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Mhmmm 2077
Member
I'm sure I'll drop the challenge anyway... or forget about this post, but let's try:
0. Game Title (Platform) | Date - Time played | Rating - one sentence "review"
1. Bardbarian (PC) | Jan 7 - 9.5h | 3.5/5 I had lots of fun with this, kiiinda reminded me of Vampire Survivors, just way earlier and not as hardcore I guess
2. Hidden Folks (PC) | Jan 9 - 8.3h | 3.5/5 pretty fun, reminded me of Where's Waldo, but some stuff was waaaay to hidden
1. Bardbarian (PC) | Jan 7 - 9.5h | 3.5/5 I had lots of fun with this, kiiinda reminded me of Vampire Survivors, just way earlier and not as hardcore I guess
2. Hidden Folks (PC) | Jan 9 - 8.3h | 3.5/5 pretty fun, reminded me of Where's Waldo, but some stuff was waaaay to hidden
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Jack Videogames
Member
It's a great game but really some bosses can be bullshit. It wants you to perfect parry but the parry window is like half of what Sekiro had. Godspeed!
SpiceRacz
Member
This is where I'm currently at on my backlog, courtesy of Backloggd.com.
I played through a romhack version of Metroid with a map and other various QOL improvements. I've started the game in the past and never finished it. Needless to say, it's Metroid. It holds up remarkably well. Especially with the map and other added features.
Super Mario 3D Land was a little shallow. The levels are surprisingly short. It controls like a dream though. It has a lot of nice callbacks to all the classic Mario games, including 1, 3, and World. Overall, really enjoyed it.
Panzer Dragoon Saga is a masterpiece as far as RPGs go from that generation. I really wish I could have experienced it when it came out. I appreciate the length of the game and that it doesn't outstay it's welcome. The cinematics really stood out to me. It feels a step above it's contemporaries. I'd have to really think about it, but it might be my favorite JRPG from this generation after playing it.
I'm working my way through Samus Returns right now, but I have about a dozen metroids left. So, I should be wrapping it up soon.
PanzerCute
Member
Cool idea! I will try the challenge this year, count me in. For now I have finished two games:
A Plague Tale Requiem on PS5
Slain on Switch (terrible version)
I will update my post with small reviews, images and new games completed when I have more time.
Btw quick question: do we have to start the game in 2024 or does it work if its a game I started before?
Thanks!
A Plague Tale Requiem on PS5
Slain on Switch (terrible version)
I will update my post with small reviews, images and new games completed when I have more time.
Btw quick question: do we have to start the game in 2024 or does it work if its a game I started before?
Thanks!
Psychotic_Mantis
Member
It's really your call. Most people count any game that they finished in the year of the challenge. You could technically take a game to 99% in the previous year and cross the line on 1/1 and count it. Again, ultimately it is your call on how you police. Most do it that way, including me. If I get to the finish line in the year of the challenge, it counts!
Good luck!
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Knocked out Ridge Racer Type 4 (excellent game, not enough content) and Altered Beast (kind of meh). Playing through retro games for this challenge may seem like cheating, but I won’t have the time to game much until March.
marcincz
Member
Game 3 - Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty (PS3) - 04h 38m
Beat 15/01/2024 - my score: 6/10
Game 4 - Erica (PS4) - 01h 38m
Beat 22/01/2024 - my score: 6/10
Last two titles this month.
Next month, I am going to start Yakuza from last year and Persona 3 or Trails from Zero.
Beat 15/01/2024 - my score: 6/10
Game 4 - Erica (PS4) - 01h 38m
Beat 22/01/2024 - my score: 6/10
Last two titles this month.
Next month, I am going to start Yakuza from last year and Persona 3 or Trails from Zero.
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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.
Game 7 - 12 Labours of Hercules XII: Timeless Adventure - PC / Steam - Completed Jan 22nd, 2024
Another year, another Hercules game that is 99% the same as the last one. For some reason, I really dig these games - they have a good flow to them, and they usually make me think and strategize. It also helps that they're usually incredibly cheap on Steam sales. Completed this one with all gold times - and even beat one of the developers records (badly) on one of the super secret stages. Fun stuff, can't wait for part XIII!
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Finished Star Ocean Second Evolution minutes ago. I got sidetracked with other games, but that’s my first for the new year.
Midn1ght
Member
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SpiceRacz
Member
Wrapped up New Super Mario Bros. 2. The impression I got from the internet was it was not a very good game. I think it's a step up from the first game on DS. The level design is overall better and more creative. There's an emphasis on coin collecting and in turn, you accumulate more lives, like in the 100s. Mario games are unforgiving, so I don't have an issue with this. It's not difficult by any means and that was fine for me. I just played through DKC Returns and needed something I could kind of just breeze through.
Jack Videogames
Member
4. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
49:24h*. All requests (Followed a guide so I didn't miss any). Got Detective Rank 2 probably because I wasn't able to win any of the fucking optional boss fights you're supposed to lose.
Trails to Azure is generally lauded as the best Kiseki game. I'm more of a TOCS guy, but I see where the praise comes from. The Crossbell saga in general and Azure in particular reaches a great equilibrium between the classic JRPG fare of the TiTS (yeah, yeah) games and the more "name-dropping" power-level-creeping, political intrigue with waifus setting of the later games. However, I did realize most of the points of contention that people dislike from TOCS (Bonding points, clueless casanova protagonist, weird localization, incredibly low-stakes battles where most people survive...) are already present here, so maybe what people like the most about about Crossbell is both the setting and the character roster, which are pretty strong.
* While the timer says 49h, I noticed that playing battles at 4x turbo speed and going through the world at 2x turbo didn't make the timer adjust accordingly, like it does in later games. The real gametime is probably more around 60-65h.
SteamDeck: Perfect OOTB.
My Score: ★★★★★
------
5. Half-Life Alyx
13:54h. Easy difficulty.
Alyx is an achievement. There's no other word to describe it. With time, this will be considered as important as Super Mario 64 or Tetris. It's the first truly AAA VR game that makes you feel like you're somewhere else. Other games get close, but they don't reach this level of perfection. One for the books.
My Score:
------
6. Halls of Torment
31:23h. All characters unlocked, all character quests beaten, all levels beaten in Agony mode.
One of the best auto-looter games. While very obviously inspired by Vampire Survivors (to the point that you can easily reuse tactics from that game here) it does have much less character variety, but the characters themselves are much more fleshed out, with stat "weights" that make them feel much more different from one another than those in VS. While the quest system is nice on paper, the lack of more "visual" objectives makes the game feel a bit repetitive after a while, but it's still very addictive.
SteamDeck: Perfect OOTB. Be careful however - Agony V brings gaming computers to their knees.
My Score: ★★★★☆
Original post
49:24h*. All requests (Followed a guide so I didn't miss any). Got Detective Rank 2 probably because I wasn't able to win any of the fucking optional boss fights you're supposed to lose.
Trails to Azure is generally lauded as the best Kiseki game. I'm more of a TOCS guy, but I see where the praise comes from. The Crossbell saga in general and Azure in particular reaches a great equilibrium between the classic JRPG fare of the TiTS (yeah, yeah) games and the more "name-dropping" power-level-creeping, political intrigue with waifus setting of the later games. However, I did realize most of the points of contention that people dislike from TOCS (Bonding points, clueless casanova protagonist, weird localization, incredibly low-stakes battles where most people survive...) are already present here, so maybe what people like the most about about Crossbell is both the setting and the character roster, which are pretty strong.
* While the timer says 49h, I noticed that playing battles at 4x turbo speed and going through the world at 2x turbo didn't make the timer adjust accordingly, like it does in later games. The real gametime is probably more around 60-65h.
SteamDeck: Perfect OOTB.
My Score: ★★★★★
------
5. Half-Life Alyx
13:54h. Easy difficulty.
Alyx is an achievement. There's no other word to describe it. With time, this will be considered as important as Super Mario 64 or Tetris. It's the first truly AAA VR game that makes you feel like you're somewhere else. Other games get close, but they don't reach this level of perfection. One for the books.
My Score:
------
6. Halls of Torment
31:23h. All characters unlocked, all character quests beaten, all levels beaten in Agony mode.
One of the best auto-looter games. While very obviously inspired by Vampire Survivors (to the point that you can easily reuse tactics from that game here) it does have much less character variety, but the characters themselves are much more fleshed out, with stat "weights" that make them feel much more different from one another than those in VS. While the quest system is nice on paper, the lack of more "visual" objectives makes the game feel a bit repetitive after a while, but it's still very addictive.
