Main ListPrevious Listbold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.
47.
SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter Galaxy (ARC)
Really short shmup game. I expected it to be longer than a short single level, but there it is, a really short shmup game. Managed to get all of the achievements for this game in two quick playthroughs, didn't take more than a few minutes. Kind of works though as sonic wouldn't platform fight Eggman in space, he's use a spaceship. Probably still not worth playing, but it certainly wasn't the worst shmup I ever played.
Rating: Soft pass
48.
Young Souls (X1)
A game leaving game pass. I thought about skipping it entirely but I pushed through and played it. At first I really wasn't enjoying it, still even towards the end I wouldn't say I was enjoying it, but the combat was simple enough and I got to a point that I wanted the rest of the story. After finishing the story, I sat and looked at the achievements and decided that the extra hour of playing was worth earning the additional 200-300 achievement points. At this point I literally have 1 chest left to open and then I'll get the achievements for 100%ing the game and opening all of the gold chests. Literally shouldn't take me more than 5 minutes to do, but I put it off because it was nearly midnight when I stopped playing last night and figured what the heck, I'll earn the achievements tomorrow for the microsoft reward points. Accessibility options make this game much easier to enjoy, the characters are the absolute worst and do seemingly grow throughout their experience which is actually quite nice to see. I only really had two issues with the game, it freezing during loading screens where I had to restart the game but didn't lose any progress, and a limited resource item being unable to be picked up which wasn't an issue either because I didn't even use the item during play. I guess the other issue I had was how slow the dialogue and scenes where and there was no good way to skip the chaff. You either skip everything or nothing kind of deal, and even the leveling up process was annoyingly slow. I didn't even realize until after I beat the game that if you double tap left or right, you can run in that direction. Wish I had realized that earlier. Overall I actually kind of enjoyed this game though.
Rating: Soft recommendation
49.
Undertale (X1)
I started this up probably a year or two back when it went up on Game Pass because the achievements are so easy and simple, I was doing a little bit daily to get quick easy achievements for Microsoft Rewards. Well the game is leaving game pass in a few days so I figured I'd finally finish the game. What I didn't realize until now was apparently I was doing a genocide run on xbox, forgot I was doing a genocide run, started doing a pacifist run, and then realized I was like level 6 instead of level 1 so kind of waffled between sparing and killing until I beat the game. Kinda frustrated about that, because I've never done a genocide run. Also, this game is so weird because you can get all of the trophies/achievements for this game without even beating the game because the last achievement you earn is a bit before the final boss.
Rating: Solid recommendation
50.
Twisted Metal (PS1)
Another game from my list of franchises to play through. I know I played and beat a TM game as a kid, definitely wasn't Small Brawl because I never finished that game as a kid, it was either 3 or 4, maybe both, I just remember Rob Zombie/White Zombie music on the soundtrack. Dragula to be specific I think. Anyway, played through this game earning all of the retro achievements and seeing all of the endings. I may go and read up on the endings some because I feel like some of the more vague endings probably had more evil connotations than I took away. This, like Mortal Kombat, is one of those franchises where it would make sense to have only 1 or no characters return for future games because in theory they all died or have no reason to re-enter, but I get bringing back characters because players care right. It's whatever, just something I always think about. I play a lot of vehicular combat games, it's partially where I got my handle from, but I think I don't really enjoy them because they are always so clunky and overbearing.
Rating: Hard pass
51.
Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
I played through these too quickly, this one was kind of a blur with the last one. If I recall correctly, I beat the entirety of this game in a single day because I had that much free time that day. More of the same all in all. As I play these more, I get more and more used to the controls so they feel less clunky, but I know they still are. Geez, I didn't even finish writing this one up and now it's been even longer since I played this game. I've got nothing, more of the same I guess
Rating: Hard pass
52.
A Memoir Blue (XS)
Started this one up because it was leaving game pass. A real simple, linear, story telling game. Not much to it and the story was only so interesting in general. Tale of a single parent raising a child and the child I guess going through the motions of resenting the parent for working and then maybe realizing they were wrong and reconnecting, idk, it's definitely a lot like Virginia in that there is no dialog or even text, you just have to infer info from facial expressions... I guess.
Rating: Hard pass
53.
Double Dragon Neon (360)
First off, fuck this game for doing the dirty combo for pressing start and giving you 1 achievement point so you have to finish the game bullshit. I think this game is my first foray into playing full on shitty wayforward games. People give Wayforward a lot of credit in general for creating Shantae, but even that game what little I played was shitty. I think my sole experience with them prior is Mummy Demastered which is mid at best, this game however, is horse shit. The art is mildly attractive, but it all clashes, there's too much going on, and they created that piece of shit fuzzball. I had several instances where I was going to abandon this game, but that fucking 1-19 achievement point thing had me like nope, gotta power through this bullshit, which makes me hate the game even more.
