52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

[kashell]

70. Emio: The Smiling Man

While visiting family, I stopped by a GameStop near their place and picked this up. I thought it would be a good way to gear up for the sp00py gaming season. The game was a point and click, visual novel detective game with clean visuals and easy to use interfaces. It also had a groovy soundtrack. Unfortunately, it's a slow burn. Even for a game like this. The first chapter really gets you in the mood to solve the case. Things don't really become interesting until the ninth or tenth chapter. The game has twelve chapters in total. So, yeah. It was kind of a snooze fest for the majority of the time. I still plan on keeping the game. Said trip was one of the most impactful ones so this will act as a souvenir for that.

[kashell]

71. Emio: The Smiling Man - Minoru

A bonus story that sums up everything that goes on with some of the key players before the story begins in earnest and fills in all of the gaps from the main story. This was a nice bonus to a rather blah game. I really appreciated that the second half of it was done with some gorgeous, high-quality anime. If you do play Emio: The Smiling Man, I'd say it's worth it to see things through to completion so you can enjoy this bonus material.

[bikingjahuty]

45. Tekken 8 (PS5)

I've wanted to play Tekken 8 since it came out several months ago, but thanks to a very thoughtful anniversary present from my wife, I can now play it and see if it's as good as it looks. I'm very happy to say that it is just as good as it looks, if not a little better than that. Tekken 8 shines in the department you'd most want it to, and that's its very tight, very well crafted gameplay. Everything is fairly easy and accessible in terms of controls and being able to execute some of the games more technical moves, however at the same time you know you're only scratching the surface when pulling off wicked combos and other special moves. The rage gauge makes its return from the previous game, but also has a heat gage which is sort of a less powerful rage gauge that allows you to punish your opponent when used, and also grants you special moves you can only use while it's active. Balancing of characters seems pretty good, with no single character seeming way better than the others, although like all fighting games, i'm sure there are several competitive favorites. But at least from my casual, ammetuer perspective, everything felt very well crafted by the devs and it all translates into one of the best gameplay experiences of any Tekken game I've ever played. The presentation is also very good, although it's far from being my favorite Tekken game from a visuals or aesthetics standpoint. There are some unique stage destruction effects, as well as secret areas that are only unlocked by slamming your opponent against the ground or a specific wall to unlock them. The OST is very Tekkeny, with some very high energy techno tracks, but a few others too that provide a nice change. Like the visuals, it's not my favorite Tekken from an OST perspective, but it's definitely an above average audio experience overall. If I was ranking Tekken 8 compared to all the other Tekken games, I'd place it only behind the original Tag Tournament as well as 5. Other than that, it's the best modern Tekken I've played, mostly due to how amazing its gameplay is. (9/28/24) [39/50]

[realpoketendonl]

22. Meteos

When it comes to "beating" a game, I'm always confused as to what to do with short games with multiple endings. One playthrough gets me the credits. Does that mean I beat it? Or do I need to get all the endings before I can say I beat it? Ah screw it, I got five out of twelve endings thus far (which also means I got 5 credits sequences), and getting the rest just means playing almost the exact same campaign modes 7 more times. I may sometime soon, but I think it's fair to say I know what the game is about and call it beat.

Meteos is a really fun and heavily underappreciated puzzle game for the DS. It's a "matching blocks"-type game, where you move blocks vertically to create a match, which launches those blocks and the ones on top of it towards the top of the screen. It's a brilliant twist on the matching blocks-style gameplay, making you play in multiple smaller playing fields as you launch segments and think ahead in how to chain more together. It's addicting, keeps things varied with different block styles and physics for them, and it's very fun to play! I do hope this and the Disney spin-off for the DS won't stay as the only times we see this franchise. It's a unique and underappreciated gem - especially considering it comes from the mind of Masahiro Sakurai, of Kirby and Super Smash Bros. fame. It deserves more love. Glad to have played it, and I will definitely play it some more after this!

[dhaabi]

37. Silent Hill: Homecoming || PlayStation 3 || 09.25.24



While I continue to play through the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill: Homecoming was the next entry for me to experience. At this point in the series, there is much fan discussion regarding which entry is the worst, and it's always a toss-up between three or four titles with Homecoming always being one of the least popular ones mentioned. Nevertheless, I didn't know the exact reasons for why that is, so I began with few expectations for me to gain my own opinion.

