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52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

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dhaabi:

--- Quote from: supremeusername on March 05, 2026, 02:46:04 pm ---12. The Song of Saya | 2003 | Director's Cut | PC | 2/28:
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I wasn't familiar with Saya no Uta previously (I'm generally unfamiliar with visual novels), but I did become somewhat curious about it after reading your thoughts. Without really knowing the extent to just how explicit this game is even after some shallow searching, I decided to peruse images results. With that said, while it's not a game for me (probably only) because of its eroge content, it's interesting to know that this exists and as is popular as it is.

bikingjahuty:
20. Resident Evil 2 (PS4)

One major sign that tells me I really enjoyed a game is when I immediately want to jump into another game in the series right after. This is especially true of any game that takes me more than 4 or 5 hours to beat. Such is the case with me playing the Resident Evil 2 remake (RE2) right after beating Resident Evil Requiem just a few days ago.


Initially going into RE2, I really wanted to play as Leon and revisit where it all began for one of the heroes of Requiem. However, once I fired RE2 up and realized the one and only time I played through RE2 back in 2020 was with Leon, I inevitably decided to take the game on as Claire instead. With RE Code Veronica being the first RE game I ever sunk serious time into and beat, I have a soft spot for the sister of Chris Redfield and felt like I wanted to experience RE2 in a fairly different way than I had during my first play through. I have to say, despite undeniable differences, the campaigns are still remarkably similar in how they play out. I suppose if I wanted a much different experience I'd have to play the B scenario with one of the characters instead of just doing back to back A scenarios. Still, some of the changes with Claire were certainly welcome. For one, Claire is the easier of the two campaigns. A lot of this has to do with being able to get a grenade launcher fairly early on which makes real short work of some of the toucher enemies and bosses in the game. Also, the tyrant monster that plagued my first playthrough as Leon, Mr. X, is barely in Claire's campaign. What this essentially meant is playing through RE2 as Claire was a far less tense and stressful affair than it had during my Leon playthrough.


Regardless of who you're playing as, RE2 is an excellent game to play. The remake's upgrade to the original by modernizing nearly everything about the gameplay absolutely helps elevate RE2 remake over the classic 1998 game. Gone are the tank controls, and in its place is a much more engaging, dynamic, and immersive third person perspective that allows you to view your surrounding and aim weapons where you want them. I'm certainly not one of those classic RE tank control haters, but the new style of aiming, shooting, and exploring in RE2 remake is undeniably more appealing and easier to play.


Combat in RE2 is mostly pretty good. Characters are given a fairly wide arsenal of primary and secondary weapons to get this the tense survival horror setting of this game. Primary weapons take the form of guns that you manually aim when pressing one of the shoulder buttons. This allows you to put the bullet right where you want it. However, this is easier said than done since enemies can be very mobile and erratic, making it easy to waste ammo when trying to aim for a zombie's head or leg. As for secondary weapons, thes take the form of knives and grenades mostly. Secondary weapons can be used both when in the clutches of an enemy, almost like a get out of jail free card that will prevent you from taking damage. Or they can be used preemptively to attack enemies before they've got a hold of you. Both weapon types work pretty well, however combat still isn't perfect in RE2.


My main gripes in RE2 have to do with enemy balancing and placement. There are more than a handful of sections in this game that really make it ver difficult, if not impossible to take damage. Most of these issues have to do with how many zombies and other enemies the devs crammed into a fairly tight, small area. More than once, I found myself getting attacked, recovering, and getting attacked almost immediately after with almost not chance to get away, attack, or heal in time. Regardless of whether or not I died, these areas always felt very cheap and poorly designed. This also extended to several boss battles which felt way too confined and restrictive. It was almost inevitable that I'd take damage from the boss, once again making the overall combat experience feel cheap and annoying. It also doesn't help that even when running, Claire (and Leon too) feel like they're wading through sludge with how slow they move. This was a big enough issue to where it did distract somewhat from my enjoyment of this game, but there was too much else present in RE2 remake to make me feel like this game was anything short of amazing.


Puzzles in RE2 are great, resources such as ammo and healing supplies are in short supply, and just the atmosphere from start to finish is outstanding. This game is true survival horror mastery and how you update a 20-year old classic for the modern era. Yes, RE2 remake does lean slightly more into the action side of things more than the game it's based on, but even so, this is still about as good as survival horror gets in the modern era of gaming.


RE2's visuals are near perfect. Every area, section, room, hallway, enemy, boss, and practically everything else in between looks absolutely amazing! The RE Engine is a stunner as seen in so many modern Resident Evil titles since RE7. Unfortunately, where RE2 falls noticeably short is in some of its character models. Some models, chiefly Leon's and Marvin's look amazing, highly detailed, and just have that polish that nearly every character model had in RE7. Then there are models like Claire, pre infected William, Sherry, and a few other minor characters you encounter. During gameplay they mostly look fine, however it's during cutscenes where these specific character just look more flat or even, dare I say, kinda ugly. They just look more flat or their face models just look a bit off. Again, compare this to virtually every model in RE7 and you'll know what I mean. And RE7 came out a couple years before RE2 did, making this downgrade in character models a bit puzzling. But yeah, none of the models are downright terrible and while it is worth noting, it's still a bit distracting as you play through RE2.


