52 Games Challenge 2018

[ignition365]

I haven't really been updating this since I'm not really taking the challenge seriously this year.  It's actually kind of freeing to not feel like I NEED to be playing games.  I've been binging Top Gear and The Grand Tour and not much else.  Sometimes I'll play Picross S while watching, sometimes my wife and I will play Dice Throne while watching.

That being said, I'm going to try and update my post this week.

[bikingjahuty]

I haven't really been updating this since I'm not really taking the challenge seriously this year.  It's actually kind of freeing to not feel like I NEED to be playing games.  I've been binging Top Gear and The Grand Tour and not much else.  Sometimes I'll play Picross S while watching, sometimes my wife and I will play Dice Throne while watching.

That being said, I'm going to try and update my post this week.

Pretty much how I feel as well. There is a slim chance that I may hit 52-games, but even if I don't I really don't care. As far as gaming goals, I'm simply trying to replay my top 15 games and that's it; anything else will be icing on the cake. I've been watching a lot more movies and on the productive end of things have been working on building my career and various other things I've put off for a variety of reasons, some of those sadly were because of video games :/

[telly]

I'm still playing stuff same as before, but Xenoblade X is a longggg game

[rayne315]

F me. we are already a month in and I have only played 2 games... and only beaten 1! I need to stop buying and start playing!

[courtlyhades296]

I went into Mario Frustration SNES via Lunar Magic, and decided that outright altering the source code is acceptable for this game as well. Once I finish it, I will publish a changelog alongside a screenshot.

[bikingjahuty]

Three games last month! Woohoo!

3. Final Fantasy Dissidia NT (PS4): This game's value will really be dependent on how big of a Final Fantasy fan you are seeing how seeing old and new final fantasy characters is modern gen graphics, great voice acting, and excellent remixes of classic FF tracks are what make this game most appealing. Less appealing are the uninteresting, confusing, and repetitive gameplay and a story mode that makes almost no sense. There are a lot of unlockables that give this game replay value, but you'll find yourself just getting through the actually game part just to see what else you can unlock. Good enough in some ways, but definitely lacking in others. (1/31/18) [28/50]

[realpoketendonl]

And that's game six!

• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter

I'm a fan of the original game. Some of my friends, when they heard that, really praised and recommended the sequel, particularly praising the ending. And I had it, so why not?

For those of you unaware, Drawn to Life is a series with two entries on DS, along with a spin-off for Wii and a Spongebob spinoff we don't talk about. The basic gimmick is that you draw your own hero to take on an adventure. But underneath the childish exterior and drawing gimmick lies a surprisingly deep, charming and engaging story.

Now Drawn to Life has never been known for its gameplay, and The Next Chapter is no exception. The levels really come down to pretty basic platforming. They do mix it up with new abilities, but in the end the gameplay is pretty basic and mundane. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. It makes it a great game to just sit back with and waste some time with. And you're not playing for the gameplay, Drawn to Life is about the story. And I can solidly say I quite enjoyed it. The original had a solid story and characters, but this one really fleshed the characters out and gave us a plot that really sucks you in with its charm and holds you all the way through. You do need to have played the original in order to fully understand this one, but that's something I recommend doing anyway.

Though I have to say, the ending disappointed me. I will obviously not say a word about it here, because it most definitely is experienced best spoiler-free (and a fair warning, Google is full of spoilers), but in short I didn't like the ending the way others did. It was a twist and a tear-jerker, sure, but I found it to be a bit abrupt and kind of shades the whole game in a different light. It's build up to pretty well though, and it's a satisfying conclusion, so it's a real mixed bag for me. But to me, the rest of the story is just so charming and so fun that I can look past that. (This part is really only here for those of you out there who played the game already. People seem super polarized on the ending and I would honestly love more (spoiler-free!) opinions).

