52 Games Challenge 2023!!!

[Cartagia]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - About 1/4 of the way through this, I came to a realization - Metroidvania is probably my favorite style of game.  This one isn't perfect, but despite its flaws I found myself totally engaged. The gameplay and exploration are generally incredible, and as a spiritual successor to Iga's Castlevania titles it hits all the right notes.  But it does have some issues - first, and probably the biggest, it runs like absolute crap on the Switch.  It chugs and stutters and has ridiculous load times - I'm trying not to hold this against it too much as apparently it is mostly fine on other systems.  Second, it leans a little too far into Iga's unchecked ego - overstuffed with systems it either doesn't need or require far too much grinding to utilize - namely the quests and the crafting.  The difficulty curve is also steep as hell towards the end.  And while I understand the desire to move away from vampires / Dracula to get away from the specter of Castlevania, the plot we do get it too stuffed with ridiculous lore and self-seriousness.

[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]
• Metroid: Zero Mission [GBA / Wii U VC]

Was on a bit of a Metroid kick after beating Prime Remastered, so now played through Metroid: Zero Mission. And unsurprisingly, it's good, but it's not my favourite 2D Metroid. I enjoyed playing through it. It looks and controls good, and running and shooting and exploring is satisfying. Minus some of the bosses which require tight jumping between one-square platforms which I found a bit frustrating, most of the running and exploring feels as great to do as you'd expect from Metroid. Some of the paths are more obscure and I did check a guide a few times, but just about every time I read it I was like "I could've figured that out with 10 minutes more tinkering", so maybe it's my own impatience more than the game. I have to admit though, while I enjoyed playing it, I wasn't really...sucked in, I guess? I can't quite put my finger on it, but in other 2D Metroids I've played like Samus Returns, Dread and especially Fusion I always felt like I was in that world, feeling the helplessness, loneliness or claustrophobia that the world was conveying. In this one, I didn't really feel anything. I don't know whether it's my mental state or the game, but I just didn't find it very memorable. With the exception of the Zero Suit part (which I honestly forgot about until I got there, but reminded me of the newer E.M.M.I. chases in Dread), I doubt I'll remember this game much, while I think about Fusion all the time. I don't want to bash the game though, because it definitely still is great and totally worth your time. Even if it isn't my favourite Metroid, it's still a great game I'm glad I played.

[polestar1978]

When can I begin? I think I might do like 1000 games.

[realpoketendonl]

When can I begin? I think I might do like 1000 games.

I say you can start whenever! This isn't that serious. The idea is to start at the beginning of the year, but really it's just a fun way to motivate yourself to play through more games and share your experiences, so I say have at it!

[realpoketendonl]

• Pokémon Violet [Switch]
• Unlock the King [Switch eShop]
• Sonic Frontiers [Switch]
• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon [Switch]
• Bayonetta 3 [Switch] {second playthrough}
• 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]
• Metroid: Zero Mission [GBA / Wii U VC]
• Roundabout [PC] {repeat playthrough}

Just beat Roundabout again. I played through this game once, maybe twice before a couple of years ago, but was in the mood for it. In case you don't know it, it's a game about Georgio Manos, the world's first revolving limousine driver. You drive around passengers in a limousine that's eternally spinning on its axis, which you have to navigate around obstacles. From that alone - and the very cheesy fmv of the characters - you should be able to tell what kind of game this is. It revolves entirely around the joke. It's still fairly fun to play too though. Not too deep or hard at all, but something about the driving is just fun and the fmv really kept me going. In every second you feel like you can almost see the crew behind the scenes just having fun.
I did have some technical issues, but those are almost certainly PC-related. In the final parts of the game some terrain was completely obscured, but that may very well be because I'm playing on Linux (I don't remember that being there a few years back when I played on Windows, and even then the issues were brief and not game breaking). Had issues with Steam refusing to download and my controller not working too, but chug that up to regular PC gaming issues (this is why I majorly prefer consoles).
Back to the game though, honestly, this is a game of which you can deduce whether you'd like it almost completely from a trailer. If you don't like the joke, you probably won't get into this. But if you think that the joke is funny (like I do) then you will enjoy this. I will also admit, I find myself thinking of Georgio and Beth more than I'd like to admit. Give this a shot if you're just looking for a fun, silly time!

[dhaabi]

29. Tacoma || PlayStation 4 || 08.12.23



Having played Fullbright's Gone Home close to ten years ago now, I've been interested in seeing what the studio's sophomore project Tacoma would be like since learning about it years ago. With the opportunity to finally play it, I began without knowing anything about the game.

As a narrative-driven adventure game, Tacoma is similar to its predecessor in that most of the gameplay revolves around the player witnessing sequences and discovering information while exploring an empty environment. That being said, while the player is technically alone, they are able to see specific moments replay as recorded AR video logs, so Tacoma doesn't quite ever feel like a lonely experience. The game's environment is comprised of several sections each with numerous rooms and areas, so the ability to freely wander about without any limitations or hard objectives allows the player to move at their own pace.

In the near-distant future of 2088, a space crew of six contract workers have been aboard the titular space station Tacoma for a major technology and space conglomerate. It is important to note now that, at this time, humanity heavily relies upon AI and AR technologies. On the Tacoma, its crew has been monitored throughout their year-long isolated stay. As a result, this is how the player is able to view certain visual AR logs that play out events throughout the crew's time aboard. While Tacoma's crew is only six, we as the player-character take the role of the silent protagonist sent to check on the Tacoma's status, gather information, and to retrieve crucial data after an accident occurs.

Despite being physically isolated as a team, they are all able to maintain external communication while, of course, still being able to connect with each other. Through these means, players witness past events that reveal how human we all are. Through seeing event logs, exploring the Tacoma, and also by accessing members' workstations, Tacoma sets out to illustrate that, no matter who we are or where we are, we all have worries and problems throughout our lives. Of what's shown, the crew is faced with challenges of interpersonal connections, job security, employment opportunities, health and finances, fulfillment, and loneliness, to name only some. These issues are present both before and during the crisis at-hand. After the accident occurs, these issues elevate to survival, finality, and the burden of saving others.

