52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[bikingjahuty]

44. Minecraft (PS3)

Before people think I decided to start playing Minecraft because of the recent release of the live action movie and its subsequent success, I've actually been meaning to return to Minecraft for some time. I bought Minecraft on the PS3 many years ago when it was more or less at the peak of its popularity. Keep in mind at the time I first tried Minecraft, I was a good 10-years older than your typical Minecraft fan, so it was something I felt a little skeptical going into at the time. What ensued was me pouring dozens of hours into the game's creative mode and building huge fantasy style cities and kingdoms, while also exploring my map's vast underground caves. I eventually put the game down and sadly haven't picked it back up in years despite it briefly being my addiction for about a month. Well, I decided to pick Minecraft back up again and it's just as much of a fun, engaging experience as it was when I first played it a while back.


The premise of Minecraft's gameplay is so simple and basic, yet so genius at the same time. Everything more or less consists blocks and whether you're destroying them or building with them, you can more or less create anything you want in this game. As I mentioned, I typically love building high fntasy style cities and structures, but I also love just digging and seeing what I can discover deep underground. I know this game has a survival mode as well, which I've dabbled in, but the real selling point for me has always been Minecraft's creative mode which allows you to make whatever, where ever you want. I pretty much lost this entire last weekend to Minecraft where I seriously could not stop playing and even had trouble sleeping because I kept imagining what I was going to work on next when creating my massive, epic fantasy city. Couple this with putting on some really well made video game retrospectives on the Metal Gear and Resident Evil series in the background and I pretty much felt like I was in heaven.


Minecraft's art style is one that could be argued for and against for various reasons, but personally I think this game is very visually appealing despite its very blocky aesthetic and graphics. This game definitely has a look and feel that distinctly belongs to it. There are limitations on what you can create, or at least how good you can make it look with blocky nature of all the building items, but overall it all works very well. There are also various alternative texture packs and bonus blocks/items you can use, but at least the ones included in the PS3 version of Minecraft didn't really make this game any more enjoyable for me on the hole.


The audio in Minecraft mostly consists of soothing instrumental tracks which go perfectly with creative atmosphere of this game and will put you mind at ease, allowing you to create to your heart's content. I do wish there were more tracks to listen to, especially with how long you're likely to spend playing this game, but for what's here, it isn't bad at all. Sound effects are all pretty limited and mostly just involve a handful of noises when destroying certain types of blocks or objects, and the occasional Minecraft creature noises here and there. It's all definitely above average, but still takes a back seat to the excellent gameplay and visuals.


As someone who is naturally very creative, but works 40+ hours in a field that allows that side of me little opportunity to be expressed, games like Minecraft really tap into something I sorely need more of in my life. I love losing myself into whatever I'm building or exploring in Minecraft. It gives me several hours to let my imagination run wild and also focus on building some massive tower next to a castle I'm building, or where I'm going to put the peasant houses in relation to the rest of the kingdom I'm building. I think up little stories in my ahead about the lore behind my city, who rules over it, what wars or conflicts their involved in, and just so many other things that don't even directly relate to whatever I'm building at any given moment. Minecraft definitely scratches that creative itch like few other things in my life do, which is probably why I easily get addicted to this game whenever I decide to sink any amount of time into it. I love Minecraft and I think it has something for everyone if building things and being creative is your thing. (4/14/25) [44/50]

[kamikazekeeg]

9 - Minecraft: Beyond Depth (PC) - ENDLESS/DROPPED - With the recent Minecraft stuff and a video series I got into, got me into the mood for Minecraft.  Turns out base Minecraft is incredibly boring these days lol So I found a pretty reasonable mod that greatly expands the game into more of an entertaining adventure, more challenge, and tons of content and things to find.  An annoying downside is that they never did anything to change mob amount and the sort of enemies you get coming after you at night can be impossible to fight, despite having way better gear.  It's so frustrating because it just doesn't feel balanced at all.  When it was just base game zombies, spiders, and skeletons, it was okay, but now there's crazy fast or powerful enemies that'll stomp you almost immediately.  It's ridiculous.  Been abit since I've rage quit a game, but I got fed up trying to make runs back to my body in the nether lol

It's a really great mod, there's so much more to do and while I feel like a lot of the loot sucks, so often not getting much of value, there were really good moments and there was still so much to explore, I think more dimensions beyond the Undergrowth and Nether, but I'm tired of getting swamped by mobs I literally can't kill fast enough despite having the best gear I can get at that moment lol I played a bunch of hours, but I think I got what I wanted for a return to Minecraft for now.

[ignition365]

Main List
Previous List

bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.

32. PictoQuest (PC)
I love me some picross/nonograms.  This one and another one have been sitting on my backlog for far too long and this one came up in PT dungeon iirc.  This one is just a series of picross puzzles across a Mario World overworld map with some little dialogue here and there.  Overall a really enjoyable picross experience.  The other picross game, which to date I have yet to play, sounds way more interactive and I have concerns that it might hinder the puzzle experiences, but overall, this one is real good and I recommend it.
Rating: Soft recommendation

33. 100 hidden gnomes (PC)
Another 100 hidden game.  There are a finite number of these games and a lot of them are profile limited, but as they leave profile limited status I'll continue playing these.  Are these games worth your time, idk, I enjoy them despite them being 10 minute games, but they are easy 100%s for game completion stats on steam and other sites... and that's kind of the only reason to really play these.  I mean if you enjoy hidden object games like this where there's no puzzles or stories, just find the things, then it's great, but again only for 10 minutes and zero replay value.
Rating: Soft pass

34. Katamari Damacy REROLL (PC)
I love Katamari games, but the only reason I played this was because it got selected for me for PoP because I had previously won the game in a giveaway.  Fantastic game, would've loved to go for 100% but it was just too much of a time investment to fill out the compendium or whatever it's called having rolled up every available item throughout the game.  If not for that achievement, I surely would've went for 100%, but I know how annoying it can be to find every tiny thing given that certain items only appear in certain levels and items do despawn as you shift from size to size.  Ignoring that stuff, the game is a classic and absolutely fantastic.  Highly recommended for its goofy and addictive gameplay
Rating: Solid recommendation

35. Devil May Cry 5 (PC)
I played this as part of my franchise run of the DMC franchise years ago and I didn't enjoy this game.  The art is beautiful and afaik spawned a lot of SFM content, but I just don't enjoy DMC style hack and slash content, I'm also not big on score attack type games that rate you constantly.  These are all things that detract from the experience for me, but I knew I didn't give this game a solid chance my first time around because I wasn't enjoying any of the games in the franchise, but was just playing them to check boxes and be able to say, yeah, I've played the DMC games.  That's kind of the running thing with the franchise runs is just checking boxes so I can say yeah, I've played all of the games in that franchise, has nothing to do with whether or not I like the games, but more about the whole "1000 games to play before you die" type of thing where I definitely take suggestions from others and books and whatnot, but I also want to be able to form my own suggestions and it's nice to have outliers playing games others might not have given a chance.  Usually ends with stuff like this where I wouldn't recommend a single DMC game as a must play, but that's definitely bias driven.  I think I did do better this time around playing the game as I had played it before, knew what to expect, and wasn't burnt out on hack and slash gameplay... but I still didn't really enjoy the game.  I also really hate that Dante looks like Matt Mercer, that will never not irk me.
Rating: Soft pass

