What games did you complete? 2022 Edition

[ImmaculateClump]

14 hours ago, strawdonkey said:

I didn't notice any interesting scoring mechanic

 

We might have different definitions of "interesting", but just in case you missed it, you have to clear out the popcorn enemies quickly so that you can swoop in and get up nice and close to the bigger enemies

If you point blank kill them they'll drop a load of stars that you automatically scoop up.

 

The game is a little janky, you can't get too close or the stars won't trigger, but you get a feeling for the how close and how far away you can be as you play.

 

The game is very bargain bin and "that'll do" with enemies sometimes just raining from the sky and bosses that often have all of one uninteresting bullet pattern, but I've stuck up for the game in the past because I think it's the very definition of a below average game that is totally saved by an interesting and fun scoring mechanic, and it's great for beginners too!

 

Check out the caravan stage if you haven't already. It's worth the price of admission on it's own!

Music's pretty groovy too

 

Here's a run of the caravan mode. Try to do the point blank trick as much as possible, don't die and don't bomb (if you can hold your nerve) and that'll get you a decent score.

 

https://streamable.com/uggrmj

 

What happened to your arm? Hope it doesn't go dodgy again for you.

 

I know what you mean about the boobies. I laughed out loud the first time I saw the character select screen Not sure they're regulation pilot uniforms.

[FishyFish]

04. Control (PS4/PS5)

Following my self-imposed gaming-knowledge blackout due to playing little but Battlefueld during the last gen, there are a LOT of games that slipped (flew noisily) under my radar that I'm now enjoying catching up on. Control is one of these. Whereas there are a lot of big-name titles that I've not played, but heard of, Control wasn't one of these, so it was an absolute pleasure to discover it. The game is great fun to play and has a fascinating setting, basically SCP in game form. Unearthing bits of lore scattered around the locations really enhanced the run and gun gameplay that gets you around the place. The set of abilities you gain as you progress are well implemented and, by the time you've souped them up, incredibly satifying to unleash. Levitating through a huge room and throwing forklift-trucks with explosive gas cylinders attached didn't get old.

The game has a couple of DLCs and both were included in the Ultimate Edition that I bought in the PSN sale at Christmas. The first I played ties into Alan Wake and felt integrated into the main storyline as I played it. I enjoyed this one and it had an interesting and challenging boss. The second DLC (Foundation) I enjoyed less (although I know some prefer it). It felt a lot more repetitive and seperated from the main game (I played it after I'd finished the core storyline) and it took the shine off a little.

 

05. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (PS4/PS5)

After Control, I felt like something a little more relaxing and slower paced, so I fired up this "walking simulator" that I'd gotten free with PS+ at some point. And slower paced it is!

Like control, this has a fascinating setting as you explore a bucolic English village and its surroundings to find out why everyone has vanished. As you explore the place snippets of backstory are played out either in the form of radio broadcasts, or by "ghosts" of events and conversations amongst the no-longer-present villagers, gradually informing what has happened. Its melancholic feel is enhanced by a wonderful choral soundtrack and the storyline has an air of a Nigel Kneale Quatermass story, with events at an observatory situated on the edge of the village perhaps being connected to what has happened.

My main complaint is the speed of the game - specifically the speed you move at. It's snail-paced, even when using the poorly-implemented speed-increase control. It's a short game, so bunny-hopping about the place might have ruined the way things play out, but it's very frustrating when you want to backtrack somewhere and know it's going to take ages to do so. The game also doesn't hold your hand at all in terms of what you need to do - apart from a couple of button prompts at the beginning it's really up to you to figure it out, and it's easy to miss story beats if you don't quite know what you're supposed to be doing. I ended up re-starting the game after realising I'd missed a bunch of stuff that I didn't realise I could click on.

But, that complaint aside, it's well worth experiencing, and I think it's a game that will stick with me for some time.

 

[instasis]

19/02: The Pedestrian (Xbone)

 

A really enjoyable and pleasant puzzler. Seemed pretty unique, and changed things up enough to stay fresh for the few hours it goes on for.

 

Nice, for the princely sum of Game Pass. 

 

19/02: Gorogoa (Xbone)

 

Another Game Pass one. Pleasant way to spend a puzzling couple of hours. 