When recorded events are revealed, they are not necessarily exclusive to one immediate location. Instead, they can span all throughout the surrounding sector. Crew members freely wander about, and some conversations end as others begin, with many being concurrent with another. It is for this reason that players can rewind the AR log at any time to better gather information. At specific moments, crew members will access their workstations which also enables us as someone in the present moment to also view its contents. There are variety among retrievable documents, such as conversation logs, browser history, message alerts, and general notes. Concerning AR logs and conversation logs, information may be damaged as a result of the accident, meaning that text may be illegible or only the audio portion of AR logs are functional.

Alongside obtained information, simply exploring the Tacoma provides valuable information regarding the crew and past events. Searching through each room and private quarter in detail, inspecting items, reading notes, and discovering hidden objects grant the game's cast and events much more depth through efficient world-building. Personally, I would have been content with an additional section or two to explore to become better acquainted with the game's cast, but what's available is certainly adequate. Technically, the game can be completed without much exploration or even active participation as players can walk away from AR logs as they play. But, these two aspects are clearly meant to be experienced, and they are what provide fulfilling adventure gameplay.

As the narrative progresses, players will learn that events aren't all what they seem. Early on, capitalism is one of several themes which become apparent. One aspect is a new form of corporate currency simply known as Loyalty. Like the name suggests, it is accrued through one's "loyalty" to their employer. By 2088, it is the world's most common form of currency and is recognized internationally. This one detail may give hints as to what direction the narrative moves in during its climax.

Regarding visuals, obviously there was a choice to design characters as silhouettes. While players are still offered a human face behind the silhouette on personal workstation accounts and when directly facing an individual member, the silhouette serves as an ever-present reminder that each Tacoma member is human like you and I. What they've gone through could have been experience by anyone. The choice of a blank figure was executed quite well. Tacoma as a setting feels detailed, as its structure feels large while comprised with so many granular items within it, many of which are worth viewing closely.

On that last note, some items such as written documents featured tiny text difficult to read from a normal seated position. As there is no option to preview written text in a text window unlike in many other modern adventure games, I was forced to move much closer to my screen to read such notes. While that is arguably a minor complaint, Tacoma did not feel optimized to load new areas. Moving from section to section within Tacoma, there was severe lag during loading sequences during every single instance that crashed the game several times. Tacoma is generous with its auto-save, so it never caused me to lose any progress, but it was certainly an issue.

Overall, my time playing Tacoma was quite enjoyable. I don't remember too much about my experience with Gone Home, but I feel as if I'm leaving with a much stronger lasting impression this time brought by an emotional journey.

[tripredacus]

When can I begin? I think I might do like 1000 games.

I say you can start whenever! This isn't that serious. The idea is to start at the beginning of the year, but really it's just a fun way to motivate yourself to play through more games and share your experiences, so I say have at it!

Some people use it as a challenge, others just use it as a means to help them play what they have or figure out what they don't like. I'll never be able to play all of the games I own, but I will be able to find what I like and what I don't. I wish I could just beat a game a week but it won't happen when I find things I like enough to take the time with and play for months at a time.

[ignition365]

Main List
Previous List

bold 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.

80. TOEM (PS5)
I don't even recall why I decided I would play this one, I know I've been wanting to, but I don't know why I finally did.  Maybe I saw the game on steam, thought I'd like it, and then remembered it was on PS+.  Anyway, this game is so much fun, one of my favorite types of games are the fetch quest types of games, collecting items to give to folks, doing quests for folks and getting items to further other quests, all that shenanigan stuff.  The character interactions in this game is pretty good and the post game bonus area really makes you think puzzle wise how to go about doing everything with its day/night system.  All in all, the game overall is pretty casual and fun, very little things in the game will require you to look things up unless you're looking to 100% the game, then there might be a few things, but the post game bonus area is pretty complex and might require looking things up which there's nothing wrong with that.  I enjoyed the game so much I went for the platinum and to be quite honest, I may replay this game on PS4 or on Xbox now that it's on game pass.
Rating: Solid recommendation

81. Axiom Verge 2 (PS5)
I think I was on a weird PS kick or something and was just looking for PS games to play.  I played the first entry of this game on Switch and I've been more about achievements/trophies lately so I played this on PS5.  I've heard this game didn't live up to the original's experience, but I figure the game's still gotta be good.  Overall, the game is quite good, but it absolutely doesn't live up to the original gameplay wise, story wise, it's just about as convoluted and hard to follow as the original, so pretty much not an improvement in any way.  Traversal is relatively fine, but the game fairly often changes things up where you are at least soft locked out of areas and stuff because it takes away functionality and then gives it back later, not your usual metroidvania stuff.  I think the game was fine, but it definitely didn't make me feel like I wanted to spend more time with it and did not consider going and 100%ing the game let alone filling out the map.  It's a tough one, I hate to pass on the game, but it just isn't that great by any means, isn't connected to the previous entry other than a small tangential text file, and really doesn't live up to the original.  Play it if you want, but it might be a let down.
Rating: Soft pass

82. Glass Masquerade (PC)
This game is filled with beautiful and simple stained glass styled jigsaw puzzles.  I spent the majority of my time playing this game listening to other stuff, whether it just be music or some show I don't need to pay a lot of attention to.  It's a real chill experience with absolutely straightforward gameplay concepts.  I really don't have much to add to this one as it's really just a unique jigsaw puzzle game, but it's damned good for a chill game to just play while listening to something else.
Rating: Soft recommendation

83. Don't Touch this Button (PS4)
This was a PS4 playthrough of a game I played last year on PS5.  I mostly played it this time around because both my son wanted me to play it again and because PlayTracker's Backlog Dungeon picked the game out for me from my backlog.  I may write up a "rant" about PlayTracker, it's a wonderful site you should check out that will help you clear your backlog by gamifying the experience and offering a reward of a specific Steam game key for meeting specific goals during a season (3 month period).
See Review 133 from 2022.
Rating: Soft recommendation