36. Ghostwire: Tokyo (PC)
This is one of those games where I kinda wish I had played it on another platform, but it was a gift and I needed to play it because it was picked for me for PoP.  I think I would've had a better time on PS5/XS, not that I had a bad time necessarily, but I know the steam deck doesn't look nearly as nice as PS5/XS.  Game was largely enjoyable to play, I would've liked to put more time into the game to do more collectible stuff, but traveling and traversing was actually quite a chore in this game, and I feel like there were some achievements in the game that would've made the 100% a real pain in the ass, so I just couldn't be bothered to do more without the intent of aiming for 100%... looking back it looks like there is a lot to do, but nothing dealbreaking, it just would've taken me another 30 hours to 100% which was more time than I was willing to invest at the time.  I'll consider going back to it, but again, it's tough justifying.  I really really hate how late I am with writing this stuff.  I didn't care for a lot of the story telling in this, it's definitely one of those situations where I as a character wouldn't have made the choices that I was forced into making, but the game mechanically is very solid and enjoyable, though a lot of the combat was just plain tiresome.  It gives me Death Stranding vibes in that way, I enjoy the most of the game, but the combat really brings the experience down.  I'm also concerned that I'll decide to go back to the game to finish up stuff and I won't be able to recall the systems and mechanics and will push off from the game because of it.
Rating: Soft recommendation

37. Forza Horizon 5 (XS)
As always, I'm playing this game off and on.  This time around I was playing to aim to get all events done in the given series 4 seasons.  I did everything in every season to get the awards and I think the achievement for it.  I'm actually wondering now if I got all of the items but didn't get the achievement because I missed some stupid event that was really time sensitive, but I was playing this game daily for weeks to attempt to do this.  I'd be really sour if I found out in retrospect I never earned that achievement.  I'm not going to look, I don't want to know for sure.  I tried to check out some of the new content that released when the game launched for PS5, but I think I didn't delve into it too much, I'll write about that maybe next year lmao.  Anyway, this game is a joy and it's definitely sad that as good as this game is, it'll be a piece of shit as soon as it gets delisted.  I need to give Horizon 4 a go now that it's delisted and see what's left to be played now that there is no support for the game, that will be telling about how feasible this game will be once it goes offline.  AFAIK Horizon 2/3 are the last good Horizon games because they weren't quite service games.
Rating: Highly recommended

38. Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 (XS)
I've been playing this game off and on for like a year or so.  It's a real good time waster and I've been enjoying my time with it when I just want something to do without needing to worry about language or violence.  I did look at a guide and it seems you can get the 100% a bit quicker via some shenanigans, which I could do, but then I wouldn't have the game to rely on as a time waster, so while I'm considering it, I probably won't take advantage.  Game is simple enough that it's not too much of a chore to play, but the game is tedious enough that it does get tiresome.  I tried to do the barn stuff and I'm just like I'm not sure I get the point of being able to buy used parts essentially.  I can repair some parts, but I can't repair others, and there is no visible icon or anything that lets you know if a part is repairable and you definitely can't repair parts under 15% health, so I've basically just ignored used parts.  Maybe it would save some money, but I don't even know if the used parts values are really cheaper than just buying them new, and parts are cheap enough and you get enough for selling fixed up cars that I just couldn't be bothered with that mechanic.  I go to the barns just to find cache crates because that's the only viable way to get XP to level up to get the achievement for hitting level 50.  I think I might have one of the older versions of this game on Steam, so I'll definitely give that a try at some point to see how the series has changed over the years.  Game does have a lot of DLC but gratefully the game didn't add DLC achievements, otherwise I'd be really not considering spending more time in the game given I'd never get the 100%.
Rating: Soft recommendation

39. Days Gone (PC)
Another game that I think I might have enjoyed playing on console over PC.  Game played relatively fine on steam deck, but I bet would've played a bit better on PS5 via BC, though at this point I'm irked about the PS5 remaster and the shenanigans with that.  Shortly after I beat this game they released new DLC for PC, paid DLC, so I'll never get the 100% now.  I considered coming back to it for the 100% but I knew I couldn't get it before the DLC so I said nah.  Another game that I enjoyed but gets held back by its combat.  The game starts real slow, to the point that I had played it on PS4 originally, but abandoned it fairly quickly because of how slow the game started.  I got this picked for me as a PoP game due to it being a gift that needed to be played, so I committed to the game because of that.  That said, once you get over the hump the game is actually quite good.  Has a good story, good characters, proper drama, good gameplay, but a lot of the combat can get tiresome and annoying and while the horde stuff is interesting once you're equipped enough to do so, but a single horde will empty your entire inventory clearing it out and it's such a fucking slog to refill your inventory.  So while it's a great thing to do late or post game and really enjoyable, having to prepare in the first place and having to prepare for the next horde after finishing a horde basically ruins the fun of the experience given how much effort goes into filling your inventory back up.  The game is quite long compared to what I expected.  I expected an Uncharted level time to beat for the game, but the game is easily 40 hours to beat, which is just awesome, but on the other hand, and I hate to recommend it, this game would've been better had it been split into 2 games or even 3 games with even more story.  By the time you hit the point that you go to the south area, the game already feels like a full fucking game and could've been a good sort of cliffhanger ending with the sequel taking place in the south.  Don't get me wrong, who am I to complain that a game has too much content, but I think the game would've been more palatable that way.  The game stuck around a bit too long.  Really good game despite its flaws.
Rating: Soft to solid recommendation

40. A Castle Full of Cats (PC)
I'm pretty sure I had previously beaten this game, but the game added content and achievements, so I went back to it to finish it out.  Yeah, I had beaten the game last year and they had an update at some point that added 4 additional achievements and some extra areas in the game.
More info from 2024
Rating: Soft recommendation

41. Cats Hidden in Italy (PC)
Another hidden object game.  These are just one big scene with cats hidden about.  I don't care for this style of hidden object, 1 really big screen that you have to zoom in on, but it's still enjoyable.
Rating: Soft pass

42. Sex with the Devil (PC)
Man this year is being a bit unhinged with these awful NSFW games.  This one, I don't think it was a gift, but I think it did pop up in dungeon, but maybe it was a gift, I can't recall.  Anyway, NSFW content in the game is fucking weird and awful, but I don't think it's necessarily the point of the game.  Gameplay is wandering through a maze, not getting murdered, and finding items to unlock a door to continue the game.  Real basic stuff, story doesn't have a good ending as you shouldn't be surprised.
Rating: Solid pass

43. 100 hidden mushrooms (PC)
Another 100 hidden game, again, not much to say, not really worth the time, but I do it to bulk up my achievement count and my completed game count.  Feels cheap to do so, but it is what it is.  Also do it to build fast rep in PlayTracker, which I'm hoping when guilds releases is something I'll be able to take advantage of, but looking at what guilds are at the moment, I won't be surprised if it stays locked to developers and publishers.
Rating: Soft pass

44. Cats (PC)
What a game name lmao. This is a hidden object game, I can't recall if it's the same dev as other ones, but it only has 2 achievements and takes all of 4 minutes to complete, again, not worth the time
Rating: Solid pass

