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General and Gaming => General => Topic started by: bikingjahuty on December 25, 2022, 11:14:34 pm

Title: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 25, 2022, 11:14:34 pm
Alright VGcollect! Let's make this another awesome year full of beating games in our backlogs, or just beating more games in general!


In case anyone is new to this challenge and would like to participate, the 52 Games Challenge is where each person attempts to beat at least 52 games over the course of a year. Essentially we're all working towards an average of one game beat per week for the rest of the year. Many people, including myself, like to write up little reviews on the games  after beating them, but this is by no means required. If anything, this is a good thread to keep track of which games you've played, beat, or abandoned over the course of the year, and track your progress towards that coveted 52 games beat.


Have fun everyone :)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 25, 2022, 11:14:43 pm
I feel like last year I had the intent of playing a bunch of games I'd compiled in a "wishlist" of sorts that I hoped to beat before the end of the year. Naturally, I like to play whatever I feel like playing at any given time and am not great and planning out games to play during any set amount of time. For instance, last year I probably only played and beat 15% of the games I'd hoped to play by the end of the year, which means I just didn't feel like playing 85% of the games I'd originally planned on playing. So this next year I'm pretty much just going to freestyle it...mostly.


There are a few games I do know I want to play going into 2023, mostly ones that relate to new releases I'm interested in that come out this year. Specifically I really want to replay Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and Zelda Breath of the Wild again before their respective sequels come out. But otherwise I plan on playing whatever tickles my fancy on any given day or week. As long as I hit 52 games and reduce my backlog some more I'll consider it a win for the year lol


Completed

1. Gigawing (Dreamcast) (1/1/23) [28/50]
2. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (PS4) (1/1/23) [36/50]
3. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3) (1/7/23) [36/50]
4. Metal Slug 3 (PS4) (1/17/23) [34/50]
5. Metal Slug X (PS4) (1/18/23) [34/50]
6. Metal Slug 4 (PS4) (1/19/23) [28/50]
7. Snowboard Kids (N64) (1/20/23) [31/50]
8. Golden Axe III (Genesis) (2/4/23) [25/50]
9. Sonic Advance (GBA) (2/10/23) [31/50]
10. Tekken Advance (GBA) (2/10/23) [27/50]
11. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (PS5) (2/14/23) [46/50]
12. God Hand (PS2) (3/26/23) [32/50]
13. Street Fighter EX2 Plus (PS1) (4/26/23) [30/50]
14. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5) (5/1/23) [44/50]
15. Dodonpachi Saidaioujou (360) (5/2/23) [32/50]
16. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade) (5/2/23) [33/50]
17. Pokemon Snap (N64) (5/5/23) [36/50]
18. Pokemon Puzzle League (N64) (5/5/23) [33/50]
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) (5/29/23) [40/50]
20. Super Mario World (SNES) (5/31/23) [37/50]
21. Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (PS2) (6/18/23) [33/50]
22. Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special - Dominated Mind (PS1) (6/18/23) [34/50]
23. Fatal Fury (PS2) (6/22/23) [28/50]
24. Fatal Fury 2 (PS2) (6/22/23) [33/50]
25. Street Fighter 2 (PS4) (6/22/23) [35/50]
26. Fatal Fury Special (PS2) (6/22/23) [33/50]
27. Jurassic Park Arcade - 2015 (Arcade) (6/23/23) [31/50]
28. Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey (N64) (6/24/23) [25/50]
29. Fatal Fury 3 (PS2) (6/24/23) [37/50]
30. Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (PS5) (6/26/23) [36/50]
31. Final Fantasy XVI (PS5) (7/16/23) [38/50]
32. Armored Core 6 (PS5) (8/31/23) [33/50]
33. Dangun Feveron (PS4) (9/3/23) [30/50]
34. Skullgirls: 2nd Encore (PS4) (9/3/23) [36/50]
35. Mortal Kombat XL (PS4) (9/5/23) [35/50]
36. Darius Gaiden (PS1) (9/7/23) [34/50]
37. Raiden (PS1) (9/7/23) [26/50]
38. Raiden II (PS1) (9/7/23) [28/50]
39. Metal Slug 5 (PS4) (9/8/23) [29/50]
40. The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS4) (9/14/23) [42/50]
41. Raycrisis (PS1) (9/14/23) [22/50]
42. Metal Slug 6 (PS4) (9/19/23) [30/50]
43. Garou: Mark of the Wolves (PS4) (9/22/23) [37/50]
44. LA Noire (PS4) (11/2/23) [33/50]
45. Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (PS1) (11/5/23) [23/50]
46. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS1) (11/5/23) [42/50]
47. Metal Slug XX (PS4) (11/5/23) [35/50]
48. Battle Circuit (PS4) (11/14/23) [28/50]
49. Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom (PS3) (11/15/23) [37/50]
50. Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (PS3) (11/15/23) [29/50]
51. Halo: Combat Evolved (XBOX) (11/25/23) [36/50]
52. Sexy Parodius (Saturn) (11/26/23) [34/50]
53. Nights into Dreams (Saturn) (11/26/23) [41/50]
54. The Rumble Fish 2 (PS4) (11/27/23) [29/50]
55. Eco Fighters (PS2) (12/12/23) [29/50]
56. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness (PS4) (12/12/23) [32/50]
57. Resident Evil 4 (PS5) (12/23/23) [43/50]
58. Resident Evil 5 (PS4) (12/26/23) [27/50]
59. Sonic Superstars (Switch) (12/28/23) [35/50]
60. Sonic CD (Switch) (12/29/23) [31/50]
61. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES) (12/30/23) [30/50]


Abandoned

1. Ristar (Genesis) (2/3/23)
2. Sonic Advance 2 (GBA) (2/10/23)
3. R-Type Delta (PS1) (9/14/23)
4. LSD Simulator (PS1) (12/11/23)
5. Yakuza (PS2) (12/17/23)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on December 25, 2022, 11:24:46 pm
Counting this as part of next years completion even though I'm starting it right now.

1 - God of War: Ragnarok (PS5 2022) - BEAT
2 - Vampire Survivors (PC 2022) - BEAT
3 - Powerwash Simulator (PC 2021) - BEAT
4 - Sonic Frontiers (PS5 2022) - DROPPED
5 - Epistory (PC 2016) - DROPPED
6 - Hi-Fi Rush (PC 2023) - DROPPED
7 - Dead Space (PC 2023) - BEAT
8 - Sons of the Forest (PC Early Access 2023) - BEAT
9 - Wild Hearts (PS5 2023) - DROPPED
10 - Resident Evil 4 (PC 2023) - BEAT
11 - House of the Dead: Remake (PC 2022)
12 - Dead Island 2 (PC 2023) - BEAT
13 - Super Kiwi 64 (PC 2022) - BEAT
14 - Lunistice (PC 2022) - BEAT
15 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch 2023) - BEAT
16 - Terror of Hemasaurus (PC 2022) - BEAT
17 - Street Fighter 6 (PS5 2023) - BEAT
18 - Link's Awakening DX (NSO - Gameboy 1993) - PLAYING
19 - Final Fantasy XVI (PS5 2023) - DROPPED
20 - BattleBit Remastered (PC 2023 - Early Access) - ENDLESS
21 - Naraka: Bladepoint (PC 2021) - ENDLESS
22 - Ragnarock (PC 2021) - ENDLESS
23 - Pseudoregalia (PC 2023) - BEAT
24 - Maneater (PC 2020) - BEAT
25 - Armored Core VI (PS5 2023) - BEAT
26 - Atomic Heart (PC 2023) - BEAT
27 - Starfield (PC 2023) - DROPPED
28 - I'm On Obversation Duty (PC 2018) - BEAT
29 - Far Cry 6 (PC 2021) - DROPPED
30 - Lies of P (PC 2023) - BEAT
31 - I'm On Obversation Duty 2 (PC 2020) - DROPPED
32 - Spider-Man 2 (PS5 2023) - BEAT
33 - Suika Game (Switch 2023) - ENDLESS
34 - Frogun (PC 2022) - DROPPED
35 - Death in the Water 2 (PC 2023) -  BEAT
36 - Super Mario RPG Remake (Switch 2023) - PLAYING
37 - The Finals (PC 2023) - ENDLESS
38 - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (PC 2014) -  BEAT
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 25, 2022, 11:50:20 pm
Previous 52 Game Challenges: 2020 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,10536.msg174802.html#msg174802), 2021 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11230.msg185673.html#msg185673), 2022 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11713.msg193705.html#msg193705)

01. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199237.html#msg199237) Silent Hill 4: The Room || PlayStation 2 || 01.03.23
02. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199301.html#msg199301) Mom Hid My Game! || Nintendo Switch || 01.04.23
03. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199741.html#msg199741) It Takes Two || PlayStation 4 || 02.12.23
04. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200003.html#msg200003) Ultimate I Spy || Wii || 03.09.23
05. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200123.html#msg200123) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition || PlayStation 3 || 03.13.23
06. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200204.html#msg200204) I Spy: Spooky Mansion || Wii || 03.15.23
07. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200245.html#msg200245) Wheel of Fortune || PlayStation 4 || 03.28.23
08. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200453.html#msg200453) Moving Out || PlayStation 4 || 03.30.23
09. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200570.html#msg200570) I Am Dead || PlayStation 5 || 04.09.23
10. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200632.html#msg200632) Minefield || PlayStation 4 || 04.16.23
11. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200654.html#msg200654) Gabbuchi || PlayStation 4 || 04.18.23
12. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200810.html#msg200810) Yakuza 4 Remastered || PlayStation 4 || 05.01.23
13. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200825.html#msg200825) Grow Comeback || Browser || 05.05.23
14. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200825.html#msg200825) Grow Recovery || Browser || 05.05.23
15. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200907.html#msg200907) Diet || Browser || 05.06.23
16. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200907.html#msg200907) Neighbours || Browser || 05.06.23
17. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200907.html#msg200919) Knights and Bikes || PlayStation 4 || 05.08.23
18. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201223.html#msg201223) Frobisher Says! || PlayStation Vita || 05.22.23
19. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201629.html#msg201629) Stray || PlayStation 5 || 06.11.23
20. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201787.html#msg201787) Toem || PlayStation 5 || 06.23.23
21. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201880.html#msg201880) The Gardens Between || PlayStation 5 || 06.25.23
22. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202116.html#msg202116) The Quarry || PlayStation 5 || 06.28.23
23. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202157.html#msg202157) Valiant Hearts: The Great War || PlayStation 4 || 07.15.23
24. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202226.html#msg202226) 7 Days to End with You || Nintendo Switch || 07.17.23
25. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202269.html#msg202269) Omno || PlayStation 4 || 07.23.23
26. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202361.html#msg202361) Astro Bot Rescue Mission || PlayStation 4 || 07.27.23
27. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202418.html#msg202418) You Are Being Followed || PlayStation 4 || 08.03.23
28. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202451.html#msg202451) Kingdom Hearts VR Experience || PlayStation 4 || 08.10.23
29. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202489.html#msg202489) Tacoma || PlayStation 4 || 08.12.23
30. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202517.html#msg202517) Something Something Soup Something || PC || 08.18.23
31. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203124.html#msg203124) Thumper || PlayStation 4 || 08.30.23
32. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203246.html#msg203246) Unpacking || PlayStation 5 || 09.25.23
33. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203462.html#msg203462) A Hat in Time || PlayStation 4 || 10.04.23
34. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203637.html#msg203637) Dodgeball Academia || PlayStation 4 || 10.30.23
35. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203758.html#msg203758) Krispee Street || Mobile || 11.06.23
36. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203834.html#msg203834) Whitewater Wipeout || Playdate || 12.02.23
37. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203860.html#msg203860) Eggman Game || Browser || 12.03.23
38. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203869.html#msg203869) The Most Searched Playground || Browser || 12.12.23
39. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203889.html#msg203889) Casual Birder || Playdate || 12.13.23
40. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203922.html#msg203922) Pick Pack Pup || Playdate || 12.18.23
41. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203946.html#msg203946) Cube Escape: Seasons || Mobile || 12.19.23
42. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203968.html#msg203968) Yakuza 5 Remastered || PlayStation 4 || 12.19.23
43. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203972.html#msg203972) Cube Escape: The Lake || Mobile || 12.20.23
44. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203979.html#msg203979) Cube Escape: Arles || Mobile || 12.22.23
45. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203988.html#msg203988) Cube Escape: Harvey's Box || Mobile || 12.23.23
46. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203997.html#msg203997) Cube Escape: Case 23 || Mobile || 12.24.23
47. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204102.html#msg204102) Cube Escape: The Mill || Mobile || 12.27.23
48. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204110.html#msg204110) Lost Your Marbles || Playdate || 12.29.23
49. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204117.html#msg204117) Crankin's Time Travel Adventure || Playdate || 12.30.23
50. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204133.html#msg204133) Rusty Lake Hotel || PC || 12.30.23
51. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204139.html#msg204139) Cube Escape: Birthday || PC || 12.31.23
52. (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204142.html#msg204142) Cube Escape: Theatre || PC || 12.31.23
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on December 26, 2022, 04:16:05 am
Reserved - Did really well last year, mostly as I got a 3 month Game Pass trial but I'll see how it goes this year!

Completed:
01. Sonic Frontiers (PS5) - 09/01/2023
02. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One (PS5) - 26/01/2023
03. Resident Evil Revelations HD (PS4 on PS5) - 10/02/2023
04. Star Ocean: The Divine Force (PS5) - 20/02/2023
05. Dante's Inferno (Xbox 360 on Xbox One X) - 27/02/2023
06. Evil Dead The Game (PS5) - 09/03/2023
07. Tell Me Why (Xbox One X) - 17/03/2023
08. The Gardens Between (PS5) - 18/03/2023
09. Journey To A Savage Planet (PS4 on PS5) - 26/03/2023
10. Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PS4 on PS5) - 07/04/2023
11. HiFi Rush (Xbox Series X) - 08/04/2023
12. Power Wash Simulator - Final Fantasy VII DLC (Xbox Series X) - 09/04/2023
13. Atomic Heart (Xbox Series X) - 12/04/2023
14. Spider-Man + DLC (PS4 on PS5) - 05/05/2023
15. Kona (PS5) - 12/05/2023
16. Last Day of June (PS4 on PS5) - 13/05/2023
17. NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… (Xbox One X) - 18/05/2023
18. Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5) - 20/05/2023
19. Hogwart's Legacy (PS5) - 20/06/2023
20. Final Fantasy XVI (PS5) - 18/07/2023
21. Resident Evil 6 HD (PS4 on PS5) - 21/07/2023
22. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile HD (PS5) - 22/07/2023
23. Klonoa: Empire of Dreams (GBA) - 08/08/2023
24. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil HD (PS5) - 14/08/2023
25. A Short Hike (Xbox Series X) - 23/08/2023
26. Planet of Lana (Xbox Series X) - 23/08/2023
27. Bramble: The Mountain King (Xbox Series X) - 25/08/2023
28. In Sound Mind (Xbox Series S) - 25/08/2023
29. Resident Evil 7 + DLC (PS5) - 28/08/2023
30. NieR Automata: GotY Edition (Xbox One X) - 29/08/2023
31. Syndicate (Xbox 360 on Xbox One X) - 06/09/2023
32. Metal Gear Solid (PS1) - ??/09/2023
32. Metal Gear Solid 2 HD (PS3) - ??/09/2023
33. Silent Hill 2 HD... Unpatched (PS3) - ??/10/2023
35. Silent Hill 2 HD + Born From A Wish (Xbox Series S) - 13/10/2023
36. Cloudpunk (PS5) - 16/10/2023
37. Like A Dragon: Ishin! (PS5) - 03/11/2023
38. Not Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (Xbox Series S) - 13/11/2023
39. Disney's Speedstorm - Season 04: Cave of Wonders (PS5) - 23/11/2023
40. Star Ocean: First Departure R (PS4 on PS5) - 30/11/2023
41. Ghostwire: Tokyo (PS5) - 03/12/2023
42. Coffee Talk (PS4 on PS5) - 05/12/2023
43. Secret of Mana Remake (PS4 on PS5) - 07/12/2023
44. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5) - 15/12/2023
45. Star Ocean Second Story R - Claude Campaign (PS5) - 26/12/2023
46. Star Ocean Second Story R - Rena Campaign + Platinum (PS5) - 31/12/2023

Currently Playing:
Disney's Speedstorm - Season 05: Let It Go
Resident Evil Village + Shadow of Rose DLC

Backlog:
Watch Dogs 2
Lost Judgment
Chrono Cross
Grandia
Galerians
Remothered 1
Remothered 2
Time Hollow
Catherine: Full Body
The Legend of Dragoon
Final Fantasy X HD
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on December 26, 2022, 09:27:23 am
Met my goal in 2016 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,6762.msg105641.html#msg105641), 2017 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,7980.msg132350.html#msg132350), 2018 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php?topic=8821.msg149004#msg149004), 2019 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,9921.msg162655.html#msg162655), 2020 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,10536.msg173290.html#msg173290),  2021 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11230.msg185665.html#msg185665), and 2022 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11713.msg193710.html#msg193710); with 2021 being 156 games, 2016/2017/2020/2022 being 104 games, and 2018/2019 being 52 games as the goals.  2015 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,5879.msg103895.html#msg103895) I tracked the info super late and I had another really busy year that year. 

2022 was a tough year for me as it was non-stop one thing or another going wrong: My back was still wrecked from 2021 and got better around May/June, May/June I cracked a crown and have had dental pains (still do), my kid started school so constant getting everyone sick, he was diagnosed with autism which explains why we've had such a challenging time with him, and my wife has had multiple surgeries that have left her pretty much bedridden plus her own dental problems which I won't go too much into, but at this point we think it's just TMD/TMJ... So I did next to no streaming last year and the only reason my play count was so high honestly was probably the sheer amount of short games I played.  At the time of writing this I haven't built my stats for last year yet, so I'll update this once I do.  I made more progress on my Sonic run last year, made some progress on some other franchise runs, but didn't finish any.  I did the new goal of game per year, but I went as far back as I could and did 1977-2022, but I don't think I'll do that again this year; don't get me wrong, I'll still aim for game per year, but I'm not going to aim to go back to x year, I'm just going to go by whatever oldest I play, so I might aim to not play any really old games this year, not sure.  I've also been kind of down and depressed, hopefully just because of the kind of year I'm having, but I've been disinterested in collecting and to a lesser extent playing.

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/ignition365)
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/Ignition365)

2023 52 Game Challenge

Top Games played released in 2023

Top Games played NOT released in 2023

Top Games played overall in 2023

Honorable Mention

- Content posts -
Games 1 - 12 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199079.html#msg199079)
Games 13 - 27 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199091.html#msg199091)
Games 28 - 46 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199098.html#msg199098)
Games 47 - 62 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200033.html#msg200033)
Games 63 - 79 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200707.html#msg200707)
Games 80 - 96 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202494.html#msg202494)
Games 97 -112 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202495.html#msg202495)
Games 113 - 129 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202957.html#msg202957)
Final Stats (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204366.html#msg204366)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on December 26, 2022, 09:27:35 am
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

1. Call of Duty 3 (360)
Started this one before the new year in hopes that I'd beat it before the new year, but I didn't beat it in time.  The Call of Duty games are weird to me, achievement wise, CoD2, 4, and World at War all have Veteran difficulty achievements, but CoD3 doesn't, just has beating the game on a specific difficulty.  So this one I didn't even bother playing on anything but Easy.  Again not a big fan of World War shooters, so I'm kinda just breezing through this.  Nothing noteworthy or special about this one I think.
Rating: Hard pass

2. Cats in Time (PC)
I started this one last year and had been playing it on my Steam Deck.  It plays well enough, but it definitely needs the precision of playing with a mouse as opposed to using the touchscreen, playable, but annoying.  Anyway, simple enough puzzles, interesting enough puzzles, and the game will give you video hints built in if you get stuck and want help.  A fantastic puzzle experience.  The only downside is the final, secret level is locked behind finding all of the bits of paper throughout the levels and they definitely do not give you hints for that, so you've got to go elsewhere and even then, finding all of the bits of paper doesn't unlock the secret level, it just gives you the info to solve a secret puzzle at the main menu to get to the secret puzzle.  Needless to say, I didn't do the secret puzzle because I just don't care enough to go find 100+ bits of paper.
Rating: Soft pass

3. Pupperazzi (X1)
Saw this was leaving Game Pass and I've had it installed on my xbox since release day.  So I loaded it up and started playing it.  It's a pretty fun simple mindless little game and it's really short too.  I'd dump more time into it honestly, and I might too, but I'd just be doing it for achievements or something.  I got what I wanted out of the game, it's cute, but that's about it.
Rating: Soft pass

4. Call of Duty: World at War (360)
Started this one up almost immediately after finishing the 3rd game.  I do have the CoD series listed out for a franchise run, but I'm thinking I'm not gonna bother with that, I just want mindless gameplay for a bit.  But if I do commit to doing it franchise run, I need to go back and play the first game and the spin offs for the first handful of games.  That said, the reason I'm not committing to aiming to complete the franchise run is that I don't own any of the recent couple of games, but once (if) Microsoft completes their acquisition of ABK, the games will all inevitably find their way on Game Pass, in which case I can commit to finishing the franchise run, but for the time being I don't want to start to commit to the project when I know I can burn through these games relatively quickly (even though there are like 20 of them).  Anyway, started doing this one on Veteran mode because of the achievements, got maybe 5 levels through and decided that I was just spending way too much time on this game dying and reloading on Veteran when I could be playing on Easy and just burning through the game.  Like I got to a point where I was just dying over and over and over and spending like an hour on a bit that should take 5 minutes otherwise, so I got through, beat the level, popped the achievement, and then dropped the difficulty.  Will I come back and get the achievements, probably not, but I made an effort.  I think I had the same problem with CoD4, I started working through and then got to like All Guillied up and just said fuck it.  After finishing this, I took a quick look at Black Ops doesn't have the same difficulty achievements structure this game and CoD2/4 have. ::)
Rating: Hard pass

5. Nioh (PS5)
I beat this last year (or maybe the year before) and now that I have the PS5 version with the DLC, I decided that I'd pick it back up and check out the DLC.  I played a little bit relearning the systems because I knew it had complex stuff that I wouldn't remember.  Then I loaded up the first DLC level.  I saw it said Level 155 and I was like I think I remember that being meaningless, so whatever... Everything kept one shotting me, but I made it all the way to the boss of the level and then the boss kept one shotting me so I'm just like what the fuck.  I look it up, you're supposed to be level 155 to beat the level, I'm only level 104, so I'm super underleveled.  I think I recall that this game doesn't do like Dark Souls where no matter what you level up, your defense increases, in this defense is a specific stat, but largely controlled by your armor, so yes, I need to level up, but I also need to get higher level equipment.  My weapons are maxed (I assume) at lvl 150, but my armor is all relatively low.  I'm really considering saying fuck it and just starting Nioh 2, but I really want to give this more of a try.  So I went and did some earlier stuff that I skipped, but I'll pick it up again later and try and do more of the side content I missed, but regardless, you can't even start the easiest DLC stuff until lvl 150 and I'm only lvl 100, so I've got a lot of grinding to do to get to where I can even reasonably start the DLC and I'm not happy about that.  I watched some videos and got myself to a point that I found a level that I could earn 2-6million amrita in a run, that's great except I need 3-4million amrita to level up, so yeah, I can level up like 3 times in 2 runs... maybe.  Anyway, I managed to get through the main missions of the 1st DLC and I'm sitting at level 168 right now, so lots of grinding to get me where I am.  That said next DLC starts at like level 180, NG+ is 165-180... and DLC 3 starts at like 215.  Way too much grinding to be able to get into the extra content, so I'm taking a break.  Hopefully Nioh 2 has better pacing, I don't know if I can bother with the rest of this game... but I will jump into Nioh 2 eventually.

6. Need for Speed: Payback (X1)
I decided after the frustration and stress of Nioh I wanted a racing game and it occurred to me that there are so many NFS games that I've skipped over the last decade that I'd finally hop back in.  I actually played NFS (2015) first, but remembered that it does pause and abandoned it pretty quickly.  I've since picked it back up, but I'll get into that later.  This game is interesting in so many ways.  Firstly, this game refers back to previous NFS games, like almost setting up a shared universe, which I think is really cool.  Like it makes references back to the Underground games and I'm pretty sure Most Wanted/Carbon as well.  I kind of want to dig and see if I can find anything that details all of the crossover/reference material for the games because that's kind of cool.  That also said, the ending to this game not only sucks, but it sets up more story that we will almost assuredly never get... even playing I figured that's what was going to happen, but it's frustrating still to be right about it.  This game introduced the lootbox elements, which was probably why I didn't play this one either.  I don't know if they sorta fixed it or what, but it's still pretty fucked up, you can't just upgrade your car, you have to either earn parts, roll for parts, or wait for the shop to refresh every 10 minutes for parts, and then I still don't know what controls it loading better parts, I found that I kept having to buy parts incrementally to get it to sell me better parts towards the end of the game when I decided I wanted a new car.  Overall the racing and story are pretty good, but the gameplay is generally destroyed by these stupid systems for upgrading and the ending of the game itself, plus the giant plothole of the game starts with them blowing up your house, but then they never again try to actually kill you, they've even got cops coming at you, like cops would be the first one to just torch your car and say oops.
Rating: Hard pass

7. Need for Speed (X1)
I've been very resentful of this game and the franchise since this entry.  Maybe even Rivals, tbh, I hated that you can't pause, but I actually played through Rivals, I didn't even touch this one after the beta.  That aside this game has so many issues that make it a deal breaker of a game.  The three chief ones that come to mind are not 1) You can't pause, even in single player mode.  I had my batteries die, I had an eyelash in my eye, my cat got into shit in my kitchen while playing, and I can't even think about playing this during the day. 2) You can't start the game in single player mode, you have to load into online mode and then swap to single player mode. 3) Selecting Restart Race and Exit Race do the same thing, they quit the race so you have to load freeroam and then select to start the race.  Additional complaints, you can't just say I want to start a race from the map, you warp to the race so you can start once it loads, the same thing applies to fast traveling to diner, garage, bunker, etc.  The game doesn't support Quick Resume, so you've got to load up the game every time.  The game being installed on XS it still has incredibly slow load times, just loading into story mode takes like 3 minutes, so swapping to single player takes another 3 minutes.  Playing online was mostly fine because not many other players as expected, but last night I loaded up with a ton of other racers who kept just trying to grief me, ramming me constantly etc, to the point they were interfering in actual races, so I had to swap to single player.  The rubber banding in this is ridiculous, my controller died and it took me a couple of minutes to find new batteries in the middle of a race, I still came in 2nd, I almost came in first, on the other side, I'm constantly seeing the AI snap to 1st place in like a Civic even though I'm driving a McLaren.  The upgrade system is locked behind an XP system and a quest system with one specific character.  The story I was constantly waiting for the usual NFS betrayal/revenge storyline, but this game is just purely start to finish a rather wholesome rise to stardom kind of game, it threw me off so bad.  Game kept having weird physics/graphical issues, like I'd hit a wall or a curb even and just rubber ball bounce away into the sky, or I'd crash and fall through the world and it would take a minute to reload my car so I'd be super far behind because the race keeps going even though you're loading.  Honestly, this is probably hands down the worst NFS game of all time, probably no argument to be had either.  I know this game is going to be a hard pass, but I haven't actually beaten it yet.  I'm also pretty sure it bugged and didn't give me an achievement that I should've earned.  Fuck this game.  Final race was a 104 checkpoint Sprint race, takes ~10 minutes, can't pause, rubberbanding is ridiculous, and the final checkpoint is a bit of a zig zag that fucks you over.  Took me 4 tries and I fucked up at the last checkpoint 3 of those 4 tries and went from 1st to 6th in an instant, like 10 feet from the finish line.  A game that could've been serviceable had it just had a pause button.
Rating: Hardest of passes.  Fuck this game.

8. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered (X1)
I recall this being one of my favorite NFS games, so I was ecstatic that it got a remaster.  Once I started playing though, I felt like it would've been better served as a sequel than a remaster.  It's weird to play a game coming out in 2020 that only has cars from around 2010 and older.  Just makes me wish it were a sequel.  I had been slowly playing this every so often, but recently I've been on a NFS binge a bit, might even start up that franchise run and go play older games.  I've been playing it and having a good time and enjoying it, but then I started getting to some of the levels where I remember getting angry at how stupid some of the stuff works out.  How frustrating it is that you can crash out and the AI can't, there's a lot of targeting just you, and just some of the worst rubber banding I've ever seen.  If the game wants to keep the AI away from you, they literally boost to like 300-400 mph and zoom away from you... it's fucking bonkers and almost makes picking a car a triviality.  Overall enjoyable, but lots of dumb to this game that I would've preferred been controlled by difficulty options.  10 years ago I'd call this a recommendation, but honestly, 10 years ago Forza Horizon was in its infancy, and now, I honestly can't recommend it over Forza obviously, but the hot pursuit nature of the game is something that nobody else does or does well, so it's gotta reason to be played and a reason to exist I suppose.
Rating: Soft pass

9. Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (3DS)
So this game is more of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, except this is what Shattered Crystal should've been.  Like almost everything I complained about Shattered Crystal and suggestions I made about what would improve the game was implemented and this game is amazing.  Honestly, it might be one of, if not the, favorite(s) Sonic game.  Pretty linear, kind of metroid inspired, levels, great combat and controls.  Honestly, this is what all 2D Sonic games should strive to be at this point, I'd be excited for an expanded game like this with bigger levels or even full on dive into metroidvania.
Rating: Soft recommendation

10. WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2007 (360)
It's very out of nowhere for me to be playing this, but I yearn for good trashy wrestling games and the Smackdown series is just fantastic.  I have some nostalgia for No Mercy, but I remember that game, and subsequently the GCN games too, as fun but frustrating af.  My recollection of the Smackdown series is just how fucking good they are.  I remember some frustrating challenges for them, but I just recall them being amazing.  And tbh the 2K series just hasn't been the same for me.  I played this and 2008 I think on PS2, so this was a good excuse to replay them and earn achievements.  I plan to earn all offline achievements, online servers are actually still available and I could earn the achievements, but it's difficult and I would need 2 copies of the game to do it myself... and I'm not buying a second copy to grind out some online achievements.  Story mode is interesting in that there is a variety to it and I'm sure there are plenty of storylines I've never experienced with how they determine what to do when, but I also in my one playthrough ran into 1 or 2 storylines twice.  I say 1 playthrough, but I looped the story mode to get the other difficulty based achievements since they don't stack.  AFAIK this one was the game I played the most in my youth (which means college) because it had such a versatile offering of content to allow for replayability.  I recall creating tons of CAWs and titles and full on trying to do tournaments and stuff to defend custom titles and enjoying GM mode and stuff, but I don't yearn for that like I did then, but I'm still going to try to go in on GM mode and challenge mode, and hit all of those achievements before I move onto 2008, but I got the credits to roll doing story mode so I'm gonna stop writing up on this unless I really feel the need to add something.
Rating: Soft pass

11. Goldeneye 007 (XS)
I've been so hyped for this game and I had continuously yearned to replay the XBLA version of this, but I wanted to wait for this where I'd actually earn achievements.  It's a little disappointing to know that this doesn't have the same improvements that the XBLA version did and no online multiplayer, but it's pretty true to the original except that it full on removed the button code cheats for unlocking stuff.  That's fine, I wanted to earn everything and get all of the achievements anyway, but it's a little disappointing, especially for folks who don't care about achievements or playing single player who just want to do couch deathmatch.  This game is diminished for me because I can't really do couch deathmatch, since I have no one to play with, but on the other hand, I have no interest in playing online with strangers either.  But I spent the entire weekend working on this game and did absolutely everything.  I beat every level on every difficulty, unlocked all of the cheats, beat all of the target times, and earned all of the multiplayer achievements.  Finished up Sunday evening with 1000/1000 achievement points, so took me about 3 days to get through it all.  I want an excuse to play this game more, but I just don't.  When I finished up, someone on a discord had recommended that I do Silo on Agent with the Gold PP7 and Enemy Rockets cheats, burned through that in less than 10 minutes, it was tough but fun.  I could definitely go for more things like that, but I'm not creative or interested enough to come up with my own challenges.  It would be nice if the game had the versatility to let you do a bit more with stuff like controlling what weapons enemies use, 007 mode only lets you control a few things.  To end, I will state that I think a lot of folks expected that this game wouldn't hold up, and I'll say the N64 controller is what held this game back back in the day and even today, but being able to use one of the best designed controllers of all time to play this game just makes that game so much better and allows for it to age gracefully.  The game has its quirks, design remnants of its time, but it's still a solid game.
Rating: Solid recommendation.

12. WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008 (360)
After playing this one, I'm considering going back and updating my review of 2007 to mark it as soft recommendation.  I had it in my head that the games got better until like 2k or something, but no I think 2007 was the peak, or one of them.  This game has no real story mode, just GM mode and a career mode that is essentially GM mode but for a single superstar... and if you start either one it erases the other, can't have a story mode and a GM mode at the same time.  This game is also the game that removed the manual targeting, so you're stuck not being able to attack who you want unless dumb luck and very frequently you'll wind up attacking who you don't want.  Just everything about this game is a step down from 2007.  Hall of Fame mode is an interesting inclusion, but it's actually very little content and I didn't dig too much into it, but it sounds like you don't just upgrade your CAWs you have to spend money (in-game obviously) to upgrade your CAWs buying items from the shop.  It's just all super annoying.  Also, having not played this game on 360 before, I went through and earned all of the achievements I could, and almost none of them require you to play the story mode really.  Most of the achievements fall into doing exhibition matches, doing GM mode, and playing online.  Side note: this game is the game that finally pushed my 360 gamerscore over 100,000 points.  It's so crazy to me because I thought I broke 100,000 before the X1 came out, but apparently I didn't, because my X1 gamerscore had been over 100,000 on its own.
Rating: hard pass

Next List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199091.html#msg199091)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: aliensstudios on December 26, 2022, 01:24:06 pm
43. Sonic Dream Team (Apple TV) | ✓ Finished: 12/15/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~5 ½ hours to beat
42. Home Alone (SNES)| ✓ Finished: 12/14/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~3 ¾ hours to beat
41. Pang Adventures (PS4) | ✓ Finished: 12/10/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~2 hours to beat
40. Super Mario Land 2 DX (GBC) | ✓ Finished: 12/3/23 | ✎ Notes: Played alternating with Joe, took ~1 ½ hours to beat
39. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Classic (Apple TV) | ✓ Finished: 12/2/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~2 ½ hours to beat
38. Dixie Kong Country (SNES) | ✓ Finished: 12/1/23 | ✎ Notes: Hack of Donkey Kong Country for SNES that replaces DK with Dixie Kong, took ~2 hours to beat
37. Super Mario World (SNES)| ✓ Finished: 11/27/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~4 hours to beat
36. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)| ✓ Finished: 11/12/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~16 hours to beat
35. Razing Storm (PS3) | ✓ Finished: 9/10/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe via Time Crisis: Razing Storm, took ~1 hour to beat
34. Return of Double Dragon (SFC) | ✓ Finished: 8/30/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~1 hour to beat
33. Gunslingers (Wii) | ✓ Finished: 8/20/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~1 ½ hours to beat
32. Deadstorm Pirates (PS3) | ✓ Finished: 7/29/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe via Time Crisis: Razing Storm, took ~2 ½ hours to beat
31. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) | ✓ Finished: 7/4/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~15 ¾ hours to beat
30. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Game Boy)| ✓ Finished: 5/29/23 | ✎ Notes: Played via TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, took ~½ hour to beat
29. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)| ✓ Finished: 5/27/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe via TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, took ~1 hour to beat
28. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)| ✓ Finished: 5/27/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~¾ hour to beat
27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Switch)| ✓ Finished: 5/27/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~4 ½ hours to beat
26. Splatterhouse (PC Engine)| ✓ Finished: 4/12/23 | ✎ Notes: Played via PC Engine Mini, took ~½ hour to beat
25. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (Famicom)| ✓ Finished: 4/8/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~2 ½ hours to beat
24. Splatterhouse (TurboGrafx-16)| ✓ Finished: 4/7/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~½ hour to beat
23. Liquid Kids (PC Engine)| ✓ Finished: 4/3/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~11 ½ hours to beat
22. Trampoline Terror (Genesis)| ✓ Finished: 3/25/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~4 hours to beat
21. Shockman (TurboGrafx-16)| ✓ Finished: 3/14/23 | ✎ Notes: Played via Wii U Virtual Console, took ~3 ½ hours to beat
20. SturmFront: The Mutant War - Übel Edition (Wii U)| ✓ Finished: 3/10/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~1 ¾ hours to beat
19. Nightmare Busters (SNES) | ✓ Finished: 3/9/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~1 ¼ hours to beat
18. Unravel (PS4) | ✓ Finished: 3/7/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~7 ¼ hours to beat
17. Kero Blaster (PS4) | ✓ Finished: 3/3/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~3 ½ hours to beat
16. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (PS3) | ✓ Finished: 2/28/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~2 ¾ hours to beat
15. Pepsi Man (PS1) | ✓ Finished: 2/25/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~4 ¾ hours to beat
14. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64) | ✓ Finished: 2/22/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~3 ½ hours to beat
13. Sonic Triple Trouble (Game Gear) | ✓ Finished: 2/19/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~2 ½ hours to beat
12. Sonic Chaos (Game Gear) | ✓ Finished: 2/15/23 | ✎ Notes: First completed Game Gear game, took ~2 ¾ hours to beat
11. Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (SNES) | ✓ Finished: 2/7/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~4 hours to beat
10. Wild Guns (SNES)| ✓ Finished: 2/3/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe via Wii U Virtual Console, took ~3 hours to beat
9. The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Genesis)| ✓ Finished: 2/3/23|✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~2 hours to beat
8. Sonic CD Classic (Apple TV) | ✓ Finished: 1/29/23 | ✎ Notes: Took ~4 hours to beat
7. Curses 'N Chaos (PS4) | ✓ Finished: 1/22/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~10 ½ hours to beat
6. Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis) | ✓ Finished: 1/20/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~1 ½ hours to beat
5. Goof Troop (SNES) | ✓ Finished: 1/15/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~3 ½ hours to beat
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) | ✓ Finished: 1/10/23 | ✎ Notes: Began in 2022, took ~ 13 ¾ hours to beat
3. Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl (Switch) | ✓ Finished: 1/8/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~1 hour to beat
2. The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut (PS3) | ✓ Finished: 1/8/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~3 ½ hours to beat
1. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck (Genesis) | ✓ Finished: 1/2/23 | ✎ Notes: Played co-operatively with Joe, took ~2 hours to beat
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 26, 2022, 04:17:28 pm
I got a lot more done in 2022 than I anticipated. Bring on 2023!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on December 26, 2022, 05:03:01 pm
1. Mass Effect - Legendary Edition (PS5) - Beat / Jan. 18
2. Streets of Rage 4 (XB1) - Beat / Jan. 19
3. Mass Effect 2 - Legendary Edition (PS5) - Beat / Jan. 31
4. Mortal Kombat 11 - Ultimate (PS5) - Beat / Feb. 4
5. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Switch) - Beat / Feb. 15
6. Kirby: Planet Robobot (2DS XL) -Beat / Feb. 25
7. Puzzle Quest 2 (2DS XL) - Beat / Mar. 12
8. Mass Effect 3 - Legendary Edition (PS5) - Beat / Apr. 7
9. Hearthstone (PC) - Endless
10. Tails of Iron (PS5) - Platinum / Apr. 14
11. Super Metroid (Switch) - Beat / Apr. 22
12. Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PC) - Beat / May 6
13. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) - Beat / June 14
14. Infernax (PC) - Beat / June 24
15. Castle Crashers (PC) - Beat / June 25
16. Nioh 2 (PS5) - Beat / Aug. 8
17. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Switch) - Beat / Aug. 15
18. Mom Hid My Game (Switch) - Beat / Aug. 15
19. Horizon: Forbidden West (PS5) - Beat / Oct. 11
20. The Callisto Protocol (PS5) - Beat / Nov. 21
21. The Quarry (PS5) - Beat / Dec. 5
22. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (2DS XL) - Beat / Dec. 22
23. Golf Story (Switch) - Playing
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: justin8301 on December 26, 2022, 06:43:11 pm
1. Pokemon Violet (Switch) - Beat 1/14/23
2. Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch) - Beat 3/8/23
3. Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster (Switch) - Beat 4/26/23
4. Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster (Switch) - Beat 4/30/23
5. Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster (Switch) - Beat 5/4/2023
6. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) - Beat 10/28/23
7. Final Fantasy XVI (Playstation 5) - Beat 12/25/23





Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: droaa on December 27, 2022, 12:37:41 am
*Red font means currently playing
*Green front means replay
       
          Name                                                                  Platform         Start         End          Rating
January
1. TMNT II: Back From The Sewers(GB)                           NSW             1/8/23      1/8/23          7/10     
2. TMNT: Tournament Fighters(GEN)                                NSW             1/8/23      1/8/23          8/10
3. TMNT: Tournament Fighters(NES)                                NSW             1/8/23      1/8/23          7/10
4. TMNT: Tournament Fighters(SNES)                              NSW             1/8/23      1/8/23          8/10         
5. TMNT III: Radical Rescue(GB)                                     NSW            1/12/23    1/14/23         6/10     
6. TMNT: Turtles In Time(Arcade)                                    NSW            1/23/23    1/23/23         9/10
7. TMNT: Turtles In Time(SNES)                                      NSW            1/23/23    1/23/23         9/10
8. TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist(GEN)                              NSW            1/23/23    1/23/23         8/10
9. TMNT: Turtles In Time Reshelled                                  PS3             1/26/23    1/26/23         6/10
10. The Quiet Man                                                          PC              1/27/23    1/29/23         6/10
11. Strength of the Sword Ultimate                                  PC              1/29/23    1/29/23         7/10


February
12. Grand Theft Auto V                                                  PS5              1/29/23    2/12/23         9/10
13. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie                GEN              3/1/23      3/2/23          9/10
14. Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories                                 PS1               3/3/23      3/7/23         9/10
13. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild              NSW             2/1/23


April


May


June


July


August


September


October


November


December





Nope List 2023(Games abandoned)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on December 27, 2022, 07:57:34 am
Games Finished in 2023 
1. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199266.html#msg199266) - 1.7
2. Mom Hid My Game! (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199352.html#msg199352) - 1.14
3. The Last of Us Remastered + Left Behind (PS4) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199382.html#msg199382) - 1.18
4. Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199436.html#msg199436) - 1.22
5. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200109.html#msg200109) - 3.19
6. New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200659.html#msg200659) - 4.22
7. Mega Man Battle Network (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201309.html#msg201309) - 5.27
8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201709.html#msg201709) - 6.18
9. Mega Man Battle Network 3: White Version (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg201904.html#msg201904) - 6.30
10. Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202106.html#msg202106) - 7.14
11. Subnautica (PS4) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202424.html#msg202424) - 8.10
12. Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202530.html#msg202530) - 8.21 
13. Pikmin 4 (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202827.html#msg202827) - 9.10 
14. The Messenger (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202954.html#msg202954) - 9.25
15. Inscryption (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202988.html#msg202988) - 10.3
16. Contra - NES version (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203160.html#msg203160) - 10.16
17. Super C - NES version (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203244.html#msg203244) - 10.31
18. ZombiU (Wii U) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203315.html#msg203315)  - 11.2
19. Kid Dracula (PS4) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203315.html#msg203315) - 11.3
20. Operation C (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203636.html#msg203636) - 11.25
21. Paper Mario (Wii U) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203652.html#msg203652) - 11.27
22. Kardboard Kings (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg203936.html#msg203936) - 12.17
23. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204047.html#msg204047) - 12.23   
24. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Switch) (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg204087.html#msg204087) - 12.29

Additional Games Played in 2023 (Endless or not finished yet)   
25. Abzu (PS4)
26. Stardew Valley (Switch)
27. Pokémon Violet (Switch)
28. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U)
29. Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain (Switch)
30. Castlevania: The Adventure (PS4)
31. Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch)
32. Magic the Gathering: Shandalar (PC with modern mod)
33. Ring Fit Adventure (Switch)
34. Wheel of Fortune (Switch)
35. Jeopardy! (Switch)
36. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)
37. SaGa Frontier (PS1)
38. Snipperclips Plus: Cut It Out Together! (Switch)
39. Super Bomberman R (Switch)
40. God of War: Ragnarok (PS4)


Previous Lists
2015 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,5879.msg104675.html#msg104675) - 27 finished, + 10 played but not finished
2016 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,6762.msg105642.html#msg105642) - 32 finished, + 16 played but not finished
2017 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,7980.msg132293.html#msg132293) - 26 finished, + 13 played but not finished
2018 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,8821.msg149017.html#msg149017) - 23 finished, + 6 played but not finished
2019 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,9921.msg162665.html#msg162665) - 20 finished, + 9 played but not finished
2020 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,10536.msg173286.html#msg173286) - 45 finished, + 10 played but not finished
2021 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11230.msg185672.html#msg185672) - 24 finished, + 15 played but not finished
2022 List (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11713.msg193725.html#msg193725) - 18 finished, + 11 played but not finished
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on December 27, 2022, 09:06:30 am
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)
Previous List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199079.html#msg199079)

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

13. WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009 (360)
I'm still playing this, but I'm marking it as beat because I beat this game over 10 years ago, but I was left with two achievements that I hadn't unlocked, so I figured I'd finally go knock those out.  The two in question were playing through a solid year of career mode playing every match, which means no skipping shows to jump to PPVs, easy enough, just tedious.  The other one is getting 5 peoples into the hall of fame.  To my knowledge Divas aren't eligible and you generally don't want to do CAWs because if you alter them at all they lose their status.  I have two peoples in the HoF at the moment and I'm working on the third.  So it'll be a bit of effort getting the last 3.  I haven't put much side content time into this this time around because I did like everything in this game 10 years ago, but I'm going to try and look through to reacquaint myself.  This game is a lot more of the same from 2008 with some changes: loading screens aren't "fancy" anymore, it's all in game footage stuff which is disappointing, I enjoyed the like wallpaper/screensaver stuff; they added a proper story mode for specific wrestlers which is like the start of the 2k showcase idea; There doesn't appear to be a WWE Shop anymore, so I couldn't find an easy way to track unlockables, which is frustrating; And the game did away with GM mode entirely which I know is a disappointment to folks.  Also not a change... I think, but tournament mode is literally 1 to 1 the same from 2008, I see no change at all, not even font.  Not a change, but worth mentioning, still no manual targeting.  Overall this game is a huge disappointment compared to the disappointment that was 2008.  I started looking over the achievement list to see if it was more of the same from 2008 and it is a little, but it encourages a bit more play, but I noticed that this game introduced Create a Finisher which I'm going to play with real quick because... I was going to do Cody Rhodes for the HoF thing and I noticed that, in this game, Cody is basically a generic CAW, his finisher is literally DDT 7 or some shit, so I want to see if I can make a Cross Rhodes like finisher for him.  I'm pretty sure it's not the right direction, but I made something close enough.  I may take the time and edit Cody a bit.  CaF isn't refined enough to allow anything except Front Groggy finishers so I can't create the Cody Cutter or his turnbuckle jumping kick.  According to the internet one of his finishers is the Tiger Driver 98 and I can basically make that, though I've never seen him use it.  They also don't appear to have his throat thrust attack, but I'll keep looking.
Rating: Hard pass

14. Sakura Spirit (PC)
There are so many of these Sakura games and I got them for free from folks and from humble bundle.  I don't own all of the games, but I think they are short enough that I'm going to try and suffer through them.  This is the first in the series and essentially a kinetic novel.  There is 1 choice in the entire game, right towards the end and the choice doesn't affect the ending, it just changes who you are with at the festival.  Quite a few typos for such an old game, and I'm just not a fan of a lot of the tropiness.  I feel it's morally bankrupt for a character to be like "Oh I'm going to look away while you're changing clothes so you can keep your dignity" or whatever, but then they peek through their fingers or turn away and giggle that they got to see a girl half naked, like you're more of a scumbag than if you just acted casually... or you know, didn't peek at all.  Not a fan of the edgelord BS most VNs have, so I'm sure I'll have a lot of judging to do through these games.
Rating: Hard pass

15. Recompile (XS)
Saw this one was leaving game pass and decided to give it a go because it was short and seemed interesting.  I'll give this game that the story telling is interesting, but I feel it's a bit vague in a lot of it so I'm not entirely sure what was going on story wise, but it was still interesting nonetheless.  Platforming and such was pretty good, but had its problems.  Combat was pretty shit as I kept having to cheese my way through fights.  Eventually the game teaches you you can hack enemies, but I never utilized that, so maybe that would've made combat a bit easier, but hacking costs credits, you get credits from defeating enemies, so no clue if that would've been sustainable.  Additionally the game has some bugs with pause and controller disconnects.  If you stay at pause or controller disconnect for too long the game stays paused/black screen, but you can hear that the game unpaused and the enemies are attacking you.  Additionally, if you reconnect the controller, the controller disconnect screen will stay up but still register you messing around in menus so more than once I changed the language to Chinese/German/etc.  There was one time where the controller disconnect screen wouldn't go away at all, so I had to blindly quit to main menu and reload.  Game is interesting, but honestly not worth the time.
Rating: Hard pass

16. WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2011 (360)
Did you expect me to play 2010?  Me too, I did actually, but I didn't even do a single fight, I just loaded it up, poked around, and confirmed that 10+ years ago I actually did everything there was to do in the game, and then shut off the game.  This one however, I got back in 2010 at launch, played for 3 days, and then never picked it up again until now.  I had done Road to Wrestlemania for CaW and Christian Cage, but I never did Cena, Jericho, or Mysterio.  So I worked on that.  The wondering around backstage is interesting, but frustrating because the camera is too close and you have very limited control over the camera.  The combat system is changed up yet again, as they always do, but this time around I'm not entirely sure I fully understand it.  Table finishers have been done away with in favor of you just having to manually aim an attack into a table.  Honestly, I feel like I might have the goal of hammering down and deciding the best WWE game in the Smackdown series, which might include the 2K games, but I'm thinking the series peaked at 2007 or earlier, I have complaints about 2007, but it's still solid.  This game reintroduces the ability to manually target enemies, but it's finicky and doesn't work a lot of times, I also hate that you can't change target in the middle of a move in preparation of coming out of a move, so you wind up having a delay where you probably will get attacked while trying to retarget... better than nothing though.  I've got this marked beat on Backloggery and as such here too, but I'm still playing it to get through the rest of the RtWM stuff and maybe some additional achievement stuff too.
Rating: Hard pass

17. WWE All Stars (360)
In retrospect, I wish I had waited and come back to this one later after playing the earlier arcade games.  It is what it is though.  This game is very arcade and very over the top.  I'm not for certain, but I think this is the first game in the series where the online portion is inaccessible, so I can't do the online achievements for this one.  I've earned all achievements except the Ultimate Warrior and Triple H achievements, both of those should be simple enough, but they are time consuming and I just can't care enough.  I might go back for it at some point because it would be 125 achievement points, but other than that I did all the other accessible achievements.  There's still more to do in that if you beat the story mode stuff with all of the characters the character's movesets, alternate outfits, etc will be unlocked.  That's kind of neat and adds a lot of replay value, but I'm not about that to be honest.
Rating: Hard pass

18. Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell (NS)
Got notified that the Humongous collection was on sale for 5 gold coins on the Colombian eShop, so I went and grabbed it with my secondary account.  Decided to load it up and see which Freddi Fish games are in the collection.  Only 1 Freddi Fish game in the collection.  It makes the price for this collection especially laughable because it only has like 6 games total and it's a tough justification for the price, but for 5 gold coins I'm not gonna say no.  Anyway, I started playing it to see which Freddi Fish the game is (I've never played, but my son plays them) and my son actually just started this one on the computer recently, so I played through a bit and then I found myself most of the way through so I went ahead and finished the game.  Honestly, it's a pretty short, kinda fun, simple kids point and click game.  Enjoyable.  So much so that I might actually sit down and play the PC games especially if Steam has achievements, which I kinda doubt it does.  I still won't recommend it though, I guess... especially at the price it's listed for.
Rating: Soft pass

19. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (NS)
Oh geez, I played this game for over 100 hours and I didn't manage to write up a single thing about it during that time.  Anyway, this game started slow af for me.  I didn't really get into the game until around Chapter 5, at that point I was super into the game and played it like nonstop.  The problem is I played the first 5 chapters so slowly that by the time I really got into the game I had forgotten the events from the very very beginning of the game.  This wasn't a huge ordeal, but it sort of took away from one of the big reveals because I was like "huh? who?".  Entire game I'm playing just waiting on "ok, who is going to betray me, everybody so shady af".  Additionally, the first half or so of the game I was skipping side quests because I thought they were all radiant/infinite, so why bother.  Then I realized there is a finite number of quests, but I think I had already been locked out of many of the time specific requests.  I wound up doing all of the side quests that I could do though, and I kept trying to stop myself because there was no good reason to do it other than to extend my play time with the game.  None of the rewards were actually worth earning and the Switch has no real achievement system (the game does I guess).  But I did it anyway.  Anyway, story for this game is absolutely great, gameplay is interesting without being too boring, though how huge the world is how far apart the fast travel points are and the one speed movement leaves a lot to be desired, even with the auto run feature existing.
Rating: Solid recommendation

20. Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected (NS)
Piggy backing off the last entry, I played the Future Connected expansion, which started out as a huge bummer because I beat the game at like level 100, but they make you level 60.  Additionally the entire game your party is just 4 characters, but you can only have 3 in your group, which feels like a huge miss when they could've tweaked the system for 4 characters since that was all you had anyway.  This game really did some weird stuff in that you can't find armor and most of the rewards for quests are essentially outfit swaps for existing armor.  Like I guess they really dumbed down the game so it could be done quickly?  I did all of the side quests in this too, again I should've stopped myself because they had no reason to exist or any reason to really do them as the rewards were superfluous.  I will say as "good" as this was, it felt superfluous itself plus a little non-canon tbh.  I felt like there was a lot of implications of Shulk and Melia together, which don't get me wrong, whatever I don't care that much, but the game shoved Shulk x Fiora down your throat so hard the entire game.  Also, I didn't realize Melia was voiced by Jenna Coleman until like right at the very end of XC1 and she did in fact return for this expansion, but it's been 8 years since and her voice has changed at least a little, enough that I questioned it at first.
Rating: Soft recommendation

21. Sonic Forces (NS)
Finally picking back up the Sonic franchise run.  This game is actually quite short, it's 30 levels plus some bonus levels, but you blaze through it quite quick.  The game doesn't outstay its welcome which is great because a lot of the Sonic games definitely outstay their welcome, so the pacing, story, and gameplay works well enough that I was able to nearly beat the whole game in one sitting which is nice.  I'm still not a big fan of it in general, but this was a relatively painless experience.  I was wildly disappointed in the character creator because I wanted to create an abomination of a character, but they limit you so much that you can't really make anything too awful.  The game splits into what is basically 3 styles, classic Sonic, modern Sonic (Think Colors and such), and playing as the OG character which I would probably compare to Shadow the Hedgehog gameplay wise but modern QoL stuff so not Sonic Adventure garbage.  The last few levels get stupid with the pacing and platforming, a bit more precision stuff and some BS stuff so you keep dying and starting over from the checkpoint or BS right before the next checkpoint/end of level.  Game also seems to acknowledge a lot of Sonic's history referencing directly classic Sonic, Sonic Boom, Sonic Lost World, Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, etc.  I see the main boss of the game and all I can think is Darkrai.  Game is playable, but ultimately probably not worth the time unless you're craving Sonic.
Rating: Soft pass

22. Sonic Forces: Episode Shadow (NS)
I'm gonna stick to my guns and keep this separate because it's not part of the main campaign and its own thing separate from everything else, but this thing is literally just 3 levels.  It shows some prequel stuff leading up to the beginning of the game major.  I feel like it still doesn't really answer any questions about who Infinite is really, but I barely pay attention to Sonic lore tbh.  Honestly, this doesn't really add much to the game and honestly it should've been baked into the game proper as a title update and not standalone DLC.  It being free I kind of have to recommend it if you're going to play the game, but ultimately it doesn't seem to add much.
Rating: Soft pass

23. SegaSonic The Hedgehog (ARC)
I'm currently on game 47 right now, it's been too long since I wrote updates on games, so my memory is going to be fuzzy on the next 20 or so games.  I finally decided to play this one, my intent was to leverage the steamdeck's touchpad in place of the trackball the game originally had, but I noticed by default the stick controls were fairly intuitive so I just went with the default controls rather than trying to figure out the mapping.  Rather short game, just run through the levels, dodge obstacles, etc.  I think the game is only 8 levels long or something, it's real short.  Honestly the game isn't much special.  I'll write it here rather than elsewhere, but because of the next franchise run I started, I decided to go back and update my franchise lists to include alternative versions of games, so while I was 1 game away from being done with Sonic, I now have like 7 more games to play because I went through and found a handful of Sonic games that had alternative versions that are different from the original/one I played.
Rating: Hard pass

24. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (GEN)
I had initially skipped this game because I hate Puyo games and it doesn't really add anything to the franchise overall, it's a puzzle game tie-in to the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV show, so it's a game of a show of a game and not even like a legit game, a Sonic branded Puyo game.  Anyway, lots of, what I imagine to be, original characters with some TV characters included, but generic Puyo puzzling.
Rating: Hard pass

25. Batman: The Video Game (NES)
And so it begins, I start my Batman franchise run.  This is the franchise run where I decided that I would play alternative versions of games.  The problem is they shouldn't be considered alternative, they are completely different games.  This is back when franchise licensors would license out their IP to everyone so you'd get 7 different devs/pubs releasing a game to tie in with an IP.  So here you have 7 different Batman The Movie video games from 7 different devs for 7 different platforms, and all entirely original different games with no overlapping content.  I'm going to legitimately have to look at Youtube videos to remember these games because I've literally played 20 batman games since I started this.  This one is a platformer, in general the platforming in the game is quite good and they did the wall jumping really well compared to say Strider which was fucking torture getting the wall jumping to work right.  The platforming got brutally bad right towards the end of the game.  I don't even remember what exactly happened, but I recall something happened and I had to redo the platforming of one of the harder sections at the end of the game and I was like fuck this no, so I turned on cheats or something to get through it again because it was so frustrating.  I get the design decision of making things brutal to make the game last longer and stuff, but it's just not fun at that point.  Pretty ok game if not forgettable.
Rating: Hard pass

26. Batman: The Video Game (GB)
This one is more of a Mega Man style platformer which is pleasant, but the Batman character model just makes me thing of Baman Piderman Batman and I chuckle a little ever time I see it.  Honestly this game was pretty good, like real good.  Straight forward levels, decent boss fights, not a fan of the shmup sections as I just don't enjoy shmup stuff in general, and the platforming at the last section of the game was kind of frustrating, but not as bad as the NES game.  Honestly, if you're gonna play a Gameboy game, this isn't a bad one to play, just overall a great game, probably one of, if not the, best Batman games of that era.
Rating: Soft pass

27. Number Munchers (DOS)
I was doing research trying to find DOS/ZX roms for old Batman games and remembered that this game existed so I played it for a little while because I realized that maybe this would be a good game for my kid.  My kid is obsessed with math and likes to play computer games.  So I played this for a bit to get the controls down and see whats going on throughout before I put it in front of my kid and try to teach him how to play it.  I showed it to him and he played for a bit, but he didn't quite get the controls because you have to click to move to a number and then click again to actually eat the number, so he kept just walking to the different numbers and never eating.  And then he kept getting eaten by the trogs.
Rating: Hard pass

Next List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199098.html#msg199098)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 27, 2022, 12:40:15 pm
Quote from: ignition365 on December 27, 2022, 09:06:30 am
I'm not sure what my goal for the year is going to be, I imagine I'm going to hit 104 at least again because it's been so easy to hit, but I kind of want to aim for longer games.  I enjoyed playing a lot of Elden Ring and Fallout 76 last year and I know I dumped soooo much time in those games, I'd kind of like to do something like that again.  I have two copies of Code Vein, so maybe I'll replay that and get my wife to play it with me.  I definitely want to play more games with my wife.


Between beating the games for this challenge I played Gran Turismo 7 a ton. I probably have 150+ hours on it at this point. I find it enjoyable to have a game or two you dedicate a lot more time and energy two while knocking off other games in the backlog.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on December 27, 2022, 12:53:13 pm
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)
Previous List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199091.html#msg199091)

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

28. Batman: The Video Game (GEN)
This game is an action platformer, but it has the problem, to me, that batman moves just too damned slow and there is no way to run for some of the sections that really have precise timing for the jumps, running would've made it easier.  Combat in the game feels less than inspired and the game has the shmup sections like all the other games.  Thinking about all these shmup sections has me kind of yearning to play the Arkham games again, kind of can't wait because those games are my kinda game.  I do recall the beginning of the game getting stuck and having to learn about the grappling hook, which I'd call frustrating, but I hadn't played Batman Forever yet at this point lol.  Never a fan of the refighting all earlier boss fight trope and unfortunately this game has it.  Frustrating platforming at the end like all platformers.  Overall a pretty weak entry in the series.
Rating: Hard pass

29. Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
Something I'll note, other than the Game Boy version of this game, both the Genesis and SNES (Revenge) versions of this game are pretty spot on with this version of the game... so much so to the point that I would recommend not playing the Genesis or SNES (It's unreleased) versions of the game at all because the NES version is the best way to play this game.  That said, all three versions of this game suck in general, but this one sucks the least.  The boss fights in this game have you and the boss sitting with like 80,000 HP and you deal between 100-1000 damage per hit depending on the version, with the genesis version being the worst, but I'll talk more about that there.  I'll reiterate that it's disappointing that the NES version of the game is the best playing and looking version of this game given that it's the oldest version of the game, albeit only by like a year.
Rating: Hard pass

30. Batman: Revenge of the Joker (GEN)
A pretty spot on recreation of the NES game, graphically the game look pretty good, but that is literally all it's got going for it.  Even that isn't that great because the colors are darker overall which makes a lot of things harder to see and they did change up some stuff that makes some of the more frustrating aspects even more frustrating.  Like the beginning of the game with the spike balls, you can't even see that they are there because they are hidden, it's kind of bullshit.  This game, you do so much less damage in the boss fights that the boss fights take forever to finish.  You deal less than 1k damage (sometimes as little as 200 dmg) and the boss has around 100k health, so it takes over 100 hits to finish off the boss.  That honestly has to be the biggest complaint about this game, because some of the boss fights take like 10 minutes and that just isn't reasonable for these old precision unforgiving games, maybe I can pause, but geez am I going to get tired of this BS real fast.
Rating: Hard pass

31. Batman Returns (NES)
The first beat em up entry in the franchise, in my youth I had played the SNES version like crazy, so I see some resemblance in this game, but I can definitely see how things had to be changed it being NES and all. One of the things that threw me in this game was the one of the levels will loop endlessly until you go into the buildings and find the right building or go into all of the buildings, I only looped one extra time I think, but I thought that was real interesting.  Don't know that I've ever seen that applied in a beat em up game before.  Of course the game has the obligatory shmup sections too, can't forget that!  I had some frustrations I think with the duck tank machine boss fight that I didn't see the person on youtube have the same problem interestingly enough, but maybe I was playing the fight all wrong.
Rating: Hard pass

32. Batman Returns (GG)
This is where I mention that I'm playing these games linked to Retro Achievements which means if a game doesn't have achievements yet I'm trying my best to put off playing the game yet because I'd much rather earn the achievements for the game rather than beat it and achievements show up 6 months later.  That said achievements are kind of community driven, so if no one has the interest and going and developing achievements then it may never get done.  I thought about developing achievements but then I thought about how that is kind of cheating me developing the achievements and I don't personally know how I'd point the achievements and what achievements to implement, so I'm just like, it's fine.  Plus in order to generate the achievements I'd have to play the game quite a bit to get all of the info necessary and I'm kind of just not about that for games that I know I'm not going to enjoy.  Anyway, back to the review.  So, first off, I'll state that I actually played through this game twice, I didn't count it twice, but truly I should.  I played through once on route 1 and again on route 2, because the achievements for this game existed to have you play both, which required two playthroughs.  The game plays more like the Batman Movie games where it's not a beat em up, but an action platformer.  Route 2 really relies on using the grappling hook to get past obstacles and gaps whereas route 1 is a more standard experience, so I'd consider it essentially the game's built in difficulty system.  Levels are largely similar, just route 2 has more traps and such.  If this game has a general theme it sticks to in its design, it's the use of the grappling hook.  As always the platforming sections towards the end are brutal and frustrating and surprisingly no shmup sections.  I'm going to think about splitting this because I really did beat the game start to finish twice.
Rating: Hard pass

33. Batman Returns (SNES)
Ah, yes, one of the staples of my childhood.  I played this game like crazy and now as an adult I see lots of comparisons to the LJN Spider-man/Venom games, even though this isn't LJN, it's Konami.  That said I really enjoyed the LJN Spider-man Venom games even though apparently they aren't well remembered by most folks.  Despite both being made by the same company, the NES and SNES games are just so crazy different graphically at least.  No shmup section, but it's got a wild driving section.  This game had one of my favorite things, which was being able to easily walk up and grab and enemy and throw them at the background environment, sometimes destroying some of the background.  I'm a bit fried after writing like 10 of these reviews back to back, I may need to take a break and write more later.
Rating: Soft pass

34. Batman: The Video Game (ARC)
Good lord this game was pretty terrible.  I get it's an arcade game and designed to make you pump in those quarters, but good golly this game is pretty bad.  The driving section is essentially a light gun game, but in the arcade you know it wasn't a light gun, so it's like playing those console light gun games with a controller. ::) A lot of sections in the game are just absolutely BS in how they throw enemies at you and how some of the enemies will throw stuff the frame they are spawned on screen so you have to know they are going to spawn before they spawn to prevent getting hit and there is a lot of bs where they throw tons of enemies from both directions who shoot guns or throw bombs, it's just a lot of BS.  On top of that the platforming and combat also suck.  Just really a no good game.
Rating: Hard pass

35. Batman: The Video Games (PCE)
LMAO this game, out of nowhere you get a bomberman-esque Batman game.  You got mazes with enemies and you throw your batarang to stun them and just walk into them to knock them off the map.  The premise of every level is to stand in x# specific spots to complete the level, this might be collecting items, it might be cleaning up graffiti, it's wack... but honestly, this game is kinda fun, it's dumb fun and almost has no place being a batman game, but I enjoyed my time with this game.  Until I reached the levels where you have to do the warping around, there was one level in particular that I spent nearly 10 minutes on, if not longer, because I couldn't figure out which of like 12 warps would get me where I wanted to go.  Other than that, the game was quite enjoyable on its own.
Rating: Soft pass

36. Batman: The Animated Series (GB)
This game started off confusing, it made it sound like you needed to find all of the teddy bear bombs, but I kinda just rushed right (direction) through the level, thought I was stuck and had to find the bears, back tracked, realized later that I wasn't stuck and I just needed to grapple hook... so another grapple hook heavy batman game ::).  Platforming is very solid in this game, towards the end it has a timed section that I had some trouble with because it just didn't give you any time to screw around with, you had to be pretty precise to get through it on time.  I think somewhere towards the end they started throwing spikes and wall spikes at you so you had to be pretty precise with your platforming which got frustrating.  One of the last areas had warps around which I thought were linear, but I found myself having to backtrack and find the right route a bunch of times so that was interesting if not also frustrating.  Early game is good, but as the game progressed the game got more and more frustrating.
Rating: Hard pass

37. Batman: Return of the Joker (GB)
This is one I skipped because it didn't have achievements on RetroAchievements, but the achievements popped up on the site and I was like oh yes, I'll go play this now.  But wound up happening was me sitting there and troubleshooting a couple of achievements that weren't popping right with the developers of the achievements.  So I'd get to a point where an achievement was supposed to pop, it wouldn't pop, and I would basically just stop playing until the devs got back to me or fixed it.  I managed to get it all done inside a day I think, but there was a lot of ok, guess I'll wait.  This game is completely different from the console counterparts, same kind of game, but just completely different.  That said lots of frustrating things in this one, like the first level has weird water rising and lowering stuff that damages you just being touched by it.  Lots of false platform stuff that on harder difficulties disappears within a frame or two of you landing, so you've got next to no time to jump away.  This is the game that taught me more about how achievements work for retro games and that achievements are made specifically with hardcore mode in mind and that the official stance is that if an achievement doesn't work in softcore mode, it's kind of on you for playing with save states and such.  My first ticket I submitted, the dev kind of sounded like they were like sucks to be you, but they made a change to see if it fixed it and it did.  Not sure what softcore mode was messing with there, but it happened.
Rating: Hard pass

38. The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES)
Every set of levels corelates to an "episode" of the show, I've never seen the show so I don't know if it actually follows an episode or something, but I get what's going on, specific bosses, specific "episode".  I don't know, game was fine if not pretty basic.  The museum level was pretty good in having to find all the folks to get the code to get into the vault.  The racing level was absolute BS because they didn't really give you enough time to get through it, like I had to redo it so many times because I wasn't absolutely perfect, I wound up running it perfectly and still only had a second or two to spare, absolutely brutal.  I enjoyed the dungeon crawling of the Riddler episode, but even that was a bit annoying.  Changing up the mechanics per episode was novel, but also the game seems to do the same trope of refight all of the previous boss stuff.
Rating: Hard pass

39. The Adventures of Batman & Robin (GEN)
Another same game different dev, this one is more of a beat em up game, but it's practically 2D instead of 2.5D like most beat em ups.  And of course it adds in shmup levels which I hate.  I mean considering how you fight, even the "beat em up" sections are essentially shmup style since you don't really fight so much as just throw batarangs.  Really just didn't enjoy this game.
Rating: Hard pass

40. Batman Forever (SNES)
Oh boy, this game is absolutely terrible, luckily it looks like it's the same on all platforms so I don't need to play it more than once.  The digitized graphics are interesting and gives it a very Mortal Kombat feel, even kind of plays very fighter style, which is probably why we got the Arcade fighter game, haven't played that yet, so no comment.  This game seems to also heavily rely on grapple hook stuff but it just doesn't work well, it's absolutely wonky in execution.  Doesn't matter what platform this game is totally not worth playing and should've been unreleased, but unfortunately it did release.  I pretty much had to follow a video walkthrough to get through this game because everything was just so obtuse.
Rating: Hard pass

41. Batman: The Video Game (ZX)
This game could've honestly been ported to like Game Boy or something, it's not great, kind of sucks actually.  I had to look up how to progress early on, but once I did that twice for learning about the grapple hook, I managed to get through the rest of the game with little to no issue.  The game does have the problem of enemies firing the frame they appear on screen, so you have to time things well even though it's really hard to know when an enemy will render.  Tries to follow the plot of the film like the other games.
Rating: Hard pass

42. Batman (ZX)
The first Batman game ever released, presumably based on the Adam West TV Series.  Robin's been kidnapped (Because he's a kid) and before you can go even think about saving Robin (Probably why Joker killed him) you need to reassemble the batmobile... so this entire game is you running around the batcave trying to find all of the pieces of the batmobile so you can go save Robin... but for some reason there are monsters all over the batcave.  Isometric action platformer, can't really defend yourself so just dodge enemies through out.  I basically had to follow a video walkthrough step by step... to the point that I had my phone propped up so I could pause/unpause the video on the fly without leaving the game.  I think this game would've been pretty brutal back in the day, it seems to save your progress after you collect each batmobile part, so it's got that going for it, but it's still pretty brutal, and I don't know that I would've been able to figure out a lot of the little intricacies with this game without the video guiding me... and I definitely would've gotten lost a ton because the batcave is pretty fricken expanse.
Rating: Hard pass.

