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No new games in 2020, unfinished backlog only

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Domisto

Member
I've banned myself from buying more games after giving in to the Xmas sales once again. I know it's not a requirement here but it makes this thread a natural place to hangout.

My list is too long. About 90 unplayed games. I think I've got a game to play from nearly every year going back to 1995. Lots of long games in there too. Gonna take some time.

My priority is a dozen PS3 games. It's a great console but it's time to finish up and pack it away until I'm feeling nostalgic. Lots to look forward to - Fallout 3 & New Vegas, Darksiders, Red Dead Redemption. But I'll probably start with some games I doubt I'll keep to make some space on the shelf, LA Noire, Bioshock 2, Dragon Age 2.

Most of the other games are on PC. Currently playing Avernum: Escape from the Pit. High on my list is Hollow Knight, Endless Legend, the Blackwell adventure series.

The other group of interest is over a dozen PSX games. I like to play retro. Nothing urgent about them but I'm keen to play them for enjoyments sake. Meant to get into them last year but never got round to it. Includes random stuff such as Rage Racer, Urban Chaos, Grudge Warriors.

I'm not aiming to complete everything I have, just get stuck in and enjoy things to the fullest.

Here's to exploring the backlog.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
iu


I'm also planning on doing the 52 games per year challenge but there are only a handful of games coming in 2020 that look interesting to me. Namely Final Fantasy VII Remake, Tales of Arise, and Trials of Mana as my "big three". I'll also probably be getting Crystal Chronicles Remake and Minecraft Dungeons to play with the family. I also already told my wife I'll either be getting a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X next year - depending on which is more powerful and has the best backwards compatible catalog. I assume I'll also be picking up a game with whichever I pick.

Otherwise, I've got a massive backlog of games I'd like to get through before next gen starts. Here's my short list of what I plan on playing next:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Resident Evil 2
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered
Tales of Berseria
Ace Combat 7
Assassin's Creed III Remastered
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Dragon Quest XI

I've also got a few games I've already started that I think I'd like to finish and will therefore beat in 2020:

Bloons TD6 (PC)
Just Cause 3
Picross S3
Star Ocean: First Departure R
The Division 2
StarCraft: Remastered

And in addition to all that, I've got a pretty good category of retro games I'm wanting to dig into (with the help of RetroAchievements, especially because they just added PS1 and DS support)

Final Fantasy VI (Replay)
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Dragon Quest IX
Paper Mario

So I don't feel like I'll have any shortage of games to play if I decide to skip out on Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us 2 (I still haven't played the first one), or Ghosts of T-sushi-whatever. Shooting for Psyduck, will probably end up Kanye.
 

Bakkus

Member
I'm gonna try this myself with at least these following games:

South Park: the Fractured But Whole
A Hat In Time
Dark Souls
Ninja Gaiden Black
Resident Evil 4
Illusion of Gaia
Terranigma
SMT: Nocturne
Persona 4
Metal Gear Solid Collection
Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Tales of Symphonia
Nier
Nier Automata
The Wonderful 101
Bayonetta 2
Final Fantasy VI
Cave Story
Celeste
Cuphead
The Stanley Parable
Sonic 2
Sonic 3

And probably some i'm forgetting

I'm effed
 

DelireMan7

Member
I followed this thread last year without posting. My rule was not to play games released in 2019 (as I didn't really have a backlog) and complete some games I always wanted to do (like Chrono Trigger,FFVI, Dragon age Origins, The Arkham series, another run of Dark Souls which confirmed to be the best game I have ever played...). My only rule breaker was Sekiro and I regret it. Actually I knew in advance it was not my cup of tea...

