Game 19 - Tetris Effect: Connected - Xbox Series X - Completed May 21st, 2021
I originally played this on the PS4 when it released, but I was sorely disappointed that it didn't have a multiplayer mode / split screen included. Now it has multiplayer included, and I finished the solo campaign levels. I'm such a weirdo sometimes. Anyway, the game was fantastic and a real spectacle. The music and visuals blend wonderfully and it's like making your own jams as you move the pieces. A real artful blend of something nostalgic (Tetris!) and blending it and new and interesting ways. I found that weed really helped my enjoyment of this game immensely, probably more so than any other game I've played while high.
Game 20 - Peggle - Xbox Series X - Completed May 24th, 2021
I popped into Peggle because it was on Game Pass. I haven't played this game in ages, and it still holds up really well. Lots of fun for what is essentially a cross between pinball and pachinko. Got the eye roll from the wife, because this is probably the least masculine game I've played in a long while. Game can still be really frustrating though, especially since all of the peg placements in each level are random so it sometimes just feels like chaos theory playing through everything. Definitely worth checking out (or checking out again if you haven't played it in a while).
Such is life in Atropos; Returnal is basically a third person Metroid + an Enter the Gungeon style Bullet Hell roguelite. While I'm.... let's say not a fan of the plot, the gameplay is solid, particularly the gameplay loop itself, which always leaves you wanting for more even though you will die a lot (if you're curious, I died exactly 100 times) and each death will likely set you back 1-2 hours. The graphics are top-notch too, though the promise of 60fps wanes soon; the game simply can't keep them stable through Act 2.
Returnal is easily one of the GOTYs and a total sleeper hit (I wasn't going to get it until I saw the reviews). A great new IP to add to Sony's belt.
I'm not good with horror games, but I still plowed through REVII because I want to play the one with the big woman (Which seems to be more action-oriented). And let me tell you - horror game buffs will laugh at me, but I found the first two hours of REVII the single most scary time I've had with a videogame. The setting was perfect, the boss fights were tense, being pursued by the Bakers was frankly unnerving. This was more or less up to the Margherite fight.
Then the game becomes action-y up until almost the end. The salt mines are basically a Metro game and the last two bosses are risibly easy. I don't even like horror that much, why am I ever so slightly dissapointed...?
21. Captain America: Super Soldier (PS3) - 7/10 - Actually kind of miss games like this. They are rarely good ,even more rarely great and most suck. I really enjoyed this one though. It's not as generic as the previews made it seem.
22. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Xbox 360) - 5/10 - Not much here. Bland and easy to button mash. Best to play on mute since the music and enemy voices are very repetitive.
23. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One) - 8/10 - The original game sure cleans up nicely. It's still a blast and really made me consider playing through 2/3 again. I have yet to play 5 and Judgement. I also remember Raam being quite hard when I played this back when it originally launched but found him incredibly easy this time. Not sure if I am better or the game is easier.
24. Ducktales Remastered (Wii U) - 7/10 - Graphics looks clean and nice and it updates the game in pretty decent ways. Still fun but feels way easier than on the old NES.
25. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Gamecube) - 7/10 - This game was hard as shit. It's definitely of the older gen mindset of figuring out what to do without anything really telling you how to do it. I failed many times and had to check youtube to see what the heck I had to do. That said, it's fun and the production is fantastic for its time.
26. Past Cure (PS4) - 5/10 - Not a bad game until you get to the stealthy segments and it is basically broken hell from there on out.
27. Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3) - 6/10 - Production on this was flashy and fun. The story is all over the map but I was in for the ride. Game definitely got repetitive felt longer than it actually was.
28. The Simpsons: Bart vs the World (NES) - 6/10 - Hard as hell and the controls are super touchy. I'm glad to knock this one off my list, I never got very far as a kid.
29. Where the Wild Things Are (Xbox 360) - 6/10 - Made for kids and my kids enjoyed watching me play it. I found it to be fairly braindead. Weird to take a short kids book and it turns into this.
30. Resident Evil: Village (PS5) - 9/10 - I ended up basically loving this game. It game me Dark Souls vibes, some PT vibes and then the silly over the top action stuff. The story ends up being complete nonsense but I enjoyed the ride. The combat could've been a bit better. It felt sluggish at times and was hard to respond to some of the monsters. I think the first 2 areas were definitely my favorite. As dumb as the story got...I think this ranks near the top for RE games with me.
Game 21 - Divinity: Original Sin 2 - PlayStation 5 - Completed Jun 7th, 2021
This game was... not as great as I was lead to believe originally. While it improved in a lot of ways over the first game, I felt like a lot of stuff really suffered in this game vs the first one. The good: more solid characters (although their stories are completely disjointed), better quest log system, more quest variety. The bad: zones that lock you out (each "chapter" has it's own zone, and once finished you cannot go back), annoying puzzles that typically made no sense whatsoever, buggy physics system - especially when stairs were involved, buggy quest dialog that broke on more than one occasion for me, boring soundtrack, ending made no sense, and permadeath of party members randomly happens behind failed persuasion checks. I wouldn't say that I disliked this game, but it's definitely not as good as the previous entry. A shame, really as I really liked the first one immensely.
20. Resident Evil VII -- 9.5/10
Played this again in preparation for Village, felt even better than when I first beat it last year. Both hilarious and creepy at the same time.
21. Resident Evil VII DLC -- 8.5/10
Fun additions to the base game.
22. Cuphead -- 9/10
Finally beat this bitch after giving up a couple of years ago. Tough as nails, but oh-so charming.
23. NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... -- 10/10
l can't put it into words how much I love this game and I didn't even play the original.
24. New Pokemon Snap -- 9.5/10
I'm not kidding with the score, this game is legit. Pokemon Snap on the N64 is one of my favorites from that era and New Pokemon Snaps is almost a perfect follow-up.
25. Resident Evil Village -- 9.5/10
What a wild ride! Game goes into very unexpected directions, but I dig it. Certainly not for the RE purists.
More than for its merits as a game, The Missing Heir is important as an historical curiosity, as it's a remake of one of the most venerable games of the genre, one of the "genre codifiers" after the Portopia Murder Case. The Famicom Detective Club games never left Japan before, and Nintendo made a remake with all bells and whistles; indeed, the game looks and sounds amazing for a Visual Novel, with very high-quality assets.
The gameplay? Well... have you played those porn VNs from the 90s whose gameplay consisted in "Talking" to people and "Thinking" about stuff, repeatedly, until boobs things happened? That's it. In order to advance, you have to select options from a menu repeatedly. Sometimes, there's a bit of Ace Attorney-style point-and-click investigation, but it's not common and not very well done. Fortunately, the great production and the interesting (though pretty predictable) murder mystery story make this a better-than-average VN - and its historical value by itself makes it worth playing.
