 4 hours and 32 minutes
• Dome Keeper | Steam Deck OLED | 6+ hours and counting
• Children of the Sun | Steam Deck OLED | 3 hours and 19 minutes
• Moonscars | PlayStation 5 | 10 hours and 56 minutes
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor | Xbox Series X | 16 hours and 23 minutes
• Circuit Superstars | Steam Deck OLED | 9+ hours | All cups gold
• Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok | Steam Deck OLED | 20+ hours and counting | All Characters Unlocked + All realm on Expert
• INDIKA | Xbox Series X | 5 hours and 11 minutes | 1000GS
• Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice | Xbox Series X | 5 hours and 16 minutes
• Senua's Saga: Hellblade II | Xbox Series X | 9 hours and 26 minutes

 

[Nbz]

This will be the 10th year of doing this challenge and I have only failed to complete it once!

January

1. Lil Gator Game - 02/01/24
2. En Garde! - 04/01/24
3. Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale - 07/01/24
4. Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince - 12/01/24
5. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - 21/01/24
6. Hoa - 28/01/24

February

7. Sheepy: A Short Adventure - 12/02/24
8. DK: King of Swing - 14/02/24
9. A Little To The Left - 25/02/24
10. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - 27/02/24

March

11. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - 31/03/24

April

12. Pepper Grinder - 01/04/24
13. Hypnospace Outlaw - 06/04/24
14. Afterimage - 11/04/24
15. Poinpy - ONGOING
16. Princess Peach Showtime - 29/04/24

May

17. Hades II - ONGOING
18. Little Kitty, Big City - 19/05/24
19. Rhythm Sprout - 21/05/24
20. Birth - 25/05/24
21. Animal Well - 26/05/24

June

22. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen - 02/06/24
23. Wuthering Waves - 08/06/24
24. Bastion - 11/06/24

 

[DiddysKongQuest]

January
1. Donkey Kong Country 2 (01.01)
10/10 🔁
2. Shadow the Hedgehog (03.01)
2/10
3. Sin And Punishment (18.01)
6/10 🔁

February
-

March
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (20.03)
2/10

April
Detroit: Become Human
5/10 🔁

 

[Kyrios]

Reserved!

Past Challenges
2018 Completed Games - 52
2019 Completed Games - 55
2020 Completed Games - 61
2021 Completed Games - 73
2022 Completed Games - 69
2023 Completed games - 78

Most Recently Beaten Game: Dredge

Overall Count: 33/52

Spoiler: ALL COMPLETIONS!

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS5) | Jan 5th | 5/5
2. Baldur's Gate 3 (PS5) | Jan 8th | 5/5
3. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (Switch) | Jan 12th | 5/5
4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS5) | Jan 13th | 5/5
5. Eternights (PS5) | Jan 15th | 4/5
6. Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery (PS4) | Jan 16th | 4/5
7. Minoria (PS4) | Jan 19th | 4/5
8. Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg (PS5) | Jan 20th | 3.5/5
9. Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly (PS5) | Jan 21st | 4/5
10. Titanfall 2 (PS4) | Jan 26th | 5/5
11. Star Wars Republic Commando (PC) | Jan 26th | 5/5
12. Mario Party: Superstars (Switch) | Jan 26th | 4/5
13. Golden Sun (GBA) | Feb 5th | 5/5
14. Granblue Fantasy: Relink (PS5) | Feb 15th | 4/5
15. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (PS5) | Feb 28th | 5/5
16. Balatro (PC) | Mar 10th | 5/5
17. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (PS5) | Mar 17th | 5/5
18. Pokemon FireRed (GBA) | Mar 21st | 5/5
19. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (PC) | Mar 24th | 4.5/5
20. Sprawl (PC) | Mar 28th | 3.5/5
21. Persona 3 Reload (PS5) | Apr 14th | 5/5
22. Rise of the Ronin (PS5) | Apr 20th | 4.5/5
23. Starfox (SNES) | May 5th | 5/5
24. Stellar Blade (PS5) | May 12th | 4.5/5
25. Unicorn Overlord (PS5) | May 18th | 5/5
26. Tekken 8 (PS5) | May 19th | 4/5
27. Star Wars Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire (PS5) | May 19th | 4/5
28. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC) | Jun 1st | 4.5/5
29. Final Fantasy IV: Advance (GBA) | Jun 3rd | 4.5/5
30. Megaton Musahi W: Wired (PS5) | Jun 5th | 4.5/5
31. Battlefield: Hardline (PS4) | Jun 9th | 4/5
32. Tearaway Unfolded (PS4) | Jun 11th | 4.5/5
33. Dredge (PS5) | Jun 13th | 4/5

 

[SlayerSaint]

Reserved

This time for real!

January: 7/52
1. Madden NFL 23 - 12hrs - 2/5 - 1/3/24
2. The Jackbox Party Pack 3 - 3hrs - 4/5 - 1/7/24
3. The Jackbox Party Pack 4 - 3hrs - 1.5/5 - 1/7/24
4. The Jackbox Party Pack 5 - 3hrs - 2/5 - 1/7/24
5. The Jackbox Party Pack 6 - 3hrs - 3.5/5 - 1/7/24
6. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe - 10hrs - 1.5/5 - 1/25/24
7. The Finals - 20hrs - 3.5/5 - 1/31/24




Currently playing:

Alan Wake 2
Palworld
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Pokemon Violet
Disney Illusion Island
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Hollow Knight

 

[Ganepark32]

Reserved.

Managed 107 games last year so flew past the 52 mark. Hopefully manage to do so again this year.

Spoiler: January Completions

1. Thomas Was Alone (PC/Steam Deck) - January 1st - 8/10
2.The Looker (PC/Steam Deck) - January 1st - 6/10
3. Journey (PC/Steam Deck) - January 3rd - 9/10
4. Firewatch (PC/Steam Deck) - January 5th - 9/10
5. Little Inferno (Android) - January 5th - 8/10
6. Lumbearjack (XSS) - January 8th - 7/10
7. Half Life (PC/Steam Deck) - January 9th - 8/10
8. Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald (PC/Steam Deck) - January 10th - 7/10
9. How Fish Is Made (PC/Steam Deck) - January 12th - 5/10
10. Mass Effect 1 (PC/Steam Deck) - January 17th - 9/10
11. The Last Campfire (XSS) - January 20th - 7/10
12. Loddlenaut (PC/Steam Deck) - January 22nd - 7/10
13. Lil' Guardsman (PC/Steam Deck) - January 29th - 8/10
14. Super Kiwi 64 + DLC (Switch) - January 31st - 6/10

Spoiler: February Completions

15. Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5) - February 1st - 9/10
16. Anomaly Agent (XSS) - Feb 5th - 7/10
17. The Crew Motorfest (XSS) - Feb 6th - 7/10
18. The Cub (PC) - Feb 8th - 7/10
19. Another Code: Two Memories (Switch) - Feb 9th - 6/10
20. American Arcadia (PC) - Feb 11th - 8/10
21. The Beginner's Guide (PC) - Feb 17th - 6/10
22. 20 Small Mazes (PC) - Feb 18th - 7/10
23. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (PS5) - Feb 19th - 8/10
24. Ultros (PC) - Feb 23rd - 8/10
25. Return To Grace (XSS) - Feb 24th - 7/10
26. Little Postman (PC) - Feb 27th - 6/10

Spoiler: March Completions

27. Pseudoregalia (PC) - Mar 7th - 7/10
28. Call Of The Sea (PS5) - Mar 9th - 6/10
29. Abzu (PS5) - Mar 10th - 8/10
30. The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog (PC) - Mar 12th - 8/10
31. Celeste 64 (PC) - Mar 12th - 7/10
32. The Gunk (PC) - Mar 18th - 6/10
33. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (PS5) - Mar 23rd - 9/10
34. Tinykin (PC) - Mar 25th - 8/10

Completions By Platform Breakdown:
Android: 1
PC/Steam Deck: 21
PS5: 5
Switch: 2
XSS: 5

 

[Werck]

Reserved

Currently playing: AC Mirage and Ys Seven

 

[Bernkastel]

2019 | 71 Games
2020 | 69 Games
2021 | 53 Games
2022 | 61 Games
2023 | 54 Games

1. Fatal Frame Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (Switch) - 01/01 - 14hrs
2. VA-11 HALL-A (PC) - 02/01 - 16hrs
3. Jusant (XSX) - 04/01 - 4hrs
4. Star Wars Jedi Survivor (PS5) - 15/01 - 54hrs
5. The Case of the Golden Idol (PC) - 17/01 - 7hrs
6. Super Mario RPG (Switch) - 22/01 - 17hrs
7. Pikmin 4 (Switch) - 28/01 - 28hrs
8. System Shock Remake (PC) - 04/02 - 30hrs
9. Moonscars (PS5) - 09/02 - 8hrs
10. Metroid Dread (Switch) - 13/02 - 9hrs
11. Grime (PS5) - 18/02 - 18hrs
12. Lost in Vivo (PC) - 19/02 - 5hrs
13. Unpacking (PS5) - 22/02 - 6hrs
14. The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening (Switch) - 26/02 - 14hrs
15. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (PC) - 27/02 - 10hrs
16. Corpse Party (PC) - 02/03 - 19hrs
17. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC) - 06/03 - 12hrs
18. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) - 02/04 - 101hrs
19. Spider-Man 2 (PS5) - 10/04 - 33hrs
20. Dragon's Dogma 2 (PS5) - 30/04 - 87hrs
21. SIFU (PS5) - 03/05 - 7hrs
22. AI The Somnium Files Nirvana Initiative (PS5) - 16/05 - 50hrs
23. Animal Well (PS5) - 19/05 - 8.5hrs
24. Prodeus (PS5) - 21/05 - 8hrs
25. Infernax (PC) - 27/05 - 7hrs
26. Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door (Switch) - 31/05 - 30hrs
27. Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (Switch) - 02/06 - 18hrs
28. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (Switch) - 03/06 - 5hrs
29. Diablo 2: Resurrected (PS5) - 10/06 - 34hrs
30. Onimusha 3 (PS2) - 14/06 - 10hrs

 

[blackMamba1187]

Once again! last year

1. 1/25 | Half-Life: Alyx | PC/Quest 3 | 11.5 hrs | 10/10 | replay
2. 1/28 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) | PC | 4.25 hrs | 7/10 | replay
3. 1/29 | Resident Evil 4 (2023) | XSX | 12.25 hrs | replay
4. 2/16 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | PC | 6 hrs | 7/10 | replay
5. 2/29 | Persona 3: Reload | PC | 75 hrs | 9/10 | replay | game pass
6. 3/3 | Call of Duty: Ghosts | PC | 5.5 hrs | 6.5/10 | replay
7. 3/7 | Regency Solitaire II | PC | 6.25 hrs | 7.9/10 |
8. 3/13 | Balatro | PC | 9 hrs 1st Clear | 9/10 |
9. 3/15 | Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | PC | 6.75 hrs | replay
10. 4/1 | Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth | PC | 80-105 hrs | 9.25/10 |
11. 4/4 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | PC | 6.75 hrs | 6.75/10 | replay
12. 4/11 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | PC | 5 hrs | 8/10 | replay
13. 4/20 | Call of Duty: WW2 | PC | 5.5 hrs | 7/10 | replay
14. 4/25 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | PC | 8/10 | replay
15. 4/26 | Steins;Gate 0 | CoZ patch | PC | 21 hrs | 8/10 | replay
16. 4/27 | Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War | PC | 5.75 hrs | 8/10 | replay
17. 4/29 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | PC | 5.5 hrs | 7.5/10 | replay
18. 5/6 | Max Payne 3 | PC | 9.5 hrs | 8.5/10 | replay
19. 5/7 | Titanfall 2 | PC | 5.5 hrs | 8.5/10 | replay
20. 5/7 | Left 4 Dead 2 | PC | 9/10 | replay
21. 5/8 | Battlefield 3 | PC | 7/10 | 4.5 hrs | replay
22. 5/13 | Battlefield 4 | PC | 7.5/10 | 5.5 hrs | replay
23. 5/17 | Battlefield 1 | PC | 7.5/10 | 6 hrs | replay
24. 5/19 | Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace | PC | 18 hrs | 6.5/10 |
25. 5/21 | Battlefield V | PC | 7 hrs | 6.5/10 | replay
26. 5/25 | Devil Blade Reboot | PC | .75 hr |
27. 5/26 | Star Wars Battlefront II & Resurrection | PC | 7.5 hrs | 7/10 | replay
28. 5/27 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | PC | 7 hrs | 7/10 |
29. 5/29 | Homefront | PC | 3 hrs | 6.25/10 | replay
30. 5/29 | The Last of Us: Part 1 | PC | 13 hrs | 10/10 | replay
31. 6/2 | Ryse: Son of Rome | PC | 5.25 hrs | 7.5/10 | replay
32. 6/2 | Mirror's Edge | PC | 4.25 hrs | 9/10 | replay
33. 6/2 | Max Payne 2 | PC | 3.75 hrs | 9/10 | replay
34. 6/2 | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Switch | 15 hrs | 8.25/10 |
35. 6/3 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) (Cowabunga Collection) | PC | .75 hr | replay
36. 6/3 | Panzer Dragoon Remake | PC | 1.25 hrs | replay
37. 6/3 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Cowabunga Collection) | PC | .75 hr | replay
38. 6/8 | Senua's Saga: Hellblade II | PC | 7.5 hrs | 7.75/10 | game pass
39. 6/10 | Gears of War Ultimate | PC | 8.25/10 | replay
40. 6/12 | Mega Man 2 (Legacy Collection) | PC | 2 hrs | 10/10 | replay
41. 6/15 | Renegade Ops | PC | 4 hrs | 8.5/10 | replay

