52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[marvelvscapcom2]

I've encountered major video game burnout of some sort, at the 50 mark it seems everything I put on just doesn't grip me and i'd rather either binge Netflix or go outside and do stuff in locals driving around attractions. Which is fine but this is definitely the longest drought I've hit with games since maybe 2019.  Perhaps doing 50 in around half a year was too much too fast. Anyone else ever experience a burnout?  Ive tried both short and long games.

Maybe Mafia Old Country will be the one to get me back on the horse.  52 is on the horizon. Hope to join you guys again soon!

I took a break from gaming in the mid 2000s, but that was mostly due to me starting college, dating, and getting more into other interests of mine. I didn't get fully into it again until around 2009/2010. A more recent example was around 2020/2021 where i was still playing a lot of games, but they just didn't have the same impact on me they once did. i think part of this burnout was due to me hitting my expiration date as a collector, but I also think it was a bit of me playing so many games for so long that I just needed to take a break. So, that's what I did. I started modding game consoles a lot, which is still video game related, but i was doing that far more than playing them.


When I got back into gaming, I feel like I approached it from a new perspective of wanting quality experiences over quantity. I still like branching out and playing games I'm curious about, but I became far more okay with admitting some games aren't for me or there are certain games I'll likely never make the time to play. Also, revisiting some of my all time favorite games helped me figure out why I loved gaming so much, which also helped.


But yeah, be patient, do other things for as long as you need to and eventually you'll likely come around and get back into a gaming again. It might be in a month, possibly 6 months, or possibly several years. Just ride it out and see what happens.

This is actually refreshing knowing that you were able to go from a big break to your gaming passion returning.  Today I got Mafia Old Country which ive waited months to play. So hoping tonight is the night I get back on the proverbial horse lol. But like you said. Im being mindful to not force it either. If im still not feeling it. I'll put it down.

I do think a lot of it is the sensory overload ive been doing. Ive been doing big cities and traveling so I think my body just wants silence and calm in its off time.  Instead of more action. Theirs less boredom to cure with games. Winter since I live in new england will probably get me some hibernation gaming. 

What kind of mods did you do? Thats interesting. Was it stuff like backlighting gameboys? I wish I could but I suck at soldering so bad that I dont want to ever pick up a soldering iron again lol.

Happy gaming everyone. I have still been reading the reviews others post here despite my gaming pause.  Its always good reading here.

[bikingjahuty]

What kind of mods did you do? Thats interesting. Was it stuff like backlighting gameboys? I wish I could but I suck at soldering so bad that I dont want to ever pick up a soldering iron again lol.

I pretty much did every mod I could get my hands on. I did a lot of HDMI mods on retro consoles, like the PS1, Dreamcast, and N64, but also some cool ODE mods on some old disc baded systems. Recapped about 30 consoles, fixed a broken old PC Engine CD that had no sound when I bought. I also did a lot of custom handhelds for myself and others through a Fabebook group. They were mostly screen mods, but also reshelled quite a few, did an enhanced speaker mod, and did a decent amount of rechargable battery mods that replaced the need to constantly put AA/AAA batteries in the system.


I've been meaning to get back into it, but various things have got in the way. I have no excuse now not to get back into it, and it's one of my goals for next year to get fully in the swing of things with modding. Of course, I also plan on playing a bunch of games too.

[dhaabi]

50. PockeDate: Pocket Dating Simulator || PC || 08.05.2025



Still wanting to explore a variety of gaming genres this year including ones I don't typically gravitate toward, I found myself introduced to PockeDate: Pocket Dating Simulator and decided that it'd be ideal to complete. A few months ago, I also watched an in-depth video about the history of romance in video games, so I've been wanting to play some sort of game with those themes ever since. Needless to say, PockeDate seemed like an ideal choice for a game outside of my usual preferences.

