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Beat - It Takes Two: I am unclear how this has received so many great reviews. Each level brings new gameplay elements to learn (and to soon forget), most of which are fun. There are a couple dozen minigames to play with a handful being decent. For the most part, the level design is unique and fun (though, there are a couple "open world" levels that have many completely inconsequential interactives). However, the story and voice actors are excruciatingly bad. It got to the point where my brother was trying to skip every cutscene, but I wouldn't let it happen because I wanted to see how much worse it could get. The storyline is that the parents are getting divorced, but the daughter doesn't want them to. She ends up casting a spell that essentially abuses her parents into not separating, and they end up staying together. The moral is "you should never divorce - you just have to try harder at being married" which isn't a great message. It was a good co-op platforming game with a nice mix of puzzles and action, but it was surrounded by an awful story that brought the entire experience down. I'd highly recommend completely ignoring the story if you play it.
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Mar 13, 2022 13:50
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Games I've played in December to March Nulled: Adventures of Chris Platformer. Didn't care for it. Finished: Aperture Desk Job Fun little demo showing off the Steam Deck controls. Nulled: Baseball Riot Angry Bird clone Nulled: A Blind Legend Interesting concept where you play as a blind person. There are no graphics at all and you have to navigate and interact with the world purely based on sound clues. Nulled: Child of Light Couldn't get it it to start up Nulled: Crowntakers Turnbased roguelike RPG. It wasn't bad other than the whole roguelike and forcing you to start all over again and again to get better items so you could progress a bit further and do it all over again. I just dislike that concept. Nulled: Drift (Over) Drive A bad top-down driving game where you have to drift a certain amount of time to progress. Finished: Dying Light 2 Despite the extremely bad launch and all the bugs that only really got ironed out in the most recent patch (for me at least), I really had a blast playing this. Doing parkour and killing dumb zombies is great fun. A lot of the skills you could get were kind of useless but others added a lot to the gameplay. Where the first game made you fear going out at night, you could almost completely skip it in #2, and if you had to go out, you could just stay on the rooftops and not be bothered by being chased. Story was a mess, choices meant as much as they do in a Telltale game, and the end boss fight was an annoying round of platform jumping. I would almost have preferred #1's quick time events. Finished: Endless Fables: The Minotaur's Curse Finished: Endless Fables 2: Frozen Path HOGs Finished: Far Cry 6 I had a lot of fun in this collectathon shooter. Coop was a blast too. Didn't care for the first of the DLC featuring Vaas, and I haven't tried the other ones yet. Nulled: Inside My Radio Rhythm based game, where I couldn't even figure out how to finish the tutorial level. Nulled: Jerry Rice & Nitus' Dog Football It's American Football. It's bad. Finished: LEGO The Incredibles Once again a fun LEGO game, though I didn't try and get all the achievements like I've done in previous games. Finished: New York Mysteries: High Voltage A HOG Nulled: Rayman Legends A super polished platformer I kept playing until it became too difficult for me to spend brainpower on it. Nulled: Roundguard A Peggle clone with procedural generated levels and roguelike elements Finished: Shopping Clutter 2: Christmas Square 100% HOG with no story. Just find/clear the items
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Mar 26, 2022 18:52
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Completed: Returnal A third person action game with bullethell and roguelike elements. This doesn't sound like the other traditional Sony exclusives but it's amazing. Truly one of the most unique games of the past few years. I know at release it had technical issues but I only got 1 crash in 30 hours and once I booted the game I was in the same spot as where I crashed. The last 3 bosses are amazing, it's a really challenging game with some great action to it. I had heard about Housemarque before this but now I am bought in for whatever next they might do. Completed: Horizon Forbidden West A pretty competent sequel but imo they didn't add enough new mechanics. There is melee combat and a new form of mount but melee combat sucks in this game even vs humans its better to headshot them and the new mount is introduced super late into the game so the new content is really far into the game. Even then I think it's just a great game, all the things the first game did well, this does better. I played this one of Very Hard and you really see the combat shine in higher difficulty. There is also more interesting side content like the races/arena which weren't in the first game. The new weapons like boomerang/spikethrower are all really fun to use and the skill is a lot better than the first game. So many good games came out recently, I am also almost done with SMTV around 40 hours in. I got Elden Ring on PC/PS5, as a big Fromsoft fan its been hard holding off on that.
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Mar 27, 2022 17:21
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March brought me an Anbernic so I'm having some fun playing retro games. #25: Bustafellows - I actually still haven't returned this to Gamefly yet because I haven't done two of the routes yet, but this is a fine if sometimes silly crime otome with pretty boys doing underhanded detectiving. #26: Shadow Warrior 3 (5hr) [2022] - The most fun of the 3 modern Shadow Warriors because they actually put some thought into designing the combat arenas and give you a lot of tools to work with. #27: SMT: Strange Journey Redux (53hr) - A very odd SMT game, similar to Soul Hackers and with plenty of annoyances. Worst being the music, which is bland, pompous orchestral blarting. #28: The Lost Night (1.5hr) - First thing I did with the Anbernic was try a couple of PICO-8 games. This one is a little shmup-RPG where you collect candy and do errands around the town. #29: Celeste Classic 2 (40m) - This of course is by Maddy Thorson, a sequel to the original Celeste prototype that preceded the final game. You get a horizontal grapple hook and I never felt like I had a full grasp of it, but I was able to finish it. #30: OFF (5hr) - The Anbernic also supports RPG Maker 2K/2K3 games, so this was an opportunity to play a classic. OFF is a surreal French JRPG where you control The Batter as he purges each realm of its evil spirits. Interesting enemy designs, and strange story beats make for a very unique experience. #31: Nebs n' Debs (1hr) - NES homebrew game that came in the Itch.io Ukraine bundle. It was nothing special but okay. #32: Crystalis (8hr) - SNK's 8-bit ARPG is definitely in the same file cabinet drawer as the old Ys games, although this one has a bit of crust to it... a guide is needed to know what to do sometimes, and there's a bit too much grinding. #33: Captain Commando (1hr) - A bit of a weak one in Capcom's beat-em-up library. Fun characters but bland combat and very repetitive. #34: Armored Warriors (1hr) - A slight step up because you get some fun roboids and there's lots of weapons to pick up all the time, so you're never bare-attacking. Also the lady character gets the weird/awkward robot instead of some super femme bot. #35: Battle Circuit (1hr) - A rad story-based brawler, probably the most fun one Capcom has made, with permanent move/health upgrades between stages that make you more and more powerful. And you can ride a killer ostrich. #36: Soldier Blade (1.5hr) - Cool TG16 shmup with a solid weapon-bomb system that lets you shed powerups for a super attack. #37: Mega Man Zero (4.5hr) - A game I've had forever but was not able to beat until I had the patience and, well... the save states. The game's biggest problem is its lack of ambition. You only have a couple areas you go to repeatedly, and while you have a decent number of weapons, the boss weakness system is limited to... three. Which is not the eight that you usually get in a Mega Man game. Then there's the cyber-elf system which is really dumb. You get elves that can give you healing or stun enemies, but if you use any of them, you get a lower letter grade for the stage, and you're locked out of 100%. I assume the rest of the series tweaks this. #38: The Granstream Saga (12.5hr) - Not the best game but an interesting curio as the final game from Quintet (Soul Blazer). A PS1 adventure RPG where combat feels like slow motion punchout with the ability to slightly sidestep. This one really tested my FFWD button because cutscenes were delivered so slowly, and the combat was slow, and the walking speed was slow. The characters have no faces in the game world which is v funny.
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Apr 2, 2022 03:30
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Dropped: Shin Megami Tensei V Basically dropped this at the end game around 45 hours in. Really enjoyed this game's combat compared to Persona but I underestimated how much more enjoyable the different type of dungeons were in Persona. The dungeons all look the same it just a city ruin, also there is a end part where you can go in any direction to fight some of the bosses to advance the main quest. But all direction you go you are massively overleveled. It just wasn't fun at that point. I had also dropped the game to finish Horizon which didn't help me. That being said the combat is basically A+ in terms of turnbased combat and the music is S tier.
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Apr 4, 2022 20:28
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Played Elden Ring without any breaks throughout most of March so didn't have time for much else. First time since Breath of the Wild I was completely addicted to a game to the point of blowing off social commitments to stay in and play it. Loved it but in some ways am glad it's over so I can play something else. Elden Ring (PlayStation 5, 2022) - Just phenomenal. By far the best game in an already incredible series. Saw the credits but still have so much to do.  Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (PlayStation 5, 2021) - Put this down for a month while playing Elden Ring. It's basically fine - simple combat and a decent pastiche of James Gunn's MCU movies. Nothing particularly memorable.  Castlevania 64 / Legacy of Darkness (Nintendo 64, 1999) - Was dreading getting to the N64 games in my Castlevania playthrough. They're bad, but fortunately not unplayably bad. Played a little of the first game but beat Legacy of Darkness with two characters. Glad it's in the past.  Metal Gear Solid Touch (iOS, 2009) - Essentially a lost game as it's delisted from the stores. Had to buy an iPhone 4, jailbreak it, and figure out how to run unsigned .ipas to get it to work. Took me a few hours to figure out, but I got the game working. It's not very good. 