Wow even though I play a lot of games, this will be a tough challenge
We're already 6 monts into the 2021 and let's see how i stack up. Admittedly, i've been studying and working in the same time so my total games played should be much lower than before...
1. The Medium (PC) | Febrary 3rd - 23hrs | 4/5
2. Worms Blast (PC) February 28th - 10hrs | 3/5
3. Command and Conquer Remastered Collection (PC) March 2nd - 25hrs | 5/5
4. Godfall (PC) | April 3rd - 9hrs | 2/5
5. Red Dead Redemption (Xenia-PC) | Apr 29th - 45hrs | 5/5
6. Red Dead Online (PC) | May 15th - 90hrs | 3/5
7. Heavy Rain (PC) May 18th - 13hrs | 4/5
8. Abzû (PC) May 27th - 2.5hrs | 4/5
9. GTA Liberty City Stories (PC) - June 22th - 13hrs | 4/5
10. GTA III (PC) - June 24th - 18hrs | 5/5
11. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (PC) - July 3rd - 52hrs | 5/5
12. Catsperience (PC) - July 5th - 3hrs | 1/5
13. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition DLC - Sam's Story (PC) - July 5th - 10hrs 3/5
14. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition DLC - Two Colonels (PC) - July 7th - 3hrs 3/5
15. Asssasin's Creed Valhalla - Main Game %100 (PC) - July 25th - 120 hrs 5/5
16. The Walking Dead The Final Season (PC) - July 30th - 10hrs 4/5
17. Spec Ops The Line (PC) - August 3rd - 11hrs 4/5
18. Doki Doki Literature Club (PC) August 3rd - 4 hrs 4/5
19. Marvel's Avengers (PC) - August 7th - 14hrs 2/5
20. Crysis (PC) - August 9th - 8hrs 4/5
21. Crysis Warhead (PC) - August 9th - 8hrs 3/5
22. Crysis 2 (PC) - August 12th - 13hrs 4/5
23. Crysis 3 (PC) - August 13th - 6hrs 4/5
24. Psychonauts (PC) - August 15th - 12hrs 5/5
25. Diablo II: Resurrected Early Access Beta (PC) - August 16th - 17hrs 5/5
26. Mirror's Edge (PC) - August 19th - 7hrs 3/5
27. Mirror's Edge Catalyst (PC) - August 24th - 32hrs 4/5
28. Double Kick Heroes (PC) - August 26th - 12hrs 3/5
29. Blair Witch (PC) - August 30th - 7hrs 3/5
30. Twelve Minutes (PC) - August 31th - 13hrs 4/5
31. Psychonauts 2 (PC) - September 7th - 28hrs 5/5
32. Carrion (PC) - September 10th - 6hrs 3/5
33. Gears 5 Hivebusters DLC (PC) - September 15th - 5hrs 3/5
34. Superliminal (PC) - September 18th - 3hrs 3/5
35. Night in the Woods (PC) - September 20th - 9hrs 3/5
36. Kena Bridge of Spirits (PC) - September 29th - 21hrs 5/5
37. Back 4 Blood (PC) - October 17th - 14hrs 5/5
38. Black Mesa (PC) - October 21th - 22hrs 4/5
39. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (PC) - October 24th - 23hrs 4/5
40. Celeste (PC) - October 31th - 7 hrs 5/5
41. Halo Combat Evolved (PC) - November 6th - 16hrs 4/5
42. Halo 2 Anniversary (PC) - December 2th - 13hrs 4/5
43. Halo 3 (PC) - December 6th - 12hrs 5/5
44. Halo 4 (PC) - December 8th - 9hrs 3/5
45. Halo Infinite (PC) - December 11th - 16hrs 5/5
46. Halo Reach (PC) - December 13th - 9hrs 4/5
47. GTA Vice City Stories (PC) - December 19th - 14 hrs 4/5
48. Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures (PC) - December 22th - 12hrs 3/5
49. Metamorphosis (PC) - December 23th - 3 hrs 3/5
50. Sigi A Fart for Melusina (PC) - December 24th - 1 hrs 1/5
51. Cthulhu Saves Christmas (PC) - December 26th - 7 hrs 3/5
52. Batman Arkham Origins (PC) - December 29th - 27 hrs 4/5
7:48h. Normal difficulty. Quite a bit of exploration.
AKA "the one with the giant woman"
This is not a good description, of course. After all, Lady Dimitrescu disappears from the game after the first 2h. She's missed at first, as she's the antagonist with the biggest presence and charisma of the game, but REVIII manages to fill the big lady-sized hole by never stopping throwing weird shit at you. REVIII is not really an horror game, more of a cheesy gothic/gorey action FPS with some scary setpieces. (Beneviento's manor, though... that shit is the bastard child of Silent Hill and Amnesia.)
A better way to describe REVIII is "tense". The game might not be scary, but holy shit is it tense. From the lycan assault in the first few minutes, to Lady Dimitrescu hunting you in her castle, the aforementioned Lady Beneviento's manor... REVIII never stops being tense. Even the hub area, the titular village, forces you to stay alert with the ocassional big bad wolf appearing. The graphics are fucking awesome (The RE engine continues stunning me, now with RTX)
I wouldn't say VIII is a 5-star horror game. REVII was closer to that. But it's a funnier, more complete game than its predecessor and while it takes a corny approach to horror, it's one that mostly works. Poor Ethan, though. I wanted to see more of him, but it seems he's definitely gone and he's been used as backstory for future games starring Rose.
24:48h. Normal difficulty. Pure Paragon playthrough. Romanced Liara, Freed the Rachni Queen, talked down Wrex, saved Ashley, saved the Council
Mass Effect shows its age, no mistake about that. Some systems are pure clunk, and no amount of 4k textures or lens flare can mask the barebones geometry or the fact that 90% of the optional "dungeons" use the same three designs. The Citadel is boring, most of the optional planets are boring, the sidequests are boring and samey. The art design is the paradigm of the "bald space marine" aesthetic of the late aughts, except they've removed the butt shots because well, 2021.
And yet, this is one of the best games ever made. The world (well, galaxy) building, the characters, their interactions, the sheer epicness of those narrative moments that direct the plot. This is Bioware at their best, before... well, before EA, before Andromeda, before Anthem, before the shit they're forced to make now. Few games today compare. I don't even care about the 4k support or the bells and whistles. This is the shit.
I think the world has been too harsh with Doom 3. It's definitely not a Doom game - but it's a pretty good game on its own merits. It's more of a Dead Space-esque survival horror, only you also have a shitton of guns with you. But there's not a "the only thing they fear is you" vibe - more of a "Oh shit oh fuck" vibe. Not helped by the fact that you can't see shit most of the time.
The game has its shortcomings indeed. It's a tad too short, the bosses are a tad too easy, the constant darkness is disorienting and the backtracking (and the lack of a minimap, something not really needed in other Doom games) hurts it a lot. Also, it really needs subtitles. But it's still a very fun game. If instead of Doom 3 it had been called Space Shooty it would be a classic by now.
31. Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters (PS3) - 6/10 - Average movie based game. Definitely a step down from the Captain America game I played. It goes for a God of War vibe and it kind of works but none of the environments really change and it gets a tad boring fighting the same robots throughout the game. Probably around 7 - 8 hour game. The last boss was challenging but everything else was fairly easy.
32. My Mom Hid My Game! 3 (iPad) - 7/10 - Simple time waster game. I didn't have any issues with any of the puzzles in this one. You can probably knock it out in an hour or less. It has a charm that is worth giving it a go. Plus it's free.
33. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (PS4) - 7/10 - Some of the graphics and cutscenes were really impressive. The campaign was pretty standard and I was kind of bored by the end and it was only about 5 hours long. I played it on PS5 and it had some issues playing the cutscenes which I found odd but overall it was a smooth experience.
34. Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii) - 2/10 - I thought the reviews might be tough on this game, even though I hated Secret Rings...but no. Fuck this shit game and fuck Sonic. I took a major break from Sonic games after attempting to beat all of the games in the series. I should've just quit entirely. This game starts fine, decent Wii graphics and cutscenes but then you play it and it just doesn't work. It's easy/short and mindless until you get to some of the final bosses. The precision required with a Wii controller is absurd and made me realize the game is just a broken pile of crap. The game was probably about 3 hours long too. Easily the worst Sonic game yet and one of the worst I have ever played.
It's getting difficult now. Managed to finish Limbo for Vita in one sitting. I needed a quick win. Amazing revisiting this game after a number of years. Getting use out of my Vita in 2021 is a great thing. Bought the game off the PS Store. I'm thankful it's still open.
Wow even though I play a lot of games, this will be a tough challenge
We're already 6 monts into the 2021 and let's see how i stack up. Admittedly, i've been studying and working in the same time so my total games played should be much lower than before...
1. The Medium (PC) | 3rd Feb - 23hrs | 4/5
2. Worms Blast (PC) 28th Feb - 10hrs | 3/5
3. Command and Conquer Remastered Collection (PC) 2nd March - 25hrs | 5/5
4. Godfall (PC) | 3rd Apr - 9hrs | 2/5
5. Red Dead Redemption (Xenia-PC) | 29th Apr - 45hrs | 5/5
6. Red Dead Online (PC) | 15th may - 90hrs | 3/5
7. Heavy Rain (PC) 18th May - 13hrs | 4/5
8. Abzû (PC) 27th May - 2.5hrs | 4/5
Main protagonist gets bullied by his mother and does whatever she wishes. Dirty mafia jobs? Yeah lots of them. Doing nasty stuff on behest of church, got it.
Liberty City being one of the worst planned cities in the entire GTA franchise, I had the pleasure of running around circles, trying to find my way. I guess that's another cool way to prove how crooked Liberty City's management is. After all, they're building expensive tunnels when the bridge is just enough for the city's needs. There are even protests, because the ferry workers know that their jobs will be gone if both the bridge and tunnel is active. Whatever, this game's city design should be in city planning coursebooks, to demonstrate how not to plan a city. Especially the final island, damn that's a puzzle of an island.
This game practically tells the backstory of the events that take place in GTA III. If you've played GTA III before but not LCS, I'd definetely recommended. I plan to play GTA III right after this game, and I think this will give me a new perspective when playing the III again.
Despite his affection to his mother, Toni is one hell of a cruel man. He never loses his cool, he never backs down from any job, even if means the death of thousands of innocents. He might be the most coldblooded GTA protagonist.
This game is definetely a must play if you're a GTA series fan! It brings out so many cool details about all these mafias you hear in other GTA titles.
Now on to the III and see our friends from LCS again!
10. GTA III 5/5
This was a replay. I had to play GTA III after playing GTA LCS, since the stories between them are intertwined. The main character in LCS practically becomes one of your quest givers and you work for him. Other various important characters such as Donald Love, Salvatore Leone and such are expanded in this game. There are little contiunity issues, bust mostly it was a fun experience to play GTA III again.
Especially after the fiasco of Cyberpunk 2077, these both games shined in my eyes. Why? Because a game from 2001 and 2005 literally have more open world stuff to do compared to Cyberpunk. Oh you can't ride subways or trains in CP? You can in III and LCS. Ferryboats? No problem.
You know the funnier stuff? NPCs in CP2077 are dead. Even the traffic is dead. It almost feels like the whole city is full of zombies. Reason is simple: They're like sheeps. They're not reactive. Not much coding went into their reactions.
GTA III? God, this game can become a chaos. Every NPC out there will have various different mild and crazy reactions based on what is happening around them. They may attack you, run, do crazy stuff. Cars? They will crazily escape, or leave the car and escape, or ram you to the death. Police chases? What fun. I mean, a police literally rammed me to death by throwing me over the sea. None of this stuff happens in Cyberpunk. Even police in Cyberpunk is dumb. Not only because they spawn right besides you, but also because they literally do not chase you with a car.
Everything you do in GTA III has a return. In the end, you can even get yourself tangled with FBI and SWAT teams. All you get in Cyberpunk is some weird teleporting one-shot killers, that's about it.
In short, Liberty City is much more of a living city than the Night City. I applaud Rockstar for giving their best effort in these games in terms of creating a fun open world experience. Even the radios, billboards are more interesting than Cyberpunk's night city. Why is there not a proper "talk show" in the radios of Cyberpunk? Where is our miniguns, flame throwers, rocket launchers and other various stuff in Cyberpunk? All these can be packed into a 2001 game but not in a 2020 game which had the pleasures of running on modern hardware. Weird, but the cold hard truth.
For the story... Yeah it tells a cool revenge story, but it lacks cohesion. Sometimes story is so apart from each other and transitions from quest giver to quest giver can be weird at times. Climax of certain quests are not portrayed the way it should've been. But of course, this was R*'s first attempt of creating a 3D open world game. So it didn't have to be perfect. Dialogues however are perfect. Pacing is a bit fast, that's all.
After seeing how the city has changed compared to LCS, I would say R* did a wonderful job in LCS to portray a past version of Liberty City. It truly feels like GTA III was completely designed with LCS in mind. Same for story connections, all of them was done perfect. You could see the vileness in Toni Cipriani's eyes in III, as he was such a person in LCS.
But Claude is not a saint either. He betrayed Kenji just because Donald Love, a rich, vile and cruel man ordered him to do so. All he wanted to get revenge, and it seems like there's no stopping point for Claude as long as he's getting his revenge...
11. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (PC) - 3rd July - 52hrs | 5/5
One of the best immersive narrative driven games I've ever played. I don't have much words. I almost cried! In terms of narrative quality, I would this on the level of RDR 2, which is a big feat by itself.
