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StarTopic The 2024 Completed Games Thread

Finished in 2024 #3: Annalynn

Take the premise of Pac-Man - collect items, avoid enemies - and turn it into an arcade sidescrolling platformer. Annalynn trades sharp cornering through mazes and escaping through side tunnels for freer running and jumping over obstacles. The snakes (this game's equivalent of the ghosts) primarily go in straight paths, but they can easily ambush you from above or through popping out of burrows you cannot enter. Similar to its inspiration, the game is about finding the right path through the level and outsmarting the enemy patterns, but the increased asymmetry between player and enemy give it a unique feel. Loved seeing all of the nods to other Pac-Man games beyond the obvious ones, too. A short list of the ones I noticed:
  • The snakes wearing hats accessibility feature feels like a throwback to the 80's Pac-Man cartoon and Pac-Land
  • The level progression and final boss are very reminiscent of Pac-Man Arrangement
  • Turbo mode as an unlockable, just like the speed-up chip!
  • Floating bonus items call back to the Midway Pac-Man sequels.
This one nails the "easy to learn, hard to master" feel of classic 80's arcade games. Reaching the end is no sweat, but if you want that high score, you gotta work for those perfects and on preserving your life count. With plenty of bonuses unlocked after a first clear, there's plenty to come back to even after you nailed the campaign, something I've only scratched the surface of!

Finished in 2024 #4: Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain

I think I'll let my post from the game's dedicated thread speak for itself:
VolcanicDynamo said:
I've collected 26 of the 30 strawberries, but I'll call it for now since I have work in the morning. Overall this is an extremely impressive effort. I would not be surprised to see this on my games of the year list for 2024.

The mechanics of Celeste were translated really well into 3D, and the tweaks and new moves they did add made for a fun exploration platformer. I had a few difficulties with depth perception with some of the more precision segments (that kinda gameplay is always gonna be easier in a 2D space), but deaths are as forgiving as they were in the prior games. There could be some refinements here and there - I found myself slipping off platforms at points and I would have appreciated a button to re-center the camera - but for two weeks of dev time and the low price of free, these issues fade away and I instead think of how cool it was of the team to learn 3D and make this little project. It's legitimately inspiring as someone who wants to make games!

While Earthblade is surely their top priority, I'm excited to see EXOK eventually tackle a full length 3D game. If this is what they can pull off with 2 week's time, imagine the gem we'd get with even just a few months, let alone years of work.
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I got through Blaster Master Zero 2.
It is the second part of a retro style game based on the NES Blaster Master game.
The gameplay is separated in three parts, if you do not count the overworld style space traverling part.
You travel with you space ship in a top down perspective to planets and asteroids to land there and load in to another level.
Even as the progression is mostly linear you have to backtrack in space to different sectors since after receiving items new asteroids are available to play.
Gameplay:
  1. There is the tank side scrolling part, which in my opinion is most fun gameplay wise I had with the game. You have different main weapons and secondary weapons, which you find in the game. I mostly used a dash attack and homing missiles as secondary weapons. Negative in the parts for me was that most enemy's take more damage than I would expect from their size or placement amount of them. The secondary weapons are also a way to gate you from certain parts of the level, till you find them either in the level you are you must go to another asteroid or planet to get the needed weapon. The secondary weapons energy replenish either after you used all of it or by falling to a hard ground.
    pic_intro0403.jpg
  2. Top view part. You have primary and secondary weapons and a dodge move. The primary weapons are usable depending on how much g-energy you have. I found only the weapon be able to be used with the maximum energy is usefull. Everthing else is not realy working. The catch in this system is that you lose the energy with every hit. This means you lose the only good weapon if you been hit and then it is more likely to be hit again since you have now a worse weapon. When I lost the best weapon I reloaded from the last save or let me be killed.
    Secondary weapons are limted and something like grenades or mines. I used them either for destroing walls or fighting bosses. Practically never used them against normal foes.
    The dodge mechanic allows if a enemy targets you and a symbol appears to activate bullet time to evade bullets and shot the enemys.
    pic_intro0301.jpg
  3. Side scrolling part out side of the tank. My least favourite part. Mostly you have to avoid fighting with enemy's since you do not do a lot of damage. This would not so bad, but you also get fall damage, which if you e.g. want to a part of the level and this is on tile lower than where you character stands and you jump their your dead and you have to do everything new since the last save. This happens to me very often since I am used to always jump on ledges to beneath ground. This also is oppose to the tank part in which you want to have fall damage to get weapon energy back.
The story is serviceable and does not disturb the game.
I would only recomend the game to people, who either liked the first one or do not mind the issues I had with the gameplay. I on my part will not buy the third installment of the series, because of the issues. Actually I should not have bought the second part after not liking the first one.
 
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One more to end January.

1. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon [ PS5 ] - 9
2. Dragon Quest [ SNES*] - 7.5
3. Another Code: Recollection [ NS ] - 6~7

4. Trace Memory (Replay) [ DS ] - 9 - 7th? 8th? playthrough.

K0pnCf0.png

​
No matter how much time it passes using the reflection of the DS screens by bending the system to solve a puzzle and get a secret message still hits me hard.​
 
I mentioned this in the thread about it, but I beat Celeste 64! Took a while, but I found all the strawberries. It was super cute and fun! There's some parts that were really tough (especially that B-side near Badeline, which took me over an hour to beat), but I felt really accomplished when I got through them. I'd love to see the team make an even bigger 3D game sometime in the future!

1) Signalis
2) Gnosia
3) Sylvie miniature
4) Another Code: Recollection
5) Sonic the Fighters (apparently)
6) Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain
 
Raytro said:
Ended 2023 with 80 games completed, almost 75% being games I hadn't play/complete before. Hopefully in 2024 I will discover and play even more games!

So far this year's start is pretty good for me:
  1. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (NEW) | 7.5/10 ❤
  2. Otxo (NEW) | 8/10 ❤ | (one run completed)
  3. Dead Cells (NEW) | 8.5/10 ❤ | (one run completed ; without DLCs)
Currently playing:
  • Portal Stories: Mel - Near the end
  • Yakuza 3 Remastered - finished last year, currently doing every substories left
  • Dead Cells - Now i completed my first run, I installed every DLCs and planning to continue playing in the long run
  • Otxo - Will probably continue to play it a bit in the long run too
Click to expand...

January ended, time for an update!

4. Portal Stories: Mel (NEW) | 7/10
5. Golden Sun (NEW) | 5.5/10 | (this one's going to give me problems lol)
6. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (NEW) | 7/10 ❤
7. Donkey Kong (1994/GB) (NEW) | 8/10 ❤
8. DARQ (NEW) | 7.5/10 | (+ DLCs "The Tower" (7/10) and "The Crypt" (7/10))
9. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain (NEW) | 7/10 | (every strawberries)
10. Golf Peaks (NEW) | 7/10 | (every levels completed)


What a month! Was so good to discover so many cool games! And somehow I managed to finish 10 times more games than in last year's january, since I only finished Bayonetta 3 back then.

I also managed to complete every last substories I had to in Yakuza 3, just half an hour ago. Now it's time to think about Yakuza 4... Probably during february.