43. Batman (SNES)
This is essentially an unreleased demo of the Software Creations version of Batman.  It's a not very good beat em up game with only 2 levels and it just loops endlessly.  I only even found out this exists because I was looking into the SNES unreleased version of Revenge of the Joker.  It's a really not good game with no real plot and obviously adds nothing to the franchise as a whole.
Rating: Hard pass

44. Batman: Revenge of the Joker (SNES)
This is the unreleased SNES version of the Genesis remake of the NES Return of the Joker.  Follows the Genesis/NES versions pretty exactly, but has its own set of problems.  Boss fights are different from the SNES version and are just as frustrating as the Genesis version if not moreso... The difference maybe being that the boss fights aren't as long as the genesis counterpart, but more frustrating in design.  Game obviously has its bugs and isn't fully refined so there are a lot of issues with platforming in general, especially on the snow stage.  Obligatory shmup sections just like the other console counterparts.  Final boss part though, is like a 5-10 minute fight, which isn't an exaggeration, so while all of the Genesis fights feel long, the actual final SNES boss really is long.
Rating: Hard pass

45. Goldeneye 64 (N64)
I was looking at Retro Achievements and saw the massive achievement set for this game and decided that I wouldn't mind replaying Goldeneye 64 again and earning all of the achievements, so I did.  Not much really to talk about except to emphasize that the X1/XS port of the game does such a great job of fixing the issues that were caused by the C buttons on the N64 controller, because trying to play the original N64 game via an emulator using a modern controller, is still pretty crap.  You can't properly swap the stick functionalities around, and even if you swap them improperly, you've messed up the ability to move through menus seamlessly.  Up and down on left stick, right and left on the right stick... otherwise you stick with defaults which is move forward/backward left stick, strafing right stick, turning left stick, looking up/down right stick.  It's messed up no matter what.  I stuck with default controls so I wouldn't get confused in menus.  Given modern ports exist, there is no reason to go back and play the original N64 version.
Rating: Soft recommendation

46. Goldfinger 64 (N64)
I've been wanting to play this rom hack for so long, but unfortunately the developer for this rom hack did such a shit job on the very first level, I always gave up real quick.  The framerate is terrible and the lighting is too dark on the first level that it's really hard to play.  I struggled through and continued and one of the things I noticed was that the developer really didn't do a good job of designing the levels to run properly on the N64, it really needed to be much more closed in environments so it's not having to try to render things so far away or too many things in general.  I personally had the issue that regardless of difficulty that enemies would see me and start shooting before the game even rendered the enemies on screen, so I'm having to blindly fire in a general direction hoping I down the enemy while running in their direction.  Some of the levels are much better framerate wise, but still design is still pretty poor overall.  I managed to get all of the achievements for this game as well, a big part of what pushed me to keep playing because I wanted to earn all of the achievements.  At some point I'll play the Tomorrow Never Dies and The Spy Who Loved Me rom hack demos too since they also have achievements.  While overall my experience with this rom hack was pretty good after pushing through the bad, I still honestly couldn't really recommend it because it's just not that good in general and is plagued with issues.
Rating: Soft pass

Next List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200033.html#msg200033)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: galaxygamer102 on December 27, 2022, 04:02:20 pm
I think I'll start this Challenge, it'll probably be fun
Knowing myself, I'll do like most of the challenge in the 1st month of summer instead of keeping a week average
Due to School n stuff I'll be doing a good amount of Games on the trusty unblocked GBA Emulator
Maybe I'll even pick up some of my random Licensed DS Games that I found in the garage one time

1. Touhou Youyomu ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom (Touhou 7) / January 2nd
2.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on December 27, 2022, 11:06:10 pm
Didn’t come close to finishing 52 games last year, but a big part of that was the last few months I started playing a number of long games like Skyrim Anniversary Edition and didn’t complete any of them, adding to my enormous backlog. Anyway, it’s fun just to keep track of what I’ve finished so I’m reserving this space and maybe I’ll actually get to 52 this year :)

Current backlog:
Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Horizon Forbidden West
Persona 5
Tales of Arise
TMNT Cowabunga Collection
Blasphemous (Wounds of Eventide DLC)
Timespinner
Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster
Momodora (ABANDONED)
Monster Hunter World (ABANDONED)
Panzer Dragoon Remake
Sonic Mania
Shining Force
Everything on the Genesis Mini 2
And more…

1. Horizon Forbidden West (PS4) 2/17/23
2. TMNT (Arcade, via PS4 Cowabunga Collection) 2/21/23
3. Stray (PS4) 2/27/23
4. TMNT Hyperstone Heist (Genesis, via PS4 Cowabunga Collection) 2/27/23
5. Final Fantasy X Remaster (PS4) 3/5/23
6. TMNT III: The Manhattan Project (NES, via PS4 Cowabunga Collection) 3/9/23
7. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Fighting Collection) 3/11/23
8. Hyper Street Fighter II (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Fighting Collection) 3/11/23
9. Vampire Savior 2 (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Fighting Collection) 3/16/23
10. Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Fighting Collection) 3/26/23
11. Contra (NES, via PS4 Contra Anniversary Collection) 4/2/23
12. Super C (NES, via PS4 Contra Anniversary Collection) 4/4/23
13. Operation C (GB, via PS4 Contra Anniversary Collection) 4/8/23
14. Vampire Savior (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Fighting Collection) 4/9/23
15. Vampire Hunter 2 (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Fighting Collection) 4/10/23
16. Streets of Rage 4 (PS4) 4/16/23
17. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3) 5/3/23
18. Blasphemous: Wounds of Eventide (PS4) 5/15/23
19. Skyrim Anniversary Edition (PS4) 5/21/23
20. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (arcade, via PS4 SF Anniversary Collection) 5/23/23
21. Super Street Fighter 2 (arcade, via PS4 SF Anniversary Collection) 5/30/23
22. Street Fighter Alpha (arcade, via PS4 SF Anniversary Collection) 5/30/23
23. Mega Man 9 (PS4) 6/7/23
24. Mega Man 10 (PS4) 6/10/23
25. Mega Man 7 (SNES, via PS4 Mega Man Legacy Collection 2) 6/12/23
26. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4) 6/13/23
27. Street Fighter II Champion Edition (arcade, via PS4 SF Anniversary Collection) 6/14/23
28. Shadow of the Colossus Remaster (PS4) 6/17/23
29. Mega Man 5 (NES, via PS4 Mega Man Legacy Collection) 6/17/23
30. X-Men (arcade) 6/18/23
31. TMNT II: Back from the Sewers (GB, via PS4 Cowabunga Collection) 6/19/23
32. TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge (PS4) 6/19/23
33. TMNT II: The Arcade Game (NES, via PS4 Cowabunga Collection) 6/19/23
34. Midnight Resistance (Genesis Mini 2) 6/24/23
35. Shadow Dancer (Genesis Mini 2) 7/9/23
36. Shining Force CD (Genesis Mini 2) 7/9/23
37. Ghost Pilots (Neo Geo, played on PS4) 7/11/23
38. The King of Dragons (arcade, via PS4 Capcom Beat ‘em Up Bundle) 7/12/23
39. The Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis Mini 2) 7/15/23
40. Mega Man 6 (NES, via PS4 Mega Man Legacy Collection) 7/17/23
41. Mega Man 2 (NES, via PS4 Mega Man Legacy Collection) 7/19/23
42. Eschatos (PS4, on Easy) 7/20/23
43. Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis, via PS3 Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection) 7/23/23
44. Sengoku 3 (Neo Geo, played on PS4) 8/4/23
45. Samurai Shodown V Perfect (via PS4 Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection) 8/24/23
46. Chrono Cross Radical Dreamers Edition (PS4) 8/27/23
47. Timespinner (PS4) 9/9/23
48. Blazing Lazers (Coregrafx Mini) 9/11/23
49. Samurai Shodown ‘19 (PS4) 9/16/23
50. Hollow Knight (PS4) 9/29/23
51. Soldier Blade (Coregrafx Mini) 9/30/23
52. Cho Aniki (Coregrafx Mini) 10/1/23
53. Gradius (Coregrafx Mini) 10/7/23
54. Lords of Thunder (Coregrafx Mini) 10/7/23
55. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES, via PS4 Castlevania Collection) 10/8/23
56. Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES, via PS4 Castlevania Collection) 10/12/23
57. Blasphemous II (PS4) 11/19/23
58. Batman: Arkham Origins (PS3) 12/24/23
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on December 28, 2022, 09:26:44 pm
I am ready to give this challenge another shot! I sadly did not come close to 52 games in 2022. However, this really helped in motivating me into finishing more games!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: gngtiger on December 29, 2022, 02:09:55 pm
Still haven't finished the 2022 games challenge yet, but have made a pitiful showing thus far (school and all that).

My games I hope to beat in 2023:
Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
Miitopia (Switch)
Mario Kart 64 (I bought the Japanese version, just need to remove those plastic bits on my American 64 cartridge tray and I'm good to go...)
Batman Arkham Asylum (360)
100% LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (Switch)

If all goes well, my last game of the year should be Rayman 2 (or maybe another "speedrun" of Mario 64)

Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: aliensstudios on December 29, 2022, 10:36:09 pm
Quote from: gngtiger on December 29, 2022, 02:09:55 pm
Mario Kart 64 (I bought the Japanese version, just need to remove those plastic bits on my American 64 cartridge tray and I'm good to go...)

You can buy a replacement 3d printed one of those trays on easy for under 10 bucks that has no tabs so you can swap between Japanese and North American carts with ease. It's more trouble than it's worth to remove them manually  unless you have a dremel tool and a steady hand.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: shfan on December 30, 2022, 05:06:14 pm
I've not even been active here for god knows how long, life hasn't been my own, but I'm back for the 52 :D Maybe this will be the year (nahhhhhhhh!). PS Hi guys and gals!

Previous Years

2021 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11230.msg185676.html#msg185676) - 18 beaten, 9 tried and discarded
2020 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,10536.msg173272.html#msg173272) - 33 beaten, 20 tried and discarded
2019 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,9921.msg162658.html#msg162658) - 45 beaten, 34 tried and discarded
2018 (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,8821.msg149025.html#msg149025) - 44 beaten, 41 tried and discarded
2017 (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,7980.msg147415.html#msg147415) - 37 beaten, 9 tried and discarded
2016 (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,6762.msg132260.html#msg132260) - 21 beaten

Games beaten

01] Black Book (STM, 2021)  |6 Jan| First of the year, been thinking about doing the challenge again so long, didn't want to have to wait till March to start.
02] Q-YO Blaster (STM, 2018)  |7 Jan| Fun horizontal shoot-em-up, retro-styled, weird too for bonus points. Finished on Easy mode.
03] En-Train (STM, 2021)  |17 Jan| Weird little post-apocalyptic shooter game where you're on a train trying to reach a city.
04] Mokoko X (STM, 2022)  |17 Jan| Qix with lewds, unexpected bonus beaten game for the day.
05] Undead & Beyond (STM, 2021)  |19 Jan| Easily one of my favourite games ever, had bugged out last time I played it, this time I got all the way to the end, fantastic zombie game.
06] Lost Ruin (STM, 2021) |25 Jan| Wanted to play this for more than a year, bought it this morning and finished the game just before midnight, very nice game too!
07] CastleStorm (STM, 2013) |30 Jan| All good.
08] Kill it With Fire (STM, 2020) |3 Feb| Spider squashing fun.
09] Tiny Civilization (STM, 2023) |6 Feb| Civilization meets match 3, tidy little game which I enjoyed.
10] Grunnd (STM, 2023) |14 Feb| Slightly surreal walking sim presented as an adventure game, not a lot else to say.
11] Undead Horde 2: Necropolis (STM, 2023) |10 Mar| Cut-down version of Overlord, brilliant. Starting to slow down already - hurry up!
12] Necrosmith (STM, 2022) |20 Mar| Up to date! Love this one and literally just found out there's a sequel coming, yes!
13] Orwell: Ignorance is Strength (STM, 2018) |21 Mar| Ugh.. narrative thing, why am I buying these? Decent for what it is, but I like games with game in them.
14] Hero's Hour (STM, 2022) |25 Mar| Warlords-style turn-based strategy with real-time combat and a cute 8-bit vibe, very nice.
15] Book of Demons (STM, 2018) |2 Apr| Rogue playthrough, bloody brilliant papercraft Diablo tribute, one of my favourites.
16] Attack It! Devil Legion (STM, 2019) |3 Apr| No comment.
17] Wall World (STM, 2023) |12 Apr| Run up and down a wall in a giant robo-spider then mine for resources and fend off weird creatures, fun and compulsive.
18] Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dynasties of India (STM, 2022) |13 May| Brilliant DLC, ugh, but now I'm just barely on-track for the challenge.
19] Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome (STM, 2023) |19 May| A bit "hmmm" about this one, it's OK, maybe future updates will sort it out better.
20] Boneraiser Minions (STM, 2023) |19 May| Humorous top-down arena type game, several beaten runs down I'm calling it beaten for the purposes of this.
21] Loplight (STM, 2022) |20 May| Short, quirky and unsettling pixel game cross between the twin-stick shooter and LoZ. Unusual but good!
22] Luna's Fishing Garden (STM, 2021) |20 May| Yeah.. colourful relaxing thing. Not a lot else to say.
23] Harmony's Odyssey (STM, 2021) |31 May| Beautiful family-friendly sliding-puzzle game, a real pleasure to play.
24] Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Lords of the West (STM, 2021) |3 Jun| Loved it, particularly the new civs, very fun campaigns.
25] Bulb Boy (STM, 2015) |10 Jun| Delightfully gross adventure, can't wait for the sequel.
26] Internet Generation (STM, 2022) |26 Jun| Weird and wonderful beat 'em up set on an internet server full of internet users personified as monster girls.
27] Exolotl: Zian (STM, 2023) |27 Jul| Short platform game, too long for a game to be beaten - in trouble now!
28] Pikmin 4 (NSW, 2023) |13 Aug| A pleasure from start to finish, bravo Ninty!
29] Cornucopia (STM, 2023) |26 Aug| Retro-pixel Harvest Moon type game on Steam early access, thoroughly enjoyed the main quest and the hours spent farming.
30] Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (STM, 2021) |10 Sep| Short, cute, slightly naughty Link to the Past clone.
31] Stasis (STM, 2015) |12 Sep| Horror point and click, good story but a mediocre game.
32] Stubbs the Zombie (STM, 2005) |20 Sep| So that's what it's like. Took forever for me to finally play but that was a lot of fun.
33] Jars (STM, 2021) |26 Sep| Ace little strategy game that looks like a cross between a Tim Burton movie and a kids comic.
34] Terror of Hemasaurus (STM, 2022) |28 Sep| Fun Rampage clone, had a blast.
35] Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Mountain Royals (STM, 2023) |8 Nov| Liked it! Not liking my iceberg-speed progress :(
36] Idle Catfarmia (STM, 2023) |10 Dec| Bizarre idle game where cat fairies grow crops which their slime friends pick, while mice with bows see off thieves.
37] Kirby and the Forgotten Land (NSW, 2022) |26 Dec| Started off "meh", quickly accelerated, now one of my favourite 3D platformers ever, masterwork.

Games Tried/Disliked/Got Rid Of

01] Library of Ruina (STM, 2021) |6 Jan| Wanted to play this for ages, but the reviews had me worried and once I started playing the whole thing seemed a badly designed, clicky mess. Refunded.
02] Everhood (STM, 2021) |24 Jan| Seemingly a cult classic RPG-skinned rhythm action game, loved what I saw (and heard) but it's just too tough for me to get anywhere with.
03] Panzer Paladin (STM, 2020) |31 Jan| Lovely presentation and plays great, getting into it then BAM, missed a jump, landed on spikes, sent back to the start of the level. Nope, there's old skool and there's outdated, no thanks.
04] Impossible Creatures (STM, 2003) |31 Jan| Have good memories of this but real problems with compatibility with modern PCs, can't be chewed, deleted.
05] Dragon Quest Treasures (NSW, 2022) |7 Feb| 'Open World' = empty world, very little content in this game and certainly not enough to carry it to its conclusion.
06] Grunnd (STM, 2023) |14 Feb| Beaten, but I'm not going to trudge through this again, hate it when non-games are misrepresented as adventures etc.
07] Axiom Verge (NSW, 2017) |9 Mar| Very decent metroidvania in the classic Metroid mold, just not quite interesting enough to keep me hooked all the way through.
08] Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel (STM, 2022) |16 Mar| It's one part decent survival horror, one part clicky/squinty mess, just not quite 'there'.
09] Cute Invaders (STM, 2022) |17 Mar| Fun for awhile but relies on an eye-watering difficulty curve to artificially prolong gamelife, can't be chewed.
10] The Spiral Scouts (STM, 2018) |29 Mar| Cute, funny and vile puzzle adventure, was really enjoying it till the 'controlled substances' world, sorry, partial to lewds and gore but injecting etc. is a massive no-no for me. Bummer.
09] Forgive Me Father (STM, 2022) |14 Apr| Loved the gameplay of this retro-styled FPS game with bonus Cthulu, restart points are too punishing however and I lost too much progress to keep banging my head against the wall. Pity.
10] Rogue Lords (STM, 2021) |16 Apr| I'm just not a lover of games which constantly reset you to zero all the time, I like at least some sense of progression (usually), this one just didn't hit the spot.
11] Bartlow's Dread Machine (STM, 2020) |17 Apr| Shooter from the makers of Voodoo Vince, unfortunately it's a polished train wreck of a game :( sad.
12] Wonder Boy Collection (NSW, 2022) |27 Apr| Incomplete collection, arcade versions (so WBiML is damned impossible), disappointing.
13] Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World (NSW, 2022) |27 Apr| After wanting to play this for decades I hate to admit it, but it's not as good as its predecessors and is nowhere near as good as games being churned out on Steam.
14] Atomic Heart (PS4, 2023) |18 Jul| Gutted. Been waiting on this for years. After trudging through the tiresome opening sequences I was sick of it within 30 minutes of playing the actual game. Looks lovely, but the controls are clunky, basic enemies are overpowered and it's incredibly easy to get snared on something and pummeled, only to have to wait through the overlong re-load. Irritated on a number of levels. Atomic Arse, in short.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 01, 2023, 01:48:17 pm
1. Gigawing (Dreamcast)

First game of the year down! It's been several years since i last played Gigawing, and while I certainly don't hate this game I really didn't care for it the first few times I played through it. While I still mostly feel this way, I found it to be more enjoyable than I remembered it being. The biggest issues with this game is its balancing as well as the input delay for one of its main gameplay mechanics, a reflector shot which is necessary if you're going to survive some of the crazier sections of the game. There is about a 1 second delay between when you press the button for this attack and when it actually registers, which is easily the difference between life or death in a game like this. So I found roughly half the times I died were when I was waiting for this attach to start after pressing the button for it. Other than that the audio and visuals are nothing special, although they do have some charm to them. I would find it hard to recommend this game, especially given what it goes for now, but at the very least if you can try it out without buying it I guess give it a go. (1/1/23) [28/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 01, 2023, 02:26:10 pm
I finished 67 games last year. Let's see how things go this year!

On that note:

1. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

I'm starting this year off correct. My first platinum for 2023, I can't think of a better game for this feat. Valkyrie Profile has always been a top three game, so getting able to finish it at the start of the new year gives me good vibes for the upcoming months.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 01, 2023, 06:16:37 pm
2. Final Fantasy IV (DS Version)

I was playing this during November and December. I got up to the very, very end to play other things. I decided to beat it today to keep the momentum going. This was the first time I got Rydia up to level 80 so she could learn Meteor. Even with all of that leveling, Zeromus' Big Bang was still a lethal, bordering on cheap OHKO. Luckily, I had a guide with me this time and learned the best way to distribute Augments. Rosa was able to cast two spells in a row AND thanks Omnicast she could have them effect everyone. Kain had Cry and Phoenix. Edge had Bless and Reach. Cecil had Counter, Focus, and Draw Attack. Finally, Rydia had MP +50% and Fast Talker. As always, it was an enjoyable game. It's still my favorite FF of all time.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on January 01, 2023, 06:20:10 pm
I'll attempt this year just to participate. I highly doubt I'll hit anywhere near 50.

Completed: 27
Sonic Origins Plus (PS5)
 - Sonic 1 (Genesis)
 - Sonic 2 (Genesis)
 - Sonic CD (Sega CD)
 - Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Genesis) [Counting as 2 games]
 - Sonic 1 (Game Gear)
 - Sonic 2 (Game Gear)
 - Sonic Chaos (Game Gear)
 - Sonic Triple Trouble (Game Gear)
 - Sonic Spinball (Game Gear)
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (PS5)
TMNT Cowabunga Collection (PS4)
 - TMNT 2 (NES)
 - TMNT 3 (NES)
 - TMNT 4 (SNES)
 - TMNT HH (Genesis)
 - TMNT (Arcade)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS5) -- [Counting as 2]
 - Main Game
 - Hearts of Stone
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
Texas ChainSaw Massacre (PS5)
Tomb Raider 2013 DE (PS4)
Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
Jurassic Park (Game Gear)
Carrion (PS5)
Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Collection (PS5)
 - Jurassic Park (Genesis) - Grant
 - Jurassic Park (Genesis) - Raptor
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)

Playing:
Outriders Worldslayer (PS5)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS5)
 - Blood and Wine
Aliens Fireteam (PS5)

Planning to Play:
Tomb Raider Underworld (PS2)
Resident Evil 5 (PS4)
ICO (PS2)
Uncharted 2 (PS4)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 02, 2023, 12:57:43 am
2. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (PS4)

As I kid I didn't know what to make of the Street Fighter Alpha series. For whatever reason the entire series just flew under my radar and for reasons unknown to me now I somehow viewed it as some sort of bargain bin series unworthy of the mainline series (I guess 9-year old brains are funny that way). But it wouldn't be until my 20s where I truly began to appreciate the Street Fighter Alpha series and sink some serious time into them, unlike when I was a kid where I'd throw a quarter or two into a machine before walking away to play something else. And of all the Street Fighter Alpha games, 2 was definitely the one I saw and played the most.


Street Fighter Alpha 2 is a major improvement over the first game in many different ways, but most of all in its gameplay. While there are still some lingering balancing issues, the game mostly plays like an absolute dream and the controls are precise enough to where you're able to do whatever it is you're wanting to at almost any given time. The OST is also pretty sweet as are the graphics which look pretty stellar. Funny enough, I now view at least Street Fighter Alpha 2 and 3 as some of the best games in the franchise, while many of the mainline games I see as inferior to them. (1/1/23) [36/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on January 02, 2023, 02:20:36 pm
Want to improve my discipline this year. This is a good excuse as any.

Beaten Games (10):
BloodRayne (Steam)
Castlevania (NES)
Rule of Rose (PS2)
Super Metroid (SNES/SFC)
Blazing Chrome (Steam)
Graze Counter (Steam)
Drainus (Steam)
Resident Evil 4 Remake (Steam)
Graze Counter GM (Steam)
Amid Evil (Steam)
Warhammer 40,000:Boltgun (Steam)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on January 02, 2023, 02:32:16 pm
Beat my first game of the year... Sonic CD from Sonic Origins collection. I guess I'll update my original post...
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: aliensstudios on January 02, 2023, 05:28:13 pm
Quote from: telekill on January 02, 2023, 02:32:16 pm
Beat my first game of the year... Sonic CD from Sonic Origins collection. I guess I'll update my original post...
If you own the original games and the Mega/Gems Collection, is there any reason to buy Origins? I would love to replay 3 & Knuckles in HD but my Apple TV allows me to play 1,2 & CD in HD. I've heard mixed reviews of Origins, but I've been wanting to replay 3 & Knuckles for some time now, but I'm not sure if newer options would eclipse the original game quite like it would with Sonic 1 & 2 (and CD).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on January 02, 2023, 05:48:10 pm
Quote from: aliensstudios on January 02, 2023, 05:28:13 pm
Quote from: telekill on January 02, 2023, 02:32:16 pm
Beat my first game of the year... Sonic CD from Sonic Origins collection. I guess I'll update my original post...
If you own the original games and the Mega/Gems Collection, is there any reason to buy Origins? I would love to replay 3 & Knuckles in HD but my Apple TV allows me to play 1,2 & CD in HD. I've heard mixed reviews of Origins, but I've been wanting to replay 3 & Knuckles for some time now, but I'm not sure if newer options would eclipse the original game quite like it would with Sonic 1 & 2 (and CD).

There are a few reasons actually.
1. High Def. It looks really good in Origins.
2. New animated shorts added for each game
 - New intro, outro and overall intro to Sonic Origins as well.
3. Anniversary Mode and Classic Mode included (sort of)
 - Anniversary mode allows widescreen and removes lives in favor of coins to unlock and retry stages.
 - Classic mode is the basic Genesis game in 4:3 aspect. However, I found Sonic 2 is lacking the
options menu to enter the Super Sonic code. So you have to do so by following the input code found here:
https://www.eurogamer.net/sonic-origins-cheat-codes-level-select-debug-mode-super-sonic-9031
4. Mission Mode -- Interesting take on the games putting them all together back to back as one game.
5. Sonic Mania Adventures shorts included in the museum video section.
 - Museum video section also acts as Sonic CD's DA Garden allowing you to view all unlocked videos.
6. Museum music section has the soundtrack for all games included. If you're willing to shell out,
you can even get the soundtracks to Sonic Spinball and a couple others.

In fact, the worst part of Sonic Origins, is that Sonic Spinball wasn't included. Wish they had, but oh well.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: koemo1 on January 03, 2023, 05:47:47 pm
Beat the first game of the year
1. 007: Rogue Agent GameCube
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on January 04, 2023, 03:18:13 am
1 - God of War: Ragnarok (PS5 2022) - BEAT - As expected, this was a real solid game.  If I had beaten it last year, I still would have considered Elden Ring as my GOTY.  God of War does have the better narrative, characters, and visuals, but to me as a gameplay experience, I got absorbed into Elden Ring, I think I put over a 100 hours in to it, and that's not saying a longer playtime is better, that's just how much I wanted to keep playing.  This game is fairly decent length wise, probably like 20 hours if you want to deal mostly with the story, 30 to 40 for general completion.

Don't have any major complaints, it's a very well done game, my only issues is that I felt the story dragged just abit at a part or two and that I'm not in love with the gear and skill customization.  They give so many parts for each weapon and shield, and then all sorts of skill bonuses and you can build a kit around the playstyle you like, but to me, I feel like I would've rather they toned it down.  I really didn't change up attachments often and it's almost too much.  That's just a personal view on it though, maybe some people liked constantly changing things up.  Also I wasn't 100% in love with the actual combat, it's overall very good, lots of options, but there were moments through out where it felt like maybe the dodge could've been better.  Maybe I am more spoiled by FromSoft games and how tight everything is, but again, personal view.

Overall, it's absolutely a great game, it's probably generally better than the first game with all they added, but I still basically view it on the same level as the first one.  Both are good games and it'll be interesting to see what they do with the series after this as there's a few different ways they could take it.  Probably won't go back to either game after this, but I do have a few more leftover missions to do in the game that I'll probably get through just because it gives me more time with the characters and the lore.

2 - Vampire Survivors (PC 2022) - BEAT - I originally had this on the list from last year, but I was treating it more as "endless", but the game does have a proper ending and I finally managed to complete it.  It's such a silly game for how little you actually do gameplay wise and it definitely could be better.  I've played a fan project with similar gameplay that had some boss stuff you actually have to kinda fight, dodging attacks, which VS sorta has, but mostly just the final battle and I think one other fight.  Even with any sort of complaints, they aren't much and the game is stupid cheap, like I bought it for 3 bucks, the DLC for 2 bucks and while it might be a little more now, I got like 60 hours out of the game, or around that once I finish all the DLC lol
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on January 04, 2023, 10:26:30 am
Quote from: Ignition365's Modified Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten/endless in 2022
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat or have been beat in previous years.
bold games are games that have been abandoned.

1. Major League Manager
2. Minecraft
3. Sid Meier's Civilization V
4. Resident Evil 4
5. Just Cause 3
6. Dead Rising 2
7. The Deadly Tower of Monsters
8. Pinball FX 2
9. The Day of the Tentacle Remastered
10. Grim Fandango Remastered
11. Bejeweled 3
12. Rage
13. Mortal Kombat 11
14. Half-Life
15. The Darkness II
16. Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice
17. Broken Age
18. Pinball FX 3
19. E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy
20. Blood and Bacon
21. Baseball Stars 2
22. Arma II
23. Dead Island
24. Bastion
25. Octodad: Dadliest Catch
26. Citizens of Earth
27. Mass Effect 2
28. CAT Interstellar
29. Postal Brain Damaged
30. Fallout 4
31. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
32. Dr. Mario
33. Borderlands 2
34. Daytona USA
35. Pinball Arcade
36. Super Space Invaders
37. Pole Position II
38. Demon Attack
39. Riddle of the Sphinx
40. Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest
41. Star Voyager
42. Taz-Mania
43. After Burner
44. 1943: The Battle of Midway
45. Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
46. Superman
47. Aero the Acro-Bat
48. NHL 96
49. Zoop
50. Eternal Champions
51. Silpheed
52. Slider
53. Desert Strike
54. Carnival
55. Torchlight II
56. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1
57. The Simpsons Road Rage
58. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
59. Evoland
60. Victor Vran
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on January 04, 2023, 04:15:56 pm
2nd game completed - Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Sonic Mania).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on January 04, 2023, 05:31:20 pm
3 - Sonic Frontiers (PS5 2022) - DROPPED - I tried to play a little more, but I'm done with this game, its such a wonky game despite some decent ideas.  The general overworld art style is boring and bland, Sonic looks like he's in an unreal tech demo, the item pop-in is pretty crappy so a lot of stuff you don't see till you are right up on (Not Scarlet/Violet bad, but not great for a PS5 game), and I find the gameplay loop very boring.  It's a shame because giving Sonic a lot of freedom like this is neat, some of the miniboss fights are okay, and it does run well and look fairly good, but I'm just over the game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: redblaze57 on January 04, 2023, 06:23:53 pm
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 -in Progress- ... I'm not going to make it to 52 with this game am I? Currently chapter 6, 52 hours in.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on January 04, 2023, 06:29:35 pm
Quote from: redblaze57 on January 04, 2023, 06:23:53 pm
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 -in Progress- ... I'm not going to make it to 52 with this game am I? Currently chapter 6, 52 hours in.

I think I did something like 120+ hours in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, not counting the DLC that I only played a part of, so you are probably a long ways off lol
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: redblaze57 on January 05, 2023, 12:08:00 am
Quote from: kamikazekeeg on January 04, 2023, 06:29:35 pm
Quote from: redblaze57 on January 04, 2023, 06:23:53 pm
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 -in Progress- ... I'm not going to make it to 52 with this game am I? Currently chapter 6, 52 hours in.

I think I did something like 120+ hours in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, not counting the DLC that I only played a part of, so you are probably a long ways off lol

At least this time there's no lottery system with blades. Looking it up there's apparently 7 Story chapters and I think I've done A chunk of side quest to the point that a good amount of colonies are 3-4 stars right now. Still have a few heroes to find
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on January 05, 2023, 04:27:23 am
Quote from: redblaze57 on January 05, 2023, 12:08:00 am
Quote from: kamikazekeeg on January 04, 2023, 06:29:35 pm
Quote from: redblaze57 on January 04, 2023, 06:23:53 pm
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 -in Progress- ... I'm not going to make it to 52 with this game am I? Currently chapter 6, 52 hours in.

I think I did something like 120+ hours in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, not counting the DLC that I only played a part of, so you are probably a long ways off lol

At least this time there's no lottery system with blades. Looking it up there's apparently 7 Story chapters and I think I've done A chunk of side quest to the point that a good amount of colonies are 3-4 stars right now. Still have a few heroes to find

Oh that's good, I hated that so much in XC2.  Loved that game, hated the gacha system, I put so many hours into it, never got all the Blades, it's such a bad system, so it's good to know they dropped it.  I plan to get to XC3 eventually, I want to play the XC1 remaster first before doing so and not sure when that is going to happen right now.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on January 06, 2023, 07:51:27 pm
01. Silent Hill 4: The Room || PlayStation 2 || 01.03.23

With only one numbered entry left to play in the Silent Hill franchise, I began playing Silent Hill 4 as soon as I could after finishing the third entry. As the final numbered entry in the series, I was greatly looking forward to experience what the game offered.

Much to my surprise, Silent Hill 4 (SH4) does not actually take place during any point of the game in the town of Silent Hill. Instead, the game's setting chiefly resides in Room 302 of the South Ashfield Apartments, where players take on the role of Henry Townshend. As the unfortunate recent resident of his apartment, Henry has been trapped inside by all means for several days, with attempted phone calls being unsuccessful, windows unable to be opened, and his front door being heavily chained, which is where the story of the game begins. Despite any and all attempts, none of his neighbors are able to hear Henry's pleas for help. When players take control, a large hole in the wall has recently formed; with no other means of possible escape, Henry climbs inside and traverses through the connected tunnel.

While the game excludes Silent Hill itself as a locale, it instead introduces several notable locations that relate to the story's past events which all take form as part of the series's otherworld. Throughout Henry's journey of escape, he begins following murder investigation notes from the apartment's previous tenant that periodically appear at his doorway and which nearly exclusively serve to providing the game's backstory and events to follow. The notes regard a series of killings dubbed the eponymous Walter Sullivan murders that began around ten years ago and ended upon Sullivan's suicide. However, years later, it seems that a copycat killer has risen and continued the same pattern of murders despite all of the details regarding the events being unknown to the public. We come to learn that Sullivan pursued his murderous spree as a requirement to perform one of the Order's ritual practices in the hopes of uniting with his deceased mother, as he was orphaned and taken in by Silent Hill's cult as a young child.

To be brief, the plot of SH4 felt quite different from past narratives, as it neither takes place in Silent Hill nor relates to any of the established cast. Following more in-line with Silent Hill 3's story, the story presented with SH4 instead presents a situation where an individual possessing power fueled by their trauma is able to transform the world surrounding them to bring out the otherworld and its manifestations. With no solid association to previous entries, I found it difficult to connect with SH4's cast and the events unfolding. Now thinking of the plot after finishing the game, it was interesting to witness how an individual, desperate for their goals turns to the Order although this is entirely experienced by way of findable memos. Conversely, the actual protagonist Henry serves even more so than before the game's everyman, as he just happens to be living at Ashfield at the wrong time and is learning the situation in real-time as players do.

Unlike with previous entries, SH4 does not follow a confined setting. While the game is still linear, there is now a travel system which allows players to freely move to and from the otherworld through the tunnel back to Room 302. To me, I simply did not like this design choice as, without a doubt, player immersion is so easily broken when needing to travel. For the first half of the game, players will frequently go back-and-forth between the otherworld and Room 302, as restorative items are minimal while the apartment also serves as a safe space which Henry may rest to replenish health. Because of this, players will be forced to retreat as their health levels dwindle, which is made easy as the travel system is accessible every few rooms or so.

That being said, it is difficult to talk about this feature without also mentioning the game's limited inventory space, as I felt the two are closely interconnected. As another new feature, SH4 is the first to impose a 10-item maximum inventory. In a lot of ways, it felt that the travel system was implemented with the inventory limitations in mind, although it is impossible to know which element was designed first. In theory, there is nothing wrong with imposing a set inventory space amount, but it feels quite unnecessarily tacked on without good reason as the travel system is always near. Early on, there is a puzzle which requires the player to immediately travel to-and-from the apartment, as one item needed fully bars the player from entering a specific room with it in-hand. This kind of puzzle design (which I say lightly) simply comes off as an annoyance.

However, I will admit that these problems mostly affect the game's first half, which is the time when the game discards one very crucial gameplay element: Room 302's ability to heal Henry. In fact, the apartment does not just omit this beneficial feature but even becomes detrimental, as over a dozen of possible otherworld hauntings that inflict damage may appear, even in conjunction with another. At this time, if a player had relied upon using any restorative items instead of Room 302, survival would become a lot more difficult. Quite soon after this gameplay change, I was almost always on the verge of death until I so thankfully found a stray nutrition drink which still left me without being fully healed. While I can understand the reasons why the safe space element was incorporated at all, I will admit that it lasted just a little too long, as the survival capabilities required later on offered a much more challenging experience and was much more enjoyable to play.

Throughout his attempts to escape, Henry is forced to guide his neighbor Eileen, who too unfortunately has become stuck in the otherworld. While trapped, Eileen has become heavily damaged which results in her being a huge responsibility in keeping safe. Eileen moves about and can even attack of her own volition if equipped with a weapon, although I never actually did utilize such feature. As she is already weakened, Eileen repeatedly is attacked by enemies due to her vulnerability which results in her gradually losing her sanity more and more which can eventually pose as a threat to Henry.

A positive aspect which I will briefly mention is being inside Room 302. Here, the gameplay perspective is from a first-person viewpoint. As the game's opening starts with this change, I did feel unnerved to a degree—certainly apprehensive, at least. Beginning my playthrough with no foreknowledge, I had no idea if this was to be the standard perspective while playing. With the viewpoint only implemented while in Room 302, I found the first-person approach more personal and vulnerable to surroundings, and its implementation was done well to surprise first-time players. Unfortunately, this is perhaps the only favorable element that is a major change from previous titles.

As SH4's otherworld is a result of Walter Sullivan, areas and enemies naturally take on their form as they relate to his trauma. With this understanding, I can report that enemies are underwhelming in presentation. While there is nothing wrong in featuring new enemies—as it only makes sense—their design is poor. Floating ghosts, dogs which emit a cougar's cry, haunted wheelchairs, and burping women (yes, you read that correct.) These are the sorts of monsters which threaten Henry. In regards to their behavior, enemies are largely non-threatening too and, at times, more annoying that problematic. However, a huge disparity lies in the ghosts, as they are aggressive and unable to be defeated, and were a huge concern to me when moving around a tight environment. While it is possible to halt their movement entirely, I had a lot of difficulty in successfully implementing that action.

More so than before, there is nearly zero investigation required in finding items to progress through locked paths. Rooms will even often be empty, serving no purpose at all. Unfortunately, the time spent in each of these otherworld environments is minimal, although this may be an impression resulting from the travel system. Coupled with the minimal puzzle-solving, areas felt as if they had little depth or personality. Again, at a much higher degree, rooms are often traveled as a short pathway, never to be experienced again. On the topic of the game's environment, it too felt disconnected from previous entries. In earlier titles, the otherworld was dark, threatening, and, well, a little otherworldly; but in SH4, they seem no different than the actual world.

Overall, SH4 sets itself apart from previous entries in a lot of different ways, although I find many of them to be for the worst. Arguably, the game plays out more as a murder mystery with questionably spooky visuals than a horror game. I may be taking a break from the series now, although that may change. Silent Hill: Origins is next to play, although I will be needing to emulate it, which is something new to me.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 07, 2023, 12:32:06 pm
3. Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered - Hawke

I finally finished this game. That final boss was BRUTAL. For some reason, this iteration in the series has always caused me trouble when it came to completing it. I attempted it at least three or four times on the PlayStation 2. This remastered version has a few QoL features but it's still the same game, overall. I guess my determination finally paid off? Either way, super fun game in my favorite series. The character design is even more questionable in HD, and there's that overall learning curve that comes with the series. But there's just so much stuff to do, see, and learn. No two campaigns will ever be the same. Sadly, I doubt I'll jump right into another person's campaign because finishing Hawke's quest took over 20 hours whereas SaGa Frontier is usually over in seven or eight. Unlimited Saga can be completed once in as little as four or five if you know what you're doing.

That being said, I absolutely will take advantage of New Game Plus. I'll either start with Gray, or start as someone that has access to him early. He was in Hawke's final party and I'm anxious to see just how strong he'll be at the start of a new game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 07, 2023, 04:28:19 pm
4. Bloody Roar - Fox

Fun fact. Fox's real name is Hans Taubemann. It's not every day one gets to beat the snot, blood, and vomit out of someone as a cross dressing scoundrel. That aside, Bloody Roar has aged about as well as one would expect from a late 90s 3D fighter. There's a lot of soul here. But there's also a lot rust. Still, I had fun. It was nice to take a break from turn-based combat.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 07, 2023, 08:18:47 pm
3. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3)

Despite the first Tekken Tag Tournament being my favorite game in the franchise, this was one of the last Tekken games I'd barely played. I remember thinking it was pretty awesome when it was firs announced, and even picked it up shortly after it launched, but I never played it extensively up until recently. I almost feel like I'm glad I waited since I ended up playing a ridiculous amount of Tekken last summer and fall, which helped me appreciate certain titles more. Tekken Tage Tournament 2 is one of the best Tekken games imo. While there are some balancing issues, the game is otherwise excellent to play and controls just as wonderfully as most other newer Tekken titles. Graphics are great as is the OST. Unless you want to count the accessories you can purchase within the game unlockables, the game has little else to motivate replays, with the exception of unique endings depending on who you beat the game as. Still, even if there were zero unlockables I was still super into this game while playing it and had a hard time putting it down. (1/7/23) [36/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on January 09, 2023, 08:52:41 am
Game 1 - Donkey Kong Country 2 - Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) - 12 hours, 61% complete

Was able to finish two games over the weekend and this is one of them! It's been about 5 years since I last played anything on my Super Nintendo. Owning an SNES Classic is largely to blame for that, though there were some games that micro system didn't have available. DKC2 is one of them, and I would say that this game is really great. It has all of the great controls and graphical prowess that the first entry had, but improves upon them in every possible way. You have more movement options particularly with Dixie Kong's glide, which adds more variety to the individual levels. On the topic of levels, it feels like the developers went really all out with some really unique and fun level design. There are also more collectables and secrets to unlock which makes you want to keep playing after you've finished the game. There are also more animal friends that you can control and most of them are really fun, with the exception of the snake. Lastly, the music is simply fantastic. One of the best soundtracks on the Super Nintendo.

There were some aspects of the game that I didn't enjoy as much. Despite it's casual exterior, this game is very challenging. I have only 5 hours of gameplay recorded on my save file, and the remaining 7 was dying and restarting all of the time. Most of the challenge is fair, but there were some design aspects that I felt increased the challenge in an unreasonable way. The first is how saving works. You can't save whenever you want, and have to spend coins at a shop to save. These coins are often in difficult to reach places meaning you have to risk limited lives that you have just to be able to save your progress. Once you start a set of stages you can't back out to the overworld, so you are forced to beat a requisite number of stages without dying until you have access to a save feature. This might sound like a nitpick, but I lost over an hour of progress because I started another section of the game, couldn't back out and save, died, and had to replay it all over again.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on January 09, 2023, 08:56:01 am
I beat Sonic 1 and 2 from Origin Collection during my days off. Fun nostalgia. I didn't bother getting all the emeralds on those though. I tried in Sonic 2 and by the third special stage I realized it's far more difficult for me on those than the Sonic 3 special stages. Oh well.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on January 09, 2023, 02:30:11 pm
The Sonic 2 Specials Stages can get tough, the magic of Save States can help but god only knows how I managed that back in the day! S3's are more managable and fun IMO.

Sonic Frontiers (PS5) - 09/01/2023
Sonic games these days have a tendency to be very hit or miss so there is always trepidation when the next one arrives. Sonic Frontiers is a game that initially disinterested me, the open world level design looked questionable and the art direction very bland. Having spent 25 hours on the adventure, overall... I had a very decent time with this one!

It's not without its faults mind you, the games structure is a mess. You have the open world maps, which have little challenges spread throughout the landmass that help you acquire tokens to progress with the main characters story of that section. You also have Keys to gather from Levels, each level has 5 challenges which if you do gets you near double the about of Keys. I found these Levels to be quite fun to play, among the best I have played within a 3D Sonic game that match Unleashed/Generations quality - Sadly, there is no incentive to play the levels as you can by pass them easily by finding more Keys in the Open World Section or participating in a Fishing game to where you can acquire any of  the Collectables you need for the Open World Section you are in. Also upgrading Sonics abilities was very tedious as you find little cute creatures, when returning them to the inhabitants of this land they upgrade Sonic 1 Level at a time, Yet the other creature takes all the Heart/Shield upgrades and accumulates them to upgrade your level in 1 go.

As much as I whine, there honestly was a lot of good within the game too! The Open World Sections where fun to navigate, I've heard many complain about the pop-in but this was not a detraction for me at all. There was only one Open World Section to where navigating felt like a chore and became really difficult to progress in but the other Sections were great. Also, I enjoyed the story overall too! It adds more depth to characters seen in Sonic Adventure in a respectful way - The only thing I will say is that, while this aspect was interesting I felt the active story within the game was very slim. If they do another game, I don't want it to be set in a digital dimension, I want active conflict with the main characters more. One minor gripe is that the final boss is hidden within the Hard difficulty within the game, which left playing it in Normal mode quite underwhelming.

Also, combat overall was very enjoyable! it's not the first thing I think of within a Sonic game but I found there enemies and sub-bosses very compelling and almost like little puzzle to figure out how to defeat. The main bosses of the Island while great spectacles played the exact same way and the Parry in the game requires you to hold the buttons rather than time the action right.

Sonic Frontiers does more right than not and good foundation to go forward with, I just hope for a little more empathist on the core levels and more active story telling next time around.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on January 09, 2023, 07:29:09 pm
#1 BloodRayne: Terminal Cut

I played the original Steam release way back when but never got around to beating it due to the constant crashes. As a re-release Terminal Cut was suppose to run smoother on modern PCs. It ran fine on my system minus crashes after every loading screen. Lowering the texture detail to the lowest setting fixed the issue. As for the game itself, the gameplay still holds up. It's still fun hackin' and slashin' your way through the Nazis and Daemites and witnessing the bloody carnage that spawns from it. Although I feel the game was a bit too long for its own good and the final boss is a total pushover once you figure out its weakness.

It's a good game. Just not one I see myself coming back to once I get all the achievements.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on January 10, 2023, 09:26:54 am
I finished The Last of Us over the weekend but I'm planning on playing Left Behind as well and will give all of my thoughts once I'm done with that!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on January 11, 2023, 09:00:37 pm
02. Mom Hid My Game! || Nintendo Switch || 01.04.23

Recently, I was able to acquire a copy of Mom Hide My Game! (MHMG!) as part of a promotion. I've known about the game for some time, and, while I likely wouldn't have purchased it to play, simply having that immediate access prompted me to do so.

In short, MHMG! is a collection of 50 environment puzzles spanning 1-2 play screens for the player to interact with at a time. As the title suggests, Mom took the player-character's game, and it's our job to regain it. In order to accomplish this repeated goal, several different types of solutions are required, with puzzles ultimately having one solution. Typically, working toward the solution involves collecting nearby items and having them interact with either people or other items.

Throughout each puzzle, Mom acts as some always-watching authoritative figure often stalking in the background but sometimes in plain view. Most of the time, solutions revolve around avoiding Mom's attention. As puzzles progress, the difficulty fluctuates. Although, the situations generally become complex that require the player to employ different modes of problem-solving. While there is only solution to each puzzle, there are often numerous ways to fail. More often than not, the solution is simple to solve, but the required actions needed to progress must be executed perfectly without missing a step.

Routinely, failed attempts at regaining your taken handheld provide a good laugh as the narrative and possibilities rely on Japanese gag humor. Across the game's puzzles, players will be surprised at the lengths Mom goes to in order to keep her son away from playing video games. Without this tone, the game does not set itself apart from other simple point-and-click puzzle games, and it is very much the game's highlight.

Originally developed as a mobile game, its design clearly shows. Sometimes, the solution is apparent. However, there are puzzles where the placement of items must be perfect. As a result, players may disregard the proposed (and correct) solution and instead consider incorrect actions. From what I can gather, the original mobile version of MHMG! features only 30 puzzles, whereas the Switch version offers 50, so the added content is nice, as the game as a whole is a short 1 hour experience, at most.

Overall, MYMG! is fun for what it is, with most of its strengths being a result of the playful tone. For its low price, some here may find it worthwhile to play.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: justin8301 on January 15, 2023, 04:22:28 pm
1. Pokemon Violet (Switch) - Beat 1/14/23

First game of the year finished! Over all pretty happy with this one, just wish they could have fixed some of the framerate issue and bugs before they shipped it lol.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on January 15, 2023, 09:09:47 pm
#2 Castlevania (NES)

After dying countless times, tonight I finally defeated Dracula in Konami's quintessential NES classic. As expected the later levels are an absolute nightmare, but nothing in the game can withstand a torrent of holy water. With each death I learned a little more about the game and its nuances. It's surprising how much depth there is from a game released in 1986 and how great the music is despite the hardware limitations. I don't think it'll top Rondo as my favorite Castlevania, but it's fairly close.

Definitely see myself coming back to play when I get that Castlevania itch.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on January 17, 2023, 09:08:04 am
Game 2 - Mom Hid My Game! (Switch) - 1 Hour

This game was available free of charge for a little bit so I downloaded it to give it a go. It's quite the interesting little puzzle game! It's a point and click game with the goal of finding your hidden game system (thanks mom!  >:() The game has a ton of quirky Japanese gag humor and the fact that all the dialogue is untranslated adds to the charm. The game also has a very "low-budget" look to the graphics and animations which I honestly felt added to the game experience. I actually kind of like the ending they went with too after you finish all of the levels! That was an unexpected surprise.

Unfortunately, this game is as forgettable as it is charming. Across 50 levels, almost all of them are pretty easy to solve without much critical thinking, meaning it's a very short experience. Compared to the last puzzle game I played, The Witness, this game is almost too easy. The music, while cute to listen to for the first maybe 3 times, quickly becomes very irritating. There's almost no replay value to speak of once you finish the game, other than some weird minigames. So while this game was an interesting little diversion, it's not really substantial.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 17, 2023, 11:16:42 pm
4. Metal Slug 3 (PS4)

It's been a while since I played a Metal Slug game, so maybe I'm remembering things wrong, but I cannot remember a Metal Slug game being as unrelenting and oppressively hard than Metal Slug 3. I also can't remember a Metal Slug game being as pretty or sounding as good as 3 either. Speaking to the games difficulty, I feel like the balancing in the game is very, very off where bosses have insane HP that pretty much means unless you've played this game a hundred times, you are almost guaranteed to need at least 4 or 5 continued to defeat a single boss. Likewise, there are many cheap "gotcha" moments where shit just hits you when you weren't expecting it, and also certain vehicles that you are given during certain parts just don't feel well suited for the situation. The end result is a game that isn't terrible to play, but also demoralizes you at the same time. I have no idea how anyone ever played this in an arcade and didn't spend $20 or more to see the end assuming continued were 50-cents or less. Luckily I played this on the PS4 so I just had to press a button and I was back on my way to killing everything on screen. So yeah, this game is pretty good, but also lacks considerably where it counts the most, its gameplay. (1/17/23) [34/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 18, 2023, 09:03:14 am
5. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits

Another classic PlayStation 2 RPG completed, this time with PSN trophies. Earning the platinum in this game was a lot of fun for two reasons. One is because it caused me to do things in the game I didn't do the first time I played it. Two is because I haven't played this game since it was launched in 2003. I forgot a lot of things, but surprisingly, I remembered a lot of things, too. The final boss wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered either, but that's probably because I had characters leveled between 40 and 52. My final party was Darc, Kharg, Volk, Maru, Choco and Diekbek.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on January 18, 2023, 09:12:47 am
Quote from: bikingjahuty on January 17, 2023, 11:16:42 pm
4. Metal Slug 3 (PS4)

I have that Anthology Collection on PS2 and I think the general consensus is that Metal Slug 3 is by far the hardest in the series. I felt that way when I played it. I've only really been able to beat the 1st game haha.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 18, 2023, 12:28:13 pm
Quote from: telly on January 18, 2023, 09:12:47 am
Quote from: bikingjahuty on January 17, 2023, 11:16:42 pm
4. Metal Slug 3 (PS4)

I have that Anthology Collection on PS2 and I think the general consensus is that Metal Slug 3 is by far the hardest in the series. I felt that way when I played it. I've only really been able to beat the 1st game haha.


I'm glad it isn't just me lol. I remember the other games that I've played being hard, but this game was on an entirely different level.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 19, 2023, 09:52:43 pm
5. Metal Slug X (PS4)

While I've never played Metal slug X before, I have played the game its a remake of, Metal Slug 2. I primarily wanted to see if Metal Slug 3 was in fact as the insanely hard as it seemed when I played it, or if I'm just going soft in my old age. While Metal Slug X is very hard, it luckily proved to be easier then the murder machine that is Metal Slug 3. While I'd say Metal Slug X plays slightly better and has more balancing than 3, it unfortunately lacks in the visuals and audio department, and also just isn't as engaging in terms of what happens during the course of the game. I still liked it quite a bit, but was surprised I didn't like it more given how much more balanced the gameplay felt. (1/18/23) [34/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 20, 2023, 12:10:23 am
6. Metal Slug 4 (PS4)

I've admittedly never played Metal Slug 4 and prior to playing it i'd heard it was one of the weakest entries in the series. Still, I tried going into it with an open mind, and while I do think some of the gripes with this game have to do with it following the beloved Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4 is genuinely not a great game. For starters it has some of the most poorly designed sections and bosses in the entire franchise which create an endless stream of frustration and constant deaths when you're getting through them. A lot of these crap sections occur in areas that are vertical where you're either ascending or descending through a section of a stage. As for the bosses, many are incredibly cheap and also they suffer from mostly being some of the least remarkable enemies I've seen in the game, even compared to some of the Metal Slug 1 bosses which at least have the excuse of being the first game in the series. The audio is pretty good as are the visuals, but this game is an absolute downgrade from every game that proceeded it in the series. (1/19/23) [28/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on January 20, 2023, 09:38:36 am
Game 3 – The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) – 17 hours (15 hours main story, 2 hours Left Behind DLC)

I’ve personally always wondered why I didn’t enjoy playing through the first 3 Uncharted games a few years back, but have enjoyed playing TLOU 1 and 2. Replaying this game again really showed me why I enjoy this series so much more. For me it’s the superior world concept and characters. The setting of the Last of Us, while certainly filled with clichés, works because it focuses on the resulting fallout of the outbreak and the harsh and unforgiving world that each character is forced to navigate. I have really enjoyed experiencing this world and the characters that inhabit it. Every time you see a burned-out car or corpse, you think about the untold stories that are lost to time. It’s just such an interesting and cool game to explore and reflect on. I find that Joel and Ellie’s chemistry is really great, and over the course of the game a lot of unique dialogue moments crop up which add additional depth to the characters.

The gameplay, while excellent, does have some holdovers from Uncharted’s game design that does frustrate me somewhat. There are combat situations where it feels like you have more control over what you can do but it becomes obvious that there is only one solution. But the overall tone of the game which is heavily woven with survival, horror, and tragedy, it made me enjoy segments that felt more scripted, and all of the frankly mindless looting, opening doors and propping ladders that take up all of TLOU’s non-combat gameplay.

The biggest blemish on what otherwise would have been an excellent game was the ending. Last time I reviewed this game I didn’t say much about the ending but this time I have some more to share. I’ll put a spoiler link so people who haven’t played the game yet don’t have things given away:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ttv9FS0Fu97Mme5A7sB-aLu94P7fXEeUmcL6OJYKgE0/edit?usp=sharing

Lastly, the Left Behind DLC was new content for me on this playthrough and I enjoyed it a lot. It was very short and sweet, and story wise it didn’t really add a ton of new information, but it had some genuine and heartfelt moments, some of which have become my favorite in the game. The ending definitely left me wanting more but it was still really well done.  It does feel in many ways like a bridge between the 1st and 2nd game with its quality in storytelling. I think the gameplay takes a step down personally. Ellie’s knife kills infected in one hit with incredible range and doesn’t break like Joel’s shivs. In the first game, it works because you’re fighting humans that have guns and more advanced AI, while in this you’re mostly fighting infected, which makes the combat pretty easy.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on January 20, 2023, 11:10:54 pm
7. Snowboard Kids (N64)

I actually have a very vivid memory of renting Snowboard Kids around the time first came out in early 1998. It wasn't because the game blew my mind or that it was a particularly memorable game, but rather a day or two after I rented it, a neighbor of ours at the time collapsed in his front yard and died of a massive heart attack while playing with his kids. I bring this up not as some random morbid memory, but because it was my first experience with death involving someone I personally knew. I was only 10 at the time so it was very weird for me. I remember playing this game while my mom and the neighbors were shooken up by it quite a bit, and even remember taking the instruction manual to the guy's funeral to look at when my mom and other adults were talking. It was probably a bit of a coping mechanism, but it's how I remember this game more than anything.


With that you'd think I'd sort of hate this game or at least have a negative association with it. And yes, while it does feel a bit strange playing this game again for the first time in literally 25-years, I've come to find that Snowboard kids really isn't anything amazing. It definitely blends that line between another late 90s snowboard game with a game like Mario Kart 64 where you're collecting power ups and weapons to help get you across the finish line before your opponents. Overall these mechanics as well as the basic controls of the game aren't anything special and in fact can feel cumbersome, but they're all more or less serviceable. Luckily the graphics and OST are pretty good; I'm actually listening to some of the soundtrack while writing this review which is always the sign of a great OST in my book. Still, this isn't a game I can see myself regularly returning to, however it does hold a special, yet strange place in my heart and for that I feel like it's a part of me just like Super Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time is, but obviously not even close to how good those two games are. (1/20/23) [31/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on January 23, 2023, 08:29:16 am
Game 4 – Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch) – 15 hours

I have really been on a roll so far in 2023! A lot of these games so far are ones I started in 2022, but at least for now I’ve been beating 1 game a week!

I played the first Luigi’s Mansion quite some time ago but skipped the 2nd game for this offering on the Switch. The first thing that stuck out to me is how unintentionally funny the game is. Luigi has so many little goofy and lovable quirks to appreciate as you cause thousands of dollars of property damage destroying or sucking up everything in your path. All the levels in this game are beautifully designed and themed and it was fun to appreciate them while also wreak some havoc as you explore. The boss ghosts of each level are really fun and unique with memorable personalities, and it makes you a little sad when you defeat them. The gameplay itself is quite fun and using Gooigi as an additional puzzle solving mechanic was interesting to utilize. Overall a very solid and entertaining experience.

There were a few things that I thought could have been better. The game is stuffed to the brim with money to collect but there’s barely anything to spend it on. It would have been nice if you could have bought some upgrades for the Poltergust but all of your ghost-hunting tools are given to you right away which removes any sense of meaningful progression. You do get one upgrade towards the end of the game, but it’s used to open precisely one door and then never touched again. I felt that the game is quite easy overall. You can slam ghosts into each other, and combo tether them easily afterwards, so they don’t pose much threat, even in large numbers. Boss fights are quite challenging however, though it’s mostly because it’s difficult to dodge boss attacks and counterattack because the slow cumbersome pace that Luigi moves. These fights left me more frustrated than anything because while the way that Luigi moves and uses the Poltergust are great for exploring, really doesn’t work for the bosses that are in the game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on January 25, 2023, 08:17:38 pm
#3 Rule of Rose (PS2)

To me the game felt like a bargain bin Silent Hill 2, and I mean than in the best possible way. The in-game graphics and FMVs were great, the story was interesting and the whole game carried a constant sense of unease and uncertainty. Although they never reached the levels I felt playing though SH2 for the first time. The airship, where most of the game takes place in, is a cool location to explore initially. Once I got a few chapters in, it started to become tedious as most of the game's objectives had you going from one end to the other with very little happening in between. Jennifer moves rather slowly and the 3D movement control failed to synergize well with the pseudo-fixed camera system. In game music suffers from the same problem. Great at first, but toward the end I'd hear the same tracks constantly, bogging down the experience.

For what it is its a solid game. Good for a single playthrough, or two if you're compelled to figure out the story beats for yourself.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 25, 2023, 09:54:39 pm
Rule of Rose was cool. I almost dropped it during the fight with the mermaid because, let's be real, Jennifer is not a fighter. But, I'm glad I endured because the story was truly something else.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on January 26, 2023, 06:11:08 am
02. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One (PS5) - 26/01/2023

Really struggled with this game! There is a lot I like about it, the stories behind the cases, the setting & Sherlock as a character but the gameplay is just insufferable! The problem is I always found myself getting stuck on what or where to go next. What's most infuriating is you have a sidekick you could help you but never does. I know the nature of the game is to be a detective and figure things out but a lot fo the time there was no indication what so ever. One example, I had to enter a dock and find out information in a building, I found the building and couldn't enter. The game wanted me to ask people around for the location but to do that I had to change outfit into a police officers uniform for them to talk to me... Yes, I had to use a guide and kept one at hand because events like this would happen so often! Another example would be that you would need to go to 1 of 3 buildings which have archives for you to research details on the cases your on – But there was no mission objective to inform you to go there next, so I wouldn't know, despite really if that was Sherlock's intention to progress details on where to go next would make sense from a narrative & gameplay perspective.

Then there is the sidekick Jon, like I said before he is a great opportunity to offer hints or indications as to how to progress but he doesn't. Actually, he is much worse because if you talk to the wrong people or don't find out the right information 1st time he has a journal which he criticises you... The more mistakes you make the more he does and it felt like there was this karma system with him within the game which stopped all aspect of exploration for me - As I felt I was getting backhanded by my 'buddy' at every turn!

The games setting is very nice but it is too big for the content on offer - There is fast travel at least. The open world has collectables and side missions to encounter so there are extras to explore but my patiences wore thin with the experience and I just focused on the main narrative - which was satisfying overall.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 26, 2023, 08:28:32 am
6. Touken Ranbu Warriors

Take legendary swords from Japanese mythology and history, turn them into the prettiest boys you've ever seen, add in the Dynasty Warriors formula and you have this. But, let's sweeten the deal even more by adding time travel, relationship building, and mini-games. I have no idea where this game came from, but the world is a little sillier and better because of it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 29, 2023, 08:50:58 am
I know that including Jackbox games on here might raise some eyebrows, but this is my gaming journey and I plan to keep on tracking new experiences. Last night, some friends and I played through four of the games in Party Pack 9.

7. Junktopia

This was my favorite of the bunch because it required some quick thinking and improv. You write backstories for weird objects and then get them appraised. The player with the most valuable items wins.

8. Quixort

Trivia! We split into teams of two and sorted falling answers into their proper order before they hit the floor.

9. Nonsenory

This one took the longest to grasp. You had to write or draw something with a crazy prompt. Other players had to rank it on the prompt's scale.

10. Roomerang

It was The Circle, but in Jackbox form. We had to respond to prompts and role-play to avoid being voted out. It was a lot of fun.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on January 30, 2023, 03:09:16 pm
11. Sands of Destruction

Overall, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would - especially after taking passing glances of opinions from other websites, users, media, etc. The problems with it are real, but I overlooked them. Unlike Avalon Code, which I dropped, this one kept me coming back with a bit of eagerness to see what happened next, and to see just how brutally I could murder my enemies. Seriously, after a certain point, enemies with very little HP are dealt so much damage it feels like every attack is a Brutality from Mortal Kombat.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on January 31, 2023, 07:12:44 pm
3 - Powerwash Simulator (PC 2021) - BEAT - It's weird to say that I put 30 hours into a game that is dedicated to simulating power washing, but it's such a chill, casual, turn your brain off thing lol It's absolutely what it says on the tin, but I think they did a good job working in humor and there's some silly scenario stuff that they slowly work up to that keeps things fresh.  I can't exactly recommend the game since most people wouldn't like it, but if the idea of steadily cleaning grime from buildings and vehicles sounds weirdly engrossing, give it a go, it's on Game Pass so you don't even ahve to buy it.  Also, those 30 hours, I didn't even do the couple bonus levels and I think there's a challenge mode too that I probably won't play.

It's wild they got a rather huge Square-Enix crossover as they are now releasing Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy 7 content for free within a game about power washing lol
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 02, 2023, 08:14:56 pm
12. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

The beginning portions are rough. Zack is great, but he's got the maneuverability of a Buick. It takes a fair amount of time before you're able to fully utilize him. He's always by himself and options are limited. But, once Materia fusion opens up and you're able to actually survive the more difficult side-missions, things ended up being a lot more fun. It's still a flawed game but at least the flaws work in your favor instead of against. And the ending is hard to watch for all the right reasons.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on February 03, 2023, 07:33:18 pm
Ristar (Genesis) - ABANDONED

I remember seeing this game as a kid at various rental places and at least at the time I thought it just looked like another lame, wannabe platformer mascot that some random company was trying to use to sell games. Little did I know at the time that this was actually a first party Sega title, and years later after discovering this I really wanted to try this game and see if it was a good as many of Sega's other first party platformers of that era. Ristar has essentially been a backlog game for like 15-years for me and I finally decided to play it this evening and, umm...well, it was pretty boring.


I know some people really like this game, but I found the whole arms grabbing mechanic to be very gimmichy and also not implemented all that well either. I get the impression Sega was trying to make their own version of Kirby in a way, similar to how Sonic was their answer to Mario. But I found virtually everything about this game to be average at best, and the end result was me getting bored with it before I'd even completed the first world. I made it about halfway through the game before I just couldn't do it anymore and turned it off. In a way I'm happy I finally played Rister, but at the same time I wish I'd spent 2-hours playing a different game this afternoon. (2/3/23)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 04, 2023, 03:09:19 pm
Oh, I didn't think to add abandoned/dropped games to the topic. I have a few that I'll post about later.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on February 05, 2023, 12:32:04 am
8. Golden Axe III (Genesis)

As a kid I had a rich friend who had the Sega Channel, however all we did when I went over to his house was either play Mortal Kombat II or some other game we could have just easily rented or bought at the store. Little did we know that the Sega Channel actually had exclusive titles on it, one of which was Golden Axe III. My experience with the Goldene Axe franchise is literally limited to just the first game, which a different from of mine owned back in the day. So I thought I'd give the elusive III a shot and see how it stacked up.


Golden Axe III has some decent qualities such as its branching paths, attempt at a story, fairly cool bosses and some enemies, but overall the game is pretty subpar not just compared to the first Golden Axe, but as a 1993 Genesis game. The graphics are ugly and murky looking, the music is decent, however the gameplay is fairly bland and towards the end of the game, it gets downright cheap and annoying. I did enjoy playing this game for a bit, but by level 5 or so I just wanted it to be over with, even though I was only about halfway through. So yeah, it's not a great game and honestly US Genesis owners, particularly ones that didn't have the Sega Channel were not missing out on anything special when it comes to Golden Axe III. (2/4/23) [25/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 05, 2023, 01:46:00 pm
Avalon Code - Dropped

If there was ever a posterchild for a Nintendo DS RPG, then it's this. This is a good and bad thing as indicated by my adding it to the dropped pile. It's a tedious game filled with busy work and repetitive combat. As always, there was a ton of potential for something great but it was masked by the above (and other) issues.

The Caligula Effect: Overdose - Dropped

Yeah...this game is not the one. It's not the two or the three, either. I admired the ambition, but I was just straight up not having any fun. The interface was a lot to tolerate, too. It's really disorganized from every vantage point. I feel like my teenage self would have eaten this right up. Today? Not so much.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 05, 2023, 04:30:08 pm
13. Doki Doki Literature Club

Neat game. The twists and turns near the beginning were more impactful than the ones near the end. I guess I've played so many games that nothing surprises me anymore, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the effort. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes to read and likes the unexpected. Getting 100% completion, however, was a real chore. VN's shouldn't require so much random chance to get everything. It makes me think the creators were more pretentious than anything else.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 07, 2023, 03:08:49 pm
14. Kirby's Dream Buffet

Oh, Kirby. How? How is it possible that your cuteness continues to enrapture me so after all these years? This game feels like Monkey Ball meets Kirby's Tilt n' Tumble. I won't be writing a review for it but I'd give it like a 7/10. Also, there's no chance I'll be going for all 135 achievements. I'm currently around 20 or so. But! I can see myself picking this up every now and again when I need to kill time or just want to take a break from a story focused RPG. The timing of me playing this game couldn't have been better, either. Kirby's Return to Dream Land on Switch is just a couple weeks away. This game really got me pumped for it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on February 10, 2023, 09:06:24 pm
9. Sonic Advance (GBA)

The Sonic Advance series has been on my radar for a while, however I completely overlooked these games back in the 2000s when they were coming out. I was never a huge GBA person, and quite honestly I'm still not big on it, but these games looked enough like the classic Sonic games with a fresh coat of paint that I really wanted to try them out.


I really appreciate what Sega did in creating these for the GBA from the ground up. The visuals especially have a certain Nintendo-ish vibe to them which somehow works really well, however I still prefer the original 16-bit Genesis Sonic games if we're talking 2D Sonic games here. Unfortunately the OST of this game doesn't even come close to the greatness present in nearly all the Genesis games, and unfortunately the gameplay is noticeably packing as well. While most of the movement controls are as good as they are in many of the other 2D Sonic games I've played, the stage design and some of the boss mechanics are pretty poor, enough to where I was getting more annoyed than I was enjoying the game. This was especially true in the later stages. I get they were trying to make them harder, but they honestly just made them more annoying and tedious to where I just wanted them to be over. Regardless, Sonic Advance is a decent game despite its inferiority to the mainline Genesis games. (2/10/23) [31/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on February 10, 2023, 11:28:51 pm
Sonic Advance 2 (GBA) (ABANDONED)

This is one of those games that can go into the disappointing category. Not because I had super high hopes for it going into it, but because I really enjoyed the first half of the game quite a bit! I loved it's more fast paced and streamlined gameplay compared to the first Sonic Advance, and I love how your constantly running while fighting the Eggman bosses at the end of each Zone. However it was the fifth level that broke me and may be the most poorly designed, bullshit Sonic level I've ever played. There are literally bottomless pits everywhere and the game punishes you for both taking your time and for going to fast in this stage. I did end up beating it, but the next stage is just as bad in its own way. I literally gave up on this game when I just could take the shit level design anymore. Somehow Sega (more accurately Dimps) thought poor level design was an acceptable way to make the game harder as you get into the later stages. Other than the awful level design in the last half of the game, the music and visuals are on par with the first game. I'm almost dreading what Sonic Advance 3 is like, but that will have to wait for another day; I've had about all I can handle from this series for one day. (2/10/23)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on February 11, 2023, 12:18:34 am
My wife's hogging our PS5 playing Hogwarts Legacy, so I can't play the PS5 game I'm currently playing so I've made it a GBA kinda night, hence the 2 previous GBA games.


10. Tekken Advance (GBA)

Tekken Advance has been a curiosity to me ever since I first learned of its existence during the early 2000s around the time it came out. I never owned it, but I did play it at some point, but I thought what the hell, I'm going to finally beat this game and see what it's all about. Tekken Advance is more or less (mostly less...way less) Tekken 3. Everything has been simplified however to run on the GBA and the end result is a game that barely resembles any Tekken game other than its name. There are small hints of a much deeper fighting system being condensed down to be playable on the GBA, but don't get me wrong, there is nothing deep about this game's combat. The graphics also look really blocky, murky, and there are far fewer of them compared to Tekken 3. Character models equally look gross too. However, the worst part of this game is its audio which offends the ears whether or not it's trying to emulate some of the tracks from Tekken 3. Still, for what this game is, it's not absolutely terrible and despite how short and limited this game is, I still enjoyed it for the 15-minutes or so it took me to beat. Still, I can't see myself ever picking this game up again given the compromised mess it is compared to any other Tekken game. (2/10/23) [27/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on February 12, 2023, 09:35:57 pm
7 - Dead Space (PC 2023) - BEAT - Took my time with this game as I know it's abit on the shorter side (Not in a bad way) and I'm glad I did, really savored it and it's such a solid game.  I was a big fan of the series, I even liked parts of Dead Space 3, though overall I was unhappy with the push to co-op and aspects of the crafting system.  From what I understand, this game is a pretty straight remake, very true to the original, with abit of expansion here and there and brought in some QoL elements that I think were from the sequel, but it's been so long, I can't say what.  I recognized a lot places and situations as I played and it feels weird to think that Isaac was mute in the original.

The game is just so good, great atmosphere, it's always so intense, gameplay is great, and even on medium it was a fairly decent challenge and I was burning through ammo, so it seems like you get a lot, but you can go through it very fast trying to dismantle Necromorphs.  It's top quality survival horror.

I'm curious what they do now, if this is a success, do they do the obvious and remake Dead Space 2? Are we going to get an attempt at a new Dead Space 3 eventually? Personally I'd love a DS2 and then make an all new DS3 that is very different.  Cut out co-op, probably a new story, keep more true to the first two games, just a complete or mostly complete retcon.  We'll see though, but I highly recommend this game if you enjoyed the original and want it cleaned up and nice, or if you enjoy creepy survival horror.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 13, 2023, 04:01:46 pm
15. Tormented Souls

The good, the bad, and the ugly of classic survival-horror all in a somewhat modern package. There were a lot of great ideas. Not all of them landed. But, I give a lot of kudos for the efforts. I'm glad that I played this because it reminded me why I enjoy this genre: creepy atmosphere, a frightening journey, and some bizarre monsters. The ending was predictable within the first five minutes but that's what you get when you play enough video games.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on February 13, 2023, 04:47:58 pm
03. It Takes Two || PlayStation 4 || 02.12.23

"It takes two." It is a simple statement that summarizes the core basis for It Takes Two, the game. Remembering the reveal trailer, I was interested in what the game had to offer, as its production seemed high quality to pair with its interesting gameplay mechanics.

Introducing players to a family near collapse, It Takes Two tells the narrative of a husband and wife, Cody and May, and their pending divorce. Mixed in the issues at-hand, their daughter Rose mourns the loss of her parents' friendship and marriage while doing as much as a young child can do to mend their relationship. Taking a very real life situation that many people in relationships face, the game presents a player experience with a unique approach as shared co-op functionality is required, with both Cody and May being playable.

Despite the heavy-handed narrative, the game's writing felt underdeveloped. The problems Cody and May face both as partners and parents are not given much detail, and the takeaway players are left with is that their relationship has failed is due to the lack of effort put in to sustain it from both parties. Generally, the details are sparse and remain undeveloped throughout the story, and I can imagine this is so that the situation remains as inclusive and relatable to as many people playing. Nevertheless, while I can understand why the finer details regarding their marriage and hanging divorce were unmentioned, I don't think there would have been any issue with crafting a more individualized backstory for players to become invested.

As the story begins, it is apparent that Cody and May are set on the divorce happening. They sit down as a family to inform Rose what's to come, and everyone seems to isolate themselves as the divorce simply comes to be. However, through Rose's pleas, the couple enter a dream-like state as their consciousness is transferred to makeshift, personalized dolls Rose created. Now miniature and in a sort of fantasy environment within the real world, Cody and May are forced to work together to progress through a series of trials in solving how to regain their normal lives. Throughout this all, a personified relationship-building book guides them through their situation by engaging in forms of therapy sessions. With the narrative unfolding, the relationship Cody and May share slowly mends through their forced cooperation. In the beginning, the two are constantly bickering with another. However, over time, small moments of encouragement and praise arise, with the added awkwardness that comes with it as the two still both recognize the divorce as something that needs to happen.

Moving forward, the gameplay directly relates to the story presented as It Takes Two requires two players to play. As someone who is familiar with games, I felt as if the game is fairly user-friendly but approachable to those not normally playing games, although I cannot make this observation without any bias as this wasn't how I experienced my playthrough. I mention this because, given the game's narrative, I imagine that many couples may play this game together, and it is certainly not uncommon for people to be unfamiliar to the medium. All that said, the gameplay does not always excel in this regard as some segments demand a lot of fast-paced control and reaction from both players. However, the game does attempt to make it simple for all players through its forgiveness and accessibility, such as aiming assistance and lenient death system.

Unlike many other co-op games, It Takes Two places equal importance onto both players as both characters are crucial in solving puzzles and progressing in any capacity. Throughout each chapter, players are typically introduced to a new co-op gameplay mechanic through the form of personalized tools. This aspect succeeds in maintaining interest and engagement. In many moments, teamwork felt quite fluid and natural, as both players are often doing something specific to their character's abilities separately but for a unified purpose. Additionally, it is not uncommon to routinely view the other player's side of the split-screen to gain a sense of direction or idea toward how an action should be done. In general, I found the core gameplay to be fun and rewarding.

Throughout my time playing, though, the single most successful aspect I found lies in the game's environment and is perhaps a bold statement given the level of success the gameplay also reached. With that said, the numerous zones It Takes Two presents and their level of detail and interactivity is what I absolutely adored. With a detailed, livable world full of personality and fun being built, the game takes ordinarily mundane environments and presents them from a novel perspective. At some points, areas become quite spacious which grants an even more boundless sense of exploration onto players. Through each area, interactive moments are scattered for players to encounter, which only adds a greater sense of reward for players as they freely roam about. Alongside these moments, co-op mini-games are also available for players to experience which offer a short but fun respite from the main narrative.

