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1) The Last of Us Part I (PS5) 2) The Last of Us Part I - Left Behind DLC (PS5) 3) God of War (PS2) 4) Tetris Effect Connected (PC) 5) Trials HD (XSS) [Replay] 6) Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck) 7) Need for Speed Underground (PS2) [Replay]
Time for a bit of a batch update!
8) The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PS5)
I’m an Abby stan. If there’s a Part III, I want it to be all about Abby. Ellie’s story is finished; give us more Abby.
Part II is a masterpiece. There’s no other word for it. I’m so glad that I decided to finally play this series.
9) 13 Sentinels - Aegis Rim (NSW)
Fantastic art, a gripping story with so many twists and turns that your head will spin, a satisfying ending, a decent mech battle mode, kinda boring VN gameplay, and some extremely questionable character designs and situations that maybe teenagers shouldn’t find themselves in. That’s 13 Sentinels.
I don’t play many VNs (or anime-style games), so I was surprised to find myself drawn to this one. The gameplay itself is dull, but the story and the dialog were more than enough to keep me hooked for nearly thirty-five hours. I liked it so much that I’m now looking at Vanillaware’s other games!
10) Penny’s Big Breakaway (Steam Deck)
A mixed bag of a game if there ever was one.
The gameplay, when it clicks, is incredibly fun, but oftentimes it’s mired in a heap of bugs and glitches. It’s good enough that people who are dedicated will find a good amount of value here out of the time trials and the special stages. But I found that I was satisfied after rolling credits. I was just done with the collision issues, the clipping through geometry, the animation glitches, and the sound bugs. Not to mention the awful boss fights.
I understand there’s a patch out that fixes a lot of these problems. Hopefully that’s true!
If you’re a fan of 3D platformers and/or you want to support the Sonic Mania devs, give it a shot. Otherwise wait for a sale, or just give it a pass.
1. Another Code 1
2. Another Code 2
3. Saga of the Moon Priestess
4. Mystery Switch game.
5. Mario Vs. Dk
6. Apollo Justice
7. Dual Destinies
8. Spirit of Justice
Finished in 2024 #14: Wonder Boy in Monster World (Sega Genesis)
Finally back to Wonder Boy after playing the first few games last year. This one felt like both a step forward and a step back from The Dragon's Trap. On the positive, level design was generally more interesting with more variety in the dungeons and moment to moment platforming, enemies had more variety, and I like the two different weapon types. On the other hand, losing out on the transformations really cuts down on the variety; and the weapons, magic, and companion systems don't quite make up for it. Still enjoyable, but while (the remake of) The Dragon's Trap punches above its weight despite feeling aged, this fifth Wonder Boy adventure doesn't reach the same highs.
Also, that final boss is utterly ridiculous. Undertuned in the JP release, sure, but cranked up way too high for the international version!
Ok I lied; due to an unexpected expense I am not able to get Unicorn Overlord at this moment, so I continued on in my backlog journey.
13. Dragon Quest Treasures
This was actually a fun little romp, but holy hell there are 777 treasures and I very doubt I will ever get them all. I collected a little over 200 in my playthrough and recruited half of the monsters. I did like exploring the lands and juggling when and how much treasure I should take back. There were side quests to do and each time you went somewhere you did uncover some sort of progress which I did like. I didn't try the online for this, but super nice that there is an option for it. I am super bummed about no video capturing feature for this game, as it's one of my favorite things.
Now a lot of the monsters were sort of just reskins of the other, but the different monster types do have different fortes which you can use to explore. There was stuff like launch, glide, sneak and scout. The launch to glide combo pretty much broke the game in certain areas as I was able to glide across to skip going through the intended path. The monsters themselves also had different treasure values to them too, so you are more often to find certain treasures with certain ones. Eventually you can send off a group of monsters to collect stuff for you. The game does try to encourage you to change up your squad a lot as each "day" the treasure values over the land changes. Also enjoyed how collecting the main 7 treasures were different experiences, you had one where you had to steal it off the monster, buy it from a shop (lol), digging it out of the ground, fighting a group of pirates and such.
There's a grading scale to the treasures as well so if you want the best piece of each one it will take you a mighty while to complete. lol I think just all the different types of treasure in this game is a real highlight for even the most causal Dragon Quest fan. My favorite ones to get were figures of characters from past games and there's a good number of funny ones too like I got moldy bread and cowpat as some of mine. There are also different types of treasures like figures (as mentioned earlier) cards, gear, iconic stuff and just seeing what you found was real exciting for me since I really do enjoy this series a lot.
There are other various things in this game too such as medals, cooking meals, making certain types of pellets and it just makes so much customizable options. I never felt I was behind or cheated out of something because of that and I'm sure with enough experimenting there's ways to break the game. I enjoyed this more than I thought. It's not a replacement for the monster series, but fun in its own little way.
16. King's Field II that's in reality King's Field III
I've started this game last year because I watched a Let's Play of King's Field (King's Field II in Japan) and was instantly hooked.
People talk about Hidetaka Miyazaki as they talk about all sorts of video game directors, describing him as visionary and prescribing all the Souls' series success to him. Playing King's Field reveals that it's not the case at all, and while Miyazaki is definitely talented, From was doing effectively the same thing before him.
King's Field games are slow 3D dungeon crawlers where everything looks kinda crappy, but they do have that secrety Souls atmosphere and the same feeling of danger that you've come to expect from From titles. Weird items, game lying to you, cryptic NPCs, missable secrets - it's all here! Granted, you have to put up with this game's battle system to enjoy what it offers. Your movement is slow, your magic is slow, your swings with most weapons are slow, and most of the time in battle you'll just be approaching the enemy, swinging your weapon and pressing back as soon as possible (sometimes strafing a bit with enemies that have ranged attacks). It's not a good system, but I've never had issues with it. Thankfully, the monsters in the world seem to suffer from the same issues player does.
This game is the biggest KF game on PS1 and also adds some necessary features in the form of actually telling you what items do and a conversation log so you can browse what people have said to you at any time, so it's probably the best starting point out of PS1 games unless you'd like to guess what Blood Stone does and use it in every situation before you figure out its effect.
The game is as funny as the Souls games with how mean it can be: the first area has three illusionary walls one of which is going to kill an unsuspecting player. There's also a chest that's required for progression that's effectively a Mimic who's also going to one-shot you on early levels. And of course there are a poisonoius swamp, ledges too narrow for walking on them, really weird platforming (for a game with no jump button of any kind) and other Souls staples. It's also fairly witty with its dialogue. While it is dark fantasy, quite a few NPCs can be fairly humorous which stands at odds with the atmosphere and only adds to the weird vibe of this game.
The game isn't as hard as the Souls titles and even playing normally you'll get pretty strong in the backhalf with tons of magic at your disposal and an array of weird weapons some of which might have secondary effects, so a few mean tricks feel more like friendly jabs rather than something out of I Wanna Be The Guy. I loved my time with it, and while Souls games have effectively made its formula obsolete, I wouldn't mind seeing a King's Field V eventually.
I used to feel somewhat ambivalent about Final Fantasy VII but have grown more fond of it after replaying it after all these years. I didn't do it for Remake but got in the mood due to the release of Rebirth. I don't really have any coherent thoughts about the OG, still don't consider it one of my favourites even though there's a lot to like.
Any game would be happy to have one "iconic moment". FFVII dishes them out at a pace that makes it feel almost effortless, sparking your imagination at every turn, aided by the sublime soundtrack.
I love how it takes what Final Fantasy is and twists it into something new, surprising yet still familiar. There's something extremely daring about starting the game as this guy who is the epitome of cool and then seeing him unravel in the most surprising and shocking ways, physically, mentally and spiritually over the course of the game.
Some of the stuff mandatory for story progress feels pretty oblique if you don't already know what you're doing (i.e. the key of the ancients).
Still not a fan of certain aspects of the combat and the materia system. Generally prefer a party size of four for turn-based/ATB RPGs. The materia system gives the player a lot of flexibility but also strips characters somewhat of their uniqueness. Obviously these two aspects work in conjunction here, just not a solution that I like.
On the technical side, it's a bit of a shame that the game never got a really good remaster. In its current form it does a pretty poor job recapturing the look of the original and there's also several UI/QOL missteps that could have been solved. Like, why is there only a 3x speed-up?
GAME 14: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Finished 16/3/24 | 72% Trophies Earned | 83 Hours Played | 9/10
Wow. OK. There is a lot to say about this game and I could spend hours saying it. What I will say is that, if 'maximalism' had a game featured next to it in the dictionary, this game would be it, for both better and - to a much lesser degree - worse. This feels like a game where any question was not answered with a "maybe," or a "lets cut that down," but with a "yes. Do it." And, I must say, I am incredibly happy about that. This game had such consistent joy, such consistently brilliant, inventive and heartful moments throughout that I can safely say that it's going to be up there as one of my favourite titles of all time.