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Apr 5, 2022 13:21
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Necrothatcher posted:
I am excited to see you get to the PS2 games. They were developed by Konami and seem to have good reviews but I never played them.
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Apr 5, 2022 14:28
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1st quarter roundup Technobabylon (PC, 14 hours) - A solid point-and-click adventure with some clever puzzles. Part of a new wave of adventure game design with more "realistic" puzzles but uses its cyberpunk setting to have you reprogram androids and interact with people in a startling prescient metaverse. Each variation of its endings are surprisingly strong. Backbone (PC, 5 hours) - Really conflicted on this one. Starts off as a cool Blacksad-esque neonoir starring funny animal people then veers into alien body horror. I didn't mind that it was more of a visual novel experience than an adventure game, I didn't even mind the change in tone, and I was engrossed by the setting and its implications but it ended on such a sour note that I don't know if I even want to touch the announced sequel. Nier Automata (PS4, 73 hours) - 100%'ed. Not since Majora's Mask have I wanted to complete a game I had so little fun playing. Everything about the world and setting is fascinating... for the first time you experience it but Nier A demands you go through everything multiple times to get the full story and activity that I genuinely wanted to experience but not struggle through. After getting one of the true endings I turned on all the auto-chips and slept my way to completion. Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Xboxsex, 5h36m) - Maybe a hot take, this game is better than Symphony of the Night. Impressive bosses and some novel concepts like its Ikaruga-esque element shifting round out the best non-Castlevania game I've played in like a decade. Little Misfortune (PC, 3 hours) - Ugh man what do I call this, an interactive story book with a sick sense of humor? Whatever the case it's a butt game, entirely predictable, mean and unfunny. Who's Lila (PC, 5h24m) - 100% completion. An amazing Lynchian game with a ton of fun meta surprises that has you dig through websites and pdfs to solve its many secrets. Perfect Tides (PC, 10h10m) - Easy contender for my game of the year is the story of a 15yo Jewish girl at the turn of the millennium just dealing with life. Powerful writing really transported me back to high school in the 2000s, interacting with strangers in early message boards who you feel closer to than real people, watching your single mother take care of you and your siblings while carrying a strong face while wondering if she's actually depressed, dreading if you're the anchor in your friend group that everyone would ditch if they found someone better, navigating young adult relationships and worrying over every little faux paux. If you're a 30-something millennial who was terminally online in your teens you should check out Perfect Tides. Legend of Grimrock (PC, 10h30m) - My 10 year journey is complete! A solid Dungeon Master clone for the most part but the difficulty balance is a little erratic and there are multiple times I felt like I was getting by the skin of my teeth with lots of save scumming. Jade Empire (PC, 28h) - Another 10 year long journey, look I start and stop games a lot alright? This is... BioWare's forgotten child and good riddance, it plays like rear end and the Orientalist setting feels lazy next to Avatar the Last Airbender which premiered the same year. Best forgotten. Dead Secret (PC, 2h30m) - An okay adventure game. An early VR release, there are a surprising amount of decent jump scares but the story is told almost exclusively through notes which left me fatigued and would've completely tired me out in VR and it just... ends with no solid wrap up. Currently Playing Elden Ring (PS5, hour 90+) - I've only played Demon's Souls (also a 10 year long journey lol) and Bloodborne. I have zero experience with Dark Souls or Sekiro. This game is honestly a roller coaster. I had zero fun banging my head against Margit then went off to clear out Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. My eyes opened to its excellent design and shear breadth of options up through Raya Lucaria then I cleared out Altus and Caelid with zero deaths culminating in beating Morgott in 60 seconds. Early game I hated it, mid-game I loved it, and now the deeper I'm getting in the more that mid-game veneer is wearing off. The paint is peeling around the open world yet I still have probably another 30 hours to go. Triangle Strategy (Switch, 20+ hours) - Put this aside to keep up momentum in Elden Ring. A really amazing tactics game, what it lacks in depth of character customization it more than makes up in excellent designed battles. The size and scope of the fights is impressive as is the options for true tactical advantages such as blocking forward movement and laying traps: it's really fun to play a tactical game where the terrain actually matters. Nightmare Reaper (PC, 6+ hours) - A fun roguelite FPS game where the design document reads "crank it up to 11." I just unlocked air dashing and a grappling hook as I blow away monsters with a rifle that randomly fires dozens of life leaching lightning bolts or a singular nuclear blast that pauses time as geysers of blood rain from my enemy's exploding corpses.
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Apr 14, 2022 21:44
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The Steam Deck arrived! ...mid-month. so you'll notice a sudden switch from retro to modern games part-way through the list: #39: Tomato Adventure (11.5hr) - Alphadream's first traditional JRPG prior to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and it's not exactly traditional either. It introduces a lot of ideas that would later be used in the M&L games: most familiar will be the minigame-based battle system where each attack has its own minigame to determine whether the attack hits at full strength or not. A neat mechanic which did not get carried into their future games was the ability to increase the difficulty of each attack's minigame in order to deal even more damage... but only the sucessful attack damage goes up so you get the proper risk-reward increase. A pretty easy breezy game but it was cute and fun. #40: Space Funeral (1.5hr) - A classic RPG Maker game that is best gone in blind. #41: Ninja Spirit (1hr) - IREM arcade game where you fight through waves of enemies as you create clones of your self, trailing behind you and mimicking your actions. I played the TurboGrafx-16 version as that's the one I own, but it seemed pretty arcade-accurate. Definitely needed save states for a couple of bosses that were really annoying. #42: Bio Menace (Episode 1 finished so far) - old Apogee sidescrolling action game from their EGA days, has gritty art but silly looking enemies which is an interesting combo. #43: Riviera the Promised Land (14.5hr) - GBA/PSP Sting JRPG/adventure two-hander that mixes CYOA elements with item-based turn-based battles, where items have different functions depending on who wields it. You can only bring 4 items into battle with you, and the only way characters can level up is by using certain items until their meter maxes out. So there's a LOT of grind to this game. I needed to use the FFWD button for the grinding, honestly. #44: Tomba (7hr) - A PS1 classic that I guess I realized I never actually beat. I thought I had, and then about an hour into playing it this past month, I was like "wait... I don't remember any of this". SOOOO I guess I beat Tomba 2 before Tomba 1. I do think Tomba 1 is better than 2 overall, it feels less janky and the world map is interconnected in a pretty convenient way (not to mention there's a quest to get you unlimited fast travel ability). Some quest solutions might require a guide and sometimes they do that irritating thing where an NPC will suddenly spawn in the world after you trigger something, with no indication, and so you stumble around for a while until suddenly you go to a town and see someone there that wasn't there before. #45: Aperture Desk Job (.5hr) - A test demo for the Steam Deck's features, such as the gyro aiming, the back buttons, the touch screen, the trackpads, etc. And it's neat, and it has actual important Portal lore in it so it's not just a complete throwaway. #46: Biolab Wars (1.5hr) - A simple Contra-like game by a small indie dev; merely adequate, their later game on this list was better. #47: Evan's Remains (3hr) - Story puzzle-platformer with a real gutpunch ending. The game's story maybe bites off more than it can chew by alluding to things that will never be followed up on, leaving the player in the dark but without any context to know whether it matters. Not the most difficult puzzles, just thinky enough to keep it from being braindead. #48: Some Distant Memory (2.5hr) - Cool story game set in the dying days of humanity where a researcher stumbles upon a perfectly preserved remnant of a previous civilization and discovers the story of the family that lived there. A lot of walking around, and reading-- yep it's a walking simulator, but presented/controlled similarly to something like Don't Starve. It's a neat game and manages to find the right balance between lighthearted and grim, dark and hopeful. #49: Time Loader (2.5hr) - Another story game (You could say I'm a Fan of the genre..) where you control a robot that has traveled back in time to help an inventor reverse something that happened in their past. Has a nice clean art style, and controls fine, it's nothing incredible but it was fine. #50: Song of Farca (8hr) - You're a PI locked up in her house due to house arrest, solving crimes (while doing crimey things) on your computer by tapping into people's security, interrogating people and making deductions. It's a neat game with a lot of cases, but it's got some thorny politics (wanting to be dystopian while also dismissing protesters as violent psychopaths). #51: MindSeize (8hr) - Pretty good linear Metroidvania where you travel from planet to planet projecting your mind into a robot to try and find your daughter's kidnapped.. mind. Yeah. The game has Mega Man X style movement/abilities that you get, like dashing, air dashing, and wall sliding. It IS linear, you only go back to previous planets to find bonuses with your new abilities, but the planets themselves are still Metroidvania in structure as you need abilities before you can progress deeper into them. It's just that all the stuff you need is right there on the planet. #52: Pixel Puzzle Makeout League (13hr) - A combination of picross game and visual novel that is a bit too amateurishly-written to warrant the Undertale/DDLC direction the ending tries to travel. #53: Machinika Museum (1.5hr) - The Room style game where you examine alien artifacts. It's short and sweet and reminds me a lot of the original The Room by keeping the game focused on single object exploration rather than being in giant escape rooms. #54: Hellbound (3.5hr) - Retro FPS that came with a bundle of other retro shooters. This one is honestly not that great. The level design is just all over the place and enemies deal too much damage. The aesthetic is pretty samey the whole way through (although a fun wrinkle was my testing the Deck's lowest-power settings, and getting a stable framerate out of the game involved basically turning into a PS2 game, so that was amusing). #55: Milli & Greg (2hr) - The second game from 2ndboss that i played in the 2month of... april ok whatever. Unlike Biolab Wars this is a challenge platformer (the kind of platformer that has 100 single-room levels and times you)... it gets comparisons to Celeste but I don't think it's THAT similar. It was pretty decent with nice music.