Overall, It Takes Two offers a rewarding adventure for two players to experience together. As a forced co-op experience, both players are integral to the story's progression with neither feeling more important than the other. With a narrative complementing the gameplay, it admittedly could have been given a more unique story regarding Cody and May's relationship to reach higher successes, as I personally was left wondering how much more developed the narrative could have been. Nevertheless, I think anyone interested in the game would definitely enjoy their time playing regardless of their experience with the medium.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on February 14, 2023, 09:48:51 am
Quote from: dhaabi on February 13, 2023, 04:47:58 pm
03. It Takes Two || PlayStation 4 || 02.12.23

Great review, I agree with everything you stated. I felt like a lot of people online were praising how approachable the game is to people not accustomed to video games, like "this is the game you should have someone who's never played games before try." On paper it made sense because of the co-op only gameplay, but in practice it wasn't so easy. My wife never grew up with video games, and the ones we have played together so far are 2D like Mario or whatever. Navigating 3D space with the camera was subsequently very challenging for her especially when the action started to pick up. We theorize it's some kind of motor skill/coordination that I've just developed over years of playing games that she just never had time to develop. We have some friends who also had similar issues.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on February 14, 2023, 01:06:09 pm
Quote from: telly on February 14, 2023, 09:48:51 am
Quote from: dhaabi on February 13, 2023, 04:47:58 pm
03. It Takes Two || PlayStation 4 || 02.12.23

I felt like a lot of people online were praising how approachable the game is to people not accustomed to video games, like "this is the game you should have someone who's never played games before try." On paper it made sense because of the co-op only gameplay, but in practice it wasn't so easy. My wife never grew up with video games, and the ones we have played together so far are 2D like Mario or whatever. Navigating 3D space with the camera was subsequently very challenging for her especially when the action started to pick up.

There are definitely far more successful games that ease in those foreign to the medium than It Takes Two. A few years ago, I came across the YouTube channel Razbuten which has uploaded several videos you may find worth watching. In the short series, they analyze their wife play games and the successes games have in being approachable to newcomers, as she is someone who is largely inexperienced with the medium. They're interesting videos that provide a good look at the many aspects of games that those accustomed to the medium take for granted as second nature while identifying problems with UX that inhibit new players from understanding. Their first video in the series (https://youtu.be/ax7f3JZJHSw) is here, if you're interested at all. Perhaps some of the games featured may be good considerations for your wife to try, even, although many games shown focus on the shortcomings each game has regarding new-player accessibility, if I remember them correctly.

Before finalizing my thoughts, I actually had referenced your post about experiencing It Takes Two, since I had remembered you had also played it recently. It's a shame you encountered so many bugs, because the build's optimization wasn't an issue for my playthrough whatsoever. I had updated to the PlayStation 5 version beforehand, so perhaps that is something to consider.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on February 14, 2023, 09:38:11 pm
11. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (PS5)

Before I jump into my thoughts on Jedi Fallen Order, I do want to address the PS5 version of this game. While the vast majority of my time playing it was without issue, the game had some very weird graphical glitches and bigs during the last 10% of the game, the main one being where half of Cal's lightsaber was sticking out is back and I was unable to switch from using his double bladed lightsaber, which made certain portions of the final area of the game difficult to beat. With all that said, I definitely did not have this issue or the others I whitnessed when I played the PS4 version several years ago. Honestly, the game didn't seem to look or run any better on the PS5, which means I'll probably just play the PS4 version the next time I play Jedi Fallen Order. But anyhow, with that out of the way, let's talk about the game.


Jedi Fallen Order is without question one of the best Star Wars stories ever made, and certainly up there with the best of the EU. In a time where I felt jaded and betrayed by the franchise, this game (and season 1 of The Mandalorian) helped reignite my interest in Star Wars and allow me to start at least enjoying old Star Wars content again. Replaying this game again nearly 4-years later and I now feel like my love and appreciation for the Star Wars franchise is almost back where it was before seeing The Last Jedi, which is the singular event that nearly destroyed my interest in the series. It seriously doesn't get much better than Jedi Fallen Order when it comes to great Star Wars content and that is in no small part to the amazing gameplay, presentation, voice acting, and audio in Jedi Fallen Order. The amount of exploration, the amazing character writing, the amazing planets and settings, the excellent voice acting, and of course, the unbelievably good story all just make this game so amazingly fun to play. With all that said, however, I do feel like I enjoyed Jedi Fallen Order just a hair less than I did the first time I played and beat it. It may be because I knew what was going to happen, or possibly I don't feel as desperate to find a way to love Star Wars again like I did back in 2019, but regardless of the reason it was all slightly less fun for me. That isn't to say I disliked anything about my time with this game, in fact I enjoyed playing this game more than 99% of all other games I've ever played, even the second time around. I am now properly hyped for Jedi Survivor which seriously cannot come out soon enough. I just hope it's able to capture the specialness of the first game, but even if it doesn't I am so grateful Jedi Fallen Order exists at all, especially in the modern era of sub par Disney Star Wars content. (2/14//23) [46/50]



Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on February 15, 2023, 11:10:21 am
Quote from: dhaabi on February 14, 2023, 01:06:09 pm
Quote from: telly on February 14, 2023, 09:48:51 am
Quote from: dhaabi on February 13, 2023, 04:47:58 pm
03. It Takes Two || PlayStation 4 || 02.12.23

I felt like a lot of people online were praising how approachable the game is to people not accustomed to video games, like "this is the game you should have someone who's never played games before try." On paper it made sense because of the co-op only gameplay, but in practice it wasn't so easy. My wife never grew up with video games, and the ones we have played together so far are 2D like Mario or whatever. Navigating 3D space with the camera was subsequently very challenging for her especially when the action started to pick up.

There are definitely far more successful games that ease in those foreign to the medium than It Takes Two. A few years ago, I came across the YouTube channel Razbuten which has uploaded several videos you may find worth watching. In the short series, they analyze their wife play games and the successes games have in being approachable to newcomers, as she is someone who is largely inexperienced with the medium. They're interesting videos that provide a good look at the many aspects of games that those accustomed to the medium take for granted as second nature while identifying problems with UX that inhibit new players from understanding. Their first video in the series (https://youtu.be/ax7f3JZJHSw) is here, if you're interested at all. Perhaps some of the games featured may be good considerations for your wife to try, even, although many games shown focus on the shortcomings each game has regarding new-player accessibility, if I remember them correctly.

Before finalizing my thoughts, I actually had referenced your post about experiencing It Takes Two, since I had remembered you had also played it recently. It's a shame you encountered so many bugs, because the build's optimization wasn't an issue for my playthrough whatsoever. I had updated to the PlayStation 5 version beforehand, so perhaps that is something to consider.

Yeah we've already watched all of them! Don't know if they've made any more though or if they tried to play It Takes Two. I remember they mentioned Portal 2 which is a game I've really wanted to try co-op but I'm worried how it would go based on our experiences with It Takes Two.  :(
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 15, 2023, 04:10:01 pm
Dropped: Jeanne d'Arc

I'm so over this game that they need to invent another word for "over." I'll admit, I went in with low expectations because Level 5 is one of my least favorite developers. But, I wanted to play a strategy-RPG, and I wanted to play something that I either never played or never finished. This seemed like the best choice. I made it to Chapter 4 before calling it quits.

I was able to put up with a fair amount of stuff. But, the straw that broke the camel's back was during an escort mission when the person I was trying to protect would kamikaze his way into enemy territory, invariably making him an easy target. Having only 75 HP AND pisspoor defense didn't help. I even boosted his defense with a defense tonic. It didn't matter. A stray arrow found his way towards his manflesh, poisoned him, and caused him to die the next turn. I couldn't heal him in time. That was enough for me. I'm removing this game from my backlog and my life.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on February 18, 2023, 11:13:31 pm
1. Horizon Forbidden West

FINALLY beat my first game of the year. I just don’t have a lot of time to play and I’ve been playing some long games. More long ones coming up too…maybe I need to get some short ones under my belt before I start another.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on February 24, 2023, 06:47:52 am
04. Star Ocean: The Divine Force (PS5)
Has anyone here played the new one - The Divine Force? I've just about beat it and have had a blast!
It's very much like a PS2 era JRPG - And I mean that for better and for worse.

After SO5, I never thought the series would recover - it wasn't offensive but the most unremarkable experience I can think of. So news of the latest game had me anxious. I ended up getting as a Christmas pressie and have put a good 60+ hours into it.

The games premise is very much like the over games which features a sci-fi civilization crash landing on a underdeveloped planet and you explore the difference in cultures as they clash through a dramatic JRPG story. Overall i found the story very compelling! There is a lot of writing put into the game and the concepts it explores are interesting. The characters too are also a lot of fun to be around and very likeable – Each having valid reason to be apart of the journey. I think the problem with the story is how heavy dialogue the cutscenes are. It is clear the game still had a small budget and lacks many action scenes or suffers a little on certain attempts.
That said, I love the visuals of the game! I've heard a lot people complaining about the doll like characters but I think t hey look really detailed and nice! Also well animated too! The art direction is very strong too with each area having it's distinct feel – One of my favourites was this dark forest overridden with thick vines to climb. I was going up a hill and there would be toads and magical enemies in dark armour hidden in the depths to get you. The DUMA system really leads to a decent amount of verticality to t he map layouts.
The combat is a lot of fun too you can assign different commands to 3 face buttons. if you tap it you can assign a 5-hit combo which you can assign the moves from or hold to use a stronger attack - I mostly just used the hold attack. Then there is DUMA, A Sci-fi gadget which acts as a burst jet pack, it allows you to lunge in and strike enemies, I found the combination of this and the power attack to be fitting for most of the game.

The game also has a lot of complex mechanics its item compounding, it has like 7 different settings where you can mix different items and its really only accessible via a game-guide. What's worse is that it's not a matter of just having the items but there is also a percentage of the mix working - which leads to a lot of save scumming! This is essential to tackling the games post content dungeons too.

The game also continues its Private Action sequences which in concept is great, the idea of entering a town and seeing what the other characters are up to is fun. But sadly so has never executed this feature effectively. To get most of the scenes you have to return to areas which aren't story related later on and while they're entertaining they just don't fit into the pace of the game – As there is little incentive to return to these areas past their initial visit.. I still feel FFIX executed the concept better with its Quick Time Events – God I miss that aspect of the game!

I felt compelled to tackle the games post game dungeons and it kept me invested. It is a case of just breaking the game with it's components and accessories which take a lot of prep to get but quick to execute – you can max out your characters levels very quickly once you have the right equipment buffs. The last boss did create a challenge and while looking at advice from guides online I did venture into a little item conjuring of my own to build a set up to beat the Ultimate Boss – A little proud of that too!

Overall I found it to be an above average JRPG with heart. It's a massive step up from the previous game and if they would consider another Star Ocean game I would certainly be on-board!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on February 24, 2023, 09:20:30 am
I enjoyed reading that write-up, Vivi! Somewhat related:

16. Star Ocean: First Departure R

This was the perfect game to wash away the stank of Jeanne d'Arc, to remind me why my favorite RPGs are from the PlayStation era, to remind me of why I love RPGs so much, and to ready me for The Divine Force. My qualms with it were the same as they were back in 2000 when I first played The Second Story because, let's face it, the two are basically the same outside of characters/setting/other small features. These problems aren't dealbreakers, but they are annoying: easily missable characters, lots of backtracking, constantly starting a battle surrounded or with a back attack. I could go on. But, the important thing is that none of those really mattered because the quest itself is so damn fun. It's one of the better games in the series when it comes to the idea of capturing that space-age, sci-fi feeling. And combat is a button mashing good time. I usually played Roddick, but playing as Ashlay and Pericci had its highlights. The last person in my party was Erys because I wanted a magic user with healing abilities. Pericci had Healing Dance, but I couldn't ever get her to use it no matter what her AI was set to. At any rate - I'm rambling. I'll write a review for this later. I'm excited since I'll be able to talk more about it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on February 26, 2023, 11:43:46 am
2023 is already turning into a busy year for me! But at least I have an update!

1. Telling Lies (Xbox)- I wanted to give this game another chance as I didn't really like it when I played it on Playstation in 2022. Playing it a second time, actually made me like the game even less. It also made me realize how the ending really ruins the game.

2. The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me (PS5)-I overall enjoyed this game and it was fun tracking down the trophies! Unfortunately, the game does have bugs. I even ran into a major bug and had to completely reset the game, but then it was fine. Out of all the Dark Picture games, I think this one is a major step in the right direction. I actually had a great time actually watching the bonus content videos! I also played through the Curator's Cut version and felt it was a different experience. This game definitely keeps you on your toes.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on February 27, 2023, 06:43:45 am
8 - Sons of the Forest (PC Early Access 2023) - BEAT - I'm a big fan of survival games and had been looking forward to this one abit, though it was unfortunate to hear that instead of releasing like it should, the game was going into Early Access, but when they did so, they made it seem like EA was meant to be more about polish and making the game even bigger and better than it was, but the game itself is very incomplete.  The story is maybe half here at best and that's being generous.  It has a beginning, middle, and end, but that's almost only it, there's so little inbetween.

The game itself feels mostly feature complete in terms of the kind of game you'll be playing, but it's still lacking buildables and items from the first game and it needs more new stuff, but the map is here and its all very functional and it feels good to play, a big step up from the first game.  It just needs so much more content and tweaks to things like the backpack, gps, enemy behavior, and more.  There's now way this game gets out of Early Access in less than a year and I absolutely don't recommend it right now.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on February 27, 2023, 02:45:27 pm
Late with an update. Still plan to hit 52, just have to squeeze in shorter games to make up for lost time. On that note:

Koudelka (Abandoned)

Not because its a bad game. Form a few hours I invested, I enjoyed its setting and characters. The tactical RPG combat is nice too, but the game is a long and slow burn. Given I've missed a few weeks I don't want it to bog me down trying to catch back up. If I manage to get ahead maybe I'll come back fresh, for now it'll be on the back burner.

#4 Super Metroid
Went for a 100% run. Took me ~8 hours to beat. Time played wasn't a factor; I don't mind taking my time going for 100% in any Metroidvania I play. I've had my copy of Super Metroid for years but never got around to thoroughly playing it until recently. Whatever I can say about it has likely been said countless times on other forums and websites. I'll just say it deserves all the praise its received. The game is timeless; a must-have experience for anyone with an interest in the Metroid series or Metroidvania genre.

#5 Blazing Chrome
First Steam game I've beaten in a long time. A well developed Contra-clone with great pixel art and level design. Bosses were cool and challenging ever after I fully recognized their attack patterns. Was the first run and gun I really invested time into; now I'm debating whether to go back for achievements or the 1CC. The developer JoyMasher has another run and gun, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, that looks just as compelling. Between that, Chrome and the upcoming Iron Meat my run and gun thirst will stay quenched.

Going forward I plan to play more STG/shmups and aim for 1CCs. I'm fairly new to the genre so I'm trying to keep my expectations reasonable and ease myself into it. I've enjoyed dabbling in them so far and hope to start clearing them sooner rather than later.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 03, 2023, 08:46:31 am
17. Astria Ascending - platinum'd

This was the last new game that I received as part of Secret Santa last year. The final grind to get everything didn't take as long as expected. I never plan on playing J-Ster again, but that's an entirely different matter. Overall, a decent game that sadly wore out its welcome after the second half. Great visuals and music can only carry a game so far. There was a lot of potential here, but it looked like a lot of little things were either ignored or missed during development. There were also a lot of questionable design choices. Combat started off promising but I'm guessing it would have been nigh impossible to get through on harder difficulties since the game was so poorly balanced. And I can't advance spoken text? Come on!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 09, 2023, 09:54:24 am
18. Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

It feels great to play a traditional, 2D style Kirby again. It's essentially an enhanced version of the game on Wii, but it's filled to the top with extra content. I have 100% story mode completion, but my file's completion is nowhere near that. I'll probably take a break from it for a bit so I can collect my thoughts on it for a review, but I do plan on trying the extra modes sooner than later. All in all, another great Kirby game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: justin8301 on March 09, 2023, 03:46:48 pm
2. Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch) - Beat 3/8/23

AMAZING, this is my first time playing this one. Even as a long time Metroid fan, I've always been nervous to play it because I usually get sick playing first person games, but for some reason I didn't have any issues with it. So yea, game was awesome, loved every minute of it. Cant wait for the next one to get remastered.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on March 11, 2023, 11:02:01 am
04. Ultimate I Spy || Wii || 03.09.23

Having spent a fair amount of time with I Spy Scholastic books during their '90s prime, I have come to realize in recent years that I still casually enjoy these kinds of puzzles. When browsing through some cheap Wii games, I bought Ultimate I Spy without much thought aside from having fairly low expectations.

As a find-it game, Ultimate I Spy transforms the static puzzle design of print books into a 3D interactive experience across 40 levels within 10 unique stages. Unlike with print material, the game's stages are generally full of life and movement, although not for every stage. Even so, the ability to shift the camera view throughout all levels provides a fun depth and added difficulty, as hidden objects are sometimes only found in the most specific of angles. Like the book puzzles, hidden objects may be found amidst a sea of items, not quite as what the player was expecting when reading the clue, or camouflaged within other environmental elements. However, as they are a part of a 3D game, hidden objects may also be moving or needed to be moved or require interaction. That said, the latter type in particular is where the game's weaknesses become apparent.

Overall, the controls themselves are for better or for worse. Moving throughout stages while shifting camera angles is generally without issue. Be that as it may, Ultimate I Spy also forces required interactive elements to complete puzzles, and they are mostly done with poor execution. For many of these interactive moments, they feel purely designed as a tacked on gameplay mechanic that are simply not fun. Some events include moving a clock's hands, shaking a crystal ball, controlling a paper airplane, or plucking a harp's strings. Completing these moments are necessary to advance through stages.

Alongside the standard interactive moments, some clues require completing mini-games, such as fish racing, guiding a sailboat while avoiding hazards, and controlling a rocket ship throughout space. Throughout the game, many of these mini-games are revisited with added difficulty. For some of these moments, mini-games last about 2 minutes, and failing results in needing to retry. So, at this point, it is not necessary about finding a certain aspect but to instead fulfill a condition which meets the clue's standards (e.g. find a race versus find a race that leads to victory. With that said, the game devolves from a standard find-it game to a compilation of bad mini-games for a sizeable duration. There is a menu selection to revisit these mini-games at any time, although none are worth doing so as there is no incentive in addition to their poor quality.

In the end, Ultimate I Spy offers a fun experience that felt rewarding to find hidden objects which were particularly difficult to locate. But, as a Wii game, the game's tacked on Wii controls to provide an added interactive element to the formula is simply bad. Had the game just relied on using the Wii Remote as a cursor for its motion controls, this would have been a much more enjoyable experience. Instead, the Wii's motions controls were attempted to be capitalized upon which come off as a hindering novelty. That said, the game still adopts the classic find-it puzzle formula which is something I think I'll always find some enjoyment no matter the circumstances.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 12, 2023, 06:46:57 pm
I'm back from an arcade expo in Louisville, KY. It was fun; not as fun as it used to be but still enjoyable. I dedicated more time to pinball, but managed to get in some favorites.

19. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade Future Tone

I haven't even thought of this series since Project Diva X on the Vita. I played on beginner and it was...ok. The big screen was neat. The graphics were crisp. Sadly, it was so loud in the expo that I couldn't hear the song. So, I wasn't really a fan of it. It was cool that it was there, of course.

20. Darkstalkers - Bishamon

This was actually really fun. I never played Darkstalkers before, despite growing up as a fighting game fan. Naturally, I gravitated towards the samurai. All I'll say is that I'm glad that the cabinets were on free play. Otherwise, I would have lost a lot of quarters. The game is fun but those foes aren't playing. Felicia is more proof as to why I don't like cats.

21. Tekken 3 - Nina Williams

Someone asked me to jump in for them as I was walking by. I played some Tekken before, but it had been years. Normally, I play as Yoshimitsu or Anna. But, I covered the person that chose Nina and enjoyed it. As an arcade game, the game still runs silky smooth. It's crazy to think how old this game is. Lots of fun, though. Again, I'm glad that it was on free play.

22. Pump it Up NX2

I've always been team DDR, but I haven't seen a Pump it Up machine in over a decade. I had to give it a shot. Surprisingly, I was pretty good at it. That middle step, though. Ugh.

23. jubeat

I love this game. Hand Hand Revolution. The sounds are so crisp and there's such a tactile feeling when you land a perfect touch. The music was bumping, too. I never thought I'd see this game there, but lo and behold. I got an S on the last song I did which was the icing on the cake.

24. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

I saved the best for last. This is where I spent most of the time. My go to song was 1998. Songs two and three were left up to chance or left up to the person I was playing with. It was so fun to get back into DDR. A late 30-something playing DDR? Only at an arcade expo.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on March 12, 2023, 08:38:05 pm
Quote from: kashell on March 12, 2023, 06:46:57 pm
23. jubeat

I hadn't heard of Jubeat before, but it looks pretty fun. I've only played a similar game named MaiMai briefly once and enjoyed it, so if Jubeat were at an arcade near me, I'd try it, for sure.

Quote
24. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

My go to song was 1998.

Wow, it's been over 15 years since I had last heard that track. During the mid-2000s for about 3 years total, I played Dance Dance Revolution Extreme quite often, perhaps about 6-7 hours per month. During that time, I always told myself that I'd someday own a machine. It'll never happen, of course, but one can still dream.

I haven't played it, but one of the new modern rhythm dancing games named Dancerush Stardom looks like a lot of fun too. This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKchIC-ilU) of a group playing seems really impressive.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 13, 2023, 09:08:26 am
Quote from: dhaabi on March 12, 2023, 08:38:05 pm


Wow, it's been over 15 years since I had last heard that track. During the mid-2000s for about 3 years total, I played Dance Dance Revolution Extreme quite often, perhaps about 6-7 hours per month. During that time, I always told myself that I'd someday own a machine. It'll never happen, of course, but one can still dream.

I haven't played it, but one of the new modern rhythm dancing games named Dancerush Stardom looks like a lot of fun too. This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKchIC-ilU) of a group playing seems really impressive.

Yeah, something about that song just fits my style to the letter. I have a lot of favorite songs but that one is just...something else. I'll check that video out, too. Thanks for posting that.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 14, 2023, 11:27:28 am
25. Theaterhythm Final Bar Line

Anyone who's a fan of both Final Fantasy and its music requires this game, full stop. There is just so much music that brings back so many memories. The gameplay itself is fun, too. My only gripe are some of the quests. They require too specific a set up and a touch of luck to complete. Otherwise, there's just so much good music and variety here that it's hard not to call this the best game in the Theaterhythm series. Side note: Final Fantasy Mobius' music SLAPS. Who knew?!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on March 14, 2023, 01:08:32 pm
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Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

47. SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter Galaxy (ARC)
Really short shmup game.  I expected it to be longer than a short single level, but there it is, a really short shmup game.  Managed to get all of the achievements for this game in two quick playthroughs, didn't take more than a few minutes.  Kind of works though as sonic wouldn't platform fight Eggman in space, he's use a spaceship.  Probably still not worth playing, but it certainly wasn't the worst shmup I ever played.
Rating: Soft pass

48. Young Souls (X1)
A game leaving game pass.  I thought about skipping it entirely but I pushed through and played it.  At first I really wasn't enjoying it, still even towards the end I wouldn't say I was enjoying it, but the combat was simple enough and I got to a point that I wanted the rest of the story.  After finishing the story, I sat and looked at the achievements and decided that the extra hour of playing was worth earning the additional 200-300 achievement points.  At this point I literally have 1 chest left to open and then I'll get the achievements for 100%ing the game and opening all of the gold chests.  Literally shouldn't take me more than 5 minutes to do, but I put it off because it was nearly midnight when I stopped playing last night and figured what the heck, I'll earn the achievements tomorrow for the microsoft reward points.  Accessibility options make this game much easier to enjoy, the characters are the absolute worst and do seemingly grow throughout their experience which is actually quite nice to see.  I only really had two issues with the game, it freezing during loading screens where I had to restart the game but didn't lose any progress, and a limited resource item being unable to be picked up which wasn't an issue either because I didn't even use the item during play.  I guess the other issue I had was how slow the dialogue and scenes where and there was no good way to skip the chaff.  You either skip everything or nothing kind of deal, and even the leveling up process was annoyingly slow.  I didn't even realize until after I beat the game that if you double tap left or right, you can run in that direction.  Wish I had realized that earlier.  Overall I actually kind of enjoyed this game though.
Rating: Soft recommendation

49. Undertale (X1)
I started this up probably a year or two back when it went up on Game Pass because the achievements are so easy and simple, I was doing a little bit daily to get quick easy achievements for Microsoft Rewards.  Well the game is leaving game pass in a few days so I figured I'd finally finish the game.  What I didn't realize until now was apparently I was doing a genocide run on xbox, forgot I was doing a genocide run, started doing a pacifist run, and then realized I was like level 6 instead of level 1 so kind of waffled between sparing and killing until I beat the game.  Kinda frustrated about that, because I've never done a genocide run.  Also, this game is so weird because you can get all of the trophies/achievements for this game without even beating the game because the last achievement you earn is a bit before the final boss.
Rating: Solid recommendation

50. Twisted Metal (PS1)
Another game from my list of franchises to play through.  I know I played and beat a TM game as a kid, definitely wasn't Small Brawl because I never finished that game as a kid, it was either 3 or 4, maybe both, I just remember Rob Zombie/White Zombie music on the soundtrack.  Dragula to be specific I think.  Anyway, played through this game earning all of the retro achievements and seeing all of the endings.  I may go and read up on the endings some because I feel like some of the more vague endings probably had more evil connotations than I took away.  This, like Mortal Kombat, is one of those franchises where it would make sense to have only 1 or no characters return for future games because in theory they all died or have no reason to re-enter, but I get bringing back characters because players care right.  It's whatever, just something I always think about.  I play a lot of vehicular combat games, it's partially where I got my handle from, but I think I don't really enjoy them because they are always so clunky and overbearing.
Rating: Hard pass

51. Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
I played through these too quickly, this one was kind of a blur with the last one.  If I recall correctly, I beat the entirety of this game in a single day because I had that much free time that day.  More of the same all in all.  As I play these more, I get more and more used to the controls so they feel less clunky, but I know they still are.  Geez, I didn't even finish writing this one up and now it's been even longer since I played this game.  I've got nothing, more of the same I guess
Rating: Hard pass

52. A Memoir Blue (XS)
Started this one up because it was leaving game pass.  A real simple, linear, story telling game.  Not much to it and the story was only so interesting in general.  Tale of a single parent raising a child and the child I guess going through the motions of resenting the parent for working and then maybe realizing they were wrong and reconnecting, idk, it's definitely a lot like Virginia in that there is no dialog or even text, you just have to infer info from facial expressions... I guess.
Rating: Hard pass

53. Double Dragon Neon (360)
First off, fuck this game for doing the dirty combo for pressing start and giving you 1 achievement point so you have to finish the game bullshit.  I think this game is my first foray into playing full on shitty wayforward games.  People give Wayforward a lot of credit in general for creating Shantae, but even that game what little I played was shitty.  I think my sole experience with them prior is Mummy Demastered which is mid at best, this game however, is horse shit.  The art is mildly attractive, but it all clashes, there's too much going on, and they created that piece of shit fuzzball.  I had several instances where I was going to abandon this game, but that fucking 1-19 achievement point thing had me like nope, gotta power through this bullshit, which makes me hate the game even more.
Rating: Hardest of passes

54. Stray (PC)
Started this game after my wife finished her playthrough shortly after release.  I was playing through and got to maybe Chapter 10 or something and an achievement wouldn't unlock so I abandoned the game.  Came to find out, I had already unlocked the achievement in an earlier chapter, that's why it wouldn't unlock, but somehow I never checked that I actually unlocked it.  I don't know, it sullied my experience in general because I was worrying about something that wasn't even an issue in the first place.  Gameplay is solid, story telling is good enough, has some frustrating elements.  I think the two big things that ruined this game for me, aside from the me being dumb about achievements thing, was the game being overhyped.  I say 2 big things and list 1 thing.  The game being touted as a GOTY, it isn't even in question, this game ain't that good, plus so much folks talking up this game about how you can go anywhere and you really have to rethink your perspective and think like a cat because you can go places you wouldn't think about normally in games... while this part is true, you can't go "anywhere" there were so many places that I was like oh, that totally looks like a spot a cat could squeeze, nope, and that immediately took tons of points away for me, because I was hyped up about all the things you could do, but you couldn't, and even then the kind of parkour concepts didn't work that great because too often I would want to go up, but it would force me down and it took tons of fudging around to get the right camera angle and position for it to register to allow me to go where I wanted.  Great game, I'd still recommend it, but like temper your expectations.
Rating: Solid recommendation

55. Twisted Metal III (PS1)
It's real tough to write up stuff for these games when I play through them relatively quickly and they kind of blur because the gameplay is the same/similar.  This is the first one made by a new team, also made with a new engine, because new team.  I know I spent more time on this one than TM1+2 because the RA for this game required me to actually play a ton more than previous games, but TM4 is definitely taking longer, so I keep trying to think about this and keep thinking about 4 instead, so I really don't remember this game very well.  I think I remember some of the levels having specific achievements, but they just wouldn't pop for me no matter what, not sure why.  Luckily I'm not that crazy about achievements so I'm cooling taking what I get and moving on.  Definitely think this is a weaker entry compared to 1 and 2, but in all honesty, all these vehicular combat games blur to me and aren't that great.  I love the premise and stuff, but the gameplay, despite me relatively enjoying it, isn't that great.  Just about every playthrough on this though, at some point the audio broke to the point that I had to mute the game because it was just disastrously annoying and the game crashed a few times I think.
Rating: Hard pass

56. Clustertruck (X1)
Geez, this game.  Played it because it was leaving game pass, like all the other games I play on xbox lol.  I had previously played the Super Hot version of cluster truck years ago, finally deciding to play this game.  Started out pretty simple, game stayed pretty addicting until it got to the laser levels, powered through the 1 really difficult laser level, rest of the game was pretty breezy and enjoyable up until the final level.  The final level has such a huge curve over the previous levels, which tbf had they escalated to this "appropriately" I probably would've abandoned it for sure, but the last level was just plain brutal.  I managed to look up videos showing tricks and stuff, couldn't get any of the speedrunning tricks to work for me, so I went with a relatively safe trick that simplified the process so it wasn't as bad as I think they originally intended.  Still took a ton of tries, but I managed to power through.  Honestly, the laser level alone was enough for me to be like eh, don't care for this game, but that final level was so rough that I've gotta set this game at hard pass.
Rating: Hard pass

57. Twisted Metal 4 (PS1)
I started this one about a month ago at this point, playing through, I was originally getting through a campaign or two a day, but since RE4 and Ryza 3 came out, I've shifted my priorities.  Last month I had made sure I was earning an achievement a day for a backlog group I'm in, and this game sort of helped in that I just needed to beat a campaign to get an achievement, but after the month ended I full on hopped into RE4/Ryza 3 full time gaming wise so I wasn't necessarily earning achievements and didn't want to bother, so I made sure to tank that goal for the month with the backlog group so I wouldn't stress or force myself to play games I didn't necessarily want to play right now.  That said I'm at the start screen for starting the campaign for Drag Queen, and probably have like 5 or so characters left to beat the game with, but the game is definitely on pause for me for the time being because I'm prioritizing Ryza 3, I was prioritizing RE4, but I beat it last night and will probably prioritize jumping back into Homefront the Revolution to do some DLC.  This game has more bugs than previous games as I've been having it crash more, but TM3 had a recurring issue with the audio throughout the game and even on the final level, though it was playable, just on mute.
Rating: Hard pass

58. Resident Evil 4 (PS5)
Going to try to write this up while the game is relatively fresh.  I chose to put this below Goldeneye because it's a staple of my youth and I went all out and earned all of the achievements, whereas this game, while I considered putting in effort, I won't be doing it.  RE4 took up a lot of my time in my teenage years, but not so much as say Timesplitters.  I played through the game on multiple difficulties, unlocked all the things, etc.  I honestly probably used cheats/code breaker/etc, but I played it a ton as a kid.  I only remember so much from my childhood, but a lot of this game felt like it was directly ripped from my memories (albeit improved, duh) but then there is stuff like the regeneradors, some of the later boss fights, the jetski/minecart sections that I don't remember.  Maybe they existed, maybe they didn't, but the game is great this time around and I entirely consider playing through it again... I probably won't though, as I really need to consider doing the other half of RE2, beating CVX, or even starting 7/8.  It's a fantastic game, and while I remember liking Ashley in my youth, I feel like she was both annoying and very Princess Ruto... this time around she's still pretty useless, but the character feels much more likable than I recall in the original.
Rating: Solid recommendation

59. Homefront: The Revolution - The Voice of Freedom (PS4)
As I do, when games have DLC that is completely separate of the story mode, I count them separately, because even though they are probably short, and this one is, it's truthfully it's own little game.  This one has you playing as Walker, the resistance leader from the main game, in what is the story that directly leads to Walker saving you at the beginning of the main game.  The DLC doesn't seem to add any new features or content, but just gives the player more story, which is fine, especially considering how cheap the DLC is.  This is one of those DLCs for folks that really just want more of the same, which I'm kind of one of those people, I enjoy getting more story and not having to deal with convoluted new mechanics that probably won't make it to a sequel.  Speaking of which, it's a shame this game will never get a sequel, because the story is quite good, and even the gameplay is pretty solid if not pretty difficult, even on the easiest difficulty.  That all said, this doesn't really add much to the game, so I can't honestly recommend it unless you enjoyed this game and wanted more
Rating: Soft pass

60. Homefront: The Revolution - Aftermath (PS4)
Like the previous DLC, this one is standalone, but rather than a prequel, this one picks up right after the end of the game setting up the main character to go out and assassinate Walker, the combination of the first DLC, the main game, and this DLC are quite the tale to tell and I really appreciate how this stuff is playing out.  The game quickly turns to a rescue mission instead of an assassination mission.  I feel like I forget that this game really expects you to do a bunch of sneaking and stealth instead of trying to fight, but I always wind up fighting because I'm a dumb fuck.  All in all, more of the same, but the game is already showing how hard the KPA is going after these revolutionaries.  The end sequence was difficult because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to end the fight given I'm fighting a tank and all I've got is a rifle and improvised throwing weapons.
Rating: Soft pass

61. Homefront: The Revolution - Beyond the Walls (PS4)
I haven't yet played Beyond the Walls, but from what I gather it's essentially a sequel picking up the story weeks after the "win" from the end of the main game.  I say win, but really it was just the "start" of the revolution, but this picks up weeks later after the revolution is basically shut down again.  I started this the other day, but I died in a situation that I'm confident I shouldn't have died in, and it made me restart the entire sequence, it wasn't tough or anything, it wasn't even a fight, it was a go do puzzles/collect items, but I've got to do it again because completing the objective killed me for some reason.  Anyway, I'm hoping this DLC makes the time more worth while than the previous ones, the previous ones were good, but nothing noteworthy.  This DLC ends relatively well, and leaves the game off where you don't necessarily need a sequel because the intended outcome was that the world could now collectively fight against North Korea, but it'd still be nice to see a sequel where you are actively fighting the war and not the revolution.
Rating: Soft pass

62. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (ARC)
I'll try to save the rant for a separate section, but I went to Round1 to play some arcade games, the intent was to play and beat the Raw Thrills TMNT game, but Round1's stupid system meant I couldn't.  Mario Kart however, I could and I could even bypass their stupid design by swapping seats.  I played through maybe 6 races I think, but once I beat a race on the hardest level on the hardest difficult, instead of saying GAME OVER, it started playing the credits, which wasn't necessarily my expectation, but that definitely meets the criteria for me to mark this beat.  After the fact it sounds like this is a game that can be emulated, so I may play more.  The game is designed kind of interestingly, you pick a player, with various stats obviously, and then you get assigned a forward item, backward item, and a special item, and that's it, you can only use 1 of those 3 items in the race.  Same Mario Kart style item box stuff, but the item box will only ever give you one of those 3 items.  They also give you a random kart with a chance of getting an OP kart.  All in all, it's actually quite fun... but might as well just play the home version.
Rating: Soft pass

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Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on March 19, 2023, 02:26:31 am
9 - Wild Hearts (PS5 2023) - DROPPED - Think I'm finally dropping this one, not because I think it's particularly bad, it just mostly makes me want to play Monster Hunter rather than keep playing this one.  It doesn't really do anything better than Monster Hunter and it's got a bit of jank with its camera and performance and certain things like the mounting aspect to do the Hunters Arm attack is rough.  Some cool things are the Karakuri, the objects you create to build walls, or things to jump off or other helpful items, it's sorta replaces items from Monster Hunter, so you can just spawn a bomb or a smashing hammer, or cover, if you have the thread for it.  Also I like that maps are persistent, meaning each area you can build up your camps from scratch wherever you want, you can build big zip line systems to get around the map, I love that stuff.

Otherwise, it's sorta "We have Monster Hunter at home", definite areas in need of improvement, though I would say it's very close in feel to Monster Hunter, though abit more casual in general, but if you're a Monster Hunter player, you can jump into this one easily enough.  Again that sorta is what ends up making the game not stand out enough for me, because rather than playing this, I could be trying to finish up stuff I have to do in Monster Hunter World or just go back to play more Monster Hunter Rise if I really want to, though I sorta fell off that game because it didn't seem as good as World either lol

I did get decently far in the game, I think I only had maybe 2 chapters left of the story, but I think rather than keep picking away at it, I'm kinda good.  I would generally recommend it if you just want some different Monster Hunter action, it's like a 7 out of 10 game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on March 20, 2023, 08:54:07 am
Game 5 - Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) - 33 Hours

It's been a blast experiencing the first Final Fantasy Tactics, as I fondly remember playing both Advance and A2 back in high school. This first iteration reminded me of how amazing the game's combat system is, particularly the deep and customizable character options. The best part of the game for me is the use of jobs that allows characters to take on two different roles at the same time, while allowing for additional carryover from other classes in your passive ability slots. There's just so much to tinker with and experiment and it's really addicting and fun. There are so different ways of approaching each fight the game offers, and with loads of secrets and side content, there's also a lot to keep you engaged after you beat the main story as well.

On top of a great combat system, the music and graphics are simply stunning. I've been listening to the FFTA soundtrack for years and will probably be listening to this one as well for years to come. It's incredible how impressive this game's sprite work and animations are as well. It's remarkable how expressive 2D characters on isometric 3D backgrounds can look with this much polish, both in cutscenes and during battle.

For all my praise of Final Fantasy Tactics, there are some aspects that I thought could be better. The game front loads a lot of material that you need to know in terms of combat systems. I found the zodiac system particularly perplexing, and it took me a lot of trial and error to figure out all of the game's many features, and all of the countless jobs, abilities, equipment and other features like monster hunting and capturing. The game was incredibly difficult during the first half of the game, mostly because I wasn't really grinding in between story missions and I didn't have as many options developed for my characters yet. I got into one sequence where the game was saving after every fight and I got to a boss I couldn't beat and almost soft-locked my entire save file. The funny thing is that once you get about 3/4s of the way in, you start being given these extremely powerful story characters and the difficulty becomes almost non-existant. The other side effect of this was that I didn't reasonably feel that I could take any of my own characters into battle because they were objectively worse than the ones being given to me in the story. So my party at the end of the game consisted more of pre-made characters than ones that I customized, which was dissapointing. Overall, the game just didn't really feel balanced, being either too hard or too easy.

The other aspect of the game that I wish was better was the story. I can see how close it is to being great; it's a dark tale full of grand conflict, plots and betrayals, murders, conspiracies, destruction of the world, all that good stuff. I found that part of the problem is the game's very rough translation, which sucks a lot of the impact and engagement out of the dialogue. I know the PSP version fixes a lot of these problems, but on the PS1 it's very apparent. My other issue is that the game drops about 20 different terms, locations, factions and lore on you without contextualizing any of it in a natural way, almost as if you're joining a story that's already in progress and you're just expected to know what's going on.

In summary, I loved Final Fantasy Tactics's combat (for the most part), graphics, music, and I wanted to love the story, but I think the execution could have been a lot better.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 20, 2023, 09:44:31 am
26. The Legend of Dragoon - platinum'd

It's weird seeing Legend of Dragoon having a platinum trophy next to it. Time has been somewhat unkind to this game, but I still had a lot of fun. The translation? Still crunchy. The additions? Still finnicky, but satisfying. The graphics? Still gorgeous. The music? Still perfection. It's still a fun, palette cleansing RPG that doesn't take too long to finish. I like that it tries to take itself too seriously but ends up being campy. I still recommend it to people that haven't tried it yet. The rewind feature makes mastering additions a lot easier. My final party was Dart, Meru and Haschel.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on March 21, 2023, 07:05:05 pm
05. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition || PlayStation 3 || 03.13.23

Beginning The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion only three months after finishing my Morrowind playthrough, I was hesitant about starting and only did so after being greatly encouraged to play.

As the follow-up franchise entry to Morrowind, Oblivion is actually not what I expected regarding the plot. In this fourth installment, the player does not assume the role of the chosen hero, although the player's role is still heavily tied to who that person is. Similar to before, the narrative focuses on evil being unleashed, although this time unto the game's setting Cyrodiil from Mehrunes Dagon, one of the sixteen Daedric Princes from the Planes of Oblivion. Throughout the plot, the player still is acknowledged as some key figure throughout the events to come and is tasked with stopping this invasion from happening by seeking out and aiding the new king to be.

Throughout my playthrough, I experienced a large percentage of what is offered: every location was discovered, most quests were completed, nearly every skill was raised to at least Expert level, and all Oblivion gates even loosely connected to the plot (about a dozen in total) were closed. While I at least discovered every area, I did not explore them all. Between Ayleid ruins, forts, mines, and caves, there are simply too many areas that are largely the same, so I was not compelled to truly complete the adventure aspect offered. That being said, I did still explore about half of these kinds of dungeons as they relate to quests. Regarding Oblivion gates, I believe only 3 are actually required to beat the game, with the majority of others existing only for the player to pursue of their own volition without any other major reward.

For many of my concerns I had with Morrowind, they were addressed in Oblivion. Perhaps the biggest issue I had before lied in how player actions and narrative information was stored. Unlike before which had information presented as a journal that was ordered by time, information is now ordered entirely by the quest it relates to, with all relevant information pertaining to each questline easily maintained under one sub-section. Another aspect lies in factions which the player may join. Now, questlines are much more direct and generally avoid fetch quest-type objectives or other kinds of busy work, and several are quite successful in introducing a smaller sub-plot for the player to experience. Regarding general quality improvements, I was perhaps most impressed by the voice acting. Instead of being forced to read lines as before, every line of dialogue is voiced. While the number of actors is still a small pool of about 10 voicing the entirety of general characters across all races and sex, the quality was largely successful. At times, the delivery of lines does not match with the events unfolding, and there were even a few instances of two voice actors being heard when choosing a NPC's dialogue options fully. Another issue lies in pronunciation, as some key names or words had more than one. Alongside voice work, NPC facial movements seem impressive given the game's age.

However, this is not to say that everything was addressed or that Oblivion isn't without its faults. Typical of open-world games, there are many, but I will minimize these issues to focus on only the most pressing. Relating to the above comments concerning voice work, there were regularly moments when lines would not be read aloud. Unfortunately, this often coincided when no readable text was supplied, such as when Daedric Princes spoke or throughout other major quests. I am not exactly sure what causes this issue, but it was always something that disappointed me when it happened. A smaller, but still very impactful to me, was the lack of a dedicated map button which is an issue still not addressed from Morrowind. Personally, I like to maintain an exact location of where I am and what's nearby, so constantly being forced to load the main menu and scroll to the map section was a hassle. On that note, the game as a console port suffers greatly from load times. When there were situations where numerous characters were in battle, load times can be quite bad which affects both player-character action and player responsiveness.

Delving even further into the worst, it is known that there are several glitches that can occur. While I only occurred one, it was one which affected over half of my playthrough. Apparently, the quest involving the player to discover the cure to vampirism cannot be completed with a NTSC PS3 GOTY disc. Not knowing this beforehand, I acquired vamiprism and was forced to play as a vampire for the majority of my time playing. As a vampire, I was regularly forced to feed on sleeping NPCs to avoid taking sun damage which only increases in severity as days pass. Taking sun damage is largely an issue because fast travel is impossible while taking damage, as you will die. As a result of this issue, I imagine that numerous hours were spent just on backtracking to an indoor location to wait until nightfall and then sneak unto unsuspecting victims. Still, perhaps the worst issue lies in about a dozen instances which my game failed to load—leaving me with a black screen while playing—which required rebooting my system. With this in mind, there were also three separate instances which my autosave data failed to load altogether, which required me to re-load an older manual save file.

Quote from: dhaabi on November 02, 2022, 09:01:16 pm
I am interested in continuing forward with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but I would like to wait a considerable amount of time before doing so.

With my above comment in mind, I was not expecting to begin Oblivion so soon. I feel as if more time should have passed between experiencing the two games, but that's just not how it happened. Nevertheless, Oblivion was a game I mostly enjoyed. I think that due to how soon I began my playthrough after finishing Morrowind, the Oblivion experience was negatively impacted, as I would have liked a longer break from a game with such length. However, even without this having happened, I think that I would have begun feeling burnt out toward the end of the playthrough regardless. I know that my total playtime was over 200 hours, and I've been ready to move on from it for some time. I am sure that one day I will play Skyrim, but I sincerely hope that day is long from now.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on March 22, 2023, 10:54:54 pm
27. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3

I was really looking forward to getting into this, but it ended up being a let down. If anyone played Shinobi or Nightshade on the PlayStation 2, then they'll get an idea of how this plays. Basically, Kirin will throw a talisman at an enemy to weaken and mark it. Then you hit a button to zip towards them with an instant kill, gain an extra jump, and try to keep this  process going until you run out of enemies or you run out of talisman. The problem is that I kept running face first into enemies I zap towards. She had other attacks that were more fun to use but they don't help your score. And it's really easy to run out of talisman, only to end up falling back towards the ground and losing your streak. The idea is there. And I'm sure with enough practice I would be able to play it better. But, I don't have the energy to bother because it would take way too much effort to get to that point. I'll just have to be okay with those A (and a few S and B) rankings. At least the story was somewhat interesting?
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: armani on March 23, 2023, 04:01:28 pm
probably gonna end up doing this... 1/4 of the way there lol
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on March 26, 2023, 12:29:34 pm
06. I Spy: Spooky Mansion || Wii || 03.15.23

After already having recently played through Ultimate I Spy, I was looking forward to playing through I Spy: Spooky Mansion so began playing shortly after. I remember owning the I Spy Spooky Night book long ago and have good memories of it, so I was hoping a game with similar themes could replicate the qualities found in the book.

As another find-it game, Spooky Mansion is quite similar to what I had already experienced shortly before. However, perhaps the biggest differences lies in how much more of a thematic project this game is. Unlike with Ultimate I Spy which was more chaotic in level design without any connection from one stage to another, Spooky Mansion provides an actual narrative—albeit incredibly simple—which provides an appreciated cohesiveness to the overall experience. In short, the player has entered a creepy mansion and must escape. Before entering, the player is invited inside by the home's host Skelly the skeleton, who is a fun character that helps guide you as you try to escape. To succeed, we must solve puzzles which then Skelly rewards the player pieces of clues and needed items to achieve our goal in regaining access to the exit.

Instead of a more basic level select screen, players navigate through the mansion in its entirety from room to room. As one environment, there is a lot of personality built, as actual find-it stages are part of a much larger area. While I was certainly pleased with the actual level design, I couldn't help but want to more thoroughly explore other sections of rooms and be presented with new puzzles. While there is certainly enough content available, I believe that expanding upon it to whatever degree would only provide a more successful project. Regarding player movement, it is generally slow but fine. There is only slight issue with movement near the game's end when it is not immediately clear which areas are needed to be visited, although, again, this is a very minor problem.

While I was pleased with the environment design, there are some puzzle design choices which do suffer. Throughout the game, there are a few instances of required findable objects being placed incredibly close in proximity to another. When moments like these arise, it is disappointing, as player satisfaction diminishes as a less rewarding puzzle-completion experience is presented. Alongside tasking the player to simply find items, Spooky Mansion requires motion controls to complete interactive elements as part of the puzzle-solving experience. While perhaps all of these moments are elementary in thought level, they provide another welcoming level of cohesiveness. Most puzzles feature 2-3 interactive objectives, such as preparing a gross stew, feeding flies to a lizard, or shining a flashlight at a group of bats to keep them from flying. Overall, these objectives provide a change of pace to the basic find-it formula, although some are more challenging to execute than others due to how the Wii Remote is being needed to use.

In brief, there is one other issue I had relating to how puzzle-solving is presented. When engaging, there is an always-present HUD element overlapping the actual puzzle environment that cannot be toggled off. Simply put, it is annoying as it not only gets in the way of clicking needed items to find but simply blocks a full view of the environment. So, as a result, the player must change the camera view to move around this piece of UI. One reading this may not think this to be that much of an issue, but I personally found it to be the game's worst aspect. It is especially bad because its inclusion is not really a necessary element at all and is something I did not interact with whatsoever. The UI's purpose is to re-read the puzzle—while some players may find this to be helpful, it easily could have been delegated to a corner.

Overall, I was pleased with everything I Spy: Spooky Mansion offers players. While it is certainly not the same as having a physical book in-hand, a similar level of satisfaction and fun was still experienced. Of course, this is a game directed to younger audiences, so my expectations were low. Even so, I think anyone looking for a very casual puzzle experience could appreciate what's offered.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on March 26, 2023, 01:37:48 pm
12. God Hand (PS2)

Funny enough, I first played God Hand almost exactly 10-years ago this month. The reason I remember it so well is because around the time i was playing this game for the first time, I got into a really bad car accident. Thankfully everyone was okay (except my car), but it definitely cemented in my mind nearly everything that was going on in my life at this time. I don't think I actually ever beat God Hand though since replayng it now, there are so many sections of the game and bosses I have zero memory of.


But anyhow, having played and beat God Hand in our current year, I have to say that I either remembered this game being way better than it was, or possibly I forgot how frustrating it was to play back then. God Hand's gameplay is fast and engaging, however it isn't implemented the best given how clunky and unbalanced it often can be. I had to take breaks from playing due to my patience completely having ran out while in the middle of certain sections or fighting certain bosses. Sometimes you simply have to cheese your way through certain parts which is in my opinion a sign of a game that could have been way better. Still, the combat combined with the upgrade system and the various extras of this game make it servicable and even slightly enjoyable enough for me to keep on going. However, the real showstopper in God Hand is its hilarious dialogue, characters, and story. This game has quite a few laugh out loud moments, and some of the bosses are among the most entertaining and goofy I've ever seen in a video game. This was by far God Hand's best quality and what I'd say sells the game over anything else, certainly the gameplay. Visually, God Hand is a mixed bag. Many of the stages and areas of this game just look bland and boring, however the cool character models and bosses make up for this to a degree. The audio is good from a voice acting point of view, but the OST other audio is just okay mostly. One other compliant I had about God Hand is its length. I don't normally complain about games being too long, however God Hand is essentially a 10-hour beat em up. Beat em ups are notorious for their monotony and while God Hand does certain things to alleviate this, I feel this game would have been far more enjoyable had it been half as long. You literally fight a few of the bosses multiple times, sometimes looking and acting no different than the previous time you went up against them. By the end of the game I just kinda wanted it to be over with as a result. I'd definitely recommend beat em up fans play this game, just be warned it can be very clunky and frustrating and drag on for way to long. (3/26/23) [32/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on March 27, 2023, 10:10:27 am
First game beat of the year! It is Minecraft: Project Ozone 3! Now I'm considering here that a modpack is separate from the base game, as a modpack is akin to a Total Conversion of the past. Technically Minecraft's original challenge/credit path still exists: exiting the End after killing the Ender Dragon. There are modpacks for Minecraft that do not have ends beyond killing the Ender Dragon but some do like this one and have a questbook with a clear goal to achieve completion. In this case, there is a quest called "All the Quests" which unlocks only after you complete... well... all of the quests. There are still more things that can be done afterwards, bonus quests (called Simple Achievements) as well as anything in the Achievements menu proper, as well as additional modes of difficulty. I had done this on Normal mode.

I technically started this pack playthrough before I had done any of the 52 Games Challenge threads, so 2-3 years ago. I decided to add this to the list because of a few reasons. First is that I had never completed a modpack before. There was always some issue in the past with game breaking bugs or world corruption. I had played many packs in the past and they are all rendered unusable. Also, a modpack is not something you can just do a little here and there and have fun. It requires dedicated time and you need to keep fresh on it. Especially if you had designed any sort of system, you would have to relearn everything if you take any sort of break.

This pack was not without bugs. I am running an older version, and at some point I found an issue where the plastic mixer wasn't working correctly. I then updated to the next (but still not latest) version. Then I saw an further update removed the weed seed, so then I updated to that. As I had watched some other people's LPs of the pack, I had found out about the controversy regarding one of the mods, and how that mod was removed. I didn't want to update to a version that removed that, so any future bugs as long as they weren't progression blocking in mechanics, I would just cheat in the item. I had to do that twice. First was the Quantum Compressors and their issue of randomly stopping to work, or not working if you change the input. The fix of "break and replace" is not really a fix and was not viable for me at the time. The Quantum Compressor makes a singularity, you have to make 82 different singularities and you have to make at least 90 something of each of those just to complete the MQ. You can have 1 QC or you can have 82. They each take 50M RF and at the time I encountered the bug I didn't have the capability of pushing enough power into them to get them restarted. They do not retain power when broken, so if you break them you lose the power they had gained. So I had cheated in the singularities that I didn't complete.

The other bug was that half-way through the Astral Sorcery questline, the items were not able to be crafted. So I cheated in those. The only other things I cheated in where a few quest items that were a waste, like the Woot upgrades. The thing about these packs is that sometimes the questbook can be done in a way where you end up having to make things just to make them and never use them. So there is no harm in cheating in those items. Especially for ones with annoying mechanics like Woot's anvil recipes.

Overall it was a good time and now that I have completed a pack (and done the more advanced tech things) I have a better idea of how i'd do things in a future pack. I have added a bunch of other packs to my personal backlog as individual games, so I will be returning to Minecraft again for a long play session in the future. But for now I will take a break and move onto a more standard game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on March 29, 2023, 02:03:58 am
10 - Resident Evil 4 (PC 2023) - BEAT - It feels good to say that I loved this game, as RE4 was always such a great time.  I was hooked on the original RE4 across more than a few generations of hardware, but I'd say I've always wanted an improved version of the game since pretty early on, I think once we hit the HD area, I had always hoped they'd do a version that just gave full movement control to Leon and we never got it unfortunately (Technically RE4VR on the Quest got it first, but that game was a mess for me lol).  The original in the past few years, especially with the big Resident Evil revival with RE7, hasn't aged great for me, and so it kinda fell off that pedestal it was on.

Now it's back up on the pedestal, because it might be my favorite Resident Evil game again.  I still prefer the slightly more stripped down survival horror of RE7 and RE2R, and I worry that Village and RE4R are showing them leaning away from that again, bringing back the memories of the series post-RE4 and the wrong direction things went, but this game is just so enjoyable.  As a remake, I'd say about 85% of the games main content is here (Ada's side stuff was bonus content and isn't here, but is rumored to be getting an expanded version as DLC later on, which makes sense).  I think the biggest thing not here from the main game was a boss and its area, which doesn't bother me personally, and there are some sections that were not brought back or kinda merged with another and there's a few new spots here and there.  Hard to be 100% sure on that being that it's been awhile and I remember the village area more than I do some of the later Castle/Island stuff.

Gameplay is a huge improvement in this as you not only get to move and shoot, you can parry with your knife, dodge some attacks, and do stealth kills.  The knife is breakable to compensate for this, which can be repaired and you can pick up disposable knives as you play.  I think most of the games weapons and items are here other than fire grenades, but you can craft ammo now with gunpowder and scrap.  The general experience I would say is still very much in line with classic RE4, lots of head shots and kneecapping to stun enemies, I think most tactics you did before are still here, though I would say the game on standard is more challenging.  I feel like they overtuned the health of enemies just a smidge as you can dump a lot of ammo into them, especially the ones that don't die on the first go.  I'm kinda worried about Hardcore and Pro modes lol

I adored this game, I can't wait to unlock everything in this, Mercenaries is only a week away from release, and I do hope to see an expanded Ada side story campaign later on to further extend my time with the game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on March 29, 2023, 09:03:17 pm
07. Wheel of Fortune || PlayStation 4 || 03.28.23

After browsing through some of the more casual offerings through PlayStation Plus Extra tier's game catalog, I found myself installing Wheel of Fortune. I'm not sure exactly if I had any expectations upon starting, but I was at least hoping to have some mild fun.

Being a game based on the television game show series, Wheel of Fortune feels like a straightforward and authentic adaption. Shortly after starting, I realized that I hadn't ever really watched the actual televised series before and wasn't that familiar with the finer rules such as money accumulation per rounds and types of puzzles. To be brief, three players compete against another in solving a word puzzle after being given a topic prompt. On their turn, each player guesses one letter to hopefully be revealed on the puzzle screen after spinning a wheel with numerous cash values and rewards. Alongside the valued wheel wedges to land upon, there are a few wedges players hope to avoid, including Bankruptcy which subtracts all round winnings. Ultimately, the goal is to earn the most cash.

As a game requiring three players, both local and online modes are available, with the availability for AI contestants to play. Regarding the game's AI, it is generally dumb no matter which of the three difficulty options are selected. More often than not, an AI contestant will guess outlier letters such as Q, X, Z. They will do this no matter how many letters are available to choose from, no matter how high of a cash value the wheel landed upon, and no matter the difficulty. However, on Hard difficulty, AI are extremely adept at correctly solving Toss Up challenges, which are puzzles that reveal one letter tile at a time while all contestants race to buzz in once they know the answer. I recall one instance of a 2 five-letter word puzzle with only one letter having been revealed, and AI solved it. It seems that AI are set to attempt to guess a puzzle once a certain percentage of the puzzle has been completed. I was wanting to have at least some chance at winning Toss Up challenges, so I generally played at Normal difficulty when AI was involved.

On the other hand, playing against other human players presented a lot of differences. More or less, there are 3 different types of players: 1) newcomers, 2) expert veterans, and 3) casual veterans. Group 1 individuals are quick to rage quit after a round is lost, or even after their first turn ends. Players disconnected causes a lot of lag usually resulting in needing to exit the match, although AI can replace them if everything loads quickly. Group 2 individuals know just about every puzzle answer and successfully do answer them after only a few letters have been revealed. They're very quick in rushing every possible stage of the match. There are leaderboards for this game which is the only reason I can think of why they still play online with this degree of familiarity. And finally, Group 3 individuals typically offer a challenge as their skill level was up to par with mine. Unlike the previous group, they stay for several matches or, at the very least, do not leave unexpectedly. As something to note, Group 1 individuals were almost always using men avatars, whereas Group 3 were mostly using women avatars. This may be an indicator as to what type of person is playing, but perhaps not—after all, I myself went back-and-forth between all avatar types.

Concerning the game's design, the game worked and seems to be a faithful adaption, but there are certainly aspects that could be improved. An issue relating directly to the game show elements itself exists with topic variety. I am not sure how many topics are in the pool, but it is no more than 10. Within my first hour of playing, I encountered the same exact puzzle twice. This only ever happened once, but it did leave a feeling of skepticism in my early time playing. While the game itself is a good adaptation, I felt that it does not translate well to video game in its current form. Since players can only ever see so much information on-screen at any moment, there is little time to study puzzles to form possible solutions, which obviously isn't an issue with people competing in the actual game show. The simplest solution would have been to offer a hotkey option to bring up the live puzzle. Something that relates to the lack of time viewing the puzzle is the limited voiced dialogue. Lines are generic to accommodate for any action taken, but a more robust voice work such as lines reading Do we have any Ls? and There are three Ls would have been a welcome addition to help players continue to think about the puzzle's status even when not being able to view it.

Lastly, I did encounter bugs of varying degree. During one match, letter spaces not actually a part of the puzzle were filled in blank, suggesting that they were a part of the puzzle. Even though I figured out what was going on before the first round ended, the issue still affected my gameplay, as my mind was still processing all blank tiles as letters needing to be solved. Some time later, I encountered an issue with being prompted a Bankrupt sequence despite landing on a cash wedge after spinning the wheel. This issue only happened once, but it seems to be a common reoccurring problem after reading online about it. But, there was one other big issue. Throughout the game, there is a level system implemented which has the player earning stars at the end of each match based on cash earnings. There are customizable aspects to the game, so leveling up unlocks these rewards. However, once I reached level 21, the game glitched and recognized that I was not the maximum level 40 without ever actually earning the rewards. I was unable to solve the issue, so I was unable to utilize these options. With no other option to do aside from deleting my save data to start over entirely, I stopped playing.

Ultimately, I actually did have a fun time playing Wheel of Fortune. When wanting to play a game but not wanting to perform a lot of active involvement, it was something I found myself going back to for a few days. But, unfortunately, I stopped playing altogether due to the level system glitch. I did as much as I could without starting over completely, just not as much as I was wanting to.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on March 30, 2023, 10:35:48 am
4. Resident Evil 4 2005 (abandoned)
PC version

I had not actually tried to play a Resident Evil game before. Choosing this one when the remake came out was purely coincidence. My backlog that I keep at home is quite complicated and isn't suitable to be put onto here, and it includes all of the games (and some others) that I have in my collection. It just so happened to have come up this week as the next game. The only other Resident Evil game I had played was the PC demo when that was released in the 90s. I remember that being annoying because of dogs jumping through windows but do not remember anything else of it really, other than playing that demo on the computer at the town library.  8)

First playing using Xbox 360 pad, the controls took some getting used to. Really despise QTE but they weren't annoying enough for me to ragequit just seeing them. Give it a chance. First issue with QTE is that if you fail, the second time you do it the buttons are different. Second issue with QTE is that the on-screen icon for Xbox 360 triggers look like the shoulder buttons, so any of those were first time fails. Second time complete as the second time were two face buttons I pressed on accident both times. Those failure were the TWO! times that the game has the "mindless" villagers be smart enough to push a large boulder into a valley and you have to Indiana Jones from it. Third issue with QTE is that often the prompt is too short before the scripted action takes place.

Was liking it a bit but wasn't too into the game. Not enough to keep me wanting to keep going despite the annoyances. I'm sure that if I had played it when it came out it may have been a different story, but I don't have time to waste on things that aren't fun or interesting. So unfortunately, all I have are complaints. Here are some more:
- can only reload when in ADS
- game has a control for rotating inventory items but is not shown in the control options screen
- snakes suddenly appearing in crates (but fortunately did not apply poison)
- some collectibles could only be acquired using a gun, which alerts enemies
- location damage seems random. Couldn't figure out the headshot hitbox, weapon sway doesn't help.

Positive:
- using keyboard and mouse was a slightly better experience control wise regarding general movement and especially aiming.
- lack of crosshair no issue since I've played Killing Floor. Laser-sight OK but hitboxes were sometimes too small.

But I give up when I get to the lake and have to deal with things I can't stand all at once
- QTE based minigame
- scripted requirement to complete objective with no ability to be creative
- invisible obstacles
- control sensitivity changed for no reason

Yes the lake battle where you have to fight the giant fish. Dodge the fish coming out of the water (easy), dodge the trees (sometimes easy). The trees in the water are the "invisible obstacles" I noted above, as in some camera angles you can get stuck in a damage loop where they are off camera. You get knocked out, do the swim mini-game to the boat, the boat moves 2 inches and it hits the tree which is off-camera. Had this happen 3 times in succession. When you get to the part where the boat stops and you have to throw the spear, the controls change entirely. Using the control pad is too slow. Using the mouse, the side to side is WAY too fast, and the up/down is way too slow and seems to be limited to grid squares. There is also no visible feedback as to when you do a hit correctly, nor is there any indication of how close you may be to defeating it. OR where you should be throwing the spear.

No point bothering with a mode like that. I found out later there was a mod that disables QTE entirely, but it isn't worth it to me to bother trying it. Onto something else for next week.

Also, I found it funny that when you kill a snake it drops a chicken egg.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on April 01, 2023, 09:07:39 am
Since my last post I've been neckdeep into STGs. These two in particular have kept me grinding for the 1CC:

#6 Graze Counter (Steam)
I opted to play the older 2017 release versus the newer GM version, to better appreciate the improvement that will come when I eventually hop onto Graze Counter GM. Either version was recommended for blossoming STG players. After getting the 1CC on both Novice and Normal mode I can see why. The game is designed well and always gives you the means to overcome whatever situation you're in, without it ever feeling like a complete cakewalk. Currently working on the Expert 1CC and will upload it to coincide with my Normal 1CC clear (https://youtu.be/gK8If87PDT8).

#7 Drainus (Steam)
Developed by Team Ladybug, the same team that worked on the solid Metroidvania Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth- (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1203630/Record_of_Lodoss_WarDeedlit_in_Wonder_Labyrinth/), this shooter checks all the right boxes. Its pixel art and soundtrack is stellar across the board and the "Enhance Functions" system offers a level of creativity you often don't see in STGs. With that said, I felt the game became way too easy once I configured a well-balanced loadout. Thankfully this issue is remedied somewhat as the game goes into a second loop after the Stage 6 boss with more complex bullet patterns and suicide bullets.

As an inexperienced STG player looking to improve I implore anyone in the same boat to get these games. They're great for beginners.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on April 02, 2023, 08:45:06 am
3. Kids on Site: Hard Hat Edition- (PS4)-I decided to take a breather from some of the other longer games I am working on and decided to take a trip to the past with this one. This was an upgraded Remaster of the Sega CD game Kids on Site. It was fun, especially hunting down the trophies. It is not as easy as you think it might be for a kid's game. I really enjoyed the bonus content and the behind-the-scenes footage (I love that stuff as loving FMV games). Not a bad break at all! Onto the next adventure!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 06, 2023, 03:28:33 pm
28. Theresia - Dear Emile

I can't remember the last time I felt so polarized about a game. On the one hand, the game is filled with creepy atmosphere that has you keeping one eye on the screen and the other away from the potential horrors you're about to face. The themes of child abuse, mental health, and militaristic violence were handled well. There's also a really satisfying sense of accomplishment that comes from figuring out how to proceed through a certain area. On the other hand, the game is insanely slow. Your character moves at a snail's pace. And so help you if you realize you need to backtrack in order to get over an obstacle - the thought of traveling through some areas again just makes me cringe. So, a very odd game. Ultimately, I'm glad I finished it. It'll just be a long, LONG time before I even consider going through the Dear Martel segment.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on April 07, 2023, 08:32:37 pm
I finished my playthrough of the Mass Effect trilogy in the Legendary Collection.

The first game is surprisingly quaint these days. It's empty, has limited relationship and conversational choices, but the world is incredibly well realized and overall the revamped controls and game systems are fun.

Mass Effect 2 is a bigger, better game in almost every way.  It does scale back some of the gear and customization options, but more than makes up for it with the story, characters, gameplay, graphics, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

The third game strips away almost all of the RPG elements in favor of simplified gear and level-up options.  However, the writing is incredibly strong and they knock most of the story beats out of the park.  This goes double for the DLC.  Unfortunately Kai Leng is still a lame nothing-burger of a villain, and even though the ending has been tweaked the choose a door finale is pretty blah.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 09, 2023, 09:18:15 pm
29. Wild Arms 2 - platinum'd

Some games are so special that there really aren't enough words to describe how fun they are. That's the case with Wild Arms 2, which is still my favorite in the series. I first played this in around 2010; years after it was first released. I had a blast during that first run. So much so that I was worried nostalgia glasses and time would impact my run with this campaign. It was quite the opposite. The game has aged like fine wine. The only issues I have are with the font and the sometimes clumsy translation. Otherwise? Close to perfection. The game has great pacing, great characters, great combat, great graphics, great music...the list goes on. Obtaining the platinum trophy was just icing on the cake.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on April 10, 2023, 02:00:43 pm
08. Moving Out || PlayStation 4 || 03.30.23

Looking for a fun multiplayer experience, I decided to play Moving Out. I had heard many good things about this kind of hectic party game, so I did have some relatively high expectations.

Like the title suggests, Moving Out is about moving out. Playing as employees of the local moving company, players are tasked with responding to clients' jobs as they seek to have their furniture moved and loaded onto a truck. While the game is designed for a multiplayer experience of four players max, the game can still be played and enjoyed as a single-player experience. Stages are timed with medals being earned for besting certain times. Generally, players can avoid the time altogether, but it is required to complete each stage faster than the bronze medal time. There is little to explain about such a straightforward premise, but I will note now that the circumstances revolving the moves themselves increase in absurdity alongside the level of chaos.

To briefly mention the game's characteristics before anything else, Moving Out offers a lighthearted experience where the job at-hand is obviously presented as a joke. Between player-characters, there is ongoing banter before and after stages which demonstrates their ineptitude toward the job as a result of their naive, optimistic loyalty to their employer and craft. Clearly, they are all dedicated but are directed to perform poorly without their understanding of doing so. This extends to all aspects of their job, as players are freely able to move from stage to stage on an overworld where the moving truck simply crashes into traffic and road obstructions. Lastly, players are free to customize their avatar with a small pool of preset options, such as player type, color, accessory, and dance style which relates to a series of emotes that can be performed.

During stages themselves, players will encounter different types of furniture and other miscellaneous items. Some items are designed with teamwork in mind as they are heavy or oddly-shaped, although these aspects change slightly when playing alone. In addition to simply moving the items out of their location, they must also be organized onto the moving truck. More often than not, space is minimal, so remembering not to be so frantic about the time requirements without planning is important. If not, players will almost always carry on work by simply tossing items into the truck, which will almost certainly cause later items to either fall out of the truck or to not even have the necessary space for loading.

Meeting the basic objective of loading the truck within the bronze time limit is generally doable, although meeting all sorts of other objectives and completing other requirements tied to the achievement system makes a frantic game even more so. As players continue through the campaign, all sorts of obstacles increase the challenge, including simple ones like narrow halls or walkways, or more complex ones like rotating walls. As a result of some stage obstacles, items needing to be moved may also break through a variety of means, which will result in items respawning to their initial location. At the same time, there are some items marked as fragile, so dropping these items will simply break them resulting in the same status.

Moving Out offers a high level of replayability with its aforementioned objectives and time medals. From the very beginning, the game provides a myriad of handicaps that are labeled as accessibility options. These handicaps greatly allow for some of the more difficult objectives to be completed all at once. Without these handicaps, the objectives are obviously much more difficult, as they will require patience and mastery. This also extends to the time requirements as well, which honestly require expert mastery of the game if wanting to complete stages faster than their Platinum medal requirements. While these options are available to use at any point of the playthrough, my first time playing through each stage was without using any to my advantage. In addition to the standard play mode where you are tasked with moving out, additional play modes and stages will naturally be unlocked as you progress, including moving in, non-campaign levels, and arcade-style challenges.

While Moving Out excels at many aspects, some could be better. These are relatively minor issues, but I played each stage multiple times after the campaign was finished to complete objectives. These issues relate to the lack of information on pause screens once in the stage. As a game focused on objectives, there is no information relating to it aside from the level select screen. Having to remember these objectives alongside the numerous other achievement objectives which are not in-game was a hassle, and a checklist of some kind would have been a welcome addition. If wanting to clear achievement objectives, there can be upwards to four other items to remember in addition to the three objectives which every stage has. Another issue resulting from this is that there is no way for players to confidently know if an objective has been failed until the stage has completed. Some objectives are genuinely difficult to discern if the condition has been failed or not, which resulted in me having to replay levels after believing I had achieved what was needed.

However, there is one major issue for those wanting to achieve everything, and that relates to achievement glitches. After taking the time to do everything and properly doing so, I still did not receive two trophies. I knew that I could start a new solo save file and finish everything again relatively quick, so I did so. Right before the final level of my second playthrough, both trophies I was missing appeared despite not yet having met either condition for the current save data. I imagine that the issue lies in the numerous play style options such as player count and handicaps which can be adjusted at any time, which is why I strictly played my second playthrough alone and without going back-and-forth between handicap options. It should be known that this is a common problem, as I read the accounts of many others having the same issue.

Overall, Moving Out is a lot of fun, although it can be stressful if actually trying to meet the most difficult of conditions. It is a party game at heart, so the handicap options are an appreciated addition so that a group of players can enjoy the experience without becoming too aggravated. If there is anyone looking to play a modern local co-op game that supports four players, I can't recommend Moving Out enough.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on April 14, 2023, 04:24:38 pm
Couldn't sleep last night so I beat Tails of Iron and got the Platinum which only took about 30-45 minutes after beating it.  Game is definitely worth playing.  The world and combat are GREAT, it just needed better world exploration options like a faster walk speed or more fast travel hubs along with a hair more enemy variety.   
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on April 15, 2023, 07:41:41 pm
09. I Am Dead || PlayStation 5 || 04.09.23

As another game which I knew little about before playing, I Am Dead initially caught my attention by its simple and straightforward title, to be honest. Additionally, after learning that it was a stylized adventure game of short length, I decided there was enough catching my attention for me to begin a playthrough.

Like the title suggests, you as the player-character Pete are dead. I Am Dead begins from a first-person perspective along the beach of Pete's home Shelmerston, where we learn that Pete died recently and is now a ghost. Visiting a museum he managed while alive, Pete is reunited with his also deceased dog Sparky, who serves as a guide of sorts throughout the narrative. After a short reunion, we learn that Shelmerston's safety is in question, as the long-dormant volcano will soon erupt. Apparently, the volcano's activity is stabilized by an island spirit who serves as the island's protector, more or less. However, this spirit has long been needing to move away from this ghostly plane, so we are tasked with finding a new one out of several potential candidates.

In order to find these individuals, we must draw them out by connecting with those still alive who were close to them. To accomplish this, we are to dive into people's memories which will give us a clue as to important objects from the deceased's life and locate these mementos. The details regarding this are interesting, as we learn little details about who these ghosts were through the memories of others—adults, children, humanoid species, and even animals. While exploring, we learn about each of these connected individuals as well, albeit to a lesser degree, in addition to Shelmerston's culture and history. Surprisingly, there is a lot of quirky character given to the world presented, which I appreciated and took my time to read most details while exploring. However, to my disappointment, little time is given when actually meeting these summoned characters. After a short conversation, the player is simply guided to the next stage of the narrative.