Spoiler: 2024

#2024 Releases: 6
#Replays: 33
#Game Pass: 2
#Xbox Series X: 1
#XSS/XSX:
#Xbox/PC:
#PC: 38
#Quest3-PC: 1
#Quest3:
#SteamDeck:
#iPad:
#PC/Steam Deck:
#PlayStation 4 Pro:
#PlayStation 5:
#PSVR2:
#Switch: 1
#Analogue Pocket:

Currently Playing/On tap:
Minishoot Adventure - PC
1000xResist - PC
Children of the Sun - PC
Stellar Blade - PS5
Rise of the Ronin - PS5
Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Switch
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - Switch

Helldivers 2 - PC
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) - PS5
Fortnite - PC


Hardware used: PC 7800x3D 4090 | Steam Deck LE OLED / Quest 3 / PS5 / PSVR2 / PS4 Pro / XSX / XSS / MiSTER / OLED Switch / iPhone 12 Pro Max / iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) / AppleTV 4K (2021) / AW UW Q-LED 3440x1440p 144Hz / LG OLED CX 65" / AYN Odin 2 / Analogue Pocket / Other

 

[Taneleer]

Reserved

 

[Subnats]

Had a lot of fun with this last year. Not sure I'll be able to make it to 52 again but let's see how things go.

Games Beaten in 2024: 15/52

1. Hentai 3018 (PC) - January 8th (1 Hour)
My first game down for 2024 is um..... Hentai 3018..... It's not what you think it is!!! So a friend of mine gifted me this as a joke for Christmas. It's basically just one of those fake Steam games that let you farm achievements (and maybe it's mining crypto or something idk). I thought it'd be funny to actually try playing through it with said friend though so we did. It's a very basic puzzle game, just try to get to the level's exit by going through different doors and occasionally grab a key, hit a switch or avoid/use the games only enemy along the way. Most of the puzzles are very simple but to be fair there were a handful of levels that legitimately made me think so I'll give it that. Actually moving around is ok, the dedicated jump can sometimes be a little unresponsive but I've played worse. The fact there's a jump button on screen at all times is kinda funny though. After beating this the first time I I thought I'd try speedrunning it as well which was honestly a decent bit of fun, I could see myself coming back to race it with a friend as a joke. I definitely wouldn't say this was a good game, probably not even ok, but as a joke from a friend it's gotten a decent laugh out of me.

2.5/5

2. Sonic Project 06 (Steam Deck) - January 17th (5 Hours)
My first Sonic game of the year, I'm sure there will be more to come. I really like Project 06. I first really got into it last year with the Silver release (yay first repeat already) and I definitely liked it a lot at the time but now I absolutely love it. As a remake of Sonic 06 it's basically perfect, keeping all of the things 06 did well (music, level design, etc.), but completely reinventing the gameplay based on the Adventure games with some things taken from Heroes and Shadow. It plays great and brings out the best parts of 06 without heavily changing things like level design or the basic ideas behind character abilities. It gets so much better when you try speedrunning it or going for score attack runs. The movement and controls here are absolutely immaculate, some of the best I've ever used in a 3d platformer. I got into speedrunning it for a bit last year and had a lot of fun learning the routes and seeing my times get better and better. This playthrough started from scratch though, a completely new save which I haven't done since originally playing through the game. It was pretty interesting going through these levels without always having all of the upgrades I'm used to, and I enjoyed going for score attacks here to ensure I got all S ranks. Shadow's Kingdom Valley was especially fun once I found out about the secret room that can give you over 100000 points if you don't drop your combo. I ended up getting over 200000 points by the end it. It might be a repeat form last year but I absolutely adore Project 06. It's one of my favourite games of all time and I'd definitely recommend giving it a go.

5/5

3. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Switch) - January 30th (20 Hours)
Considering that Super Mario 3D World is one of my favourite Mario games, I'm surprised it took so long to play through Captain Toad. Well I've finally played it and I'd say it's pretty good. It does a very good job of expanding on the concepts introduced in 3D World while adding a bunch of new ideas throughout. There's a lot to love here and there's a decent amount of proper brainteasers, especially with the pixel toads. I don't quite think I'd recommend going for 100% here like I did, just because it can take quite a while to figure out some of the more difficult challenges and pixel toads, hence my playtime. I also like how it somewhat flips the whole damsel in distress trope, at least for a bit, though unfortunately it still ends up falling back to it in the end. The Switch version of the game is overall pretty good. In handheld mode it plays exactly as you'd expect it to, losing the dual viewpoints of the 3DS/Wii U versions but otherwise playing identically. Docked isn't a particularly great experience though. The gyro pointer works well most of the time but other gimmicks that rely on touchscreen use can be fairly cumbersome to use. Gyro aim is also completely disabled in docked mode for some reason, not that it's particularly well implemented here with how unresponsive it feels. I might actually say it'd be worth playing the other versions over the Switch release because of it, though at least handheld mode holds up well. Overall I wouldn't quite say that El Capitan Todd ever quite reaches greatness, but it's a very solid time throughout as long as you're playing it with a touchscreen. Fuck Mummy-Me Maze Forever though, took me like 2 or 3 hours to finally beat.

3.5/5

4. Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (Gamegear) - January 30th (1 Hour)
So funny thing, Sonic Triple Trouble was actually one of the first classic Sonic games I completed. I bought it from the 3DS Virtual Console over a decade ago at this point and at the time I really liked. I knew it wasn't quite the same thing as the Megadrive games but on its own it was a fun little romp. Coming back to it years later, my opinion surprisingly remains the same. I don't think I quite like it as much as I did as a child, and its flaws are certainly easier to see, but I had a pretty fun time revisiting it. I found the level design to generally be a lot more interesting than I would've previously given it credit for. Stages like Tidal Plant Act 2 weren't great but I had a blast going through Sunset Heights, Meta Junglira and Robotnik Winter. There's a sense of speed here I wouldn't have expected from a Gamegear game either, and while it doesn't have anything close to the physics of its console counterparts it's still fun to play around with whats there. Having both Sonic and Tails avaliable to play as is nice and Tails even gets to actually fly while Sonic gets the Super Peel Out. The screen crunch can be a bit of an issue at times, being a Gamegear exclusive without any (official) Mastersytem port means your field of view isn't the biggest and that can sometimes lead to awkward situations, though it's mostly a non issue. It generally looks and sounds pretty great as well, it really flexes just what the power of six AA's can do though there is the occasional sprite flickering, most noticeable on the end screen after the credits. It's not perfect and of the 8bit Sonics I'd probably put Chaos above it, but Triple Trouble but overall a fun playthrough. still worth a look if you're interested in them.

3/5

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5. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Playstation 2) - February 10th (4 Hours)
Jak & Daxter is a game that's pretty near and dear to my heart, I never played it as a kid aside from maybe one or two goes at a fast food place that had PS2s hooked up but around the time Covid first hit a friend recomended it to me and I immediately fell in love. Jak is by far my absolute favourite 3D collectathon, and a game I adore revisiting, doing so at least twice a year since I first played it. If you kept up with my posts last year though you might realise that I didn't play through the game in 2023, so this run was to make up for missing it last year. A bit of a tradition between me and that friend is to race eachother to beating the game. This run was no different, being a fairly casual any% run through the game. Being nearly two years out of practice made meant neither of us were going too hard on actually trying to be fast so it was a nice relaxing playthrough overall. I didn't end up winning unfortunately, losing a lot of steam in the game's final sections but I had an absolute blast with one of my favourite games of all time.

Normally I'd play Jak via the HD collection on PS3 for these races or casually via the Vita version modded and overclocked for 30fps, but for this run I settled on trying out the original PS2 version on a CRT. It doesn't look particularly good unfortunately (I just really dislike the jagged look field rendering gives it), but it was super interesting seeing how subtly different it was to the HD version. It definitely took a little bit to acclimate to the forced inverted camera (and meant that I completely skipped the rat minigame this run so I wouldn't have to deal with it), but it was otherwise a very comfortable way to play the game, even if I doubt I'll be coming back to this version over OpenGOAL or the HD Collection.

So yeah Jak & Daxter is really good. It's a bit of a comfort game to me, and while I initially played it relatively recently it's after giving me a lot of good memories. If you haven't played it then definitely give it a shot, you won't regret it.

5/5

6. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass (Switch) - February 17th
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

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7. Megaman 6 (NES) - April 1st
Megaman 6 has never quite been my favourite game in the series but for some reason it's always the one I gravitate towards whenever I want to replay one. There's just something about it that makes it so easy to just pick up and play whenever I'm looking for some more Megaman in my life. Now granted I haven't actually played it in a while due to my little Classic series marathon last year so it was nice to return to one I'm so comfortable with. Being such a late era NES title, MM6 is a fantastic sendoff to this era of Megaman. It's a nice culmination of everything that's come before it, nicely expanding on the series formula in small but meaningful ways. The alternate routes found in many stages are a very nice change of pace for what's usually such a linear series, said routes also being how you unlock Beat from MM5 does make it difficult to justify not going down them every time on replays however. And while a nice reward, I don't personally find Beat all that useful here, only really using him for a single room of the Wily stages whenever I play. Other powerups are pretty great though, like the energy equaliser and the new Rush adapters which are a lot of fun to use, ditching the tried and true Rush Jet and such for new armours Megaman can take on. The Jet adapter is easily the star of the show here, if a bit broken, but it's just so much fun to use that I can't find it in me to care. The Robot Master weapon line up isn't the best here, with only the Fire Blast seeing much use from me due to it's unique shooting arc. Nothing here is useless (sans the shield) but they don't feel like there's much added utility to them over just using the regular buster most of the time. Said Mega Buster is a little weaker here than the absolutely amazing MM5 version but it's still a joy to use and makes this one of the few games where I'll often go without boss weaknesses in favour of using it, especially for the final Wily fight. Overall Megaman 6 is a very good time, it's consistently good from beginning to end and while I ultimately prefer MM3 for the NES era, it's hard to see 6 as anything but the series at its best.