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May 2, 2022 02:19
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Finished: Cats in Time A fun little Hidden Object game. Probably a good intro for kids to The Room style games. Finished: Cyberpunk 2077 Loved the setting. The city and environments are extremely beautiful and the graphics in general will really test your GPU. Most of the missions were great as well, but don't expect a deep RPG style game, but more like a modern shooter with choices here and there. I do look forward to the DLCs if the developer can create something similar like the the ones from Witcher 3. Finished: Lego DC Super-Villains Once again a fun Lego game, where I went all in and got a 100% on everything. Finished: lure A very short, and free, horror game. Nulled: Rustler Medieval GTA1-2 style game. Seemed pretty cool at first, but the controls are extremely janky. Nulled: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep Ugh, what a load of crap! This is a repackaged version of the Borderlands 2 DLC, and to be honest, we thought it was like a vertical slice of the new Tiny Tina game, perhaps an intro mission or something like that. The balancing was also completely off, being one-shot killed by regular enemies right off the bat. "Finished": Townscaper There's no real game here - it's just a chill city builder. I would really like a city builder like this for something like Assassin's Creed or other action games, where you could sit around, using very simple building blocks, and set up a small town, then import it into an action game and have 10-15 minutes of fun with randomly placed enemies.
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May 11, 2022 20:04
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Had an incredibly busy month moving into my girlfriend's house. Kept most of my gaming tat but some things had to go (the Wii U, PSVR, DJ Hero decks, various dusty peripherals). Didn't have too much time to game, but did visit a very fun arcade where they put everything on freeplay. Full articles after the links. DJ Hero 2 (Xbox 360, 2010) - Totally underrated music game that came out as the plastic instruments genre was dying. Deserves better than to be forgotten.  Transformers: Human Alliance (Arcade, 2013) - Low tier Sega arcade shooter in a franchise I don't have much attachment to.  Manic Panic Ghosts (Arcade, 2007) - Bizarre whac-a-mole meets Point Blank cabinet where you hit the screen with a hammer. Tiring but fun.  Star Wars Battle Pod (Arcade, 2014) - Fairly impressive at the time, though has now been totally left in the dust by Star Wars: Squadrons VR mode.  Metal Gear Solid 2: Digital Graphic Novel (DVD, 2008) - Wouldn't have thought MGS2 would work as a movie at all, but this is mostly fun as it changes the story a lot. Worth checking out if you really like MGS2.  Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Game Boy Advance, 2001) - First time I've played this in 20 years and I'd forgotten how "gently caress you" hard it was. Sheesh.  Haunted Castle (Arcade, 1987) - A podcast I like convinced me that this was a hidden gem. It isn't.  Am finally playing Half-Life: Alyx, wrapping up CP2077 and (hopefully) approaching the end of AC: Valhalla. Should get a few smaller things in too. Also got some writing work related to a collab with Epic Games which is exciting.
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May 18, 2022 15:43
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Beat - Titan Souls: This came out awhile ago, but I wanted something quick yet challenging - this fit the bill very well. The titans are hard, but not frustratingly so (except maybe the last one). A nice little palate cleanser before I get back to other longer games I've been in the middle of for months. Beat - Doors: Paradox (Android): A Room-esque puzzle game. It's by Snapbreak and is like all of their other mobile games. Beat - Cats in Time (Android): Similar puzzle game to the above, but by Pine Studio who most recently released Escape Simulator. Interestingly enough, they collaborated on the Faraway mobile series with Snapbreak, which is a series I've enjoyed. I see they ported Cats in Time to Steam, though it feels like a mobile game to me. My daughter's corner: She's been bouncing around a few things recently, but nothing beat. Kirby and the Forgotten Land, A Short Hike, Labyrinth City, and Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. Can you believe she'd rather read books than play video games?!?!? (Definitely a good thing.  )
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May 21, 2022 04:01
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thanks to my vacation I beat a poo poo-ton of games this month!! #56: Forgotton Anne (7.5hr) - decent/solid #57: Demetrios (5hr) - meh #58: Toree 3D (.5hr) - fun #59: The World Next Door (3.5hr) - good #60: Subway Midnight * (2hr) - a little disappointing #61: Say No! More * (2hr) - awesome #62: Heal (1.5hr) - shrug #63: Savage Halloween (1.5hr) - it was fine #64: SuperEpic (7hr) - neat metroidvania that probably five people have played #65: Panzer Paladin (3hr) - solid 2d action #66: Chronicles of Teddy (12hr) - cute, though slow, metroidvania with a lexicon system #67: Sector 781 (.5hr) - from itch.io bundle, a mini-metroidvania #68: Pixplode (1hr) - from humble ukraine bundle, a crush/fez-like rotation puzzler #69: Sydney Hunter (6hr) - really neat maze-action game with light metroidvania elements. hidden gem #70: Mummy Sandbox (1.5hr) - m u m m y s a n d b o x #71: Soma Union (11hr) - another solid torch80 JRPG, concludes the soma series well, looking forward to whatever they do next #72: Radical Rabbit Stew (3hr) - fun action puzzler #73: Serial Cleaner (5.5hr) - fun and silly stealth game #74: Neurodeck (1hr) - problematic StS clone with nice hand-drawn animation #75: She Remembered Caterpillars (4.5hr) - cute puzzler with nice hand-drawn animation #76: Girls Like Robots (3hr) - eh #77: Inspector Waffles (3hr) - just ok adventure game #78: Songs for a Hero (6hr) - imagine wonder boy if Big Bird was singing the whole time #79: Strange Horticulture (5hr) [2022] - really cool deductive shopkeeping game, I'll have more to say about this at the end of the year probably #80: Room to Grow (5hr) - snake meets sokoban. solid puzzler #81: Prodigal (4.5hr) - Zelda with romance elements and widescreen-GBC aesthetic #82: Wytchwood (10hr) - cool & chill crafty game where you're an old crone in the woods #83: Trash Quest (1hr) - neat little mini-metroidvania #84: Mechstermination Force (2hr) - Contra-y boss rush game by the Gunman Clive dev #85: A Memoir Blue (1hr) [2022] - an "interactive poem". neat and managed to not be cloying. gently caress Annapurna, they are abuser-enablers #86: Hexceed (20hr) - similar to Hexcells #87: Kraken Academy (6.5hr) [2022] - just ok time loop game, has a not very interesting world with limited interactions
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May 31, 2022 18:07
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Beat: Bayonetta I played this initially when the trial for it came out pre release but then never went back to it. It's probably one of the best character action games out there. Only behind DMC/Ninja Gaiden but depending on your preferences this might be as good or better. this game just wants to be a game and nothing else. It does it so well. It's simple yet has great depth with the witch time dodge system. The bosses are some of the most epic, it's on the scale of Asura's Wrath and God Of War trilogy in terms of epic batshit crazy boss moments. This game is just a rush adrenaline, a pure spectacle. Highly recommended especially PC remastered/hd version. This is my first Kamiya game and I am a big fan now, gonna try to play all his stuff now, the man has style. Beat Drakengard I always been interested by Yoko Taro, haven't played of any of his stuff. I am more of a fan of fantasy setting so I went with this instead of Nier. This game plays like absolute rear end but the story/character/themes are so different. There is nothing else like it in the medium. It's not just edgey to be edgey but it really goes into dark places where even mediums like literature don't go in. It's not executed at the highest level whether its the writing or gameplay but definitely worth checking a youtube summary at the very least. Oh there is multiple endings, I did like 3 then skipped the others since I had seen them online and they required too much grinding. The gameplay in this game is just horrible, it makes Dynasty Warrior seem like a magnus opus in terms of combat/gameplay. Music is also very unique and worth listening to even if you don't want to play the game. Beat:Super Mario Odssey I haven't really played any Mario or Zelda games since SNES days but this was a breath of fresh air. It's similar to Bayonetta that it's just a game and that's all it wants to be. Every small interaction, animation will put a smile on your face. It's a quite easy platformer but there is some small extra stuff that will require you to put a bit of effort in. All in all a great game. It's just super relaxing, music is chill, story is not intense, characters are all cute. You will never be required to put more effort than you want and yet still get an excellent experience. Beat: Yakuza 3 Continued my Yakuza series run after Kiwami 2 blew me away despite Kiwami 1 being a letdown from Yakuza 0. This doesn't really continue much from Yakuza 2 but it shows a different side of Kiryu. I am not a fan of the old combat system so I just played it on easy and the story wasn't as interesting as 2. There were some cool mechanics like Revelations and seeing Kiryu's development as a father figure was great. But this game just didn't feel as hype as the previous titles. Also Yakuza games just like Far Cry games are known for their main