What games did you complete? 2023 Edition

[HarryBizzle]

1. ElecHead (Steam)

2. Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck)

 

3. Hi-Fi Rush (Game Pass)

 

I don't know why you people are pos'ing @pinholestar for that. Deserves to be shot for not giving this a 10/10.

It's absolutely incredible and WILL be GOTY. Come at me, Zelda-bros.

[ImmaculateClump]

EX -Extra- - 1cc

 

Spoiler

Cotton Rock n Roll -Superlative Night Dreams- (PC) - normal 1cc, cotton, appli, tacoot, luffee, fine

Fantasy Zone (arcade) - 1cc (2-4)

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA)

Zed Blade (arcade) - Easy, 1cc

Harmful Park (PSX) - Normal, 1cc

Scramble (arcade) 1cc

Tetris (GB) - B-Type

 

[bradigor]

On 01/01/2023 at 17:17, bradigor said:

Right time to get this ready. 

 

Current Playing 

 

 

Side Games 

Against the Storm 

RXC 

Hades 

Dead Cells

 

Completed

Lil Gator Game (08/01)

ElecHead (22/01)

The Last Campfire (30/01)

Spider-Man Miles Morales (01/02)

 

Parked 

Crisis Core Reunion

 

Abandoned 

 

Spider-Man Miles Morales

 

Fantastic game, takes all that is good about the first and refines it wonderfully. Getting to use the Spider-Man into the Spiderverse was great. Loved how the implemented it. Also best accessibility settings yet. 

[strawdonkey]

On 29/01/2023 at 08:38, strawdonkey said:

01 - Tiny Rogues

02 - Needy Streamer Overload

03 - Yamafuda - 2nd Station

04 - Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered

05 - Fault: Milestone One

06 - Fault: Milestone Two - Side: Above

X1 - Starfighter R&D

07 - Faith

08 - Alina of the Arena (Rookie clear, Warrior)

08a - Alina of the Arena (Rookie clear, Pyromancer; Rookie clear + Extra Boss, Samurai)

 

A couple more clears in and I have soured a tiny bit on this game - not because it's bad but just becuase it does stuff that reminds you how much better Slay The Spire handles everything. Unlike in STS, here you can choose a class and get a bunch of Attack/Defend cards tailored to your type; however there's nothing stopping you immediately abandoning that class and making a Samurai build, for instance. This does give you some amount of flexibility, but because the cards are usually more archetypal you will often find yourself just getting offered things you would never want on a regular basis.

 

In my Samurai build, if it didn't relate to the Focus stat then I had no reason to be interested. This led to me skipping 90% of the cards I was offered and eventually whittling the deck down to a bunch of cards that generate Focus and Block, and then one single attack. That single attack, if used to kill an enemy, causes you to retain your Focus - which means that your gameplay loop is to do nothing for a very long time and then kill everything in one swing.

 

To be fair, that was really satisfying.

 

Unlike in STS, where you have a number of builds per character, each class feels like it has only one or two viable builds. While you could potentially get away wtih a single Fireball in your Samurai deck, for instance; skimming over all the cards after winning a fight is like waiting for the results of an exceptionally stingy fruit machine if you're trying to do anything synergistic.

 

It's almost brilliant. I would still recommend it wholeheartedly but I felt like I'd had my fill after about seven or eight runs (three of which were clears). Like in any of these games though, learning and crafting an unbeatable strategy for any of the classes is a hell of a drug.

 

 

Brief explanation of why this was nuts:

- Fortify is an emergency "oh fuck I need 30 block now" button that can only be used once

- Clarity+ and Concentration+ give you permanent focus-generating bonuses

- Issen+ gets more powerful the more Focus you have, and if you kill an enemy with it, you get to keep your Focus (usually after attacking you lose your entire stock of Focus)

- Retribution+ gives you Focus equal to 50% of the damage you took when you used it (and some block)

- Tough Nut+ is probably the star performer of the deck - it gives you a little Block but also three stacks of "Hardy", which increases how much Block all your other defensive cards give you by one, per stack. Hardy decreases at the rate of one per turn, but given that the size of the deck meant I could play it on about 70% of turns, it started to get very silly very quickly, with a single card giving upwards of 35 Block

- Guard (Samurai) also gives Focus

 

In short: Do things that accumulate focus ASAP before enemies start getting too powerful, and then kill them out of nowhere

[thesnwmn]

Spoiler

1. 04/01 - Stacklands (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

2. 05/01 - Patrick's Parabox (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

3. 09/01 - FixFox (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

4. 10/01 - Lego Builder's Journey (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

5. 13/01 - Pentiment (XBox/Steam Deck via XCloud) [post]

6. 15/01 - Baba Is You (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

7 - 17/01 Citizen Sleeper (PC/Steam Deck via XCloud) [post]

8 - 23/01 Lara Croft Go (PC/Steam Deck) [post]

 

9 - 02/02 Hi-Fi Rush (Xbox)

 

Dropped from nowhere during the Microsoft Developer Direct this was a bright and fun smash in the face. This is gaming to me. Bright. Funny. Absorbing. Silly. Gorgeous. And above all just so much fun.

