What games did you complete? 2021 Edition

[Unofficial Who]

Oct

 

31/10 Lost Words : Beyond the page (PC) I have @cassidy to thank for this one. After a year of gamepass I'd long stopped downloading every single game released. So when this popped up I only glanced at the tile and thought to myself "ah, another word puzzle game." Like I assumed it was some sort of indie crossword or scrabble variant. But instead it's a narrative indie puzzle platformer. The gameplay is OK but the writing really elevates it. Half the levels take place on a journal page, something that loads of games have done (including Psychonauts 2 recently) but this actually pulls it off being far less fiddly than other takes I've played. I don't want to say much more than to recommend playing it if you have a few hours to spare. Just keep some tissues handy, I was a bit surprised at how this hit emotionally.

 

 

28/10 Murder by Numbers (PC) It's Picross meets Ace Attorney but set in the 90's! This was the perfect game for me when I started it a year ago but I dropped off half way through once I realised that there wasn't going to be an easy way to S Rank the game and unlock the hidden memories without starting over. A year later I decided that Mediatronic was unlikely to patch this (given the runaway success of The Fall Guys) so I finished off the second half. I loved this to bits despite (or maybe because) of the cheesiness. I'd love a sequel following ex showrunner Honour and her clunky robot sidekick S.C.O.U.T. but if this is their sole outing I'll be left somewhat charmed by it.

 

 

26/10 World Games (C64) Playing through this as a single player is a little pointless, especially decades after anyone else would be excited by it. But most of the events still play well and even better it still looks great with some of the best pixel art on the system.

 

 

23/10 Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (PC) This is a small Zelda lite game where you play as Turnip Boy, a turnip who gets into trouble by shredding any documents sent to you. You do little fetch quests, get documents and rip them in two. It's brief (a couple of hours) and funny and post game opens up a little mini rogue like which seems inspired by the train dungeon from Adventure Time.

 

 

21/10 Eastshade (PC) I'd received so many recommendations for this I finally decided it was time to either try it or uninstall it. I was repelled at the start, I'm not into anthropomorphic animal/people hybrids, and this seemed like The Wind in the Willows but with characters that looked like they were pulled out of Coles Funny Picture Book. But the game charmed me. I've heard it described as playing Skyrm as Bob Ross and that's a pretty accurate description. You are shipwrecked on Eastshade, the only thing you have left is your easel and paints. From there you have learn to scavenge and craft so you can build the canvases to paint on. It's a bit difficult at first, people are wary of strangers and the woods are dense. And you don't have a map. Go out at night and you'll freeze and pass out.

 

But the game is really clever in the quest design. There's no markers or even a compass. Sometimes there isn't even a quest to put in your journal, you'll just learn what sort of paintings people might want by listening or watching.

 

And it really is beautiful.

 

 

Most the the quests end up being really interesting and I stayed a little while before leaving the island just to explore some more and finish the quests. It's a small island but dense, there's loads to find.

 

And then there's the bicycle. This is a small thing. It's not required to complete the game. There's a merchant who can sell you a bike if you can shell up the dosh. While on the bike you move faster and can't pick up materials. Here's the thing, the feel of racing around the paths of Eastshade on this old school rickety bike is amazing. It's partly the feel, you can lean in to corners even but it's also the sound. The clicking of the wheels, the breeze from traveling at speed. It made me feel like Toad from The Wind in the Willows as I used it to get everywhere!

 

This is a short small game. About ten or so hours. It's about to leave GamePass. Don't sleep on this one. It's something special.

 

Previously this month.

 

18/10 Super Cycle (C64)

16/10 Concrete Genie (PS4)

10/10 Life is Strange 2 (PC)

09/10 Psychonauts 2 (PC)

09/10 Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft (PC)

06/10 Fantasy (PC/Arcade)

02/10 Get in the Car, Loser! (PC) (plus Battle on the Big Broadwalk DLC) 

 

Spoiler

63. 19/09 Superliminal (PC)

62. 18/09 The Artful Escape (PC) 

61. 13/09 Mass Effect 3:Legendary Edition (PS4)

60. 11/09 Boyfriend Dungeon (PC)

59. 29/08 Alpaca Stacka (PC)

58. 24/08 Mass Effect 2:Legendary Edition (PS4)

57. 22/08 Last Stop (PC)

56. 14/08 Omno (PC)

55. 03/08 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5)

54. 25/07 Mass Effect:Legendary Edition (PS4)

53. 20/07 Law of the West (C64)

52. 18/07 The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (PC)

51. 17/07 Ikenfell (PC)

50. 08/07 Final Fantasy 7 Remake INTERmission (PS5)

49. 03/07 Deus Ex Machina Game of the Year 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition (PC)

48. 27/06 Answer Knot (PC) 

47. 26/06 1944 : the Loop Master (PC/Arcade)

46. 22/06 Commando (C64)

45. 21/06 GigaWing (PC/Arcade)

44. 19/06 19XX: The War Against Destiny (PC/Arcade)

43. 19/06 Warriors of Fate (PC/Arcade)

42. 18/06 Varth: Operation Thunderstorm (PC/Arcade)

41. 15/06 Carrier Air Wing (PC/Arcade)

40. 14/06 Senjō no Ōkami II (PC/Arcade) 

39. 14/06 1941:Counter Attack (PC/Arcade)

38. 14/06 Forgotten Worlds (PC/Arcade) 

37. 12/06 West of Dead (PC) 

36. 11/06 Raid Over Moscow (C64)

35. 09/06 Section Z (PC/Arcade)

34. 06/05 God of War (PS4)

33. 05/05 Ghostbusters (C64)

32.01/06 Beach Head (C64)

31. 30/05 Depanneur Nocturne (PC)

30. 30/05 Commando (PC/Arcade)

29. 30/05 1942 (PC/Arcade)

28. 30/05 Bionic Commando (PC/Arcade)

27. 29/05 If Found...(PC) 

26. 24/05 Final Fight (PC/Arcade)

25. 22/05 Sunset Overdrive (PC) 

24. 11/05 Batalyx (C64)

23. 09/05 Call of the Sea (PC)

22. 25/04 Carto (PC)

21. 24/04 The Little Acre (PC)

20. 24/04 Yorkshire Gubbins (PC) 

19. 22/04 Control:Ultimate Edition (PC) 

18. 20/04 Rain on Your Parade (PC) 

17. 02/04 Summer Games 2 (C64)

16. 16/03 Beach Head 2:The Dictator Strikes Back (C64)

15. 13/03 Assassin's Creed Chronicles:India (PS4)

14. 07/03 Alvastia Chronicles (PC)

13. 27/02 Oxenfree (PC)

12. 26/02 Assassin's Creed Chronicles:China (PS4)

11. 11/02 Beyond a Steel Sky (PC) 

