52 Games Challenge 2021

[justin8301]

been a while since I've posted an update so here's what I've missed posting the past several months. There's no way I'm hitting 52 this year, but I did just quit WoW so that should help a bit lol.

9. Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (PS4) 05/09
10. Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart (PS5) 01/17
11. Gris (PS4) 07/23
12. Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4) 07/25
13. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4) 07/31
14. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) 08/07
15. The Last of Us Part II (PS4) 09/26
16 Metroid Dred (Switch) 10/14

Metroid was amazing btw.. a fricken masterpiece if you ask me

[dhaabi]

35. The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series: The Final Season || PlayStation 4 || 10.20.21

As a series I've played very sporadically over the course of the last nine years, it was nice to finally sit down and conclude Clementine's long-running saga.

For those unfamiliar to this series or to any of Telltale's projects, The Walking Dead project is a graphic adventure game title where the player has minimal gameplay involvement but instead is in control of how the narrative progresses as characters interact with one another. As the series has evolved, gameplay has incorporated more and more action-like sequences largely through quick-time events and aiming controls, although the focus is still on what the series was grounded upon. To me, I think that that The Final Season balances these gameplay mechanics well in maintaining the player's engagement.

However, the bulk of why players are invested in these titles is for the story itself. As someone who has not delved into the TV series itself, I quickly became interested in the series' chief characters Clementine and Lee and the world they're thrown into as zombies walk the earth. That being said, while the core narrative is centered around this new life, what makes the series fantastic are the interpersonal relationships among characters and the groups they're involved with. After surviving for eight long years surviving this new world, The Final Season introduces Clementine as she cares for a young boy A.J. who was born into this new world. Unlike previous titles where choices greatly impact the player-character Clementine's relationships with those in her life, The Final Season expands upon this idea as Clementine's own decisions influence young A.J. into the person he is to become. In a world like theirs, people are forced to grow quickly, and A.J. is a prime example of this.

Honestly, I finished the series feeling quite pleased with the overall narrative. Of course, in a game like this, numerous outcomes, paths, and overall endings exist. I've only ever played through each game once, but that will surely change over time, as I would love to revisit the series someday. I've never given the show a chance, so I'm not sure if those who explicitly dislike the show will find enjoyment with this game and series overall. However, if you enjoy a game with a strong narrative with a relatively short playtime, it's certainly something to consider playing.

[telly]

Game 20 - The Last of Us Part II (PS4) – 32 Hours

This game sure has had a lot of very polarizing reception, possibly the worst in a long time. I myself found that I had a lot of thoughts about the game. I would say that I think it’s a very good game, but there are some serious flaws in the storytelling, pacing, and characters which are described further in more detail.

I think the first thing to talk about is gameplay, because I really didn’t have much to say. I found the gameplay to be just as good as the first Last of Us with some minor tweaks and improvements. It’s tense, strategic, with a nice mix of survival, stealth, and action. I also liked that the game is very forgiving if you mess up the stealth sections. There are a couple new enemies and mechanics added too, like the Stalkers/Shamblers and the use of dogs that can follow your scent. The game also has an impressive amount of accessibility with regards to gameplay, fonts, audio, and controls. The only thing I wasn’t the biggest fan of was the amount of looting and collecting you need to do, which felt very tedious. There are also some collectables which are absolutely worthless, like the coins and trading cards.

Presentation-wise, I think the game is excellent. The soundtrack and voice work is excellent. There were some sound design issues regarding voice volume but overall I’d say it’s well done. Graphically the game looks quite good, with a lot of depressing abandoned structures often with interesting pieces of lore for you to uncover.

All of that being said, the big juicy aspect of this game is its story. I don’t think I can really discuss the game fully without going into spoilers territory. As such, I’m including a link to a google doc that can be read by those who have already played the game.


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eWucoOKmQuA_E0LpcERRJRa6fIXdYwiTehhYkCnJhpU/edit?usp=sharing

[dhaabi]

36. Until Dawn || PlayStation 4 || 10.27.21

Having been familiar with Until Dawn and Supermassive Games' follow-up anthology series The Dark Pictures for a number of years, I was definitely excited to finally experience the game myself, despite having watched others play through several scenes that reveal crucial plot elements. Nevertheless, I surprisingly played through the game in one sitting, which is something I rarely do—perhaps even have never done—for a game of notable length.

