What games did you complete? 2022 Edition

[klargon]

Road 96 (XSX)

 

I largely enjoyed my time with this, but left a little disappointed. As with most games with rogue-like elements, I wonder what the purpose of procedural generation is. It feels like it took what could have been a nicely structured narrative and made it so I had little control over what was happening. The random character aspects felt valueless. I only saw 100% of one of the stories, and I’m not going through it again. Otherwise, it’s pretty well made and has a lot of variety. I just wish it wasn’t random.

[ImmaculateClump]

Tanitani Wizard - Normal 1cc

 

  Hide contents

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] [Speedrun, Expert 1cc] [All Trial, Nightmare 1cc] etc. Lost track now

Shooting Game KARI - Normal 1cc

[smac]

10 hours ago, ImmaculateClump said:

Tanitani Wizard - Normal 1cc

 

  Reveal hidden contents

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] [Speedrun, Expert 1cc] [All Trial, Nightmare 1cc] etc. Lost track now

Shooting Game KARI - Normal 1cc

 

I have to say, you really know what you like, and stick to it.

[ImmaculateClump]

Haha

Once you've eaten at the shmup buffet, everything else tastes like swill.

You can't really go back.

[Mogster]

30/08/2022 - Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection (C&C GDI Campaign)

 

I bought this on release due to having extremely fond memories of the original release, and have been slowly playing through the GDI campaign. The remastering job was absolutely incredible, and definitely one of the best examples I've seen of "this is how you remember it, not how it was". A quick press of the space bar instantly switches to the original graphics, making this all too clear.

 

The game itself is exactly how I remembered it too, for better and worse. I still really enjoy how straightforward it is to play, even on the Steam Deck, and I can't imagine playing something like StarCraft on that thing. It's still just as fun as ever to build a load of mammoth tanks and steamroll the enemy.

 

The last GDI mission however remains an absolute bastard. There are three variants you can choose from, all of which are ridiculously hard, and I must have restarted about ten times before finally beating it. Playing it feels a little like a Hitman level, gradually figuring out where everything is and planning the perfect approach to deal with it all with the benefit of hindsight. It was very satisfying to finally crack it with a perfect (well, workable) run, but probably not what you really want from an RTS these days.

 

I think I'll make a start on Red Alert soon. So much of the first game is seared into my brain, but despite playing Red Alert at the time (on the PS1 of all things) I can't remember that much about it. I'm looking forward to it though!

 

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
14/08/2022 - No Man's Sky Expedition Eight: Polestar
30/08/2022 - Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection (GDI Campaign)

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Mushihimesama Futari Black Label - Maniac 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] [Speedrun, Expert 1cc] [All Trial, Nightmare 1cc] etc. Lost track now

Shooting Game KARI - Normal 1cc

Tanitani Wizard - Normal 1cc

 

[matt0]

EDF 2025 (360 + Xbox One)

Roguebook (PC)

Castlevania 3 (NES via Castlevania Collection on Xbox One)

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Xbox One)

Vampire Survivors (PC)

 

EDF 2025, a victory 8 years in the making. All offline missions completed on hard (lots on higher difficulties) in a mix of solo and co-op with all character classes. EDF 2025 has been a part of my life in the same way a favourite band or long running TV series becomes part of your life. It was such a familiar thing that at one point playing the theme music to my newborn daughter would calm her down if she woke up in the night. It is up to you to decide if this represents the pinnacle or absolute nadir of parenting. I will accept your judgement as absolute.

 

What have I learnt in those 8 years? I’ve learnt that progress faster than science is impossible. I’ve learnt that there must be a brain. And most importantly I’ve learnt that legendary swords are useless. Useless against these dragons.

 

(Guns are the best).

 

Roguebook is a mashup of ideas from Slay The Spire and Monster Train. You choose two heroes for each run, each with their own unique card decks - like factions from Monster Train - and then you engage in Slay The Spire style combat encounters. It has the Monster Train philosophy of inviting you to break the game or find ridiculous synergies each run as opposed to Slay The Spire which wants you to theorise, experiment and really work to bend and break its systems. But this doesn’t really work, because it fails to recreate the clockwork precision of STS or the grand excess of Monster Train. It falls awkwardly in the middle - fun but always reminding you of its superior inspirations.

 

It has a few cool ideas of its own – swapping the positions of your characters adds a wrinkle to the basic strategy and it ditches the node to node travel for a hex based map which tempts you in multiple directions but can only rarely be fully explored. There’s also one amazing boss concept:

 

Spoiler

A ghost dragon that summons regular enemies and then possesses them, giving them a massive stat boost – it can only be hurt in the rounds between defeating a summoned ally and it summoning the next one.

 

Do you want to briefly holiday in another deck builder? To experience the excitement of discovery and figuring out synergies and tactics in a new, unfamiliar sandbox before returning home? That’s what I got out of Roguebook.