84. Escape Academy (XS)
I don't even recall why I decided to play this one, maybe I rolled it on backlog for Playtracker.  I don't have a ton of experience with escape games like my wife does, but I really enjoyed this game.  I will state that I don't enjoy the timed nature of this game compared to the few I've played in the past where it's entirely at your own pace, but the puzzles are simple enough here that I had no trouble except maybe the last few puzzles.  Enjoyed the game enough and the achievements were simple enough that I 100% completed the game.  Characters are interesting enough, puzzles are witty enough, there's enough of a plot that the game is pretty good and the ending leaves room for sequels down the line.  All in all, quite a good game, I'm disappointed that I didn't really get to do any of the co-op stuff with my wife through the process, but she still hasn't beaten the game, so maybe I'll get to do that during her playthrough.
Rating: Soft recommendation

85. 100 Hidden Birds 2 (PC)
A simple hidden object game with 100 birds hidden among a black and white image. Can be completed in about 10 minutes and finding the last few birds will make you lose your mind.  All of these games are pretty simple and pretty quick and net you tons of achievements on steam, though most of the games are profile limited so they don't actually count towards anything until eventually maybe the game is no longer limited, I don't know, I don't really know how that stuff works.  Games can be got for like well now 50 cents now that steam has introduced shenanigans to prevent games from being sold for less than 50 cents   Actually pretty mad about that because I was waiting to buy a specific game when it hit its historical low (28 cents) and the game went back on sale for 28 cents the day after steam put the new rule in place, so when you try to buy it steam tells you no, so now I have no choice but to pay 50 cents or more for this game, which sucks.
Rating: Soft recommendation

86. Vampire Survivors (XS)
The main reverse bullet hell game or bullet heaven, I have no clue.  I'm not a fan of bullet hell games, this game is pretty interesting, but very quickly this game can become a situation of legitimately just set the controller down and wait out the timer because your character is OP.  Also with the 30 minute timers per level, this game can eat up a fuck ton of time.  I eventually hit the point where I'd start a level, get 5-10 minutes in and be OP, and then fall asleep because I had nothing to do in game and was that bored.  Really interesting game and mechanics, but holy fuck does this game have pacing issues.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy that I can plan out a build and become strong enough that it's trivial, and it's nice that I can essentially just set the controller down rather than spending the full 30 minutes per run, but the long 30 minute runs can become painful to sit through, almost like a situation of early mobile games where you have to sit and wait out a timer before you can play the next level.  Despite all of that, I do really enjoy the game and do intend on 100% completing the game eventually.
Rating: Soft recommendation

87. Duke Nukem Forever (PC)
Thanks to tripredacus for the steam key for this. I played this game at launch on 360 way back in the day, I recall the game being mid, but then I also had this mindset that the game wasn't that bad.  Unfortunately it's been a while since I replayed this at this point that I again don't really recall.  Gunplay was fine enough, humor is aged and stupid but it's Duke Nukem what can ya do.  I got a bunch of the achievements but I don't think there was any chance I was going to aim for 100%, I don't even think I got nearly as many as I did on the 360 release.  I think my entire playthrough was on Steam Deck, played pretty great there.  I might have played for a few minutes on PC, but I think the mouse and keyboard controls just didn't feel good, almost like the game was legitimately designed to be played with a controller, which is hella weird.  My primary reason for revisiting this game was to finally play the DLC, I never bought the DLC for 360 back in the day and with this key from trip, I also got the DLC key.  So playing through the main campaign was to relearn the systems/controls and story in prep for the DLC.
Rating: Soft pass

88. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5)
I think this might have been another Backlog Dungeon roll, so my coming back to this game was thanks to that.  I'm actually now back to not leveraging Playtracker, but I think playtracker will be reserved for when I'm in the rare scenario of not knowing what to play, usually I've got a game plan for what to play or things to prioritize.  Anyway, I started this game a while back I think around when it launched on PS5.  It was slow to start and I think something else came out around when I started playing so the game got abandoned pretty quickly between the two things.  Once I hopped back in it took a very short amount of time to get reacquainted with the controls.  The gameplay is enjoyable but it was slow to start, which it seems a lot of games are these days, but once I started getting into the meat of the story and gameplay loop the game was quite enjoyable.  I considered going 100% on the game, but I think there is one difficulty based achievement and that's generally where I draw the line and nope out.  If not, there was definitely something that I nope'd out on.  Story doesn't get super interesting until the back half, and as far as I can tell, just about every character you meet throughout the game is dead, there are maybe 3 living people throughout the entire game, and even then it's still hard to tell.  Game is very mid though and I want to say soft recommendation, but I just can't remember enough about this game to justify saying so.
Rating: Soft pass

89. Duke Nukem Forever: The Doctor Who Cloned Me (PC)
Finally playing the DLC for this game... and I don't remember shit about it other than several situations of fighting clones of yourself.  Obviously unmemorable.  I feel like overall a lot of this game's problem is how linear it is.  I get nobody liked the keys bullshit, but linearity can be bad too.  Lots of jokes making fun of/parodying other FPS games like Black Ops, Doom, etc.  Car based boss fight was awkard af and didn't work well.  I feel like compared to the main campaign I had a lot of situations of running out of ammo and having to swap weapons way more than I did.  All in all, if you're going to play DNF, you should definitely play this too, but I can't recommend either as worthy of your time.
Rating: Soft pass