antagonists, this games antagonist just feels meh and comes way too late. Played: Street Fighter 5 So I can't really say I beat this game since it's just arcade and the story mode is just 2-3 battles per character with some comicbook strips. But this game consumed my life the last month, I already 100hours in it in 1 month. I always respected fighting games and watched stuff like EVO. But whenever I picked up a controller and tried playing anything that wasn't a 3D anime arena game, I would just get stomped to the ground even by normal ai. Then there was all the technical lingo footsies/oki/fierce and much more that just put me off. Anyway there was a Twitch event with a bunch of famous streamers playing in a SFV tournament and lots of them complained how hard fighting games are compared to everything else. I don't know but that made me want to check it out. I've bought fighting games in the past like Guilty Gear Xrd or SF4 on hype but then realized I'm so bad that I just stopped the game after 1 hour. Anyway this time I fell in love with Street fighter V and fighting games in general. I really started to appreciate the part I hated about fighting games, the lab time/practice mode. It was actually quite relaxing to go into practice mode maybe put on a podcast, practice combos, setups then actually see yourself pulling it in ranked matches is so satisfying. I managed get from rookie to silver rank online in 2-3 weeks which is quite good. I like online competitive games so it feels great to discover another genre I can play online. Anyone who is scared of fighting games I recommend you try it out if you got it in a sale. Just play arcade on normal, practice mode a bit, try some casuals online. Games like CSGO or LoL/Dota can give you a rush but there is nothing like coming back online from 1 pixel hp and you know it was all your effort no team help. Really excited to try out more fighting games, I have already started playing Guilty Gear Strive and that seems so good too. Every character feels completely different, thats what I love about these games. Ulio fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Jun 3, 2022 |
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Jun 3, 2022 21:16
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Beaten: Metro: Exodus I really enjoyed Metro: Exodus. A lot of varied and beautiful environments. Good gameplay. I enjoyed the characters. It's a great game. Beaten: Control Control was alright. I wasn't really in a mysterious solving mood, so I just engaged with it as an action game and went through the main story. Beaten: Final Fantasy XIII I would put FFXIII at the bottom of my personal FF games tier list. It's just not what I want out of a FF title or a JRPG. Corridors, encounters, cutscenes. Beaten: Metro 2033: Redux I'd had already beaten the original Metro 2033 game some years ago. I really enjoyed it then, but this go around I decided to try and speed run through the Redux version as a challenge. I nearly ran out of oxygen filters at a few points, but I made it. Broken: A Plague Tale: Innocence This is unfortunate. I was enjoying A Plague Tale, but there's a bug in Chapter VI that gets you stuck in a tent, and despite reloading and then looking up fixes for it. I just couldn't resolve it.
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Jun 5, 2022 19:37
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COMPLETED: Immortals Fenyx Rising. I played this Ubisoft open-world game for many hours, but I'm having trouble articulating why. Both the combat and the story had some great moments, but on the whole, I'd describe them using terms like "adequate", or maybe "serviceable". As much as I loved this game, I'd only recommend it to other 100% completionists, those who would enjoy clearing all the icons off the map. COMPLETED: Immortals Fenyx Rising: A New God. This post-game DLC is far less enjoyable. The Greek gods are reduced to nothing more than Fenyx's fan club. Now, given the events of the main game, they would naturally be friendly toward Fenyx, but the writing missed the mark of having them be supportive but still a little detached, which is what they were like at the conclusion of the main game. Missed, and landed in the realm of cheerleading. As for the gameplay, it's just a series of mini-dungeons. Some are more elaborate than anything you'd find in the base game, but the lack of gameplay variety really hurts it. You can (and probably should) skip this DLC. COMPLETED: Immortals Fenyx Rising: Myths of the Eastern Realm. Pretty much a reskin of the base game, with Chinese mythology instead of Greek. It was better than A New God, but I found it somewhat boring given that it was nearly identical to something I'd already played. COMPLETED: Zero Punctuation: Hatfall. It has some great comedic writing, but this is really only for fans of Zero Punctuation. COMPLETED: Head Pain. Buggy shovelware. COMPLETED: The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. Oh, what to say about The Stanley Parable, and what not to say. I clicked the door five times. I made the game say "eight". I had a bucket, then I did not have a bucket. Highly recommended. COMPLETED: Scarlett Mysteries: Cursed Child. An Artifex Mundi Hidden Object Game. A plot with precisely one (1) interesting twist. That puts it above average in AM's releases, but the lack of a second chapter puts it back firmly in the middle of the pack. COMPLETED: Bugsnax. Sort of like if Pokemon and Sesame Street had a baby, with David Cronenberg as the godfather. For most of the game it's a fun, light-hearted adventure about re-uniting the scattered residents of a small town, and maybe doing some side-quests for them. Then, in the last half hour, the game goes completely loving insane. Recommended. PLAYED: Beholder I. I'm just going to quote the comment I made on Backloggery: "I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what I was meant to do, before realizing I didn't actually care." COMPLETED: Tiny Tales: Heart of the Forest. Artifex Mundi HOG. Mostly notable for the fact that this is the first AM HOG I've seen where the bonus chapter actually matters for achievement-hunting purposes.  Next up: I've still got that last Immortals Fenyx Rising DLC to get through; as unenthused as I am about it, I should just play it so I can get the game off my drive. Over on Steam, I've queued up Spiritfarer.
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Jun 15, 2022 22:05
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Been a bit delayed in writing these up (as was unexpectedly stuck in the Arctic) but here are May's games: Full articles after the links. SD Snatcher (MSX2, 1990) - A weird quasi-parody adaptation of Snatcher into a JRPG. Doesn't work, though is kinda interesting if you can put up with early 90s bullshit.  Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Game Boy Advance, 2002) - After Circle of the Moon was too hard this was way too easy and had a very annoying castle layout. Heard that Aria of Sorrow is a big improvement so looking forward to that.  ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ (PlayStation 5, 2020) - Got this for Christmas 2020 and finally played it on PS5. Was fairly disappointed with the gameplay and much of the writing AND even so long after release it's riddled with bugs. Didn't exactly hate it, but man what an anticlimax.  Castlevania: Dracula X (Super Nintendo, 1995) - Cut down remix of the much better Rondo of Blood, but I kinda enjoyed it. The finall boss can go gently caress itself though.  Half-Life: Alyx (PC, 2020) - Finally had the hardware to play this and had a great time. The only caveat is that it's not really doing anything new in VR, just polishing stuff we know works.  Currently playing Skyward Sword HD, Norco, Citizen Sleeper and finally trying to finish Assassin's Creed Valhalla... it's slow going.
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Jun 27, 2022 12:23
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I used to write reviews for every steam game I finished, but I got bored of it a few years ago. I felt compelled to write again when I crossed this game off my list that's been there since 1999, though: Shenmue I & II
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Jun 27, 2022 18:23
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Breadallelogram posted:I used to write reviews for every steam game I finished, but I got bored of it a few years ago. I felt compelled to write again when I crossed this game off my list that's been there since 1999, though: Shenmue I & II Holy poo poo, you're the first person I've seen besides me who hated running around the woods and doing QTEs for an hour at the end of 2. Everyone else is like "OMG IT'S SUCH A GOOD ENDING, THE VIBES ARE SO NICE" and I'm like  I enjoyed the first game more, because it was set in Ryu's hometown. WE as players are new to the area, but Ryu isn't. It had a more interesting vibe to me than 2's "both Ryu and the player are traveling to an unknown place and experiencing it together for the first time", which I feel is way more common in games. I loved Kowloon, though! I'm a sucker for walled cities.
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Jun 27, 2022 18:53
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Read After Burning posted:Holy poo poo, you're the first person I've seen besides me who hated running around the woods and doing QTEs for an hour at the end of 2. Everyone else is like "OMG IT'S SUCH A GOOD ENDING, THE VIBES ARE SO NICE" and I'm like I stayed up late last night to finish because I knew I was close to the end and I was going crazy. Okay, you've navigated wooded path #1, here's wooded path #2. Collect wood. Do QTEs. Congrats, here's wooded path #3. I liked the setting in the first game too, but I had more fun with the dirtiness and disrepair in Hong Kong and Kowloon.