Despite its name that implies that it's a dating simulation game, PockeDate is actually a visual novel. There are no stats or complicated systems to manage but instead sets of possible responses to the girl you're dating named Akari that don't ever really change throughout the entire game. I say this in spite of a relationship meter which gauges player responses and Akari's current affection level, as this mechanic isn't time-sensitive or reliant on other systems. Nevertheless, the implication that the in-game dates experienced are brief encounters remains true as they're short and only require a few minutes to conclude. At first, I wasn't quite sure I understood what the game's objective regarding its intended experience is, but it soon became clear that going on one date is not representative of what the game really is at all. When I began playing, I thought that each date would be a single activity wholly removed from other events—and even featuring others girl besides Akari to date—but follow-up dates reference past ones and the player choices made previously. Connecting story elements move in a direction I was not really expecting them to take as there is very much a veneer hiding the deeper narrative details to unlock that, from my perspective as a casual onlooker to the genre, are interesting but do seem derivative of certain games almost certainly having influenced this one.

At the start of the game, plans are in the middle of being made for a future date, and then the game immediately transitions to it. And throughout the entire game, this same format remains. As to be expected from the genre, Akari as the player-character's love interest dominates conversations, and the topics she discusses generally don't mention information that I think is valuable for the player to retain toward answering in any particular way. While there is a specific linear path to follow for how players reach the game's definitive ending, players are free to choose how they react to Akari during the few opportunities to reply. So, they may be loving and supportive, or hateful and dismissive. While out on the actual date, the player and Akari will go to expected places such as the mall, the arcade, or the beach. There are both a limited amount of places to visit and a limited amount of conversation topics, so everything does eventually begin to repeat. But as I mentioned before, new snippets of dialogue do begin to occur, and the player's choices in response to certain prompts have varying outcomes, including choices that have even been previously selected. For instance, if the player chooses a negative response and repeats that decision later on, Akari becomes doubly irritated or depressed. A trend in repeating such decisions may even trigger her to question why you're actively treating her this way.

To be upfront, the game's structure is challenging to explain due how spoiler-heavy story discussion and its later mechanics function. However, I will note that how information is presented is intended to constantly lead the player to question what exactly is happening. Regularly, I found myself going back-and-forth between two different narrative possibilities concerning what's not being explained. The player's understanding of the story details frequently change with each successful or failed playthrough, which there will be many due to their short duration. With all that said, PockeDate is a game that really does require achieving all of its six endings to reach a true and satisfying conclusion. The majority of them are follow-up endings to the one preceding, and they're relatively easy to unlock. Still, there will be many success and fail states to reach which are triggered by fully maximizing or depleting the relationship meter. And, to be expected, there are a lot of individual dates to experience, and working toward achieving the true ending becomes somewhat of a chore due to tediousness.

Rounding up my thoughts, I'll mention a few miscellaneous things. First, there are times when the conversation flow is odd. While conversations can change course unexpectedly, problem instances here instead feel like one line being totally unrelated to what's before it without transition. Sentence structure can also sound unnatural despite the sentiment still fitting the mood. Some of the script describing actions also comes across as being stylized in a way that doesn't complement a contemporary setting, and there are a few words misspelled too. These are all small instances, but they do add up over time and remove the player from the story experience. Meanwhile, the quality of the game's pixel art is commendable and well-suited for a game of this genre. There are visual effects which occur sporadically too, and they add a lot to the game's uncertain behavior. Complementing visuals, music is also exceptional. It's largely defined by an upbeat, high tempo electronic soundtrack, though there is certainly range beyond just this style. Lastly, I'll also broadly mention the game's final segment. At this time, gameplay shifts away from the visual novel style to something else, and it's annoyingly designed. I suppose it's expected to fail multiple times, but each attempt requires more time than it should. This final section alone took me thirty minutes at minimum to overcome, and I did not feel satisfied or accomplished afterward. In brief, it was not disappointing due to the shift's presence but instead due to how it was designed.

Ultimately, PockeDate was successfully enough to captivate and maintain my interest. It's a game that's definitely reliant on genre tropes, but it purposefully subverts them with tact. I can't quite comment om how unique its hidden premise may be since I don't play many visual novels, but I do know that other games in recent years have been influenced by one particular game released last decade, and this one is no exception and is forthright about it. Regardless, I had fun going through the game's mini-endings and final conclusion, though there were moments where I felt like an awful person playing the role of the unnamed player-character.

