dmaul1114
Banned
I like having a thread to track what I play and finish each year, so posting one here if anyone else wants to do the same.
This was a thread I made over on Bluray.com forums early in the year, but I stopped bothering with site as the gaming subforums are too low traffic to bother with.
Games Beaten
1. Final Fantasy 16 (PS5)-Had a really good time with this. Was worried it wouldn't be for me as I'm not big into action games, but I liked the demo so I grabbed it in a Black Friday sale. Combat was fine, even playing on action oriented mode. Just polished it off tonight, took me 57 hours. Did all the sidequests, but not all the hunts (mostly just those tied to sidequests, and a few more to get mats to craft the best sword at the end. Story was nothing special, but interesting enough to keep me going and I liked the characters.
2. Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart (PS5)- fired this up as a palate cleanser via PS+ Extra as I didn't want to dive into another big game before FF7 Rebirth. Ended up blowing throw it over a couple of weeks and mostly having a great time with it. I didn't care to 100% it with the collectibles, but did do all the optional missions and the bronze, silver and gold arena challenges. Won't mess with challenge mode either (NG+).
3. Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5)-It was alright. Can't complain for free. Dark and depressing, just didn't like the chase sequences as they were tedious and mostly trial and error since I suck at making mental maps, especially when corridors and rooms are so samey looking.
4. Lost in Random (XSX-Gamepass)-it was alright. Liked the Tim Burton-ish setting and characters and story was ok. Didn't like the combat much at all, put it on easy around halfway through to speed that up, and ending was very short and meh. But fun enough for a shorter Gamepass game as I burn time until Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth next week.
5. Balatro (Switch)- I'll go ahead and post this as "beat" as finally won a run (won with 2 other decks since). Like most roguelites/likes, tons more to do but I'll never clear it all so I consider them "beaten" once a first run is cleared generally. Great game, and I'll play lots more.
6. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (PS5)- Loved this one! Easily my favorite game of this generation so far. Hit the credits at around 117 hours having done most things I cared to do before moving on. Still need to go do the final Queen’s Blood foe, maybe see how bad the mini game scores are for the final side quest and want to replay chapter 12 with Tifa as the date (got Aerith as both dates in my playthrough). Don’t care to finish the VR challenges (did all the summons ones) nor to play on Hard mode.
7. Open Roads (XSX|Gamepass)-good palate cleanser game after the long time I spent with FF7 Rebirth. Just 2-3ish hours, narrative driven “walking sim” type game in the vein of Gone Home and similar. Nothing great, but was worth a run through via Gamepass.
8. Stellar Blade (PS5)--really enjoyed this! Only gripes would be the janky at times platforming, big difficulty spike for the last few bosses and the story being a bit meh (with pretty bad voice acting). Otherwise looks amazing, fun to play and liked the setting and characters and most action games aren’t anything special on the story front anyway. Solid 9/10 game for me.
9. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (XSX-GamePass)-liked it a lot overall, though just for the content/graphics/atmoshpere/sound etc. as the gameplay is meh. But at least the combat and puzzles were easy as I remember getting frustrated sometimes in the first game. I liked it being easier here and just being able to focus on the elements I did enjoy. Not a game I’d be happy paying full price for, but enjoyed my 7+ hours with it via Gamepass.
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)-solid overall, but reminded me I’m just not that into tricky platformers nor Metroidvanias these days. Likely wouldn’t have finished it without the lower difficulty/accessiblity options so glad it had those. But very solid game with good map design etc. Just a genre I’m not that into these days I guess. A bit long for the genre 2 at 20 hours for me to finish without being anywhere near 100% on collecting things or exploring the map.
11. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (XSX-Gamepass)-really loved this one, even better than Fallen Order. Had a bit of a slow start, but I got sucked in there after. Thought gameplay wise it was a lot better than the first. Felt less Souls-lite and more Uncharted with the combat seeming easier (stayed on default the whole time, while I dropped difficulty several times in the first one) which I enjoyed more. Only nitpick is the map kind of sucks and not having a mini-map or compass really sucks and made finding missions objectives and especially sidequest stuff annoying. Didn’t do much side stuff after my first 10 hours or so as I wasn’t finding it that engaging or the rewards (mostly cosmetics) worth it. But that’s fine as I’m not that big on side content unless it has strong story lines anyway. Xbox stats page says I played 30 hours even without doing much of that. I’ll mess around with some side stuff this weekend and see if I want to do more or move on to something new.