As previously mentioned, the chief gameplay revolved around going through people's memories. Complemented by a collection of illustrations, we learn about who these ghosts were while still alive, such as their qualities, relationships, and interests. To progress through this narration, we must reveal the illustration properly as it morphs from being distorted to clear. After learning about items they cherished, players must inspect the environment around us to find them. While inspecting observable items, Pete as a ghost has the ability to delve deep into items' cores, layer by layer. After delving deep inside the environment, only then are we able to reveal what is needed to carry out our goals. Truthfully, it is an odd and certainly unique system that I can best describe as breaking down items piece-by-piece. While playing, I was greatly reminded of a stop-motion animation YouTube channel called XYSS (https://www.youtube.com/@XYSSXYSS).

Admittedly, the means to achieve all of this are a bit convoluted, but without this layer of gameplay, the game would devolve into much simpler find-it puzzle game accompanied by a still engaging narrative. Alongside the actual narrative objectives, the player is prompted to find two sets of optional and more difficult-to-find items. For the first set of items, you are told what to look for by way of riddles, and the time to solve these clues and locate the items is limited. For the second set, the item in question must be located at a specific angle at a specific layer depth. Knowing what the item is prior to finding it can be challenging at times, as the vignette shown is only of an obscure pattern or outline of combined shapes of sorts. At first, I did not think highly about these extra tasks, but I looked forward to finding them as the game progressed. Initially, I did not quite understand how the second set of items were to be located, as the space items can be hidden is larger than meets the eye. However, auditory, visual, and vibration prompts initiate once in the item's active layer.

While the majority of I Am Dead adopts the puzzle find-it genre for its gameplay, it still is an adventure game at its core. While playing, I was pleased at the amount of dialogue which is all voiced and presented as dialogue boxes with character portraits which update expressions as the conversations moves forward. The game is presented with a simple, modern illustrated style with cartoonish characters and world, which I was greatly attracted to.

With all that said, I did have issues throughout my playthrough. Before completing the first stage, I confirmed that stages can be replayed. However, when I finished the game and was wanting to revisit areas, I could not figure out how for nearly ten minutes. There is no clear indicator as to how it's accomplished, and nothing online described how it was done. I tried interacting with so many segments of the menu screen without luck. Finally, I figured out that you must click the actual map marker itself with is a small and obviously specific UI element easy to overlook. Perhaps it is apparent how to accomplish this simple task, but I was surprised at how poor my experience was with it. While the previous issue was perhaps due to human error and small in hindsight, the second issue is something I have major complaints with. Throughout the narrative, there is a clear problem needing to be solved, and the steps to solve this issue are certainly taken. Despite this, absolutely nothing is formally addressed as to what happens after the final conversation. It was not a matter of interpretation or the story concluding with a cliffhanger. Instead, it truly felt as if the writers forgot to conclude the story.

In spite of the huge disappointment I had regarding the game's finality, I enjoyed playing I Am Dead. The game just happens to follow a find-it puzzle type gameplay, which is coincidental as I've recently played other games like this. While the game's length does not overstay its welcome and is perhaps perfect, I personally would have been happy to learn more about the world and its inhabitants. Overall, if a cute narrative-driven puzzle game sounds interesting to you, you would probably enjoy I Am Dead.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on April 16, 2023, 01:12:59 pm
It's been a crazy last month or so. I've barely had any time (or motivation in some cases) to play anything. I hope to change that now that things have leveled out somewhat. Time to get back on track to beat 52 games this year :)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on April 17, 2023, 09:27:03 am
I put about 12 hours into Twilight Princess HD only to get stuck on the third tears of light quest. One of the bugs I was chasing has glitched into the ground and now I can't recover it  >:( I think I'll need to restart my entire playthrough, so frustrating.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on April 17, 2023, 03:19:48 pm
Oops, wrong thread!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on April 18, 2023, 02:15:01 am
11 - House of the Dead: Remake (PC 2022) - A quick one with this apparently.  I knew it was a remake of an old arcade shooter, but I didn't realize how short a run was lol I think I had a normal run of it in about half an hour and I know there are multiple paths based on how you interact with things, but eh, I can't say I found it fun enough.  Silly, but playing with just a mouse isn't ideal.  It's basically just spamming R and left click as fast as I can.  Kinda annoyingly they locked the other guns behind an achievement, so being stuck with just the pistol the whole first run is really boring.  I ended up just refunding the game on Steam because I can't see myself playing it anymore than I did and it's just way too short, even if I was to replay it one or twice more. 

If light guns were possible again or this came out with a VR version, I'd be down for that, but otherwise, I'd probably pass on it unless you are like a super House of the Dead fan.  Honestly, I'm just waiting on a real good sale for Typing of the Dead Overkill, I think that would be more fun right now lol
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 19, 2023, 06:22:20 pm
30. Mega Man Battle Network

I had a lot of back and forth about whether or not to start the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection with the first game. I heard it was the worst in the series. I'm glad I started with this because it will (hopefully) lay out the foundation of what's to come with later entries. It was definitely rough around edges (the powerplant level can eff right off) and the encounter rate could be a bit much. Also, there was a lot of running back and forth through the towns to just advance the plot. Ultimately it didn't matter too much because I had a great time. If this is indeed the worst of the bunch, then I can't wait to see how the other games compare. I'll probably jump right into Battle Network 2.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on April 19, 2023, 10:42:21 pm
4. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PS4)-My favorite game of all time! It is really hard for me to talk about how great this game is from the story to the gameplay. I fell in love with this from the very first few moments when I played it back in the PS1 days. I was so excited to get the Platinum trophy!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on April 20, 2023, 09:29:10 am
Quote from: kashell on April 19, 2023, 06:22:20 pm
30. Mega Man Battle Network

I had a lot of back and forth about whether or not to start the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection with the first game. I heard it was the worst in the series. I'm glad I started with this because it will (hopefully) lay out the foundation of what's to come with later entries. It was definitely rough around edges (the powerplant level can eff right off) and the encounter rate could be a bit much. Also, there was a lot of running back and forth through the towns to just advance the plot. Ultimately it didn't matter too much because I had a great time. If this is indeed the worst of the bunch, then I can't wait to see how the other games compare. I'll probably jump right into Battle Network 2.

I'm so happy you're playing these games :) I agree, 1 is the worst in the series. I'm afraid that some of the stuff you mentioned (encounter rates, back and forth story progression) only improve marginally throughout the series. What does improve are graphics, level design, chip selection, and other mechanics that can increase the customization options for Mega Man.

I think 2 is solid, but 3 is my personal favorite. I intend to play all of them except 2 since I played it last year. I'm personally excited to play 5 and 6 as those were the ones I had when I was a kid. I'm excited to hear what you think about the rest of the series!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 20, 2023, 12:29:48 pm
Quote from: telly on April 20, 2023, 09:29:10 am
Quote from: kashell on April 19, 2023, 06:22:20 pm
30. Mega Man Battle Network

I had a lot of back and forth about whether or not to start the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection with the first game. I heard it was the worst in the series. I'm glad I started with this because it will (hopefully) lay out the foundation of what's to come with later entries. It was definitely rough around edges (the powerplant level can eff right off) and the encounter rate could be a bit much. Also, there was a lot of running back and forth through the towns to just advance the plot. Ultimately it didn't matter too much because I had a great time. If this is indeed the worst of the bunch, then I can't wait to see how the other games compare. I'll probably jump right into Battle Network 2.

I'm so happy you're playing these games :) I agree, 1 is the worst in the series. I'm afraid that some of the stuff you mentioned (encounter rates, back and forth story progression) only improve marginally throughout the series. What does improve are graphics, level design, chip selection, and other mechanics that can increase the customization options for Mega Man.

I think 2 is solid, but 3 is my personal favorite. I intend to play all of them except 2 since I played it last year. I'm personally excited to play 5 and 6 as those were the ones I had when I was a kid. I'm excited to hear what you think about the rest of the series!

Glad to hear it! Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm going to hop right into 2 and take a break after I finish that one. I'm playing a couple of other things now but since I had such a good time with BN I'm craving more of it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on April 21, 2023, 06:59:47 pm
10. Minefield || PlayStation 4 || 04.16.23

When reviewing my thoughts for games played, I generally avoid mentioning other games. However, Minefield is a clear rehash of the original Minesweeper found on Microsoft systems from the '90s, so nearly all of my thoughts will be comparing the two. As a fan of Minesweeper for its simplicity and quaint addictiveness, I decided to see what a modern version of the game would be like.

To be brief, the player is presented with a blank grid made up of individual spaces that are either safe or contain mines which will detonate. The goal is to successfully mark each square as being clear or not. When clearing a space by interacting with it, a number is shown which details how many mines—if any—are directly touching it. That being said, there are eight adjacent spaces to one. However, although eight possible mines can theoretically surround a free space like in Minesweeper, the highest number I ever encountered while playing Minefield was five. While the core gameplay is the exact same between the two games, I believe this is the extent of total similarities.

In Minesweeper, there are three field sizes for the player to select which determines how many mines are hidden, although the ability to create custom field sizes is also given. At the same time, I believe that the level of difficulty for each field is automatically determined by the field size. The best addition Minefield offers is that, in addition to being able to select a field size, three preset difficulty options are also available. So, if one were wanting to play on a small field with the highest difficulty selected, that option is possible. On that note, the custom field size feature is absent in Minefield.

Apart from difficulty options being added, Minefield adds little else. For some reason, there is a robust catalog of themes to choose from, which are essentially background images. Even when playing on the smallest field, the image is mostly covered by the grid itself. As a modern game, there are other visual differences, although it is largely relating to some limited animation for when the cursor crosses from one space to another. When a space is selected, the surrounding spaces become raised, although I did not understand its purpose until after I uninstalled the game. For those who understand the rules, it is a visually annoying feature. I would consider it a fair addition for newcomers unfamiliar to the rules, but no rules are ever offered to read, so players must blindly play without any instruction. I will mention that there is a scoring component and leaderboard system as well which differentiates the two games, but that aspect did not interest me whatsoever and was easy to completely ignore.

As a simple game, I was surprised at how many aspects are poorly designed, and especially while knowing how almost perfect Minesweeper is for its time. The biggest issue is that puzzle layout is predetermined once the field loads. This means that, even when selecting the first space which is always a random selection, the player can still fail. This is not an issue in Minesweeper, as it instead creates the puzzle after the player makes their first move. Like in Minesweeper, the total numbers of mines is shown. However, unlike in Minesweeper, the mine number in Minefield never changes. Before, when a player marked a mine space, the number went down so that players are better able to keep track of how many mines remain. That is not the case with Minefield, so the feature altogether serves no purpose. While playing, the game's visual design hinders puzzle-solving. In Mindfield, the spaces' numbers are a dark shade presented on a dark gray space. The contrast is quite poor, so legibility suffers when the large field size is selected as each space becomes much smaller with this setting as both dark blue and dark green are used for numbers 2 and 3. To make matters worse, the software did freeze at one point after I was prompted with a retry/quit screen.

I believe that I redeemed this game through PlayStation Plus many years ago, but I only now decided to try it. I can't suggest to anyone to actually play Minefield, as its source material is far superior.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 23, 2023, 03:44:57 pm
A friend had a birthday party at an arcade. I spent most of the time on pinball or just dabbling in miscellaneous fighting games that lasted a few rounds. The majority of the game time was spent with this game below.

31. Chicken Shift

I read the title as, well, I'm sure you can figure it out. Anyway, this was a really fun game that I spent a lot of time with. You have two buttons that move chutes that must be toggled as eggs from fall chickens at the top of the screen. These chickens are healthy; the eggs are non-stop. If the chutes are properly aligned, then the eggs land in cartons. You need to get a certain number of eggs in cartons before the level ends. Broken eggs move you close to a game over. All in all, really fun and surprising title that I never even heard of until now.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on April 23, 2023, 06:17:26 pm
I had the idea to include a small image with each of my game reviews moving forward. I'm hoping that this will allow anyone reading to better understand my thoughts while also quickly grabbing attention as I feel most people become visually interested in things first.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on April 23, 2023, 06:17:49 pm
11. Gabbuchi || PlayStation 4 || 04.18.23

(https://i.imgur.com/ILQYQfT.jpg)

Continuing to browse the PlayStation Plus Extra's available offerings, I came across the simple-looking puzzle game Gabbuchi. I noticed that it was only available for a few remaining days, so I decided to try it out.

In Gabbuchi, you play as who I'm assuming to be the titular character, Gabbucchi. To be quite brief, your objective is to reach the end goal. As Gabbuchi, there are only four actions you can take: move, jump, eat, and change colors. The puzzle aspect to Gabbuchi lies in that there are blocks along your path of two colors--either white or red. Gabbuchi themself can swap between these two same colors which relates to which color blocks they are able to eat that will reveal a path to level completion. While moving from block to block and removing unneeded ones, you'll then be able to reach your goal. One other element which I'll elaborate further upon later is the satisfaction meter that is illustrated by heart icons which must become full. All that said, with such a simple gameplay mechanic of swapping back-and-forth between two colors, a seemingly straightforward objective consistently proves itself to be more challenging than most would anticipate.

Offering 180 unique levels, Gabbuchi is generally able to maintain player interest without becoming repetitive. After completing about 25% of total stages, new stage components are introduced one-at-a-time that greatly impact how a stage is to be completed. At this time, enemies are introduced which are to be avoided and cannot be eaten. Shortly after, locked doors requiring keys is added. Usually, one set of stages will focus on only one of these added gameplay elements at a time, which allows for the player to gain a better understanding about how what is new works. While I appreciate the core gameplay, toward the end of the initial 25% of stages, I was wanting for something new to happen to allow me overcome new types of challenges. Added stage components perhaps should have been introduced just little earlier, as playing longer sessions did become a little monotonous. I will also mention that there is a stage creator tool, but I did not engage with it. I've read that, while it is a nice feature, it is limited for local play online with no online capabilities being available.

While the main focus is clear stages, there is more required if wanting to perfect each stage. In short, there are three objectives. The first is to find a way to the end goal. The second is to clear the stage with full hearts. The third is to clear a stage with full satisfaction within a limited amount of color change uses. With these three objectives in mind, perfecting a stage is often challenging. In later levels, the difficulty to simply completing the stage becomes much greater, let alone perfecting it. On that note, stages certainly are designed with a trial-and-error type of approach. With each new attempt, players will better understand the visual changes, as empty spaces form with deleted blocks which quite literally create a path as remaining blocks serve as stepping stones to the stage goal.

I'll briefly add that I found Gabbuchi to employ good use of UX. While playing, you will surely come across stages which seem impossible to complete. For those not wanting to overcome such challenge right away or to have the chance to revisit it later, a skip stage option is immediately given after one failed attempt. Similarly, as stages are divided into worlds, only a two-thirds of stages must be completed to unlock to next world. By the time I unlocked the final world, I had the final one-third of stages needing to be completed. Lastly, Gabbuchi is a game that players will die or make a mistake. It is not a matter of if, but when. At any time, an instant stage restart is accessible with a one-button input.

Nevertheless, I did encounter one major issue. However, that issue is not anything relating to the gameplay itself. Instead, of all things, it relates to the game's soundtrack. In total, there are seven tracks: one menu theme, three stage themes, and three stage completion themes, although the final group can be better described as momentary jingles. Each third of the game introduces a new stage and stage completion theme. So, for 60 stages—which I will guarantee that players will spend hours not only playing but actively solving a puzzle—the same track is played. This limitation alone is incredibly monotonous, but the style of music makes something bad much worse. The music quickly becomes irritating, as it is best described as upbeat parade-like songs full of bells, jingles, and noisy woodwinds that easily inhibit players from being able to concentrate. Upon starting stage 61, I genuinely felt a significant moment of relief.

Ultimately, I found Gabbuchi to offer quality puzzle design accompanying one simple mechanic. I played through most of the game in about five long sessions given the time constraint I had access to play, so I would definitely recommend to spread out playtime more.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on April 24, 2023, 05:09:32 am
12 - Dead Island 2 (PC 2023) - It's always nice when a game that went through development hell, actually gets to be released, and also be a good game at the same time.  I was originally a fan of this series, initially notorious for that really great trailer that didn't really get across the games actual tone (It's not a very serious game at all outside of one characters storyline), but the first two games were fun, Riptide in particular overall improving from the jank of the first game.

The sequel does a lot right, where it embraces how goofy it is with its characters, the setting, all the violence and gore, the perks you get, it is absolutely not trying to be too serious, it's having fun.  It's that perfect mid-tier level game where it's not trying to be a God of War, or the really huge AAA, genre defining experiences, it's kind of a throwback to that 360 era of gaming where you are just running around, causing havoc, in a semi-open world setting.  It's not Sunset Overdrive levels of silly at all, that's on the extreme end.  I feel like the characters are more like...Grand Theft Auto level, where it's all just abit stylized and pumped up.

Gameplay might feel a tad stiff at first, heavy attacks kinda lock on to enemies depending on where you are striking and that can feel a tad jarring, but like a good half hour of action and I was into it.  They offer a wild amount of customization to your playstyle.  You can choose to have a dodge move or block, a drop kick or more of just a stronger kick, you can do a war cry buff, a stunning power punch, or a ground slam.  And then there's numerous modifiers for your fury mode, ways to gain health or stamina from killing, improving heavy attacks or normal attacks, and there are character specific cards, so you can replay the game with a different character with all their own dialogue and some unique perk elements.  It's honestly a lot, though you aren't forced to play any specific way, like I went with Dani, the punk Irish rocker gal and she has her own stats and special bonuses, but I never felt like I had to play that strength, like I needed to focus on heavy weapons or blades, it was just whatever I wanted to upgrade.

I guess if I had one complaint, is that the ending is kinda split between a cliffhanger and an ending, the main plot is dealt with, and story stuff that's been trickled out as you played will be finished in the expansion content they'll add later.  It doesn't feel like cut content, there's more than enough game here (It took me 22 hours to beat it and that's with...maybe a 70% or 80% completion due to some side quest I still have left to do, it's a great length that doesn't overstay its welcome, it just rubs a little wrong to not have that true ending in the main release. 

I still absolutely recommend this game though, if you just want dumb, fun, zombie slaying, action this is it.  I heard Dying Light 2 was kinda missing the mark on things (I couldn't play it, the launch for it was rough and its performance was awful for me), but this is exactly what I wanted to see.  I'm gonna try to finish up the sidequests I have left, and then down the road, I'll replay it with an all new character with their own entirely different personality.  That's gonna be great.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 24, 2023, 08:54:22 am
32. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Whew-boi. Where to begin with this one. I'll write a review at some point, but for now I'll say that this was a lot. I was under the impression that the Paper Mario games were more on the laidback side, but that's not the case here. That's telling if this is the best in the series. The game wasn't difficult, but it was padded. I ended up mashing the B button just to get to the end of each dialogue sequence. That would inevitably mean I would be forced with more backtracking and (mostly) unavoidable combat. There's no denying that the game is polished, clever, and an all around fine RPG. But man. The game just wouldn't freaking end. If the other games are like this, then this isn't the series for me.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on April 24, 2023, 09:07:02 am
Game 6 - New Super Mario Bros. U (2 player co-op, Wii U) - 9 Hours

This is probably the 4th time I've reviewed a game like this on the site, so I won't add much here. It's uninspiring, it's derivative, it's basically just and HD Wii game, all that is true, but I played it co-op with my wife and we had a good time as always. Maybe with this save file I'll actually try to get all the star coins and try out some of the optional levels. Also messed around with the challenge mode which is a fun distraction.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on April 25, 2023, 10:30:25 am
33. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

Inti Creates does it again. I enjoyed the first one more, but this one was still a good time. In terms of content, this one was way ahead of the predecessor. But, that's really about all of the improvements. Everything else is the same. Classic looks, great tunes, and a challenge that's right for everyone. I kind of wish that the episodes didn't require going through the same stages, but the powered up bosses near the end helped a bit with that.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on April 26, 2023, 10:20:48 pm
13. Street Fighter EX2 Plus (PS1)

I have mixed emotions regarding the Street Fighter EX series. One one hand I find these games highly endearing since they encapsulate a period of gaming that I deeply cherish, yet on the other hand I find these games vastly inferior to most other Street Fighter games, especially the 2D entries. EX2 Plus is no exception. The game is mostly fun, however the gameplay can feel clunky at times and there are some series character balancing issues that make certain fights downright cheap. Visually EX2 Plus is a mixed bag as well. The 3D character models and special move animations are pretty good looking and even somewhat impressive for the time this game came out. However the backgrounds are among the worst I've seen in a fighting game; they're pretty much all highly blurred and pixelated where you can sometimes barely recognize what you're looking at while fighting. They're certainly a downgrade over pretty much all the other Street Fighter games released up until this point, even the movie games which is pretty sad. And then finally the audio is pretty good for the most part. The OST is catchy and appropriate and the character voice acting is also pretty good too. Overall, I'm glad I finally sunk some time into this game, however as far as Street Fighter games go it's very, very easy to do better than EX2 Plus, or really any of the EX games. (4/26/23) [30/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on April 27, 2023, 02:18:41 pm
I'm only about 30 years late to the party, but I finally played Super Metroid, which is odd, considering how big a fan of Metroidvanias I am.  It's still an incredible game, but it does have some growing pains that later titles in the series and genre have hammered out.  Mostly it was the obscurity of some of the things you need to do for the critical path.  If they were just for some secrets and hidden rooms it would have been fine, but there were a couple of times I found myself frustrated about where to go next and when I looked it up it was something that the game hadn't really telegraphed at all.  Overall, though, it is well worthy of its reputation.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on April 27, 2023, 08:47:05 pm
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)
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Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

Rant about Round1
After taking my kid to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday, I had the intent of actually going to Chuck E Cheese and forking over $20 or something so I could play for an hour and just play TMNT, it's the only game there I cared to play, so I could play through the whole story.  I went to the mall with my kid the other day and found out about Round1, looked around and saw they had a handful of games available on Time Play that I wanted to play.  So my mindset was, I'd come back by myself one day, buy an hour or so playtime, and play 1 game start to finish.  Well today I happened to be in the area and had time, so I did it.  I read all the fine print, I ask specific questions, and I'm on my way.  Come to find out, you only get 3 consecutive plays on a given machine before you're blocked until you swap machines... so it's impossible to beat just about any game in the arcade using time play.  I asked employees about it and they were baffled and took pictures of the error message because they'd never seen it before.  I reached out to the company and complained, they offered me free play time and told them no I'm good, because that still doesn't let me do what I want to do, I spent more of my time chatting with staff and trying to find something to play that I wouldn't have to deal with the BS than actually playing games.  I get that I probably wouldn't go through that scenario again, but it still stands that I wouldn't get anything I want out of that, even for free.  It sounds like it's a new rule because I talked to someone else and they were like I've done the timed play and literally played Beatmania for an hour nonstop.  It sucks and upsets me, but like it's fine, I'll probably do like I originally planned and just go to Chuck E Cheese and drop $20 to try and beat TMNT inside an hour.  I'd call the situation a waste of time, which it was, because had I known, I wouldn't have gone in the first place, but I did at least beat Mario Kart Arcade GP DX while I was there.  I got to the end of level 5 (out of 6) of Halo Fireteam Raven's story mode right when my time ran out... which hurts too, because had I not wasted so much time, or had I known upfront, I would've had the time to finish the game, probably needed another 10-20 minutes.  So close to the end and if I ever tried again I'd have to start over completely.

63. Atelier Ryza 3 (NS)
So hyped to play this one and I've been playing it since release and am still playing it.  This game is huge in terms of size and content, it's staggering how much content is in this game compared to 1 and 2, but it's almost disappointing that you can't visit the Capitol like you can Kurken Island, the Mainland, and the various other regions introduced in this game.  So far this game is a fantastic end to the trilogy... it's also disappointing that tons of characters return from 1, but you don't see Serri or Clifford.  I might have read a spoiler regarding Fi, but it's just a bit disappointing in that regard and almost feels like they only barely want to acknowledge 2 whereas 1 they are fully embracing it.  Gameplay wise, I don't feel like this game introduces much in the way of new features per se, but the game was already pretty great as it is.  I will say, for some reason, this game has me yearning for an action RPG Dark Souls combat style, but with the synthesizing mechanics of Atelier.  Basically Atelier, but an Action RPG instead of semi-traditional RPG.  This game is fantastic, the only complaints I have after finishing the game are as follows 1) I hit the level cap before the end of the game and honestly I missed at least a little bit of content and wound up just skipping fights entirely where I could once I hit the cap. 2) No content in the Capitol, this would have really punctuated this as the end of the trilogy. 3) No Serri or Clifford, feels like a huge missed note not including these characters and including characters from the first game.  Relatively minor complaints though, still a fantastic game and best in the trilogy.
Rating: Solid recommendation

64. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360)
I've been slow playing this one for quite some time, so much so that I really don't recall much from this game to say anything good or bad.  What I do recall is that it exists in the same story world as World at War (I think) because it has some (if not only one) characters that are in both.  Story is a bit trippy and for the time at release it was probably edgy.  Ending is interesting, if not confusing.  I'm not saying these games are by any means bad, but I think peak modern FPS for me is Battlefield Hardline, that game was a tight experience.
Rating: Soft pass

65. Superliminal (XS)
Tried picking out a short game to start up while waiting for Tears of the Kingdom to come out, decided on this.  Very much a perception based puzzle game, it's very cool.  I got stuck 2 times I think where I had to watch a video to figure out what to do... the first video I watched, and it was Youtube's primary recommendation for what I wanted, the guy solved the puzzle by dumb luck of an item launching in the direction he needed and landing where he needed it.  Decided a day later to search again and found a different video where it showed the intended way to solve the puzzle, made me feel kinda dumb.  Game is very trippy with the perception based puzzles, story is mildly interesting, but I didn't quite follow what was going on for sure.  Feels very Portal in more ways than one, like a true successor to Portal as opposed to stuff like Pneuma and Quantum Conundrum.
Rating: Soft recommendation

66. Forza Horizon 2 (X1)
My annual time of playing a bunch of the Forza Horizon games and making progress on extra content.  Again, this game just has so many championships to do, but the problem lies that while the races might be different, I can't recall, you're doing the same 6 areas over and over just with different classes of cars.  It's a ton of content, but fairly limiting.  Additionally, there's no presentation of progression between you "beating" the game and you completing all championships... no achievements, no extra unlocks, it's just racing for racing or eventually getting that 10 gamerscore for beating every championship (I don't know how many actual points you get, but I doubt it's much).  I'm questioning my opinion of this being the best Horizon.  1 is great, but too short and too little content.  2 has tons of content, but maybe loses motivation.  3 has tons of content, but it's too buggy, too many achievements are impossible to earn due to bugs.  4 I'll have to think about once I get back into it.  5 has tons of content, but too much of it is locked behind services so once services go down you'll lose the majority of the game's content.
Rating: Soft recommendation

67. Forza Horizon 5 (XS)
MS Rewards on Xbox had a card for earning achievements in Forza Horizon 5, so I decided to spend some time in the game and try to earn some achievements.  I got 2 pretty quickly and wasn't an issue, but the 3rd achievement I decided to go for was the achievement for earning a manufacturer bonus for a collection of 25 or more cars.  Well I decided to go for BMW because I had the majority of the cars already and it'd be the cheapest to hit... the problem is that while it has nearly 30 cars, the bonus is for earning 24 cars because cars were added after release, so even though I had 25 cars, the achievement didn't unlock... so I had to go and do the progress all over again but this time with Chevrolet.  So I basically earned the achievement twice due to this overlooked issue.
Rating: Soft recommendation

68. Forza Horizon 3 (X1)
I had looked around for more games to play while waiting on TotK, and decided I'd just play Forza at this point because I can make progress and just stop when TotK comes out, no problem.  So I went through Blizzard Mountain and finished up stuff, finished up stuff in main game, and finished up stuff in Hot Wheels... the problem is that I drove all roads in Blizzard mountain but my progress on the achievement reads 98%, I grabbed all bonus boards in the main game, but it says I'm at 149/150, I sat and counted, I've got 150 boards marked as completed on the map, but status shows 149.  So it's not just Xbox's progression failing, but it's the game's internal progression failing too, it's absolutely wack.  It's very much discouraging me from even trying other stuff because what if it's a waste too.
Rating: Soft pass

69. There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension (NS)
I think I was in a flustering situation of trying to hurry up and pick a game to play because my kid had an appointment where I'd just be sitting around doing nothing in the lobby for an hour, so I quickly grabbed this because I figured it'd be fun... my wife saw what I was going to play and went and bought the game on the play store and played it on her phone while I was playing on Switch, she also wound up beating it a few hours before me because she played it while waiting at a doctor's appointment.  I tried to insist on playing without using the hint system or looking anything up, I'll need to see if she did the same.  I only googled at the part where I lost my save data, I'm not a fan of that concept even as a joke, but in my case I accidentally picked the wrong answer on the first question so I wasn't convinced that it was supposed to happen regardless.  Googled a guide and read that one part and was like ok, cool, because it did legit look like it deleted my save and I wasn't about starting over, again, not a fan of that, even as a joke.
Rating: Soft pass

70. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (PC)
First off, and this could be a spoiler, so be warned... huge disappointment that this game is a murder mystery role play thing instead of Sonic actually non-canonically getting murdered.  That said, it being a quick little free game, I actually really enjoyed it.  It's short, it plays well, the script isn't the worst, they make references to all sorts of Sonic media, and it's just a good time overall.  The fact that it's free and short, I can't not recommend it based on the fact that it's a real good play too.
Rating: Solid recommendation

71. Control (PS4)
Got this game at launch, platinumed it... came back to it after The Foundation and played that DLC, had a tough time acclimating to the controls, so didn't enjoy coming back... came back to it again because PlayTracker has a global quest for the AWE DLC.  It took me a hot minute to relearn the controls, but once I had it, I had a better time, plus the game added tons of accessibility features which make relearning the controls much easier.  The AWE DLC is very tied in with Alan Wake, very much a teaser DLC thing to let you know Alan Wake 2 is coming.  Overall enjoyed my experience and even went so far to get all of the remaining trophies so game is once again 100% completed.  I really don't have much to add because to be quite frank, I don't remember because I'm writing this so long after playing, but I really love Control.
Rating: Solid recommendation

72. Party Hard (PC)
I always come back to this game, especially when my neighbors are obnoxious playing music really loud... and with 4th of July coming up, it might get some extra play time.  Anyway, I think I came back to it specifically because I wanted to get all of the achievements in the game.  At this point I'm down to the last 2 achievements, which I think are earning all achievements and launching the game 100 times.  So I really don't need to play the game, I just need to launch it 100 times, at this point like 80 times or something, but it's not just launch, it's launch and play a level.  So what I've got left is a bit of a grind, but I'll get there eventually.  Anyway, this game is always a little cathartic for me, because I hate my loud neighbors.
Rating: Personal recommendation because neighbors

73. Warlock's Tower (PC)
Another game that I really just went back to to finish up the achievements, I think I left this game beat, but had 2 levels I never did and a little side thing I never did.  So I quickly beat the last two levels I skipped over and went back to do a side thing so I could finish up this game.  This game is pretty good puzzle game, like all puzzle games it starts great and you're really enjoying it but then it gets to the end and you're just kind of clueless and getting frustrated with the fact that the game got so hard.  I probably gave it a better rating years ago, but I honestly can never recommend puzzle games that get frustratingly hard.
Rating: Soft pass

74. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (NS)
Kinda mad as I had a whole thing written out for this game and the tab reloaded so it lost all of what I was typing... tooks me weeks before I could build up the energy to start writing this again.  Hopefully I can remember the majority of what I wanted to write.  Game starts off at some non-descript amount of time after BotW, Swole Ganondorf is dehydrated under the castle, which confuses me because Ganondorf was also the boss of the last game, they don't normally do direct sequels and have you fight Ganon again, so different Ganons, but still Ganon?  I'll try not to get wrapped in that nonsense.  Anyway, the three big things with this game in my eyes is: 1) To make the world bigger, they added an underworld and a skyworld.  Underworld essentially doubles the map on its own and adds tons of stuff to explore.  Skyworld adds something akin to the islands in Skyward Sword/Wind Waker, not a ton to do, but part of the thing is just getting there.  2) To make the existing world more fresh, they made things change due to time and Ganon's influence. 3) All of the shenanigans/glitches people did in BotW, I feel like they revamped the systems in this game to kind of embrace a lot of what folks were doing whilst also hopefully preventing folks from doing the same things they were doing before.  All in all, sets up for a fresh experience and especially if you haven't played BotW in years, the game will still feel fresh.  The game did make me want to, at least a little bit, go back and play BotW.  I think one of the biggest things in this game I appreciated was not having to worry about Guardians lasering you while you are exploring.  I do wish Nintendo would've added accessibility options, even if I personally wouldn't use them.  Stuff like weapons don't break and such, I think lots of folks who complain about the game would have a much nicer time with an option to disable weapon degradation.
Rating: Solid recommendation

75. Olija (X1)
It's been months, so hopefully I can recall, but I think I played this one because it was leaving game pass.  Pixel games are pretty forgettable for me, gameplay can be great, but they all blend and blur to me so unless it's something truly memorable, I'm gonna forget.  Story I really can't recall and I know it wasn't anything special.  Gameplay is generic hack and slash platforming gameplay.  The game has the upside that the world isn't procedurally generated so at least you know the levels were intentionally designed.  Honestly if you're wanting a game "like" this, play something better.  It's entirely forgettable and isn't worth your time even being a relatively short game
Rating: Soft pass

76. Restless Soul (PC)
I won this game in a giveaway and I don't think there was a requirement to play it sooner than later or anything, but I'm part of a backlog group and at the time one of the quests was to beat a game that was gifted to you so I picked this game because it looked great to be honest.  The majority of the game was walking about and interacting with characters and objects like those old fetch quest flash games or whatever, each area will have a tower of some kind where you'll go through and do a fairly simple series of 3d bullet hell shmup sections that ends with a boss fight.  Gameplay loop is fairly repetitive and overly simple, but the dialogue is what makes this game stand out, if you don't enjoy its humor this game will fall flat for you.
Rating: Soft recommendation

77. GAI Stops Auto: Right Version Simulator (PC)
This was another game I won in a giveaway, but this one explicitly was required to play and 100% the game by a specific date.  I played the game over the course of one evening and 100%'d the game.  So it's a real short game.  But this game is just fucking weird and obviously very quickly and lazily made.  It's not a good game by any means and what little story the game has is super non-coherent and even if you piece something together, it makes no fucking sense.  I won't say I regret my time with this game, but I really really can't recommend anybody waste their time with this game.
Rating: Hard pass

78. Time Loader (PC)
I don't recall if I bought this one or traded for it on barter, but it was a real interesting looking game, though the sole reason I really went for this game was there was a screenshot that showed your character (the robot) driving in front of a PS1.  That and the time travel seemed like interesting mechanics, so I knew I was down to play this asap.  Gameplay is great and pretty fluid, though some of the traversal stuff is a bit wonky like trying to swing yourself and even getting over certain weird obstacles, but all in all it is a great experience.  I will say though, if you're going for achievements this game is a bit of a pain, to my knowledge, once you get the 100% ending, there is no way to get the worse endings without deleting your save and starting over.  You can replay sections, but I don't know if you can essentially undo decisions you previously made, but even if you can, I think it requires you to replay the entire game from that point.  I didn't do too much digging into how or if you can do it to be fair, but it just all seems like a rather pain in the ass, so I didn't bother.  I feel like I had some glitch issues on steam deck where I almost abandoned the game because I lost progress, but I won't hold it against the game because I do not remember at all.  I just feel like I remember being real upset with the game at one point.
Rating: Soft recommendation

79. Hexologic (PC)
I wanted a real simple game to play after playing Time Loader, so I picked a puzzle game.  This game is just a series of puzzles where you need to determine how many dots go in each hexagon to meet the requirements kind of picross/kakuro style.  Puzzles are real simple, but the difficult option is essentially whether or not the game tells you if you're right for any rows, not really much of a difficulty option in my opinion but there are achievements locked behind "hard" mode.
Rating: Soft recommendation

Next List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202494.html#msg202494)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on May 01, 2023, 11:22:55 am
34. Mega Man Battle Network 2

A mega (heh) improvement over the first game, but also padded a bit more. The scenarios near the end really outstayed their welcome. Otherwise, a great way to continue the story and to continue my journey with the Battle Network games. It'll be a minute before I start MMBN 3 because this one kind of burned me out. But, I'm excited to see what else they add as the series continues.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 01, 2023, 02:30:11 pm
14. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)

Jedi Fallen Order was probably one of the biggest and best gaming surprises I've had in a long time. Not only was it a way better game than I expected it to be, but it was also the single best piece of Star Wars content I'd experienced since the Revenge of the Sith came out. So to say I had high hopes and expectations of its sequel, Jedi Survivor, would be a huge understatement.


Just like its predecessor, Jedi Survivor nails the look, feel, and sound of Star Wars to near perfection. The game opens the Star Wars universe up in such an incredible way while also throwing a ton of love for both the original and prequel trilogies at you frequently. In fact, I'd say if you're a fan of the prequels or the Clone Wars series, you will be in heaven while playing this game. The a lot of new enemies and enemy types in Survivor, however I wish I could have seen more of a few of them than I did. There also also a bunch of aliens and other types of characters to interact with that you're almost never bored of exploring, seeing new places, meeting new creatures and aliens, and fighting new and interesting enemies. My only gripe with Survivor is the lack of diversity in the planetary and stage environments. There were a few too many areas of the game that took place in sterile looking Empire/High Republic base settings, and while they all looked the part, I just wished there were more outdoor, planetary locations to explore like in the first game. However, I must say that Koboe, the planet you'll be spending the majority of the game is absolutely massive and in a way it has many different environments to explore to where you may or may not wish for more planets to visit.


The gameplay of Survivor is certainly good, however there is no denying that this is a much harder game than Fallen Order. I play most games on the standard difficulty by default and in Jedi Fallen Order I found this to offer the perfect amount of challenge for me while not being oppressively hard. However, I feel like the standard difficulty in Survivor is on par with hard mode in Fallen Order. Most of the game is certainly manageable on normal difficulty, however there are a few sections and fights that are very difficult if not just cheap, specifically a handful of boss and side mission enemy encounters. Luckily the game allows you to adjust the difficulty on the fly, but I resisted doing this with the exception of the final boss who is incredibly cheap. There is also way more platforming and level "parcore" where you're jumping off platforms, running along walls, using objects to fly high into the air, and several other similar things. These parts are great, however there are some unfortunate way finding issues at times as a result of certain objects not appearing to look like something you could use to get from point A to point B, and also a few areas where the progression isn't as intuitive as it is throughout most of the game. Still, the gameplay is overall very good despite a few minor gripes and complaints. 


Then finally the story of Survivor is absolutely great, just not as well written or compelling as Jedi Fallen Order's story. I don't want to get too much into things because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone planning on playing Survivor, but I found some of the writing absolutely incredible including a very unexpected twist in the last 2/3 of the story. On the other hand some of the writing was meh to kind of slopping, particularly the motives of one of the characters and why he decided to do what he did. The character writing and how certain characters interact is probably one of the best parts of this game and for me is what I possibly enjoyed the most.


In conclusion, Jedi Survivor is an absolutely incredible game and another top notch piece of Star Wars fiction. However, despite this, I still find Jedi Fallen Order the superior game for numerous reasons. But with that said, Survivor was by no means a disappointment, but rather another excellent time that I sincerely hope gets a sequel, possibly making this franchise the best trilogy we've had since the prequels concluded in 2005. (5/1/23) [44/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 02, 2023, 05:57:50 pm
15. Dodonpachi Saidaioujou (360)

It's been a while since I played a shmup and an even longer time since I last played Dodonpachi Saidaioujou. In fact, the last time I played this game was around the time it first came out in arcades and at least at the time I thought it was pretty fun. Also for some context, around that time my exposure to SHMUPs was about a fraction of what it is now, so going into it with the perspective of having played easily over a 100 different shmups, Saidaioujou unfortunately comes across as very generic. There is very little that I found to be remarkable or memorable about Saidaioujou in terms of its design, artwork, or aesthetic. I will say however, this game does have an incredibly catchy OST. It's gameplay is also pretty good, and while the controls are precise and buttery smooth, there are some balancing issues that make certain parts of this game, particularly the final two stages, stupidly cheap and difficult. Even comparing Saidaioujou to other semi-newer Cave shmups, it just isn't nearly as memorable, and therefore, not as enjoyable. Still, if you can play Saidaioujou I definitely would, just make sure you play it in the arcade or borrow someone else's copy lol. (5/2/23) [32/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 02, 2023, 10:25:41 pm
16. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade)

I originally began playing UMK3 on the Sega Saturn, thinking it was relatively close to the Arcade version. Unfortunately, my memory of playing this version on the "advanced" 5th gen consoles was not accurate seeing how the Saturn version only looks marginally better than the SNES and Genesis versions, albeit the audio is way better. So to remedy this I just fired up UMK3 in MAME and played it the way it was meant to be played lol.


UMK3 is my favorite of the arcade entries in the series. It and 2 were the ones I remember playing the most as a kid, and due to its cool factor in the 90s I was instantly drawn to it when I came across it. I also rented it for my Genesis quite a bit too. But anyhow, UMK3's gameplay is significantly more streamlined and polished than any game in the series that came before. Everything plays way faster and more smooth. Yet, despite the fairly basic consoles, there is still a surprising amount of depth to this game. Still, it's no Super Street Fighter 2, Tekken 2, or various other fighting games around that time that are objectively superior in terms of gameplay. Audio is great with the noises the characters make, but most of all the super memorable, awesome OST. Visuals are about the best they ever got in terms of digitized 2D graphics too. I adore the character models in this game, as well as the really cool stages with environmental effects and being able to uppercut your opponent through the cealing in a few stages.  Despite all this, I still greatly prefer quite a few other fighting games released during the mid to late 90s over it. However, this game is definitely up there in terms of nostalgia for me which makes it a game I'll always adore. (5/2/23) [33/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on May 03, 2023, 04:02:40 pm
Well, been a long time since I participated in one of these (or in this forum in general). As good a time as any to hop back in.
Let's see, thus far this year I've beaten:


Now to catch up on descriptions:
Pokémon Violet
Been years since I've properly played a Pokémon game (Sun was the last one I bought when it was new and beat). Gotta admit, it was fun to play through a Pokémon journey again after so many years. It has technical issues, everyone can see that, but thankfully they weren't as bad as I was expecting (which doesn't excuse them, but still). Overall I enjoyed it fine. Let's be real: with Pokémon, I feel like most people already know whether they're interested or not.

Unlock the King
This is a chess-based puzzle game. Chess pieces are scattered around stages, and the goal is to move them to clear a path for the king to the goal, with the pieces obviously only moving in the patterns they would in real chess. Been chipping away at this one on and off since last year, just playing a few levels here and there. It's a neat little puzzle game, and with the price only being like a dollar, yeah it's worth picking up.

Sonic Frontiers
Gotta admit, I liked this one a good bit, but that may just be that for whatever reason I seem to have a soft spot for Sonic (thanks Sonic 2 movie for making me realise that). It did get a bit monotenous nearing the end, and the combat is pretty basic when you get down to it, but I still enjoyed performing combos and taking down opponents. And the regular levels are solid fun. And yeah, you can totally see the blatant pop-in and other stuff on Switch, but it runs fine and is still fun to play, so eh, I can deal. No masterpiece, but worth playing if you ask me.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
The Bayonetta series is easily my favourite series of all time, so of course I had to pick this up. Obviously what stands out most is the art style, and it does not disappoint when you play it. This is one of the most gorgeous games I've played in a while. It's plot is both charmingly written and delivered too. Its gameplay is also good fun, with the two-character gimmick being pretty fun and satisfying once you get in the flow. Overall I really recommend this one.

Bayonetta 3 {Second playthrough}
I could write a novel about my feelings towards this game, but I'll try to stay brief. Again: Bayonetta is my favourite franchise of all time, and this game largely does not disappoint. The combat is as satisfying and slick as ever, and the crazy moments are some of the craziest we've seen from the series (which if you know the games, you know says a lot). The second playthrough really helped me appreciate a lot of this more too, as in the first one I was kind of overwhelmed by everything that was happening and the bad beats in the plot. I still cannot recommend this game enough though (or Bayonetta 1 and 2 for that matter). If you haven't yet, please support this series and pick this game up. It's a masterpiece.

Murder by Numbers
This game is charming as hell. Essentially: it's a cross between a murder mystery graphic novel (basically Ace Attorney) and picross. It sounds weird, but it just works. The picross puzzles are exactly that, so if you like Picross you'll like this. But the plot and characters surrounding that are so charming. I love everyone in this cast to bits. Please do give this game a look. It's charming as hell, and deserves more attention.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on May 05, 2023, 11:42:52 am
9. The Day of the Tentacle Remastered
I have not played Maniac Mansion before, so I was going into this green. I remember that Maniac Mansion was always something I wanted to play from magazine ads. Fortunately that game is actually in this one, if you use the computer in the stamp collector's room. So this can stick around for a bit so I can play that in the future. It was also neat you can switch views to have an upscaled pixel graphics version or the modern cartoon version. This game is, I would say, just ok. There wasn't anything in particular that stands out to me about it. I did end up using a walkthrough after about 20 minutes because I had no idea what to do. As I followed the guide, I think to myself "I would never have figured this out" and I don't have the patience to sit around and click on everything and try to use everything on everything, which would have been the only way a person could have finished this when the original came out without a guide. There were times where I knew what I had to do, but other times the things that needed to be done didn't make any sense.

10. Grim Fandango Remastered
The music and voice lines were better than Day of the Tenctacle. The characters were better and none were annoying. Even the demon was kind of annoying but the sounds he made gew on me. This one also supposedly has the pixel view, I saw in the options, but I didn't try it. I also learned maybe half-way through the game that you could run and also control Manny manually with the keyboard. The running ability helped because you have to go back and forth a lot. When I started this, I used a walkthrough from the beginning. I was only disappointed that I didn't get to keep all of the balloon animals I got in the beginning.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on May 05, 2023, 08:17:04 pm
12. Yakuza 4 Remastered || PlayStation 4 || 05.01.23

(https://i.imgur.com/G6kShdh.jpg)

Continuing to periodically play through the Yakuza franchise, I was eager to begin playing Yakuza 4 Remastered. While I am largely blind to series entries, I feel as if I've encountered less coverage about the fourth entry. Prior to playing, this didn't really mean anything, but I believe there may be a reason for that after having finishing its story.

To my surprise, Yakuza 4 does something incredibly different compared to all three previous entries in that the game does not center around franchise protagonist Kiryu Kazuma. In fact, Kiryu is not even seen until a brief appearance at the halfway point and not even playable until the final quarter. Instead, there are four playable characters with their own paths connecting to form a larger narrative. Regarding this decision, I think it is a worthwhile attempt but is generally not executed well which I will detail later on. Be that as it may, it is still interesting to learn about other aspects of the Tojo clan that do not directly revolve around Kiryu. In short, the plot focuses on the effects of a mass murder from 25 years ago that are only now emerging as a prison convict escapes and new murders begin happening.

Throughout Yakuza 4's first half, I admittedly found the narrative pacing to be poor. As players first control playing as one of the two non-yakuza characters, much of the beginning hours feels a little foreign to franchise veterans, although this is not inherently bad. That said, there are a lot of details which unfold that personally did not capture my interest. My impression was worsened by the fact that there is very little gameplay until the game's final quarter as Kiryu. Looking back, it felt as if there was a constant string of cutscenes to watch. Cutscenes are to be expected in such a story-rich game, but the writing felt weak and I did not quite see what the importance of all of the events had until the second half when the narrative starts coming together strongly. So, with minimal gameplay paired with an arguably unsuccessful narrative, my initial impression of the game for quite some time was not positive.

While it is not unusual for games to have information for players to learn even for sequel entries, it felt as if every few minutes of gameplay was being interrupted by text prompts explaining how a function operates. This is obviously fine to do, but for there to have been some way to accomplish this a little more spaced out would have been much preferable. At the same time, players are introduced to many optional game modes and activities far in advance before ever having the means to revisit them. It is only until endgame when all four characters are simultaneously selectable to play that players are able to freely pursue past activities at their leisure. Having gone back to experience some of these offerings postgame, nearly every instance require for me to re-read everything that was initially presented to me as so much time had passed.

As Yakuza 4 is divided into four parts for each playable character, each part is played in-full with the player only being able to control one character. As expected from this choice, each of these characters has their own unique fighting style and abilities. While this is interesting in theory, characters have a lackluster amount of skills to unlock. In some ways, it felt as if a lot of Kiryu's abilities from previous games had been divided into four. As a result, combat is simple and much more repetitive than before. On that note, enemies neither pose a challenge, as the options to overcome them have greatly diminished. Combat could have been designed around the player being required to fight strategically with a limited pool of actions, but the decision to instead have combat being altogether easy was instead made. Something which I'll briefly mention is the ability for enemies to struggle with the player-character resulting in being tackled to the ground if not succeeding. This combat mechanic is not new to the franchise, but there was no way for the first three characters to overcome enemies performing this action. In many instances, the result felt greatly unjustified. While combat was still easy, the struggling mechanic only made fights more frustrating and needlessly longer.

A core aspect of the franchise lies in substories, which are optional events likened to quests. In many ways, substories serve as the game's soul as they are often ridiculous with their offbeat humor. Unfortunately, though, the substories in Yakuza 4 were a huge letdown. In previous entries, substories are overwhelmingly presented with an abundance of personality, but most in Yakuza 4 are just not enjoyable while overstaying their welcome with boring dialogue and minimal active player involvement. An aspect I took for granted is that substories have been known to often connect with others or are told over several episodes. At times, they may even connect from one game to another. However, this was largely absent from Yakuza 4, with only a selection of Kiryu-specific substories doing so.

Looking back at all four entries thus far, Yakuza 4 is—by a longshot—the least impressive. This is not to say it is a bad game, but I was disappointed. While I ultimately did become invested in the narrative and was pleased with how the four paths converged, the steps to get there over the game's first half were difficult. Nevertheless, Yakuza 4 does not disappoint regarding the franchise's capability to recall past events and make them even more relevant and positively complicated due to corruption being made apparent. In this sense, the main plots continue to mimic real life, as it is often many years later when details regarding certain situations are finally known.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 05, 2023, 11:13:13 pm
17. Pokemon Snap (N64)

Pokemon Snap is right up there as one of the most sentimental games of the late 90s for me. I was obsessed with Pokemon from around late 1998 until roughly around the time the third Pokemon movie came out in the US. Pokemon Snap was the first 3D, console based Pokemon game we got in the US and despite it not being much like the Gameboy games, that didn't stop me from begging my aunt for a copy for my 12th birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique rail shooter when I was a kid and even to this day I still enjoy playing through it for old times sake.


As the title suggests, Pokemon Snap has you playing nature photographer, but with Pokemon. You have 7 unique stages to get through, all containing mostly unique Pokemon not found in other areas. There are branching paths, special things you have to do to capture pics of certain Pokemon, and events you can trigger by using one of the game's various items, which give you even better pictures than you could get prior. More or less you're judges on your photos of each specific Pokemon based on the size of the pokemon in the pic, the technique (aka did you center your shot), pose, and a few other factors that will give you a better score for your pictures. Eventually once you've snapped pics of all the Pokemon, you're pretty much just trying to get better scores on all your Pokemon pics. While there is little in game incentive to do so, I still found myself wanting to do it if for nothing else than to brag at my sweet photos lol. But most of all, around half the gen 1 roster of Pokemon is in this game, all realized in pretty good 3D graphics for the time. While this game does begin to get stale after too many playthroughs, there is still a decent amount of replay value, and at least for me a lot of nostalgia when playing this game today. (5/5/23) [36/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 06, 2023, 12:55:25 am
18. Pokemon Puzzle League (N64)

I remember playing this game around the time it came out, however I cannot remember where. I probably rented it from Blockbuster for a night, however, it's probably one of the least memorably pieces of Pokemon product consumption I ever had from that period for whatever reason. This is sad since while no masterpiece, Puzzle League is actually a pretty fun game. It's more or less a game like Super Puzzle Fighter or Puyo Puyo where you're manipulating blocks while they fill a rectangular area. In Puzzle League you're limited to switching the position of different colored blocked horizontally only. While this gameplay is fairly limiting, it actually proves to be pretty fun and also surprisingly deep. This is not an easy game on any setting other than...well, easy, and will really test you. There are also a decent amount of modes to play around with, although they'll all mostly have you doing the same basic thing. Visually, this game is not anything special and in fact I'd say it's fairly subpar for the most part. The only thing that kind of redeems it is it being one of the only N64 games that has FMV from the anime in the intro. Other than that however, this game more or less just uses clipart from the Pokemon anime's characters and pokemon that don't move or do anything special while you're playing. The audio is definitely a step up in quality. While it does have a bit of a distortion, they actually have some really cool remixes of songs from the anime, and while i could be mistaken, the entire cast from the first couple seasons of the anime reprise their roles in this game. Overall, this is a decent Pokemon and puzzle game that I'd definitely recommend despite some noticeable flaws with its presentation and limiting gameplay. (5/5/23) [33/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on May 06, 2023, 09:12:04 pm
13. Grow Comeback || Browser || 05.05.23

(https://i.imgur.com/L6m5K9j.jpg)

Many years ago in the mid-2000s, I came across the website Eyezmaze (https://www.eyezmaze.com/sp/), a page for a Japanese indie developer to post their small Flash puzzle games. Oddly enough throughout the years, I would think back to these games and would periodically check in to see if anything new had been made. Over two decades, many of these small experiences have been made. I found myself revisiting Eyezmaze again but actually decided to play some of the titles new to me, which brings me to Grow Comeback.

As part of the Grow series, the games follow all follow a formulaic design. In short, the player is presented with a number of panels that correlate to an item which spawns and evolves as turns progress. In each game, there is some goal to accomplish, but the best ending is only achieved when all items have been fully leveled up which requires selecting them in the one correct order. By design, it is a simple gameplay loop of trial-and-error attempts. In some wrong scenarios, items respond differently to another or to the possible player-character, so being able to view all the differences is a small but fun component to the puzzle challenge. While there is one true ending, there are often several bad endings and sometimes a secret ending, so there all of the aspects mentioned do allow for some minor replayability even once solving the puzzle as designed.

All this said, Comeback is no different than its predecessors beyond its presentation and puzzle narrative. In Comeback, the player assumes the role of an individual in the face of a monster. In order to overcome the obstacle, players ultimately evolve into a hero encouraged by supporters while also being given a sword and armor. Comeback only presents 6 selectable panels, so it is one of the shorter Grow titles. It is a game of about 15 minutes at most, which required 3 or 4 attempts for my playthrough.

14. Grow Recovery || Browser || 05.05.23

(https://i.imgur.com/88NzrEn.jpg)

Following the aforementioned formula I described above, Grow Recovery presents a biographic representation of the developer's experience with illness. Seeking to recover, items such as bedding, medicine, and familial support are available. Again, evolving each of the components is required to fully beat the game. Overall, I enjoyed seeing the progression of how items changed, such how the simple natural, earthly medication ultimately transformed into a doctor administering a giant syringe.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on May 09, 2023, 10:11:09 pm
13 - Super Kiwi 64 (PC 2022) - BEAT - I have a lot of love for the N64 era of 3D platformers, so I've been kinda looking for games that are throwbacks to that era, especially if they have the low poly art style and this game was one! It's very short, I beat it in less than an hour, but it's also only 3 bucks.  It's very charming and simple, but what I think it nails best with the aesthetics, is the movement, it's so smooth to get around, and that is so important with these kinds of games.  Honestly the simplicity of the game almost feels like early PS1 type 3D stuff, a Jumping Flash, it doesn't really have the depth of a lot of the 3D platformers, but again...3 bucks lol Lovely game though, super charming.

14 - Lunistice (PC 2022) - BEAT - Another low poly throwback platformer, this one feeling abit more in line with like a Nights into Dreams/Sonic/Crash Bandicoot.  The art style in this one is pretty great, some pretty fun level design, definitely more going on it terms of platforming challenge and such.  I didn't get the true ending which requires getting specific stuff on every level and I'm not as keen on replaying each level multiple times to get it, not that I think it's crazy hard, I was just satisfied with what I did.  It's also a very affordable game as it is decently short, but a recommend for sure.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on May 11, 2023, 07:26:43 pm
15. Diet || Browser || 05.06.23

(https://i.imgur.com/LOYIGoH.jpg)

While many of the Eyezmaze games are in some way a part of the collection of Grow series, Diet is not. While this was released in 2018, it was new to me as someone who's known about the site for nearly two decades, so I was looking forward to playing it.

Unlike a lot of the other Eyezmaze puzzle games which generally have little active player input, Diet requires the player to be very involved. As a top-down dungeon explorer, the game is set up with five floors which the player must navigate as a absurdly large character beginning at 9,999,999kg with an enormous cube body. With each floor set up as a 3x3 grid, entrances and exits are only accessible as the player reaches a certain size. Quite common, buttons and collectibles are hidden in plain view and only noticeable once the next tier of weight has been lost. At times, the player will even need to re-gain weight which is possible in one specific room, although this is generally only required toward the end of a playthrough.

Despite playing, I am not sure what the exact goal is, as the game ends abruptly. In the final moments, your character's figure (or lack of) is just as absurd as it was at the game's beginning, with the final end weight  being +/-∞. Once 0kg was first met, I was pleasantly amused because I obviously did not think that was possible. Even compared to the start weight, 100kg looks funny. At 0kg, you are essentially air, with each tier elevating to more all-encompassing such as sky, stratosphere, solar system, and finally, the Milky Way.

Overall, I was pleased with Diet, as most of the other puzzle games are more static with only one screen instead of more exploratory-based.

16. Neighbours || Browser || 05.06.23

(https://i.imgur.com/xydI62c.jpg)

While I'm sure there are plenty of other puzzle games similar to Neighbours, I believe it is the only one of its kind I've actually ever played. That said, I have played through Neighbours a number of times before years ago, but it is always a fun little game to spend a few minutes with.

In brief, the player is presented with a 3x3 grid of holes which are homes to nine peaceful creatures. However, many of these creatures will quickly turn to anger once set beside a neighbor they don't like. So, the objective is to place all nine creatures next to others they do like. There is little else to be said of the objective itself, as it is very simple. There is no time limit or turn-count score to beat, although one could try to finish the game on their own with those criteria. I do believe the game is randomized each playthrough, so just memorizing one successful playthrough's order will not be helpful in subsequent playthroughs. While Neighbours is simple, it's a game I have fond memories of.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on May 12, 2023, 07:54:28 pm
35. Virtue's Last Reward - platinum'd

Sometimes, I like to replay a game to see certain parts again, maybe get a few easy trophies and a platinum if it's on a modern Sony console, or a little bit of both. I found a copy of Virtue's Last Reward on Vita and thought I would be able to do just that. I figured, "Hey, it's mostly a VN. I can skip through most of the fluff and get to good stuff." Not so much. It turns out I can't skip text unless it's already been viewed once. And my god, I forgot how slow this game moved. It's also not fun to mess with on Vita since the touch screen ain't great. The puzzles themselves were still fun, but everything else? Man, this game is like a person so up their own you-know-what that they can't be bothered by anything. They just love to tell the same story over and over, by with different word choices. It's weird how a replay can alter your perception of a game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on May 12, 2023, 09:48:09 pm
17. Knights and Bikes || PlayStation 4 || 05.08.23

(https://i.imgur.com/XGdmyGi.jpg)

When the announcement trailer for Knights and Bikes released, I remember being instantly captivated and hopeful for the project. Beginning as a Kickstarter campaign, Knights and Bikes was even a project I helped fund. Many years later (even after owning it for a number of years), I finally took the time to play it.

Upon the game's beginning, players meet the game's two young protagonists, Demelza (~6-7 years old) and Nessa (~8-9), who are introduced to one another shortly into the narrative in the rural island town of Penfurzy in the 1980s. Demelza is loud, imaginative, and adventurous, but at the same time is going through a rough time in life. Still mourning the recent loss of her mother, she struggles with loneliness due to being taken out of school and anger from the reality that her mother has died. Now, her father is financially insecure in securing their family-run golf course and caravan park, which too affects Demelza. On the other hand, Nessa is free-spirited and rebellious yet sensitive and reserved and has just arrived alone to Penfurzy with the implication being that she's run away from home on the mainland.

Learning of her family's pending eviction without fully understanding the full gravity of it, Demelza does what she can to discover the island's rumored lost treasure with Nessa's encouragement. But, soon into their journey, they become aware of the island's supposed curse, which relates to enemies the pair face. Throughout my entire playthrough, I found some aspects challenging to distinguish what is imagination and what is not, as there are a lot of fantastical happenings regarding the island's history taking place. With that said, I think it is largely up to player interpretation to decide just how much is real, which is welcoming. On their quest, the pair bike all across Penfurzy with childlike wonder and adventure. I found Knights and Bikes to be outstanding in demonstrating a child's imagination and letting it dictate the world being presented through their own experiences.

As kids, Demelza and Nessa clearly do not have much life experience or the adult means to solve problems. They don't have cars, so they freely bike across the island. They're without money, so they resort to collecting all sorts of trinkets and junk such as bottle caps, toys, and dead bugs as their means to upgrade their bikes at the bike shop. They don't always know all the facts, so they piece together how events could have happened in the most outlandish ways that certainly weren't true but answer the question well enough. Running around, they make noises as if they're an airplane flying high while also imitating a noisy engine as they bike long distances. When danger appears, some of their weapons of choice include Demelza's trusty rain boots splashing puddles or Nessa's roaring boombox. If hurt in battle, an energetic high-five replenishes health if band-aids are stocked. While there is a clear objective, it's not unusual for the pair to become momentarily sidetracked as they will occasionally contest with another through races, play-fights, and quick reaction times. I found the last detail particularly successful, as I realized after playing how that sort of behavior is so typical of a group of children and was replicated so perfectly.

With combat having been mentioned, that is the other main component to gameplay alongside general exploration. Generally, combat is simple and forgiving, although it may feel as if too much is on the screen during some sequences. With an arsenal of makeshift weapons, the pair will fight a modest cast of enemies such as a floating ball of cursed magnets or flaming foam swords. Each of the three characters will eventually acquire three weapons each. For some weapons, the other character can interact with them to be more successful in battle, such as Demelza being able to repeatedly kick Nessa's flying disc. As I mentioned before, health is regained by stopping to high-five another, which is an exemplary way to display a moment of connection between the two which is amplified when playing in co-op. On that note, the entire game can be played as a one- or two-player experience. The game was designed with two players in mind, from combat to narrative, so I would encourage finding a partner to join in, if possible. Nevertheless, if playing on one's own is preferred or the only means, it can surely be done so too. If playing alone, AI controls one character, with the player being freely able to switch back-and-forth. As far as combat, AI is focused on what needs to be done. Outside of combat, AI is also reliable in being able to help solve the numerous environment puzzles players will come across.

Typical of games, it was Knights and Bikes's painted art style which captured my immediate attention. In both character models and portraits, characters are exceptionally expressive. Demelza's emotions in particular are so polarizing, as she will go from one extreme to another in the same breath, which is fitting for someone so young as they're learning to control their emotions. At the same time, Penfurzy's locales are vibrantly colorful and stylized so well with all the right small details of a rural area.

Of course, Knights and Bikes is not a perfect game, but its issues are minor. Coincidentally, even, the glitches I encountered were only experienced after I finished playing and had re-visited some segments through chapter select. That being said, glitches were all solvable with re-loading which shouldn't be an issue as the auto-save feature is frequent. Apart from glitches, my only complaint was that the camera is not often optimized for venturing behind some environmental structures or in far corners of the map. But again, these were all lesser problems.

Having finally played a game I fund seven years ago, I'm quite pleased with everything I was promised. When originally backing the project, co-op play was not on mind, so I was greatly pleased with how fun Knights and Bikes is as a two-player experience. Toward the end of the game, there is a one-off line from Demelza that I think perfectly encapsulates what the game is all about: "But that's just adults, they're forgotten how to explore. They just sit in their cars and make tea." And she's right, adulthood is often nothing like how freeing being a kid is like. Overall, I'm glad to have experienced this great coming-of-age story full of exploration and adventure.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on May 14, 2023, 10:19:33 pm
5. Storyteller (Switch)- I was really intrigued when I first heard of this game. It is a puzzle game where you are also telling a story. It is simple, but complex at the same time. Also, the puzzles will work your brain, but not to the point where you get frustrated. I enjoyed it. My only complaint was that it is a little on the short side.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on May 15, 2023, 10:11:49 pm
6. The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me (PS4)- This version of the game is very buggy and glitchy. There are even very strange audio glitches I ran into. I still like the game, but this version is not a good version to play.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on May 16, 2023, 10:25:08 am
12. Rage
FPS I basically knew nothing about. It is a product of its time I guess. Not what I would expect from an ID title. Has far too many gimmicks involved but fortunately it doesn't force you into using them, or the ones that it does are not an issue. The game follows the basic method of using tutorial moments when something is introduced before it just becomes a normal thing to do. But this continues well past the half-way part of the game and makes it feel like the game will be longer than it is.

Story: The story I don't understand at all. The beginning cutscene makes it seem like you are sent off into space to colonize other worlds, but the video shows a meteor hitting a planet. It doesn't say what planet it is, nor is the video clear enough to know (aka does it look like Earth or not). So I start the game thinking that my Ark pod is inside of the meteor. And the starting location, your Ark is located in an area that it looks like it hit. But it turns out this is entirely wrong. The meteor is something else entirely. Your ark is just on the planet this whole time but you were asleep for a really long time and just woke up. The starting area looks the way it does because of decay, not because your Ark hit it. The meteor breaks up and leaves some new element all over the place and funnily enough, this actually has little to do with the rest of the story. It starts with first helping the people that found you, and their friends. And then there is a resistance you do 2 things for, then you have to get the Mayor of Subway town to like you, but when you do the actual thing he wants you to do, you won't see him anymore. Then you suddenly have to go kill the Authority and no real reasons are given for this. They are written as some oppressive government but they don't seem to do anything against anyone (only the bandits do) and you have to go fight them just because. And guess what, the planet IS Earth after all. And you "defeat" the Authority by uploading some data and the game is over. The story is completely terrible, written worse than some B movies if you ask me.

For gameplay, it is an FPS but there are some driving elements. Driving is bad in the sense that it had to be done with the keyboard. In fact, it didn't support multiple input methods, you if you wanted to use KBM you couldn't use controller. It saw the controller and had keybinds for it, but it never worked. Driving was easy enough and you can actually win all of the races without using boost. Shooting in the car is auto-aim/homing so this makes up for no manual aiming control, but also there is no free-look when in car.

The shooting is not good. Even on easy and with good weapons, the enemies have too many hitpoints. There is location damage but unless you are at range this doesn't matter. Some enemies require multiple headshots to kill even with the sniper rifle. There is no such thing as a one hit kill with any armored enemy. Despite you can knock off their armor, their armor rating extends to un-armored portions. There is a lot of close-quarters enemy swarms that take place and it can be really intense. But it is not ideal when it takes 3 shots to take down an enemy and you have to manage not only that and reloads. During swarm sections, you can't use cover effectively for reload or heal. You can kite in some areas, but in others the game will set up barriers that you can't get past until you kill the amount of scripted enemies.

The game is also set up with all the extra gimmicks inside, like mini-games or collecting things. And there is a card game that is inside which was OK but fairly simple. The game has a false end like Fallout 3, so you can't play once you hit it. That was solved in DLC apparently.

The game has two different input methods baked into the game. One is during rendered gameplay and the other is in menus. And unfortunately, there is no options to set different speeds for each. What works on gameplay is going to cause really messed up menu usage. From what I can tell, it uses raw mouse input during gameplay. Being an older game, it appears to be based on standard DPI of years ago, so you need low DPI at start and set mouse sensitivity very low in order for normal look speeds. The issue comes in modern mice and higher (low) DPI, where gameplay is fine but the menus are messed up. The menu input doesn't use raw mouse for controlling the cursor. It uses screen segments (size of which depends on mouse sensitivity setting) that has the cursor jump between to make the cursor move. Basically it is actually still using the controller input for controlling the cursor. Setting the sensitivity too low makes it so the cursor takes a long time to move between large segments (cursor is slow or not moving), setting it "too high" (like 20%) makes it zoom all over the screen. There is no good middleground.

The audio is good but some issues. Music volume option is only for in-game and not for rendered or video cutscenes. Environmental audio is terrible as while it supports Surround, it plays the sounds in the wrong place. All enemies telegraph their presense or attack through audio and this works good. Subtitle option can be a mess in towns because it also shows subtitles for whatever is coming across the town's loudspeaker in addition to what an NPC is telling you. They are different colors but they should have made it so loudspeaker subtitles don't appear when talking to NPC.

It was an OK game, but really disjointed in story, missiong and audio. The graphics aren't that great except for the Authority level at the end. If I ever get the DLC and can play past the end, I'll give it another shot.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on May 16, 2023, 06:40:54 pm
18. Blasphemous (Wounds of Eventide DLC)

Without a doubt, in my top 5 Metroidvanias ever. Maybe top 3.

Didn’t start out that way. When I bought it a couple years ago, I loved the graphical style, music, and atmosphere, but it was just a little unpolished and had some frustrating enemy placement, so I quit for a few months. Then I heard some things like that had been patched, so one day I tried it again….and didn’t stop for days. In a rarity for me, when I finished it I immediately started a NG+. Got good enough to decimate the bosses, but I’m out of practice now.

Didn’t get around to the DLC until recently due to my huge backlog. The developer has really done an amazing job providing free updates that add so much, and now the game has a new final boss and new true ending. It does have a couple of small issues; jumping onto ladders is very finicky and more than once I fell to my death because the Penitent One just wouldn’t grab it, and twice I encountered bugs during boss fights (had to defeat the new final boss twice because of a bug). But overall it’s an exceptional game with a surprising amount of story depth if you take the time to look for it. Everyone talks about Hollow Knight, but IMO this game tops it in every way.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on May 19, 2023, 09:45:43 am
13. Mortal Kombat 11

This is probably the best looking game, graphics wise, that I may have ever played. The sound volume was a bit low but I think this is a bad mix by the software when choosing the surround audio option.

Also this is the first game I was able to play using the fightstick I had recently purchased. Technically I did verify it worked in Arcana Hearts 3, initially I had some difficulty in getting Windows to get the driver installed but I had to manually specify an Xbox 360 controller driver and it was ok. Did the fightstick make a difference for this game? I may never know since I did not play it with a controller first. One thing that was weird (and seems to not be limited to the Japanese versions) is that the L/R trigger and buttons are reversed.

Another thing is the continuing evidence that my playstyles are changing over the years and I am perhaps slowing a bit in my years. First going through the tutorials, I ended up with some difficulty getting timing to work. Even after getting a hang of where the buttons are. Having come up with PlayStation controllers, I still think I do not have a good feel for where the buttons (even the colors) are on Xbox controllers. So that is one issue I have. I did eventually figure out the basic tutorial, then I tried going to advanced and hit a wall. I get to a point where I just cannot grasp the button combinations and/or timing. I am never going to remember all of those combos, it isn't like the old days when I could play a fighting game day after day. I don't even play video games for consecutive days as it is. I have no inclination to ever play online and didn't play it because I had friends that wanted to play. Even when I did the story mode, I did try using some of the things I learned in the tutorials but it was hit and miss and I know I won't be putting in the time to really get to know the game.

The story mode was pretty cool, but there were times I could really imagine hearing the music from the movies. Too bad they couldn't get any of that in there, or even some approximations. They could save money on licensing Joker, Robocop and Terminator for DLC to get some Immortals or George S. Clinton music into these games.  Story mode is neat and also too bad that the second chapter is DLC that I don't have. I like the idea of the other modes but I didn't try it. The fact that you get items as rewards for use in the Konquest mode makes me wonder if it is like Weapon Master from SoulCalibur II.

I hope to try out other modes in the future, and hope to do so before i have to remove the game due to how much disk space it takes up.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on May 23, 2023, 04:04:57 am
15 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch 2023) - BEAT - While I still have plenty of side stuff to do and finish in the game, I decided I just wanted to push through the story and see the ending as I'd gotten it right up to where I'm supposed to go and fight Ganondorf. I'm gonna absolutely keep playing for awhile for sure, so I might have to stew abit on how I place this game next to Breath of the Wild.  It's overall a better experience I feel, but it lacks in a few spots at the same time.

The good of the game is all the unique new stuff they added.  The new powers I think are overall a more useful and fun thing to do, building vehicles on the fly or constructing interesting methods of traversal to find workarounds.  The sky world is a neat addition and the overall vertical expansion of the map is great.  I want to say the Depths are also a worthwhile addition, but it's a mixed bag.  It's too big, too tedious, and while there are good and unique things in it and the vibe of it is amazing, it's something they should've chopped down quite abit.  The weapon fusion aspect is okay too, it's more interesting with some of the more gimmicky aspects of it, but the gimmicky stuff isn't really useful I felt, especially if you want to do decent damage.

There are more classic feeling dungeons, but I don't love them.  Not that they are bad at all, I enjoyed them, but they are kinda basic feeling at times.  We get more dungeon boss variety, but they are also very easy.  Blight Ganon's from the previous game were really challenging, but boring, so it's like a weird tradeoff lol There's kind of a number of things I would've liked to see tweaked or adjusted, like we don't need 150 shrines, we don't need 120 Light Roots, Korok Seeds are something I will once again never complete, especially being that the reward still sucks, stuff like this could've been made to be less grindy.

