What games did you complete? 2022 Edition

[strawdonkey]

On 16/07/2022 at 23:41, strawdonkey said:

2021/65a. Star Hunter DX (Space Cadet, 1CC, 19.3mil)

01. The Artful Escape

02. Rhythm Doctor

03. Monolith

04. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch.2 Watanagashi

05. Outer Wilds

06. OMORI

02a. Rhythm Doctor (all the bonus stuff and B+'d every stage)

07. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel (all solo content clear)

08. Windjammers 2 (1CC)

09. Vampire Survivors

10. Ghost Blade HD (1CC Easy)

10a. Ghost Blade HD

07a. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

11. Exceed 2nd - Vampire Rex (uh, 3CC I guess)

12. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi

13. Magic The Gathering: Arena (Mythic Rank, constructed)

14. Solitarica

15. Schildmaid MX (Jaeger Mode 1CC, 12.9mil)

16. ZeroRanger - White Vanilla Mode (719k, Type-C, C++)

17. Zenohell (Honestly it took like 20 credits)

18. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 4 Himatsubushi

16a. ZeroRanger - Green Orange Mode 1-ALL (354k, Type-C)

19. Backspace Bouken (and the Numb Lock DLC)

20. Exceed 3rd: Jade Penetrate Black Package (1CC, Easy, 5,388,190)

20a. Exceed 3rd: Jade Penetrate Black Package (1CC, Normal, 3mil and some change)

21. Rez Infinite (Area X)

22. Point Blank (1CC, Expert Mode)
23. Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night (1CC, New Moon, Reimu/Yukari)

23a. Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night (1CC, Waxing Crescent, Reimu/Yukari)

24. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

25. Graze Counter (many 1CCs)

26. Touhou 7 - Perfect Cherry Blossom (1CC, Easy, Reimu)

27. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 5 Meakashi

X1. Carrion

28. Deathsmiles (1CC, Normal, Rosa, 57mil)

29. One Step From Eden (Reva clear, all bosses spared)

30. Panzer Dragoon Remake

31. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 6 Tsumihoroboshi

32. Jamestown+ (Story completion and finished Gauntlet Mode)

X2. Death's Door

33. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 7 Minagoroshi

25a. Graze Counter - Expert mode (Type-7, 474mil)
34. Splatoon

35. Drainus (Normal 2-all 1CC)

36. Neko Navy ("Easy" 1CC, 918mil, Mugi)

37. Mario Golf: Super Rush

38. Wario Ware Gold

39. Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk ...

22a. Point Blank (1CC, Very Hard Mode)

40. Kirby's Adventure

 

My kids are currently mad on Kirby so I've been playing around with some of the older games available on the NES and SNES collections you get for being a Switch Online member. Kirby's Adventure is the second game in the series (after Kirby's Dream Land on the Gameboy) and it is amazing to see how much of the DNA of this game is still present in even the most modern of Kirby games, or perhaps more accurately how much they got right back in 1993.

Kirby's Copy Abilities are just as great as ever here, the music is the same recognisable tunes that you still hear today, and the sprite work is gorgeous - level design is simple but surprisingly tricky in places, and hearing this described as an "easy" game means I'm probably getting old as it took me a number of continues to finally see the ending. It's just so easy to take a couple of accidental hits, lose your Copy Ability and then just be struggling to navigate the level (whilst bosses are ironically usually much easier without a Copy Ability).

 

Only real complaint would be that the game can feel a little unresponsive at times - sometimes you want to land from a jump, turn the other direction and inhale something and you'll usually wind up landing and either doing nothing, or inhaling in the wrong direction. It's almost like the game can't deal with the number of inputs you're giving it, or it has a deliberate gap between your landing state and when you're allowed to give it another input.

 

In general though it has aged remarkably well.

[FiveFootNinja]

14. New Super Lucky's Tale (XB1) [Family game] - My son and I started the original a while ago on Game Pass but abandoned it due to a save breaking bug. However after seeing the new version was available I thought it was worth a try and I have to say we have really really enjoyed it. The game is a pretty traditional 3D platformer at it's core, with some 2D and physics based levels in the mix, with a combination of hub worlds, levels and bosses to progress. My 6yo struggled with the last few bosses, but other than that it wasn't a bad difficulty for him. My OG Xbox One struggled with it a bit in places resulting in some annoying freeze frames (especially at irritating phases of boss fights) but on the whole it was a solid experience. Well worth a look if you have young gamers in the house and Game Pass available. - 9/10

 

 

 

On 23/07/2022 at 12:49, FiveFootNinja said:

1. Wordle (iOS)

2. Quordle (iOS)

3. Knotwords (iOS)

4. Lego DC Super Villains (PS5) [Family game] - 8/10

5. Ben 10: Power Trip (XB1) [Family game] - 8/10

6. Rush: Disney Pixar Adventure (XB1) [Family game] -  7/10

7. The Artful Escape (XB1) - 7/10

8. FAR: Changing Tides (XB1) - 8/10

9. Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4  Remastered (PS5) [Family game] - 8/10

10. Astro's Playroom (PS5) [Family game] - 10/10

11. The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS5) -  8.5/10

12. Spider-man: Miles Morales (PS5) - 9/10

13. Lego The Hobbit (XB1) [Family game] - 8/10

 

[shirubagan]

 

Spoiler

01. How We Know We're Alive (Mac)
02. Gorogoa (Game Pass)
03. The Procession to Calvary (Game Pass)
04.Shadow Warrior [2013] (Xbox)
05. Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
06. Crossfire X – Chapter 1: Catalyst (XSX)
07. Battlefield 4 – Campaign, Normal (XSX)
08. Astro's Playroom (PS5)
09. Il Filo Conduttore (Mac)
10. Ratchet & Clank – Rift Apart (PS5)
11. Borderlands 3 – Guns, Love & Tentacles DLC (XSX)
12 & 13. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episodes 1 & 2 (Xbox GWG)
14. Pokémon Sword (Switch)
15 & 16. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episodes 3 & 4 (Xbox GWG)
17. Panzer Dragoon Remake, Normal Run (Switch)

18. Rez Infinite, Area 1-5 run (PS5)
19. Bowser's Fury, All Cat Shines (Switch)
20. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episode 5 (Xbox GWG)
21. Nobody Saves the World (Xbox)
22. Trek to Yomi (Xbox)
22.5. Rez Area X (PS5)
23. Tomb Raider 2013 (XSX)

24. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (XSX Game Pass)
25. Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5 – PS+ Extra)
26. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS5 – PS+ Extra) [ABANDONED]
27. Stray (PS5 – PS+ Extra)
28. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge – Michelangelo ending (Game Pass)

29. Eyeland (PlayDate)

 

 

 

Re-spectre-ble behaviour

30. Life's Too Short (PlayDate)
Another short and sweet $1 game from itch.io where you play a ghost trying to restore order to a haunted house. A few simple fetch quests and item usage put me in mind of early point and click/text adventures I'd play on my C64. 

[BabelRich]

29/07 - Escape Academy

 

As I said in the GamePass thread; if you've any love for escape rooms or even just puzzle games in general this is essential. Designed by actual escape room designers every 'room' (of which there are 12, including the tutorial room) is a perfect marriage of theme, aesthetics and brain-teasers.

 

It's just the right side of hard, I only really struggled twice, once because of a bug and once because my brain was on a completely different path to the actual solution. Generally though, a bit of thought will see you through and make you feel like you're super-smart for deducing the answers.

 

There is a story linking all the rooms; it is daft in a slightly charming way but is only there for context and doesn't impose so can be safely ignored if you'd rather.

 

Best of all it all ends with an obvious opening for DLC or a sequel and I for one can't bloody wait.

