52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[realpoketendonl]

4. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass (DLC) [Nintendo Switch]

I always struggle a bit with when DLC is substantial enough to be considered a separate entry. After all, some DLCs are miniscule side things, while others are substantial enough to be entirely separate games. The Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which gets you all the DLC, essentially doubles the amount of content in the game though, and I think that's enough for it to get its own entry.

I recently subscribed to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, and that also nets you access to this DLC. I've now beaten all of the 12 additional Grand Prix on 200cc (the highest difficulty), all with at least a 1-star rank. I think that counts as beating it (plus, beating all of it got me a credits sequence, so there). What can I say? It's more Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is a ton of fun. I really enjoyed the tracks, particularly of course my childhood favourites that returned like Waluigi Pinball and Wii Rainbow Road. Having new characters like Pauline is of course fun too. But it's literally just more Mario Kart 8. Mario Kart 8 is fantastic, and after not having played it for a while it was nice to return to it, but whether or not you'll like this is entirely dependent on how you feel about Mario Kart 8. If you like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe a lot though, and you want something to get you back into it, this DLC is well worth checking out.

[dhaabi]

35. Super Mario Kart || Super Nintendo || 05.31.2025



Despite not really being all that interested in the Mario Kart series, I enjoy playing the games on the rare occasion. I was totally unfamiliar with the game which started it all, so I decided to play through Super Mario Kart since it began the kart racer sub-genre altogether.

In short, players must compete against seven other racers in racing karts along a series of looping tracks which comprise a specific cup series. Obviously, the player's goal is to achieve the highest rank for each race, but it's actually not imperative to do so to actually win the cup. Instead, points are awarded to participants based on their ranking for each race. So, while finishing first in a race will naturally give the player a better opportunity to win the entire tournament, there is some room for error. Something that I think is specific to Super Mario Kart that was not carried over to later series entries is that players can actually lose the cup prematurely, and this coincides with player lives. If completing the final lap in fifth place or lower, players will not only be unable to collect points but also lose a life token and be given a chance to retry the race. Once all lives are depleted, though, the game over screen appears. This system actually benefits the player beyond the obvious effects should they be strategic too. If knowing that a certain rank placement must be secured to fully win the cup but it's not achievable, players can forfeit by purposely losing and being given the chance to try again.

Before beginning a tournament cup, players select their preferred driver and the level of difficulty they're wanting to play. I wasn't sure while playing since this information isn't present, but each driver has their own hidden stats which influence their driving performance such as top speed and handling. Something else I'm actually still unsure about that I'm questioning is if CPU opponents have predetermined skill levels based on the player-selected racer. I only began questioning this later on in my playthrough, as I always selected Princess Peach as my driver which seemingly resulted in Bowser always being my main competition for first place. Perhaps this was just an odd coincidence, though. Regardless, CPU racers do have a predetermined skill level to some degree—at least within a tournament cup to my knowledge. So, this means that there are those who will always lead or be toward the front and those who won't. This sort of behavior creates a lot more competition between the player and CPU, as the tournament becomes more like you versus one specific opponent. It's both a positive and negative aspect, though, since the remaining six racers have no significant importance. Also, I only played through the lowest difficulty setting that's 50CC. Despite some difficulty and frustration, I did manage to earn the gold trophy in each tournament on the first try, but I didn't feel compelled to play through 100CC. I didn't know this until afterward, but winning 100CC unlocks a fourth tournament cup and 150CC. Maybe I'll pursue that challenge in the future, but I feel content with my accomplishments as they are now.

While competing, there are two item types to collect: power items and coins. Scattered along the track, random items are collected upon driving over them to help secure the chance to win. How they operate is that item usefulness is determined by race placement. So, racers toward the front will tend to be distributed defensive items such as banana peels or even just coins, whereas those toward the back tend to be given offensive items like the star which grants temporary (momentary, really) invulnerability. Items are designed to be used at the player's disposal too, so there is some strategic element involved in their use. I didn't know this detail until just now, but not all items are available for players to use and instead exclusive to CPUs. I'm not sure why that is, but it's disappointing to find out since some items seem fun to use. However, there are also coins to collect which have far more importance than I was led to believe. When a certain amount of coins are held, a driver's maximum speed increases, so preserving them is one of the player's priorities. At the same time, coins also represent, in some form, each drivers' health. When colliding with other drivers, a coin is lost. This is generally not much of an issue, but colliding with other drivers without any coins results in being temporarily stunned and losing a significant amount of time. So, needless to say, evading other drivers altogether is important though can be difficult to manage if driving with a crowd.