In the end, I do love the game, I'm gonna play it more and have 100+ hours into it, but I think after two big games like this, getting the open world experience I've generally wanted from the series, I'm cool with going back to a somewhat smaller scale Zelda experience like before.  I mean it can still be open world to a good degree, but cut the world map down a good half or more, bring back regular weapons and items, try to find a mixture of the classic and new Zelda to make a cool unique experience.  I'm not sure where TOTK will place for me rank wise, it's likely to go alongside BOTW near the top, but I'm not sure yet.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on May 24, 2023, 10:52:17 am
36. Little Witch Nobeta

Souls-like games are a dime a dozen nowadays, but this one is somewhat unique and in that it's a lot more forgiving, the narrative isn't vague, and the leading character is downright adorable. Watching Nobeta go through so much crap from start to end made the gameplay struggles worth it. The biggest struggle was that around the halfway point, you're in this endless maze/corridor that is blacker than pitch and just unfun to navigate. I'll talk more about it when I write a review but that's around the point all of its holes started showing. Thankfully, the game is short. Definitely a surprising game that I'm glad I picked up on a whim.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on May 26, 2023, 06:33:28 pm
18. Frobisher Says! || PlayStation Vita || 05.22.23

(https://i.imgur.com/SuGMaLc.jpg)

Looking for some short handheld experiences to play, I came across Frobisher Says! which caught my attention as a free downloadable title. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect in terms of its own qualities, but I was aware that it had been likened to games like WarioWare for its series of mini-games.

Released for free shortly after the PlayStation Vita's release, Frobisher Says! is a compilation of randomized, fast-paced action game segments. To my welcomed surprise, Frobisher Says! employs optimal use of all of the Vita's unique tools including touch screen, back touch panel, microphone, camera, and AR capabilities alongside standard joystick and button use. Over the course of my time playing, I found that all of these tools function well and are integrated successfully, with one mini-game generally focusing on one aspect at a time.

With playthroughs being randomized, my experience was enjoyable. Some segments randomize the placement of on-screen items to interact with which helps prevent repetition. With that said, not all games are randomized, and I'm of the opinion that some may have been higher quality if taking such approach. There are two different play styles: fixed length and sudden death. The former has the player go through one single playthrough with a predetermined number of challenges as they aim to achieve a high score based on reaction time, whereas the latter is trial of challenges that only ends if the player fails. Additionally, up to eight players can compete against another locally by passing the Vita around. The multiplayer mode sounds like it'd be fun for a few rounds, but my time playing was exclusive to single-player play.

There are a total of 68 mini-games, but I only unlocked half. I'm not sure if there are hidden in-game achievements needing to be accomplished to unlock missing ones or if they're unlocked by total mini-games completed which the game does track. While I did unlock a number of games, I wasn't bothered to play an extended amount of time playing solo, so about half weren't played. With that said, two DLC packs are available for purchase. I'm not sure how DLC games are integrated with the default ones, but I imagine them to be introduced randomly as the others are.

Before starting, players can toggle options to have certain mini-game types appear or not, which is helpful if using the microphone or camera isn't wanted in the moment. Overall, the game quality is fun with the entire presentation having an odd sense of humor. However, I did have one issue while playing, although it may just relate to the Vita's camera quality. Camera games, even while playing in a well-lit room, are just difficult to play, as the quality just doesn't register. To play this type of game, I had to walk to an extremely well-lit area. But, in addition to simply being able to remove these game's from the playthrough's rotation, players can simply skip them when prompted as they appear.

For a free game, Frobisher Says! offers a good playing experience. And, for its use of Vita-specific gameplay, it's certainly worth experiencing to become acquainted with all of the Vita's capabilities.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on May 28, 2023, 07:36:02 pm
7. Miitopia (Switch)- This is now 100% complete and all the medals have been earned. I loved this game, but the end game was a very long haul. Two boss monsters took forever to finally appear. It also took quite a long time to level all the classes to 50. Though I have to say making Mii's and going on an adventure, it was quite entertaining.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on May 29, 2023, 12:44:05 pm
37. Star Ocean: The Divine Force

This game is divine indeed. It's probably the best game in the series. My favorite? No. But, it's the most polished, accessible, and a major step up after Integrity and Faithlessness (which I really liked). I already got a few of the possible endings, finished the game on Universe difficulty, and farmed a bunch of Fol for the post-game content which is likely to be filled to the top. I really liked Laeticia's side of the story, but I have a feeling I'll like Raymond's once I start it. I'll probably start his journey after I finish all of the post-game related stuff/trophies. At any rate, this is an easy game to recommend to newcomers and fans of the series.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 29, 2023, 02:22:42 pm
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (SWITCH)

Before I jump into my review of Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK) I want to give what I'm about to say context. Its predecessor, Breath of the Wild (BOTW) is my 2nd favorite game of all time and my favorite Zelda game ever made. I know that game has minor annoyances, however for each one of these or flaw it had, it had 50 other thing that made it amazing. In other words, TOTK had some very, very big shoes to fill and I'll be directly comparing the two when summing up how I felt about TOTK. The other thing I want to get out of the way is no, I didn't hate TOTK and in fact thought it was a really good game. With that said, I'm going to be very critical in what I'm about to say, however this does not detract from all the amazing things I experienced while playing TOTK. Okay, let's get into my thoughts on TOTK lol.


Unfortunately TOTK is an inferior game to BOTW for a variety of ways, however the biggest one by far is the fact that Nintendo decided to have it take place more or less in the same Hyrule that BOTW took place in. "But what about the sky islands and the Depths!" you might be asking. I'll get to that in a moment. For anyone who played BOTW extensively, TOTK world almost feels like a rerund, albeit of a amazing episode. BOTW's hyrule fascinated me and filled me with endless wonder about what was on the other side of that mountain, or if I could reach that far away island. So returning to the same Hyrule, while good and all, lacked that same sense of wonder and pull for me to want to explore, mostly because I already had done this while playing BOTW. As for the minor geographical differences really only account for 10% at best when it comes to new things to explore on the surface. This includes new caves, structures, and towns that weren't in BOTW. This leaves the sky islands and depths, which I found to be pretty uninteresting and even somewhat lazy in design. The sky islands mostly all looked the same in terms of art assets, aesthetics and design with a few small surprises hear and there. As for the depths, it was mostly a bland wasteland that was beyond tedious and annoying to explore, and pretty much just possessed recycled enemies and bosses from other parts of the games with some minor things of interest here and there. If Nintendo was trying to pull the wool over my eyes and be like "look at all the new, amazing stuff to explore!" they really didn't succeed, at least for me. This over familiarity with TOTK's settings extended to pretty much everything in the game including the characters, enemies, music, items, and pretty much everything else. TOTK really just felt like a repackaged expansion for BOTW rather than a full fledged new entry in the Zelda franchise. Again, I loved all these things, but I found myself fairly jaded when it came to seeing so much of the same stuff all over again throughout the game.


In BOTW I remember staring off into the distance beyond the borders of Hyrule and wondering what else was out there. This is where I wanted the sequel to my favorite Zelda game to take place, not in the same place I'd thoroughly explored and conquered already.


In terms of Gameplay it's mostly lifted right out of BOTW, with the noteworthy exceptions being some of your tablet's new ability, but mostly the ability to craft items. From the time crafting was first revealed, I found this mechanic to be fairly uninteresting. I get how some people have used it to create crazy machines already, but for me it's just something I never really cared for beyond solving a puzzle or getting from point A to B. It works mostly as it should and for that I'll give credit where credit is due. There is also a new time mechanic which is also primarily used to resolve puzzles in the game's shrines and temples, but I found myself using this ability the least.


Speaking of the games shrines and temples, I found these to be mostly a downgrade over what was offered in BOTW in terms of design. There seemed to be a lot of haphazard design, especially in the temples which just made them feel lazy at times and they lacked the memorable feel of many previous Zeldas. Still, I will say in terms of aesthetics, the temples are a massive upgrade over the divine beasts in BOTW. Even more than that, BOTW's bosses are lightyears more enjoyable than the Blight enemies of BOTW. Their design and the diverse ways in which you have to beat them was also a very welcome change compared to BOTW.


Really the only thing left to discuss is TOTK's story and plot. Overall, I found it to be decent, with some stuff making me roll my eyes and sigh, while other parts of it actually hit me super hard in the feels. I also mostly liked the subtle and not so subtle nods and influences from Ocarina of Time in this game, particularly the element of time travel. But I will admit that the story does have a leg up on its predecessor for the most part.


Overall, I find myself disappointed with TOTK, but only because it's the sequel to one of the best games I've ever played. On its own, TOTK is an excellent game and easily better than 95% of the games I've played. It's just too bad Nintendo didn't take this game a step further and set it in an entirely new world much like they have in most other Zelda games. If they'd taken the time to craft a new world, even with all the same gameplay mechanics of BOTW, I'd have loved this game significantly more. This would include different enemies and NPCs as well. Again, it just felt like I was getting a shinier, repackaged version of BOTW, which was the biggest negative for me while playing TOTK. Still, TOTK is an amazing game and worth playing for any Zelda fan. (5/29/23) [40/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on May 30, 2023, 06:13:26 pm
16 - Terror of Hemasaurus (PC 2022) - BEAT - Silly little pixel game I'd been meaning to pick up for abit as I'm a fan of kaiju stuff.  It's basically a throwback to Rampage, 2D building smashing and people eating silliness.  Very over the top, I like that the buildings are designed around physics, so a big thing to do is to target certain spots on buildings to get them to knock over onto other buildings.  It's pretty straightforward otherwise with a very over the top story to it.  Fun little indie game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on May 31, 2023, 02:34:49 pm
20. Super Mario World (SNES)

In the early/mid 90s I remember playing the Super Mario Bros games at friends houses, however I never played any of them extensively due to me not owning a Nintendo console until 1995 when my aunt got me an SNES. Because of this I never got heavily into some of the best SNES games of the time, including Super Mario World. I'm surprised I never bought this game back in the day given how infatuated I was, and frankly still am, with the DKC games. But it actually wouldn't be until the late 2000s that I'd own Super Mario World and around 2010 when I beat it for the first time. I remember thinking the game was pretty good overall, however since it's been 13-years since I last beat it, it was well past time for me to play through it again and give it a proper 52 games review ;)


Super Mario World is overall one of the hardest platformers I can remember playing, some of which is by design and part of it has to do with some questionable stage design. One of my least favorite parts about Super Mario World's gameplay is actually. how Mario continued to run in whatever direction you were going even if you're no longer holding the D-Pad in that direction. As a result you need to do this awkward controller rock which I really didn't like despite getting used to it fairly quickly. Other than that I enjoyed this games many secrets, secret stages, and the fun vibrant levels. There is a lot of variation in bosses and enemies, especially for a game from this time period. The game definitely looks and feels like a labor of love which makes it hard not to enjoy. The audio is also pretty good, although the years would prove that the SNES was capable of way better OSTs. Despite this games status as a platforming icon, I still feel like this game has aged somewhat, even compared to games released just a few years later like DKC2, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3. That doesn't necessarily negate how amazing Super Mario World is, but it does make me wish I was playing something a bit more refined. Still, i enjoyed this game quite a bit and look forward to playing it again in another decade or so lol. (5/31/23) [37/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on May 31, 2023, 03:38:29 pm
Game 7 - Mega Man Battle Network (Switch) - 17 Hours

I have been waiting so long for a proper collection of the Battle Network games to be released, and it's finally here. I plan on playing through all of the games on this collection, except for Battle Network 2, since I just finished that last year. I'm looking forward to playing the games I haven't played before (BN, BN4), as well as revisiting the games I haven't played since I was a child (BN5, BN6).

First, let me say a few words regarding the collection overall. I was very impressed with Capcom's handling of the Zero/ZX collection and this release is also good, but has a few issues. I really don't get why the physical version is split into two "volumes" that have separate launch menus. I get that they're sold separately on the digital store, but for the physical cartridge I wish it was just one volume. The font for the text is not the same as the originals, and the text must have transcribed using AI or something because there are lots of syntax issues, particularly with random " marks and sporadic use of periods. There are also spelling/grammatical errors, but all the originals had spelling errors from the get go so I'm not sure if they're caused by bad transcription or retained from the originals. Altogether, I do think this is a great collection, with otherwise faithful reproductions. I love all the concept art including unused navi designs and a music player, as well as some nice additions from the Japanese versions of these games like downloadable chips and new animations. There are some other gameplay redesigns from Japanese to English that I will probably be experiencing for the first time.

With all that being said, let's dive into the first game in the series. The first Battle Network is unfortunately a victim of "first game syndrome". I do have to pay huge respects to how the development team were able to make a "first of it's kind" gameplay experience this solid, so I really can't be too hard on it. Some of the biggest gameplay issues with the first game stem from the very high encounter rates and incredibly maze-like and confusing net layouts. Story advancement felt very much like episodic story arcs that don't flow together into a seamless narrative. There are several characters hanging around with navis that you can fight but they don't play any role in the story. A lot of navis are easy to beat flawlessly because you can flinch them out of their attacks with a charged buster shot. There's very little music, consisting of about three tracks for outside, inside and internet areas that will play nonstop throughout the entire game. All of these story, world, gameplay and audio issues are indeed improved with subsequent installments.

Some of the issues with the first BN unfortunately aren't really addressed in later entries either. The biggest is the series' reliance on  story missions with tedious back and forth journeys that get extended longer than needed in order to pad out the game's length. As I mentioned with BN2's review last year, the dialogue is really bad, the stories are cheesy, and the names/descriptions of chips could be cleaner/easier to understand what they do. All of that being said, I still think this game is worth playing, but only if you want some of the lore and origins behind many of the characters, enemies and villains that will come back across future games in the series. I'm looking forward to playing BN3 now, which is my favorite in the series, but we'll see how I feel after I finish all of them!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on June 12, 2023, 02:01:22 am
17 - Street Fighter 6 (PS5 2023) - BEAT - I'm a pretty casual fighting game fan, I don't stick with them long enough to get good at them, I'm usually alright at performing moves and such, but I like it when a game has decent singleplayer content and Street Fighter 6 has an okay amount.  For "BEAT" on this, I completed World Tour, which is a mixed bag.  It's like Yakuza-Lite in it's execution, not even "open world", but more of a hub world that you can then go out to other locations, which aren't actual new areas, just small zones with a couple people and a new Fighter/Master to interact with.  There's a story here, it's not great, it's very basic, centered around your custom character, which is kinda the best aspect of it.  Building a fun or goofy character, leveling them up, getting them moves from other fighters to customize your command list, unlock new clothes, that's what kept me going. 

The final fights are abit rough and they jump in difficulty hard in a way you aren't expecting.  Like I did most all the side quests I could barring a few, did a decent amount of extra fighting, getting up to around Level 48 to 50, and then found out by the end that you really need to either be amazing at the game or basically grind up to level 60.  Not fun to have do that, because you are then forced to redo the whole gauntlet if you fail it.

I can't give much of a review of the rest of the game as again I'm not a fighting game player, but from what I've seen, they've done a great job with it.  Looks great, plays well, Battle Hub is a neat way to show off your custom characters, meet up with other people to fight, you can go do combo trials and normal arcade runs also and there's lots of little extra stuff strewn about.  I think I put 20 to 25 hours into World Tour and while I didn't hate it, I don't have too much praise for it, very middle of the road, but I enjoyed it enough.

They will apparently add new content to World Tour, it's sounding like each new character will be a new Master unlock, so reasons to come back down the road as otherwise there isn't much replay value post-game.  It's just finishing up sidequests and one sidequest involves fighting specific fighters around the map, but you have to level up to 80 to them all and that grind is just gonna suck to much to do as they don't give you anything extra to level up with after doing all the sidequests that I could tell.  It's just mindless NPC fighting and that's really boring.

I do recommend the game, probably the best SF game they've done in a long while.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on June 12, 2023, 09:59:47 am
I hadn't done any update for these so I will just write a bit about each

14. Half-Life
I had played a lot of Half-Life when it came out but haven't done anything since. I had some memories of the single player, primarily the first parts of the game and then many different memories of various multiplayer mods. But for this instance, it wasn't a case of just trying and old game again, this was on my list as Half-Life Source. It played alright for the most part, aside from some instances where the game played the wrong sounds. There was a lot I forgot.

It is marked as abandoned because the game kept crashing at the final boss. There were some other instances I had to deal with, such as earlier in Zen the game kept respawning me in the void after a death. Aside from those, the main issue is with the controls. The game has a very "walking on ice" type feel that made some platforming portions impossible. First was where you have to push two boxes to a wall and use them to get to a ladder, but the boxes move way too easily and I could never get it to attach to the ladder. Another area where you have to run along a thin rail and jump through a hole in the wall was also impossible for me to do.

I did not really remember how much platforming was in this game and makes me not like it as much as I thought I did.

15. The Darkness II
It is a compentant shooter that looks quite good. Controls got some getting used to, but I didn't have to use cheats at any point like I had to in Half-Life. I had no background on the comic series and never played the first game. Only issue with gameplay is the headshot registration.

16. Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice
I had not played any Leisure Suit Larry games since the demo for the first one. After having played some other point and click adventure games recently, I already knew that I wasn't going to be sinking time in to figure things out. The puzzles are a little more obvious than previous ones, but for all of these type games I will be using walkthroughs from whatever point I run out of ideas, which is usually in the first couple of screens. The sexual humor is a bit much and I don't particularly care about it. I guess I'm just not a kid anymore. Only a couple of instances were anything funny in this game. I still have the other games in the series to do, but I think I will finally change my monitor setup so I can have a walkthrough up while playing.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on June 12, 2023, 01:13:01 pm
24. Mega Man 10

And with this, I have now beaten every game in the mainline Mega Man series (1-11).
I first bought this on PS3 back when it originally released but ended up abandoning it when I just hit a wall in the first Dr. Wily level. MM Legacy Collection 2 gave me a chance to try again and I finally completed it.

It’s a very strangely balanced game. Overall, IMO it might have the most difficult assortment of Robot Masters of any MM game, and none has any weakness to the basic arm cannon. Additionally, some mid-bosses, like the Keeper and the boulder guy, are MUCH harder than many of the end-stage bosses. Contrarily, the final battle against Wily might be the easiest boss in the game (I beat him with no problem first try, didn’t even need an E-Tank). Also, after the extremely fun weapons in MM9 that were very useful outside of boss battles, 10’s weapons are disappointing and don’t offer much use other than defeating a boss with a weakness to them.

It still has that classic gameplay and is worth a playthrough, it just doesn’t reach the heights of the better games in the series like 2 & 3. I also have to give a shout out to the level theming; Strike Man’s level is great with its stadium background and enemies like the aforementioned soccer goalkeeper, lockers, and ball baskets that shoot baseballs and footballs. Blade Man’s level is also fun with its medieval castle filled with weapons.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on June 13, 2023, 10:26:45 pm
38. Trinity Trigger - platinum'd

Very disappointing. It starts strong, but it doesn't take long for it to show its choppiness. Nearly everyone who's played it or seen it has compared it to Secret of Mana, or rather, claim it to be better than Secret of Mana. Hell, I might have done that at first, too. But, this game pulled some stuff that was pretty awful; stuff a Mana game would never do. The biggest issue is with the AI. I can't remember the last time I played a game that actively punishes a single player for not having others to play with. It's like when a game locks a player out of online connect for not having an internet connection. All that to say that the AI is piss-awful. There are plenty of other issues that I'll talk about when I get to a review.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on June 13, 2023, 11:39:14 pm
26. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Put simply: overall fun but flawed game. Has a few technical issues, like bad model pop-in during cutscenes and the worst loading times I’ve seen for a while. Watching the end credits now and because I beat the final boss with only a sliver of health left, another glitch is causing a heartbeat sound throughout the credits (which you normally hear at low health)…funny  ;D
Still worth a playthrough despite the technical issues and a few questionable design choices (the sliding sections can go to hell and burn there for eternity).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on June 16, 2023, 11:41:36 am
17. Broken Age

Another point and click adventure. This one actually had a decent story with some great twists. Definitely things that I didn't see comine. The voice acting was pretty good. The talking tree was probably my favorite character.

Nothing much else to say about it really. I think that I will defer more of these point and click type games when they come up on my list in the future and try to concentrate more on things I really want to play instead of playing something just to get it off my list.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on June 17, 2023, 07:35:51 am
19 - BattleBit Remastered (PC 2023 - Early Access) - ENDLESS - With Battlefield being in a troubling state these days, it's nice to have a shooter trying to fill that niche.  It looks like a goofy game, it's basically Roblox, but it's actually a fairly hardcore shooter I'd say.  Not quite on the level of a more sim-like Squad, but abit less arcadey than Battlefield tends to be.  Feels like I'm back in the Battlefield 2 days abit.  It also has some crazy player counts, getting up to 256 max size.  Honestly, that stuff is kind of a nightmare, it's pure chaos and not really that fun lol  There's also 120, 64, 32, and I think 16.  To me, the sweet spot is definitely 64 and 32 as it feels like you can get some decent action. 

All the mechanics feel great, there are definitely some tweaks to be had, weapon grinding is way too high, but they said they are gonna change that as it could take a person months to unlock some of the weapons if they are playing it casually and not dumping a bunch of hours into it every day. I don't mind some of the accessories or cosmetics taking a little bit, but I think the guns should be a lot easier so you have more weapon variety.

Cool game, look to see how it'll progress.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on June 17, 2023, 11:43:55 am
28. Shadow of the Colossus Remaster (PS4)

Simply put, one of the greatest games ever made. The music, the atmosphere, the multiple feelings it elicits…now looking better than ever.
*Chef’s kiss*

My personal favorite is #13 (Phalanx). Unforgettable ever since the first time on PS2, and the most tragic since it is a beautiful, awe-inspiring creature who seems completely benign (it is the only colossus who never directly attacks you).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on June 17, 2023, 01:20:35 pm
19. Stray || PlayStation 5 || 06.11.23

(https://i.imgur.com/sceQgiZ.jpg)

When Stray was announced in 2020, I had high expectations and was greatly looking forward to playing it upon release. Generally, I approach games without any lofty expectations to catch my interest or to leave me satisfied, but this was one of the few instances. So, I'm glad to report that this is one of the few games that my high expectations were actually met.

Controlling an unnamed cat who I'll now dub Cat, players are introduced to an abandoned industrial area which has seen nature's overgrowth reclaim the land. Here, a small group of cats have banded together, living out their lives as wild animals. While the typical movement across the area seems like any other, it unfortunately isn't for Cat. Leaping across a gap, Cat falls deep. Very deep. So deep, that nothing from above can be seen—neither the sky nor the sun but instead what the game refers to as a dead city full of rusty metal, broken debris, and ponds of backed-up sewage.

Shortly after exploring these forgotten depths, Cat encounters a sentient drone named B-12 whose only memories are that their function is to reach the outside world. With no other means of achieving this, B-12 and Cat unite to accomplish their shared mission as it is assumed Cat's goal is to return to the world above. As a drone, B-12 has capabilities that allow both the narrative and gameplay to move forward. With Cat being the platform-hopping vehicle, B-12 instead provides a means of communication between other robots who will be met along this journey, in addition to being able to interact with other technologies such as keypads and other basic machinery to solve puzzle-based obstacles.

For me, just being able to wander around this post-apocalyptic world littered with old tech was especially captivating. Environments are dirtied and disorganized, with bottles being laid about, stacks of books piled high, and old remnants of the human era collected. No one truly understands why these items held importance at all but they're still maintained to possibly feel some sort of connectivity to their ancestors. Often, Stray felt both claustrophobic and a little boundless at the same time as neon glows flicker high above in the distance and clutter is thrown about in dark corners throughout the unwelcoming and makeshift cityscape. I'll now also mention how impressive the character design is, as they serve to bring the world alive. Contrarily, robot NPCs feel incredibly human. They are all quite varied with another with their own quirks and personalities, mannerisms, and interests.

Once the player reaches an area known as the slums—one of the two most highlighted locales shown in trailers—the game greatly opens up. Here, there is an unexpected amount of coverage to explore, items and people to interact with, and puzzles to solve. In the slums, alleyways interconnect but also branch off into small pockets of town. This alone offers a fun sense of exploration, but that sense is becomes much greater when regarding Stray's successful use of vertical scale. Every time I noticed a new path to walk down, window to enter, or series of ledges to climb, I was pleasantly surprised with how much there is to discover. This isn't to say that every aspect of the environment is explorable, but a lot is. All of this is achieved even further by there being no in-game map to rely upon. All exploration is done entirely blind, which I am of the opinion is perhaps the best development choice made.

To a great extent, the vision toward designing Stray while taking into account how a cat behaves excels. Routinely, there are prompts to leap, drink water, sharpen nails, and nap, and they are conveyed well. Additionally, welcomed idle animations are present such as catching insects and cleaning paws, although these animations do require a fair amount of time to pass before starting. I have experienced the DualSense's haptic feedback capabilities in other games, and I was pleased with how Stray utilizes it. For instance, there is a constant degree of heavy resistance when clawing at objects such as doors or walls.

On this note, Stray's sound and lighting design is exceptional in bringing an environment to life. Throughout many areas, reclaimed tape decks often emit lonely, desolate, and forgotten tunes of various genres which convey an appropriate mood. Or, at other times, sound may roar as tension or excitement is introduced. Paired with music is lighting which will be much more apparent. Visually, I was frequently impressed with the game's environments. Many types of environments are to be explored are are filled with grimy, wet oranges to stagnant, musty yellows alongside artificial, cold blues and greens of human-era tech.

All of this said, Stray is not a perfect game. The issues I have are arguably minor, although I believe they would considerably improve player immersion which seems to be a development focus given the game's high graphical quality and general detail. As the game is played from a third-person perspective, I was disappointed in the camera's limitations. The player is consistently refused the option to observe Cat from a variety of angles and positions. For instance, I was prompted to drink water, so I did. However, I could not get a good angle of the performed action at all as the action has a fixed position. This also relates to my disappointment in screenshot capability. There isn't any first-person perspective or even a dedicated screenshot mode. So, almost always will Cat be an up-close fuzz distorting the bottom portion of captured images. I am generally not compelled to take screenshots, but Stray seems made for it, so I genuinely was let-down.

Continuing with two other aspects I wish were improved, I felt that Stray would benefit from restricting the player from taking such quick movements. This opinion is mostly in regards to moments of intrigue where a real cat would be defensive about the unknown before them. Such caution is taken to some degree, but only once after a button prompt. As Cat routinely interacts with environmental items, NPCs largely do not interact in response. As a cat, the player will inevitably knock items over either intentionally or by mistake. However, when items are broken or tipped over, there are no NPC responses unless it is scripted.

In short, Stray isn't anything less than a remarkable game. While it isn't perfect, the groundwork for it to be has certainly been built. Careful consideration concerning the game's world-building is certainly felt while playing, and it's impressive, to say the least. If you're able to play it, Stray is certainly recommended.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 18, 2023, 10:03:24 pm
21. Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (PS2)

Given how much I love SNK and especially their fighting games, I'm surprised I've never sat down and sunk some serious time into their internal crossover game, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (NGBC). On paper is sounds like an incredible game, and in some ways it kind of is; you pretty much have characters, stages, references, music, and background characters that represent a vast array of SNK's library over the years. While most of the roster is comprised of KOF and Samurai Shodown characters, there are a bunch of other characters thrown in from other SNK franchises like Metal Slug, Art of Fighting, Metal Slug and even more obscure stuff like King of Monsters. It's really a game for fans of the franchise and for that I really appreciate this game. Visually it looks great all around and the OST, character voices, and everything else about the audio is pretty good overall. Where this game really falters imo is its gameplay. While not terrible, this is probably one of the least balanced more modern SNK games I think I've played. There are certain characters that are vastly OPed, and I'm not even just talking about the bosses. The arcade mode of the game is set up to where you are given a fairly generous amount of time to get through as many fighters as possible. When time runs out you are then forced to fight a boss battle. At first I thought this was kind of cool, but what sucks is I wanted to experience more of the game, but couldn't because it was already over. So yeah, NGBC us a fun game, don't get me wrong, but it really falls more in the category of novelty fighter than a very technical, well crafted fighting game. Still worth a play for any fan of SNK fighters, or just SNK games in general though imo. (6/18/23) [33/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 19, 2023, 01:16:36 am
22. Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special - Dominated Mind (PS1)

As much as I love the King of Fighters series and many other SNK games, I'm a bit embarrassed and ashamed to admit I've barely played any of the Fatal Fury games. The ones I actually have the most playtime with are the very first game in the series and the very last (Mark of the Wolves), but everything in between is something I've either barely played or never played. So of course I had to play one of the most obscure Fatal Fury releases which is essentially just a port of Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special to the PS1. Dominated Mind adds in anime cut scenes which is a cool touch, as well as new characters and a plethora of other things I won't go into. But overall, I found this game to be highly enjoyable with the exception of the final boss is par for the course (aka cheap as all hell) when it comes to SNK fighting games. The gameplay was otherwise a step above some KOF games I've played which is really saying something. Visually, the game looks pretty good, both in terms of gameplay sprites, backgrounds, and other effects, however the added bonus of anime cutscenes was a pretty sweet addition for this port. Finally, the audio was also great, although I didn't find any particular song super catchy, but at least it had that amazing 90s fighting game sound to it. Overall, I'd say this game is probably best for someone more familiar with the rest of the Fatal Fury franchise, or at least Real Bout Special, but for what it is, this port was a pretty good time overall. (6/18/23) [34/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on June 22, 2023, 08:41:01 am
Game 8 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) - 41 Hours

While everyone has been talking about Tears of the Kingdom, I've been playing through an older Zelda title that I don't hear a lot of fans talk about very often. My theory is that because the original used Wii controls that were unpopular, and the HD remake is still isolated on a system that was unpopular, Twilight Princess just doesn't get the same amount of attention as other Zelda games. My prediction is that people will get another shot to play this with the game's 20th (and Zelda's 40th) anniversary in a few years.

It's a shame, because I actually thought this game was excellent. It's essentially Ocarina of Time 2.0, and I actually prefer TP over it, though it has been a 10 year gap between the two. Everything that made OoT great is in this game, but with some nice additions that I really appreciated. I found that Midna was a far more interesting and entertaining side character than Navi ever was. I liked what the wolf added to the game, though it's mostly front loaded in the beginning of the adventure and afterwards you only go into wolf form a handful of times. It felt like the wolf was primarily used for side content, teleporting, and the convoluted formalities that you must complete before starting the next dungeon of the game with the "scent tracking". The wolf mechanics tied nicely into some darker elements that I really appreciated, particularly in the music and monster design. Reminded me a lot of Ueda's work on Shadow of the Colossus and ICO. I thought some of the dungeons were really interesting, like the snowy mansion and the temple in the sky. It's probably not fair to view this more favorably to OoT because a lot of this game is pretty much a copy-paste, including most of the items, the different races, the music, and the puzzle/monster designs. But there was enough unique stuff in there that made it stand out to me in a good way.

There were some things that I didn't like. For me, controlling your horse was really difficult and I kept running into walls especially in tighter corridors. The game teaches you a handful of different sword techniques but you don't really need to use them: I only used these techniques a dozen times over the course of the game and only for particular enemies. I know that there was some rebalancing of the game's story progression requirements over the original that I'm not familiar with. I did have a glitch with the tears of light section of the game that I thought broke my save file, and I had to consult on Reddit to figure that out, so that was fun... Lastly, I found the final boss battle to be pretty disappointing, with a lot of borrowing from previous Zelda titles and it wasn't very exciting.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 22, 2023, 03:39:56 pm
23. Fatal Fury (PS2)

I've played the original Fatal Fury numerous times over the years, but probably never for more than 10-minutes at a time. I decided today was the day that I tackle this game from start to finish...and well, i certainly have very mixed feelings about it. First off, I get that Fatal Fury is a very early example of an arcade tournament fighter, even predating Street Fighter 2 by a few months, but holy crap has the gameplay in Fatal Fury aged terribly! Not only is this game plagued with balancing, hit detection, and control issues, but the whole two plane combat style in each stage is beyond annoying to deal with. You literally have to cheese your way through most battles, because playing this game as you would Street Fighter 2, or even Mortal Kombat will get you killed really fast. It's also worth pointing out that you're only given 3 playable characters, which is a real drag, considering there are multiple non playable characters that should have been available to play as. I guess they didn't allow those characters to be chosen since it would go against the games story narrative, but Fatal Fury would have benefited way more had they chosen a bigger roster over a shallow, mostly forgettable storyline. However, I found it hard to outright hate this game since there is so much to love about Fatal Fury still, particularly its presentation and sound. The audio is pretty good and has that undeniable early 90s arcade sound to it, however the visuals are on par with Street Fighter 2, maybe even surpassing it in many ways. The character sprite art is also pretty good for its time. And while I knocked on it earlier, it is cool there is a story between fights as you work your way up towards fighting the boss of South Town, Geese Howard. While I can't see myself ever really wanting to go back and play the original Fatal Fury, I'm glad I at least gave it the time it deserves as being a pioneer in the fighting game genre. I'm just so thankful the series improved dramatically with later installments. (6/22/23) [28/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 22, 2023, 07:31:11 pm
24. Fatal Fury 2 (PS2)

With some extra downtime today, I decided I'd just go right ahead and start playing the second Fatal Fury game, which I've probably played once or twice already in my life, but it's not a game I can remember ever playing for any significant amount of time. Anyhow, Fatal Fury 2 is a marked improvement over the first Fatal Fury game in nearly every way. And this is despite some annoying things like the stupid two combat planes and noticeable character balancing issues making a return, albeit in a more refined state. No, Fatal Fury 2 looks better, sounds better, and more importantly plays better than the first game. The gameplay especially was something that I appreciated since it really dampened my enjoyment while playing the original Fatal Fury, and really squashed any desire I had to ever play it again. Luckily I not only enjoyed my time playing Fatal Fury 2 for the most part, but it felt good to have a fighting game more akin to what I've been used to in the modern area. Hit detection is way better, move execution is improved, and as I mentioned, balancing is improved, but still flawed. There are also way more characters to choose from. Stages are also something noteworthy as they show off a level of detail and are even more dynamic and cool looking than what we got in Vanilla Street Fighter 2. Speaking of Street Fighter 2, it had been such a long time since I played the original version of that game that I decided to play it right after beating Fatal Fury 2 to see if I actually liked SNK's game more than the iconic Capcom tournament fighter. More on that in a moment though. But yes, Fatal Fury 2 is definitely a game I'll be playing more of, unlike its predecessor. (6/22/23) [33/50]

25. Street Fighter 2 (PS4)

As I mentioned, I decided to play the original Street Fighter 2 because of how much I enjoyed Fatal Fury 2, and because it's been A LONG time since I played the vanilla version; typically when I play Street Fighter 2, I play one of its more advanced, polished version, preferably one released on the CPS2 platform such as Super Street Fighter 2. But i decided to go back to the original since no matter how much i enjoyed Fatal Fury 2, there is no way in hell I'll love that game even close to how much I love some of the more advanced versions of Street Fighter 2. But anyhow, Street Fighter 2 is still a remarkably fun game to play, and it's actually mind blowing how fluid, easy, and deep the controls and gameplay is over 30-years later. I was very young when Street Fighter 2 came out, but I can imagine it was a revelation to anyone who'd played any fighting games prior to it given how amazing it plays. Visually I feel it's still a very attractive game, although compared to Fatal Fury 2, I actually think it's slightly inferior, especially the stages. I will give the character sprites artwork point to Street Fighter 2 though. Audio is definitely on par with Fatal Fury 2, although it has to be said that Street Fighter 2's soundtrack has definitely stood the test of time as being far more iconic than anything we got in any Fatal Fury entry. Still, it's amazing that they are so close in quality when comparing the two from the perspective of when they both came out. With all that said, Street Fighter 2 is still clearly the superior fighting game, even with the lack of features and refinements it would get throughout the years. Still, it's crazy SNK got as close as they did with Fata Fury 2 with snatching the crown away from Capcom, but as we all know, they'd be trying to play catchup over the years while never truly surpassing what Capcom created. (6/22/23) [35/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 22, 2023, 11:57:19 pm
26. Fatal Fury Special (PS2)

Essentially everything I said about Fatal Fury 2 applies to Fatal Fury Special because, well, they're essentially the same game. Aside from a larger character roster and a slight bump in gameplay speed, as well as some very subtle changes to stages, this is essentially the same game through and through. Obviously with those additions I'd say this is the version to play, however I struggled to give this game an extra point just based off those changes alone. Obviously the expanded roster is biggest change, but I feel like it falls short of justifying this being a whole point better than 2 despite me saying 2 is essentially obsolete because of Special. Regardless, yeah, good game, and yeah...play this one, not 2. (6/22/23) [33/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 23, 2023, 10:07:48 pm
27. Jurassic Park Arcade - 2015 (Arcade)

I hit up a small local arcade that surprisingly has a decent selection of titles. The two games I played the most were House of the Dead (a game I've beat a hundred times, but still love), and Raw Thrill's 2015 rail shooter Jurassic Park Arcade. This is the second time I've played through JP Arcade, the first being probably 6 or 7 years ago when I first started seeing the machine pop up in arcades, bowling allies and movie theaters. JP Arcade is a pretty lightgun rail shooter that has you going through three stages with 3 chapters each. Each stage has you going on what feels like a roller coaster ride where your objective is to capture some rare, iconic dinosaur by the final chapter of the stage. Being a rail shooter, everything that happens is scripted and you're pretty much just along for the ride. While I appreciate lightgun games that don't require reloads and just have you holding down the fire button and blasting everything, it's annoying when you're encouraged to do this 90% of the game, but a few select areas switch it up and want you to be more judicious about what you shoot. This works find for most light gun games that require you to shoot off screen to reload and you're not mowing things down with a machine gun. In JP Arcade there are areas where friendly NPC's can be shot and you lose health whenever you do this. I found these areas cheap and frustrating and they seemed to pop up often enough to where the game got probably an extra 2 credits out of me just from doing this. Also, the mechanics of shooting certain enemy types is not well suited given specific scenarios you find yourself in which is also frustrating. Visually, however, JP Arcade mostly looks great and has some cool, vibrant colors and a variety of setting where you'll be battling the games pretty diverse set of dinosaurs. I also found it cool battling what is essentially the boss dino for each stage throughout each chapter rather than just battling them in the final chapter only. Audio is probably the weakest area of JP Arcade, mostly because ether the game's OST was so faint I couldn't hear it, or there was no OST playing throughout most of the game, just dino roars, screeching, an NPCs talking to you. However, these sound effects, as well as the sound your guns and their various powerups make were pretty cool and impactful. Still, the lack of an OST or at least a memorable one certainly was something I noticed and missed during this game. When it comes to Jurassic Park rail shooters, this one falls in the middle between the 1994 rail shooter and the much better The Lost World arcade cab from Sega released in 1997. I know this is one for JP3 made by Konami, but unfortunately I've never seen this game ever, but would love to play it someday. So yeah, certainly worth playing, but it's probably not a game I'm going to flip out over next time I see it in an arcade as I often do when I see rail shooters like House of the Dead or Time Crisis 2. (6/23/23) [31/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 24, 2023, 12:52:26 pm
28. Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey (N64)

I was born in and lived in Colorado most of my life, and the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup their first season in my home state instantly made me a hockey fan and an Avs fan for life. I was only 8 years old when they won the Stanley Cup the first time, and it left such an impression on me I began obsessing over NHL hockey, joined a street hockey league, and of course wanted to play as many hockey video games as I could get my hands on. I believe the first hockey video game I played was NHL 95 or 96 on the Genesis which I played at a friend's house. However the first hockey game I owned was Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey for the N64. Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey was the second N64 game I ever owned (first was Super Mario 64) and I remember enjoying it a decent amount as a kid, although it lacked the staying power of most other games I'd own and play on the console. Going back and replaying it now, I'm definitely reminded why. As one of the first 3D hockey games, Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey is a decent effort, however its overly simplistic gameplay and clunky controls make this game serviceable at best in terms of actually playing it. You pretty much just swerve all over the ice in the direction of the other team's net and taking a shot on net will result in goal about 25% of the time without fail. This negates the need for passing and other strategy commonly found in hockey games, even back then. The audio is pretty good with an entertaining announcer, some catchy menu music, and sounds from the players and crowd. One thing that is not pretty good however, are the graphics and visuals. The N64 is commonly criticized for having ugly graphics, and while I disagree with this on many accounts, I will never defend the way Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey looks. This game looks pretty freakin bad, and lacks polish and detail found in most other N64 games. I can forgive it for being an early N64 game and because it was the early days of 3D gaming in general, but it's still pretty awful to look at. Still, despite all its many flaws and issues, this game has a massive nostalgia factor for me and also given its short 2-minute periods, its digestible enough in small playthrough to be entertaining without making you want to blow your brains out. So yeah, I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone for the most part, but for me it's definitely one of those special games given the time it was released and my own coming of age as a hockey fan around that time. (6/24/23) [25/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 25, 2023, 12:34:10 am
29. Fatal Fury 3 (PS2)

Unless I'm mistaken, I've never actually played Fatal Fury 3 prior to yesterday. I started playing it and found myself really into it with its adventure style storyline and progression system where you make your way through South Town fighting various people while unlocking the mystery behind some ancient scrolls. It's nothing incredible, but it added something to my enjoyment of the game that I was not expecting, which was just further enhanced by unique cutscenes and dialogue depending on who you selected. However, the real marked improvement in 3 over all of its predecessors is its gameplay, which was faster, easier to control, and also more dynamic than any previous Fatal Fury game I'd played. Again, my only gripe with this game is the multiple planes of fighting which makes a return with 3 planes instead of just two. While this might sound like a massive strike against the game, it actually has been tone downed somewhat and simply serves more as a way of side stepping attacks and doing certain special movies. I'd still prefer if it wasn't in there, but it was less bothersome to me than any of the previous games. I would have also scored the gameplay slightly higher if not for more annoying balancing issues involving certain characters being downright cheap, while others being pretty ineffective overall against certain characters. It's not terrible, but certainly diminished some of my enjoyment while playing. Other than that, this game looks INCREDIBLE! The stage design and overall graphics are just on another level, particularly a few which rival anything anyone else was doing at the time, even other SNK games. The OST is also particularly good and catchy. Despite its flaws, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed playing Fatal Fury 3 and it's one I definitely want to play more of in the future! (6/24/23) [37/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on June 26, 2023, 09:55:02 am
20. Toem || PlayStation 5 || 06.23.23

(https://i.imgur.com/lVgKxsj.jpg)

On a whim, I came across Toem and seemed interested in what this short game with camera mechanics has to offer. While playing, I was pleasantly surprised that story content DLC was also available as part of a free update some time ago, so my thoughts also relate to the Balto campaign.

With a simple narrative, Toem tells the story of our unnamed protagonist setting off on some coming-of-age expedition. As the story begins, the protagonist's grandmother anticpates the player-character to travel to a mountain town to experience the sights of Toem. The journey requires several bus rides with lengthy stops in between, so we're greatly encouraged to interact with the environment and its people, which players will soon learn is required. Just before leaving, the grandmother gifts us a camera to document our travels which serves as the core gameplay mechanic for Toem.

Throughout our travels, the protagonist is limited to move one town at a time. To continue travel toward reaching Toem, we must earn bus stamps which are awarded by helping locals or accomplishing certain tasks which nearly all involve utilizing your newly-gifted camera as the protagonist explores each area. While many of these tasks are simple such as photographing a certain item or event that is hinted at, others are a little more complex and not as straightforward in what the objective is. Nevertheless, the game is simply and easy to understand, even when wanting to fully complete everything the game offers. Each area has a set number of total tasks to complete, but only half are required to advance the story. At any time, areas may be revisited, but moving forward will always require a certain number of tasks to be completed. As Toem has a short length of 3-4 hours, there is little reason for anyone who is enjoying their experience to avoid completing each task.

In addition to fulfilling tasks, our camera can be used at any time for any reason the player sees fit. Another side objective is to catalog each area's local fauna. For new players, there is some challenge in completing this goal, as some animals only appear after certain criteria has been achieved. However, as I mentioned before, the camera serves as the game's dedicated camera mode, so documenting any aspect of the game is certainly doable. As would expect from a game like this, the camera mode also offers filter and framing options, although I did not utilize them.

As a 3D adventure game, Toem is enjoyable for what is sets out to accomplish. Exploring each area is enjoyable, with NPCs and the general mood being lighthearted and fun, which is ultimately complemented by relaxing and carefree gameplay. Each town has around 15 single-screen maps that interconnect without a dedicated map system, so learning each area's layout is important. Set from an isometric point-of-view, viewing angles are fully rotational which help bring depth to what would otherwise be a one-dimensional level design. While playing the Balto content after completing the base game, I was pleased with some minor depth added to level exploration accomplished by a day/night system.

For what it sets out to accomplish, Toem successfully does so, although there are some minor criticisms I'll make. As a game focused on photography, I was dissatisfied with the quality some photos have, which is ironic. At times, subject matter can be out-of-focus or even blurry. Additionally, there are a handful of tasks which require a selfie to be taken. When first trying to complete one of these tasks, I set up a tripod which is available. I left the area to properly complete the task by showing the photo to the task-giver, but the objective would not change to a completed status. Repeatedly, I tried this but without success. I only realized much later that there is a dedicated selfie mode which for some reason is the only manner the player can accomplish this set of objectives, which simply does not make sense. There is one other detail I'll briefly mention here, which is that music defaults to being non-looped. If the player ignores changing this setting, tracks will play once with silence following.

Ultimately, my time playing Toem was enjoyed, as the game sets out to provide a more laid-back gameplay experience. Personally, I was heavily reminded of the game A Short Hike while playing, so if you've played through it and want to playing something similar, Toem is a perfect suggestion, I think.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on June 26, 2023, 10:30:16 am
19. E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy

This is quite an interesting game to say the least. It is an FPS/RPG type game with a slight choices matter thing going on. At least (supposedly) you can make 1 of 3 choices at a certain point, siding with a particular group during a mission that leads to different "endings" or the way the last levels play out. One of the main issues I have read about is the story not being quite as clear as one would want. There is a lot of lore around and even an archives you can go read about everything... BUT when those three choices are given it is kind of out of the blue. A character or faction you haven't really interacted with want you to join them. Perhaps it is because the entire game is translated from another language. All spoken dialogue is not English and it is possible that there are some translation errors that do not really get the point across properly. In my playthrough I just sided with my Mentor because those dialog choices were what I was doing the entire time.

Now I put ending in quotes above because there is no real ending. When you finish the game, it just starts from the beginning. Think of it like a "New Game +" type thing but I don't think it is like that. I think the game is just endless. In fact, during the game, there are some dialog hints that you (the player character) is continually repeating the past/present constantly. Not that there is time travel or anything. After the big mission in the HQ it becomes clear that it is a recreation of a memory. It was already done before. They talk about getting some artifact, this artifact is in the cave. It is a book you can read but it is during a boss battle so there really isn't time to do so. This artifact is in the main HQ lobby at the beginning and end of the game. So there is disjointed time happening, or some levels of the MQ are memories. And the entire game is just repeating over and over. I suspect that if you go through the game a second time, it will just start over again, so not really a New Game+ type thing. You do keep all your levels, exp and skills, so you could potentially max out everything eventually.

The movement is very slow. Run speed is not actually that much faster than walking, but the game puts on a motion blur when you run making you think it is. So better to just walk everywhere. Then again, the levels are ginormous! Way more space than enemies or things to do. Everything is way too big, especially the HQ. There is no map that I am aware of, so sometimes it could take me 1-3 hours to do a level because of the amount of walking that is needed to be done.

Gunplay is ok. ADS is not hold, and some guns have 2 ADS/zoom levels. Makes an issue in some situations when using snipers in mid-range situations. I went through the whole thing using the starting pistol and the Boscoe sniper rifle for almost everything. The boscoe is fine for hipfire also, head-shot damage is appropriate. Only need the large sniper (I forget the name, the .50) for one particular level that has the very large monsters in an open area. There is a lean function, I never used it. Healing is wierd since you can kill yourself with the medkit. There is a sanity function where you can go crazy and start shooting randomly, so switch to the sword if that starts. Supposedly you can cure it but I didn't know how to do that when it happened to me.

Almost everyone can die. I found 1 robot that couldn't, but even the game tells you to be careful when you enter HQ. Even early on you could probably kill those guys if you wanted to, but on first playthough you probably wouldn't make it. In my attempt, I had found I basically made my character wrong. It has a class system, and what I thought I wanted turned out to not be what I needed. I needed more on hacking skills and I was built for sniper. But sniper can't solve everything. There are no cheats in the modern version of the game. There is a console but the cheats do not work. I got to a point where I had to hack something and I couldn't do it. I found some strats so I had an idea of how to do it, but my skill was too low. I was at a point of doing this hack or quitting the game. So there was a save editor I used to give myself the better hacking skills. Once I go that up then the game got a lot easier.

Then I found out that if you hack things, you don't get money. So you could hack everything and beat the game that way, but you won't get as much money.

Anyways, it is an interesting game and I ended up liking it more than I thought.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on June 27, 2023, 12:36:06 am
30. Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (PS5)

The Virtua Fighter series holds a very special place in my heart. I fell in love with the pioneering 3D fighter in the mid 90s, particularly on the Saturn which I played at friends' houses since I wouldn't own my own Saturn until the 2000s. I particularly loved the first two Virtua Fighter games which just oozed with 90s Sega specialness. Still to this day, Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2 are among my most nostalgic video games I've ever played. While I've played some of the newer Virtua Fighter games over the years, none of them left the same impression on me that the first two did despite better graphics and much more refined, tight gameplay. The newest entry, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown has been on my list of games to play for a very long time, and recently I bought it on sale on PSN. After playing it for several hours and beating it multiple times with multiple characters, I must say that I was surprised by VF5:US, both in good ways and not so good ways.


I'll start with VF5:US's strongest asset, its gameplay. I mean, holy crap! I have only ever played a handful of fighting games with more polished, refined and just near perfect gameplay and controls, and they all belong to more well known franchises. Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown's gameplay is the definition of deep and refined, while also being engaging and fun. It's almost unreal playing this game given how well it controls. I have to also mention that being used to the far more over the top gameplay style of games like King of Fighters and Tekken, I had to pretty much retrain myself to be more strategic and focus on my opponents timing versus going all out like I typically do in fighting games. But yes, VF5:US's gameplay is freakin unreal with how good it is. The visuals are also top notch with some amazing character models, stages, and various other effects which really make this an impressive looking game. My only gripe is many of the stages feel somewhat uninspired and just aren't as memorable as stages you see in other fighting games. Still, many of them are pretty and scenic at the very least. Audio is unfortunately nothing to write home about, but it's good enough and fits well with the style of game this is. Characters are all voice acted, and while none are stellar at delivering their lines, they're still entertaining to say the least. With all that said, you might be wondering what the big deal is and why I'm not throwing VF5:US into the elite group of best fighting games I've ever played. Well, the main thing that holds it back from that in my book, is well, me.


Objectively, yes, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown is one of the best fighting games I've played in a long time, particularly due to its gameplay. However, while I did enjoy myself mostly while playing this game, I found myself kinda wishing I was playing another modern fighting game I like more, such as the newer Mortal Kombat games. While this probably sounds like slander to some, newer VF such doesn't do it for me the way that the older games do despite those games being objectively worse. I just feel like I've moved on from the Virtua Fighter series to an extent and found other franchises that I enjoy playing more. It's much more grounded, realistic gameplay just don't gel with me more over the top fighting games, both newer and older titles. So what really brought my score of VF5:US down was my own personal enjoyment of the game despite how great it is in many ways. Had I taken to this games commendable traits more it would have scored higher, but at is my scores are 40% my own subjective enjoyment of a game and 60% how good the game is from a more objective point of view. With all that said, if someone said Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown was one of the best fighting games ever made, I'd completely respect that opinion and even sympathize with it, but for me personally, it's just not as fun or memorable as so many other fighting games I've played, including some of the older VF titles. (6/26/23) [36/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on June 29, 2023, 09:43:04 am
I've updated my key again, to use red text for abandoned games to help myself with reading it easier. I bookmark my game list post to read on other computers I don't log into the site with.

20. Blood and Bacon
This is an FPS that is advertised as a co-op game but it can be played in single player. The humor is fine but the pacing of the game is bad. The story portions (in-between levels) are too slow and the actual gameplay is too fast. It may be because I am adept at FPS games. The shooting is fine and the physics are interesting. The other issue is that the regular animal enemies are too easy for the most part as long as you are using the correct guns, and the boss enemies are either annoying minigames or have way too much HP in comparison. I got to level 50 which ended up being a repeat boss level, same as level 40 I think. There is no way to real evade the attacks from the two large warthog bosses. I decided to ditch this because I had no real interest in playing it anymore.

21. Baseball Stars 2
I was excited to try this game after seeing and reading so much about it. Unfortunately it is not a game for me. The gameplay ended up being tedious and I wasn't having any fun. The game also does not do any sort of stat accumulation, it always just shows their "historical" stats. A potential positive is that the Steam version looks like it would be easily modded.

22. Arma II
I seem to be moving toward more FPS recently so decided to try this one finally. Immediately this had a Blade of Darkness feel to it to me aka way too many controls. For what controls were there, the UX for interacting is completely foreign to standard FP games, where you use Mouse1 to interact with items and then wheel to choose from a menu. This may be because you would not be in a situation where you could shoot and interact at the same time. There is also no jump button. The first thing you get to do in the game is get shot by invisible enemies and die, but its ok because it was just a dream I guess. Then you are on an aircraft carrier for your briefing. And in here I am finding it extremely confusing as to what to do. The game gives you objectives (talk to x) but it doesn't really introduce the characters on the ship to you. It also doesn't tell you where these people are (no indicator) so you talk to everyone. Then the next task is do X (interact with some non-person) and again it doesn't tell you what that is, or where it is. So I spent most of my time trying to push the Harrier jet off the side of the aircraft carrier using the pull tractor. It doesn't work, there are invisible walls. You can move the helicopters but they can kill the soldiers and its game over if you shoot them during target practice or drive over them with the tractor. The shooting is not good and the movement is "realistic" and I can already tell that I'm not going to be bothering playing this one.

So we'll see what's next. Surely there is something else on my backlog I will like to play.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on July 01, 2023, 10:33:25 am
39. Mega Man 3

I took a small break from Final Fantasy XVI to play one of my favorites. It took some time to get the muscle memory back, but it happened around the halfway point. I played it as part of the Legacy Collection on Switch so I took advantage of save states. There's still a sense of accomplishment one gets after finishing not only these boss robots, but the resurrected ones from Mega Man 2. Always a good time going through classic blue bomber!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on July 01, 2023, 07:19:29 pm
Quote from: kashell on July 01, 2023, 10:33:25 am
39. Mega Man 3

I took a small break from Final Fantasy XVI to play one of my favorites. It took some time to get the muscle memory back, but it happened around the halfway point. I played it as part of the Legacy Collection on Switch so I took advantage of save states. There's still a sense of accomplishment one gets after finishing not only these boss robots, but the resurrected ones from Mega Man 2. Always a good time going through classic blue bomber!

That’s what I’ve been doing too  ;D
I got the first Legacy Collection last year and played through all six games. Got Legacy Collection 2 earlier this year and finished 7, 9, and 10 (haven’t bothered with 8 yet since I don’t like it very much). Then went back and finished MM5 again, since it’s one of my favorites. Currently working on MM6.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on July 02, 2023, 10:53:21 am
Quote from: undertakerprime on July 01, 2023, 07:19:29 pm
Quote from: kashell on July 01, 2023, 10:33:25 am
39. Mega Man 3

I took a small break from Final Fantasy XVI to play one of my favorites. It took some time to get the muscle memory back, but it happened around the halfway point. I played it as part of the Legacy Collection on Switch so I took advantage of save states. There's still a sense of accomplishment one gets after finishing not only these boss robots, but the resurrected ones from Mega Man 2. Always a good time going through classic blue bomber!

That’s what I’ve been doing too  ;D
I got the first Legacy Collection last year and played through all six games. Got Legacy Collection 2 earlier this year and finished 7, 9, and 10 (haven’t bothered with 8 yet since I don’t like it very much). Then went back and finished MM5 again, since it’s one of my favorites. Currently working on MM6.

Nice! MM6 is the one I played the most growing up. Up to that point, all of my friends would lend me a Mega Man game and I'd lend them something else on NES in return. MM6, however, was a Christmas gift so I naturally played the hell out of it. That might be the next one I get into since it's been so long.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on July 02, 2023, 12:10:42 pm
21. The Gardens Between || PlayStation 5 || 06.25.23

(https://i.imgur.com/E2D4Qgm.jpg)

Knowing little about The Gardens Between prior to beginning my playthrough, I only was aware that some element of controlling time was a core gameplay mechanic in this puzzle game. More-or-less, that's all the game offers, too.

As an interactive on-rail puzzle game, The Gardens Between tasks players with the simple goal of reaching each stage's end. However, accomplishing this goal isn't always so straightforward. As I mentioned before, the main gameplay element allows players to freely control time backward or forward on a whim by utilizing the analog stick. That said, players have no direct control over the player-characters themselves, as they instead move along a predetermined path trajectory. Just as the player-characters move as time shifts, so does the environment, which is paramount to being controlled in such a way that grants successful passage to the stage's end. In reaching the path, one character is able to influence specific elements positions separately from everything else in the environment. Once that element has been placed, it then moves along as it would have naturally as time again moves forward for all.

While the pair of player-characters both need to reach the stage end, properly solving the stage puzzle requires bringing an energy source to the gate. However, this is easier said than done. While many elements change as the passage of time moves, some serve as helpful tools while others oppositely. Regarding the energy source in particular, it is required to take advantage of certain creatures that transport the energy along the path while avoiding others which steal it. On that note, at some point, the game's puzzles do challenge the player further by forcing some path segments only reachable after losing energy to then later regain it.

Early in my playthrough, there were times when I thought that the puzzle difficulty was quite low. Throughout the first few set of stages, there seemed to only ever be two choices, with the solution being obvious. However, puzzles around this point steadily become more complex with the solution not being apparent. Often, puzzles soon require numerous steps of shifting time back and forth to move across the path trajectory in a specific way. Eventually, players can interact with more than one element which influences the path. At times, the two characters will separate as the path diverges, which requires the use of interacting with multiple stage components simultaneously. Additionally, the path will become broken which requires the player to somehow repair it or finding an alternative route.

With stages built on a 2D plane in a 3D environment, the pair of player-characters move in a specific manner depending the environment outcome before them. Often, stages are designed so that the player climbs atop a mountain of sorts. Across each stage, environments are littered with various items placed as set pieces, with the items relating to the pair's friendship, home life, and childhood. On that note, I'll briefly mention the game's narrative. The story is straightforward and at a minimum, but it revolves around the friendship between two childhood friends as one is forced to move away, with the game's events leading up to the move itself. So, with that explained, the environment design does an adequate job at representing their relationship and troubles.

For the remainder of The Gardens Between's design, there is little else to say. The game features no voice acting or written dialogue, so the narrative is told abstractly through its visuals. After each set of stages, a small, mostly still scene is presented that conveys the friendship shared between our two protagonists, but I found their inclusion to not be as successful as they could have been, although this may relate to the lack of any dialogue whatsoever. Personally, I didn't find anything too noteworthy concerning the art or sound design, but I did greatly enjoy the choice of color palette filled with gradients.

In the end, The Gardens Between offers a decent puzzle experience. The puzzles aren't too challenging even toward the game's end, and most players should be able to solve even the most perplexing ones through a few acts of trial-and-error. Thinking about it, The Gardens Between may be best approachable for those new to the genre or those who don't feel confident solving puzzles. There are around 25 stages, and I imagine most players would be able to complete the game around 3-4 hours of play.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on July 03, 2023, 12:22:54 pm
Quote from: kashell on July 02, 2023, 10:53:21 am
Quote from: undertakerprime on July 01, 2023, 07:19:29 pm
Quote from: kashell on July 01, 2023, 10:33:25 am
39. Mega Man 3

I took a small break from Final Fantasy XVI to play one of my favorites. It took some time to get the muscle memory back, but it happened around the halfway point. I played it as part of the Legacy Collection on Switch so I took advantage of save states. There's still a sense of accomplishment one gets after finishing not only these boss robots, but the resurrected ones from Mega Man 2. Always a good time going through classic blue bomber!

That’s what I’ve been doing too  ;D
I got the first Legacy Collection last year and played through all six games. Got Legacy Collection 2 earlier this year and finished 7, 9, and 10 (haven’t bothered with 8 yet since I don’t like it very much). Then went back and finished MM5 again, since it’s one of my favorites. Currently working on MM6.

Nice! MM6 is the one I played the most growing up. Up to that point, all of my friends would lend me a Mega Man game and I'd lend them something else on NES in return. MM6, however, was a Christmas gift so I naturally played the hell out of it. That might be the next one I get into since it's been so long.

For some reason, I still remember when I bought MM6 at retail; maybe because it was likely my last NES game I bought new during that era. It was at Babbage’s at my local mall, and I remember I actually felt kind of weird buying it because we were far into the 16-bit era by then (it came out March ‘94, and I had my SNES for 2 1/2 years by that point). I just saw the box on the shelf, with that bright art of MM using his Jet Adapter, and I figured, hey, I love the series, so why not.

I’m glad I did, it’s definitely a worthy addition to the series that doesn’t get as much love as it should. I still remember the magazine reviews at the time LAMBASTED it for being “old” and “just more of the same thing”. BOOOOO!!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on July 03, 2023, 01:13:56 pm
Game 9 - Mega Man Battle Network 3: White Version (Switch) - 21 hours

Alright, another Battle Network game down! I finished this game about 5 years ago but I've forgotten pretty much everything about it. Playing White version, I didn't know that this is technically the inferior version to Blue as this one came out first and Blue was sort of a retweaked release afterwards. There's not a whole lot that's different, as the true two-version system copied from Pokémon wasn't really implemented fully until Battle Network 4.

This has always been my favorite Battle Network game but I'll wait to see how the other games pan out before making a final decision. I don't have a whole lot to add over my older review which I'll link here (http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,7980.50.msg132737.html#msg132737). This game has a lot of stuff that's improved over Battle Network 1 and 2. The Navicust system is really fun to use and opens up your options for play. I remember not really liking the BugFrag system with countering but on this playthrough I enjoyed it a lot more because it made typically easy fights more enjoyable. The big thing about MMBN3 for me that sets it above all other games in the franchise is the ending, which I won't spoil. It's pretty much the only instance in this series, with how dumb the stories are, that made me emotional and actually feels like genuine character development for Lan. Another fantastic aspect of this game is an incredibly deep and engaging postgame storyline that I'm really excited to explore in the future.

One thing that really sucks is the massive difficulty spike once you enter the Undernet. It was actually kind of frustrating and it can lose you a lot of progress if you're going a long time without saving. Otherwise, I did enjoy my time playing quite a bit. I'll probably take a quick break to play some other things before jumping into the 4th game, which I've never actually played before!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on July 03, 2023, 11:05:20 pm
I finally beat Zelda TotK. I'd put it as tied with Twilight Princess for being my favorite of the series.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on July 05, 2023, 11:23:52 am
While most people were celebrating the 4th of July by blowing things up and terrifying local wildlife/all indoor pets/veterans with PTSD, a buddy and I hit up a new arcade. Once again, I spent most of the time on pinball. I also busted some moves on Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix. But, I did manage to complete two classics.

40. The House of the Dead
This game is still campy and cool after all these years. Younger me was gob smacked by the janky polygons, the voice acting, the "plot", etc. Adolescent me was like, "This game looks so unrealistic!" Current me? I appreciate all its stuff even more. Playing two-player with this is the way to go because some of the enemy placements are bananas. Head-shotting zombies never gets old no matter which game it's in.

41. Splatterhouse
In all of my years of gaming and going to arcades, not once have I ever seen a Splatterhouse cabinet. The level of detail to this game (from 1989!!) is crazy. It's over the top. It's bloody. It's a non-stop mayhem. I heard talks about it back in the day and how violent it was but never saw it. I first played it on the mini-TurboGrafx-16. Loved it. But playing it on an arcade cab? It felt like I was rebelling against censorship and being PC. This was a bloody blast to go through and next time I visit this arcade, I plan on making it my first stop.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on July 10, 2023, 10:13:09 am
23. Dead Island
Finally something fun to play. A bit heavy on the melee combat. Gunplay is decent enough. The iron sights are not great. You can do a reload animation cancel with pistols and AR but not shotgun. There is no speed loader equivalent for shotguns. Shotguns have a chance to do 1 hit kills on nearly all enemies. I picked the character that was "good with guns" at the start but you don't really get access to any until half-way through the game. Ammo is scarce so you can rarely ever get to just using guns and no melee. Melee combat is annoying at first until you find out that you can use the terrain to your advantage. You can jump onto things (cars, walls, trash bins, whatever) and sometimes you need to run first. Then you can croutch and with a machete or long reach weapon you can attack the zombies and they can't hit you. I ended up doing this a lot before I got access to guns.

You get a lot of loot items you can use in crafting. Unlike many games like this, it doesn't tell you what is used in crafting and what is safe to sell. So you end up with a lot of stuff but fortunately it has no weight and doesn't take up slots. If you wanted to actually use it all, you'd basically have to be picking up and modding everything you find. Otherwise you stick with just a couple favorite weapons like a couple machete and sell the rest.

Combat annoyances, there aren't that many. One is thugs will knock you back and is more annoying that your char makes a loud hurt sound more than the action itself. And that action will reset aggro so you can get to cover when you get up, well if you live. The game is always in MP even if set to LAN, so I don't think you can game over. You lose some money if you die but that's it. Sometimes the game will respawn you where you died, sometimes in another location. Two times the game spawned me at a quest objective which is probably in error. Other issue is that some stairs do not work properly. Also vehicle controls are not normal, it has real problem with multiple simultaneous inputs like using accel/brake and turning at the same time.

Sound design is mostly good. The different enemy types are telegraphed. You'll know when the annoying runnings are coming before you see them. The exploding guys make a "help me" sound. The thugs and the rams also have their own sounds, so you are never surprised by these enemies. Spatial sound is mostly good but there are some exceptions. It seems that all enemy sounds are generated from enemies, and that there isn't any sound points that are there just to make sound. So usually if you hear an enemy sound, it means there is an enemy there. But the issues happen sometimes where it will spawn an enemy in a wall or under the ground.

I started as LAN based but changed to MP. When you are in an area where someone else is, it gives you the option to join them. I tried it once but the other person just disconnected and I got booted. I didn't try to join any other games after that and no one tried to join mine. I'm not sure if there is anything past end-game. It makes it seem like there isn't because it says you can't go back if you go to the prison. Yet them again, in the final boss level, you can loot money and items from corpses.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on July 11, 2023, 09:29:36 am
24. Bastion
RPG-like. Adds too much and it is just to awkward. Movement is not great, fighting is too slow. It is designed for lots of dodge/kite tactics but bills itself as an ARPG. Some charm to the presentation but I could tell fairly early on that it would just be a struggle.

25. Octodad: Dadliest Catch
OK this game is pretty good but the story mode has some issues. If it were all just "do x to continue" it would be fine. But instead there are some (somewhat) forced stealth areas with an obviously terrible control scheme (but it is the point of the game) and some quick-time events. Having to actually move a distance quickly is almost impossible. So this game is better to watch someone else struggle to play it instead of putting myself through that misery.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on July 14, 2023, 11:12:24 pm
Game 10 - Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4) - 46 Hours

I really enjoyed my time playing the first Valkyria Chronicles, and it's one of my favorite games, so I was really looking forward to playing the 4th installment. I think that's why I have a lot of thoughts about this game.

What absolutely still stands out to me is the gameplay. Disclaimer: I haven't played VC2 or 3 so I'm not sure what changes were new for this game or were already established. But I found that VC4 adds a lot of new ideas that kept the gameplay just as fun and interesting as ever. My favorite addition was the Grenadier class, a slow but very powerful ranged explosive unit that opens up your options for play but also becomes challenging to deal with if your enemy is using them. I also really liked the command option which allows certain units to bring along other slower units that would just be left behind otherwise. I found the new transport tank, the APC, to be a really useful way to move units across the map and can really break the already overpowered potential of scouts. Lastly, the ship orders were also interesting to use, mainly for bombarding enemies in entrenched positions. I also really liked the squad stories which gives all of your otherwise unrecognized squad members some time in the spotlight. Overall the gameplay was still great and honestly the hours would just melt away for me while playing. Really love it.

The game looks great as ever, but is mostly running on the same engine as VC1 HD remake with a lot of reused assets. The soundtrack also recycles a lot of tracks from VC1, which felt pretty lazy in my opinion. I still love the music and the way the game looks despite it not really improving that much over the first game. It retains a beautiful aesthetic that still holds up even if it's the same tech under the hood since ten years ago.

Unfortunately that's where my praise ends. I hate to say it but this game has one of the worst modern RPG stories that I've experienced in a long time. Part of my beef stems from my personal aversion to stylized, overdramatic war stories with characters that don't give enough gravity to the seriousness of war. This game has plenty of bad, cringeworthy and overwritten dialogue, but also combines this with all the frankly awful anime tropes like ass-grabbing, looking up skirts, and of course there's a hot springs and beach scene, which all just feels so out of place for me. I don't know, I just don't think it's entertaining. Makes me wonder if the first game had these same problems too because I don't remember it being this bad. In addition, I found clicking the sometimes 10+ individual cutscenes before each combat sequence to be a chore, and this was especially bad when buying upgrades in the R&D facility. Granted, this was a feature in the first game but it didn't bother me then for some reason. I'm not sure if it's because there's more cutscenes this time around or if it's the characters and story that's at fault.

What really got me is that the story in this game is supposed to be co-occurring with VC1. There's almost no connection to anything in the first game other than the fact that some of your squad is from Gallia, and a cursory mention of Maximilian and Selvaria. The game's broader war narrative was very confusing to follow as a result because there isn't any contextualization of your squad's actions within the broader conflict as a whole, especially given there's a entirely separate war between the Empire and Gallia in VC1. I was under the impression that the empire was soundly defeated after the first game, but this has apparently been retconned and the war continues between the Empire and the Federation after the events of VC1 even though Maximilian died and everything. The game has the gall to claim that the whole conflict/story you play through in this game was suppressed and forgotten about which sounds like a nice excuse as to why none of this is in the first game even though... oh I don't know.. your giant ass ship crashes through the Imperial capital and a huge battle ensues in the city streets?

Other parts of the story that I thought were really bad were Leena's whole "I'm going to pretend to be a man in the army to cover for my brother" plotline from Mulan that they don't even try to create a believable cover up for because she talks normal and doesn't wear man's clothing for the entire game. Or how Crymaria is just a less interesting copy-pasted version of Selvaria. All the villains in fact felt very underdeveloped and of course they're completely separate from any of the villains in VC1. The main villain Belgar spends most of the game yelling into the void about his important research about WMDs that he did with Riley's dad which you never see in the actual story, and he's dispatched by one of his own subordinates in a matter of minutes. There isn't even any closure about what happens to the Empire after it's all over. It all felt pretty unsatisfying to me.

I want to touch on the difficulty/ranking system as well. One of my pet peeves with a lot of ranking systems in games like this is that they're almost always based on speed alone, and no other factors like percentage of units destroyed, minimizing casualties,  etc. As a result, you're still encouraged to abuse the game's broken mechanics with the Scout units and Orders that they didn't really fix from the first game. This time around you also have the APC which effectively doubles how much of the map you can cover, making any mission with the objective of "capture the base" or "defeat the boss" almost trivial. In defense, I will say that the difficulty is not inherently easy. Because this game is at it's core a puzzle/strategy game with some action elements sprinkled on top, the game is only challenging if you don't know how to effectively use all of your tools at your disposal. The difficulty is only trivial once you know the correct solution/order of operations, just like any other puzzle game. That's how I see things anyway.

In conclusion, Valkyria Chronicles 4, while still bringing it home in the gameplay, visuals and audio departments, is mostly a lazy under baked sequel.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on July 15, 2023, 04:46:13 pm
42. Final Fantasy XVI

Very, very fun game that does everything the series is known for but with a dark, bleak fantasy setting. Almost everything about the game was high quality and polished to a shimmery shine. Combat started with a bang and continued to improve the further I got thanks to so many abilities trickling in at just the right pace. My only gripe is the main villain. Even for FF, he was so damn over the top; chewing the scenery every goddamn time he was onscreen. At point during the final encounter, I thought I was watching a synchronized swimming routine. His camp took away from an otherwise solid tale.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on July 16, 2023, 05:31:56 pm
22. The Quarry || PlayStation 5 || 06.28.23

(https://i.imgur.com/RfOEKmp.jpg)

As a spiritual successor to Until Dawn, Supermassive Games's The Quarry is a project I've been greatly anticipating to play. With later projects of The Dark Pictures Anthology series having adhered to a more condensed format, re-visiting the more long-form narrative format was something I was curious to see still worked well.

Similar to its predecessors, The Quarry is a cinematic interactive adventure game, and its themes revisit the teen slasher and monster film tropes that Until Dawn has. Throughout the game's prologue and ten chapters, players are largely tasked with exploring the environment to gather information while periodically making decisions which influence the narrative's direction and outcomes. When tension builds and action sequences play out, QTEs and Hold Breath prompts appear which critically impact immediate events to come. But, just as its predecessors, no major action or player control is present, with player agency exclusively tied to choices and reaction success.

Briefly said, The Quarry tells the story of a group of camp counselors trying to leave Hackett's Quarry summer camp. Unfortunately for them, those plans change as they're forced to stay the night after vehicle problems. Like Until Dawn, The Quarry has a degree of campiness that many horror movie fans will enjoy, as the group will inevitably split up as tension arises once monsters and aggressive locals stand in their way to surviving the night.

At many times, the game felt like a movie, and especially so in one chapter as a lot of backstory is explained. However, this is not a critique. Overall, the performance quality from the cast was exceptional. I personally always enjoyed seeing the Hackett family in scenes, and I do wish that the extended family had been awarded more screen time. Among everyone, voice work is incredibly natural, with plenty of stutters, uncomfortable pauses, and awkward wording. Line delivery is strong, and the narrative writing dialogue itself is noteworthy.

While exploring, tarot cards may be found and collected which later may be read to help give insight to upcoming decisions and possible character deaths. Generally, they require a thorough investigation of the area but aren't that difficult to find if consistently walking off the beaten path. However, unlike with Until Dawn's totem poles, only one tarot card in a chapter may be read. This allows for a greater sense of unexpectedness regarding events to come. Typically, the repercussions of player actions are not always anticipated. Sometimes, the perceived bad choice turns out to be favorable, and vice-versa. There isn't any wrong decision in deciding which card to read, as they're all beneficial in some way.