 

Castlevania 3 is the most Castlevania possible. It’s Castlevania, but there’s just more of it. How much more? Fucking loads. Is it actually any better than the original Castlevania? No. It’s as good – not more good – just more Castlevania.

 

I prefer the first game’s laser guided focus on delivering the most action possible in a 64k NES cart (or Famicom Disk or whatever). As a feat of game design I found it breathtaking. Although to be honest I also feel like this is an opinion you could only arrive at decades after the fact. In 1992 it would be impossible to say you preferred Castlevania to Castlevania 3. It would be to deny what was in front of your eyes, which was, as previously stated, the most Castlevania possible.

 

Off the back of Castlevania 3 I found myself playing Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2. I thought the original COTM was decent enough and the sequel is a modest improvement. Stage design is much improved, boss design is a little worse. Not up to Castlevania at its best but still cool to see the developers push a bit further than they did with the first game, even if many of my complaints about the original remain.

 

Of all the modern takes on 8+16 bit action games I’ve played in recent years, I’d rate the COTM games near the bottom of the heap, but this is more down to the very high quality of other games than a slight on COTM 1+2. They’re still enjoyable, tough old-school action games.

 

Vampire Survivors is the most Castlevania themed a thing can be without incurring legal action from Konami. A weird mash up of idle game and arena shooter that may or may not be in the processes of spawning a new genre. I ticked off everything in the unlock list up to the update that added Queen Sigma (but not all of the secrets) and decided to call it a day. The last game I played I managed to engineer my build so that the entire screen was filled with gigantic projectiles that completely obscured everything except a constellation of damage numbers flashing in and out of existence. Occasionally the frame rate would drop to single figures but I had no idea why, because I couldn’t see what was happening behind the patchwork of blue and red squares made by the projectile sprites scaled up to 2000% of their original size. I reduced the cool down on the weapons to the extent that the noise of all the individual weapons blurred together in to a single, undulating drone.

 

It felt like a good place to leave it.

 

-

 

2022 so far:

 

Spoiler

January:

 

Mortal Shell (Xbox One)

Halo Infinite (Xbox One)

 

A nebulous period of time from the end of January to some point in May:

 

Into The Breach (Switch)

Death’s Door (Xbox One)

Mad Stalker (Megadrive)

Metroid Dread (Switch)

Loop Hero (Switch)

Shin Megami Tensai Strange Journey Redux (3DS)

Final Fantasy 12 (Xbox One)

 

From around the middle of May to end of July:

 

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest (3DS)

Citizen Sleeper (PC)

Opus: Echo of Starsong (Switch)

Heaven's Vault (Switch)

Panzer Dragoon Remake (Switch + PC)

Frostpunk (PC)

TMNT: Shredder's Revenge (Xbox One)

Space Marine (PC)

Halo Wars Definitive Edition (Xbox One)

 

August / September:

 

EDF 2025 (360 + b/c on Xbox One)

Roguebook (PC)

Castlevania 3 (NES via Castlevania Collection on Xbox One)

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Xbox One)

Vampire Survivors (PC)

 

[Popo]

Final fantasy VII Remake: INTERmission (2021)

The DLC for FF VII Remake weighs in at about 6-7 hours, which is a respectable length I would say. It’s more of the same, and has been given the same level of polish as the main game, which is gratifying. The story follows Yuffie, as she visits Midgar in search of some juicy Materia. Yuffie has a different fighting style and the biggest difference is the new synergy mode, where she can work in tandem with her Wutai partner Sonon to inflict repeated damage and even perform  team-versions of her special attacks. The loop of battling, finding weak spots, causing staggering and then pelting the enemy into submission remains really satisfying here as it did in the main game. The last boss was challenging, taking three attempts to go down - a bit frustrating when the fight has four phases in total, but once you’ve worked out the attack patterns and weaknesses the early phases are over quite quickly. Good stuff. 
 

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

04/09/2022 - Final fantasy VII Remake: INTERmission

 

[strawdonkey]

On 31/07/2022 at 22:24, 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

41. Frog Fractions: Game of the Decade Edition

22b. Point Blank (no-miss, Beginner mode)
42. Bloons TD6
43. FTL (Easy Kestrel clear)

 

I've been so obnoxiously busy over the past month or two that I've really struggled to find time to devote to stuff.

 

Frog Fractions is a game I remember taking me multiple sessions to complete in its original incarnation, and I spent ages poking around trying to figure out what was going on. It turns out that even close to a decade later, I still remember most of the bits where I got stuck and blitzed through it in a couple of hours. Still delightfully stupid and really rewards you taking any given joke way too far.

