52 Games Challenge 2018

[kamikazekeeg]

9 - Celeste (Switch 2018) - BEAT - Not really a full "BEAT" yet from what comes at the end, unlocking more chapters, but I think it requires me replaying areas to find things that unlock further progression. I got the credits though and the story has it's beginning and end, so I'm counting it as I'm not looking to go replay levels right now, but I will eventually.  Even if it does seem to have some story relevance, seems more like a bonus mission you might see in other games upon completion.

Overall it's a charming little game, sorta like if Super Meat Boy was more of an adventure than just random chaotic levels.  Pretty reasonable difficulty to it, with what I assume is even more challenging stuff for those that want to continue on after you hit credits.  The game never really blew me away, but I did enjoy my time.

[arkaneer]

8. Dragon Quest Builders (PS4)

I played the demo of DQB and enjoyed it enough to give the full game a go.

I've never got on with Minecraft because I need focus in my gameplay, and DQB provides that in abundance. It's basically an RPG with building elements woven in. You are supplied with Blueprints and have to find the parts necessary to piece it all together.

The world is very charming with memorable characters and nice music. It kinda feels like a Nintendo game on the PS4 to me.

Unfortunately, the story mode is about twice as long as it should be and took me about 40 hours to complete. The combat is also quite irritating, with wonky hitboxes on a lot of monsters. I think if they could sort these things out for the DQB2, they will have a very good game on their hands.

There is a free build mode in the game, which you fully unlock by finishing the game. It looks like good fun, but once again I lack the creativity to really make the most of it. I got frustrated after about 5 hours and gave up.

All in all, it's a very solid 8/10 game and I look forward to seeing what they do with the upcoming sequel.

[bikingjahuty]

Another game replayed as part of re-evaluating my top 10 games of all time. This time I replayed what was my fourth favorite game of all time, Final Fantasy VII. My impression of FF7 upon beating it again 18-years after I last beat it has me both in shock and saddened, but hey, it is what it is.

18. Final Fantasy VII (PS1): Final Fantasy VII is a perfect example of why I am replaying my top games of all time, a list that has games that I have not played and/or beat for over a decade, FF7 being one of those games. FF7 was my first real RPG and at the time JRPGs were my favorite thing in the whole world and I literally bought a PS1 just so I could play this game and the other FF titles available on the system. Back in 2000 when I first played and beat FF7 I adored this game, probably because I had never played anything else like it and it left a very big impression on me. It motivated me to play FF8, FF9, and later on the PS2, FFX, all of which I remember enjoying a lot. However, 18-years later and picking up the JRPG that started my interest in the genre, I've been reminded how much my preference in video games have changed since then. Replaying it, I found FF7 to be an incredibly mediocre game for the most part; I'd often find myself interested in the game, followed by me literally having no investment or interest just hours later. FF7 never consistently kept my interest and I found the overall story to be very run of the mill and generic, as well as the characters to be nothing special either, including characters like Cloud and Sephiroth which are idolized for some reason in video game culture as being some of the best RPG characters of all time. I can appreciate why this game was a big deal when it came out and how it did certain things in terms of story, characters and gameplay, but on the whole this game has not aged well in any regard, including my personal opinion of it almost 20-years after originally playing it. I will end this review by saying two things. The first is that I am not into RPGs, especially JRPGs as much as I was when I first played FF7. This no doubt has diminished my enjoyment of this game and had I retained the zeal I once had for the genre I may have been able to appreciate this game's story and tropes more than I did now. The other thing I want to say is that FF7, for better or worse, is no longer a top 10 game for me. Hell it isn't a top 25 game for me. This will perhaps be the most shocking revelation I will have while replaying my favorite games since prior to me replaying it, FF7 was officially my fourth favorite game of all time. Times change, people change, and interests in games and genres change. Maybe I'll replay FF7 in another 20-years and perhaps then I'll have a greater interest in JRPGs like I once did and maybe FF7 will creep back into my top games where it once sat for many years. (3/11/18) [32/50]

[kamikazekeeg]

10 - Metro: Last Light Redux (PC 2014) - BEAT - My 2nd or 3rd time beating the game now.  After playing 2033 Redux (which included some general improvements from Last Light), there's still quite a big difference in quality between them.  The story is made more engaging with a lot more characters you interact with throughout and there's tangible threats to be involved with compared to what was just a vague overarching plot related to stopping the Dark Ones.  More action, more exploration, more creatures to fight, and even downright boss fights.  Stealth sections and level designs are definitely improved.  It has me all the more excited for Exodus releasing later this year, because I'm hoping to have the same step up as before.  Just an overall quality uptick with new and interesting stuff to get involved with.

I highly recommend these games if you enjoy solid, single player, shooter games.  There aren't as many that really nail it as well as this.  Honestly, The Wolfenstein reboot games might be the closest in terms of feel to me, letting you play out certain situations how you want, rewarding you for exploring every nook and cranny with loot, with Metro just focusing more on survival and atmosphere, and Wolfenstein being about big action and crazy moments.

[realpoketendonl]

And that's game no. 12!