So for this year I'll try to do the same (with a bit of backlog this time) but probably play some 2020 hit depending on their final quality(LoU 2, GoT and Elden ring if it's released)

Backlog :
  • Final Fantasy 12
  • The Surge (PS+)
  • Last of Us (PS+)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles (lend by a friend)
"Old" games I'd like to play (not the full list because it's endless) :
  • Resident Evil series (specifically 0, 1, 2 and 3)
  • Another run of Dark Souls 2 or Demon's Souls
  • Dragon Age 2
  • Dragon age Inquisition
  • Jedi Fallen Order
  • Anthem
  • Vagrant Story
  • Final Fantasy 9
  • Dragon Quest 8 and 11
  • Tomb raider reboot serie
  • ...
 
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Sleepydays

Banned
I'm in. My backlog has swelled thanks to college/baby stuff curtailing most of my non-work time. I'm not jumping into next-gen any time soon (if ever) so I'll be catching up on stuff, old and new.

Newer stuff:

Mario Maker 2
River City Girls
The Messenger
Katana Zero
Baba is You
Forza Horizon 3/4
My Friend Pedro
Cuphead
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Blaster Master Zero 2

Retro:

Zelda LTTP (SNES)
Contra Hard Corps (Gen)
Sonic 3 (Gen)
TMNT Hyperstone Heist (Gen)
Sparkster (SFC)
Castlevania Bloodlines (Gen)
Earthbound (SNES)
Castlevania 3 (Famicom)
...plus lots of PC Engine stuff now I have one of those.
 
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
For those playing Retro stuff in this challenge - is anyone else using RetroAchievements?


Basically, it's achievements for a lot of retro games. They're community made and curated, and they now work with the newest builds of Retro Arch. I find they're a fun way to play older games, or a nice boost to motivate me to replay older games. They even have a "hardcore mode" that prevents you from loading cheats or using save-states, so that it mimics playing the game on original hardware.

I'm currently working on getting my GOG Galaxy 2.0 client set up with all my favorite retro games, that will launch directly from GOG into Retroarch (with achievement support) so that everything is smooth and streamlined.

3154jEF.png


If anyone here is interested and maybe needs help setting up RA feel free to hit me up and I'll see if I can help.
 

ROMhack

Member
No way is that possible for me next year... Last of Us part 2, Cyberpunk, FF7 Remake, Resi 3 remake, Ghosts of Tshumni and then you have next gen hitting in December.

Maybe 2021 lol

The real joy is in saving up the desire to play them for an entire year and then letting it go like a big dollop of... ketchup.

It's what the Christians call Nirvana.
 
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Domisto

Member
Happy New Year everyone.

Thought I'd check in regularly with a few thoughts on what I'm playing.

First up Avernum: Escape from the Pit. I bought this after finishing Fallout and wanting more of that kind of RPG. Never heard of Avernum or it's history before so I've no idea what reputation it has. Graphics are basic but it's quick to move around and the interface is good; only criticism is in crowded fights it can be tricky to choose the right target. I think the selling point for this is the world and lore which feel big and detailed, but it's early days for me. Only explored the first few towns. So far so good and I'm just chipping away at it in short bursts for now.

Thought I'd play something more immediate alongside so started Mini Metro. Which is becoming a very nice time sink. I like maps and transit games, really liked original A-Train (technically A-Train III I think), so this is a perfect little stripped down puzzle version of all that. I'm playing each map for the challenge achievement, might end up 100%-ing this. Only criticism is that the random elements of upgrades and station types can sometimes make challenges like Berlin and Hong Kong near impossible to beat. Even so, really into it.
 

zenspider

Member
I think I’m in.
I know I’ll break eventually (I’m excited to find out on what!), but that’s part of the fun.

My custom rules: I can purchase games released before 2020 on sales if I can’t get them at my library - going under my budget is my final boss here; fuck (most) of my backlog, and the twat who bought it all.
I also reserve the right to purchase a game in 2020 for “support”, but can’t play it until 2021.