Rating: Hardest of passes
54.
Stray (PC)
Started this game after my wife finished her playthrough shortly after release. I was playing through and got to maybe Chapter 10 or something and an achievement wouldn't unlock so I abandoned the game. Came to find out, I had already unlocked the achievement in an earlier chapter, that's why it wouldn't unlock, but somehow I never checked that I actually unlocked it. I don't know, it sullied my experience in general because I was worrying about something that wasn't even an issue in the first place. Gameplay is solid, story telling is good enough, has some frustrating elements. I think the two big things that ruined this game for me, aside from the me being dumb about achievements thing, was the game being overhyped. I say 2 big things and list 1 thing. The game being touted as a GOTY, it isn't even in question, this game ain't that good, plus so much folks talking up this game about how you can go anywhere and you really have to rethink your perspective and think like a cat because you can go places you wouldn't think about normally in games... while this part is true, you can't go "anywhere" there were so many places that I was like oh, that totally looks like a spot a cat could squeeze, nope, and that immediately took tons of points away for me, because I was hyped up about all the things you could do, but you couldn't, and even then the kind of parkour concepts didn't work that great because too often I would want to go up, but it would force me down and it took tons of fudging around to get the right camera angle and position for it to register to allow me to go where I wanted. Great game, I'd still recommend it, but like temper your expectations.
Rating: Solid recommendation
55.
Twisted Metal III (PS1)
It's real tough to write up stuff for these games when I play through them relatively quickly and they kind of blur because the gameplay is the same/similar. This is the first one made by a new team, also made with a new engine, because new team. I know I spent more time on this one than TM1+2 because the RA for this game required me to actually play a ton more than previous games, but TM4 is definitely taking longer, so I keep trying to think about this and keep thinking about 4 instead, so I really don't remember this game very well. I think I remember some of the levels having specific achievements, but they just wouldn't pop for me no matter what, not sure why. Luckily I'm not that crazy about achievements so I'm cooling taking what I get and moving on. Definitely think this is a weaker entry compared to 1 and 2, but in all honesty, all these vehicular combat games blur to me and aren't that great. I love the premise and stuff, but the gameplay, despite me relatively enjoying it, isn't that great. Just about every playthrough on this though, at some point the audio broke to the point that I had to mute the game because it was just disastrously annoying and the game crashed a few times I think.
Rating: Hard pass
56.
Clustertruck (X1)
Geez, this game. Played it because it was leaving game pass, like all the other games I play on xbox lol. I had previously played the Super Hot version of cluster truck years ago, finally deciding to play this game. Started out pretty simple, game stayed pretty addicting until it got to the laser levels, powered through the 1 really difficult laser level, rest of the game was pretty breezy and enjoyable up until the final level. The final level has such a huge curve over the previous levels, which tbf had they escalated to this "appropriately" I probably would've abandoned it for sure, but the last level was just plain brutal. I managed to look up videos showing tricks and stuff, couldn't get any of the speedrunning tricks to work for me, so I went with a relatively safe trick that simplified the process so it wasn't as bad as I think they originally intended. Still took a ton of tries, but I managed to power through. Honestly, the laser level alone was enough for me to be like eh, don't care for this game, but that final level was so rough that I've gotta set this game at hard pass.
Rating: Hard pass
57.
Twisted Metal 4 (PS1)
I started this one about a month ago at this point, playing through, I was originally getting through a campaign or two a day, but since RE4 and Ryza 3 came out, I've shifted my priorities. Last month I had made sure I was earning an achievement a day for a backlog group I'm in, and this game sort of helped in that I just needed to beat a campaign to get an achievement, but after the month ended I full on hopped into RE4/Ryza 3 full time gaming wise so I wasn't necessarily earning achievements and didn't want to bother, so I made sure to tank that goal for the month with the backlog group so I wouldn't stress or force myself to play games I didn't necessarily want to play right now. That said I'm at the start screen for starting the campaign for Drag Queen, and probably have like 5 or so characters left to beat the game with, but the game is definitely on pause for me for the time being because I'm prioritizing Ryza 3, I was prioritizing RE4, but I beat it last night and will probably prioritize jumping back into Homefront the Revolution to do some DLC. This game has more bugs than previous games as I've been having it crash more, but TM3 had a recurring issue with the audio throughout the game and even on the final level, though it was playable, just on mute.
Rating: Hard pass
58.