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Jun 27, 2022 21:03
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a shorter list for June, though it was punctuated by a couple of larger games: #88: Stacklands (3hr) [2022] - Sokpop's most successful game to date and for good reason, it's a very fun village building take on Cultist Sim, and without worrying about having to support a prick. #89: Oliver's Adventures in Fairyland (2hr) - An average short Metroidvania, similar to something like Tiny Dangerous Dungeons. #90: Bad End Theater (1hr) - Really cute VN about intentionally seeking out bad endings, fun to play through and with an interesting gimmick (setting character behaviors prior to starting, in order to determine how they react to your decisions). #91: Crystal Project (50hr) [2022] - Fantastic indie JRPG with a large open world to explore, secrets to find with platforming, pets that allow for further exploration in the world, a great Job system with tons of Jobs to find and unlock, a great battle system. Easily my top game this year so far. #92: Rainswept (2.5hr) - Disappointing detective game that plays out mostly like a side-scrolling walking simulator. Which, honestly, would be fine, but the mystery was just not super well explored, and the storytelling about the characters.... eh. Not super exciting. I'm also really tired of puppet animation. People please hire animators. #93: Calico (3.5hr) - The life sim that most people know as a pastel nightmare, and face of the "wholesome" gaming movement. It's not terrible, though as a fan of pastels, the pastels in this game just do not mesh together, and the lighting is awful, if there even is lighting? It's just very short, and not fully featured. It feels like a prototype rather than a full experience. #94: Night Reverie (2hr) - Very cute top-down inventory puzzle game with very vibrant colors. This is one of those 'looks happy but actually has sad ending' games, but it's alright despite that. I enjoyed it. #95: Dysmantle (25hr) - This one's loving ADDICTIVE, in the same way Subnautica or Terraria was. A constant number-go-up progression with better and better tools, allowing for destroying more and more things, to pick up more and more crafting ingredients, to upgrade more and more of your gear, as you explore more and more of the world. I liked it a lot, ALTHOUGH, the areas started to feel really repetitive in that 'Generation Zero' way, maybe just the result of this being a single-A developer and not a AA or AAA. Would be curious to see what a game like this on a bigger budget with more variety in the regions would be like. I also played some of Blacksad but didn't finish it this month. So I will finish it in July maybe. what I plan to play in July: Cuphead the Last Delicious Course, Cleo: A Pirate's Tale, Okinawa Rush, Alekon, Grapple Dog, Anopek, A Musical Story, Lily's Sky Ark, maybe Blacksad? And otherwise whatever I feel like. For a 'long' game, I've got several Wizardry-likes to try, I already started Labyrinth of Touhou 2, but there's also a bunch of Experience RPGs I got, so.. IDK, maybe one of those as a chill-out game? I started a farm game called Gleaner Heights but it's a bit slow to start so I may put that off until later. The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Jul 1, 2022 |
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Jul 1, 2022 06:14
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Beat: Dark Souls 3 Very good game but Souls formula has been done better by games like Nioh, although I would say DS3 has some of the best bosses in the trilogy if you count the DLC. The weapon art system is a great new addition, enemy design and environment are still A+ by Fromsoft. I felt it was one of the easiest Souls game, only Demon Souls was easier. The DLC is definitely a huge spike up though but base game is easy even with Nameless King. Beat: Ace Attorney 2 Justice For All This series makes you feel so smart when you solve a case way before you get all the evidence. Some of the best writing, dialogue, characters in the whole medium. The most impressive part is that it was all done on the limited GBA. Capcom get alot of respect for their action gameplay but Shu Takumi is one of the best writers in the industry. Don't know how they get some much emotion from the player with such simple sprite work, when modern games with CGI can't even achieve. Amazing franchise that more people in the west need to play. This is light novel type games done correctly. Beat: Guardians of the Galaxy I think Necrothatcher said it the best in his review. A very simple standard hero game. The reason I am impressed is because Square hosed up Avengers so bad, that is in comparison is a masterpiece which is why it was on many top list for last year. I think the VA work is very very good in this and you will get laugh out loud moments. Gameplay feels good despite being simple but still gets repetitive by the end of the game. The licensed soundtrack is absolutely godlike, sad for any streamers who played this in stream mode. Last thing if you are someone who enjoys the technical side of graphics, this game is worth playing just for the use of RTX and DLSS properly. Runs amazingly and looks great. As usual impressed by Eidos Montreal's technical skills.
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Jul 4, 2022 19:56
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Beaten: Horizon Zero Dawn It's a beautiful game with a unique setting and good characters. The combat isn't to my taste however. Aloy is very much a hunter, so setting up traps and fighting with a bow are her primary means of fighting. Where I like to just go in swinging with a sword. Beaten: Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Loved it. Square Enix has done everything right with this remake. I can't think of what not to praise. Beaten: Borderlands 3 I really enjoyed Borderlands 2, but this one felt underwhelming. Story isn't the main focus of a looter-shooter, but this one was pretty bad. They killed my old main for a very unlikable new character and the ending is on par with ME3 in my view. The humor doesn't really land the same as it's predecessor either. I don't know that's because its stale or my tastes have changed. Beaten: Deponia Doomsday This is a point and click adventure game. Which I discovered while playing I don't enjoy and the main character is an unlikable rear end in a top hat. I suppose it has a nice ending message?
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Jul 17, 2022 15:26
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Not much game-playing this month due to being busy with writing and out of town. Full reviews after the links. ‘The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD’ (Switch, 2021) - Knowing that BOTW is coming after this makes it being Zelda-by-numbers very easy to tolerate. Also the motion/handheld controls on Switch both work absolutely fine.  Citizen Sleeper (PC, 2022) - Neat little resource management game about struggling to survive in a predatory capitalist space station. Full of cool ideas.  NORCO (PC, 2022) - Enjoyed the lovely graphics and music, but the story feels like it's being weird to hide writing deficiences rather than for artistic reasons.  Sdatcher (Audio Drama, 2011) - Not a game, but this Snatcher audio spinoff from Suda51 is very entertaining. Hideo Kojima voices Little John and the Japanese Solid Snake voiced Gibson. Nice music from Akira Yamaoka too.  Am right at the end of Valhalla so will get that done, and my girlfriend has finally convinced me to try FFXIV so I'm very slowly inching my way through that. She's flying me everyone on her extravagant mount and chewing through early dungeons with her lv. 90 character so it's going pretty fast. Good fun so far.
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Jul 19, 2022 13:45
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Nulled: Blasphemous Lovely graphics, but I don't really care for the action platformer type of games and all the religious stuff. Nulled: Deadbolt 2D action gameplay was pretty fun, but I never figured out how to use the unlocked weapons, and ended up on a level where I kept dying without doing any kind of progression. Finished: Demon Hunter 4: Riddles of Light HOG Finished: Demon Hunter 5: Ascendance HOG Finished: Hook A nice little causal puzzler Nulled: Maze Lord 2D strategy puzzler where each level needs to be solved in a specific number of steps. Nulled: Morbid: The Seven Acolytes 2D pixelated soulslike horror action adventure. Very pretty, but not my kind of game. Nulled: The Myth Seekers: The Legacy of Vulcan HOG Finished: Pixel Puzzles Ultimate My favorite podcast game, but after a bit over 666 hours of playtime, I feel like this is enough. Nulled: Raiden IV: Overkill I don't have reflexes to play shmups anymore. That ended 30+ years ago. Nulled: RIOT - Civil Unrest An interesting concept for an RTS game - play either as the angry people or the police, and decide if you want to go the pacifist or violent way. I never got the hang of the controls but played a couple of levels trying out some of the strategies. Finished: Sizeable A lovely casual puzzler where you manipulate the size of different objects in a diorama. Nulled: Snik It looked like a causal puzzler, but ended up getting frustrating way too fast. Nulled: Weather Lord A casual time management game, where I didn't really care for the mechanics compared to other in the same genre, like 12 Labours of Hercules and MOAI. Still going to try the sequels though.