And I still have so many games I want to play... The Medium, Little Nightmares and Demon Turf are the first ones to come into my mind for the start of this month.

  1. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (NEW) | 7.5/10 ❤
  2. Otxo (NEW) | 8/10 ❤ | (one run completed)
  3. Dead Cells (NEW) | 8.5/10 ❤ | (one run completed ; without DLCs)
  4. Portal Stories: Mel (NEW) | 7/10
  5. Golden Sun (NEW) | 5.5/10 | (this one's going to give me problems lol)
  6. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (NEW) | 7/10 ❤
  7. Donkey Kong (1994/GB) (NEW) | 8/10 ❤
  8. DARQ (NEW) | 7.5/10 | (+ DLCs "The Tower" (7/10) and "The Crypt" (7/10))
  9. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain (NEW) | 7/10 | (every strawberries)
  10. Golf Peaks (NEW) | 7/10 | (every levels completed)
 
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Finished Mark of the Ninja

The gameplay is pretty slick/smooth, the stealth and movement mechanics work well

And the artstyle is great, too bad the animated cutscenes are just a few and short

The story is simple but there’s some interesting beats

Some small gripes were the aiming (it might lock on the wrong thing depending on the angle) and the enemies felt a bit robotic as they always go straight to the distraction point and back without investigating much, although tbf due to the puzzle-like level design it might not work as well if they roamed around

Wish the team made more action games like this one. I remember there’s an older series (Shank) which has a similar art-style, although it’s a beat-em-up. I might take a look at those sometime
 
January:
1) Trails to Azure (NSW, 9/10)

Finished my first game of the year on Monday, Falcom's Trails to Azure on Switch.

Very good game all-around, especially the last chapter and the finale, where the game's story just escalated further and further, with some of the most unexpected plot twists I've seen in any JRPG in a while. The gameplay itself was probably the best of any game in the Trails series up to this point, with the combat being the best it's been and the dungeons being about as solid as usual.

Broadly speaking, it had all the usual strengths (really excellent worldbuilding, strong characters, and a great overall narrative) and weaknesses (bad anime tropes, deus ex machinas) I've come to expect from the Trails series, for better or for worse. My biggest issue with the game - and really, Zero as well - probably had to do with the shift from the canon romances in the Sky trilogy to giving the player a romance choice in these games. It veers too far into harem territory for me to really find it interesting, and doesn't feel anywhere near as emotionally fulfilling, in my opinion.

Overall, I spent about 40 hours on this game, which makes it so far the Trails game that took me the longest to complete (Sky FC/SC/3rd took about 25-30 hours each, and Zero took about 30-35). I think this is the most amount of time I've spent on a Switch game since Pokemon Legends Arceus about two years ago, lol. That probably isn't changing anytime soon either.

Anyway, I'll definitely play Trails of Cold Steel sometime soon, I just don't know when, thanks to work and real life stuff. Even beyond that, there's other games I do want to play; namely Red Dead Redemption II, Fire Emblem Three Houses, and Blue Reflection: Second Light. And that's not even mentioning all the other games coming out this year that look interesting (Persona 3 Reload, Metaphor Refantazio, Tsukihime Remake), and if the Switch 2 launches with 3D Mario or Metroid Prime...
 
Jahranimo said:
5. Deathloop (PS5) - 1/18/24

(I'm gonna start posting a screenshot or two of each game I beat to add a little more to each post update :)

I took some time off work last week which allowed me to finally sink some time in another backlog game. What a ride this game is!

I remember all those times they promoted this game and how "odd" it came across. Unique premise, snappy gameplay, playing as black characters...just a great time. There's many ways to approach objectives.

Wanna go full stealth akin to Dishonored? You got it.

Wanna go guns a-blazin? Go ahead!

Wanna focus on melee only and go slicing and dicing? The game says "Be my guest!"

Disclaimer: One thing about this game that puts a little damper on the entire thing is the menu UI bug. I was aware of it from some friends playing it at launch and experiencing it a number of times. It still exists, even after the big update they did roughly a year after the original release. Essentially what can happen randomly is that if you go into the game's menu to review notes on how to approach your missions it'll lock up and you can't return to controlling your character. You have to close the game and start it up. 2021 GOTY contender amirite? Not sure if this happens on Xbox or PC but it's something to consider. Within my 30 hour playtime I had this like 5-6 times. So weird.

That aside I do still recommend it on discount, which is easy to do cause it's older now.
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6. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo Switch) - 2/1/24

GGRCVKz.jpg


Starting the month strong....err at least I think so. (I've always loved this shot from the trailer!)

What can I say that hasn't been said? New favorite Kirby game. Best one in my opinion! I really don't have many gripes with the game. The jump to 3D was damn near perfect. I did miss some other favorite copy abilities like Spark, Wheel and Water but they went for quality > quantity for their first 3D Kirby game. I can't wait to see the next game on Switch 2...with even more older copy abilities returning and seeing how they adapt them to 3D.

Poyo!

Edit: Another idea inspired by some of y'all, I'll keep a list of each game I complete throughout the year to make it easier to keep up with (especially for me)

1. Star Ocean The Second Story R (Nintendo Switch) - 1/1/24
2. Sonic Superstars (PC - Steam) - 1/4/24
3. Shantae (Nintendo Switch) - 1/5/24
4. Shantae Risky's Revenge Director's Cut (Nintendo Switch) - 1/8/24
5. Deathloop (PS5) - 1/18/24
6. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo Switch) - 2/1/24
 
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1) Old Man's Journey (Switch) - ⭐⭐
2) Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (Xbox Series S) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

End of Jan/early Feb update!

3) Headbangers: Rhythm Royale (Xbox Series S)
lLdrQ1E.jpeg

Really liked this to begin with but the novelty wore off a bit thanks to the small amount of levels repeating themselves too quickly. They're not bad, they just don't allow for emergent silliness in the same way something like Fall Guys did - possibly a limitation of trying to make a rhythm-based Battle Royale game. Costume progression being based on challenges was a nice change (although of course there's still Season levels to get through to unlock things as well) and I do like the pigeons better than Fall Guy beans, something a bit more charming about them.

4) Lingo (PC)
4bAONkc.jpeg

Learn by solving is one of my favourite puzzle genres and Lingo is almost excellent. It's based all around English language and words, and you have to work out the rules of all the various cubes that need solving. Some are a bit obtuse or don't quite fit what you've learnt but overall good. The problem is the world - it's all a big non-Euclidean maze meaning it's so easy to get lost or find a panel that you once saw because you can get locked into corridors of nonsene with a slight wrong turn.
 
Finished in 2024:

1 - Alan Wake II (PS5)

If you have the ability to play this game, please do. What an experience. I am a David lynch fan, and this was basically a playable Twin Peaks: Return. Fantastic use of a limited budget, amazing narrative, and awesome pacing.

You have to be willing to deal with some confusion in the beginning, as it is a more or less lineair game with a non-lineair story. Otherwise this will probably be my game of the year. Complaints of being "pretentious" are so weird to me. Its not pretending to be the most epic story ever told. As Lynch would say, Same Lake just dreamt up all sorts of weird things and made something cohesive and fun to play.