12. Catsperience (PC) - July 5th - 3hrs 1/5
A weird puzzle game where you control a cat. Puzzles are little bit rough and can be very difficulty and annoying.
13. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition DLC - Sam's Story (PC) - July 5th - 10hrs 3/5
Sam was always an interesting character throughout the main campaign, so I was excited to play as him. Unlike Artyom, Sam can actually talk with people. I didn't expect any miracles out of this DLC, but it was fun to play regardless. It wasn't too long or too short, but the navigation around the Vladivostok was a bit tough and I missed some question marks and got a bit mad due to the worse map design compared to main game. My only gripe is we didn't get to know more background info about Sam. I swear, the main game dialogues reveal more about Sam compared to this DLC... which is a bit rough
14. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition DLC - Two Colonels (PC) - July 7th - 10hrs 3/5
End of the Exodus chapter in my life. I'll forever remember this game. Thx A4
It's getting difficult now. Managed to finish Limbo for Vita in one sitting. I needed a quick win. Amazing revisiting this game after a number of years. Getting use out of my Vita in 2021 is a great thing. Bought the game off the PS Store. I'm thankful it's still open.
I need to do this. I've got a few big games I'm about to wrap up (mainly, Octopath Traveler and Tales of Berseria) as well as Resident Evil 5. But I'm still about 4 games behind if I want to stick to the "one game per week" schedule that this challenge is loosely based on.
Need to find me a quick and awesome game I can enjoy for a few hours and finish.
I need to do this. I've got a few big games I'm about to wrap up (mainly, Octopath Traveler and Tales of Berseria) as well as Resident Evil 5. But I'm still about 4 games behind if I want to stick to the "one game per week" schedule that this challenge is loosely based on.
Need to find me a quick and awesome game I can enjoy for a few hours and finish.
There's plenty of amazing short games out there to help with this challenge. I'm finding myself using the website Howlongtobeat at the moment to choose what to play. Not just for this challenge, but I just prefer shorter games in general.
Like you I have 2 big games going at the moment. Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Dragon Quest Builders 2. I want to play Dragon Quest 11 too, but damn I can only stomach one big RPG every year or two so this is getting overwhelming.
Game 23 - Resident Evil 5 - Xbox Series X - Completed Jun 21st, 2021
I played through this game in co-op with my son. It took us about 8 hours to finish, but that included spending 45 minutes on the final boss . Game was a lot of fun, but some of those boss fights (especially the last one) completely sapped almost all of the enjoyment from the game. The weapons were really good, and I'm convinced that the stun rod technically breaks the game. We didn't really care to find all the hidden treasures, but we got enough money to fully upgrade a few weapons which helped a lot. Inventory (as is always with these games) was a constant struggle, especially after buying both vest upgrades as we were constantly having to juggle things. I'd give this game a C overall, probably would have gotten an A without those damn obscure puzzle-combat-based boss fights.
Almost done with the Treasure Trove by now! Plague of Shadows gets a bit of flak for being a retread of the original Shovel of Hope (Instead of having completely new level layouts like the other two) but I think it's my favourite of the bunch, as using Plague Knight is a lot of fun and I liked the admittedly shallow story. If I had to pinpoint a problem, maybe it's that it's a bit on the easy side, particularly boss fights, which are a joke once you find the big boom powerup.
Game 24 - State of Decay 2 - Xbox Series X / PC - Completed Jun 23rd, 2021
I played this game when it first released a few years ago, but found it incredibly frustrating to keep everyone in my base alive and happy enough to continue moving forward in progress instead of constantly backwards. The game got a 60fps Series X path and I decided to give it another go. I feel like the game has improved tremendously since it first released - it almost feels like an entirely different game. My favorite QoL upgrade was the difficulty sliders. At the beginning of the game I was able to set a scale of things like how many resources there were, how difficult zombies would be to kill, how many plague hearts would be on the map, etc. I set it to what I thought would be fair but challenging (and then didn't change it again after that). Having that kind of direct control over the experience - making it as frustrating as I wanted was a huge help. I finished the campaign as a sheriff, which had some fun role play elements as well such as rounding up several police cars for my base and getting a 10 gallon hat to dress my main character in. Game ran incredibly well on the Series X but halfway through I switched to PC for that sweet sweet ultrawide resolution.
Cute charming indie game about a hero rescuing a girlfriend from the Dark Lord. That's not the real objective of the game, though. The real objective of the game is to unlock all 100 Endings. Some of them are as easy to get as stabbing a random NPC with your sword, others are faily obscure and involved. Most endings are full with memes and weird references so they're fun to watch.
I remember when I first booted up Tools of Destruction in the PS3 and I was like, man, there's no way platformers can look better than this.
I have never, ever been more mistaken in anything ever. R&C is beautiful beyond words. Leaving aside the rift gimmick, everything looks so clean and polished. The IQ is out of this world, and performance RT mode works like a dream. This, complimented by the orchestral music and the absence of load times, makes R&C one of the best playable experiences available, period. It really makes you feel the future of videogames is here.
Gameplay-wise? It's Ratchet and Clank. There's a lot of inventive weapons, though you're likely going to default to your old favourites (I like "fire and forget" weapons like Mr. Zurkon, myself). The story is pretty predictable, but in a nice, cinematographic way, and it's presented spectacularly. The new characters, like Rivet, don't feel forced in, and Rivet's stages are every bit as good as Ratchet's (Possibly better - the one with the big robot comes to mind)
All in all, a stellar game. This is what gaming used to be about; tight, memorable single player experiences. I'm going to buy Miles Morales just because of this.
Game 25 - A Short Hike - Nintendo Switch - Completed Jun 27th, 2021
I set out to play a short game, and I landed on... A Short Hike. The game was definitely charming with lots of cute pixel animals. The 3D environment was fun to explore and there was quite a bit to do. The objective is simply on the outside - climb from the bottom of the map up to the top of the peak. To do this, you need to collect golden feathers that are kind of like stamina wheels in Breath of the Wild. You're a bird, and you use the golden features to climb or jump higher. Along the way you collect various items to trade with the other animals in the park, usually for additional golden feathers. A really cute game that gets surprisingly dark if you look under the surface just a little bit.
Game 25 - A Short Hike - Nintendo Switch - Completed Jun 27th, 2021
I set out to play a short game, and I landed on... A Short Hike. The game was definitely charming with lots of cute pixel animals. The 3D environment was fun to explore and there was quite a bit to do. The objective is simply on the outside - climb from the bottom of the map up to the top of the peak. To do this, you need to collect golden feathers that are kind of like stamina wheels in Breath of the Wild. You're a bird, and you use the golden features to climb or jump higher. Along the way you collect various items to trade with the other animals in the park, usually for additional golden feathers. A really cute game that gets surprisingly dark if you look under the surface just a little bit.