90. Dreamscaper (XS)
Another game to play because it's leaving game pass.  Like Hades, in so many ways, it also includes accessibility options to streamline the playthrough.  I really enjoyed the story and interacting with the characters outside of the dream world, but the game just requires way too much grinding to get all of the stories from the characters.  I got the default ending, but the "true" ending is locked behind 100% completing all of the character stuff outside of the dream world, and that just would've taken too long.  If the game ever comes back to game pass, maybe I'll go for it, but time constraints meant I couldn't waste my time working on it.  All in all, a great game though, story isn't nearly as good as Hades, so I definitely wouldn't recommend it over Hades, but if you enjoyed Hades, you'll probably enjoy this game.  Though I will complain about the graphics as I absolutely hate the faceless nature of the game.  I almost feel like the waking world should have had better graphics or even different graphics without faceless characters, because at least in the dream world it makes sense, but it makes no sense in the real world.  Also, I hate that the cover art for the game the character has a face and the graphics look nice, but the game itself is almost minimalistic.
Rating: Soft recommendation

91. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade: Episode Intermission (PS5)
Having played FF7 at some point finally, I hated Yuffie, and I had 0 interest in playing this DLC, but I did get the DLC code at some point, so I decided to finally playthrough the DLC.  They really do a good job of redeeming Yuffie as a character, she's a huge dork, but she's not entirely annoying and just absolutely ruining everything for everyone.  You get more FF7R gameplay, some new game stuff like the tower defense game from the original though annoying I did get through it, I didn't do any of the VR stuff because I tried one and got destroyed and was like nah, miss me with that shit.  Obviously a weak expansion or whatever, but it gives you more and does redeem Yuffie as a character, so I'll give it points for that.
Rating: Soft recommendation

92. Armored Core (PSX)
So played this via emulator to do retro-achievements, I had the problem that I couldn't unlock the achievement for unlocking all Human plus upgrades, because what the achievement actually is, is unlock all human plus upgrades and then 100% the game, I can do this still, but it'll be time consuming, I'll have to load up my 100% save, and then just fucking burn through money until I can unlock the human plus upgrades, it'll take a lot of time, and I just don't know if I can justify it just so my playthrough can be marked as 100% on RA instead of 98% complete.  I'm not a completionist and maybe I'd care if I had 100% all of the other AC games, but we'll get to that in a bit.  Anyway, I enjoyed my time with the game, and on an emulator I had the good fortune that I could remap the controls such that the controls aren't hot garbage... unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out remapping for PS2, which I'd say we'll get to that later, but who knows when I'll finally play the PS2 games until I can figure out remapping.  Anyway, I don't have a ton to say about this game, game is enjoyable, story is hard to follow, but I think that stands for all AC games.  All in all, I don't expect many AC games to be "worth your time" but we'll see.
Rating: Soft pass

93. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (XS)
I did actually buy this game for Switch, but I can't justify opening a physical copy of a game for a platform with no achievements when I can play the game with achievements for free (Thanks Game Pass).  First thing to get out of the way, real fucking weird that this game is 6 player max when there are 7 playable characters, also real weird that there are 7 players and not 8, really irks me.  Anyway, gameplay is fun, you've got reason to play as all the characters, make multiple runs through levels, etc.  So much content.  That said, I'm not the type of player to replay games like this and 100% complete them, so my playthrough was relatively short.  I chose to play as April O'Neil because I figured that'd be interesting compared to playing actual action characters, it was fine, everybody has their own stats, and she's interesting enough of a character to play as.  I personally don't have friends (full stop) to play this game with so I solo the game.  I hope one day my kid can care enough, play well enough, and enjoy the idea of playing games like this with me.  Definitely scratches that TMNT4 itch while being modern enough and accessible enough to be enjoyable.
Rating: Soft recommendation

94. Bugsnax (PS5)
I feel like this was a launch title for PS5, I really can't recall, I recall playing it for like 10 minutes way back when and finally coming back to it.  I think I came back to it because I rolled it in Playtracker's Backlog Dungeon, I really hope we get a log at some point to be able to view Backlog Dungeon history so I can for sure verify these things.  Anyway, weird creature collecting game that starts out mostly harmless and goes off the rails down the line.  Story is interesting if not hard af to follow.  Gameplay loop reminds me of like Pokemon Snap with the weird things you've got to do to get certain creatures to appear, there is a lot of photo taking in this game too, though I guess it's scanning, not photo taking, I don't recall it's been a while and I'm not looking it up.  Anyway, you collect creatures and feed them to other creatures and they turn into food, that's not fucked up in the slightest.  Post game content adds a whole new area with new creatures and puzzles and what not.  All in all a real good game that I enjoyed enough to go and earn the platinum trophy
Rating: Solid recommendation

95. Immortality (XS)
Another game leaving game pass.  This is another Sam Barlow game (Tellings Lies, Her Story), but instead of searching a database for words linked to videos, you click an object in the video and it finds another video with a like object (a specific actor, an apple, a painting, etc) with the goal of solving the story as usual and finding all of the videos available.  Game plays pretty well, story is fairly interesting if not hard to follow as I had to google stuff afterward to make sure of things.  Game sort of hides a feature behind the rewind feature which is pretty neat, I did waste a bit of time not realizing that you had to do a specific thing to activate said thing and not just happen to see it while rewinding or something.  I don't remember, I just know that it didn't count as me doing the action the first like 30 times it happened because I didn't realize you had to do a certain thing to actually activate the feature.  I do wish I had the patience to actually watch all of the footage like I did with Her Story and Telling Lies, but I just couldn't be arsed so I didn't actually watch a lot of the footage, just kinda skimmed it and got the gist of what was going on filming and in film.
Rating: Soft recommendation

96. Tinykin (XS)
I hate how far off I got from keeping up with my logs.  I pretty much only come to VGC at this point to update this stuff.  I might look at making another place to post this stuff publicly and making it searchable so I can find reviews easier than digging year by year.  Another game I played because it was leaving game pass.  I'm finding that most of these indie games that leave are leaving because the physical release is right around the corner.  Mind you I played this months ago, but now in November, the game is getting a physical release through the folks over at Super Rare Games.  Anyway, this game looked interesting because it looked pikmin like and had an interesting art style.  That said, the game really seems pikmin, you've got your little dudes you command around and you're visiting an abandoned planet for some reason that seems like it's the Earth.  I will say the difference is this game is decidedly 3D platformer as supposed to whatever pikmin is, I really don't know, I only ever played Pikmin 1 on Wii for like 20 minutes and I can't remember it all that well.  This game however has a certain Banjo Kazooie collectathon going for it in conjunction with the pikmin stuff.  The gameplay is pretty fun, does get quite repetitive and even frustrating at moments, but the game overall is quite good.  The only hard part about the game can be the races that the game added in an update, but it's optional stuff and doesn't affect achievements so I mostly skipped it.  All in all, it's a pretty fun game, but I don't know that I'd play it again.
Rating:Soft recommendation

Next List

[ignition365]

Main List
Previous List

bold 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.