 

Previously;
 

Spoiler

23/1: Ninja Baseball Bat Man (MAME)

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

 

[spanx]

6. OlliOlli World

 

Played the first game years ago and always found it too difficult, and don’t get me wrong this game is still a bastard in places, but relaxing a couple of things to make it more accessible (but keeping the skill ceiling very high) made this stick. I’ve played through to the credits so this is “completed” but it’s clearly got a lot more to give. I’m yet to properly crack chaining together massive combos or progress much in to the silver tier on the online side but I can see me dipping in to this for a long time. 
 

oh, and it’s glorious looking/sounding to boot. A minor triumph, 9/10

 

Previously…

 

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)

 

 

[RubberJohnny]

Mass Effect 3 - I dunno why I didn't play this at the time, I was really into the series, I think I was just kind of tired with gaming around 2012, the PC ports weren't so hot, or came later and kept switching services so you couldn't import your save, and I got spoiled on the ending and thought it was disappointing anyway. While it is a bit 2012 with its turret sequences, Uncharted running sequences and knife takedowns, the main loop of combat, dialogue and pottering around the Galaxy map is as fun as ever, helped by them bringing back the evocative original soundtrack rather than the generic Hollywood ME2 one.

 

 

These Gears of War style combat systems are a bit dated and stiff (no one at Bioware can do a running animation, apparently), but this has one of the most fun combat sandboxes around, just huge amount of variety in creative weapons and varied enemies, and the new additions like some slight auto-platforming and better use of 3D space work well. I'd probably have gotten into the gacha style multiplayer if I had played around then.

 

The bit I liked the most was the structure - each location gets multiple bitesize missions with characters showing up onboard the ship in between, allowing it to fit heavy conversation more naturally than sticking it into missions with action pacing. And it slims down the number of companions and number of hubs, but you get more depth as a result, more than just the one conversation onboard and them hanging out on the Citadel, for instance. Instead of companion quests, you have a wider array of unique characters who appear just for one mission and don't join your crew - this works really well, I don't really need 12 companions just for pre-mission colour commentary when I can only listen to 2.

 

As for the plot, less glowing:

 

Spoiler

People who said you couldn't judge the ending without playing the game were crazy, it's basically completely separate from the whole game! The whole Crucible plot occurs completely offscreen for the duration! It's clear those people just said that because they didn't want the ending being criticised. That it's that separate does at least stop it from poisoning most of the game, but we've still got to talk about it.

 

Mass Effect 2 revealed that the Reapers were biomechanical creatures, melting down species into smoothies to reproduce and build new Reapers from themselves; this changed what the series was about from "Lovecraftian robots beyond our understanding bringing about the Endtimes" to "forced transhumanism is bad and so are those who do it". But this left the series with nowhere really to go in terms of doing the usual 'third way' compromise solution to entrenched conflict Bioware is so fond of, so Mass Effect 3 really tried to stick this revelation back in the bottle, the Reapers are treated as robo-terminators, there's lots of bringing up the organics vs synthetics thing from ME1 that 2 largely dropped, etc. The only problem is it doesn't work, because the whole Suicide Mission part of ME2 where those revelations were contained is like, the main thing people remember about that game.

 

So Synthesis, the ending that the ghost child and writers really want us to take, is essentially doing what the Reapers want to do, forcing transhumanism on the entire Galaxy, raping every living thing (in the non-sexual definition), the very thing the series tells us we're fighting against. There was an article recently on 10 years after the ending where the writers noted Synthesis "had some ethical issues", which you sure wouldn't notice from the presentation! Everyone is happy as they are transformed without their consent, their bodily autonomy violated as they're twisted into something no longer human to glowing light and happy music!

 

And the ending that's thematically consistent with the "don't do forced transhumanism" premise, the writers clearly don't want us to do, because they stick loads of caveats on it to make it less attractive to players that none of the other ending have, "no you'd be genociding your friends too, and you'd die, and you'd destroy all the technology, and it wouldn't work in the long run because *waves hands* someone a billion years from now might make more Reapers". It's extremely dumb.

 

And the real problem is this whole thing is just so unnecessary! You really don't need another bullshit twist to try and blow peoples minds in the last five minutes of a six-year, 90 hour series, if they just dropped that as a requirement they wouldn't need to do all this writing around and contradicting what they already had. Sometimes it's OK just to let things pay off!

