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52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

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bikingjahuty:
23. Detroit Become Human (PS4)

This has been another classic backlog game that I've been meaning to play for years and have just never got around to it. I've never played any of Quantic Dream's other games, but Detroit Become Human always stood out as the one I'd be most interesting in given its subject matter and scifi setting. Overall, I really enjoyed "playing" Detroit Become Human and really got into the story and characters particularly. The reason I put the word playing in parentheses is because this is probably one of the least video game-like games I've ever played. For the record, I think the common criticism of calling many modern video games with many cutscenes interactive movies has usually pedantic and ridiculous argument when the cutscenes make up maybe 10% of the overall experience of the game, and there's still engaging gameplay during the other 90% of the time you're playing. However, there is almost no gameplay in Detroit Become Human beyond having your character walk around, QTEs, awkward button presses, and the game's outcome flowchart. If not for the outcome flowchart and how varied and dynamic it is, I'd easily say Detroit Become Human was a straight up interactive movie and not a game. But that last gameplay element really makes this a very fun and unique gaming experience in that you can have a radically different experience with the game depending on various decisions you make throughout the story, even having main characters die earlier on in the game who would have otherwise been around until the very end. It really raises the stakes with the decisions and actions you make, which made this a very fun game a and made for a pretty interesting story. While some of the writing was a bit questionable or even lazy, I found the majority of the game's plot to be good to excellent overall. The characters are what really make this game awesome, and I was deeply invested in seeing certain outcomes with certain characters, and made certain sections of the game very tense in terms of not knowing what would happen to them. The OST is decent, however the voice acting is about as good as it gets, and really helps sell the story. While certainly not a perfect games by any means, I ended up thoroughly enjoying Detroit Become Human and it'll be a game I'll revisit again someday. (2/26/24) [37/50]

kamikazekeeg:
11 - Helldivers 2 (PC 2024) - ENDLESS - Since the battle for democracy is never-ending, I'll count my couple hours into it for now.  I actually tried to play this a week or two ago, but I would have crashes with every mission.  I refunded it and right after I did, they came out with bug fixes.  Was gonna wait for my new PC when I hopefully get it in a month or two to jump back in, but I've seen so much on the game, I really wanted to play.  Seems good now, mostly just done a handful of solo missions to learn the game and haven't had any issues.

Overall this is a very straightforward but fun game that really understand how to create an over the top horde battle experience.  From the chunky weaponry, to the excessively violent warfare, to the very satisfying explosions, all done with the ability to completely annihilate your team if you aren't careful, which is definitely part of the fun.  Its actually a decent time solo, though I will be jumping into randoms eventually since that's such an important part of the experience, which honestly, not something I do often as team heavy games I prefer to have friends to do that with.

The games vibes are fun too, the Paul Verhoeven styled satire slathered over everything, it's pretty funny that the best Starship Troopers game isn't based on that brand.  And with the Automatons as another enemy to fight, it's basically the best Terminator game set in the future war lol

I think this is going to be a pretty solid casual fun game I play when I want something to just go nuts with.

kashell:
23. Etrian Odyssey

I played this as part of the Etrian Odyssey HD Collection on Switch. Full disclosure: I played on the easiest difficulty setting. This was the main reason why I was able to finish it so quickly. I didn't set the game to Picnic because I was worried about a potential challenge. It was because I wanted to see if the game, and the rest of the series in this collection, would be worth my time. The typical dungeon-crawl loop of rough beginnings, resource management, and low funds was in full effect and I didn't want to waste my time going back and forth from the town to the dungeon and back again just to keep pace. Now that I know more about the series and what to expect, I plan to play the next installments on the regular setting. In other words, the series is worth my time. There's great class variety, a pretty HD look, QoL features (which are new to me since this is my first time experiencing the series) and the addictive feeling of "what's over there". One of the biggest surprises was the truth behind the labyrinth. I'm not sure when I'll get to EO2 since Unicorn Overlord is just around the corner, but it's nice knowing that another solid dungeon crawler is waiting for me.

moonlightvalkyrie:
4. Waku Waku Sweets (Switch) - Game #4 of 2024 is done! I finished Waku Waku Sweets for the Switch. A very cutesy cooking game similar to the Cooking Mama series except this deals with sweets and pastries instead of various recipes. I wanted to try a cooking game after the disappointment of Cooking Mama: Cookstar. Your goal is simple...to be the best pastry chef and bring happiness to people. The game is divided into three actions which are morning, afternoon, and night actions (night actions are just the main character saying it is time to go to bed. You can do various things such as shopping, working at the shop, cooking at home, completing quests, etc. To rank up, you will need to complete quests to fill the happiness meter. Once filled, you can then compete in a contest to go up a rank. It is not a bad game, but very very repetitive. The recipes are also very repetitive (you will get several kinds of tarts for example and the minigames for tarts are all the same except for the fruit involved). Also, the quests and how the quests work are annoying. There is no set time or day they pop up and there are chances no quests pop up at all. If this happens on Monday, you can do nothing because work is closed on Mondays. So all you can do is go to bed and wake up on Tuesday. That is such a waste. One thing this game does do is that if you talk to a person and you do not have what they want, it will not waste your action. You can go home, cook it, and bring it to the person. The quests vary from the people telling you what they want, to what category they want, to only giving you clues to what they want. It is not a bad game and it could be considered a game you can just relax with. Also, this game can be played either in dock mode or portable mode, so that is a plus for me. Completing this game......was really annoying. I am kind of glad I am done with this one. This one is a meh for me. Not bad, but not good either.

dhaabi:
13. Tchia || PlayStation 5 || 02.25.24



Since I still have access to a large catalog of games with PlayStation Plus's Extra subscription tier, I'm again realizing I should prioritize those selections. Ordinarily, I choose games which are exclusive to digital storefronts, but Tchia caught my attention. Tchia's a game I've been familiar with for some time as Sony heavily marketed it, and it's been a game I've been interested in since watching trailers some time ago.