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Jul 24, 2022 12:58
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Completed - Horizon Zero Dawn + Frozen Wilds: I really enjoyed the setting, story, and exploration. I did not enjoy the combat. I'm not good at third-person combat that can't be accomplished with button mashing, and I've never really cared to get better at that style of "thinking man's" combat. I start most games on whatever the "Normal" difficulty setting is, but this one very quickly dropped down to "Story Mode", which made everything intensely easier and more enjoyable. A third-person open world game without any combat and only puzzles and discovery would be my jam. Completed - Machinika Museum: A puzzle game in the style of "The Room" which is pretty good, but very short. Beat - Golf Up (Android): A game that combines mini golf with a vertical platformer where you try to hit the ball from the bottom of the course to the top. The entire game is a single, lengthy course with plenty of challenges and traps. Some of the reviews compare it to "Getting Over It" but I don't think it's nearly that hellish. It has a forgiving retry system but still presents a challenge that makes you feel accomplished when reaching the top. Very minimal replay value once you finish it, though. My daughter's corner: Completed- Kirby and the Forgotten Land: We played this partially together, but I completed everything later solo. It was a lot of fun and a very good entry into 3D action platforming for a new gamer. The optional challenges introduced post-game can get very difficult for the more seasoned players. Our save sits at 98% because I cannot be hosed with to deal with the figurine collecting gacha game. Beat - Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2: She and my wife beat the main story, but like all Lego games there is still a ton to collect - which they both enjoy doing together and will eventually 100% it. Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Aug 6, 2022 |
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Aug 6, 2022 14:23
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Good-Natured Filth posted:A third-person open world game without any combat and only puzzles and discovery would be my jam. I know this is counter to the purpose of the thread, but Sable is basically this E: also! Had a light gaming month but here was my progress through a bunch of Freelancer-likes plus one game about dwarves. Galaxy on Fire 2- beaten this as much as I plan to. It’s a solid enough freelancer like game, which mostly made me realize that i really want to play everspace 2 when it’s out or some similar freelancer like. Regions of Ruin- beaten as much as I’m going to. It’s a fun combo of world map/town management with going out using your character and a small party into little action platforming levels to collect more resources. Again, looking forward to seeing what the sequel does. The basic loop is fun but pretty barebones, and no given mechanic is that great although the combination is quite satisfying. Tempest- dropped this early on. Did not scratch the freelancer itch like I hoped it would. The world just felt too small. Rebel Galaxy outlaw - similarly, made it medium into it but it just wasn’t enough of a sandbox to hit what I loved about freelancer. Avorion- breaking from this for now, but it was a very fun sandbox space game. Ship building was surprisingly intuitive, and the addition of multiplayer has given it really good legs. tildes fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Aug 7, 2022 |
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Aug 7, 2022 05:29
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woops, forgot to post my July games... since it's late i'll just give simple letter grades: #96: Anopek (2hr): C- #97: Cleo: A Pirate's Tale (3hr): A- #98: Lucifer Within Us (1.5hr): B- #99: Lila's Sky Ark (5hr): C+ #100: A Musical Story (2hr) [2022]: C- #101: Save Room [2022] (1.5hr): C+ #102: Grapple Dog [2022] [v] (7.5hr): A #103: Cats in Time (2hr): C+ #104: The Eternal Castle (1.5hr): A- #105: Shieldmaiden (1.5hr): C+ #106: Blacksad (8.5hr): B- #107: ADACA (5hr): B+ #108: Infinite Adventures (33hr): B #109: Generation Xth (17hr): C #110: Generation Xth 2: Code Breaker (14hr): C #111: Guacamelee 2 (6.5hr): B- #112: Hero of the Kingdom: Lost Tales 2 (3.5hr): C+ #113: The Magister (3.5hr): C+ #114: Supraland: Six Inches Under [2022] (7.5hr) : B- #115: Pumpkin Jack (4hr): C+ #116: Gamedec (9hr): C+ #117: Okinawa Rush (2.5hr): B- #118: Guardener (1hr) [2022]: C+ #119: White Lavender (2hr) [2022]: B- #120: .hack//GU vol 1 (13.5hr) : C+
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Aug 16, 2022 02:41
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The 7th Guest posted:woops, forgot to post my July games... since it's late i'll just give simple letter grades: Could I request your thoughts on Blacksad, Magister, and .hack//GU?
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Aug 16, 2022 02:46
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StrixNebulosa posted:Could I request your thoughts on Blacksad, Magister, and .hack//GU? The Magister - Pretty much what that other goon has said about the game, you have to solve a murder on an island in a limited time by talking to people, doing sidequests to increase your favor with NPCs so you can get more information out of them, you have an assistant that can come to the island to help you out with tasks, and there are simple turn based tactics battles. it's sort of a 'jack of all trades' game, I thought it was decent although the fact that it's randomized means that it lacks a bit of flavor to it (when you get a clue it's usually something like 'I saw a MAN walking down from the crime scene! He was TALL!' like something out of the actual board/parlor game Cluedo). .hack//GU - I was able to power through the combat because of the fact that the twin blades have an attack combo around 5-7 hits, so even though the combat did not feel great, it at least wasn't as agonizing as 3-hit combo games. It's a fun story with a Shadow the Hedgehog-esque protagonist who eventually grows up and learns how to be a functioning adult around others (bear in mind: this happens across three volumes, it's a long growth arc). I always enjoyed dipping into the fictional community forums and drawing board every time they got an update, and the game has a lot of optional videos from their 'news' page done in a limited anime style, including a shlocky show called Online Jack that actually manages to reveal some stuff about the story so it's worth watching. Have no doubt that the game is repetitive though, it is a fake-MMO originally designed for the PS2 after all, so you will spend a lot of time in the same small town(s), and going to dungeons that all share one of 3-4 visual themes and are mostly boxes connected by hallways. The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Aug 16, 2022 |
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Aug 16, 2022 02:57
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Been off traveling and doing other writing stuff all month, so have just finally caught up with writing up all the games I finished. Here's what I played in July: Ghostwire: Tokyo (PlayStation 5, 2022) - Honestly underrated and way more than the sum of its parts. Felt like a future cult classic even if some bits (like the combat) are shallow.  Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions (PlayStation, 1999) - Get through the tedious Weapons test missions and the 'Special' section is some of the most fun MGS around. Also proves that there's a lot of depth to the MGS controls and gameplay that you don't really see in the main game.  The Quarry (PlayStation 5, 2022) - Probably Supermassive's best interactive horror movie yet, though I don't know if it's worth full price. Would rather have a shorter and cheaper game that doesn't take a whole day to play through.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shedder’s Revenge (PC, 2022) - Was a fan of the 90s Konami Turtles game so this was a blast. Ordinarily not a fan of stuff that leans so hard on nostalgia but this hit the mark big time.  The Darkness II (PC, 2012) Had it in my Steam library for years and wanted something short and straightforward to blast through. Really exceeded expectations, feel like it's a proper hidden gem.  Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (PlayStation 5, 2020) - I can't believe I spent 65 hours on this ultra repetitive game with a bad story.  Outer Wilds (PC, 2019) - Tried SO hard to like this, but just couldn't get properly into it. Ended up using a walkthrough to see the ending after hitting dead end after dead end.  Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC, 2013) - edit - forgot that I also beat the original campaign of FFXIV. Am now slowly working my way through the pre-Heavensward quests. Quite enjoyed it and my girlfriend helped me out in the hard bits. Am looking forward v much to Heavensward.  Right now I'm playing Aria of Sorrow (which I'm really enjoying) and Horizon Forbidden West (which feels like a huge step down from the first game despite being on paper almost identical). Got a few games to review for other sites too. Necrothatcher fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Aug 23, 2022 |
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Aug 21, 2022 17:30
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Completed - Bomb Chicken: A puzzle platformer where you play as a chicken that can lay bombs. The controls are limited to horizontal movement and bomb laying, but the developers were very clever in using the minimal mechanics to make a fun and challenging game. It's pretty short at 29 levels, but a very fun ride. Beat - Firewatch: I've had this walking simulator in my backlog for ages but a recent reference to it in an essay I was reading sparked me to actually play it. The story was compelling, and it was relaxing to just wander around the forest for awhile if I wanted. The game just ends and probably not in the way you wanted, but I suppose that's the point the devs were trying to make. Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 02:49 on Aug 24, 2022 |
