52 Games Challenge 2020

[telly]

I haven't played many souls games, but I found Demon's souls to be relatively easy compared to the other ones if you want to start there. It was the perfect level of challenge for me

[zenrhino]

4. Deux Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)

I started this game all wrong! I was playing it as an FPS and really having a hard time...it wasn't much fun and I was tempted to put it down.

Having had a look online, I realized it is more of a stealth based RPG with guns as back up measure if things go wrong. With that in mind I restarted and immediately the game clicked.

The story follows on from Human Revolution and there is a handy recap at the beginning. The main story is pretty good, if fairly generic. I didn't do all the side missions, but some of the best storytelling is buried in there.

One frustration is the main story finishes abruptly without tying up loose ends. I believe the game did not sell enough for a final chapter, which leaves fans in a bad place.

The world is incredibly detailed and there is plenty to explore. There are always a few ways to approach each situation and some of them are a lot of fun.

The world itself is graphically stunning, but I think the character models are terribly animated.

The music gives you that Blade Runner vibe and the voice acting is good, although some parts have none which felt jarring.

Overall, I think it's an okay game, but one that I will forget very quickly. [6/10]

[Cartagia]

I haven't played many souls games, but I found Demon's souls to be relatively easy compared to the other ones if you want to start there. It was the perfect level of challenge for me

This is the only one of the Souls games that I haven't played, but I do have it.  I was afraid it would be too clunky or hard to get into.  I'll give it a shot soon!

[justin8301]

I haven't played many souls games, but I found Demon's souls to be relatively easy compared to the other ones if you want to start there. It was the perfect level of challenge for me

This is the only one of the Souls games that I haven't played, but I do have it.  I was afraid it would be too clunky or hard to get into.  I'll give it a shot soon!

I might have top do the same

[wolfen]

3. Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum(PS2 emulation)

I had a craving to play this game recently and it still holds up as my favorite take on Yu-Gi-Oh ever. It's like chess, but each match is completely unique depending on the pieces you pick. The campaign is actually incredibly lengthy and the difficulty gives you a genuine challenge. The campaign can also be very different depending on what symbol/element you pick. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Yu-Gi-Oh or chess or any strategy game.

Time: 30+ hours

Also working on Cuphead atm and so far it's excellent.

[shfan]

Demon's Souls is well worth a go fellas, it's no more clunky than Dark Souls, the only real difference is the splitting of the game into stages and being able to stockpile restoratives rather than having a limited estus flask. (There's probably lots of differences in the item and equipment mechanics, but from a distance it's basically Dark Souls 0.5 with those two exceptions).

[thewelshman]

Might as well see if I can at least do better than the previous years.

Completed:

1. Eye of the Beholder (PC)
2. Eye of the Beholder II (PC)
3. Trails of Cold Steel III (PS4)
4. Trails of Cold Steel III (PS4) 2nd Complete Playthrough on Nightmare
5. Alicemare (PC)
6. Final Fantasy III (IOS)
7. Suikoden (PS Vita) - All 108 Stars
8. Phantasy Star IV (PC)
9. Shadows of Adam (PC)
10. Diablo (PC) - Completed with the Rogue

Currently Playing or Queued:

1. Trails from Zero (PC - Geofront Translation)
2. Final Fantasy (IOS)
3. Suikoden II (PS Vita)
4. Tales of Phantasia (GBA) - On Hold - Have to buy a new GBA case.
5. Akiba's Beat (PS Vita)
6. Final Fantasy 6 (PS Vita)
7. Chrono Trigger (PS Vita)
8. Skyborn (PC)
9. LiEat (PC)
10. Claire (PS Vita)
11. Akiba's Beat (PS Vita)
12. Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)
13. Undead Darlings - No Cure For Love (PC)

[kamikazekeeg]

6 - Metro Exodus: DLC (PC 2020) - BEAT - I only count DLC for my stuff if it's a notable story campaign stuff, and I think there's enough here for this to count as it's about 4 to 7 hours of an experience for Sam's Story and another hour or two for the Colonel's one when I get to it.  Sam's Story was pretty alright, it suffers from a little of the sloppiness the main game had, though I liked playing as Sam who gets more of an active role in things, as Artyom only really talked during the loading screens.  Plus it's Steve Blum and that's always fine to listen to lol They added a new boss monster which was kinda cool to have throughout, though I felt like they could've added more to the experience.  There's not really anything new mechanic wise, the only new mutant shows up in the second to last area of the game, and there's no weird or cool new gun in particular.  I did like getting more story about the state of the world, as it sets up future games perhaps, but I'm not sure how much I want that.

I still think Metro Last Light is the better game and I do enjoy this series, but feel like they've run its course with it maybe...I should've loved the open world experience more, but it didn't feel like the game nailed things as well as it did before.  I really don't want to see this series become like Far Cry, where the games just feel hollow, so hopefully they are done with it or if they do continue, they find a way to make the game really stand out once again.