12. God of War: Valhalla (PS5)--Damn that was a really good DLC--especially for a free DLC. Addicting rogue-like, with permanent unlocks/upgrades which I love. And more story and character development than I was expecting from that type of DLC. Will play a bit more as I definitely have more Kratos' memories and dialogue bits to see/hear, but won't 100% it as there's still a lot of stuff to unlock/upgrade and I've got other games to get to. Edit
id a bunch more runs and exhausted the dialogue/story bits. Amazing DLC.
13. Starfield Shattered Space (XSX)-- mostly enjoyed it. Did all the sidequests I came across and the main story. Didn’t bother exploring much as that’s not my bag. Overall, it was a solid 5th faction question line, essentially. I’d put it as third best, behind Crimson Skies and UC Vanguard.
14. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XSX-Gamepass)- Never played the orginal for whatever reason and absolutely loved it! Josef Fares is 3 for 3 with me as I had a good time with A Way Out with a friend and especially loved It Takes Two.
15. Dead Space (XSX-Gamepass)-never played any of these back in the day, so gave the remake a go during spooky season and really enjoyed it! I’m not the biggest horror/survival horror game fan, but really enjoyed this one. Hope at least DS 2 gets a remake (heard the 3rd was a let down from a friend).
Games Abandoned
1. Jusant (XSX-GamePass)-just wasn't really enjoying the climbing puzzles/figuring out where to go, story bits from reading letters etc. you find weren't grabbing me etc.
2. Everything PSVR2- tried a couple more times to get back into this and I just can't. Accepting I just don't enjoy VR as I don't like being that shut off from things, I get too sweaty wearing these headsets with anything active, some motion sickness with many of the games like the RE ones I do kind of enjoy, get very disctracted by all the graininess, small sweet spot/clear field of view etc. Just not my cup of tea and was a dumb ass purchase given my PSVR1 gathered dust before I sold it----definition of insanity. Anyway, sold my PSVR2 off a while back so done with it in any case.
This was a thread I made over on Bluray.com forums early in the year, but I stopped bothering with site as the gaming subforums are too low traffic to bother with.
Games Beaten
1. Final Fantasy 16 (PS5)-Had a really good time with this. Was worried it wouldn't be for me as I'm not big into action games, but I liked the demo so I grabbed it in a Black Friday sale. Combat was fine, even playing on action oriented mode. Just polished it off tonight, took me 57 hours. Did all the sidequests, but not all the hunts (mostly just those tied to sidequests, and a few more to get mats to craft the best sword at the end. Story was nothing special, but interesting enough to keep me going and I liked the characters.
2. Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart (PS5)- fired this up as a palate cleanser via PS+ Extra as I didn't want to dive into another big game before FF7 Rebirth. Ended up blowing throw it over a couple of weeks and mostly having a great time with it. I didn't care to 100% it with the collectibles, but did do all the optional missions and the bronze, silver and gold arena challenges. Won't mess with challenge mode either (NG+).
3. Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5)-It was alright. Can't complain for free. Dark and depressing, just didn't like the chase sequences as they were tedious and mostly trial and error since I suck at making mental maps, especially when corridors and rooms are so samey looking.
4. Lost in Random (XSX-Gamepass)-it was alright. Liked the Tim Burton-ish setting and characters and story was ok. Didn't like the combat much at all, put it on easy around halfway through to speed that up, and ending was very short and meh. But fun enough for a shorter Gamepass game as I burn time until Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth next week.
5. Balatro (Switch)- I'll go ahead and post this as "beat" as finally won a run (won with 2 other decks since). Like most roguelites/likes, tons more to do but I'll never clear it all so I consider them "beaten" once a first run is cleared generally. Great game, and I'll play lots more.
6. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (PS5)- Loved this one! Easily my favorite game of this generation so far. Hit the credits at around 117 hours having done most things I cared to do before moving on. Still need to go do the final Queen’s Blood foe, maybe see how bad the mini game scores are for the final side quest and want to replay chapter 12 with Tifa as the date (got Aerith as both dates in my playthrough). Don’t care to finish the VR challenges (did all the summons ones) nor to play on Hard mode.