In its first moments, the game introduces an intense position that the protagonist Alex Shepherd finds themselves in, as he's tied down to a gurney in a derelict hospital, now frightened with confusion after having witnessed horrific scenes in other rooms. During this sequence—and for the remaining duration of the game—the player's main goal is to find Alex's younger brother, Josh. For a majority of the plot, there is little progression, and it is only in the game's final sections does the narrative unfold greatly. With that said, the plot is straightforward and revisits common themes established in previous titles, namely psychological horror and family. The game's title reflects such themes: returning home to a broken family, a town you never quite felt welcome in, the presumed duty of parent and child, and reclaiming what's been lost, be it physical or otherwise.

Despite the game's thematic similarities to previous titles, its gameplay turns away from what's been previously established to a considerable degree. Immediately after players assume control, it's been abundantly clear that there's a heavy emphasis on action-focused combat while mentioning combo chains, even. To be upfront, there is a lot to comment on about the game's battle mechanics, although I'll maintain some level of brevity yet mention now that they come together in a way which makes Homecoming feel like a total outlier. In short, combat is exhaustively irritating in how it controls, leading for many encounters which should be relatively effortless anything but. New to the series, two defensive commands have been implemented: ducking and dodge rolling. Both are ineffective (especially the latter), and I found simply running away from enemies far more practical to avoid taking damage. Additionally, players even have the opportunity to counterattack when dodge inputs are timed correctly, but I don't think I was ever able to complete this action. Like in the previous title, QTE sequences return which I found to diminish combat. More than ever before, the camera perspective feels more personal, leading for enemy encounters to be much more confrontational, which is a change I welcome. The camera position for melee attacks is closer than in previous titles while still a fair distance away, although it's moved close in at a proper over-the-shoulder view when readying ranged weapons.

As I found myself facing more enemy encounters, they began to feel considerably unfair due to how effective combat and movement is. Of course, some of my problems may have been attributed to my skill level, but there were many instances where I was either stun locked or backed into a corner, unable to do anything in response while my health drained. During these moments, the game felt frustratingly and needlessly difficult. Generally in more modern games after a milestone, there is some sort of respite, allowing for resource replenishment or a chance to save progress. However, this game often does not provide these moments, thereby forcing players who are already struggling to continue to do so under dire circumstances. Instead, two minor forms of help is offered upon the player's death, being some health recovery and restarting at the last major checkpoint. I can't outright fault the game for this decision, as players aren't left entirely deprived, but it came across as something negative due to the previously mentioned poorly-implemented controls. After a series of mishaps largely resulting from the game's faults, I found myself being in the most disadvantaged position I've ever been in while playing a survival horror game, with a visibly empty health bar and no usable resources. In this moment, it was quite stressful to get through for someone who's still growing used to the genre, but I continued to advance somehow while slowly regaining items. Overwhelmingly, players should not reach this sort of position due to the game's optimization, so I felt quite accomplished in being able to clear this segment after several attempts.

At this point, I'll go through several of the game's miscellaneous design elements. While I've already mentioned that QTE sequences are built into combat, they're also implemented while exploring the environment. While its effectiveness is altogether minor, there are certain roadblocks to be found as players progress, with some being optional or needing to be revisited at a later time. To overcome these barriers, a specific weapon type must be used to gain access. Over time, this sort of gameplay becomes an afterthought as players will inevitably collect each weapon as well as forgoing the sense of needing to retread explored ground, but early instances reward a player's curiosity. Alongside QTEs which still feel unfamiliar to the series, decision-making prompts seldom appear during dialogue. In only three instances does a player's choice matter as they effect the game's conclusion, with the remaining moments having no impact on the narrative or situation outcome. Traditionally, Silent Hill is a series known for its multiple endings with outcomes regularly feeling arbitrary to those unfamiliar to the requirements to unlock each one, so the clear-cut choice-based system is objectively much simpler. After some reflection, my takeaway is that the choice-based system in Homecoming is far less successful, as it abandons the idea of rewarding players who play with different play styles or as an incentive to begin a subsequent playthrough with a different focus in mind. Lastly, puzzle elements are another key feature of the franchise. While they're still present, many—especially in the game's first half—are lackluster without much effort put into their design, although the overall quality does improve as the game progresses.