 

Also Kai Leng and Cerberus sucks, but compared to the above they're mostly lame and misguided rather than offensively bad.

 

It's a shame Bioware worked on Anthem next because they had a great template here to work forwards with their kind of RPG, it's easy to see this same structure used to  introduce new characters rather than return older ones. It's also a shame that they handed the Mass Effect series off to a studio with shit writers next, because some of the character moments here are great and remind you of what attracted you to their games in the first place.

[ImmaculateClump]

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

 

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

[moosegrinder]

3 hours ago, spanx said:

6. OlliOlli World

 

Played the first game years ago and always found it too difficult, and don’t get me wrong this game is still a bastard in places, but relaxing a couple of things to make it more accessible (but keeping the skill ceiling very high) made this stick. I’ve played through to the credits so this is “completed” but it’s clearly got a lot more to give. I’m yet to properly crack chaining together massive combos or progress much in to the silver tier on the online side but I can see me dipping in to this for a long time. 
 

oh, and it’s glorious looking/sounding to boot. A minor triumph, 9/10

 

Previously…

 

  Reveal hidden contents

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)

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah, I finished this too. The story bit is just a precursor to the endgame of score chasing, but it still counts. 

[strawdonkey]

5 hours ago, ImmaculateClump said:

 

We might have different definitions of "interesting", but just in case you missed it

Let me stop you there: yeah I missed it. Didn't find it explained anywhere, potentially a user failure; will definitely go back and give it another go. Didn't spot the Caravan mode either, which I definitely would have put some time into as they're often my favourite modes in games like this where I don't have the skill to put together a scoring run of the full game.

 

As for the arm - I dunno to be honest. Just woke up with a weird pain in it about four weeks ago and trying to use a mouse/controller/keyboard was causing a variety of different aches and pains, so just rested it for as long as possible. Still not back to 100% but it feels like it's still improving each day so here's hoping. Good news is, no adverse effects today so I can resume normal service to a certain extent!

[jamesy]

19/02 - Resident Evil 2

 

Beat both scenarios of Resident Evil 2 on the N64 this week. Still love it to this day. It has to be one of all the all-time greats. N64 seemed fine although the fmv quality was pretty ropey at times. Wanted to play it out of curiosity. There are better versions sure but it's a cracking port.

 

Been playing through banjo-kazooie but I'm not overjoyed by it. Myabe it's because a I never played it on/near release but its a bit of a chore just dandering about collecting things. Will hold off on my final verdict until I've played some more.

 

Spoiler

08/01 - Paper Mario

 

[Jamie John]

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

 

 

I played two back-to-back playthroughs of this when it first came out and thought it was one of the top titles on the PS4. For some reason, probably because I've been listening to the soundtrack again recently (but mostly because I'm killing time until Elden Ring comes out), I decided to play through it again on my PS5. Initially, I did the trick to unlock the framerate by playing the un-updated PS4 version, but after an hour's play I decided to stick to the locked 30FPS updated version to benefit from the improvements that this brings, including a better camera (apparently) and fewer intrusive hints popping up on the screen every minute or so.

 

Anyway, playing it six years on from launch (Christ), there's a lot to this which still very much holds up. The setting - an abandoned, ruined forbidden city - is still absolutely wondrous and a real treat to explore. The impossible architecture, the ambiguity of its purpose and origins, the 'organic' platforming, which relies on the player being able to intuit the way forwards rather than pandering to the sort of signposting that so many other games of this type resort to - all of it is just amazing. It's the most evocative location in any videogame I've ever played since Lordran, absolutely saturated in history and environmental storytelling. Similarly, the sense of scale is, to this day, unmatched, and it's undoubtedly the most vertiginous of games, more so than Uncharted, Prince of Persia, Spider-Man, or any other title you care to mention. I don't mind admitting that I'm a massive wuss when it comes to heights, and there were several points in this which were immersive enough to have me wincing. To top it off, the soaring music and simple but affecting story hit all the right notes, and while I wasn't quite sobbing by the end of the game, emotions were definitely running high.