7. Open Roads (XSX|Gamepass)-good palate cleanser game after the long time I spent with FF7 Rebirth. Just 2-3ish hours, narrative driven “walking sim” type game in the vein of Gone Home and similar. Nothing great, but was worth a run through via Gamepass.
8. Stellar Blade (PS5)--really enjoyed this! Only gripes would be the janky at times platforming, big difficulty spike for the last few bosses and the story being a bit meh (with pretty bad voice acting). Otherwise looks amazing, fun to play and liked the setting and characters and most action games aren’t anything special on the story front anyway. Solid 9/10 game for me.
9. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (XSX-GamePass)-liked it a lot overall, though just for the content/graphics/atmoshpere/sound etc. as the gameplay is meh. But at least the combat and puzzles were easy as I remember getting frustrated sometimes in the first game. I liked it being easier here and just being able to focus on the elements I did enjoy. Not a game I’d be happy paying full price for, but enjoyed my 7+ hours with it via Gamepass.
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)-solid overall, but reminded me I’m just not that into tricky platformers nor Metroidvanias these days. Likely wouldn’t have finished it without the lower difficulty/accessiblity options so glad it had those. But very solid game with good map design etc. Just a genre I’m not that into these days I guess. A bit long for the genre 2 at 20 hours for me to finish without being anywhere near 100% on collecting things or exploring the map.
11. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (XSX-Gamepass)-really loved this one, even better than Fallen Order. Had a bit of a slow start, but I got sucked in there after. Thought gameplay wise it was a lot better than the first. Felt less Souls-lite and more Uncharted with the combat seeming easier (stayed on default the whole time, while I dropped difficulty several times in the first one) which I enjoyed more. Only nitpick is the map kind of sucks and not having a mini-map or compass really sucks and made finding missions objectives and especially sidequest stuff annoying. Didn’t do much side stuff after my first 10 hours or so as I wasn’t finding it that engaging or the rewards (mostly cosmetics) worth it. But that’s fine as I’m not that big on side content unless it has strong story lines anyway. Xbox stats page says I played 30 hours even without doing much of that. I’ll mess around with some side stuff this weekend and see if I want to do more or move on to something new.
12. God of War: Valhalla (PS5)--Damn that was a really good DLC--especially for a free DLC. Addicting rogue-like, with permanent unlocks/upgrades which I love. And more story and character development than I was expecting from that type of DLC. Will play a bit more as I definitely have more Kratos' memories and dialogue bits to see/hear, but won't 100% it as there's still a lot of stuff to unlock/upgrade and I've got other games to get to. Edit
13. Starfield Shattered Space (XSX)-- mostly enjoyed it. Did all the sidequests I came across and the main story. Didn’t bother exploring much as that’s not my bag. Overall, it was a solid 5th faction question line, essentially. I’d put it as third best, behind Crimson Skies and UC Vanguard.
14. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XSX-Gamepass)- Never played the orginal for whatever reason and absolutely loved it! Josef Fares is 3 for 3 with me as I had a good time with A Way Out with a friend and especially loved It Takes Two.
15. Dead Space (XSX-Gamepass)-never played any of these back in the day, so gave the remake a go during spooky season and really enjoyed it! I’m not the biggest horror/survival horror game fan, but really enjoyed this one. Hope at least DS 2 gets a remake (heard the 3rd was a let down from a friend).
Games Abandoned
1. Jusant (XSX-GamePass)-just wasn't really enjoying the climbing puzzles/figuring out where to go, story bits from reading letters etc. you find weren't grabbing me etc.
2. Everything PSVR2- tried a couple more times to get back into this and I just can't. Accepting I just don't enjoy VR as I don't like being that shut off from things, I get too sweaty wearing these headsets with anything active, some motion sickness with many of the games like the RE ones I do kind of enjoy, get very disctracted by all the graininess, small sweet spot/clear field of view etc. Just not my cup of tea and was a dumb ass purchase given my PSVR1 gathered dust before I sold it----definition of insanity. Anyway, sold my PSVR2 off a while back so done with it in any case.
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