 

--

 

I went to the Heart of Gaming in Croydon recently and had an absolute blast. Superb selection of new and old games though on a much smaller scale than either the Bury or Leeds Arcade Club venues, and a disappointing number of cabinets broken in mysterious ways. However they have Point Blank and I did the default mode without losing a single life because I have a problem okay

 

--

 

Bloons TD6 is a tower defence game where you place monkeys along a track in a configuration where they can pop all the balloons that cross the track. I have completed every single mode on one of the 40+ maps and have had to deliberately uninstall the game to avoid the amount of time spent on it becoming even more of a problem. It's been really interesting to play and learn as there is a really high skill ceiling for something that seems so simple, and while I've finished every variety on the one map I've also played a bunch of the extra modes and generally spent far too much time tweaking a specific arrangement of towers.

 

I've not played many tower defence games prior to this one but it feels exceptional, there is so much game here and for me the only downside is that for an £11 game it is also riddled with microtransactions for Monkey Money, the virtual currency that lets you unlock more hero towers, is required for the business end of every skill tree and generally takes a while to generate. There's still plenty left in the game to achieve for me, but the grind is perhaps a little too much - so much stuff needs to be unlocked but you an always unlock it with some Monkey Money and... I kind of wish that everything was just cut down a little bit.

 

Still brilliant though.

 

--

 

FTL then - after forcibly uninstalling Bloons TD6 I needed something else I could play around the kids and this sprung to mind. I'd put a few hours into it a few years back but other than making it to the final boss a couple of times, was generally getting my arse kicked by it on a regular basis, and then something else new and shiny would appear and that was that. This time around I've been a bit more patient and laser-focused on getting a clear rather than playing around trying to get ship unlocks and it's been super rewarding - yet also still really tricky and very much not the Easy mode it claims to be.

 

In general, you are trying to get towards the Big Bad Spaceship and blow it up, but first have to make it through eight sectors which are full of people who usually want to try and explode your ship, all whilst being pursued by a rebel fleet who want to explode your ship, whilst travelling past suns and asteroid fields which will indiscriminately explode your ship. Much of the game plays out in real-time - weapons have active recharge times, you can command your crew to move around your ship/beam them into the opposition ship/etc in real time, but can also pause at any time and give commands whilst all the action is frozen, which is crucual as while things seem fine at the start of a battle, the moment your engine room gets set on fire it's suddenly extremely stressful.

 

Still discovering a bunch of new stuff even after 20+ hours and trying out new tactics never ceases to be great fun - upgrading the strength of your doors and then opening the airlock to the section of the ship that's being invaded can be really effective if not a little sadistic. I haven't even tried the expansion content yet as there's still so much to discover in the base game, and while I will likely feel done long before I've managed a clear with all the available ships, now the Kestrel is done (route to victory: I strapped a load of lasers to my ship and then went pew pew a lot) I'm looking forward to trying to clear with a drone-based build and/or an aggressive boarding-based build, targeting the crew instead of the ship. Maybe with a cannon that sets things on fire, and using the rock guys who are immune to fire. Or perhaps an oxygen denial strategy.

 

Now that I've typed these out they sound absolutely deranged.

[Popo]

53 minutes ago, strawdonkey said:

Heart of Gaming in Croydon

I’ve never heard of this one, it’s just down the road from me!

[strawdonkey]

5 minutes ago, Popo said:

I’ve never heard of this one, it’s just down the road from me!

It's really good, been there a few years, and the only shame is that a fair few cabs were broken in some way. They do have what is believed to be Europe's only 8-player Daytona though 👀 There's a good selection of rhythm games, a few shmups, a lot of fighters and then a smattering of other random stuff. It's not nearly as expansive as Arcade Club but I still ran out of time and wanted to spend about an extra three hours there.

Can't wait to go back.

https://www.heartofgaming.co.uk/

[SeanR]

Far Cry 5

 

firstly, I play with the sound off, in an narrative heavy fps that’s quite… difficult. I had no idea what was going on, and spent the whole time thinking it was me enabling

 

Spoiler

The good ending, resist, clearing the silos so that the piggies could set off the nukes, through my actions while on bliss

But it turns out that was a third-party, an outcome which I could not avoid at any point. While

 

Spoiler

The bad ending, walk away, fades to black with unanswered questions

This means that two of the three endings are shit. The Easter egg ending gets a pass, despite ripping off FC4.

 

Secondly , it still suffered from something I’ve been complaining about since FC2. Enemies spawning in previously cleared areas or immediately behind you.

Spoiler

At least they have the drugs excuse, I guess.

 

 

But it also lets you

 

Spoiler

 

 

[strawdonkey]

On 04/09/2022 at 22:36, 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

41. Frog Fractions: Game of the Decade Edition

22b. Point Blank (no-miss, Beginner mode)
42. Bloons TD6
43. FTL (Easy Kestrel clear)

44. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 8 Matsuribayashi

 

The final chapter in the Higurashi games and I still smile at how ridiculous the title images are, with their random repetition of WHEN THEY CRY... at the end of all of them.