Also, I may be able to survive an online multiplayer purchase with a “saving roll” of a die, saving numbers coming from the 6 backlog games below:


[1] Zelda: BotW. 125 hours in, and I didn’t ever want it to end. Seems about time.​
[2] Octopath Traveler 85 hours; same as above.​

[3]Dark Souls 3 Moved and got a new job. Never went back.​
[4]Astro Bot: Rescue Mission Love this game but fuck setting up PSVR.​
[5]Resident Evil 7 same as above.​

[6]Golf Story bought when the Switch had no games, except yeah it did.​
 
I gotta finish up Shenmue I, play through II and III. Then finish Fist of The North Star Lost Paradise, and that should just about catch me up. I expect to be done with this before Spring. Maybe even before Valentines Day. Then I can focus on the new releases.
 
I'm down, well all except cyberpunk and when ps5 launches. No way I'm skipping those for 2021. Or if we finally get a dead space silent hill trilogy remaster.

My backlog goes back years (decades to dos/nes Era really).

For semi current games to finish:
Dragon quest 11
Dragons dogma
Skyrim
Xenoblade chronicles 2
Zelda botw
Mario odyssey
Valkyria chronicles 4
Persona 5
Ys 8
Nioh
God of war
Spiderman
Horizon
Divinity OG sin 1&2
AC 3 - odyssey
Far cry 5
Tales of vesperia and bersaria
Dmc 4 and 5
Re 7
Cod mw
Just cause 3 & 4
Deus ex mankind divided
Tomb raider trilogy
Elex
Borderlands 3
Tropico 6
Mirrors edge catalyst
Prey
Doom 2016


Thats for AAA not counting indies. I have started all these games and beaten non of them. So yeah I'm game.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Count me in! :messenger_beaming:
So you haven't finished Death Stranding yet :(?

I have finished my first game, A Hat in Time, which entered backlog late 2019, when my wife gifted it to me. I enjoyed it, but it also has serious issues especially in terms of camera, but also in terms of game physics, performance (on Switch) and quite a few stinker missions as well.

Best one so far: A Hat in Time (Worse than last year's best)
Worst one so far: A Hat in Time (Better than last year's worst)

Finished:
A Hat in Time


Currently playing:
Golden Sun 2
Earthworm Jim 3D
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
 
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Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
I haven't even started it yet.

If I did, then my backlog will turn into dust because they'll never live up to the kind of standard that Death Stranding would set as the gold standard of gaming experiences.
Last year I delayed playing Yoshi's Crafted World. I can advise against delaying for that reason, because you might end up more disappointed if it does not live up to your expectations then.
 
Last year I delayed playing Yoshi's Crafted World. I can advise against delaying for that reason, because you might end up more disappointed if it does not live up to your expectations then.
I've tempered my expectations to a realistic level for Death Stranding, so whatever I'm saying is just for comedic purposes :p

I still think it's gonna be a great game, but it's way too early for me to play. It's too different from the rest of games I have in the backlog, so I'll leave it towards the end of my list.
 

Jacknapes

Member
I'll give it my best shot, but Animal Crossing in March is a cert purchase, as well as Cyberpunk in April. And Last of Us Part II in May.

Doom Eternal, probably will hang on until my birthday for that.

And Watch Dogs Legion, could well be a PS5 launch title for me depending on release date.
 
H

hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
So.. My first set of games.

I plan to have the following on the first rotation.

- Blade Runner
- Alpha Protocol
- Ace Combat 7

Blade Runner is a bit more casual as I played it back in the day, so the other two will be the ones that give me a bit more of a workout. BR and AP I started last year.
 
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888

Member
So.. My first set of games.

I plan to have the following on the first rotation.

- Blade Runner
- Alpha Protocol
- Ace Combat 7

Blade Runner is a bit more casual as I played it back in the day, so the other two will be the ones that give me a bit more of a workout. BR and AP I started last year.

Ace Combat was pretty cool. Had some interesting difficulty swings in objectives but it was fun. Story is all over.

I am continuing the 2nd with Blasphemous, Borderlands 3 and Batman: The Enemy Within.
 