 

10/10 (If you like this sort of thing)

 

 

Spoiler

27/07 - Dodgeball Academia 5/10

25/07 - Assassin's Creed: Syndicate 9/10

11/07 - Assassin's Creed: Unity 3/10

10/07 - Donkey Kong Country 4/10

05/07 - Dragon Age: Inquisition 8/10

18/06 - TMNT: Shredder's Revenge 7/10

14/06 - Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 8/10

01/06 - Dragon Quest XI 8/10

26/05 - Tales of Monkey Island 8/10

16/05 - Red Dead Redemption 9/10

12/05 - Lost Words – Beyond the Page 6/10

10/05 - Citizen Sleeper 9/10

06/05 - Lost in Random 6/10

08/04 – Kirby and the Forgotten Kingdom 9/10

01/04 – Danganronpa 2 – Goodbye Despair 08/10

25/03 – Tunic 6/10

16/03 – Danganronpa – Trigger Happy Havok 8/10

13/03 - Horizon - Forbidden West 10/10

15/02 - Agent A 7/10

14/02 - Saint's Row - Gat Out of Hell 6/10

11/02 - Nobody Saves the World 8/10

04/02 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake Episode INTERMission 6/10

01/02 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake 8/10

26/01 - Gorogoa 9/10

25/01 - The Gunk 7/10

23/01 - Control 7/10

11/01 - Rise of the Tomb Raider 7/10

07/01 - Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space 9/10

 

[Sprite Machine]

Previously...

Spoiler

1.) Lego City Undercover - PC - 2017 (2013)
2.) What Remains of Edith Finch - PS4 - 2017
3.) Superliminal - PS4 - 2020 (2019)
4.) Untitled Goose Game - Switch - 2019
5.) One Finger Death Punch 2 - PC - 2019
6.) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - PC - 2011 (2010)
7.) Vanquish - PC - 2017 (2010)

8.) Mass Effect (Legendary Edition) - PS4 - 2021 (2007)
9.) Telling Lies - PC - 2019
10.) Halo 5: Guardians - Xbox One - 2015
11.) Halo Infinite - Xbox Series - 2021
12.) Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition - PC - 2016 (2015)
13.) Alice: Madness Returns - PC - 2011
14.) The Forgotten City - Xbox Series - 2021
15.) Titanfall 2 - PC - 2016

16.) Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - Switch - 2019 (2006)

17.) Sonic Origins: Economical Edition - PC - 1991/2020
18.) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch - 2017 (2014)
19.) Valiant Hearts: The Great War - Switch - 2018 (2014)
20.) Terranigma - SNES - 1996

 

21.) Batman: Arkham Origins - PC - 2013
I skipped over this game originally, but the recent (The) Batman film put me in the mood for some early years down-to-earth caped crusadin'. Unfortunately, Arkham Origins doesn't really feel like Batman's early years and plays pretty much exactly the same as the other Arkham games. The same gadgets, same fighting style, detective vision, traversal methods, he even flies around in a Batwing. Still, it does it all reasonably well once again, despite being developed by a different team and using a younger voice cast.

 

It's Christmas Eve and, to save the game engine shitting itself, the police have put everyone on lockdown so the only people outside in Gotham are crooks. Like Arkham City, Origins takes place in exterior and interior locations, with the usual predictable sequence of air vents and gargoyle statues. The predator rooms continue to be the highlight for me, allowing for stealthy takedowns while your enemies slowly go insane with terror. Big brawl fights make up a lot of the game too, and these are fine but they do get repetitive. It's very impressive how fluid and dynamic the fighting moves are, but whenever I try to do a special takedown or clever combo, I'm punished by being hit by another enemy before I can do it. There are usually so many thugs fighting you all at once that the best method is to just use the counter-attack for the whole fight. I think this is probably true of the other Arkham games too, but I noticed it particularly here.

 

There is the usual assortment of side missions, including proto-Riddler collectables and random crimes-in-progress. Aside from the virtual crime scene reconstructions, which are a fun idea, these are not particularly interesting. So many times have I jumped through E.Nigma's silly hoops in these games, and I just can't be arsed to do it yet again. It's also a little bit glitchy and unpolished compared to Rocksteady's games, so I'm happy to wrap up the story and leave the rest. Approximate playtime 17 hours.

[cassidy]

Spoiler

06/01/22

1. Yakuza 3 remastered -(series X)

 

26/01/22

2. Yakuza 4 remastered - (series X) 

 

27/01/22

3. Nobody saves the world - (Series X)

 

16/02/22

4. Infernax - (series X)

 

17/02/22

5. Dreamscaper - (series X) 

 

17/03/2022

6. Young Souls - (Series X) 

 

06/04/2022

7. A Memoir Blue - (Series X)

 

22/04/2022

8. Elden Ring - (Series X) 

 

27/04/2022

9. Turnip Boy commits tax evasion. 

10. Gigawing - Capcom arcade stadium version

 

30/04/2022

11. Battle Circuit - Capcom arcade stadium version

 

01/05/2022

12. Life is Strange - True Colours

 

19/05/2022

13. Eiyuden Chronicles : Rising (SeriesX) 

 

20/06/2022

14.TMNT : Shredders revenge

 

23/06/2022

15.Disc room 

 

14/07/2022

16. House Flipper

 

29/07/2022

17. Powerwash Sim

 

 

No 18 for the year 

 

As Dusk Falls (Series X)

Another Gamepass game, it was ok, just not enough game in there, mainly QTE's, but the story was good enough to keep me playing to the end. 

 

 

[Popo]

The Last of Us Part 2 (2020)

 

The second time around for me - this time on hard, with the 60fps update. What more is there to say? One of the best games ever made. The story, gameplay and visuals are first in class. So many fantastic set pieces. The facial animation is so good that the characters can emote without saying a word, and it makes you feel emotional. Joel and Ellie are two of my favourite characters in any medium, let alone games, and Abby was a brilliant addition too. Hell, the game is so strong on characterisation even the grunt enemies seem to have lives beyond their designated patrol routes. The whimper from the dogs when you kill their handler. 

 

I think it’s time I played the Uncharted games. 

 

Spoiler

06/01/2022 - Halo Infinite

09/01/2022 - Hyper Light Drifter

05/02/2022 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

13/02/2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy

20/02/2022 - It Takes Two

20/03/2022 - Super Mario 3D Land

20/03/2022 - Panzer Dragoon: Remake

21/03/2022 - Psychonauts 2

18/04/2022 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

08/05/2022 - New Super Mario Bros 2

19/05/2022 - Resident Evil 4 HD

25/05/2022 - Tunic

16/06/2022 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

16:06/2022 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

09/07/2022 - Luigi’s Mansion 2

16/07/2022 - Journey

19/07/2022 - Tomb Raider

03/08/2022 - The Last of Us Part 2

 

[Ste Pickford]

Elden Ring - finally!

237 hours on the clock.  Platinum trophy (thanks to save scumming).  65 attempts at the final boss before I beat it.  Phew!  What a game.

Right, NG+ time, I guess.