 

Couple of things before spoilers: this one actually contains some interactive elements! You can't get a bad ending from them, but you're tasked with what is functionally refreshing your memory of the previous seven games by connecting different story bits together which all funnel into the final story segment. This does make the game a significant chunk longer than any of the previous chapters - took me about 16 hours for this one, compared to 5hrs for chapter 4 and 12 hours for chapter 3 (the longest one prior to this, and also probably the bleakest).

 

Also, I really, really enjoyed this series in the end despite the fact that it contained just a little bit too much stuff I would have been quite happy to do without. One of the characters is obsessed with maids, which really doesn't go anywhere other than the obsession coming out of nowhere once every game or two, several of the male schoolmates are overtly perverts at times and neither of those things really added much to the plot. But the actual important bits were frequently riveting, and you often didn't know whether you were getting a psychological horror, a thriller or a mystery until you were already invested.

 

Spoiler

Usual warning, big spoilers ahead

Spoiler

This eighth and final chapter takes the events of the previous chapters where usually one or many people get murdered, and goes "we need to avoid these things" and then concocts the improbable combination of effects where this can be made possible. It's full of scarcely believable stuff at times but at the point that a goddess descends to Earth a couple of chatpers previously, you've either stopped or made peace with the fact that some things are going to take a bit of suspension of disbelief.

 

The series goes from paranoia killings to premeditated killings to mass murder to conspiracy, but one thing is always constant - Rika Furude is disemboweled on the same day every year, and it is passed off as a local curse which has been happening every year after the village festival for the past five years. The series now ends with the primary characters concocting a plan to stop Rika's death, which involves uncovering a conspiracy surrounding a unique local disease and a shady political plot to kill everyone in the village on the premise that the disease could be weaponised. Rika's death is caused as she is considered the "Queen Carrier" which, when no longer in the picture, causes the villagers' symptoms to accelerate very quickly.

And then an emergency decree is activated and the entire town is fucking gassed to death.

This chapter sees the primary characters get everything right - Rika's death is faked, which is designed to destabilise the plan to activate the emergency decree and gas the village; thus following the battles and manouevers of the opposing factions as they try to not only expose the conspiracy but also just let Rika survive. It should come as no surprise that the good guys win, but having spent seven games watching them beat each other to death and/or go insane you kind of feel like they deserve it, and despite the misgivings I have in that the characters could sometimes do with calming it down a bit, I got really attached to them as a group and the long-form way the story is told really sells you on the fact that despite being a bunch of kids, a policeman close to retirement, a doctor and some guy who talks about avian photography non-stop, they are also cunning and competent and brilliant in their own ways.

Maybe the young and handsome out-of-town policeman is a little overtuned though as he regularly takes out rooms full of people with his FISTS and his SPIRIT and calm down mate ok

Occasional amusing visual bugs too:

 

Kind of a shame I had to patch the game to get it to Not Crash All The Time though, used the 4GB patcher as described at the bottom of the first page of this thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1243670/discussions/0/4594180031250444950/ . There's been complaints about it since its Steam release in 2020 and no fix has been provided which is really disappointing.

[strawdonkey]

10 hours ago, 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

41. Frog Fractions: Game of the Decade Edition

22b. Point Blank (no-miss, Beginner mode)
42. Bloons TD6
43. FTL (Easy Kestrel clear)

44. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch. 8 Matsuribayashi

45. Dicey Dungeons

 

Gone from finishing nothing for ages, to everything that I'm currently picking at coming to a conclusion at once.

 

Dicey Dungeons is an absolute masterpiece - it's a roguelite dungeon crawler boardgameish thing, where you have to tackle a dungeon populated with enemies by rolling dice and then assigning those dice to abilities that deal damage or have other effects. It all sounds pretty straightforward and tedious but the main couple of things that elevate it are that the balance is absolutely superb - it's difficult but you feel like with some improvement and thought you'll be able to conquer it - and also the enormous amount of variety contained within.

 

There's 36 individual stages across six characters, each of whom have their own major mechanic (the Warrior is very straightforward, the Robot can roll as many dice as it wants but if they go over a specific total vaue then you "bust" and lose access to all your equipment, the Inventor discards a piece of equipment each turn and turns it into a gadget that is free to use... and then each character has six individual stages where the rules are different, including one each where all the status effects that can be applied, and all the player and enemy loadouts, are completely different. 

 

There's also incredible attention to detail in the game; the enemies talk to you and are generally really amusing, there's snippets of backstory as you progress through the game which are largely a bunch of light jokes, but perhaps the best example of this is (minor spoiler)

 

Spoiler

when you play as the Rogue in one of their episodes; they sometimes have an ability that allows you to steal the enemy's equipment, and one of the Alchemist's equipment turns them into a bear. Only, if you steal it and then activate it, it turns you into a bear instead and then you're a bear for the rest of the run - and also all the new equipment you pick up is bear-themed

 

Still a couple of episodes I've not yet cracked (currently at 33/36), but have beaten the final boss and there's a couple of small pieces of DLC I'll be continuing to poke at until I've got the lot. Either way this is delightfully inventive and remains so right up until the end of the game, it's absolutely superb.

