52 Games Challenge 2023!!!

[tripredacus]

28. CAT Interstellar
A cute game where you just kind of do whatever. I was afraid it would not work at first because I got the game to crash in the first level by jumping into a force field. It seems to be more of an experiment/tech demo type thing. You play as a robot, a "dog" robot and later a cat. The dog phase is by far the most interesting. There is a double jump and a triple throw. You can get out of bounds easily but there is an achievement for trying to do this. There are no saving but you can start any level from the first. I do not know if you can survive level 5 or if the death is scripted. Playing as a cat is weird, you have a meow button. Credits is actually a level you walk around in, it is the same as the first level.

It seems like there is more that you can do but the functionality isn't there. Such as being able to move objects. There is no purpose besides being able to. You can also move and stack boxes, but I was not able to find any place where you would want to use boxes to get somewhere. There might be secrets somewhere but the game is not interesting enough to replay to find out. It is interesting that I wish the game went further but there is nothing. Especially in level 5 where Android 42 says you need to look at something but I couldn't because my vision was damaged by getting hit by a boulder.

You can "beat" the game in an hour. There are side things that can be done, as I could see in the achievements. I did some naturally as I went along. You can get lost on Mars surface because you can accidentally knock over the light poles that are in place to guide you between buildings. The voices all sound the same despite apparently having different actors. It just sounds like a young person talking, not a real voice actor. But something cool about how the voices sound, a good bad maybe.

27. Mass Effect 2

Committed the sin of playing this game first and not the actual first game.

That's not a sin. It's actually how I had my introduction into the series as the first wasn't on PS3 until well after the third had released. I do recommend playing the third next and then go back to the first.

I had no idea what Mass Effect was beyond that it was a popular 360 game with Star Trek like attributes. The third had just released and was getting a bunch of praise so I decided to go with the cheaper introduction with the second game on PS3 which was only $20. I loved it so much that I bought the third before I even beat the second so I could continue the story. The series as a whole sits proudly in second place for my favorite series. Of course, that means it got the shadowbox treatment. You can see it in my gallery pics.

I obviously knew it was a thing, especially it being popular enough to get a remaster. I also knew about it, especially the story mechanics due to watching some youtubers who focus on complex game systems and im-sims like Strat-Edgy. I went into it unsure if I would care about it just because it was a third person shooter. And the fact that I had to use KBM to play because the game did not detect my gamepad. Since it was a PC version, and it was the old version that didn't use an online platform to run.

I can play the first game but I am unsure of how the save reading works. ME2 I played was US PC version but ME1 I have is UK PC version. I hope that the saves cross. I don't have ME3 in any form.

[realpoketendonl]

• Pokémon Violet [Switch]
• Unlock the King [Switch eShop]
• Sonic Frontiers [Switch]
• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon [Switch]
• Bayonetta 3 [Switch] {Second time}
• Murder by Numbers [Switch eShop]
• Metroid Prime Remastered [Switch]
• The Wonderful One: After School Hero [Switch eShop]
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series) [Switch]

If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right? Whatever, I'm treating it that way. Which means I can add Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil to the list. I beat Klonoa 1 on Wii, so when I got Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series I skipped straight to two. Was about a third of the way in, glad to have finished it now. I think these are good, cute platformers. I see why people love them, and those endings are gonna stick with me, but I dunno, I just don't feel in love with them otherwise. They're good, but not my favourites ever. Honestly the sole thing that drew me to these games is how adorable Klonoa is. And yep, he still is.

[vivigamer]

I'm actually playing through the Klonoa games too! There are also GBA games, I just beat Klonoa: Empire of Dreams - A Klonoa 1.5 really. It's a decent platfomer! Very tricky at points but overall enjoyable. I think the story is self contained as it happens in a Limbo area between Klonoa 1 & 2 - I can't see the characters from this GBA game returning in Klonoa 2 anyway.

There is a 2nd Klonoa GBA game set after Klonoa 2 called Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament Which is another platformer Game set after Klonoa 2 on PS2.