SteamDeck: Perfect OOTB. Be careful however - Agony V brings gaming computers to their knees.
My Score: ★★★★☆
Original post
Glass Prison
Member
January 2024 Roundup
Total: 5/52
Original Post
1- CloudPunk - 15 Hours - PS5 - Jan 5th
Not a good start of the year with this game to be honest. It’s a very simple game in its premise, but even then I ended up not liking the execution. The story is not that interesting for the amount of dialogue the game has, the world design, while cool at first, does not offer any kind of variety between its main cities, the controls are really unsatisfying and level design is annoyingly confusing. I can’t recommend this one and I don’t have too much to talk about it.
2- Ready or Not - 49 Hours - Steam - Jan 13th
Now this is more like it. It is a spiritual successor of the SWAT games, and it accomplishes what it sets out to do really well. It doesn’t hold back in its violence, themes, and atmosphere. Each level requires a different balance of approach between being a little faster or more tactical and careful. There’s a good variety of weapons and accessories to customize your character and your team, so you can choose between being lethal and getting the job done fast, or trying to use non lethal weapons but being exposed to a heavier firepower than yours.
The enemy AI can be very hit or miss depending on the level though, and to fix that I highly recommend using the built-in mod support to add AI Overhaul while it is not officially patched. It doesn’t make the game easy by any means, it just fixes some balancing issues and makes it fairer. Overall a really good experience and a great co-op game as well.
3- Rally Cross - 3 Hours - PS5 - Jan 16th
A 1997 game that I used to play as a kid on the PS1. I was positively surprised when Sony included it in the PS+ Classics and I decided to revisit it after almost 30 years.
This game can be really hard. Not only is the AI very fast, but the tracks are really difficult to master as well. Every car feels a little bit different to drive due to their weight distribution, and the uneven nature of the courses making the suspension bounce the cars all over the place.
A nice trip down memory lane with this one, and I even managed to get a new platinum trophy with it.
4- Splinter Cell - 14 Hours - PS3 - Jan 21st
The Splinter Cell IP was on my replay list for a while now. It was one of my favorite franchises in the past alongside Metal Gear Solid, and one that I really miss from time to time. I decided to buy the Trilogy remaster for the PS3, as Pandora Tomorrow is impossible to find anywhere for PC and I like to have the whole collection in one place.
For now I’ve only played the first game of the trilogy and it is… kinda good but kinda rough at the same time. I love that each mission is a stealth puzzle and offers some kind of freedom to the player. I found multiple ways to do some of the levels and that I think is where the game shines.
However, the forced combat in some of the levels is just horrible. Shooting in this game feels like the gun barrel is busted… the bullets go anywhere except where you’re aiming. I wouldn’t complain if the combat was 100% optional but it’s not the case. Thankfully the shooting sections are not that long, but playing through them can be quite frustrating, specially if you’re trying to kill less than 3 people per level to get a specific trophy.
5- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - 29 Hours - PS5 - Jan 25th
Great game. Very well paced in its rewards and the unlocking of new mechanics. Fun exploration, rewarding combat, and clever puzzles. Honestly this is one of the most fun Metroidvanias I’ve played, and I would rank this as one of the best Prince of Persia games I’ve played as well. I enjoyed every minute of it and in the end got the platinum trophy.
February Preview:
Only one new game I’m interested in (FFVII Rebirth), and it comes out at the last day of the month, so February will be a month dedicated to playing a few games from my backlog. I’ve never played any of these games before so really looking forward to it:
Crysis 1, 2, 3
Resistance: Fall of Man
Pathologic 2
Bayonetta
Total: 5/52
Original Post
1- CloudPunk - 15 Hours - PS5 - Jan 5th
Not a good start of the year with this game to be honest. It’s a very simple game in its premise, but even then I ended up not liking the execution. The story is not that interesting for the amount of dialogue the game has, the world design, while cool at first, does not offer any kind of variety between its main cities, the controls are really unsatisfying and level design is annoyingly confusing. I can’t recommend this one and I don’t have too much to talk about it.
2- Ready or Not - 49 Hours - Steam - Jan 13th
Now this is more like it. It is a spiritual successor of the SWAT games, and it accomplishes what it sets out to do really well. It doesn’t hold back in its violence, themes, and atmosphere. Each level requires a different balance of approach between being a little faster or more tactical and careful. There’s a good variety of weapons and accessories to customize your character and your team, so you can choose between being lethal and getting the job done fast, or trying to use non lethal weapons but being exposed to a heavier firepower than yours.
The enemy AI can be very hit or miss depending on the level though, and to fix that I highly recommend using the built-in mod support to add AI Overhaul while it is not officially patched. It doesn’t make the game easy by any means, it just fixes some balancing issues and makes it fairer. Overall a really good experience and a great co-op game as well.
3- Rally Cross - 3 Hours - PS5 - Jan 16th
A 1997 game that I used to play as a kid on the PS1. I was positively surprised when Sony included it in the PS+ Classics and I decided to revisit it after almost 30 years.
This game can be really hard. Not only is the AI very fast, but the tracks are really difficult to master as well. Every car feels a little bit different to drive due to their weight distribution, and the uneven nature of the courses making the suspension bounce the cars all over the place.
A nice trip down memory lane with this one, and I even managed to get a new platinum trophy with it.
4- Splinter Cell - 14 Hours - PS3 - Jan 21st
The Splinter Cell IP was on my replay list for a while now. It was one of my favorite franchises in the past alongside Metal Gear Solid, and one that I really miss from time to time. I decided to buy the Trilogy remaster for the PS3, as Pandora Tomorrow is impossible to find anywhere for PC and I like to have the whole collection in one place.
For now I’ve only played the first game of the trilogy and it is… kinda good but kinda rough at the same time. I love that each mission is a stealth puzzle and offers some kind of freedom to the player. I found multiple ways to do some of the levels and that I think is where the game shines.
However, the forced combat in some of the levels is just horrible. Shooting in this game feels like the gun barrel is busted… the bullets go anywhere except where you’re aiming. I wouldn’t complain if the combat was 100% optional but it’s not the case. Thankfully the shooting sections are not that long, but playing through them can be quite frustrating, specially if you’re trying to kill less than 3 people per level to get a specific trophy.
5- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - 29 Hours - PS5 - Jan 25th
Great game. Very well paced in its rewards and the unlocking of new mechanics. Fun exploration, rewarding combat, and clever puzzles. Honestly this is one of the most fun Metroidvanias I’ve played, and I would rank this as one of the best Prince of Persia games I’ve played as well. I enjoyed every minute of it and in the end got the platinum trophy.
February Preview:
Only one new game I’m interested in (FFVII Rebirth), and it comes out at the last day of the month, so February will be a month dedicated to playing a few games from my backlog. I’ve never played any of these games before so really looking forward to it:
Crysis 1, 2, 3
Resistance: Fall of Man
Pathologic 2
Bayonetta
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Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I rolled Joe & Mac on GameBoy earlier today and blitzed through it. Not a terrible little action platformer, but VERY slow with a lot of janky hitboxes. I had to use save states at the beginning of each level, since I couldn’t figure out how to continue (if indeed there even is a continue function).
Pretty bad game by all modern standards, but it was at least somewhat entertaining when viewed through the lens of time.
/
In other news, my friend got me a modded PC Engine Duo, so I’m extremely excited to finally play through Bonk’s Adventure!
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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.
Game 8 - Octopath Traveler II - PC / Steam - Completed Jan 28th, 2024
Easily my favorite JRPG of 2024, this game was amazing from start to finish. It took me almost a full year to finish the game, as I took a break after finishing my first character's final chapter. I'm glad I came back to it in earnest though, because the payoff at the end was emotional and incredible. I had nearly 100 hours on my save file, and there were still a lot of side quests and collectibles I missed. I hope that a third game in the series is made eventually, because this really is some of the best stuff that's come out of Square Enix in decades.
PanzerCute
Member
Finished a few games recently.
Little Goody Two Shoes. 7.5/10
Weird game combining horror elements and life sim "RPG" and adventure, with wonderful visuals and great storytelling. For 19e I recommend it.