Concerning the majority of gameplay, I found QTEs to not be difficult, although I did not understand the iconography upon starting. All QTEs are performed by the left analog stick, but the icon appears more like the ◯ button. Beacuse of this, I actually failed the first few sequences, but I soon understood what the issue was and continued without any problems. Initially, I felt quite rushed to execute sequences, but I found that the game is fairly lenient in granting reaction time. Similar to Until Dawn's Don't Move sequences, The Quarry features Hold Breath prompts. While I think this kind of QTE sequence suits this kind of game, I still feel as if another layer of interactivity could be added to provide more of a challenge. With the Hold Breath sequence, the action button simply needs to be held down until the threat leaves. If button-switching were a component or even some kind of haptic feedback resistance present, I would find these instances to be much more interesting.

Alongside QTEs and Hold Breath prompts, gameplay also comprises of general character movement and gun control. Regarding the former, movement controls fine in most cases, but there are specific instances when in the darkness that I found to be bothersome. More often than not, I found the best decision is to not directly control the light source with the right analog stick and to instead rely fully upon character movement controlled by the left. I'll note here now instead of later that The Quarry has given me the most difficulties regarding brightness. While I understand the game is at night and is adopting a rather dark atmosphere, I genuinely felt as I wasn't experiencing the visuals as I should have been. For most games, the default brightness settings are perfectly fine, but I had maxed out brightness settings and still felt impacted by the darkness. Perhaps this is intended, but I would have liked to have seen more environmental details. As for gun control, there are a few moments when you are prompted to shoot. Even if you choose to do so, I personally found issue with this mechanic. In several instances, I simply did not know where to aim, so the available time to complete the action felt especially limiting.

With all that said, the game's settings are quite accessible and can more-or-less all be toggled on or off. For gun control specifically, aim assistance and auto-aim are two separate options which are useful to help guarantee certain outcomes being made. While some may find fault that player deaths are permanent, this is nothing new to this series of games and reinforces a strict system that forces players to accept their decisions. However, The Quarry is the first entry in Supermassive Games's catalog to offer the Death Rewind system which allows three decisions resulting in death to be replayed, although this assistance is only available in subsequent playthroughs. A small note I'll detail here is that the game's subtitles are not perfect. I'm not hearing impaired nor know how much of an issue it may be to that community, but subtitles are not always aligned to lines, and there are some minor grammatical inconsistencies.

Overall, I found The Quarry to be a worthy successor to Until Dawn. It is difficult to say which of the two is more successful, but I don't think that is necessarily important as their strengths and weaknesses are generally equal, with the written plot for each favorable and able to maintain interest.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: conduit on July 16, 2023, 07:17:31 pm
It's been a while. Managed to get a few more games under my belt. Not sure how close I'll be by the end year of the year, but I'll keep trekking on.

#8 Resident Evil 4 Remake (Steam)
Prior to release I was skeptical in Capcom’s ability to remake RE4 in good faith, a game that was never in a state to justify a remake in the first place. Despite my pre-launch doubt, Capcom did not drop the ball and delivered an experience that complements OG RE4. The injection of more lore and detail about the game's story and world is a welcomed change. As is the darker approach the game embraces both thematically and aesthetically. RE Engine is a superb engine and runs silky smooth with very little hiccups, if any. My main gripe is in the gameplay with the lack of staggering with consecutive shots. Compared to the original its seems completely random, one Grenado will stagger with a single pistol shot while another ignores my shots entirely. I also felt the Remake’s pacing wasn’t as fine tuned. It goes by way too fast, primarily from the Castle onwards. Neither of these nitpicks are game-breakers though. After completing five playthroughs I feel RE4R can stand on its own as a competently made game. OG RE4 will still be my go to whenever I have the RE4 itch, but RE4R is a great substitute if you’ve played the original to death.

#9 Amid Evil (Steam)
A great Quake-like FPS that’s been in my Steam library for a while, played it sporadically but never completed it. Buckled down and went for a 100% secrets run recently and man, what a ride. The graphics are eye-melting with the appropriate chunkiness you’d expect. Weapons cover the whole gambit of Area FPS. You got your staples like the rocket launcher and lighting gun, but designed in a mystically medieval way. In this case, the rocket launcher is a magical staff that hurls planets as projectiles while the lighting gun is a literal trident. All the weapons can be enhanced through the Soul Power mechanic. Popping this off then clearing an enemy-filled room is an adrenaline rush that never gets old. Additional levels are coming with The Black Labyrinth DLC, which will be a day one purchase for me. Its just a well designed, looking, and paced game that should be in any old school FPS player’s library.

#10 Graze Counter GM (Steam)
The enhanced version of the original Graze Counter. Its the same game, just improved in every way. GM is $5 more in comparison at $15 but completely worth it. Everything I said about the original Graze Counter can be applied here; a great beginner STG with added challenge if you’re up for it. Got the 1CC on Normal and will likely return to it at some point to tackle the next highest difficulty. Cannot recommend it enough.

#11 Warhammer 40,000:Boltgun (Steam)
For a few weeks the online discourse of this game was constant. Anyone aware of the current retro/boomer shooter renaissance we’re living in now would not stop talking about it. I gave into the hype and threw down the dough. Mind you, my only interaction with the 40K series is through its video games and not the seemingly bottomless pit of lore and merchandise behind it. I’m going in expecting a core retro FPS experience with lore sprinkled on top, which is exactly what I got. I’m also a sucker for good pixel art, which is present both in-game and in-cutscenes. On the flipside, the game feels way too easy outside of bosses, even at the highest difficulty. Hardcore 40K fans might pass on it, but retro shooter fans should give it a try. It plays safe and doesn’t tread too far off course, compared to other retro shooters you could play much worse.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on July 16, 2023, 11:47:04 pm
31. Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)

First and foremost, it feels great to have been hyped for a new FF game for the first time since FF12, and also actually played it upon launch. FF used to be one of my all time favorite game franchises back in the early 2000s, and I accredit it also with getting me really into anime as well. Unfortunately that time has long passed and as I've stated numerous times on this site, I'm only a fraction of the RPG fan I used to be in my early teens. Despite this, I still get the urge to play them now and then and each year I generally beat two or three of them on average. After beating FFXVI I'm very happy to add this as one of those few RPGs I beat each year.


Overall, i really enjoyed FFXVI despite some issues that hampered my overall enjoyment of the game. This is the first game since FF12 that actually felt like a Final Fantasy game to me, and because of that I was instantly drawn to it. The audio and voice acting is absolutely incredible with not even one mediocre performance. Every character is voiced to perfection and I don't have a bad thing to say about any of the cast behind FFXVI's characters. The soundtrack is also appropriately epic and is fairly diverse in terms of the type of music that plays depending on where you are and what's happening. With that out of the way, I have slightly less praise to give the visuals of FFXVI. The graphics and character models all looked good, however I felt that often during gameplay the visuals looked pretty last gen (PS4/XBONE). That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was something I did notice and this also goes along with various other visual elements of this game feeling very old school to me. Again, I have mixed feelings about this, but I can't say the visuals were amazing, rather, they were pretty damn good with some minor flaws. The gameplay of FFXVI was a refreshing change that felt reminiscent of FF7:Remake in that it was very action focused and fast paced. This definitely made the combat fun and interesting, however my main gripe had to do with the game's RPG elements which felt fairly shallow for the most part. Outside ability customization, everything else felt faiirley inconsequential to my success in the game. I never faced an enemy I wasn't able to easily defeat, not did I need to equip specific items depending on what i was fighting. There was no magic type advantages or disadvantages I noticed, no status effects, no specific strategy to defeat certain enemies or bosses. In other words, this game felt like more God of War and less like FF, or any other RPG I've played for the most part. Even FF7:Remake felt more RPGish despite it going for a predominantly combat style of gameplay. Other than that, the world of FFXVI felt fairly small and there are certain areas you will be back tracking to A LOT! Still, this is a secondary grip compared to my criticism of the core gameplay being fairly shallow. As someone who struggles to stay engaged with RPGs this actually suit me well for the most part, however i couldn't help but want just a little more depth and RPG elements thrown in. The final area of FFXVI I want to examine is it's story. I'm not going to summarize it or go into any details, but I will say it felt fairly uneven; some chapters and section of FFXVI were beyond incredible, while other fairly long stretches of the game I found myself bored to tears. Luckily there were more high point than low points, and while the overall plot felt a bit generic in some ways, I still found it all mostly enjoyable and interesting. But as I mentioned earlier, I am so happy to have completed a new FF around the time of its release. Between this game and FF7:Remake, it feels so good to be back into FF and here's hoping this trend continues so I can make up for nearly 20-years of not caring about FF that much and lacking any excitement for its new entries. Hope is on the horizon once more :) (7/16/23) [38/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on July 17, 2023, 04:57:29 am
21 - Naraka: Bladepoint (PC 2021) - ENDLESS - Been struggling to keep myself focused on games for abit as stuff just keeps coming out that draws my attention away and I really need to get back to playing FF16, but Naraka went F2P a couple days ago and it's been really good.  I played it abit last year on Game Pass and thought it was fine, but because it was Gamepass, I wasn't going to stick with it.  It's a pretty solid Battle Royale game, built around kind of an involved melee combat that I still haven't fully come to terms with.  It feels so easy to just get combo'd to death and to figure the timing for counters, on top of having to learn the playstyles of multiple weapons since you can't rely on always having that weapon.  Not that I'm doing bad, I've gotten to the top 5 at least a dozens times and won probably half that, as it can be really satisfying when you manage to nail the moves, or just got lucky.  The action in general is a lot of fun though, especially with the grapple movement and climbing.

My favorite character I've focused on primarily so far, though I have a number unlocked now is Feria Shen, she's basically d.Va from Overwatch, to the point that she has a cyberpunk scifi outfit that makes her extra d.VA that I did buy lol Her special attack is three types of gun attacks, and then her ultimate is a mech, like a steampunk'ish mech that can fire rockets or a cannon blast.  It's a great survival tool when getting whooped or when fighting multiple enemies at once.

Thankfully, unlike Apex Legends, which doesn't have solo play for the BR mode to keep me around (only team deathmatch stuff), it has solo BR, so I don't have to do much squad play, though I've done some of the PVE content with other players, which is fine.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on July 19, 2023, 10:47:10 am
23. Valiant Hearts: The Great War || PlayStation 4 || 07.15.23

(https://i.imgur.com/GKI8na6.jpg)

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what about Valiant Hearts: The Great War first caught my attention or why I felt inclined to play it. That said, it's a game with characteristics I enjoy and has a short play time, so perhaps that's all it needed for it to be added to my backlog, where it's been for many years.

As a side-scrolling puzzle adventure game, Valiant Hearts serves a much different purpose than other war-centric games. Here, what was crafted is a tale about the brutalities of war from the perspective of both sides of World War I. As a narrative-driven experience, the story is mature in tone as themes of survival and sacrifice are explored, unlike first-person shooters and strategy games which generally do not focus on these emotional elements. With that said, this is not a game players will finish feeling content with each character gaining a good conclusion. War doesn't really offer a happy ending, and many throughout the game will die or suffer. As a game of this genre, there will be times when the player fails segments, but Valiant Hearts is quite forgiving since the game's focus is on the narrative itself. After failing, sections reload promptly with no noticeable load times.

Throughout the game, players will control four different characters one at a time as they face the war in different ways. For some of the cast, character-specific actions are tied to them whose gameplay sequences revolve around certain mechanics. While the cast comes together early on in the narrative, they are not always together as their roles in the war are needed elsewhere, or if the effects of war have caused them to become separated. Alongside general side-scrolling exploration, other gameplay mechanics consist of action prompts, stealth sequences, and controlling tanks, so the gameplay is quite simple. However, there is one unique gameplay element relating to the medic character that is notable. While also simple, its design requires performing timed button commands in quick succession. They have multiple sequences and follow a certain pattern for each encounter. At times, button commands require multiple buttons pressed down simultaneously, and it is common to see interchanging button prompts at fast tempos.

Regarding the general gameplay, it revolves around the player exploring the environment and solving environment puzzles to gain items to advance onward. So, for instance, this can be to unlock a door or to stealth past enemy attention. There are other times when a multiple steps must be performed to reach the immediate goal, though, such as completing a series of cause-and-effect outcomes to allow for a letter to be written. For most of the game, the immediate objective is straightforward in performing. But, one puzzle in particular concerning poison gas limiting player visibility was a little aggravating, although I understand why it was designed this way. While playing, I found level design to be strong as they adapt many aspects of war while maintaining historical accuracy. Many aspects are featured at some point throughout the narrative, including toxic gas and bombing, trench warfare, tunnel systems, encampments, and POW camps. This is complemented by moments of terror as the screams of war loom throughout the area. In particularly action-focused sections, heavy enemy fire is present which is elevated by violent screen shaking.

With that said, sections begin with new historical overviews complete with actual photos that provide informative context alongside the game's narration and events unfolding. As someone who has little knowledge about World War I, these inclusions were appreciated. In addition to these periodic updates, items may be collected while exploring that offer further historical context. These items are entirely optional to collect, but the added effort in teaching about numerous aspects of the war is again a nice inclusion. At the very least, discovering the items encourages player exploration and puzzle-solving. While the historical information is a nice feature, I was a little disappointed that it cannot be revisited at any point of the game once the section has been completed, whether it be from the in-game or title menu.

While Valiant Hearts offers periodic narration alongside plenty of information to collect, there is no character dialogue. Instead, dialogue boxes may appear with simple iconography to explain situations or emotions that is complemented by character animations which help advance the narrative. Additionally, there are times when letters written by the game's cast are written and read aloud with voice work. Although I have no problem with the dialogue itself and decision for limited voice work, I personally would have more enjoyed localized voice work. What I mean is that most of the cast speaks German or French, but all lines are voiced in English.

Overall, Valiant Hearts: The Great War offers a different kind of experience contrary to most other war games. While the game honestly doesn't do anything groundbreaking or exemplary, the developers' decision to adapt one of modern history's worst moments accurately is commendable. I'm personally not interested in war history, but learning about it through this medium obviously made it much more approachable, and the decision to frame it as emotional as it is is refreshing.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on July 21, 2023, 03:58:45 am
20. Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)
I beat Final Fantasy XVI this week after 63+ hours... the best way I can summarise the experience is a brilliant Final Fantasy Story stuck within a poorly made game!

The games structure is horrible for an RPG (Certainly for 2023). Rather than navigate through areas after a scenario ends you are given a Map Menu to where you have to select the next area - even if there is only 1 areas to go to... The problem with this structure is that it condenses the traversal element to an RPG & diminishes the sense of adventure! It's more like experiencing a condensely edited movie. Where in previous FF games it's experiencing the parties journey which gives us the time to engage with them.

Second point is the combat. It is terribly basic. I found once I unlocked Lunge & a Monsters Ability to topple an enemy over when their Stagger Bar is half-way I could beat all encounters without thinking. There was a normal enemy pattern & a Boss patern, that was it. Sadly the game doesn't incorporate elements into the Battle System, so there really is no depth at all.

Sidequests... Geez! The game is full of the most monotonous side material you can think of. Most are just generic fetch quests for random NPC's you don't care for - A couple worked for world building and presenting slavery in the world but  the lack of budget and variety left this to feel like chores - Got burnt out after 3 hours of sidequests one evening. The game has Monster Hunts but they're boring too as they're ALL re-skins of enemies you've already seen appear 4-5 times in the game - Really, you'll encounter a Boss in the Story Route & it will appear again & again in the story routes for the game.

So... what's to like? The story is VERY compelling! The world and it's peril is very well realised. I don't typically like Medieval Fantasy settings but the story was well presented - even if heavily inspired by Game of Thrones. Clive is a decent FF protagonist & like all good FF games carries a well crafted character-focused story on his back. You feel for his past and later I was engrossed and keen to support him on his quest. The other characters aren't quite as interesting but they make for a good posy and assist the journey. I won't go into spoilers but it is very well paced (Unless you go through all the sidequests...) and engrossing for start to finish.

Soundtrack is also a highlight! Much more memorable than the last games and genuinely exhilarating.

So... while I found every second of the actually story a delight, I simply did not enjoy playing the actual game... which is an odd polarizing experience to feel. Usually I am more for having a good story within a game but the gameplay is so unremarkable & side content so tedious that i really brings the overall experience down. If playing I would avoid most side content - You can tell the important ones as they have a + icon on the map, beyond that right at the end of the game there are a few character focused ones which are decent but i regret wasting so much time on games poor side content. Sadly for me this sits on t he lower end of the FF Series Ranking for me.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on July 21, 2023, 10:53:49 pm
22 - Ragnarock (PC 2021) - ENDLESS - One of my backlog games I've been meaning to play as I finally felt like jumping back to into VR.  Beat Saber was my go to rhythm game in VR, it's just a nice time, but I never liked most of the music it had.  There's only a handful of songs actually in the game I like and then everything else is DLC, and then of all the DLC, there's not tons I want, so when I saw there was a rhythm VR game built primarily around metal, I had to get it.  It's pretty fun, you hit 4 drums with hammers on a viking longboat, your score calculated by how far you get.  You can even get a speed boost by keeping up combo's and then hitting the shields on either side when your hammers power up. 

It's a little more challenging than Beat Saber because you have to get the timing of the hits down center to the drum as the symbols come to you.  It also relies on hitting actual drums in the game, so getting them positioned right was a little bit of a challenge.  I think I need to spend more time positioning them to figure out whats best.  But it has awesome music from Wind Rose, Alestorm, Gloryhammer, Electric Callboy, and a number of other bands, which makes for a real good default song selection and then there is with a bunch of other good bands, but it never felt like I NEEDED those songs compared to Beat Saber.  It also looks like it has custom songs built into it, so I'm gonna look up what I can get from that, as that's also something better than Beat Saber, which requires some extra stuff to get custom songs working.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on July 23, 2023, 10:35:42 am
Quote from: kamikazekeeg on July 21, 2023, 10:53:49 pm
22 - Ragnarock (PC 2021) - ENDLESS

When I read your thoughts, I wasn't envisioning a "note highway" style rhythm game. I wonder how Ragnarock compares to other drum-based rhythm games like Taiko Drum Master or even something like Rock Band.

I know you've already played through Metal: Hellsinger, so another you may enjoy is BPM: Bullets per Minute, although it's not a VR game either.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on July 23, 2023, 04:35:51 pm
Quote from: dhaabi on July 23, 2023, 10:35:42 am
Quote from: kamikazekeeg on July 21, 2023, 10:53:49 pm
22 - Ragnarock (PC 2021) - ENDLESS

When I read your thoughts, I wasn't envisioning a "note highway" style rhythm game. I wonder how Ragnarock compares to other drum-based rhythm games like Taiko Drum Master or even something like Rock Band.

I know you've already played through Metal: Hellsinger, so another you may enjoy is BPM: Bullets per Minute, although it's not a VR game either.

I never played Taiko Drum Master, but I would say it's not far off from Guitar Hero/Rock Band in feeling with that note highway aspect.  You don't need to be exact with your hits either, but hitting the symbols centered on the drums is what gives the power-up.  I'm not a "drummer" either, though I think I have decent rhythm and I was doing stuff pretty alright for songs around the middle'ish difficulty.  Drum positioning is super important ingame because I would sometimes get double hits for not lifting the hammers high enough after hits.

I have heard of BPM, but haven't checked it out yet, I wasn't really a fan of its visual style, which is like really aggressively over-saturated and kinda blown out from the video I watched, but it's on the wishlist to maybe grab down the road.  That actually reminds me that I need to pick up the DLC for Hellsinger sometime lol
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on July 25, 2023, 09:41:12 am
26. Citizens of Earth

JRPG style but with a politician and weird monsters and aliens. Some party members locked behind minigames which I don't like but they were not required for beating the game. You can rename all party members which is great. All of the items (like armor/weapons) are character specific and almost all of them have negative aspects that make you not want to use them. I wonder if there is some hidden strat to make them viable with specific party combinations.

I had read that the game was prone to crashing but I did not encounter any... well the game fails to send a proper exit code when it closes so Windows always thinks that it crashes. I did have a couple of situations where the game would freeze after cutscenes. This was not as bad as it seemed because there was an auto-save that can be used instead of just your manual saves. Bad news is you can only load a save when you launch the game. If you want to load a save during the game, you'd have to quit and then open it again to load the save. Also map doesn't work when riding the sea monster.

Audio has a few issues. Overall the main issue is that the sound is too loud to start and the in-game volume options do not seem to effect the loading screen. The game runs with 2.1 audio and instead of running in stereo (or 2.1) on a 5.1, it pushes the front sounds to rear speakers. The other issue with audio is from the game's design, where the main character talks constantly during battles, which tends to slow things down. Also it gets tedious since he only says like 3 different things.

I did get stuck a few times and finding out what to do was not easy. First of all, this is probably the first game on Steam I have played that didn't have a walkthrough written for it. The map screen has different icons showing where you need to go to do quests, but some of it loops around weird or leads to screens where the quest icon will say to go back to a previous screen. So then off to Google you do, but finding anything that way was nearly impossible due to search poisoning. Since this game was one of those that people were able to use on 3DS to root the system, those results were aggregated to bejesus and back making it impossible to find anything about the PC version that wasn't on the Steam forums. I ended up finding an LP of it to figure out the one thing I had left to do.

I beat the main boss and got the credits but the game actually continues on from there. I do not think it is a new game+ rather it just has a soft ending. You can then go about and finish any quests you didn't get to do before.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on July 25, 2023, 11:50:35 am
24. 7 Days to End with You || Nintendo Switch || 07.17.23

(https://i.imgur.com/TLkIEK6.jpg)

Last week, two friends of mine each recommended for me to take advantage of the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online promotion by playing 7 Days to End with You (7 Days). I had never heard of the game before but trusted their judgment that it's worth playing.

Controlling an amnesiac player-character, the game begins as you wake up to discover their loss of memory and that they've been taken care of by an unknown woman. For the purpose of this review, I will acknowledge the player-character as Boyle and woman as Theo. Unfortunately for Boyle, it seems as if he not only has lost his memory but is also unable to understand Theo's language. Over the course of seven days, Theo acts as your host and caretaker while also explaining what items are in her language. Other casual conversation happens throughout the day naturally as well, but none of it makes any immediate sense. In addition to Theo's explanations, players can also study Theo's emotions and reactions to certain items, which will certainly also help convey meaning. Before controlling Boyle, in-game text appears explaining that "the story will be completed according to [our] interference and interpretation. Every story [we] feel, every story [we] interpret, is correct."

With such an interesting premise set, gameplay operates as a puzzle-adventure, with the player's goal being to decipher Theo's words to understand what has happened to Boyle. Unlike a formal language, the language in 7 Days is simple and only utilizes keywords: only nouns, verbs, and adjectives. As you explore indoors, you'll regularly notice repeating words mentioned to describe similar items. By using deduction, this is how the language slowly starts to become understood. While the entire house is able to be explored at any time, players will discover that some items have much simpler keywords attached to them. Interpreting the meaning of these items first should be the player's first immediate goal, as they assist in understand more complicated ideas. So, for a set of three jars of varying sizes, their keywords may be small/medium/large, color name, container. But again, it is up to the player in how words are interpreted, and any sort of meaning can be attributed to them at any time in the menu prompt. I did not realize this feature until my second playthrough, but every instance that a word is used by Theo can be re-visited in-menu, which is incredibly helpful instead of inspecting one item at a time in separate rooms.

As mentioned above, language is limited to keywords only. So, Theo may say something that the player interprets as plants, life, give, with the ultimate meaning being something like Do you want to tend to the plants? Even after attributing a meaning to a word, players can update it freely from the menu. Several times while playing, I thought I understood a word's meaning, but it really meant something else. From the game's opening moments, the game clearly conveys that this is a game about interpretation and that the game's narrative can be understood in any number of ways. For a long time, I thought that a word translated to kitchen, but its meaning is actually home. Some narrative sequences still make sense with slightly off interpretations, so how player interpretation is utilized is executed so well in what I find to be a fascinating way. In addition to simply attributing meaning to a word, the menu also allows for colors to be associated to them which appear underneath each word in dialogue boxes. Truthfully, I did not realize this was a feature until a subsequent playthrough and ultimate chose not to utilize it. However, I've read online that, while the game prompts you to associate color with the emotion a word conveys, there were some players who instead used certain colors for specific parts of speech.

After seven days pass, the narrative ends. The game can be incredibly short of only about five minutes, but most initial playthroughs will be 2-3 hours in length. After my first playthrough, I did attempt the game again blindly to see what new aspects I could discover or words I could define, but I did not have much success in advancing substantially. However, I was pleased that word interpretations carry over from one playthrough to the next. With all that mentioned, 7 Days does offer multiple endings—I believe five or six—but only three are significantly different. Truthfully, I could only reach one ending on my own. Even after finding a guide to correctly translate all words, I still had trouble in figuring out what to do in order to unlock a different path. Unfortunately, there is almost no information about 7 Days on English-speaking sites, so I used a Japanese guide for ending purposes. That said, there are still some aspects of the game which no guide covers, and it seems that no player publicly knows what some items are used for, such as a bedroom notebook that allows players to input text.

Aside from gameplay, there is little else needed mentioning. Despite there being one music track for most gameplay sequences, I surprisingly didn't grow tired of it. The art doesn't stand out in any interesting way, but it does do a successful job in depicting what items are to help players attach meaning to them.

In the end, I found 7 Days to End with You to be such a unique project. I know no other game that explores the circumstances of a person finding themselves in a situation where they can't understand others' language, even though it is not that uncommon of an event. While the focus is on player interpretation, words do ultimately have meaning, although it is still interesting to experience a narrative understood in this way, as there are so many possibilities as to how the narrative conveys to players. I'm certainly glad it was recommended. Also, something I'll briefly note is that the game is much darker in theme than it appears.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on July 26, 2023, 08:21:31 am
43. Mercenaries Saga: Will of the White Lions


I played through this on the side while playing a bunch of other things. This really surprised me. The game doesn't do much to reinvent the wheel, and I'm quite pleased with that. It's a standard, somewhat challenging, by the books strategy RPG with some impressive dialogue, a likable a cast, and neat setting. I'm glad I took a chance on it (and the other two games in the collection).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on July 28, 2023, 03:49:10 pm
42. Eschatos (PS4, on Easy)

OK, let me tell you a story about my history with scrolling shmups (might have told it here before, but whatever).

I was never really into shmups growing up. The only one I really liked was Axelay on SNES. Didn’t like Stinger (NES) all that much, Gradius on Game Boy was OK, Gradius Interstellar Assault (GB) was actually really good, Gradius III (SNES) was alright, Super R-Type (SNES) was far too hard to be any fun, Twin Cobra (NES) wasn’t bad. Overall I had very little interest in the genre for decades. Eventually I just ignored them when I saw them on store shelves. I did rent Einhander on PS1 once and was unimpressed.

Then I got my Coregrafx Mini two Christmases ago and that all changed. Lords of Thunder, Soldier Blade, Blazing Lazers, and Spriggan showed me what a shmup COULD be…crazy screen-filling power-ups, fast action, cool pixel art…it awakened a passion I didn’t know I had. Since then I’ve been educating myself on all the shmups I never paid attention to and I’ve learned a lot.

So a few weeks ago I saw a video by Shmup Junkie where he basically drools all over this game called Eschatos. Never heard of it before, but seemed neat and was highly recommended by a number of YouTubers. Saw it was $10 off on PSN so I took a chance on it. DAMN, this game is fun. It might be the most “fair” shmup I’ve ever played; 99% of the time, when I die I know for sure it was my own lack of skill at fault (rather than feeling like the game put me in an overwhelming unwinnable situation). The game gives you everything you need right off the bat (straight shot, spread shot, rechargeable shield) and there are no power-ups to lose whenever you die, eliminating the frustration of having to power back up after every death. Simple but ingenious design, especially the shield which is a GODSEND for an amateur like me. I beat it on Easy, currently still trying on Normal. Did it overtake Lords of Thunder as my favorite shmup ever? No, but it’s right up there.

Currently educating myself on the NeoGeo shmups available on PSN, many of which look really good (Prehistoric Isle 2, Blazing Star, etc). Tried buying Ghost Pilots, but that game turned out to be the opposite of Eschatos: your plane is too slow and weak (speed CANNOT be increased by any means), power-ups are too hard to obtain and don’t help much even when you get them, enemies outmaneuver you at every point…VERY frustrating. NOT a good shmup.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on July 30, 2023, 07:17:29 am
23 - Pseudoregalia (PC 2023) - BEAT - On the hunt for more low poly throwback games, this time with a great Metroidvania styled 3D platformer, built very much around some fantastic mobility features.  By the time you end the game, you can long jump, slam the ground to jump higher, kick jump off walls to bounce upward, attack enemies and certain objects in the air to bounce off of, and wall run.  The low poly visuals are great with optional old school fuzzyiness and framerate, which you can turn off in the options for a cleaner look and smoother framerate, which is what I used.  It does have combat, but combat is such a small part of the game, which is sort of a negative as you have very decent gameplay built around combat too, but there's so few bosses and so few enemy types, you'll spend most of the game not doing any real combat.

The only issues I had, was that there is no map, so you will spend a bunch of time running through areas, figuring out what abilities you might need to progress through an area, go and search somewhere else to hopefully get that ability, and then spend a bunch of time trying to find your way back to that initial area.  It's not a super long game, I beat it in about 5 hours, but it gets a little tedious when you can't remember how to get back somewhere.  The other issue was that some areas of the platforming feel so challenging, that I couldn't tell if I was sequence breaking a spot by getting lucky with the abilities I had, or if I was supposed to actually do it that way.  Some spots can be a real challenge.

That said, it's cheap, I got a few hours of overall good gameplay out of it, the game plays great, and it's a real solid time.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on July 30, 2023, 05:19:54 pm
25. Omno || PlayStation 4 || 07.23.23

(https://i.imgur.com/0KzqvDx.jpg)

Looking to play another short game, Omno seemed to fit the requirement. Other than its brief play time, I didn't know anything the game and was initially attracted to its art style.

Upon starting, players are given no context early on as to who the player-character is, where they are, or what their goal is. So, as a 3D puzzle-platformer, Omno begins with players navigating their surroundings while interacting with the environment. While doing so, players will inevitably encounter glyphs which can be read that help establish the narrative and context of the game's events. As more and more glyphs are found, players eventually piece together that they are reading the notes of a past pilgrim of sorts left behind as they embark on a pilgrimage in a pursuit of knowledge and another world. Now, it us following the same route as we pursue our own.

As for who players control on this pilgrimage, we learn that the pilgrims are known as staffbearers, a sort of seer with knowledge of a light energy source and the power it grants, while being a guide to others. Throughout our journey, we learn that the light itself acts as a guide for us, as well. From plants and animals to even unassuming rocks, light lives on in everything. As more and more light is collected, players will unlock additional platforming abilities such as dash and a surf-like action. With collecting light being our immediate goal, players are able to traverse from one locale to another, crossing entire regions to reach entirely different biomes. Upon finding a needed light source, some may simply be gathered without issue, but may require solving an environmental puzzle of some kind. While there are times when light is easy to find, landscapes quickly become far-reaching and expansive as new areas are reached, so discovering everything is not always a simple task. That said, there are more items to find that work toward fully completing an area, but only three light sources of usually four or five are needed to progress the narrative.

While in a specific area, there are environmental design choices that some may say create a vast emptiness, as light is found at specific map locations with nothing really between the two. And, at no time during Omno is combat present or even danger to avoid, which was refreshing as few games of of these types can be characterized as such. Despite being in a mostly empty landscape, players will naturally discover wildlife. While they are not crucial in a gameplay sense (aside from one), their existence helps establish world-building which is elevated by field notes. I found their inclusion to be a welcome addition. As previously mentioned, light is contained in all things, so interacting with wildlife yields this resource each by a unique means. For much of the wildlife, the move about freely and act out in certain ways, so stopping for a short moment to study how they serve their purpose in the ecosystem was always something I chose to do.

Concerning gameplay elements, platforming is far from perfect. At times, I found it difficult to climb certain ledges, as it is often to jump to not get a grip on the platform you're trying to reach, which results in falling. Additionally, I noticed that many platforms are small. This gave the impression of precision-focused platforming similar to other platformers which are difficult just for the sake of being so, but it is really just an example of poor design in Omno's case. There were several instances while playing that I thought an environmental item was a platform when it actually wasn't, such as with treetops. On that note, Omno would benefit from illustrating more clearly what is and isn't a platform. During my playthrough, I encountered one clipping glitch which I became stuck and unable to break free. The result was a never-ending animation loop, requiring me to re-load. All of these aspects worked negatively toward the game's presentation and sense of play, as Omno sets out to provide an exciting but still relaxed sense of adventure. During some quick information-gathering shortly before organizing my thoughts, I learned that Omno is a one-person developed project as a the developer's first ever game. With that in mind, a lot of gameplay aspects I can be somewhat less critical of, because developing a game on one's own is an impressive feat.

On the topic of Omno's art design, it is heavily inspired by works of thatgamecompany. Featuring an array of environments and biomes, the pilgrimage takes players across a forgotten wilderness with human claim nowhere in sight. There were times when I found visual design to be lacking in originality, but many instances of lighting were executed nicely to create an appealing sense of depth to illustrate just how expansive areas may be. Similar to art, the game's soundtrack is also comparable to games I'm reminded of. Truthfully, nothing stood out as particularly exemplary, but the music certainly is complementary.

Ultimately, Omno is one of those one-person indie games that's notable in execution that successfully engages players. It is not groundbreaking in any sense, but it still offers an enjoyable experience that can be fully completed in a handful of hours.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on July 30, 2023, 05:32:25 pm
24 - Maneater (PC 2020) - BEAT - This is actually my second run through the game, I beat it back when it first came out and then I've been waiting to catch the Truth Quest DLC on a sale, which I just did, but the cloud didn't save my info for this apparently, so I had to start from the beginning of the game.  Which is totally fine as it's not a very long game at all, like 10 hours generally for a full run.  I think this game is just fun, kinda that picture perfect mid-tier game where it isn't doing anything crazy deep or wildly innovative, it's built around the sole gimmick of an ever mutating shark that eats people and other aquatic critters, and it does it well.  My only real negative on the game is that there isn't a lot of mission variety, it's kinda JUST enough, but I felt they could've tried to have a few more mission types to try and mix things up more.  They did add time trials in the the DLC at least.

I do recommend the game though, it's a silly idea, I love the narration throughout which does a lot to keep you invested, going from a sorta Deadliest Catch type reality show, into the conspiracy laden podcast in the DLC, all told by Chris Parnell who just does quality work.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on July 31, 2023, 08:30:25 am
44. Legaia 2: Duel Saga

This was either my third time through. This is one of my top five games of all time. I remember feeling very skeptical about it years ago when it was first released because I felt burned by the first game (I did manage to finish the first one eventually - after another replay of Legaia 2!) It ended up being one of those games I couldn't put down and that trend carried into this replay. It's just a wonderful adventure; a reminder of why I like RPGs so much. And the thing is, I still have yet to do everything that the game offers. I finished the game around 35 hours but with all of the remaining recipes, mini-games, bonus battles, and character titles it's tempting to keep going. The game lacks any New Game Plus, which is very unfortunate. A part of me wants to go back and do it all, but the purpose of this playthrough was to cleanse the palette for the platinum run in FFXVI. Which, by the way, has a lot of parallels with this game. Heroes blessed by fire. A world slowly dying by creeping darkness. Markings that cause the general population to turn their weapons towards them. The list goes on. This was also the first time I had the official strategy guide from Prima by my side. Surprisingly, the guide did a good job of keeping track of side missions (there's A TON) and providing strategies for bosses. It had some errors, of course. The most egregious were missing Arts. But, it was still nice to have it along for the ride. Next time I play, I'm going to use Kazan and Maya. It'll be tough because Sharon is so good but I want to do something to keep each replay fresh.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on August 06, 2023, 04:25:35 pm
26. Astro Bot Rescue Mission || PlayStation 4 || 07.27.23

(https://i.imgur.com/aEXFBRW.jpg)

Being someone who's owned PlayStation VR since 2017 but has played very little of it, I've been wanting to change that in recent months. I finally set up PSVR, so I wanted to start with perhaps the best example of a game that utilizes the hardware capabilities to the fullest. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone familiar with the accessory that I'm referring to Astro Bot Rescue Mission.

As a third-person 3D platformer, Astro Bot Rescue Mission may be a game some would find it odd to be designed with VR in mind. However, the gameplay mechanics function extremely well. To briefly describe the simple narrative, we are an astro bot (whom I'll dub Astro), and our fellow astro bots have been scattered about all throughout different regions and even worlds across space. So, it is up to Astro to save his comrades.

Like other 3D platformers, a large focus is to collect items. Controlling Astro, players will be able to run, jump, and hover throughout stages while avoiding environmental and enemy obstacles. While gamelay mostly revolves around controlling Astro traditionally with analog stick use, there are some moments which require player head movement to evade enemy attacks or to even headbutt certain objects. Generally, I found platforming to be quite forgiving and easy to control. I don't think there was ever a single instance that I missed a platform or failed an action due to to the game but only as a result of my own input. Checkpoints appear regularly as the player progresses through a stage alongside speedy recovery load times, so player death is not a major issue.

So, while I mentioned Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a third-person experience, that is not entirely accurate. In fact, it is difficult to say whom the player controls. There is actually a second floating robot following Astro at all times, which is the perspective players view from a first-person perspective. While analog sticks and face buttons control Astro, the touch pad allows for the second robot to be controlled some. Throughout most stages, the player is awarded one of several gadgets to bypass stage hazards or to defeat enemies, which are all controlled by the second robot, technically. For all of these gadgets, successful use is dependent on gyroscopic controls which adds another layer of depth to play. Regarding perspective, the simple explanation is that the player controls two robots meaning that this is both a first- and third-person game, or perhaps the second robot is actually controlling Astro.

While playing, the game greatly requires players to freely move about in-person as in-game camera angles change. Bots needing rescue or even platforms to advance to are regularly just out-of-view or slightly behind the player where the player wouldn't ordinarily be facing. Despite these details, the game doesn't warrant a required standing position, as almost all of my time playing was while seated. At times, I would realize some side paths were missed and would want to backtrack, but once the player advances to a certain segment, it's difficult to do because the camera won't follow. So, at a certain point, Astro just isn't visible from the now fixed camera view. This certainly isn't a fault of level design but one that I feel successfully encourages replayability. However, there were times when simply maintaining sight of Astro was a challenge. When moving Astro out of sight often further back toward the stage start, it was common to lose track of their position even when following movement with the headset. This wasn't a major issue, though, and was exclusive to when I was simply exploring my immediate surroundings without stage hazards.

With the game's structure being separate stages within separate worlds, each major section of the game ends with a boss encounter. To reach these encounters, the player must meet a minimum rescued astro bot requirement, so the game does encourage exploration as many bots are not in obvious spots along the path. Audio feedback is provided when near a bot which is certainly helpful. That said, there are plenty of optional hidden paths to uncover where many bots are in hiding. Returning back to bosses, each of their battle designs are unique and memorable. Toward the end, boss difficulty felt noticeably higher, so overcoming them was always rewarding. Another aspect I'll briefly mention are challenge stages which are unlocked which vary in design from time trials, high score requirements, and perfect run boss encounters. The "challenge" term is definitely applicable for most, so achieving all 26 stages was another rewarding experience.

Regarding music, it is often fun and upbeat while certainly always being complementary to the stage design. At times, tracks are reused across stages, but they will usually have different mixes. I'll also comment on visuals and VR comfortability. For the former, Astro Bot Rescue Mission often appeared exceptional, as colors are vibrant in addition to there being a lot of environmental movement always in view while allowed each area to feel alive. For the latter, I can also report it to be successful. I've played through other brief VR experiences which were not all welcoming to play due to motion sickness, but that was not ever once an issue with this game.

Overall, Astro Bot Rescue Mission was one of those 3D platforming experiences that I wish I could experience again for the first time. I have very few if any minor nitpicks, but I find its execution and presentation to be near-perfect.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 06, 2023, 08:17:50 pm

Finally I can add a Metroid Prime game to my list of beaten titles. I must've tried to play one of those like 3 or 4 times but I'd always get stuck early on and then lose interest. A shame because I've loved all the 2D titles I've beaten. But I finally decided to dive into Metroid Prime Remastered and I'm glad I did. I completely see why this game gets the love it does. It's absolutely fantastic. It's atmospheric as all hell, and the worlds are a joy to explore. This game seriously got my blood pumping more than once too. It knows both how to make you feel powerful as hell and how to back you completely into a corner. I don't know what got me stuck the previous times but this time I got through with patience, using the hint system and only very occasionally asking the internet for help. The remaster is absolutely gorgeous too. Definitely recommend it highly. Now to see whether I'll immediately dedicate myself to Prime 2 and 3 (doubt it)

And immediately beat another one: The Wonderful One: After School Hero. If you haven't heard of it: this is a run 'n gun platformer that serves as a side game to The Wonderful 101: Remastered. It seemed fun enough, and I had heard it was only a few hours long (I ended up beating it in a little over two hours). And yeah, it is fun enough! I enjoyed it. It's a bit "blindly shoot at whatever is in sight" rather than strategically and skillfully play around it (at least my first playthrough here was), but that's fine. Especially considering it's free DLC for The Wonderful 101: Remastered anyway (though it's available on its own as well). If you have The Wonderful 101: Remastered, download this DLC and give it a go! It's pretty fun.

Also yes, 8 games thus far isn't a ton, but I've been noticing that my interests are spreading: I've also read 16 books this year thus far (and that's excluding manga, graphic novels and art books). So I like to think I'm doing well :)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on August 07, 2023, 09:56:51 am
27. Mass Effect 2

Committed the sin of playing this game first and not the actual first game. But it gives me the chance to replay it again later after playing the first game just to see what was changed. I really don't have much to say about the game. The game world is interesting but I didn't get that into it. It doesn't make me want to go read the books or anything.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on August 07, 2023, 10:07:23 am
Dropped Jurassic World: Evolution 2 (PS5). Fun for about an hour and then it plummets. Lost all interest.


Quote from: tripredacus on August 07, 2023, 09:56:51 am
27. Mass Effect 2

Committed the sin of playing this game first and not the actual first game.

That's not a sin. It's actually how I had my introduction into the series as the first wasn't on PS3 until well after the third had released. I do recommend playing the third next and then go back to the first.

I had no idea what Mass Effect was beyond that it was a popular 360 game with Star Trek like attributes. The third had just released and was getting a bunch of praise so I decided to go with the cheaper introduction with the second game on PS3 which was only $20. I loved it so much that I bought the third before I even beat the second so I could continue the story. The series as a whole sits proudly in second place for my favorite series. Of course, that means it got the shadowbox treatment. You can see it in my gallery pics.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on August 07, 2023, 09:12:07 pm
8. Bad End Theater - Steam- This is a short and sweet visual novel game with a puzzle element. It was also pretty short compared to other visual novels I have completed. This took me about 3 hours. I really liked going through the different options and finding all the endings.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on August 08, 2023, 09:56:55 am
28. CAT Interstellar
A cute game where you just kind of do whatever. I was afraid it would not work at first because I got the game to crash in the first level by jumping into a force field. It seems to be more of an experiment/tech demo type thing. You play as a robot, a "dog" robot and later a cat. The dog phase is by far the most interesting. There is a double jump and a triple throw. You can get out of bounds easily but there is an achievement for trying to do this. There are no saving but you can start any level from the first. I do not know if you can survive level 5 or if the death is scripted. Playing as a cat is weird, you have a meow button. Credits is actually a level you walk around in, it is the same as the first level.

It seems like there is more that you can do but the functionality isn't there. Such as being able to move objects. There is no purpose besides being able to. You can also move and stack boxes, but I was not able to find any place where you would want to use boxes to get somewhere. There might be secrets somewhere but the game is not interesting enough to replay to find out. It is interesting that I wish the game went further but there is nothing. Especially in level 5 where Android 42 says you need to look at something but I couldn't because my vision was damaged by getting hit by a boulder.

You can "beat" the game in an hour. There are side things that can be done, as I could see in the achievements. I did some naturally as I went along. You can get lost on Mars surface because you can accidentally knock over the light poles that are in place to guide you between buildings. The voices all sound the same despite apparently having different actors. It just sounds like a young person talking, not a real voice actor. But something cool about how the voices sound, a good bad maybe.

Quote from: telekill on August 07, 2023, 10:07:23 am
Quote from: tripredacus on August 07, 2023, 09:56:51 am
27. Mass Effect 2

Committed the sin of playing this game first and not the actual first game.

That's not a sin. It's actually how I had my introduction into the series as the first wasn't on PS3 until well after the third had released. I do recommend playing the third next and then go back to the first.

I had no idea what Mass Effect was beyond that it was a popular 360 game with Star Trek like attributes. The third had just released and was getting a bunch of praise so I decided to go with the cheaper introduction with the second game on PS3 which was only $20. I loved it so much that I bought the third before I even beat the second so I could continue the story. The series as a whole sits proudly in second place for my favorite series. Of course, that means it got the shadowbox treatment. You can see it in my gallery pics.

I obviously knew it was a thing, especially it being popular enough to get a remaster. I also knew about it, especially the story mechanics due to watching some youtubers who focus on complex game systems and im-sims like Strat-Edgy. I went into it unsure if I would care about it just because it was a third person shooter. And the fact that I had to use KBM to play because the game did not detect my gamepad. Since it was a PC version, and it was the old version that didn't use an online platform to run.

I can play the first game but I am unsure of how the save reading works. ME2 I played was US PC version but ME1 I have is UK PC version. I hope that the saves cross. I don't have ME3 in any form.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 08, 2023, 10:59:50 am

If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right? Whatever, I'm treating it that way. Which means I can add Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil to the list. I beat Klonoa 1 on Wii, so when I got Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series I skipped straight to two. Was about a third of the way in, glad to have finished it now. I think these are good, cute platformers. I see why people love them, and those endings are gonna stick with me, but I dunno, I just don't feel in love with them otherwise. They're good, but not my favourites ever. Honestly the sole thing that drew me to these games is how adorable Klonoa is. And yep, he still is.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on August 08, 2023, 05:12:33 pm
I'm actually playing through the Klonoa games too! There are also GBA games, I just beat Klonoa: Empire of Dreams - A Klonoa 1.5 really. It's a decent platfomer! Very tricky at points but overall enjoyable. I think the story is self contained as it happens in a Limbo area between Klonoa 1 & 2 - I can't see the characters from this GBA game returning in Klonoa 2 anyway.

There is a 2nd Klonoa GBA game set after Klonoa 2 called Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament Which is another platformer Game set after Klonoa 2 on PS2.

The following game seems to be more like an RPG Klonoa Heroes: Legendary Star Medal adventure - This game has been translated online but is meant to be a lot longer than the other games! Further research has stated it to be non-canon.

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 08, 2023, 08:15:55 pm

Guess I'm just knocking out a lot of shorter ones right now. Just beat the Journey Mode of Tetris Effect: Connected, which has levels and prompted a credit sequence so it counts for me! And yep, auditory and visually it's gorgeous. I'm sure everyone has seen it, but if you're a Tetris fan, I think you owe it to yourself to at least try it (with headphones!). Otherwise, it's still Tetris no matter how gorgeous it is, so whether or not it's worth it is really up to you.

Quote from: vivigamer on August 08, 2023, 05:12:33 pm
I'm actually playing through the Klonoa games too! There are also GBA games, I just beat Klonoa: Empire of Dreams - A Klonoa 1.5 really. It's a decent platfomer! Very tricky at points but overall enjoyable. I think the story is self contained as it happens in a Limbo area between Klonoa 1 & 2 - I can't see the characters from this GBA game returning in Klonoa 2 anyway.

There is a 2nd Klonoa GBA game set after Klonoa 2 called Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament Which is another platformer Game set after Klonoa 2 on PS2.

The following game seems to be more like an RPG Klonoa Heroes: Legendary Star Medal adventure - This game has been translated online but is meant to be a lot longer than the other games! Further research has stated it to be non-canon.

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

Ah awesome! Sounds good! I've heard of the GBA games of course but I've never really looked at them tbh. Maybe I will try them someday. Hope you enjoy the rest of 'em!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on August 08, 2023, 09:07:04 pm
Quote from: vivigamer on August 08, 2023, 05:12:33 pm
Quote from: realpoketendonl on August 08, 2023, 10:59:50 am
If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right?

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

On that note, I'll mention those ridiculous compilation collections such as 155,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/item/41116), 333,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/search/%22333%2C000%22) and 700,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/item/194909). Even though there are only a minute fraction of unique games than what's advertised, someone here should play through a compilation and count each individual game as something completed.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 08, 2023, 09:24:49 pm

Just beat the N. Sane Trilogy version of the original Crash Bandicoot. And honestly, I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but I didn't really like it. I found a lot of it frustrating, and not in a fun way like Cuphead or something. The whole game felt very slippery. I was constantly slipping off of the small platforms it was expecting me to jump across, and a lot of it felt unfair. I am so sick of that Game Over screen. I also know a lot of people really love the characters in these games, but I don't know, I didn't really care about any of them. And small thing, but I thought the music was very forgettable. Who knows, I've heard the sequels are better so maybe I'll give those a shot later, but this one, if you like it I'm very happy for you, but for me, it was meh. Definitely my least favourite game I've beaten this year thus far.


Quote from: dhaabi on August 08, 2023, 09:07:04 pm
Quote from: vivigamer on August 08, 2023, 05:12:33 pm
Quote from: realpoketendonl on August 08, 2023, 10:59:50 am
If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right?

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

On that note, I'll mention those ridiculous compilation collections such as 155,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/item/41116), 333,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/search/%22333%2C000%22) and 700,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/item/194909). Even though there are only a minute fraction of unique games than what's advertised, someone here should play through a compilation and count each individual game as something completed.

Honestly, that sounds like a brilliant YouTube video. "I played EVERY SINGLE GAME on this 330,000 GAME CD-ROM!" I'd watch it. Heck, over 100,000 is a little much, but if I ever get my hands on a CD-ROM that has like a couple of hundred, I might start doing this and recording it out of pure morbid curiosity. You're giving me bad ideas here.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on August 09, 2023, 10:04:30 am
Quote from: dhaabi on August 08, 2023, 09:07:04 pm
Quote from: vivigamer on August 08, 2023, 05:12:33 pm
Quote from: realpoketendonl on August 08, 2023, 10:59:50 am
If you beat a game that's released as part of a collection it still counts as one game beaten right?

Also to answer your question I am counting them as seperate games for this list.

On that note, I'll mention those ridiculous compilation collections such as 155,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/item/41116), 333,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/search/%22333%2C000%22) and 700,000 Games (https://vgcollect.com/item/194909). Even though there are only a minute fraction of unique games than what's advertised, someone here should play through a compilation and count each individual game as something completed.

On my personal backlog list, I only have the comp listed, but will list the individual games played on the challenge. I did this in 2021 where games 12 to 15 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11230.msg185703.html#msg185703) were from a single release: Forgotten Realms Archives Silver (https://vgcollect.com/item/133772).

I can't wait until I can check out 1000 Games for Macintosh (https://vgcollect.com/item/143060)!  ;D
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on August 09, 2023, 11:00:28 am
Finally beat Nioh 2.  Better than the first game in pretty much every way.  More enemy variety, better level design, the works.  The story is kind of a non-entity here, and the inventory / loot system is still a bit too much, but it was a difficult and fun game to play.  Difficulty curve was also much more balanced.  I was cruising through the endgame of the first Nioh, and while I did beat the final boss in one try the overall levels and encounter design at the end took far more consideration and patience to deal with.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on August 09, 2023, 01:09:42 pm
45. Final Fantasy III

This was part of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection. All I can say is, FINALLY. Off the top of my head, I've tried to go through this a few times on NES' wild emu and at least four or five times on the PSP version. And each time, I just. Couldn't. Do it. The Pixel Remaster version is exactly what I needed to get through it. I took full advantage of 2X experience points and the ability to turn on/off encounters with the push of a button. Otherwise, the game is a chore; just so many moments in which the game feels 100% engineered to screw the player over. Credit does need to be given, though. The job system is neat, especially for its time. And when the game works, it works. My final party was a Ninja, Dark Knight, Sage, and Devout.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 10, 2023, 06:19:23 am

And that's Pilotwings Resort done. I'm on a train and feeling really tired so needed something laid back and relaxing to play. And turned out I only had six more missions to beat to finish all of 'em, which I'm going to consider beating it. Flying a plane around Wuhu Island is still fun, but the best thing about this game when it launched was seeing everything in 3D, and I think it still is (unfortunately I'm playing on a New 2DS XL so no 3D but oh well). I also remember hating the glider as a teenager, but I dunno, I'm still not a big fan, but maybe I just didn't properly understand the controls. Plane is still the best part by far. This game is worth a look on a 3D capable 3DS system just to see that, but otherwise I think it's fine enough, but not a necessity to play.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on August 10, 2023, 06:08:48 pm
27. You Are Being Followed || PlayStation 4 || 08.03.23

(https://i.imgur.com/IBIYQgi.jpg)

Continuing to play PSVR games, I wanted to see what a game of short length would be like. I noticed You Are Being Followed available for free and was a brief experience, so I installed it without looking into any other details. From the its name, I was expecting a horror experience of some sort.

While the narrative is brief, I'll mention it to some degree. As the game begins, we assume the role of a blind woman named Emma in her apartment. Nearby in the corner, a dog named Samuel lays in its bed. With the player now in control, we are tasked with leaving the apartment with our companion accompanying. I don't remember their being any specific purpose to our action, but the events to come all are reactionary to how the Emma perceives her environment as someone visually impaired. As we reach outside and begin to explore the surrounding area, players will realize how, in addition to being blind, Emma is hypersensitive to abrupt sounds which cause severe panic attacks. As a result, our destination seems to always be to simply move forward to hopefully find some peace, because we will repeatedly cross paths with triggers, both small and large, with many smaller instances accumulating to become much more unmanageable and prolonged.

Despite Emma being blind, it seems as if Samuel is not a guide dog. In a sense, Samuel helps guide Emma, although they are unleashed and are able to freely move about. After playing, I read from the store page that Samuel is old and has gone from being a guide dog to an emotional support animal. Without this outer context, I'm not sure how those details could have been gathered from the game itself, but I easily could have been something I missed in dialogue. Due to the Samuels nature, I found the relationship between to two to be somewhat odd since I'm not sure of the details regarding Samuel. Since Samuel is unleashed, they are often far ahead of Emma and do not seem concerned about her well-being throughout her repeated moments of high anxiety. As tension increases, Emma repeatedly calls out Samuel's name without any appropriate response.

So, as we are assuming the role of someone blind, it is curious to wonder how visual and audio design are implemented. For the most part, darkness overwhelms the surroundings, with environments being molded by simple shapes and wireframes. As sound is made, its source will often brighten. Color is also utilized to represent Emma's anxiety level. With the art style in mind, I encountered no visual issues such as blurriness. However, due to You Are Being Followed's simple design and the pervasive darkness, I found the early in-game events confusing as to the direction I needed to be moving toward. I spent at least ten minutes walking around an enclosed area multiple times, but I apparently kept overlooking one small path which I needed to take. That leaves audio to discuss. Once the first moment of tension arises, it is clear that its use is incorporated effectively. Throughout the experience, sounds overlap another in a way that is deafening to someone like Emma, which is also paired well by imagery and color. In some of these moments, there is only one clear path, so Emma must simply escape to the best of her ability.

Before playing, You Are Being Followed clearly warns players of the possibility of motion sickness while offering a variety of options to help accommodate a player's preferences. With that said, motion sickness occurred almost immediately when beginning my playthrough with intended analog control. I shortly adjusted this option to rotational control, but I found it to be rather awkward. By the time I switched back to analog, I had become more accustomed to the game. Even so, motion sickness never fully disappeared, but it greatly lessened around the halfway point of the game's completion. For some time after playing, slight head pain lingered. Instead of the PlayStation Move controllers, the DualShock is used, meaning players are not required to stand. It should be noted that there is no player action—there are no puzzles to solve or tasks to complete aside from following the linear path.

Based on the game's title, I was anticipating a more horror-themed experience, but that was not the case. If there is anyone actually following Emma and Samuel, I wasn't aware of it, unless the implication of that person being the player themselves. That said, I don't recall any dialogue suggesting that possibility. Overall, You Are Being Followed is okay. If you can get past motion sickness, it is a short free experience worth considering, although nothing in particular is groundbreaking or noteworthy. I also learned after playing that the game was developed as a student project, so I can't be too critical of it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on August 11, 2023, 09:18:10 am
Game 11 - Subnautica (PS4) - 38 Hours

This game has quickly become one of my favorites. It captures one of the aspects of gaming that in my opinion is unique when compared to other forms of media. That is the thrill of exploration and discovery, and this is where Subnautica shines the most. Immediately, you are pulled into a fascinating, beautiful and terrifying unmapped alien world with rich world building and story telling that rides the line perfectly between hand holding and leaving you with no direction. Quickly you find the wreckage and remains of your ship, previous survivors and an ancient alien civilization and these areas serve as the main tethers for the game's story. On that note, I love that there is a concrete story with actual progression which gives the game a far more intentional feel than a lot of other survival/crafting games. There are some pretty nasty creatures in this game, and it plays off of a natural fear of the ocean deep, and combined with the excellent music builds an engrossing atmosphere of wonder and also dread. Really enjoyed my time playing this.

However, there are some things that I thought could be better. On a technical note, the PS4 version of this game has a lot of glitches and framerate issues. I also had fish spawning in my underwater base, and I got stuck in walls a couple times. Another time I tried to climb the ladder of my lifepod and was launched about 100 feet into the air which was hilarious. The draw distance is also pretty bad. There is one important island that you need to navigate to to complete the story but it only appears once you're like 100 yards from it so it can be difficult to find. On that note, I really wish the game had a map. You have to do a lot of exploration but there's no in-game map to help you remember where things are or what areas you haven't explored yet. All you can do is take screenshots or use beacons to mark areas of interest, but that only goes so far. Lastly, a more interesting aspect of the game is it's intentionally non-violent design (for the most part, you can still kill smaller fish for food or unintentionally by running into them in your submersibles). Choosing a non-violent angle in one sense heightens the tension and fear aspect of the game since you can't defend yourself as well. On the other hand, the options you are given aren't very good either. I was once trying to build a base and was getting harassed by one of the giant spider creatures. Freezing it with my stasis rifle doesn't remove the threat so I had to hack away at it with my butter knife until it died. Wish there was some better non-violent options for deterring animals rather than just providing means of running away from them.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on August 11, 2023, 09:40:36 am
29. Postal Brain Damaged
First of all, this is not a standard style Postal game, which is mainly a large open level with open world type qualities. Rather it is just a standard type linear level with limited platforming and puzzle solving (switch/key hunt) elements. This was released during the pandemic, as it is clear that the main joke in the game is that you can't find toilet paper anywhere. Also in the starting area there is a house where someone is hoarding toilet paper. And later there are SARS-CoV-2 enemies.

The combat is competant. Movement is good but run/walk is non-existant. No ADS but hip-fire has full accuracy to the crosshair, especially with the pistol and the nail gun. Enemies have location based damage where you can kill them with fewer hits to the head vs the body. Enemy pathfinding is good, so you cannot usually use the environment to hinder enemies not even bosses. I originally thought I was able to trap the Karen boss in the Walmart level next to a pillar and ceiling but it does not stay there for long enough for you to cheese it. Enemies also will use environmental features (such as jump pads) to get to you, but they do not seem to use ladders.

Platforming is present but it is fine. The shotgun has a grappling hook you can use to attach to the flying donuts to get around. There are some areas that appear to be inaccessible, so either they are part of secrets or there is some other way to move about the map that I was unaware of. I gave this game up during the battle vs the SARS-CoV-2 boss where you fight in an (endless?) tube going verticle using the shotgun grapple to follow the boss and also shoot it. You must follow because a poison water rises as well. You grapple onto the donuts, shoot the boss's eyes (equivalent to the s1 sub-unit of the spike protein) and shoot a button that traps the boss and does big damage. The issue here is that the platforming/grapple situation is so tedious and impercise that it is harder to keep up with the boss vs fighting it. You fall down constantly and take damage quickly. The targeting icon for the grapple has a short range (you can't use it unless the icon is active) so you point at all the donuts and can't use any. I tried it a couple of times but the entire process of having to do the grapple is just too annoying for me to bother with. So this one goes to the bin.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on August 11, 2023, 08:12:10 pm
Quote from: telly on August 11, 2023, 09:18:10 am
Game 11 - Subnautica (PS4) - 38 Hours

This game has quickly become one of my favorites. It captures one of the aspects of gaming that in my opinion is unique when compared to other forms of media. That is the thrill of exploration and discovery, and this is where Subnautica shines the most. Immediately, you are pulled into a fascinating, beautiful and terrifying unmapped alien world with rich world building and story telling that rides the line perfectly between hand holding and leaving you with no direction. Quickly you find the wreckage and remains of your ship, previous survivors and an ancient alien civilization and these areas serve as the main tethers for the game's story. On that note, I love that there is a concrete story with actual progression which gives the game a far more intentional feel than a lot of other survival/crafting games. There are some pretty nasty creatures in this game, and it plays off of a natural fear of the ocean deep, and combined with the excellent music builds an engrossing atmosphere of wonder and also dread. Really enjoyed my time playing this.

However, there are some things that I thought could be better. On a technical note, the PS4 version of this game has a lot of glitches and framerate issues. I also had fish spawning in my underwater base, and I got stuck in walls a couple times. Another time I tried to climb the ladder of my lifepod and was launched about 100 feet into the air which was hilarious. The draw distance is also pretty bad. There is one important island that you need to navigate to to complete the story but it only appears once you're like 100 yards from it so it can be difficult to find. On that note, I really wish the game had a map. You have to do a lot of exploration but there's no in-game map to help you remember where things are or what areas you haven't explored yet. All you can do is take screenshots or use beacons to mark areas of interest, but that only goes so far. Lastly, a more interesting aspect of the game is it's intentionally non-violent design (for the most part, you can still kill smaller fish for food or unintentionally by running into them in your submersibles). Choosing a non-violent angle in one sense heightens the tension and fear aspect of the game since you can't defend yourself as well. On the other hand, the options you are given aren't very good either. I was once trying to build a base and was getting harassed by one of the giant spider creatures. Freezing it with my plasma rifle doesn't remove the threat so I had to hack away at it with my butter knife until it died. Wish there was some better options for deterring animals rather than just providing means of running away from them.

That and Grounded are two of my favorite survival crafting games no contest.  Definitely concur that the game need more non-violent means of getting rid of creatures, stuff to scare off creatures up to a certain size, or tech that detours creatures from coming up on your base, there's a lot they could do without adding guns and such.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on August 14, 2023, 12:32:45 pm
28. Kingdom Hearts VR Experience || PlayStation 4 || 08.10.23

(https://i.imgur.com/CSxXUPE.jpg)

To begin, I wasn't really sure to formally add Kingdom Hearts VR Experience (KHVRE) to my finished list for reasons I'll explain further below. However, every official source seems to classify the software as a game, with it even having been given formal game content ratings. So, here we are.

For my discussion, it will be written with the assumption that readers are versed in the Kingdom Hearts franchise narrative spanning most games. The reason for this is that KHVRE plays as a montage of games before it. From my time playing, I believe that KHVRE is directly after Kingdom Hearts II, regarding the series timeline. Like the title suggests, KHVRE is more of an experience than a game.

From the in-game menu, several areas may be selected which play key narrative scenes. There is no action or player input involved, but the sense that you are viewing the scene from an actual character's perspective is implied, such as looking down to see Sora's clown shoes or the sea-salt ice cream in Roxas's hands. During the scene, players can freely view the area in full 360°. Compared to the original scenes, the first-person VR perspective adds a new layer of depth to the events, albeit a minor one.

After the scene concludes, a major musical track plays with cutscene sequences appearing out over the horizon like a projection. For most areas, there are multiple projections to view at once, so players have the option to freely move their gaze to see segments of each. Alongside the projections, animated flourishes light up and move about which add a sense of magic to the moment in a very Disney-like fashion. At times, silhouettes also appear which are newly created and interesting to see.

While I mentioned above that there is no player input involved, that is mostly the case. For one of the six areas, it offers the smallest amount of involvement. However, it is entirely optional. After replaying the sequence out of curiosity to see what would happen if prompts are ignored, I discovered that there is no penalty. Before starting, I knew that KHVRE offers essentially no gameplay besides one area. I had hoped there would would have been more depth, because there could have been with only minor adjustments, but that unfortunately isn't so.

Once all six scenes are completed, Audio Player Mode becomes available. This feature allows the player to skip past the introduction narrative scene that each area begins with while also seamlessly connecting the musical sequences. If wanting, players may even skip past specific music scenes.

Regarding VR immersion, I can't really report that what's presented offers much. For the most part, KHVRE is a novelty visual treat for fans, become available in the months leading up to Kingdom Hearts III's release. There is one particular visual instance I'll mention, though. One of the six scenes takes place at Castle Oblivion with Naminé and Marluxia. Between the two, there is something obviously wrong. Marluxia stands at least three feet taller than Naminé, so either Marluxia is a giant, or Naminé who should be around age 14 is the height of a young child.

With all that said, you may be curious in wondering if there is any reason to buy PlayStation VR to experience this software. The answer is absolutely not. Will fans find this worth their time? Possibly, but I finished without feeling like I'd gained anything from it. Overall, KHVRE is a short and free experience of about 30 minutes, so it wasn't as if there was a lot of time or money invested into it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on August 15, 2023, 08:03:29 am
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - About 1/4 of the way through this, I came to a realization - Metroidvania is probably my favorite style of game.  This one isn't perfect, but despite its flaws I found myself totally engaged. The gameplay and exploration are generally incredible, and as a spiritual successor to Iga's Castlevania titles it hits all the right notes.  But it does have some issues - first, and probably the biggest, it runs like absolute crap on the Switch.  It chugs and stutters and has ridiculous load times - I'm trying not to hold this against it too much as apparently it is mostly fine on other systems.  Second, it leans a little too far into Iga's unchecked ego - overstuffed with systems it either doesn't need or require far too much grinding to utilize - namely the quests and the crafting.  The difficulty curve is also steep as hell towards the end.  And while I understand the desire to move away from vampires / Dracula to get away from the specter of Castlevania, the plot we do get it too stuffed with ridiculous lore and self-seriousness.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 15, 2023, 03:09:47 pm

Was on a bit of a Metroid kick after beating Prime Remastered, so now played through Metroid: Zero Mission. And unsurprisingly, it's good, but it's not my favourite 2D Metroid. I enjoyed playing through it. It looks and controls good, and running and shooting and exploring is satisfying. Minus some of the bosses which require tight jumping between one-square platforms which I found a bit frustrating, most of the running and exploring feels as great to do as you'd expect from Metroid. Some of the paths are more obscure and I did check a guide a few times, but just about every time I read it I was like "I could've figured that out with 10 minutes more tinkering", so maybe it's my own impatience more than the game. I have to admit though, while I enjoyed playing it, I wasn't really...sucked in, I guess? I can't quite put my finger on it, but in other 2D Metroids I've played like Samus Returns, Dread and especially Fusion I always felt like I was in that world, feeling the helplessness, loneliness or claustrophobia that the world was conveying. In this one, I didn't really feel anything. I don't know whether it's my mental state or the game, but I just didn't find it very memorable. With the exception of the Zero Suit part (which I honestly forgot about until I got there, but reminded me of the newer E.M.M.I. chases in Dread), I doubt I'll remember this game much, while I think about Fusion all the time. I don't want to bash the game though, because it definitely still is great and totally worth your time. Even if it isn't my favourite Metroid, it's still a great game I'm glad I played.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: polestar1978 on August 15, 2023, 03:42:54 pm
When can I begin? I think I might do like 1000 games.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 15, 2023, 04:41:02 pm
Quote from: polestar1978 on August 15, 2023, 03:42:54 pm
When can I begin? I think I might do like 1000 games.
I say you can start whenever! This isn't that serious. The idea is to start at the beginning of the year, but really it's just a fun way to motivate yourself to play through more games and share your experiences, so I say have at it!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on August 16, 2023, 06:21:29 pm

Just beat Roundabout again. I played through this game once, maybe twice before a couple of years ago, but was in the mood for it. In case you don't know it, it's a game about Georgio Manos, the world's first revolving limousine driver. You drive around passengers in a limousine that's eternally spinning on its axis, which you have to navigate around obstacles. From that alone - and the very cheesy fmv of the characters - you should be able to tell what kind of game this is. It revolves entirely around the joke. It's still fairly fun to play too though. Not too deep or hard at all, but something about the driving is just fun and the fmv really kept me going. In every second you feel like you can almost see the crew behind the scenes just having fun.
I did have some technical issues, but those are almost certainly PC-related. In the final parts of the game some terrain was completely obscured, but that may very well be because I'm playing on Linux (I don't remember that being there a few years back when I played on Windows, and even then the issues were brief and not game breaking). Had issues with Steam refusing to download and my controller not working too, but chug that up to regular PC gaming issues (this is why I majorly prefer consoles).
Back to the game though, honestly, this is a game of which you can deduce whether you'd like it almost completely from a trailer. If you don't like the joke, you probably won't get into this. But if you think that the joke is funny (like I do) then you will enjoy this. I will also admit, I find myself thinking of Georgio and Beth more than I'd like to admit. Give this a shot if you're just looking for a fun, silly time!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on August 16, 2023, 09:48:55 pm
29. Tacoma || PlayStation 4 || 08.12.23

(https://i.imgur.com/ywo0xG8.jpg)

Having played Fullbright's Gone Home close to ten years ago now, I've been interested in seeing what the studio's sophomore project Tacoma would be like since learning about it years ago. With the opportunity to finally play it, I began without knowing anything about the game.

As a narrative-driven adventure game, Tacoma is similar to its predecessor in that most of the gameplay revolves around the player witnessing sequences and discovering information while exploring an empty environment. That being said, while the player is technically alone, they are able to see specific moments replay as recorded AR video logs, so Tacoma doesn't quite ever feel like a lonely experience. The game's environment is comprised of several sections each with numerous rooms and areas, so the ability to freely wander about without any limitations or hard objectives allows the player to move at their own pace.

In the near-distant future of 2088, a space crew of six contract workers have been aboard the titular space station Tacoma for a major technology and space conglomerate. It is important to note now that, at this time, humanity heavily relies upon AI and AR technologies. On the Tacoma, its crew has been monitored throughout their year-long isolated stay. As a result, this is how the player is able to view certain visual AR logs that play out events throughout the crew's time aboard. While Tacoma's crew is only six, we as the player-character take the role of the silent protagonist sent to check on the Tacoma's status, gather information, and to retrieve crucial data after an accident occurs.

Despite being physically isolated as a team, they are all able to maintain external communication while, of course, still being able to connect with each other. Through these means, players witness past events that reveal how human we all are. Through seeing event logs, exploring the Tacoma, and also by accessing members' workstations, Tacoma sets out to illustrate that, no matter who we are or where we are, we all have worries and problems throughout our lives. Of what's shown, the crew is faced with challenges of interpersonal connections, job security, employment opportunities, health and finances, fulfillment, and loneliness, to name only some. These issues are present both before and during the crisis at-hand. After the accident occurs, these issues elevate to survival, finality, and the burden of saving others.

When recorded events are revealed, they are not necessarily exclusive to one immediate location. Instead, they can span all throughout the surrounding sector. Crew members freely wander about, and some conversations end as others begin, with many being concurrent with another. It is for this reason that players can rewind the AR log at any time to better gather information. At specific moments, crew members will access their workstations which also enables us as someone in the present moment to also view its contents. There are variety among retrievable documents, such as conversation logs, browser history, message alerts, and general notes. Concerning AR logs and conversation logs, information may be damaged as a result of the accident, meaning that text may be illegible or only the audio portion of AR logs are functional.

Alongside obtained information, simply exploring the Tacoma provides valuable information regarding the crew and past events. Searching through each room and private quarter in detail, inspecting items, reading notes, and discovering hidden objects grant the game's cast and events much more depth through efficient world-building. Personally, I would have been content with an additional section or two to explore to become better acquainted with the game's cast, but what's available is certainly adequate. Technically, the game can be completed without much exploration or even active participation as players can walk away from AR logs as they play. But, these two aspects are clearly meant to be experienced, and they are what provide fulfilling adventure gameplay.

As the narrative progresses, players will learn that events aren't all what they seem. Early on, capitalism is one of several themes which become apparent. One aspect is a new form of corporate currency simply known as Loyalty. Like the name suggests, it is accrued through one's "loyalty" to their employer. By 2088, it is the world's most common form of currency and is recognized internationally. This one detail may give hints as to what direction the narrative moves in during its climax.

Regarding visuals, obviously there was a choice to design characters as silhouettes. While players are still offered a human face behind the silhouette on personal workstation accounts and when directly facing an individual member, the silhouette serves as an ever-present reminder that each Tacoma member is human like you and I. What they've gone through could have been experience by anyone. The choice of a blank figure was executed quite well. Tacoma as a setting feels detailed, as its structure feels large while comprised with so many granular items within it, many of which are worth viewing closely.

On that last note, some items such as written documents featured tiny text difficult to read from a normal seated position. As there is no option to preview written text in a text window unlike in many other modern adventure games, I was forced to move much closer to my screen to read such notes. While that is arguably a minor complaint, Tacoma did not feel optimized to load new areas. Moving from section to section within Tacoma, there was severe lag during loading sequences during every single instance that crashed the game several times. Tacoma is generous with its auto-save, so it never caused me to lose any progress, but it was certainly an issue.

Overall, my time playing Tacoma was quite enjoyable. I don't remember too much about my experience with Gone Home, but I feel as if I'm leaving with a much stronger lasting impression this time brought by an emotional journey.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on August 17, 2023, 09:36:51 am
Quote from: realpoketendonl on August 15, 2023, 04:41:02 pm
Quote from: polestar1978 on August 15, 2023, 03:42:54 pm
When can I begin? I think I might do like 1000 games.
I say you can start whenever! This isn't that serious. The idea is to start at the beginning of the year, but really it's just a fun way to motivate yourself to play through more games and share your experiences, so I say have at it!