The following game seems to be more like an RPG Klonoa Heroes: Legendary Star Medal adventure - This game has been translated online but is meant to be a lot longer than the other games! Further research has stated it to be non-canon.

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

[realpoketendonl]

• Pokémon Violet [Switch]
• Unlock the King [Switch eShop]
• Sonic Frontiers [Switch]
• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon [Switch]
• Bayonetta 3 [Switch] {Second time}
• Murder by Numbers [Switch eShop]
• Metroid Prime Remastered [Switch]
• The Wonderful One: After School Hero [Switch eShop]
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series) [Switch]
• Tetris Effect: Connected [Switch eShop]

Guess I'm just knocking out a lot of shorter ones right now. Just beat the Journey Mode of Tetris Effect: Connected, which has levels and prompted a credit sequence so it counts for me! And yep, auditory and visually it's gorgeous. I'm sure everyone has seen it, but if you're a Tetris fan, I think you owe it to yourself to at least try it (with headphones!). Otherwise, it's still Tetris no matter how gorgeous it is, so whether or not it's worth it is really up to you.

I'm actually playing through the Klonoa games too! There are also GBA games, I just beat Klonoa: Empire of Dreams - A Klonoa 1.5 really. It's a decent platfomer! Very tricky at points but overall enjoyable. I think the story is self contained as it happens in a Limbo area between Klonoa 1 & 2 - I can't see the characters from this GBA game returning in Klonoa 2 anyway.

There is a 2nd Klonoa GBA game set after Klonoa 2 called Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament Which is another platformer Game set after Klonoa 2 on PS2.

The following game seems to be more like an RPG Klonoa Heroes: Legendary Star Medal adventure - This game has been translated online but is meant to be a lot longer than the other games! Further research has stated it to be non-canon.

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

Ah awesome! Sounds good! I've heard of the GBA games of course but I've never really looked at them tbh. Maybe I will try them someday. Hope you enjoy the rest of 'em!

[dhaabi]

If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right?

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

On that note, I'll mention those ridiculous compilation collections such as 155,000 Games, 333,000 Games and 700,000 Games. Even though there are only a minute fraction of unique games than what's advertised, someone here should play through a compilation and count each individual game as something completed.

[realpoketendonl]

• Pokémon Violet [Switch]
• Unlock the King [Switch eShop]
• Sonic Frontiers [Switch]
• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon [Switch]
• Bayonetta 3 [Switch] {Second time}
• Murder by Numbers [Switch eShop]
• Metroid Prime Remastered [Switch]
• The Wonderful One: After School Hero [Switch eShop]
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series) [Switch]
• Tetris Effect: Connected [Switch eShop]
• Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy) [Switch]

Just beat the N. Sane Trilogy version of the original Crash Bandicoot. And honestly, I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but I didn't really like it. I found a lot of it frustrating, and not in a fun way like Cuphead or something. The whole game felt very slippery. I was constantly slipping off of the small platforms it was expecting me to jump across, and a lot of it felt unfair. I am so sick of that Game Over screen. I also know a lot of people really love the characters in these games, but I don't know, I didn't really care about any of them. And small thing, but I thought the music was very forgettable. Who knows, I've heard the sequels are better so maybe I'll give those a shot later, but this one, if you like it I'm very happy for you, but for me, it was meh. Definitely my least favourite game I've beaten this year thus far.

If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right?

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

On that note, I'll mention those ridiculous compilation collections such as 155,000 Games, 333,000 Games and 700,000 Games. Even though there are only a minute fraction of unique games than what's advertised, someone here should play through a compilation and count each individual game as something completed.

Honestly, that sounds like a brilliant YouTube video. "I played EVERY SINGLE GAME on this 330,000 GAME CD-ROM!" I'd watch it. Heck, over 100,000 is a little much, but if I ever get my hands on a CD-ROM that has like a couple of hundred, I might start doing this and recording it out of pure morbid curiosity. You're giving me bad ideas here.