Metroid Prime Remastered. 7/10
Surely a masterpiece at the time, but quite flawed by today standards. Level design, immersion and exploration are great, but the combat is terrible, controls should have been improved with this remastered and damn the backtracking (with no TP) became infuriating at the end.
Like A Dragon Gaiden. 7,5/10
Small episode in the series, but still very enjoyable and it was nice to have the beat'em up gameplay again. The ending was surprising, almost cried like a little **** (after 6 games with Kiryu, it is hard not to care)
God Of War Ragnarok. 5,5/10
I have not finished it but after 20h I just can not stand it anymore. Pacing is terrible, storytelling and characters are uninteresting AF, gameplay has not evolved at all since 2018.. and damn, where are the bosses? Why are there so many walking simulator parts?
Little Goody Two Shoes. 7.5/10
Weird game combining horror elements and life sim "RPG" and adventure, with wonderful visuals and great storytelling. For 19e I recommend it.
Metroid Prime Remastered. 7/10
Surely a masterpiece at the time, but quite flawed by today standards. Level design, immersion and exploration are great, but the combat is terrible, controls should have been improved with this remastered and damn the backtracking (with no TP) became infuriating at the end.
Like A Dragon Gaiden. 7,5/10
Small episode in the series, but still very enjoyable and it was nice to have the beat'em up gameplay again. The ending was surprising, almost cried like a little **** (after 6 games with Kiryu, it is hard not to care)
God Of War Ragnarok. 5,5/10
I have not finished it but after 20h I just can not stand it anymore. Pacing is terrible, storytelling and characters are uninteresting AF, gameplay has not evolved at all since 2018.. and damn, where are the bosses? Why are there so many walking simulator parts?
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Jooxed
Gold Member
AHHH this was such a step above 1 which i enjoyed. Also one of my favorite games. Whos path did you like the most? I hope we get a 3.. I like how this one was just a little more modern in setting. Would be cool if they made an octopath - Modern Times then another in future times I think
Game 8 - Octopath Traveler II - PC / Steam - Completed Jan 28th, 2024
Easily my favorite JRPG of 2024, this game was amazing from start to finish. It took me almost a full year to finish the game, as I took a break after finishing my first character's final chapter. I'm glad I came back to it in earnest though, because the payoff at the end was emotional and incredible. I had nearly 100 hours on my save file, and there were still a lot of side quests and collectibles I missed. I hope that a third game in the series is made eventually, because this really is some of the best stuff that's come out of Square Enix in decades.
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.
Honestly, they were all pretty great - but I started with Partitio, and ended up liking his path the most overall too. His voice actor really nailed it, and they almost got to Torneko Taloon levels of "open a shop, make tons of money" quest line stuff that I personally really enjoy. While he wasn't the strongest party member (especially towards the end), I abused the hell out of his Arrow of Fortune move early in the game to rack up massive amounts of JP for him, which was fun.
Also, shoutout to my boy Temenos - I really loved the detective / inquisition angle they went with for his character, far more refreshing than the goodie-two-shoes angle of the first game's cleric.
Jooxed
Gold Member
Temenos was fantastic, he really gave me Oliver from trails vibes. I was surprised how much i like Paritio too. I thought the secret classes in this game were a little weaker than the previous but I have fun with inventor and the arcanist
SpiceRacz
Member
Finished Kirby's Dream Land 2 on GBC and Castlevania Order of Ecclesia on DS. Kirby is a breeze. There's little to no difficulty and that's fine by me. These games are comfort food and I never get tired of playing them.
Order of Ecclesia is a weird mash-up of old and new. It has the usual Metroidvania elements (levels have maps, RPG elements, tons of weapon combos, backtracking), except the levels are all separated on an overworld rather than being connected on one large map. It's probably the most difficult Igavania that I can remember. Story is predictable, but I can forgive that when the gameplay is so good. Highly recommend it. It doesn't require the touch screen at all if your only option is emulation.
Order of Ecclesia is a weird mash-up of old and new. It has the usual Metroidvania elements (levels have maps, RPG elements, tons of weapon combos, backtracking), except the levels are all separated on an overworld rather than being connected on one large map. It's probably the most difficult Igavania that I can remember. Story is predictable, but I can forgive that when the gameplay is so good. Highly recommend it. It doesn't require the touch screen at all if your only option is emulation.
bender
What time is it?
I finished the career mode in PowerWash Simulator. I have such strange feelings about this game. Namely, I don't think I like it very much, but I did just sink 39 hours into it so I can't say I dislike it either. As a simulator, it isn't very good as there is no fluid dynamics that would require you to use technique (top to bottom, inside to out). It's more like a magic eraser simulator than a power washer simulator. A lot of the levels can feel to large and towards the end of the campaign, it introduces some "gamey" elements that add to the tedium. But after you slog through every level and hit start, you are rewarded with a fast forwarded time lapse of your work which is really satisfying and they brilliantly rolled that into the credits. I ranked it 2/5 but I guess it could have easily been a 3/5 or 4/5 depending on my mood. I'm glad it is over and don't intend to play it again but I'm sure I'll be going through the bonus missions at some point...soon.
Psychotic_Mantis
Member
Going to try and do a better job of updating my played games with some thoughts. I love reading everyone elses updates and I slack on providing my own... so here is
January:
Main Post
1.Merry Snowballs (Meta Quest 3) - 7/10
Wife got me the MQ3 for Christmas and I randomly gave this game a go. It didn't work on my previous Rift S and saw it was delisted. It was actually a pretty fun time and got difficult near the end. Hard to recommend since it doesn't really exist anymore, but if you have it in your library it's a quick fun time.
2. Bloo Kid 2 (3DS) - 7/10
Tore my achilles over the holidays and wasn't able to move much. Decided to jump into some of my handheld random games. Bloo Kid 2 is a pretty simple platformer that I bought on the final days of the 3DS. Glad I played it and had fun with it…but it doesn't do a whole lot different than other platformers. The final levels were somewhat challenging but you can knock this out in 2ish hours.
3. Gato Roboto (Switch) - 8/10
Really enjoyed playing through this one. Unique metroidvania where you have to solve situations with the cat in and out of the mech suit. Highly recommend and this one is around 3 hours or so.
4. Witcheye (Switch) - 6/10
Really struggled with this one. I loved the art but I never truly felt in control of the eye. It's definitely a unique control system but you could tell it was built with mobile phones first. There were some very tricky levels due to the quick response time and needing to feel full control. If the controls click for you, this could be a fun little gem.
5. Chicken Wiggle (3DS) - 7/10
Another final 3DS purchase and was happy to play through this one. It's basically a puzzle platformer and I rarely ran into any trouble in it. There is exactly one boss and the boss was tricky to figure out since it is nothing like the rest of the game. The best part of this was the user created levels..but that will sadly be dead with the online services ending soon.
6. Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle (Steam Deck) - 8/10
Stuck on a couch, it was time to clean up some of my Keen games on the Steam Deck. 4 was a pretty solid entry in this series. The graphics are cleaner and the levels make more sense. I had more fun with this one than the original 3 episodes. Give Keen a chance and maybe he can come back!
7. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine (Steam Deck) - 8/10
Another solid entry that builds on episode 4. I enjoyed the level layout in 5 just as much as 4. I wish episode 6 was available since I would like to finish all of the games. I haven't tried Keen Dreams yet…but I am sure I will get there.
8. Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PS5) - 8/10
Another metroidvania with fantastic art. I know nothing of Lodoss War but I still had a blast playing through this. The bosses were a lot of fun throughout the entire game. It was a bit on the easy side, but exploring the entire map was great. Really recommend this one.
9. Spotto! (3DS) - 7/10
Another 3DS closing purchase. I believe this was on the DSi service and it's a small puzzle game where you toss bombs up at ghosts. This gets extremely tricky by the end of the game and had to power through since I didn't see any other videos or write-ups of this game. Unique and trick, worth a go.
10. Chronos: Before the Ashes (PS4) - 8/10
Had no idea this was originally a VR game and I had no idea that this was tied into the Remnant games. It's a more simplified Souls game with similar combat and less complex leveling. The unique feature is that each time you die, your character grows 1 year older. There were a few bosses that gave me a challenge but overall I think I died 10ish times ( I was 32 when I finished). I don't see this game talked about much and the trophy completion was pretty low. Might be a hidden gem and I would really recommend giving it a go. I might even pick up the VR version on the Quest store down the road.