45. Stray Cats in Cozy Town (PC)
I enjoy this dev's games mostly because I know they donate their profits to shelters and stuff which is cool, this one is a little neighborhood with cats hidden all over and it's pretty neat.  I think I needed hints or something for the last couple of cats.  I do enjoy the DevCats games and at least the proceeds go to a good cause, but again they aren't really worth the time and unfortunately the dev has started to include DLC achievements in their games which is unfortunate for folks who care about such things.  This one for instance, the dev added paid DLC but it has no achievements which is nice, but I think one of their newer games they added achievements with the DLC, so at least this one is completable without the DLC, but have to be careful going forward.
Rating: Soft pass

46. Wordle (PC)
I've played other entries in this series, mind you it predates Wordle as you know it, but it's a shitty little letter word game.
See Game #20 2024 for more info
Rating: Solid pass

47. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (PS5)
Man, Kiryu, I keep expecting to be done with him and he keeps coming back.  I thought Y6 was a good send off, then Y7 gave more of a send off, and then this game gave even more of a send off... and then Y8 gives him presumably a final send off.  I appreciate Kiryu keeping coming back, and I do love Kiryu, but I just, I have so many mixed feelings about what they've done to Kiryu, but it definitely feels like one of those we have to end the character so people can drop it, we tried to let him go off into the sunset and that wasn't good enough, so now he gets to go away for good.  I'm really trying not to spoiler anything, but I think the writing is on the wall here.  This is the last true Yakuza game and it's so good.  I do hope to see more Gaiden games whether it be younger Kiryu or other characters, I do really hope it becomes a mainstay.  This one is sort of a side tale telling what happens with kiryu between Y6 and Y7 and sort of taking place during Y7.  Absolutely highly recommended for anyone who has played Y0-6 because this one is just an amazing send off for Kiryu, handled much better than Y8 did, Y8 did Kiryu dirty... even if I do understand the reasoning
Rating: Solid recommendation

48. Cats Hidden in Germany (PC)
and you thought we were done, never... here's another one of the crummy full picture city based find the cats games.  Again, not worth your time.  I keep saying that despite me continually playing them.  I have no defense to it other than quick easy 100 achievements and real easy to pick up and play and get through the whole game in a single sitting, though at 4-10 minutes, it's still not worth the cost of entry.
Rating: Soft pass

49. Street Fighter (PC)
I'll be honest, I think I always had it in my head that the first Street Fighter game was Street Fighter 2010 or whatever for the NES, which I think isn't even a traditional fighter game.  I had been gifted one of the Street Fighter collections and rolled it as a backlog game and decided that I would beat at least 1 Street Fighter game, to make progress on a franchise run, every time it shows up in backlog dungeon.  Though, I think I just months later, rolled it again and skipped it, I don't know why I did that, might have been an accident.  Anyway, this one you can only play as Ken or Ryu and the controls are really stupid simple and janky and the game is tough as balls.  Really don't recommend it.  I do have to make the consideration if I'm going to make the effort to get all of the character's arcade endings in each game as I do recall in Street Fighter II that there are character endings.  Like I vaguely recall Chun-li's character ending in SF2.
Rating: Solid pass

50. Nonogram - Master's Legacy (PC)
Just a nonogram game, I love me some nonogram.  I played this one for all of 20 minutes to get the majority of the achievements, this game's claim to "fame" is that it has a community area where you can create your own nonograms.  That's neat, but what's a nonogram game without a tightly curated list of nonograms to do.  Honestly, not really worth the time, there are way better nonogram games, though the majority of them probably don't have a nonogram creator mode... so :shrug:
Rating: Soft pass

51. Heroes & Legends: Conquerors of Kolhar (PC)
I won this on steamgifts nearly 10 years ago, it's one of my oldest wins, mind you I only have like 7 wins that are older than 2 years ago as I was off the site for like 8 years.  Game is fairly short, not too much of a chore and actually a quite enjoyable game.  It wasn't until the last level or two that I really had to spend time grinding for xp which was a little annoying that the game had a curve at the end that required grinding.  Personally, I'm not a fan of games extending their playtime by requiring you to arbitrarily have to grind for XP, games lose points for that with me.  The abilities are nice, they are simple enough that you don't have to really "learn" them like some more complex games, but they do make a natural synergy and flow that does give combat depth and strategy.  That all said, it is a really old game at this point and really doesn't do anything noteworthy, not a bad game, but not worth checking out honestly.
Rating: Soft pass

52. Bots are Stupid (PC)
I love puzzle games and I enjoy programming, so games like these tend to grab my attention.  Now even with my attention, they are generally hit or miss, some are a joy like Kaizen and Zachtronics games, but then you have ones like this which start okay, but just aren't that enjoyable and I wind up suffering through it just to be done with it.  It's an okay game, but the mechanics and flow just aren't that enjoyable and I didn't find myself with the a-ha moments like I'd get with Kaizen or Human Resource Machine.  It started that way, which was enjoyable, but after so many levels the game started getting convoluted and outstayed its welcome.  I think a big part of it was the weird granularity of the wait system that made it truly a chore.  You have to set the wait command to such an exact value "1.14 seconds" for instance, that makes the trial and error nature that much more annoying and forces the trial and error nature as well, which takes away from a lot of the ability for it to be a "programming" game as you can plan a bit, but you wind up spending a ton of your time trial and erroring for the exact wait time between commands.
Rating: Soft pass

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[marvelvscapcom2]

22. Golden Axe III [Sega Genesis] Finished - Apr 17th, 2025



Golden axe 1 - Slipknot tribute band
Golden Axe 3 - Metallica


Review - Today I decided to fire up one of our handy dandy genesis compilations as a affordable way to try some of genesis's greatest games. From Sonic spinball, to comix zone (excellent) and of course the golden Axe series of beat em up games. I got deep into 1 in particular.  Golden Axe 3.  Which has shockingly blown me away. Its a chef's kiss. I love the sprites. Art work. Enemies. And overall vibe. Which The first massively lacks.


Now i'll put it bluntly...

Golden Axe 1 is worst than a line at the registry of motor vehicles


Perhaps hyperbole lol. But golden Axe 1 felt so clunky, It was beyond unwieldy. Simple jumps felt like what I can only describe trying to throw a ping pong ball into a cup without it hitting rim. The sword slashing felt in slow motion. I know this to not be a issue of the compilation port as ive played this one on OG hardware too. It was so uninventive and playing it after playing altered beast felt like a major step down. But I didn't lose hope. And sailed on through troubled waters directly to Golden Axe III and boy oh boy did this quickly become one of my.favorite beat em ups!  It was the lighthouse after the storm.


What it lacks in plot and innovation it makes up for it consistency and powers. I love the way everything is mapped out.  Multi branching level paths was so ahead of its time even for the 16 bit generations. The power system is fun. Multiple playable characters? Sick.  The soundtrack? Radical.  I do wish games back then had save points. Really does make so many games 10x harder just having to climb up from the depths. I call it faux difficulty. Not difficult off actual combat but difficult off marathon resource management and trying not to die for like 2 hours. 


Golden Axe has a couple of note worthy bosses. Preferably falcon dude. The campfire cutscenes are really cool. Like a warrior having some smores after a long days work battling with long sword to the death many of foes. It has a very anime end sequence feel.