In the end Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter is a great follow-up to the original, and both are well worth a spot in your collection. I found the story much better and very fun to go through, with lots of twists, emotional moments, fun moments and just flat-out charm to keep you going. The gameplay is nothing to write home about, but it's just a nice feel-good game to sit back with and just have a relaxed, nice time with. If you're into DS collecting both the original and this title deserve a spot in your collection as hidden gems on the DS. But do be warned! They also released Drawn to Life: Collection, and in that title they changed the ending to The Next Chapter. Want the real, good, and intense ending? Be sure to pick both of them up seperately. They're dirt-cheap used anyway, so if you want some charming gems on DS, these two are well worth a look!

[kamikazekeeg]

6 - Monster Hunter World (PS4 2017) - 100+ HOURS BEAT - I didn't expect to get absorbed into another 100+ hour experience so quickly after Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but here we are.  Not only that, this has high potential to be GOTY material right off the bat short of something surprising me out of nowhere.  I've been wanting to get into the Monster Hunter series for a long time, always seeming enticing, but there was just issues I had with them that kept me from diving in.  This takes what I thought looked fun and makes it a much more manageable and better thought out experience I feel.

Story isn't exactly anything special, bordering on being almost unnecessary, but you can tell that it's sort of the point.  They didn't want to put much effort into characters and plot, because the focus is primarily on repeatedly hunting monsters.  The story is mostly just about progressing you through the game to unlock higher levels and nothing more, which is made clear by no one actually have any names.  i don't particularly like that, but it's not a game ruining thing for me.

The game does get pretty grindy at times, but it was rare that I was hating what I was fighting as the gameplay loop of hunting monsters for cool new gear and weapons is pretty enticing and is what will keep me playing for abit longer as I try to get some of this high level armor.  Just a fun actiony time that has now actually made me look forward to the series in the future.

[arkaneer]

2. Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn (PS4 & PC)

I played through the main story & class questlines...unusually in an MMO, you actually see the credits roll!

It took me 76 hours in total to complete the roughly 200 quests needed. There were a 7 dungeons, 4 Trials & 2 Raids required also, so I spent a bit of extra time on YouTube learning mechanics.

I enjoyed the game a lot until Level 40, when there simply aren't enough quests in the game to level up. This means that you have to grind world events & old dungeons to keep going. It was boring tbh, but I was also levelling in Monster Hunter World at the same time, so I may have some grind fatigue. I expect it was all great fun when the game launched and hundreds of people were running the same content.

The story itself was quite interesting and I will get the expansions and play them through for sure. I want to see where it goes next.

The graphics and sound in this game are amazing for an MMO, really impressive.

There is a lot to this game and if you are fan of the Final Fantasy aesthetic, and enjoy MMOs, you really can't go wrong.

[ignition365]

Finished Gravity Rush 2.  Did all of the online content that I wanted to do... so that's nice.

Might jump back into Yakuza 0, but I think my wife wants me to play Until Dawn, so maybe that's what I'll play next.  Once I finish Yakuza 0, I'll probably jump into Yakuza 2... I've been waffling on whether or not to play 2 because Kiwami 2 is coming out eventually and I don't even own Yakuza 3.

[arkaneer]

3. Dear Esther - Landmark Edition (PS4)

I wanted something quick and relaxing to play as a break from Monster Hunter, so thought I'd give this a go.

Firstly, the graphics and music are simply superb. It's set on a Hebridean Island and has a bleak, ethereal quality I've not seen in any game before. I spent a lot of time wandering around thinking this would be a great setting for an Elder Scrolls game!

It's credited with being the first 'walking simulator' and there is a lot of slow deliberate movement and exploration whilst the story unfurls.

The story itself is very abstract and disjointed...if you listen to the directors commentary (which is excellent in itself), this is a deliberate choice leaving the player to fill in the blanks and come away with their own version of the story. Imagine Donnie Darko as a game! I actually played the game twice to get it all straight in my head and noticed the story beats are randomized in places, reinforcing the abstract narrative.

The writing itself is very dense and poetic. I found it quite hard going in places.