97. Doodle God (PC)
I think I only played this game because I rolled it as a backlog dungeon game over on Playtracker.  I played Doodle God way back in the day when it was just an iPhone game I think, but at some point I got the game on Steam and just never got around to it because well it's a dumb phone game.  Maybe it was a simple flash game?  I don't know, anyway, I played through the game and I think I 100%'d it because it was simple enough and Playtracker sort of incentivized me to do so.  All in all it's really a boring as fuck game and a lot of the matches don't make a ton of sense, like it's a stretch to make a lot of the things it does with the combos, to the point that this game will wind up being painful trial and error or you're going to use a guide and that honestly just makes playing the game a chore instead of entertainment.
Rating: Hard pass

98. Wild Arms (PS5)
I recalled that Sony had released PS5 versions of PS1 games and it you happened to own the PS1 classic on PS3, you now automatically own the PS1 release on PS4/PS5, so I knew it was time to finally play Wild Arms.  I've been a huge Wild Arms fan since before Wild Arms 3 even released due to a friend selling me a loose copy of Wild Arms 2 for $1.  The situation in retrospect is kinda fucked, the dude wanted a dollar but didn't want to like owe me a dollar so he was like I'll give you this game for a dollar and I was like I can just give you a dollar dude, and he's like a) no, b) I don't wanna feel like I owe you, and c) this game is great, and you'll love it.  So that was that and I played it and enjoyed it.  Honestly, other than like Pokemon, it was my first real RPG experience and I loved it.  That all said, I never actually ever played Wild Arms 1, I played Alter Code F, the remake, but never the actual original game, so this was a fantastic excuse to finally play it.  Game has all the glitches that existed in the original PS1, so I took advantage of that and had a good old time with the game.  Wild Arms in general I guess is known for being overly easy for RPG games, but my recollection was standard gameplay, but I also didn't optimize my builds or anything as a kid.  I optimized the fuck out of my run and was one shotting everything throughout the game, so it stands to reason they aren't wrong.  Alter Code F is for sure the definitive way to play this game as it's prettier and has extra content, but still fun as fuck and I honestly might play through again on PS4 for another platinum trophy.
Rating: Solid recommendation.

99. The Lemonade (PC)
I setup a curator group on steam (365 Puzzles) because I wanted to start reviewing puzzle games.  I have a few other curator groups out there of a similar vein, but they've acquired no real interest, whereas this one I at least get curator connect offers, so I play puzzle games.  First game ever offered to me that I fully played through was this game.  Loads up as La Limonada, which is a bit whatever given it's advertised with a different logo in English, but it's fine.  It's a sokoban game, but rather than a series of levels, it's one giant sokoban level.  You can easily play for 20-30 minutes making progress and then realize you made a misstep right at the beginning and now you have to start over entirely.  That happened to me a couple of times, but the game is short enough and enjoyable enough that it didn't bother me that much.  Game also has an early out, you can technically beat the game at any point as long as you have collected 1 lemon, there are 100 lemons in total.  I sat down and found all 100 lemons my first run and then did a quick run gathering just one lemon to see the differences.  It's a pretty fun sokoban game and doesn't outstay its welcome because it's just one giant level and you can opt out at any point.
Rating: Soft recommendation

100. Armored Core: Project Phantasma (PSX)
Played this some amount of time after finishing the first game, but this time I was better prepared and managed to get all of the achievements in the game 100% for Retroachievements.  Enjoyed my time with the game well enough, but these old Armored Core games are super aged.  I really really need to not let myself play the newest one, even though I have it now, before finishing all of these old ones because it would be awful to make these painful compared to the newest, at least right now they play like I remember them.  This one acts like a sequel to the first game, though it feels barely connected to the first one, but maybe I just didn't follow the plot well enough.  I'm enjoying my time, but I honestly couldn't recommend folks go back and play these old games, especially since I'm playing in a manner that I can remap the controls and make the controls at least slightly more modern... more on that whenever I get around to writing about the PS2 games, I haven't yet been able to figure out remapping the controls on PS2 in a manner that allows the game to be playable, most because the emulator is being broken for some reason.
Rating: Soft pass

101. Armored Core: Master of Arena (PSX)
Unfortunately for this one, and it's not the game's fault, it's Steam/steamdeck's fault.  Since I played the game offline, I can never get all of the achievements for the game because I hit 100% completion while offline and I can't flag the 100% completion again and I have no earlier save files that would be reasonable to use and that would still require me to replay through the game, so I abandoned the game.  I mean I beat it, but I should've unlocked a bunch of achievements for completion and since they can't, won't, and didn't unlock, I'm not going to bother for the arena achievements.  Game was mostly fun, had a ton of content and played pretty well, but that little bit ruined it for me.  Game is great, but the steamdeck is kind of a piece of shit when it comes to trying to play on the go.  I've had the same issue with Steam games, so it's not just a Retro Achievement issue, it's just horseshit all around when it comes to tracking achievements while offline.  I won't knock this game for it, but I've got nothing good to say for this game because Steam ruined my experience.
Rating: Soft pass