[ImmaculateClump]

Like Dreamer - Speedrun, Expert 1cc

Like Dreamer - All Trial, Nightmare 1cc

Shooting Game KARI - Normal 1cc

 

Spoiler

Nekotosakana - 1cc

Moon Dancer - Normal 1cc (no miss), Hard 1cc (no miss), Expert 1cc

Grand Cross: Renovation - 1cc

Operation STEEL - Normal 1cc, Hard 1cc

Vampire Survivors - Inlaid Library hyper, Mad Forest hyper, Green Acres hyper

Sophstar - 1cc and TLB, Arcade, Intermediate, original scoring, Reyka

Sol Cresta - 2-all, Normal (3-5)

Stainless Night - 1cc

Andro Dunos II - 1cc

Z-Warp - Hardcore 1cc

Galacticon - 1cc, Level 36 (loop 4)
Drainus - Normal 2-all, Arcade 2-all
Red-Hawk - 1cc

Tukiyono - 1cc (ending 1), 1cc (ending 2)

Love - Arcade

Spacewing War - Story mode 1cc

AISZplus - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Arcade, normal 1cc (April)

Deathsmiles IIX - 1cc TLB

Like Dreamer - [Trial, Maniac 1cc] [Trial+, Expert 1cc] [Trial, Nightmare 1cc]

 

[Popo]

Metroid: Samus Returns (2017)

 

This was so good! A real pleasant surprise. The seeds of Metroid Dread are all here in some form, and it’s clear that the developer had a great handle on Samus right out the gates. Being unencumbered by the weight of expectation of the original Gameboy game I feel I was able to appreciate it for what it was, rather than what it wasn’t - and that’s a real burden to have to bear, I don’t begrudge anyone it - and so played it to 100% completion with glee. Real one-more-go stuff. The areas and music were extremely generic, which was clear as I swept back through each area to get all the pickups. That is NOT something you can say of Super or Prime. So putting those things aside, which maybe stops the game from being an all time classic, this is a brilliant Metroid game, and worthy of the title. 
 

Spoiler

06/01/2022 - Halo Infinite

09/01/2022 - Hyper Light Drifter

05/02/2022 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

13/02/2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy

20/02/2022 - It Takes Two

20/03/2022 - Super Mario 3D Land

20/03/2022 - Panzer Dragoon: Remake

21/03/2022 - Psychonauts 2

18/04/2022 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

08/05/2022 - New Super Mario Bros 2

19/05/2022 - Resident Evil 4 HD

25/05/2022 - Tunic

16/06/2022 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

16:06/2022 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

09/07/2022 - Luigi’s Mansion 2

16/07/2022 - Journey

19/07/2022 - Tomb Raider

03/08/2022 - The Last of Us Part 2

05/08/2022 - Metroid: Samus Return

 

[Unofficial Who]

Aug

 

21/08 I Am Dead (PS5) There's something about Annapurna's games that have put me off of late and to start with this was no exception. A story about a museum curator recently deceased being told by his dead now talking dog that he has to find a new custodian for the island they lived on seemed a little twee. I bounced off it. But this morning slightly under the weather I continued and was enjoying the slow pace of this. It's more like an activity book really, one full of cross sections and pull tabs. Part way into the second chapter my partner also feeling a bit unwell joined me and was really charmed by the look of the game (especially the cats) and so we continued solving the lite puzzles together. This was where I had originally decided to stop but we ended up completing the optional second layer of puzzles (finding cross sections of objects to reveal tiny spirits) and then the third layer of timed riddles. It made for a chill Sunday afternoon together even if the reward for finishing the optional third layer was charmingly crap. The game gets busier the further in you get and about midway it had reminded us of the old Richard Scarry children's books in tone. Play this alone and I think you might find this tiresome. But playing it with someone as some low key entertainment, perfect stuff.

 

 

20/08 Skate or Die! (C64) Obviously not a big challenge to get through five events in this sort of game but a lovely revisit to the 80's where my furture was so bright I had to wear shades. I thought this was rather slight back in the day but it's dated really well with the two downhill events being highlights for me.

 

 

16/08 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) Complete! And by complete I mean I got to the credits. Just like Grindstone there's much much more here to do. I don't have friends come over much anymore but I've been playing this a little bit every so often just for the joy of racing around the circuits. It's one of the best looking games of the current gen. And while I've "finished" the base tracks there are higher difficulty levels to play and new levels (I just raced around a Sydney themed track much to the delight of myself and my partner.) Counting this as complete though just so I can name check it here. Also it's the closest we're getting to a new F-Zero game in the new future.

 

 

14/08 Eco Fighters (Arcade/PC) An attractive but somewhat ungainly horizontal shooter by Capcom where you have to use your fighter to destroy the tools of polluters. I guess you're part of an eco terrorist cell? Your ship has an arm which has a gun or orb that can be rotated in any direction. Really hard and I made it through with sheer skill (and many many cheating rewinds.)

 

14/08 Grindstone (PC) Another game I've been playing a lot of in the past two months this bought back the joy of puzzle games that games like Candy Crush had, er, crushed my enthusiasm for. It's not a match three game as such, more of a chain the colours together game as you play as a barbarian slashing his way through hordes of monsters to save enough gems to take your family on holiday. It has a really nice Adventure Time style look to it and it's perfectly balanced starting off quite simple and then adding extra layers of gear and elements to make things more complex. One of the best games of it's type in years. I'll probably keep playing it for the rest of the year just to get through the post game content (some more of which dropped last week.)

 

 

14/08 Borderlands 3 (and DLC) (PC) I'd heard not great things about Borderlands 3 so I gave it a miss. And then Epic gave it away on their store. Free is free right? And, well I didn't like it as much as Borderlands 2. The two protagonists, a pair of psychopathic sirens turned cult media influencers really put me off and I can't decide if it's because they did too good a job at being hateful. But I found myself continuing to play because I love that Borderlands loop taken straight from Diablo. It's ok...was going to be my take. But then, then the DLC went on sale for cheap and I'd heard good things. By then I'd gotten quite a bit of value from the main campaign and decided to chance it. This turned the entire game around for me. The DLC episodes are less sprawling tighter experiences with much better writing . I was almost tempted to count each as their own game completions over the past couple of months but I'll just sum up my thoughts here.

 

Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck was the first one I played, taking place in the mind of Psycho Krieg. It's very surreal and perhaps a bit too "meaty" for my tastes but the plot was decent enough, perhaps even a little heartwarming?

 

Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption is essentially Borderlands done in the style of Firefly. A wild west setting with Asian overtones (which unlike Firefly has Asian representation.) I'm a sucker for western tales so this tale about defending a town from a nearby gang was totally my bag. 

 

Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot is a classic heist set inside a casino space station which has been locked down ever since a certain casino owner died. Shades of Bioshock here as you seek out a team of misfits while fighting the forces of "Pretty Boy" who has been trying to take over the station.

 

Last on my list was Guns, Love, and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright & Hammerlock, an episode based around a wedding on an icy planet in and around the dead(?) remains of a Cthulhu style elder god. This was a bit of a highlight, great writing and some brilliant sound design in regards to background music and low bass dialogue.

 

I enjoyed each of these a lot more than the main campaign I had played up until that point and it bought me back into the main game with renewed enthusiasm for seeing out the end. And it's a good thing I did because the last parts of the main campaign are great with some amazing settings. Too often a lot of FPS games will devolve into a mess or corridors by the end, this had ancient temples from a long dead civilisation along with a great late stage NPC.

 

I had a lot more fun with this than I thought I would going in. The main game campaign? It's solid although if you'd recently played any other Borderlands game it might feel a bit tired. The DLC is where the game really shines though. It's tighter, and it feels like the writers and the actors had a lot of fun with it. According to Epic I've played this for about 80 hours and apart from the initial couple of hours which fell a bit flat for me I had a great time.

 

 

 

 

10/08 Knights of the Round (Arcade/PC) Another attractive looking beat-em up but Capcom have done better. I did like the levelling up mechanic but as I was playing this solo the other features (like being able to split treasure and food) were lost on me. I suspect I'm missing the point trundling through this one alone. That pixel art though....

 

 

10/08 Block Block (Arcade/PC) This is very of it's time. Take a simple concept, in this case Arkanoid, and add loads of new features making it somehow less fun than the game you were inspired by. I won't lie, I used a lot of rewinds to get through this and in the end...I think I would have been better off playing Megaball on the Amiga. Sometimes less is more.

 

 

06/08 Monument Valley 2 : Panoramic Edition (PC) Shorter than the first game and it's bonus content but still fantastic. I didn't mention the sound design which is just lovely all the way through or the atmosphere which reminded me of Sword and Sworcery and Shadow of the Colossus. (There's an Easter egg referring to the latter hidden in one of the levels.) It might seem expensive in terms of dollar per hour gameplay but I loved every second of these two games. Recommended.