There is simply so much variety here. From the numerous locales, to the copious amounts of minigames (some bad, some great, most neat), to the gargantuan (and incredible) music list, to the ridiculously in-depth and satisfying combat loop. It's frankly kind of overwhelming, though in a mostly good way. Primarily because all that 'stuff' lends itself to the game being one of very, very few titles that truly, genuinely feels like an 'adventure.' Where FFXV aimed to emulate a 'road-trip' and failed, Rebirth exceeds spectacularly, to such a degree that I doubt any game will be able to pull this off to the same level again.
And then there's Queen's Blood, which is the one 'card game within a big RPG' that actually got me to get invested. At first it seems quite shallow, being a game of pure territory control on a very small board, but quite quickly it gets to a much more interesting point than that. One where you're constantly thinking two or three steps ahead, trying to build up a well-synergized deck to dominate the battlefield. It's so good.
Oh, and then there's all the amazing comedic moments throughout the game. And the 'bow-wow-wow'. And the genuinely-beautiful (location)'Gongaga' theme. And the 'game within a game' protorelic questline. And this, and that, and that. There are so many "oh, and there's also," moments in this game that I could write thousands of words about them, and how much I love so many of them.
So why not a 10? Well, its genuinely quite ugly at times, though they're hopefully fixing that in a patch. It also has some really frustrating minigames, with said minigames causing the pacing at its midpoint to feel slower than it really should have been.
However I can forgive those, but unfortunately I can't forgive how 'let down' emotionally I felt about the ending moments. Yes, the final bosses (of which it felt like were a good 10 of them) were brilliantly spectacular in their execution - offering some ridiculously hype moments - but the convoluted narrative at that point harmed the impact of what should've been a simple, clean moment just before and after. Basically, I never expected my immediate reaction to the question "does Aerith die?" to be "did she???", yet there I was. It felt like the game's excess and desire to be different got in the way there (as it did in the immediate followup to Dyne's death, though to a lesser degree), whilst simultaneously not going far enough to truly 'feel' exciting. Which, really quite unfortunately, left things on an ever-so-slightly more sour note than I had hoped.
Oh, and the 'boxes.' If you know, you know.
However, 2% of an 83-hour adventure, big as that 2% may be, does little to impact just how much I smiled, laughed, and 'felt' through the other 98%. There are very few games that feel as grand as this one, and I'm so happy that I got to experience it (and mostly unspoiled at that! so, so damn glad I didn't watch the Launch Trailer lol).
I honestly kinda want to just post Krusty's "what the hell was that?" clip and be done.
Beyond Sunset seems like a promising boomer shooter that mixes in some RPG elements, and I was fully on-board at first.
The game starts out VERY strong. The first episode is an open city of a few interconnected maps where your mission is to defeat a few minibosses to collect keykards. Simple enough, but the presentation, sheer size, secrets, and side-quests make it really impressive. Each map feels unique, from the skyscraper-filled residential area to the quarantined slums that have a constant stream of respawning zombies.
Your reason for exploring is also quite good, as the game has currency and upgrades for your guns and health, which make secret hunting much more desireable than any sort of super armor would. Quite a few secrets are marked on the map, but upon finishing Episode 1 I was delighted to learn that the game has quite a few unmarked ones, as I missed maybe 10 of them.
That's, unfortunately, where my fun stopped.
Episode 1 provides a very interesting experience interweaving shooting with exploration and some light RPG elements, and Episode 2 drops it entirely.
The halls of a cyberpunk megacorp are menacing and larger-than-life, the architecture and art design are stellar, but the gameplay takes a nosedive. For whatever reason the game almost completely shifts its focus into being an arena shooter in the vein of Serious Sam or Painkiller. Travel for a few feet, destroy like a hundred enemies, do this a few times to clean out one of three sectors. Not to worry though, you'll be back here soon enough. Even if there was no backtracking, all three sectors are fairly similar compared to city's enviroments and are comprised of an outer ring where you have to dispatch enemies 4 times, and then 3 rooms where you have to do the same.
I have no idea what happened here. It's not unfun, but it becomes extremely tedious and the only pace-breaker are little "hacking" puzzle sections which, granted, I've enjoyed a lot. The game pulls the rug from under you and feels like it just wants to be tons of arenas where you shoot guys with a fairly limited weapon selection. At least Serious Sam had weird secrets and a fairly sizeable arsenal...
Beyond Sunset promises 5 episodes and Episode 3 is a complete dud. Featuring around 15 minutes of tower defence-like gameplay where you run around and fix turrets with material dropped by enemies. There are no secrets left, no exploration to speak of, and the difficulty which was already fairly low on Normal becomes a complete cakewalk which only means Episode 3 is grueling.
I try not to be hard on indie games and I was willing to overlook some issues with Episode 1 which consisted of graphical glitches and weirdly overly demanding performance in some maps that made my alright PC chug (on a game that uses GZDoom, no less!), but the complete shift in Episodes 2 and 3 and realizing I've beaten more than half the game of which I've enjoyed the first 1.5 hours at most make this game hard to recommend.
I finally completed this! I've been loudly of the opinion since launch that this is the best looking game on the Switch, and while Tears of the Kingdom and Pikmin 4 gave it some tough competition, I stand by it. So much of the joy in this game is just looking at the sky and the buildings and your Pokémon and just soaking it all in with your eyeballs.
Gen 4, along with Gen 5, was a personal low point of the series for me and I'm amazed at how great the world of Sinnoh is presented here. I love this new approach to remakes which makes the old games seem even better than perhaps they ever were as you play it. The soundtrack and visuals are perfect and make me which Pokémon Home had a model viewer. Legends Arceus even pay tributes to my two personal favorite Gen 4 games, Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch, by providing you with incredible visuals and letting you have fun hanging out with all your Pokémon on a farm. It really is the complete package for Gen 4 nostalgia.
Legends Arceus isn't all nostalgia though, it actually does a lot new. The new Pokémon are neat and the setting is creative. It was fun seeing characters threatening to kill your player character again in a Pokémon game even if the story isn't anything amazing. I like the new catching mechanics and battle system and they fit a game like Arceus which is all about colonizing and crushing nature under your foot, but ultimately I prefer the traditional mechanics as this gameplay loop gets old for me rather quickly. That's a small complaint though because we have one Legends game and so many traditional games. I can't wait to see what they do with the similarly mediocre Kalos region.
Sounds like incredible stuff. Patiently waiting for a PC release or something. I still have to play through Remake anyway, which I'm fairly certain will be a little difficult for me to get through.
There's something extremely daring about starting the game as this guy who is the epitome of cool and then seeing him unravel in the most surprising and shocking ways, physically, mentally and spiritually over the course of the game
Finished my replay of Chrono Trigger in honor of Akira Toriyama, who recently passed away. It is still a little unreal that he's not around anymore, and I expect to be feeling that void for months to come. But at least we still have his wonderful works to cherish and enjoy.
Pouring one out for you, Sensei. I will be a fan til the end.
Fantastic art, a gripping story with so many twists and turns that your head will spin, a satisfying ending, a decent mech battle mode, kinda boring VN gameplay, and some extremely questionable character designs and situations that maybe teenagers shouldn’t find themselves in. That’s 13 Sentinels.
I don’t play many VNs (or anime-style games), so I was surprised to find myself drawn to this one. The gameplay itself is dull, but the story and the dialog were more than enough to keep me hooked for nearly thirty-five hours. I liked it so much that I’m now looking at Vanillaware’s other games!
I have also now finished 13 Sentinels, and this could be a summary of my experience as well. I have a similar background with the genre, and despite having the same gripe about the lack of proper gameplay, ended up liking the game.
In addition I beat Omno, which was a short and sweet adventure platformer. The game was made by a single person who has worked as an animator, which is obvious from the high quality of the cutscenes in an otherwise slightly rough game. Still, there were a few platforming sections with very good flow, and some interesting if not a little too easy puzzles. I don't think this combination of puzzles and proper platforming is done that often, with puzzle platformers usually focusing more on puzzles and less on running and jumping, and I would certainly love to see more of it.
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)
8- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
9- Castlevania III (Switch)
Just finished it after 105h, what a great game. I've been talking about my experience with the game at the community ST, so I won't go into detail but like, consider me a Xenoblade fan now. It's really really good, and I'm exciting to play the next chapters of the franchise. But now I need to play something shorter and more simple lol
1. Light Crusader
2. Prehistorik Man
3. Golden Sun/Lost Age
4. Quest for Camelot (/)
(/) =Half Complete, when I use excessive rewind.
I am ashamed to say this, but I beat Quest For Camelot on NSO and my time was even more ashamadely, 6 hours. This game was utter drek through and through. Bad hit detection all around awful design. Menus took half a second to load. The music is some of the worst on GBC while also being the most reptitive. Sprites are awful. Terrible level design. Everything is baaad.
The only upside of this game is that the story does Kalay more justice than the movie ever did.
But... this game was published by Nintendo back in the day... WHY??!! I marvel at the reason why. This game came out several month AFTER the movie bombed so clearly Titus were struggling to find a publisher, and struggled to get this game to market. So why Nintendo of America? Did someone owe Titus a favor or something, or did someone just really like the movie?
The historical analysis is fascinating and that alone made the experience worth it to me. If I was a fly on the wall at the time.
Another handful of games finished off, so adding some thoughts on them below!