4.5/5

8. Megaman X (SNES) - April 1st
I take my estrogen using the horming torpedo.

5/5

9. Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy) - April 5th
My first Virtual Boy game and I guess my introduction to the twin stick (or dpad in this case) shooter genre. Jack Bros. is a pretty simple game, choose from 3 different 'Jacks' (or Pixie) and go through 60 Floors, collecting keys to advance and make it back to the 'Pixie World'. Now 60 sounds like a lot of levels but there's only 6 Areas with floors at times taking just seconds to complete with a full run of the game taking maybe 40 minutes for your first run. Getting through each floor isn't easy though, you've got a constantly depleting timer that also acts as your health. You can increase it thankfully, with timers strewn across the floors and occasionally dropped by enemies. There's a pretty decent variety of said enemies here, with many acting more like puzzles than something you need to actively defeat. You're also given a heads up any time a new one is introduced so you'll get an idea of what to expect. Said heads ups are probably the game's biggest issue though, at the beginning of most floors you'll be interupted by Pixie explaining whatever new enemy or hazard is being introduced and while I appreciated it on my first playthrough, on replays it just becomes annoying.

Each Jack has a slightly different playstyle here. Jack Frost is kinda your default with a relatively weak attack that has a very high fire rate. Jack Lantern is a little slower but his shots deal a bunch more damage, and Jack Skelton doesn't have a ranged weapon at all, attacking with his knife as a low range but very high power weapon. I'd say that of the three Skelton was probably my favourite, his low range does make him the hardest to play but it's offset by his damage being so high, absolutely shredding through the boss fights. Lantern ain't too far behind either. Despite being the mascot I'd say Jack Frost is the weakest of the Jacks. Sure your fire rate is quite high but the damage level being so low makes a few of the boss fights a slog (especially Spider Orb). You can offset that slightly using the super attacks that each Jack has but that just stacks the deck even further for Skelton and Lantern. Ironically for only being usable on hard mode, Pixie is easily the strongest of the playable characters. You're limited to only one shot on screent at a time but it defeats most enemies in one hit so that isn't much of an issue. She's also far faster than the Jacks, and her super attack gives you invincibility when you aren't fighting bosses. Since you're playing as Pixie she won't be giving any tutorial messages either so she's probably the best way to play the game, even if she kinda destroys much of the difficulty.

Overall I had a pretty great time with Jack Bros. . It's a very fun arcadey romp, that's a lot of fun to replay and consistently improve at. It's definitely not a one and done game and I'd recommend trying to at least do a run with each character. Unfortunately I didn't get to experience the 3D effect during this playthrough since I was just emulating it on my 35XXH but even without it it's still a great time and perfectly playable. I'll definitely be looking into getting it running on my Quest or 3DS at some point though.

3.5/5

10. Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) - April 9th
I've never really ben the biggest fan of Mario 64 as a whole, there's just a decent few things I have issues with. What I do enjoy is doing 16 star runs, I learned a fairly easy route a few years back and whenever I'm in the mood to play a bit of Mario 64 I'll usually do a quick one. Sotoday I thought I'd just do a quick one to test out N64 emulation on my RG35XXH. On the positive side, the game runs great. Unfortunately, the 35XXH's stick is awful and completely snaps to 8 directions with no room for any precision.This isn't a massive issue for some games but I'm sure everyone knows how bad it would be for 64. I did manage to beat the game with 16 stars, but it was a lot more difficult than usual. Not an unplayable experience but only just. All that is to say that while I usually really enjoy 16 star Super Mario 64, the 35XXH is not a great place to play it.

3/5

11. Adventure Island (Gameboy) - April 9th
I'll be honest I didn't really care for this one all too much. It didn't really feel like there was a whole lot of substance here until nearly the very end. The only thing that really stood out to me while playing is that I didn't realise there was a run button for the first few stages. It wasn't bad or anything just kinda bland. I'll try and give one of the console games a try at some point to see if there's any chance I'll enjoy the series but I definitely don't see myself coming back to this one. Sorry to say but I guess I just don't vibe with you Master Higgins.

2/5

12. Tetris DX (Gameboy Colour) - April 12th
Tetris is very good. This is Tetris. Therefore this is very good. This was the first version of Tetris I played as far as I can remember so I've got a lot of nostalgia for it even if it's not quite up to modern standards and mechanics. It's a very nice looking and sounding version of the game even if it doens't have the iconic theme. Now actually beating Tetris isn't exactly a thing so I just decided I'd count it as finished once I was able to get over 100 lines on level 9. Took a few days of chipping away at it but I eventually got it so I'm pretty happy.

4/5

13. Super Monkey Ball Jr. (Gameboy Advance) - April 18th
Probably not the best intro to the series but this was my first time playing a Monkey Ball game. It'd probably be better to have played Banana Mania or something but that isn't a super impressive GBA game so... And yeah this really is super impressive, as far as I can tell it's the full Monkey Ball experience running in 3D on a Gameboy Advance. Sure it ain't the prettiest game out there but the fact it's running at all is amazing and it even does a pretty good job on the audio side with decent (if forgettable) music and surprisingly good quality for the announcers voice lines. With that technical wizardry comes a few compromises though, it doesn't exactly run great and the simple low res graphics lead to a poor sense of depth perception which really makes some of the later levels more dificult than they should be. I'm assuming this is gonna be a thing with most of the games but I really vibe with how the game goes from making me think I'm the hottest shit on Beginner to a tiny baby on Advanced. Expert was a similar feeling but not for necessarily the right reasons. A decent amount of its levels are fine and quite fun, but theres a few poor feeling levels that just don't seem like they were designed around the game's controls. Surprisingly enough the Master levels were quite a bit easier than Expert for me, and a lot more fun because of it. The controls are definitely Jr.'s biggest issue though, for the most part playing with a dpad is fine but there's a lot of points where I'd rather have an analog stick to move with. Making minor adjustments to your movements takes way more effort than it really should. The camera is at best uncooperative too. I really hope the console games have a controllable camera because trying to maneuver it here is awful, with slight movements either wildly swinging it or barely moving it an inch. When it was good I did have a pretty fun and satifying time with Super Monkey Ball Jr. but it's just a little too ambitious for the hardware. Better level design on the Expert difficulty and camera control on the completely unused (outside of minigames) shoulder buttons would make it a far better time but as it is it's an interesting but somewhat compromised experience.

3/5

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14. Sonic Colours (Nintendo DS) - May 16th
Since I played through the Wii version of Colours last year, I thought I'd give the DS version a replay this year. I've got a lot of nostalgia for Colours DS, after 3 and Mania it's probably my most replayed Sonic game so I already knew I was gonna have a good time with it. For those who don't know Colours DS is basically Sonic Rush 3. It removes a few mechanics from the Rush games and brings the controls more in line with the console boost games but overall it plays really similarly. It's overall my favourite of the trilogy though not quite my favourite Dimps Sonic (Generations 3DS).

The biggest advantage DS has over Wii is its pacing. Every zone is just two acts and a boss, with some optional missions which makes things a good bit more atreamlined. The wisp powers also help with this. Where the Wii version's are often a bit slow (especially Cube and Frenzy) the DS version's are generally pretty great at keeping the speed up and not breaking the flow of gameplay, feeling closer to actual level gimmicks much of the time rather than powerups. The only exception to that might be burst but I'll be honest I've just never been great at controlling it so I'm willing to just chalk it up as a skill issue.

One of the other major differences here is that Colours DS has Special Stages. They're the half pipe again, and probably one of it's easiest incarnations but I don't mind that too much, I'd always prefer something easy than hard when it comes to special stages. They are a bit different at least, revolving around collecting coloured orbs on each lap rather than rings and are at worst an inoffensive but neat way to collect the Chaos Emeralds. It is a bit funny that you have to get one of them through the multiplayer mode though, but thankfully it doesn't actually require a second person/DS. Getting all the emeralds gives you a new Super Sonic final boss unique to the DS version. Like most fo the game it's not too difficult but again it's neat and fun enough to play through, making it worth it to do the special stages.

I really like the way the soundtrack was converted to the DS here. Its quality obviously doesn't hold a candle to the Wii version, but I'm surprised how many of these conversions I actually prefer. Terminal Velocity especially sounds really good to me, with the more limited sound channels making the melody somewhat clearer and the crunchier guitars making it all seem a bit more hectic.

4/5

15. Rastan (Mastersystem) - May 27th
This was a pretty decent platformer. I wouldn't call it amazing or anything but I had a good time with it. For the most part it's a pretty fair challenge once you acclimate to the controls. They're a bit similar to Castlevania in ters of needing to be methodical and commit to your actions. The jump is weird though. By default it's just a little short hop that doesn't get you too far, but if you hold up on the dpad you get a massive increase in height and distance. There's also a wall jump which I completely forgot about for most of the game. Actually left me a bit stuck on the final level for a minute before I remembered you could do it since it was basically the only time it was ever needed. It takes a bit to get used these controls but once you do it actually feels surprisingly good. The game can have the occasional odd hitbox, making it a bit of guessing game as to where you need to hit enemies. I kinda liked that in the boss fights though, sorta like trying to find a weak point. The bosses are easily the highlight of the game as well, some great tests of pattern recognition and fairly satisfying to learn. Overall I had a pretty decent time with Rastan, it's a little basic and I don't see myself coming back to it, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

3/5

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[shadowman16]

Reserving post. May Yakuza 8 not harm my ability to finish too many games lol.

1. The King's Bird (PS4)
2. River City Rampage (Evercade)
3. Double Dragon 2 (Evercade)
4. Treasure Island Dizzy (Evercade)
5. Wonderland Dizzy (Evercade)
6. Mystery World Dizzy (Evercade)
7. Dizzy the Adventurer (Evercade)
8. Dreamworld Pogie (Evercade)
9. Dynamite Deka & Deep Scan (Sega Saturn)
10. Magic Land Dizzy (Amiga)
11. Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (Evercade) -
12. Super Robin Hood (Evercade)
13. Final Fight (Amstrad)
14. Strider (ZX Spectrum)
15. Bionic Commando (ZX Spectrum & Amstrad CPC)
16. Spider-Man 2 (NGAGE)
17. Black Tiger (Amstrad CPC & ZX Spectrum)
18. Mini Mages (Evercade)
19. LED Storm (ZX Spectrum)
20. Last Duel (ZX Spectrum & Amstrad CPC)
21. Pixel Ripped 1978 (PSVR2)
22. Spider-Man 2 (Nintendo DS)
23. Spider-Man 2 (PSP)
24. Quake 2 (PS5)
25. The Crew (PS4)
26. Rainbow Islands (PS4)
27. Side Arms (ZX Spectrum)
28. Street Fighter (ZX Spectrum)
29. Gun.Smoke (ZX Spectrum)
30. Tiger Road (ZX Spectrum)
31. Strider Returns (ZX Spectrum)
32. Sega Rally Revo (Steam Deck)
33. Forgotten Worlds (Amstrad CPC)
34. UN Squadron (Amstrad CPC)
35. Dynasty Wars (Amstrad CPC)
36. Super Mario RPG Remake (Switch)
37. Street Fighter II (ZX Spectrum)
38. Mercs (ZX Spectrum)
39. Micro Mages Second Quest (Evercade)
40. Tenchi Wo Kurau (Gameboy)
41. Spikeout (PS5)
42. HOA (PS5)
43. Mario Vs DK (Switch)
44. Gimmick (PS4/Evercade)
45. Arzette (PS5)
46. Journey to Sillius (Evercade)
47. Blaster Master Boy (Evercade)
48. Choo Choo Charles (PS5)
49. Blaster Master (Evercade)
50. Claymates (Evercade)
51. Sanabi (Steam Deck)
52. Dark Forces (PS5)
53. Rusted Void (Steam Deck)
54. Guts n Grunts (Steam Deck)
55. Qomp 2 (PS4)
56. Top (Gear) Racer 1 (PS5)
57. Agent Intercept (Steam Deck)
58. Top (Gear) Racer 2 (PS5)
59. Disc Room (Steam Deck)
60. Melatonin (Steam Deck)
61. South Park Snow Day! (PS5)
62. Pepper Grinder (Steam Deck)
63. Lone Fungus (Steam Deck)
64. Minishoots Adventures (Steam Deck)
65. TMNT '03 (Xbox)
66. TMNT Arcade Attack (DS)
67. TMNT 2: Battle Nexus (GBA)
68. Ghost Song (Steam Deck)
69. Exoprimal (PS5)
70. Penny's Big Breakout (PS5)
71. TMNT3 (DS)
72. Pacific Drive (PS5)
73. TMNT Rescue Palooza (Steam Deck)
74. Castlevania REvamped (Steam Deck)
75. Yakuza 8 (PS5)
76. Assassins Creed 2 (Series X)
77. Goldeneye Reloaded (360)
78. Princess Peach Showtime (Switch)
79. American Arcadia (PC)
80. Spider-Man 2 (Xbox)
81. Hellblade (Series X)
82. Felix the Cat (PS5/NES)
83. Felix the Cat (PS5/GB)
84. TMNT Wrath of the Mutants (PS5)
85. Ninja Combat (PS4)
86. Hellblade 2 (Series X)
87. Archaeogem (Steam Deck)
88. X-Men: Reign of Apoclypse (GBA)
89. Daredevil (GBA)
90. Robo Army (PS4)
91. The Amazing Spiderman (Amiga)
92. Terminator 2 (Arcade)
93. Empire City 1931 (PS4)

Bonus. Final Fight (X68000)
Bonus. Street Fighter II' (X68000)
Bonus. Super Bat Puncher Demo (Evercade)
Bonus. Bobl (Evercade)
Bonus. Spacegulls (Evercade)
Bonus. Mortal Kombat (Arcade)
Bonus. Star Wars Arcade (Arcade/Model 1)
Bonus. Kraken Odyssey (Steam Deck)

 

[Sheev]

Reserving! Want to get through this backlog finally.