*EDIT* And did a quick run through "The Two Colonels" DLC that came first, which is mostly just a little backstory into what happened in the game towards the end of it.  It had way less gameplay than I was expecting, but it's more of the traditional Metro stuff stuff that I like, which is better than what was going on in Sam's Story.  Basically this had the better story, while Sam had better gameplay.

[zenrhino]

6 - Metro Exodus: DLC (PC 2020) - BEAT - I only count DLC for my stuff if it's a notable story campaign stuff, and I think there's enough here for this to count as it's about 4 to 7 hours of an experience for Sam's Story and another hour or two for the Colonel's one when I get to it.  Sam's Story was pretty alright, it suffers from a little of the sloppiness the main game had, though I liked playing as Sam who gets more of an active role in things, as Artyom only really talked during the loading screens.  Plus it's Steve Blum and that's always fine to listen to lol They added a new boss monster which was kinda cool to have throughout, though I felt like they could've added more to the experience.  There's not really anything new mechanic wise, the only new mutant shows up in the second to last area of the game, and there's no weird or cool new gun in particular.  I did like getting more story about the state of the world, as it sets up future games perhaps, but I'm not sure how much I want that.

I still think Metro Last Light is the better game and I do enjoy this series, but feel like they've run its course with it maybe...I should've loved the open world experience more, but it didn't feel like the game nailed things as well as it did before.  I really don't want to see this series become like Far Cry, where the games just feel hollow, so hopefully they are done with it or if they do continue, they find a way to make the game really stand out once again.

I was wondering how to treat DLC...I might go with your rule and count anything over 5 hours or so. Gotta have a system! 

I don't play that much DLC but I still haven't played Witcher 3: Blood & Wine.

[kamikazekeeg]

I was wondering how to treat DLC...I might go with your rule and count anything over 5 hours or so. Gotta have a system! 

I don't play that much DLC but I still haven't played Witcher 3: Blood & Wine.

Yeah normally I don't count it unless it's story heavy and I can get a nice chunk of time out of it.  I don't count multiplayer stuff since that usually ends up being more additional content, rather than unique story driven material, but there could be exceptions, like MMO expansions and what not.  There's no real rules to all this, but I figured it makes sense to handle it like that lol

[telly]

Game 3 – Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment (Wii U) – 6 Hours

+ It’s so great that this DLC comes for free, but even if it did cost money, it would be worth it because Shovel Knight is a fantastic game and this is just more of it. It was fun to play as Specter Knight through a prequel before the events of the main game. Really everything that was great about the first game is present here. Great 8-bit style visuals, lovely music, pretty nice story on top. Really a solid experience for, again, being free.

-   I will say that compared to the main game and Plague of Shadows, this campaign is my least favorite. Part of it is I’m not the biggest fan of Specter Knight’s controls. It’s easy to get stuck on walls or miss your timing on a jump and fall to your death. Also, It was kind of stale fighting the same bosses for the third time in a row, even though they have minor tweaks to cater to Specter Knight’s playstyle. That said, it makes sense story-wise, and again, it was free, so I really can’t complain that much.

Will probably play the final DLC campaign within the next couple of months.

[bikingjahuty]

14. Knuckles Chaotix (32X)

I became inspired to play a Sonic game after seeing the Sonic the Hedgehog movie last weekend and absolutely loving it. Unfortunately the Sonic game I picked was one I didn't end up loving. Going along with my commitment to mostly play games I have limited to no experience playing, I decided to play Knuckles Chaotix on the 32X, a game I never owned or played on a console I've never owned or played.


I had relatively high hopes for this game going into it, mostly because the internet seems to think this game is some underrated hidden gem in the Sonic franchise, however after playing it and beating it, this couldn't be further from the truth. While not as pretty or polished as the other main Sonic games on the Genesis, this game is no slouch in the looks department. It's biggest issue is the fact that it recycles the same few levels which while colorful and definitely capturing that Sonic aesthetic, just don't look as good or interesting as the stages in the main Sonic games. On top of that there is very few enemies and the enemies there are aren't that special. More so than that, the bosses in this game are just dumb for the most part, lacking that cool creativity of the originals; the bosses seem to be trying to show off the technical advancements of the 32X more so than give us a cool looking Robotnic boss like in the previous games. Besides this, the characters you play as all look great as do some of the graphics effects and visuals.


The sound quality in this game is even better. Knuckles Chaotix definitely has that signature Genesis Sonic sound that the other games on that console had. It definitely is no Sonic 2, Sonic 3, or S&K in the sound department, but it isn't bad either. There are some genuinely good tracks in this game that would fit perfectly in one of those better Sonic games. There are a few tracks that aren't that great, but nothing terrible or offensive to the ears.


Sadly, I saved this games worst quality to discuss last and that's its gameplay. In Knuckles Chaotix you essentially control two characters at one that are tethered together via a magical bond between rings that each character holds. The best way to describe how this feels to play is like running a three legged race; it's difficult, cumbersome, clumsy, and just unpleasant to try and move around the stages. Speaking of the stages, there are 5 main stages which the game wants you to beat 5 times each. Each time you play the next part of a stage it changes slightly, but not in any sort of noticeable way other than a minor color pallet swap. You'd be forgiven if you thought you were just playing the same stage over and over again 5 times, and to a degree you'd be right.