That being said, Until Dawn is Supermassive Games' first title to feature their recent trend of interactive adventure games with horror settings. Comprised of a group cast of eight, Until Dawn hinges on the decisions that its players make which often influences interpersonal character relations while almost always dictating the narrative toward a new path. The key aspect to Until Dawn is what it refers to as the butterfly effect. Frequently, the player is forced to choose between decisions, and the outcomes directly effect the flow of the game which leads to the narrative subtly shifting into one of two options, which, in turn, have their own branching paths. Additionally, other gameplay elements such as quick time events and holding the controller motionless may influence how the narrative shifts.

Taking place one year after a tragic event, a group of eight young adults (~18-20 years old) decide to return to the scene to commemorate their losses and are hopeful for new beginnings. Quickly, their reunion takes a turn for the worse, as threats of an unstable murderer who seems to be targeting the group as a result of last year's events become more and more apparent and invasive. The group is often divided into pairs, so the player follows their own experiences for some time as clues are found and the greater narrative unfolds. Throughout these segments, however, the player slowly begins to learn that something even more threatening exists nearby.

With the story divided into ten chapters, short interludes taken in the form of psychiatrist visits are shown between. Slowly, the player begins to realize the truths behind who is visiting the psychiatrist and why. The psychiatrist and game's narrator Dr. Hill is a forceful entity bent on understanding why their visitor is playing "this game" and the demonstrating the repercussions that such game has. These scenes are short but impactful, and I found them to be quite enjoyable as a break in action.

Overall, I was definitely pleased with my playthrough. Admittedly, I am not someone who finds it easy to be in control of horror game experiences, but the lack of direct agency of character control once action sequences start are a great alternate for still experience these types of games first-hand. With the numerous paths and endings available, I may later return to Until Dawn at some point. Of the eight characters, seven survived, so it would be nice to accomplish an all-survival ending, and, oppositely, an all-death ending.

[kamikazekeeg]

Dying Light (PC 2015) - BEAT - The sequel is coming up and figured it was time to replay this since it's been quite awhile.  Not that it's story is important to the sequel I think, but I did really like the game and wanted to experience it again.  This game has had an impressive amount of support for what is primarily a singleplayer game.  It's not a "Game as a Service", it does have co-op/multiplayer elements, but for all intent and purpose, it's a singleplayer game, but they've add a lot of free bonus content, with paid DLC, and some added content that was pretty good, particularly The Following expansion that adds a whole new open world zone that you can drive a customizable buggy in. 

For being a nearly 7 year old game, it holds up very well in terms of it's parkour movement and action.  Like a few things might be a little stiff here and there, but it's fun getting around and fighting off zombies and there's a lot to keep in the game content wise, especially with everything they've added, such as they are still updating the game despite the sequel being out in a few months by finishing up that Hellraid DLC based on their possibly canceled fantasy game.  I haven't even touched that yet, but they put it into the game in a fun way.

I'm probably done with the game for now, I might go and do the Following expansion abit later because it was fun, but I got some other stuff I want to get to first right now.

[vivigamer]

32. Life Is Strange 2 (Xbox One X)

I finally got to play this in it's entirety! I had problems in not being able to play the Demo (Captain Spirit) on PS5 & in recently getting an Xbox One X it was the perfect opportunity to experience the game properly!

How was it? Everything I could hope for!

I love the structure of these games, how the scenes give you room to breathe and navigate the areas at your own place, learning more about the world around you. While it may not be an expansive open world, the small compact areas are rich with little details to explore and interact with. And interaction is key with this game, I was so involved with Sean's relationship with his brother and making decision which influence their journey, it reminds me why I love interactive narratives and how I want to see more games like this in the medium. I also liked smaller moments like letting Sean draw, it's a hobby and part of his character so it's nice to have the game let the player experience that by interacting with his journal it's often often games let you get so introspective with their characters.