[tripredacus]

If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right?

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

On that note, I'll mention those ridiculous compilation collections such as 155,000 Games, 333,000 Games and 700,000 Games. Even though there are only a minute fraction of unique games than what's advertised, someone here should play through a compilation and count each individual game as something completed.

On my personal backlog list, I only have the comp listed, but will list the individual games played on the challenge. I did this in 2021 where games 12 to 15 were from a single release: Forgotten Realms Archives Silver.

I can't wait until I can check out 1000 Games for Macintosh! 

[Cartagia]

Finally beat Nioh 2.  Better than the first game in pretty much every way.  More enemy variety, better level design, the works.  The story is kind of a non-entity here, and the inventory / loot system is still a bit too much, but it was a difficult and fun game to play.  Difficulty curve was also much more balanced.  I was cruising through the endgame of the first Nioh, and while I did beat the final boss in one try the overall levels and encounter design at the end took far more consideration and patience to deal with.

[kashell]

45. Final Fantasy III

This was part of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection. All I can say is, FINALLY. Off the top of my head, I've tried to go through this a few times on NES' wild emu and at least four or five times on the PSP version. And each time, I just. Couldn't. Do it. The Pixel Remaster version is exactly what I needed to get through it. I took full advantage of 2X experience points and the ability to turn on/off encounters with the push of a button. Otherwise, the game is a chore; just so many moments in which the game feels 100% engineered to screw the player over. Credit does need to be given, though. The job system is neat, especially for its time. And when the game works, it works. My final party was a Ninja, Dark Knight, Sage, and Devout.

[realpoketendonl]

• Pokémon Violet [Switch]
• Unlock the King [Switch eShop]
• Sonic Frontiers [Switch]
• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon [Switch]
• Bayonetta 3 [Switch] {Second time}
• Murder by Numbers [Switch eShop]
• Metroid Prime Remastered [Switch]
• The Wonderful One: After School Hero [Switch eShop]
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series) [Switch]
• Tetris Effect: Connected [Switch eShop]
• Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy) [Switch]
• Pilotwings Resort [3DS]

And that's Pilotwings Resort done. I'm on a train and feeling really tired so needed something laid back and relaxing to play. And turned out I only had six more missions to beat to finish all of 'em, which I'm going to consider beating it. Flying a plane around Wuhu Island is still fun, but the best thing about this game when it launched was seeing everything in 3D, and I think it still is (unfortunately I'm playing on a New 2DS XL so no 3D but oh well). I also remember hating the glider as a teenager, but I dunno, I'm still not a big fan, but maybe I just didn't properly understand the controls. Plane is still the best part by far. This game is worth a look on a 3D capable 3DS system just to see that, but otherwise I think it's fine enough, but not a necessity to play.

[dhaabi]

27. You Are Being Followed || PlayStation 4 || 08.03.23



Continuing to play PSVR games, I wanted to see what a game of short length would be like. I noticed You Are Being Followed available for free and was a brief experience, so I installed it without looking into any other details. From the its name, I was expecting a horror experience of some sort.

While the narrative is brief, I'll mention it to some degree. As the game begins, we assume the role of a blind woman named Emma in her apartment. Nearby in the corner, a dog named Samuel lays in its bed. With the player now in control, we are tasked with leaving the apartment with our companion accompanying. I don't remember their being any specific purpose to our action, but the events to come all are reactionary to how the Emma perceives her environment as someone visually impaired. As we reach outside and begin to explore the surrounding area, players will realize how, in addition to being blind, Emma is hypersensitive to abrupt sounds which cause severe panic attacks. As a result, our destination seems to always be to simply move forward to hopefully find some peace, because we will repeatedly cross paths with triggers, both small and large, with many smaller instances accumulating to become much more unmanageable and prolonged.