 

 

At the same time, however, the flaws that the game suffered from at launch have perhaps been exacerbated rather than assuaged by time. While I got used to the idiosyncratic controls and learnt to tolerate the unwieldy camera, the fact that, too often, Trico just wouldn't do what I wanted it to, even though I knew exactly what I wanted it to do, was undeniably frustrating. Apologists might argue that this is an accurate representation of a living creature, one who won't immediately respond to your every whim, but, in practice, when it's quicker to reload checkpoints rather than direct Trico or line it up properly, that's probably an indication that something is wrong with the game's AI, and this is something I had to do on several occasions. Making things worse is the fact that (again, too often) it's unclear how you need to proceed, and that's coming from someone who has played the game through twice already and could remember most of the puzzles. Although I didn't quite need to consult a guide, there was definitely more than one instance where I simply didn't know what to do in order to move forwards and had to spend what felt like too long fruitlessly experimenting until I figured out what the game wanted me to do. While I don't necessarily want things spelt out for me when plying a game, here, when what you can and cannot do is so inconsistent - some ledges can be climbed but others can't; Trico can jump to some platforms but not others; certain areas are accessible whereas others are gated by instadeath - uncertainty soon sets in, followed just as quickly by annoyance. It's difficult to think of a way that the developers could have made what command Trico had accepted more apparent to the player without compromising their HUD-less, dialogue-free vision, but, ultimately, the game tests your patience too frequently; there were several sections towards the end that had me rolling my eyes, or shouting at Trico to 'Just fucking jump, you feathered twat!', which wasn't a good sign.

 

 

So, should you play The Last Guardian in 2022? If you never experienced it on PS4, then definitely - be patient, don't try to move the camera too much, and above all take your time; soak it all in. If you did play it through back in 2016, however, and especially if you enjoyed it, then you may well be better off keeping your rose-tinted memories untarnished.

 

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

 

Abandoned:

 

Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - PC

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (2020) - Switch

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (2017) - 3DS

 

 

[ImmaculateClump]

19 hours ago, strawdonkey said:

Let me stop you there: yeah I missed it. Didn't find it explained anywhere, potentially a user failure

 

I think they just want you to stumble across it through play. Hopefully it adds a little extra when you revisit it.

 

19 hours ago, strawdonkey said:

As for the arm - I dunno to be honest. Just woke up with a weird pain in it about four weeks ago and trying to use a mouse/controller/keyboard was causing a variety of different aches and pains, so just rested it for as long as possible. Still not back to 100% but it feels like it's still improving each day so here's hoping. Good news is, no adverse effects today so I can resume normal service to a certain extent!

 

Weird. Yeah, hopefully your bodies fixed itself up now and it doesn't come back

[strawdonkey]

On 18/02/2022 at 22:42, 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)

11. Higurashi When They Cry - Ch.3 Tatarigoroshi

 

Haha what the fuck. 

 

Still haven't made a single decision yet. The way the games are structured almost feels like you're watching someone else's endings play out, which is weird to get used to at first but at least ensures you get to see all the story. Not that it'll do you much good, because I still havent't got a clue what's going on. Spoliers within.

 

Spoiler

Seriously. Also trigger warning, domestic/child abuse

Spoiler

Like the other two games, this one starts with you doing random bullshit for several chapters, though a key difference in this one is that a family member of one of the main cast returns to the scene and functionally imprisons and abuses them, which drives the rest of the story forward as the protagonist struggles with their inability to help make the situation better for his friend. This eventually drives him to murder the family member, with the intent of passing it off as one of the ritual murders/disappearances that have happened in each of the last four years.

 

After this, things take an unnerving turn as the body disappears, all the other characters have vivid memories of the protagonist being with them all night on the night he was Doing A Murder, and then people start coincidentally going missing, with the protagonist believing that he has been bestowed with the powers of the demon spirit that guards the village, as he wishes death upon people and then it happens.

 

And then, you get pushed off a bridge, wish for the village to end, miraculously survive, and the entire village gets wiped out by a volcanic eruption under a marsh which causes gas to silently poison everone in the village in the middle of the night.

 

This one is way more heavy than the other games, with the abuse sub-plot and the active involvement of the protagonist in premeditated murder, rather than getting swept up in some crazy village spirits voodoo. The "cast wrap-up" at the end is once again really good and also reveals that the next game in the series will have one of the other characters as the protagonist, and it also promises to start answering some of the questions posed in the first three games. It's about time because I've had so many questions I've forgotten most of them!