[bikingjahuty]

84. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)

As a gamer, one of my greatest joys is playing a game that transcends being just a good game, and becomes something way more than that. That little extra touch for me comes in the form of the game being personally meaningful for me in some way. Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) has become one of the most meaningful, thought provoking, and entertaining games I've not only played in recent years, but throughout my entire life of playing video games. My first playthrough of RDR2 was back in 2021 during the backdrop of COVID-19 hysteria and looming vaccine mandates. While I was undoubtedly doing better than most during this period of time, it was a time where I longed for good escapism, which RDR2 delivered in spades, but also gave me something even more in relation to what was happening in the world around me. It made me long to get away from society and the bullshit of the modern world as much as possible. And while I am in no way a hardened outdoorsman or some outlaw trying to escape the spread of modernism, the game partially inspired me to move to a pretty rural part of the country where I work remotely. That was over three years ago and it has gone down as one of the best decisions I've ever made from nearly every possible way of looking at it. No other game, even my favorite games of all time, Shenmue and Shenmue II have inspired me to make a life changing decision like moving out of state and to an area with a fraction of the population where I once lived. That alone, should give you an idea of how much I adore and love this game, but with this being a mini review, I have to go into that even more.


RDR2 is a nearly perfect game. By far the best part of this game is it's incredible writing, story, and characters. This game is one of the best, most well written works of fiction I have ever experienced, video game or otherwise. I cared for many of this characters in this game more than I have some people I've known personally, and the things that happened top them, both good and bad, impacted me in a way few other movies, books, shows, or games ever had. I seriously cannot get enough of this games story and all the incredibly interesting aspects of it. Every exchange of dialogue, whether it was between two main characters during a pivotal part of the story, or just you chatting with a bounty strapped to your horse, I couldn't get enough of the dialogue and writing. It's thanks to the absolutely amazing story and writing that it got me through one of my least favorite parts of the game, the gameplay.


Saying RDR2's gameplay is my least favorite part of the game compared to the story is like saying, I prefer $10,000,000 instead of $9,000,000. Both would be amazing to have, but one is obviously better than the other. The core gameplay of RDR2 is excellent, as is all the side gameplay content like fishing, gambling, going to plays and theatrical productions, and all the other things you can do that greatly enhance your immersion into RDR2's world. While there are a few annoyances here and there, most of this is dwarfed by how good the rest of the game is. Perhaps the only noteworthy blemish on RDR2's gameplay is its somewhat repetitive nature, particularly when completing missions throughout the game. Obviously, you play as an outlaw and do outlaw things often like rob people and businesses, kill rival gang members, and pull off elaborate heists. However, the core gameplay of shooting things often, while well implemented, is just a bit too simple and starts to feel a little arcady almost towards the halfway mark in the game. Don't get me wrong, I do love me some arcade games, but in a game like this, it does stick out like a sore thumb to the point where I just wanted to get past certain shootout sections just to see the next portion of the game play out.


One other issue I have with this game is its epilogue. This I guess this is more of a story gripe rather than a gameplay one, the epilogue is very anticlimactic compared to how the main story ends. I sort of wish Rockstar would have made the epilogue a post credits options source of additional story and content rather than a seamless transition into it after a very decisive and impactful ending to the main game. Nothing you do during the epilogue, including the final confrontation felt rewarding, and almost comes across as mundane fan service to tie into the first RDR's story. With all that said, the epilogue isn't terrible, far from it, but I wish it had been handled and implemented differently.


Unlike the gameplay, I have absolutely no complaints with RDR2's presentation. Both from an visual and audio standpoint, this game is phenomenal and still holds up incredibly well. I can't remember a single voice actor or character in this game, especially among the main characters that doesn't deliver one of the best video game performances I've ever seen. It really helps elevate the story and writing to the level of importance I talked about earlier. While sound effects and the music in RDR2 are certainly part of why the audio in this game are so damn good, it's that amazing voice acting that practically carries the audio of RDR2 on its own.