12. Final Fantasy IX (Switch)
I thought this one was great! I got addicted to equipping the different weapons and armor to characters and having them learn the abilities, thought that was a cool addition that maybe makes you stick with a 'worse' statistic item for a bit in order to ensure your character knows a spell it has attached before instantly scrapping it and moving on to the next thing. The synergy system where you trade in / combine older weapons at specific shops to get improved weapons with new abilities was also fun and made me hold onto basically everything in case I might need it to synergize in the future, lol. The characters were almost all very memorable and had fleshed out backstories...the story overall I really enjoyed as well. I didn't do nearly as much of the side content as I could - I started at the end working on the Chocobo digging stuff but at that point it would've been just to find the ultimate weapons for each character and as it ended I already finished the final boss on my first try due to a bit of grinding - which, once again, I'll say I feel so fortunate to have been able to drastically reduce the time I spent grinding, mainly due to the speed up and one hit kill boost I applied to get everyone around level 60 by the end of the game.
Also, I enjoyed how much more readable the backgrounds in this game felt vs. VII which was somewhat hard to parse as far as where you could enter/exit a room; I feel like if VII was released as the third PS1 FF it would've been almost perfect (and I know it's still incredibly well regarded despite that) because they've just iterated and made the gameplay / feel / mechanics so good by this point.
The last thing I want to point out that I really thought was great was how they split the party up at times throughout the story; sometimes in the NES/SNES games they'd split your party up and it felt very arbitrary for whatever reason, and inevitably I'd end up with a group that I just didn't use as often because they were underleveled, which would wind up hurting me at the end of the game - that didn't happen here. Every time the party wasn't 100% together I didn't even really think anything of it because of the way the story progressed, so I felt they did a good job there. Yeah, all in all, really enjoyed my 38 hours with this one, and would be SO down for a remake if that rumor ends up being true!
13. Mega Man 9 (Switch)
Not a TON to say about this one - wanted to play something short before jumping into something longer, and this was next up in the Legacy Collection, so decided to play through it. I had a good time with it, soundtrack is phenomenal, some of the stuff being gone like the charge shot and slide was kind of odd but thank to the checkpoints in the collection I was able to push through. The NEXT game, I had an even BETTER time with...
14. Mega Man 10 (Switch)
I wasn't initially planning on diving RIGHT into the next Mega Man game, but given it has a very short length on HowLongToBeat, plus the fact that it was the last one in the Legacy Collection, I figured I'd knock it out - and I'm so glad I did! I definitely enabled the Easy Mode and because of that it only took me maaaybe 2 hours, but gosh some of those instant-kill spikes being covered made it a much more fun experience for me. Another great soundtrack here, fun bosses, and I thought the stage designs were cool here, too - some stuff that hasn't been done a ton in Mega Man's classic series before (that I can remember). Good time! Wouldn't say that I'm a big Mega Man classic series fan but glad I played through them all, and will have to go grab a copy of Mega Man 11 now to round things out.
15. Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary (Xbox Series X)
Okay so this one has been in my backlog for AGES - when I was a kid, I didn't have an Xbox, and was only ever able to play the multiplayer at a friend's house a few times, but I've always wanted to play through the campaigns in this series, so I figured I'd switch things up and give it a shot. And I had a good time with it overall...some nitpicks: I know it's been discussed but I definitely feel like some of the second half of the game is very repetitive in terms of level design (lot of similar looking buildings, corridors, enemies) and it doesn't help that a chunk of the levels have you backtracking through them in basically a straight line. The tiny flood enemies were also kind of a pain, I felt like the shield took a bit too long to start recharging, and The Library level took waaaay way too long - I eventually just started running past the enemies to progress the level instead of wasting my ammo on them. Oh - and not having any kind of sprint made the movement feel super slow, especially in the earlier levels where you have wider areas to roam around - I might have spent a bit longer searching for skulls / those little cutscenes if it didn't take as long to get from A to B. And I also feel like I would've had a better time if I'd played through it in co-op with a buddy. But all that said, the story was interesting, the music was incredible here, and having only played Halo 3 on 360 back in the day I thought it was great hearing the genesis of some of those tracks...I'm glad I played through this one and am looking forward to going through Halo 2 at some point in the near future.
16. Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation 5)
One more shorter game before I dive into something that should take a bit longer - I've had the Reignited Trilogy sitting on my shelf for a while and had never played a Spyro game before so decided to go through this one. I was immediately bummed out by this not having ever received a PS5 upgrade - the 30fps lock and the loading times (not terrible but just not what I'm used to on PS5) were disappointing. That said, I did enjoy this one enough to go get 120% completion and the platinum trophy! The characters (it's basically just Spyro plus 80 dragons which all feel similar, just some of them have accents) were pretty forgettable, the music was enjoyable but nothing noteworthy stuck out; the levels were fun for the most part, but I did feel like I couldn't get the jump/glide timing right at times - sometimes I'd leap from the same platform twice and reach the ledge I was going for once but not the second time. Overall, glad I played this one and will definitely play 2 and 3 from this collection down the road, and I'll keep an eye out for other games in the series when I'm in game shops in the future, but not gonna go out of my way to give them a shot.
Final Fantasy VII (Switch) - 01/06/24
Mega Man 7 (Switch) - 01/08/24
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy) - 01/10/24
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PlayStation 5) - 01/21/24
Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode Intermission (PlayStation 5) - 01/21/24
Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (PlayStation 5) - 01/28/24
Katamari Damacy Reroll (Switch) - 02/01/24
Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition (Switch) - 02/01/24
Yakuza Kiwami (PlayStation 5) - 02/12/24
Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii) - 02/17/24
Mega Man 8 (Switch) - 02/18/24
Final Fantasy IX (Switch) - 03/04/24
Mega Man 9 (Switch) - 03/07/24
Mega Man 10 (Switch) - 03/07/24
Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary (Xbox Series X) - 03/10/24
I'm replaying Halo CE Anniversary right now (first time since playing through the original release on Xbox near launch 22 years ago), and I agree with pretty much everything you say. Even being mentally prepared for some of the level design choices doesn't really help during the actual experience. That said, as a whole I still think it's a great game that I'm very nostalgic for. Will post more when I actually finish.
GAME 15: Pseudoregalia
PC (Steam Deck) | Finished 18/03/24 | 5 Hours Played | 8/10
A relatively short, and relatively barebones platformer/metroidvania hybrid that is utterly defined by its incredible movement mechanics. This is one of the best-feeling 3D platformers I've ever played, with controls that have amazing depth, but not enough complication as to become confusing. Simply jumping, sliding, wall-riding, and so on are all so satisfying to do that speedrunning strategies almost come naturally. Thankfully, the game's near-universal focus is on that movement, with its rather lacklustre combat playing major second-fiddle to levels that are solely-designed around platforming. Levels that, due to their 'Metroidvania' nature, constantly evolve as you gain more abilities and, in turn, options for traversal. Yet, the combat is still there, and so are some frustrating segments alongside an ending that just did not feel satisfying at all. I also wasn't 100% enamoured with the game's art design, with interesting ideas sort of marred by some relatively samey, drab levels (though I liked the N64 aesthetic and low-FPS animation). However, none of that detracts that much from just how great of a platformer this is. Whilst I'm not one to replay games, I can definitely see myself coming back to see if I can finish things faster.
1) The Last of Us Part I (PS5) 2) The Last of Us Part I - Left Behind DLC (PS5) 3) God of War (PS2) 4) Tetris Effect Connected (PC) 5) Trials HD (XSS) [Replay] 6) Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck) 7) Need for Speed Underground (PS2) [Replay] 8) The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PS5) 9) 13 Sentinels - Aegis Rim (NSW) 10) Penny’s Big Breakaway (Steam Deck)
11) Jusant (XSS)
This is a perfect Game Pass game. If I had spent twenty dollars on it I might have been disappointed, but getting it “for free” made up for all the little issues I have with the game.
First, the bad. Movement is awful. Walking always feels bad, no matter what you’re doing. The climbing is better, but it has its own problems. There are climbing sections that feel amazing, and then there are climbing sections that are full of so much frustrating jank that makes you just want to walk away from the game. Chapter 4 is the biggest offender.
Thankfully, there’s so much charm and magic in this world that it’s able to make up for the bad movement and janky climbing. Chapter 4 has the worst climbing, yes, but it also was so atmospheric and ethereal. The game’s presentation is truly its strong suit. From the very beginning, Jusant is a beautiful game. The narrative is very light, told through letters and journals scattered across the tower; it was strong enough that it kept driving me forward, and I honestly wish that there was more to it. It left me wanting more.
In the end, I enjoyed my time with the game. The climbing is both wonderful and infuriating, the walking physics are jank as heck, the visuals and sounds are beautiful, and the story is compelling. It’s short enough that it’s not a big commitment. Play it on Game Pass if you can.
This is a game intended to be played repeatedly obviously, but I’ve had my first completed run so I’ll count it for the purposes of this thread.
A friend showed me this Saturday, letting me try a run. They were exasperated at how good my luck was with my jokers and card pulls, but I didn’t think much of it at the time, and not understanding how long a run was, I suggested we stop and moved on to something else.