 

Still really enjoying these, and hopefully the remaining five (!) are as much of a rollercoaster as these have been.

 

 

[instasis]

20/02: The Gunk (Xbone)

 

A very pleasant, very unfinished, not particularly creative 3D platformer. Played worse, but also played better.

 

Quote

23/1: Ninja Baseball Bat Man (MAME)

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

19/02: The Pedestrian (Xbone)

19/02: Gorogoa (Xbone)

 

[Popo]

It Takes Two (2021)

This was fantastic! I’m agog at the sheer volume of imaginative gameplay elements Hazelight casually introduces and throws away over the course of the 12 hours or so of this game - even Nintendo on a good day would milk worse ideas over a longer play time, but this felt like 10 years of creative ideas compressed down into a single game.
 

It looks like a snack too - and despite criticisms to the contrary, I really enjoyed my time in the company of Cody and May (I even loved Dr Hakim). The would-be divorcees have to work together to undo the spell that trapped them in doll form, leading them through a variety of Honey I Shrunk the Kids environments - but this is Hazelight only just getting started, and things just get weirder and more unexpected as time goes on. It really would be cruel to spoil it by saying any more, but anyone who plays the first hour or so of the game and thinks they know where it’s going know nothing - so confident are the developers, that they don’t even stay within the confines of the platforming genre for all of the game. 
 

Traversal and moment to moment exploration are great fun, with the game making great use of Mario’s staple move sets in a way that feels entirely natural - there are mini games hidden throughout the various levels (including a full chess set) and the cooperative puzzles you have to overcome with your P2 partner are rarely frustrating and always delightfully satisfying to work out. If I could sum up this game in one word it would be:

 

CO-LA-BO-RATION!

 

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

 

[Jamie John]

15. Exo One (2021) - XSX via Game Pass

 

 

(Couple more screens)

Spoiler

 

 

Exo One is a short, pensive and unique little game where you play as a UFO hurtling across alien landscapes very, very quickly. Pulling on the right trigger makes you heavier, allowing you to build up velocity when going downhill, while squeezing the left trigger transforms you from your default spherical shape into a discus-like oblong, able to glide majestically through the often turbulent atmospheres of the various planets you're taken to. The idea of the game is to rhythmically switch between the two different forms of your spaceship in such a way that you build up as much momentum as possible. This, in turn, lets you go faster, glide for longer and jump higher. It's difficult to put into words, but play the game for any amount of time and you'll intuitively figure out what you need to do.

 

When it works, it's excellent: shooting off the top of a steep hill at hundreds of miles per hour to send yourself flying through the air and then seamlessly turning into an aerodynamic metal frisbee to soar even further - it just feels wonderful. Even better is the sensation of diving from three thousand feet up, breaking through the sound barrier as you charge towards the ground, pulling up at the last moment and then zooming low over the barren wastes or endless sand dunes beneath you. While the imagery and atmosphere are borrowed wholesale from films like 2001 and Interstellar, I've never really played another game like it before. It's sort of like Flower with the physics of Monkey Target, although much, much faster.

 

Beyond trying to build up enough height and speed to get to the one or two far-flung collectibles there are to find on each world, you don't do anything in each level except make your way to the star elevator: a constant blue light on the horizon that catapults you to the next planet. The simple joy of moving through space at speed, however, is enough to compel you to keep playing; I completed the game in one two-hour long sitting and never found myself getting bored. The fluidity of the movement combined with the dreamlike, even surrealist environments and evocative ambient soundtrack were enough to put me into a trance-like mood. I imagine it's a good game to play if you're stoned (I wasn't, but the game's Achievements seem to encourage this: you get one if you're able to 'Get high' enough on each level).

 

There are a couple of missteps. On a few occasions where I'd whiffed a jump and had to spend time lining it up again, I felt like a rewind button would have been handy. And a claustrophobic jungle planet about two thirds of the way through is frustrating to navigate; in a game all about speed, a level where you're forced to slow down seems out of place. There's also a back story that is told quite effectively through garbled audio messages and sudden images that momentarily flicker on the screen, but I didn't pay attention enough to figure out exactly what was going on. The fact that the game is only two hours long, however, makes any of its shortcomings easy to overlook. I thought this was a memorable, meditative experience that serves as a nice palette cleanser between more mechanically-involved games. If you're looking for something short before a certain game releases later this week, and you have Game Pass, definitely check it out.