I have just purchased this on Steam due to your review. I remember hearing about this game a while back and I may aswel give it a go since it's on sale.
In my spare time I have finished a few short games and also beat a couple of games I was part way through.
Celeste was a great game with some great platforming mechanics, interesting ideas and an emotional story that is relatable for anyone who has gone through issues with their mental health.
It Takes Two is one of the best coop games I have ever played. I enjoy coop that isn't just a shared shooting gallery. You genuinely cooperate to complete tasks and the creativity on display mind boggling. It takes mechanics, uses them and ditches them before it gets boring. Fantastic.
I completed Sound Shapes on Vita. Really loving my Vita at the moment and this was a game I revisited in one sitting. Highly recommended.
Finally I got round to playing Shovel Knight King of Cards. I've been putting it off because it was the final Shovel Knight game I have yet to beat. Shovel Knight in general is one of my fave games and this was another top addition to the stellar package.
Currently have a week off work so I'm deciding what to play next. I'm buying games faster than I'm beating them. Haha.
I enjoyed this game back on PS3 when I played through it once. I believe I got the game on PS+. Playing on PC is really transformative at 1440p and 144fps. Incredible experience that really holds up today despite the dated visuals. I was quite impressed with how detailed the world can be overall.
NieR Replicant is a strange goose. On the surface it looks really dated, and well, it is. The graphics are grey and uninviting, the character designs scream late aughts, and the sidequests are a backtracky, grindy, boring mess. Luckily the combat has been revamped and now it's as swift and satisfying as you can find in any Platinum game, which makes trodding through the boring parts much easier and fun.
But under all that jumble there's a good story, with a lot of heart, if depressing as all fuck. IMO, the "play through 5 endings to unveil the whole story" was much better done in Automata, but it was interesting to see the connections between Replicant and its sequel. I feel that if I were to play Automata now I would like it even more.
35:59h. Not 100%, but a pretty completionist run, with 24/26 sidequests completed. Normal difficulty. Oh boy. This game is impossible to discuss without spoilers, so if those are not your thing, go straight to the pretty little stars at the end. I have been debating if I should talk about this...
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PlayStation 5) | 11 hours | 4/5
A charming platformer that rivals the greats from Nintendo. Amazing use of the PS5's features, great use of the DualSense controller, innovative cohesion with what is terrific music. My only knocks are that it relies too much on its gated advancement, and some levels were a bit tedious
Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PlayStation 5) | 11 hours | 4/5
Better than the game it spun out of (no pun intended). It refines any rough edges while implementing the best features of the PS5 and improving upon character models. The story has heart, the combat is great, the music bumpin'
Days Gone (PlayStation 5) | 57 hours | 2.5/5
A game that doesn't really get anything gameplay wise wrong, but it doesn't achieve anything I'd consider innovative either. The story telling is very poor IMO, something Bend Studio needs to learn to execute more organically and with more compassion. I think "mediocre" might be the best word to describe it
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PlayStation 5) | 10 hours | 3/5
Good, not great as a kind of addendum to Uncharted 4. It gets the core gameplay right, the story is light, and it relied perhaps a bit too much on merely peddling around a kind of lackluster tiny open world
Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PC) | 5 hours | 2/5
If you've played Destiny 1 or 2 you know what to expect. Bungie is still failing to offer a compelling or even coherent story. I found myself tuning out. Some of the newly introduced mechanics enriched the game, however. PvP remains oddly limited and boring. Some of the added content that is available following the short story campaign is all grind for few rewards
Genshin Impact (PlayStation 5) | 12 hours | 3.5/5
Logging this now even though it's one of those games that are ongoing like a MMO. I wrapped up the introductory content and am working on the business of furthering the story and acquiring heroes, etc. It is a surprisingly well fleshed out game for something that's free - quality characters with full voice acting, great presentation value, deep and well designed systems, simple yet enjoyable combat, a large open world, etc. One spends a lot of time walking, even given fast travel options, and that thin veneer of design that nudges people toward the store is of course there. With just a tiny bit of QoL improvements this would be a 4/5, easy
Samorost 3 (PC) | 5 hours | 2.5/5
Another vibrant chapter in the series. Great art and music. Some easy puzzles, some on the tricky side. Amanita Design fixed some of the rough edges from 1 and 2. Unfortunately too many of the puzzles can be essentially failed, forcing one to go back and redo entire areas / puzzles to reacquire items if they don't methodically save at every single juncture. This made it occasionally frustrating and a struggle to get through at times, which was the exact opposite of the experience I had with the first two installments of the franchise
Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (PC) | 5 hours (first complete match) | 3.5/5
This second expansion adds a plethora of helpful and fun systems, fixes problems related to resources and diplomacy in the core game, and adds some rather effective leaders. In fact, it fixes so many problems that I think it's kind of shitty for Firaxis not to release at least a few of these system changes in an optional patch for all owners of Civ VI. But business is business I guess. It's very good, I think essential as it repairs so many issues with the core game.
The Banner Saga (PC) | 9 hours | 4/5
Phenomenal tactical strat game
GTA Online: The Cayo Perico Heist (PC) | 12 hours | 4/5
The most solo-friendly content drop for GTAO thus far. It has an amusing story with some funny characters and cameos by several real life celebrities. There is plenty of new content between the submarine, setup missions, and heist itself - which can be tackled in a wide variety of ways giving this update more replayability than the others. It's extremely lucrative, and through a partnership with Prime Gaming and GTAO promotions Rockstar pretty much tees this up for new players.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch) | 11 hours | 4/5
I never played the original so I don't have a point of comparison. However this was very well done. The mechanics are at time dated, but in a good Zelda way. The art direction is pretty and charming. The story just the right amount of old-school Nintendo. A few dungeons could have really used some more modern sensibilities in design while they were bothering to remake this, but perhaps that would be considered heresy to purists - I don't know.
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (PlayStation 5) | Around 30 hours | 3.5/5
Not as game-changing or entertaining as I was led to believe, but still a solid expansion for a good MMO. Some quality jobs and updates to existing jobs, the story is only so-so until what would qualify as the final act.
Cozy Grove (Switch) | 10 hours | 2.5/5
Kind of a poor man's Animal Crossing, but the art is nice and it keeps one busy enough day-to-day.
Returnal (PlayStation 5) | 20 hours | 4/5
Not quite a fan of either roguelike nor highly-difficult games, but this managed to ensnare regardless. Solid action, great visuals, fantastic use of 3D audio and the DualSense haptics. Needs save points or something. It's 2021 and we aren't playing games on a NES cartridge without a battery.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (PlayStation 5) | 18 hours counting part of an ongoing challenge playthrough | 5/5
We all played it. You know it's good, looks amazing, fun story, replayability, etc.
6:16h. Completed all side stuff, like the Fort Condor "tournament", the flyer search and the likes. Normal difficulty.