10. 02/02 Stories Untold (PC)

9. 31/01 Katamari Damacy Reroll (PC)

8. 28/01 2020 Game (Browser)

7. 26/01 Observation (PC)

6. 25/01 Hades (PC)

5. 23/01 Donut County (PC)

4. 17/01 The Touryst (PC) 

3. 13/01 My Friend Pedro (PC)

2. 03/01 Tell Me Why (PC)

1. 01/01 Tales from Off Peak City : Vol 1 (PC)

 

Abandoned

Katana Zero (PC)

Assassin's Creed Chronicles:Russia (PS4)

The Medium (PC) 

The Ascent (PC)

12 Minutes (PC)

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

 

[Pelekophoros]

On 17/10/2021 at 15:02, Pelekophoros said:

3/01: Night Slashers (Arcade)

13/02: Ghosts Of Tsushima (PS5)

20/02: Kitty Letter (Android)

21/02: Concrete Genie (PS5)

04/03: Maquette (PS5)

03/04: 198X (PS5)

07/04: Moonwalker (Arcade)

27/04: Apex Legends Season 8 (PS5)

29/04: Call Of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War (PS5)

08/05: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5)

26/06: Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS5)

02/07: Necromunda Hired Hun (PS5)

06/07: Ratchet & Clank 2016 (PS5)

12/07: Warhammer Vermintide II (Xbone)

27/07: The Last Of Us Part 2 (PS5)

13/08: The Last Stop (Xbone)

27/08: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker (Switch)

10/09: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1&2 (PS5)

12/09: Donut County (Xbone)

12/09: 12 Minutes (Xbone)

14/09: The Artful Escape (Xbone)

17/09: The Gardens Between (Xbone)

18/09: Superliminal (Xbone)

20/09: Golf With Friends (Xbone)

22/09: Omno (Xbone)

23/09: 64th Street: A Detective Story (Arcade)

24/09: Mutation Nation (Arcade)

25/09: Battle Circuit (Arcade)

26/09: Sack Boy: A Big Adventure (PS5)

06/10: The Touryst (PS5)

17/10: Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (Arcade)

 

21/10: Disco Elysium (PS5)

 

A long, long time ago I tweeted "God, I wish I had a game where I just had to solve something through exploration and conversation, rather than conflict". And here it is at last! A wonderful, wonderful game, drenched in sadness and loss, which got right under my skin. I was less interested in the world building than some friends, and way more invested in the super-personal nature of the protagonists story. I made choices I absolutely 100% knew were wrong for the game, but right for the story it was letting me play out.

 

Just brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

[bear]

I haven't posted in here for ages but I have beaten some games. 

Previously 

 

Spoiler

Murder by Numbers

Donut County

The Touryst 

Pikmin 3 Deluxe

The Little Acre

 

Amikrog

I thought this was an old PC game that I vaguely remembered so I bought it on a whim for €2.49 in some Xbox sale.  When I bothered to Google my purchase it turns out that this was actually a Kickstarter game inspired by the old PC game (The Neverhood) I vaguely remembered. What a twist! And one of the main men behind the game, Doug TenNapel has since gained a reputation for being a noted bellend. Fantastic!! And the game isn't even any good. Theres a decent cutscene at the start and right at the beginning of the game theres a window you can look out a few times to get some different video clips (and an achievement) which gives the impression there could be some level of polish here but then it hits a wall. I played it for a half hour or so before looking up a guide which I followed until the credits rolled a few hours later. Its plainly one of those Kickstarter games that was way too ambitious. Around halfway through the game you find a hall of heroes which is just a massive text dump for a story that gives context to the world you are in but I spent twenty minutes just reading pages of text instead of doing anything. I'm certain at some point this backstory was meant to be woven into the game in a more natural way but instead its just a bunch of text. 

 

A puzzle where you put a mobile together for a baby gets repeated just for the sake of being repeated, the controls are bad and the story is well put together either. 

 

2/10 because I did like the claymation cutscenes. 

 

The Stretchers

 

A game built to be played in co-op that I played through all by myself, don't wanna be, all b....

The music is great in this, especially while you are driving the ambulance. Tragically most videos of the game on Youtube have people talking over the game instead of listening to the music. Boo.

 

I've tried rewriting this a few times as everything I wrote could be condensed down to the word nice. Its simply a nice videogame to spend some time with. People should play it. 

 

7/10

 

[CurryKitten]

21/10/21 - Full Throttle Remastered (XSX Gamepass)

It seems a weird platform to finally play this game on, as I've got it on ScummVM and I even had the old big box PC version.  It played it mostly because having just spent a long time on Ghost of Tsushima I wanted something a bit lighter and quicker.

 

It's a fun adventure, but it suffers from issues that I tend to find with all adventures (that said I'm mainly playing older ones) and that's a few times I hit something that I just couldn't seem to figure out.  Sometimes it's the case of using every available item with everything else until something works - but in this case it was doing very specific actions in specific timeframes which I couldn't figure out.... and then I was annoyed by having to get a hint from the web.

[ImmaculateClump]

  Blue Wish Desire - Accel, 1cc

 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

[denisb]

A plague tale absolutely loved it 

[Mogster]

22/10/2021 - Super Metroid

 

I really wanted to play Metroid Dread this month, but money was a bit tight so I thought I'd just play one of the other metroidvanias in my backlog. Then I remembered that I'd never actually finished Super Metroid, and I had a Switch SNES pad I'd barely used so...

 

I'd only finished a couple of Metroids before, those being Fusion and Zero Mission on the GBA, but I loved them both at the time. I played a lot of Prime but never finished it, and while I think I finished Prime 3 I can't remember much of it now. I've definitely played Super Metroid before, but I remember it feeling a bit clunky compared to the comparatively slick GBA games. I also remember getting stuck quite early on.

 

Anyway, I went back to it this month, finished it today, and I genuinely think it's brilliant now. Some of the controls are definitely a bit clunky by todays standards, like the unintuitive wall jumps and not quite right grabble beam swinging, but I soon got used to them. The actual sense of exploration, combined with the still amazing atmosphere make it wonderful. 

 

I think I remember where I got stuck last time around, and it was really early on. There's a section that clearly implies you needed to run, or find some way of moving faster than normal. I knew there was some kind of super-speed power up, so figured I just needed to come back there later. I made the same mistake this time around, only to eventually realise that you could actually just, you know, run. There's a dedicated button for it, but as there's a very slight acceleration period I didn't realise what it did. Modern games would have made sure to bash you over the head with this, but I'm guessing this one just expected you to read the manual. That said, this game is surprisingly good at showing you how to make use of most abilities without ever resorting to flashing tutorial text on the screen.

 

I'm really glad to have finally played this. I've definitely played better games in the genre, like Hollow Knight for one, but I was really impressed with just how well this holds up. If I played it at the time I think my mind would have been completely blown.