Knowing what I know now, I was a fool to abandon that run and I could have potentially had a completed run on my first go.
I started the game on my own Switch and things were immediately less friendly than that first run. I’ve put in a few hours and learned the game a lot better, and eventually finished the 8th ante to claim victory, but I’m only now really getting how to plan set ups, synergize jokers, etc., and I expect this will be my casual pick up and play game for some time.
Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen (Nintendo Switch) - 3/12/24
Got this finished in the morning of 3/12 (12/3 for Fami overseas) but this is what I have to say:
"Wolves hunt in packs!"
"They're weak to fire!"
"Hear ye, hear ye!"
"Gran Soren...the beating heart of Gransys"
It took me about 10-15 hours to understand the appeal of this game's flow, the vocation system and how flexible it can be, and of course the pawns. It runs pretty well on the Switch (900p docked and native 720p handheld) despite being 30fps. It's 30fps on all consoles iirc. Combat is straightforward and exploring the world was pretty cool with my squad and taking down cyclops and griffins among other creatures.
I am going to not invest in the postgame as I can tell it will be pretty substantial and the sequel drops next weekend so I'm going to go all in on that one. I'm curious if there will be any call back to this one in the sequel too. Anyway, game is good!
1. Star Ocean The Second Story R (Nintendo Switch) - 1/1/24
Pretty much like I said in the weekly "Whatcha Playing?" weekend thread this came out of nowhere and wasn't really planning to jump into it. A friend told me about it, which I completely forgot it existed over the years but had an interest off and on. Thankfully there's a demo on the Switch. I tried it out and it sold me on the entire game. So I bought it and knocked it out!
This is a coffee barista simulator type game where you serve drinks based on a character's request, hear their stories, and learn about their fictitious version of Seattle...which happens to have fantasy species like Werewolves, Vampires, Orcs etc living alongside with humans. That's just how this world is.
Overall it was a fun, short game. Definitely perfect to play in between the larger games (in my case, Dragon's Dogma 2 lol). It is similar presentation wise to VA-11-Ha11-A, the bartending game, where you talk to characters, learning their story arcs in the world while serving drinks in first person...but that's where it ends. Some characters have relationship issues, some dealing with growing up, and others do have some interesting social commentary. All types of things you'd expect from the right group going out to grab a coffee to perk up or a tea drink to relax. They also have little blurbs about each drink you make, which I do think the vast majority are based on legitimate drinks.
I definitely recommend it for anyone wanting a chill, story based game with some excellent chill vibes thanks to the lofi soundtrack. Also another plus for this too - they have full touchscreen controls, including the menus, which is not as common as it should be for Switch games. I'll play the sequel sometime next month.
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
7. Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary (Nintendo Switch) - 2/13/24
8. Penny's Big Breakaway (Nintendo Switch) - 2/26/24
9. Splatoon 3: Side Order (Nintendo Switch) - 2/29/24
10. Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen (Nintendo Switch) - 3/12/24
11. Coffee Talk (Nintendo Switch) - 3/16/24
I don't normally shout out indie horror games here, as this isn't really the place - and most aren't worth talking about anyway. But the recently released Psalm 5:9-13 did leave an impression on me, and I did pay for it - so I'm adding it to my list.
Psalm 5:9-13 is a short, VHS-style horror game with loose biblical themes. The main mechanic is zooming in on incongruous objects, which then disappear - for example, a head in a pot. Eventually, at the end of the game, you fix a mirror and zoom in on yourself - a man covered in cuts and bruises, who almost certainly has done something evil! The reason this game is quite good is because of the fantastic atmosphere, VHS / analog-horror inspirations (the TV room was particuarly inspired by works such as The Mandela Catalogue) and the well-timed jumpscares. Despite being your typical psychological horror "find things to make the rollercoaster go forward"-type game, the objects you're looking for aren't hidden as obtusely as similar games.
If you're looking for a 20 minute horror game, I'd recommend this. By "indie horror" standards, a very good 8/10.
#12 - Crypt of the Necrodancer: SYNCHRONY [DLC]
Finally, the SYNCHRONY DLC has made its way to consoles! This coincides with the console versions moving to V4.0.0, rather than the legacy version (V2.X). Synchrony adds a load of new content and features, and definitely gives the game a breath of fresh air and puts it on a more sustainable footing going forward. Although this is a rouge-like, I've beaten enough of the content to mark it as "cleared" for now.
In terms of new content, SYNCHRONY adds three new characters: Klarinetta (who wields a giant sword), Chaunter (who can posess enemies), and Suzu (whose attack dashes through enemies). The latter two are pretty good: Suzu is definitely the most speedrun friendly, as well-placed attacks can steamroll levels in no time at all. Chaunter is a little more technical, as you both have to understand how each enemy works once possessed, and prioritise the "best" enemies possible - those that move and attack on each beat. Klarinetta is just plain awkward, though - she swings her sword using diagonal inputs (e.g., up-left swings the sword diagonally up-left, or down-right if already in that position), which aren't always detected well by the game. I couldn't get past Zone 2 due to the amount of dropped inputs from the game, unfortunately. Otherwise she is the safest character of the three if you're looking for a clear.
SYNCHRONY also adds mod and multiplayer support, even on Switch. The mods already uploaded to the in-game portal are pretty great, such as a mod that buffs the regular bosses, or one that lets you play as a wall. The "Weekly Challenge" mode, which rotates a new mod each week, is definitely a nice way to celebrate the dedicated work of the community. Multiplayer works as well as it can - particularly online, where rollback is used. It is fun to clear out levels as a group, and some new enemies appear here too! Or, you can battle it out - something I've not yet tried.
It's nearly been 10 years since Crypt of the Necrodancer first launched in Early Access on Steam. This DLC - and the V4.0.0 update - should hopefully ensure 10 more years of content, both from the developers themselves and the talented community itself; a rare feat in gaming nowadays! A respectable 8/10.
Yooka-Laylee (05/01/2024, 7/10)
Buckshot Roulette (06/01/2024, 8/10)
Another Code: Recollection (19/01/2024, 8.25/10)
Saga of the Moon Priestess (24/01/2024, 7/10)
Super Kiwi 64: Doomsday [Update] (26/01/2024, 7.5/10)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (03/02/2024, 8/10)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong (15/02/2024, 8/10)
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (22/02/2024, 8.5/10)
And Yet It Moves (27/02/2024, 6.5/10)
Mario Golf (GBC) (15/03/2024, 7/10)
Psalm 5:9-13 (17/03/2024, 8/10)
Crypt of the Necrodancer: SYNCHRONY [DLC] (18/03/2024, 8/10)
Joining in on the fun a little late but adding my current list of 2024 games!
1) Marvel's Spiderman (PC) - I was a huge fan and it was a solid story and combat mixed with a nice open world to explore. I didn't do any of the added DLC yet just because I get burnt out of open worlds after a while but I left it downloaded and will get to it at some point
2) Jusant (PC Gamepass) As someone into climbing I thought it was a fun adventure very scenic and chill. Interesting solo adventure with the story only coming in letters and visuals which isn't my preferred, but it fit the game well.
3) Splatoon 3 Story (Switch) - The campaign being similar to Octo Expansion was welcome but I wasn't as drawn in. Boss battles were all very fun though
4) Bowser's Fury (Switch) literally knocked it out during a single flight. I loved almost everything about it, but my only complaint was it was too short
5) Cassette Beasts (PC Gamepass) Holy crap this is what I've been wanting out of Pokemon since diamond and pearl. The art style is fantastic, there's a lot of interesting side quests and adventures, and battling feels so much better once it clicks. It took a while to get into when learning typing matchups and effects, but once I got it, combat was very fun. Probably my game of the year thus far (even if it came out last year)
6) Pokemon Scarlett - Teal Mask DLC (Switch) - First part of this Pokemon DLC wasn't my favorite, but it felt like a good challenge when my Pokemon were under-leveled by 5ish levels. Switching up the team was fun as well so I may have to do that for the second part whenever I start it.
Not sure what's next to be completed. Hi-Fi Rush and Starfield are where I've spent most of my PC time recently, while Side Order is taking up a lot of my switch time (although I'm mad at Side Order after losing on floor 30 so I may need a break lol).
Shockingly I'm already at my total for my 2023 completed games. Turns out I was busy last year! I don't really have any goal I'm trying to hit, but I do enjoy tracking what I complete in a year and seeing others complete theirs. Also fun to peruse other's lists and see if there's anything I should play or prioritize from the backlog
I finished Murder by Numbers, which combines Picross and a crime Visual Novel.
The picross part works fine. I played worse Picross variants.
The visual novel part contains 4 chapters, which I played 6,5 chapters.
The reason I needed to redo chapters is that you can miss puzzles, which play into a ranking.
The ranking will unlock other puzzles in the memory section.
You get usually the puzzles by searching in a mini game via a sight in a bigger picture, which
is not really fun at all.
The 0,5 chapters was when I was soft locked and needed to
go back to an older save since the auto save was also soft locked.