[ImmaculateClump]

Valhellio - 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] [Speedrun, Expert 1cc] [All Trial, Nightmare 1cc] etc. Lost track now

Shooting Game KARI - Normal 1cc

Tanitani Wizard - Normal 1cc

Mushihimesama Futari Black Label - Maniac 1cc

[Pelekophoros]

07/09: Arcade Paradise (PS5)

 

 

Lots of goal/achievement chasing left to do, but I hit the credits last night.

 

This is just wonderful. Scratches the Tedium Simulator itch whilst also giving you a host of fantastic little arcade games to play. The goals, the To Do lists and the all the little things you can buy scratch every dopamine itch a boy could want.

 

Loved it. Will continue to play it. Hope they release arcade game packs for it as I have space in the shop yet.

 

 

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)

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

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

 

[Unofficial Who]

Sep

 

13/09 Flynn:Son of Crimson (PC) The name seemed bland and the trailer didn't inspire but I'm glad I had a look at this before it left GamePass. It looks and feels exactly like the sort of action platformers I used to love back in the Amiga days. (The ones that weren't trying to copy Sonic or Mario.) Not much more to say except it was pleasant in a nostalgic way. Worth checking out before it leaves GamePass in a couple of days if you like pixel art from the 16 bit era.

 

 

11/09 Winter Olympiad 88 (C64) It's not as good as Winter Games. But it's still pretty solid, really enjoyed the slalom the most due to the sense of speed.

 

 

08/09 Arcade Paradise (PC) I'm in the same boat as @Pelekophoros here, I've got a lot of achievement chasing left to do but I've done nothing but play this when I've had a spare half hour or so. It's a sort of fantasy fulfilment of a dream I had as a kid of running my own arcade with some (but not all) of the drudgery. The story was more involved than I expected and the first half of running a laundry reminded me a lot of My Beautiful Laundrette, or vague memories of it at least. Some of the arcade games are duffers but some are really solid little games in themselves (my favourite being the Missile Command variant that actually changes things up enough to be it's own thing.) Some of the games are either buggy by design or just plain buggy but that adds to the charm. Highly recommended.

 

 

Previously

 

Spoiler

67. 21/08 I Am Dead (PS5) 

66. 20/08 Skate or Die! (C64)

65. 16/08 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)

64. 14/08 Eco Fighters (Arcade/PC)

63. 14/08 Grindstone (PC) 

62. 14/08 Borderlands 3 (and DLC) (PC)

61. 10/08 Knights of the Round (Arcade/PC)

60. 10/08 Block Block (Arcade/PC)

59. 06/08 Monument Valley 2 : Panoramic Edition (PC)

58. 06/08 Monument Valley: Panoramic Edition (PC)

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)

 

[FiveFootNinja]

15. Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)

 

Full disclosure, I absolutely adored Zero Dawn. The world building, back story and characters just clicked with my mood at the time and I poured hours into doing everything that the game (and the DLC) had to offer. So with some trepidation of bars being set too high I actually held off diving into Forbidden West for a while after it came out as I was in a bit of a gaming malaise. However, the time was right over the summer so I jumped in and I'm really really glad I did it that way.

 

One thing to say is it is "more of the same" so if the first one clicked then you'll probably like this too, but the opposite applies. You get some new moves, weapons and gadgets which are welcome but otherwise gameplay wise it is almost identical to the first. The story takes you into the new area of the "Forbidden West" but ultimately offers a sprawling and diverse map that isn't actually much different to the first game in the moment to moment experiences. In fact, I'd argue it has probably gone a bit big, but it is absolutely stunning to look at and plays buttery smooth so just being in the world and exploring the vast valleys, mountains and deserts is fun.

 

There are characters and machines old and new, and on the whole I liked the new additions. The story ties directly into the close of Zero Dawn and - despite a bit of early scepticism - did actually stack up and on completing the final mission felt like a decent arc of both character narrative and overall world plot. 

 

My objective criticisms would be firstly it's very big, and not always for the better. Some of the side tasks, collectables, things feel a bit plonked and at times busy work as often happens in this model of open world exploration games. Secondly I had a few bugs, the main character would occasionally drop a few inches into the ground which in turn stopped some of the melee attacks working until a reload, plus the climbing mechanics are a bit broken and irritating at times. However none of these prove fundamental to enjoyment on the whole.

 

Overall I did the 100% completion and platinum trophy in 98.5 hours, and haven't really regretted any of that investment. On balance it didn't hit me as hard as the first game, but it's a solid follow on and if you like the world I can't see anything you would be that disappointed in. An absolutely textbook AAA Sony exclusive. 