102. Eyes in the Dark (PC)
This was the free game on Playtracker for taking part in the previous season and meeting the goal of 7 points.  I heard some things about the game, after I already played it, regarding its unfriendliness with a certain phobia, which I have, but I didn't notice it, so either my phobia isn't that bad or the game isn't that noticeable with the unfriendliness.  Unfortunately it's been like 2 months since I played this game and I really don't recall shit about it.  Platformer roguelike type of game, you use a flashlight as your "weapon".  I think I might not have technically "beat" this game in the sense that there are post game story stuff, an Act 4 or something, but I got the credits to roll and I think the additional story content might be locked behind doing like 100% type of stuff.  I'll have to look into it.  That all said, game is pretty fun and the game has accessibility features to make the game easier for folks who don't want to git gud.  I really enjoy those things with roguelike games because these games almost by designed are made so you will fucking die, a lot, and you've got to either git gud and/or improve your character over repeating runs.  Sometimes I enjoy that, re: rogue legacy, dead cells, etc, but for games like this that I'm really not invested in, I'll take advantage of the accessibility features so I can get through the game faster (re: hades, dreamscaper, etc).  That all said, I didn't personally enjoy this game that much, and it didn't really stick out as a game that was worth spending the tons of time playing through like other good roguelikes, it's not a bad game by any means, but I just didn't connect with it.
Rating: Soft pass

103. Doom 64 (PC)
I won this game in a giveaway on a Discord server where the requirement for the win was to play through the game.  I didn't mind that, but I couldn't bother to push myself to 100% this game again.  I 100%'d it on Xbox One when Doom Eternal (I think) released because I got a free copy with my preorder I think.  This time around I played on steamdeck and it was fine and fun and all, but I mostly played out of obligation.  Great game, obviously aged design and such.  See my 2020 review of the Xbox One version for more information
Rating: Recommended

104. Metal: Hellsinger (XS)
Wow how apt that I played this right after a Doom game.  This game has the rip and tear feel of Doom/Doom Eternal, but it's all designed to be played to the beat of various heavy metal songs.  I set up my playthrough to not punish me for sucking rhythmically, but I had no trouble as most of my beats were perfect if not good, but the game was leaving game pass and I didn't want to waste time if I couldn't get in the rhythm of it.  Obviously a physical release of this game must be coming down the pipe soon, otherwise why leave game pass amirite.  Gameplay is great, and the story is great too.  I had the problem that the game had a humongous difficulty curve... only to realize that my son had messed with my controller at some point between levels and set the game to like nightmare difficulty, once I figured that out and went back to whatever difficult I was playing on (no clue, probably easy) I had no trouble again and the game was enjoyable.  I'm sad that the game left game pass, so hopefully a physical release is coming down the line otherwise I'll maybe need to go buy it on Steam or something because the game is a real romp to play.
Rating: Solid recommendation

105. Last Call BBC (PC)
Pulled forward my notes from last year.  I played TIS-100 for a few minutes the other day and then this came out and I read about it and was very very interested.  Really largely interested based on a single screenshot that showed model kit building (which unfortunately it looks like there are only 3 model kits).  As far as I can tell there isn't really a story to this game, you get some info/plot, but I don't think it'll build to anything, this is really just a puzzle game tbh.  I've already done their versions of Solitaire, and 2/3 of the model kits, and most of the Dungeons and Diagrams.  Solitaire 1 is kind of a normal solitaire, no undo button though.  Solitaire 2 is kind of free cell, but again no undo and you don't get the side stacks for the decks and you're just aiming for 4 of a kind instead of a whole suit.  Model kit is real cool because you clip, attach, paint, etc, the downside is there are only 3 kits and it is very tedious.  Dungeons and Diagrams is like a Picross variant, it's pretty fun, but it's tough as nails and I know looking at it, it feels like it's missing 1 constraint from making it really good, like you aren't given enough information to figure out the puzzles.  I'm sure you are, but it just feels that way.  I'd say the only addition to be made to this is that I played through the other two things the game had to offer that I skipped and that was the restaurant programming game, which I didn't fully get and mostly went by a guide, and the creepy flesh game which I also used a guide for, but at least I understood what was going on to the point that I barely needed the guide to get what was going on.  Overall another great entry by Zachtronics.  I really need to get the solitaire collection.  That said, these games have such tough puzzles that it's not easy to recommend to most folks.
Rating: Soft recommendation

106. Prodeus (XS)
Another game leaving game pass.  I don't know if the physical release for this one is new, but I see it on sale occasionally and I'll have to consider it because this game was quite fun and I could enjoy finding all of the collectibles in the game with a guide or something.  I will say I don't enjoy the art style nor do I enjoy that when trying to disable the art style it still just looks absolutely awful to look at.  Gameplay is fun as fuck, but the art just honestly kind of gives me a headache, not for real, but it's just not pleasing to look at.  It definitely has that rip and tear feel of Doom, and the crazy level design of classic doom games, but that art style is rough.  If I could turn it all the way off, this game would get a solid recommendation from me, but this game did legitimately make my eyes hurt frequently enough.
Rating: Soft recommendation

107. Terminator: Salvation (ARC)
My kid got invited to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and this year I wasn't stuck on kid duty like every other time we went to these, so I played the one game there that I figured I could care to play through.  I will say after the fact I realized there was a NAMCO lightgun game over in the kids area that I would've enjoyed playing through, but time did not permit.  I'm certain there will be a next time though.  Anyway, straightforward arcade lightgun game, I'll say I didn't enjoy it as much as other light gun games as I don't care too much for fighting bullet sponge robots nonstop, but I can finally say I beat it.  Still have a couple of other arcade games I'd like to playthrough, but logistically don't know how I'm going to get around to doing it.
Rating: Hard pass