1. 06/01/24 - Persona 5 Royal (PC) 100%
2. 08/01/24 - Resident Evil 3 (PC) 100%
3. 10/01/24 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (PC)
4. 01/02/24 - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (PC)
5. 24/02/24 - Persona 3 Reload (PC) 100%
6. 25/03/24 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5)
7. 29/03/24 - Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (PC) 100%
8. 11/05/24 - Pico Park (PC)

 

[Elster]

Sure I'll try this, one of my resolutions is to complete this massive backlogs of games and completionist tasks and I need something to keep me honest I've already completed one!

Completed:
Super Mario Wonder (Jan 1)

Playing:
Yakuza 5 Remastered
Persona 5 Tactica
Super Mario RPG Remake

 

[StarPhlox]

This is always a fun way to keep track of what I play. Thanks for hosting the thread each year!

I'm starting 2024 with no backlog and one game in progress that I started today: Chained Echoes

January:

1. Chained Echoes | Switch | 28 hours : My enthusiasm for Chained Echoes was somewhat parabolic and it was through no fault of the game, really. Taken as a whole work it is genuinely an incredible achievement for functionally one person (with help, of course) and even when not "correcting" for bonus points. Clearly Matthias Linda appreciates old school RPGs and drew heavy influence from classics in the genre, but he did a fine job keeping the parts that worked well and updating QOL for the elements that did not. The addition of air battles and mechs for both combat and exploration is super cool. As far as negatives, I think there were only a few characters who I came to care about, some really underwhelming and obtuse systems (crystals), and a convoluted plot. Also, I want to be more forgiving with the art style but I don't think it looks especially good after playing Sea of Stars which for me looked incredible throughout. I'm glad that I finally got around to Chained Echoes, I need a break from JRPGs for a while though. 8/10

 

[RMChoodie]

This the year
2023 26 games
2022 32 Games
Reserved

2024
January
1. Like A Dragon Gaiden The Man Who Erased His Name 55 Hours XSX 9/10 Complete 100% January 7
2. Dead Cells Return To Castlevania 4 Hours PS5 8/10 January 13

February
3. Norco XSX 8/10 16 hours February 2

March
4. Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth XSX 9/10 148 hours March 15
5. EAFC 24 PS5 6/10 50 hours March 20

April
6. Balatro PS5 9/10 119 hours April 29
7. Vampire Survivors XSX 9/10 85 hours April 30

May


NP
Dredge
Harold Halibut

 

[FossilMoth]

Let's see how far I go.

0/52

Completed:
~

Currently Playing:
•Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
•Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
•Dabbling in several others

 

[shadowman16]

Off to a start, indie and retro stuff will be January's target before all the big RPGs are released, so far Ive got one game done!

1. The King's Bird (PS4) - Just wanted to give special mention to this game, as I got it on a whim and was blown away by it. Its the standard story of "indie game released and passed me by, ended up loving it and wondering how I missed it to begin with".
Its a 2D platformer with a huge emphasis on momentum - you have a glide move which allows you to fly/glide a short distance, and obviously the more momentum you have, the more you can fly. Controls start out complicated and Id fumble through a few but after a while they do become almost second nature, and the level design gets way more complicated as you try and reach higher heights... Levels started out taking me a minute or two, with me just needing to retry a couple of times. Later levels would take me several minutes (at least, often more) with tons of tries as the movements you needed to make were far more ellaborate. Yet it never really annoyed (and there's a nice sweet accessibility menu to help you if you so choose). I just sat there and kept retrying, and eventually nailed it. Checkpoints are plentiful so your almost always making progress (even against the one boss in the game, which honestly is handled better than I expected).
Class act all round, only complaint is the frame rate, which is 30FPS, not 60FPS it feels, the game would have benefitted from a smoother FPS.

 

[Lowblood]

Back for year 2! Last time I waited until the last week of 2023 to actually post (even though I'd been tracking myself all year) so this time I'll actually post from the start, lol.

Last Year:

Link to 2023's post

Spoiler: Summary

I completed 52 games last year by mid December, then just used the rest of the year for Trails to Azure (which will end up straddling both years, I guess). Besides completing 52 games, I had two other goals:

1) Year of Falcom: Since I was already going to focus on the Trails series, I decided to play as many other Falcom games as I could. I ended up with 9 finished games: Trails in the Sky SC and 3rd, Trails from Zero, Ys Origin, Ys 1&2 Chronicles (Beat Ys1 years ago only counting the latter), Ys Memories of Celceta, Gurumin, Popful Mail, and Legend of Nayuta.

2) Finish games on as many different platforms as possible: I didn't end up focusing on this one as much since it was a hassle, but I still beat games on 15 different platforms over the year. Just didn't end up digging out an MSX or C64 game or anything.

This year:

Completing 52 games actually isn't one of my primary goals this year, but I'll be tracking it anyway since there's a good chance I'll be able to hit it regardless. Here are my main goals for this year:

Backlog Ten:

Following some YouTubers, I'll be picking ten games to finish from my backlog over the course of the year. This is sort of the "main" goal I have: I want to finish these ten games. The list isn't exclusive, so some of these will be in my other goals too. Here's the list:

Year of Falcom 2:

Going to continue my focus on Falcom this year. Current plans are for Trails of Cold Steel 1-4, Ys 5 and 8, Tokyo Xanadu, and Brandish. I'm thinking this is probably quite a bit, though.

Spoiler: Image

Year of Marvel:

I'm behind on a lot of Marvel related games, so it's time to catch up. Current plans are Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Midnight Suns, Miles Morales, Blade (PS1), and probably some retro titles.

Spoiler: Image

I like how I deliberately tried to get each game to focus on a different hero/team and there's still three Wolverines visible, lol.

NES Catchup:

The way this works is that I've picked out ten NES titles that I've chosen under two rules: games that are notable for whatever reason (popularity, quality, history, etc), but are also games I've personally never finished or even played (so no Mario, Zelda, Castlevania and the like since I've done those). My list is Startropics, Crystalis, Wizards & Warriors, Jackal, Batman, Adventures of Lolo, Metal Storm, Fire Emblem, Gargoyle's Quest 2, and Power Blade.

Spoiler: Image

Completed List:

Spoiler: Games 1-10

1. Valis III (PCECD) - Not quite as good as the PCECD's Valis 1 remake, which I expected, but I'd even put this below Valis 2. Clunky movement has you always feeling like you're sliding (and it's worse when you're actually on ice), the character swapping doesn't add much to the game, and the final boss's hitboxes seem more like suggestions. I played the Genesis version a lot as a kid, and feel like it may have been better. Might have to revisit that one. Still, there's some classic anime style here, and the opening level with Yuko leaping off the building to catch her sword is still cool.

2. Trails to Azure - A holdover from last year, but I spent a good 40+ hours on it this year so I'm just gonna count it here. I honestly felt like this was a bit disjointed compared to Zero, and now that I'm through most of Cold Steel I can see how they plotted these two pretty close together. There's also some points where the game feels aimless, like they're just stalling for the plot to continue later (aka most of Chapter 3). That being said, the ending is amazingly epic and full of enough revelations for the whole game. I like the master quartz system as well, though I do think it doesn't really shine until Cold Steel.

3. StarTropics - this game is a jerk. No, really, so much of this game feels designed to mess with you and trick you into getting killed, or just waste your time. The game's movement isn't super great either, you kind of move on a grid but it can be awkward. Still fun, and the game has a great sense of humor. Just not quite the super-classic I kind of thought it might be from years of praise.

4. Another Code Recollection - Only played the original of these two games (much like most of North America) but this is a great rework of the games into a more cohesive whole. Visuals and atmosphere are great, even with this being more on the budget side of 1st party Nintendo. Would have liked more puzzles (and I feel like Trace Memory did have more), but this is a cool visual novel of sorts and something unique in Nintendo's lineup.

5. Jackal - Short and sweet. Haven't played the arcade original but this is as classic of an NES action game as I'd heard. Would be a fun game to try and do a single credit run, though I suspect the final boss would be a rough part there.

6. A Plague Tale: Innocence

7. Mario vs Donkey Kong

8. Ufouria: The Saga 2 - Game is fun. Game is also 3 hours long at best. You can get a few more hours out of it with some collecting, but outside of a super-grindy trophy there's not much else to do. Still, it's a nice Kirby-style cheery platformer. Will be a much better pickup at $10-15.

9. Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand

10. Thor: God of Thunder (DS)

Spoiler: Games 11-20

11. Trails of Cold Steel

12. Gargoyle's Quest 2

13. Panorama Cotton

14. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

15. Guardians of the Galaxy

16. Princess Peach Showtime

17. Skull Island: Rise of Kong

18. TMNT: Wrath of the Mutants

19: Metal Gear (MSX)

20. Crow Country

21. Mon-Yu

22. Gley Lancer

Currently playing:

Trails of Cold Steel II: Act 2 Part 2
Fire Emblem (NES): Battle 15
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 15%
Poirot: The First Cases: Starting soon!

 

[Cheat Code]

Reserved, getting ready for the threepeat.

Also realised I never DMed about my success in 2023 lmao

 

[ThisOneHasNoName]

2017 - 13/52 | 2018 - 13/52 | 2019 - 14/52 | 2020 - 10/52 | 2021 - 2/52 | 2022 - 2/52 | 2023 - 6/52

ThisOneHasNoName - 13/52

Spoiler: GAME PLAN

1. Spider-Man 2 | 12th Jan - 25hrs | 8/10
2. Cocoon | 14th Jan - 7hrs | 9/10
3. Yakuza Kiwami | 9th Feb - 46hrs | 9/10
4. Balatro | 4th Mar - 6hrs | 9/10
5. Final Fantasy VII Remake - PS5 - 45hrs | 8/10
6. Chicory: A Colorful Tale - PS5 - 14hrs | 8/10
7. Final Fantasy VII Remake InterMISSION - PS5 - 5hrs | 6/10
8. Hue - PS5 - 7hrs | 7/10
9. Atelier Rorona DX: The Alchemist of Arland - PS4 - 80hrs | 10/10
10. Assassin's Creed Odyssey - XSX - 87hrs | 5/10
11. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II - XSX - 8hrs | 9/10
12. Atelier Totori DX: The Adventure of Arland - PS4 - 32hrs | 6/10
13. Atelier Meruru DX: The Apprentice of Arland - PS4 - 40hrs | 10/10
14. Dragon's Dogma II - PS5
15. Last Epoch - PC
16. Yakuza Kiwami 2 - PS4
17. Alan Wake II - XSX
18. Unicorn Overlord - PS5
19. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - PS5
20. Yakuza 3 Remastered - PS4
21. Mass Effect Legendary Edition - PS5
22. Street Fighter 6 - PS5
23. Nier: Automata - PC
24. Remnant II - PC
25. Yakuza 4 Remastered - PS4
26. Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition - PS4
27. Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition - PS4
28. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - XSX
29. Yakuza 5 Remastered - PS4
30. Super Mario Wonder - NSW
31. Elden Ring - XSX
32. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance - PS5
33. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - PS4
34. Mass Effect: Andromeda - PS4
35. Persona 3 Reload - XSX
36. Yakuza: Like A Dragon - PS5
37. Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name - PS5
38. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
39. Atelier Ayesha DX: The Alchemist of Dusk - PS4
40. Judgment - PS4
41. Atelier Escha & Logy DX: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky - PS4
42. Lost Judgment - PS4
43. Atelier Shallie DX: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - PS4
44. Grand Theft Auto V - PS5
45. Cyberpunk 2077 - PC
46. Mega Man Battle Network - PC
47. Resident Evil 4 - PC
48. Sea of Stars - XSX
49. MARVEL'S Midnight Suns - XSX
50. Pokemon Legends Arceus - NSW
51. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir - PS5
52. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book - PS4
53. Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey - PS4
54. Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings - PS4
55. Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland - PS4
56. Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout - PS4
57. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy - PS5

 

[hersheyfan]

Missed the first page, dang!