Taking place in real-world New Caledonia, Tchia is a game fully immersed in the territory's culture. Full of vibrant colors and lush environments, the game emphasizes the people's local languages, music, customs, and laid-back lifestyle alongside the natural wilderness. Controlling titular Tchia, players will travel across the archipelago consisting of two main islands in addition to neighboring, smaller ones by running through its forests and swamps, flying atop mountains, and swimming along the ocean's floor and coral ecosystems. Alongside these modes of transportation, there is also a focus on boat sailing. Apart from basic travel, all sorts of activities including rhythm segments, totem wood carving, and rock balancing help to reinforce the game's setting.

All that said, the sense of peace is never held long, as there is plenty of surrounding danger. In just a few short minutes upon starting the game, players will witness Tchia's father be apprehended and taken away from their tiny island where they live at in solitude together. As players will come to learn, Tchia's background, unbeknownst to her, is one steeped in some sort of magic, as she soon after learns her ability to perform what's called soul jumping, which allows Tchia to possess a number of animals and inanimate objects which grant her unique abilities such as being able to breathe underwater and even explode through combustible properties. Alongside these innate powers, Tchia is also able to command environment affects with her ukulele. For these reasons, Tchia finds herself forced to save her father's life while being introduced to the negative impact done to the land caused by the game's central antagonist, a newly-revived evil god of sorts. Another point I'll briefly mention is that, despite its cartoon-like art style and wholesome themes, Tchia is not afraid to be brutal. People, including children, die. Babies are sacrificed.

On one island, the land is as I previously described: serene and largely untouched by human influence. However, the second island is wrought with destruction, as factories built upon four corner points spew toxic gasses into the air while they're connected by an elaborate pipe system which has ravaged the majority of the island's environment. At the same time, this second island is the home of the aforementioned god, where a central city has been constructed. High-rise buildings tower over the city streets below, with a seemingly never-ending construction site surrounding the immediate area. During one point of the game, Tchia takes on the role of an eco-terrorist as these sites are destroyed, which did leave me feeling unsure of what exactly the game is trying to promote. At no point does Tchia outright say that urban sprawl and deforestation is outright bad, and Tchia herself is never presented as someone who's in-tune with nature. In fact, she never even comments on the impact of these manufactured settings and just targets them. Of course, I understand the developers wanting to showcase their homeland's rich beauty across multiple levels and that is should be acknowledged and respected, but Tchia's involvement relating to nature itself felt out of place. Nevertheless, for what it is, the narrative and the events introduced are engaging while being rooted in New Caledonian culture.

Along Tchia's journey, there is a sense of community shown while traveling throughout the emptiness. Food booths and campsites are present in the darkest patches of land, inviting travelers needing to fill their stomachs and take rest an welcomed opportunity to do so. This is especially true when following the narrative path, as even small settlements may be found. However, when deviating from that path, the game feels lonely and a bit shallow, even. Of course, the majority of the game's environments take place in the wilderness so human interaction is an obvious byproduct of that reality, but the sense of actually being in nature to appreciate its beauty—which I imagine to have been the central focus of the game—doesn't really stand out. Perhaps the biggest reason as to why this is lies in the excessive amount of in-game collectibles. While a minuscule amount of these items are needed to advance the story, the land is absolutely littered with them. At any given moment, there will always be something present: an item to pick up, an activity to do, a puzzle to solve. At no point did I feel like I could simply enjoy the game's natural environments without being distracted. Without the item-collecting emphasis, time could have instead been used to create environments more uniquely interactable or generally more fun to explore. While perhaps this isn't an issue for those strictly following the narrative path, these sites become pinned on the mini-map, which will be absolutely dominated by icons which can't be toggled off, if choosing to ignore the majority of these items. Due to overbearing presence of these elements, the game devolved into a tedious checklist to complete as a way to inflate game time, as the majority of collectibles relate to cosmetic offerings.

Routinely, Tchia is a game which does not respect the player's time. If choosing to fully explore the environment to learn its secrets, players will be forced to travel back-and-forth at great lengths quite often. While there are fast-travel options, getting to those map points still requires a sizable amount of time, especially when considering how vast the open-world environment is paired with Tchia's paltry stamina amount. If needing to travel to anywhere besides the two main islands, several minutes of uninterrupted sailing is required. During these segments, the player is forced to wait with nothing to do or see, as that far-off dot in the distance gradually reveals itself as another area to explore. Again, I understand that the developers are trying to communicate how vast New Caledonia is, but there were many moments that I put down the controller to do something else entirely besides playing the game, effectively breaking my immersion.

One final point worth mentioning is the game's performance quality. At times, there are noticeable and sometimes affecting frame rate dips. During one rhythm section, severe lag was experienced which resulted in a terribly glitchy sound as the cutscene was neared a complete halt. In one moment, the game crashed altogether while swimming undersea. Toward the later hours of my time playing, the soul jumping mechanic wouldn't work at all. I believe this exclusively occurred when possessing birds, meaning I wasn't able to take flight at all. Regularly, music will abruptly stop, even where there is no sounds of nature, leaving the player in total silence.

All things considered, Tchia is a game that was clearly made as a way to express the developers' love for New Caledonia. In many ways, that goal was achieved, but other design decisions seem to counteract that overarching goal in clear contrast. Despite watching plenty of trailers prior to playing, I still wasn't quite sure what to expect. I did find the central gameplay mechanics fun for a casual experience, but the choice for the game to emphasize collectibles felt off-putting and greatly detracted from what could have otherwise been a concise, well-designed experience.

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