 

Spoiler

January

25/01/2021 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

February

21/02/2021 - The Room

March

06/03/2021 - Gorogoa
07/03/2021 - The Room 2

April

Nothing!

May

03/05/2021 - Resident Evil 3 (Remake)
15/05/2021 - Resident Evil Village
28/05/2021 - Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition

June

13/06/2021 - Super Mario Maker 2

July

02/07/2021 - Sonic CD
11/07/2021 - Doki Doki Literature Club +

August

07/08/2021 - Yakuza: Like A Dragon
16/08/2021 - Death's Door

September

15/09/2021 - The Artful Escape
29/09/2021 - Life Is Strange: True Colours

October

22/10/2021 - Super Metroid

 

[strawdonkey]

On 17/10/2021 at 22:33, strawdonkey said:

00. Katamari Damacy
0X. Kind Words

01. Hello Charlotte Episode 1

02. Hello Charlotte Episode 2: Requiem Aeternam Deo

03. Hello Charlotte Episode 3: Childhood's End

04. There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

05. Mandagon
06. Heaven Will Be Mine

07. Tales of the Black Forest

08. Super Mario 3D World

09. Lair of the Clockwork God

10. Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk ...

11. Super Mario 3D World: Bowser's Fury

12. Tetris Effect

13. Luck be a Landlord

14. Rain on your Parade

15. The Red Strings Club

16. The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia

17. Shape of the World

18. Far: Lone Sails

19. Return of the Obra Dinn

20. Donut County

21. Warhammer: Vermintide 2

22. Cat Quest

23. Touhou: Luna Nights

24. World End Economica: Episode 1

25. Murder By Numbers

26. Hypnospace Outlaw

27. Behold The Kickmen

28. Lonely Mountains: Downhill

29. The Next Penelope

30. Doom (2016)

31. Monster Train

32. Loop Hero

33. World End Economica: Episode 2

34. What Remains of Edith Finch

35. Cube Escape: Seasons

35a. The rest of the Cube Escape Collection games

36. Forza Horizon 4

37. Sayonara Wild Hearts

38. Princess Remedy In A World Of Hurt

39. Glittermitten Grove

40. The Adventures of Elena Temple

41. Sorry, James

42. Deltarune Chapter 2

43. Golf With Your Friends

06a: Heaven Will Be Mine (all the other endings)

44. Cherry Tree High Comedy Club

45. Breath of Death VII

46. Get In The Car, Loser!

47. Kero Blaster

48. Lucius Demake

49. Inscryption

 

I need a little time to unpack and let others play through this before going into detail, but it is very, very good.

[peeveen]

Psychonauts 2

I rather enjoyed this. Obviously there are better 3D platformers, and the combat was nothing special, but the overall style, imagination, presentation and charm papered over all those cracks. Lots of fun. 8/10

 

Spoiler

01/01/2021 - Syberia

07/01/2021 - Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince

11/01/2021 - Fe

13/01/2021 - The Touryst

19/01/2021 - The Gardens Between

22/01/2021 - Donut County

22/01/2021 - Virginia

23/01/2021 - The Witness

08/02/2021 - Trials Fusion

14/03/2021 - Death Squared

08/04/2021 - The Medium

19/04/2021 - Control: Ultimate Edition

30/04/2021 - New Super Lucky's Tale

01/05/2021 - Kameo: Elements Of Power

08/05/2021 - Gravel

15/06/2021 - Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2

26/06/2021 - Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

06/07/2021 - Lara Croft & The Temple Of Osiris

16/07/2021 - R-Type Final 2

03/08/2021 - A Plague Tale: Innocence

07/08/2021 - Resident Evil 2

14/08/2021 - Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled

30/08/2021 - Omno

15/10/2021 - Forza Horizon 4

15/10/2021 - Twelve Minutes

16/10/2021 - Limbo

17/10/2021 - The Procession To Calvary

18/10/2021 - Streets Of Rage 4

22/10/2021 - Psychonauts 2

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Genetos - 1cc, standard

 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Accel, 1cc

 

[cassidy]

On 04/10/2021 at 12:48, cassidy said:

No 24 of the year Mighty Goose (Gamepass)

 

Simple enough metal slug clone short and enjoyable to play in-between lost judgment sessions. 

No 25 of the year and it's been a while cos I'm still playing Lost Judgment which I'm close to finishing now as on chapter 12.

 

Anyway 

 

Lost Words : Beyond the page (Gamepass) 

 

Well this may be a simple game with simple mechanics. But it's lovely, genuinely lovely and rather moving to be honest.

 

It's not often games make me shed a tear or prompt a real emotional response but this one does.

 

It tackles some adult themes at a level that would allow younger gamers to help cope with the shit that life can throw at you and it's really well written. 

 

And after playing through the credits (which also made me cry) so you should do that as well, I discovered it was written by Rhianna Pratchett. And that may explain why the credits got to me as well. 

 

 

[Boothjan]

Spoiler

1. Forza Horizon 4 - Lego Speed Champions & Fortune Island DLC packs (XB1) - 8.5/10

2. The Gardens Between (XB1 Game Pass) - 8/10

3. Sea of Thieves (XB1) - 10/10

4. The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild (Switch) - 10/10

5. Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch) - 8.5/10

6. Titanfall 2 (XB1) - 9/10

7. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - 9.5/10

8. Sniper Elite 4 - (XB1 Game Pass) - 8.5/10

9. Journey to the Savage Planet (XB1 Game Pass) - 7.5/10

10. Wolfenstein: The New Order (XB1 Game Pass) - 8/10

11. Hades (Switch) - 9.5/10

12. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) - 9/10

13. Halo 5: Guardians (XB1) - 8.5/10

14. Halo: Reach (XB1 Game Pass) - 8.5/10

15. Bloodroots (XB1 Game Pass) - 6.5/10

16. Psychonauts 2 (XSX Game Pass) - 9/10

17. The Artful Escape (XSX Game Pass) - 9/10

18. The Ascent (XB1/XSX Game Pass) - 6.5/10

 

19. Marvel's Avengers (XSX Game Pass)

 

I knew this had been lambasted before I started playing, and I will admit that was the reason why I didn't buy it on release.  Oh hello, Game Pass you beautiful thing, you.  First reaction was: this is going to be pants if it's ALREADY on GP, surely?

 

Well.... it's definitely flawed but I don't think it's pants at all.  Certainly not the roughly 10 hour campaign which I felt obliged to try out.

 

Firstly - the good.  For a start, it looks brilliant on the Series X - interesting environment, bombastic set pieces, good character models for the main characters.  As you'll get to play as several Avengers, the variety of styles is actually really good.  They all feel pretty different to play as.  Also, the story itself isn't too bad.  Kamala Khan as Ms Marvel being my highlight - a really good character with a decent backstory.