Visuals are also perfect in my book. Character animations, both in game and during cutscenes are amazing, however what really steals the show in RDR2 is the amazing environment and open world you have around you to explore. Despite how long the main story of this game, I practically doubled my playtime by doing every side quest I possible could just to see more of RDR2's incredible world. I even just went off exploring between missions, like I was on some sort of expedition of adventure. Seeing so many gorgeous vistas, both in the distance and up close is truly breathtaking, and overall this is a game that inspires with its unbelievable beauty. I never wanted to fast travel in this game, and well, I never did, even if I'd been through a certain section of the map a dozen times or more. There is just so much to see and discover in this game, and that is in large part ot how wonderful it all looks.


I adored RDR2 the first time I played it in 2021, however I ended up loving this game even more during m second playthrough. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that it has been promoted to my third favorite game of all time, moving Ocarina of Time to its previous spot at number four. Being in my top 10 games of all time is no small feat, but being in the top 3 is truly a statement. A game has to  really hit me on a personal level to make it that high up, and RDR2 undoubtedly has. RDR2 is an absolute masterpiece of a game and one I cannot stress enough that people go play if they haven't. The game literally changed my life, and even if it doesn't do that for others, it's at the very least one of the best, most well made games ever made. (8/11/25) [48/50]

[kashell]

53. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver HD Remaster

It's weird to think that this game is 25+ years old. Even weirder? I never, ever played a single entry in the series until now. I'm glad that this series, one that I was always curious about, followed the trend of getting an HD upgrade. This first game was great with some of the best (and campiest) writing and voice acting I've ever seen. The atmosphere was just as awesome. The gameplay? Well, it was up and down, as I expected it would be. But, after that ending I'm ready to jump into Soul Reaver 2.

[kamikazekeeg]

84. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)

I wish I could've liked the game as much as others did lol The entire time I played, I wished the game had just a whole lot more depth to it, because it never really leans hard enough into the cowboy/outlaw sim side with lots of engaging content and things to do, but it also doesn't do enough to stand out from a more arcadey action shooting experience, sitting in this weird middle ground that never truly satisfied me.  Fantastic story and characters though, that's what kept me going through the whole game.

[kamikazekeeg]

19 - Five Night's at Freddy's: Into the Pit (PC 2024) - Continuing my backwards ride down through FNAF games, this one I had wanted to play since it came out, specifically because it's a pixel art game and I loved the art in it, it's really good, with characters being more of a slightly squashed/pudgy cartoon style, and the animatronics being abit more realistic feeling, with there being "first person" moments where the art comes off more rotoscoped feeling.

As a game it's a mixture of hiding from the threats and finding items to progress, bit old school feeling in that way, like an SNES game where you need to get into a door, so you have to find a key, which might require another item to get.  It could've used a lot more puzzles, more things to engage with to find the items as everything is fairly reasonably straightforward I think.  I only got hung up on one item towards the end that was needed for one of the endings as it was almost too hard to see where it was.  I passed over it so many times.

Any real negative I have is the needing a little more depth to it as it's kinda short otherwise, doing most of what there is other than the final ending in under 4 hours.  There were also moments during chases I just couldn't open a door, which got me killed a few times in my playthrough. Also not sure if it's just me, but the endings aren't super satisfying, I don't know if I felt like I understood what happened lol Maybe I missed some lore in my run, but it wasn't the best ending to me, like I'm fine with a little open ended story telling, let people question a little, but this just felt like I missed story somehow.  Oh well, I've been avoiding Youtube videos talking about Into the Pit, so guess I'm gonna go watch some lore vids lol

[bikingjahuty]

84. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)

I wish I could've liked the game as much as others did lol The entire time I played, I wished the game had just a whole lot more depth to it, because it never really leans hard enough into the cowboy/outlaw sim side with lots of engaging content and things to do, but it also doesn't do enough to stand out from a more arcadey action shooting experience, sitting in this weird middle ground that never truly satisfied me.  Fantastic story and characters though, that's what kept me going through the whole game.

The core shooting gameplay is a bit on the shallow side, but for what it is, it definitely works. I feel like this has always been a weak spot in GTA-style Rockstar games going back to GTA3. But it's one of those games where there is so much to do and so many other mechanics at play, most very well implemented, that the sum of its parts definitely makes it a very fun game to play.