• Nintendo Presents: New Style Boutique (3DS)

Also known as Style Savvy: Trendsetters in the US, this is an often overlooked yet pretty succesfull series of games that saw life on DS and 3DS. After seeing the trailer for New Style Boutique 3: Fashion Forward I got interested in the series, and after I saw the Nintendo Selects version of the second game in the series on sale I decided to give it a shot. I started with this game last year and casually played it for a good while, and now I've finally beaten it. So what is it like?

In case you're unfamiliar with the series, the Style Boutique series unsurprisingly has you taking care of a boutique. The general gist is that customers will come into your boutique and ask you to pick out certain items of clothing for them. These requests typically come in them requesting a certain style of clothing, and then you have to provide them with an item or sometimes put together an entire outfit you think they'd like. And with that I've really said most of it. They do change it up in a good amount of ways by having casual character interactions breaking up the pace, having dedicated fashion contests every evening, letting you manage your own stock and shop for new items to sell and sometimes letting you mess around with hair and make-up too, but generally you'll be spending your time simply picking out clothes and giving them to customers. This is not a bad thing though, and it executes this fairly simple concept really well through charming characters and a constant flow of new, fresh stuff.

New Style Boutique is not the type of game that you play for hours on end to race to the finish with. It's the type of game you play when you have fifteen minutes to kill and just want a fun little timewaster to play around with. And for those short timespans it does its job really well. The different tasks, just huge variety of clothing to choose from, and constant flow of new brands and clothing being added make sure the game always has something new to let you play around with. And on top of that, the game is just charming. The graphics are very smooth and pretty, and the characters are all charmingly likeable. Sure, it's not like there's any particular depth to them, but they serve their purpose and serve it well. The main characters are all there to help push the story along which they do greatly. They always feel like a character first, and their task second. And all the customers are just charming as well. They're all understandably pretty one-dimensional for how many you get, but they always have a little thing to say which keeps them fresh.

Nintendo Presents: New Style Boutique really surprised me! It's not a masterpiece or anything, but for what it is it's a very charming and very enjoyable experience. If it looks interesting to you, I recommend you pick a game in the series up. Don't let the little girl-aesthetic put you off, even for adults the simple gameplay can be enjoyable if it's your type of game. If it is, then these games are well worth trying out.

[arkaneer]

9. Silence (PS4)

I picked this up for £7 without knowing anything about it other than I liked the cover art style! 

Turns out it a point and click adventure, a genre which I normally don't like too much. However, I really quite enjoyed the 6 hours this game took me to complete.

The game has an interesting visual style and the voice acting was truly excellent. The story was a bit odd, I almost felt like I was playing a sequel and was missing out on plot points.

The puzzle solving was easy enough for me, I think I got properly only stuck once.

Overall, I'm glad I played it as it's not my normal sort of thing.

Edit - No wonder I was confused at times.....turns out it was a sequel to a PC game called The Whispered World 

[kamikazekeeg]

13 - Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (PC 2018) - ENDLESS - Played the last one for a short bit with a friend and ended up grabbing the new one on a whim and ended up reconnecting with that friend after kind of a year of not chatting.  Seems like a generally updated version of the previous game, though nothing significantly different other than abilities per class I believe.  Seems to be a tad buggy, which the previous one also was, but overall it's fun with a group you can enjoy it with.  Not sure if there's technically any story progression/singleplayer aspect, I basically did the tutorial and jumped right into my friends group and played for a few hours.  Can get intense, but it's a good time and fills that quality co-op gameplay gap that you don't see as much anymore other than the first game and Left 4 Dead.

[wolfen]

5. Owlboy (Switch)

It's a cool little game. Unique gameplay, GREAT story, and great characters. It is quite short though and traveling is confusing as fuck.

Time: 10 hours

About halfway through horizon now

[thegouldfish]

18. Giga Wreaker (Steam)

A physics puzzle platformer in a very loose metroid skin.
Not a bad game but let down by inconsistent physics and difficulty curve.
But nice to see Game Freak doing something other then Pokemon.

Time to completion: 12 hours



19. Legend of Zelda Links Awakening DX (Gameboy Colour)
Still a great game after all these years.

Would love a snes style make over if just to allow the use of more buttons as the 2 item at a time limit gets annoying at times.



Gaming will be on hold for a few weeks due to moving

[arkaneer]

10. Dirt 4 (PS4)

Having got frustrated at the difficulty of Dirt Rally, I heard that Dirt 4 was a lot more forgiving, and that proved to be the case.

Right from the off you are given a choice of Simulation or Gamer mode....basically do you want Forza or Forza Horizon?

Having opted for Gamer mode, I had a blast playing through about 30 hours of the Career. It's not all straight rally stages, with other circuit modes thrown in until you reach the Triple Crown series at the end of the game.

The driving physics are as tight as you'd expect from Codemasters and the sense of speed is palpable. The graphics aren't top end, especially the foliage for some reason, but the game looks good enough.

There is also a Team Management aspect to the game, although these are very light and really amount to simple upgrade paths.