 

 

06/08 Monument Valley: Panoramic Edition (PC) Finally! I've got a weird history with this short game. I came near to finishing it a couple of years ago when my partner saw me playing the penultimate level. So she started playing and Apple being like it is this lost my progress. And every time I made a run at this my partner would again do a run that week. I should have just hidden the pad or sat down in a locked room for an hour. In any case this (and it's sequel) have been released on Steam. It looks beautiful and the puzzles are pleasant if not too difficult. This is less of a game and more of a puzzle box, albeit one that could not exist in real life. It loses a little bit of the tactile nature that it had playing it via a touchscreen but it's still incredibly satisfying. It is short, an hour long but the DLC has been included extending playtime almost double. And while short there's no deadtime here. It's jam packed full of ideas that have been flawlessly implemented. I've played other games that have tried to play around with Escher's optical illusions (The Bridge and Echochrome being two examples) but this is the only one I've really enjoyed.

 

 

Previously

 

Spoiler

 

57. 31/07 The King of Dragons (Arcade/PC)

56. 30/07 Son Son (Arcade/PS5)

55. 30/07 Don't Pull (Arcade/PC)

54. 30/07 Chariot: Adventure Through The Sky (Arcade/PC)

53. 30/07 Midnight Wanderers: Quest for the Chariot (Arcade/PC)

52. 29/07 Magic Sword (Arcade/PC) 

51. 29/07 LED Storm (Arcade/PC)

50. 29/07 Last Duel (Arcade/PC) 

49. 26/07 Raji:An Ancient Epic (PC)

48. 24/07 Tiger Road (PC/Arcade)

47. 24/07 Side Arms Hyper Dyne (PC/Arcade) 

46. 23/07 Gun.Smoke (PC/Arcade)

45. 23/07 Exed Exes (PC/Arcade) 

44. 10/07 Bangkok Knights (C64)

43. 02/07 Zero Wing (Megadrive/Switch)

42. 26/06 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (PC) 

41. 17/06 Psycho Soldier (Arcade/PC)

40. 16/06 Prehistoric Isle in 1930 (Arcade/PC)

39. 16/06 Street Smart (Arcade/PC)

38. 12/06 Midnight Scenes:The Nanny (PC)

37. 28/05 SUPERHOT (PC) 

36. 28/05 Tetris Effect:Connected (PC)

35. 22/05 Sea of Solitude (PC) 

34. 21/05 Scott Morrison Simulator (Browser) 

33. 16/05 Full Throttle:Remastered (PC)

32. 15/05 Unbeatable [White Label] (PC)

31. 14/05 Trek To Yomi (PC) 

30. 13/05 Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (PC)

29. 09/05 California Games (C64)

28.01/05 The Stanley Parable:Ultra Deluxe (PC)

27. 27/04 The Darkside Detective:A Fumble in the Dark (PC)

26. 23/04 Streets of Rage 4 (PC)

25. 17/04 Exo One (PC)

24. 16/04 A Memoir Blue (PC)

23. 08/04 Slay the Spire (PC)

22. 03/04 Tunic (PC) 

21. 02/04 Kingdom:Two Crowns (PC)

20. 26/03 Say No! More (PC)

19. 21/03 Wizball (C64)

18. 17/03 Battle Circuit (PC/Arcade)

17. 17/03 We Happy Few (PC)

16. 07/03 Powered Gear (PC/Arcade) 

15. 06/03 FAR:Changing Tides (PC)

14. 05/03 In Other Waters (PC)

13. 02/03 Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck/PC) 

12. 27/02 Final Fantasy 14:A Realm Reborn:Seventh Astral Era (PC) 

11. 25/02 Vampire Survivors (PC) 

10. 18/02 Hypnospace Outlaw

9. 05/02 Final Fight (PC/Arcade)

8. 31/01 Dynasty Wars (Arcade/PC)

7. 31/01 Mega Twins (Arcade/PC) 

6, 29/01 Superhot:Mind Control Delete (PC) 

5. 16/01 The Forgotten City (PC)

4. 09/01 Mr Driller Drill Land (PC)

3. 07/01 Olija (PC)

2. 07/01 It's a Knockout! (C64) 

1. 02/01 Katamari Damacy REROLL (PC)

 

Abandoned games

03/07 Cris Tales (PC)

03/07 Atomicrops (PC)

13/05 The Wild at Heart (PC)

19/03 Narita Boy (PC)

04/01 YIIK: A Postmodern RPG (PC)

 

[CurryKitten]

06/08/22 - Metroid Dread (Switch)

Just finished this tonight after spending about 1.5 hours on the final bos refining and refining how to beat him... before he'd then shift into new attacks and I'd have to start the learning all over again.

 

I liked this, there were quite a lot of boss battles that seemed completely impossible at first and after several goes you'd click with it, and wouldn't even lose health to defeat one... which are the best sort.  The tension going through the EMMI zones was high and frightening.. and sometimes a little frustrating.  I did need to use a guide a few times - I was completely lost on where to go early on, and to get the 100% item completion I needed help.  I didn't feel bad for using them - it helped me enjoy the game more.

 

Fun - there's no way I'd ever want to go and try hard mode though!

[Popo]

The Gunk (2021)

The very definition of a 7/10 game. Competently made, although it feels somewhat unfinished due to the lack of collision detection on the (numerous) water traps, and the janky way the player character can’t interact properly with all terrain, which often gets you stuck in place if you try to jump on a sloped surface. It has a very confident and impressive visual style, with lots of bold, effective use of colour and lighting, which works really well to give it a unique style. The central mechanic of vacuuming up the titular black goop is fun for a while, but the overall game lacks a sense of progression and is quite one note for the duration of its short run time. 

 

Spoiler

06/01/2022 - Halo Infinite

09/01/2022 - Hyper Light Drifter

05/02/2022 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

13/02/2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy

20/02/2022 - It Takes Two

20/03/2022 - Super Mario 3D Land

20/03/2022 - Panzer Dragoon: Remake

21/03/2022 - Psychonauts 2

18/04/2022 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

08/05/2022 - New Super Mario Bros 2

19/05/2022 - Resident Evil 4 HD

25/05/2022 - Tunic

16/06/2022 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

16:06/2022 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

09/07/2022 - Luigi’s Mansion 2

16/07/2022 - Journey

19/07/2022 - Tomb Raider

03/08/2022 - The Last of Us Part 2

05/08/2022 - Metroid: Samus Returns

08/08/2022 - The Gunk

 

[instasis]

09/08: Road 96 (Xbone Sex)

 

A tale about a bunch of teenagers who are each individually trying to escape across a border from a totalitarian regime. It's a broadly renamed US or US State, with all the usual American tropes presented to you in terms of the characters you meet. 

 

It's hilariously and fundamentally shit. Narratively, it's clunky and bitty, and the procedural way of piecing together the scenes means they're all disjointed and even sometimes clash. Also, many encounters are bookended with terrible arcade minigames.

 

I couldn't stop playing it.

 

I got a result, and maybe even the right one, I dunno. It offers multiple play throughs but I really couldn't be less interested. A flawed and broken experiment, then.