11. Prehistoric Dude (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Not sure how I picked this game up but ended up enjoying it for what it is. Basically a super simple metroidvania. Everything in it is quite easy and the challenge is finding the secrets and getting 100% on the map. There were 3 bosses and they were all pretty easy. Should be pretty cheap on Steam if interested.
12. Nixxsz Castle (Steam Deck) - 7/10
I want to say this was recommended somewhere on here. It's basically a short punishing platformer where you need pixel perfect jumps. I had to put it down a few times due to the frustrating nature of the game. When you eventually overcome the castle, it is a nice rewarding feeling. It's usually available for under a buck and I think it's well worth that price See if you can get all the trophies and make it to the end!
13. Cats Hidden in Bali (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Random find on Steam and had a blast for the 30 or so minutes it took to find all the cats. Super basic game with 1 image and finding 100 cats along with a few random secret trophies. They should just combine all of the Hidden Cat games into one package…but whatever. Fun if you like finding games.
14. Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island (Steam Deck) - 8/10
Finally gave this one a go after hearing people love it. It's short, cute and has a lot of charm. I think the whole thing took maybe an hour to get through. I didn't love it as much as others, but it's definitely worth a play. I'll probably play eps 2/3 soon.
15. Steel Diver (3DS) - 7/10
Have had this in my 3DS library for awhile. Basically a tactical submarine sim game with some challenging moments, especially in the end game. The final level/boss was extremely difficult. Once you get the controls and vibe of the game down, it's pretty unique and can be fun. Not a super long experience and you can still find it on eBay for a few bucks.
January:
Main Post
1.Merry Snowballs (Meta Quest 3) - 7/10
Wife got me the MQ3 for Christmas and I randomly gave this game a go. It didn't work on my previous Rift S and saw it was delisted. It was actually a pretty fun time and got difficult near the end. Hard to recommend since it doesn't really exist anymore, but if you have it in your library it's a quick fun time.
2. Bloo Kid 2 (3DS) - 7/10
Tore my achilles over the holidays and wasn't able to move much. Decided to jump into some of my handheld random games. Bloo Kid 2 is a pretty simple platformer that I bought on the final days of the 3DS. Glad I played it and had fun with it…but it doesn't do a whole lot different than other platformers. The final levels were somewhat challenging but you can knock this out in 2ish hours.
3. Gato Roboto (Switch) - 8/10
Really enjoyed playing through this one. Unique metroidvania where you have to solve situations with the cat in and out of the mech suit. Highly recommend and this one is around 3 hours or so.
4. Witcheye (Switch) - 6/10
Really struggled with this one. I loved the art but I never truly felt in control of the eye. It's definitely a unique control system but you could tell it was built with mobile phones first. There were some very tricky levels due to the quick response time and needing to feel full control. If the controls click for you, this could be a fun little gem.
5. Chicken Wiggle (3DS) - 7/10
Another final 3DS purchase and was happy to play through this one. It's basically a puzzle platformer and I rarely ran into any trouble in it. There is exactly one boss and the boss was tricky to figure out since it is nothing like the rest of the game. The best part of this was the user created levels..but that will sadly be dead with the online services ending soon.
6. Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle (Steam Deck) - 8/10
Stuck on a couch, it was time to clean up some of my Keen games on the Steam Deck. 4 was a pretty solid entry in this series. The graphics are cleaner and the levels make more sense. I had more fun with this one than the original 3 episodes. Give Keen a chance and maybe he can come back!
7. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine (Steam Deck) - 8/10
Another solid entry that builds on episode 4. I enjoyed the level layout in 5 just as much as 4. I wish episode 6 was available since I would like to finish all of the games. I haven't tried Keen Dreams yet…but I am sure I will get there.
8. Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PS5) - 8/10
Another metroidvania with fantastic art. I know nothing of Lodoss War but I still had a blast playing through this. The bosses were a lot of fun throughout the entire game. It was a bit on the easy side, but exploring the entire map was great. Really recommend this one.
9. Spotto! (3DS) - 7/10
Another 3DS closing purchase. I believe this was on the DSi service and it's a small puzzle game where you toss bombs up at ghosts. This gets extremely tricky by the end of the game and had to power through since I didn't see any other videos or write-ups of this game. Unique and trick, worth a go.
10. Chronos: Before the Ashes (PS4) - 8/10
Had no idea this was originally a VR game and I had no idea that this was tied into the Remnant games. It's a more simplified Souls game with similar combat and less complex leveling. The unique feature is that each time you die, your character grows 1 year older. There were a few bosses that gave me a challenge but overall I think I died 10ish times ( I was 32 when I finished). I don't see this game talked about much and the trophy completion was pretty low. Might be a hidden gem and I would really recommend giving it a go. I might even pick up the VR version on the Quest store down the road.
11. Prehistoric Dude (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Not sure how I picked this game up but ended up enjoying it for what it is. Basically a super simple metroidvania. Everything in it is quite easy and the challenge is finding the secrets and getting 100% on the map. There were 3 bosses and they were all pretty easy. Should be pretty cheap on Steam if interested.
12. Nixxsz Castle (Steam Deck) - 7/10
I want to say this was recommended somewhere on here. It's basically a short punishing platformer where you need pixel perfect jumps. I had to put it down a few times due to the frustrating nature of the game. When you eventually overcome the castle, it is a nice rewarding feeling. It's usually available for under a buck and I think it's well worth that price See if you can get all the trophies and make it to the end!
13. Cats Hidden in Bali (Steam Deck) - 7/10
Random find on Steam and had a blast for the 30 or so minutes it took to find all the cats. Super basic game with 1 image and finding 100 cats along with a few random secret trophies. They should just combine all of the Hidden Cat games into one package…but whatever. Fun if you like finding games.
14. Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island (Steam Deck) - 8/10
Finally gave this one a go after hearing people love it. It's short, cute and has a lot of charm. I think the whole thing took maybe an hour to get through. I didn't love it as much as others, but it's definitely worth a play. I'll probably play eps 2/3 soon.
15. Steel Diver (3DS) - 7/10
Have had this in my 3DS library for awhile. Basically a tactical submarine sim game with some challenging moments, especially in the end game. The final level/boss was extremely difficult. Once you get the controls and vibe of the game down, it's pretty unique and can be fun. Not a super long experience and you can still find it on eBay for a few bucks.
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Midn1ght
Member
Pantz
Member
4 games beat in January.
01 - Dark Quest (PC/Steam)
It's a basic grid based strategy game. Not much to it but has cool old school PC game vibes. I want to play the sequels, so played this one first.
02 - Miracle Snack Shop (XSX)
Korean visual novel. It had kind of sexy art for an Xbox game so I gave it a try. Story is pretty good in parts and boring in others. Girl #2 was awful... is someone like this popular in Korea? Just trying to do my part to support sexy stuff on Xbox...it's mostly hopeless.
03 - Miracle Snack Shop - Philia After Story DLC (XSX)
3 or 4 more endings and an outfit viewing mode where you can touch different areas and she will say something different depending where you touch. Pretty rare for something like this on Xbox.
04 - Ravenlok (XSX)
This is a good daily achievement game if you're into Microsoft rewards. At first this game had a fixed viewing angle at all times, recently they added a full rotating camera and I liked it way more. The mix of art styles is enjoyable to look at. It's a mid game with mid story but somehow the very end sent strong nostalgic emotions to me like as if was back in 1999, so it was totally worth it just for that feeling.
I'll try to pick up the pace a bit!
01 - Dark Quest (PC/Steam)
It's a basic grid based strategy game. Not much to it but has cool old school PC game vibes. I want to play the sequels, so played this one first.
02 - Miracle Snack Shop (XSX)
Korean visual novel. It had kind of sexy art for an Xbox game so I gave it a try. Story is pretty good in parts and boring in others. Girl #2 was awful... is someone like this popular in Korea? Just trying to do my part to support sexy stuff on Xbox...it's mostly hopeless.
03 - Miracle Snack Shop - Philia After Story DLC (XSX)
3 or 4 more endings and an outfit viewing mode where you can touch different areas and she will say something different depending where you touch. Pretty rare for something like this on Xbox.
04 - Ravenlok (XSX)
This is a good daily achievement game if you're into Microsoft rewards. At first this game had a fixed viewing angle at all times, recently they added a full rotating camera and I liked it way more. The mix of art styles is enjoyable to look at. It's a mid game with mid story but somehow the very end sent strong nostalgic emotions to me like as if was back in 1999, so it was totally worth it just for that feeling.