 

8/10

 

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

 

Abandoned:

 

Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - PC

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (2020) - Switch

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (2017) - 3DS

 

[Jamie John]

16. Red Matter (2018) - Quest 2

 

 

What's that? Two games in one day? The wife and child must be away!

 

This was the first time I'd played my Quest 2 in a while. It's a puzzle adventure game set in an alternative future where the Cold War seemingly never ended.  You play as a voiceless secret agent sent to an abandoned moon base beyond Saturn in order to gather top secret enemy intel. Shortly after arriving, however, it transpires that not all is what it seems, and the moonbase might not be quite as empty as you were led to believe...

 

I had a good time with it over the course of a couple of hours this afternoon. The puzzles largely involve you using your translation scanner to interpret Russian instruction manuals, and then turn valves, flick switches and press buttons in the correct sequence in order to make progress. For the most part, the puzzles are intuitive and satisfying to complete. With no combat and only some very occasional horror elements, there's no real sense of threat to stress you out, so you're able to mull things over at your own pace.

 

The schlocky sci-fi story bubbling underneath it all is quite good fun, too, even if you can probably tell what's really going on, and while the voice acting is a bit hammy in places, I still found myself being whisked along for the ride. Like some other VR games I've played, it's a bit slight and never really challenges you; for the £14 I paid for it (and that was in a sale, I believe) I was maybe expecting something a bit more substantial, but what's here is fine. To be honest, after neglecting my Quest for so long, having space to stretch out a bit and play this in the living room was an enjoyable novelty. I should probably play it more often.

 

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

 

Abandoned:

 

Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - PC

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (2020) - Switch

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (2017) - 3DS

 

[jamesy]

21/02 - Ridge Racer

I started this up for a quick test of a cable a few days ago and ended up after numerous attempts unlocking the devil car. That extra mode advanced level track was tricky.  You have to get as close to perfect laps while also avoiding the traffic. Great game to go back to over and over. And the music.🥰

 

Spoiler

 

08/01 - Paper Mario

19/02 - Resident Evil 2

21/02 - Ridge Racer

 

[strawdonkey]

On 18/02/2022 at 22:42, 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

Yeah OK I scored twice as much in Caravan Mode as I did in the entirety of my 1CC playthrough. It's completely fine, but probably not going to put a bunch more time into it at this point.

 

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

 

Exceed 2nd is basically budget doujin Ikaruga with less style and flair. Both you and the enemies can fire one of two colours of bullets - white and Sort Of Dark Red I Guess, and enemies come in both of those colours too. You can toggle between the two colours of bullet at once, which also changes your character's colour and susceptibility; If you shoot an enemy with the opposite colour it dies faster than if you shot it with the same colour; if you are shot with the same colour you absorb the bullet to fill your super meter, and if you are shot with the opposite colour then you EXPLODE.

 

It's absolutely brain-melting at times and it often feels correct (for players of my middling skill level) to pick a colour and just treat it like a regular shmup - dodge the bullets of one colour and you will just accidentally absorb a bunch of the opposite colour - but one thing that still takes a bit of getting used to is the need to make more use of the super. Using the super does a bunch of damage to a good 60% of the screen, but it also deletes all bullets of the opposite colour - so not only can you use it to get out of a pinch, but you can also use it whilst there is a big stream of your current colour of bullets coming in, use those to recharge your super at a fast rate, and only have a few seconds of screaming in terror before you can super again.

 

As for the 1CC... it feels doable with practice. I've only put 4-5 hours into this so far and have very little practice on the stuff at the end of the game, but it definitely feels achievable. The spanner in the works is the rank system - you start at a particular rank (I'm choosing "Easy") and with enough Not Dying you will move up the difficulty ranks. Each additional rank usually just stuffs more bullets on to the screen, and taking a hit dumps you back down a rank, which is a reasonably elegant way of managing the difficulty in the game dynamically. This does mean that while I could definitely 1CC if the rank never progressed beyond Easy, the combination of taking fewer hits and also making the progress on a higher rank (because I'm taking fewer hits) might be too much to handle. We'll see - still having fun with it so will keep putting attempts in until the fun stops or the progression grinds to a halt I guess!