 

8.5/10

 

 

- -

 

I'm toying with either Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding or Elden Ring next I think.

 

Meanwhile we bought my son a Switch Lite over the summer holidays so he's been playing a combination of Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart, Mario World 3D, Mario Maker, Super Smash Bros and Team Sonic Racing but hasn't really stuck anything out to completion just yet to put it on this list. All very good though on the whole and he loves having his own console for the first time.

 

 

On 31/07/2022 at 23:07, 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

14. New Super Lucky's Tale (XB1) [Family game] - 9/10

 

[spanx]

10.Tinykin (10/09)

 

One of those probably would have skipped it had it not been on Game Pass games. Some nice comments here about it piqued my interest though and I ended up having a couple of very pleasant evenings blasting through it. It’s very easy, but I thought the level design was great, loads of little hidden extras that rewarded exploration, and it has a really nice heart. I doubt I’ll bother hoovering up the bits I’ve missed, but it gave me six hours of enjoyment, gets a 7/10 from me. 

 

Previously, playing, abandoned…

Spoiler

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)

10.Tinykin (09/09)

 

Playing

1.Flight Simulator 2020

2.Xenoblade Chronicles 3

3.Cursed to Golf

4.Stray

5.Two Point Campus

 

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)

6.Super Mario 3D World (Aug)

 

[klargon]

The Dig (PC)

 

Fired this up, as it was recently included with Prime. It still delivers the atmosphere it did back in the day, helped by a decent score. It looks incredibly ropey when played on a 65 inch TV, though! I still enjoyed it where I could figure out what I logically needed to do next. It wasn’t so good when I had to be in the head of the writer to figure out which specific location I had to ask a specific person about a specific thing, though. So, the same problems these games always had/have, and I resorted to a guide at times. Still nice to see the finish though - not sure I ever did in the past.

[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
 

05/08/2022

18. As dusk falls

And another completion

 

19. Tinykin (series X)

 

This was another cracking game pass game. Thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

[Festoon]

On 07/09/2022 at 09:03, strawdonkey said:

45. Dicey Dungeons

 

Gone from finishing nothing for ages, to everything that I'm currently picking at coming to a conclusion at once.

 

Dicey Dungeons is an absolute masterpiece - it's a roguelite dungeon crawler boardgameish thing, where you have to tackle a dungeon populated with enemies by rolling dice and then assigning those dice to abilities that deal damage or have other effects. It all sounds pretty straightforward and tedious but the main couple of things that elevate it are that the balance is absolutely superb - it's difficult but you feel like with some improvement and thought you'll be able to conquer it - and also the enormous amount of variety contained within.

 

There's 36 individual stages across six characters, each of whom have their own major mechanic (the Warrior is very straightforward, the Robot can roll as many dice as it wants but if they go over a specific total vaue then you "bust" and lose access to all your equipment, the Inventor discards a piece of equipment each turn and turns it into a gadget that is free to use... and then each character has six individual stages where the rules are different, including one each where all the status effects that can be applied, and all the player and enemy loadouts, are completely different. 

 

There's also incredible attention to detail in the game; the enemies talk to you and are generally really amusing, there's snippets of backstory as you progress through the game which are largely a bunch of light jokes, but perhaps the best example of this is (minor spoiler)

 

  Hide contents

when you play as the Rogue in one of their episodes; they sometimes have an ability that allows you to steal the enemy's equipment, and one of the Alchemist's equipment turns them into a bear. Only, if you steal it and then activate it, it turns you into a bear instead and then you're a bear for the rest of the run - and also all the new equipment you pick up is bear-themed

 

Still a couple of episodes I've not yet cracked (currently at 33/36), but have beaten the final boss and there's a couple of small pieces of DLC I'll be continuing to poke at until I've got the lot. Either way this is delightfully inventive and remains so right up until the end of the game, it's absolutely superb.

 

Terry Cavanagh is an absolute genius. It was great watching him develop this game online. This should be an Edge 10, as opposed to Edge's mates FMV game.

 

Edit: His blog is insightful and fantastic.

https://distractionware.com/blog/2022/09/super-hexagon-10-years-on/

[Gambit]

11/09 - Turtles Cowabunga Collection (Platinum Trophy)

 

To get the Platinum Trophy you have to beat all the games in the collection, something I did, albeit I cheesed a few of them. Turns out you can just watch someone playing the game all the way through, jump in and start playing it just before the final boss or whatever is beaten, then you get the trophy. I did only do this for three of the 13 games included. Those being the NES version of Tournament Fighters (just as cheap as the Snes and Mega Drive versions, which I ended up hating by the end), the NES Turtles game (for obvious reasons) and the Game Boy's Turtles: Radical Rescue, which did seem like a neat little MetroidVania, the only problem being there's no map you can view, so no, I don't think I will complete you.