Overall I really enjoyed my time with Golden Axe 3. Last year I beat Turtles in Time. I still place the turtle games a little higher than the likes of Golden Axe III. But considering how hard it is to get your hands on a physical copy of III in a fair price range. I am happy I got to play it in a comfortable medium.


Rating - 81/100

[kashell]

32. Death Mark

A good friend of mine likes mysteries, spooks, and games that don't require any dexterity. So, I watched her play Death Mark. It was a lot of fun for me because it was like looking at an old (and scary) photo album. She had fun, too! Thanks again to FlashBack for gifting me this a few Secret Santas ago. We're going to play NG next and I can't wait!

33. Blue Prince

Another game that I played with someone, although with this one, we traded off the controller. Really, really cool yet relaxing yet addictive yet engaging in terms of premise and gameplay. Also, it doesn't hurt that it looks like a PlayStation 2 cel-shaded masterpiece. I definitely recommend this one.

[bikingjahuty]

50. Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

If memory serves me right, this was my third attempt at getting into Metal Gear Solid, and more so, getting into a video game franchise I know enough about to really want to enjoy the Metal Gear series as much as I feel like I should. Unfortunately, my previous attempts at playing through Metal Gear Solid were met with misplaced expectations going into it and also it belonging to a sub-genre I traditionally haven't been the biggest fan of (stealth games). The last time I played MGS I made it to the first encounter with Sniper Wolf and remember being so annoyed and frustrated with the game that I turned it off and wouldn't pick it back up until years later, earlier this week. Going into playing MGS this time around, I decided I was going to lean more on walkthroughs and also go in knowing there was going to be quite a bit of stealth as well as parts that required me to think in less intuitive ways to figure out what I needed to do. Playing Metal Gear Solid with all that in mind not only allowed me to enjoy the game more, but also allowed me to experience a story and characters I ended up really liking. Unfortunately, even with my expectations and attitude adjusted prior to this play through, it wasn't enough for me to overlook blaring gameplay issues with MGS that seem to be frequently glossed over by the series' biggest fans and defenders.


Metal Gear Solid's greatest asset is its story, writing, and presentation. For a game released in 1998, there was absolutely nothing like it in terms of cinematic quality. It was the closest thing we had to a blockbuster movie game at the time it was released, and likely held that title for several more years until the early 2000s. The influences of action cinema on MGS are undeniable and they are implemented masterfully to deliver a highly entertaining experience. While there is a lack of diversity in regards to the various environments in Metal Gear Solid, the game's ultra stylized graphics and art direction will hardly make you care as this game just oozes atmosphere. Even with the limitations of the PS1's 3D graphics, it's very impressive what Kojima and team were able to pull off in terms of the character models, animations, and other visual effects you'll take in while playing. I will say, MGS was definitely not the best looking game during its time, and various acclaimed PC games, and even a few console games had it beat, but its still at that upper echelon of visually amazing late 90s video games.


As mentioned, the story and characters are also why MGS left a huge mark on so many gamers in 1998 and why it still has that ability even to this day. Playing through Metal Gear Solid is like playing a well written (mostly), action anime, with characters and villains being fairly over the top as you'd expect in various 90s and 2000s anime. Some examples include a levitating psychic in BDSM leather and a gas mask, a seductive female sniper rifle, and a massive tank of a man covered in tattoos who's somehow able to wield a machine gun that looks like it weights as much as an ATV. Through its very memorable characters, this game definitely leaves an impression on the player and made nearly all of them unforgettable. The story is also pretty interesting with it revolving around stopping a massive mech, the Metal Gear Rex, from launching a nuclear weapon. Along the way, there are bunch of twists, revelations, double crosses, and other things that keep things interesting. Throw in some philosophical banter and discussion of government conspiracies, and this game lands right up my ally.  There are some flaws in the writing and several moments that made me go wtf, and not in a good way, but overall these did little to distract from what was otherwise a very interesting story filled with even more interesting characters. The backbone to all of this was probably the best voice acted dialogue in a video game to date with MGS first came out.


The voice cast in MGS is outstanding. It's so good in fact that it made me forget about how limited the OST was despite there being some very memorable tracks in the game. Nearly every single character, not matter how over the top they were meant to be is voice acted incredibly well. It's to the point where it made me realize that this game could have easily been way more forgettable if the voice cast hadn't been as good as they were. Particularly the voices of Solid Snake, Revolver Ocelot, Naomi, and Cambell were all amazing, but none of the other performance were lacking either. It was just so good and really a game unmatched in voice talent for many years to come.


At this point, you'd probably think I'd bought completely into the MGS hype and that I now considered this game a nearly unrivaled masterpiece as many MGS fans would have you believe. While its presentation, story, and audio are hard to fault, MGS's gameplay is what not only kept me from beating this game for so long, but also what caused my first complete play through to be filled with frustration and annoyances far more than I would have liked. What's ironic is that the part of MGS's gameplay that felt the most polished and well implemented was the part that kept me from playing MGS for so long, the stealth. Between the enemy radar system and also the game providing mostly intuitive options for remaining undetected, the stealth ended up being the part of Metal Gear Solid's gameplay I have the least amount of complaints about, and in fact was pretty good overall. For better or worse, there was actually less stealth in this game than I was led to believe over the years, especially in the last third of the game which mostly just becomes a straight up action game where you'll be shooting things more than hiding from them. There are many different gameplay elements in MGS to discuss, but for the sake of not making this review any longer than it needs to be, most of these systems range from being okay, or pretty annoying and janky. Sections where you control a Nakita missile to destroy and power box and then later on to defeat one of the bosses are not terrible, but not great either. On the flip side a slow as hell sniper rifle scope mechanic made a few boss fights some of the most annoying and frustrating parts of the game for me. Then there are common mechanics such as shooting where are general inaccurate and stiff, and also some level sections which are just poorly designed and unintuitive. Perhaps the thing I hated the most about MGS are all the gotcha traps that you'd never know where there if you hadn't played this game before or in a long time. These take the forms of hidden traps doors on the floor, hidden land mines, including ones that somehow remain hidden in doors on solid metal flooring...not sure how that one works, hidden motion detector gun turrets, and blind spots where enemies or other obstacles are waiting to damage or kill unsuspecting players. I despise gotcha traps in games that more or less make you get killed or lose health to know they're there, simply for committing the sin of never having played the game before. I don't know how many times I simply rolled my eyes or just turned the game off in annoyance and one or more of these stupid surprise traps killed me or made me an easy target for later traps or enemies.


Of course, there are also all the quarky and memorable gameplay elements like you needing to look at the actual physical CD case for MGS to get someone's codec frequency, or having ti plug your controller into the second port during a particular boss battle. I found some of these esoteric gameplay flourishes to be clever and interesting, while others obnoxious and a bit try hard. Despite my overall good opinion of MGS after beating it, I still contend that Hideo Kojima is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest edgelord in gaming and this shines through more than any other place in these very weird, sometimes fourth wall breaking gameplay elements. But overall, I didn't hate the gameplay despite having a lot of complaints about it, but it does admittedly teeter on that fine line between being good and bad, with it leaning just ever so slightly towards the good side.