When it comes to the audio in RE2 it's pretty damn good, albeit not perfect. The soundtrack in this game is good, however I actually prefer the original RE2's soundtrack to it. There are some arranged tracks from the original RE2 here, but just overall, the OST is noticeably less memorable or enjoyable as it was in the 1998 game. Voice acting is arguably an improvement to OG RE2; the somewhat cheesy performances in the old RE games have a unique, weird charm to them and somehow just work so well with those games. While RE2 Remake has noticeably more competent voice actors, I guess none of them captivate me like those older performances. Even compared to the performances in RE7 (with Ethan Winter's voice actor being a HUGE exception to this) RE2 just isn't as good. Games like RE4 remake and RE8 prove voice acting can be much better than they were in RE2. And finally, the sound effects, including monster noises are excellent here. The sound of foot steps from Mr. X, zombies moaning further down a hallway, or the banging of zombies clamming against doors and windows is awesome and certainly contributes to RE2 being overall a delight for the ears.


I'm not sure if it's because I preferred Claire's A scenario over Leon's, or perhaps the game just grew on me in the 6 years since I last played it, but I found myself liking RE2 just a tad more than I did back in 2020. The game isn't perfect and there are still several RE games I like more than it, but for it to be better than nearly all the classic RE games as well as a good chunk of modern Resident Evil titles is a true testament to RE2's quality. This is a must play for anyone wanting to play an excellent modern survival horror game, even being so good as to be a substitute for the original RE2, which is undisputed classic. By this logic, RE2 remake is an undeniable modern classic if there ever was one. (3/5/26) [41/50]

kashell:
21. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Red

We're starting the game that'll eventually grant me my 150th platinum! Naturally, it has to be my favorite game of all time. The first character I finished was the same character I played the very first time I played the original. Red is always a good "starter" hero for those that don't know much about the game and it's mechanics. When his quest finally opens up, the Remaster does a good job of keeping players aware of what they have to do next. I decided to use Gen, Liza, Fuse and Lute along with Red. Gen, Fuse and Lute are available in all of the other campaigns so that'll be handy for the new game pluses. Liza might not be I'm going to build her up as much as I can when she's around. During this play through, I managed to knock out some trophy requirements that I'd normally never bother with. One was for getting a Mariche. The second was for getting a Dullhalan. Red's campaign ended with a fun bang. Up next is Emilia.

supremeusername:

--- Quote from: dhaabi on March 05, 2026, 07:33:29 pm ---I wasn't familiar with Saya no Uta previously (I'm generally unfamiliar with visual novels), but I did become somewhat curious about it after reading your thoughts. Without really knowing the extent to just how explicit this game is even after some shallow searching, I decided to peruse images results. With that said, while it's not a game for me (probably only) because of its eroge content, it's interesting to know that this exists and as is popular as it is.

--- End quote ---

The Steam version cuts down on the eroge content, but I don't know how it's done. I've tried looking into it, but everyone has a slightly different description about what's shown and what's removed. I think you still get the context about what's happening, but the eroge dialogue & nudity is cut out. Some people liked the 'censored' version more after reading both, so you couldn't be wrong looking into the Steam version if you're interested. It's still gonna require some willpower to read though, no matter what version you pick.

supremeusername:
13. Condemned: Criminal Origins | 2005 | Xbox Series X | 3/7:



     Completing back-to-back horror games for the first time in quite a while, this one is poles apart from the last one I played however. We have here the grungy survival horror action-FPS of Condemned, developed by the late & great Monolith. This game really did not age well in the 'looks department', but it kind of works with the overall aesthetic. Character models with any semblance of being called human just look dreadful in this game. The enemies you face however, look real dangerous and thrilling to fight. This, combined with the closed-quarters level design, really make Condemned shine through all the grit and grime of the game's world. There's also the game's combat, which feels visceral and crunchy when you trade blows with the many thugs and gremlins you're forced to face. Condemned does feel a little stiff to play today, especially with this herky-jerky camera movement that may be due to how it ran on the original 360. Still, it only adds to the claustrophobic layout of levels and not knowing what's around the corner.

     Story was so-so for me. I liked the beginning parts where it felt more like a crime drama, but they lost me with the paranormal crap introduced towards the end. It felt shoe-horned in and not what the game built itself up to be. This was Monolith's 2nd first-person horror game released in 2005, the prior game being F.E.A.R. about a month earlier. These were the studio's first attempts at making a single-player FPS with elements of horror (not counting Blood); and they nailed both. F.E.A.R. is way better though. Grade: C+

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