 

Anyway, the collection itself is great. It has all the Turtles games you could want, apart from maybe the XBLA remake of Turtles in Time, some nice history included with art and whatnot. It did cement my opinion that Shredders Revenge is the best Turtles game ever made though.

 

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

 

10/08 - The Legend of Zelda

 

[CurryKitten]

18/8/22 - Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

This game must have been sat on my DS for about 10 years, I used to play it when I'd be on a plane or with the intention of finishing it off on holiday, but I would then end up doing something else.  It does feel satisfying to finally finish it, but I have to say this game, more than any of the other Phoenix Wright does seem a bit random in places where the evidence you are using to expose a contradiction doesn't seem to fit, or you have to rely on something some other character said in previous cases (which meant I'd have to remember things from years ago)  Despite this, I still love the PR games.  I do have the Miles Edgeworth and Apollo Justice still sat on my DS, so I might get to them eventually.

 

12/9/22 - Skies of Arcadia Legends (GameCube - though played on a Wii)

This game has got an even longer history - I picked the game up first on the Dreamcast when the system was dying and it was easy to pick up a lot of stuff for cheaps - going on for about 20 years ago  I put around 10 hours or so into it, getting past the first Gigas (eventually).  I had an issue trying to pick this up again - I ended up with an OSSC, but this is one of the few games you can't force into VGA mode.  A friend of mine gave me his old copy of Skies on the GC and so I started again... got past where I'd been before and then managed to leave it for another year or two.  I came back fired up to finish it over the last month or so... and it feels really good to finally get there.

 

Whilst I love the game and the story, my god, Skies must set a new record in random encounters.  Every 2 steps that music start and you are off again.  I only found I could save a little bit of time by pressing Z during my special attacks to stop the entire animation playing after about 20 hours.  I can't determine if I played it "right".  I ended up barely touching magic (unless someone needed resurrecting) I built up special attacks with my key party members so I had people to attack single targets very strongly and others that could attack a group well.  I coupled this with - essentially maxing out my healing items and it got me through.  I did make a cock up on the final ship battle, where I didn't heal in a turn where I should of and ended up having to play about 40 minutes of it again!  

 

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Bullet Hell Monday - 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] [Speedrun, Expert 1cc] [All Trial, Nightmare 1cc] etc. Lost track now

Shooting Game KARI - Normal 1cc

Tanitani Wizard - Normal 1cc

Mushihimesama Futari Black Label - Maniac 1cc

Valhellio - Normal 1cc

 

[FiveFootNinja]

16. Little Nightmares (PS5) - I played this a little by surprise, deciding to drop in to 'have a quick look at it' while I was updating another game having previously installed it from PS+. In the end I saw it through to completion over two sittings this weekend. At its core this is a puzzle platformer (with a few bits of action) all dressed in some stylish horror clothes. You play a small child trying to escape from a world seemingly much bigger and scarier than you, where any misstep generally results in your death. In many ways I was reminded of Playdead's excellent duo of Limbo and Inside, sprinkled with some Bioshock-esque art direction. It's effective, enjoyable and looks great, but ultimately I prefer all those aforementioned titles. A few times the 2.5D movement felt a bit off (especially when mixed with the way the camera sometimes moves) and there were segments where I would sometimes be left scratching my head thinking I'd done the right thing but died, to find out jump angles were slightly off, etc... Also for a game that invites you to die quite a lot the load times felt a tad longer than you would want, and the checkpoint generosity is pretty mixed. Overall though it was fun, and at about 2.5 hours gameplay doesn't outstay it's welcome at all. If you have PS+ you might as well have a crack - 7/10

 

 

 

 

On 08/09/2022 at 10:25, 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

14. New Super Lucky's Tale (XB1) [Family game] - 9/10

15. Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - 8.5/10

 

[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)
30. Life's Too Short (PlayDate)
31. Pick Pack Pup – Story Mode (PlayDate)
32. Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck)

 

 

 

Space saving tips

 

33. Chorus (Game Pass)

Chorus, CHORVS.... whatever. On the one hand, this is a really good space shooter game. On the other hand, the boss designs are absolutely horrendous. How this happened, I don't know. Flying around space, meeting people, blowing shit up is great. The ship is cool and handles well. Rites – your special moves – are fun and once you get the hang of it, you're warping, spearing and power-sliding around space like a maniac, taking down huge ships and fleets of enemies. All great fun. 

 

The story is nothing groundbreaking, but it is acted out well with beautiful cutscenes and graphics throughout so I allowed myself to become lost in it's space opera cheese.

 

But then the boss fights. Attempting to hit a small target that is rotating around a flailing arm/snake that can move faster than you can, turn on a dime and bend in such a way that it can occlude the target with random bits of geometry while unseen enemies randomly hurl tunnels of laser fire, gas trap death or impenetrable walls as you try in vain to catch up with them was not fun at all. I ended up dropping the difficulty of the final boss to Easy because I was on it for just shy of an hour by that point and I wanted to kick my Xbox into the sun. I know it wasn't the fault of the machine, but it sure did seem like a good thing to do.