Despite Emma being blind, it seems as if Samuel is not a guide dog. In a sense, Samuel helps guide Emma, although they are unleashed and are able to freely move about. After playing, I read from the store page that Samuel is old and has gone from being a guide dog to an emotional support animal. Without this outer context, I'm not sure how those details could have been gathered from the game itself, but I easily could have been something I missed in dialogue. Due to the Samuels nature, I found the relationship between to two to be somewhat odd since I'm not sure of the details regarding Samuel. Since Samuel is unleashed, they are often far ahead of Emma and do not seem concerned about her well-being throughout her repeated moments of high anxiety. As tension increases, Emma repeatedly calls out Samuel's name without any appropriate response.

So, as we are assuming the role of someone blind, it is curious to wonder how visual and audio design are implemented. For the most part, darkness overwhelms the surroundings, with environments being molded by simple shapes and wireframes. As sound is made, its source will often brighten. Color is also utilized to represent Emma's anxiety level. With the art style in mind, I encountered no visual issues such as blurriness. However, due to You Are Being Followed's simple design and the pervasive darkness, I found the early in-game events confusing as to the direction I needed to be moving toward. I spent at least ten minutes walking around an enclosed area multiple times, but I apparently kept overlooking one small path which I needed to take. That leaves audio to discuss. Once the first moment of tension arises, it is clear that its use is incorporated effectively. Throughout the experience, sounds overlap another in a way that is deafening to someone like Emma, which is also paired well by imagery and color. In some of these moments, there is only one clear path, so Emma must simply escape to the best of her ability.

Before playing, You Are Being Followed clearly warns players of the possibility of motion sickness while offering a variety of options to help accommodate a player's preferences. With that said, motion sickness occurred almost immediately when beginning my playthrough with intended analog control. I shortly adjusted this option to rotational control, but I found it to be rather awkward. By the time I switched back to analog, I had become more accustomed to the game. Even so, motion sickness never fully disappeared, but it greatly lessened around the halfway point of the game's completion. For some time after playing, slight head pain lingered. Instead of the PlayStation Move controllers, the DualShock is used, meaning players are not required to stand. It should be noted that there is no player action—there are no puzzles to solve or tasks to complete aside from following the linear path.

Based on the game's title, I was anticipating a more horror-themed experience, but that was not the case. If there is anyone actually following Emma and Samuel, I wasn't aware of it, unless the implication of that person being the player themselves. That said, I don't recall any dialogue suggesting that possibility. Overall, You Are Being Followed is okay. If you can get past motion sickness, it is a short free experience worth considering, although nothing in particular is groundbreaking or noteworthy. I also learned after playing that the game was developed as a student project, so I can't be too critical of it.

[telly]

Game 11 - Subnautica (PS4) - 38 Hours

This game has quickly become one of my favorites. It captures one of the aspects of gaming that in my opinion is unique when compared to other forms of media. That is the thrill of exploration and discovery, and this is where Subnautica shines the most. Immediately, you are pulled into a fascinating, beautiful and terrifying unmapped alien world with rich world building and story telling that rides the line perfectly between hand holding and leaving you with no direction. Quickly you find the wreckage and remains of your ship, previous survivors and an ancient alien civilization and these areas serve as the main tethers for the game's story. On that note, I love that there is a concrete story with actual progression which gives the game a far more intentional feel than a lot of other survival/crafting games. There are some pretty nasty creatures in this game, and it plays off of a natural fear of the ocean deep, and combined with the excellent music builds an engrossing atmosphere of wonder and also dread. Really enjoyed my time playing this.