 

On the downside, there is waaaaaaaay too much junk to collect.  Power ups and the like which I never really understood the point of.  These upgrades are found everywhere.  Fortunately, you can just upgrade each character to their highest level automatically but having inventory OCD with games, it's the stuff of nightmares!  In addition to this, the skill trees all look good and everything, but the whole game is very much geared towards you putting in 50+ hours, continuing after the credits have rolled (where the BIG issues with Avengers really starts, but this is not a new revelation....)  So I never got close to unlocking the vast majority of the cool looking extra skills.  So really, the main campaign mode acts more of a taster for what Square Enix really want you to focus on - grinding through identikit missions to further progress each character.  And it's a slooooooow grind at that.  Well - not happening, because I feel like I've already done a lot of these missions.  There's nowhere near enough variety in the post-game build to pique my interest.  I did enjoy my time with the main game, but that's as far as I'll take it.  A shame.

 

Another thing that did start to grate towards the end is the actual moves of each character.  Don't get me wrong, it is fun - but after 10 hours, I realised that I was using the same button combos for each character.  Yes, I could have learned some of the new skills I'd unlocked, but I didn't ever feel that I needed to.  So it does descend into a bit of a button basher.  It could have taken a leaf out of Assassins Creed Odyssey's book where the new skills can make a genuine difference, changing how you approach combat.

 

I've not uninstalled this yet (despite the internal drive in my XSX desperately low on free space - and FH5 and Halo Infinite just around the corner...) because I might give the Wakanda DLC a go, but I think I may well tire of the gameplay before too long.

 

10 hours isn't a huge amount of time to play on a game so I'd suggest giving the main single player story a playthrough, particularly anyone who has Game Pass but TBH I'm glad I didn't fork out the full price for this on release because I just don't think I'd have been able to rack up the 50+ hours the game really wants you to invest into it.

 

7/10

[ImmaculateClump]

Gleylancer - 1cc, Normal
 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Accel, 1cc

Genetos - 1cc, standard

 

[peeveen]

I'm hammering through these unfinished games so I can have a clean slate when Halo Infinite arrives ...

 

Manifold Garden

A very atmospheric puzzler, set in amongst impossible architecture and infinite spaces. I always like big empty spaces in games, for some reason ... probably a remnant of my 8-bit heritage. Anyway, gravity puzzles, walking on walls, and spooky audio are all plus points in my book. Of course, I resorted to a guide to get the final "0% completion" achievement, which was utterly mind-bending, and I am amazed that anyone had the patience to figure it out. 8/10

 

Spoiler

01/01/2021 - Syberia

07/01/2021 - Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince

11/01/2021 - Fe

13/01/2021 - The Touryst

19/01/2021 - The Gardens Between

22/01/2021 - Donut County

22/01/2021 - Virginia

23/01/2021 - The Witness

08/02/2021 - Trials Fusion

14/03/2021 - Death Squared

08/04/2021 - The Medium

19/04/2021 - Control: Ultimate Edition

30/04/2021 - New Super Lucky's Tale

01/05/2021 - Kameo: Elements Of Power

08/05/2021 - Gravel

15/06/2021 - Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2

26/06/2021 - Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

06/07/2021 - Lara Croft & The Temple Of Osiris

16/07/2021 - R-Type Final 2

03/08/2021 - A Plague Tale: Innocence

07/08/2021 - Resident Evil 2

14/08/2021 - Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled

30/08/2021 - Omno

15/10/2021 - Forza Horizon 4

15/10/2021 - Twelve Minutes

16/10/2021 - Limbo

17/10/2021 - The Procession To Calvary

18/10/2021 - Streets Of Rage 4

22/10/2021 - Psychonauts 2

26/10/2021 - Manifold Garden

 

[Gambit]

27/10/21 - Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

 

Supermassive's best game since Until Dawn. Really interesting story that took some nice twists and turns. The story driven, QTE focused gameplay won't convert people who hate that sort of stuff, but for fans of it, yep.....this is very good. And when characters died I actually felt like it was my fault rather than the game being random, so bonus point for that.

 

8/10

 

Spoiler

January

10/01 - Spiderman: Miles Morales

23/01 - Yakuza Like A Dragon

 

February

14/02 - Concrete Genie

18/02 - Mega Man 11

21/02 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered

 

March

21/03 - Persona 5: Strikers

31/03 - Mega Man X

 

April

17/04 - Mega Man X4

24/04 - Mega Man Zero

 

May

04/05 - New Super Lucky's Tale

20/05 - Cosmic Top Secret

23/05 - Mass Effect

 

June

07/06 - Mass Effect 2

19/06 - Final Fantasy VII: Remake

 

July

02/07 - Mass Effect 3

04/07 - Astro's Playroom

14/07 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

18/07 - Catherine: Full Body

 

September

11/09 - Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury

 

October

09/10 - Lost Judgment

17/10 - Metroid Dread

 

[ImmaculateClump]

赤鯱 -Origin's Saga- - Normal, 1cc

 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Accel, 1cc

Genetos - 1cc, standard

Gleylancer - 1cc, Normal

 

[Gabe]

25/10/2021 - The Ascent (PC)

 

A twin-stick RPG-lite experience set in an incredibly detailed, yet empty and boring world that ultimately delivered few frills and lots of little gripes.

 

It's a game that very much wanted to be talked about for how it looks, and to be fair, the amount of detail in every corner is impressive; yet it is crying out for some, any, interactivity and it is a call that goes unheeded. You are left with a pretty looking maze (my god that map is just awful) that takes an age to traverse, blindly slaughtering everybody who looks at you funny (and plenty that don't).

 

The RPG elements felt tacked-on to try and justify padding out the experience for about 6 hours too long and the shooting was perfunctory at best - was anybody brave enough to play without the full auto-assist, I wonder? The story, such that it is, seems to plod along and force you to trudge around the soulless environment and certainly wasn't a main driver for continuing, nor was the promise of good loot. And yet continue I did; whilst the story wasn't all that interesting, I did settle into a rhythm of death and it wasn't a terrible experience. Plus, y'know, sunk-cost fallacy and all that.

In the end, it was a pretty but entirely vacuous experience that, without it's good looks, nobody would've paid any attention to.

 

28/10/2021 - The Artful Escape (PC)

 

I posted in the dedicated thread that I don't like music games (where music is a central conceit, be it a mechanic or a theme) - and this hasn't changed my view on that.

What it did do over the course of 4 hours or so though was enthral me and overload my eyes with an imagery described in the thread as 'Yellow Submarine' (but without any good music). The story was simple and without surprise, but there was a charm and comfortableness everywhere around. The actual music your character creates is just nonsense - but there was definitely some lovely pieces of the actual soundtrack to tune-out to - so long as you didn't ruin it by shredding everywhere like the game almost begged you too.