 

 

Spoiler

23/1: Ninja Baseball Bat Man (MAME)

17/02: Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (PS5)

19/02: The Pedestrian (Xbone)

19/02: Gorogoa (Xbone)

20/02: The Gunk (Xbone)
18/03: Horizon Zero Dawn (PS5)
20/03: Oculus First Contact (OQ2)

22/03: Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wastes DLC (PS5)

26/03: Little Hope (PS5)

04/04: The Outer Worlds (PS5)

09/04: House Of Ashes (PS5)

13/05: Exo One (Xbone Sex)

13/05: A Memoir Blue (Xbone Sex)

14/05: Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5)

16/05: Trek To Yomi (Xbone Sex)

22/05: Tetris Effect (Xbone Sex)

22/05: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (Xbone Sex)

28/05: Far: Changing Tides (Xbone Sex)

02/06: Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Xbone Sex)

20/06: Forza Horizon 5 (Xbone Sex)

26/06: Lake (Xbone Sex)

27/06: Last Day Of June (PS5)

29/06: Little Nightmares (PS5)

01/07: Deliver Us The Moon (PS5)

09/07: House Flipper (Xbone Sex)
12/07: Mafia Definitive Edition (PS5)

20/07: Mafia 2: Definitive Edition (PS5)

24/07: Stray (PS5)

[Gambit]

10/08 - The Legend of Zelda (NES Switch Online)

 

Yes, the original. And also yes, I used a guide for most of it because fuck me games were obtuse back in the day. I can imagine this being mind blowing back when first released. A full world to explore, hidden secrets, essentially what Breath of the Wild would become albeit designed a lot more favourably towards the player. 

 

7/10

 

Spoiler

January

05/01 - Starfox 64

14/01 - Resident Evil 3

15/01 - Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

30/01 - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

 

February

06/02 - Hades

 

April

03/04 - Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files

10/04 - Knights of the Old Republic

25/04 - Horizon: Forbidden West

 

May

15/05 - The Nonary Games

26/05 - Star Wars Squadrons

 

June

05/06 - Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

15/06 - Kirby 64

17/06 - The Quarry

 

July

17/07 - Zero Time Dilemma

23/07 - Hotel Dusk: Room 215

30/07 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge

 

[shirubagan]

 

Spoiler

01. How We Know We're Alive (Mac)
02. Gorogoa (Game Pass)
03. The Procession to Calvary (Game Pass)
04.Shadow Warrior [2013] (Xbox)
05. Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
06. Crossfire X – Chapter 1: Catalyst (XSX)
07. Battlefield 4 – Campaign, Normal (XSX)
08. Astro's Playroom (PS5)
09. Il Filo Conduttore (Mac)
10. Ratchet & Clank – Rift Apart (PS5)
11. Borderlands 3 – Guns, Love & Tentacles DLC (XSX)
12 & 13. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episodes 1 & 2 (Xbox GWG)
14. Pokémon Sword (Switch)
15 & 16. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episodes 3 & 4 (Xbox GWG)
17. Panzer Dragoon Remake, Normal Run (Switch)

18. Rez Infinite, Area 1-5 run (PS5)
19. Bowser's Fury, All Cat Shines (Switch)
20. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episode 5 (Xbox GWG)
21. Nobody Saves the World (Xbox)
22. Trek to Yomi (Xbox)
22.5. Rez Area X (PS5)
23. Tomb Raider 2013 (XSX)

24. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (XSX Game Pass)
25. Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5 – PS+ Extra)
26. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS5 – PS+ Extra) [ABANDONED]
27. Stray (PS5 – PS+ Extra)
28. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge – Michelangelo ending (Game Pass)

29. Eyeland (PlayDate)
30. Life's Too Short (PlayDate)

 

 

 

 

Working like a dog

31. Pick Pack Pup – Story Mode (PlayDate)
Week three's addition is a wonderful spin on the match genre, putting you in the role of a packer in a very large online retailer's warehouse. Challenges are varied and keep you interested and the little comic books that tell the story are beautifully illustrated, funny and surprisingly satirical. There are Arcade and endless modes which I've not yet touched, but this is really excellent and will definitely be my go to puzzle game for a good while. Along with Loopsy, of course.

[Sprite Machine]

Previously...

Spoiler

1.) Lego City Undercover - PC - 2017 (2013)
2.) What Remains of Edith Finch - PS4 - 2017
3.) Superliminal - PS4 - 2020 (2019)
4.) Untitled Goose Game - Switch - 2019
5.) One Finger Death Punch 2 - PC - 2019
6.) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - PC - 2011 (2010)
7.) Vanquish - PC - 2017 (2010)

8.) Mass Effect (Legendary Edition) - PS4 - 2021 (2007)
9.) Telling Lies - PC - 2019
10.) Halo 5: Guardians - Xbox One - 2015
11.) Halo Infinite - Xbox Series - 2021
12.) Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition - PC - 2016 (2015)
13.) Alice: Madness Returns - PC - 2011
14.) The Forgotten City - Xbox Series - 2021
15.) Titanfall 2 - PC - 2016

16.) Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - Switch - 2019 (2006)

17.) Sonic Origins: Economical Edition - PC - 1991/2020
18.) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch - 2017 (2014)
19.) Valiant Hearts: The Great War - Switch - 2018 (2014)
20.) Terranigma - SNES - 1996

21.) Batman: Arkham Origins - PC - 2013

 

22.) Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Deluxe Edition - PC - 2014 (2013)

 

A companion game to Origins proper, released for handhelds before being ported to consoles/PC. This has much more of a Metroidvania feel, as it's all set within the walls of the titular prison and you have to find gadgets and upgrades to backtrack to previously blocked routes.

 

This is a much more interesting game than Origins and the only issue I had with it was the confusing isometric map screen. The prison is still a 3D environment but the action takes place on intersecting 2D planes ("2.5D") so it isn't always clear where you're going or even what way you're facing. The combat and stealth mechanics are also simpler.

 

By no means a classic example of the genre but a solid entry nonetheless.

[Popo]

Tomb Raider Underworld (2008)

A very fine addition to Crystal Dynamic’s TR trilogy, this. After buying the Steam version back on release but not being able to play it due to a bug with with my hardware configuration that never got a patch, this reluctantly went on my pile of shame, so it was great to be able to play it on Steam Deck at 60fps with all the graphical settings maxed out and to clear out one of the pile’s OGs. 
 

I’m a fan of these games and would probably rate them higher than the recent reboots. The scale and ambition of the tombs you explore and raid is exceptional, especially for the time, and requires a good deal of lateral thinking. The combat is serviceable, but the human enemies lack even rudimentary AI, and the zombie enemies from the end of the game are a bit of a chore, but the inclusion of underwater stages highly vertical ones and a level spread out across several sites that requires use of Lara’s motorbike to get between are all well conceived and executed. 

 

Spoiler

06/01/2022 - Halo Infinite

09/01/2022 - Hyper Light Drifter

05/02/2022 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

13/02/2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy

20/02/2022 - It Takes Two

20/03/2022 - Super Mario 3D Land

20/03/2022 - Panzer Dragoon: Remake

21/03/2022 - Psychonauts 2

18/04/2022 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

08/05/2022 - New Super Mario Bros 2

19/05/2022 - Resident Evil 4 HD

25/05/2022 - Tunic

16/06/2022 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

16:06/2022 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

09/07/2022 - Luigi’s Mansion 2

16/07/2022 - Journey

19/07/2022 - Tomb Raider

03/08/2022 - The Last of Us Part 2

05/08/2022 - Metroid: Samus Returns

08/08/2022 - The Gunk

12/08/2022 - Tomb Raider Underworld

 

[Mogster]

01/08/2022 - Stray

 

I think I was both pleasantly surprised and slightly disappointed at this. The game was basically marketed as "the cat game", but for the majority of the game I felt that playing a cat didn't make as much of a difference as it should. There are plenty of catty little touches to raise a smile, allowing you to knock things off shelves, scratch walls and stuff, but little that actually ties into the meat of the game.

 

To be fair, you do make a lot of use of the cat's agility to get around the environments in a way that no human could, but this is all in aid of finding characters to talk to, objects to fetch and sometimes avoiding enemies in actual stealth sections. No cat would willingly do any of this stuff! Obviously it would probably have made for a much worse game if your only objectives in this world were to find food and somewhere warm to sleep, but you know.

 

Where the game shines however is the design and atmosphere of it all. The neon lit, post apocalyptic city is gorgeous to look at and accompanied by some perfectly matched music. It creates a really eery atmosphere right from the start, and all helps to build an incredible sense of place. I found the story a little predictable, but solid all the same. It's all a step above what I expected to be just a walking simulator but cat.