 

Visually this is like playing a cartoon. And one of the best looking cartoons I've ever seen. When you switch from cut-scenes to play it feels seamless. Glorious in stills but even better in motion with the world bopping away to the beat of the music. Every light flashing or pulsing. Every platform moving in time. Every step on the beat.

 

Sonically it's also a delight which is good given it's "rhythm action/brawler" association. The music is great. I adore the way actions sync and add to the soundscape of the game. But what I like most is that actually, the rhythm elements don't have to matter. Pull down the difficulty and just zone out to it. I don't need to have rhythm or timing. It just need to be able to mash some buttons and enjoy the physicality of my character smashing enemies around the screen.

 

It also has a great story and set of supporting characters. It's not some deep masterpiece but it's got a little to say and does so with a surprisingly light touch. Wonderfully funny and brilliantly written. I thought it was going to have "attitude" and wind me up. Instead it's stuffed with so much charm you just warm to it more and more.

 

And my god some set pieces. I hate bosses. Despise them. Won't play games with them most of the time. But here... they're amazing. A highlight among a game stuffed with highlights.

 

It has faults. The platforming is a bit hit and miss. The levels are too long. There are a few too many quick time button entry sequences that feel bad on fail and grate that little bit. The location of the final collectables (in terms of knowing what you're missing where) is frustrating.

 

After 24 hours of play I've probably reached my skill ceiling with this. I'm not sure I can face the final set of Spectra doors or digging for the final 1/2 collectables. But I can see myself returning to this to play through some favourite levels in the future. And maybe even try "Normal" difficulty.

[Kingpin]

I don't get to complete much but wanted to record a few thoughts on a nice one for me:

 

1. Golf Story - Switch

 

As always, I'm many years behind in terms of gaming. Perfect Switch game really - lovely art style, you can pick it up and complete a few holes or challenges without too much commitment. The story is light & humorous. It's not very difficult but you still feel skilled if you nail a chip-in birdie from a good distance with strong winds. I put most of 20 hours into it, and I'm sad it's over. I would have been happy enough if there was one more mega-tour at the end which featured holes from all the courses but I enjoyed the end sequence and the way the map pulls back to show the whole view. Lovely game - I'm sure most have already played it. 

[Unofficial Who]

Feb

 

05/02 Pikuniku (PC) I started this quirky arcade adventure last year with it's soft edges and dry humour. Playing as "the monster from the cave" your quest is to save the world from a capitalist and his robots who is showering the world in free money. My playthrough came to an abrupt halt last year as I got stuck being unable to complete a dance off against a robot but my recent run through Hi Fi RUSH must of had an effect on my skills as returning I managed to get past said challenge and then go on to complete the game. It's not a long game but I found it mostly charming with some frustrating platforming. Most will find this a breeze.

 

 

04/02 Brainstorm (C64) A puzzle game by Pete Cooke that seems to be inspired in part by Atari's Quantum. You control three lines in an attempt to box balls over red areas of the screen in order to beat the score you made on the previous screen. (Magenta areas decrease your score, green areas warp your ball.) The trick is to trap the ball in a high scoring area and then select bonus. It's not too complicated (on the easy setting I completed it on) and I might go back to try a harder level but this one has been nagging at me ever since I got it on a C&VG cover tape 30 plus years ago. The reward was paltry (a text message and a strobing effect that should come with a health warning) but it was a pleasant revisit on a lazy afternoon. It's curious that this didn't get 16 bit ports since this game feels like it was made for mouse control (the only available options are keys or stick.)

 

 

Earlier this year

 

Spoiler

5. 29/01 Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (PC)

4. 14/01 Alien Syndrome (C64)

3. 14/01 Alien Syndrome (Arcade)

2. 09/01 Nobody Saves the World (PC) 

1. 04/01 Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Wizard's Star 2 - 1cc

 

Spoiler

Cotton Rock n Roll -Superlative Night Dreams- (PC) - normal 1cc, cotton, appli, tacoot, luffee, fine

Fantasy Zone (arcade) - 1cc (2-4)

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA)

Zed Blade (arcade) - Easy, 1cc

Harmful Park (PSX) - Normal, 1cc

Scramble (arcade) 1cc

Tetris (GB) - B-Type

EX -Extra- - 1cc

[ImmaculateClump]

Bomber Bomber Gaiden 2 - Normal, 1cc

 

Spoiler

Cotton Rock n Roll -Superlative Night Dreams- (PC) - normal 1cc, cotton, appli, tacoot, luffee, fine

Fantasy Zone (arcade) - 1cc (2-4)

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA)

Zed Blade (arcade) - Easy, 1cc

Harmful Park (PSX) - Normal, 1cc

Scramble (arcade) 1cc

Tetris (GB) - B-Type

EX -Extra- - 1cc

Wizard's Star 2 - 1cc

[DarkCrisis]

5. Dead Space - PS5 - 14hrs

 

 

Absolutely loved this game, I never played the PS3 version, so I can’t compare how much better the remake is to the original.