 

Ah yes, that word 'game'. It's true that the platforming and Simple Simon sequences are easy and not challenging; that you are mainly pressing left or right and reading some text - but who cares when it pulls together the visuals, the sounds and the voice work (which is really good, by the way) so wonderfully?

 

Previously completed:

Spoiler

18/10/2021 - Conglomerate 451 (PC)

15/10/2021 - From Russia With Love (PS2)

09/10/2021 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (PC)

02/10/2021 - Gene Rain: Wind Tower (PC)

26/09/2021 - Evil Dead - Fistful of Boomstick (PS2)

13/09/2021 - Transformers Devastation (PC)

31/08/2021 - Shining Force II (Mega Drive)

24/08/2021 - Close to the Sun (PC)

07/08/2021 - The Last Stop (PC)

06/08/2021 - Shining Force (Mega Drive)

02/08/2021 - Vendetta (Arcade)

31/07/2021 - Outriders (PC)

25/07/2021 - Dynamite Dux (Arcade)

24/07/2021 - Stardrop (PC)

20/07/2021 - Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance (PC)

10/07/2021 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance (PC)

02/07/2021 - Weaves of Fate (PC)

27/06/2021 - Through the Woods (PC)

22/06/2021 - Answer Knot (PC)

10/06/2021 - Halo: Spartan Assault (PC)

07/06/2021 - The Hex (PC)

23/05/2021 - Renegade (Spectrum)

15/05/2021 - Lords of Xumila (PC)

09/05/2021 - Devolverland Expo (PC)

09/05/2021 - The Medium (PC)

02/05/2021 - Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms (PC)

01/05/2021 - Shadows: Awakening (PC)

21/04/2021 - Rain on Your Parade (PC)

20/04/2021 - Wasteland 2 (PC)

04/04/2021 - Secret World Legends (PC)

02/04/2021 - She Sees Red (PC)

27/03/2021 - Greedfall (PC)

26/03/2021 - Freedom Fighters (PC)

10/03/2021 - Breath of Death VII (PC)

05/03/2021 - Dungeons & Lesbians (PC)

04/03/2021 - Quantum Break (PC)

26/02/2021 - Marvel Avengers (PC)

20/02/2021 - Life is Strange (PC)

02/02/2021 - P.O.W. (Arcade)

28/01/2021 - Devil's Hunt (PC)

24/01/2021 - A Mortician's Tale (PC)

19/01/2021 - The Touryst (PC)

19/01/2021 - Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forrest (PC)

15/01/2021 - A New Life (PC)

05/01/2021 - Vostok Inc. (PC)

02/01/2021 - Call to the Sea (PC)

01/01/2021 - Suikoden (PS1)

 

[BabelRich]

24/10/21 - Echo Generation

What do you get if you cross Paper Mario, Stranger Things, Earthbound and (insert your favourite LucasArts P&C’er here) but not really get what was great about all these things? The answer is Echo Generation.

This is a really odd game with some great and some baffling game design and I’m finding it hard to come up with coherent prose to describe it so I’m going to resort to a dreaded list:

The Good

• It looks incredibly unique with some wonderful boss designs.
• Finding comic to add to your move sets is very cool.
• Every move has a different QTE attached.

The Bad

• The story is massively disjointed.
• Levelling up is sloooooooooooow.
• New companions always start at Level 1, coupled with bad levelling, making them pointless.
• In boss battles, special move points run out really quickly often leaving ¾ of health you have to chip away using basic attacks, this is not fun.
• Some hugely obtuse puzzles with no clues as to how to solve them and pickups that are very easy to miss; which ties into…
• No fast travel. The map isn’t massive but it’s a fucking chore to keep walking back and forth while you try to look for something you may have missed to solve a puzzle for which you have no clue what is needed.
• Terrible respawning after failure. First failure you respawn with half health, then 1 health, necessitating a trip back to a safe house (of which there is only one, your house, until rather later in the game) which means more minutes wasted yomping around the map.

So yeah, a strange game with plenty to dislike but compelling enough to keep me going to the end.

 

Weird.

 

28/10/21 – The Curse of Monkey Island

Brought myself a brand new gaming laptop, decided to play a game from 1997 that wouldn’t have taxed GPUs back then.

Remembered most of it but still enjoyed it even though it’s not a patch on the 1 or 2.

 

 

Spoiler

01/01 - Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

15/01 - Immortals: Fenyx Rising

22/01 - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

27/01 - Yooka-Laylee: The Impossible Lair

19/02 - Cyberpunk 2077

06/03 - Final Fantasy 14 ARR Quests

21/03 - Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age

31/03 - Batman: Arkham Knight

06/04 - Sam & Max Save the World

13/04 - Avengers: A-Day

04/05 - Picross S 5

05/07 - FF14: Heavensward Quests

05/07 - Pikmin 3 

05/07 - Super Mario 3D World

05/07 - Lair of the Clockwork God

05/07 - The Touryst 

05/07 - Star Renegades

05/07 - The Wild at Heart

05/07 - Outriders 

05/07 - Ratchet & Clack: Rift Apart

05/07 - FF14: Stormblood Quests

27/07 - Skyward Sword

03/08 - Broken Age

10/08 - Bowser's Fury

15/08 - Rain on your Parade

03/09/21 - Psychonauts 2

30/09/21 - Final Fantasy 14 - Shadowbringers Quests

08/10/21 - Kena - Bridge of Spirits

12/10/21 - The Artful Escape

 

[moosegrinder]

I just finished Knights and Bikes and my heart is broken but also full. I don't know if this a good game but I loved the characters and story and I think that's what they were going for.

[matt0]

Quake + Quake ’97 Expansions - (Xbox One / PC)
Hades - (Xbox One)
Signs of the Sojourner - (Xbox One / PC)

Sable - (Xbox One / PC)
Plants Vs. Zombies - (Xbox 360 via b/c)
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - (Switch)
The Ascent - (Xbox / PC)

Quake + the original ’97 expansions, played through on normal difficulty. Peerless use of 3D space. Basic but chunky combat. Wonderful enemy design. Hilarious splash damage nonsense. I think I appreciate it even more now than I did at the time. The ’97 expansions are pre Half-Life FPS fun houses of wild ideas, executed unevenly but with great enthusiasm. The new episodes from Machine games? I gave up after a couple of levels. Strange curios packed full of the same bad level design choices that plagued Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, hit scan enemies at the end of long corridors, death by a thousand cuts encounter design… One of the most baffling and dispiriting gaming experiences I’ve had all year coming off the original game and expansions, but it did make me sit and really think through the brilliance of the original Quake’s game play loop. In Quake you always know there’s going to be some health pick ups and armour at some point soon so you can really throw yourself in to encounters with abandon and fling rockets and grenades around. Sometimes there’s a level or two that tones this down, wants you to conserve ammo or play cautiously, but the encounter and arena design is always pushing you to go toe to toe with the enemies. You have this constant rhythm of tension and release that comes from taking damage over the course of a handful of encounters, running low on ammo, the excitement of being close to death, then you’re patched and tooled back up again so you can do it all again – pretty much every FPS does this but Quake condenses that cycle in to a minute or two and repeats it 4 or 5 times a level. It’s the heartbeat the game - a generosity of design that makes it a masterpiece.