[ImmaculateClump]

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

 

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

[SeanR]

Mass Effect 3

 

ooh, same as the number of endings. I’m just trying the third now. Two of them are perfectly acceptable. I’m guessing the one I’m doing now is the objectionable version…

 

also. Technology to make interstellar communications a reality, vs London streets with a red phone box on every corner? #suss

[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)
Completed on normal difficulty (full paragon female adept) - approx 25 hours. I did most of the side quests in the end, even though they're repetitive. Because fuck it, I'm probably not playing it again any time soon!

 

Despite its jankiness, glitches and copy/paste side quests, this actually got its hooks in me all over again and I loved it. A thoroughly well-realised sci-fi universe that lets you make decisions big and small, and with characters that you enjoy spending time with. Saren is a formidable villain and the reapers are properly scary. There's mystery and suspense and grand ideas backed by a cool synthy soundtrack, and I love the overall vibe and aesthetic.

 

It's not immediately obvious what was upgraded or enhanced for this version, it's been ten years since I last played it, but it looked pretty nice for its age. I did notice that the hacking minigames were much simpler (the PC version had spinning rings or something). I'm also disappointed by the performance on PS4 - despite there being a framerate mode that targets 60fps, it's accompanied by some of the worst screen-tearing I've ever seen in a game. Horrendous and almost unplayable. I had to resort to using the 30fps vyncned mode, which is half the framerate that I played it at a decade ago! Took the shine off the experience but might give me the kick up the arse I need to get my hands on a PS5 before I start the sequel!

 

[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)
Another day, another brown & grey shootymans game done that I've been chipping away at slowly since the clusterfuck that was BF2042 launched... why didn't they just remaster this instead? 

You know the drill, Murika good, Commies bad, Oo-rah bollocks, but with some decent shooting. Runs at 120fps which is pretty nice and makes the shooting even more enjoyable. Would play again.

[Unofficial Who]

On 24/02/2022 at 08:52, SeanR said:

Mass Effect 3

 

ooh, same as the number of endings. I’m just trying the third now. Two of them are perfectly acceptable. I’m guessing the one I’m doing now is the objectionable version…

 

also. Technology to make interstellar communications a reality, vs London streets with a red phone box on every corner? #suss

 

There's a forth.

[SeanR]

Spoiler

Reapers win, I die

i win, reapers under my control

i win, reapers and synthetics die

 

im guessing I need to up my military readiness/status to get the fabled synthesis ending?

Excuse me while I 100% the galaxy map

[Unofficial Who]

Feb

 

25/02 Vampire Survivors (PC) 

 

 

I heard about this a week ago. A compulsive "single" stick shooter where all you do is move and make choices for upgrades. Some weapons fire in a direction, some home in on enemies, some hit randomly, or circle you or travel in an arc. A quick try of the demo on itchio and minutes later I was dropping a few bucks for an Early Access game, something I usually avoid. The goal is simple. Survive 30 minutes and unlock other characters. It escalates quickly and it's the slot machine like sound effects that make this, the gems from dropped beasts turning from a pleasant twinkle at first to a constant hum by endgame. Each game takes at max 30 minutes. In a week it took me 40 odd goes or over 20 hours to get all the achievements. There's more to come, this is in early beta but for now (for my sanity at least) I'm calling this one done. It's the best and worst $3 I've ever spent and reminds me of the old C64 days where you'd find a budget gem that just took all of your time.

 

Earlier this month

18/02 Hypnospace Outlaw

05/02 Final Fight (PC/Arcade)

 

Earlier this year

 

Spoiler

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

04/01 YIIK: A Postmodern RPG

 

[Ste Pickford]

Well, it took me all night, but I've finally finished Elden Ring.

 

Not got the platinum trophy yet, as I couldn't beat Gascoigne in the karting GP, and I still have some prizes yet to win in Snuggly's Pachinko Parlour, but got the end credits after convincing all the bosses to join in the big musical number you have to put on in the outdoor amphitheatre.  Kinda wild who they got to do the music for that! (No spoilers).

7/10 - a bit easy. 