52 games 1 year... year 10. A decade of excellence, LFG!

Steam/PSN/XBL cards:

2015: 111 games completed (GAF) - List
2016: 73 games completed (GAF) - List
2017: 55 games completed (Era) - List
2018: 75 games completed (Era) - List
2019: 87 games completed (Era) - List
2020: 95 games completed (Era) - List
2021: 138 games completed (MC/Era) - Metacouncil / Resetera
2022: 62 games completed (MC/Era) - Metacouncil / Resetera
2023: 54 games completed (MC/Era) -Metacouncil / Resetera

2024: 26 games completed as of 6/13/24 (also on Metacouncil)

1. 1/1/24 Gunbird 2 (XSX), 1hr 49 min. Beat game with 2 characters, 1x 1CC rank D (lol)
2. 1/6/24 Batsugun Saturn Tribute Boosted (XSX), 1hr 52 min. Beat game on regular and special mode (all four rounds). Credit feeding galore by the end, might be the hardest shmup I've ever played.
3. 1/7/24 The Bug Butcher (XSX), 2hr 24min. Beat game with all weapons and equipment upgraded. 500/1000.
4. 1/14/24 All of Us Are Dead (XSX), 8hr 33 min. Beat game, replayed with FF for true route. 1000/1000.
5. 1/14/24 Shinorubi (XSX), 1hr 48min. Beat game on Normal, beat game on Super Easy (1CC), both Caravan modes and boss rush. 200/1000.
6. 1/14/24 Sol Divide: Sword of Darkness (XSX), 1hr. Beat game using Kashon; played to the last boss with the other two characters. 540/1000.
7. 1/20/24 Breakout: Recharged (XSX), 6hr 33min. fully completed single player challenge mode (whew!), got all score achievements. 900/1000.
8.1/21/24 Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (XSX), 5hr 34min. Beat game, all photos, all items (hats not yet completed). 800/1000.
9. 1/21/24 Zero Gunner 2 (XSX), 2hr 12 mins. Beat game with all 3 ships, D rank and C rank. 615/1000.
10. 1/22/24 Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly (XSX), 7hr 24min. Beat true route. 410/1000.
11. 1/28/24 The Great Ace Attorney Adventures (Steam Deck), 26.1 hours. Beat game, 11/30 achievements (second game in GAA series still in queue).
12. 2/4/24 Over The Alps (Steam Deck), 2.3 hours. Beat game, with the Agent surviving. 18/49 achievements.
13. 2/25/24 Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (PS5), 77 hours. Beat game with most side content, 75% trophy completion.
14. 3/16/24 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time - Cowabunga Collection (Steam Deck), around 30 mins. Beat game.
15. 4/1/24 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5), 83 hours 35 minutes. Beat game, all open world content, all side quests except very last one as it is presently bugged.
16. 4/10/24 Granblue Fantasy Relink (PS5), 32 hours 15 minutes. Beat full campaign (including all of Chapter 0), 51% trophy completion.
17. 4/10/24 Jubilee (XSX), 3 hours 32 minutes. Saw real ending, got all animals and secret pages. 981/999 gems, 750/1000.
18. 4/14/24 UFC 5 (XSX), 6 hours 54 minutes. Beat Career mode (GOAT achieved), 585/1000
19. 4/29/24 Pikuniku (XSX), 4 hrs 31 mins.
Beat adventure mode, got all achievements 1000/1000.
20. 5/5/24 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (XSX), 38 hours 44 minutes. Beat game plus some side content, will finish up some other time. 585/1000.
21. 5/25/24 Say No! More (Steam), 110 minutes. Finished game, 11/22 achievements.
22. 5/25/24 Devil Blade Reboot (Steam), 67 minutes. Beat Reboot Mode on Easy (1CC), and Normal (1 continue, barely!). This game is a fuckin phenomenal shmup, who knew Shigatake (Vanillaware) had it in him?
23. 5/26/24 1000xResist (Steam), 12 hours. Beat game, saw all endings. 25/32 achievements. A narrative masterclass, and one of the best games of 2024.
24. 6/3/24 Raiden X Mikado Maniax (XSX), 1 hour 25 mins.
Beat game (credit feeding galore), 275/1000. Hard as nails 🥲
25. 6/12/24 Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (Anbernic 35xx), around 35 minutes. Beat game.
26. 6/13/24 American Arcadia (Steam), 6.7 hours. Beat game, 18/29 achievements. That game was so fucking good!
27.

In the queue:
(Just dumping all my higher priority games in progress here so I have an easy list to pull from)

XSX: BBTag, Super Crazy Rhythm Castle, RE4R (replay, prev beaten on Steam), Trepang2, A Space for the Unbound, SF6 (Campaign)

XGP: Thirsty Suitors

NSW: Super Mario RPG, Hyrule Warriors 2, Super Mario Galaxy (SM3DA), Pikmin 4, Metroid Prime Remastered, Bayonetta 3, Fashion Dreamer, Advance Wars 1+2

Steam: Scarlet Tower, Kindergarten, Curse Crackers: For Whom The Belle Tolls, Koikari: Love For Hire, Star Ocean 2, Death Rally, Mega Man X Dive Offline

PS5: Rise of the Ronin, Persona 3 Reload, Spiderman: Miles Morales, God of War Ragnarok, Gran Turismo 7

 

[Psychotic_Mantis]

47/52

Spoiler: ALL COMPLETIONS!!!

1. Merry Snowballs (Meta Quest 3) - 7/10
2. Bloo Kid 2 (3DS) - 7/10
3. Gato Roboto (Switch) - 8/10
4. Witcheye (Switch) - 6/10
5. Chicken Wiggle (3DS) - 7/10
6. Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle (Steam Deck) - 8/10
7. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine (Steam Deck) - 8/10
8. Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PS5) - 8/10
9. Spotto! (3DS) - 7/10
10. Chronos: Before the Ashes (PS4)
11. Prehistoric Dude (Steam Deck) - 7/10
12. Nixxsz Castle (Steam Deck) - 7/10
13. Cats Hidden in Bali (Steam Deck) - 7/10
14. Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island (Steam Deck) - 8/10
15. Steel Diver (3DS) - 7/10
16. Cats Hidden in Jingle Jam (Steam Deck) - 7/10
17. Macbat 64 (Steam Deck) - 6/10
18. Mystery Hotel: Hidden Object Game (Steam Deck) - 7/10
19. Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds (PS4) - 8/10
20. Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - 9/10
21. Super Star Path (Steam Deck) - 7/10
22. Duck Season (Meta Quest 3) - 8/10
23. Tiny Lands (Steam Deck) - 8/10
24. Vessel (PS3) - 7/10
25. Steredenn (PS3) - 8/10
26. Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5) - 6/10
27. Princess Remedy: In a World of Hurt (Steam Deck) - 8/10
28. Lucky's Tale (Meta Quest 3) - 6/10
29. Princess Remedy: In a Heap of Trouble (Steam Deck) - 7/10
30. Cats Hidden in Paris (Steam Deck) - 7/10
31. Sketch, Share, Solve (Playdate) - 8/10
32. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (PS5) - 10/10
33. Blocky Balloons (Playdate) - 8/10
34. Pixel Ripped 1995 (Meta Quest 3) - 8/10
35. Mario Tennis Aces (Switch) - 7/10
36. Quest for Camelot (Gameboy Color) - 5/10
37. Halo: Reach (Xbox Series X) - 7/10
38. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii) - 7/10
39. The Lucky Dime Caper: Starring Donald Duck (Game Gear) - 7/10
40. The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (NES) - 7/10
41. Omaze (Playdate) - 8/10
42. Call of Duty (PS3) - 7/10
43. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4) - 8/10
44. Fez (PS4) - 8/10
45. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PS4) - 6/10
46. Avenging Spirit (PS5) - 7/10
47. Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (PS4) - 8/10

Currently Playing:
Tapeworm Disco Puzzle (Playdate)
Stormland (Meta Quest 3)
Crush3d (3DS)
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (Wii)

2018 List - 68 Games
2019 List - 69 Games
2020 List - 95 Games
2021 List - 68 Games
2022 List - 80 Games
2023 List - 76 Games

 

[stopmrdomino]

Completed Games (3/52) - 49 to go

#01: Super Mario Bros. Wonder | Nintendo | NSW | ★★★★★
#02: Sea of Stars | Sabotage Studio | PS5 | ★★☆☆☆
#03: Pokemon Scarlet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero | Game Freak | NSW | ★★★☆☆

★☆☆☆☆ - Bad | ★★☆☆☆ - OK | ★★★☆☆ - Good | ★★★★☆ - Great | ★★★★★ - Exceptional

Currently Playing:
Final Fantasy VII Remake - Square Enix (PlayStation 5)
I bought this on 3 platforms at launch. I have only started playing it. I'm a sucker.

Format lovingly stolen from Ted with permission, then butchered by me.

 

[stn]

Reserved! Currently playing Starfield (XSX), which I anticipate beating this month.

 

[Lucock]

52 Games. 1 Year. 2018.
52 Games. 1 Year. 2019.
52 Games. 1 Year. 2020.
52 Games. 1 Year. 2021.
52 Games. 1 Year. 2022.
52 Games. 1 Year. 2023.