Some people use it as a challenge, others just use it as a means to help them play what they have or figure out what they don't like. I'll never be able to play all of the games I own, but I will be able to find what I like and what I don't. I wish I could just beat a game a week but it won't happen when I find things I like enough to take the time with and play for months at a time.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on August 17, 2023, 12:48:04 pm
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)
Previous List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg200707.html#msg200707)

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

80. TOEM (PS5)
I don't even recall why I decided I would play this one, I know I've been wanting to, but I don't know why I finally did.  Maybe I saw the game on steam, thought I'd like it, and then remembered it was on PS+.  Anyway, this game is so much fun, one of my favorite types of games are the fetch quest types of games, collecting items to give to folks, doing quests for folks and getting items to further other quests, all that shenanigan stuff.  The character interactions in this game is pretty good and the post game bonus area really makes you think puzzle wise how to go about doing everything with its day/night system.  All in all, the game overall is pretty casual and fun, very little things in the game will require you to look things up unless you're looking to 100% the game, then there might be a few things, but the post game bonus area is pretty complex and might require looking things up which there's nothing wrong with that.  I enjoyed the game so much I went for the platinum and to be quite honest, I may replay this game on PS4 or on Xbox now that it's on game pass.
Rating: Solid recommendation

81. Axiom Verge 2 (PS5)
I think I was on a weird PS kick or something and was just looking for PS games to play.  I played the first entry of this game on Switch and I've been more about achievements/trophies lately so I played this on PS5.  I've heard this game didn't live up to the original's experience, but I figure the game's still gotta be good.  Overall, the game is quite good, but it absolutely doesn't live up to the original gameplay wise, story wise, it's just about as convoluted and hard to follow as the original, so pretty much not an improvement in any way.  Traversal is relatively fine, but the game fairly often changes things up where you are at least soft locked out of areas and stuff because it takes away functionality and then gives it back later, not your usual metroidvania stuff.  I think the game was fine, but it definitely didn't make me feel like I wanted to spend more time with it and did not consider going and 100%ing the game let alone filling out the map.  It's a tough one, I hate to pass on the game, but it just isn't that great by any means, isn't connected to the previous entry other than a small tangential text file, and really doesn't live up to the original.  Play it if you want, but it might be a let down.
Rating: Soft pass

82. Glass Masquerade (PC)
This game is filled with beautiful and simple stained glass styled jigsaw puzzles.  I spent the majority of my time playing this game listening to other stuff, whether it just be music or some show I don't need to pay a lot of attention to.  It's a real chill experience with absolutely straightforward gameplay concepts.  I really don't have much to add to this one as it's really just a unique jigsaw puzzle game, but it's damned good for a chill game to just play while listening to something else.
Rating: Soft recommendation

83. Don't Touch this Button (PS4)
This was a PS4 playthrough of a game I played last year on PS5.  I mostly played it this time around because both my son wanted me to play it again and because PlayTracker's Backlog Dungeon picked the game out for me from my backlog.  I may write up a "rant" about PlayTracker, it's a wonderful site you should check out that will help you clear your backlog by gamifying the experience and offering a reward of a specific Steam game key for meeting specific goals during a season (3 month period).
See Review 133 from 2022 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11713.msg198819.html#msg198819).
Rating: Soft recommendation

84. Escape Academy (XS)
I don't even recall why I decided to play this one, maybe I rolled it on backlog for Playtracker.  I don't have a ton of experience with escape games like my wife does, but I really enjoyed this game.  I will state that I don't enjoy the timed nature of this game compared to the few I've played in the past where it's entirely at your own pace, but the puzzles are simple enough here that I had no trouble except maybe the last few puzzles.  Enjoyed the game enough and the achievements were simple enough that I 100% completed the game.  Characters are interesting enough, puzzles are witty enough, there's enough of a plot that the game is pretty good and the ending leaves room for sequels down the line.  All in all, quite a good game, I'm disappointed that I didn't really get to do any of the co-op stuff with my wife through the process, but she still hasn't beaten the game, so maybe I'll get to do that during her playthrough.
Rating: Soft recommendation

85. 100 Hidden Birds 2 (PC)
A simple hidden object game with 100 birds hidden among a black and white image. Can be completed in about 10 minutes and finding the last few birds will make you lose your mind.  All of these games are pretty simple and pretty quick and net you tons of achievements on steam, though most of the games are profile limited so they don't actually count towards anything until eventually maybe the game is no longer limited, I don't know, I don't really know how that stuff works.  Games can be got for like well now 50 cents now that steam has introduced shenanigans to prevent games from being sold for less than 50 cents ::)  Actually pretty mad about that because I was waiting to buy a specific game when it hit its historical low (28 cents) and the game went back on sale for 28 cents the day after steam put the new rule in place, so when you try to buy it steam tells you no, so now I have no choice but to pay 50 cents or more for this game, which sucks.
Rating: Soft recommendation

86. Vampire Survivors (XS)
The main reverse bullet hell game or bullet heaven, I have no clue.  I'm not a fan of bullet hell games, this game is pretty interesting, but very quickly this game can become a situation of legitimately just set the controller down and wait out the timer because your character is OP.  Also with the 30 minute timers per level, this game can eat up a fuck ton of time.  I eventually hit the point where I'd start a level, get 5-10 minutes in and be OP, and then fall asleep because I had nothing to do in game and was that bored.  Really interesting game and mechanics, but holy fuck does this game have pacing issues.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy that I can plan out a build and become strong enough that it's trivial, and it's nice that I can essentially just set the controller down rather than spending the full 30 minutes per run, but the long 30 minute runs can become painful to sit through, almost like a situation of early mobile games where you have to sit and wait out a timer before you can play the next level.  Despite all of that, I do really enjoy the game and do intend on 100% completing the game eventually.
Rating: Soft recommendation

87. Duke Nukem Forever (PC)
Thanks to tripredacus for the steam key for this. :) I played this game at launch on 360 way back in the day, I recall the game being mid, but then I also had this mindset that the game wasn't that bad.  Unfortunately it's been a while since I replayed this at this point that I again don't really recall.  Gunplay was fine enough, humor is aged and stupid but it's Duke Nukem what can ya do.  I got a bunch of the achievements but I don't think there was any chance I was going to aim for 100%, I don't even think I got nearly as many as I did on the 360 release.  I think my entire playthrough was on Steam Deck, played pretty great there.  I might have played for a few minutes on PC, but I think the mouse and keyboard controls just didn't feel good, almost like the game was legitimately designed to be played with a controller, which is hella weird.  My primary reason for revisiting this game was to finally play the DLC, I never bought the DLC for 360 back in the day and with this key from trip, I also got the DLC key.  So playing through the main campaign was to relearn the systems/controls and story in prep for the DLC.
Rating: Soft pass

88. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5)
I think this might have been another Backlog Dungeon roll, so my coming back to this game was thanks to that.  I'm actually now back to not leveraging Playtracker, but I think playtracker will be reserved for when I'm in the rare scenario of not knowing what to play, usually I've got a game plan for what to play or things to prioritize.  Anyway, I started this game a while back I think around when it launched on PS5.  It was slow to start and I think something else came out around when I started playing so the game got abandoned pretty quickly between the two things.  Once I hopped back in it took a very short amount of time to get reacquainted with the controls.  The gameplay is enjoyable but it was slow to start, which it seems a lot of games are these days, but once I started getting into the meat of the story and gameplay loop the game was quite enjoyable.  I considered going 100% on the game, but I think there is one difficulty based achievement and that's generally where I draw the line and nope out.  If not, there was definitely something that I nope'd out on.  Story doesn't get super interesting until the back half, and as far as I can tell, just about every character you meet throughout the game is dead, there are maybe 3 living people throughout the entire game, and even then it's still hard to tell.  Game is very mid though and I want to say soft recommendation, but I just can't remember enough about this game to justify saying so.
Rating: Soft pass

89. Duke Nukem Forever: The Doctor Who Cloned Me (PC)
Finally playing the DLC for this game... and I don't remember shit about it other than several situations of fighting clones of yourself.  Obviously unmemorable.  I feel like overall a lot of this game's problem is how linear it is.  I get nobody liked the keys bullshit, but linearity can be bad too.  Lots of jokes making fun of/parodying other FPS games like Black Ops, Doom, etc.  Car based boss fight was awkard af and didn't work well.  I feel like compared to the main campaign I had a lot of situations of running out of ammo and having to swap weapons way more than I did.  All in all, if you're going to play DNF, you should definitely play this too, but I can't recommend either as worthy of your time.
Rating: Soft pass

90. Dreamscaper (XS)
Another game to play because it's leaving game pass.  Like Hades, in so many ways, it also includes accessibility options to streamline the playthrough.  I really enjoyed the story and interacting with the characters outside of the dream world, but the game just requires way too much grinding to get all of the stories from the characters.  I got the default ending, but the "true" ending is locked behind 100% completing all of the character stuff outside of the dream world, and that just would've taken too long.  If the game ever comes back to game pass, maybe I'll go for it, but time constraints meant I couldn't waste my time working on it.  All in all, a great game though, story isn't nearly as good as Hades, so I definitely wouldn't recommend it over Hades, but if you enjoyed Hades, you'll probably enjoy this game.  Though I will complain about the graphics as I absolutely hate the faceless nature of the game.  I almost feel like the waking world should have had better graphics or even different graphics without faceless characters, because at least in the dream world it makes sense, but it makes no sense in the real world.  Also, I hate that the cover art for the game the character has a face and the graphics look nice, but the game itself is almost minimalistic.
Rating: Soft recommendation

91. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade: Episode Intermission (PS5)
Having played FF7 at some point finally, I hated Yuffie, and I had 0 interest in playing this DLC, but I did get the DLC code at some point, so I decided to finally playthrough the DLC.  They really do a good job of redeeming Yuffie as a character, she's a huge dork, but she's not entirely annoying and just absolutely ruining everything for everyone.  You get more FF7R gameplay, some new game stuff like the tower defense game from the original though annoying I did get through it, I didn't do any of the VR stuff because I tried one and got destroyed and was like nah, miss me with that shit.  Obviously a weak expansion or whatever, but it gives you more and does redeem Yuffie as a character, so I'll give it points for that.
Rating: Soft recommendation

92. Armored Core (PSX)
So played this via emulator to do retro-achievements, I had the problem that I couldn't unlock the achievement for unlocking all Human plus upgrades, because what the achievement actually is, is unlock all human plus upgrades and then 100% the game, I can do this still, but it'll be time consuming, I'll have to load up my 100% save, and then just fucking burn through money until I can unlock the human plus upgrades, it'll take a lot of time, and I just don't know if I can justify it just so my playthrough can be marked as 100% on RA instead of 98% complete.  I'm not a completionist and maybe I'd care if I had 100% all of the other AC games, but we'll get to that in a bit.  Anyway, I enjoyed my time with the game, and on an emulator I had the good fortune that I could remap the controls such that the controls aren't hot garbage... unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out remapping for PS2, which I'd say we'll get to that later, but who knows when I'll finally play the PS2 games until I can figure out remapping.  Anyway, I don't have a ton to say about this game, game is enjoyable, story is hard to follow, but I think that stands for all AC games.  All in all, I don't expect many AC games to be "worth your time" but we'll see.
Rating: Soft pass

93. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (XS)
I did actually buy this game for Switch, but I can't justify opening a physical copy of a game for a platform with no achievements when I can play the game with achievements for free (Thanks Game Pass).  First thing to get out of the way, real fucking weird that this game is 6 player max when there are 7 playable characters, also real weird that there are 7 players and not 8, really irks me.  Anyway, gameplay is fun, you've got reason to play as all the characters, make multiple runs through levels, etc.  So much content.  That said, I'm not the type of player to replay games like this and 100% complete them, so my playthrough was relatively short.  I chose to play as April O'Neil because I figured that'd be interesting compared to playing actual action characters, it was fine, everybody has their own stats, and she's interesting enough of a character to play as.  I personally don't have friends (full stop) to play this game with so I solo the game.  I hope one day my kid can care enough, play well enough, and enjoy the idea of playing games like this with me.  Definitely scratches that TMNT4 itch while being modern enough and accessible enough to be enjoyable.
Rating: Soft recommendation

94. Bugsnax (PS5)
I feel like this was a launch title for PS5, I really can't recall, I recall playing it for like 10 minutes way back when and finally coming back to it.  I think I came back to it because I rolled it in Playtracker's Backlog Dungeon, I really hope we get a log at some point to be able to view Backlog Dungeon history so I can for sure verify these things.  Anyway, weird creature collecting game that starts out mostly harmless and goes off the rails down the line.  Story is interesting if not hard af to follow.  Gameplay loop reminds me of like Pokemon Snap with the weird things you've got to do to get certain creatures to appear, there is a lot of photo taking in this game too, though I guess it's scanning, not photo taking, I don't recall it's been a while and I'm not looking it up.  Anyway, you collect creatures and feed them to other creatures and they turn into food, that's not fucked up in the slightest.  Post game content adds a whole new area with new creatures and puzzles and what not.  All in all a real good game that I enjoyed enough to go and earn the platinum trophy
Rating: Solid recommendation

95. Immortality (XS)
Another game leaving game pass.  This is another Sam Barlow game (Tellings Lies, Her Story), but instead of searching a database for words linked to videos, you click an object in the video and it finds another video with a like object (a specific actor, an apple, a painting, etc) with the goal of solving the story as usual and finding all of the videos available.  Game plays pretty well, story is fairly interesting if not hard to follow as I had to google stuff afterward to make sure of things.  Game sort of hides a feature behind the rewind feature which is pretty neat, I did waste a bit of time not realizing that you had to do a specific thing to activate said thing and not just happen to see it while rewinding or something.  I don't remember, I just know that it didn't count as me doing the action the first like 30 times it happened because I didn't realize you had to do a certain thing to actually activate the feature.  I do wish I had the patience to actually watch all of the footage like I did with Her Story and Telling Lies, but I just couldn't be arsed so I didn't actually watch a lot of the footage, just kinda skimmed it and got the gist of what was going on filming and in film.
Rating: Soft recommendation

96. Tinykin (XS)
I hate how far off I got from keeping up with my logs.  I pretty much only come to VGC at this point to update this stuff.  I might look at making another place to post this stuff publicly and making it searchable so I can find reviews easier than digging year by year.  Another game I played because it was leaving game pass.  I'm finding that most of these indie games that leave are leaving because the physical release is right around the corner.  Mind you I played this months ago, but now in November, the game is getting a physical release through the folks over at Super Rare Games.  Anyway, this game looked interesting because it looked pikmin like and had an interesting art style.  That said, the game really seems pikmin, you've got your little dudes you command around and you're visiting an abandoned planet for some reason that seems like it's the Earth.  I will say the difference is this game is decidedly 3D platformer as supposed to whatever pikmin is, I really don't know, I only ever played Pikmin 1 on Wii for like 20 minutes and I can't remember it all that well.  This game however has a certain Banjo Kazooie collectathon going for it in conjunction with the pikmin stuff.  The gameplay is pretty fun, does get quite repetitive and even frustrating at moments, but the game overall is quite good.  The only hard part about the game can be the races that the game added in an update, but it's optional stuff and doesn't affect achievements so I mostly skipped it.  All in all, it's a pretty fun game, but I don't know that I'd play it again.
Rating:Soft recommendation

Next List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202495.html#msg202495)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on August 17, 2023, 12:50:07 pm
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)
Previous List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202494.html#msg202494)

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

97. Doodle God (PC)
I think I only played this game because I rolled it as a backlog dungeon game over on Playtracker.  I played Doodle God way back in the day when it was just an iPhone game I think, but at some point I got the game on Steam and just never got around to it because well it's a dumb phone game.  Maybe it was a simple flash game?  I don't know, anyway, I played through the game and I think I 100%'d it because it was simple enough and Playtracker sort of incentivized me to do so.  All in all it's really a boring as fuck game and a lot of the matches don't make a ton of sense, like it's a stretch to make a lot of the things it does with the combos, to the point that this game will wind up being painful trial and error or you're going to use a guide and that honestly just makes playing the game a chore instead of entertainment.
Rating: Hard pass

98. Wild Arms (PS5)
I recalled that Sony had released PS5 versions of PS1 games and it you happened to own the PS1 classic on PS3, you now automatically own the PS1 release on PS4/PS5, so I knew it was time to finally play Wild Arms.  I've been a huge Wild Arms fan since before Wild Arms 3 even released due to a friend selling me a loose copy of Wild Arms 2 for $1.  The situation in retrospect is kinda fucked, the dude wanted a dollar but didn't want to like owe me a dollar so he was like I'll give you this game for a dollar and I was like I can just give you a dollar dude, and he's like a) no, b) I don't wanna feel like I owe you, and c) this game is great, and you'll love it.  So that was that and I played it and enjoyed it.  Honestly, other than like Pokemon, it was my first real RPG experience and I loved it.  That all said, I never actually ever played Wild Arms 1, I played Alter Code F, the remake, but never the actual original game, so this was a fantastic excuse to finally play it.  Game has all the glitches that existed in the original PS1, so I took advantage of that and had a good old time with the game.  Wild Arms in general I guess is known for being overly easy for RPG games, but my recollection was standard gameplay, but I also didn't optimize my builds or anything as a kid.  I optimized the fuck out of my run and was one shotting everything throughout the game, so it stands to reason they aren't wrong.  Alter Code F is for sure the definitive way to play this game as it's prettier and has extra content, but still fun as fuck and I honestly might play through again on PS4 for another platinum trophy.
Rating: Solid recommendation.

99. The Lemonade (PC)
I setup a curator group on steam (365 Puzzles (https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44411981-365-Puzzles/)) because I wanted to start reviewing puzzle games.  I have a few other curator groups out there of a similar vein, but they've acquired no real interest, whereas this one I at least get curator connect offers, so I play puzzle games.  First game ever offered to me that I fully played through was this game.  Loads up as La Limonada, which is a bit whatever given it's advertised with a different logo in English, but it's fine.  It's a sokoban game, but rather than a series of levels, it's one giant sokoban level.  You can easily play for 20-30 minutes making progress and then realize you made a misstep right at the beginning and now you have to start over entirely.  That happened to me a couple of times, but the game is short enough and enjoyable enough that it didn't bother me that much.  Game also has an early out, you can technically beat the game at any point as long as you have collected 1 lemon, there are 100 lemons in total.  I sat down and found all 100 lemons my first run and then did a quick run gathering just one lemon to see the differences.  It's a pretty fun sokoban game and doesn't outstay its welcome because it's just one giant level and you can opt out at any point.
Rating: Soft recommendation

100. Armored Core: Project Phantasma (PSX)
Played this some amount of time after finishing the first game, but this time I was better prepared and managed to get all of the achievements in the game 100% for Retroachievements.  Enjoyed my time with the game well enough, but these old Armored Core games are super aged.  I really really need to not let myself play the newest one, even though I have it now, before finishing all of these old ones because it would be awful to make these painful compared to the newest, at least right now they play like I remember them.  This one acts like a sequel to the first game, though it feels barely connected to the first one, but maybe I just didn't follow the plot well enough.  I'm enjoying my time, but I honestly couldn't recommend folks go back and play these old games, especially since I'm playing in a manner that I can remap the controls and make the controls at least slightly more modern... more on that whenever I get around to writing about the PS2 games, I haven't yet been able to figure out remapping the controls on PS2 in a manner that allows the game to be playable, most because the emulator is being broken for some reason.
Rating: Soft pass

101. Armored Core: Master of Arena (PSX)
Unfortunately for this one, and it's not the game's fault, it's Steam/steamdeck's fault.  Since I played the game offline, I can never get all of the achievements for the game because I hit 100% completion while offline and I can't flag the 100% completion again and I have no earlier save files that would be reasonable to use and that would still require me to replay through the game, so I abandoned the game.  I mean I beat it, but I should've unlocked a bunch of achievements for completion and since they can't, won't, and didn't unlock, I'm not going to bother for the arena achievements.  Game was mostly fun, had a ton of content and played pretty well, but that little bit ruined it for me.  Game is great, but the steamdeck is kind of a piece of shit when it comes to trying to play on the go.  I've had the same issue with Steam games, so it's not just a Retro Achievement issue, it's just horseshit all around when it comes to tracking achievements while offline.  I won't knock this game for it, but I've got nothing good to say for this game because Steam ruined my experience.
Rating: Soft pass

102. Eyes in the Dark (PC)
This was the free game on Playtracker for taking part in the previous season and meeting the goal of 7 points.  I heard some things about the game, after I already played it, regarding its unfriendliness with a certain phobia, which I have, but I didn't notice it, so either my phobia isn't that bad or the game isn't that noticeable with the unfriendliness.  Unfortunately it's been like 2 months since I played this game and I really don't recall shit about it.  Platformer roguelike type of game, you use a flashlight as your "weapon".  I think I might not have technically "beat" this game in the sense that there are post game story stuff, an Act 4 or something, but I got the credits to roll and I think the additional story content might be locked behind doing like 100% type of stuff.  I'll have to look into it.  That all said, game is pretty fun and the game has accessibility features to make the game easier for folks who don't want to git gud.  I really enjoy those things with roguelike games because these games almost by designed are made so you will fucking die, a lot, and you've got to either git gud and/or improve your character over repeating runs.  Sometimes I enjoy that, re: rogue legacy, dead cells, etc, but for games like this that I'm really not invested in, I'll take advantage of the accessibility features so I can get through the game faster (re: hades, dreamscaper, etc).  That all said, I didn't personally enjoy this game that much, and it didn't really stick out as a game that was worth spending the tons of time playing through like other good roguelikes, it's not a bad game by any means, but I just didn't connect with it.
Rating: Soft pass

103. Doom 64 (PC)
I won this game in a giveaway on a Discord server where the requirement for the win was to play through the game.  I didn't mind that, but I couldn't bother to push myself to 100% this game again.  I 100%'d it on Xbox One when Doom Eternal (I think) released because I got a free copy with my preorder I think.  This time around I played on steamdeck and it was fine and fun and all, but I mostly played out of obligation.  Great game, obviously aged design and such.  See my 2020 review of the Xbox One version for more information (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,10536.msg173291.html#msg173291)
Rating: Recommended

104. Metal: Hellsinger (XS)
Wow how apt that I played this right after a Doom game.  This game has the rip and tear feel of Doom/Doom Eternal, but it's all designed to be played to the beat of various heavy metal songs.  I set up my playthrough to not punish me for sucking rhythmically, but I had no trouble as most of my beats were perfect if not good, but the game was leaving game pass and I didn't want to waste time if I couldn't get in the rhythm of it.  Obviously a physical release of this game must be coming down the pipe soon, otherwise why leave game pass amirite.  Gameplay is great, and the story is great too.  I had the problem that the game had a humongous difficulty curve... only to realize that my son had messed with my controller at some point between levels and set the game to like nightmare difficulty, once I figured that out and went back to whatever difficult I was playing on (no clue, probably easy) I had no trouble again and the game was enjoyable.  I'm sad that the game left game pass, so hopefully a physical release is coming down the line otherwise I'll maybe need to go buy it on Steam or something because the game is a real romp to play.
Rating: Solid recommendation

105. Last Call BBC (PC)
Pulled forward my notes from last year.  I played TIS-100 for a few minutes the other day and then this came out and I read about it and was very very interested.  Really largely interested based on a single screenshot that showed model kit building (which unfortunately it looks like there are only 3 model kits).  As far as I can tell there isn't really a story to this game, you get some info/plot, but I don't think it'll build to anything, this is really just a puzzle game tbh.  I've already done their versions of Solitaire, and 2/3 of the model kits, and most of the Dungeons and Diagrams.  Solitaire 1 is kind of a normal solitaire, no undo button though.  Solitaire 2 is kind of free cell, but again no undo and you don't get the side stacks for the decks and you're just aiming for 4 of a kind instead of a whole suit.  Model kit is real cool because you clip, attach, paint, etc, the downside is there are only 3 kits and it is very tedious.  Dungeons and Diagrams is like a Picross variant, it's pretty fun, but it's tough as nails and I know looking at it, it feels like it's missing 1 constraint from making it really good, like you aren't given enough information to figure out the puzzles.  I'm sure you are, but it just feels that way.  I'd say the only addition to be made to this is that I played through the other two things the game had to offer that I skipped and that was the restaurant programming game, which I didn't fully get and mostly went by a guide, and the creepy flesh game which I also used a guide for, but at least I understood what was going on to the point that I barely needed the guide to get what was going on.  Overall another great entry by Zachtronics.  I really need to get the solitaire collection.  That said, these games have such tough puzzles that it's not easy to recommend to most folks.
Rating: Soft recommendation

106. Prodeus (XS)
Another game leaving game pass.  I don't know if the physical release for this one is new, but I see it on sale occasionally and I'll have to consider it because this game was quite fun and I could enjoy finding all of the collectibles in the game with a guide or something.  I will say I don't enjoy the art style nor do I enjoy that when trying to disable the art style it still just looks absolutely awful to look at.  Gameplay is fun as fuck, but the art just honestly kind of gives me a headache, not for real, but it's just not pleasing to look at.  It definitely has that rip and tear feel of Doom, and the crazy level design of classic doom games, but that art style is rough.  If I could turn it all the way off, this game would get a solid recommendation from me, but this game did legitimately make my eyes hurt frequently enough.
Rating: Soft recommendation

107. Terminator: Salvation (ARC)
My kid got invited to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and this year I wasn't stuck on kid duty like every other time we went to these, so I played the one game there that I figured I could care to play through.  I will say after the fact I realized there was a NAMCO lightgun game over in the kids area that I would've enjoyed playing through, but time did not permit.  I'm certain there will be a next time though.  Anyway, straightforward arcade lightgun game, I'll say I didn't enjoy it as much as other light gun games as I don't care too much for fighting bullet sponge robots nonstop, but I can finally say I beat it.  Still have a couple of other arcade games I'd like to playthrough, but logistically don't know how I'm going to get around to doing it.
Rating: Hard pass

108. Wild Arms 2 (PS5)
Now hopping into this one, which I have played before and really loved... I knew there were no glitches going into this one, so I was concerned that it would sully my memory of the game and just not be as enjoyable as the cakewalk that was Wild Arms 1... That said, I read some guides and really optimized my run here and the guides weren't wrong.  If you spec into the Physical/Magic guard perks, you're basically invincible, which really trivializes a lot of the random battles and makes the random battles not as painful as I remember them as a kid.  As a reminder, Wild Arms games are RPG games with puzzle mechanics spread throughout, doing the puzzles can be infuriating when you're hit with random battles while trying to solve a puzzle.  Anyway, I had a blast with this game, I'd argue I had a better time with this than the 1st one because I did have to pay a bit of attention compared to leveraging a glitch and just breezing through the game.
Rating: Solid recommendation

109. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (X1)
I think rather than writing up something new I'll just refer back to my switch review at 52 Game Challenge 2022 Game 5 (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11713.msg193711.html#msg193711).  Looking at it, I didn't speak a lot on some things, so I'll at least add that this time around I went and did everything there was to do in this game as I earned all of the achievements and I even went and did the added content with the conductor.  The Train content is sort of a little roguelike segment, it's kind of awful... but the game did add in accessibility features which I did eventually leverage so I could get through the game.  I think part of me playing this when I did was because it was leaving game pass, that probably checks out.  Review is still the same though.
Rating: Soft recommendation

110. Lies of P (XS)
I hate how far behind I get on writing these reviews.  I hadn't planned on playing this game any time soon, but my wife started playing the game at release and I just couldn't stay away.  I did 1.5 playthroughs to get all of the achievements for the game, Xbox is so difficult to do save scumming stuff, it's real unfortunate.  I'll be honest when I say my experience with non-From Software Soulslike games is very minimal, maybe exclusive to Nioh, so take my statements with a bunch of salt.  This game feels as close to a From Soft soulsborne game as you're going to get without it being made by From Soft.  It's got tight responsive combat, intricate well designed maps, devious traps and enemies, and forces you to really think about solutions for situations.  It definitely takes more inspiration from the non-Souls games (i.e. Bloodborne/Sekiro) while maintaining a single player experience.  I'm of the opinion that adding multiplayer would be a huge addition to the game, but for me the game was perfectly playable solo.  I love these games as is, but I'm also not opposed to adding accessibility so less skilled players can enjoy the experience, I'd hate to have the option of an easy mode (because I'd probably use it and diminish my experience), but there are other ways to be accessible without directly affecting difficulty (Elden Ring does a pretty good job at this).  Enjoyed my time so much that I explicitly went and 100%'d the game.
Rating: Solid recommendation

111. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
What with Spider-Man 2 coming out, I felt it was time to finally play through this game.  Originally my intent was to play through Remastered to check out the changes and prep for Miles Morales, but I just didn't have the time and couldn't care that much... plus I definitely would've had burn out.  I may still go back to it and check stuff out though.  Anyway, this one took me a bit to get into and I think I had to beat it twice for all the trophies, but the game got good enough that I didn't have too much trouble convincing myself to replay the game.  Plus I had time to kill until Spider-Man 2 arrived.  Unfortunately it's been long enough since I played that I don't have much else to say about this game.  It was relatively short, the characters were all pretty new, it'd been long enough since I played the first that the city felt fresh, even if it were the same, no clue.  Short enough too.
Rating: Solid recommendation

112. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
Had been pretty hyped to play this and really ecstatic to get it for free.  Will wind up having to buy the DLC or something down the line once it inevitably gets announced.  Splitting the story between two characters (technically three I guess) makes the game feel a bit crowded and there are some bits in the game that irked me, mostly regarding the lack of communication between spider-man's about their problems.  Absolute improvement on the MJ sections by giving her a defensive weapon.  Game has some lasting power, also easy quick platinum trophy without the need for a full second playthrough (I think).  Fantastic game, largely overshadowed by all of the other fantastic games that came out this year.  2023 was one of the strongest years in gaming for sure.
Rating: Solid recommendation

Next List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202957.html#msg202957)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on August 18, 2023, 11:34:35 pm
19 - Final Fantasy XVI (PS5 2023) - DROPPED - Think I'm dropping this and moving on.  Armored Core VI is coming up and I'm way more excited for that and it made me realize how I've been struggling to stick with FFXVI since I got it.  I've played a lot, I'm over half-way to two-thirds done I think, but  the past month I've been getting sidetracked with other games and I think it's because while I think the story and characters and a decent part of the action and world are great, kinda the rest of the overall package is lacking. 

Combat can be fun, have a nice rhythm, but it's very spammy and doesn't have that flair a Bayonetta might have for an action game comparison, or that heavy, slower impact of a more straightforward God of War.  The actual "RPG" aspect is very light, where crafting gear, quest rewards, and buying stuff is so minimal.  There's very little reason to buy supplies or try and keep up on your gear, because you'll just do a story mission, get an object to craft a unique weapon or item.  Some quests can give actually good things, as I know one quest gave me like a buff to potion use, but you can't tell which ones are that and which one give you like...30 gil, which is absolutely nothing lol There's no reason to stock up on supplies or buy anything, other than songs for the jukebox, but that's not a good reason to buy anything.

So rather than force myself to finish the rest of the game, enjoying some stuff, but not enjoying others, I think I'm going to take the loss on this one.  Disappointing as I want more of the story, but the experience of going through it isn't enticing enough and I'm not lacking for games lately as I got Armored Core VI next week, Mortal Kombat 1 is coming out middle of next month, and I still have some backlog stuff to do, like I'm still sitting on Metroid Prime Remastered.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on August 19, 2023, 06:42:18 pm
Agreed on FFXVI, although I hold it in a higher regard. I just earned the platinum in it and doing so really took the game down a few notches because of how tedious combat got.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on August 19, 2023, 06:57:52 pm
Quote from: kashell on August 19, 2023, 06:42:18 pm
Agreed on FFXVI, although I hold it in a higher regard. I just earned the platinum in it and doing so really took the game down a few notches because of how tedious combat got.

It's a bummer the combat and RPG aspects aren't better, because I would otherwise find this game to be pretty great, so much of the story and characters and its world is really engaging, but I'm just not having enough fun between that story to keep me playing another...15 to 20 hours I probably have left.  I kinda just want to boss rush the game and skip everything inbetween lol I might attempt this game again way down the road, continuing my save after I buy it back (I traded it in for Armored Core VI) after it's dropped real, extra, cheap and I have nothing else to do.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: vivigamer on August 20, 2023, 04:00:30 am
My stance on XVI is that it is a very good story trapped in a terrible game!

The combat is terribly basic, I had an attack pattern for normal enemies & a pattern for bosses, this needed no variation. This could have easily been solved if they put Elements into the combat system. Take the Bomb Enemy, usually it is weak against Ice but in XVI there are no elements intergrated into the combat system so its just attacks - What's worse is that you gain summon abilities which have no elemental attributes either.

The sidequests are as generic as generic can get, fetch quests or monster hunts - Oh and the seperate monster hunts are all re-skins of enemies you've already beat with the basic combat layout wokring again. As soon as I would advance the story and see al new sidequests appear I'd sigh, it owuld take 2-3 hours to get rid of them at times.

The biggest offence is the Map system. The game isn't open world, which is fine but the game doesn't even have areas that connect - Like in Final Fantasy X or XII. You reach the end of one area and then are thrown onto the map and have to select the next area. This gameplay structure ruins all sense of adventure & journey, it felt like experiencing a heavily cut movie.

XVI is ranked in the lower end of FF games for me, I just found it a chore to play in the end.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on August 20, 2023, 05:12:26 am
Yeah the "open world" being so straightforward and disconnected was another lacking aspect.  The actual areas aren't very interesting, there's no reward for exploration as it's mostly just crafting material, which I brought up that crafting is fairly unimportant, or you just stumble across completely empty zones that I assume will have one of the Monster Hunter quests later on, but right now have absolutely nothing.  My guess is that they caught a lot of flack from FFXV (A game I can weirdly say I liked more than FFXVI lol) and rather than being like, "How do we make an open world more engaging", they just kinda threw all that out for something way simpler and far more basic.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on August 20, 2023, 10:49:49 am
30. Something Something Soup Something || PC || 08.18.23

(https://i.imgur.com/XWyVmDa.jpg)

For nearly six years, I've had a screenshot saved of Something Something Soup Something (SSSS) as a reminder to one day take the time to play it. On a whim, I finally did.

To begin, I'll briefly explain the narrative context surrounding SSSS's premise. In the near-distant future, teleportation technology has been invented. Instead of solving major issues such as resource scarcity, humans utilize the tool to further exploit cheap labor opportunities by hiring aliens from far-off worlds. So, these aliens manufacture whatever goods they're tasked to make and then beam them to the in-game human world Terra. However, these aliens have little to no understanding of human concepts. As a result of such language miscommunication, alien goods are often sent as something wildly different to what is conventional to humans. As the manager of a restaurant, the player-character is tasked to classify food items created by aliens as either Soup or Not Soup.

In making choices, there are no right or wrong answers. The game is asking the simple question: what is soup? It is a simple question, but then we must also consider these questions: is soup defined by its contents? Its state of matter? Its container? The utensil used to consume it? How comestible it is? Is it possible that everything is soup? Could nothing be soup? If only some things are soup, what are the qualifications? For many, soup is edible, liquid, and placed in a bowl or cup. With these characteristics, if coffee were then poured into a bowl, can it now be regarded as soup? Why not? Let us take something like minestrone then, which I believe many would agree is a type of soup. Imagine a bowl of it, served normally. If shards of glass were placed in it, is the combined item not soup anymore? If not, why?

Personally, I decided early on that all liquid dishes presented, regardless of their contents, container, or utensil choice, were soup. Obviously, this means that any solid-based item was not. Since rocks are a possible soup base consideration, dishes containing this component were therefore labeled as Not Soup. However, after cycling through several choices, I thought my preconceived definition of what soup is was set. But then, a soup component consideration was introduced as a "frozen liquid" which replaced traditional broth. By my own standards, the item before me isn't soup. However, its state can easily change over time as it melts. Additionally, it is not uncommon to freeze large batches of soup. So, was this item any different? As time passed, my definition of soup changed slightly, so I began to consider anything frozen also as Soup. Even while writing my thoughts about the game, my definition has changed. Upon further reflection, I now think that, while perhaps not everything is soup, everything can be soup. Taking the rocks again as an example, they are objectively solid. However, every item has a melting point. While this level may differ from a typical indoor melting point which can melt ice, there are temperatures which can make solids to liquid, meaning Not Soup items can become Soup.

I assumed the process was a never-ending loop, but it actually stops shortly after twenty items are handled. At that time, an overview report appears which summarizes the player's criteria for what they regard soup as. Toward the end of the game, most if not all of the soup components have been seen. Every dish is procedurally generated, so hundreds of possibilities can be presented.

To my understanding, SSSS was designed by a philosopher in partnership with a team of developers. From the game's webpage, a lot of effort seemed to go into presenting this simple idea. Ignoring personal biases as to what soup may be, designers identified the characteristics of soup from across varying cultures. Focus group testing was conducted, and results were published. Obviously, results to what soup is were quite varied, despite it being such a common item perhaps many would believe is universally understood. But this idea that language and communication aren't objective is the core principle behind SSSS's message. For example, what I may be trying to communicate to someone else will not always be interpreted as intended, meaning language and communication aren't reliable. If something like the definition of soup can't be agreed upon, then how are much more abstract concepts such as freedom, love, or success to be understood?

All this said, SSSS has another goal. From its webpage description, it was also designed with the intention to reflect on what defines a game as such. This was a much less obvious goal that I hadn't considered once prior to reading about it due to that I fully consider SSSS to be a game and not just an "interactive thought experiment" as the creators describe it as. Another aspect I'll mention is that scholarly articles were published related to the game's research. They are certainly worth reading because they explain how exactly the components of what soup may be in SSSS were decided upon.

You may be asking: why do this? Well, there is an answer of sorts, but it mostly comes down to applying philosophical principles and the simple reason why not? Like I mentioned above, SSSS is a project grounded in understanding the principles of language and communication, therefore, the game being about soup is arbitrary. For a short game that can be completed in as little as a few minutes, SSSS left me asking a lot of questions which I value. It being free is a nice additional perk.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on August 21, 2023, 08:44:18 am
Quote from: vivigamer on August 20, 2023, 04:00:30 am
My stance on XVI is that it is a very good story trapped in a terrible game!

The combat is terribly basic, I had an attack pattern for normal enemies & a pattern for bosses, this needed no variation. This could have easily been solved if they put Elements into the combat system. Take the Bomb Enemy, usually it is weak against Ice but in XVI there are no elements intergrated into the combat system so its just attacks - What's worse is that you gain summon abilities which have no elemental attributes either.

The sidequests are as generic as generic can get, fetch quests or monster hunts - Oh and the seperate monster hunts are all re-skins of enemies you've already beat with the basic combat layout wokring again. As soon as I would advance the story and see al new sidequests appear I'd sigh, it owuld take 2-3 hours to get rid of them at times.

The biggest offence is the Map system. The game isn't open world, which is fine but the game doesn't even have areas that connect - Like in Final Fantasy X or XII. You reach the end of one area and then are thrown onto the map and have to select the next area. This gameplay structure ruins all sense of adventure & journey, it felt like experiencing a heavily cut movie.

XVI is ranked in the lower end of FF games for me, I just found it a chore to play in the end.

The bold/italic part could not ring more true. As soon as a new chapter started, and as soon as I saw those disgusting green exclamation points, I would groan. Then, I'd go get my iPad and put on a show so I could have something to watch while I skipped through the dialogues during the side-quests. I think there were only like seven of them that were worth doing (one for Ambrosia, two for increasing your item limit, and four for getting the best weapon for Clive) but even with those I'd skip the dialogue just so I could carry on.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on August 21, 2023, 01:30:38 pm
Game 12 - Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon (Switch) - 15 Hours

I had heard from many people online that Battle Network 4 was the worst in the series. While I don't agree that it's the worst, it's definitely a step down in many ways from BN 2 and 3. That doesn't mean that the game has nothing to offer that's new or that it isn't fun to play. The first thing that I noticed was a completely refreshed and updated graphic/color palate. The music also received a nice facelift and sounds way better than previous games. On the gameplay side, there are several additions that become staples in BN 5 and 6 that I really appreciated. I had really missed full synchro for one thing, which can really speed up battles, and the soul-crossing that starts in this game and going forward works better than the "styles" in BN 2 and 3, particularly since they have more complex changes and you can enter them whenever you want. There's also some interesting karma system with the new darkchip mechanics that can get pretty interesting but I didn't really explore it that much.

I also really liked the inclusion of multiple regions for you to explore beyond Electopia. You often hear about Netopia, Yumland, etc. But you never get to explore those physical areas in the other games. While none of them were expansive, I really liked that part of the game.

So you may be asking, why is this game looked down upon so much? For me it's definitely the story. Frankly, none of the BN games have a great story, so this isn't much of a surprise. To me this game felt a lot like the first game. That is, the story feels segmented into episodes, without a strong major narrative driving the plot. There's a main plot about darkchips corrupting the soul and impending meteor strike but all of that is left by the wayside and is instead focused around several major tournaments with mostly superficial and time-consuming filler to complete before each match. The main plotline about a meteor strike is so off in the distance in service the tournament plot for most of the game until the very end, and the villain as a result is so underdeveloped it's laughable. Translations are awful too, by the way. Tons of spelling and syntax errors, and overall is way worse quality-wise than the previous games. Wish they could have fixed some that in the HD remakes but alas.

The other main point was the fact that you have to replay the game multiple times to unlock everything. Personally I don't mind that so much. I wish more BN games had a new game plus option like this one and the fact that some of the content is locked behind this restriction makes the new game plus option more appealing in my opinion.

So while in many respects it is a step backwards in the series, the 4th entry in the series retains the excellent gameplay with some more modern polish and gameplay tweaks that I still enjoyed.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on August 22, 2023, 10:53:45 pm
It's been since mid July since I last beat something, however with Armored Core 6 coming our Friday I will break that streak of no games played and get back on it. I'm taking a little break from gaming right now, and luckily I'm starting to feel remotivated to hop back in. After Armored Core I'm likely going to start playing games again at a regular cadence and I'm still confident I'll hit that golden 52 number by the end of the year.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on August 28, 2023, 11:57:04 pm
25 - Armored Core VI (PS5 2023) - BEAT - It's been a long time since I've played a proper mech game, I played Gundam Evolution recently when that came out, but that's more hero shooter with mechs, than a mecha game, and before that probably would've been like Hawken a few years back, but it was nice to have a real solid, customizable, mech experience.

Overall the game is solid, you can tackle stuff how you want, though I quickly found you could basically brute force your way through stuff with either dual miniguns and grenade launchers, or dual shotguns and grenade launchers, at least in terms of taking out individual units.  It's like the heavy armor and huge two hander weapon builds from their Souls games, which lets you just power through fights if you are having trouble dodging.  Doesn't work with every battle, but if you built up a middle ground mech and then slap that stuff on, you can melt a lot of AC's fast, or get through boss fights easier.

I don't care for the story, it's barebones, the characters aren't interesting, I'm both important to the story and not, because my character isn't a character.  It's like their Souls games, you are a just a void there to progress the plot while everyone talks you up.  It didn't bother me too much, till the end, and I'm just like, "I wish I could have a dialogue with the characters right now".  I also feel like the gameplay could have more depth, it's very straightforward, like I was sorta expecting these big boss fights you could maybe attack certain parts, disable them, which could change up their attacks or strategies, but nah, AC's are very straightforward to fight and the big robots and other stuff are pretty basic to fight, though they do have second phases. 

In the end, I don't think it's up there with their other games like Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, etc, but it's a good mech game and there definitely aren't enough of those.  I know New Game Plus gives more to do also, so I'll probably tackle that stuff abit more casually over the next week or so.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on August 29, 2023, 08:37:15 am
46. Albert Odyssey

Despite all of its ups and downs, this is still one of my favorite Saturn games. Working Designs did what they did best: gave the game extra "personality" by implementing a generous helping of 90s cultural references and questionable programming changes. Their translation notes in the instruction manual claimed they made some improvements to overall playability. I don't see them, and I suspect they took it a step further and increased every boss' HP, too. If I ever get a chance to play the original Japanese version, then I'd be curious to see what other stunts they pulled. Still, the game epitomizes classic role-playing. Aside from two tedious boss battles it's an easy-breezy quest from the start. And it's also one of the most gorgeous 2D games I've ever played. My first time playing it was long, long after its release but it still had this ability to "take me back." The same can be said for this replay. Leos is best girl. Gryzz is the MVP.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 01, 2023, 12:41:12 am
32. Armored Core 6 (PS5)

I have some very fond memories of playing Armored Core 2 and 3 back in the PS2 days, however other than dabbling in Armored Core 4 as a rental around the time it came out, I've mostly been away from the series all these years. It isn't that I didn't like the older AC games I played, but rather they just never stuck with me the same way many other games have over the years. Still, the AC6 trailer from last year blew me away and delivered a level of hype that made me know I'd be getting this game day 1, which is precisely what I did!


AC6 is a pretty fun action game with a crazy amount of customization for your mech, which was one of the biggest draws to this entry. Other than that, all the fan favorite modes like the Arena and story mode make a return. The story of AC6 is nothing remarkable, however it's a nice addition to you just doing one merc mission after another just for the credits. Still, I found this game difficult to play for more than 2 out chunks due to it not keeping my interest as much as I was hoping it would. The OST is decent, but it is often drowned out by the sound of explosions, weapons firing, thrusters, and general destruction all around you. The level of detail to the mechs and some of the environments and enemies is impressive, however I found the snowy wasteland setting of Rubicon to get a little stale after a while, even though many of the stages look a decent amount different. Sadly, I feel like if I were more of a Souls fan, I'd probably have liked AC6 more. That isn't necessarily because AC6 has a ton in common with the Souls series outside its developer, but rather because it shelves exposition and world building for the saje of action, giving the player only breadcrumbs of lore to sustain them. There is certainly more there in this regard to AC6, but overall it was game I had less and less fun with the longer I played. I guess I'm not the AC fan I thought I was, or at least what I used to be. (8/31/23) [33/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 02, 2023, 05:54:17 pm
26 - Atomic Heart (PC 2023) - BEAT - This is the most aggressive 6/10 I've played in awhile lol It has stuff that could easily knock it down to a 4, but also as some points, the game feels like an 8.  It's basically an amalgamation of Bioshock, Prey, and Wolfenstein.  Gameplay is pretty decent, decent spread of weapons, customization/upgrades, melee is basic but functional, gunplay is basic, but functional, and there is a whole powers system, but I honestly wasn't that impressed by it.  It seems cooler than it is, it never felt as super useful as in Bioshock to me and most fights didn't feel like I would have benefited from using them more, especially since you get so many heals as you play. Boss fights are pretty exciting, there's some killer tracks from Mick Gordon in this too.

What was killing me in this game is the dialogue and lead, it's awful.  It's not every character, but for some reason the lead almost comes across as like a stereotypical action game badass, but done with very poor voice direction, so he feels like he's from a different game.  Like he would be better off being a character in Bulletstorm, or some other goofy shooter from the mid to late 2000's.  By the end of the game, I had a feeling it was a mixture of a script translation issue or something, it's never like outright the wrong words, but it comes across weird and unnatural and the wrong tone, combined with the voice direction.  I hated listening to him, he's annoying and obnoxious and I almost quit the game because of how unlikable it is and his dumb catchphrase that is absolutely not justified when you learn why he uses it lol

Another huge problem with the game is the large open world sections.  There's a couple strewn about and at first they seem neat, but they completely botched it.  Basically there are cameras across much of the map and if you get spotted, you'll get tougher enemies on you, and you'll basically fight alot.  You can't clear out an area though, because there infinite auto-repair robots, so after a very short bit of time, all robots you destroyed, will be rebuilt.  So you can't explore things at your leisure after a fight, you are forced to constantly fight and move fast, which absolutely undercuts the experience.  I ended up mostly skipping this stuff, missing out on weapon upgrades, because I didn't want to deal with the constant fights.

It's a game that I can see where it could be amazing, like top tier stuff, but multiple parts just didn't work for me.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 03, 2023, 01:56:26 pm
Alright, I'm less than 20 games away from reaching 52! Knowing what I have going on for the remainder of the year, it's going to be an uphill battle getting there, but I'm determined to not miss that goal after meeting it every year since we began this challenge. I'm going to have to mix in more short games if i'm going to make it, which is fine by me since I'm a huge fan of arcade games, which is about as short as you can get. I woke up in a SHMUP mood so I decided to revisit a shmup I haven't played since my massive binge of the genre back in 2017 and 2018.


33. Dengun Feveron (PS4)

I didn't remember much about Dengen Feveron from when I originally played it other than it felt like Dodonpachi with a strange disco-ish aesthetic to it. Well, this is more or less what you get with Dengen Feveron except it still just feels like 90% a Dodonpachi clone. This is by no means a bad thing, and in fact Dengen's gameplay is a step above many other shmups I've played, cave or otherwise. However, it's fairly generic feel and look really prevents this game from being more memorable or fun for me. The audio is decent, the enemy variety is pretty good, but so much else in this game just feels interchangeable and bland. There are a few strange gimmicks in this game that I wasn't a big fan of either. Still, this is definitely a shump I'd recommend, especially if you're a fan of Cave's older stuff from the 90s. (9/3/23) [30/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 03, 2023, 03:32:48 pm
36. Skullgirls: 2nd Encore (PS4)

The Skullgirls series is one I've been meaning to check out for a very long time. Not only have a heard about how competitive it has been as a fighting game for years, but the look of the game has always appealed to me. I finally decided to sink some time into this game and while i absolutely see why this game is so loved and also has found its way into the modern rotation of competitive fighting games, I was somewhat disappointed with it still. Let's just get it out of the way; Skullgirls plays incredibly well. The gameplay is fast, tight, and pretty dynamic. While it isn't flawless, mostly due to some balancing issues I encountered, it's still a ton of fun and reminds me of a mix of ArcSys games mixed with late 90s CPS2 Capcom fighting games. That is certainly a compliment if there ever was one. Visually the game is very well done, although it does still show its independent, lower budget hand a bit more than I would like. Still, the characters and their animations are great looking, and most of the stages are pretty cool. There is also a story mode where characters interact and each character's progression is unique. While I didn't find any of the story particularly interesting, it at least adds value to what is already a pretty robust fighting game. And then finally, the audio is also pretty damn good. Between the cool jazz music and pretty well done voice acting, this game definitely hits most of the marks it needs to to be a pretty memorable game from an audio standpoint. So where does my disappointment come from with Skullgirls: 2nd Encore? While the game does mostly everything right, it just never really grabbed me the way that a lot of other fighting games do. I enjoyed playing it, but at the same time I was just sort of like, "eh, I'm ready to play something else now." I guess in a way, Skullgirls just felt a bit unremarkable and had me wanting to play something else like Marvel vs Capcom 2 or Super Street Fighter 2. Still, I get why this game is so loved and commonly used in fighting game tournaments, it just isn't for me as much as it is for many others. (9/3/23) [36/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 05, 2023, 11:28:24 pm
35. Mortal Kombat XL (PS4)

It's been a long time since I last played MKXL, and when I did I remembered it being fun, but it lacked far behind MK9, and also its sequel, MK11. Beyond the gameplay, the real meat and potatoes of the newer MK games has been their amazing story modes; the gameplay is honestly secondary to what has been the best story delivery of any fighting franchise game I've ever played. Unfortunately, 6-years later replaying MKXL, my opinion of this game hasn't changed.


MKXL's story is okay, but definitely the weakest compared to its predecessor and successor. I was never super invested in Cassey Kage and her crew as much as the original MK Earth Realm team, but for what it's worth they're still okay. Also, Kotal Kan is no Shao Kan, nor is Shinok or Quan-chi a good substitute for Shang Sung. I certainly don't dislike the story of XL ,but it is certainly inferior to the rest of the arc, hence why I forgot most of it in just 6-years. The gameplay is fairly good, although a variety of balancing issues and just feeling kind of stiff at times holds it back from really shining in this area. I will say, it's still leagues better than most of the previous entries in the series before 9. Still, unlike the story of MKXL, its gameplay is on par with both 9 and 11. The audio is similar in terms of quality with some great voice acting, cool stage music, and just overall excellent audio on all fronts. In the future I can see myself playing through MK9, 10, and 11 just to complete what is overall a great story arc. It will also help fill in some blanks as MK1 (the 2023 one) releases soon. (9/5/23) [35/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 07, 2023, 09:55:47 pm
27 - Starfield (PC 2023) - DROPPED - Man, I'm struggling abit with new games lately lol First I can't get through FF16 and now I can't get through Starfield.  Starfield is a much more flawed game though and I kinda went into it not expecting it to grab me, as the trailers were never all that enticing for me.  I put about 17 to 18 hours into the game, and I've tried a little bit of everything, but it's not coming together.  I'm a big Fallout fan, and fully aware of the faults that game has, but I think the setting and tone of that game does a lot for me compared to Starfield which is a lot more bland and straightforward in its tone, so the faults of Starfield aren't being covered up with things I enjoy.

At my core with these games, I'm a loot goblin, I love gathering up armor sets and cool outfits, and getting interesting guns and all that.  Here, it's all mildly similar space suits, and the clothes can be kinda colo, and the weapons are okay, but they then went and really limited storage space in this game.  In Fallout 4, I had Sanctuary, so I could take my haul, organize it there with resources and gear and all that, but they made ship cargo holds fairly small, and I had the first level of ship storage filled up in like the first two hours of the game and that's just from very normal collecting of weapon and gear and resources.  You can upgrade the ship to be like 4 times the base I think, but I didn't want a huge bloated ship, so I modded this out.

The biggest problems to me is that the combat isn't very good, the AI isn't very good, interactions with characters and looting is all basically the same as it was in Fallout 4, but even less so as there's no VATS, there's no back and forther dialogue like with Fallout 4, not even like camera switching, so I almost never see my character unless I purposefully stay in third person.  Fallout 4 is 8 years ago, this game needed to be way better.  The stuff they added isn't very good either.  I use to love exploring, because it was one big map with unique locations and stuff, and now it's all these mostly randomly generated locations on planets that you get to with lots of loading screen stuff inbetween.  It's incredibly immersion breaking and just disconnects you from the experience.  Ship combat is also pretty lame.  You can still have a lot of random events like before happen, but it's not the same to me.

Also I just don't think the main story is very interesting, it's got kind of a slow, boring, intro, all the characters and companions are very bland and standard, the side stuff can be okay, but wasn't enough to keep me engaged.  Visually, while I like this "NASA Punk" aesthetic, it also just leads to a dull game.  My first fight was against pirates in red spacesuits.  I then came across Spacers, which are basically scavengers in grey space suits.  I then once came across a group called Ecliptic I think, fighting pirates, who are just guys in green space suits, but not the Var'uun, who are cultists that also wear a green space suit, but there's is cooler.  You can see how boring that gets compared to Fallout with Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, Mercs, Brotherhood with their more unique elements, or Skyrim with all sorts of fantasy creatures.

I've seen a lot of people REALLY get into the game, great for them (I think people giving it 10's are kinda way off the mark though lol), but as a continuation of the Bethesda formula, it doesn't do anything to draw me in.  The faults of Fallout I could let slide, because I loved the aesthetics and setting and crazy characters and interactions and that's not happening in the same way as Starfield.  Starfield has longer term play potential because it has NG+ stuff and all the randomized content creates infinite stuff to do basically, but I'd rather have a 100 hour game that I enjoy a lot and complete, than a game I could play for 500 hours and still not be finished with.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 07, 2023, 11:24:01 pm
I decided to have a SHMUP night.


36. Darius Gaiden (PS1)

It had been a while since I played Darius Gaiden last, but I remembered it being pretty good overall. My memory served me right, as it was actually slightly better than I had remembered it. The gameplay was surprisingly balanced and fun for the most part, however it does have some noticeable cheap spots throughout, and some of the bosses can be fairly annoying at times for one reason or another. The other thing this game is guilty of is slightly marooning you with powerups when you die, which is a huge pet peeve of mine when it comes to shmups. Still, the branching paths in this game make this a very replayable shooter, which only add to its overall fun factor. The audio and visuals are really the showstoppers in Darius Gaiden however, as the blend of 3D and 2D, combined with a ton of unique bosses and enemies makes for a really good time. I was surprised to see destroyable environmental objects as well, and also unique animations for some of the bosses and scripted sequences. As mentioned, the audio is great too, with some pretty ambient tracks that somehow really compliment the strange aquatic theme of this game. Darius Gaiden was a pleasant surprise to return to and certainly one of the better shmups I've played from the mid-90s. (9/7/23) [34/50]

37. Raiden (PS1)

Even though I'm a fairly big fan of the Raiden franchise of shooters, I've actually spent very little time with the first game. That changed tonight when I decided to play the first Raiden on the Raiden Project release on the PS1. The game is essentially arcade perfect, which is nice, however the game itself leaves a lot to be desired. For one, Raiden is probably one of the worst shmups I've played in terms of power up marooning. Not only does the game not throw you a bone between lives and continued, but power ups in general are relatively sparse, meaning the odds are always against you unless you just never die. Unfortunately for 99% of the people that play this game, they will die, and then die rapidly numerous times after from not having enough power ups to get through certain areas. This becomes very annoying, and the only things that somewhat mitigates this is the fact that the balancing of enemies and projectiles remains fairly consistent, with the exception of some of the later stages, which are the definition of cheap. The audio is decent, and the visuals are certainly pretty good for the era this game game out in arcades. Luckily the Raiden series improved dramatically in later entries, although as Raiden II will demonstrate, it wouldn't hit its stride until sometime later. (9/7/23) [26/50]

38. Raiden II (PS1)

While Raiden II does make some improvements over the original game, it still has a lot of annoying gameplay issues, most noticeably the dramatic spike in difficulty almost from the getgo, which makes Raiden II a fairly cheap and unbalanced shmup. Sure, the game isn't marooning you as bad with no power ups after you get killed, but it barely gives you anything still, and good luck reaching the power up before you're fragged again. I can't really say the gameplay is an improvement, it's just annoying in various new ways. The audio is on par with the first Raiden, however the visuals did dramatically improve with much cooler destruction animations and just the quality of sprites too. It's both sad and sobering that I didn't much care for Raiden II seeing how this was the first shmup I remember playing in the arcade during the mid-90s and also I remember thinking the game was awesome back then. Sure, I was just a dumb kid who didn't know any better, but it's always nice when you can revisit a game from your past and still feel idealistic about it and enjoy it. Unfortunately this game is not one of those titles for the most part. (9/7/23) [28/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 08, 2023, 10:11:34 pm
39. Metal Slug 5 (PS4)

I was on a bit of a Metal Slug kick towards the beginning of this year only to find out that the deeper into the series I played, the more diminished returns the series was giving me with each new game I played. Unfortunately, Metal Slug 5 mostly continues this trend, however I did find it slightly better than 4, which is the worst in the series imo. Visually the game looks pretty cool, but not really anymore than 4. The same can be said about the audio. Gameplay is as crazy as ever with some strategy involved, but mostly you can count on dying over and over, and over again. Luckily, I'm playing this on a PS4 with unlimited continues, because had this been an arcade, I'd have spent nearly the price of what a new game costs now in quarters. These games are meant to devour unsuspecting arcade goer's change, and they are effective at doing so thanks to the spectacle occurring on the screen in front of you. Still, it would have been nice to have a bit more depth to the gameplay instead of feeling like you're just mindlessly jumping into a meat grinder half the time. Still, it's a short, mostly fun game that is worth a play every decade or so. (9/8/23) [29/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on September 10, 2023, 03:12:42 pm
9.) Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PS5)--Why would I not do this version as well? This run went a lot smoother than the last run.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on September 12, 2023, 11:33:49 am
Game 13 - Pikmin 4 (Switch) - 30 Hours

I have always been a huge fan of the Pikmin series. As a testament to that, I bought the 4th entry day one and played almost right after it came out, whereas I'm usually about 2-5 years behind the curve with most new releases. That's how much I like the series, and Pikmin 4 proves to be worth the many years it's been since Pikmin 3 came out on the Wii U. As a result, I have a lot of thoughts about this game.

Pikmin 4 is in many ways the best game in the series, certainly from a technical and gameplay perspective. You can almost feel all the 10+ years of new ideas being stuffed into this game from Pikmin 3. It's tough to know even where to start. First, the game retains the beautiful, brutal world with disgusting yet cute monster design. This time around, the game leans a lot more into the connection with our human world, so much so that you explore an entire floor of a house later in the game, which I thought was interesting.

Second are the changes in gameplay, of which there are many. There is one new Pikmin, the Ice Pikmin, which were great for freezing enemies and bodies of water alike, and I used them frequently. Rather than just 1,2, or 3 people to find over the course of the story, this game has a whopping 50 castaways for you to rescue, each with their own personalities and reasons for being on the planet. They also unlock an expansive shop with upgrades and special items using raw materials in the overworld, which opens up your gameplay options. My favorite addition was Oatchi, a lovable dog-like creature who's biggest benefit is carrying Pikmin on it's back for you. This means you become a harder target for enemies to hit which helps you conserve Pikmin. The game also includes extensive cave systems like in Pikmin 2, and integrates different challenges into the story like timed modes a PvC competitive mode. That's not even all of the new things in this game, but overall it was a real treat to experience everything. The one gameplay aspect I didn't really like was the night expeditions. They weren't that deep and felt tedious to complete. They also don't scale the rewards to match the increasing challenge as you go through each mission.

While I do think Pikmin 4 remains an excellent game to play, to me it is slightly outclassed by Pikmin 3 in a few subtle but important ways. The largest difference for me is the change in tone. All those castaways that you rescue over the course of the game fill up your base camp where they sit around doing nothing or giving you some superficial sidequests to complete. As a result, this game feels very crowded and noisy, which diminishes the isolating atmosphere that I've enjoyed from previous entries in the series. The treasures that you collect all over the planet are all turned in to "Sparklium": i.e., fuel for your ship, which feels more lazy and less grounded than searching for money, food, or spaceship parts in previous games. You rack up Sparklium so quickly that in no time you have enough to scan the whole planet and fuel your ship so everything becomes more tedious to collect. Lastly, I really despised the lack of a time limit, and Pikmin 2 had the same problem. For a game that drills the whole efficiency thing into your skull, there's no real incentive to be efficient because you're not working against a clock at all. It doesn't have to be anything major, but just a little something in the game that helps me feel that efficiency (or Dandori as it's called now), matters really goes a long way.

The other thing for me is the lack of the dual Gamepad and TV screen. In Pikmin 3 you could send multiple explorers with different parties of Pikmin and perform multiple tasks easily. They tried to do that in Pikmin 2 but it didn't really work and this game doesn't have a suitable alternative. Oatchi can do some things on his own but it really isn't all that impressive. You could also more accurately throw Pikmin using the Gamepad, and it did feel like a downgrade in quality.

As an aside, the game's story progression was a little strange. You have 2 overarching missions from the start: rescue Olimar and the rest of the castaways. When you rescue Olimar the game goes through full credits but then you're brought back to the planet to resume rescuing the remaining castaways and with a new mission to cure Oatchi. I think they were trying to go for a "postgame" that you could do after rescuing Olimar. To me it felt like the credits were popping up when the game wasn't really finished. So I did rescue all the castaways and complete the final questline even though you could argue that you don't have to, for the story to be finished.

Even though the subtle shift in direction was a bit of a miss for me, and the amount content felt a little bloated at the end (the game is more than twice as long as Pikmin 3), I did really enjoy my time with Pikmin 4. It's an excellent addition to the series, and well worth your time. It seems like I had a lot of negative things to say about the game, but they're really just nitpicks shining through.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on September 12, 2023, 11:40:00 am
Removing Sonic Labrynth (Game Gear) from Sonic Origins (PS5). This is probably one of the worst Sonic games on the handheld.

Moved Texas Chainsaw Massacre (PS5) under completed. I've played as all the characters and been successful in killing all four "victims" as well as surviving as a "victim" multiple times. There's not really an end to this game so it is what it is.

Added Tomb Raider 2013 (PS4) to start replaying on my next day off.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 13, 2023, 09:52:21 pm
28 - I'm On Obversation Duty (PC 2018) - BEAT - I normally don't like to play most modern horror games, the sorta stuff that came out post Slenderman/Five Nights at Freddy's, there was a huge boom of copycat games or variations or stuff with that simple, indie, style in mind and most of them are basically just jumpscare simulators.  So normally I wouldn't like a game like this, it's just staring at cameras the whole time, but the gameplay hook is that within these cameras are rooms with set objects, furniture, paintings, etc...Eventually something will change.  A cup will move, a chair will disappear, an extra table will show up, a random person will appear, your camera will malfunction, and it's your job to identify what changed or what the issue is, and report that anomaly.

It's less of a jump scare sim (Which it still technically is) and it's almost a puzzle game, or like one of those games where you have to "find the object", but rather than find something specific, you have to find out what changed in the room.  That can get real challenging when it's small things.  You start to get tunnel vision, thinking you are on the ball, not recognizing that a painting shifted to a different version, or a shadow is out of place.  My big negative with the game is that I think the black/white visuals make it really hard to notice some changes, and it's less the nature of being a realistic challenge, it's just a problem of the visuals.  I'm positive there were things that changed that I didn't notice, specifically because the quality made it hard to see.  Also the "Anomaly Fixed" screen is like a damn flashbang with how bright it is.  I also don't like that are random noises that'll play, rather than being audio cues to something going on. 

Jump scares aside, which are not constant, they are used sparingly, they want tension to build, I really weirdly like the gameplay loop.  It's about pattern recognition in regards to pattern breaking, it's oddly engaging when I'm not talking to myself, getting mad that I know there's at least 3 things changed and I can't figure them out at all lol You basically have to last 6 hours (I think it's 20 minutes? Maybe I'm wrong?) and you can answer incorrectly all you want, but if 4 anomaly's are active, you'll auto-fail.

This is the first one, it's very short (I actually beat it in 5 hours, which is more than I thought, and that's just to do a complete run through only two levels), but also very cheap, I think it's fine for what it is and it looks like the sequels noticeably improve on the visuals and the actual locations, so I might keep going with the sequels.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 14, 2023, 02:21:46 pm
40. The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS4)

This is my second complete playthrough of The Last of Us: Part 2, the game I originally abandoned due to its jarring, subversive mid game twist. But I decided to give the game another shot about a year after that and ended up liking it quite a bit despite some annoyances with the story, characters, and writing mostly. The game has stuck with my ever since I first beat it and I've been looking forward to replaying it again. And here I am, once again praising this game in nearly every way a game can be praised, except after my second playthrough, I unfortunately do not like this game as much as I did the first time. Maybe it's because I'm not constantly wondering what's going to happen next, but there were a lot of things with the story and characters that bothered me a lot more than they did during my first playthrough, and it was enough to diminish my enjoyment of this game somewhat. I'm still in love with the world of The Last of Us, and the amount of world building and snippets of what it's like to live in that world are what make this game and the first such compelling games despite annoyances I have with the writers for essentially ruining Ellie completely and also pushing some fairly mean spirited stuff through in this game that I can't help but feel is politically motivated. Regardless, the game was still a mostly enjoyable experience throughout. The graphics and sound are near flawless, and the gameplay, while having some fairly minor annoyances is still really damn fun and engaging. I don't plan on playing through Part 2 again for probably a while, but I'm glad I did revisit this game again, even though my opinion of it has slightly slipped since the last time I beat it. (9/14/23) [42/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on September 14, 2023, 03:07:04 pm
Quote from: bikingjahuty on September 14, 2023, 02:21:46 pm
40. The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS4)
[/b]

My wife and I talk about this game all the time. It was one of her favorite backseat gaming experiences and we would talk about it hours after finishing a play session. She really wants me to play it again but I want to wait until season 2 of the show comes out. I'm curious what we will think on a repeat playthrough after knowing what happens in the story.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 14, 2023, 03:49:49 pm
I loved most everything about Last of Us 2, other than how they handled the story, just in execution.  It's the one thing I'm excited for with the tv show next season, because it means they can tackle it in a much different way that works better pacing wise. It has the potential to be a very impressive adaptation because of it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 14, 2023, 10:38:57 pm
41. Raycrisis (PS1)

I'm a huge fan of the Ray series of SHMUPs, which also includes RayForce and RayStorm, however it's third entry does not live up to the quality of the first two games not even close. In fact, Raycrisis is one of the worst SHMUPs I've ever played. Not only is the game painfully short, even for a SHMUP, but also has some of the most haphazard, lazy gameplay and stage design I've seen in the genre. More or less, the distribution of enemies and projectiles is completely imbalanced with the abilities afforded to you by your ship. The audio is okay for the most part and really the only slightly above average thing about Raycrisis. In a way, it's nice this game was so short because I didn't have to play it for very long before beating it. (9/14/23) [22/50]

3. R-Type Delta (PS1) - ABANDONED

One of my gaming confessions, if you will, is that I'm not a big fan of the R-Type franchise, like any of them. I find them to be way to difficult and their gameplay design leaves a lot to be desired in terms of balance. R-Type Delta is no different in that the game is bullshit hard to the point of ridiculousness, even on the easy difficulty. I can barely make it to the third stage before I run out of continues. Despite it's unfair difficulty, the game looks pretty good and the OST is pretty catchy as well. It's just a shame this game is so relentless because I'd say it's otherwise a cool, stylish PS1 SHMUP that reminds me of Einhander in a lot of ways. All well. (9/14/23)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on September 15, 2023, 09:40:58 am
Quote from: kamikazekeeg on September 14, 2023, 03:49:49 pm
I loved most everything about Last of Us 2, other than how they handled the story, just in execution.  It's the one thing I'm excited for with the tv show next season, because it means they can tackle it in a much different way that works better pacing wise. It has the potential to be a very impressive adaptation because of it.

Yeah I agree. That's why I really want to make sure I've played through the game before the second season so I can know how the show might differ/follow the game. I'm hoping they make some slight adjustments to the story  in the show because there were some aspects of it in the game that I wasn't a fan of either.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on September 16, 2023, 02:08:12 pm
Quote from: telly on September 15, 2023, 09:40:58 am
Quote from: kamikazekeeg on September 14, 2023, 03:49:49 pm
I loved most everything about Last of Us 2, other than how they handled the story, just in execution.  It's the one thing I'm excited for with the tv show next season, because it means they can tackle it in a much different way that works better pacing wise. It has the potential to be a very impressive adaptation because of it.

Yeah I agree. That's why I really want to make sure I've played through the game before the second season so I can know how the show might differ/follow the game. I'm hoping they make some slight adjustments to the story  in the show because there were some aspects of it in the game that I wasn't a fan of either.

This is where I'm at with it as well.  For the most part I like the story, but the pacing is all out of whack, its a tad repetitive, and it goes on a bit too long.  But those are things that could be rectified in another medium.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on September 16, 2023, 11:26:00 pm
47. Labyrinth of Zangetsu

This was a dungeon crawler that seemed to slip by everyone. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as others I've played recently. I think this game was trying to emulate what Experience, Inc. has done with the genre but missed the mark. I still recommend it to dungeon crawler fans, though. I just warn them to use a guide when building a party. Don't do what I did and go in with your own ideas because the way stats, class changes, and alignments work can royally screw you over. Also, since the game has an autosave, you can essentially permanently lock yourself out of any hope of advancement. Some might find that challenging. I found it unfair. But, I finished this game by the skin of my teeth.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 18, 2023, 12:15:19 am
29 - Far Cry 6 (PC 2021) - DROPPED - Man, I'm really dropping games this year lol I was only ever going to get this game if I could get it real cheap, and it got on sale for REAL cheap, so I figured why not, I'm generally fine with open world shooters, but I didn't get into this originally because I was kinda done with the Far Cry games.  I liked FC3 a good bit, FC4 was not great, FC5 was a little better, but I thought dragged with some aspects of it, and after about 6 hours in FC6 (Did not plan that), I think it's probably the best since FC3, overall solid, but I feel like this type of shooter is getting pretty burnt out. 

It's very familiar to the other Far Cry games in structure, it reminds me of the Just Cause games with the setting and all the "revolution" talk, its just not doing tons to keep me engaged, which is a shame as like I said, it's very solid, seems like a total 8/10 game.  I'm not too sure how you make this sort of setup interesting these days.  I feel like I would care more about this style of game if it was way more hardcore, survival-esque in a way, but I don't know.

I was just making my runs through the missions, taking over checkpoints, meeting the colorful cast, I've done this a lot before and I think I'm good for the moment.  A weird complaint I want to lodge though, this might have some of the worst feeling helicopters I've felt in a game in awhile lol It's 2023, we've figured out decent and even simple helicopter controls, just rip off Battlefield or something, other games figured it out too.  They just have no real physics or something, like they do, but it feels more like I'm controlling a scifi hover vehicle that perfectly moves around, while having the jitteriest aiming movement.  It's weirdly bad for no reason.

Not a bad game, I might attempt it again later on, I just have games I'm much more interested in playing right now.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on September 18, 2023, 09:53:40 pm
48. Gal Guardians: Demon Purge

Both Labyrinth of Zangetsu and Gal Guardians: Demon Purge are helping set the stage for when it's time to get spooky-with-it when I get into horror games next month. Gal Guardians is inspired by classic Castlevania. It might as well have come from Konami. The difference is that it has Inti Creates' crisp polish and snappy writing. It's also a spinoff of Gal Gun. I never played any game in that series but I'm familiar with the premise. So, the story is wild and pervy in a hilarious way. The game is packed with content. There are tons of secret rooms, collectibles, sub-weapons, and there even multiple endings. The soundtrack is sadly forgettable, which is a surprise since the developers tend to make some real bangers. The ability to change difficulties at anytime is a great perk. I definitely recommend it to all 2D, side scroller fans.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 20, 2023, 10:58:37 am
42. Metal Slug 6 (PS4)

Being the glutton for pain I am, I decided to play the next installment in the Metal Slug series, however unlike the last few Metal Slug games I played, I actually enjoyed this one a little more. Don't get me wrong, this game was still brutal and cheap as hell at times, but at the very least it seemed a little more balanced. The only real issue I had with this one is that it didn't quite look as good as some of the previous games, mostly in regards to the stages, but other than that it was still a fairly fun game. (9/19/23) [30/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on September 22, 2023, 10:06:01 pm
37. Garou: Mark of the Wolves (PS4)

It's been a very long time since I sat down and really played Garou: Mark of the Wolves. My only exposure to the game has been on the Dreamcast, which it sticks out in my memory as one of the best fighting games on the system. Having bought it on the PS4 some time ago I decided to spend my Friday night getting reacquainted with Mark of the Wolves, and I'm very happy I did. Without any question, Mark of the Wolves has the best gameplay of any Fatal Fury game I've ever played, and I've played most of them. While I'd say it's graphics are not as impressive as 3's imo, but they aren't far off. OST is also top of its class which is no small feat for this series. I'd say by a small margin, Mark of the Wolves is my favorite in the Fatal Frame series, however, I've never actually played any of the Real Bout games, which I've hear time and again are amazing, so who knows if it will remain at that top spot. Still, it's going to be very hard to beat as it's also up there with the best SNK fighting games i've ever played. (9/22/23) [37/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 24, 2023, 01:01:10 am
30 - Lies of P (PC 2023) - BEAT - Did you like Bloodborne? Are you cool with a little Sekiro? Do you enjoy dark, twisted, takes on established stories? Then Lies of P is your game! As someone that does like Bloodborne a good bit and wish it had an updated version, remaster, PC version, sequel...PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING OTHER THAN STILL BEING 30 FPS ON PS4...This game did a lot to fill that craving I had.  Despite what I've seen folks try to say, this is absolutely trying to be a Bloodborne clone.  They mix it up a tad bringing in the parry/stagger mechanic and arm feature of Sekiro, but a lot of the setting, level design, execution of a number of different aspects are all very much Bloodborne or Souls in general. 