Resident Evil 4 (PS5)
Going to try to write this up while the game is relatively fresh. I chose to put this below Goldeneye because it's a staple of my youth and I went all out and earned all of the achievements, whereas this game, while I considered putting in effort, I won't be doing it. RE4 took up a lot of my time in my teenage years, but not so much as say Timesplitters. I played through the game on multiple difficulties, unlocked all the things, etc. I honestly probably used cheats/code breaker/etc, but I played it a ton as a kid. I only remember so much from my childhood, but a lot of this game felt like it was directly ripped from my memories (albeit improved, duh) but then there is stuff like the regeneradors, some of the later boss fights, the jetski/minecart sections that I don't remember. Maybe they existed, maybe they didn't, but the game is great this time around and I entirely consider playing through it again... I probably won't though, as I really need to consider doing the other half of RE2, beating CVX, or even starting 7/8. It's a fantastic game, and while I remember liking Ashley in my youth, I feel like she was both annoying and very Princess Ruto... this time around she's still pretty useless, but the character feels much more likable than I recall in the original.
Rating: Solid recommendation
59.
Homefront: The Revolution - The Voice of Freedom (PS4)
As I do, when games have DLC that is completely separate of the story mode, I count them separately, because even though they are probably short, and this one is, it's truthfully it's own little game. This one has you playing as Walker, the resistance leader from the main game, in what is the story that directly leads to Walker saving you at the beginning of the main game. The DLC doesn't seem to add any new features or content, but just gives the player more story, which is fine, especially considering how cheap the DLC is. This is one of those DLCs for folks that really just want more of the same, which I'm kind of one of those people, I enjoy getting more story and not having to deal with convoluted new mechanics that probably won't make it to a sequel. Speaking of which, it's a shame this game will never get a sequel, because the story is quite good, and even the gameplay is pretty solid if not pretty difficult, even on the easiest difficulty. That all said, this doesn't really add much to the game, so I can't honestly recommend it unless you enjoyed this game and wanted more
Rating: Soft pass
60.
Homefront: The Revolution - Aftermath (PS4)
Like the previous DLC, this one is standalone, but rather than a prequel, this one picks up right after the end of the game setting up the main character to go out and assassinate Walker, the combination of the first DLC, the main game, and this DLC are quite the tale to tell and I really appreciate how this stuff is playing out. The game quickly turns to a rescue mission instead of an assassination mission. I feel like I forget that this game really expects you to do a bunch of sneaking and stealth instead of trying to fight, but I always wind up fighting because I'm a dumb fuck. All in all, more of the same, but the game is already showing how hard the KPA is going after these revolutionaries. The end sequence was difficult because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to end the fight given I'm fighting a tank and all I've got is a rifle and improvised throwing weapons.
Rating: Soft pass
61.
Homefront: The Revolution - Beyond the Walls (PS4)
I haven't yet played Beyond the Walls, but from what I gather it's essentially a sequel picking up the story weeks after the "win" from the end of the main game. I say win, but really it was just the "start" of the revolution, but this picks up weeks later after the revolution is basically shut down again. I started this the other day, but I died in a situation that I'm confident I shouldn't have died in, and it made me restart the entire sequence, it wasn't tough or anything, it wasn't even a fight, it was a go do puzzles/collect items, but I've got to do it again because completing the objective killed me for some reason. Anyway, I'm hoping this DLC makes the time more worth while than the previous ones, the previous ones were good, but nothing noteworthy. This DLC ends relatively well, and leaves the game off where you don't necessarily need a sequel because the intended outcome was that the world could now collectively fight against North Korea, but it'd still be nice to see a sequel where you are actively fighting the war and not the revolution.
Rating: Soft pass
62.
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (ARC)
I'll try to save the rant for a separate section, but I went to Round1 to play some arcade games, the intent was to play and beat the Raw Thrills TMNT game, but Round1's stupid system meant I couldn't. Mario Kart however, I could and I could even bypass their stupid design by swapping seats. I played through maybe 6 races I think, but once I beat a race on the hardest level on the hardest difficult, instead of saying GAME OVER, it started playing the credits, which wasn't necessarily my expectation, but that definitely meets the criteria for me to mark this beat. After the fact it sounds like this is a game that can be emulated, so I may play more. The game is designed kind of interestingly, you pick a player, with various stats obviously, and then you get assigned a forward item, backward item, and a special item, and that's it, you can only use 1 of those 3 items in the race. Same Mario Kart style item box stuff, but the item box will only ever give you one of those 3 items. They also give you a random kart with a chance of getting an OP kart. All in all, it's actually quite fun... but might as well just play the home version.
Rating: Soft pass
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