I'll try to pick up the pace a bit!
Midn1ght
Member
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Hustler
Member
Reserved. I haven’t done one of these in quite awhile. I'll list the games I completed in January. My hours are always screwy because I leave games idle while I'm working or step away to do other things.
1. Judgement PS5 -108 hours 9/10 - Absolutely loved this game. Wish I could've gone for the platinum but it's just way too long of a game and the side content is too much if I want to move onto other games. Can't wait to get to Lost Judgement here shortly after a few games, just need a break to not get fatigue with this genre.
2. Midnight Suns PS5 - 106 hours 8/10 - Really enjoyed the game, more than I thought I would given the type of game this is. I never play turn based strategy games in this type of genre. I earned the platinum in this one because I was determined and the Portal helped with that while watching TV. I was ready for it to end and wasn't happy I had to earn the Dark Side points to do it, that was the only downside.
3. Lies of P PS5 - 117 hours 10/10 My favorite game of 2023, wrapped up the Platinum with the 3rd playthrough in 2024. Rave review, can't wait until the DLC comes out and Lies of P 2 is here. Sooooo good!
4. Spyro 3 Reignited Trilogy PS4 - 30 hours 10/10 Wrapped up the Platinum, I was halfway through the game when I dropped it 4 years ago. Cleaned it up and now all 3 have platinums. Loved this series, only got fatigue because of doing all 3 back to back to back.
5. Xuan Yuan Sword 7 PS4 - 38 hours 7/10 Chinese speaking only game with English Subtitles. It was a fun game to play and i enjoyed my time with it, didn't overstay its welcome and no missable trophies was nice.
6. Wolfenstein: Youngblood PS5 : 16 hours 7/10 Good game to play Co - Op. Would not recommend by yourself, gun play is fun, over world and mission structure is crap, weapon leveling is crap, collectibles are crap. Still had a fun time, screw going for the Platinum.
7. Placeholder - Currently going for Final Fantasy 7 Remake PS5 Platinum PS5
When I have time I can list games I want to go for and backlog.... it's really long....
1. Judgement PS5 -108 hours 9/10 - Absolutely loved this game. Wish I could've gone for the platinum but it's just way too long of a game and the side content is too much if I want to move onto other games. Can't wait to get to Lost Judgement here shortly after a few games, just need a break to not get fatigue with this genre.
2. Midnight Suns PS5 - 106 hours 8/10 - Really enjoyed the game, more than I thought I would given the type of game this is. I never play turn based strategy games in this type of genre. I earned the platinum in this one because I was determined and the Portal helped with that while watching TV. I was ready for it to end and wasn't happy I had to earn the Dark Side points to do it, that was the only downside.
3. Lies of P PS5 - 117 hours 10/10 My favorite game of 2023, wrapped up the Platinum with the 3rd playthrough in 2024. Rave review, can't wait until the DLC comes out and Lies of P 2 is here. Sooooo good!
4. Spyro 3 Reignited Trilogy PS4 - 30 hours 10/10 Wrapped up the Platinum, I was halfway through the game when I dropped it 4 years ago. Cleaned it up and now all 3 have platinums. Loved this series, only got fatigue because of doing all 3 back to back to back.
5. Xuan Yuan Sword 7 PS4 - 38 hours 7/10 Chinese speaking only game with English Subtitles. It was a fun game to play and i enjoyed my time with it, didn't overstay its welcome and no missable trophies was nice.
6. Wolfenstein: Youngblood PS5 : 16 hours 7/10 Good game to play Co - Op. Would not recommend by yourself, gun play is fun, over world and mission structure is crap, weapon leveling is crap, collectibles are crap. Still had a fun time, screw going for the Platinum.
7. Placeholder - Currently going for Final Fantasy 7 Remake PS5 Platinum PS5
When I have time I can list games I want to go for and backlog.... it's really long....
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Oh, what the heck. I doubt I can finish this, but it's worth a shot. Here goes...
1. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (5h, 3 Stars). My second time through, and much less annoying now that I know the twist. I've got a soft spot for this one now. It's nice playing as an actual whip weilding Belmont in a Metroid-style game for a change. And while there are few progression-improving powerups, I like that it gives you time to breathe and just roam aimlessly in the castle. It's not Symphony, but what is?
2. Ittle Dew 2 (5h, 3 Stars). It's hard finding a good Zelda-like, but this one isn't bad. A completely open world with lots of secrets is cool. But the controls annoyed me somewhat. If you are going to 1) have knockback, 2) reset a room completely when you leave, and 3) make rooms fairly small, please program your game to keep me from getting knocked through doors! Also, while there are plenty of secrets, they got very repetitive after awhile.
3. QUBE 2 (5h, 2 Stars). A first person puzzle game involving creating different types of platforms on specific areas in a maze. It's easier than the first game, but I think it's also better. Most of the reason its easier is that the puzzles are more self contained, with fewer huge rooms that were hard to see exactly how everything could connect. So in that sense, it was less frustrating as I didn't end up needing to test exactly what height certain blocks are at when you need them far far away. The flip side is that there are only so many permutations of what can be done, so it isn't tough to get to the solution eventually. It's also more structured than the first game which helps from a "only have time to play for 20 minutes" perspective.
4. Octopath Traveler II (50h, 4 Stars). As much as I don't care for most RPGs, I loved the first one and loved this as well. The combination of open world, variety of skills, and the boost-break mechanic means the gameplay is far superior to the attack-attack-attack-heal routine that one often finds. And the lack of a boring RPG story helps as well. I think this one is easier than the first, unfortunately, and it clearly isn't as innovative. But on the flip side, 2x battle speed and 2x cutscene speed is something I'm not sure I can live without now.
1. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (5h, 3 Stars). My second time through, and much less annoying now that I know the twist. I've got a soft spot for this one now. It's nice playing as an actual whip weilding Belmont in a Metroid-style game for a change. And while there are few progression-improving powerups, I like that it gives you time to breathe and just roam aimlessly in the castle. It's not Symphony, but what is?
2. Ittle Dew 2 (5h, 3 Stars). It's hard finding a good Zelda-like, but this one isn't bad. A completely open world with lots of secrets is cool. But the controls annoyed me somewhat. If you are going to 1) have knockback, 2) reset a room completely when you leave, and 3) make rooms fairly small, please program your game to keep me from getting knocked through doors! Also, while there are plenty of secrets, they got very repetitive after awhile.
3. QUBE 2 (5h, 2 Stars). A first person puzzle game involving creating different types of platforms on specific areas in a maze. It's easier than the first game, but I think it's also better. Most of the reason its easier is that the puzzles are more self contained, with fewer huge rooms that were hard to see exactly how everything could connect. So in that sense, it was less frustrating as I didn't end up needing to test exactly what height certain blocks are at when you need them far far away. The flip side is that there are only so many permutations of what can be done, so it isn't tough to get to the solution eventually. It's also more structured than the first game which helps from a "only have time to play for 20 minutes" perspective.
4. Octopath Traveler II (50h, 4 Stars). As much as I don't care for most RPGs, I loved the first one and loved this as well. The combination of open world, variety of skills, and the boost-break mechanic means the gameplay is far superior to the attack-attack-attack-heal routine that one often finds. And the lack of a boring RPG story helps as well. I think this one is easier than the first, unfortunately, and it clearly isn't as innovative. But on the flip side, 2x battle speed and 2x cutscene speed is something I'm not sure I can live without now.
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SpiceRacz
Member
After wrapping up Castlevania Order of Ecclesia, I jumped right into Portrait of Ruin. Another solid Igavania. It's surprisingly short though and feels light on content. You can see some of the inspiration for Order of Ecclesia here (separate smaller levels in place of one larger map). There's 2 protagonists now and you can swap between them and have one AI controlled to fight alongside you. It makes for some interesting magic combos, but overall doesn't serve much purpose. Didn't find myself interested in the story either. The dialogue is bad and the characters are really bland. You can see the developers were running out of ideas by this point. Still, there's a good game here. I would rate it somewhere near the bottom of the Igavanias - between Harmony of Dissonance and Order of Ecclesia.
1) Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk(Switch) 1/2
- I genuinely like visual novels so I wanted to give this a shot and it was on sale for the Switch so a 2 for 1 bundle sounded good. The 1st game is very small in length, talking maybe 1 hour at best and it doesn't really do much. It just came and went. Maybe for people who suffer with mental health/psychosis can relate to the content a little more but this was started and finished with little to no real connection to the game. The art looks nice and it's a very digestible game(If you can call it that as you do nothing but watch, which is fine as a visual novel) but it just comes...........and goes. Pretty unimpressive game but I was hoping the sequel would do it better and well.....
2) Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk(Switch) 1/11
- Yeah the sequel doesn't do it much better. This does have actual length as in like 2 hours and even more if you truly want to see all the endings but honestly, you are better off watching these on Youtube. This one has some point and click potions and I can see there was more meat to the bone on this one then the original but unless you can relate to the content, it's story & message doesn't resonate. Graphics/art are the best part of this but overall, I came away pretty unimpressed with these two games. There is certain dialogue to answer and how to answer them that dictates the kind of ending you get and while it is cryptic in a way, the reward just doesn't do much at all. No real relation to the main character, no real care or connection about what they're going through. Underwhelming group of visual novels.
- I genuinely like visual novels so I wanted to give this a shot and it was on sale for the Switch so a 2 for 1 bundle sounded good. The 1st game is very small in length, talking maybe 1 hour at best and it doesn't really do much. It just came and went. Maybe for people who suffer with mental health/psychosis can relate to the content a little more but this was started and finished with little to no real connection to the game. The art looks nice and it's a very digestible game(If you can call it that as you do nothing but watch, which is fine as a visual novel) but it just comes...........and goes. Pretty unimpressive game but I was hoping the sequel would do it better and well.....
2) Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk(Switch) 1/11
- Yeah the sequel doesn't do it much better. This does have actual length as in like 2 hours and even more if you truly want to see all the endings but honestly, you are better off watching these on Youtube. This one has some point and click potions and I can see there was more meat to the bone on this one then the original but unless you can relate to the content, it's story & message doesn't resonate. Graphics/art are the best part of this but overall, I came away pretty unimpressed with these two games. There is certain dialogue to answer and how to answer them that dictates the kind of ending you get and while it is cryptic in a way, the reward just doesn't do much at all. No real relation to the main character, no real care or connection about what they're going through. Underwhelming group of visual novels.
Andyliini
Member
I don't think I can beat 52 games a year, but why not a least write in the games I have beaten this year:
Game 1 - Dragon Quest Monsters - The Dark Prince on Nintendo Switch
Fun game, mostly combat and monster ranching focused, the story is quite light. Works quite well as a side story to Dragon Quest IV
Games 2 & 3 - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on Nintendo Switch
I count these are separate games, since each one has individual end titles. Visual novels were well written, but there were a lot of story and meaningless banter to read through, it got quite tiring by the end.
Game 1 - Dragon Quest Monsters - The Dark Prince on Nintendo Switch
Fun game, mostly combat and monster ranching focused, the story is quite light. Works quite well as a side story to Dragon Quest IV
Games 2 & 3 - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on Nintendo Switch
I count these are separate games, since each one has individual end titles. Visual novels were well written, but there were a lot of story and meaningless banter to read through, it got quite tiring by the end.
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Adding 3 more to the list.
Cuphead + DLC (Switch) 2/11
Cuphead is a borderline-perfect game imo. It’s a perfect length, it’s got absolutely perfect gameplay mechanics and controls, and it’s got the perfect balance of difficulty, never being too hard. Plus it’s just a joy to look at and listen to. My only complaint is that I want more. 10/10
Bonk’s Adventure (PCEDuo) 2/11
My friend got me a TurboDuo in January, and my long-awaited copy of Bonk’s Adventure arrived last week. This game was worth the wait, especially when playing with an OG TurboGrafx controller with the little turbo switches. It’s got pretty solid gameplay, and it’s not too hard. But it’s so fun cheesing parts of the harder levels and bosses with the turbo attack-hover. I’m really excited to play Bonk 2. 8/10
Felix the Cat (Game Boy via Analogue Pocket) 2/13
I rolled this game with a randomizer app I have that selects a random Game Boy game from a complete list of all releases. I never even heard of this game, and this was probably the fourth game I rolled tonight that I didn’t immediately quit. Turns out, it’s a pleasantly competent platformer. The controls and physics are fine and reminiscent of old Hudson Soft games on the NES because—surprise—it’s a Hudson Soft game. What was really cool was how Felix’s character/vehicle sprite changed for almost every world, and had multiple versions based on your powerup. I’ve never played the NES version, but I’d assume the Game Boy game is modeled after it. Wasn’t too long, either. Beat the game in a couple hours. 7/10
It’s been a good few days of gaming recently.
Cuphead + DLC (Switch) 2/11
Cuphead is a borderline-perfect game imo. It’s a perfect length, it’s got absolutely perfect gameplay mechanics and controls, and it’s got the perfect balance of difficulty, never being too hard. Plus it’s just a joy to look at and listen to. My only complaint is that I want more. 10/10
Bonk’s Adventure (PCEDuo) 2/11
My friend got me a TurboDuo in January, and my long-awaited copy of Bonk’s Adventure arrived last week. This game was worth the wait, especially when playing with an OG TurboGrafx controller with the little turbo switches. It’s got pretty solid gameplay, and it’s not too hard. But it’s so fun cheesing parts of the harder levels and bosses with the turbo attack-hover. I’m really excited to play Bonk 2. 8/10
Felix the Cat (Game Boy via Analogue Pocket) 2/13
I rolled this game with a randomizer app I have that selects a random Game Boy game from a complete list of all releases. I never even heard of this game, and this was probably the fourth game I rolled tonight that I didn’t immediately quit. Turns out, it’s a pleasantly competent platformer. The controls and physics are fine and reminiscent of old Hudson Soft games on the NES because—surprise—it’s a Hudson Soft game. What was really cool was how Felix’s character/vehicle sprite changed for almost every world, and had multiple versions based on your powerup. I’ve never played the NES version, but I’d assume the Game Boy game is modeled after it. Wasn’t too long, either. Beat the game in a couple hours. 7/10
It’s been a good few days of gaming recently.
Midn1ght
Member
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SpiceRacz
Member
Spent basically the entire week playing through Super Mario Wonder. The game is a masterpiece of 2D platforming. It feels like it has hints of Mario World, Donkey Kong Country 2, Rayman Legends, Mario Galaxy, and Odyssey in it. I’ve always said, Nintendo is at its best when they’re trying new stuff and not just spinning their wheels. This is a great example of that. They throw new mechanics and level design at you constantly.
The only real complaint I have is with the difficulty. There’s a handful of 5 star levels, if you go looking for them. But even then, they’re not that hard.
The only real complaint I have is with the difficulty. There’s a handful of 5 star levels, if you go looking for them. But even then, they’re not that hard.
Jack Videogames
Member
7. RoboCop: Rogue City
20h-ish. Did my best to do as many sidequests as possible.
I feel your enjoyment of this game hinges a lot on you liking RoboCop and movies from the 80s in general. If you don't, you will find this game a clunky, outdated shooter starring a hunk of metal that moves like a snail in molasses, a kitschy yet weirdly enjoyable story, and a very forgettable "open world" that brings down the pace a lot between missions. If you're old like me, you'll likely appreciate how much of a labor of love to the original work this game is. So, remove a star if you're under 30 and/or you don't know/like RoboCop.
My Score: ★★★★☆
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8. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
17:28h. Normal difficulty. 66% of the game beaten.
While I wasn't sure (and still am not) of the art direction and the graphics (particularly the character models, that look like early PS3) I believe that making Prince of Persia a full 2D metroidvania was a right choice. The sense of urgency and powerlesness the original games conveyed is gone, of course, as there's no time limit - but the platforming is very, very good, even quite challenging sometimes, and the combat holds its own. The story is just serviceable, and the last boss looks downright goofy - but I did find a lot of enjoyment in this game. For those curious, a friend of mine took around 30h to 100% it, but I'm not the collect-them-all type.
SteamDeck: After fighting for hours with the UbiConnect installation not liking my WiFi and having to download using my cellphone as an access point, turns out this game works great in the Deck locked 40fps.