As far as the game's track design, I found it to be fun and varied. They aren't all just your standard roadway, as notable tracks include a series of islands along a beach, lava-filled trenches, bumpy hillsides, and icy planes. The game's 2D presentation makes visibility sometimes difficult, though, as I found myself regularly colliding with and bouncing off of level geometry. Alongside the hazards which other racers may spawn, stages have their own obstacles to avoid too. At times, there are gaps to leap over by either timed bouncing or ramps, and speed boosts are sometimes present which activate upon being driven on. Meanwhile, the game screen provides other information beyond the driving action. There are actually two visual halves, with the lower half being a top-down view of the entire course which displays each driver's placement plotted on the map. The amount of coins and item currently held alongside the total amount of player lives is also shown, which I found to be much more useful than the map. I was only ever concerned with maintaining or reaching first place—it didn't matter to me where others were since there is little influence over that factor.

It's interesting to see just how far the Mario Kart series has come in the thirty-odd years since it began. The core gameplay has not really evolved at all, so this early entry is still fun. I still haven't played its two-player mode, but I'm wanting to.

[dhaabi]

4. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass (DLC) [Nintendo Switch]

I always struggle a bit with when DLC is substantial enough to be considered a separate entry.

I mean, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe itself is already a re-release of a game, only it included the previously paid DLC as part of the base experience. It's a little surprising just how long and how much Nintendo was able to profit from this one specific entry.

[marvelvscapcom2]

38. Goat Simulator 3 [PS5] - Finished June 6th, 2025



THE JOKE BECOMES THE CONTENDER


Goat Simulator 1 was a larf I enjoyed back when everyone was poking at its antics.  Everyone from Angry video game nerd to PewDiePie to probably Queen Elizabeth II picked up a paddle. Laughed at it for a few hours. And never picked it up again.  It was great at what it was though. Which is not taking itself too seriously. With most games wonky physics and terrible texture glitching are bad. The goat simulator franchise embraces these and makes them work for it.  To its benefit instead of to its detriment. But that was goat simulator 1.  Goat simulator 1 had quest like missions yes.  But goat simulator 3? Hes a bit special...


Goat simulator 3 is a full fledged plot driven collectathon.  You play as the goat. Which has a name now but I forget it. I'll name him Tom Brady for obvious reasons. The goat is zanier than ever.  Theirs emotes. Countless costumes. Hilarious automobiles to drive. And frankly? The game is far too good for what it is.  It like has no business being this much mindless fun.  I love finding new things to exploit.  I love just plunging a goat into a whales mouth and headbutting its uvula to escape. I like licking an albino rhinoceros. I like fireworks, nukes, ikea, glitter and being an eggplant colored banana that rides a jetpack to a giant golden dinosaur that craps crude oil.  Fossil fuel?  Get it. I just got that omg lol.  This game is GOLD!!   Its just made to make folks laugh. 


But what seperates goat sim 3 from 1 (never played 2) is that now theirs a general purpose for the madness.  Now you do all this insanity to level up your goat castle. Which is fun. And drives the adventure. Without it. Goat sim 1 felt like a plug and play pc joke that was made for youtube algorithm. Now it feels like a game. Made for gamers to beat...  and it even has a final boss.  It has elements of challenge. Creative.  And so much more memorable.  Its given me lots to ponder. See. And is worth its price tag 10x over id say.


You get main event quests. Challenges. Trinkets. Collectibles. Fur and skins. You can now play as other animals such as rhino which is referred to as "angry goat" I guess if.you put it that way. It kinda is. It really is.

Goat Simulator 3 is funny in namesake. Because its sooo unlike the other simulator games.  With farming simulator. You dully plow grains. Buy equipment. You really farm.  This game? Its more cooky than any other semi serious game. Its not a sim at all. Its a wacky explosion of lsd fueled ideas. And I reccomend it to anyone. It truly humbles the soul.


Rating - 91/100


Hours to beat -  9
Difficulty - C-