I have to compare Signs of the Sojourner and Sable because they’re both coming of age stories in apocalyptic wastelands that want you to engage and understand the different cultures and philosophies of their fictional worlds (also both on Game Pass…). But Sojourner conjures so much more out of a handful of character portraits and static backgrounds then Sable manages out of its open world. Sojourner’s card game conversation mechanics and the way the writing flowed around them felt like something I’d not played before. Sable, despite the fantastic visuals ultimately was just another open world game – a visually striking one, but also mechanically deriviative and dull with awkward controls and plagued by technical issues.

Sable's writing suffers constantly from the fact that every character wears a mask and the character animation in conversation is limited. So every conversation has awkward narration from Sable herself shoehorned in, talking about what she imagines the other characters expression is behind the mask or describing body language. The game is forced to break the storytelling golden rule of “show don’t tell” for every single character interaction. It doesn’t work.

And because everyone wears a mask they all blur together, you’re supposed to be learning about the people of the world, but it gets harder and harder to remember who any of them are. There’s no hooks for your memory, especially when multiple characters are wearing the same masks.

Sojourner has an unfair advantage here, because it’s a game entirely about conversation, but you get big cartoon portraits of characters, full of character and emotion. You get conversations that you’re not completely in control of, you see characters in a full range of moods who respond to the events of the story and whose emotions and circumstances are constantly changing.

BUT! I did linger in the world of Sable because of those fantastic environments, and I did spend some time mulling over the final choice at the end of the game, imagining what consequences there would be for Sable and how her life might pan out after the ending. It’s very rare I think about a game like that, engaging with it beyond what it’s showing me moment to moment on the screen.

Sojourner does get repetitive when you start trying to tease out all the different branching narratives and I couldn’t face the opening chapters again after my second loop of the story, but the 5 or 6 hours I spent with it were one of my favourite gaming experiences of the year.

Hades I don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said. It’s a superb game – it looks and sounds fantastic, plays likes a dream. Everything about it is so meticulously thought through. I had one complaint which was the 10 escapes needed to get the ending -I thought was dragging things out - but no, it’s perfect, it’s there to get you to engage with the end game mechanics and sets you up perfectly if you want to keep playing after the credits. Which I didn’t because there are so many games…

 

The Ascent I talked a bit about in it’s own thread. Visually spectacular, ultimately a huge mess but the framework of a decent game underneath it all.

Plants Vs. Zombies I ended up playing through again because for convoluted reasons involving my kids watching old youtube tower defence game videos. It’s still great. It looks OLD, not on a technical basis – it’s a high definition 2D game - but the aesthetic of it feels very much of a time – the pinnacle of Flash game aesthetics just before they died out. It’s a huge shame that the sequel was a cynical microtransaction vortex.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – Very, very good. Started on normal and bumped it up to hard about a third of the way through for a bit of push back. I think I preferred Fire Emblem Warriors for the slightly deeper strategy layer, even playing it on the 3DS, but you can still direct your allies around the map in this one which I think should be mandatory for all Musou games. I find it jarring now if I play an older or simpler one that doesn’t have this feature.

 

...

 

2021 so far:

 

Spoiler

Quake + Quake ’97 Expansions - (Xbox One / PC)
Hades - (Xbox One)
Signs of the Sojourner - (Xbox One / PC)

Sable - (Xbox One / PC)
Plants Vs. Zombies - (Xbox 360 via b/c)
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - (Switch)
The Ascent - (Xbox / PC)

Final Fantasy 15 (Xbox One / PC)

Carto (Xbox One)

Tactics Ogre (PSP)

Slay The Spire (Xbox One / PC / Switch)

Monster Train (Xbox One / PC)

Dishonored 2 (Xbox One)

Dishonored Death of the Outsider (Xbox One)

Doom Eternal (PC)

Prodeus (PC - early access campaign)

Contra: Hard Corps (Megadrive - JPN version)

Streets Of Rage 2 (3DS / Megadrive)

Minecraft Dungeons (Xbox One)

Maneater (Xbox One)

Cyber Shadow (Xbox One)

Outriders (Xbox One)

River City Ransom (NES via Switch)

River City Girls (Xbox One)

Mirrors Edge Catalyst (Xbox One)

Star Wars Republican Commando (Xbox via BC)

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Twin Cobra 2 - 1cc

 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Accel, 1cc

Genetos - 1cc, standard

Gleylancer - 1cc, Normal

赤鯱 -Origin's Saga- - Normal, 1cc

[MattyP]

God Of War (2018)

Well finished up on this last night ! Great game.... Enjoyed the story and the epic scale of everything. The environments are staggering to play though as is the music which is beautiful and haunting.

 

Nice balance of game mechanics a little bit of RPG with action. Like how the attack controls for the boy are integrated in and work really well. It can go as deep as you want in terms of moves etc almost feels like a fighter with all the different abilities at times. 

 

If you just want to enjoy the story stick the difficulty on story mode it still feels like a challenge but not insurmountable.

 

It's a great blend of game and story without being overly heavy on the cutscenes the balance here is just about right IMHO.

 

It's fantastic how the developers have made this - play how you want - enjoy the story and light on combat or full on game mode as challenging as you want with all depth and game mechanics there to support. To discount this as just a game wanting to be a movie is doing it disservice.

[CurryKitten]

31/10/2021 - Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

Hmm, I'm not sure.  It's all very nice and polished, but I suppose it just feels like Mario-by-Numbers at this point.  It just played exactly as expected and didn't offer anything particularly new.  I did like the largish worlds and multiple moon pickups as you go - although having finished and looking back at just how many moons there are left around the worlds, I'd barely collected any.  Weirdly, I'm not feeling like I need to go back and fully "complete" it though.

[AK Bell]

 

So far:

Spoiler

Jan: Gardens In Between (XSX)
Mar: ME Andromeda (XSX) (rinsed it for all it's worth, didn't want to leave)
Apr: Wreckfest (XSX)
May: Genesis noir (XSX)
         What remains of Edith Finch? (XSX)
         Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious (XSX)
         Doom 64 (achievements only) (XSX)
         Mass Effect 1 (XSX)
Jun: Mass Effect 2 (XSX)
Jul: Had new baby, magpie dropping in and out took hold
Aug: Same!
Sep: Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe In Peril (3DS)

 

Dragon Quest 8 (3DS)

 

I've only got up to the first ending, not the post game content true ending. I was tempted to crack on, but it ended up being a bit of a grind at the end for the final boss. I'd apparently made the wrong choices for taking out metal slimes to grind faster, so had to faff about getting into a position where I could at least take out the liquid metal slimes. 