 

I'd love to see a sequel get made at some point, as I think it could be really special if it focussed more on this game's strengths, and it definitely leaves things in a place full of possibilities. 

 

 

Spoiler

January

04/01/2022 - Kena: Bridge of Spirits
24/01/2022 - Hitman (2016)
26/01/2022 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

May

17/05/2022 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

June

09/06/2022 - Elden Ring

July

09/07/2022 - Cyberpunk 2077
10/07/2022 - Citizen Sleeper

August

01/08/2022 - Stray

 

[Popo]

Super Metroid (1994)

Completed in 6 hours with 64% of all pickups. Super Metroid ranks at the very top of the SNES’ achievements alongside Super Mario World and Link to the Past, and still holds up today, 28 years since release… with a few caveats. 

 

First of all, it remains extremely playable - it’s responsive, fluid and has a great sense of weight and physics. The map is big, but not too big, and does a good job preventing backtracking by looping back on itself at key points. Planet Zebes has a great sense of place, of isolation, and the music is still brilliant. 

 

There are a few design missteps - for example, the sand traps in Maridia, which are nauseatingly difficult to escape from, and the decision to make the space jump and wall jump timings so precise it’s almost impossible to pull them off reliably, particularly in close quarters or when under pressure from enemies. These might - might - have been considered acceptable back in the day, something to devote time to and master, but which are an exercise in frustration today. That’s not something you can say of Mario or Zelda, each of which’s SNES outings are flawless. 
 

Furthermore, this game’s idea of a secret is hiding an item behind a destroyable block which is indistinguishable from ordinary scenery. The kind of game that will teach the lesson early that spikes cause damage when the player comes into contact with them - then hides a secret behind some fake spikes. I can only surmise that this kind of stuff was placed to sell strategy guides. 
 

But all the good stuff that inspired a whole genre of other games is all here, feature complete, and still fun and fresh. 

 

Spoiler

06/01/2022 - Halo Infinite

09/01/2022 - Hyper Light Drifter

05/02/2022 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

13/02/2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy

20/02/2022 - It Takes Two

20/03/2022 - Super Mario 3D Land

20/03/2022 - Panzer Dragoon: Remake

21/03/2022 - Psychonauts 2

18/04/2022 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

08/05/2022 - New Super Mario Bros 2

19/05/2022 - Resident Evil 4 HD

25/05/2022 - Tunic

16/06/2022 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

16:06/2022 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

09/07/2022 - Luigi’s Mansion 2

16/07/2022 - Journey

19/07/2022 - Tomb Raider

03/08/2022 - The Last of Us Part 2

05/08/2022 - Metroid: Samus Returns

08/08/2022 - The Gunk

12/08/2022 - Tomb Raider Underworld

15/08/2022: Super Metroid

 

[CurryKitten]

15/08/22 - Resident Evil 8 (PS5)

I've been having an enjoyable surge through a few Resi games of late.  Doing 7 on VR before going back and doing the remakes of 2 & 3.  I found 8 an interesting mix of several of them really.  The first person angle from 7 with the treasure and merchant idea from 4.  I found some bits very tense indeed - running through the castle with an 8 foot tall vampire lady stomping after me means I might have missed a few items there whilst I was running.  Happily though, I didn't find the usual lack of ammo/health bad on this - it felt about right.  Although I did spend a lot of time going back and trying to find everything.  Very fun indeed.  I don't know if I can be bothered with Mercenaries, it's not a style of game I enjoy.  My only unplayed RE game is RE6 now which has been sitting on the shelf for a long time due to it being very awful... according to everyone that's ever played it.  But we'll see

[Talvalin]

16/08/22 - Sekiro (Xbox Series S)

(first started abandoned on 20/03/19, restarted 16/07/22)

 

After managing to knacker my left thumb somehow, I abandoned Elden Ring before completion (despite it being the only game that I had played from February to June, but I still had about five bosses left to go, including bloody Malenia), and decided to restart Sekiro instead. That was the first Fromsoft game that I gave up on early (at the very first mini-boss after getting the Prosthetic Tool), so I thought that I needed to give it a second go and persisted with it even after my Xbox One X imploded and I had to get a Series S in order to continue because Series X's are still hard to find here.

 

Anyway, I am so glad that I did. Much as I love Dark Souls and Elden Ring, I have to admit that the build possibilities often give me a sense of option paralysis and I just revert to a character who uses Lightning Spears, broadswords and a shield and never explore any other builds. Thus, Sekiro made things easier by removing a lot of choice from the equation and just letting me pick from a limited skill tree as to where my XP should go. You can make the game harder if you want by using a thing that makes enemies do more damage (but increase item drop rates) or by eschewing the various Prosthetic Tools weaponry and just relying on your blade. To be fair, I did spam the Loaded Axe a great deal (especially when I upgraded it to a flaming version!) and the Lotus Umbrella made the Headless relatively easy, but otherwise I didn't really use it. Not a boast, but just how I played the game.

 

The lack of summons or whatever in Sekiro meant that I had to learn boss patterns properly and beat everything solo, and there was a near palpable sense of achievement when I beat the final boss (Return Ending that is) earlier today. I tried to avoid reading too much online about boss strategies or cheese methods, but I had no such compunctions about the mini-bosses (especially reused ones) but to be fair,  the game practically encouraged stealth Deathblows on all but one mini-boss and I only technically cheesed that one mini-boss who was weak to poison attacks.  Eh.

 

All in all it's a superb game, and though it lacks the replayability of a Dark Souls game where you can go through with different builds or what have you, it feels like Fromsoft's most focused effort and I loved every single minute of it.

 

9/10 (maybe even 10/10)

[Jamie John]

27. Disco Elysium (replay) (2019) - Steam Deck/PC

 

 

I first played this back in 2020, in the midst of lockdown, and even though I appreciated it at the time, it's taken a second playthrough for me to appreciate its true brilliance.

 

Disco Elysium is a bona fide work of art, by turns hilarious, sweet and often desperately sad. It features some of the best writing I've ever read in any work of fiction, videogames or otherwise, and is never anything less than penetratingly profound. It's a modern masterpiece. I should have included it in @Benny's list of my top 20 favourite games ever.

 

Quote

This is real darkness. It's not death, or war, or child molestation. Real darkness has love for a face. The first death is in the heart, Harry.

 

Just brilliant. The best game of 2019. A stone cold 10/10.

 

Played in 2022:

 

Spoiler

1. Halo Infinite (2021) - XSX - 7/10

2. Bowser's Fury (2021) - Switch - 8/10

3. The Forgotten City (2021) - XSX - 8/10

4. Grindstone (2020) - Switch - 8/10

5. Inscryption (2021) - PC - 9/10

6. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (replay) (2001) - Switch - 8/10

7. The Wolf Among Us (2013) - PC - 7/10

8. What Remains of Edith Finch (replay) (2017) - XSX - 8/10

9. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (2021) - PS5 - 8/10

10. Kill It With Fire (2020) - XSX - 3/10

11. Islanders (2019) - PC - 5/10

12. Creaks (2020) - Switch - 8/10

13. Shovel Knight: King of Cards (2019) - Switch - 9/10

14. The Last Guardian (replay) (2016) - PS5

15. Exo One (2021) - XSX - 8/10

16. Red Matter (2018) - Quest 2 - 7/10

17. Elden Ring (2022) - XSX - 10/10

18. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022) - Switch - 8/10

19. Slay the Spire (2019) - Switch - 7/10

20. Blasphemous (2019) - Switch - 7/10

21. Superliminal (2019) - XSX - 8/10

22. Tunic (2022) - XSX - 9.5/10

23. Fez (replay) (2012) - Switch

24. Citizen Sleeper (2022) - PC - 9/10

25. Sifu (2022) - PS5 - 9/10

26. Primordia (2012) - Steam Deck - 4/10

27. Disco Elysium (replay) (2019) - Steam Deck/PC

 

Abandoned:

 

Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - PC

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (2020) - Switch

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (2017) - 3DS

Horizon: Forbidden West (2022) - PS5

 

[BabelRich]

12/08 - Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

 

I know your first question and the answer is "Yes. It is absolutely a complete rip-off of the early Paper Mario games." As complete rip-offs go it's pretty good, but like most complete rip-offs, it just can't live up the its 'inspiration'.