My Score: ★★★★★
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9. Far Cry 6
35:43h. Normal difficulty. Did everything except for races and supply drops, which I do not enjoy. Some incidental spoilers
Another game that I would never have played if it wasn't for GamePass. I was told the gameplay was pretty bad, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, though it IS classic Far Cry (minus towers) so if you are expecting something new... well, don't. The weapons are fun to use but some of them (la Varita, holy shit. If you combine it with the Triador Supremo that allows you to shoot through walls it basically trivializes the game from that point onwards. I killed Benitez without even seeing her from like 500m outside her base) are overpowered as all fuck. But I love map-conquering games so it tickled my pickle right.
The story... I was warned it was bad, but HOLY SHIT was it cringe. This game is pretty much The Outer Worlds: every named man in Yara is either evil, useless, cowardly, comedic relief, or disposable. Communism is heckin raderino and the bad guys are doing a fascism and an homophobia. You basically lead a handful of yass-slay-queen young racialized empowered wymyn to defeat the evil, evil men (plus a couple decorative women) including a canadian Donald Trump pastiche. The rapper group was particularly bad. The rapper girl (who is basically a foam-in-the-mouth rabid bitch) kills yaran Melania Trump for misgendering her trans boyfriend. And there's a drag queen character called Rosa Mel Paquete. Yeeeeah. That's the general tone.
I'm giving it 4 stars because I liked the gameplay, it had some fucking badass setpieces, and I didn't find any bugs, probably because they've been fixed already. But the story is aggressively bad. Give it a go if you have GamePass and you're willing to turn off your brain for 40h.
My Score: ★★★★☆
Original post
20h-ish. Did my best to do as many sidequests as possible.
I feel your enjoyment of this game hinges a lot on you liking RoboCop and movies from the 80s in general. If you don't, you will find this game a clunky, outdated shooter starring a hunk of metal that moves like a snail in molasses, a kitschy yet weirdly enjoyable story, and a very forgettable "open world" that brings down the pace a lot between missions. If you're old like me, you'll likely appreciate how much of a labor of love to the original work this game is. So, remove a star if you're under 30 and/or you don't know/like RoboCop.
My Score: ★★★★☆
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8. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
17:28h. Normal difficulty. 66% of the game beaten.
While I wasn't sure (and still am not) of the art direction and the graphics (particularly the character models, that look like early PS3) I believe that making Prince of Persia a full 2D metroidvania was a right choice. The sense of urgency and powerlesness the original games conveyed is gone, of course, as there's no time limit - but the platforming is very, very good, even quite challenging sometimes, and the combat holds its own. The story is just serviceable, and the last boss looks downright goofy - but I did find a lot of enjoyment in this game. For those curious, a friend of mine took around 30h to 100% it, but I'm not the collect-them-all type.
SteamDeck: After fighting for hours with the UbiConnect installation not liking my WiFi and having to download using my cellphone as an access point, turns out this game works great in the Deck locked 40fps.
My Score: ★★★★★
------
9. Far Cry 6
35:43h. Normal difficulty. Did everything except for races and supply drops, which I do not enjoy. Some incidental spoilers
Another game that I would never have played if it wasn't for GamePass. I was told the gameplay was pretty bad, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, though it IS classic Far Cry (minus towers) so if you are expecting something new... well, don't. The weapons are fun to use but some of them (la Varita, holy shit. If you combine it with the Triador Supremo that allows you to shoot through walls it basically trivializes the game from that point onwards. I killed Benitez without even seeing her from like 500m outside her base) are overpowered as all fuck. But I love map-conquering games so it tickled my pickle right.
The story... I was warned it was bad, but HOLY SHIT was it cringe. This game is pretty much The Outer Worlds: every named man in Yara is either evil, useless, cowardly, comedic relief, or disposable. Communism is heckin raderino and the bad guys are doing a fascism and an homophobia. You basically lead a handful of yass-slay-queen young racialized empowered wymyn to defeat the evil, evil men (plus a couple decorative women) including a canadian Donald Trump pastiche. The rapper group was particularly bad. The rapper girl (who is basically a foam-in-the-mouth rabid bitch) kills yaran Melania Trump for misgendering her trans boyfriend. And there's a drag queen character called Rosa Mel Paquete. Yeeeeah. That's the general tone.
I'm giving it 4 stars because I liked the gameplay, it had some fucking badass setpieces, and I didn't find any bugs, probably because they've been fixed already. But the story is aggressively bad. Give it a go if you have GamePass and you're willing to turn off your brain for 40h.
My Score: ★★★★☆
Original post
Last edited:
Jack Videogames
Member
35:43h. Normal difficulty. Did everything except for races and supply drops, which I do not enjoy. Some incidental spoilers
Another game that I would never have played if it wasn't for GamePass. I was told the gameplay was pretty bad, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, though it IS classic Far Cry (minus towers) so if you are expecting something new... well, don't. The weapons are fun to use but some of them (la Varita, holy shit. If you combine it with the Triador Supremo that allows you to shoot through walls it basically trivializes the game from that point onwards. I killed Benitez without even seeing her from like 500m outside her base) are overpowered as all fuck. But I love map-conquering games so it tickled my pickle right.
The story... I was warned it was bad, but HOLY SHIT was it cringe. This game is pretty much The Outer Worlds: every named man in Yara is either evil, useless, cowardly, comedic relief, or disposable. Communism is heckin raderino and the bad guys are doing a fascism and an homophobia. You basically lead a handful of yass-slay-queen young racialized empowered wymyn to defeat the evil, evil men (plus a couple decorative women) including a canadian Donald Trump pastiche. The rapper group was particularly bad. The rapper girl (who is basically a foam-in-the-mouth rabid bitch) kills yaran Melania Trump for misgendering her trans boyfriend. And there's a drag queen character called Rosa Mel Paquete. Yeeeeah. That's the general tone.
I'm giving it 4 stars because I liked the gameplay, it had some fucking badass setpieces, and I didn't find any bugs, probably because they've been fixed already. But the story is aggressively bad. Give it a go if you have GamePass and you're willing to turn off your brain for 40h.
My Score: ★★★★☆
Original post
No you know what? I actually want to rant a bit more about Far Cry 6. Yara is very obviously a pastiche of Cuba, and Far Cry 6 would have been the perfect game to explore a take on a communist dictatorship in the 20th century. The propaganda, the repression of homosexuality and students, the relocation of farmers, the forced redistribution of wealth... all of the game's issues would fit perfectly under that sort of atmosphere. But instead of that, they decided to make ersatz-Batista the villain and lots of stuff in the setting of the game make no sense if Yara is under a fascist dictatorship (US blockade? To a country that the Soviet Union actually denounced? Yeah right)
They had a perfect villain guy in there, Espinosa, this game's equivalent to Fidel Castro. The Legends fought the father of the current villain and put him in power because he was the smartest of them all. Espinosa could have had the power go to his head; having you fight alongside young repressed yarans and Espinosa's own old comrades would have been much more effective narratively. But no, after removing Papá Castillo from power he then drove the country to ruin. Not because he was a communist, mind; because he was a weak communist and he made the unforgivable mistake of opening the island to international trade with the West which made the soviets sadge. The "Legends of 67" spend most of the game pouting because they didn't let Lobo (The Che Guevara analogue) assassinate him before it was too late. They had a perfect setting but they had to do historical-narrative judo to it to turn it on its head. I don't know if they did that in order to fit their viewpoints or because they're scared of offending redditors. In both cases, I hate that very much.
Fuck this game. I'm retrospectively removing a star just because I'm mad. I'm not actually editing the post tho. Fuck that too.
Glass Prison
Member
February is a wrap... not finishing anything else this month.
February 2024 Roundup
Total: 10/52
Original Post
6. Crysis - 10 Hours - PC GamePass - Feb 2nd
Since its release in 2007, Crysis has been on my “one day I’ll manage to play this” list, but I never had the proper PC , and I purposely avoided the consoles/remastered versions, as I wanted to experience the original release without compromises.
17 years later and I finally have experienced it from start to finish for the first time, and it’s staggering how well this holds up graphically. I was so impressed with the game’s physics and draw distances too… while shooting at a boat from a very far distance (maybe 300 meters) I was still able to knock over trees and see the foliage moving during and after the fall.
The gameplay is short and the loop is simple, but it’s fun to figure out the best way to approach every encounter, and there are a lot of memorable moments too. Taking cover from a shooting helicopter inside a wooden shack while the explosions levels the whole structure around you is still incredible today and I wish more games could spare to put more focus on physics like this.