Phase

Member
I've tempered my expectations to a realistic level for Death Stranding, so whatever I'm saying is just for comedic purposes :p

I still think it's gonna be a great game, but it's way too early for me to play. It's too different from the rest of games I have in the backlog, so I'll leave it towards the end of my list.
I don't wanna get your hopes up... but you're gonna love it.
 

joseph7jk

Member
All right, let´s do this, I have this plan, let´s begin with 10 games:
1. Doom
2. Titanfall 2
3. Darksiders remastered
4. A Hat in time
5. The legend of heroes trails of cold steel 2
6. Yakuza 0
7. Yooka Laylee
8. Timespinner
9. River City Girls
10. Resident Evil 7
 

Phase

Member
Think I'll post here in conjunction with the 52 games in 2020 thread. Pretty much every game on my list isn't new so it's all backlog/replay.

So second game finished is Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Sound design and graphics: great. Boss fights and illusion mechanics are kind of cool but... fighting overall is too repetitive and boring, and everything else is a drag. It's a short game but even so feels like it's mechanics overstay their welcome.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Thank you everyone for participating so far. I love hearing your thoughts on the challenge and your thoughts on the games you are playing. Cheers to a fruitful 2020 for clearing out backlogs and stepping off the Day One treadmill.

So far this year I'm enjoying the creme de la creme of my collection, including a few new games in the rotation (bought in 2019) like Sekiro, Wreckfest, Mothergunship, and RingFit Adventure.

RingFit is too legit to quit. In-depth opinions here. I am on world 4 but my wife is about to complete world 6. I hope Nintendo makes at least one more game using the RingCon, even if it's RingFit 2.

Played some S&P: Star Successor today. Amazing experience as always. :lollipop_anxious_sweat: Still trying to 1cc the game on Normal with the boy, Isa. I haven't played in awhile but I did pretty well today (beat my old score and got further in the game than before). Deflecting explosives makes a massive difference. For such a simple "arcade" game, it hides a lot of depth. I'm always finding obscure things to shoot, weird tricks to abuse, and I feel like I'm still not playing at my best. Feels great to have a high skill ceiling above your head, IMO.

Still truckin along with Diablo 3. All 13 pieces of my seasonal monk's gear are Ancient or Primal. Combined with my lvl 99 Legacy of Dreams gem, I'm mopping the floor with anything below GR 90. My build uses Wave of Light plus Tzo Krin's Gaze to essentially turn into a high-speed, long-range spellcaster.

Last but not least, I got a new 2nd place (all time) score in Daioujou today, 117 million. If I had bombed instead of dodged (and failed), I probably could've gotten another million points to surpass my all-time high of 118 million. Not even mad. It's the highest score I've gotten in awhile so I'll take it. Will 2020 be the year for my 1cc? We'll see.
 

Shifty1897

Member
First game finished in 2020 for me is Star Ocean: First Departure R (Switch). I enjoyed my time with it, though I'm not going to do the bonus dungeon in the interest of time. I now have officially beaten all the mainline Star Ocean games except for 5 (Which I will probably never play because I hear it's really bad).

My current backlog:
Astral Chain (next)
Doom (2016)
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Tales of Vesperia DE
Bayonetta
Bayonetta 2
Yakuza 0
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
A Hat in Time
 
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ExpandKong

Banned
I'm in for this. Added challenge also of not purchasing any games this year (for myself - if someone buys me a game as a gift that's cool with me). It's a resolution thing and I already told my wife about it so I have real world consequences this time not just my ePeen.

I made a spreadsheet of every game in my backlog, mostly games I have yet to play or started but didn't finish, but also games that I'd like to replay as well. Then I used a random number generator to get five numbers, then from those five I'd choose which game to play next. That way I can avoid getting into a rut where I'm forced to play five long-ass JRPGs in a row or something.