More than enjoying MGS and finally being able to say I beat what is widely considered one of the best games ever made, I'm thrilled that I liked the first game enough to want to play some of its many sequels. From my research, it seems like two thirds of fans seem to either think MGS2 or MGS3 are the best games in the franchise. The other third is a mix of other MGS titles, including the first game which some consider to be the best ever made still. My point is that I'm hoping that when I get around to playing MGS2 and possibly 3 if I enjoy the second game enough, that I'll just enjoy the series more and more until I too can consider myself a fan of it. Once again, I really want to get into this series, if for nothing else than its rich story and characters. I also sincerely hope the gameplay gets better as well, since if not for how meh it was in MGS, I too might have considered this game a absolute masterpiece. Instead, it's a game I mostly enjoyed, but is far from being the near perfect game it's made out to be, and I'd say is even, dare I say, a bit overrated. Still, I enjoyed MGS and look forward to playing more games from this esteemed series in the future. (4/18/25) [37/50]

[dhaabi]

22. Octopath Traveler || Nintendo Switch || 04.14.2025



After several years not really engaging with more traditional turn-based RPGs, I decided to finally play through Octopath Traveler in spite of its lengthy play time needed to reach the game's end. It's a game that instantly drew me in based on its "HD-2D" art direction which, I believe, was the first of its kind, and I'm glad to have finally experienced it.

As its name implies, Octopath Traveler features eight protagonists who each have their own narrative paths to follow. They can be freely selected in any order and, unlike games with one clear story, the stories do not converge together but instead focus on the journey each character faces and the challenges they must endure. As a result, players are able to progress through the game in any way they choose including deciding the order of protagonists played and how their stories are progressed. Of the eight characters, their stories are told over the course of four individual chapters, so there are 32 in total to play. Generally, each chapter is self-contained to one locale and follows the same structure: they are first introduced to a new problem or development to their existing problem and then explore some nearby dungeon to overcome it. Despite this narrative structure, there is still plenty of optional party banter and conversation to engage with during certain scripted moments. And, of course, there are plenty of NPCs which adds a considerable level of depth to both the immediate area and the world at large.

Before discussing gameplay specifically, I will mention the weight of the player's very first decision in choosing what's properly referred to as the game's one protagonist. Over time, players will manage a party of four characters with the other four being benched. However, it was only after recruiting the fifth party member did I learn that the first character selected is regarded as the campaign's protagonist and cannot be removed from the party until their entire story has been completed. The game doesn't mention this detail at all upon starting a new game, so it's certainly something to consider and something I ultimately didn't regret. Personally, I don't see the added benefit to this limitation as the game doesn't prioritize or give preferential treatment to the protagonist in any way. I would have much rather been given the full ability to customize the party at all times throughout the playthrough.

With that said, Octopath Traveler is like many of the games within its genre as it features a turn-based, menu-selected battle system with a four-member party size. The expected RPG mechanics and setup is also present alongside a class system which influences active combat, skills, and equipment. How the game sets itself apart, however, is its emphasis on enemy weaknesses which can be exploited to stun them for one turn. Additionally, a boost mechanic that amplifies the effectiveness of battle actions, whether they be offensive or defensive, is implemented. Lastly, there is a preview of the current and upcoming turn order which allows for planning, and this order can be altered with certain battle actions to the player's advantage. Overall, battles are straightforward to understand, and all of the mechanics are designed to aid players. What I mean by this is that no enemy can use this system to their own advantage—party members have no weaknesses and enemies cannot utilize the boost mechanic, though some can act more than once per turn. As the game progresses, boss battles become much more engaging through their variety as they'll inflict unique disadvantages onto the player.

While the standard party system is fun in its own right, it becomes even more enjoyable and complex once party members are able to be assigned sub-classes. Sub-classes can only be assigned to one party member at a time, though they're completely interchangeable. As a result, the system allows for a lot of different play styles and party experimentation as each class grants party members a preset pool of skills. Through battle experience, points can be spent to learn additional classic-specific battle skills which also unlocks class-specific passive skills, though the latter can be assigned to members no matter their class. At the same time, each character has their own unique skill which others can't gain even when being assigned to that sub-class. These actions vary but are widely used all throughout the game such as being able to engage NPCs in combat or thievery. To a degree, party configuration will influence battle difficulty as a result of enemies' weaknesses, and this is particularly true for boss encounters.

Somewhat surprisingly, I found the early game more difficult than what is to follow. Upon completing each character's chapter 1 scenario, I felt more than capable to overcome enemies in unexplored areas. Over time, I found my party higher in level than what newly-available areas recommend as there are plenty of optional areas and side objectives to do. So, the difficulty of most tasks was lacking for some time, though occasional instances did still introduce a worthy challenge. However, this again once changed once tackling some of the advised post-game areas and boss encounters as they absolutely require strategy and focus which, up until this point, did not feel required. Until I reached post-game content—which I will clarify can be done at any point even before completing each of the eight characters' stories—I had no strict party or class setup and fully adhered to the same passive skills being assigned to party members. So, the post-game experience has been rewarding, though I'll admit I've referenced others' strategies to help me surpass certain battles.

Admittedly, it has been some time since I've played a more traditional turn-based RPG so I'm not sure what kind of more modern standards there are. Nevertheless, there are many aspects of the UI I appreciated for effectively conveying information for both battles and field exploration, such as detailing the number of turns status effects remain in effect and revealing the level of difficulty each map area has. Additionally, Octopath Traveler employs fantastic visuals and art design as it's, I believe, the first game from Square Enix to utilize the HD-2D style. And as a game that I assume is one of the studio's smaller projects, I was pleasantly surprised by its quality voice work, dialogue, and story themes. While not all lines are voiced as that's reserved for major story segments, there is a lot of dialogue to read from both key characters and NPCs which certainly brings depth to the game's world.

However, I do have some complaints, though they're few. The one most bothersome is that, randomly, aspects of the foreground will remain on screen and almost entirely obstruct the player's view. This is exclusive to wooded environments with trees (at least in my experience), and it made traversal throughout these areas annoying. It's not supposed to happen either, as there are times when the map will load correctly. Apart from this problem, there are some minor framerate issues as well, but this was perhaps entirely exclusive to a few instances while running during field exploration.

Throughout my entire time playing, I had a lot of fun with Octopath Traveler. I'm still finishing up some end-game sections but am nearing completion, though. In time, I'll play through its sequel entry since I've only read how it improves on this entry.

[bikingjahuty]

51. Motorstorm Apocalypse (PS3)

My first experience with a PS3 console was at my local Best Buy back in 2006. They had a PS3 kiosk in their game section and one of the playable demos they had on it was Motorstorm. There are few games that have blown me away like the original Motorstorm in terms of its racing and damage physics. It left such a big impression on me that I'd deliberately drive up to Best Buy just to play that demo over and over again. Eventually when I got my own PS3 a couple years later, Motorstorm as well as its sequel Pacific Rift were at the top of my want list. Over the years I've thoroughly enjoyed both these games, however when the third game in the franchise came out in 2011, Motorstorm Apocalypse, I really wanted the game, but never got around to playing it. Sadly, Apocalypse has been in my collection for almost as long as it's been out and still to this day I've never played it, well, that is until this afternoon. I decided to finally play this game and see if its more urban settings held up as well as the dirt and mud soaked tracks of its predecessors.