 

Give me a few months and I'll have a crack at that post game stuff. It doesn't sound as vital to do as DQ11. It's just good extra context with just a twist at the end, rather than an all new third Act. I've debatably "finished" DQ8 here and it's been a satisfying enough ending. 

 

Most of the time I didn't feel I needed to grind, but the handful of times you do it's like hitting a brick wall with the game's pacing. DQ11 seems to handle this pacing much better where I only remember having to do so in the post game Act 3 where it's expected as a challenge.

 

Otherwise, I bloody loved this. It's well worth picking up if you've already finished DQ11 and want more of the same. But for being a massive game you might find it quite slight compared to the new one. Ideally you'd play 8 first, but DQ11 is just a better package for a new player. 

 

Super Arcade Football (Switch)

 

It's like Sensi but not as repetitive. As much as I loved that game, you scored the same handful of goals dozens of time. In this one, the challenge from the other team keeps going up and you find you have to keep finding new ways to score. Then you get the odd game with a environmental effect or rule quirk to make it more interesting... but none that take away from the core football mechanics.

 

It has a nice little story, being a bit Behold the Kickmen but not as funny. But it's more than made up for the actual football being fun to play. 

 

It starts off really, really easy in Story Mode but don't worry. It picks up and gets pretty difficult by the end of it, but always achievable. 

 

Looking at PES/eFootball and FIFA this year, then this is easily the best football game available right now. 

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Exzisus - 1cc (2-3)

 

Spoiler

Solid State Survivor - 1cc, TLB (10)

Dangun Feveron - Fever arrange 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - 1cc Normal (10)

Aleste - 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - 1cc (10)

GG Aleste - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste 2 - 1cc (8)

GG Aleste - Special mode 1cc (8)

Power Strike II - Hard 1cc (10)

GG Aleste 3 - Special mode 1cc (10)

Natsuki Chronicles - 1cc Arcade, Normal (10)

G-Darius HD - 1cc, Lambda route (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange 1cc (10)

Cotton Reboot - Arrange hard 1cc (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Original single (10)

Assault Shell - 1cc, Void arrange (10)

Assault Shell - 2-all (10)

Barrage Fantasia - 1cc Normal (7)

Barrage Fantasia - Advanced 1cc (10)

Patriot Dark - Normal 1cc (10)

Zenodyne R - 1cc Normal (10)

Zenohell - 1cc Normal (10)

Sengoku Youkai Daikassen - 1cc (10)

Maho Shoe - 1cc (10)

Hishou Ayu - 1cc, Normal (10)

Alien Death Mob - All stars (10)

Wolflame - Normal 1cc (10)

东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere - Normal 1cc (Sakuya) (10)

Gun-Nac - 1cc, normal (10)

Bike Banditz - 1cc, Normal (10)

Redneg 3Stars - Normal 1cc (10)

Winged Gear - 1cc, Normal (8)

Redneg Allstars - 1cc, normal (10)

Galactic Refugees - Hard 1cc (6)

XCUTE(me) - 1cc (2-5), Normal (10)

Satazius - Normal 1cc (10)

Espgaluda - 1cc

Touhou Kikamu ~ Elegant Impermanence of Sakura - Normal 1cc

Super Glitter Rush - All stars

Rangok Skies - 1cc (all characters)

Schildmaid MX Beta - Krieger 1cc

Donpachi - 1cc

Battle Garegga - Premium mode 1cc

Ketsui Deathtiny - Deathtiny mode 1cc

Star Hunter DX - Bounty Hunter 1cc, Luna

Evorales - Arcade, Normal 1cc

Zakesta - 1cc

Blaynix - Normal 1cc

Techbeat Heart - S+ Rank

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, normal

Hell Blasters - 1cc, arcade, hard

Precious Star - 1cc, Normal

Eclosion. - 1cc, Normal

Blue Wish Desire - Normal 1cc, autoguard on

Klorets - 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Hell, 1cc

Blue Wish Desire - Accel, 1cc

Genetos - 1cc, standard

Gleylancer - 1cc, Normal

赤鯱 -Origin's Saga- - Normal, 1cc

Twin Cobra 2 - 1cc

 

[cassidy]

No 26 of the year 

 

Unpacking (Gamepass)

 

A nice chill zen like game, where all you do is unpack and find a place for every object, with at least a few needing to be placed in a particular location. (you can switch this off btw in accessibility options), good music as well I thought. 

 

Rather short but enjoyable enough 

 

[strawdonkey]

On 22/10/2021 at 23:58, strawdonkey said:

00. Katamari Damacy
0X. Kind Words

01. Hello Charlotte Episode 1

02. Hello Charlotte Episode 2: Requiem Aeternam Deo

03. Hello Charlotte Episode 3: Childhood's End

04. There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

05. Mandagon
06. Heaven Will Be Mine

07. Tales of the Black Forest

08. Super Mario 3D World

09. Lair of the Clockwork God

10. Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk ...

11. Super Mario 3D World: Bowser's Fury

12. Tetris Effect

13. Luck be a Landlord

14. Rain on your Parade

15. The Red Strings Club

16. The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia

17. Shape of the World

18. Far: Lone Sails

19. Return of the Obra Dinn

20. Donut County

21. Warhammer: Vermintide 2

22. Cat Quest

23. Touhou: Luna Nights

24. World End Economica: Episode 1

25. Murder By Numbers

26. Hypnospace Outlaw

27. Behold The Kickmen

28. Lonely Mountains: Downhill

29. The Next Penelope

30. Doom (2016)

31. Monster Train

32. Loop Hero

33. World End Economica: Episode 2

34. What Remains of Edith Finch

35. Cube Escape: Seasons

35a. The rest of the Cube Escape Collection games

36. Forza Horizon 4

37. Sayonara Wild Hearts

38. Princess Remedy In A World Of Hurt

39. Glittermitten Grove

40. The Adventures of Elena Temple

41. Sorry, James

42. Deltarune Chapter 2

43. Golf With Your Friends

06a: Heaven Will Be Mine (all the other endings)

44. Cherry Tree High Comedy Club

45. Breath of Death VII

46. Get In The Car, Loser!

47. Kero Blaster

48. Lucius Demake

49. Inscryption

50. Glass Masquerade 2

 

Sequel to the cult classic Stained Glass-em-up, Glass Masquerade 2 sees you completing yet more circular jigsaws where the person who has cut the pieces up really hates you. I'm not sure if it's just that I've had the honeymoon period with the first game or if things are a little more finicky this time around, but I didn't quite get as much out of this as the previous entry in the series, other than the utterly sublime spooky/chamber music soundtrack which is an absolute delight.