When the game gets intense though, It doesn't let go, much like the first game it features intense scenario writing which constantly left me at the edge of my seat. I think the direction of the journey was a good move for the series too. After the 1st game I could see the series getting struct in familiar high school troupes but this game really breaks away from that and the focus on the brothers journey and survival makes it feel very different from LiS1 in the best way possible - I found Before the Storm less engaging if I am honest.

But this was a brilliant experience and I am glad I waited to experience it with the demo's save data integrated into the main game. After each chapter you get to see your choices and how they tally up with other players - seeing some of the outcomes was wild, this story really can take different turns and I could see myself easily playing this again in time.

[bikingjahuty]

46. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)

It's very rare that I play a game that ended up in my top 10 games of all time list. It's even rarer that I play a game that genuinely changes how I think and feel about certain things in life. Red Dead Redemption 2 accomplished both of these objectives in what was by far the best game I've played all year. The who western, cowboy aesthetic really kept me from playing this game before or its predecessor, but honestly the game transcends the western genre as one of the most perfectly well written games I've ever played. The characters were incredible to the point where I actually grieved when several of them died, particularly one. The dialogue was excellent, the story telling was outstanding, I simply could not get enough of this game to the point where I've probably had one of the most unproductive weeks in a long, long time because of me being unable to stop playing this game. And best of all, this game is very long which makes it feel like some outstanding epic. My only grip is the Epilogue chapters do feel a tad anticlimactic when compared to the main chapters; I just wish certain loose ends would have been tied up in the main story and far less of the main plot would have found its way into the Epilogue. It wasn't that the epilogue was bad, far from it, it just failed to captivate me in the same way the main story did. Visually, Red Dead Redemption 2 is pretty amazing to look at, especially the environments. My only gripe had to do with some in game character and creature models which seemed a little lacking compared to other open world games released during that same generation. Otherwise this is a very good looking game. Audio-wise I had zero complaints at all between the OST, sound effects, and voice acting. Red Dead's weakest area is its gameplay which while incredibly diverse did feel cumbersome and clunky at times, especially in the action heavy sections. Still, none of this distracted too much from my enjoyment of the game with the exception of a handful of frustrating part. Otherwise this was one of the best games I've ever played and one that reminds me how awesome games can be. And while I'm not going to get into details, it really changed my perspective on certain things in my personal life; I guess the game's story and some of the things that happened served as a compass of where I want to take my life in light of various recent events and situations I've been in. No, I'm not going to become a cowboy or a bank robber, but rather its themes of what freedom really is and the high cost it can have in the modern world are things that have weighed on me heavily over the past several years. I feel like this game really gave me better perspective on my current goals, fears, and ambitions and put me in a better place to understand what I really want to do with my life in certain regards. Red Dead Redemption 2 is unbelievably good and one I highly recommend that any gamer play during their lifetime. (10/30/21) [46/50]

[dhaabi]

37. 2064: Read Only Memories || PlayStation 4 || 10.29.21

As another title that's been in my backlog for some time now, 2064: Read Only Memories offers an interesting glimpse of what problems in the years to come in year 2064 may look like. And, truthfully, the ideas presented don't seem too far off. The concerns that developer Midboss highlights are certainly believable given the issues that plague today's current world.

As a visual novel of sorts, 2064 introduces the player-character to what is the world's first sapient ROM—a personal robot assistant, more or less—named Turing. Immediately, the player is thrown into the situation of discovering the whereabouts of their friend who's gone missing as a result of their role in creating Turing. With a cyberpunk thriller narrative, 2064 takes place in Neo-San Francisco as the cast explores the city while meeting a varied cast which demonstrates how the world in 2064 has evolved in the years passing.

Progressing through the narrative, the player will be introduced to some heavy social-political topics that the year 2064 is faced with. What does it mean to have cognition? What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to exist? In 2064's world, biomedical technological advancements have advanced into new territories as cybernetic prosthetic "upgrades" have become more and more commonplace alongside new gene therapy methods that combine human and animal DNA together. However, there are both advocates and protesters to both, and the war on human ethics ensues. As the story progresses, the scope of artificial intelligence,  a unified mesh network of information, and artificial sapience are additionally presented.