 

I can see the inspiration from the Resident Evil games which is why I enjoyed it so much.

 

I’ll give New Game+ a go later in the year to get the alternative ending.

 

If you like the modern Resident Evil games and you think the story may interest you then I would highly recommend playing this.

 

A very early GOTY contender for me.

 

I hope Motive remake Dead Space 2 or makes a brand new game in the series next.

 

10/10

 

Spoiler

1. Cult of the Lamb - PS5 - 20hrs

2. Kena: Bridge Of Spirits - PS5 - 12hrs
3. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus - PS3 - 7hrs
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered - PS5 - 30hrs

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Bomber Bomber Gaiden 2 - Hard, 1cc

 

Spoiler

Cotton Rock n Roll -Superlative Night Dreams- (PC) - normal 1cc, cotton, appli, tacoot, luffee, fine

Fantasy Zone (arcade) - 1cc (2-4)

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA)

Zed Blade (arcade) - Easy, 1cc

Harmful Park (PSX) - Normal, 1cc

Scramble (arcade) 1cc

Tetris (GB) - B-Type

EX -Extra- - 1cc

Wizard's Star 2 - 1cc

Bomber Bomber Gaiden 2 - Normal, 1cc

[strawdonkey]

On 02/02/2023 at 22:44, strawdonkey said:

01 - Tiny Rogues

02 - Needy Streamer Overload

03 - Yamafuda - 2nd Station

04 - Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered

05 - Fault: Milestone One

06 - Fault: Milestone Two - Side: Above

X1 - Starfighter R&D

07 - Faith

08 - Alina of the Arena (Rookie clear, Warrior)

08a - Alina of the Arena (Rookie clear, Pyromancer; Rookie clear + Extra Boss, Samurai)

09 - Dodonpachi Resurrection (1CC, Novice, Type-B Strong, 17bil)

10 - Escaped Chasm

 

Dodonpachi was probably the first modern/bullet hell shmup I put any time into. It's either that or Perfect Cherry Blossom, it was a long time ago so memory is pretty hazy. As such I have an enormous amount of fondness and nostalgia for the series and also a great recollection of the fact that it was bastard-hard and I was never really able to get beyond the third stage. There was one mode and it was Too Much for people of my meagre skill level.

 

Resurrection is a fully separate game that retains a few mechanical and design notes from earlier games in the series - the three ships (the red one with the narrow shot, the green one with the shot that moves along with you, and the blue one with the wide shot), the combo system, and the shot/laser/bomb gameplay, but notably you start off at full power, and you also get to choose from three "styles" at the start of the game. These change your access to bombs, make you more powerful but remove bombs completely, and so on. The levels are all-new too, and possibly the biggest thing of note concerns the combo system.

 

In Dodonpachi, you had to really think and route your way through each stage to build a combo and keep it. The game was remarkably tight and rewarded significant investment learning where to fire, where to stop and where to delay your fire so you could stagger combo building across gaps where nothing was happening. In Resurrection, just keep blasting away and don't fuck up and you'll combo the entire level. It's still very possible to drop your combo through careless play but this is so much more lenient.

 

Novice Mode is not to be underestimated - while it cuts down on the amount of bullets on screen compared to the regular modes, it will still kick your head in (especially on the fourth and fifth stages) and getting the 1CC really feels like an accomplishment. I've probably said this before but shmup developers putting in modes for those of us who aren't absolute monsters is enormously appreciated and the difficulty is pitched right at that "enthusiastic amateur" skill level where you won't stand a chance at pissing it by accident but with a bit of learning and familiarisation you can make progress without being too frustrated. Except, that is, for the fucking arsehole rotating bastard laser things on the final stage. They can get fucked.

 

--

 

Escaped Chasm is a very short RPGMaker thing by Temmie Chang, who was the main artist on Undertale and Deltarune. It's maybe half an hour tops, and I've been meaning to get around to playing it for the best part of three years. Pretty sure this is a me problem.