The redoing of the chapters would not be so annoying, if the visual novel parts
has standards like fast forward, but no you have to smash the a button a lot to go through the story.
I used a guide to find all puzzle in the story to not need to repeat the chapters again.
The story takes place more or less in our time, but you have one flying robot, which is your companion.
For some reason you as a bystander solves crimes. I still don't know why.
If you like picross play all Jupiter games before you play this and if you like visual novels, I think there better games
out there. There is no voice over.
Feel like I just don't get open world games at all.
Sleeping Dogs feels like Square Enix's attempt to get their own Yakuza: an asian criminal story with primarily brawler battles and a few side-activities.
The game takes a lot from GTA and feels like what people thought Yakuza was back when that series wasn't popular. The story is really fun rags-to-riches triad tale which has a little twist by making you play as an undercover cop, which provides additional tension.
There are a whole lot of missions in this game that feel different. It feels like your role as an undercover cop was conceived as a way for you to do both law enforcement missions of saving hostages and stopping drug deals, while also commiting crimes like illegal races, racketeering and extortion as if actual cops don't do that anyways. The game tries to switch up its gameplay often and has a lot of different changes to fairly simple missions. Chases, for example, can ask you to smash other vehicles, win the race, jump onto other car, shoot enemies, follow someone, etc. There are a LOT of gameplay variations and the game tries to keep you engaged at all times.
The battle system is simple but effective, and the game switches it up with shootouts and races often enough that its simplicity never wears out. It's usually a little on the easy side, but there are a few additional challenges that will test your abilities.
Unfortunately, if the game was inspired by Yakuza, it definitely took the wrong lessons from the franchise. Side activities that aren't tied to quests such as karaoke are dull and boring and many side quests are just repeating situations that see you complete a task with no flavor to them. Lesser quests such as cop jobs are less than a minute long, and drug busts see you perform the same three-step quest for more than a dozen times.
It's unfortunate, because the game could've been great, but it drops the ball just a bit with making all missions so disconnected from everything. Racing, for example, is always fun and is the biggest and longest quest activity you can do in the game. There are around 15 races through different enviroments with different vehicles, but there's never a sense of progression to it despite the game introducing you to it with a story hook. Some rivals or 1 on 1 "boss" races would've felt much more like becoming the fastest as opposed to a repeating mini game that can sometimes give you a car.
The world is too big for my taste and the exploration is fairly dire. As with many games of that nature, game will throw you a bone and mark all the collectibles on your map because actually exploring the enviroment isn't an option. I'd either want more stuff to collect, as there are entire eye-catching zones with nothing in them, or would prefer if a few districts were cut entirely. The best rewards actually come from random missions where you can get new clothing, cars, and very rarely, upgrades. The best things you can find in the world are basically a piece of heart and an unlock point for a new move, but mostly you'll just find a case with money in it, which you likely won't even need.
No matter how much the game tries to vary stuff up, its built on a shaky foundation of by-the-numbers open world game. It's often fun, but exploration and side quests just feel like Content you do to clear the map, not much else.
There are moments of brilliance which is why I kept doing said quests: assembling and upgrading a spy car was really fun and provided some of the most varied quests; dates, while a little awkward, had some much needed character moments; and there are a few random activities that were way more fun than the rest, such as Teng's Toy ones that ask you to drive through dense crowds.
I really wish the game would go an extra step of having at least fun stories to go with its quests. Little character moments that would make your 4th "chase cars off the road" gameplay section at least somewhat distinct from the first three. This especially concerns cop activities which repeat more often than others and have no story to them at all.
I recommend this game for its story and some quests, but don't try and complete it.
3.0/5
I already did, and just after peeling myself away from Slay the Spire (at least for a bit). Been resisting playing it to try to get through some of the other games in my backlog, particularly ones that I've made significant progress in already.
GAME 16: The Utility Room
PC (VR) | Finished 19/03/24 | 1h Played | 9/10
This is one of the best VR games I've played yet. No, it's not long, and the platforming is... iffy at best (thankfully teleportation is there for us casuals), but god damn, as a pure artistic 'experience' this game gives out is truly unparalleled. It's not a horror game, but it is one of the most genuinely unsettling and powerful games out there. Showing a world that is truly and completely alien, and presenting it in an utterly hostile, barren, and stark manner, 'The Utility Room's world is primal world that plays on the most primal of fears. All ending on one of the most surreal, and haunting, 'trips' I've ever been in. If you are into this kind of walking simulator experience - and have a VR headset - then you owe it yourself to play this
After a third (fifth?) entry that too closely mirrored its predecessors, the finale of the classic Wonder Boy/Monster World run makes some key changes. Metroidvania style progression gives way to a linear set of areas reached via a hub town. RPG elements are deemphasized, with less upgrades to buy and a smaller reliance on numeric progression (for example, armor increases health, not defense, while a collectible is used to increase your health further in a separate meter). Magic items and an automatic shield are gone in favor of running, a manual shield replacing your crouch, and upwards/downwards aerial attacks. And while you explore the same Monster World as before (including some familiar characters and locales), the setting has been given an One Thousand and One Nights-esque coat of paint, which is especially reflected in the starting area and hub town.
Monster World IV makes a strong first impression with its colorful characters, detailed environments, and rich instrumentation. No better is this shown than with our new heroine, Asha, whose animations never failed to charm me. But Monster World IV does not merely look and sound the part. What it loses in exploration and RPG elements it makes up for with some of the strongest pure level design seen up to that point in the series. There's still the occasional hallway filled with minimal jumps and a few enemies, but dungeons feature more elaborate platforming and more interesting gimmicks to interact with. This is especially felt in the water and sky dungeons, with an admittedly overly long and repetitive ice dungeon smack-dab in the middle.
Much of the fun is facilitated by Asha's companion, Pepelogoo, who grants her a glide and double jump when held and can be thrown to interact with specific set pieces. Something like this is what I was looking for out of the companion mechanic of Monster World III, something that feels like a substantial addition to the move set and adds a lot of character to the action, even if making its actions moves that Asha could perform natively may have been a bit less clunky at points. I found it quick to adapt to, though, and I had a good time adventuring with my cute buddy - a good companion mechanic always appeals to me! It made losing him for the last two dungeons feel more impactful - you see him grow and you come to rely on him, so when he takes an attack for Asha and you see her crying by his side, you really feel for her, and the game lets that sorrow play out, even if Pepelogoo doesn't end up dying. Pepelogoo, the MVP, sacrifices himself twice and it hurt me both times, but knowing he's okay and that Asha has her buddy? Perfection. No notes. Favorite story in the series.
Monster World IV was not initially released outside of Japan, with its localization coming in the early 2010s. This is definitely to the game's benefit, as the text feels modern in a way localizations of the era often were not. While the game keeps an air of levity for the most part, its humor and emotion are allowed to shine through in key moments thanks to the solid writing. Don't expect the most detailed plot, mind you, but a few moments hit the right beats for me, especially in the end game.
While losing the magic system is a shame and the sheer variety of Monster World II/Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap has not been topped here, this might be my favorite of the classic run, barring the remake of Dragon's Trap. More interesting level design and a boatload of charm go a long way, making for an adventure that stands out on the Mega Drive and within its series.
-Escape From Mystwood Mansion (steam) - An indie escape room game that launched last September if I recall correctly. Pretty short, but very enjoyable experience if you're into escape room puzzle games. I felt like it was very well elaborated.
-The Talos Principle (steam) - I purchased the game years ago and around January this year I finally got the itch to play it. Had an absolute, monumental blast. Highly recommended if you are a fan of the Portal series, because it's pretty much Portal with a philosofical story (and without portals lol).
-Choo-Choo Charles (steam) - A very short and strange indie game where you help the inhabitants of an island kill a monstruous spider-train creature, and your only tool is your armed train and a bunch of scraps to upgrade it's attributes. It was a fun experience.
I'm currently playing through a few games and I also have another few on hold for one reason or another, so I'll update once I beat the next one lol.
@VolcanicDynamo I've been really enjoying your Wonder Boy/Monster World write-ups! Have you already played Monster Boy? I haven't played much of the original series but I loved that game.
@VolcanicDynamo I've been really enjoying your Wonder Boy/Monster World write-ups! Have you already played Monster Boy? I haven't played much of the original series but I loved that game.
I mean, it IS silly, and it is blatantly obvious it is the first project of one man in several aspects of the game, but if you like the premise, I say give it a go, it's only about 3-4 hours with the potential to have a much better sequel.
Project Warlock is a fairly unique Boomer Shooter in that it takes after Wolfenstein 3D more than its successors.
The levels are short and take about 5 minutes to complete, and there are a ton of them: from 2 to 5 per act, 5 acts per episode, 5 episodes in total.
The game is focused on collecting treasure and secrets, and has light RPG elements where exp gives you the ability to level up your stats. You get exp for collecting treasure and finding secrets, but there are also special collectibles which upgrade your weapon or allow you to buy new spells.
The weapons are insanely fun and there are a ton of them, and unlike actual old shooters, the locations are varied which helps the game a LOT. From The Thing's inspired antarctic levels to modern cityscapes, every episode has unique enemies and details.