I double dipped into alan wake remastered for switch, just to be able to play a part of this story in bed. Im not a remedy fan in general, or at least not of their gameplay until now. Control had amazing atmosphere but the combat never clicked for me although I could see it was not bad. Quantum break only had the interesting story, gunplay was weak, and progression was very lineair so not much was left to enjoy. I enjoyed Alan Wake, but it was obviously not what they planned in the beginning.

I truly hope we get more games like this and the next game I finished this year.

2 - RE 4 Remake (PS5)

I started this right after Alan Wake and enjoyed it almost as much. I've finished RE4 on Wii so the story didnt surprise me as much although much has changed. The combat is still great, but to my surprise I enjoyed the combat in Alan Wake II more, which had more to do with the mobility of the characters, and RE being more of an action game. What is definitely superior here is the encounter design. Because its less grounded, it also gets to be more creative with the leveldesign, although I found both very good in that regard.


Thoughts on games completed untill now:

I cant imagine anything superceding Alan Wake and RE4. I've noticed my tastes changing a bit as well, with story being more important. Although Super Mario Wonder is still the number one game being played in my household, with my partner having completed it multiple times.
 
1- Dragon Quest Treasures (Switch)
2- F-zero (SNES)
3- The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey and Minnie (SNES)
4- Gunple: Gunman's Proof (SNES)
5- Go! Go! Ackman (SNES)
6- The Legend of Zelda (NSO)

7- Super Bomberman 3 (SNES)

I've been replaying all Super Bomberman games since last year, and, just like I remember, 3 is definitely the best of the bunch. It was also the only one I owned as a kid (I used to rent 1, 4 and 5, and had never played 2, which curiously I found pretty bad when I finally played it last year).

3 is super short and sweet, has a delightful soundtrack and beautiful cartoon graphics, leaving behind that proto 3D look from 2 that didn't really work. It's also the first game to feature Louies, the cute kangaroos that you can ride and have a variety of cool abilities.

The game goes by super quickly because it's so fun, but the last level is incredibly hard, just as I remembered. I had never beaten it when I was a kid because I could not get past the last level. The final boss is no joke either, and if you lose all your lives, you have to start all over again.

I'll be playing 4 soonish, and that one is my second favorite. I'm curious to see which one holds up better.
 
HALO 3: Peak. Took the best aspects of the last two games and combined them, making a game that surpasses its predecessors in almost every category. The only things 3 doesn’t do better is the music, which has been consistently amazing throughout the games, and the story. This game has a great story and raps everything up really nicely, but something about the story of combat evolved really gets to me in a way the other don’t. Regardless though, this game is a towering accomplishment and a banger among bangers. 9/10, very happy I played the halo games, (on to the 343 games, ugggggghhhhhh)
 
Pillydillsy said:
HALO 3: Peak. Took the best aspects of the last two games and combined them, making a game that surpasses its predecessors in almost every category. The only things 3 doesn’t do better is the music, which has been consistently amazing throughout the games, and the story. This game has a great story and raps everything up really nicely, but something about the story of combat evolved really gets to me in a way the other don’t. Regardless though, this game is a towering accomplishment and a banger among bangers. 9/10, very happy I played the halo games, (on to the 343 games, ugggggghhhhhh)
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Halo 3 is absolutely peak. Halo Infinite comes close from a gameplay aspect.

Are you going to play Halo Reach, Bungie's last big Halo? That campaign is really solid too.
 
Jahranimo said:
Halo 3 is absolutely peak. Halo Infinite comes close from a gameplay aspect.

Are you going to play Halo Reach, Bungie's last big Halo? That campaign is really solid too.
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Originally was only gonna do the 6 mainline games, but if the 343 games are real stinkers I might just go back to try ODST and Reach
 
Second game completed: Lego DC Supervillains

It's Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, but good! And I can make my OC look like Joker Persona 5
 
BlackthornOrion said:
6. Halo 2 [Master Chief Collection] (Steam Deck): To start off, I'll say this is definitely an improvement on Halo 1 in just about every way. Mechanically, it's a very textbook case of a sequel that doubles down on what was already working and then also improves on most of what wasn't working.

I think at this point my major complaints are largely story-related. I wouldn't even say the story is bad necessarily, but it's more that with Halo 2 I can tell they're taking big swings and trying to "do something" and I'm just having trouble meaningfully buying into it; like, the ending absolutely screams "this is our Empire Strikes Back moment, they're all gonna be on the edge of their seats eagerly anticipating the next game to see what happens" and I'm basically stuck at "I like Halo, he fights aliens and doesn't afraid of anything" levels of investment. It works as a pretense that facilitates the gameplay, but it's not doing much more than that for me and so there's this tension whenever I can feel the developers trying to present their narrative as anything grander than "well there needs to be some reason you're shooting all these aliens". It feels like a bit of a pivot, after the first game was loaded with enemies all having generically functional/descriptive video game-ass names like Grunts and Elites and Hunters and all the kitschy sci-fi "if you just capitalize random words, that means they're mysterious or important" names being thrown around, and so the pre-existing "we get it, a lot about this is kinda a little silly, and we can have fun with that" details clash with Halo 2's insistence on a greater degree of "being taken seriously" than I think it's really earned

Some other thoughts:
  • Playing as the Arbiter for half the levels. An interesting wrinkle that gives them an opportunity to flesh out the previously paper-thin Covenant. I won't lie and pretend it wasn't a bit of a relief whenever a level started me out as Master Chief though, because the alien political intrigue just wasn't really doing it for me
  • I thought they kinda wasted the "Covenant brings the fight to you" angle that opens the game. It's a cool "Doom 2: Hell on Earth"-style twist that gives the first few levels a unique tone and visual identity versus Halo 1, but all too quickly you're back on another Halo once again running around pretty familiar-looking military bases and Forerunner ruins, and that was kind of a let-down
  • it's really started to click for me on this one that 90% of the time, the right move in Halo is to just rush from one checkpoint to the next and only minimally engage with enemies, and I'm genuinely not really sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it's something that sets the series apart from its more Doom-y "it's in your best interest to just kill anything and everything that moves" predecessors, but it also feels kinda wrong that most of the time it's not just unoptimal but genuinely a huge mistake to spend any time actually stopping to shoot things in a shooter
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7. Super Kiwi 64: Doomsday update (Switch): Don't have a ton to say here. As a refresher I replayed the base game before getting into the update levels after not having touched it since whenever it first came out, and I still think this is one of the few modern Mario 64-likes that really nailed the running around; the basic movement in these kind of games is so important and needs to be immediately fun, and it's a surprisingly hard thing to get right, but Super Kiwi 64 hits it out of the park on that front

Moving onto the new content, I think it sorta suffers a little from "less was more", at least in terms of presentation. The base game tapped into that mysterious and dream-like tone that some N64 games sometimes had where, because you had so little overt lore/backstory/context to go off of, your imagination would fill in the blanks and conjure up explanations for all the weird little environmental details scattered here and there. The Doomsday update's set of levels themselves are still really fun to explore, but interspersed with them is a more upfront story that, while obviously deliberately nonsensical and silly, imo kinda skewed a bit too far towards an early 2000s' Newgrounds flash animation-esque "lol, isn't this so random" energy that I didn't really vibe with and could have done without