 

Maybe it's the sheer amount of trial and error, maybe it's the fact that sometimes you just can't seem to figure out where certain pieces are meant to go, or maybe it's the comedown after you string a few pieces together one by one like some kind of jigsaw jesus, only to become once again stuck and trying to fit circular pegs into square holes, only the circles have 13 sides and the square holes might not have fully taken form yet or it might be immaculate and you're just stupid and

 

I still had fun but I don't feel like I'm any better at Glass Masquerade than when I started playing.

[Boothjan]

Spoiler

1. Forza Horizon 4 - Lego Speed Champions & Fortune Island DLC packs (XB1) - 8.5/10

2. The Gardens Between (XB1 Game Pass) - 8/10

3. Sea of Thieves (XB1) - 10/10

4. The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild (Switch) - 10/10

5. Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch) - 8.5/10

6. Titanfall 2 (XB1) - 9/10

7. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - 9.5/10

8. Sniper Elite 4 - (XB1 Game Pass) - 8.5/10

9. Journey to the Savage Planet (XB1 Game Pass) - 7.5/10

10. Wolfenstein: The New Order (XB1 Game Pass) - 8/10

11. Hades (Switch) - 9.5/10

12. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) - 9/10

13. Halo 5: Guardians (XB1) - 8.5/10

14. Halo: Reach (XB1 Game Pass) - 8.5/10

15. Bloodroots (XB1 Game Pass) - 6.5/10

16. Psychonauts 2 (XSX Game Pass) - 9/10

17. The Artful Escape (XSX Game Pass) - 9/10

18. The Ascent (XB1/XSX Game Pass) - 6.5/10

19. Marvel's Avengers (XSX Game Pass) - 7/10

 

20. Assassins Creed Odyssey (XB1)

 

I'm going to add the DLC I'm currently playing through once I've done it as a separate entry - because it's my list and I want to make it longer!

 

Anyway, I have ploughed 100 hours into this absolutely colossal game, so I really wanted to talk about the main game aside from the DLC.  So - right out of the bag, I have read and can appreciate the criticisms of Odyssey, particularly with regards to the size and the bloat within the game.  However, the reason I don't particularly share that criticism is that the things that are bloated are just such an absolute blast.  Regarding the map - yes, it's gigantic, but it's just drop dead gorgeous no matter where in the Greek world you are.  Is it samey?  Yeah, probably is - but in terms of historical and geographical accuracy, I think it would have been a mistake for it to be any different.  A snowy biome for example wouldn't have been particularly Greek.  But I hear there's another AC title out now which caters for those who like a bit of a colder climate.

 

So yes, it's massive.  So much so that it will take several hours to play through the prologue mission on the starting island (Kefalonia) before you even reach the opening titles.  From there, your movements are restricted somewhat due to the recommended levels on the other areas of the map, but things open up at a decent enough pace and it's not like you won't have anything to do whilst you wait to level up enough to progress.

 

Another thing a lot of people had an issue with was the levelling up system, preventing you from progressing in certain missions until you'd done enough sidequests.  I can honestly say that I would never have noticed this if it hadn't been mentioned by anyone else.  I didn't exactly play though every single side quest either - the pacing of the game (size aside) was absolutely fine for me.

 

Story-wise, you can choose to play as either Alexios or Kassandra at the very beginning, but you can't change mid-game so choose carefully.  Actually, if you haven't started this game yet and are unsure who to choose, choose Kassandra.  If you don't, you're playing it wrong because whilst Alexios is a fairly standard protagonist, the voice acting and performance of Kassandra is WAY better.   

 

I really enjoyed the main quest line in Odyssey - it had me engaged way more than any other AC title to date, and the freedom which you can choose to complete the main quests (like I say, the level cap issue didn't once hinder me here) just adds to the scale of the game.  Rooting out members of a ruthless cult was very cool, with these particular enemies hiding in a good variety of ways.  Although not quite as formulaic as previous AC games, there are still a lot of quests which are essentially recycled throughout (meet someone, they tell you to kill someone, go and find them, kill them, return for rewards, repeat to fade....).  But there are literally hundreds of side quests to do, they're not all like this.  In fact, some of them are genuinely funny.  You can also 'meet' some very well known mythological creatures - Odyssey is dripping in lore and legend.  It adds to the atmosphere of the game.

 

Combat is absolutely superb - the skill trees which you unlock after every levelling up is great, and I'm sure different people have their own preferred fighting style.  Some of the special moves are just tremendous.  I found myself actively looking for bandits to fight because taking down 10 bad guys never grew old, whether it was sneaking around taking them out one by one stealthily, or running into all of them at once and clearing them out via blood and thunder.  And the Spartan Kick.  Just YES.  

 

 

I didn't just enjoy the land combat - epic sea battles are also a big part of Odyssey, and they too feel tremendous, although they don't hit the sweet spot quite as well as they did in Black Flag.  Ship weaponry etc can also be unlocked to the point that by the end of your journey, you'll feel like a naval behemoth.  Again, I actively went out looking for enemies.

 

I have to admit that I am a bit of an ancient history geek.  I absolutely love ancient Greek and Roman history, and the architecture in particular.  In fact, an Assassins Creed game set in the height of the Roman Empire is my dream AC title.  They have absolutely nailed the Hellenic world so I'd love to see this sense of scale and grandeur in Ancient Rome.  So giving me a game where I could spend hour after hour exploring, killing, pillaging and meeting famous names from Greek history/legend was never going to be something I grew bored of quickly.

 

If you don't have 100-odd hours to sink into a huge open world like this, probably best not to bother but if you do enjoy becoming engrossed with the world you explore, I would rank this a close 2nd to BOTW in how much it has sucked me in.  Yes, it's a very big and expansive game, and yes - you will find yourself doing the same things quite a lot, but if you actually enjoy those same things, I don't think this is a bad thing, just not for everyone.  But it's absolutely for me.

 

The DLC is proving to be a pretty hefty follow on from the main game too.  I bought the Ultimate Edition with all the DLC for around £30, which really is an absolute bargain for how much fun game time it's given me.

 

I love this game.  

 

9.5/10

[cassidy]

No 27 of the year Guardians of the Galaxy. (Series X version) 

 

Came from nowhere(sic) this did. 

It was a delight from start to finish. Really looks good on the Series X and OLED. 

 

But most importantly the writing and the character development and the story is superb. 

 

I laughed and I may have shed a tear too. 

 

Don't sit on this one it's really bloody excellent.