It's a weird and slightly unsettling prequel to their follow-up game, Dweller's Empty Path. It's got some lovely art and writing in, has really high production values for an RPGmaker game, and is available on itch for pay what you want:

https://tuyoki.itch.io/escaped-chasm

https://tuyoki.itch.io/dwellers-empty-path

[strawdonkey]

2 hours ago, strawdonkey said:

01 - Tiny Rogues

02 - Needy Streamer Overload

03 - Yamafuda - 2nd Station

04 - Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered

05 - Fault: Milestone One

06 - Fault: Milestone Two - Side: Above

X1 - Starfighter R&D

07 - Faith

08 - Alina of the Arena (Rookie clear, Warrior)

08a - Alina of the Arena (Rookie clear, Pyromancer; Rookie clear + Extra Boss, Samurai)

09 - Dodonpachi Resurrection (1CC, Novice, Type-B Strong, 17bil)

10 - Escaped Chasm

11 - Planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~

 

Gorgeous and bleak as fuck Visual Novel about humanity in a destroyed world - and the most humane thing left being a robot who just wants you to see the stars.

[shirubagan]

@strawdonkeywould you be able to spoiler rather than quote your completed list as per OP’s request? Just to help avoid mega lists where possible  

[strawdonkey]

33 minutes ago, shirubagan said:

@strawdonkeywould you be able to spoiler rather than quote your completed list as per OP’s request? Just to help avoid mega lists where possible  

With it being in a quote, does it not cut off after a few lines with an "expand" button? I've been doing it this way for the last few years on the understanding that it's showing something not that much bigger than a spoiler box.

 

If it's showing the whole thing every time then, uh, fuck

[Quest]

Just shows the first seven lines for me until I click to expand.

[shirubagan]

Same, but if everyone does that… etc etc  

[thesnwmn]

  Hide contents

1. 04/01 - Stacklands (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

2. 05/01 - Patrick's Parabox (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

3. 09/01 - FixFox (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

4. 10/01 - Lego Builder's Journey (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

5. 13/01 - Pentiment (XBox/Steam Deck via XCloud) [post]

6. 15/01 - Baba Is You (Steam Deck/PC) [post]

7 - 17/01 Citizen Sleeper (PC/Steam Deck via XCloud) [post]

8 - 23/01 Lara Croft Go (PC/Steam Deck) [post]

9 - 02/02 Hi-Fi Rush (Xbox) [post]

 

10 - 07/02 Last Campfire (Steam Deck/PC)

 

A relaxed puzzle adventure game from the makers of No Man's Sky. Yeah, odd one that.

 

A pleasant way to pass a few hours (5 to see the ending which got me all the achievements too). It's pretty enough and controls well enough, has nice areas to explore and I enjoyed the voice work a lot.

 

It doesn't out stay it's welcome but never, if I'm honest, really challenged or delighted me. The puzzles are very simple and whilst I don't think all puzzle games need to be difficult they do need to find a hook to make it satisfying. This never really achieved that for me. I just bumbled along through it. It passed the time and I wasn't bored.

[Popo]

Sorry, wrong thread!

[shirubagan]

So far:

 

Spoiler

1. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5)

2. Somerville (Game Pass)

3. The Eternal Castle (Steam)
4. Resident Evil VILLAGE (PS5)
5. Mortal Kombat 11 – Story Mode (Steam Deck)
6. Resident Evil Revelations 2 (Steam Deck)
7. Soul Calibur VI – Story Mode (PS)
8. Halo Reach (360 via BC)

 

 

 

Games need more neon

 

9. Borderlands 3 – Moxxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot (XSX)

Fun campaign set in Handsome Jack's neon-drenched Mega Casino. The quests were really fun, the architecture was impressive and everything was just a dazzling rainbow of colours and explosions. Nice to have Jack back in the script by way of announcements and holograms and some fun boss battles along the way. Excellent synth wave/80's score to this too.

 

10. Borderlands 3 – Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck

More DLC! Another very entertaining story set inside the mind of Krieg with some really impressive and enormous locations and character models made up of guts, Gothic architecture and high tech bases. Split into three side quests and an impressive final showdown battle, this mixed gore, mega-structures and psychedelia to great effect.

 

Guns were insanely fun in both with gatling snipers, homing bullets, exploding gun reloads and a massive nuke launcher which I used to kill myself with more than a few times.

[Ry]

I think the only game I have finished is God of War Ragnarok. 

 

Everytime I sit down to play something I get bored after 20 mins and stick the TV on. 

 

And it's not like I'm spoiled for choice. So many good games in my backlog over every system. 

[James Lyon]

4. Donut County - Excellent little game built around the idea of a moveable hole trying to swallow everything in each level. Good variations on the idea tried throughout and a silly story to back it up. I could have done with more, to be honest as it's just satisfying clearing a level from tiny objects up to huge rocks

 

5. Telling Lies - I ignored this for a long time as I somehow heard it was meant to be worse than Her Story. Turns out I was wrong. Her Story, I thought was a great FMV experience and this was definitely on the same level for me.