While I really dig the apocalyptic theme and settings of Motorstorm Apocalypse, the game just doesn't do it for me the same way the first two games on the PS3 did. For one, the emphasis in Apocalypse is no longer on the damage and destruction happening to your vehicle, but rather to the stage itself. In a way, this makes it feel like part of some other series, but for what it's worth, there still is damage done to your vehicle during the course of each race, albeit there is way less of an emphasis on it. Instead, each end of the world themed track is presented in a way that makes you feel like you're in some crazy, over the top racing series set within The Last of Us' world or something. The course you'll be racing on literally fall apart as you're competing against a dozen or so opponents. Sometimes these destructive elements in the stage create alternate routes, or destroy old ones you used before. This makes this game feel pretty fresh and novel throughout most of your playthrough. Despite there technically being a limited number of tracks, depending on what gets destroyed while you're racing, as well as what route is being taken during a particular race, you can easily think that this is the first time you've raced in that specific stage despite having done it 5 or 6 times prior. Unfortunately among all the chaos and destruction going on around you as you're racing, it can sometimes be hard to tell where you're supposed to go despite the game doing a pretty good job and marking the boundaries of the track as well as the routes you can take. Some of the tracks also don't have the best design or layout either, and when combined with the sometimes squirrelly controls and vehicle handling, it can be fairly annoying getting through certain track sections without screwing yourself up or crashing. Aside from all this, there are cards hidden within each course that allow you unlock various things for use in free play mode. There's also a Festival mode which is essentially the game's campaign mode which has generic, uninteresting stories of various characters that each represent different difficulty levels within the game. You'll probably just want to skip past this like I mostly did, and they didn't really add anything to my overall enjoyment of the game.


The visuals in Motorstorm Apocalypse are pretty impressive for a PS3 game. Once again, emphasis was put way more on the stages and the chaos occurring within them more so than the vehicles you'll be using. As a result, when your vehcile does get damaged or explodes, it won't be as cool as it was in the previous two Motorstorm games. As a trade off, Apocalypse's stages look better and more detailed than the more natural settings of the first game and Pacific Rift. There are cutscenes between races in campaign mode which aren't particularly good looking and they're presented in stills rather than fluidly animated.


Finally, the audio in Motorstorm Apocalypse is decent for the most part. Some of the vehicle sounds are really good, while others sound like a lawnmower. Destruction and other stage sound effects are all pretty good too. Unfortunately, this game uses a very generic techno soundtrack that doesn't have any particularly memorable tracks, but I guess is appropriate for this type of game. It would have been nice to have some more catchy songs to race to and not just some B-tier techno music that was probably super cheap to license.


While I did mostly enjoy Motorstorm Apocalypse, it did make me a little sad to realize it wasn't as good as either the first game or Pacific Rift. It certainluy does have a few things going for it over those two games, but overall, I'd rather be playing the other two PS3 Motorstorm titles over this one. (4/20/25) [33/50]

[bikingjahuty]

Well, I did it! I've never reached 52 games beat this early in the year before, not even close. My overall goal this year is 100 games beat, but even at the 52 games milestone, things feel pretty good right now. Anyhow, let's get on with my review of the game that put me over the finish line.


52. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PS4)

When it comes to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (RE7), the term you're likely to hear and see plastered all over the internet is "return to form." It's easy to understand why this phrase is everywhere in association with RE7; the franchise had spent the last decade deeply imbedded in the action genre thanks to the massive pivot the series took with Resident Evil 4 back in 2005. The increase in action and over the top gameplay came at the expense of the game's horror atmosphere which had defined the previous three mainline titles plus Code Veronica. So for RE7 to completely tone down the over the top action gameplay in favor of more slow, atmospheric horror was seen very favorably by much of the fanbase that yearned for RE to be scary again. However, after beating RE7, I feel like saying this game is a return to form is a bit deceptive. While yes, RE7 definitely makes the series about horror and scares again instead of mowing down entire cities of zombies while skyscrapers explode in the background, I feel like in almost every other way, RE7 just doesn't feel like an RE game.


In many ways, RE7 feels more akin to a game like Outlast, or some other horror game that took some inspiration from the Resident Evil franchise, but remained its own distinct thing. This was my experience while playing RE7, where throughout most of the game I was only given small breadcrumbs that reminded me I was playing the next game in the RE franchise and not some completely different game, or at the very least an RE spinoff. This was a big reason I avoided playing RE7 for so long despite that "return to form" declaration that 98% of the internet claimed. Still, despite the game feeling fairly divorced from the previous games in the franchise throughout most the game, at least until towards the end, I still enjoyed RE7 for the most part despite having some issues with it that have little or nothing to do with it not feeling like a Resident Evil title throughout most of it.


Unlike previous Resident Evil games, you play as an average Joe named Ethan Winters who travels to a remote area of rural Louisiana after getting a video recording of his wife who went missing 3-years ago. When you arrive at the large property where your wife is supposedly waiting for you, you quickly realize things aren't what they seem and the game takes a sharp turn into its horror aesthetic. Also, unlike previous RE games which leaned on scifi horror themes and visuals, RE7 is more reminiscent of grind house horror movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and even newer franchises like Saw and The Ring. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it definitely does not feel at all like an RE game, which is complimented even further by the fact you're playing this game in first person.  The first person perspective definitely lends itself to the horror atmosphere and aesthetic, and while I get limited your situational awareness was definitely an intentional design decision to ramp up your anxiety while playing, it just seems to strip away a lot of the identity of the series which relied on a third person perspective. Luckily, RE7 did bring back a lot of the survival horror gameplay and mechanics which can definitely be lumped into that "return to form" sentiment, but compared to most other entries, RE7 is still fairly linear with a lot of keys and puzzle items getting used in the same general area you happen to be in, and only a few instances where you need to go much further back to use an item to unlock something to progress. There's also the reliance on avoiding conflict as much as possible, which is particularly true of the Baker family, the main antagonists of the game. Outside a few scripted sequences and boss fights, they're all essentially indestructible, much like Nemesis or Mr. X, however, unlike the games that contained those two iconic RE monsters, you'll often know when and where to expect Jack or Marg Baker, and plan on avoiding them accordingly. RE3 Remake was heavily criticized for doing this with Nemesis, and I never understood why RE7 gets a pass for essentially doing the same thing. Like the previous RE games, you'll be managing inventory, combining items, examining items for keys or other items, and while this definitely helped with reminding me I was playing an RE game, it wasn't enough in the grand scheme of things and definitely fell into category of being inspired by RE rather than it being RE.


One of the main mechanics in RE7 that I found particularly limiting and annoying was controlling Ethen Winters. To say Ethan's movements are slow would be an understatement. Even when running, he still doesn't even feel like he's engaged in a brisk walk. This is also true of turning around to face threats coming from behind as well. His movement speed is serviceable enough I suppose, but the player and gameplay would have benefited by controlling someone who doesn't feel like he walking underwater. Of course, with RE7 being in first person, you'll also be given various weapons and guns to help fend off the various enemies and bosses you'll be encountering. Shooting in this game is okay, which aiming not always being the easiest or most accurate thing in the world, especially with how enemies sway and walk. You'll really have to pick your shots well. Fortunately, there is a fairly ample supply of ammo and healing items, even on normal difficulty. This does undermine the survival horror aspect somewhat, but I can't knock this too much since simply increasing the difficulty easily fixes this if you want fewer items available to assist you during your play through.