EPISODE: INTERmission (Seriously, Square needs to fire the person that names their games) starts like a light-hearted take on the FFVII world before becoming insanely depressing as always. Still, Yuffie's combat style is really fun and different from the normal game's, the Fort Condor minigame is fun (and I'm not usually one for gwent-type distractions) and more importantly, now that Square wasn't constricted by the need to add padding to FFVII's story to make several games out of it, the dungeons are much more varied, interesting and fluid.
Hopefully this is a trend that will continue in FFVIIR part 2.
feels like a mix of the style of Jet Set Radio Future, the combat of Infinite Undiscovery & the story beats of God Eater. it also has a simplified bond system akin to Persona 4. Music is nice; if not a little all over the place. Techno, Rock, Jazz & and some dubstep...sometimes mixed together for some reason. I Prefer my games to be in the 15 hrs. range I hate filler; and half of this is just that. so all in all a good game for me; but I won't replay it at least for a few years.
Okay time to go back to whole numbers for ratings, bringing back decimals was a mistake.
Also, inspired by the Metroid Dread reveal, I got back into 3DS gaming, which means I'll be playing a bunch of interesting games I missed out on in the near future.
37. Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS5) -- 10/10
Felt so nice @ 60 fps. My GOTY last year.
38. Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intermission -- 9/10
Level design was clearly improved from main game + love what they did with Yuffie as a character. Also, what the hell is going with the music? They certainly got very experimental with the jazz and metal stuff, I dig it. Great expansion.
39. New Super Mario Bros. 2 -- 8/10
Why didn't anyone tell me this game had the leaf/raccoon power-up in it??? Best NSMB game. Thanks Nintendo.
In all seriousness, that one power-up is like the only defining characteristic this game has. I like the NSMB games, but they all feel too similar and kinda bland. They really need to rethink 2D Mario in the future. Or maybe Mario Maker is the future, I dunno.
40. Metroid: Samus Returns -- 9/10
After following the Metroid Dread reveal thread for days I really wanted to try this game. Really don't know what some users were smoking, the game is great! Of course it's not as good as something like Metroid Fusion or Zero Mission, but that's a pretty high bar to set considering the source material (Metroid 2).
Really excited to see what Mercury Steam can do with Dread, now that they're not restrained by hardware or source material anymore.
41. Fire Emblem Awakening -- 10/10
Why the hell didn't I play this sooner. 3 Houses was my first FE game and I absolutely loved it, but I think Awakening might be even better. The pacing is just so good. Cutscene -> combat -> quick maintenance -> cutscene -> combat etc. Love it.
11h-ish. Amazing Spiderman difficulty. 100% of the map.
At first, I have to say, Miles Morales didn't resonate with me. It's not that I dislike the character itself - far from it, it's my second favourite member of the Spider-family. But the setting felt... weird. Like a Netflix show, trying to check all required checkmarks and showing us how great and fun life in the barrio is. Everything about the plot, from the Elon-Musk-alike villain, seems to be perfectly calculated to be as 2021's whitebread as possible. Also, all that "OUR SPIDER-MAN" thing detracts from the idea I've always had of Spider-man being the protector of the whole city. Is Miles Morales like Daredevil, going to micromanage the fuck out of a handful of blocks?
When I finally managed to get into the game though, my enjoyment improved considerably. The gameplay is every bit as good as it was on the main game, and doing air tricks is a good way to show Miles' exaggerated swagger. The graphics and sound design are really good (Though it shows its status as a launch game - it does not let you forget it's an upscaled PS4 title) and the story being more compact helps keeping it focused.
Not a game I would pay full price for, but worth it in a sale or as part of the Ultimate Edition.
I'm about to finish Scarlet Nexus myself. It's a weird mix of action-rpg and literal anime. There are giant swaths of the game that are complete character exposition that's told in this weird kind of stop-motion screenshot-driven visual novel. If you're expecting something with non-stop action, you'll be disappointed. If you're the kind of person who can appreciate a game that plays more like a slow-burn season of an anime, then it's definitely worth checking out.
Main reason why I adore latest installements are simple: AC was always about Isu for me. The whole concept of Isu always drew me closer to the lore of the universe, I always wanted more Isu content, because I feel like the potential is huge in that part of the lore. Rightfully so, they tapped into this potential and filled the game with lots of Isu content, which was a warm welcome for me. I'm not going to delve into details to not spoil the game, but if you love mythologies, this game is perfect for it. The symbolisms they used, the tie-ins they made are so original and creative, and I've never seen similar stories in any other form of media.
Main story, the Viking conquest was cool. Not something to write home about, and at some point it became stale, and the ending was a bit disappointing. The modern day and Isu endings made up for the weak main game ending.
I enjoyed the cairns, anomaly puzzles, mastery challenges and alike. I don't know why but I found them fun. I see them getting a lot of hate, but I guess each to their own. Mastery challenges were a bit over the board, but no one forces you to do them. I myself found them really challenging and rewarding because of the satisfaction I got after completing them.
So there we are. I would actually give the game a 4.5/5 due to being stale here and for having a subpar ending, but alas, this game is not a 4 star game in my eyes neither. So 5 stars it is. I'd say the game is near perfect, it provides everything you can want from a story and from a game. It has a part of gameplay that every type of gamer can enjoy.
I feel like I've been literally in Animus myself after this long journey. It can get tiring and burnt me out sometimes, but storyt has high-points that can hook you back up. I think pace was fine, but if you're like and try to collect all stuff, it can get tedious.
And here comes the bad parts: collecting stuff is actually meaningless. Titanium is hard to find so you will hardly max out your upgrades for lots of armor sets you can gather. At best, you can max out 2-3 sets. This tells me that they want to sell you titanium packs in Ubi store. No, I will never do that, dear Ubisoft. And its a disgrace, I finished and played the entire game with the same set of armors because I couldn't find enough titanium to max out a second armor. Instead I tried to spice up the gameplay by trying to max out different type of weapons. Its not like I needed another armor set, game becomes very easy if you do mysteries due to having lots of power points coming from them, so its kind of rewarding.
Mysteries were fun. Boss animals, funny side quests with quirks, tons of stuff to do. I always greeted them with a smile, so good on their part.
This might be the last single player focused AC game ever... The rumors about AC Infinite scared me a lot so I tried to enjoy this game to its max extent. I can see the effort going into the lore and stuff. I hope they don't turn the game into an online only experience going forward. That would be the point where I would leave the AC wagon I've been in for 13 years.
16. The Walking Dead The Final Season (PC) - July 30th - 10hrs 4/5
A fine closure to the series. Still nowhere near the first game. This was a lazy game tbh, writing and the story was kinda good, but it had so few "maps". for a game that only revolves around walking and stuff, you gotta bring more and different locations. almost half of the game takes place in that damn school. i didn't like that.