1. FINAL FANTASY - PC - 03/01/2024

2. Shadow of the Tomb Raider - PC - 12/01/2024

3. A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia - PC - 13/01/2024

4. Donkey Kong - GBA - 13/01/2024

5. Valiant Hearts the Great War - PC - 14/01/2024

6. The Legend of Zelda - GC - 15/01/2024

7. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - PS3 - 20/01/2024

8. Call of Duty 3 - PS3 - 22/01/2024

9. Metroid: Zero Mission - GBA - 27/01/2024

10. God of War - PS2 - 30/01/2024

11. Fable Anniversary - PC - 10/02/2024

12. ICO - PS2 - 11/02/2024

13. Killzone - PS2 - 14/02/2024

14. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - PS2 - 18/02/2024

15. Prince of Persia - SNES - 20/02/2024

16. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - SNES - 21/02/2024

17. Stray - PC - 24/02/2024

18. STAR WARS Republic Commando - PC - 25/02/2024

19. Astro's Playroom - PS5 - 26/02/2024

20. Rayman - PS1 - 28/02/2024

21. STAR WARS Battlefront II - PC - 01/03/2024

22. Star Fox - SNES - 10/03/2024

23. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - PS3 - 18/03/2024

24. Kirby's Dream Land - GB - 19/03/2024

25. Silent Hill - PS1 - 23/03/2024

26. Grand Theft Auto - PS1 - 29/03/2024

27. DARK SOULS: REMASTERED - PC (Steam) - 31/03/2024

28. Metro Exodus - PC - 04/04/2024

29. Baldur's Gate 3 - PC (Steam) - 09/04/2024

30. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon - DS - 13/04/2024

31. Mass Effect - PC - 30/04/2024

32. Child of Light - PC - 04/05/2024

33. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - PS5 - 06/05/2024

34. Killzone: Shadow Fall - PS5 - 10/05/2024

35. MediEvil - PS5 - 16/05/2024

36. Shadow of the Colossus - PS5 - 18/05/2024

37. Gravity Rush Remastered - PS5 - 21/05/2024

38. God of War II - PS2 - 28/05/2024

39. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS5 - 01/06/2024

40. Tearaway Unfolded - PS5 - 02/06/2024

41. Dreams - PS5 - 04/06/2024

42. inFAMOUS Second Son - PS5 - 07/06/2024

43. The Last Guardian - PS5 - 13/06/2024

44. God of War III Remastered - PS5 - 16/06/2024

 

[djinn]

1. Knights of San Francisco (Android) | 2 Jan | 2 hours | 4/5 stars
2. Ys Chronicles 1 (Steam) | 9 Jan | 7 hours | 3/5
3. Ys Chronicles 2 (Steam) | 16 Jan | 10.2 hours | 2.5/5
4. There is No Game: Wrong Dimension (Android) | 27 Jan | time unknown | 3.5/5
5. Minute of Islands (Switch) | 2 Feb | time unknown | 3/5
6. Little Inferno (Steam) | 8 Feb | 3hr 25m | 3.5 stars
7. Golf Club Nostalgia (Steam) | 9 Feb | 2.1 hours | 2/5 stars
8. Octopath Traveller 2 (Switch) | 20 Feb | retired at 75+ hours | unrated
9. Tangle Tower (Steam) | 23 Feb | 6 hours | 4.5/5 stars
10. Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? (Steam) | 27 Feb | 3.5 hours | 3.5/5
11. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) | 8 Apr | 90 hours | 4.5/5
12. Nexomon: Extinction (Steam) | 7 May | Retired at 33.5 hours | 2/5
13. 100 Pumpkins 2 (Steam) | 12 May | 3 hours | 4/5
14. Pillars of Eternity (Steam) | 24 May | 55 hours | 4/5
15. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (Steam) | 3 Jun | 29 hours | 0/5 because of that ending
16. 1000xResist (Steam) | 3 Jun | 13 hours | 4/5

Click to shrink...

1. Knights of San Francisco
First cap off the rack is a mobile text adventure. This was well written! I enjoyed post-apocalyptic fantasy San Francisco. You play Aren, looking for their older brother that abandoned their family. Throughout you fight goblins, orcs etc and father allies and complete quests. You're also a necromancer, so, at the cost of a sanity point, you can use defeated enemies on your team. The music was excellent and the artwork was good. This had a nice aesthetic. I got stuck maybe twice when it wasn't clear what to do but I got a pretty good ending that I'm happy with. A nice, easy start to the year.

2. Ys Chronicles 1
Ys has wormed its way into being one of my favourite series. I love these silly little games. Ys 1 is kinda garbage but in a charming way and not in a Ark of Napishtim way. Sure, most bosses come down to luck because the bump system has absolutely no skill involved. But it's also very silly and fun to play. Also, wow, Dark Fact is such a stupid boss. I laughed a lot during most of my attempts. Can't wait to play more Adol adventures.

3. Ys Chronicles 2
Way, way too long. The final dungeon, Solomon Shrine, aka Temple of Ys, is 5 hours alone. Ys is supposed to be about snappy pacing and fast-paced action. This grinds to a halt about halfway through. It is kinda interesting, story-wise, though, which is uncommon for Ys. Enough that I'm wanting to replay Origin soon.

4. There is No Game: Wrong Dimension
Excellent mobile game. The perfect amount of challenge but too long I feel. I enjoyed the meta and it got some laughs from me. The most frustrating parts were trying to control something on the screen and my fingers would get in the way of seeing anything.

5. Minute of Islands
Well this was disturbing and depressing. Not at all the light affair I expected it to be. Adventure Time art combined with the inevitability of failure trying to complete an impossible task made this a real downer game. Beautifully crafted art, design, writing and voice acting; there's a lot of attention to detail put in this.

Gameplay is not great. It's a puzzle platformer with very finicky and inaccurate controls. And everything in this game is so slow. Extensive loading times, sometimes we'll get a scene of nothing but the boat travelling for about ten seconds and then go into yet another loading screen. The hallucinations often feel like busy work, yet more padding to slow you down. I'm not sure why the developers did this, unless it's to make you feel as frustrated as the character you're playing.

Mo is an interesting character. Relateable but not necessarily likeable. Her mood becomes increasingly foul as the game continues, as seen by the descriptive text becoming more and more self-abusive and the voiced narration becoming more and more vicious and paranoid. This atmosphere only grows and there's no real let up. There are no happy endings here but I suppose there's peace eventually.

This is a difficult recommend. It's well made and a pretty unflinching portrayal of depression and self-sabotage. It did get to me occasionally, but being only about 5 hours helps.

6. Little Inferno
This was a strangely sweet little fairy tale. Very Tim Burton/A Series of Unfortunate Events kinda kooky style, which I'm a big fan of. You just burn stuff and write letters to your neighbour as the city chokes to death on smoke and freezes under constant snow fall. Didn't get all the combinations but it was fun experimenting. Controls well on Steam Deck.

7. Golf Club Nostalgia
Kinda meh. Courses were fine but controls aren't very precise. I really didn't care for the radio stories nor much of the music. There's a little comic book at the end of the game that still doesn't really explain what happened to Earth or the main character. There certainly was potential here; occasionally the social commentary got close to being interesting or relevant. But I tuned a lot of it out the more I got frustrated with missing shots.

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.

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.

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.

11. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Overall pretty amazing with a muddled ending. A few minigames wear out their welcome but I ultimately loved a lot of this. The ending is something I'll have to ponder on because I'm unsure how I feel about it.

12. Nexomon: Extinction
Quitting a game is never fun. I tend to try and finish things even if I'm not enjoying it. I stopped enjoying Nexomon 2 about halfway through. After the initial novelty of a pokemon clone doing things in a fun and unique way, you start to notice the cracks in the walls.

The reason people come back to pokemon, despite all the (valid) complaints is that, at its core, the gameplay and monster designs are rock solid. Every monster in Pokémon feels like it's been designed by a person, given as much love and attention as the next, to the point where you can safely assume even the most seemingly dull Mon has a fan. (I recently discovered Lanturn has a number of fans in a discord channel I follow, much to my surprise).

There are 427 Nexomon in NE. I could probably count on one hand the number that looked like someone put thought and attention into their design. Database flavour text is meaningless. Mon stats are homogeneous throughout all 427; defence is always the lowest stat, then speed and then attack. There are no unique mon moves. All fire moves are available to all fire mon and so on. The only significant distinguishing factor among Nexomon is their rarity. A "common" mon is always going to be weaker stat wise to any mon of higher rarity. There is no point to keeping mon other than the most rare.

Of course, this only benefits you so far in a game where difficulty scales along with your level. Towards the final 3rd of the game, enemy teams are always going to be 5- 15 levels above you. The only way to compensate for this is to attach cores, stat boosters, to your team. That only gets you so far, however, and you'll constantly be relying on a supply of potions. Another problem crops up now: you barely get any money in this game. You can try and farm money from battles, but rematching trainers means their team has gone up another 5 levels on top of whatever advantage they had on you already. Which means more potions used, more money needed etc etc in an endless suffering loop.

So at this point I decided to just rush for the ending. I managed to scrape my way to the final gamut, a whopping 6 phase boss run. I got to phase 4 before I ran out of potions and died. I got sent back to phase 3 with none of my items returned and no money to my name. I gave up.

Nexomon: Extinction is an unbalanced, poorly crafted creature collector, where none of the creatures actually matter. Moves will fail for no reason despite having 100% accuracy to all mon, your opponent will beat you in speed whenever they feel like and every battle is tortuously slow as you only do chip damage to a boss that is always 15 levels above you.

Pokémon looking pretty OK right about now.

13. 100 Pumpkins 2
A puzzle platformer that ranges from very easy to hair-pulling hard. 100 screens, 100 pumpkins and you with a pitchfork. Controls aren't great but the gameplay loop is extremely addictive. It's very much "just one more pumpkin". Oftentimes I'd come across a puzzle and be like, "nope, this is too hard, I can't do this" but the one more go would turn out to be 50 more attempts and the dopamine from getting that really hard to reach pumpkin would be worth it.

14. Pillars of Eternity
I'm really not sure what to say at this point because this took me years to finish. I enjoyed it. It's the first crpg I've ever finished. I played this game on easy then story mode but I think I sort of understood gameplay by the end? Crpgs are very overwhelming for me so I'm happy to say I've finally finished one. I really liked the story and most of the characters.

15. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Look this would have been a 3.5/5 game until I reached the dreaded romantic interest lottery at the end and suddenly my character is a paedophile 💀

16. 1000xResist
As well written as the hype would have you believe. Certainly written well enough that it reminded me of several books and the films. Points off, though, for the atrociously designed hub area and for occasional forced 1st person perspective (which always makes me nauseous).

 

[Sambo]

Reserved. First time I'm taking part in this. At the moment playing through Dragon Quest V remake on PS2.

 

[Tea]

2023 - 52/52

Completed Games: 33/52

Spoiler: List of Games/Ramblings

#1 - Lego Pirates of the Caribbean 1st January

A co-op adventure with Mrs Tea. Given she loves Johnny Depp and the lego games are perfect for a non-gamer to get used to playing video games, we thought we'd give this a go. Perhaps not the finest of lego titles, the romp through this was mostly enjoyable despite some embarassingly obtuse puzzles for our adult lizard brains. I'd blame the game for not giving enough of a clue at some of the steps required to progress at times, but the likely answer is we're both a bit dim. We'll definitely play more of these in the coming year, given I have a stack of physical copies acquired on the cheap.

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#2 - Horizon Forbidden Dawn: The Frozen Wilds 4th January

I learned from my past mistake of playing HZD on a harder difficulty and dropped down to Easy for The Frozen Wilds, resulting in far more satisfying combat. At this difficulty each exploitation of a machines weakness had a visceral and enjoyable feel to it, where previously combat felt like a spongey slogfest. I'm a bit so-so on the story of HZD and The Frozen Wilds was no exception, though the voice acting is quality. A satisfying 8 hours or so were had and I'm excited to play the sequel in a similar manner.

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#3 - Tearaway Unfolded 6th January

I didn't play the VIta version first, so the magic might have been dampened a little here. Despite some clumsy Media Molecule floaty platforming, this was mostly charming and enjoyable with the concept of 'The You' executed well and the papercraft world looking tactile and well crafted. I chuckled several times, with a particular highlight of my voice echoing through a level. This was mainly hilarious as I shouted 'TWAT' into my controller. Perhaps I'll play through the Vita version at some point for a nice comparison.

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#4 - Outer Wilds 12th January

It's been a while since a game grabbed me like this. Outer Wilds is quite the voyage of discovery, though not without it's quibbles. I feel without reading a 'how to play Outer Wilds' before setting off on the journey I'd have bounced off this pretty hard - the ships computer was invaluable to keeping me on track. Anglerfish are the absolute worst, and whilst certain areas only being accessible at set times in the loop is a neat gameplay mechanic, it's sort of inconvenient (even with taking a nap at a bonfire!) I don't want to say much more because everything that's fantastic about this game is super spoilable - let's just say I'd consider it a must play, but minor mechanic/puzzle quibble frustrations stop me suggesting this is a 5 star game.

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#5 - Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons 14th January

This was either overhyped or I'm devoid of emotion. A neat semi co-op platform puzzler with a fairytale setting. I can imagine the story hitting hard for some, but given how much I've heard about this game over the last 10 years I was bound to be disappointed.

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#6 Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye 16th January

Couldn't enjoy this quite as much as the main game. The puzzles felt a little more obtuse and there wasn't a particularly good way to recap the information I'd seen. The time loop also felt more pressing, ||especially with crazy seven foot owl people chasing me.|| Ended up resorting to a guide as a result which soured me a little. Still a fantastic expansion to the main game, and when the story is explained it ties everything together nicely.