7. Pathologic 2 - 25 hours - Steam - Feb 4th
This game has been sitting on my backlog since February 2020. I bought it literally one month before the lockdown in my country, and much to my mistake I have tried playing it during the actual pandemic in 2020. Huge mistake… I could not bring myself to finish it and it actually made me feel physically unwell at the time, so I shelved it.
4 years later and I decided to give it another go, starting a new game. It’s a gut wrenching experience I’ll probably never forget.
I feel this is the title most deserving of the “Survival Horror” label I’ve ever played. It’s not scary at all, but it’s despairing and suffocating. Having to manage your hunger, thirst, exhaustion, while juggling all the quests to save the citizens, find a cure to the pest, and watching the city decay in a slow death is practically impossible for the first time players, and that’s the point of the game. It forces you to make hard decisions all the time, it makes you lose interactions that would probably be really important to the story, but would put your character in a difficult surviving situation.
It’s one of the most unique experiences I’ve had with videogames, but I would not recommend it to anyone.
8. Crysis 2 - 10 Hours - PC GamePass - Feb 10th
Unlike Crysis 1, this game has never been on my radar. The discourse surrounding it at the time of the launch never grabbed my attention, so to be honest I have never considered playing it. Now having played the first one for the first time (and the fact that this is also included in Game Pass with EA Play), I decided to play the whole trilogy.
Crysis 2 is weird. I think it’s a good FPS, but to me it feels like such a departure from the first game, especially contrasting with the first part of the first game that had more freedom. The suit mechanics are practically the same, but now the game has a very “modern game” approach to objectives, interaction and navigation. While the first one threw you in a cenario and let you decide how you wanted to solve it, this one is like: go to point A if you want to sneak, point B to flank the enemy, point C has a heavy weapon that’s useful against this enemy, point D you can explore to find collectibles. That happened even before I had a chance to look at the map. There are also some weird infinite spawning enemies that really broke immersion for me.
The physics are also very scaled-back in comparison with the first game. Graphics are still really good though.
9. Resistance: Fall of Man - 12 Hours - PS3 - Feb 16th
I just added this one to my PS3 collection, it’s one of the launch titles I never got the opportunity to play at the time.
I really enjoyed this game. It sets off to a slow start, but as you get to Manchester (Chapter 3) it really picks some steam up and never loses the rhythm again. Some of the battles are really cool with multiple dozen enemies coming at you at once.
The graphics and the controls definitely aged a bit, but aside from that it’s a really fun experience. Really solid PS3 launch title, it’s a shame it didn’t sell well apparently. Maybe this is a good candidate for a full blown remake or reboot with modern triple A graphics. Sony does need a good FPS game again.
10. Bayonetta - 11 Hours - Steam - Feb 20th
I bought this game on a Steam sale in 2020 and never touched it. It’s just not the kind of game that I usually enjoy, but I ended up having a good time with it.
The core of this game really is the over the top self aware campiness, and it got a few good chuckles out of me throughout the gameplay, though I must admit that I didn’t even pretend to care about this game’s story. I started reading all the books at first but they bored me and I just wanted to kill some angels.
March Preview:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (not sure if I'll be able to finish it though)
Crysis 3
Mario Wonder
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
February 2024 Roundup
Total: 10/52
Original Post
6. Crysis - 10 Hours - PC GamePass - Feb 2nd
Since its release in 2007, Crysis has been on my “one day I’ll manage to play this” list, but I never had the proper PC , and I purposely avoided the consoles/remastered versions, as I wanted to experience the original release without compromises.
17 years later and I finally have experienced it from start to finish for the first time, and it’s staggering how well this holds up graphically. I was so impressed with the game’s physics and draw distances too… while shooting at a boat from a very far distance (maybe 300 meters) I was still able to knock over trees and see the foliage moving during and after the fall.
The gameplay is short and the loop is simple, but it’s fun to figure out the best way to approach every encounter, and there are a lot of memorable moments too. Taking cover from a shooting helicopter inside a wooden shack while the explosions levels the whole structure around you is still incredible today and I wish more games could spare to put more focus on physics like this.
7. Pathologic 2 - 25 hours - Steam - Feb 4th
This game has been sitting on my backlog since February 2020. I bought it literally one month before the lockdown in my country, and much to my mistake I have tried playing it during the actual pandemic in 2020. Huge mistake… I could not bring myself to finish it and it actually made me feel physically unwell at the time, so I shelved it.
4 years later and I decided to give it another go, starting a new game. It’s a gut wrenching experience I’ll probably never forget.
I feel this is the title most deserving of the “Survival Horror” label I’ve ever played. It’s not scary at all, but it’s despairing and suffocating. Having to manage your hunger, thirst, exhaustion, while juggling all the quests to save the citizens, find a cure to the pest, and watching the city decay in a slow death is practically impossible for the first time players, and that’s the point of the game. It forces you to make hard decisions all the time, it makes you lose interactions that would probably be really important to the story, but would put your character in a difficult surviving situation.
It’s one of the most unique experiences I’ve had with videogames, but I would not recommend it to anyone.
8. Crysis 2 - 10 Hours - PC GamePass - Feb 10th
Unlike Crysis 1, this game has never been on my radar. The discourse surrounding it at the time of the launch never grabbed my attention, so to be honest I have never considered playing it. Now having played the first one for the first time (and the fact that this is also included in Game Pass with EA Play), I decided to play the whole trilogy.
Crysis 2 is weird. I think it’s a good FPS, but to me it feels like such a departure from the first game, especially contrasting with the first part of the first game that had more freedom. The suit mechanics are practically the same, but now the game has a very “modern game” approach to objectives, interaction and navigation. While the first one threw you in a cenario and let you decide how you wanted to solve it, this one is like: go to point A if you want to sneak, point B to flank the enemy, point C has a heavy weapon that’s useful against this enemy, point D you can explore to find collectibles. That happened even before I had a chance to look at the map. There are also some weird infinite spawning enemies that really broke immersion for me.
The physics are also very scaled-back in comparison with the first game. Graphics are still really good though.
9. Resistance: Fall of Man - 12 Hours - PS3 - Feb 16th
I just added this one to my PS3 collection, it’s one of the launch titles I never got the opportunity to play at the time.
I really enjoyed this game. It sets off to a slow start, but as you get to Manchester (Chapter 3) it really picks some steam up and never loses the rhythm again. Some of the battles are really cool with multiple dozen enemies coming at you at once.
The graphics and the controls definitely aged a bit, but aside from that it’s a really fun experience. Really solid PS3 launch title, it’s a shame it didn’t sell well apparently. Maybe this is a good candidate for a full blown remake or reboot with modern triple A graphics. Sony does need a good FPS game again.
10. Bayonetta - 11 Hours - Steam - Feb 20th
I bought this game on a Steam sale in 2020 and never touched it. It’s just not the kind of game that I usually enjoy, but I ended up having a good time with it.
The core of this game really is the over the top self aware campiness, and it got a few good chuckles out of me throughout the gameplay, though I must admit that I didn’t even pretend to care about this game’s story. I started reading all the books at first but they bored me and I just wanted to kill some angels.
March Preview:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (not sure if I'll be able to finish it though)
Crysis 3
Mario Wonder
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Last edited:
Andyliini
Member
Game 4 - Another Code Recollection
I count this as one game, since both games are played back to back with credits at the end of second ge only. Mice to finally finish them both, although the production budget must not have been high.
Game 5 - Gravity Rush 2
Loved the first one, and was finally able to play this one. I think I liked the first game more. This one dragged on, and should have been much shorter. So much busywork, bit the story and gameplay were fine.
Game 6 - Mario Vs. Donkey Kong
Played the remake. Fun game, but short. Was almost addicted until I beat it. Did not bother with Time Attack, though. Screw those.
I count this as one game, since both games are played back to back with credits at the end of second ge only. Mice to finally finish them both, although the production budget must not have been high.
Game 5 - Gravity Rush 2
Loved the first one, and was finally able to play this one. I think I liked the first game more. This one dragged on, and should have been much shorter. So much busywork, bit the story and gameplay were fine.
Game 6 - Mario Vs. Donkey Kong
Played the remake. Fun game, but short. Was almost addicted until I beat it. Did not bother with Time Attack, though. Screw those.
Dontkidyourselfjimmy
Member
Just beat sea of stars thought the music sounded similar to the sabotage never realised it was the same developers great game although the final boss was underwhelming.