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Aug 24, 2022 02:44
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August: #121-123: .hack//GU vol 2 (14hr), #122: .hack//GU vol 3 (15hr), #123: .hack//GU vol 4 (2hr): While the combat was not great (though way better than Infection), it was fun to watch the character journey of Haseo and his nerd friends as they save the world from destruction by another nerd, and the nerds he infects. #124: Chicken Police (4hr) - An alright point and click investigative game that leans a little too dangerously close on the self-aware side for my taste. #125: Nina Aquila (6.5hr) - Phoenix Wright style game made in RPG Maker. All things considered, it was okay. IDK if the series will get finished though. #126: The Alliance Alive (25hr) - This is a legitimately good JRPG. If it was a PS2 game it'd rank in the top 25 RPGs on that system, IMO. It has fun systems, the combat is an almost pitch perfect tribute to SaGa Minstrels Song, and the tone is the right balance between serious and silly. #127: Eternal Threads (8hr) [2022] - A time travel walking simulator that you could compare to something like Tacoma, where you oversee the lives of six people killed in an apartment fire video log by video log, and affect their conversational choices to alter the timeline in an attempt to save all of them. It wasn't perfect, I felt the writing was very robotic/inorganic, but I am very curious to see how the second game will iterate on this. #128: Monster Hunter Stories 2 (26.5hr) - It's not Pokemon! But it could be... but it isn't. Despite being a monster collector, battles utilize the rock-paper-scissors formula in a different way, as enemies can 'shift' modes and force you to change up how you attack. It also sticks to a basic triangle and doesn't have like 12 element types to keep track of. The areas are big without being too big (it's not Xenoblade big, i'd say they're more Greedfall sized). The game does get a bit too repetitive as is the nature of these games, particularly one that's a lot more single-player/story focused. After a very climactic sequence in the desert, the game then spins its wheels for a couple of hours in the final act before suddenly deciding to ramp up to an ending. #129: Castle on the Coast * (3hr) - Fun little exploratory 3D platformer where you have a lot of free movement to get up on top of just about anything. Isn't the prettiest game and the jumps are floaty as hell, but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon. #130: Fashion Police Squad [2022] (5.5hr) - Hell yeah, FPS is everything I expected it would be from the demo. Varied colorful environments, fun combat with forced weapon switching, a silly premise played straight, and enough little curveballs to keep the variety up to the end (including a Tony Hawk microgame in the final boss battle!) #131: Forgive Me Father [2022] (10hr) - Not quite as good as Fashion Police Squad, a lot more uneven, but still worth playing, I think. This is a dark EC horror comic booky game, and since it's horror it of course has cthulhu and poo poo in it, but you get to shoot cthulhu so it's okay. The shotgun is nice and booming, and the enemies and levels have a lot of visual variety to them. Not every weapon is great, though, and some levels are just too drat long to have so few checkpoints. #132: House Flipper (12hr) - I played this off and on since first getting the Steam Deck and I guess I ran out of jobs so I'm calling it done. Yeah there's the sandbox mode but it's not really as 'objective'-y and so I don't really care about that. A nice way to wind down at the end of the day. #133: Arietta of Spirits * (3hr) - Zelda-y story game about helping your grandmother pass on and dealing with unruly spirits. Pretty decent, the short length is appropriate for the story, although it ends in a weird 'setting up a sequel' way that I wasn't a huge fan of. #134: Gas Station Simulator (11.5hr) - I have no defense for playing this, except that it came in the Humble Choice and I had just finished House Flipper. It's not even that great, it clearly uses pre-bought assets and such... but it was addictive that's for sure. #135: Escape Academy [2022] (3.5hr) - Another "fun afternoon" game, Escape Academy could have actually been a pretty great game if it leaned more into storytelling and its VN segments weren't 5 seconds long between levels. Without building atmosphere or characters, it's just solely an escape room game, and that's fine, the rooms are fairly designed and varied, although a bit easy. I just think it could have taken more influence from 999/VLR & DanRon to build up a lot more excitement/stakes. #136: Tunic [2022] (12hr) - A fantastic game from a mostly one-man developer (obviously others contributed on the music, SFX, playtesting, etc). I think it's inaccurate to call it the Fez of Zelda games because Fez thought a lot more outside the box than Tunic does, but its secrets are still fun to uncover as you get more pages of the manual. I got the bad end for now, but I've got I think 8 fairies so far and I'll come back to get the rest and try to get the second ending. my 2022 top five so far: 1 - Crystal Project 2 - Grapple Dog 3 - Tunic 4 - Fashion Police Squad 5 - Nobody Saves the World up next for September: Tinykin (currently playing), Powerwash Simulator (currently playing), Trails in the Sky 3rd, Escape Simulator, Godstrike, Kirby & the Forgotten Land, possibly Potion Permit, In Sound Mind, Princess Farmer, Emily is Away 3 The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Sep 2, 2022 |
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Sep 2, 2022 18:23
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Completed - The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: A fine puzzle-ish walking simulator. Putting the main death scenes in the correct order was brute force for me, but I enjoyed the exploration to find all the optional puzzles. Completed - Beasts of Maravilla Island: A photography game similar to Pokemon Snap, but much less polished. It all seems very much like a small studio's first game, and it is extremely short. Completed - Doors: Origins (Android): A mobile HOG with light puzzle elements. Pretty fun. Nulled - Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch): My brother really wanted me to try it, so I borrowed his copy the last time we saw each other. The game is pretty, but the combat is not for me and got old very fast. The storyline wasn't compelling enough to stick with it. My daughter's corner. Completed - Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2: She and my wife really love playing Lego games together, and this was another good one. Completed - Scribblenauts Unlimited: I had to help her with most of the solutions because they were things she didn't have the context for. But it was a great game to help with her spelling. Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Sep 7, 2022 |
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Sep 4, 2022 18:04
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Another quite light month as I had a bunch of writing deadlines, a new job editing stuff, and was fitting all this in around a cycle ride across the south of England. But was glad to finally clear the Castlevania Advance Collection and am looking forward to the weirder PS2 3D games. The highlight was seeing SA poster Dave Syndrome posting about his mid-90s The Sandman adventure game, successfully pitching an article about it to my managing editor, and interviewing him about making it. What a nice guy. Full writeups behind the link: Stray (PlayStation 5, 2022) - Vibe-focused and friction-free. Basically sailed through it while my girlfriend co-piloted from the couch. Zero stress involved but looks and sounds great. What's not to like?  Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Game Boy Advance, 2003) So glad this was as good as everyone said it was - feels like they finally recaptured that Symphony of the Night feel and is worth the price of the Advance Collection pack alone.  Metal Gear Solid Boneworks Mod (Meta Quest 2, 2022) - Saw this on Twitter and dropped everything until I was playing it. Exploring Shadow Moses in VR is loving rad and it's kind of amazing how well PS1 graphics hold up in VR.  Horizon Forbidden West (PlayStation 5, 2022) - Ended up pretty disappointed by this. All the big mysteries were cleared up in the first game and the sequel just piles on unnecessary additions and just doesn't feel focused on what it wants to say.  The Sandman: Love and Magic (Amstrad CPC, 1995) - It's a bit rough around the edges but I was blown away that there even WAS a Sandman video game, let alone that it actually captures Neil Gaiman's vibe.  This month am playing (and very much enjoying) No More Heroes 1 & 2 on Switch, Mortal Kombat 11 with my nephew (probably a bad uncle for this but he loving loves the MK universe now), and picked up Splatoon 3. Am also trying to finish Resident Evil 4 VR and will try to get around to the RE3 remake.
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Sep 12, 2022 15:38
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I 100%'d 13 Sentinels, so it's on to Disco Elysium now! I gotta admit I'm kinda intimidated by the character creator, as the choices are...weird compared to your standard RPG. I'm just gonna do the first playthrough as "myself" (for lack of a better term), then maybe replay as a big strongman type, as a total nutcase, as a fascist, etc.
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Sep 13, 2022 06:14
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My only recommendation is to start with more than one health and morale. Both are game ending stats and while there’s no softlocks or fail states in the game I could imagine it would get frustrating that you game over every time you stub your toe or a 10 year old moppet burns you so bad you have a heart attack.