The game suffers a bit at the end, with Hell episode being a retread of earlier episodes (but spookier!) and featuring some really tanky enemies. The game is really easy, at least on Normal, and provides enough opportunities to upgrade your ammo cap as well as spells that give you ammo, so by the end I was just running around with what's effectively an infinite rocket launcher. Fun, but gets a little stale after your 10th room of tanky enemies who have three forms.
Despite that, most of the game is incredible: the music is fantastic, the visuals are always a treat, and the length of levels for something inspired by shooters of old is perfect for quick secret hunts and "one more level" type of gaming where you don't stop for hours.
I'm really nostalgic for this game. I only ever rented the N64 Mario Tennis, but I put dozens of hours into this one. I loved the idea of a custom character and a little world I could explore, talking to others and playing the training mini games and trying to make my way to the top. Sure, Mario Golf did the idea first, but the fast paced nature of Tennis was a bit more my speed as a kid.
Luckily, the game holds up pretty well, though it is much easier now as an adult than it was as a kid. I dropped all of three games over the course of the many matches? But that doesn't matter when the game itself is so fun and the tennis mechanics from the N64 games are nailed perfectly. The whole concept - a real world tennis story where the final boss involves going to Mario World to fight the legendary tennis player...you know, Super Mario - is weird but it works! I love the music, I love the sprites, and the mini games are a neat diversion, too. If you like sports games, this is one to check out.
Vampire Survivors is an auto-battler rogue-like where your only input as a player is moving your character and deciding on upgrades, and if you pick the right upgrades you don't even need to move. There will be ten or twenty minute stretches that require barely any brain activity to stay alive, but seeing big damage numbers pop up all over the screen may make some neurons light up. I turned those numbers off, dopamine be damned. Weapon effects already created quite the visual overload, and being able to tell more clearly where exactly the horde of monsters had melted away to create a pathway was vital. Because death can come quickly, and on a borked run with bad early offerings the challenge level quickly escalates to impossible. The oscillation between winning without touching the gamepad and instant loss despite trying the hardest is not a mix I fell in love with, or got hooked on despite myself. For people who feel differently, the game has a good long list of incentives to keep going back for more in small doses. The € 4,24 it's currently on sale for is a fair price. Playing it for free via NSO Game Trials was a fairer price, still.
Well whaddya know - it looks like I'm a Kirby fan now. This game is amazing. I don't even know where to start.
How about the level design, which while accessible, continously throws new mechanics and situations at you in a manner not too dissimilar to a mainline Mario game?
How about the power-ups, where each one has real utility and multiple variations which help you tailor the game to your style of play?
How about the tight controls, in which the sheer act of moving Kirby - whether he is a regular puffball or a vending machine - just feels great?
How about the presentation, with gorgeously realised and varied locales, wonderful character animations and an absolutely killer soundtrack?
How about the absolutely bonkers endgame and postgame bosses?
There's just so much that Forgotten Land does right, and on a first proper foray into 3D for the series as well. For me, this is right up there with Wonder and Odyssey in the pantheon of Switch platforners.
The only real issues I have are that the postgame levels are essentially hard level versions of ones you have previously cleared. They're not bad at all, but pale in comparison to the barmy invention you experience beforehand.
Secondly, the framerate. It's 30fps, and while it is mostly smooth, there are noticeable jutters which can distract. It's not the end of the world, but 60fps or a more consistent 30 would have been perfect.
As it stands though, these feel like small complaints in comparison to what the game succeeds in. God, I haven't even mentioned the mission structure or the near perfect difficulty curve.
It's a brilliant game. Anyone who has never given Kirby a shot and is interested should give Forgotten Land a go. It's fully converted me, and it might just do the same for you.
Tekken 8 Story Mode
Baldur's Gate III
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
Mario vs Donkey Kong (Switch)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
1. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon [ PS5 ] - 9
2. Dragon Quest [ SNES*] - 7.5
3. Another Code: Recollection [ NS ] - 6
4. Trace Memory (7th Replay) [ DS ] - 9
5. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain [ PC ] - 3
6. Silent Hill: The Short Message [ PS5 ] - 4
7. Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice (4th Replay) [ NS ] - 6 - 1st on Switch
8. Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (3rd Replay) [ NS ] - 9 - 1st on Switch
9.- Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (3rd Replay) [ NS ] - 10 - 1st on Switch
10. Baldur's Gate III [ PS5 ] - 10
11. Infamous: First Light [ PS5 ]
It's fun. Besides this I only played the original Infamous and wasn't a big fan of it. FL isn't anything grandiose, but it is entertaining and doesn't overstay its welcome, the protagonist is interesting enough, the gameplay feels much improved, visually it looks great, is a solid time, tho nothing is particularly remarkable either.
12. Resident Evil Village + Shadows of Rose [ PS5 ] - 6
Village was a fairly inconsistent time, exploring the village is really fun, and the Dimitrescu and Heisenberg segments are pretty good overall, while Beneviento, Moreau's and the finale are just pretty bad. It meshes mechanics, puzzles and segments from across the series, which makes it a pretty diverse game all things considered, just wish all of them landed well. The game is a lot more action focused but still working on the framework of REVII which means that the action part isn't really that deep or strategic unlike a game like 4 or its REmake, leading to a lot of tanky enemies without as many options or split second decisions as those games, the boss fights for the most part remain a positive, much like VII though. The third person mode included in the Gold Edition or the Winters Expansion also made it feel better to play for me, never liked how VII controlled, is something that always remained clunky or sluggish to me, compared to the tank controls where it can feel clunky at the start but once your brain gets used to it, it plays great. Least the story landed a bit better for me this time, on the premise it was easier for me to care about Rose compared to Mia. Also the first hour is also kind of terrible, much like VII's, takes too long for the game to start.
The Rose expansion was interesting, it leans back on more survival horror mechanics, like limited counters, and requiring some more planning if it's really worth the effort to kill an enemy or just run past it, that goes away fairly quickly, even if it is a far shorter campaign, there is also an stealth segment, the most shocking part is that it doesn't insta kill you for being spotted so, props to that.
Will give props to Ethan for making me laugh everytime he opened his mouth in this one, peak comedy. Also I clap at you Chris for being stupid the whole way through.
Overall I enjoyed this more than VII, but still less than the rest of the RE games I played, not an Ethan Winters saga guy.
13. Ufouria: The Saga 2 [ NS ] - 9
Peak is back? The original Ufouria was a really pleasant surprise, a great looking NES game, a very Sunsoft soundtrack, and a wacky world with a really well done Metroid structure, item collecting being split between new characters for passing obstacles, character upgrades and map upgrades, that allow you to see the map, where you are, etc.
This sequel/re imagening goes for a much different structure, now its mostly stage based with some branches that lead you to diferent levels, layouts are different when you revisit them, and there is a vending machine that allows you to fill up the map with more elements like bonus challenges and more items, like buying a mine cart to fill out the levels that have rails on them with said mine carts, it is pretty interesting, basically replaying some stages multiple times to explore what is new and get more coins to buy more items from the vending machine, the stages themselves are fairly compact so it doesn't become tedious. The music arrangements and new tracks are fantastic and the game has a fitting look to it, also leans more into its weirdness with all the jokes and conversations they added, it was neat revisiting the world this way, and thank the gods is not a rogue-like/lite. Main reason I rate it lower than the original is that it feels very abrupt in its ending despite having some build up, also missing some iconic bosses from the original. But still, great game.
14. Elden Ring [ PS5 ] - 10
I got some complex emotions.
I somehow tend to put myself in a situation where my attacks hit the wall I'm next to than the actual enemy, some enemy patterns feel a bit too much in the sense that they have great wind up animations but the wind down is pretty unpredictable, which leads to more so just learning the pattern rather than feeling smart for paying attention to when the enemy is getting tired to counter, I can suspend my disbelief on that for the demigods to an extent but it tends to feel like normal enemies just have infinite stamina. And there was Maliketh who I still don't get how big is the range of his attacks and how his hit box works, like sometimes I would have him pretty much sticking to me and my attack just won't land.
But then it hits me with like some of the greatest moments in video games back to back and I can't really be mad at it. The main bosses, the ones that hold the Great Runes have a great Demon Souls energy to it, each of them feeling quite unique and have some sort of gimmick or twist to their fights, while there aren't really much in the way of puzzle fights besides a handful like in that game ( and given the size of this, it was the best kind of game to bring them back) adding that extra flair on top of the traditional combat encounter does wonders in terms of making them feel incredibly memorable. And the rest of the roster of enemies and bosses are pretty good as well (besides any bird enemy and the bears, fuck them I hate them).
I actually got pretty attached to a lot of NPCs this time around, Chadlexander, Blaidd, Melina, Roderika, Hewg, Boc, Miriel, I kind of love them despite their relatively low screen time considering the size of the game, and also SIR GIDEON OFNIR, THE ALL KNOWING! And some proper main story beats also hit me hard, like Radahn and Hoarah Loux. It's something easy to not think about much, considering how much of these games are uninterrupted gameplay, but they hit with some peak cinematic shots during the few cutscenes they do for this and a game like ACVI, some shots that will be burned in my memory for a good amount of time.