17. Spec Ops The Line (PC) - August 3rd - 11hrs 4/5
I last updated around the end of June. Here's what I've beaten in July so far. Had a load of fun this month. Looking for a few shorter games again for quick wins to the list. Any suggestions are welcome.
Doom Eternal (PC) ★★★★★
I finished this game off a while after the RT update dropped. DLSS and RT was a great way to enjoy the game.
New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS) ★★★★☆
It's been on my to play list since it released. The "New" series already felt stale because I had played the Wii release and later on the Wii U release. Despite the negativity surrounding this game I really enjoyed it.
Splinter Cell Conviction (PC) ★★★☆☆
Another game on my to play list since it released. The change in direction initially soured me, but playing this game for what it is (action stealth at pace) had moments of greatness, but something about the game still felt off to me. Good game, not great.
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) ★★★★★
I loaded up a save where I was about midway through the game. Pretty much played until I seen the end cutscene. Fun to revisit and amazing movement.
Halo: CE (Series X) ★★★★★
Played it coop with a friend. Buttery smooth, super clean image on Series. Only bad point was my friend not being the most reliable person in the world so it took forever. I played with the classic graphics and it looked even better after the recent updates to add missing effects.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (PS5) ★★★★★
I was hooked start to finish. Performance RT was what worked best for me although the 40fps mode was still nice. Highly recommend this game. May go for the Platinum.
I last updated around the end of June. Here's what I've beaten in July so far. Had a load of fun this month. Looking for a few shorter games again for quick wins to the list. Any suggestions are welcome.
Doom Eternal (PC) ★★★★★
I finished this game off a while after the RT update dropped. DLSS and RT was a great way to enjoy the game.
New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS) ★★★★☆
It's been on my to play list since it released. The "New" series already felt stale because I had played the Wii release and later on the Wii U release. Despite the negativity surrounding this game I really enjoyed it.
Splinter Cell Conviction (PC) ★★★☆☆
Another game on my to play list since it released. The change in direction initially soured me, but playing this game for what it is (action stealth at pace) had moments of greatness, but something about the game still felt off to me. Good game, not great.
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) ★★★★★
I loaded up a save where I was about midway through the game. Pretty much played until I seen the end cutscene. Fun to revisit and amazing movement.
Halo: CE (Series X) ★★★★★
Played it coop with a friend. Buttery smooth, super clean image on Series. Only bad point was my friend not being the most reliable person in the world so it took forever. I played with the classic graphics and it looked even better after the recent updates to add missing effects.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (PS5) ★★★★★
I was hooked start to finish. Performance RT was what worked best for me although the 40fps mode was still nice. Highly recommend this game. May go for the Platinum.
Not sure what you're into, but there are a couple of games that I just started. One is Narita Boy and the other is Death's Door. Both are very good so far. I'm loving Narita Boy. The only other game I'm interested in at the moment will come out in 3 days, The Ascent.
Okay time to go back to whole numbers for ratings, bringing back decimals was a mistake.
Also, inspired by the Metroid Dread reveal, I got back into 3DS gaming, which means I'll be playing a bunch of interesting games I missed out on in the near future.
37. Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS5) -- 10/10
Felt so nice @ 60 fps. My GOTY last year.
38. Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intermission -- 9/10
Level design was clearly improved from main game + love what they did with Yuffie as a character. Also, what the hell is going with the music? They certainly got very experimental with the jazz and metal stuff, I dig it. Great expansion.
39. New Super Mario Bros. 2 -- 8/10
Why didn't anyone tell me this game had the leaf/raccoon power-up in it??? Best NSMB game. Thanks Nintendo.
In all seriousness, that one power-up is like the only defining characteristic this game has. I like the NSMB games, but they all feel too similar and kinda bland. They really need to rethink 2D Mario in the future. Or maybe Mario Maker is the future, I dunno.
40. Metroid: Samus Returns -- 9/10
After following the Metroid Dread reveal thread for days I really wanted to try this game. Really don't know what some users were smoking, the game is great! Of course it's not as good as something like Metroid Fusion or Zero Mission, but that's a pretty high bar to set considering the source material (Metroid 2).
Really excited to see what Mercury Steam can do with Dread, now that they're not restrained by hardware or source material anymore.
41. Fire Emblem Awakening -- 10/10
Why the hell didn't I play this sooner. 3 Houses was my first FE game and I absolutely loved it, but I think Awakening might be even better. The pacing is just so good. Cutscene -> combat -> quick maintenance -> cutscene -> combat etc. Love it.
45. Dead Space (XBOX BC) -- 9/10
Decided to finally try this after the remake announcement. Game's definitely not over hyped. One of the best survival horror games I've played.
46. Panzer Dragoon Remake -- 7/10
Quite fun, but maybe a bit too shallow mechanics wise? Load times are fucking atrocious on the Switch.
A very neat little game that is perfect to relax to. Can be played in a single sitting, spread it over a few or just chip away at it between bigger games. It's great, you basically go around exploring islands and doing a bunch of side quests for people. No real combat, it's all exploration and discovery focused.
A Way Out (Series X) ★★★★★
Coop game where you play split screen. Me and a buddy were gripped on this game. Beat it in two sittings. No spoilers, but it starts off with two men trying to break out of jail. Story is very easy to follow and it's simplicity was appreciated. Once again not a combat focused game, but a trus coop experience where you work together to work through situations.
Resistance Fall of Man (PS3) ★★★☆☆
Had this since launch on PS3 and never finished it. Decided to give it a run through. I only stuck around because of my stubbornness to finish the game, but it is still good and I had fun with it. First person shooter with crazy weapons and enemies.
Game 29 - Star Trek (2013) - PC Steam - Completed July 29th, 2021
I watched the 2009 Star Trek movie in 4K the other night, and said to my wife: "Remember the one right after this where they fight the Gorn but the Gorn are dinosaurs and kidnap the Vulcan scientist? No?" Turns out, I was thinking of this game! While notoriously buggy (and no longer available for sale digitally!) I actually really liked this game. Full voice cast of actors from the movies, big setpieces, not very long - about 6 hours - and a lot of fun for a third person action adventure cover shooter. Played flawlessly on my PC, the game was very technically competent for it's time. Supported ultrawidescreen resolution right out of the box without tinkering - something not all modern games even do. Ran at 200-550 fps unlocked on my PC which was awesome. A real technical showcase from nearly 10 years ago!