[dhaabi]

51. Gunpey || PlayStation Portable || 08.06.2025



Even though I knew anything about Gunpey before adding it to my collection, it ended up being a worthwhile investment. Slowly, and without any intention really, I'm going through Tetsuya Mizuguchi's visual-audial works, and Gunpey just happens to be something Mizuguchi was involved with. I actually had begun playing this game a few years ago and concluded that perhaps I just wasn't that skilled at it which resulted in me retiring my playthrough. And when recently returning to it once more, I think that my conclusion is that I'm still not that adept.

To be upfront, Gunpey is an uncomplicated puzzle game with only one objective: to clear lines. And in order to accomplish this one goal, players work toward preventing line segments nestled within singular grid points from reaching the top of the screen. Constantly, these segments are being shifted from the lowest to highest row, and the only means to remove them is by connecting individual segments to form a complete horizontal line path that spans from the left to right screen. And how this is achieved is by a player's involvement in strategically moving these line segments. When such a path is created, all activated segments will soon be discarded to clear the playing field that results in a game that's only finished when the player fails. But despite Gunpey primarily being a puzzle game, there are times when it feels like an action game foremost. From the very beginning of a new play session, it seems like there is almost no pause to the action required to sustain its momentum. There is always some segment needing shifted.

Fortunately, the never-ending action transpiring does briefly pause when a full line connection is made. Though even in this moment, there is little respite for players as they'll unlikely be without anything to manage. During play, it's inevitable that line segments will go unused and gradually reach closer and closer to the top edge. So, it's required to manually shift them back down. Unfortunately, however, this can only be done one line segment at a time, one grid point at a time. There is a sense of tediousness when this action is necessary, but it's often eclipsed by the game's fast-paced action that instead instills tension. There is one other benefit to clearing lines beyond the brief pause, though, and that is the short window of time that allows for additional segments to be added onto the completed line which serve as branches to the base path; additional, completely separate lines may even be formed which are then removed, should players be quick enough. Due to the game's arcade-like qualities which include its scoring system, setting up combos like this is in the player's interest if they're interesting in this feature. Nevertheless--so long as everything is fully connected like a closed circuit, it will be included in the activated combo and be discarded from the playing field.

As for the line segments themselves, there are only two kinds: the diagonal- and V-shaped. These segments can be mirrored too, ultimately resulting in four varieties which altogether include the caret (∧), inverted caret (∨), left slash (\), and right slash (/). Despite the small number of segment types, the sheer amount of them on-screen as the game progresses becomes overwhelming enough to eventually player failure. In total, there are five columns and ten rows which combine together to form the playing field. So, this means that there are fifty individual grid plot points for segments to exist. Every few seconds--alongside being manually triggered--a new row appears from the bottom. This is never a surprise to the player, but which line segments, where they appear, and how many there are is a surprise due to randomization. Lines can be freely swapped along the vertical axis, so there is a hard restriction regarding player strategy at any given moment. And this means being required to move segments is to be expected, as there is otherwise little, if any, chance for a completed line to naturally occur.

There are numerous "skins" which I'm understanding to be stages. I believe that the advancing from one stage to the next is determined by the total amount of line segments cleared, which is one of the few stats tracked during each playthrough. Skins serve as the visual backdrop while also impacting music and sound effects, so there is reason for wanting to play a specific skin. Beyond the standard playing mode, other modes exists where a specific skin may be outright selected, but choosing them from the main menu requires having previously cleared them. I've only been able to clear the fourth skin out of forty, and it seems impossible for me to progress much further from my point-of-view at my current skill level. So little of the game's content is available to me, and I doubt I'd even come close to unlocking even a portion of what's left even with more time practiced. I've played for about five hours right now, and I've very much hit a difficulty wall at the fifth skin. I find it difficult to envision most other players having progressed much further than I have, but perhaps I'm missing some major gameplay tactic to help reach further in the game.