The world is incredible, the way it keeps growing, the shift in tone and setting of each segment of the Lands Between make for a strong atmosphere, the rivers are absolutely beautiful, the color palette and general look of Elden Ring is something I love. Goes without saying that everything is pretty much interconnected besides a couple of instanced areas for narrative purposes, caves, dungeons, wells, everything just flows seamlessly. There is freedom to explore where you want to go, but is not without roadblocks, you can go most places but can't access everything from the get go, and the general progression is fairly intuitive as long as you have a good level of curiousity, which almost always will be rewarded with progression items, equipment, spirits to summon, a boss fight, weapons artes and upgrade materials.
The music could have been more distinct since it can feel like some tracks blend due to the style, but it has some proper bangers like the absolutely beautiful Regal Ancestor Spirit ( It's so good I can just see this one be reduced to a loud orchestra in the Bluepoint remake in 20 years) , Godskin Apostles, Godric and the brilliant Final Battle theme.
So yea, it annoyed me a good amount at times, but it is also peak fiction most of the time.
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)
8- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
9- Castlevania III (Switch)
10- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (Switch)
11- Toem (Switch)
12- Super Castlevania IV (Switch)
13- Cuphead (Switch)
After finishing Xenoblade, I've been dedicating myself to a couple shorter games to help getting that backlog beaten.
Toem is an absolute delight, it's a really cozy and relaxing game based around taking pictures to solve quests. At first I was a bit underwhelmed by it being all quest based (I'm not a fan of quests), but the game is just too charming and it won me quickly. I beat the main game + free DLC in around 6 hours, all quests and album completed , so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a short and sweet experience.
Moving on with my Castlevania series playthrough, I got to the 16bit era and finally played SCIV, which had been on my backlog for ages. People say this game is the easier pre-SotN Castlevania and I was shocked because it's anything but? Game is hard af, harder than Castlevania 1, if you will. Sure, the first 4 or 5 stages are a piece of cake, but the game has like 13 of them, and the later stages are really fucking unhinged with bottomless pits and grappling hooks (I maintain my opinion that grappling hooks are one of the shittiest mechanics in videogames and no game has executed it well). The game is just out to kill you every second, it's not ashamed to be cheap, and it seems to expect you to have the levels perfectly memorized if you have any hope of surviving. I don't have time for that shit so I just abused (and I mean abused) save states. Making you fight three bosses in a row without checkpoints and subweapons with Death being the last one was just ridiculous. So far, I've played Castlevania 1, 3 and 4, and except for 1, they have all been miserable experiences that simply aren't compatible with my play style in the modern days. I like difficult games, love the NES Megaman for example, what I don't like os cheap difficulty that is designed to make you rely on memory instead of reflexes.
And finally, I've finished Cuphead, which I started way back in 2018 when I bought my Switch, but ended up having to drop due to a health issue that got worse when I played the game (because it makes me too tense and stressed). It was a shame having to drop it because I was loving it, so I'm thrilled that these days I'm feeling better and I got to (between a lot of other things) experience this gem fully. Like Castlevania IV, the game is hard as nails, on the other hand, it's difficulty is 100% fair and makes the process of learning the patterns and getting better very fun. It reminds me a lot of Celeste in that sense, which is one of my favorite games of this gen. It's very well designed and always makes me feel like I'm almost there, motivating me enough to try just one more time. Not to mention the gorgeous aesthetics and soundtrack. A game of this caliber for this price, being the very first game by the studio, is just a marvel. I've already downloaded the Delicious Last Course and will be working on it on the next few days.
Forgotten Land instantly shot up my list of venerable 3D platformers, and looking back it might be my second or third favorite overall entry in the Kirby franchise. And I wager a replay will put it even higher.
4. Balatro* (NS) - The premise this game both excited and scared me as a lover of Clubhouse Games who happens to be terrified of most deck-building games. I think there is a specific gene that allows one to understand the intricacies required to build a proper deck of cards, and whatever that gene it apparently isn't a package deal with my widow's peak, my early gray-headedness, or unfortunately gargantuan ears. Thankfully, Balatro turned out to be perfect for my dispositions! Your deck? Well, for the most part it's already built! After all, it's a standard deck of cards with four suits and 13 cards within each suit. You can add to the deck, but it's generally pretty simple to identify which cards will help your cause after even one or two rounds in a given run. With some of that overhead taken care of, I found myself completely able to submerse myself in the minimalist thrills of this unique caricature of a classic card game.
I had a very difficult time putting this down until I finally earned a winning run, and I'm not completely sure I'll be able to put it down even now. Runs are so quick to start and usually don't overstay their welcome; it's not hard for me to imagine myself sinking several more hours into this game trying out some new loadouts or even engaging in the difficulty variants that unlock once you finish a run with a deck of cards.
Rating - Alternate Rating for @meatbag, lover of review scores in their many incarnations: and 98/100 of a fifth star. 2/100 of the fifth star removed for that time I lost a run because I didn't arrange my Jokers properly.
*I'm sure there are some wacky stipulations on what actually constitutes completing this game (like most other games in the genre), but my feeling on these games has always been that the primary objective is to win and anything after is a bonus. Don't @ me.
Uff, can relate to that. I had to drop Batman Arkham Knight last August because of some injuries caused by terribly executed workouts where I couldn't even sit down for 5 straight minutes because I had extreme coccyx and lower back pain, among other things. I'm doing good now but I have yet to resume the game, hopefully this year,
1. Unpacking (Switch) - 7.5/10
2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) - 9.5/10
3. Ori and the Blind Forest (Switch) - 8/10
4. Advance Wars (Reboot Camp) (Switch) - 8/10
5. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Reboot Camp) (Switch) - 8.5/10
6. Super Mario Sunshine (3D All Stars) (Switch) - 7/10
7. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (Switch) - 8/10
8. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) - 9.5/10
9. Art of Balance TOUCH! (3DS) - 9/10
I don't have too much to say about this game...it just rocks. A good amount of challenge for me personally, each world introduces new gimmicks and layers to keep gameplay fresh, and the length is about what I want out of puzzle games. The music kind of sucks, unfortunately. Not much else to say - this is a pleasant puzzle game and a lot of fun. I don't know how the more modern versions (Switch, PS4, etc.) play but the touchscreen works great for this type of game.
I'm considering this completed as I have now completed 5 runs on the base difficulty with different decks and have unlocked the challenges. Obviously, being a roguelite, 'completion' is a bit subjective, and I still have plenty to unlock and do.
When I first saw Balatro, I was intrigued but I wasn't entirely sold on it. I don't care for poker, for one thing (I don't enjoy gambling), and while I like Slay the Spire, I'm also not particularly good at it. But the positive word of mouth persuaded me to give it a try. I'm glad I did.
The poker theme is mostly for aesthetics and to provide a basic and familiar structure to how the game plays. You make poker hands to score points; the game uses terms like 'chips' and 'ante' but there's no real gambling involved, they're just mean 'score' and 'round' essentially and are there for flavour.
The roguelite bit comes in with the wild things you can do - Jokers add passive abilities that can help increase your score or provide utility, Arcana cards are consumables that can edit your deck, Planets level up a particular hand type (like Three of a Kind, Flush, Straight etc.), Spectral cards are your experimental/double-edged sword cards and vouchers are expensive but provide major passive benefits. Despite the unique aesthetic, it feels reasonably familiar to how roguelite upgrades usually work.
So why did this hook me more than Slay the Spire? Honestly, I think it's in the game design. It's breezy, fast, and deceptively simple to get into and progress. In that regard, it's similar to Vampire Survivors in that it really nails the reward feedback loop I think a lot of roguelites, even other heavyweights in the genre, don't quite perfect. Unlocks come fast and frequent, and runs don't feel wasted even when you fail.
This is combined with an almost hypnotic CRT acid-trip aesthetic (the game uses a CRT filter, which you can change in the settings), and lo-fi background music that changes dynamically in different situations, and is probably a big reason I can't get mad at the game. It's so mellow.
Anyway, yeah, easy GOTY contender for me. My only issue is that it might be too addicting.
Uff, can relate to that. I had to drop Batman Arkham Knight last August because of some injuries caused by terribly executed workouts where I couldn't even sit down for 5 straight minutes because I had extreme coccyx and lower back pain, among other things. I'm doing good now but I have yet to resume the game, hopefully this year,
Yeah, it's the worst. I developed chronic inflammation during the pandemic because of stress which made me clench my pelvic floor all the time, which in turn resulted in terrible chronic pain. I had to avoid playing games that made me clench for a good 2 or 3 years. I still have to be careful and manage stress these days, but I'm doing much better, thankfully!
GAME 17: Sonic Adventure
PC | Finished 23/03/24 | All Stories Completed | 9 Hours Played | 6/10
Sonic Adventure was very hard to rate. Looking at it from one angle, I could have given it a 8, even maybe a 9. The sheer amount of creativity on display here, the charm of it all, and the genuinely-amazing level design in Sonic's levels, all went a long way toward that possibility. That's before the as-always incredible music for the franchise (cheesy as fuck but I love that kind of thing), and the incredibly appealing late-90s 'early-but-not-that-early' 3D graphics (thankfully restored by mods at a crisp 16:9 4K). I can even really appreciate the ambition. Whilst multiple of its 6 playable characters simply do not work that well - and none reach what I would see as their 'full potential' - they all represent a potentially interesting way to 'bulk' this otherwise lean franchise up with more styles of gameplay. Note that I didn't touch the Chao Garden, but I still appreciate its existence.