RE7's graphics are its greatest asset. While it isn't the best looking game to come out around 2017, it isn't too far off either. Some environments and enemies look better than others, but overall, I had few compliant about the overall visual fidelity of the game or any framerate issues to speak of. One gripe I do have when it comes to the visuals and presentation have to do with there being a lack of variety when it comes to enemies in this game. There is a common enemy type called the Molded which you will run into throughout the game. There are a few variants of the molded, but for the most part they're all the same black blob-looking monsters that you'll be fighting half the time throughout RE7. The bosses are somewhat better, however I do have to give props to one of the last bosses you'll go up against which did give me massive RE2 vibes, but other than that you'll mostly just be fighting the Bakers which mostly just look like themselves, but slightly more grotesque than their normal selves. The character models all mostly look good too, although there is a but of uncanny valley going on with a few of them, particularly close up that took me out of the immersion a bit.


RE7's audio is somewhat of a mixed bag, but comes out being more good than bad in the end. The sound design in this game is very good, with you hearing various creaks, thuds, footsteps, and other things that really ramp up the tension while you're playing. Most of the time, you'll likely hear an enemy approaching before you actually see them which definitely adds to this game embracing the horror genre more than most of its more recent predecessors. Unfortunately, much of this game does not have any music while you're playing, which is another departure from previous RE games, going back to the first few games that came out in the 90s. I would have really liked to hear more ambient horror tracks playing during the game, but what we do get definitely fits, even though none of it is particularly memorable. Finally, the voice acting in RE7 is a mixed bag. You gave excellent performances for characters like Jack Baker and your wife Mia, but then you get awkward and sometimes wooden performances from the main character Ethan, or just goofy performances that really take you out of the immersion like with Lucas Baker. These bad voice overs do more harm than good, especially since they involve some of the most important characters. For a game that takes itself a lot more serious than most other RE games, it definitely clashes with the horror themes of this game.


This brings me to some of the writing and story of RE7 which is another area I had some problems with. Ethan Winters is probably the most forgettable, bland, and unremarkable Resident Evil character in franchise history. Part of that is the aforementioned voice acting of his character, but also him being a faceless protagonist that you never see emote. Beyond him just being like, "Oh crap, that was scary!" you don't get much out of him in terms of any character progression, back story, or anything else meaningful that made most other characters in the RE franchise so memorable. I also found RE7's story to be maybe the least inspired of any RE game I've ever played. More or less, the game just threw Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, The Ring, and threw in a dash of classic Resident Evil and blended it all together. It's like they looked at what some popular horror movies were over the past couple decades and decided they were just going to try and appeal to fans of those franchises over their core fanbase. If not for the last hour of the game, I'd likely have disregarded RE7 and labeled it as some RE inspired, non-canon entry given how little it connects to the rest of the established franchise. Some of the writing that happens before is pretty good, but its not until the final stretch of the game where the real lore payoff happens. It's sad you have to get that far along in the game for this to happen, but as they say, better late than never.


Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a pretty good, competent horror game, however it's not a very good Resident Evil game. It absolutely rekindles a lot of the missing horror than many RE fans, myself included, have wanted Capcom to bring back for decades, but it changes so much while providing so little for the established lore than its less of a return to form, and more of a reboot of the series, one that isn't nearly as interesting or compelling as the majority of its forbearers. I know some people adore this game, but from experience it seems like most of these people belong to a younger crowd with little to no experience with the previous entires in the series. I also can't help but think Capcom made the decision to make this a first person horror game due to the booming popularity of similar games among the online let's play community. As a marketing strategy, it was probably a good decision, but in terms of staying true to the established franchise, it's a bit of a slap in the face. Still, no matter what your opinion is on the changes made to RE7, I still think its worth playing as an RE fan or even as someone who wants to try and get more into this incredible series. If you belong to the latter group, jsut be prepared to be greeted by a very different experience when you explore earlier games in the series. (4/24/25) [35/50]

[marvelvscapcom2]

23. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Finished Apr 24th, 2025



Bloom and Rage is widlly emotional, deeply beautiful and massively relatable which puts it into this glorious trajectory on par with Life is Strange!  However. Bloom and Rage is also wildly disorganized and lacks all if any plot clarity or defined purpose.  Which isnt as bad as it seems. Because anything it loses by not having much real plot worth. It makes up for it by telling individuals stories. The 4 girls that make up the protagonists.  Swann (nerdy bullied introvert photographer with niche passions and obsessions)  Kat - (Poetry fanatic rebelious girl with sibling issues)  Autumn - (soulful dancer and rockband member with a very emotional relatable way of handling social ques.  And Nora - the stereotypical drug smoking bad girl that is full of metal angst.  On top of these layers you get adult versions which are very equally evolved and fleshed out.  That in itself is so so epically done.


Where it lacks is the entire premice of the story which I wont share because of spoilers. Is simply sorta unbelievable and meritless. Seems hyper forced and silly and kinda made for the sake of being made.


So this is a game where the worth lies with the characters internal maturity and depth. Not necessarily it's external depth of what they are actually fleshing out.  Its complicated to explain.  But overall it works.  The characters especially Swann and Kat are gloriously written.

atmosphere

It takes place in the 90s and it does a stranger things (80s) level job replicating it. The game makes you feel so gooey with all that introspective member berry jelly. Its so so nostalgic for a 90s baby like me. I love cd players, polly pockets and damn furby lifestyle lol.  It feels rawly 90s. The fonts. The language. The fashions. Its a time portal. Its the best part of the game. The conrrast between 90s and now.  What a brilliant depth in atmosphere. 10/10


Rating - 88/100

[bikingjahuty]

53. Oregon Trail (PC)

Just to be clear, this review is for the original 1985 Apple II version of the game, which is the version I mostly played back in elementary school. Technically, Oregon Trail was one of the first video games I ever played as this was one my classmates and I regularly played in computer lab back in the early 90s. Later on, our school got the 1992 updated version, but it was always the OG Apple II version that is forever burned in my memory. I was having a hard time deciding what I felt like playing this evening so I decided to fire up a Apple IIe browser emulator and party like it's 1848!


Oregon Trail is an incredibly basic, yet pretty fun game. You'd be hard pressed to find any American adult under the age of 50 that didn't play this at some point, but for those that haven't, you create a character and four family members, as well as pick a profession that dictates how much money you start off with and also how adept you are at handling some of the obstacles you'll encounter as the five of you make your way from Missouri to Oregon. As a kid, I didn't plan very strategically for my trip, mostly just buying plenty of bullets and food, but as an adult I realize how important some of the other items are like clothing, wagon parts, and oxen. Needless to say, I am typically able to make it way further than I did when I was a kid, however the unfortunate events that can and will befall you and your family during your journey are largely out of your control. Family members will frequently get sick, hurt, or even die. Oxen will get lost, natives will raid your wagon, and various other unfortunate events will occur at random as you make your way to Oregon. I get this is to simulate the hardships that pioneers back then faced when traveling by wagon over such long distances, but in terms of what you can do to counter these events, your locus of control is probably a bit more limited than it would have been in real life. This is mostly due to the limited tech of the Apple II back in the mid 80s, but some of it also might be to keep the game simpler for its primary audience of young kids; this is an educational game after all and not some sort of life simulator. For what it is, Oregon Trail's gameplay is pretty good for the time, but does unfortunately have its annoyances and issues too.