Story quibbles aside though, the base game was imo already one of the better retro-styled 3D platformers out there and the update's new levels maintain that quality
 
Finished Saga of the Moon Priestess. I've mentioned this game a few times on Fami but it's a small 2d Zelda like game where you play a woman saving a prince from an evil witch. There's 5 dungeons and they're fairly short. Last one is probably around A Link to the Past length and the rest is probably closer to Link's Awakening beginning dungeons. Has some humor in it. Story is very light but I think something is hidden somewhere in this game lore wise. Some negatives, small stuff like saves limited to goddess statues where there is only one per dungeon and two in the over world so definitely not commuter friendly. Although I guess you could just suspend the game and not close the software to get over this. Some enemies can attack diagonally while you cannot. Biggest flaw is the claw shot is big time glitched. You get it in the last dungeon and I got stuck in the wall using it at least 5 times. All in the same room. Which meant I had to reset the game and do the puzzles again and kill the enemies again and since it's the final dungeon they are damage sponges even with the best weapon which is optional side quest and they pack a punch even with the max health and hidden armor upgrades in the overworld. I enjoyed it for the most part. I would have enjoyed it a lot more without the glitches but it is only like $5 on Switch.

Finished games so far this year.
1. Another Code
2. Another Code 2
3. Saga of the Moon Priestess
 
1) The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
2) The Last of Us Part 1 - Left Behind DLC (PS5)
3) God of War (PS2)

4) Tetris Effect Connected (PC)

I unexpectedly rolled credits for Tetris Effect. I didn't think Journey Mode was going to end so soon! But credits are rolling, so that means I get to add it to my list.

Trippy game.
 
#6 - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

After playing Saga of the Moon Priestess recently and desiring some proper Zelda, I decided to start the Oracle series with Oracle of Seasons. Shockingly, these games are about as old as I am!

As for the game itself... well, it feels similar to Link's Awakening, but with slightly less emphasis on platforming segments (the Roc's Feather is obtained a little later than in Link's Awakening). Your objective is to save Rin, the Oracle of Seasons, from the evil Onox before the world is destroyed; typical Zelda fare. It's later revealed Twinrova are behind things as they try to resurrect Ganon, although as I wasn't playing a Linked Game, that plot point isn't resolved... yet. The world of Holodrum feels a little less interesting than Koholint Island, though this is probably because there isn't much lore about the world itself - the addition of the underground Subrosia was neat, however. This feeling of similarity is also in part because this game reuses some music from Link's Awakening.

Unlike Link's Awakening, there is a little more to do in the world: more towns, a few more sidequests (e.g., the Golden Beasts, the child in Horon Village, the four gems), and there is a bit more variety in areas (include Subrosia). Definitely an improvement in this regard: just as in Link's Awakening, the world was a joy to explore and unlock. Meeting the animal buddies was a particular highlight, giving charm to the otherwise typical grassland area of the game.

There are two major additions to the gameplay: the Rod of Seasons, and the Ring Box. The former allows you to change the weather as you explore (e..g, freeze ice to cross lakes, or cover gaps with leaves in Autumn), which starts as a rather banal means to gate progression before seeing proper use in puzzles later on. Being able to explore old areas but in a new season opens new paths, which did make backtracking more rewarding. The Ring Box allows you to hold up to 3 rings from your collection; you can then equip one, giving Link some kind of effect. These are pretty cool in theory, but the fact most rings are obtained via RNG (planting Gasha seeds) means you're probably going to mostly have useless rings for 70% of your journey. I generally detest when 2D Zelda adds RNG into the mix for unlockables: I similarly dislike how Minish Cap also did this with the Kinstone fusions / figurines.

As for the dungeons, they're all pretty solid. There are some neat puzzles in them, though the emphasis is on combat (in contrast to Oracle of Ages). It does feel like they tread similar tropes to Link's Awakening at times (e.g., Sword & Shield Maze having a puzzle that involves actions across multiple floors, like Eagle's Tower), but they're otherwise all rather fun. The bosses are solid, although they feel perhaps too ambitious for the Game Boy: many move off-screen constantly, making fighting them a pain (this wouldn't be an issue if the game were remade in 16:9). Many also require strange ways to damage them, which got a little tiring.

In all, this was pretty good, and I certainly enjoyed my roughly 12 hour playthrough! This is by no means the best 2D Zelda - and I do still personally prefer Link's Awakening - but I look forward to coming back for Oracle of Ages in a few months.

8/10

  1. Yooka-Laylee (05/01/2024, 7/10)
  2. Buckshot Roulette (06/01/2024, 8/10)
  3. Another Code: Recollection (19/01/2024, 8.25/10)
  4. Saga of the Moon Priestess (24/01/2024, 7/10)
  5. Super Kiwi 64: Doomsday [Update] (26/01/2024, 7.5/10)
  6. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (03/02/2024, 8/10)
 
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Finished in 2024 #5: Frogsong

On the surface, Frogsong is a simple, unassuming game. It's a top down actiom/adventure game about a cute little frog going on quests and fighting enemies. You move around fields, hop around to dodge or get a move on, swing your short ranged sword to attack enemies, or occasionally put down a bomb as an alternate attack or to break a cracked wall. These mechanics generally stay consistent throughout the run time, with the occasional puzzle to break up the action and exploration.

Frogsong keeps its action well-paced. You can use your basic strike for damage, or you can take advantage of your speed and size to avoid foes, making for a solid loop. Healing save points felt like they were always paced right when I needed them, letting me play a little reckless without going too wild. Even then, Frogsong gives you plenty of ways to break it. Healing items are cheap and can be stacked in your inventory. The Beetlebud, part accessibility mechanic and part multiplayer companion, will go after any enemy that is aggressive towards you and help to point out puzzle solutions if you so wish. Even things such as the locations of will upgrades can be marked on your map by meeting the right NPC. As a result, at least from a raw mechanical standpoint, we have a title that is never bad but not necessarily outstanding or novel. But much like the game's protagonist, Frogsong is not to be underestimated.

The narrative of Frogsong had me gripped from start to finish. Our hero, Chorus, is a tree frog, and in this world, tree frogs normally take on religious work. But Chorus does not want that - they want to become a member of the Defense Guild. They leave a home that did not accept them in hopes of finding one that will, chasing their dreams and making the world a better place. The story explores gender identity, societal expectations, the role of religion and myth in society, and self-love in the face of doubts both internal and external. Dialogue and visuals create a fascinating world around these themes, one that had me laughing at one moment and deeply feeling for our hero the next. The fact that this is an interactive story where you seek out the dialogue throughout the adventure is what sells it, what makes me feel so empathetic to Chorus and their struggles.

Frogsong is packed with lovely attention to detail. Chorus sketches as a hobby, so of course the quest log has little drawings. You can decorate your room with trinkets you get throughout the story. All of the shopkeepers have dialogue with hearty worldbuilding, reminiscent of Undertale. All of the characters have such cute hand drawn animations, and the music carried the emotion of each segment perfectly.

It's short and simple from a mechanical standpoint, but Frogsong punches above its weight thanks to its presentation and narrative. With plenty of accessibility features on top of the Beetlebud, this is an adventure that any can go on for an emotional good time.
 