108. Wild Arms 2 (PS5)
Now hopping into this one, which I have played before and really loved... I knew there were no glitches going into this one, so I was concerned that it would sully my memory of the game and just not be as enjoyable as the cakewalk that was Wild Arms 1... That said, I read some guides and really optimized my run here and the guides weren't wrong.  If you spec into the Physical/Magic guard perks, you're basically invincible, which really trivializes a lot of the random battles and makes the random battles not as painful as I remember them as a kid.  As a reminder, Wild Arms games are RPG games with puzzle mechanics spread throughout, doing the puzzles can be infuriating when you're hit with random battles while trying to solve a puzzle.  Anyway, I had a blast with this game, I'd argue I had a better time with this than the 1st one because I did have to pay a bit of attention compared to leveraging a glitch and just breezing through the game.
Rating: Solid recommendation

109. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (X1)
I think rather than writing up something new I'll just refer back to my switch review at 52 Game Challenge 2022 Game 5.  Looking at it, I didn't speak a lot on some things, so I'll at least add that this time around I went and did everything there was to do in this game as I earned all of the achievements and I even went and did the added content with the conductor.  The Train content is sort of a little roguelike segment, it's kind of awful... but the game did add in accessibility features which I did eventually leverage so I could get through the game.  I think part of me playing this when I did was because it was leaving game pass, that probably checks out.  Review is still the same though.
Rating: Soft recommendation

110. Lies of P (XS)
I hate how far behind I get on writing these reviews.  I hadn't planned on playing this game any time soon, but my wife started playing the game at release and I just couldn't stay away.  I did 1.5 playthroughs to get all of the achievements for the game, Xbox is so difficult to do save scumming stuff, it's real unfortunate.  I'll be honest when I say my experience with non-From Software Soulslike games is very minimal, maybe exclusive to Nioh, so take my statements with a bunch of salt.  This game feels as close to a From Soft soulsborne game as you're going to get without it being made by From Soft.  It's got tight responsive combat, intricate well designed maps, devious traps and enemies, and forces you to really think about solutions for situations.  It definitely takes more inspiration from the non-Souls games (i.e. Bloodborne/Sekiro) while maintaining a single player experience.  I'm of the opinion that adding multiplayer would be a huge addition to the game, but for me the game was perfectly playable solo.  I love these games as is, but I'm also not opposed to adding accessibility so less skilled players can enjoy the experience, I'd hate to have the option of an easy mode (because I'd probably use it and diminish my experience), but there are other ways to be accessible without directly affecting difficulty (Elden Ring does a pretty good job at this).  Enjoyed my time so much that I explicitly went and 100%'d the game.
Rating: Solid recommendation

111. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
What with Spider-Man 2 coming out, I felt it was time to finally play through this game.  Originally my intent was to play through Remastered to check out the changes and prep for Miles Morales, but I just didn't have the time and couldn't care that much... plus I definitely would've had burn out.  I may still go back to it and check stuff out though.  Anyway, this one took me a bit to get into and I think I had to beat it twice for all the trophies, but the game got good enough that I didn't have too much trouble convincing myself to replay the game.  Plus I had time to kill until Spider-Man 2 arrived.  Unfortunately it's been long enough since I played that I don't have much else to say about this game.  It was relatively short, the characters were all pretty new, it'd been long enough since I played the first that the city felt fresh, even if it were the same, no clue.  Short enough too.
Rating: Solid recommendation

112. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
Had been pretty hyped to play this and really ecstatic to get it for free.  Will wind up having to buy the DLC or something down the line once it inevitably gets announced.  Splitting the story between two characters (technically three I guess) makes the game feel a bit crowded and there are some bits in the game that irked me, mostly regarding the lack of communication between spider-man's about their problems.  Absolute improvement on the MJ sections by giving her a defensive weapon.  Game has some lasting power, also easy quick platinum trophy without the need for a full second playthrough (I think).  Fantastic game, largely overshadowed by all of the other fantastic games that came out this year.  2023 was one of the strongest years in gaming for sure.
Rating: Solid recommendation

Next List

[kamikazekeeg]

19 - Final Fantasy XVI (PS5 2023) - DROPPED - Think I'm dropping this and moving on.  Armored Core VI is coming up and I'm way more excited for that and it made me realize how I've been struggling to stick with FFXVI since I got it.  I've played a lot, I'm over half-way to two-thirds done I think, but  the past month I've been getting sidetracked with other games and I think it's because while I think the story and characters and a decent part of the action and world are great, kinda the rest of the overall package is lacking. 

Combat can be fun, have a nice rhythm, but it's very spammy and doesn't have that flair a Bayonetta might have for an action game comparison, or that heavy, slower impact of a more straightforward God of War.  The actual "RPG" aspect is very light, where crafting gear, quest rewards, and buying stuff is so minimal.  There's very little reason to buy supplies or try and keep up on your gear, because you'll just do a story mission, get an object to craft a unique weapon or item.  Some quests can give actually good things, as I know one quest gave me like a buff to potion use, but you can't tell which ones are that and which one give you like...30 gil, which is absolutely nothing lol There's no reason to stock up on supplies or buy anything, other than songs for the jukebox, but that's not a good reason to buy anything.

So rather than force myself to finish the rest of the game, enjoying some stuff, but not enjoying others, I think I'm going to take the loss on this one.  Disappointing as I want more of the story, but the experience of going through it isn't enticing enough and I'm not lacking for games lately as I got Armored Core VI next week, Mortal Kombat 1 is coming out middle of next month, and I still have some backlog stuff to do, like I'm still sitting on Metroid Prime Remastered.

[kashell]

Agreed on FFXVI, although I hold it in a higher regard. I just earned the platinum in it and doing so really took the game down a few notches because of how tedious combat got.

[kamikazekeeg]

Agreed on FFXVI, although I hold it in a higher regard. I just earned the platinum in it and doing so really took the game down a few notches because of how tedious combat got.

It's a bummer the combat and RPG aspects aren't better, because I would otherwise find this game to be pretty great, so much of the story and characters and its world is really engaging, but I'm just not having enough fun between that story to keep me playing another...15 to 20 hours I probably have left.  I kinda just want to boss rush the game and skip everything inbetween lol I might attempt this game again way down the road, continuing my save after I buy it back (I traded it in for Armored Core VI) after it's dropped real, extra, cheap and I have nothing else to do.