Will post my thoughts whenever I complete a game, startinggggg NOW:

#1 - Mega Man 11 (Switch)
Completed: 1/2/2020, 10:00 PM


This was by far the eleventhest Mega Man game yet. I got it at launch because I was a huge Mega Man fan growing up, but only played for about an hour before I got distracted with something else. I was primarily playing handheld at the time too, and though I usually don't have trouble with the OG Switch's buttons-as-dpad format, for some reason I just wasn't feeling it with this game. I do have a pro controller, but have had trouble finding time to sit down in the game room and play anything.

But I got a Switch Lite as a secondary unit for Christmas, which I've actually been using as my main unit because I like the way it feels in the hand more than the regular model, and having that real dpad seemed to make all the difference for this game for me. That, and really being less worried to use the gear abilities more frequently.

Overall a pretty by-the-numbers Mega Man game. I think I liked these games more with the 8-bit aesthetic from the first six and 9 & 10. The more modern-looking games veer a bit too much towards cutesy. Which, I mean...I'm not looking for Mega Man X levels of teenage angst and anime drama to be transplanted into the original series, but I guess my imagination when playing the 8-bit games tended to paint them a little bit darker than games like 7, 8, and now 11.

Still, pretty solid.

Story-wise, I got a kick out of Wily calling Light out on his bullshit. Convinced people that Wily's double-gear system was a bad idea, then fucking stole the prototype and gave it to Mega Man later to use against him.

Next game on the list is Wario Land 2, which is a replay that I purchased on the 3DS VC and then never actually started.
 
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ExpandKong

Banned
Doublepost powers activate!

#2 - Wario Land II (3DS Virtual Console)
Completed: 1/6/2020, 10:26 PM


I had this on my original Game Boy back in the day and I played the absolute shit out of it then. I've never bought or played any of the other Wario platformers, so I don't know if they've got the same gameplay hook as this one, but the idea is you can't die. If you get hit, you either lose some coins or transform somehow (if you get crushed you turn into a flat little pancake Wario that can float, if you get set on fire you run around burning stuff up for a while, etc.) and you use those transformations to get past obstacles and find secret exits and stuff.

Your coins get added to a pile at the end of each level and you use them to play minigames to get treasures and map pieces (one of each per level). There are alternate routes through the game, something like five different endings, and if you collect all the treasures and map pieces you apparently unlock some super secret really hard level.

The game's packed with content and charming enough for a Game Boy game released in 1998...but it was a little frustrating for me to play nowadays. Wario's standard movement feels kinda clunky compared to the proper Mario platformers, he does this weird thing when he jumps while moving where he'll lose forward momentum on his way down, there's more than a few cheap shot enemy placements, that sort of stuff.

I've got a lot of games to play through* and if I'm going to 100% any of them...it's not going to be this one. So I cheated a bit and took the absolute fastest way to the end credits I could.

The game begins with Wario asleep in his castle when some pirates barge in, loot the place, and set a bunch of nuisance traps (including an alarm clock that you hear going off through the whole first level). When you gain control of him, the first thing you do is wake up and jump out of bed.

Or...you don't.

Yep. Sixteen years before Far Cry 4 did it, the fastest way to beat Wario Land II is to not do anything at the beginning. Just let Wario sleep for a bit, and eventually the level ends. The pirates find him asleep in his room, carry him outside and just dump his fat ass in the dirt. From there he wakes up and walks right back into his castle to reclaim it from the pirates, and like four levels later you've beaten the game.

So that's the route I took this time. It's a technical victory - the best kind of victory! Wario Land II had some neat ideas, and Younger Me, who only got a game or two a year and thus played everything to death, got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Older Me, however, ain't got time for this.

But damn, how did y'all not tell me that Wario's archenemy was a big-titty redhead pirate queen, AKA literally the perfect woman? Maybe I need to play more of these games after all.



RNGesus has decreed that the next game is...Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy (3DS). This is a new one for me, so I'm a bit more excited about it. Only played the original Layton trilogy, the Ace Attorney crossover, and the Layton Brothers mobile game.