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#7 Jusant 21st January

They definitely got this right - zero frustration gameplay and beautiful to look at whilst not overstaying it's welcome. I wrapped this up in about four hours and couldn't stop reaching for the next handhold. Jusant really wants you to climb and enjoy it, which is exactly what I did.

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#8 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 21st January

I seem to recall enjoying this more the first time round. It mostly feels like chasing every possible conversation and item interaction until you find the trigger to progress to the next court case. Court cases can also be a little obtuse sometimes with exactly what you need to press or present, but this is made up for with great writing and characters. I'm going to finish the trilogy, but I am finding these a little bit of a slog to get through.

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#9 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All 22ndJanuary

Playing this immediately after the original shows its flaws a little. The cases and pacing aren't as strong so I found this even harder to enjoy than the original. Possibly should have waited before coming back for more.

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#10 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations 23rd January

Far stronger than the second entry in the series with better pacing. Case 3 was a little weak but it finished strong with cases 4 and 5. Felt more immersed in this one with stronger links to character backstory, though I'm still not sure the genre is for me.

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#11 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 30th January

I wanted to love this, but found myself merely liking it. The combat, whilst good, didn't give me the "Jedi" feeling until far too late in the playthrough and didn't quite have the satisfying feel of the Souls games it clearly draws some inspiration from. I also had some issues with the minimap mainly caused by story related backtracking and collectibles. Certainly enjoyable, but not quite up to the standards I hope they can hit with the sequel.

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#12 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 7th February

Haven't had this much fun swinging a lightsaber about since Jedi Knight II. An absolutely stellar improvement over Fallen Order and a joy to play through. Got the platinum in this and found the mop-up of collectables and tasks a joy. Traversal was much improved over its predecessor with a much welcomed fast travel feature easing the journey substantially.

The choice of stances and combat approaches is welcomed and whilst I tried all of them, I can't bring myself to use anything but single saber for that Jedi aesthetic.. My one gripe is probably that the feeling of being a Jedi isn't really suited to playing this on a higher difficulty. I dropped the difficulty down when traversing the enviornment and upped it for boss encounters which felt like a happy middle ground for challenge.

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#13 Grand Theft Auto IV 13th February

Replaying this on the PS3 for trophies reminded how much I adored this on it's initial 360 release. Staying up for the midnight release and being amazed by the next-gen world of Liberty City was one of those cherished gaming memories for me. Going back I'm struck by just how 2008 this feels now. Definitely suffers from the dudebrown filter, with shooting elements that certainly feel a touch unpolished. That said the euphoria engine still provides sufficient hilarty, and whilst the driving feels a touch weighty, if approached sensibly can be quite rewarding.

Writing wise, I didn't feel this really held up. Niko isn't particularly relatable and with a handful of exceptions, the majority of the characters are a pain to hang around. The story arc doesn't really hit for me, but I did chuckle along like a juvenile at a number of points during the story. The game really sings in the soundtrack department; absolutely full of certified bangers with even more top tier tracks in the DLC campagins which are next on my agenda.

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#14 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned 13th February

More GTA IV. Excellent and improved bike riding mechanics mean it's a great deal of fun to roam around with the Lost MC. Concise story with a decent if somewhat predictable arc. Felt like the gunplay was tighter here but could just be me getting used to it. Soundtrack top tier and the intro with Highway Star is absolutely fantastic. On to BoGT!

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#15 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony14th February

Even more GTA IV. Throws you in to bombastic missions from the off and the pace never really lets up. Good variety and you can feel Rockstar really hitting their stride with this last DLC. You can see the origins of the three protagonist approach from GTA V here, with a number of missions and plotlines overlapping nicely between the three campaigns. They certainly feel their age, things have come a long way, especially in terms of current gen open world but I certainly had a good time going back to GTA IV.

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#16 Shovel Knight 27th February

Whilst I love the aesthetics, soundtrack and gameplay the difficulty of some sections was a touch frustrating. Losing currency in a difficult 2D platformer also didn't particularly work for me. A definite case of my expectations not aligning with the end product, though I still enjoyed my time with Shovel Knight.

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#17 Hitman GO 5th March

Fantastic piece of design, but Hitman GO definitely showed me I am not a fan of this type of puzzle game. My little brain resorted to a brute force approach at times. I may try Lara Croft GO as I hear it's the best of the GO titles. This filled my flights home from Norway at least.

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#18 Forza Horizon 4 5th March

Initially a really enjoyable experience. As someone who spent a good number of years dedicated to sim racing with triples and a direct drive setup, an arcade pick up and play experience was a breath of fresh air. That said, I quickly found the content to feel a little samey and far to GaaS for my liking. I can't praise the take on my home country enough though. Gorgeous to look at and drive through and to see some of the sights I've visited in person replicated in game brought a smile to my face. As with the last two games I've finished, I've learned something from FH4. I need a more focussed approach. Leaving me in an open world without a real focussed push or narritive means I'm likely to feel as though there's no purpose to my play.

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#19 Final Fantasy VII 16th March

A replay of my all time favourite video game. I can't speak negatively about this, especially given I'm dedicating the art on my right arm to it. It gives me the huge nostalgia burst that made me fall in love with video games when I was a kid and got me amped to finally play Remake. I cried twice. 5 stars.

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#20 FF7 Remake 5th April

There's a reason Midgar was four hours long in the original. At thirty hours long I feel the game is a little uncomfortably bloated. Far too much side content and filler, made up for by the many positives. Beautiful to look at, an amazing soundtrack and brilliant voice work made FF7 remake hit hard when other games this bloated would have struggled to retain my interest.

The combat system I was torn on at first, I didn't quite wrap my head around the ATB/Action hybrid setup. Once things clicked though, I had an absolute blast melting through the many mobs of Midgar. Hyped to play Rebirth, but tempted to give this a bash on hard first...

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#21 FF7 Remake: Intermission 6th April

Yuffie is the best. When she isn't whistling the Wutai theme, she's air-comboing the living crap out of enemies and melting them to bits. Synchronised Art-Of-War is my jam.

A short shap DLC that gave me an extra, non bloated, FF7 Remake Hit. Shoutout to Fort Condor!

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#22 Yoshi's Wooly World 7th April

If I was reviewing the first four worlds, I'd have given this four in a heartbeat. Unfortunately the last two worlds had a handful of levels that were just frustrating to play in co op, and soured the experience for us a little. Cute as hell and a ton of fun, just a shame it didn't see the delight through to the end.

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#23 New Super Lucky's Tale 12th April

A nice throwback to the 32 bit era Nintendo collectathon platformer that was simple enough to play and comforting to look at. Well paced and didn't outstay it's welcome.

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#24 Lil Gator Game 18th April

Really glad I played this. Cosy gaming at it's best and thoroughly charming throughout.

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#25 Super Mario 3D World 6th May

Not the best 3D mario game I've played, though my impressions may be coloured by the fact co-op feels like a hindrance at times . I lost count of the amount of times my partner and I accidentally destroyed eachother - humerous once but annoying when you're struggling with a level. The fact levels have a timer seems a touch redundant too given you basically never hit it - why is it even there? Despite this (last level and other auto scrolling segements excluded) the level design was interesting and the encouragement to revisit levels to collect stars which I'd usually find infuriating actually added to my appreciation.

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#26 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

I don't know where to start with this one.I loved the game, but deary me is it padded.For every good bit of content there is some deathly dull padding unskippable nonesense. If I wasn't convinced I needed the platinum I'd probably have enjoyed this more, though with that said I found the most enjoyment in completing the hard mode and the combat challenges, which really show the depth (and exploitability) of some of the combat mechanics.

Story wise, I'm a little underwhelmed for reasons:

Spoiler

Aerith's death

is totally underwhelming given the multiple timeline story they have going but for the most part, it hit all the nostalgia beats I needed and made me actually like Cait Sith.
Perhaps I also got a little soured because I played it off the back of replaying the original, the Remake and Intergrade which was a lot of FF7 for a couple of months.

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#27 Bowsers Fury

A lovely bitesize 3D Mario romp, gave me old school Mario64 vibes. Would have found this annoying to play without the ability to summon Bowser with the Amiibo as and when I wanted.

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#28 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Reunion

I found this something of a slog having just played Rebirth. Definitely feels like a mid 2000's game and despite the new shiny aesthetic, it doesn't quite land. Was good to get some background on Zack though.

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#29 Kena Bridge of Spirits

What it lacked in gameplay depth it made up for in aesthetics. Great to look at and nicely paced.

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#30 The Evil Within

A nonsensical survival horror romp. Did not appreciate the story though, a little odd.

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#31 Super Mario Bros Wonder

Solid 2D Mario game that I played in bursts over the last month or so. Levels are a good length suited to the Switch playstyle, allowing me to dive in and out swiftly with enough replayability and collectibles without being obnoxious. Not a top tier Mario game, but a good time was had.

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#32 Portal

This still holds up almost 20 years after release. Marvelous.

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#33 Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary

The first time I've played through Halo (and it's 23 years old!?). I'm impressed that it's held up but it's not without its flaws compared to the modern equivalent. I found fighting the Convenant to be standard humdrum FPS fare, so the first 3 hours or so were good, but not gear. Controls are tight (but the jumping is annoyingly floaty, for obvious reasons) and the non-covenant weapons felt good. It's only when the flood show up that I really started to vibe with things.

The little plot twist halfway through shifted the feel of the game for me, and I got excellent horror vibes from 343 Guilty Spark. The romp through the Library and Two Betrayals made me forget I was playing a game this old, but I was soon brought back down to earth with the backtracking toward the end of the game. The last third is certainly weaksauce in comparison.

Despite the negatives (and the fact I didn't experience multiplayer at the time) it's left me with an urge to keep playing the series. A good thing, because I have a working copy of Halo 2 (GFWL) and all the 360 games! Might jump into those sooner than expected.

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[erekiddo]

Reserve post

 

[SolidSnakex]

Games completed: 22

Spoiler: All completions!

1.) Jet Moto (PSone) | January 1st - 1h30m | 3/5
2.) Telling Lies (PS4) | January 5th - 12h | 3/5
3.) Star Ocean The Second Story R (PS5) | January 15th - 36h14h54s | 5/5
4.) Röki (PS5) | January 18th - 7h | 3/5
5.) The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PS5) | January 27th - 29h40m58s | 5/5
6.) Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5) | January 31st - 2h | 4/5
7.) Tekken 8 (PS5) | February 9th - 11h | 5/4
8.) Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (PS5) | February 14th - 31h | 4/5
9.) Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PS5) | February 19th - 23h42m35s | 4/5
10.) Resistance: Retribution (PSP) | February 24th - 8h35m | 3/5
11.) Jet Moto 2 (PSone) | February 25th - 2h31m | 3/5
12.) Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERmission (PS5) | February 28th - 3h42m50s | 5/5
13.) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) | March 18th - 98h33m45s | 5/5
14.) Ghost of Tsushima (PS5) | March 28th - 49h | 5/5
15.) Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island (PS5) | March 29th - 10h | 5/5
16.) Rise of the Ronin (PS5) | April 13th - 69h | 5/5
17.) Alone in the Dark (PS5) | April 22nd - 16h | 4/5
18.) Stellar Blade (PS5) | May 13th - 62h | 5/5
19.) Sand Land (PS5) | May 27th - 40h:38m | 3/5
20.) Nour: Play With Your Food (PS5) | June 2nd - 2h | 3/5
21.) 2Xtreme (PSone) | June 3rd - 1h27m | 3/5
22.) Cool Boarders (PSone) | June 4th - 1h3m | 3/5

 

[Squardles]

2023 Challenge - Complete

Between game pass and my local library I've really been able to play a lot of game over the past couple years. One of the biggest changes for me is all the great short games that come to game pass that I would had never tried before. Been missing some really great games.