 

Unlike that previous game, Telling Lies doesn't rely on a single twist to serve its story. There's no major revelation to uncover, just a series of jumbled moments to piece together into a narrative. Sure, think too hard and you could probably figure the plot out from the start, but it's more about seeing how it all came together rather than how it ends. It doesn't work as a straight movie, then, but the long takes of video conversations with periods of silence give it a natural feel that works in a context of captured footage. Chats between most characters felt more real, even though there was a bit of actorly intent underneath it all. All in all it was an interesting story and piecing it together from fragments was fascinating to me.

 

Of course, the fact you're only listening to one-side of a conversation didn't appeal to a lot of people. I didn't mind it, to be honest. There was always a game of trying to figure out the other side of the conversation based on what they said. If you can also live with the conceit that you're using the world's worst database search function, the game did a good job of delivering the story. I've no idea how much deep thought went into constructing the clips, and everyone has their own way through, but I very rarely got into a dead end for 90% of the time when one thing said in one clip would always lead to one or two things to follow up on. Pleasingly, I found the conclusion of the story right where the game comes to an end. I'd like to think it was cleverly designed that way but either way it's about the journey, not the destination.

 

I had to dig deep for the last few searches and had all but three. I resorted to a guide by the end but I forgot to jump on to view them before it left Game Pass so I never got that Achievement. Wah! Currently viewing the story on YouTube instead as someone's spliced together both conversation sides into one video. Still a good watch although it's five hours long. Never felt that much in the game! Anyway, recommended to play or watch. Keen to try Immortality now.

[ImmaculateClump]

Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds: Kokusai Kyuujotai Juudou Seyo!! (SNES)

 

Absolutely fucking mind numbing.

 

Spoiler

Cotton Rock n Roll -Superlative Night Dreams- (PC) - normal 1cc, cotton, appli, tacoot, luffee, fine

Fantasy Zone (arcade) - 1cc (2-4)

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA)

Zed Blade (arcade) - Easy, 1cc

Harmful Park (PSX) - Normal, 1cc

Scramble (arcade) 1cc

Tetris (GB) - B-Type

EX -Extra- - 1cc

Wizard's Star 2 - 1cc

Bomber Bomber Gaiden 2 - Normal, 1cc. Hard, 1cc

[ImmaculateClump]

东方雪莲华 ～ Abyss Soul Lotus - Normal, 1cc

 

Spoiler

Cotton Rock n Roll -Superlative Night Dreams- (PC) - normal 1cc, cotton, appli, tacoot, luffee, fine

Fantasy Zone (arcade) - 1cc (2-4)

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - 1cc

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA)

Zed Blade (arcade) - Easy, 1cc

Harmful Park (PSX) - Normal, 1cc

Scramble (arcade) 1cc

Tetris (GB) - B-Type

EX -Extra- - 1cc

Wizard's Star 2 - 1cc

Bomber Bomber Gaiden 2 - Normal, 1cc. Hard, 1cc

Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds: Kokusai Kyuujotai Juudou Seyo!! (SNES)

[gossi the dog]

02/01 - Heart of the Woods (PS5) - a romance visual novel about paranormal investigation and ancient mysteries in a remote snow covered town. Good story, production values are generally high with the exception of the voice acting which is only in English. Very good.

 

03/01 - Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (PS4) - walking sim that has you travel around a remote Scottish Island whilst reading letters to your wife. This was far more thought provoking and moving than I expected.

 

04/01 - Abzu (PS4) - I played this a few years ago on the Xbox One and didn't particularly like it. Sony gave it away as a freebie during Covid which is how I ended up with it for the PS4. What I hadn't realised is that on entering a new area you are effectively told where you need to go to - thus removing the frustration I had at times with the Xbox One version. Lovely music and graphics all add to the experience. Enjoyable although I think I prefer Journey when it comes to similar experiences.

 

14/01 - Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (PS5) - this was fantastic. I guess it would be described as a 2D Action RPG/dungeon crawler with town building mechanics. Controls are tight, combat is good, areas of the levels open up like a good Metroidvania when you have the required skill or accessory and there are a load of fetch quests (I like fetch quests). Great. 

 

21/01 - Witch on the Holy Night (PS4) - re-release of Type Moon's classic visual novel. Production values are incredibly high with lot's of animated backgrounds, but the story about witches wasn't really my thing. 

 

07/02 - Steins Gate: My Darling's Embrace (PS4) - romantic fan service cash in for the Steins Gate series, which sees you date all the main female protagonists. Enjoyable but not in the same league as the two main entries in the series.