Besides the default Challenge Mode, various other modes exist but aren't that noteworthy. There is one exception, though, which is the 10x10 mode which doubles the width of the playing field. It was fun to try out for a short while, and I actually thought it'd be easier for some reason, but it wasn't. Some modes also offer the option to play with the standard rules or to have line segments remaining above the one used in a combo to fall down automatically. This feature is definitely a handicap of sorts, but it's one I shamelessly opted to use since it removes some time spent toward micromanaging the position of segments. No matter which mode is played, Gunpey's difficulty quickly becomes stressful as numerous lines spawn and at an increased tempo too. So, after a short time spent playing, line segments will flood the field. And despite the high number of them available to use, it becomes confusing in the few seconds available to visually read what sort of combos can be created. Nevertheless, most modes are played endlessly until the player fails. The longest I was able to play was for around thirty minutes which was probably my average too--I really just couldn't progress further despite my efforts.

While Gunpey is a puzzle game, its action is so intense that an argument could be made that its puzzle elements come secondary. Admittedly, I found myself to not be that skilled at the game, but I haven't watched videos of others playing or read anything discussing the game's difficulty to assess my proficiency fairly. Regardless, Gunpey is a game with mechanics I did enjoy, though I wish there was some other element to make it feel more enduring similar to other certain puzzle games of its kind.

[bikingjahuty]

85. Jet Moto 2 (PS1)

Growing up as a kid in the 90s, I remembering see advertising everywhere for Jet Moto, and especially Jet Moto 2. Whether it was the countless magazine ads for it or even a TV commercial I saw ages ago on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, this series was in my face for a good chunk of the late 90s. Despite having never played it until today, Jet Moto 2 was a game that always made me wish I had a PS1 back then. Well, I finally got to play the game behind the aggressive ad campaign aimed at people like me back when it first came out. Prior to playing Jet Moto 2, I expected a game more like Wipeout or Extreme G, but instead it's more like a futuristic motorcross game, which I guess makes since since Moto is in the title (duh!). I chose to play Jet Moto 2 over its predecessor or its sequel since its the one I remember the most vividly and also seems to be the one that most people consider to be the best in the trilogy. Unfortunately, some things are just better left alone and in the past.


Jet Moto 2 is without a doubt one of the worst racing games I've ever played. Beyond the horribly designed and often confusing tracks, the controls are pretty terrible for the most part. Literally just holding the X button down for more than a second, which you use to accelerate by the way, will send you violently crashing into a wall or off the course into a bottomless pit. In order to have any success in this game you have to gingerly feather the acceleration button and even doing this barely makes the controls more tolerable. It doesn't help that most stages have tons of bottomless pits that you'll be forced to try and go over again and again as you fall into them again and again. The game is an absolute exercise in patience and one where you'll often just wish the race you're on would end so you don't have to play anymore. It doesn't help that there are barely any Jet bikes to choose from and despite them having different stats, they all might as well be the same since you'll be crashing into everything and falling into the abyss between jumps all the same anyways.


The visuals are certainly better than the gameplay in Jet Moto 2, but not by much. Menus and UI screens are done in a pretty cool comic style that reminds me a little of 90s Marvel or Image Comics, but at the same time there is definitely a budget feel about it all. The actual in game graphics do have a certain appeal to them, but despite there being a few standout features in some of the levels, courses just feel a bit bland and float. I will also say that the animations for your racer are fairly good and have a fluidity to them that is still pretty impressive to this day. Otherwise, you could do way, way better in terms of graphics when it comes to full 3D games released in 1997.


Jet Moto's audio is by far its best quality. It has some generally good songs throughout the game, and even the ones that don't wiggle their way into your ear are still appropriate and well implemented into the game. There are also limited sound effects, with the one of your racer grunting and screaming in terror over seeing the endless abyss below him as you fly off the track for the 50th time.


There are a ton of racing games that the 5th console generation birthed, but sadly this Playstation exclusive is among the worst and one that I would strongly recommend no one waste their time playing. Even the worst games have some redeeming qualities, and even though Jet Moto 2 is no different, there is just too much wrong with this game to make any of the good aspects of it worth it. It's no wonder this game and series has been largely forgotten. (8/14/25) [19/50]