Dirt 4 scratched an itch I had for a racing game somewhere between simulation and arcade...should keep me going until Forza Horizon 4!

[arkaneer]

11. What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)

My favourite game of 2017 in a year of stellar releases, I can't recommend this game highly enough.

I won't go into any detail as I would hate to spoil it for anyone.

It only take 3 hours or so to beat... please go and play it now!

[telly]

Finally time to add some new games in here!

Game 2 - Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse (3DS) – 8 hours

+ Still another excellent Shantae game. Something that I really like in this game was that the power ups were all usable with the different buttons, which is something Half Genie Hero traded in for a focus on transforming into different animals (which was less intuitive) Other than that, the music was fantastic, and the gameplay was great. Really nothing much else to say.

- I think I liked Half-Genie Hero a little more, I liked the art style for one thing, and I thought the story and level design was just a touch better in the sequel. Still, great game!

Back to my list

[telly]

Game 3 – Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U) – 67 Hours

Wow, finally can mark this game beat. I honestly liked it more than the first Xenoblade Chronicles. Here are my thoughts (there are a lot of them)

+ First, I love the story and setting. The idea of a ship that crash-landed on an alien planet and is trying to survive is not only unique, it really builds into all the quests and side missions quite nicely. For example, in the side missions,instead of just killing a monster just for the sake of it, makes sense because you're protecting your fellow comrades in an unknown world. The collectapedia, which was just... there in the first game, here makes perfect sense because you’re surveying a new planet. Second, I really enjoyed the characters and overall story, even though it was a little light. I also loved the environments and being able to fly around in your skell was really cool. Lastly, the gameplay, fighting and quests were much more streamlined too.

- There are three things about this game that I did not like. First, the soundtrack was awful. Terrible songs with stupid lyrics, and every song had horrible mixing, so they overlap with the voices in cut scenes and it sounds like a mess. Second, forcing you to keep Elma and Lin in every story mission means you can only add in one additional member, which sucks if you want to have different members in your party (good thing I liked both of them anyway). Lastly, the game is incredibly dense, and barely explains the multiple different components of the game. You’ve got 5 different types of arts with secondary and tertiary cooldowns, skills, battle points, soul voices, abilities and sub abilities, Ranks, Divisions, the affinity charts, two sets of armor for yourself and your skells with augments and upgrades, and a whole mining economy simulator on the Wii U gamepad.

Back to my list

[kamikazekeeg]

14 - Attack on Titan 2 (PS4 2018) - BEAT - Initially I was quite excited for this, but after finding out that they are redoing all of the animes first season and essentially the first game again, straight up the same maps and stuff copied over, it toned things down for me.  I understand why they did it, mostly because the second season of the anime doesn't offer enough content to warrant this games story only covering that, but as someone that played through the first game, it's kinda repetitive going that stuff again, especially when it takes up 60% of the story.  Stuff is different due to the games new features, but it doesn't keep it from feeling rehashed.  Great for people that never played the first one and somehow figure out that this isn't just all sequel, but technically the first game also.

That aside, it's generally a step up from the last game.  You get a custom character thats inserted into the games story, though they cheaped out on the narration by going "We don't know who this soldier was, so for budget sake, we will just call them a man".  It's super dumb and makes little sense by the end of it.  Its not like there's too much narration they would have to redo with putting "woman" in that, it's probably less than 10 minutes throughout the entire game.  It's just lazy.  Customization is good enough and its kinda funny how tall you can make a character, as I had a girl character who was taller than everyone by like a foot lol

The new town setup you can wander around in is a mixture of bad and good.  Good for variety sake and giving you kind of a place to make it feel like you are really there.  On the other hand, because there's a friendship meter for every named character, after every big mission that returns you, you spend like 10 to 15 minutes running around to find all the people you can interact with.  Boy that gets tedious, but you need to do it to unlock new skills as they are tied specifically to ranking up your friendship with everyone.

I don't know whats gonna happen when Season 3 rolls around and we get Attack on Titan 3 after that...Is it just gonna be this game copied over with Season 3 content wedged in afterwards? Man, I don't know if I want to go through Season 1 for the third time and Season 2 the second time, just to get to Season 3 lol

[kamikazekeeg]

15 - Star Was Battlefront 2 (PC 2017) - ENDLESS - Well I was gonna try and beat the campaign on this, but it seems to be incredibly poorly optimized.  Both cutscenes and gameplay are just full of stutters and no amount of changing quality remedies this.  It's weird, because the multiplayer is fine to play.  A few hiccups here and there, understandable as it's a high end game and my hardware is a smidge dated right now, but I can still generally play most things near high, especially if they are optimized properly.

We of course know everything that went wrong with this last year and I said I wouldn't get it till they removed the Pay 2 Win aspects and it got a drastic sale to make up for it.  It finally did both.  It's ridiculous that all the work they had to do was to make the game what it should've been at the start.  That aside, it is a good game.  It's a fun, casual, shooter that's relatively easy to just jump into and shoot some droids or storm troopers.

Would've liked to have beaten the campaign, but unless someone on the help forums get some fix ideas to me, it's probably not happening.