For me, the game was definitely interesting, but possibly a bit too cerebral for my liking. I didn't feel emotionally connected the way I did with 'What Remains of Edith Finch'.

The real star of the game is the atmosphere and setting, which are top notch.

[kamikazekeeg]

7 - Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS4 2017) - BEAT - I'm of two minds when it comes to the story mode for this.  First is that it's really boring.  It's stilted in it's execution, bordering on being a visual novel with it being almost entirely stationary models standing around talking to each other (Insert joke about this being what DB has always been here).  About the only nice looking thing is how good the models actually look, with their facial expressions.  Combined with the half-assed boardgame/choose your own path mechanic, it's tedious.  It's also told as a story in a really bad way, by being split into three "arcs", so you think you are getting the one story told in three different views, but it's actually three different versions of the story based on who you start as.  Do you play as the hero's to see how they would handle it, do you play as the villains to see how they handle it, or do you play as the Androids and see how they handle it, all with different outcomes leading to a variation of the same conclusion.

I understand that Arksys doesn't really do much with their story modes, that Guilty Gear XRD is mostly just something you watch, but the lack of movement and action within the actual cutscenes feels underwhelming.

On the other hand, ORIGINAL STORY! It's not a good story, being just kind of an amalgamation of Android/Cell/Buu stuff, but Dragon Ball games are notorious for boringly rehashing the same sagas over and over again.  So I'll take something that is at least not that.  What's best about this story, even if very little makes sense (How did 21 rebuild 16 seemingly with the same memories as his original self and how did she even get the Namekian dragon balls to revive all the villains in the first place?), is all the interactions between characters. People who never met or you always wanted to interact with, probably have some sort of dialogue discussion.  It's great hearing Goku and Gohan talk about fusing, or Cell testing boundaries with Adult Gohan, or Gotenks wondering what he should call Goku and Vegeta being that he's two people in one and they are both dads to the other kid.  This, and only this, is what sells the story. 

As a DB fan, it's pure gold.  It's such a shame its stuck into the weak story mode, but hearing the dialogue could be pretty funny.  But again, that's only as a DB fan.  Anyone who's just wanting to having something fun to play will probably hate the story mode, because it's not well designed, it's not an interesting enough story, and really it just teaches bad gameplay habits with how poor the AI is.  Gonna have to relearn how to play to handle the multiplayer better lol

[shfan]

Last night I finished Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana, it was emotional  Beautiful game.

[azure]

Monster Hunter World ruined any chance of me completing the challenge at this point in time 

[arkaneer]

4. Monster Hunter: World (PS4)

I had never tried a Monster Hunter game before, but was swept up by the hype this game generated.
 
I was instantly hooked by the gameplay loop. I think of it as a more dynamic Souls game... slowish combat (I was using Hammer), predictable item placement, lots of co-op opportunities, grind what you need and then back to base to interact with the various npcs and upgrade your gear. The main difference being that the bosses are on the move in the map and often fight each other.

There is a lot to learn when you get started, but the on-ramping by the developers is well handled and you actually don't need to know the minutiae of every system...I got through the game with a just a basic knowledge of everything. It took me 66 hours to complete, and I think I could get that down to 40 hours now I know what I am doing.

The part of the game that I really loved was the multiplayer. It's actually a game where playing with randoms is great fun! I mostly responded to other peoples SOS flares, meaning that they summoned you into the game to help them. Because everyone wants to get the monster down, nobody I came across was rude or unhelpful. Communication was via emotes, nobody seemed to use voice chat which is fine by me. I imagine the game is hilarious with friends.

The weakest part of the game for me was the story and characters. In this respect, it is the total opposite of a Souls game...boring, generic characters with no names, boring story. I was skipping dialogue, and there wasn't much of it to skip!

I'm not sure how much I'll play on past the story, mostly because I want to play other games, but if I did there are hundreds of hours of extra challenges to face and Hunter Ranks to gain.