First game beaten this year: Bayonetta Origins. Was very cute. Good story, don't think I'll 100% the game though. Went in expecting this game to explain away some of the awfulness of Bayonetta 3's story since someone said the game did so, now I think they were just coping lmao. Unless there's something with a post credits scene, this game ain't got shit to do with Bayo 3 besides explaining who Cheshire is. Overall, very good game. Don't think I'd recommend it to those who don't care about Bayonetta though.

Edit: OK maybe they werent coping I unlocked a new secret story mode.
 
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carbvan said:
First game beaten this year: Bayonetta Origins. Was very cute. Good story, don't think I'll 100% the game though. Went in expecting this game to explain away some of the awfulness of Bayonetta 3's story since someone said the game did so, now I think they were just coping lmao. Unless there's something with a post credits scene, this game ain't got shit to do with Bayo 3 besides explaining who Cheshire is. Overall, very good game. Don't think I'd recommend it to those who don't care about Bayonetta though.

Edit: OK maybe they werent coping I unlocked a new secret story mode.
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Was waiting for the edit haha. The map sucks for wanting to 100% unfortunately but everything else was really enjoyable.
 
Jahranimo said:
Was waiting for the edit haha. The map sucks for wanting to 100% unfortunately but everything else was really enjoyable.
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The secret gives me some hope that they're going to retcon you know what, but the narrator said Jeanne's fate was sealed despite defeating green guy anywways. Cool secret ending stuff at least.
 
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7. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PCSX2 Nightly) (PC) [Finished January 31st, 2024] - 9.5/10:
I uh had an entire post written about this game that went into detail about how I tried it two years ago and thought it was mid but then tried it out again this year and realized it was actually dope and came to love it and it uhhh got deleted when I accidentally closed a tab on this forum and it didn't save. So yeah, great game.

8. Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5) [Finished January 31st, 2024] - 3.0/10:
The hardships of expanding Silent Hill as a series are not that different from why Indiana Jones is struggling while Star Wars or Marvel are thriving, Star Wars and Marvel represent entire universes to explore filled with characters and different literal and figurative worlds, while Indiana Jones is centered on one main character who thrived in the 80's and hasn't been nearly as relevant since. Silent Hill in this case is the real main character of the franchise, and while the first few games are very different from each other it becomes increasingly harder and harder to make something that is both original and unique enough to validate the existence of a new Silent Hill game while still making it feel like Silent Hill. There's an inevitable strain in trying to work within the confines of a Silent Hill game, because so much of what makes a Silent Hill game feel like a Silent Hill game is tied to that original setting despite the fact that even Team Silent was struggling to work with it by the fourth game.

It's because of this that I have a lot of appreciation for The Short Message conceptually, I think fans really need to get over the idea of Silent Hill games having the same exact setting and themes as the older ones if they want the series to continue to get new games. The new themes are also fertile ground to explore some interesting ideas, I liked the fact that this game touched on a lot of generational themes relating to my generation. The game has a lot of cringy topics and moments, but I couldn't really give the game that much flack for it a lot of the time because it felt pretty earnest and I think it was honestly brave to put out a product like this for a game franchise like Silent Hill where most of the people playing were probably going to be old men who don't give a shit about lesbian teenage girls.

Sadly there's one series convention I think that is almost required in order to make a Silent Hill game that's completely absent here: subtlety. Look, I won't lie and say that the subtlety of previous games completely matches up with the Life is Strange type story they're trying to tell here, but it just would have made the whole experience a lot better. There's a painful lack of subtlety here, because the writing isn't really good enough to bear the brunt of the trauma and cringe we're put through, and it would have just been a lot better to have the story be a bit less in your face. While the writing of the teenagers is generally ok, there's a lot less meat to dig into here with there being no nuance to details or ideas to ponder, the text files you see jthroughout the first few minutes alone basically explain the entire theme of the game right away. The voice acting also does not completely live up to the part, I can again say that the teenagers do a pretty good job though there is more cringe here than I would generally like but that's more of a me issue, the adults however are absolutely awful and I couldn't stand hearing them whenever you found their abusive messages. I did like the fact that the voice acting for Cherry Blossom is desynced from her visual performance, I thought it was a very nice intentional detail as it added an uncanniness to it and it reminded me a lot of behind the scenes commentary about how Silent Hill 2 purposely wanted to use more digital looking animation to appear more humanlike.

The gameplay in the game is pretty bad though, while I wouldn't say it's completely irredeemable as you can understand what it's going for immediately and it's pretty inoffensive, I found that the game just kinda dragged on. Not gonna lie for a game like this where you kinda just walk around and interact with stuff the highest score I'd probably give it is a 6/10, so in that respect the few gameplay complaints I have aren't terrible but it just generally doesn't have great pacing - it's a 2 to 2 and a half hour game that feels like a 4 hour game and that's pretty bad. The chase sequences are also pretty bad and feel very tacked on, I did the first three without even knowing what I was doing and I didn't die. I usually don't complain about cameras in games but the camera in this game is pretty problematic, as your phone basically has to alert you before the horror segment even starts that you're about to encounter a chase sequence, completely removing any tension whatsoever. I did like the last sequence though - it was a genuinely great blend of puzzles and horror gameplay and it was pretty intense.

It feels appropriate that Another Code, Celeste 64 and Silent Hill: The Short Message all released around the same time. All are about girls trying to solve some personal struggles, but only one of them is being used to prop up a cold dead franchise. I'm not going to say something like The Short Message is cynical because it's part of a major franchise, you can tell the people who made it put a lot of work into it. But the flaws are all a bit too much, and after a while you have to ask why did this really need to be a Silent Hill game? I'm all for the series changing and having new messages and forms of expression but not even the writing here really takes any queues from the qualities of the older games. And there's a very thin line between trying to use Silent Hill to greenlight interesting projects, and using major themes to promote the revitalization of a franchise. By the end of the game when you get to the parental abuse chapter, which almost feels like it was made to check off a box on a list of traumas and is genuinely the worst written chapter by far with irredeemably bad writing, I started feeling colder and colder to this game despite any good intentions have. For what it's worth I still hope they keep creating original stuff.


...


Also can I just say the monster design in this game is terrible? Silent Hill probably has the most consistent highs of Monster designs in horror gaming, and its definitely better at its best than Resident Evil, but I'll never understand why people act like a monster design is automatically good because it's by Masahiro Ito. The cherry blossom monster is genuinely one of the worst Pyramid Head adjacent monsters I've seen, and even Silent Hill 2's standard enemies were a step down from 1's. Not everything he touches is gold folks.