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Sep 13, 2022 13:40
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Ugh, I don't know what happened here, but a lot of goon liked games got nulled  Nulled: [the Sequence] One of those Factorio things. If you are a fan of this type of game, check it out. I have no idea if it's better or worse than what is on the market. Finished: 100 hidden cats I expected something like Hidden Folks or something like that. instead it was a big vertically scrolling b/w drawing where you could click on cats. When you clicked on all cats, the game was done. It took me 10 minutes. Finished: 12 Labours of Hercules X: Greed for Speed While I still like this polished time management series, I was a bit disappointed that no new mechanics were introduced. Nulled: Brigador: Up-Armored Edition I only played the campaign levels, and of those, only with the regular mech, because god drat the controls for the tank and the skimmer were bad. The whole idea was pretty neat, and I thoroughly enjoyed the aesthetics and atmosphere of the game until it became more of a ammo management game than stomping around, having fun and shooting poo poo. Nulled: Bully: Scholarship Edition Added some mods so I was able to play it in HD, but it didn't really help: If you never played this game before, and don't have fond memories of it, stay away. The whole premise of wreaking havoc at a boarding school, with no deadly weapons etc. sounded really good, but a lot have happened gameplay wise since this game got created. Of course the graphics are dated, but things like the background sound playing the same 3 voice loops over and over, the camera being stuck the way it was, behind the protagonist, you have to add mods to use HD, even though the resolution of your choice is selectable in the extremely sparse options menu. It's just way too much work. Nulled: The Church in the Darkness Top down stealth game, where you have to infiltrate a cult in a South American country, and try to get a relative out of there. If you got caught, it seemed like it advanced the story. I'm not really sure if that was supposed to happen or not. I really dislike stories where you get stripped of everything and have to start all over, after you have whacked some religious nuts and gotten hold of a decent set of weapons. Also, I was not really good at it, and didn't have the patience to get better, so it got uninstalled. Nulled: Control Ultimate Edition I really don't know what it is about Remedy games, but I haven't enjoyed any of their most recent ones. Max Payne 2 was probably the last one. Control is very pretty. Using powers to fling office chairs and staplers against commando soldiers is fun. But.. I'm not really sure what it was, but I was bored out of my mind by the whole story and setting. It felt like it could have been an episode of Heroes. Hell, I think I even played more of the very bad Heroes game than this one, and even enjoyed it more. Nulled: Crab Dub A weird platformer, probably from a bundle, I couldn't figure out how to progress in. Finished: Hero of the Kingdom III I knew that this was the worst of the five iterations of the series. Way too much grinding to progress and the idea of playing an extremely simple casual RPG/semi-HOG/point and click adventure had disappeared. Play any of the other ones instead, and stay away from this one. Nulled: Heroes of Loot 2 Pixelated dungeon crawler. Not bad, but not good enough to keep me entertained more than a couple of hours. Nulled: Heroes of Steel RPG Turn based dungeon crawler. I only checked it out to get rid of the last "Heroes of" title in my library I hadn't already played. Finished: Necromunda: Hired Gun A very fun nu-Doom-like FPS where you play a bounty hunter. This also means that when you have finished a level in the campaign, bounty hunter missions show up, that uses a section of the new level for different side mission types. Lots of cool upgrades, both active and passive, though I kept forgetting I had the active upgrades, so I never, as in Never, used them. Plenty of different weapons, but when I had found a decent assault rifle, I stuck with that, only using the grenade launcher once to get a special achievement. Still, the WH40K environment was really awesome, and using double jump and grappling hook made it extra fun to battle all the classic enemies. Nulled: Pine The first hour of Pine was good. Open world 3rd person fantasy thing where you gather some resources to craft new/better stuff. New missions popping up and lots of exploration to do. But the faction part I completely didn't understand. Something about colors, flags outposts and where, if you were unlucky, other factions snatched the resources right in front of you. Nulled: Prince of Persia I should just accept that any game older than 10 years should just be moved to the Nulled category, because I never got this to work. Nulled: She Remembered Caterpillars Played a couple of chapters. Very nice graphics, but puzzles started to annoy me (I couldn't figure them out!) so it got uninstalled. Nulled: Sunset Overdrive 3rd person parkour/rollerblade open world action game, with collectathon, map icons en masse, upgradeable fun weapons and powers and a bright world to conquer. What's not to like? Well, plenty enough that I uninstalled it. I really wanted to like this game. It has all the elements I enjoy, but it just didn't feel fun. I don't know if it was the janky controls, the focus on grinding on the rails all the time to build up a meter to use your special powers, the overwhelming amount of upgrades that got thrown at you right away with the insistence that you had to keep upgrading, that if you weren't on the rails or rooftops, and if you didn't move all the time, you got killed, that when you tried to do one move, it felt like the game decided you wanted to do something else and performed that instead. I don't know, but I was kinda bummed that this didn't work for me.
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Oct 2, 2022 21:14
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September was packed with great games: #137: Tinykin [2022] (7hr) - Really cute 3D platformer with a lot of giant rooms to explore, people to assist, and things to collect. Another great game from Splashteam. #138: Eiyuden Chronicles Rising [2022] (9.5hr) - Honestly a lot better than I was expecting for something kind of half-assed and rushed out to support the actual game coming next year. Combat was repetitive but it was pretty pleasant. #139: Powerwash Simulator [2022] (21.5hr) - Chill and relaxing podcasty game. #140: Trails in the Sky: Third Chapter (33hr) - A solid entry in the Trails series, which I liked more than 2nd chapter. On to Zero! #141: Escape Simulator * (7hr) - Escape Simulator is a bit more plain on the presentation than Escape Academy but it's a bit sturdier in its escape room puzzle design, and on top of that has a very robust creation kit that has allowed the community to really run with it and make all sorts of interesting rooms, if not games in and of themselves. 7 hours was my main campaign playtime and I've doubled that just playing community rooms. #142: Godstrike * (2hr) - Decent but unambitious Furi clone with the gimmick of time and your health bar being one and the same. As time ticks down, each hit of damage you receive takes chunks out of that remaining time so you really have to be careful as you weave tons of bullets and homing attacks. #143: Kirby & the Forgotten Land (10.5hr) [2022] - Probably my favorite Kirby since the GBA era. #144: Astrodogs * (1.5hr) - OK but not spectacular Starfox style game from the developer of Broken Reality. I'm still a bit confused as to their politics (are they dirtbag left maybe?), but as for the actual gameplay, it's fine. I prefer it to the more direct-copycat experiences like Ex-Zodiac. This one's at least trying to do its own thing. #145: Taiji (11.5hr) [2022] - Since we'll never get a sequel to The Witness and Jonathan Blow sucks anyway, it's nice to see someone hit another open world puzzle homerun, and Taiji's almost a grand slam. Great puzzles, secrets woven into the pixel art of the world design, no hour-long BBC documentaries to pad time, and yes, you can win the game without consulting a guide, I was able to do it. It may take you time to learn the rules of the different areas but when you do, it's like a light switch flipping on. #146: Sephonie (7hr) [2022] - A game that literally only me and Stux have talked about on this forum, which is baffling as it comes from the developers of Anodyne 2, a game that has received top 5 votes in goon GOTY threads the last couple of years. Sephonie combines parkour with Tony Hawk-inspired platforming as well as tetrimino-based puzzles, as well as fantastic prose and the signature 'Dreamcast HD' aesthetic the developer duo has been known for these past couple of years. #147: Nightmare of Decay (3hr) [2022] - A first-person tribute to Resident Evil that's a little too on the nose, but is pretty enjoyable and won't take too much of your time. #148: Paradox Vector (3.5hr) - An odd first person shooter with a 'Vector as in Vectrex' look, a tiny bit of antichamber disorientation, and a lot of little dungeons. The game calls itself a Metroidvania and I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's pretty entertaining albeit also pretty janky and lower budget. #149: Filament (22hr) - After Taiji I was still in the mood for open world puzzling. Filament is SORT-OF that, in that it's non linear for the majority of the game... you run between rooms solving puzzles in whatever order you want. Unlike Taiji or the Witness though, the puzzles have no function beyond just being variants on a theme, of stringing together electrical nodes in order to power up a door. The puzzles are largely about trial and error rather than logic or deduction, and you have to solve 5 in a row to complete each terminal. It's just not the same. And then a very confusing ending. #150: Beacon Pines (4hr) [2022] - Pretty great 'Disney Afternoon furry' visual novel that sidles up near Stranger Things in terms of tone/vibes, as you unravel a small town supernatural mystery and make decisions by replacing the narrator's words with certain tokens you find for actions you do or hotspots you investigate. #151: Live-a-Live [2022] - A solid game that was certainly revolutionary for its time, and I'm glad I played it, much like Moon, although Moon deeply resonated with me, and Live-a-Live didn't. Part of it is that the combat is basic and never evolves or iterates, part of it is that the characters from each story never truly interact with each other in any significant way, and part of it is just that the storytelling is not all that special for a lot of chapters. It's neat, it's novel, I like a lot of it, but this remake could've done more to truly put it up there with the greats. #152: Prodeus [2022] - I have to disagree with a lot of the posters in the Early FPS thread. I found Prodeus to be outstanding. Yes, the checkpoint system is contentious, but having come off of Forgive Me Father earlier this summer, I much prefer how Prodeus does it. The guns are, for the most part, fantastic, the level design is strong and full of memorable vistas and set pieces, as well as being pretty easy to navigate (with a couple of exceptions), and my only real complaints were the sound design on the shotguns and the over-plentiful ammo that basically allows a player to stick to the one gun they like most for the majority of playtime (I'm someone that prefers when a game gets you to switch around and get comfortable with all your arsenal which is why I liked Fashion Police Squad so much). #153: Aspire: Ina's Tale (2.5hr) - Merely ok puzzle platformer that ironically does not aspire to be more than doing just the basics of crate pushing, lever pulling and platform activating. Could've been a lot more.
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Oct 2, 2022 21:37
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Beat - Divinity: Original Sin 2: This was a very long playthrough. My brother and I play games once a week for a couple hours to stay in touch since we live on opposite sides of the country. We started this game in January 2021. There were many derails to other games along the way, but we finally finished it. I paid very little attention to the story, so I have no idea what we were really accomplishing (Something about killing old gods and becoming gods ourselves, and maybe magic being the source of evil?). The game is great at giving you choice, and that's what I like about it. We cheesed many battles, stole from people we shouldn't have, and took every side of the fight to get gold and XP. The one gripe I have is that their co-op implementation for achievements is strange. Sometimes, an achievement would trigger for both of us, but other times it'd only trigger for the person who initiated the interaction. Kinda annoying for a recovering achievement addict such as myself. Beat - Deltarune Chapter 1: If you liked Undertale, you'll like this. Pretty much the same game. Beat - The Way Home (Android): A short roguelike that has a definitive end. Progression was good, but it wasn't very difficult. The bosses spiked hard compared to the rest of the game, but even those weren't overly tough. Beat - Nowhere House (Android): A mobile escape game. Most of the puzzles were straight-forward, but like all of these types of mobile games, there were some real head scratchers that required using the ad-enabled hint system. It was good for being free. Beat - The Girl in the Window (Android): Same dev as Nowhere House. Same comments as above. Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Oct 18, 2022 |
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Oct 14, 2022 22:45
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