However, there are some things that I thought could be better. On a technical note, the PS4 version of this game has a lot of glitches and framerate issues. I also had fish spawning in my underwater base, and I got stuck in walls a couple times. Another time I tried to climb the ladder of my lifepod and was launched about 100 feet into the air which was hilarious. The draw distance is also pretty bad. There is one important island that you need to navigate to to complete the story but it only appears once you're like 100 yards from it so it can be difficult to find. On that note, I really wish the game had a map. You have to do a lot of exploration but there's no in-game map to help you remember where things are or what areas you haven't explored yet. All you can do is take screenshots or use beacons to mark areas of interest, but that only goes so far. Lastly, a more interesting aspect of the game is it's intentionally non-violent design (for the most part, you can still kill smaller fish for food or unintentionally by running into them in your submersibles). Choosing a non-violent angle in one sense heightens the tension and fear aspect of the game since you can't defend yourself as well. On the other hand, the options you are given aren't very good either. I was once trying to build a base and was getting harassed by one of the giant spider creatures. Freezing it with my stasis rifle doesn't remove the threat so I had to hack away at it with my butter knife until it died. Wish there was some better non-violent options for deterring animals rather than just providing means of running away from them.

[tripredacus]

29. Postal Brain Damaged
First of all, this is not a standard style Postal game, which is mainly a large open level with open world type qualities. Rather it is just a standard type linear level with limited platforming and puzzle solving (switch/key hunt) elements. This was released during the pandemic, as it is clear that the main joke in the game is that you can't find toilet paper anywhere. Also in the starting area there is a house where someone is hoarding toilet paper. And later there are SARS-CoV-2 enemies.

The combat is competant. Movement is good but run/walk is non-existant. No ADS but hip-fire has full accuracy to the crosshair, especially with the pistol and the nail gun. Enemies have location based damage where you can kill them with fewer hits to the head vs the body. Enemy pathfinding is good, so you cannot usually use the environment to hinder enemies not even bosses. I originally thought I was able to trap the Karen boss in the Walmart level next to a pillar and ceiling but it does not stay there for long enough for you to cheese it. Enemies also will use environmental features (such as jump pads) to get to you, but they do not seem to use ladders.

Platforming is present but it is fine. The shotgun has a grappling hook you can use to attach to the flying donuts to get around. There are some areas that appear to be inaccessible, so either they are part of secrets or there is some other way to move about the map that I was unaware of. I gave this game up during the battle vs the SARS-CoV-2 boss where you fight in an (endless?) tube going verticle using the shotgun grapple to follow the boss and also shoot it. You must follow because a poison water rises as well. You grapple onto the donuts, shoot the boss's eyes (equivalent to the s1 sub-unit of the spike protein) and shoot a button that traps the boss and does big damage. The issue here is that the platforming/grapple situation is so tedious and impercise that it is harder to keep up with the boss vs fighting it. You fall down constantly and take damage quickly. The targeting icon for the grapple has a short range (you can't use it unless the icon is active) so you point at all the donuts and can't use any. I tried it a couple of times but the entire process of having to do the grapple is just too annoying for me to bother with. So this one goes to the bin.

[kamikazekeeg]

Game 11 - Subnautica (PS4) - 38 Hours

This game has quickly become one of my favorites. It captures one of the aspects of gaming that in my opinion is unique when compared to other forms of media. That is the thrill of exploration and discovery, and this is where Subnautica shines the most. Immediately, you are pulled into a fascinating, beautiful and terrifying unmapped alien world with rich world building and story telling that rides the line perfectly between hand holding and leaving you with no direction. Quickly you find the wreckage and remains of your ship, previous survivors and an ancient alien civilization and these areas serve as the main tethers for the game's story. On that note, I love that there is a concrete story with actual progression which gives the game a far more intentional feel than a lot of other survival/crafting games. There are some pretty nasty creatures in this game, and it plays off of a natural fear of the ocean deep, and combined with the excellent music builds an engrossing atmosphere of wonder and also dread. Really enjoyed my time playing this.