1. Hi-Fi Rush (PC) [Finished January 4th, 2023] - 9.5-10/10
2. Astro's Playroom (PS5) [Finished January 5th, 2023] - 4.0/10
3. Metal Slug (RetroArch) [Finished January 6th, 2024] - 4.0/10
4. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (N. Sane Trilogy) (PS5) [Finished January 11th, 2023] - 8.5/10
5. Spyro The Dragon (RetroArch) (PC) [Finished January 13th, 2024] - 5.5/10
6. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PCSX2 Nightly) (PC) [Finished January 19th, 2024] - 7.5/10
7. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PCSX2 Nightly) (PC) [Finished January 31st, 2024] - 9.5/10
8. Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5) [Finished January 31st, 2024] - 3.0/10

1. Hi-Fi Rush (PC) [Finished January 4th, 2023] - 9.5-10/10
2. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PCSX2 Nightly) (PC) [Finished January 31st, 2024] - 9.5/10
3. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (N. Sane Trilogy) (PS5) [Finished January 11th, 2023] - 8.5/10
4. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PCSX2 Nightly) (PC) [Finished January 19th, 2024] - 7.5/10
5. Spyro The Dragon (RetroArch) (PC) [Finished January 13th, 2024] - 5.5/10
6. Metal Slug (RetroArch) [Finished January 6th, 2024] - 4.0/10
7. Astro's Playroom (PS5) [Finished January 5th, 2023] - 4.0/10
8. Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5) [Finished January 31st, 2024] - 3.0/10
 
1) Old Man's Journey (Switch) - ⭐⭐
2) Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (Xbox Series S) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3) Headbangers: Rhythm Royale (Xbox Series S) - ⭐⭐⭐
4) Lingo (PC) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another update hot on the heels of the last!

5) The Inner World (Switch)
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The controls were a bit too finnicky and the animations too awkward and stiff bit otherwise a pretty charming PnC game. Ended up liking the main character a lot more than I thought but everyone else felt a bit too lightweight. It did enough to make me want to look into the sequel so that's a positive at least

6) Silent Hill: The Short Message (PS5)
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I really do think they tried, but outside of the graphics, music and a very well designed monster it all felt flat. The story and writing were incredibly blunt and on the nose, providing only a very surface level look at the themes it brings up before moving onto the next. Given the runtime I feel like if they had concentrated on just one of them it would have been a lot better. And despite a great monster design, it's let down massively by the awful maze chase sequences it's involved in which are either trivial or incredibly frustrating thanks to the poor level design.
 
Mbolibombo said:
Bought

Jan
#1 Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series [NSW]
#2 Stormgate (kickstarter) [PC]
#3 Prince of Persia - The Lost Crown [NSW]
#4 Batman: Arkham Trilogy [NSW]
#5 Spiritfarer [NSW]


Beaten

Jan
#1 - Ghost Trick [NSW]
#2 - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown [NSW]

Feb
#3 -
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January passed extremely fast this year, dont know what happened.

I did beat two games, Ghost Trick and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Both fantastic games and I am very happy with those, PoP might very well be in my top 5 for 2024 releases.. it was that good.

Did buy more stuff than I expected though, was only ever expecting to buy PoP and Stormgate this month but found some games at either deep sales or very good second hand deals. Klonoa was like 15$, Batman was sub 30$ and Spiritfarer I already own digitally but It's just one of the best indie games of all time and since it's out of print physically and I havnt been able to buy it until now.
 
This month I want to beat Tekken 8, Prey 2017, Death Stranding, Sly II and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Already a decent ways through Death Stranding and Prey so that helps, though I'm going to be somewhat busy so we'll see how it goes.

Really though I'm more worried about Tekken 8 stealing all my time, it's very good so far.
 
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7. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain (Steam Deck)

A nice surprise! For a game made in a week(ish), it's incredibly solid. Celeste's mechanics hold up in 3D really well. Got all the strawberries in the end.

I think the controls could be a bit tighter and maybe some sections should have adopted a fixed camera. But again it's a little passion project so it seems a mite unfair to seriously critique it, especially when it's so good overall.

Also nice to check back in with Maddie. She has a gf now, super cute!
 
Time to boost up the numbers with short, free games.

5. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain [ PC ] - 3

Skill Issue post.

Really frustrating to play, I'm not one to have issues with depth perception on any other game so I'm not sure if it's the visual style that made me fail to gauge so many jumps, like the platforming sequences are mostly pretty simplistic so I shouldn't be getting over 100 deaths in this short runtime, Celeste's dashing and jumping often seem to have different levels of reach and momentum which isn't helped by the lack of midair control. The camera isn't ideal either. The main area theme is neat but the cassete tapes acapella is really damn grating. Like this is the total opposite of what I liked about Celeste.

6. Silent Hill: The Short Message [ PS5 ] - 4

As a half joke I ended up making this my first Silent Hill game.

The themes that The Short Message touches are very on the nose, and considering the short runtime of around 2 hours, it takes on too much and it doesn't have enough time to really say anything beyond surface level, it would have benefited from just sticking to one thing and either be more subtle about it or have much stronger character writing, because despite not really relating to modern teen drama I don't dislike it as long as it does well on either front, has to keep me engaged on some level. There is also the problem that once you know what the story is about, there isn't much after to keep it interesting, it really runs out of steam quickly despite being such a short game, every chapter introduces a theme that you get what is about in like 5 minutes and you have to keep going for another 35 without anything new.

The gameplay pacing is also extremely off, game is split into 3 chapters, the gameplay consists of mostly walking around and looking at notes and events, and jarringly being interrupted by a chase sequence, and it is extremely jarring, there isn't much build up to these, you can just tell you are getting into one thanks to your phone, it seems like they just had to be placed there at the middle and end of a chapter because every chapter has to be the same, these are also pretty easy for the most part.

The final chase is genuinely great, the phone is used well as a compass both for what you need to find and keeping alert from the monster as you have to navigate a maze while applying some spatial awareness and some memorization for each room to get through.

The music is also really good, also liked the environmental design, think it would have been better to keep it all first person since the facial animations aren't up to scratch to convey the emotions they were trying to express, or maybe should have made that live action like the Cherry Blossoms segments to offset that. The one monster design was just there.

There are some interesting and promising elements here but the flaws in writing and gameplay design feel like far too many for such a short game, and I was mostly bored until the final chase.
 
1. Dave the Diver (PC)

This was probably the biggest indie game last year and it seemed like the type of game I would like. The idea of going deep sea diving for fish and all that was intriguing. I was more excited about running a restaurant and having to get my own ingredients made it sound better.

As I started the game and was doing that I was having so much fun. The game was delivering exactly how I wanted to. There were new fish I can get the deeper I went or even going to a different part of the ocean. The game was also adding new thing like with the apps or special customers who want a very specific dish. So for the first few in game days I was having fun. However, things changed as the story and mystery of the sea unraveled itself. The game became more about that then the restaurant. Even while opening up more things for the restaurant like the fish farm or the actual farm. While in theory they seem like a good idea it just felt cheap and unnecessary.

The story itself, which opens up new areas for you to go to and get new fish was unintriguing. It put me to sleep. It took me almost completely out of the game and just made the game a slog. Now this could be a me issue. I saw the game as a management game. So I min/max and try to be efficient. So if I was given a mission and if I knew I could do it in 1 dive or in 1 day I would do it. Sometimes, though, I was getting 3 or 4 missions. I can't help but try and complete them because most of the time they weren't out of the way. This was fine early on in the game but as the game opened up and threw more and more and more at me, I went from 5-10 minute dives to 15-20 minute dives and finally 25-40 minute dives. I actually regretted boosting my oxygen tank to the level that I did. I could've used being forced to end a dive. Now to go back to how the game threw more and more at you. Typically I love that. I love when a game drip feeds new content to you. But this game did it too frequently without allowing me to chill and just play.