Visually, the game looks very basic and crude now a days, but back in the early 90s, I thought the graphics were fairly good. Surely, there are way worse looking PC games made back in the mid 80s and Oregon trail does a good job of providing still images of various landmarks you'll arrive at, as well as graphical representations of animals you can hunt. There's also animations like your wagon traveling and when you cross a river. None of it is mind blowing, or really that impressive, even back then, but it's still fitting and certainly provides a much needed break from the text menus you'll mostly be navigating through while playing.


Finally, the audio in Oregon Trail is very limited and arguably more crude than its visuals. Music mostly only plays when you decide to look around at the various landmarks you'll reach throughout the game, as is mostly midi versions of classic children's songs like Yanky Doodle or She'll be Coming Round the Mountain. There are also a few sound effects like a blip when you fire your gun. Outside that, there really isn't much else, but again, this game came out in the mid 80s when many games offered little in the way of audio.


Oregon Trail is a fun little trip down memory lane for me and still a genuinely fun experience. While I by no means think the game is a masterpiece or is something I'd want to play more than once a decade at most, it's still surprisingly an enjoyable game to play, even 40-years after it originally came out. (4/24/25) [31/50]

[dhaabi]

Well, I did it! I've never reached 52 games beat this early in the year before, not even close. My overall goal this year is 100 games beat, but even at the 52 games milestone, things feel pretty good right now.

Do you plan on keeping up the momentum? If this rate is maintained, you can complete 160 games which is quite the number.

53. Oregon Trail (PC)

Just to be clear, this review is for the original 1985 Apple II version of the game, which is the version I mostly played back in elementary school.

If you're looking to play the earliest version of the game that's not been lost to time or, at least, unavailable to the public (which would be the 1971 version), here is the 1975 version which is able to be played in-browser via archive.org.

[bikingjahuty]

Well, I did it! I've never reached 52 games beat this early in the year before, not even close. My overall goal this year is 100 games beat, but even at the 52 games milestone, things feel pretty good right now.

Do you plan on keeping up the momentum? If this rate is maintained, you can complete 160 games which is quite the number.

53. Oregon Trail (PC)

Just to be clear, this review is for the original 1985 Apple II version of the game, which is the version I mostly played back in elementary school.

If you're looking to play the earliest version of the game that's not been lost to time or, at least, unavailable to the public (which would be the 1971 version), here is the 1975 version which is able to be played in-browser via archive.org.

I'm not sure if I will or not. I definitely want to hit at least 100, but we'll see if I continue to remain as motivated to play games throughout the year. It helps that I don't have anything major going on this year, but that's not to say something won't come up at some point and take away from my ability to play so many games. I guess I'll keep on going the way I have been and see what happens.


I actually realized that right after I posted my mini-review. I had no idea there was a much earlier text based version of the game.

[bikingjahuty]

54. ExZeus (PS4)

Prior to this game and its sequel getting a physical release on Limited Run Games, I'd never heard of or seen anything about ExZeus. However, realizing it was a arcade style rail shooter where you play as mechs, and also it was given a Sega Naomi release at one point, I knew right away I was going to buy the Complete Collection. Despite their diminished popularity for the past 25 years, I'm a huge fan of rail shooters and some of my favorite games as a kid, and even now, belong to this underrated genre. Unfortunately, like any genre, there are terrible games in it and ExZeus is absolutely one of those God awful titles.


By far the reason ExZeus sucks so much is its horrendous gameplay. I use that adjective with no irony or exaggeration; the gameplay is ExZeus might be the worst of any rail shooter I've ever played. There seems to have been minimal thought put into the game design and balancing of ExZeus. Projectiles and enemies will come flying at you from all over the place, giving your huge ship little to no time to move out of the way, not that you'll even know if what's coming at you half the time is a projectile, a power up of some kind, or some other item. There is a dodge mechanic, but I never found it useful. In fact, 90% of the time when I used it, I avoided one projectile or obstacle only to be hit by another as soon as the dodge animation finished. It's completely useless. Oh speaking of your movement in this game, your mech flies at what seems like 5mph unless you collect a boost power up which temporarily speeds you up to 15mph. It makes the action feel underwhelming as there is no sense of speed whatsoever in this game. Finally, ExZeus gives you several shot types including a standard energy shot, a megalaser (that's actually what they call it in the game....), and a homing attack. The two latter weapons are dependent on an energy bar that recharges over time after you use it, or can recharge faster with power ups. You'll almost exclusively be using these other attacks on the game's bosses, which are kinda cool, but just as underwhelming and annoying as the rest of the game. At least they contrast with the absolutely bland corridors that constitute the game's stages which have very little going on for them and will bore you to tears most of the time.


The visuals of ExZeus are a minor improvement over its gameplay. I really appreciated the very Dreamcast/Naomi looking visuals and the three selectable mechs look pretty cool too for the most part. While the bosses weren't amazing, they definitely fit in with a lot of arcade style bosses you'd see in various other games like this back in the late 90s and early 2000s. The first boss you fight gave me some massive King Ghidorah vibes too which was a massive plus. Unfortunately, anything good I have to say about ExZeus' visuals is immediately undermined by the aforementioned levels which are just straight, open corridors that you have limited movement through. They each have their own theme, but none of them have much in the way of visual flourishes or really anything that makes them interesting or stand out in any way. Unfortunately, the same can be said for the enemies which are more or less boring ass objects and ships with no real presence or identity. There are only about half a dozen or so different types of enemies which just adds to why this game is so boring and unremarkable to play through.


Last but not least, the audio in ExZeus is fine I suppose, but like the visuals, it's nothing special. There's an rock themed OST somewhere underneath the much loud explosion and laser sound effects, and it sounded okay from what I could hear. Some of the bosses make roaring noises too which gives them a little more personality too. I actually don't have much else to say about the audio in ExZeus; it's fine for the most part, but lacks any sort of draw that will make you enjoy the game more.


My tastes in games are fairly curated and because of this I rarely play games that I would consider terrible or even bad. That's not to say I don't like taking a chance on game's I know little to nothing about, but for the most part I'm drawn to games that have a reputation for being good, or at least okay for the most part. ExZeus absolutely falls into that terrible.bad game category. Luckily due to the game's arcade style gameplay, it's a very short lived experience you can beat in about half an hour. Still, even at such a short length, I still would not recommend anyone go play it. Now, excuse me while I wash the taste of this turd out of my mouth with a much better game. (4/26/25) [18/50]

[kashell]

34. Celeste

This might be the first game I finished out of stubbornness this year. Another game I played with a friend, this game was not enjoyable and I'm trying to figure out the appeal. The art is ugly, the challenge feels padded, and that beep-boop voice acting doesn't do a thing to make me want to cheer for the characters. Props for music and that's it. I'm glad I never have to play this one again.