2024 Completion - 22/52

Spoiler: January Completions

1. Doom Classic Unity - XSX - 5/5
2. Sigil - XSX - 4.5/5
3. Sigil 2 - XSX - 4/5
4. Doom Classic Unity - XSX - 4/5

These 4k Remasters were done extremely well, played great on the Series X with a controller. I will always prefer the more labyrinthine level design of the original Doom over it sequel but still had a great time. First time playing Romero's recent chapters Sigil I and II. Preferred Sigil I in both level design and OST compared to Sigil II.

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5. Cocoon - XSX - Either a 4 or 4.5/5

Having a hard time deciding how I would rate this one. The visual and audio design is top notch, puzzle mechanic is extremely fresh and well thought out, but I was a little let down with how easy it felt in the end. Funnily at the same time really enjoyed it for being a puzzle game respected my time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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6. Monster Hunter World - XSX - 4.5/5
7. Monster Hunter World Iceborne - XSX - 5/5
9. Monster Hunter Rise - XSX - 4.5/5

These are just replays of my favorite franchise, owned them of different platforms so decided to do a XSX run of them. Obviously I'm pretty hyped that we have a new entry coming out next year. Plan is to play through the whole series throughout the year bar MH2, that's the only one I don't have a copy of.

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8. Turnip Boy Robs a Bank - XSX - 4/5

Great sequel to the original even with the core gameplay change. Took about 3 hours, recommend it if you have GamePass.

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10. Doom 64 - XSX - 3.5/5

This was a game that when I started I was having a blast, but by the end I was ready for it to be over. I think the biggest contributing factor was the lack of a great OST doom was known for. Getting through some of those labyrinthine levels in Doom 1 or 2 is definitely made easier do to the rocking music. Searching for a wall button you missed for 20 min in silence was just not a great experience. Night Dive port was great.

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Spoiler: February Completions

11. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak - XSX - 5/5

12. Brotato - XSX - 3/5

Didn't enjoy this as much as the similar Vampire Survivors. I think if I had played this a couple years ago on something like a Switch or Steam deck when I was commuting on the train a bunch I would have a different opinion but it just felt a little to samey each run to play on the couch.

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13. Loop Hero - PC - 4/5
14. Little Inferno - PC - 4/5
15. Bloons TD6 - PC - 4/5

Had to do some traveling so played a couple short games during the downtime.

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16. Rayman Legends - XSX - 5/5

One of the finest 2D platform games I've ever played. The mechanics are top-notch. The art design is gorgeous. Had a great time playing Co-op with the wife.

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17. Slayers X - XSX - 3/5

So on one hand I thought the setting and premise were really well executed. Sadly reminded me of what an idiot I was back in the 90s :). Gameplay however just didn't hit home for me. Maybe in my brain I was comparing too much to the Doom games I played the month before.

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Spoiler: March Completions

18. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - XSX - 4.5/5

The main story narrative was such a step up, I enjoyed it immensely. The rest of the the expansion was just more Cyberpunk, which is ok. My only disappointment was the new area itself, I just felt it could've had a more unique feel to it.

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19. Warhammer 40k Boltgun - XSX - 3.5/5

For the first half of this game I was completely enamored. The visuals and sound design were top notch, and the weapon and enemy variety was great. The flaws of the game design started showing after the initial honeymoon. The spongey enemies start feeling like a slog, and level design started showing its cracks. Also felt the OST was lacking. To be honest if the game was just shorter I probably would've of enjoyed it more.

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20. A Little to the Left - XSX - 4/5

The second time now I've played an organization puzzle game that my wife kept recommending. The first being unpacking. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. There is just something calming about these style of puzzle games. I feel like it does a good job of making you think but also designed in a way to make sure you are moving through the puzzles at a good pace. Really well designed.

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19. Tekken 8 - XSX - 4/5

Finished all the single player content(Story, Arcade Quest and Character Stories). When it comes to fighting games I prefer Street Fighter and KI, Tekken has never been a franchise that interested me so I rented this from the library. That being said I thought the overall package was really good. Tons of unlocks, neat CGI videos for each character story and a pretty hype story mode. Not enough to make me like 3d fighters more but still a solid time.

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20. Baldur's Gate 3 - XSX - 5/5

Played Co-op with the wife. Really good game, I think the way conversations are handled in this game compared to Divinity really helped me enjoy the story more. They did a good job implementing the DnD ruleset, however I still prefer the system they made for Divinity 2. Doesn't unseat Shadows of Amn for me but I can see why the game got so much praise last year. My main gripe without getting into spoilers is just the pacing for the villains.

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[Clear]

Games complete: 1

Xanthiom Zero - short metroid game. For achievement hunters you can all of them but 1 in one play-thru. 2nd one requires a mode unlocked after beating it once.

 

[Hatt Manniman]

Game #1: Somerville (78 out of 100)
- Nice, relatively short puzzle/walking simulator. Nothing revolutionary, but the visuals and attention to detail in the animations was top-notch.

Game #2 :Super Mario Wonder (90 out of 100)
- tour de force of platforming bliss. So many new ideas and puzzles, all crammed in one game.

Game #3: Silent Room : The Short Message (62 out of 100)
- Heavy Handed themes with trial and error scenarios. Not really super enjoyable.

Game #4: Final Fantasy 7 Remake (89 out of 100)
- Fantastic world and characters, with engaging combat. Wish it didn't drag so much in certain areas. Looking forward to digging into Rebirth soon.

 

[Whimsicalish]

01 | It Takes Two
PS5 | Jan 01 | 12 h | 4.5/5

I had a lot of fun playing this one with Lobotomaxx. A great kickoff for the new year!

The art style is bright and whimsical with a fantasy setting. I loved all the variety in settings: from snowy mountains, a grandfather clock, a treehouse, etc. The level designs are phenomenal and fun to explore. The voice actors did well and I felt attached to the two main characters. It was a fun journey.

The final area was the weakest. It felt like the one setting that did not hold a personal memory for this couple. I'm puzzled why we ended the story there. I don't dislike how it ended, mainly the setting. It was a strange choice to me. We'll have to play the studios other projects.

02 | The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
PS5 | Jan 01 | 9 h | 4/5

The game's synopsis grabbed my attention from Playstation Plus and I decided to give it a try before it leaves the service. It sounded silly; that's maybe the best word I could come up with before starting. After playing, it is absolute bonkers.

You are trapped in an otherworld searching for your friend that's gone missing. The gameplay consists of environmental puzzles to progress. You will be on fire, decapitated, lose limbs, etc to progress these levels. I had no idea the level of graphic violence LOL. (To be fair the game does give you warning before starting and it handles difficult topics better than two games I unfortunately played last year that I will not get over.) But damn, when you know you have to injure yourself and hear JJ screaming, I felt real bad.

Most of the puzzles and levels were fun to solve and explore. There's a couple that were so vague I had to look up hints, or solutions. The collectibles are whatever, even the secret texts don't add much to the story. The platforming isn't best to control either. Definitely enjoyed the atmosphere, odd gameplay execution, and the story.

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[Whimsicalish]

03 | OMNO
PS5 | Jan 01 | 4 h | 4/5

Fun, short platformer that has charm and calm vibes. The puzzles aren't difficult; the platforming (while not the best control) is fairly simple. However, it's easy to overshoot your dash and the float messes with your camera. You unlock new abilities after progressing through the different portals.

You can freely explore the large scale maps. I love the environments and interacting with the creatures. The world is beautiful and it looks like the studio is carrying that same style over to their next project, Kibu. I will be looking forward to that.

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[Nihilism4Dummies]

Never done this before, but let's give it a go. I completed well over 52 games last year, so on the one hand I like to think it's doable again, but on the other I kinda hope I don't, because that will hopefully mean I've sorted some other areas of my life out.

[Reserved]

 

[designiana]

I always strive to complete around 50+ games a year since my backlog is getting pretty massive, but last year was the first I actually managed to surpass this number (beat 67 games, no replays included). Having a more structured format here will be helpful to keep me accountable.

Currently Playing

• Pokémon Legends: Arceus
• 1000xRESIST
• Tents and Trees

Completions [31/52]
(Each cover is linked to their review post)

Spoiler: Completed Games

• 01. Later Alligator (2023-01-05, 4h) / ★★★★
• 02. Super Mario RPG (2023-01-09, 15h) / ★★★★★
• 03. Papetura (2023-01-09, 1h) / ★★
• 04. Mediterranea Inferno (2023-01-09, 3h) / ★★★★★
• 05. Underground Blossom (2023-01-10, 2h) / ★★★
• 06. Logiart Grimoire (2023-01-10, 40h) / ★★★★★
• 07. Curse Crackers: For Whom The Belle Toils (2024-01-13, 10h) / ★★★★
• 08. Chicken Journey (2024-01-14, 4h) / ★★★
• 09. Critters for Sale (2024-02-04, 3h) / ★★★
• 10. :THE LONGING: (2024-02-07, 25h) / -
• 11. Saltsea Chronicles (2024-02-12, 8h) / ★★★
• 12. Ys I Chronicles+ (replay) / ★★
• 13. Ys II Chronicles+ (replay) / ★★
• 14. Haiku, the Robot (2024-02-15) / ★★★
• 15. Khimera: Puzzle Island (2024-02-25) / ★★★
• 16. 20 Small Mazes (2024-02-26) / ★★★★
• 17. Garlic (2024-02-26) / ★★
• 18. Hexologic (2024-02-26) / ★★★★
• 19. South Scrimshaw, Part One (2024-02-27) / ★★★★
• 20. Regency Solitaire (replay) / ★★★★
• 21. Regency Solitaire II / ★★★★
• 22. A Date With Death (2024-02-29) / ★★★
• 23. Cosmic Collapse (2024-03-17) / ★★★★★
• 24. SUMMERHOUSE (2024-03-21) / ★★★★
• 25. Stardew Valley (replay) / ★★★★★
• 26. Blood Nova (2024-03-26) / ★★★
• 27. ANIMAL WELL (2024-05-25) / ★★★★
• 28. Kero Blaster (2024-05-25) / ★★★
• 29. He Fucked The Girl Out Of Me (2024-05-29)
• 30. Balatro (2024-06-01) / ★★★★
• 31. Rusty's Retirement (2024-06-05) / ★★★★★

---

Ratings

• ★ Disliked. Didn't enjoy it at all and could've better spent that time doing something else.
• ★★ Nah. Had issues or frustrations that outweigh most of my enjoyment of the game.
• ★★★ Fine. No major downs but no ups either. A middling, mediocre, run-of-the-mill experience overall.
• ★★★★ Great game. Might have minor issues or just didn't personally connect with it but it was still a good time.
• ★★★★★ Great game and I loved my time with it. One of my favorites of the year.

 

[Ambient]

Reserving post.

 

[Tiny Hawk]

Let's jump back in.

In Progress

Completions! (link to thoughts when applicable)

	Game Title​	Completed On​	Time Played​	Rating​
01	Guitar Hero: Metallica	January 1st	8 hours	7/10
02	Guitar Hero: Smash Hits	January 7th	6 hours	5/10
03	Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name	January 16th	19.9 hours	8/10
04	Sludge Life	January 21st	1.8 hours	7/10
05	Sludge Life: The Big Mud Session	February 20th	20 minutes	N/A
06	Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth	February 27th	69.3 hours	9.5/10
07	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)	March 6th	~6.5 hours	8/10
08	Dragon's Dogma 2	April 11th	66 hours	7/10

The Backlog
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Fallout 4
NieR: Automata
Sludge Life 2
Wanted: Dead

 

[Dest]

1. Quake
TTC: 4~ hours | Start date: Jan 7th | Complete date: Jan 7th
Entry type: New to me.
Rating: 4.5/5
It's an obvious classic for a reason and pioneered the way for any FPS after it, but there's some design that feels a bit old and a bit mean spirited. Overall though, pretty good.

2. Need for Speed Underground 2
TTC 15 hours(?) | Start date: Jan 1st | Complete date: Jan 15th
Entry type: New to me
Rating 4/5
They don't make them like they used to. But like actually.

 

[CrazyAznKT]

Broke my streak last year, after five years I've been foiled by steady employment with a long commute! It's fine though, I got to play a couple bigger games in my backlog. I'll have to update my 2023 post and I probably won't be able to hit 52 this year either, but I like being part of this community!

Saved for 2024!