Serving as the sixth mainline title, Silent Hill: Homecoming relinquishes much of what defines each game as a proper entry in the franchise. With a greater emphasis on action and more upfront scares that have far less nuance and emotional impact, Homecoming exists as a horror game that begins to feel foreign to the series. Even without acknowledging its predecessors, Homecoming is fine, though it's still not anywhere close to being remarkable, and perhaps its greatest strengths lie in its plot. Since the original four title released with groundbreaking ideas and themes and with great execution, that anything lesser is presented—even when mediocre and not outright terrible—will make it seem like the game's an unforgivable disaster, though Homecoming could be far, far worse.

[Cartagia]

Finally got around to Shadow of the Erdtree and while I definitely agree with criticisms about the final boss, I gotta say, I thought it was a pretty great distilled FromSoft Souls experience.  I personally didn't find it particularly difficult, aside from the final boss, and while I think the Scadutree Blessing system is an elegant way to balance the DLC without trivializing the base game.  Unfortunately, I also see them being frustrating to collect on potential replays.  Otherwise, I dug the world, lore and (relative) simplicity of the quests.

[kashell]

72. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Julius

Wellp, that's that. I wasn't even trying to speedrun or anything. Since there wasn't any incentive to kill regular enemies unless they were blocking my path, I just zoomed through the castle. Julius moves at lightning speed so that helped, too. I thought his moves would grow tired but they didn't. I didn't get 100% castle completion but I had a lot of fun going through most of it with such a badass Belmont.

[Cartagia]

I heard Haunted Castle Revisited was pretty short, so I decided to knock that out as a quick palette cleanser.  It's leagues better than the original version of the game, but it's still not great.  Source material you can only do so much with.

[dhaabi]

38. Baths || PC || 09.30.24



Unexpectedly, I found myself playing a game called Baths from a genre I've not ever really connected with nor ever really feel compelled to play—visual novel. However, there is good reason for that, and that's because I'm close friends with one of the creators. As a short experience built for this year's Spooktober Visual Novel Jam event, Baths is also a project I had some small level of involvement in, as I did provide writing feedback during its development that did result in some minor changes, though none relating to narrative events or the overarching plot. On a first playthrough, most players will find themselves reaching one of the game's endings in about fifteen minutes, so its length is welcoming to those, like myself, wanting to read something brief yet competent.

While reading, the unsettling characterization and grotesque imagery through written description often leave the player unnerved with aversion. Not knowing the full plot details—if there are more, even—I'm left wanting to know more about what's alluded to or mentioned but not expanded upon, namely one character's absence and how exactly players are intended to regard one major element beyond its initial shock value. There is a clear reveal in one of the game's endings that's perfectly revolting that's even more effective as players will likely reach a premature conclusion about it that's wrong. Somewhat unfortunately, the full story relies on the players reaching all three endings, but I find that to be more practical for this type of storytelling. It may sound inconvenient, but the engine's built-in skip feature remedies this, as it allows players to skip past dialogue that's been seen before.

With three endings, the horror conveyed in each feel vastly distinct from another, as violence, suspense, and disgust are the lasting emotions players will feel. To reach a specific ending, a point-based system reliant on trust was built that's an interesting concept but one which doesn't reach its full potential due to the limited choice outcomes. Additional endings would greatly expand upon such system, although I don't think the plot necessarily warrants them, nor do I think there is any intention on implementing such changes. Nevertheless, what's available is adequate, though the system is really just a branching path.

Apart from story, visuals have a textured, pixelated sort of design that vastly sets the game apart from its contemporaries, including the other game jam submissions that I've glanced at while hoping to discover something else rewarding. A fair amount of art is taken from free assets, but this isn't problematic nor apparent, and the 3D models themselves are utilized nicely for 2D backgrounds. Oppositely, sounds complement the visual storytelling highly. Soft drones accomplish several tasks, including decompressing tension, sheltering from danger, and establishing a luring air of anxiety. Meanwhile, heavy, discordant wails may be heard in harsh juxtaposition.

As a game requiring little time to reach its conclusion, Baths is one I genuinely do believe achieves its storytelling through its more subtle, tension-building style of horror. Not all questions the player will inevitably have are answered, though this mystery allows for their interpretation that only adds to the unpleasant ambience. I may sound biased in these takeaway thoughts, but I do think that, for the scope of this project and for the limited time window it had for development, it offers a worthwhile, heightened reading experience.