 

Gameplay is literally Paper Mario, walk around papercraft dioramas chatting to other bugs, shopping for items and 'medals', and doing fetch quests. Out in the field you get to solve light environmental puzzles and battle foes using short QTEs to attack, defend and pull off specials using 'team' points.

One difference is you have three team members instead of two comprising of a tank with piercing damage, a long range/support and a mage/support, however outside of getting more special moves the characters never change. There's no upgrades and specials are very much diminishing returns so combat never evolves or gets more interesting than it is to begin with.

 

Story wise, its pretty good. The plot is the usual MacGuffin fuelled goose chase with some interesting characters to meet and each of your mains have a nice side story you can do should you wish. Special mention to your Bee friend Vi, who is by far the best character in the game. She's sassy, stroppy and impatient.

 

I do find the visuals disappointing. The characters are not well drawn and suffer from obviously being rendered small and blown up giving everything a fuzzy look. The environments are a wasted opportunity, the setting has the potential for loads of little A Bug's Life style touches but they are few and far between. 

 

I can't end without a few PM comparisons though. I can't understate just how much BF lifts from PM outside of a few minor battle tweaks it's an exact, but inferior, copy. Badges become Medals, Flower Points become Team Points, when you level up you get to chose between one of those and Health to improve. Some sound effects are directly lifted from PM and even the pattern around the 'base' of the levels is the same. Unfortunately, where it can't match up is, understandably, in the game design stakes. There's a few really frustrating parts but mostly it's competent but lacks the spark of a Thousand Year Door or Origami King.

 

8/10

 

 

Spoiler

29/07 - Escape Academy 10/10

27/07 - Dodgeball Academia 5/10

25/07 - Assassin's Creed: Syndicate 9/10

11/07 - Assassin's Creed: Unity 3/10

10/07 - Donkey Kong Country 4/10

05/07 - Dragon Age: Inquisition 8/10

18/06 - TMNT: Shredder's Revenge 7/10

14/06 - Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 8/10

01/06 - Dragon Quest XI 8/10

26/05 - Tales of Monkey Island 8/10

16/05 - Red Dead Redemption 9/10

12/05 - Lost Words – Beyond the Page 6/10

10/05 - Citizen Sleeper 9/10

06/05 - Lost in Random 6/10

08/04 – Kirby and the Forgotten Kingdom 9/10

01/04 – Danganronpa 2 – Goodbye Despair 08/10

25/03 – Tunic 6/10

16/03 – Danganronpa – Trigger Happy Havok 8/10

13/03 - Horizon - Forbidden West 10/10

15/02 - Agent A 7/10

14/02 - Saint's Row - Gat Out of Hell 6/10

11/02 - Nobody Saves the World 8/10

04/02 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake Episode INTERMission 6/10

01/02 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake 8/10

26/01 - Gorogoa 9/10

25/01 - The Gunk 7/10

23/01 - Control 7/10

11/01 - Rise of the Tomb Raider 7/10

07/01 - Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space 9/10

 

[gossi the dog]

27/07 - GRID Legends (PS5) - Other than the addition of a story mode and a few new car classes (electric; drift, possibly some others) this is largely more of the same compared to 2019's GRID. The story mode has an awful storyline with full video cut scenes, that's incredibly poorly acted (it's not quite as bad as the full video they put into one of the Need for Speeds but still bad) and largely serves to introduce you to all the different car classes and types of races. Career mode is an absolute grind, with many races being locked until you've driven a car a minimum number of miles and a ridiculous number of events. I abandoned the career mode after around a 100 events due to the grind, however I completed the story mode which triggered the credits so counting as complete. Good if you like Codemasters racing games.

 

07/08 - Picross S: Mega Drive & Master System Version (Switch) - Picross x Old School Sega. This is a very nostalgic take on the Picross S forumula with all the pictures relating to classic Mega Drive and Master System games, which in my opinion definitely elevated it over other games in the genre. It's much easier than some of the other Picross S games with few challenging puzzles in the standard Picross mode. Very good.

 

13/08 - The House In Fata Morgana (Switch) - visual novel covering the events in a cursed mansion over a period spanning a millennia. This was fantastic, a great story and some excellent music. The only small downside is that it's very linear, with no branching story paths - it's a case of select the correct choice to proceed with the story or select the wrong choice to get a bad or alternative ending there and then.

 

16/08 - KUUKIYOMI 2: Consider It More! - New Era (Switch) - Face 100 scenarios and be evaluated at how considerate a person you are. It reminded me a little of Wario Ware in that the first time you face a scenario it's not immediately clear what you should be doing and what button presses are actually valid. However, unlike that game there's next to no replayability, not helped by a vague scoring system. An interesting diversion but nothing more.

 

 

 

Previously:

Spoiler

01. 02/01 - Death Come True (PS4)

02. 04/01 - Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (PS4)

03. 11/01 - Song of Memories (PS4)

04. 20/01 - Vostok Inc (PS4)

05. 25/01 - Steins Gate 0 (PS4)

06. 31/01 - Punch Line (PS4) 

07. 04/02 - Uncharted 4 (PS5)

08. 11/02 - Raging Loop (PS4) 

09. 17/02 - World End Syndrome (PS4)

10. 20/02 - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS5)

11. 10/03 - Hashihime of the Old Book Town (Switch)

12. 07/04 - Fatal Twelve (PS4) 

13. 12/04 - Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega Mix (Switch)

14. 20/04 - Root Letter: Last Answer (PS4) 

15. 29/04 - Marco & The Galaxy Dragon (Switch)

16. 30/04 - To the Moon (Switch) 

17. 03/05 - Legend of Talia: Arcadia (Switch) 

18. 02/06 - AI: The Somnium Files (PS4)

 

[Jammy]

Guardians Of The Galaxy - that was fun. Framerate issues aside, it was funny, engaging, and not fiendishly difficult.

[Jamie John]

28. Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Switch

 

 

I reckon that's me about done with this. I've not played it for that long, but I've completed the story mode on normal with Axel. I've tried to do it again on hard as Blaze, but, when it comes down to it, I'm just not that good at it, and I don't have the side-scrolling beat-em-up pedigree to motivate me to keep playing for higher scores or tougher difficulties.

 

It's obviously a very good game at what it does - the sprites and artwork are detailed and charming; the music is banging; the animations are fluid and precise - and I can see why someone who has a nostalgic soft spot for this genre would absolute adore it. Ultimately, however, I don't have that nostalgia: I've never owned a Sega console, never played a game of this type except from the Tekken Force mode in Tekken 3, so all of that sentiment is lost on me. What's left is an aesthetically triumphant and mechanically perfect game that I just find too frustrating to really enjoy. Every cheap shot from a Donovan makes me clench my teeth with rage, every flying kick from a Dylan makes me see red, and every fire eating Big Ben fills me with dread.

 

I could keep going and force myself to practise each stage and encounter by rote, but it feels like too much of a chore, frankly, and I'd rather preserve my blood pressure. And with no decent tutorial or reason to revisit the game except to play through it again, but harder, I feel like I've had my fill.

 

I might give it a go on couch co-op sometime with a mate, on a lower difficulty, but unfortunately there's not much else to entice me back to this. After all the love it garners, I can't help but feel disappointed, but, overall, even though I can appreciate it, I just don't think this is my bag. Sorry, forum!