 

I encountered a lot of bugs and crashing which was a shame, but it was patched recently and the last 20% of my game went smoothly and a bunch of bugged achievements popped so they're still working on it, it seems. Chop those boss bits out – or just tweak them to be less frustrating – and I'd give it a hearty recommendation. With the bosses, I'd say persevere because it is a bloody good game and not that long, possibly clocking in around 10-12 hours.

[James Lyon]

I've got a whole lot of games I finished this year. More than last year and mostly thanks to Gamepass. I've got into the habit of taking on games once they're announced to leave Gamepass as this gives me good motivation to get through them (even though I already have some of them on other platforms!). Still, it got me through some good things, some of which I'll list a few below for now:

 

Phogs: A puzzler where you control a sausage-shaped dog with a head on each end. Two players can control a head each and I guess it was built with that in mind, but it thankfully works in single player with a bit of adjustment. Some good use of the idea like swinging on poles over gaps head by head or making particular shapes. It's a little bit too sweet and bland otherwise, but a nice idea and I liked how the levels are themed around a dog's ideals of sleep, food, and fun.

 

Narita Boy: Everything 2D platformer is a Metroidvania these days, so I fully expected this one to be. It's not, it's a straight-ish combat platformer with some minor back and forth in small hubs but mostly linear. Loved the presentation - not sure what you call the graphic style exactly; pixel art but everything's fuzzy. Reminds me of a few things that I can't quite place. Anyway, was a nice run-through a weird computer world which I don't recall being too tough.

 

Rain On Your Parade: Comedy game about a cloud literally raining down mayhem on the world below. Great breadth of ideas in this with measured parodies of other games that are fun to play amongst the other mini-levels. It was great to go back with the new game plus mode and pick up all the other challenges. Haven't played the DLC yet but I hope the developers are already working on something bigger, better and sillier.

[Popo]

Sable (2021)

This was lovely. An open world game where you play as the titular girl on a rite of passage  journey in a desert world where people live a simple life in small, isolated settlements, in harmony with the technological remnants of a lost civilisation.
 

The simple yet beautiful visuals belie some shocking performance issues - I rather think the game engine struggles with the enormous draw distance, which is otherwise impressive and forms a key part of the play experience, as well as emphasising the peaceful, serene atmosphere. Performance gets worse in the larger, more dense settlement, with frame rates falling well below 30, and gets worse still the longer the game is running, with crashes becoming not uncommon. Still, that the game was made by a couple of guys in their shed is very impressive given the scale and beautiful art style, and they can’t be faulted for their ambition - the whole game can be played without loading screens. 
 

Breath of the Wild is a strong influence, with climbing and exploring the order of the day. It even has temple-like spacecraft ruins where climbing is restricted. You have a bike you can use to speed around, and this is really satisfyingly good fun to do. You spend your time during the ‘gliding’ making friends, collecting outfits, masks (everyone wears masks), bike parts and more besides. Customising Sables look is all part of the fun, and there is some variety to be found in the quests you undertake to collect these things.
 

There’s no fail state - you can’t die and there’s nothing to fight, and it’s great to play a game that does this and not be a walking simulator. The game ends when you decide you’ve had enough wandering and go home to your clan. I almost got all the achievements except one - there are 100 hidden items to collect, and I gave up at 85. Completing the gliding is like coming home after a gap year following university, and I felt a twinge of nostalgia for my time in the world.  I finished by pootling along the massive ridge that encircles the starting are, while relaxing, serene music played. It felt fitting to end this way - but like Sable, it’s time to move on. 
 

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

04/09/2022 - Final fantasy VII Remake: INTERmission

13/09/2022 - Sable

 

[RubberJohnny]

Honkai Impact 3rd - This ended it's story and started off a new one with a new bunch of characters, so I say it counts as completed. Never meant to play this as much as I did, I just wanted to check out Mihoyo's previous game, but it's one of those games that's simple, doesn't take up much time, and plays in a window while you do something else on your PC, which means it fits around my life far more time than a big AAA game that requires long sessions at the moment.

 

I couldn't tell you what it's about, I mean I know it's kind of Evangelion with waifus instead of robots, but it's fucking terrible at explaining anything about its setting, and half the chapters are just diving into characters subconscious fighting monsters that represent their demons before they get a transformation sequence to a new gacha design.

 

About half my time went into the roguelike mode, which I kid you not is as good if not better than Hades - like it does the same thing of using the format of repeated runs to advance a slow-burn narrative, but just commits to it harder, and also just has way more variety due to having more characters available, it makes me interested in Zenless Zero Zone, if nothing else.

 

Spoiler

Goragoa

Mass Effect 3

Red Dead Redemption 2

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Hitman III

GTA V

Rez Infinite