Despite wanting to play, I did have some difficulty in finding the right mood for me to progress the story and dedicate time to play. However, once I advanced toward the later chapters, the story became much more interwoven with so many issues, and I found myself much more invested in discovering how the narrative would fully unfold. Throughout my time playing, I had but only two minor issues. First, for a text-heavy game, I wish that the player was given the option to re-read dialogue as the conversation has moved forward. At times, conversations are lengthy, and it is not unusual for several dialogue options to appear. Second, there are two or three moments which require the player to input characters as passwords, for example. For some reason, this is incredibly difficult. Input requires not a simple button press, but some exact rhythm of double (triple?) clicking. The last instance of occurrence required an eight-digit passcode that perhaps took me five minutes to enter. It was very annoying.

That aside, 2064 is a game that is perhaps a little niche and may not be for everyone. The game presents issues and characters tailored to certain communities and interests that I'm not personally connected to, but I did still enjoy seeing how these elements were a part of the future to (possibly) come ahead in our lives.

[telly]

Game 21 - NES Remix Pack (Wii U) - 26 hours

I counted this game as finished after I obtained a 3-star ranking on every stage across NES Remix 1 and 2. As you can see from my play time, this goal actually takes quite an effort to accomplish. NES Remix Pack is an interesting experience for someone like me who did not grow up with an NES and only had surface knowledge of a few titles. I enjoyed exploring some of the more obscure games in Nintendo's library and there's a lot of variety in case you don't like some of the games available (personally, I despise Ice Climber). A lot of these games are stone-cold classics and getting to experience them for the first time was really enjoyable.

While game is called NES Remix Pack, only about half of the stages are actually altered, while the other half are bite-sized "warioware" levels intended to teach you the mechanics of all 25+ games. Additionally, the remixed levels tended to be very superficial visual gimmicks like darkening the stage, blurring characters or zooming the screen out. Very few levels actually had any new gameplay changes, which was disappointing. The game also has these stamps that you can collect while playing and use in Miiverse posts but since that's long dead, the stamps are laughably useless. In fact, there isn't a whole lot to unlock other than more stages, which require stars. Stars are always earned based on how fast you can clear a stage, and nothing else like score or another objective. It means having to replay stages multiple times until you've perfected it, which can get very tedious.

Honestly, I'm not really sure who this game is for. People who are familiar with the NES will likely bemoan all the standard, dummied-down and uninteresting stages that need to be slogged through before all the remixed content is fully unlocked. New players like myself will most likely wish that these games were just available in their entirety rather than fractured and restrictive chunks of what are some really fun games.

[Cartagia]

October Update

Games Beat in October
Darkest Dungeon (PC) - Beat on Oct. 5.  Terrific turn-based dungeon crawler.  It gets a bit grindy towards the back half, though.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Switch) - Beat on Oct. 10.  Fun but pretty simple Metroidvania.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Switch) - Beat on Oct. 16.  Much better than Harmony.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2DS XL) - Beat on Oct. 25.  Snoozefest.
Little Nightmares (PC) - Beat on Oct. 29.  Eh.  Good designs, but not a particularly interesting game.

[dhaabi]

38. Untitled Goose Game || Nintendo Switch || 10.31.21

Oh, Untitled Goose Game. Really, has honk anyone not heard of this honk game?

Upon starting, players find themselves in a quaint English village taking control as the community's bothersome goose who certainly has earned a negative reputation around town. As any ordinary goose, you may waddle about, swim, flap your wings, stretch out your neck, honk, and, above all, pick up items with your beak. In other words, you are an annoying bird who has entered the lives of the community, and you're out to do everything you can to meet your goals, even if it means interfering with others' lives and ruining their day.

Throughout the game, there are several areas that the player must progress through, one by one. In order to do so, a check list is available with tasks to complete. Every single one of these tasks serves at disrupting the people's peace. These tasks range from seemingly harmless actions such as entering the garden to more irritating ones like startling the groundskeeper which causes him to hammer his own thumb. As an action-puzzle game, you as the goose generally must interrupt others' daily routines, often by stealing their possessions and moving them about which forces them to stop what they're doing and gather everything back in its place.