*The spreadsheet I mentioned in my first post currently has 154 games listed, but I've been adding games to it as I happen across them in my digital libraries or hiding in drawers around the house or whatever. I don't think I'll be completing them all this year, but I'm going to try my damndest, and that includes using cheapo tactics like the one I used here.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
the fastest way to beat Wario Land II is to not do anything at the beginning. Just let Wario sleep for a bit, and eventually the level ends. The pirates find him asleep in his room, carry him outside and just dump his fat ass in the dirt. From there he wakes up and walks right back into his castle to reclaim it from the pirates, and like four levels later you've beaten the game.
lol I never knew that. Clever!
 

DelireMan7

Member
Ok let's keep track of my games this year :

My challenge :
No 2020 games (or the strict minimum). I can buy older games as my "physical backlog" is quite limited ( 2 physical games and 1 from PS+ I really wanted to play).

"Physical backlog" :
  • Xenoblade Chronicles
  • Final Fantasy XII
  • The Last of Us (PS+)
  • The surge (PS+, still don't know if I want to play it or not)

Games completed :
  1. Dragon Age Origins (started early 2019, finished 6th January 20, around 80h)
Finally ! After months and months of playing here and there, then stopping to play something else and then coming back I did it. My first "complex" RPG and I am not disappointed.
I first wanted to play Inquisition but decided to go for the whole saga. I LOVED the tactical combat and the heavy character custumization. Storytelling is incredible and the choices you have to make are really complex. Some decisions took me quite some time before I decide. Curious to see how it will impact the world of the sequels... A masterpiece !

Currently playing :
  • The Last of Us (Started 1st January 20)
Finally I get to play it after all these years. So far (4/5h) it sticks to my expectations : good atmosphere/setting/story, gameplay is ... OK.
Let see how it goes, but for the moment I think I could wait 2021 to play the sequel.
 
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Domisto

Member
  1. Dragon Age Origins (started early 2019, finished 6th January 20, around 80h)
Finally ! After months and months of playing here and there, then stopping to play something else and then coming back I did it. My first "complex" RPG and I am not disappointed.
DAO was the first RPG I gave a proper go, I'd largely snubbed the genre till then, and it was really really good. Took me a similar 80 hours plus, game felt huge. I notice quite a few people here have DA2 on their lists, including me.
 

Phase

Member
Just finished the 2016 Ratchet & Clank. That's my 3rd game so far this year. I was very surprised by it. I had it in my backlog for quite some time. Unexpectedly an amazing remake. Platforming is fluid and controls well, the different guns are fun to use, planets are beautiful, and graphics/sounds/voice acting are all great. Good sense of humor, too.

Now I'm playing Spyro 1 and Extreme-G.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
If there are any current Diablo 3 players, be sure to log in to try the 'Darkening of Tristram' event at Act I, Old Ruins waypoint. The unique rewards are just useless cosmetics but it's worthy playing to see the old-school character walking animations and to hear that wonderful classic music.
 

Domisto

Member
Still playing Avernum, very slowly, think I'm a bit impatient at the mo and the story hasn't picked up yet. Also still going through all Mini Metro maps.

On the side I completed Teslagrad. Older game but I got it dirt cheap in the recent Xmas sale because I've been in the mood for platformers lately. The mechanics are all about magnetism and it makes for an interesting physics puzzle platformer. Mostly linear. I wasn't sure about it at first but it grew on me, and aside from the first boss, it's the boss battles that I ended up most invested in. Which is unusual for me but they were good fun and tricky at times. One jump was infuriating due to timing. For the most part it's straight forward and more about trying, dying, getting the hang of it, and hopefully showing off. It really wanted me to collect all the scrolls but I'm not that into the platforming to bother. Above average game and just the right length to show off all its ideas before outstaying it's welcome.

And after that have started playing Environmental Station Alpha. Looks like a classic metroidvania, I've downed a few bosses, enjoying it, and I really like the low pixel count graphics.

 
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