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52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

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kashell:
Another demo down. This one was for Unicorn Overlord. And, what a demo it was. I think I logged six or seven hours in it, which is just bananas for a demo. The amount of narrative covered and the amount of stuff to do in the demo topples regular games. If this is a sign of things to come, then I can see this being a very long game. But, everything presented was epic. I feel like I'm playing a combination of Brigandine, Ogre Battle, Venus and Braves, and Final Fantasy Tactics. There are probably others in there, too. All of it is backed by Vanilla Ware's looks and sounds. My only complaint is that it is tough to play while in handheld mode. I'll still play it that way, but I'm going to try to play it docked when I get it and after I finish P3R.

dhaabi:
14. Tinykin || PlayStation 5 || 03.06.24



While I don't quite remember when I first heard about Tinykin prior to its release, I do remember being drawn to its presentation. It's been a game I've been hoping to be released physically on Sony consoles, but that possibility still hasn't come. So, I decided to play it through PlayStation Plus's offerings.

Introducing players to its fun, cartoon-like world, Tinykin begins with an animated short explaining how we as the player-character Milodane begin our journey, interacting with the titular alien-like Tinykin creatures along the way. Having come from a faraway galaxy to learn of his heritage, Milodane travels to the barren Earth after intercepting an old transmission of human origin. Soon after, one of two possibilities are revealed: either Milodane has been shunk to the size of a bug, or, instead, it's shown that Milodane has always been this small size. To my understanding, the details are never outright explained, although I do believe the game later on implies one reason over another. Nevertheless, upon landing on Earth, we enter a house that's expansive and full of life, having since been reclaimed by numerous bug species who have taken each room as their kingdom to call home. Each species has its own culture, including moral values and religious practices, and the game does well at characterizing its communities.

Upon immediately landing, Milodane is introduced to an old moth named Ridmi who warmly welcomes us as they're interested in the odd and unusual. Ridmi soon explains how, for many years, his lifelong goal has been to completing a device originally having belonged to the so-called god the bugs collectively worship named Arwdin, which Ridmi believes has the capability to go "beyond the House." Using the aforementioned Tinykin as tools of sorts which we shepherd around, Milodane sets off to collect needed artifacts to fully construct Ardwin's device. On our own, there is little we're able to explore, but the Tinykin allow us to easily overcome these obstacles. Numerous types of Tinykin exist each with their own unique characteristics, such as being explosive in nature and the ability to conduct electricity.

As previously mentioned, Milodane's journey takes the player all across the house, which is certainly designed for the average-sized human. But, because of our small size, this typical setting becomes anything but, as every nook and cranny throughout this now open-ended space becomes an explorable environment. By normal standards, the house is in total disarray as each room is very much now home to bug civilization, and it's enjoyable to witness the ways in which bugs have adopted human resources to their benefit. In one area, fields of farmland have been constructed out of kitchen sponges, with a waterfall towering from up above upon utilizing the kitchen sink as its source, with the water itself being directed by a pipe system constructed from a series of drinking straws. Seeing these fun and clever ways to build an in-game environment was always enjoyable, and it only takes adjusting the camera slightly or taking one small turn to discover more.

At its core, Tinykin is a 3D platformer which focuses more on environmental puzzle-solving and simple exploration than collecting materials, although the latter is certainly present. In fact, in what is perhaps a bit unexpected for the genre, but there is no combat or major conflict whatsoever. While each stage has its own goal in securing the needed artifact for Ardwin's device, it isn't as simple as finding it. Instead, a series of tasks always stands in the player's way which requires the player to carefully navigate the area which is always complete with hidden interiors such as a crawlspace, a locked refrigerator, and closed dressers and drawers. While discovering all the game's collectibles is far from necessary, doing so will require a thorough eye, as levels are massive alongside the player being given free reign to explore without any set path to follow. In general, accomplishing the main objective is straightforward to do, but the amount of side content distracts the player in a natural way which encourages further exploration.

Knowing what to expect from Tinykin's gameplay, I was not expecting for the game to feature a robust amount of optional dialogue to read from interactable NPCs. In truth, a lot of dialogue adds little to the narrative itself, but it does help bring the world to life, so I always stopped to read what characters offered to say. At the game's conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised at the narrative ending, although I wish preceding details were a little more transparent. Perhaps all the details were there and I was too focused on amassing in-game collectibles and exploring new environments without reading into the game's deeper meaning, though. Paired with the game's writing, Tinykin's art direction is fun and full of colorful, cartoon illustrations. While not novel by any means, its use of 3D environments paired with 2D character art that swivels alongside camera rotation was always a visual treat to see. In a small number of instances, there are even fully animated cartoon sequences which help elevate the expressive characters to being even more so.

To my surprise, Tinykin excels at providing an in-depth experience to the 3D platformer genre, and it would be an excellent introduction to anyone unfamiliar to this type of gameplay. There is a low skill level required, but a fulfilling experience awaits, nonetheless. It isn't overbearing with its collectibles nor do they feel tacked on, and many will naturally gravitate toward experiencing the full exploratory adventure.

kashell:
24. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Soma

Of all the Castlevania games on the Game Boy Advance, this one is objectively the best. There's so much excellence packed in that it's easy to see why the majority of fans have it as their favorite of the three, and a favorite in general. I told myself that I would just make this a casual playthrough and not bother doing everything. Well, that idea got shot to Hell near the end when I kept discovering new things. As a result, I was able to get all of the Souls and most of the rare drops from all the enemies. At this point, I'm good on Metroidvanias for a while. I want to play Harmony of Dissonance with a cleansed palette, and beyond that, I want to eventually give Julius mode in this game a whirl.

kashell:
25. Persona 3 Reload

The first Persona I've ever finished. It's the only one the series I've had any interest in because of its sleek look and interesting themes. For some reason it kept slipping under my radar. While I'm glad I finished it, I'm so glad that it's over. The rigidness of the Social Links, some overly long cut scenes that the FF feature couldn't even help with, and most of the soundtrack were what I'll remember more than the epic story, the cool characters, and the (sometimes) fun combat. I'll always prefer the mainline SMT to this. At some point, I do want to try P5 Royal, but it'll be after a long, long time. This was a long game. If not for Unicorn Overlord being so addictive, I would likely take a massive break from RPGs.

realpoketendonl:
4. Bayonetta (NSIC Mode) [Switch]

Phew, barely had any time to play lately because I've just moved, but just beat Bayonetta again. I've beaten this game many, MANY times before, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've beaten it on Non-Stop Infinite Climax difficulty (the hardest difficulty in the game). The fact I've beaten it like over 10 times should tell you how much I love this game tho. Bayonetta 1 and 2 are two of my favourite games of all time, and I cannot recommend them enough. Glad to now finally tick off the top difficulty box too.
Now, just started up BROK the InvestiGator, and enjoyed the first hour. Looking forward to diving into that one more :)

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