[realpoketendonl]

23. Tomb Raider (2013)

Just got a Steam Deck, so wanted to play something on it. And Tomb Raider 2013 seemed like a good choice. This is actually the first Tomb Raider game I've ever played. Excited to have finally played a game in the series, but that also means I can only judge this on its own merit, so that's what I'll do. (potential spoilers)

I quite enjoyed it! I really love how cinematic it felt. I think the exploring parts around the island are fantastic. It feels empowering and immersive. You really feel the sense of height and the speed or force you're putting into things. I also liked stealthing around and taking care of enemies sneakily. And I quite liked Lara's depiction as a character here. I can't compare it to the classic Tomb Raider games, but I definitely grew fond of this version of her.

I will say though, there were also some bits that got under my skin a bit. One thing is the combat. Don't get me wrong, it's fun enough to play, but at times it also got annoying, particularly when I was repeatedly forced into large fights. There were multiple parts where I was shooting horde after horde after horde of boring screaming American men. It sometimes made me feel like I was playing any random war shooter, which aren't games I enjoy. I guess it stuck out to me extra because it's not what I was expecting of this game, and not what I enjoyed the most about it either. I know Lara Croft is typically a dual gun-wielding badass, but this game looked like it'd be more of an exploration and survivalist-focused ordeal. And it didn't feel like a narrative fit either. Weren't we on this mystical ancient island, meant to be unknown or lost? How are there literally hundreds of hundreds of men on here - all in the same cult no less?

But despite those annoyances, I really enjoyed my time with this game. I'd like to check out the sequels too someday. And the pre-reboot Tomb Raider games for that matter. But first: Metroid Prime 2 and Solatorobo.

Also sidenote, it ran almost flawlessly on the Steam Deck. I like this little device a lot! Hoping that with this I'll play through a lot more of my Steam / PC library.

[kashell]

73. Tokoyo: The Tower of Perpetuity

I...guess I can consider this beaten? It's a rogue-like tower climber that (I think) takes place in the Tohou Universe. Or maybe it features characters from it? I dunno. It's definitely got its charms. And it definitely has its audience. But, after making it as far as I did after a few hours, I just found myself kind of bored. I don't play games online and this one really wants you to do just that. Oh well. As always, it's good to step out of my comfort zone with something different.

[kashell]

74. Ikai

Spooktober continues with a platinum trophy for Ikai. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would since it was in a first-person perspective. There was only one instance where the camera made me dizzy. Ancient Japan with plenty of folklore, Shintoism, and all the atmosphere that comes with that? Yeah, I had to play it. While the game was quick, it's one of those games that requires a guide in order to get everything out of it. Some of the puzzles needed some additional guidance, too. Otherwise, fun little palette cleanser of a game that's perfect for the season.

[telly]

Game 17: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - 37 Hours

I’m really torn on this game. It has a lot about it that I really enjoyed but overall I found this game a bit more frustrating than anything. Which is surprising to me because I know this game is beloved by many.

I think my favorite aspects of the game is the premise and atmosphere. Creating a Zelda game without the typical series tropes like rescuing the princess from Ganon is interesting. The 3-day time loop creates some interesting puzzle-solving scenarios similar to Ocarina of Time was quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed the ambiance of Clock Town which creates a feeling of loneliness and foreboding with the impending destruction of the world. It’s a fun hub world to explore with some really interesting characters and storylines to uncover that often revolves around death or other mature themes. And because everything you do in 3 days is reset each time you wind the clock back, it makes you feel hopelessness and despair because nothing you do for anybody in the game ultimately lasts. At its best, it also adds some nice tension to the game.

It’s unfortunate that none of your main gear is any different than Ocarina of Time, which makes exploring dungeons lose a lot of the excitement. But this is made up for with the masks that you can collect, which provide a lot of unique effects and it’s fun to collect them all. The game has a lot of interesting sidequests which are fun to explore, and it has a great notebook that keeps track of everything for you, though I did use the notes function extensively on my 3DS to denote quests that your notebook wasn’t adding.