Untitled Goose Game succeeds at introducing a humorous scenario that maintains players' interest as they smile and laugh at how ridiculous the entire premise is. The game serves as a great little pick-me-up for those needing it. The game doesn't overstay its welcome, even with the addition of added checklist tasks to complete once the base game is complete. I'd recommend it playing to all.

[telly]

Game 22 - Dujanah (PC) - 3 hours

Dujanah is truly one of the surrealist, weird games that I have ever played. At first, the game appears to be supported by a simple goal; you are a mother trying to find your missing husband and child. This narrative sort of plays second fiddle though, because all you need to do to complete this story is visit places and talk to a few people. The real entertainment lies in the actual places and people that you see and talk to. I got the sense that the developer wanted to share different ideas, thoughts, and stories, and provide space for the player to make their own meaning and draw their own conclusions. So while the game's story overall is pretty simple, and there's a lot of other outside stuff that doesn't connect to the story that well, the game was still very emotional to experience with it's themes of death, spirituality, existentialism, grief, and many others, wrapped in very ambiguous yet artistfull imagery and dialogue.

These themes are communicated through some of the most striking visuals and sound design I have ever witnessed. The game is primarily hand-molded clay and mixed media, and is equal parts charming, quirky, creepy, weird, and disgusting. The visuals are filled with glitchy pixels, strange textures, horrifying robots and fleshy creatures, and everything in between. Alongside the visual feast is a soundtrack that is beautiful, haunting, scary, and melancholy. It's very well done. However, did all of these things need to be in the game? I'm not sure; I think these visual choices help strengthen the impact and immersion in some areas but there are others that felt out of place or like they didn't belong.

Surprisingly, the game isn't just "walk and talk to people" like a lot of indie adventure games. A large section of the game is based around playing some trippy arcade games each with their own unique visuals and gameplay quirks. Some of them play really well while others do not. For example, travel is done across a large world map in a motorcycle with some truly awful driving controls. Lastly, there are some interesting random elements and some endings that I missed, which add some nice replay value.

So in summary, while the gameplay and story of Dujanah could feel a little vestigial at times, the game was certainly entertaining and thought provoking, and I'd recommend it. It's definitely "artsy" and is not for everyone though.

[gngtiger]

Hmm. Sadly did not keep track. Only joined this site in September. But the library of games I can play has opened up MASSIVELY. I got a Retron 5 and a 2DS this year. I've also tried my hand in speedrunning, getting a Personal Best of 2:23:12 in Super Mario 64 70 Star (Nowhere near the record times, but I'm fine with it. I'm planning to branch out into 31 star next year.)

Some games I have played and beaten since the beginning of this year:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Mario 3D All Stars (Not Galaxy, completed Wii version instead)
Mario Kart DS
Mother 3 (Dropped)
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Galaxy (For the second time)
Mario Kart 7
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Didn't finish Champions Road or the 30 Green Star stage)
Scribblenauts Unmasked (Dropped)
Mario Kart Double Dash
Earthworm Jim (Dropped)
Mario Kart Super Circuit (Didn't bother unlocking SNES tracks)
Super Mario Land
Super Mario 64 DS
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 (Completed Story Mode, but not quite feeling like 100%ing)
Rayman Legends (for the second time)
Mario Golf: World Tour (Dropped)
Mario Tennis Open (Dropped)
Sushi Strikers: Way of Sushido (dropped)

My backlog of stuff to (maybe) complete by the end of this or next year:
Miitopia
Scribblenauts
Rhythm Heaven
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Playing through for the second time)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Donkey Kong Country Trilogy
NES Ultimate Remix
Lego Batman the Video Game
Lego Batman 2
New Super Mario Bros.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Games I'd love to play, but need to collect first:
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
EarthBound
Secret of Mana
Chrono Trigger

[dhaabi]

Game 22 - Dujanah (PC) - 3 hours

This looks and sounds really interesting. Glad to be aware of another odd title.

[telly]

Game 22 - Dujanah (PC) - 3 hours

This looks and sounds really interesting. Glad to be aware of another odd title.

If you purchased that racial justice fundraising bundle of games from Itch last year it's included in that!