However, there are some things that I thought could be better. On a technical note, the PS4 version of this game has a lot of glitches and framerate issues. I also had fish spawning in my underwater base, and I got stuck in walls a couple times. Another time I tried to climb the ladder of my lifepod and was launched about 100 feet into the air which was hilarious. The draw distance is also pretty bad. There is one important island that you need to navigate to to complete the story but it only appears once you're like 100 yards from it so it can be difficult to find. On that note, I really wish the game had a map. You have to do a lot of exploration but there's no in-game map to help you remember where things are or what areas you haven't explored yet. All you can do is take screenshots or use beacons to mark areas of interest, but that only goes so far. Lastly, a more interesting aspect of the game is it's intentionally non-violent design (for the most part, you can still kill smaller fish for food or unintentionally by running into them in your submersibles). Choosing a non-violent angle in one sense heightens the tension and fear aspect of the game since you can't defend yourself as well. On the other hand, the options you are given aren't very good either. I was once trying to build a base and was getting harassed by one of the giant spider creatures. Freezing it with my plasma rifle doesn't remove the threat so I had to hack away at it with my butter knife until it died. Wish there was some better options for deterring animals rather than just providing means of running away from them.

That and Grounded are two of my favorite survival crafting games no contest.  Definitely concur that the game need more non-violent means of getting rid of creatures, stuff to scare off creatures up to a certain size, or tech that detours creatures from coming up on your base, there's a lot they could do without adding guns and such.

[dhaabi]

28. Kingdom Hearts VR Experience || PlayStation 4 || 08.10.23



To begin, I wasn't really sure to formally add Kingdom Hearts VR Experience (KHVRE) to my finished list for reasons I'll explain further below. However, every official source seems to classify the software as a game, with it even having been given formal game content ratings. So, here we are.

For my discussion, it will be written with the assumption that readers are versed in the Kingdom Hearts franchise narrative spanning most games. The reason for this is that KHVRE plays as a montage of games before it. From my time playing, I believe that KHVRE is directly after Kingdom Hearts II, regarding the series timeline. Like the title suggests, KHVRE is more of an experience than a game.

From the in-game menu, several areas may be selected which play key narrative scenes. There is no action or player input involved, but the sense that you are viewing the scene from an actual character's perspective is implied, such as looking down to see Sora's clown shoes or the sea-salt ice cream in Roxas's hands. During the scene, players can freely view the area in full 360°. Compared to the original scenes, the first-person VR perspective adds a new layer of depth to the events, albeit a minor one.

After the scene concludes, a major musical track plays with cutscene sequences appearing out over the horizon like a projection. For most areas, there are multiple projections to view at once, so players have the option to freely move their gaze to see segments of each. Alongside the projections, animated flourishes light up and move about which add a sense of magic to the moment in a very Disney-like fashion. At times, silhouettes also appear which are newly created and interesting to see.

While I mentioned above that there is no player input involved, that is mostly the case. For one of the six areas, it offers the smallest amount of involvement. However, it is entirely optional. After replaying the sequence out of curiosity to see what would happen if prompts are ignored, I discovered that there is no penalty. Before starting, I knew that KHVRE offers essentially no gameplay besides one area. I had hoped there would would have been more depth, because there could have been with only minor adjustments, but that unfortunately isn't so.

Once all six scenes are completed, Audio Player Mode becomes available. This feature allows the player to skip past the introduction narrative scene that each area begins with while also seamlessly connecting the musical sequences. If wanting, players may even skip past specific music scenes.

Regarding VR immersion, I can't really report that what's presented offers much. For the most part, KHVRE is a novelty visual treat for fans, become available in the months leading up to Kingdom Hearts III's release. There is one particular visual instance I'll mention, though. One of the six scenes takes place at Castle Oblivion with Naminé and Marluxia. Between the two, there is something obviously wrong. Marluxia stands at least three feet taller than Naminé, so either Marluxia is a giant, or Naminé who should be around age 14 is the height of a young child.

With all that said, you may be curious in wondering if there is any reason to buy PlayStation VR to experience this software. The answer is absolutely not. Will fans find this worth their time? Possibly, but I finished without feeling like I'd gained anything from it. Overall, KHVRE is a short and free experience of about 30 minutes, so it wasn't as if there was a lot of time or money invested into it.