[vivigamer]

My stance on XVI is that it is a very good story trapped in a terrible game!

The combat is terribly basic, I had an attack pattern for normal enemies & a pattern for bosses, this needed no variation. This could have easily been solved if they put Elements into the combat system. Take the Bomb Enemy, usually it is weak against Ice but in XVI there are no elements intergrated into the combat system so its just attacks - What's worse is that you gain summon abilities which have no elemental attributes either.

The sidequests are as generic as generic can get, fetch quests or monster hunts - Oh and the seperate monster hunts are all re-skins of enemies you've already beat with the basic combat layout wokring again. As soon as I would advance the story and see al new sidequests appear I'd sigh, it owuld take 2-3 hours to get rid of them at times.

The biggest offence is the Map system. The game isn't open world, which is fine but the game doesn't even have areas that connect - Like in Final Fantasy X or XII. You reach the end of one area and then are thrown onto the map and have to select the next area. This gameplay structure ruins all sense of adventure & journey, it felt like experiencing a heavily cut movie.

XVI is ranked in the lower end of FF games for me, I just found it a chore to play in the end.

[kamikazekeeg]

Yeah the "open world" being so straightforward and disconnected was another lacking aspect.  The actual areas aren't very interesting, there's no reward for exploration as it's mostly just crafting material, which I brought up that crafting is fairly unimportant, or you just stumble across completely empty zones that I assume will have one of the Monster Hunter quests later on, but right now have absolutely nothing.  My guess is that they caught a lot of flack from FFXV (A game I can weirdly say I liked more than FFXVI lol) and rather than being like, "How do we make an open world more engaging", they just kinda threw all that out for something way simpler and far more basic.

[dhaabi]

30. Something Something Soup Something || PC || 08.18.23



For nearly six years, I've had a screenshot saved of Something Something Soup Something (SSSS) as a reminder to one day take the time to play it. On a whim, I finally did.

To begin, I'll briefly explain the narrative context surrounding SSSS's premise. In the near-distant future, teleportation technology has been invented. Instead of solving major issues such as resource scarcity, humans utilize the tool to further exploit cheap labor opportunities by hiring aliens from far-off worlds. So, these aliens manufacture whatever goods they're tasked to make and then beam them to the in-game human world Terra. However, these aliens have little to no understanding of human concepts. As a result of such language miscommunication, alien goods are often sent as something wildly different to what is conventional to humans. As the manager of a restaurant, the player-character is tasked to classify food items created by aliens as either Soup or Not Soup.

In making choices, there are no right or wrong answers. The game is asking the simple question: what is soup? It is a simple question, but then we must also consider these questions: is soup defined by its contents? Its state of matter? Its container? The utensil used to consume it? How comestible it is? Is it possible that everything is soup? Could nothing be soup? If only some things are soup, what are the qualifications? For many, soup is edible, liquid, and placed in a bowl or cup. With these characteristics, if coffee were then poured into a bowl, can it now be regarded as soup? Why not? Let us take something like minestrone then, which I believe many would agree is a type of soup. Imagine a bowl of it, served normally. If shards of glass were placed in it, is the combined item not soup anymore? If not, why?

Personally, I decided early on that all liquid dishes presented, regardless of their contents, container, or utensil choice, were soup. Obviously, this means that any solid-based item was not. Since rocks are a possible soup base consideration, dishes containing this component were therefore labeled as Not Soup. However, after cycling through several choices, I thought my preconceived definition of what soup is was set. But then, a soup component consideration was introduced as a "frozen liquid" which replaced traditional broth. By my own standards, the item before me isn't soup. However, its state can easily change over time as it melts. Additionally, it is not uncommon to freeze large batches of soup. So, was this item any different? As time passed, my definition of soup changed slightly, so I began to consider anything frozen also as Soup. Even while writing my thoughts about the game, my definition has changed. Upon further reflection, I now think that, while perhaps not everything is soup, everything can be soup. Taking the rocks again as an example, they are objectively solid. However, every item has a melting point. While this level may differ from a typical indoor melting point which can melt ice, there are temperatures which can make solids to liquid, meaning Not Soup items can become Soup.

I assumed the process was a never-ending loop, but it actually stops shortly after twenty items are handled. At that time, an overview report appears which summarizes the player's criteria for what they regard soup as. Toward the end of the game, most if not all of the soup components have been seen. Every dish is procedurally generated, so hundreds of possibilities can be presented.

To my understanding, SSSS was designed by a philosopher in partnership with a team of developers. From the game's webpage, a lot of effort seemed to go into presenting this simple idea. Ignoring personal biases as to what soup may be, designers identified the characteristics of soup from across varying cultures. Focus group testing was conducted, and results were published. Obviously, results to what soup is were quite varied, despite it being such a common item perhaps many would believe is universally understood. But this idea that language and communication aren't objective is the core principle behind SSSS's message. For example, what I may be trying to communicate to someone else will not always be interpreted as intended, meaning language and communication aren't reliable. If something like the definition of soup can't be agreed upon, then how are much more abstract concepts such as freedom, love, or success to be understood?

All this said, SSSS has another goal. From its webpage description, it was also designed with the intention to reflect on what defines a game as such. This was a much less obvious goal that I hadn't considered once prior to reading about it due to that I fully consider SSSS to be a game and not just an "interactive thought experiment" as the creators describe it as. Another aspect I'll mention is that scholarly articles were published related to the game's research. They are certainly worth reading because they explain how exactly the components of what soup may be in SSSS were decided upon.

You may be asking: why do this? Well, there is an answer of sorts, but it mostly comes down to applying philosophical principles and the simple reason why not? Like I mentioned above, SSSS is a project grounded in understanding the principles of language and communication, therefore, the game being about soup is arbitrary. For a short game that can be completed in as little as a few minutes, SSSS left me asking a lot of questions which I value. It being free is a nice additional perk.