So in the end I walked away dissatisfied but I do think it has a lot more to do with how I approached the game and a bit of my OCD/ADHD. It was just not as compatible as I was hoping or thought it was in the first 3-5 hours of the game. There's no doubt there is a decent amount of content, more than enough for the money you'll spend to play. It just wasn't for me and obviously I'm part of the minority. I really wanted to enjoy this game because there is a good game here, but I just didn't and that kind of sucks. (7.0/10)
 
I beat Vampire Survivors, and I don't mean like "finally survived a 30 minute run". No I mean I beat the final boss, and got all 217 unlocks and 17 secrets of what's available on the Switch port, including the paid DLC. This is really the first roguelike I've ever gotten into, too about 50 hours to do everything.
 
Hocot8 said:
Dave the Diver
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Thanks for the impressions! I still need to get this but from what you’ve said (and despite some of your criticisms) I think I’ll like it.

BassForever said:
No I mean I beat the final boss, and got all 217 unlocks and 17 secrets of what's available on the Switch port, including the paid DLC
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Well damn, beating the final boss and unlocking everything is pretty much finishing a roguelike, lol.
 
#3. Super Soccer (SNES NSO)

A soccer game with a "vertical" camera... I'd love for the perspective to be its only flaw, but crappy controls, a broken foul system and cheap difficulty just make this a game you'd rather avoid, unless you're kind of a gaming masochist.

... I never got to try the multiplayer modes though, so those may be its saving grace? In any case, I didn't like what I played... and I actually played quite a bit for reasons I can't really explain.
 
#3. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: Episode: INTERmission: Not really much I have to say about this one. FFVIIR's gameplay is still very fun. Probably would have gotten more out of it had I played Dirge of Cerberus at some point

#4. Tekken 8 Story mode: Fucking peak shit. Massive upgrade over the mess that was 7's, even if I still don't care for everyone speaking their native language instead of just having a Japanese/English dub for this mode
 
Finally with my first completion of 2024:

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - just a superb effort, perfect amount of challenge in the platforming and combat, creative puzzles, fantastic map. Pretty solid visuals and music. Interesting story. What more can you say? I think anyone that loves video games should check it out and will surely land somewhere on my GOTY lists in December, if not be the winner overall.
 
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5. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

Super late to the party, but I really like what the folks at Platinum have done with this game. The art direction is the real standout here, but I've also enjoyed the gameplay a lot. Unlike the numbered games, this one is a less action-heavy affair, and also a very cozy one. The (very) light puzzle elements did get a tad repetitive towards the end, and aside from the relative uniqueness of controlling two different characters simultaneously with the left and right thumbstick, combat also didn't evolve that much over the course of the game, but that's fine. It shines in other areas, mainly in its painterly presentation and storybook-esque narration, and the meat of the game was engaging and fun enough to last me through the entirety of the adventure without it overstaying its welcome.

All things said, I hope they turn this into its own sub series to keep along the main series.

  1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
  3. Sol Cresta
  4. Metroid Prime Remastered
  5. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
 
1) The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
2) The Last of Us Part 1 - Left Behind DLC (PS5)
3) God of War (PS2)
4) Tetris Effect Connected (PC)

5) Trials HD (XSS) [Replay]

Trials is so so so much fun. After hundreds of hours with this series, it’s funny to see just how much better I am compared to when I started years ago, and also how I’m actually not better at these games at all. I flew through most of the game, getting golds first try, until the Extreme levels where it became purely about survival. Inferno II took me over 400 faults, what a nightmare!
 
2. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019) (Replay)

Still both one of my favorite Zelda games and favorite games of all time. A game that does so much with so little considering the original limitations of the Gameboy. I have so much fondness for the original release, and am happy the Switch remake does it justice. There are still reasons for me to play both versions, but I think of them more or less collectively. Marin remains one of my favorite characters, and the ending will never not wreck me. Link's Awakening does so much for the Zelda series, it's so simple on its own yet tremendously widens what the series can be. A little outside its comfort zone. A little more emotional. A little more silly and not taking itself too seriously. Only to catch you off guard and leave you thinking about it for years.

Truley Exceptional Game.
 
1. Octopath Traveler II | Platform: Switch | 100% Completion in 110 Hours | 9/10

I feel a little bad for not finishing anything in January proper, but I've been busy with a new job and OT2 is quite long, so I'll forgive myself. I'm not entirely sure what's next, but I'm a bit JRPG'd out for the moment, so I'll probably go back and finish AI: The Somnium Files and 100% Metroid Prime Remastered.

For context, I also 100% completed OT1 and enjoyed it quite a bit. You don't need to play OT1 to enjoy OT2 though, they're very much like Pokemon/Final Fantasy/Fire Emblem in that way. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on OT2:

Story:
  • + Of the eight short stories, 4 were excellent, 2 were good, and 2 were meh.
  • + The traveler's stories are more varied in their structure now, and you can occasionally choose to do some chapters in whatever order you want.
  • + I thought the writing/localization was solid. No complaints. Similarly, I didn't feel compelled to switch to Japanese VA like I sometimes do for these types of games. This game doesn't really go out of its way to be funny, but there are occasionally some really great bits.
  • + The 4 new dual-character stories were absolutely needed so we can finally see some interactions between the party members. They mostly delivered.
  • + The final chapter with all eight travelers and the epilogue was exactly what I was looking for from a follow-up to OT1. Bringing bits and pieces from everyone's stories together to culminate in a final showdown made this a really memorable game for me.
  • + There are so many twists and neat story beats I had nearly lost my mind by the end.
  • - ~90% of the game is the same as OT1 in that the main story content comes from the eight short stories with 4-5 chapters each. During these, there is little to no interaction between the party members, outside of optional side conversations that I don't think were even voiced. This was my main complaint with OT1 and it was addressed to some extent, but there is still much room for improvement.