 

08/02 - Legend of Talia: Arcadia (PS5) - short visual novel about slaying a dragon. Enjoyable and an easy Platinum.

 

 

 

 

[Boothjan]

Spoiler

1. Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order - XSX - 11/01/23 - 7.5/10

2. Assassins Creed Valhalla - XSX - 12/01/23 - 8.5/10

3. Guardians of the Galaxy - XSX Game Pass - 19/01/23 - 9/10

4. Bugsnax - XSX Game Pass - 20/01/23 - 6/10

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - XSX Game Pass - 23/01/23 - 9/10

6. Borderlands 2 - XSX - 24/01/23 - 8.5/10

7. Hi Fi Rush - XSX Game Pass - 31/01/23 - 9.5/10

 

8. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!

 

 

So..... many.... guns.......

 

I've finally reached the stage in my Borderlands 'career' when familiarity hits home, and in the case of the Pre-Sequel, that's a mixture of very good and really frustrating.

 

I started this almost immediately after finishing Borderlands 2 - both games are in The Handsome Collection which I bought for a stupidly low price a few years ago.  With well over 50 hours and no DLC touched on either game, it's been a superb investment, even if neither of the games are perfect.

 

It's pretty easy to forget that this was a 360 title.  That wonderful art style makes it look last-gen, especially with The Handsome Collection's enhanced visuals.  It's so pretty, and there's a wider variety of landscapes in this title than the previous 2, as the story focusses on Pandora's moon, Elpis and the orbiting space station, Helios.  

 

The story is great, especially discovering Handsome Jack's backstory.  He's comfortably the best character in the game, and missions featuring him are always the highlight.  (Although I have to mention the single most amazing side quest I have ever played in a game when a Doctor on Helios asks for your help, and complains the room is a bit stuffy.  So opens a window which he promptly gets sucked through and dies - end of mission).  Some of the side quests are as good and as fun as the main missions, and fortunately there's a decent variety with them.

 

Weapon and equipment variety is definitely a step up from the second game, with oxygen masks adding a new dimension to your personal arsenal. Although I did encounter a laser gun which was so stupidly overpowered that the final few bosses proved to be a lot easier than they were intended to be.  Fun to use, undoubtedly.  

 

But there are a few major drawbacks to the Pre-Sequel.  The main one is the amount of utterly pointless wandering about, backtracking through endless corridors or slowly meandering across the moon's empty, desolate wastelands.  Fast Travel points are few and far between, and I must have wasted several hours of my playthrough walking from one end of the map to the other, and all the way back again just to complete a simple side quest, less than 10% of that time spent in actual combat or story.  These sections sadly do not recede as the game progresses - the opposite in fact, when more areas become unlocked.  Ugh - so much pointless walking around.  I do wonder if this is just because this series is 'of an age' and the QoL fixes weren't a thing on release?  By the end, I was so bored with the to-ing and fro-ing, pretty landscapes aside.  It definitely spoiled my enjoyment of the game and was an unwelcome distraction from what would have been a well paced story.

 

There were also a few sound glitches, and I don't think they could have been any more annoying!  Some electrical current effects kept on playing at a very loud volume, so much so that I had to turn on the subtitles as I couldn't hear the dialogue over the top of it.  

 

The Pre-Sequel also has a LOT of gametime in zero gravity.  Sometimes, this is fun.  But a lot of the time, it makes it all soooooo slooooooow.  Platforming sections can therefore take an age as you slowly jump between chasms and platforms.  And with the aforementioned long walking sections, it slows it down even further.  Fortunately, Catch-A-Ride stations are more common than Fast Travel stations and zooming around on a moon buggy is always fun.

 

So this is a mixed bag.  It's better than B1 but not as good as B2.  I did enjoy it, but my play time would and indeed should have been vastly reduced if it wasn't for the poor level/mission designs.  And if that wasn't the case, I might have been less pleased to have finally finished it, and I would have taken a look at the DLC.  Looking forward to Borderlands 3 although I need a bit of a break from Pandora after playing 2 pretty hefty and chaotic Borderlands titles in quick succession.  

 

7/10

[LaveDisco]

Spoiler

Finished Bloodborne (& DLC) (5/5) on the 30th of December, so since then:

 

1. Last of Us Part 1 (PS5) - From a pointless Cash Grab, to an absolute fantastic experience that was worth every penny - it was like buying a fancy hard back edition of your favourite book. The end didn't hit quite as hard this time, but some earlier bit really got to me. Everything Part 2 discusses is staring you in the face in Part 1. Fantastic, hugely looking forward to the TV show. The digital foundary video shows the greater detail in the world, but starting Part 2 again after, I was blown away by the difference in facial acting quality in part 1. The subtly of the movements, the depth. Incredible. That and the core gameplay loop is as good as ever. 5/5

2. Last of Us Part 1: Left Behind (PS5) - See above. 5/5

 

3. Metroid Zero Mission (Analogue Pocket/GBA) - This was just a delight to play on the pocket - fantastic dpad and buttons, and growing up on an SP, the shoulder buttons are perfect too. Never played this back in the day (which is weird as fusion was one of my favourite GBA games, but boy is it great. Short, sharp, a perfect portable game. 5hrs for a game, really is the equivelant of 90mins for a movie. Glorious. 5/5 

 

Three real big hitters out of the gate. Nearing the end of Hob's Barrow, so suspect that might be the fourth, and still in Jan too!