Yet, actually playing it, in 2024 with all the advancements that over 20 years have brought, it's just not as intrinsically 'enjoyable' as I hoped it would be. Its cutscenes, for one, are... a drag. Whilst I can really appreciate the attempt to tell a complicated, intertwined story here (the way in which dialogue changes based on character is great), the way it's told lets it down. Awful voice direction, frustratingly... slow... editing... for... everything..., and the Gmod-contortion-showcase that are the game's facial animations all come together to create a story that is subpar at best. Though the memes are still great. I was glad to not be drinking at the time, because when "four, count 'em, four' chaos emeralds," popped up I would've done a spittake from how much I laughed.
(Seriously though millions of people died at the end there, right?)
However, whilst story can be skipped, gameplay cannot, and some elements here are just plain bad. Big the Cat's fishing minigame could've been a nice change of pace if it weren't for the fact that the fishing itself is actively frustrating to pull off, and poorly-explained at that. Amy's mercifully-short campaign has an interesting idea - that of a slower character being chased throughout a level - made annoying by uncharacteristically sluggish controls. Tails' levels are a neat idea as well but, alas, most of what he actually does is the same things you just did an hour ago in Sonic's campaign. Jank is also present throughout every campaign, with otherwise-grand controls and levels let down by implementations that feel like they needed a little more time in the oven.
So, yeah. Honestly, if this were like the original titles, and had nothing but the 10 Sonic levels with minimal story to accompany it, I'd easily grant it a high score. However, that's not what I played, and for me the experience of playing each campaign in turn, with full cutscenes and a lack of knowledge regarding the hub sections, was not the funnest of times. As such I can't rightly rank it higher than I have, because that's just not how I felt. If I had to rate it on a 'making a review for other people' front, though... I'd give it a "holy shit this needs a remake/10."
After 18 years, gaming's leading lady finally has another game dedicated to her! Announced properly back in the September 2023 Direct, Princess Peach: Showtime! definitely went under the radar leading up to release, particularly due to confused marketing and - in hindsight - a rather tepid demo. But now the game is out - so, how is it?
The premise is simple: Peach finds herself at the Sparkle Theatre. Before she can enjoy a play, Madame Grape and her Sour Bunch rock up and take over the theatre, turning all the plays into tragedies! Peach teams up with the theatre's guardian, Stella, and sets off to take back the plays. After rescuing the Sparklas - the leading actors in each play - Peach and Grape face off in a very Kirby-feeling series of final bosses. While the theatre is initially destroyed, Peach uses the power of Sparkle to restore it to its former glory. The game has a theatrical aesthetic, with props held up by string, large setpieces being made out of cardboard, and curtains indicating screen boundaries - it looks nice, albeit the game definitely isn't running at full resolution. The game has major lag during loading (which is noticable due to the flashy loading screens!) but rarely dips during actual gameplay.
The core of the game is a simple 3D action-platformer; Peach can jump and use different moves based on which transformation she is using. Without a transformation, Peach can use Stella's ribbon to interact with objects, defeat simple enemies, and cheer up the various Theets in each play. After transforming, she usually gains some kind of proper attack, such as a sword, kunai, fists, whip, or grappling hook. Some transformations ditch the platforming gameplay for something else; as a detective, Peach cosplays as Herlock Sholmes, while as a patessiere, she takes part in short baking minigames. While none of these transformations are particularly deep - they shouldn't be compared to Kirby's Copy Abilities - the game does make ample use of the mechanics that are introduced, which was pleasing to see. They all control decent enough; the game isn't amazingly snappy, but certainly not sluggish either.
Each transformation has three levels; the first sets the scene (starting with regular Peach, before she finds the Sparkle needed to transform), while the second and third present more interesting scenarios using the transformations (these are shorter, as you start the level already transformed). The game sufficiently escalates the setpieces as you progress (particularly in the "dark" third levels), pushing the mechanics a little further each time, which was nice to see. The game isn't a masterpiece of level design, but the levels are definitely well-designed nonetheless. As a result, the game steadily improves as time goes on - that isn't to say the first level for each transformation is bad, but rather more simplistic compared to what comes later. The game never gets difficult, but definitely is a little less breezy by the end (lower intermediate).
Only Nintendo has you bake cookies to hold off zombies, then foil a terrorist plot, then save someone from being run over by a train, and wrap it up by defeating an evil ice skater with the power of fabulous - the setpieces are both creative (albeit slightly tropey) and pretty well designed, which I don't think many of us were expecting for a game which skews towards a slightly younger audience.
Particularly standout levels are the Dashing Thief (some good platforming), Kung Fu, Cowgirl and Mighty Peach levels. I'd say even Patissiere and Detective Peach are rather good, if perhaps a little slow - the setpieces are more engaging than I was expecting. I'd probably put Mermaid Peach near the bottom, if only because the gameplay isn't particularly interesting in the first and third levels. My only major gripe across most levels are the collectable Sparkle Gems - while there's a good number of them, and a few are well-hidden / inside good bonus rooms, the lack of backtracking means easily-missed collectables can't be retrieved unless you replay the stage. A little annoying, as points of no return are unmarked compared to Kirby games, but by no means a major issue.
The game is split across six floors - after clearing a floor (except 5F), you unlock a boss fight. These definitely felt like a Good Feel game - particularly Light Fang, which reminded me of the Shogun fight from Yoshi's Crafted World. The boss music is catchy; one of the few songs that stand out, as much of the soundtrack is fitting but not really memorable. After clearing a boss (bar the final one), you also unlock a Rehearsal level; these are time-based challenges where you have to go for a high score (e.g., defeating enemies). Getting gold in some of these took a few tries, which was an unexpected challenge.
After clearing the game you unlock a little bit of post-game content, which I wasn't expecting; this felt like the type of game that would fob off clearing up missed collectables as a "post-game". You unlock the ability to decorate the theatre, a hide-and-seek game similar to that in Yoshi's Crafted World, and some boss rematches and challenges (also akin to Crafted World) - not much, but certainly an additional 2 or 3 hours of game time, depending on your skill. At any time, Peach and Stella can unlock and purchase various outfits using coins scattered around levels; a cute distraction, but nothing more. Some of the dress designs are pretty neat, that said.
In all, this definitely exceeded my expectations. The level designs and setpieces go from stength-to-strength as you progress through the game, giving the game a little more substance than the marketing let on, despite rather simple mechanics. Paired with some great boss fights, solid extra content, and a strong aesthetic from start to finish, and I'd say this is a pleasantly surprising
8/10.
Yooka-Laylee (05/01/2024, 7/10)
Buckshot Roulette (06/01/2024, 8/10)
Another Code: Recollection (19/01/2024, 8.25/10)
Saga of the Moon Priestess (24/01/2024, 7/10)
Super Kiwi 64: Doomsday [Update] (26/01/2024, 7.5/10)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (03/02/2024, 8/10)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong (15/02/2024, 8/10)
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (22/02/2024, 8.5/10)
And Yet It Moves (27/02/2024, 6.5/10)
Mario Golf (GBC) (15/03/2024, 7/10)
Psalm 5:9-13 (17/03/2024, 8/10)
Crypt of the Necrodancer: SYNCHRONY [DLC] (18/03/2024, 8/10)
1. Another Code 1
2. Another Code 2
3. Saga of the Moon Priestess
4. Mystery Switch game.
5. Mario Vs. Dk
6. Apollo Justice
7. Dual Destinies
8. Spirit of Justice
9. Star Ocean 2 Second Story R
Loved the game. Took me awhile to figure some things out and really looking forward to a second playthrough. I should start Unicorn Overlord next.
1. Another Code 1
2. Another Code 2
3. Saga of the Moon Priestess
4. Mystery Switch game.
5. Mario Vs. Dk
6. Apollo Justice
7. Dual Destinies
8. Spirit of Justice
9. Star Ocean 2 Second Story R
Loved the game. Took me awhile to figure some things out and really looking forward to a second playthrough. I should start Unicorn Overlord next.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. The art style, sound (obviously),and combat are phenomenal. While I’m not huge on replay-ability, there seems to be a few good reasons to go back as well.
I thought the world, non-combat gameplay, and overall story were all pretty meh tbh. Nothing bad, but not at the level of the stuff above. Also, I know it made sense given his character/ story (and if anything meant he was well-characterized) but Chai annoyed me. Like a lot. Even at the end I didn’t feel very endeared to him. The rest of the characters I loved though and all voice acting and character-to-character dialogue was very well done (even Chai’s).
There were a lot of fun moments and think it was 12ish hours well spent. I find myself wanting ~1-3 more tracks, which to me is a compliment to a game that doesn’t overstay its welcome but still brings a ton of fun.
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