If the terrible controls don't get you first then the boredom of having to replay only 5 levels over and over again will. There's a reason that outside a niche internet audience this game never caught on or inspired kids to ask their parents for a 32X for their birthday or Christmas. This game is vastly inferior to the main Sonic games made specifically for the Genesis and neither of its failed add ons. The audio and visuals do have that quality of the main Sonic games somewhat, but the gameplay couldn't be further from how fast, fluid, and fun it is to play those main Sonic games. While I'm happy I can finally scratch another Sonic game off my list, it's too bad that I had to find out this isn't that great of a game after all. (2/21/20)

Presentation: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Fun: 8/20
Overall: 27/50

[bikingjahuty]

15. Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled (PS4)

Growing up in the 90s my goto cart racers were always the Mario Kart games, sepcially Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. I didn't own a PS1 until after he PS2 had come out so I missed out on a lot of PS1 titles, including the original Crash Team Racing. However, one person that did not miss out on this game was my fiancee; she first played this game at a family friends' house when she was a kid and her and her sisters loved it so much that their parents bought them a PS1 along with this game and several others. Since this was her only console when she was younger the original CTR means a lot to her. So of course when they announced a remake of CRT for the PS4 she was beyond excited for it.


While before Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled came out I had played the original CRT on the PS1, it's not a game I had a lot of experience with. Occasionally my fiancee and I would pop it in and we'd play it for about an hour or so, but to be honest I don't remember a ton about it other than I thought it was a surprisingly good game. Often with games that try and be just like a much more popular game, in this case Mario Kart, the imitator is often vastly inferior to what it's imitating. Not so with CTR. The game is certainly not as good as Mario Kart, but comes pretty close for what it is. The same is true for Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled when comparing it to Mario Kart 8: Deluxe which is the closest game to it.


First off, CTR Nitro Fueled is an outstanding cart racer, and just an excellent game in general. The controls are smooth, responsive, and surprisingly deep. Like many other games of this sub-genre you race around colorful, fun tracks while collecting various powerups to help speed you up and slow down your competition. Combine various hazards, boosts, and other obstacles and you have the making for a really good time. All of this is absolutely true in Nitro Fueled. You also have a ton of unlockables in the form of new racers, carts, cart accessories, paint jobs, and all kinds of other cool features. The game will definitely keep you hooked for a while based of the unlockables alone, but when you consider the various modes this game has as well then it becomes hard to beat. Perhaps the only gameplay fault I could find in CTR Nitro Fueled was design issues on some of the tracks and the occasional glitch that had me stuck on a wall or hitting a ledge. However, these barely distracted by how well designed and fun this game is.


Visually CTR is an excellent looking game. The graphics definitely carry the Crash Bandicoot art style over well while making everything look vibrant and colorful. Each track is unique in its design, and there are many, many tracks to race on. Nitro Fueled includes all the tracks from the original CRT, plus many more original tracks made specifically for Nitro Fueled. Beyond the cool, interesting tracks are the characters, carts, and other visual aspects of the game which are well animated, funny, and very well designed. CTR Nitro Fueled is just such a fun game to look and and experience from a visuals standpoint, and honestly I have a hard time faulting anything about it in this regard.


Unfortinately the audio isn't as great as the gameplay and graphics, but is still not that bad either. The tracks in this game are definitely in line with the Crash Bandicoot games, however I never found the music in those games to be particularly remarkable. The same is true for CTR Nitro Fueled unfortunately. What does save the audio somewhat are the very cartoonish racers that will blurt out various things as you race as them or with them, and will make you laugh on more than one occasion.


If I could use one word to describe Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled it would undoubtedly be fun. It's such a wonderful game all around that is only let down by mostly minor issues, and it's hard not to be smiling the entire time you're racing around ridiculous stages with a bunch of very entertaining cartoon characters. This is a game I wish I could have experienced for the first time as a kid because I feel like I would have loved it way more than someone playing it in their 30s. Still, even playing this as an adult I'm reminded how awesome the Crash franchise is, and being a spinoff title, this is actually one of the best, if not the best title in the entire series. (2/22/20)

Presentation: 10/10
Sound: 6/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Fun: 14/20
Overall: 39/50

[Cartagia]

Bloodborne (again)

This just really solidified BB as my game of the generation.  I had a friend who started playing, and I wanted to be available to help if they wanted to summon me in.  So, I went back to my original (terrible build) NG+ character.  I breezed through certain parts.  Beat hard bosses on the first try, took forever to beat easy bosses.  It was like playing a warm comfy blanket.

[Cartagia]

Rayman Legends

A fun and gorgeous platformer.  I beat the main campaign, and may go back to do some post-game clean-up.  I will not be attempting to 100% however, as it was already starting to get a little tedious towards the end.  I will say I kept hearing how difficult this game was, and I've gotta say, it did not live up to the hype.  Maybe it's be cause I didn't do much of the optional stuff?  Still, it's a recommend for anyone who enjoys a good platformer.