Combat:
  • + Latent powers are the new addition to combat. I thought they were well-balanced and added a nice bit of depth.
  • + Overall more variety in terms of ways to augment your battle strategy via new skills and weapon modifiers.
  • + The bosses in OT2 are nothing short of incredible. Quite possibly the most boss variety in any RPG I've played in terms of mechanics. Each boss is worth fighting just to see them rendered in such beautiful pixel art.
  • Vide felt just right for a final boss. Galdera is incredibly brutal and basically requires you to exploit the game's mechanics to deal a stupidly high amount of damage insanely quickly (just like a secret boss should)
  • - The base jobs are fairly comparable to OT1, so nothing that exciting. The new special jobs were a bit of a disappointment and I didn't find any of them that useful.
  • - This is one of the best implementations of random encounters I've seen in a game recently, and I STILL find them to be mostly annoying. I wish there was at least some kind of "repel" item like what's in Pokemon.
Exploration:
  • + Being able to switch between day and night is this game's main "gimmick". The notable differences are that the NPCs have a different layout throughout the map depending on the time of day with different dialogue, and that each character now has two overworld actions (which alternate based on time of day). At times it feels like this mechanic nearly doubles the content in each town/city.
  • + More secrets in terms of both substantiality and variety.
  • + I could be wrong, but I feel like there were overall fewer side quests, but they were more interesting/involved than OT1. A welcome change if you ask me.
  • Buying your own ship and sailing the seven seas is just pure fun.
  • - Overworld character actions (how you interact with NPCs) are mostly lifted from OT1. I would have liked to see at least one completely new way to interact.
Art Direction / Score:
  • + On par visually with OT1, but with bigger areas.
  • + More variety in the camerawork than OT1.
  • + A truly breathtaking soundtrack. Highlights for me are the main theme, "Critical Clash I", and how the music alternates styles depending on whether it is day or night.
Quality of Life:
  • + x2 battle speed is a great addition and makes the random encounters go by much faster.
  • + Excellent attention to detail, such as showing different weapon sprites based on what equipment each traveler is using or special voice lines as characters switch between each other in combat.
  • + I don't remember if this was in OT1, but you can skip any cutscene, and have dialogue autoplay.
  • You can unlock a way to play most of the game's soundtrack inside of taverns.
Performance:
  • + Only one crash in 110 hours (I only lost ~10 minutes of progress thanks to autosave). No other glitches to speak of. Overall, it's quite polished.
  • - Long and frequent load times. Not egregious enough to harm the experience, but annoying enough to comment on.
  • - Minor framerate dips in large areas or when there are many particle effects on screen.
  • - In some fights, the game has a hard time keeping up with double combat speed.

TLDR: 9/10 - Performance could be a bit better on Switch and some story structure criticisms weren't fully addressed from OT1, but everything else (especially the soundtrack and bosses) is quite excellent.
 
WestEgg said:
2. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019) (Replay)

Still both one of my favorite Zelda games and favorite games of all time. A game that does so much with so little considering the original limitations of the Gameboy. I have so much fondness for the original release, and am happy the Switch remake does it justice. There are still reasons for me to play both versions, but I think of them more or less collectively. Marin remains one of my favorite characters, and the ending will never not wreck me. Link's Awakening does so much for the Zelda series, it's so simple on its own yet tremendously widens what the series can be. A little outside its comfort zone. A little more emotional. A little more silly and not taking itself too seriously. Only to catch you off guard and leave you thinking about it for years.

Truley Exceptional Game.
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Link’s Awakening 2019 might just be my favorite Zelda game. It’s super good.
 
I'm getting a hankering for top down Zelda, I figure I'll try to squeeze in either Oracle game into my to-play list next
 
1. Unpacking (Switch) - 7.5/10
2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) - 9.5/10

3. Ori and the Blind Forest (Switch) - 8/10
I really enjoyed this one. The environmental design was pretty good, it didn't overstay its welcome, and movement felt really fantastic in this game. The biggest complaints I have are that the game was a bit frustrating at points (it's rewarding when you get past a difficult part, but some of the sequences are long and it's tough to replay those longer segments over and over). Also, I was not a fan of the save system limitations. I understand that was by design, but I flat out did not like it, since it made replaying certain sections a chore when I didn't have enough energy left to save closer to the difficult part. The story was fine, the characters were fine, but the most compelling thing for me was by far the gameplay. I also think I might have missed the Definitive Edition extra areas but that's more on me lol.
 
2: Silent Hill - The Short Message
GFhNPISWcAAs0Dg


Ok, i kinda sorta think this one is cheating, because even for a coward like me it took less than three hours to get through it, but i'm the only one on the channel with a PS5 and it's a Konami new release, so i had to cover it and... i did.

I'll start by saying this: I have only played the first two SH games before deciding, alongside with other games like RE and the original AoitD, that horror in games is not for me, i can't stand the constant tension that just builds and builds until you get one huge release after beating a boss, still, i used to spend time reading the SH wiki so i'm somewhat familiar with the lore, but when i grabbed this one i decided to play it after deleting from my mind everything i new from the series, tabula rasa as it's said, and going through several reviews after forming an opinion of this game, i think it was a great idea.

Because the game it's not as bad as they make it sound, sure, it has Silent Hill in the title, but in the end it's just a series of puzzles and interactions, it tells the story of three girls (Maya, Anita - the mc - and the friend in the middle, Amelie) in a ruined city that got hit by the 2008 recession and then the Covid pandemic, it's a game about bullying, suicide, abuse, jealousy and, in general, mundane fears, and it's very blunt in its message. And frankly, that's fine.

The game is ALL atmosphere, it guides you through the whole thing to the point where, in the end, it's just telling a story, even the hell sections where you're fleeing from an unknown ghost are, really, just a puzzle where you have to make some decisions that aren't as split second as the game wants you to believe.

What really hurts the game is the third chapter, wich is just a long pursuit + treasure hunt, and failing means starting al over again with no saved progress at all (the chapter, not the whole game)

Honestly, it's basically a short VN with extra bells and whistles, probably a preview/prequel of one of the games that are coming. It was entertaining, to say the least.
 
Finally got around to playing and beating Metroid Dread. Loved it. Only got 50% items or so. May go back and tool around a bit more. Reading up on the game now and it's clear I didn't know wtf I was doing most of the time lol - oh that's what a grab sequence is? that would've been cool

what a noob
 
Game #2 Diablo 4.

I sold my Xbox copy and bough it for the Steam Deck. I'm not a huge Diablo player so I don't know anything about end game, items, hard modes, grinding, etc. but I really enjoyed the campaign, just like I did with Diablo 3 nine years ago. The world and the setting is the best part of the game by far, and I like the combat with my barbarian character.
The story was very interesting, although...
...the last minutes of the story are very disappointing. The reason Neyrelle goes away with the soul stone might be because Mephisto is influencing her, or because for some reason now she knows what to do with it, okay...

But what I can't stand is the reaction of Lorath and the main protagonist, they simply don't care. A young inexperienced Horadrim steals the soul stone with a Prime Evil inside, and they are okay with it. It's a very forced cliffhanger that doesn't make any sense, apart from Blizzard trying to sell us expansions.

And Donan's death is so random, it's just bad.

Music, sound design and art are fantastic, and the cinematics with Lilith or Inarius are EPIC, they both have super cool designs.

I liked the game a lot, and definitely will play the expansions.
 
Cheddarchet said:
Hey hey, my first post on Famiboards! (months after making my account...)

Anyhoo, I went a little crazy during the eshop sale last December, and I had plenty left to play even before that. Tagging this to come back to and keep a record of everything I finish this year. I don't have a ton of time at home, but I'm hoping I can get some good play time in during my work commutes. Just have to keep myself off Pokemon long enough to finish other stuff.

2024 Completed List:
Pokemon Scarlet: Indigo Disk
Light Fall
Click to expand...

Finally finished a game for this year (excluding DLC)! A little platformer called Light Fall on Switch. It wasn't especially amazing, but I enjoyed the ride. It was just a little too short though. Even with getting some of the extras during my playthrough, I finished it in under four hours. I wanted a break from all the RPGs I was playing more than anything else though, and it did give me that. I might jump into another platformer this coming week.
I've been thinking about either Banjo Kazooie (rented it once as a kid, but never actually got to finish it) or Yooka-Laylee, which I got on sale ages ago.

What else I'm playing:
Final Fantasy XII
Ninokuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Tales of Symphonia (Replay)
 
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