[DarhkFox]

16/1 - Arkham Knight

Got this back at launch but never ran properly on my PC. Eventually decided to play it this year and really enjoyed it. Was it my favorite out of them all? Probably not but there still is a ton of stuff i can go back to do as well as DLC. I really didn't care much for the batmobile sections though.

 

1/2 - It Takes Two

Great co op game. Loved how varied the gameplay was and genuinely had a blast playing it.  I did like the crazyness of the first few hours compared to the rest of the game though and whilst i started off by enjoying the story, by the end of the game i thought the story was the worst thing. Also, the book of love is annoying AF.

 

6/2 - Tiny Toons Busters Hidden Treasure

First megadrive game i purchased and hadn't really played through since the 90s. Great game still even if some of the later levels are a bit unfair difficulty wise. Music in this game is great and i think it still holds up as one of the better 16bit platformers for the system.

 

9/2 - Donkey Kong Country

Lost count how many times I have played this game over the years. Still very much enjoy playing through it in a session since it's not that long.

 

24/2 - Bayonetta

Remember starting this on the 360 but finding it too tough. With Bayonetta 3 being announced I've been wanting to play through these games so I jumped back in. What a rush! Love the over the top gameplay in this and whilst i found the QTE and Button Mashing ruined the flow of the game, it wasn't too bad. Look forward to playing the 2nd game.

[strawdonkey]

On 22/02/2022 at 23:06, 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

Made it to Platinum rank, which is the top tier of the ladder. I don't see myself going from Platinum V to Platinum I though, as there's only a couple of days left in the current season, but more importantly Master Duel is currently struggling with a massive cheating issue; people have been able to circumvent minimum deck size, and also are able to play banned cards in their decks in ranked modes. It can lead to near-guaranteed first-turn kills reliably, and while I've been lucky enough to avoid it entirely so far, the idea of trying to battle through both that and legit opponents at the top end of the ladder isn't that appealing.

 

Have really been able to level up my play over the last few days too, there's been a bunch of stuff that I've got significantly more consistent at with the Virtual World deck I've been playing, but also I literally haven't a clue how to play anything else in the game so there's still plenty of new stuff to understand in the coming months.

 

Planning to make a run on Mythic rank (the top ranked bracket) on Magic Arena in March so please look forward to that (or a tale of my massively dented ego I guess).

[moosegrinder]

Yu-Gi-Oh sounds like the antithesis of fun.

[RubberJohnny]

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Wow, what a game. I bought this in 2020 at the start of lockdown, figuring it might last me through, 209 hours and two years later the epilogue credits rolled.

 

 

Rockstar don't seem to have many fans on here, lots of people taking a swing at them because they're successful and popular, but I think a lot of the arguments are overstated, there has always been a core of systems-based gameplay in their games, not just the physics and the gunplay and the law enforcement and stealth (and in this one, dialogue and honor).

 

Take GTA4 as an example, the game derided as the most scripted and least sandboxy, is a game where you can go on an online dating website, anyone on the site is an NPC you can meet in the world, you can take them to a show and back to your apartment, a level of systems and simulation that no other game really has. The backlash on here really seemed to start with GTAV where the game didn't fulfill these bizarre fantasies that everything in the game should have some underpinning in a simulation and if you destroy a petrol tanker you hurt the companies share price or whatever, even though it did increase the simulation and sandbox interactions with the world in other ways.

 

Yes, they have stuff that's heavily scripted and bombastic too, because they have all the money and can do both, and yes these different elements sometimes interact awkwardly, but insisting they're only that is just the most misinformed criticism.

 

I think RDR2 is the best version of this formula, the new systems-based gameplay loops around hunting, cooking and crafting add so much, most of my time was spend exploring the wilderness and tracking prey to craft their hides into trinkets and outfits. In fact I think this is the best 'survival gameplay' I've seen in a game, doing it with a light touch so that it's merely an element rather than most survival games where the entire loop consists of harvesting resources to plunge into your Tarrare-like eternally ravenous maw.

 

Oh, and it's a fucking looker too. The lighting in this game is magnificent, clearing inspired by the paintings of Albert Bierstadt, trying to capture it in screenshots is futile, it just squashes the 3D-ness of it. And that all the clouds are volumetric 3D and look astonishing, and this massive technical decision was made to support basically a single quest in this 200 hour game? Come on, you're just showing off now.

 

Bring on GTA6, game of the forever.