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PlayStation 5) | Jan 4th - 11 hours | 4/5
A charming platformer that rivals the greats from Nintendo. Amazing use of the PS5's features, great use of the DualSense controller, innovative cohesion with what is terrific music. My only knocks are that it relies too much on its gated advancement, and some levels were a bit tedious
Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PlayStation 5) | Jan 7th - 11 hours | 4/5
Better than the game it spun out of (no pun intended). It refines any rough edges while implementing the best features of the PS5 and improving upon character models. The story has heart, the combat is great, the music bumpin'
Days Gone (PlayStation 5) | Jan 14th - 57 hours | 2.5/5
A game that doesn't really get anything gameplay wise wrong, but it doesn't achieve anything I'd consider innovative either. The story telling is very poor IMO, something Bend Studio needs to learn to execute more organically and with more compassion. I think "mediocre" might be the best word to describe it
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PlayStation 5) | Jan 27th - 10 hours | 3/5
Good, not great as a kind of addendum to Uncharted 4. It gets the core gameplay right, the story is light, and it relied perhaps a bit too much on merely peddling around a kind of lackluster tiny open world
Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PC) | Feb 1st - 5 hours | 2/5
If you've played Destiny 1 or 2 you know what to expect. Bungie is still failing to offer a compelling or even coherent story. I found myself tuning out. Some of the newly introduced mechanics enriched the game, however. PvP remains oddly limited and boring. Some of the added content that is available following the short story campaign is all grind for few rewards
Genshin Impact (PlayStation 5) | Feb 9th - 12 hours | 3.5/5
Logging this now even though it's one of those games that are ongoing like a MMO. I wrapped up the introductory content and am working on the business of furthering the story and acquiring heroes, etc. It is a surprisingly well fleshed out game for something that's free - quality characters with full voice acting, great presentation value, deep and well designed systems, simple yet enjoyable combat, a large open world, etc. One spends a lot of time walking, even given fast travel options, and that thin veneer of design that nudges people toward the store is of course there. With just a tiny bit of QoL improvements this would be a 4/5, easy
Samorost 3 (PC) | Feb 14th - 5 hours | 2.5/5
Another vibrant chapter in the series. Great art and music. Some easy puzzles, some on the tricky side. Amanita Design fixed some of the rough edges from 1 and 2. Unfortunately too many of the puzzles can be essentially failed, forcing one to go back and redo entire areas / puzzles to reacquire items if they don't methodically save at every single juncture. This made it occasionally frustrating and a struggle to get through at times, which was the exact opposite of the experience I had with the first two installments of the franchise
Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (PC) | Feb 15th - 5 hours (first complete match) | 3.5/5
This second expansion adds a plethora of helpful and fun systems, fixes problems related to resources and diplomacy in the core game, and adds some rather effective leaders. In fact, it fixes so many problems that I think it's kind of shitty for Firaxis not to release at least a few of these system changes in an optional patch for all owners of Civ VI. But business is business I guess. It's very good, I think essential as it repairs so many issues with the core game.
The Banner Saga (PC) | Feb 22nd - 9 hours | 4/5
Phenomenal tactical strat game
GTA Online: The Cayo Perico Heist (PC) | Apr 22nd - 12 hours | 4/5
The most solo-friendly content drop for GTAO thus far. It has an amusing story with some funny characters and cameos by several real life celebrities. There is plenty of new content between the submarine, setup missions, and heist itself - which can be tackled in a wide variety of ways giving this update more replayability than the others. It's extremely lucrative, and through a partnership with Prime Gaming and GTAO promotions Rockstar pretty much tees this up for new players.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch) | April 28th - 11 hours | 4/5
I never played the original so I don't have a point of comparison. However this was very well done. The mechanics are at time dated, but in a good Zelda way. The art direction is pretty and charming. The story just the right amount of old-school Nintendo. A few dungeons could have really used some more modern sensibilities in design while they were bothering to remake this, but perhaps that would be considered heresy to purists - I don't know.
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (PlayStation 5) | May 9th - Around 30 hours | 3.5/5
Not as game-changing or entertaining as I was led to believe, but still a solid expansion for a good MMO. Some quality jobs and updates to existing jobs, the story is only so-so until what would qualify as the final act.
Cozy Grove (Switch) | May 15th - 10 hours | 2.5/5
Kind of a poor man's Animal Crossing, but the art is nice and it keeps one busy enough day-to-day.
Returnal (PlayStation 5) | June 30th - 20 hours | 4/5
Not quite a fan of either roguelike nor highly-difficult games, but this managed to ensnare regardless. Solid action, great visuals, fantastic use of 3D audio and the DualSense haptics. Needs save points or something. It's 2021 and we aren't playing games on a NES cartridge without a battery.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (PlayStation 5) | June 14th - 18 hours counting part of an ongoing challenge playthrough | 5/5
We all played it. You know it's good, looks amazing, fun story, replayability, etc.
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (PC) | July 29th - 21 hours | 5/5
You're still the one, I want to talk to in bed. Still the one, that turns my head. We're still having fun, and you're still the one
Assassin's Creed Valhalla (PlayStation 5) | July 31st - about 25 hours, I spent a lot of time idle so it's a guestimate | 2.5/5
While I can objectively say this game has many quality aspects, in everything from technical feats to story, it's just too much of the same formula we've been getting from Ubisoft for too many years with this franchise. I had my fun with it, it looks sounds and plays well, but it is time for Ubisoft to either evolve this baby or iterate at a much more expansive scale then they tend to
Progress has slowed with the nice summer weather, but I finished a couple of fantastic games recently. I would recommend both to anyone.
28. Death's Door (PC) - 10hrs
I loved this game. It's very Zelda-esque. Level design is fantastic. I felt like a kid again finding secrets and solving puzzles to unlock keys and new paths forward. Boss design is great as well, just hard enough that you have to learn the patterns to succeed. And the music ties it together creating a wonderful experience with a perfect length (for me) of about 10 hrs.
29. Narita Boy (PC) - 8hrs
Another fantastic game that drew me into its world. The music was the star of the show. This is the best soundtrack of the year imo. That, plus fun combat and pixel art with the crt filter worked it's magic.
Game 32 - Final Fantasy 2 Pixel Remaster - PC Steam - Completed Aug 9th, 2021
I've gotta say, this is my favorite version of Final Fantasy 2. Just like the first game in this remastered series, the music was easily the stand out quality of this game. While not every track is as iconic as the first game, there are some real gems in this one that stand out vividly. The theme of the final dungeon, for example, had a full choir going which was surprising and delightful. The character sprites in this game I actually preferred to the LEGO looking sprites of the PSP release. I used a custom font this time around (from Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, originally) and it was a superb fit. Now I can't wait to dive into the third game as I haven't played it in 2D in decades.
. Game was a lot of fun, but some of those boss fights (especially the last one) completely sapped almost all of the enjoyment from the game. The weapons were really good, and I'm convinced that the stun rod technically breaks the game. We didn't really care to find all the hidden treasures, but we got enough money to fully upgrade a few weapons which helped a lot. Inventory (as is always with these games) was a constant struggle, especially after buying both vest upgrades as we were constantly having to juggle things. I'd give this game a C overall, probably would have gotten an A without those damn obscure puzzle-combat-based boss fights.