Where I found this game to falter was the gameplay, music, and overall story. First, the gameplay. This game was very frustrating to control because of wonky jumping physics and collision detection and a very difficult to manage camera. The little c-stick nub helps, but really pales in comparison to a second control stick. I constantly had trouble locking on to enemies because I couldn’t move the camera correctly or your fairy just wouldn’t cooperate with you.

I found that the 3-day time limit caused a lot of frustration for me. Setting aside all of the weird inconsistencies in how time is managed in the game, this mechanic hampers your gameplay experience in two ways – the first is that you can’t take your time exploring or jump around to different quests or activities because all your progress resets. The second is that because this game is cryptic and requires trial and error, you often have to replay storylines or progress through a dungeon two, sometimes three times just to get back to where you were previously. It creates a lot of tedium, and I would say that a good 15 hours of this game was just repeating things I already knew how to do. The game gives you a way to slow the clock down but I feel like it should have just been that long from the start.

What particularly annoyed me was losing all your consumable items when you reset the clock. There is no functional reason why this needs to happen other than annoy the player. You get to keep all the important gear like your hookshot and bottles, why not make everything just carry over? Every time I reset the cycle, I had to make a field trip to cut some grass outside Clock Town just to restock my bombs and arrows and you need to do that like 30+ times. I also never used any of my bottles because anything you add to them is drained away when the clock resets.

Lastly, I just didn’t find the story to be that interesting even with the great initial setup. Skull Kid is just a stereotypical villain who wants to destroy the world because he found the mask and was lonely. No real deep storytelling, and the three main stories to me weren’t that impactful either. The music, other than a few standout tracks, I actually found it to be kind of boring, which was surprising to me. When you consider how many NPCs, enemies, and environments are lifted from Ocarina of Time, I felt like a lot of the game was a little more phoned in than I expected. I came away from this experience ultimately feeling a little let down by Majora's Mask, which was the same feeling I had when I first played Ocarina of Time 3D. I don't know, these games just don't resonate with me like they do for a lot of people.

[Cartagia]

Beat Dracula in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia this morning.  It's got some of the strongest combat and story in any of the Iga-vanias, but it also still has their biggest weakness - all of the needed grinding for levels and drops.  It does make some of the more overpowered builds a bit more obvious, thankful and those are what I used on the last two bosses because I really didn't want to grind out more levels are quests to be able to buy the best consumables.  It also has my least favorite map of probably any of these games, since it has an overworked and hub levels.

[kamikazekeeg]

24 - Alan Wake 2 (PC 2023) - BEAT - Been meaning to play this for awhile, bought it half off awhile back but waited for my new PC so I could properly enjoy it and I'm glad I did, the game looks really good.  I love the mixture of live action and game visuals as they blend it all really well.  I wouldn't say I was a huge fan of the original, it was fine, some interesting story ideas, kinda middling action to it.  Then Control came out and I was in love with that, because that took the specific event of Alan Wake and said "Oh, this isn't some one-off thing, the world is filled with all these weird, supernatural, things".  A cross of X-Files and Warehouse 13, the sorta stuff we see in SCP related media, I love that so much and is why I loved the spinoff.  This game is still very much an Alan Wake game, but with a dabbling of elements introduced in Control.

I have no real serious negatives, there was a constant bug, where the transition cutscenes between locations that have dialogue going on, the audio would always get lagged out, which was annoying.  I also don't think the combat is very good here.  It's functional, much like the first was, but when you start needing to fight more than one or dealing with the more challenging boss fights, that I feel the slow movement and piddly dodge mechanic is kinda weak.  It's very similar to the RE Remakes in execution, but I felt like things worked better there than here.

Overall a very solid, creepy game, just enough to explore and do while not being an overbearing open world type experience, I like being able to piece the story together and see it physically pieced together in Saga's Mind Place as pictures connected by string, it's not something I feel I've seen a game do before so if you want to at the end.  Forgot a plot point? It's right there and there's a lot to remember.  I can't say I understand all the of the story, there's some things that happened that I'm not sure if I'm supposed to fully understand by the end or if they are cliffhangers for an Alan Wake 3.  We'll see I guess.

Also, Old Gods of Asgard are great, both musical sequences with them were fun lol I loved the Herald of Darkness song, listened to it multiple times, seen the video, seen it done love at the Game Awards, and I like that it's just a completely random inclusion.  The humor of the game was great.