 

4. Hob's Barrow (Steam Deck)

That's Hob's Barrow done. Mechanically a 3/5, but it's so creepy and British, and ugly, and beautiful and weird, and it's one of the those tiny games, that shouldn't really have been finically feasible to make, because who would make a game about a woman from Derby, going to a place called Bewly. It wasn't fantastic, but I'll still be thinking about it long after 'better' games are gone from my memory. I'm really happy I played it. Coming to Switch later this year, for those without Steam.

 

(5th Predictions:  I'm 3 colossi into Shadow of the Colossus PS4 Remake, which despite owning the PS3 version, I've never played. A big gap in my credentials getting resolved. I bounced off it at times due to the controls, but I think I'm past that now. It's stunningly beautiful, which I wasn't expecting, but I'm also pondering SOMA on deck, and Sonic The Hedgehog (SMS) on Analogue Pocket, so we'll see what wins out.

 

5. Dungeons of Dreadrock - Steam Deck

So I’m 11 Colossi into Shadow of the Colossus, I haven’t been back to SOMA, or Sonic. Instead I’ve been angling around for something to get my teeth into during a busy time at work (and so not really having the capacity to game). But all that time I’ve kept returning to this wonderful, slight, small, tight 100 level, easy, puzzle game I bought for a quid. It’s taken 6 hrs or so to get through. The stories slight, but nice, and I can’t sum it up better than to say It feels like an iOS game back from when iOS games felt exciting and had promise. Great great fun and highly recommend despite, in fairness saying it’s a 3/5. But a perfect 3/5, which a lot of 4/5s don’t manage. It’s exactly what it means to be. Love it. 
 

Next? Playing Kid Dracula on Analogue Pocket (without save scumming) and might see it to the end. Started Fire Emblem and will never finish that. Still a bit adrift to be honest. Started Part 2 of Last of Us, and would totally play it more, but don’t want my partner to get spoilers for the HBO show so it’ll have to wait.  

[LaveDisco]

17 hours ago, LaveDisco said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Finished Bloodborne (& DLC) (5/5) on the 30th of December, so since then:

 

1. Last of Us Part 1 (PS5) - From a pointless Cash Grab, to an absolute fantastic experience that was worth every penny - it was like buying a fancy hard back edition of your favourite book. The end didn't hit quite as hard this time, but some earlier bit really got to me. Everything Part 2 discusses is staring you in the face in Part 1. Fantastic, hugely looking forward to the TV show. The digital foundary video shows the greater detail in the world, but starting Part 2 again after, I was blown away by the difference in facial acting quality in part 1. The subtly of the movements, the depth. Incredible. That and the core gameplay loop is as good as ever. 5/5

2. Last of Us Part 1: Left Behind (PS5) - See above. 5/5

 

3. Metroid Zero Mission (Analogue Pocket/GBA) - This was just a delight to play on the pocket - fantastic dpad and buttons, and growing up on an SP, the shoulder buttons are perfect too. Never played this back in the day (which is weird as fusion was one of my favourite GBA games, but boy is it great. Short, sharp, a perfect portable game. 5hrs for a game, really is the equivelant of 90mins for a movie. Glorious. 5/5 

 

Three real big hitters out of the gate. Nearing the end of Hob's Barrow, so suspect that might be the fourth, and still in Jan too!

 

4. Hob's Barrow (Steam Deck)

That's Hob's Barrow done. Mechanically a 3/5, but it's so creepy and British, and ugly, and beautiful and weird, and it's one of the those tiny games, that shouldn't really have been finically feasible to make, because who would make a game about a woman from Derby, going to a place called Bewly. It wasn't fantastic, but I'll still be thinking about it long after 'better' games are gone from my memory. I'm really happy I played it. Coming to Switch later this year, for those without Steam.

 

(5th Predictions:  I'm 3 colossi into Shadow of the Colossus PS4 Remake, which despite owning the PS3 version, I've never played. A big gap in my credentials getting resolved. I bounced off it at times due to the controls, but I think I'm past that now. It's stunningly beautiful, which I wasn't expecting, but I'm also pondering SOMA on deck, and Sonic The Hedgehog (SMS) on Analogue Pocket, so we'll see what wins out.