 

7/10

 

Played in 2022:

 

Spoiler

1. Halo Infinite (2021) - XSX - 7/10

2. Bowser's Fury (2021) - Switch - 8/10

3. The Forgotten City (2021) - XSX - 8/10

4. Grindstone (2020) - Switch - 8/10

5. Inscryption (2021) - PC - 9/10

6. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (replay) (2001) - Switch - 8/10

7. The Wolf Among Us (2013) - PC - 7/10

8. What Remains of Edith Finch (replay) (2017) - XSX - 8/10

9. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (2021) - PS5 - 8/10

10. Kill It With Fire (2020) - XSX - 3/10

11. Islanders (2019) - PC - 5/10

12. Creaks (2020) - Switch - 8/10

13. Shovel Knight: King of Cards (2019) - Switch - 9/10

14. The Last Guardian (replay) (2016) - PS5

15. Exo One (2021) - XSX - 8/10

16. Red Matter (2018) - Quest 2 - 7/10

17. Elden Ring (2022) - XSX - 10/10

18. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022) - Switch - 8/10

19. Slay the Spire (2019) - Switch - 7/10

20. Blasphemous (2019) - Switch - 7/10

21. Superliminal (2019) - XSX - 8/10

22. Tunic (2022) - XSX - 9.5/10

23. Fez (replay) (2012) - Switch

24. Citizen Sleeper (2022) - PC - 9/10

25. Sifu (2022) - PS5 - 9/10

26. Primordia (2012) - Steam Deck - 4/10

27. Disco Elysium (replay) (2019) - Steam Deck/PC

28. Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Switch - 7/10

 

Abandoned:

 

Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - PC

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (2020) - Switch

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (2017) - 3DS

Horizon: Forbidden West (2022) - PS5

 

[instasis]

22/08: Signs of the Sojourne (Xbone Sex)

 

I really liked the core idea behind this, but the result - wafer thin conversations, poor/non-existent characters, the ability to completely box yourself into a corner where you literally can't talk to anyone - resulted in a pretty boring, drab experience. Meh.

 

23/08: Two Crude/Crude Buster (Arcade)

 

This is just Data East at their absolute worst. If it wasn't for infinite credits, this is literally unbeatable. It follows their usual pattern of introducing sub and main level bosses as general enemies later in the game, and given many of them can wipe you out in a heartbeat it's just massively unforgiving. Data East really were the worst for making impossible/financially ruining arcade games.

 

Spoiler

23/1: Ninja Baseball Bat Man (MAME)

17/02: Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (PS5)

19/02: The Pedestrian (Xbone)

19/02: Gorogoa (Xbone)

20/02: The Gunk (Xbone)
18/03: Horizon Zero Dawn (PS5)
20/03: Oculus First Contact (OQ2)

22/03: Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wastes DLC (PS5)

26/03: Little Hope (PS5)

04/04: The Outer Worlds (PS5)

09/04: House Of Ashes (PS5)

13/05: Exo One (Xbone Sex)

13/05: A Memoir Blue (Xbone Sex)

14/05: Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5)

16/05: Trek To Yomi (Xbone Sex)

22/05: Tetris Effect (Xbone Sex)

22/05: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (Xbone Sex)

28/05: Far: Changing Tides (Xbone Sex)

02/06: Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Xbone Sex)

20/06: Forza Horizon 5 (Xbone Sex)

26/06: Lake (Xbone Sex)

27/06: Last Day Of June (PS5)

29/06: Little Nightmares (PS5)

01/07: Deliver Us The Moon (PS5)

09/07: House Flipper (Xbone Sex)
12/07: Mafia Definitive Edition (PS5)

20/07: Mafia 2: Definitive Edition (PS5)

24/07: Stray (PS5)

09/08: Road 96 (Xbone Sex)

 

[shirubagan]

 

Spoiler

01. How We Know We're Alive (Mac)
02. Gorogoa (Game Pass)
03. The Procession to Calvary (Game Pass)
04.Shadow Warrior [2013] (Xbox)
05. Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
06. Crossfire X – Chapter 1: Catalyst (XSX)
07. Battlefield 4 – Campaign, Normal (XSX)
08. Astro's Playroom (PS5)
09. Il Filo Conduttore (Mac)
10. Ratchet & Clank – Rift Apart (PS5)
11. Borderlands 3 – Guns, Love & Tentacles DLC (XSX)
12 & 13. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episodes 1 & 2 (Xbox GWG)
14. Pokémon Sword (Switch)
15 & 16. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episodes 3 & 4 (Xbox GWG)
17. Panzer Dragoon Remake, Normal Run (Switch)

18. Rez Infinite, Area 1-5 run (PS5)
19. Bowser's Fury, All Cat Shines (Switch)
20. Back to the Future – The Telltale Game, Episode 5 (Xbox GWG)
21. Nobody Saves the World (Xbox)
22. Trek to Yomi (Xbox)
22.5. Rez Area X (PS5)
23. Tomb Raider 2013 (XSX)

24. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (XSX Game Pass)
25. Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5 – PS+ Extra)
26. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS5 – PS+ Extra) [ABANDONED]
27. Stray (PS5 – PS+ Extra)
28. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge – Michelangelo ending (Game Pass)

29. Eyeland (PlayDate)
30. Life's Too Short (PlayDate)
31. Pick Pack Pup – Story Mode (PlayDate)

 

 

 

 

 

Climbing al-desko

32. Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck)
An incredibly slick and incredibly short showcase for some of the Steam Deck's features. You're cast as a new employee testing out toilets in a factory and are befriended by a sassy blue robot. You do various tasks with the touch screen, gyros, back buttons, etc and need to ascend the building to meet the CEO. It's funny, looks gorgeous and less than 30 minutes long. I kind of enjoyed it, but felt it was a bit of a wasted opportunity and it could have had a lot more for you to do. Worth a play on your shiny new toy though.

[spanx]

Not finished a game in months having been on a Flight Sim binge alongside some other sort of endless games like Satisfactory. Anyway, away visiting my kids in Canada for a couple of weeks and had some time to sit down with my Switch and have completed a few bits….

 

7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (22/08)

 

Not played for ages,  it we’ve been playing all week multiplayer, and during an early morning gaming session waking for the kids to stir I finally got all gold trophies for 150cc. Still need to 3* them all but the game makes that a bit of a luck of the draw situations with bloody weapons destroying you so I’ll take this as a milestone to mark. Bought the DLC too, my god what a game. 
 

10/10
 

8. Sayonara Wild Hearts (23/08)

 

Bought this a year ago then forgot about it. Finished it in an hour this morning and thought it was OK I guess. Nice and short and pretty/good music. Lightweight as all hell though. 
 

6/10

 

9. Inside (23/08)

 

Picked this up for the flight over but didn’t get round to playing it, so whacked it on this morning and completed it in two sittings. One of the most atmospheric and unsettling games I’ve played in a long time, can see why it got lots of praise when it launched. A bargain at two quid or whatever I paid for it. Very bizarre and unexpected final 10 mins or so though 😳
 

8/10

Previously/playing/abandoned…

 

Spoiler

Games 2022

 

Completed

 

1.Return of the Obra Dinn (02/01)

2.The Artful Escape (08/01)

3.The Forgotten City (13/01)

4.Vampyr (22/01)

5.A Plague Tale: Innocence (27/01)

6.OlliOlli World (19/02)

7.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (22/08)

8.Sayonara Wild Hearts (23/08)

9.Inside (23/08)

 

Playing

1.Flight Simulator 2020

2.Super Mario 3D World

3.Cursed to Golf

4.Stray

 

Abandoned

 

1.Halo Infinite (03/01)

2.The Outer Wilds (09/01)

3.Gears 5 (30/01)

4.Nobody Saves The World (07/02)

5.Elden Ring (April)