Finished Bloodborne (& DLC) (5/5) on the 30th of December, so since then:

 

1. Last of Us Part 1 (PS5) - From a pointless Cash Grab, to an absolute fantastic experience that was worth every penny - it was like buying a fancy hard back edition of your favourite book. The end didn't hit quite as hard this time, but some earlier bit really got to me. Everything Part 2 discusses is staring you in the face in Part 1. Fantastic, hugely looking forward to the TV show. The digital foundary video shows the greater detail in the world, but starting Part 2 again after, I was blown away by the difference in facial acting quality in part 1. The subtly of the movements, the depth. Incredible. That and the core gameplay loop is as good as ever. 5/5

2. Last of Us Part 1: Left Behind (PS5) - See above. 5/5

 

3. Metroid Zero Mission (Analogue Pocket/GBA) - This was just a delight to play on the pocket - fantastic dpad and buttons, and growing up on an SP, the shoulder buttons are perfect too. Never played this back in the day (which is weird as fusion was one of my favourite GBA games, but boy is it great. Short, sharp, a perfect portable game. 5hrs for a game, really is the equivelant of 90mins for a movie. Glorious. 5/5 

 

Three real big hitters out of the gate. Nearing the end of Hob's Barrow, so suspect that might be the fourth, and still in Jan too!

 

4. Hob's Barrow (Steam Deck)

That's Hob's Barrow done. Mechanically a 3/5, but it's so creepy and British, and ugly, and beautiful and weird, and it's one of the those tiny games, that shouldn't really have been finically feasible to make, because who would make a game about a woman from Derby, going to a place called Bewly. It wasn't fantastic, but I'll still be thinking about it long after 'better' games are gone from my memory. I'm really happy I played it. Coming to Switch later this year, for those without Steam.

 

(5th Predictions:  I'm 3 colossi into Shadow of the Colossus PS4 Remake, which despite owning the PS3 version, I've never played. A big gap in my credentials getting resolved. I bounced off it at times due to the controls, but I think I'm past that now. It's stunningly beautiful, which I wasn't expecting, but I'm also pondering SOMA on deck, and Sonic The Hedgehog (SMS) on Analogue Pocket, so we'll see what wins out.

 

6. Dungeons of Dreadrock - Steam Deck

So I’m 11 Colossi into Shadow of the Colossus, I haven’t been back to SOMA, or Sonic. Instead I’ve been angling around for something to get my teeth into during a busy time at work (and so not really having the capacity to game). But all that time I’ve kept returning to this wonderful, slight, small, tight 100 level, easy, puzzle game I bought for a quid. It’s taken 6 hrs or so to get through. The stories slight, but nice, and I can’t sum it up better than to say It feels like an iOS game back from when iOS games felt exciting and had promise. Great great fun and highly recommend despite, in fairness saying it’s a 3/5. But a perfect 3/5, which a lot of 4/5s don’t manage. It’s exactly what it means to be. Love it. 
 

Next? Playing Kid Dracula on Analogue Pocket (without save scumming) and might see it to the end. Started Fire Emblem and will never finish that. Still a bit adrift to be honest. Started Part 2 of Last of Us, and would totally play it more, but don’t want my partner to get spoilers for the HBO show so it’ll have to wait.  

 

Dungeon's was actually the 6th Game I've completed. Number 5 was

 

5. The Curse of the Golden Idol - Steam Deck (Docked)

The first game I've played Docked, which, with the official dock worked fantastically (until we started having trouble with getting a good signal to the console from the DualSense towards the end for some reason). I'm astonished with the lackluster response to it, but it makes sense. On first impressions, it's Obra Dynn, but with terrible art, and a less good story, and less to deduce, but then you play it for a while and you realise that you love the art, and you love the story and the puzzles are fantastic.

 

How this type of game isn't a huge genre blows my mind. An essential, 5/5 that I can't recommend highly enough - especially if you pay it how it was meant to be played. With someone else, chatting away like detectives on a show. 

[Popo]

44 minutes ago, LaveDisco said:

(until we started having trouble with getting a good signal to the console from the DualSense towards the end for some reason)

Having played a couple of games for relatively short periods of time, I’ve found this to be a problem too.

[thesnwmn]

48 minutes ago, LaveDisco said:

How this type of game isn't a huge genre blows my mind. An essential, 5/5 that I can't recommend highly enough - especially if you pay it how it was meant to be played. With someone else, chatting away like detectives on a show. 

 

I've never tried playing one with someone else. Not sure I'd enjoy that but maybe I just don't know anyone who that would be enjoyable with. But then it's still an easy 5/5 for me. It is criminal how poorly known it is.