I personally don't find it being a clone as a negative, like if I was trying to give it more of an objective score, I would have to say it's desire to be Bloodborne so much, not really a "homage" or "spiritual succesor" or "influenced by", isn't a great thing, but of all the Souls-Like games out there, this is maybe the best one I've played.  Those that want to be the next Dark Souls tend to falter in some way, a boring story or setting, sloppy gameplay, etc, but this is a pretty great game.

It's not perfect, I think some parts of the gameplay needed a little more polishing, some bosses are infuriating with their attack strings, as certain Phase 2 fights are ridiculous and not even just in the usual Soulsborne way, it felt like they needed a little more tweaking.  The story does a lot for the game, it is absolutely trying to fit into the Bloodborne vibes a lot of the time, but the stuff with Puppets, more of a regular narrative so you aren't having to mostly pick through lore for it, is probably the one thing I would say is better than Bloodborne, but I've also never been a major fan of how FromSoft handles that aspect across most all their games to begin with.

If I had to score it, it would be like 8.5, quality game, nails being a Soulsborne-like, could've used a little more originality, but I'm hopeful the devs can make a sequel/new game that lets them take things beyond being just being Bloodborne with Puppets.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on September 24, 2023, 05:31:41 pm
49. Grim Grimoire Once More

The game title is stylized as GrimGrimoire OnceMore but typing it out like that just looks weird to me. Anyways! I'm terrible at RTS'. I tried to play Warcraft III and just failed miserably every time I thought I was getting into a groove or making some progress. My problem was that I would try to brute force my way through things and that wasn't the way to go. So, normally, I wouldn't give Grim Grimoire a passing glance. But, Vanilla Ware's artwork and a seemingly adorable leading character convinced me to give this a shot. I'm really glad I did. First, there's a great story with a small but well written cast. Second, the game is just gorgeous to look at. And finally, I think I finally wrapped my head around RTS'. Having multiple difficulty options and a speed-up function really made this feel more accessible. There were still challenges, and even with the most powerful upgrades things could turn south real quick. But, I never hit a wall like I normally would. I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave this a shot. Major props for music: Sakimoto did the damn thing again.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on September 26, 2023, 02:29:18 am
31 - I'm On Obversation Duty 2 (PC 2020) - DROPPED - Well...partially continuing on from the first game, I was actually looking forward to this one, I was hoping they were going have some improvements to the game, and it did! The first level is great, there's proper color, visuals are nicer, there's movement with the fans and such, there's a brightness adjustment, some new silly anomalies and creepy nonsense happening, the house is quite huge, and the "Anomaly Fixed" screen isn't a horrific flashbang every time.  They still have random ambient noises that happen that I hate because they make me think something is happening, but otherwise, a big improvement in general I felt.

Why did I drop it? Well the second map is a low poly, low resolution, "retro" house and it's awful.  All those visual improvements? Gone! Everything is so pixelated, two of the rooms have so much stuff and I feel like the quality is hampering my ability to recognize what was there and what wasn't.  It's like trying to stare closely at an even lower rez PS1 game.  I played it two or three times, before stopping because I could only see big changes like a painting changed or an extra window showed up, but normal pixelated objects where there's like 10 of them in the bedroom? Forget that, so the game is over for me.

Still going to keep going with this little indie series (There's like 6 of them and they are cheap lol), so hopefully the next game nails it all.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on September 26, 2023, 09:17:25 am
Game 14 - The Messenger (Switch) - 10 Hours

I started this game not knowing that the developers just released a sequel, "Sea of Stars" not too long ago so that's interesting timing. I had heard of a lot of good things about this game and decided to buy it when it went on sale on the eShop. My favorite things about this game include the beautiful spritework, awesome soundtrack and very fluid and responsive control scheme. Parts of this game were an absolute joy to play particularly when you get into the flow of things and start unlocking everything. Boss fights in particular were really great, and I found the overall challenge to be perfect. There are some really fun characters too that I enjoyed interacting with, my favorite being the two mountain giants. However the story, pacing, and some elements of gameplay were a bit of a disappointment.

First, the game begins as a traditional 2D platformer but adopts a Metroidvania feel about halfway through the game. This means that all levels were constructed so you could traverse them forwards and backwards, which means they aren't as tight or fun to navigate. It also means that there's a lot of backtracking which can get very tiresome. I found that you don't really get any more upgrades after this halfway point either which removes part of the fun of the game. You'll have seen pretty much all of the enemies by the time you get to this point as well, and there's no real branching paths or discoverable upgrades like in Castlevania. Everything's just bought in the shop, which was also a problem for Shantae and the Seven Sirens when I played that a few years ago.

Lastly, the "time jumps" the game uses as part of gameplay felt really gimmicky to me. You can switch between the present (denoted by an 8-bit art style) and the future (in a 16-bit style), and switching between the two opens up pathways that were previously blocked. It's basically a convoluted switch mechanism for a door, and it also doesn't make sense how enemies and projectiles can follow you through time, and destroying barricades in the future also removes them in the past. Could have really used some lore to explain what happens between the present and future too. I didn't really like it.

The story was also a point that I didn't care for, particularly the writing. It's just not very good and relies heavily on 4th-wall breaking humor, which while cute in small doses, quickly started to annoy me as I was playing. The main storyline isn't conveyed to the player until you're ready to face the final boss which felt really out of place too.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on September 27, 2023, 08:53:26 am
Replayed Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4) for the first time since its release in 2015. While such a gap between replays may seem normal, Tomb Raider has been a favorite series of mine since it started in 1996. The 2015 release, Rise, was marred for me significantly with the Xbox year of exclusivity. It wasn't that it was exclusive, it's that no one would say a damn word on if it was coming to any other platforms for most of that year.

When I finally got to play it on PS4, I felt incredibly let down, mostly by the writing. The gameplay felt similar, but off. It was a worse Tomb Raider than the 2013 game in almost every way. I took such an extended break believing that perhaps the game was better than I initially thought and that I was still pissed over the way it was handled on the road to eventually releasing on Playstation. So where do I stand?

The game is still worse than the 2013 game in almost every way. I played them back to back. I had guessed Rise's entire plot on the first playthrough, having not watched anything on the game during it's year on Xbox and PC. Aside from the writing, how is it worse? One thing I loved about the 2013 Tomb Raider was the reliance on the bow and the axe. You could play a majority of the game with just those two tools. In Rise, the game demands you use regular guns more than you use the bow. Sure, they try and implement the bow in as a tool, expanding to add gas and what not, but for a majority of the game, especially the last half, the bow is essentially useless.

Thus, my original thoughts on the game, while a bit marred by the year of exclusivity via the silence to the fanbase, was still spot on for my tastes. I just couldn't put my finger on what was different between the two to justify calling it worse without the replay.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on September 28, 2023, 09:27:57 am
Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)
Previous List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg202495.html#msg202495)

Quote from: Legend
bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

113. Pixel of Memory (PC)
My curator account got another puzzle game to play, and I try to check them out.  This one is sort of a block pushing game, but like the ones on ice where you push and it just goes until it hits something, with some other mechanics involved.  Honestly not a terrible game, especially for the price, but it's real short at under 2 hours for 100% completion
Rating: Hard pass

114. Townscaper (XS)
Another leaving game pass game... I think.  I had played this game before and while both times playing it was mostly just getting achievements because this game is an easy 1000 gamerscore, it's actually a really chill game to just sit and build little towns.  That said, this game doesn't really have a whole lot going on in it, so it's probably not worth the time to check out in general unless you really just want a little casual time waster.
Rating: Hard pass

115. Disc Room (XS)
Another leaving game pass game.  I recall it getting a physical release a while back and skipping it like I do all physical releases these days.  Fairly simple little stay alive as long as possible game, but the game has tons of accessibility options so if you suck you can turn on all sorts of assists to get through the game.  I think I got through the game with little to no assists and then I turned on assists when I went to clean up achievements.  Pretty fun game, hectic af, but don't really recall following what little story there was and couldn't be bothered to really read into it like some other games.
Rating: Soft pass

116. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (NS)
I had heard a lot of good things about this game re:accessibility which is a sort of a first for Nintendo because they don't usually go and add a ton of features for players who suck.  My kid had recently got interested in games via LeapLand Adventures so I bought this thinking it would be a great next step, because this is the first 2D Mario game (to my knowledge) with no level timers so he can take as long as he wants.  I say that is an important thing because when I had previously tried to get him to play a Mario game, he'd constantly run out of time on levels and that's not helpful when I want him to learn how to play so this was perfect.  He played with on my playthrough, being an asshole and finding ways to make me waste lives and such.... and then once I beat it 100% he started playing his own profile, making me or my wife play with him too, then he beat the game, and now he keeps playing.  I want to expect that he's trying to 100% the game, but he spends a lot of time replaying levels that are already 100% complete, so who knows.  Regardless, this is definitely my kid's GOTY if not GOAT.  Anyway, that aside, game is great, has some challenging levels, has some rhythm levels and even has super difficult optional levels.  Game is fantastic.
Rating: Solid recommendation.

117. Saints Row (XS)
Secret GOTY right here.  This game got so much shit before and after release.  I didn't even buy the game until I got it dirt cheap, then I even bought it twice because I got the CE that came with download codes for all of the DLC for like $3.  All in all, I'd say there are like 3 types of Saints Row fans, Saints Row 2 fans who want a weak GTA clone, Saints Row 3 fans who appreciate the over the top nature of the game along with great game play, and Saints Row 4 fans who love that the game jumped the shark.  Let's be honest, we know where I fall.  This game is a perfect successor to Saints Row 3... so much so that I'd say that this game is probably my favorite Saints Row game, but I will admit that I plan to replay Saints Row 3 sometime in the future with the Remastered release.  So maybe I'll be like oh yeah SR3 is better, but if not #1, this game is #2.  This game has tons of content, all that same SR humor, and great gameplay, story, and characters.  Marketing really killed this game unfortunately.  Existing fans got turned off by not being SR2 or SR4, marketing that made the game sound like it went "woke" (I think this is a stupid thing to get riled up about btw), and/or new characters that aren't the original crew.  Regardless, I spent tons extra time in the game chasing all of the achievements.  I look forward to replaying the game someday on PS5/PC.  I'm just real bummed that the marketing killed this game and Volition in general.
Rating: Solid recommendation

118. Robocop: Rogue City (XS)
I'd been pretty hyped for this game since I heard about it, because Robocop is such a great property and could make for a fantastic game.  I don't remember if I preordered it or what, I just know I got it before it started selling out at places, and no clue if it's still sold out places.  Anyway, game is an absolutely faithful story to the Robocop property and the gameplay is great.  For a Robocop fan, I can't recommend this game enough.  That said, this game won't be everyone's cup of tea, you have to care about the property and get what's going on to really appreciate it.  I have many complaints though that stop the game from being great.  1. The game crashed during the final boss fight, that sucked.  Had to start the whole boss fight over again, not a huge deal, but it still sucked. 2. I played early enough that there isn't enough crowd sourced info on the endings and how to get them, so while I thought I did good, I got some bad endings for some characters and that bummed me out.  3. Game has no NG+, almost unforgivable honestly with the RPG elements and it being impossible to get all of the upgrades in one playthrough. 4. Replaying old missions has you load an old auto-save so you don't even get to take your end game stats to earlier levels.  5. The ultimate kick in the balls, starting a new campaign deletes all saved data, which really sucks.  All of this combined and some of these things truly unforgivable, can't really recommend this game in general unless you are a Robocop fan... and even then, be cautious.  That said, a lot of this could be fixed in a patch and could easily push the game to being recommended in general.
Rating: Soft and cautious recommendation

119. The Typing of the Dead: Overkill (PC)
We're at the point in the year where I'm really just trying to knock out games for my game by year goal, and I looked at games that I was already in progress for quick completes or games that are short for quick completes.  This one I had started years ago and decided to finish it up.  I have no notes on it from when I played it a few years ago, but it's basically house of the dead overkill, but instead of light gun stuff, you've got Mavis Beacon typing bullshit.  I played through several levels before I realized about collectibles I think, and even then I had to google how to pickup collectibles in the game, since it's not a lightgun game.  Story is stupid af, characters are stupid af, game is cringe af, but like that's all the purpose.  I could only play a level at a time or something because my arms would start hurting, don't know if I had that same type of stuff back when I'd play lightgun games, but this typing game for sure did it.
Rating: Hard pass

120. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania (360)
I love when I can fill out my game by year stuff by working on stuff I already should be working on.  In this case, I'm filling out a year and working on my WWE franchise run.  I do have a lot of earlier content to go back fill on this run, which maybe even could've been productive for my game by year, but the past has passed and it is what it is.  This one isn't terrible, but it truly is arcade style, the matches last a few minutes and are very much presented in a format that could be done in an arcade on a cabinet... that said the game has a lot of frustrating controls and setup, but I guess that's arcade games for you.  Not too terrible of a game though, simple enough to 100% complete and doesn't take too long.  Only a few of the quests were really frustrating, but it wasn't so bad that I abandoned it, though it takes a lot for me to abandon games.  Interesting to look at a game, albeit 10+ years old, and see how many folks here are dead, retired, or no longer with WWE... or even the few who were retired and are now no longer.  Anyway, not a great game, even for living out history.  I will say, my dream WWE game, is a game with simple controls a la early Smackdown games, but it has the entire script of all of WWE so you can replay the entire history of WWE, even if PPV by PPV ignoring the thousands of house shows and tv shows.  Impossible request due to the shear amount of licensing hell that would have to be handled to essentially get everyone ever... but that's why it's a dream.
Rating: Soft pass

121. Pumpkin Jack (PC)
This one interested me and I don't know why I started it originally, but it's not a terrible game.  I don't look back fondly on it, but it's more Valve's fault than this game.  I launched the game while out of town, so it didn't load up achievements, I immediately connected to Wi-fi and it still didn't load achievements, so I missed tons of unmissable achievements middle of the game that I can't unlock unless I start the game completely over, I don't even know if chapter select will work, but I really don't want to replay this game.  I might one day go back and work on collectibles in which case maybe it'll pop in chapter select, but I doubt it.  Ignoring my bias, it's an okay game with some frustrating platforming elements and less than intuitive combat, annoying checkpoint system that doesn't save collecting collectibles unless you pick up the collectible and hit the next checkpoint, so for particularly frustrating platforming areas you might forget to pick up the collectible for the 20th time just trying to get through the section, I love games that autosave collectibles separately, so you don't have to go through that bs again.  Boss fights are tough but mostly reasonable, but still frustrating... honestly I'm very disappointed with this game, even ignoring my own issues with valve.
Rating: Biased Hard pass, otherwise soft pass

122. Trojan (NES)
Short platformer hack and slash game.  Dated obviously, old Capcom IP that has never seen the light of day since.  Really nothing to write home about, there's probably a reason this IP is dead.  This is one of those games where it just infinitely spawns enemies at you, so if you stand still, you'll fight forever, so you have to move forward while killing everything spawning, which is incredibly frustrating.
Rating: Hard pass

123. Lilo & Stitch (GBA)
Side scrolling run and gun game.  Mostly fine, but there are plenty of sections where it's pretty much impossible to pass without taking damage because enemy is shielded and lobs grenades and when you get close, more enemies spawn on screen who also lob grenades.  It didn't kill me, but it dealt damage and that's one of those frustrating things I see in games, where it sets you up and makes it so you literally can't get by without taking damage, so you can't just play well enough, you have to make sure you have the health to sponge the damage you will inevitably take.  There were collectibles high up that I didn't and still don't understand how you were supposed to get, so afaik there was some thing I could've done to get up and over those enemies without taking damage, but I didn't care that much to look into it, just enough to get frustrated.  Short enough game, not terrible, plays well enough.  I'd say if you like Contra-esque games this one isn't a terrible one to play especially if you like Stitch.
Rating: Soft pass

124. Banjo Pilot (GBA)
I was kind of hoping for more Diddy Kong Racing kind of gameplay, even though I'm personally not the biggest fan of DKR, this plays more like Super Mario Kart (2D one) with some boss style 1v1 combat levels thrown in at the end of each tournament.  Nothing great, but good enough and actually has quite a bit of content for a GBA game, so even though I already beat the game, I'll probably come back to it one day and work on some of the extra content to unlock characters and such.
Rating: Soft pass

125. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (GBC)
I had considered playing the PSX/N64 version for my goal, but this is a completely different game, so I'll play both, and significantly shorter.  So again, productive and works on my goal for the year.  Combat is super simple beat em up, some of the levels are sprawling which is interesting, but also kind of boring.  Boss fights are well enough, and everything is designed well enough that you can get through without taking damage unlike some games.  Regardless, not the worst game I've played, and I suspect it's better than the console counterpart from what I've gathered.
Rating: Soft pass

126. Sonic Pinball Party (GBA)
I was real close to finishing my Sonic franchise run, when I decided that A) I would play the spin off/party games, and B) I would play the alternative versions of games like the handheld versions of the console releases because they are surely different games entirely.  So this is another one that is doubly productive to my process.  I expected more Spinball, but it actually is a straight pinball game and it plays well enough.  I only had the problem of meeting the goal on the last level, which is a recurring thing I hear.  It wasn't so difficult that I had to try too many times, but I do get frustrated when games have a difficulty spike, especially right at the end.  That said, this game doesn't add anything and isn't really worth playing.
Rating: Hard pass

127. Konami Krazy Racers (GBA)
This one has been in my interest lists for a long long time, mostly because of Goemon being in it, but I expected to recognize other Konami characters and I don't think I did.  This is definitely a Super Mario Kart clone type of game, really nothing special going on here except maybe that the music takes from various Konami games and so do the levels, so despite the characters being few and not big names, the levels at least represent some of the bigger Konami franchises.  Still, not really worth playing.
Rating: Hard pass

128. Karnov (NES)
Literally just a game to fill out a year on my list.  You play as Russian strongman Karnov, that's it, that's all I know about this game.  Guy looks like a Sontaran.  Reading up, I guess it's interesting that this dude started out as a protagonist hero but then was only ever used as a boss villain in fighting games after this.  Pretty basic scrolling platform game, game has items, but they aren't really necessary until like the last level where you have to use wings and ladders just to progress the level.  Feels not great designed when that stuff happens, not in this case, but especially in games where you wind up having to look up how to do something because they taught you early, but never forced you to use it until the end.
Rating: Hard pass

129. Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure (GBA)
I always find it interesting when games use "Advanced" instead of "Advance" for GBA and such because it's not the Game Boy Advanced, but it definitely plays into the confusion, so thanks for that.  Anyway, part scrolling platform adventure game and part 2D fighter.  platforming plays well enough and works well enough for Dragon Ball, and the 2D fighting isn't bad, but there are definitely fights that suck because the enemy counters/parries everything.  With the right timing and strategy you can beat anyone, but the game does intend you to lose, so even though you "won", it does a little scripted section where they demolish you to progress the plot.  Not a big deal, and should be expected if you know the source, but interesting tidbit I suppose.  All in all though, it's a pretty good game and I consider going back to it to get all of the collectibles and work on the retro-achievements.
Rating: Soft recommendation

WWE '12 (360)
I actually skipped this game back in the day.  I fell out of interest with wrestling way back when, but the games were still enjoyable to me because the gameplay was fun enough, but around this time I just wasn't even playing the games either.  As such, I missed the terrible WWE '# games and then revamping the controls entirely, which made the transition to 2K pretty easy in that I had to relearn anyway because it had been years since I played.  But also, that means I don't know a lot of these folks who are showing up in the these games.  Right now I'm doing the Sheamus Villain Road to Wrestlemania thing... which so far is very disappointing, instead of doing matches you've got these scenarios where it's like hit the enemy a bunch and then press Y to win... ok, yeah, real fun.  It's like they are trying to make it more story oriented, which I can see the appeal, but unless this stuff is what happened back in 2011/2012, why do it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on October 01, 2023, 09:45:59 am
Just got done replaying the Game Gear Jurassic Park game. Still love it. I'm removing the Genesis game from replay this year to next as I just ordered the LRG collection that has it on there. I can wait till April to replay it. Plenty to replay till then.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on October 02, 2023, 01:04:24 pm
50. Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess

This was a major improvement over the first game. It retains the fun, musical setting and themes, but the sluggish strategy battles were replaced with traditional turn-based combat. There are party members. There are more customization options. There's a more fleshed out narrative with an adorable cast and an even more adorable leading lady as the focal point. This was one of the biggest gaming surprises of the year. I don't care for musicals, but seeing everyone break into song and dance in this game was a joy. The first Rhapsody had a lot of heart, but was ultimately not a fun game to play. I'm not surprised that the follow up games didn't make it stateside during the PlayStation/PlayStation 2 eras. So, getting the chance to play this was a treat. Honestly, I didn't know there were sequels until the collection was announced.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on October 02, 2023, 02:19:56 pm
Well, I made it to 52! And with 3 months to spare. Didn’t even complete my first game until February.

50. Hollow Knight (PS4)
Bought this a couple years ago because I love Metroidvanias and players seemed to worship it. Got almost to the end…and up and quit due to sheer boredom. Too dark, too difficult, took too long to get anywhere.
Decided to give it another shot a few weeks ago, and enjoyed it a heck of a lot more. Definitely helped that I focused on upgrading my Nail as soon as possible, which mitigated some frustration at the tougher bosses. Is it the be-all-end-all of Metroidvanias as many claim? In my opinion, no. Still good, but not among my personal favorites in the genre.

Speaking of which, I’m attempting to wait patiently for Blasphemous 2 to release on PS4, it’s just hard  ;)

52. Cho Aniki (Coregrafx Mini)
Definitely not the game I expected to reach 52 with  ;D
Obviously lives up to its reputation as a really, REALLY weird shmup. Technically speaking, it has some issues and it’s honestly not a very good game. In places, usually after beating a mid-boss, a new background just suddenly pops up around you with no transition, which looks clumsily done. Many on-screen actions lack sound effects, including when some enemies fire at you. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if you’re actually damaging a boss, because there’s no effect or flash to indicate a hit. Clearly this game is only known for its eccentricity rather than actually being good.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on October 03, 2023, 08:08:18 am
Game 15 - Inscryption (Switch) - 15 Hours

Honestly, I'm not going to write a long review about this game. Like Undertale, you really need to go into this game knowing as little about what will happen as possible. If you're a fan of card games, old school games, horror/mystery games, anything like that, I'd highly recommend you give Inscryption a shot. I thought it was great, and I'm glad I started out October by playing it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on October 03, 2023, 09:23:56 am
30. Fallout 4
This is probably the best Fallout maybe even better than New Vegas. And only because the Nexus allows IP theft now when it didn't when I was playing NV. Not much to say about this. I was using mods from the get-go. Ended up going through the Brotherhood of Steel questline. The ability to build a base is cool and I had some ideas. Unfortunately the UX for building is super annoying so I might not even bother doing any sort of projects. We'll see.

31. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Now that I have reorganised my backlog, which basically will have the effect of prioritizing console games first, I will be playing some non-PC releases. In reality what I did was re-order my backlog based on the "Date added" from my collection here, info which is obtainable from the CSV export function, then importing that into Google Sheets. I still am moving things around, as Pole Position II on Atari 7800 was the first game I added to my collection here and not Sonic 2 on the Game Gear, which this represents.

I did not attempt to use an actual Game Gear here, and I may consider it for the future. Instead I attempted to use the Retron 5 because I have the adapter for it. But my Retron 5 still has the same issue it had the last time I tried to use it, where no controller works to control the software. The terrible Retron controller on USB charged but didn't work, neither did a Genesis controller. It also did not automatically detect the cart adapter so it is possible I need to reflash it.

Then I went about to use Retroarch for this task instead. It works fine on there, but the issue is more of a usability one. The speed and size limitation of the GG "Screen" is such that it is not enjoyable to play a fast platformer with large sprites. I don't have the reaction time or care about memorization to play a game like this. I did play this when I was a kid on an actual GG that my cousin had. Or maybe it was a neighbor, maybe both. Someone had a Game Genie and remember making up some codes that would make pipes show up and no enemies. But the game would crash when you got to the octopus boss. This type of early abandonment due to changed in my own preferences and capabilities as a player is what I had meant when I posted (elsewhere) that I would be burning through games. Because I knew that Sonic 2 on GG was likely to be a try and die type experience, but I would have attempted to press through with cheats. Unfortunately, none of the cheats worked.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on October 08, 2023, 08:55:09 pm
10.) The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me (Xbox Series X)- I have to say it suffers from the same issues as the PS4 version. I still enjoyed it as a start for my spooky game month!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on October 09, 2023, 06:22:00 pm
54. Lords of Thunder (Coregrafx Mini)

4 years ago, I had never heard of this game.
Then I started watching Shmup Junkie’s YouTube videos and of all the shmups he spotlighted, it was the one that grabbed me the most, and was the main reason I decided to get a TG16/Coregrafx/PC Engine Mini.

I was not disappointed.
It quickly became my favorite shmup of all time. To quote something I read somewhere, it’s perhaps the most metal game ever made. I love the presentation, the music, and the kick-ass armors that can decimate enemies when fully powered. Getting your ass handed to you in a level? Try a different armor; some work better in certain levels. Since getting hit takes away gun power in addition to life bars, your skill directly impacts how easy the level can be. Your reward for better play is an easier time due to higher weapon power, along with an easier time with bosses. The overall difficulty is spot on for me, hard enough to destroy you but can be mastered with practice. I just wish I had known about this game back in high school (though I doubt I could have convinced my parents to get me a Turbo Duo, since I already had SNES and Genesis).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on October 10, 2023, 10:59:50 am
32. Dr. Mario
With the Retron out of commission, I was not able to play the actual cart I had, so instead this was done on Retroarch with the Xbox 360 controller. I did start at first level and on the slow option. And took a little bit to get to the end. In the mid levels you can get behind and a faster speed by making mistakes. Starting around 17 where the virus are near the top, you basically can't make any mistakes. In fact I think it was level 17 and 18 where I had made some error by locking off a part of the screen due to misplaced blocks, but I had fought through it. On 19 and 20, you need to have a perfect opener to be able to play the level. Level 20 more so, you need to perfectly place the first 5 or 10 to give yourself enough space to play it. I think Level 20 I had to restart a few times before I got it down. There was a lot of pre-planning on where the pills needed to go on the next turn. Overall it was pretty fun. I remember playing as a kid I didn't like it as much as Tetris.

34. Daytona USA
Playing real Saturn, it informs me that I need to use a better interface. I was using SCART to audio breakout and SCART to component and to a 20 inch CRT TV. It looks well enough, I had to change some color settings on the TV. However the SCART setup introduces some audio noise and I think the audio was not in good quality using that device. Audio went separately to an AVR and perhaps the AVR is not the best BUT it is what I use for cassettes. Unlike cassette, which uses an EQ, this did not. Also the video was slightly glitchy. It was deformed at the top and not entirely aligned within the screen, I think the left was cut off a bit. The video would lose one of the colors for a second.

The original Daytona USA which has (basically) the English version of the Japanese songs. Not the one I remember from when I was younger which was the music in CCE. I only did the first track and made 1st place, then it showed the game credits and let me put in initials. Not going to bother with the other tracks, it is good enough for me. But with the AV issues, I may try looking for the other connector that isn't SCART. Or perhaps try the Framemeister with it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: moonlightvalkyrie on October 14, 2023, 07:17:58 pm
11. Swordbreaker: Origins  (PS5)- This is a Choose Your Own Adventure Text Game with pictures. This is a prequel of Swordbreaker which I intend to go back to someday. Overall, it's not a bad game if you are into Choose Your Own Path type of games. The overall story was a lot more involved than Swordbreaker, which was nice. However, it suffers from the same user interface issues. I also was kinda annoyed that I could not use the map (yes...this game has a map that shows the scenes and deaths you've unlocked) to just fast travel to that particular scene to make a choice. I had to use the good old pen and paper to make notes on how and where to go. I do have to say though, that I really enjoyed the music. Also...believe it or not there are over 200+ ways to die. At first, this is annoying because you only have 3 lives to work with (yes this game has lives and it's back to the very beginning you go when you die 3 times). However, after unlocking 3 endings you unlock New Game +, which gives you unlimited lives (to unlock the deaths, because I do believe the Steam version requires you to unlock ALL of them...it's not required for the Platinum trophy, but you know me...I did this anyway). There are also minigames that happen throughout the story that kinda break up the action and in my opinion shouldn't really be there.
Overall, I did like the game, but there are a lot of things that need to be fixed for the next version of the game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on October 15, 2023, 05:35:30 pm
31. Thumper || PlayStation 4 || 08.30.23

(https://i.imgur.com/SS0Ep2i.jpg)

As yet another game I just hadn't gotten around to play, Thumper is something I perhaps took lightly prior to playing, in hindsight. I've been putting off playing it because I wanted to prioritize its VR capabilities, so once I took the time to set up VR, I knew it was a game I'd be playing sooner rather than later.

In short, Thumper is a rhythm game featuring note highway gameplay which many adopt. However, Thumper is an outlier from what I've observed due to it offering only nine stages compared to many of its contemporaries offering sometimes hundreds of tracks. With that established, Thumper is generally a game which breaks its genre traditions. Stages are lengthy and of an intense difficulty with no handicaps or difficulty options available. To a degree, it's an unwelcoming game as it's challenging to learn, strenuous to complete, and near-impossible to master. Complementing these gameplay designs is its visual style that is cold, metallic, and very much industrial. Controlling some sort of beetle vessel, the player glides along sheets of metal strips at a high velocity while floating in a dark void with weakened colors contrasting the polished sheen in the foreground. In every sense, Thumper is aggressive.

Mentioned above, stages are lengthy and more than likely much lengthier than one would anticipate. Within the nine formal stages, a large number of sections comprise it, often anywhere from 20-30. On average, a full stage without error takes about 25 minutes to complete. So, for my playthrough, this often meant well over an hour to simply finish. If failing—which will happen, dozens if not hundreds of times—players will restart from the last section checkpoint. In a sense, the game is forgiving, but some of the longer standout sections are over two minutes and even approaches three. The time between sections vary, but players usually have no time to recover. For the rare instances of brevity, they supply a short moments of rest which is often supplied as a tool to highlight the stage's ambiance. I know there are masters of this game, but I can't comprehend a perfect run without any error at all even after watching videos.

Being objective, I can report that Thumper does not do a good job at teaching mechanics. Without footage, it is difficult to describe how gameplay operates, but there is an action referred to as Thumping which is crucial to perfect. Some segments demand utilizing this skill, as sections will replay on loop if they're not successfully performed. I even tried searching online for answers both explained through text and through play recordings, but it took a laughable amount of time to finally discover some comprehensible explanation. Because of the game's fast-paced action, videos offered no help even at slow playback speeds. Additionally, I don't think there is a wide discourse surrounding the game due to its unapproachable difficulty. Perhaps the vague instruction is intentional, but it was especially frustrating.

While Thumper does offer a standard play mode, I opted for VR play. I'm not confident to say what differences there are between the two, but I imagine VR play greatly amplifies the game's tensity. As expected of a rhythm game, the player must constantly look ahead to know what actions to perform, but Thumper moves at such speed that I eventually was only able to complete sections on impulsive reflexes alone, after having failed countless times throughout them. Often, there are short repeating prompts usually in regards to the beetle's fluttering and rail grinding, and VR transforms the player to where it's happening. Actions are completed at high shrills and deep thuds, and the headset accentuates each and every one.

Without a doubt, Thumper is the most brutal and demanding game I've ever played, as the limited time to react feels nonexistent. Even when I understood what to do, there is just so little time to analyze each moment properly. Finishing a full stage was especially draining, and it's difficult to say they were rewarding to finish, because by the time I conquered them, I only felt relief. Even though the player has at the very least one opportunity to recover from a mistake, it's almost never enough. While there's a scoring and letter grade system for each stage section, I never went back to perform better. Despite any score I earned, I felt accomplished. I believe the grading scale from S (high) to C (low), with every stage completion earning either B or C. I've since come to learn about one of Thumper's free updates which amplifies the game's difficulty and speed while limiting players to instant failure upon the first mistake. In every sense, it is an update for those mastering the game.

Despite what it may seem, Thumper is a fantastic game and certainly one of the better rhythm games I've played. If you're a fan of the rhythm genre looking for difficulty, or looking for a rhythm game with an unusual genre style, Thumper is well worth considering. It's left a lasting impression on me, as finally achieving a stage to completion felt like I'd truly overcome something.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on October 17, 2023, 07:51:22 am
51. Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

That final segment was a beast. Not so much the actual fight, but because you have to finish a mini-game afterwards in order to finish the game. Fail the mini-game three times and you have to refight the final boss. My nerves were shot so it took me three tries by the time I did it. I spent most of my points on herbs and 60 level film so I was well stocked. Ruka's camera was almost fully upgraded, too. Another solid entry in the series. I liked this one more than Maiden of Black Water. The frights were real, the atmosphere was solid, and the multiple viewpoints of the story were a nice touch. Ruka really comes into her own near the end of the game. She looks and acts meek, but goddamit, she has more courage than just about anyone.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on October 17, 2023, 11:02:30 am
36. Super Space Invaders
I was not able to find the AV Adapter for my SMS, and didn't find my controller until later. Also i need to organize my console accessories better because I know I have the power adapter for it but was not able to find it. I'm fairly certain I do have the AV adapter somewhere as well. So I instead decided to play this on Retroarch. It keeps the old "limitation" of the original Space Invaders where you can only have one bullet on the screen at a time. Otherwise it is just the old game with some quirks like powerups but it uses a background image. The first level is a city. The main issue is that the game gets too fast to even deal with even on the first level. Like the enemies move faster than the inputs allow for you do move your ship.

37. Pole Position II
I could have marked this as blue instead of red. This was the 7800 version which I played on Retroarch. There seemed to have been some issues as I was not able to choose the first track. It starts by saying you need to qualify for your position. I drive a whole lap and then sometimes later the game just ends. You have score but there was no timer that I could see. It seems like there may have been some emulation issues as there was some letters and numbers on the screen that didn't look right.

38. Demon Attack
I do not have enough parts to make my 2600 work so this ran in emulator as well. It is neat game. I made it to level 4 but it wasn't that interesting to continue.

39. Riddle of the Sphinx
This game loaded but it wouldn't let me start the game or do anything.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on October 17, 2023, 11:09:29 am
Game 16 - Contra (Switch) - 7 Hours

This is the NES version on the Contra Anniversary Collection. I will say that on the Switch, these games are best played with the Joy-con. I use the d-pad exclusively with these games and with the pro controller the game is not very precise. Holding the down button of the pro controller d-pad but on the right side causes your character to walk to the right shooting down instead of laying down like it should. So with the Joy-con it's not nearly as much as trouble.

I counted this game as beat after running through the game with the standard 3 lives/2 continues. I ended up not needing a continue at all on my final run of the game which was pretty exciting. It took a lot of practice of each individual stage and I used the collection's save state feature to practice stages until I got the hang of them. I do wish there was a rewind function so you can keep practicing stages after making a small mistake. It's also nice that they changed the bullet color in the snow levels to red.

I have always been fond of the first Contra game on NES, and I remember playing it fondly on an old NES at my university's video game archive back in college. Playing it through now, I think it was and still is a blast to play and does a lot of things right that are easy to take for granted. Being able to shoot in 8 directions, while crouching, and while jumping, vastly improves the gameplay experience. You also have perfect jumping and course correction which makes playing the game a breeze. Almost all the weapons are great, the fire weapon is the only one that's kind of bad since it can go around enemies. Combined with impressive graphics and kick-ass music, Contra is just a fun game to play, and it is still challenging even with the fluid responsive controls.

I think my only gripe is that, like Casltevania, it's easy to replace your great weapon with something less appealing. Unlike Castlevania however, items are in very clearly marked containers so you at least know when they're coming.

Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on October 18, 2023, 12:54:47 pm
52. Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir

And just like that, I'm at 52 games. The 52nd game is another survival-horror game. Sort of. It's hard to pinpoint a genre on Spirit Camera. It's not hard to pinpoint a rating, though. The game isn't great. I'll talk more about it in a review. But, the long and short of it is that Tecmo Koei tried to move the Fatal Frame series into a bizarre direction via the Nintendo 3DS' superfluous features. This is the first game that I played that forced me to use the gyroscope and the camera. Instead of being able to kick my feet up and chill with a supposedly spooky side-story, I ended up making myself dizzy, frustrated or a combination of the two because the game forced me to. This was a lowblow to Fatal Frame fans.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on October 19, 2023, 10:02:36 am
40. Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest
Finally an example of being able to play a console game on actual hardware and not an emulator. I still have a good amount of Genesis consoles but I played this on my model 2. Controllers on the other hand are an issue. My arcade stick is good but I may need to clean it, as the special button (used for conversations here) sticks slightly meaning that the message screens blast past. Otherwise it is fine. My 6 button apparently has ceased to have a usable D pad, as Up and Left do not work. I ended up using the 3 button.

The sound is sort of OK but there are instances where it just plays a single note constantly as if the game is having an issue. Not so, apparently this sound is found in LPs also, so it is not me. I did start this the other day but spent most of my time playing the book game. I'm not sure how it is possible to get the "possible" 8+ color streak as shown on the scoreboard since the mini-game ends if you let too many books hit the ground. The highest I was able to get it was 5. There are some things I wonder about the book game. First is whether or not you can get the book in the window. The shopkeeper says you can have the book if you play the game, but you never get it. I also wonder if you can play the game indefinitely and how high your score can go. I may give just that portion a shot later on just for fun to see what happens.

I had watched an LP of the game so I had a pretty good idea of what to do. I got Gaston to move the rock, then the pumpkin guy tells you about the flowers. Then I had my first (and guess what, last) issue. I get into the forest maze and you can go in 4 directions. I already know what directions to move based on flowers but one of them is "North West". You can only go up, down, left and right. There is no compass so I only could surmise that Northwest was up and then left. But you get stuck in a loop of the same screen over and over again. I had already seen the end and technically I know there is a level code I could have used to get to the last level. Also the LP I watched the person died like 50 times on the horse level. I'm not even going to bother but that book mini-game tho...

41. Star Voyager
Impressive for a VCS game, unfortunately the controls were unbearable. The pitch was inverted and I kept fumbling it. I can't play a flight game without a flight stick.

42. Taz-Mania
For SNES... apparently this is a racing game? Did I have some faulty memory in thinking this was a platformer? The game starts like it is OutRun (or Pole Position II) but with obstacles and going out of control is extremely easy. I'm not ready for another racing game like this.

43. After Burner
My only memory of AB is playing it on SMS when I was 8 or so. I seem to remember the graphics were good. Well on NES the graphics are not good. Someday I will revisit the SMS version but I probably won't like that anymore either, even if it has the graphics that I remember. I didn't even care to push it to see if there was a tanker boss. I don't remember if I ever beat the SMS version back then.

Overall, it is really becoming apparent to me that I have lost my enthusiasm for the types of gameplay elements that are offered in console games, but this was the reason why I re-ordered my backlog anyways. There is only one way to find out.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on October 22, 2023, 07:40:39 pm
33 - Suika Game (Switch 2023) - ENDLESS - I don't often jump into the "Flavor of the Week" games, the ones that get picked up by streamers and see a big surge, often they tend to be like indie horror or other games that don't often appeal to me, but I like general puzzle games and since this got an US Eshop release (Still entirely in Japanese though, no localization lol), I figured why not.  It's fun, it's very simple, it's like...Tetris or Dr. Mario-esque, drop a fruit, match fruit to enhance that fruit to a bigger one, which in turn builds your score.  The challenge comes from the increasing size of the fruits and if you hit the top with them, it ends.  Very simple, very basic (Very cheap game too, only 3 bucks), but it's very satisfying.  It's good to just play a few rounds every so often, I'd recommend it if you are into these style of puzzle games.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on October 23, 2023, 11:12:42 am
44. 1943: The Battle of Midway (NES)
Played with arcade stick, which happened to use three buttons instead of two. Not sure how it maps exactly, but there was a rapid fire button that I used. I did one run to level 21 then called it quits. Started again later at level 20 using the Game Genie code. The game really is designed to not be played in this way because you lose your upgrades. I should have used a save state instead but I'll try to remember to do that in the future.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on October 24, 2023, 10:07:09 am
45. Roger Clemens MVP Baseball (SNES)
I didn't think it was possible for anyone to screw up a baseball game, but leave it up to LJN to do that. Now I have low hopes for this game's ports on other systems. Control-wise it is pretty simple, at least in the default view for pitching and batting. It took me 4 innings to figure out how to hit, and even got myself a grand slam. The fielding is where the problems lie.

Fielding in baseball games being a problem is not entirely a new situation. Many baseball games have fielding as a downfall. There are two primary issues with fielding. First is that while you technically have three outfielders, for all intents and purposes you only have one, whichever portion of the screen the game decides to render when it changes to outfield view. The percentage of actually being able to catch the ball is low when on this screen. Also you can go through the outfield wall, which I think is supposed to be a "ghost" view but it really doesn't help.

Throwing from the field is the absolute worst. It uses the typical D-pad base controls for other games, where Left is third, Right is first, Up is second, and down is home. BUT the fielding view flips the field and does not flip the controls. So when you have the ball and want to throw it to third, first base is on your left and third is on your right. BUT if you hit Right to throw (as would be natural) they will throw it to first. I'm never going to be able to un-train myself to throw to the opposite base. And besides that, it doesn't matter. The chances of actually being able to get an out by throwing to a base is like 5%, so it is better to just hold the ball and wait for the play change.

(http://i.imgur.com/rntyOIOl.jpg) (https://imgur.com/rntyOIO)

I did want to do a season, but it became clear to me that this game probably was designed for two people to play against each other instead of playing it vs the CPU. Whether or not you could get a shutout inning seemed random and totally out of my control. I was able to get one, but not being able to get the runs on the other side would go for a very long season.

Fun bug info. The maximum amount of runs that will be shown per half inning is 19. The maximum number shown for RHE is 99. There is an overflow that occurs on the commercial bump where it will show a number lower than 99 for both runs and hits. I saw 97 and 91. Fortunately the game recap does show the actual scores, and it might be interesting to find out what the game's maximum values are for this screen:
(http://i.imgur.com/Pl4o8jGl.jpg) (https://imgur.com/Pl4o8jG)

The results shown where there are doubles and triples. Only 1 double was legit. The other 4 doubles and the triple were the result of me playing around in the OF to see what the field dimensions were or where you could go. The game only really has singles or home runs.

46. Superman (Genesis)
On actual Genesis. I really don't have any interest in platformers. This will likely become a trend.

47. Aero the Acro-Bat (Genesis)
Platformer where it is not clear what you are supposed to do. Jump on some things but all enemies hurt you if you jump on them. Maybe using the flying attack, which wasn't very easy for me to do. I remember I abandoned this game previously when I was helping with Sega-16's "beat all the games" thing.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on October 30, 2023, 08:19:45 am
53. Crymachina

This was a very unique game that was surprisingly polished given the developer's reputation. They usually know how to deliver an amazing story with a few bangers, but Crymachina shows that they have stepped their game (and budget) up. The game's story really, really surprised me and that says a lot since I've played so many RPGs. Every song is also catchy or moody as hell. The biggest improvement was the gameplay. The stages are short and sweet, yet there's still a good 20 or so hours of content here. The way you can customize your characters so they're ready for flashy, Dynasty Warriors tier combat is surprisingly deep. Once the game ends, there's some post-game content that I'm trying currently working on and trying to figure out. For those that played Crystar, this one is a 180 improvement from it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on November 01, 2023, 09:17:33 am
Game 17 - Super C (Switch) - 5 Hours

Like Contra, I counted this game as finished when I was able to beat it with the standard 3 lives 2 continues. Unlike Contra however, I did have to use one continue around level 5 but I didn't spend as much time practicing each level either.

In many ways Super C is a direct upgrade to the first Contra on NES. It seems to be a bit overlooked in the franchise as a whole. The graphics and sound are some of the best the NES has to offer. The control scheme and weapons are basically unchanged, though the Fire weapon is much better. And that's great, because the first game was perfect in that regard. I really liked the top-down stages which added some nice variety, and some of the bosses were quite satisfying to topple, though the final boss was piss-easy, beat him on my first try.

I do think this game is not as good as the first Contra for the simple reason that this game throws a lot more randomly placed enemies at you. Those goddamn purple soldier-dudes that just run at you can go to hell. They constantly disrupt your forward movement because you have to turn back to shoot them, and they like to spawn at moments that are inconvenient to you at best and deadly at worst. I found that this game had a lot more what I thought were cheap deaths as a result because these enemies spawn when you're in mid jump or when projectiles are already limiting your safe spots on the screen. Practicing stages is harder as well because they're so unpredictable. The first Contra had randomly spawning enemies like this too, that's true. But they weren't nearly as relentless, and they aren't super prevalent until the later stages in the game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 01, 2023, 01:58:25 pm
32. Unpacking || PlayStation 5 || 09.25.23

(https://i.imgur.com/tRA9wPU.jpg)

As unconventional as it may sound, I enjoy unpacking. Moving into a new space and being granted a blank slate to organize items in has always been something I've enjoyed. It's not something I've had to do for quite some time, but in the rare circumstance, I warmly offer my help to those around me when it's needed, although even then it's less unpacking for me and instead just moving. So, does a game exclusively about unpacking offer a replacement for what I enjoy?

Well, for a game about placing items to your liking, how limiting the default settings are was a bit unexpected. Items placed in a location that I would imagine to be fine just aren't, such as a backpack being placed next to a desk that instead is only able to be placed in the room's corner. Along those lines, some items apparently are too tall to be placed in some spaces, although it certainly didn't seem that way. Other items such as clothing often don't have a more obvious placement either. For example, until late-game, there will never be enough hangers to accommodate the amount of clothing needing to be stored. Of course, Unpacking is a puzzle game, so there are other, more unorthodox setting spots. Still, it almost never felt like I was able to freely place and effectively design rooms to my liking in a way that made sense to me, although I do acknowledge the game's puzzle aspects in that the player is being forced to work within certain limitations. With that said, players can toggle off the placement restrictions, although this entirely disregards the game's puzzle aspects.

Naturally, players will realize that liked items such as clothing and kitchen plates may often be stacked together. Other items are even guided into certain positions, such as a book hovering over a shelf that allows it to be placed vertically alongside others. But, sometimes there were items that should obviously stack which don't in-game. I repeatedly came across this issue with cookware, which the game never allows to be stacked which forgoes much of the available storage space. For many of these types of items, they'd be relegated to high above atop a cabinet or even on the refrigerator, spots where I personally would never willingly place the items in a real-world environment.

Early on, I realized that there were some rooms that I did not want to find items' working placements one-by-one. By default and as the title implies, items are packed in boxes and must be removed one at a time. In nearly every room across every stage, I would begin slowly placing items wherever I wanted them to be but eventually became overwhelmed from having to immediately adjust its position. Players never know what's next to be unboxed, so I'd soon give up that method to instead move every remaining boxed item to the floor so I could quickly and more easily be aware of what's available. Sometimes, this was an issue to due to limited floor space, so I'd be forced to temporarily place items anywhere. Rooms often became quite cluttered in a disarray, but I suppose this mimics real-life circumstances for many.

Shortly into the game, stages with multiple rooms are introduced. Packaged items in one room may not necessarily belong to that specific area, so the player will be required to travel back-and-forth between rooms. Soon after multiple rooms, there are some stages where the player must place items in a room that's halfway filled instead of empty. Since what's already present almost never can be re-positioned, it's required to work around the existing placement. There were only one or two stages designed like this, but I did like that subtle shift in rules that greatly affects the player's sense of design.

Concerning Unpacking's game design, it is okay. Controls are fine, but its use of a cursor feels heavily designed for PC. Music is serviceable and easy-going, but after a track ends, about a full minute's worth of silence follows before the track loops. I'm not sure if that aspect was intentional or not, but it felt poor in execution, nonetheless. There are some other features such as a photo mode complete with filters, frames, and stickers, but I wasn't interested in that aspect at all. While unpacking, simple obstacles which as cabinets being unable to open if items in the way is implemented. Similarly, some stage components offer basic interactivity, which is a nice but simple inclusion.

Now, one may not suspect a game like this to have a narrative, but it surprisingly does. However, its storytelling is indirect, although I found this implementation to be successful. In each stage which follows a linear progression, we assume the role of one individual throughout major move-in milestones of their life. For me, I found it interesting to see new items accumulate alongside the abandonment of others. Sometimes, it seemed as if some items were discarded based on merely growing up, but other lost items seemed as if the player-character re-evaluated their intrinsic value. Although not entirely, each stage's limited and somewhat forced available space requires players to determine what is and isn't important. Items may be displayed in full view, tucked away in a corner, or completely hidden in a closet or drawer. Over time, I began to question if certain items continued to be shown due to how prevalent my previous placement with them had been. If so, that would be a really neat gameplay mechanic, but I haven't confirmed it with a subsequent playthrough nor have faith that such detail was actually designed. But it was a nice thought to ponder over, though.

With all that said, the general opinion of Unpacking is how it's so relaxing. While I somewhat agree with that opinion, I instead mostly considered the game to be opposite and even a little irritating. Still, the game's basic principles are something I enjoyed.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 02, 2023, 09:24:09 am
54. .hack//Infection

I'm not even sure what compelled me to give this series another try, especially since I found the GU games to be dull as ****. I saw all four games (CIB) at the store, I had the credit for them and...before you knew it I was walking out with them in the bag. A lot of it has to do with nostalgia. This series was out before social media, before smart phones, before so many things that encompass the technology of the modern world. (It was also out before the [overrated, IMO] Sword Art Online.) The series really felt ahead of its time. This becomes apparent when you start with Infection. Setting aside, the actual mystery behind what's going on really has me hooked. I played through Infection YEARS ago so some of it was familiar. But still, the story telling and overall production value is impressive. Gameplay ranges from serviceable to fascinating. Combat? It can get dull. Interacting with other "players"? That's pretty impressive when you think about it. So, yeah. I'm glad I'm back in The World. I'm going to finish up the post game dungeon and try to get Kite up a few more levels before hopping right into Mutation.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on November 02, 2023, 11:43:07 pm
34 - Frogun (PC 2022) - DROPPED - In my continuing hunt for low poly throwback games, this one stood out as having a pretty great looking aesthetic, but after a few hours of play, I'm not really enjoying it like I want.  It's not bad at all, it's the gameplay loop that isn't hitting me.  This one leans more into the more quirky PS1 style platformers you'd find, which were abit less of a thing for me outside of Crash Bandicoot, I always preferred N64 ones like Banjo and Mario that had like a world to explore. 

It's small levels, using the one gimmick you got, which is the "Frogun", a frog gun that shoots out a tongue so you can latch onto walls to pull yourself in or latch onto objects or enemies and launch them as attacks. It's okay for abit, the vibe kinda feels a little similar to Captain Toad, though you get way more mobility here, just sorta how the game structure feels.  You don't need get any other abilities or gadgets, it's more about the level design itself as I got up to I think the 5th area of the game out of 7 and it was definitely getting harder.  You can buy new hats with coins, each level has multiple pieces of jewels to earn to count to completion, so there's a lot to do in each of these linear levels.

It's not a bad game at all, honestly, I think it's quite good, I'm just not gelling with the experience, very much a "ME" thing, not a game thing.  I'd still recommend it if anything about the game itself looks good.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 03, 2023, 01:07:39 am
44. LA Noire (PS4)

This is one of those games thats been on my backlog for a very long time. I've had fairly high hopes for it all these years, one because it was made by Rockstar, and two because it seemed like a very interesting game seeing how you play a detective solving crimes in the 1940s. Having played and beat LA Noire finally, I have to say I am very disappointed in this game, as it started out very promising, hit what felt like its climax 1/3 into the game, and then just continued to sputter out more and more up until the very end. LA Niore's writing is its biggest flaw. The story is presented in such a disjointed and poorly delivered way that it makes it hard to be invested in most of what's going on. People are introduced and they're built up to be significant with no build up or development whatsoever; characters change their motivations on a dime and do things that go completely against who they are for no reason; a large chunk of the main story is delivered through seemingly random clips, until you're supposed to know it's all significant in the last third of the game. I could go on, but this is probably one of the most poorly executed stories in a game I've ever seen. It's too bad since i thought it was still pretty interesting and fun until about halfway through. Unfortunately, the story and writing aren't the only problem in this game. The gameplay is also filled with its own problems, particularly many of the elements added to LA Noire to distinguish it from the GTA series. The investigative gameplay is decent at times, but freakin awful at others. Evidence that you'd think would elicit a correct response from a suspect ends up being counted as incorrect, and evidence is some how not evidence given a situation that called for it. Also, going around and looking for clues at a crime scene can be very frustrating and many of these clues are poorly placed, especially in the final act of the game. This game is completely terrible however, as LA Noire's presentation is pretty good overall. The facial animations are probably the best, or at least up there with the best of the 7th gen, and definitely lend themselves well to reading people you're interacting with in order to tell if they're telling the truth or not. Other than that, the presentation definitely gets the feel and setting of the 1940s right. The audio is also top notch as every character is voice acted very well and all the other music and sounds just add to the game's noire atmosphere. As I said before, this game is a mess in so many ways, but for what it's worth, it was still enjoyable to me up until 2/3 into the game, even though the quality of the game began to start dipping just 1/3 in. I can't say I'd recommend this game, but at the very least I'm happy I finally played and beat LA Noire. (11/2/23) [33/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on November 03, 2023, 02:48:18 pm
48. NHL 96 (Genesis)
Lost most of the week due to being sick. I actually completed this on Monday (by accident) and have not played anything since.

This was played in an emulator because the battery in my physical cart did not work, so I could not save a season progress. I first tried playing on actual Genesis, and I really need to find better controllers. On emulator I tried both controller and arcade stick but it became clear to me that my coordination was not good to even think about being able to play an entire season. Often me just playing a game meant I would score on myself. I can't even think to remember how I played these games on PC in the past using just the keyboard.

So I was resolved to just use the management aspect of the game and using simulations only. See if it was possible to simulate to a cup win. Well, it is possible. My first run was with Winnipeg where I played maybe 15 seasons. The rosters remain unchanged from the previous season when you make a new one, so it is like there is a continuation. However, there seems to be some sort of bias within the game when it comes to determining whether a team can make the playoffs or win a championship. I'm fairly certain that this value is determined at the start of a season which I will get into later.

During the simulations I had decided to do a vampire league strategy. No to the extreme of what you'd see in vampire Fantasy Football leagues. Basically if my team got shut out, I would trade my worst player to the team that won for a player on their roster that was 1-2 points higher in ability score. So for example, I would trade a 66 for a 68. During double shutouts, I would see about trading goalies. Winnipeg as a starter for this type of strategy had a limit, where basically I could not trade for anyone when my average ability score was 78. There is not enough 79 or 80 in the league to be able to get the 81 rated players. Despite having basically the best team in the league, some sort of bias was evident in the simulation where it was still possible to finish in last place in a division or not make the playoffs. Sometimes I would get lucky to win an award tho.

(http://i.imgur.com/EA50qdHl.png) (https://imgur.com/EA50qdH)

Also regarding awards and simulation, it is clear that the CPU does not always choose to use the best goalie when simulating games. About half of the time, a backup would win the Vezina trophy, when in reality (or if the games were played by a human) the backup would only come in relief. It became evident through the stats view that backups were getting more GP than they should have. So you result in an award like so, where this goalie is rated 67 on a team with a 92 rated goalie.

(http://i.imgur.com/q2J3TNDl.png) (https://imgur.com/q2J3TND)

After hitting the trade wall (I was not forcing trades either, unless *my* team rejected the trade) and recognizing the bias, I decided to start over. I reset the rosters back to stock, and I was going to make the following changes: "attempt" to control each team for 1 year and switch if they do not make the playoffs (I say attempt because I did not know how strong the bias was beforehand, I fully expected that it would take at least 1 run-through of simulations (30 some-odd-seasons) before I would win. Still doing the vampire method but for teams with exception to the Sabres and Jets, I would trade the highest scoring player to the winning team for a player of at least 2 ability score points lower. So trading a 70 for a 68. With an attempt to weaken all of the teams in the league besides the Sabres or Jets so that I could win a championship with one of them. I would also force trades in this case. I made it through 7 seasons before I won the cup with simulation.

Anaheim didn't have a chance, they didn't make the playoffs the first year, but the bias previously seen in other seasons indicates this is normal. The Bruins did make the playoffs the first year but didn't the second year. The Sabres made it once and then didn't the second year, also normal. Now of these three teams, I was actively making the Ducks and Bruins bad while making the Sabres good. Then I played as the Blackhawks, they won the cup the first season. When you win, it shows this screen:
(http://i.imgur.com/Z9X26wNl.png) (https://imgur.com/Z9X26wN)

And then the playoff tree:
(http://i.imgur.com/AGL8JRcl.png) (https://imgur.com/AGL8JRc)

Sometimes the playoff tree will show the wrong team as the winner. The above screen was from my 4th year as Chicago. The first year this screen had shown that the opposing team had one and not Chicago, but I did not save a screenshot of that. The game will show you this playoff screen if you make the playoffs but not if you didn't. If you didn't make the Stanley Cup and play/simulate the games, you would guess that the team that won the Cup ould be the team shown as the champion, but this isn't correct.

Now onto the bias. I won the Cup as Chicago using a simulated season despite trading away all of my top scorers. I decided to push it along, as I thought it was just a fluke. I wanted for them to not make the playoffs and to continue on with my plan. Unfortunately, they won AGAIN in the 4th year. Now this 4th year version of the team had an average player value of around 68 or so, with average goaltenders. There is no reason in the world why this team would be able to win but they still did. I stopped playing after that.

Sound review: sound is better than say, NHLPA Hockey on Genesis BUT considering that the entire game is being played in the menu, there is only one song used. It gets annoying real fast.
Also another thing I noticed, despite being called NHL 96, it has the rosters and teams from 1994. It probably would have felt like a waste of money if I had got it when it was new and had NHL 95.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on November 04, 2023, 08:23:14 am
Decided to drop RE Remake (PS4) and anticipating playing Baulder's Gate 3 (PS5). RE Remake I had started to play and forgot about the zombie with all the explosives on him that if you shoot him at all, you blow up with him. I was about 30 min in on the replay and hadn't saved... so discouragement set in. As for Baulder's Gate 3, there's no physical edition for a game that clearly could use one. So it's removed until there's a N. American release or if it drops to $30 or less on PSN. No way I'm paying full price for digital only.

Instead, I've opted to replay Resident Evil 5 at some point. It may wait until next year though. My schedule isn't allowing for much gaming lately.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 04, 2023, 09:12:22 am
Quote from: kashell on November 02, 2023, 09:24:09 am
54. .hack//Infection

I'm not even sure what compelled me to give this series another try, especially since I found the GU games to be dull as ****. I saw all four games (CIB) at the store, I had the credit for them and...before you knew it I was walking out with them in the bag.

I'm assuming it wasn't a super cheap total considering Quarantine's market value. Here's to hoping you continue to find the series fun and engaging. I played through the first two entries a few years ago and greatly enjoyed them, but I never began Outbreak. I didn't want to get further invested on account I wouldn't have the chance to play through Quarantine since I'm not willing to pay its asking price. It's a shame too, because Mutation ends on a really high note.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 04, 2023, 10:26:48 am
It wasn't too bad. I was able to get rid of some store credit I've been holding onto for a while and offload some other things that just weren't feeling at home in the collection. I'm in the middle of Mutation now. So far, so good.

I had a thought about these games, at least the first two, as I loaded up Mutation. I finished Infection in about 16 hours. This was after doing the postgame stuff and raising the three Grunty types in the theta server. Had I played these when they were first released, and had I spent my hard earned teenage allowance/parttime job money on Infection only to wait x number of months for Mutation, then I would have been upset. Similarly, I think I would have felt slighted after hopping into Mutation only to see that the rare weapon I got for Kite upon defeating the Parasite Dragon was obsolete since a bunch of NPCs have new weapons for him ready for trading.

But, present day me has a different outlook for some reason. I'm back into The World with Mutation doing things like reading message boards, checking emails, gifting friends useless items, and mashing the X button as I get through dungeons. I shouldn't be having fun with this but I am. Seeing what happens next is enough to keep my trucking through.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on November 04, 2023, 09:06:47 pm
Two games finished in the past couple of days! These were the last two games I was planning on playing for Halloween alongside Inscryption.

Game 18 - ZombiU (Wii U) - 14 Hours

As a third party launch title on the Wii U, this game is surprisingly good. I'm shocked it isn't talked about more often. The first thing that stood out to me is that the game has a plodding, clunky combat system that evokes older survival horror games. It's definitely a tense experience with just the right amount of challenge. Interestingly, the game also borrows a lot of elements from Dark Souls including a permadeath system and an online message system with AI-controlled zombies representing other players that you can fight. These characters give you a lot of ammo and supplies which can be very helpful, though they respawn every time you enter an area so it can be easy to use them to stock up. Having to start as a new character each time adds just the right enough amount of emotional connection and I genuinely felt upset when my character died or was infected.

One of the most unique aspects of this game is the use of the Wii U gamepad. I found the gamepad to range from useful to gimmicky. My favorite aspects were checking your backpack and using lockpicks while still being able to scan around you for infected, using the gamepad as a sight for your sniper rifle, and using the gamepad as portable radar and scanning device, kind of like Metroid prime. Other aspects were not as enjoyable, like having to tap the screen multiple times to open barred doors. Overall I thought the gamepad was well integrated into the game and added to the experience.

While the game isn't the strongest graphically, I also thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, particularly the music and sound design. The atmosphere gels great with the story, which is steeped in conspiracy theories and dark government secrets and I thought it was pretty entertaining. There aren't that many strong characters though outside the prepper, but his relationship with the player doesn't make much sense once you've gone through about 10 different characters but each time he picks things up with you as if you've always been there with him the whole time.

Overall ZombiU was a surprising experience on the Wii U with some interesting gameplay elements combined with excellent atmosphere and tone.

Game 19 - Kid Dracula (PS4) - 5 Hours

This game is so cute! I don't really have much to say about it. Just a fun but still moderately challenging platformer with some fun powerups, delightful music, adorable enemy design, and silly minigames sprinkled in. The last level was pretty hard, but with unlimited continues and ample chances to earn extra lives, it was a very good experience and worth checking out if you have the collection.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 05, 2023, 11:35:51 pm
I'm under 10 games away from completing 52 games this year. For whatever reason, this has been a very challenging year to reach the 52 games goal. However, with the extra hour afforded to me by the end of daylight savings time I decided to play some a fighting game that's been on my backlog for a while, as well as another fighting game I played to wash the shitty taste of the first game out of my mouth lol.


45. Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (PS1)

As I said above, this game has been a longtime resident of my gaming backlog. I knew before playing Wild Ambition that is was looked on as one of the least favorable titles in the Fatal Fury series. Still, I like to form my own opinion, however, this didn't end up being one of those situations where my opinion on a game strayed from the majority. Wild Ambition, like many 2D fighting franchises that decided to make a 3D entry in the late 90s, is not a great game, in fact, it's kinda bad. The gameplay is very cumbersome and clunky, and just feels slow. There are also some egregious balancing issues, most notably how the game goes from very easy to very hard by the time you reach your third opponent in Arcade mode. There is also a side step mechanic which is how it takes advantage of taking place on a 3D plane, and it's not implemented particularly well, nor did it lend itself to making the game more dynamic and fun. Other than maybe the first Fatal Fury game, this one has maybe the most annoying gameplay in the franchise. Visuals were not much better. I will say the 3D models for the characters were pretty well done, each stage takes place against a fairly blurry looking background with buildings, people, and other objects that look very out of place with the 3D elements. There have been 3D fighting games that have done this much better, for example the Street Fighter EX games, but Wild Ambition's are just ugly and jarring. The audio is a slight improvement, but overall its fairly forgettable and does little to enhance your enjoyment of the game. Unfortunately, Wild Ambition will go down as one of the worst fighting games I've ever played, and one I'd tell anyone else to avoid if they were looking for games in the Fatal Frame franchise to play. (11/5/23) [23/50]

46. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS1)

I am very familiar with Street Fighter Alpha 3, however I'm less familiar with its PS1 port despite having owned it for many years now. It's definitely an inferior version, mostly as a result of its frequent loading screens which are mostly not present in the Dreamcast version, but other than that, the gameplay and everything else is there to fully enjoy what's become one of my all time favorite fighting games. Alpha 3's gameplay, presentation, audio, and everything else about it are stellar, and every time I play Alpha 3 I'm immediately reminded why I adore late 90s arcade games so much. Alpha 3 might be my favorite Street Fighter game of all time given how insanely addictive and nostalgia inducing this game is. I hadn't played through Alpha 3 in a couple of years, and i ended up not jus beating it once with Ryo, but again with Akuma. It's just that enjoyable! (11/5/23) [42/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 06, 2023, 02:22:12 am
I wasn't quite ready to call it a night, so I decided to play one more quick one before bed.


47. Metal Slug XX (PS4)

I've wanted to play Metal Slug 7 for a while now, not just because it's the newest mainline Metal Slug game, but it also just looks the coolest from everything I've seen about it. Luckily it delivered on my preconception about it in pretty much every way. While a few Metal Slug games have it beat in terms of presentation and audio, it's still no slouch in those departments and absolutely delivers on the presentation. Where Metal Slug XX really shines is its gameplay, which is dare I say the best in the series. While it still has its fair share of cheap areas and sections, the level and enemy balancing is pretty good overall, but most of all, it has the most fun, most crazy boss battles in the franchise. Seriously, the bosses are freakin epic. While Metal Slug XX is no masterpiece, it's still really enjoyable and an improvement over most of my grievances with many of the previous titles. (11/5/23) [35/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on November 06, 2023, 10:17:48 am
49. Zoop

I had tried this before years ago. Not sure if on my own or for the Sega-16 project. I remember it being a bit fiddly but like the concept. So this time I decided to try in the emulator. But there the control issue was still present. Perhaps if the game started slightly slower. Losing immediately on level 2 seems to be a thing. It is too bad about this game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 08, 2023, 11:20:01 pm
55. .hack//Mutation

Part 2. Disc 2. Whatever you want to call it. It's been finished and once again the series left me with a cliffhanger of an ending. The last boss came out of nowhere. Some warning would have been nice. I thought we were going along with the story and then this massive creature appeared causing noise, and then we were in another big-boss arena. Thankfully, I got him on my first try. Black Rose is best girl. Anyways, this was another enjoyable game that has me wanting more. In terms of gameplay, everything was the same as Infection but I expected that. The only thing new is the mini-game where you race your Grunties. Surprisingly, it's a lot of fun and the rewards are great. After I finish the bonus dungeon, I'm not sure if I'm going to immediately hop into Outbreak or not. I don't want to get burned out the way I did with the GU series. Still, I really want to see what happens next.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 14, 2023, 11:40:38 pm
48. Battle Circuit (PS4)

I really felt like playing a 90s arcade beat em up tonight, and decided to go with one that I've not only never played, but never heard about until years later. Battle Circuit is one of the games included on the Belt Action Collection which is a fairly solid collection of 90s Capcom Beat Em Ups. Unfortunately, Battle Circuit might be the weakest one of the bunch. There really isn't much to distinguish Battle Circuit from most other run of the mill beat em ups from back in the day. Sure, you play as a space bounty hunter and the enemies in the game are umm...strange to say the least, but it's all just sort of meh. I felt bored with this game pretty much 1 stage in and towards the end I was so ready for it to be over. The gameplay is alright as far as beat em ups go, but nothing really makes it stand out in anyway or make it more fun to play. The graphics are also sort of meh, and there's a real lack of enemies as well which is fairly disappointing. The audio is probably the best thing going for Battle Circuit as it has some really great late 90s Capcom music. This is definitely not a game I ever plan on playing again, but for what it's worth, it was a nice little distraction for half an hour. (11/14/23) [28/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 15, 2023, 06:53:05 pm
33. A Hat in Time || PlayStation 4 || 10.04.23

(https://i.imgur.com/PkegjZ4.jpg)

Still wanting to delve some more into the 3D platformer genre, I settled on playing A Hat in Time, a game I've known about for a number of years, perhaps even before its release. To my surprise, A Hat in Time offers a rewarding time, although it isn't something without its faults.

To begin, I was not expecting a narrative-driven experience prior to playing. While this aspect to the game isn't groundbreaking, relevant to the game's simple premise, or even needed at all, it was still greatly enjoyed. With a plot that doesn't take itself seriously in a nonsensical universe focusing on a colorful cast of characters, A Hat in Time exudes loads of charm. The game's level structure is divided into worlds which are further divided into individual stages, and each stage builds upon that world's ongoing narrative. I'll mention it now rather than later, but a majority of dialogue is voiced which only brings one more positive element into play, as actors all seem to be having fun with voice work which translates to a more enjoyable story. However, it was disappointing to see the game forgo all of these strengths by the fourth and final world.

As the player progresses, new hats each with their own unique abilities will be acquired to use alongside basic battle actions. Cycling through hats is quick and easily accessible, so being able to don one after another in fast-paced battle situations is made easy within a split moment while time is slowed down. For the most part, each hat is significant. One hat in particular is only useful in very specific circumstances, but the remaining ones allow the player to use them to their own personal play preference. As a 3D platformer, A Hat in Time features collectibles and in-game currency to gather, although the latter isn't necessary to collect. The reason for this is that in-game currency is almost exclusively able to be spent on cosmetic prizes gained through a slots mini-game. That said, whether in-game currency is necessary or not, it is still fun to collect these cosmetic options since collecting is such a hallmark of the genre.

A defining feature of A Hat in Time is its wide, open stages that are easy to get lost in. For some, this could be a weakness, but I often regarded it as otherwise. Covering all ground to simply explore the game's environment is always fun to do, so being a little bit lost while not knowing exactly where to go is sometimes a reprieve from always being exactly told what to do and where to do it. As mentioned before, each world's narrative slowly unravels as more of its stages are played. Quickly, the game offers one world at its introduction to three. In a sense, the game is exploratory and player-driven, meaning the players can freely choose which available stage from the various worlds to continue next. But, at a point, the player will be barred by ability requirements not yet unlocked. As I mentioned earlier, the final world is limiting in regards to narrative. An effect of this relates to guidance to players, as its sandbox structure without any goals or sense of direction robs players of any hint as to what to do. This may sound like a direct conflict as to what I just mentioned, but the complete lack of instruction paired with a large, open-ended world that is confusing to understand its map structure was harmful to the player experience.

Continuing along with the game's flaws, I can't ignore what is perhaps A Hat in Time's biggest issue: its camera. Difficult and somewhat uncontrollable, self-driving and restrictive, the camera always seems to be acting on its own volition. Zoom capabilities aren't ideal, and the player's third-person viewing perspective rapidly closes in on its own for the worst. In what is a terrible decision, camera movement is tied to the right analog stick, which causes issues more than not. All of these aspects worsen action gameplay mechanics, as it is hard to rightfully balance player movement and action at all times. Merely existing as the player-character is often a frustrating experience.

However, I will backtrack to what is the game's greatest strength: its level design. Without wanting to divulge much of what's beyond the expected 3D platforming and simple battle mechanics, I will mention that there are a variety of minor gameplay additions distributed throughout worlds where they've helped design entire stages. They all are developed quite effectively and feel natural to the game's progression while providing a welcomed change to the general collect-a-thon mindset. In addition to these additions, I'll also mention that boss segments do exist that are genuinely challenging. More than likely, multiple attempts will be required as successfully completing these stages relies more on memorizing boss patterns than player skill. But, no matter what style of level of design is being incorporated, it's important to note that platforming and player movement is never sacrificed and is still very much the game's emphasis at all times.

In the end, A Hat in Time is clearly a game with a vision that largely exceeds as what it sets out to accomplish. Overall, it has all the makings of a successful 3D platformer, but it's glaringly obvious that it's not an exemplary model of the genre due to the camera mechanics alone. Despite these shortcomings, the game is still manageable to play—it's only a bit cumbersome, is all.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 15, 2023, 08:04:40 pm
49. Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom (PS3)

While I've known about DnD: Tower of Doom for a very long time, today was actually the first time i'd ever played it. I'd heard this was a fun beat em' up, but somehow the game still exceeded my expectations of it and ended up being one of the best DnD style video games I've ever played. The game really captures what makes DnD so amazing and fit it into a very dynamic and engaging beat em up. The fact you have branching paths, non-linear progression, a pretty interesting story, and the ability to change out spells and weapons is just so awesome. Not to mention, this game just looks the part of a DnD game as well just adds to all this. There are also a lot of really cool bosses and enemies, and the various stages you'll find yourself in are all pretty well done. The audio is also pretty good. When I finished my playthrough of this game, I actually replayed it just so I could make different decisions and see different parts of the game I missed the first time. I'm almost angry that I never came across this game in the 90s when I was a kid, because as much as I love it now, it would have blown my mind back then. Still, it's one of the better beat em ups I've ever played which is saying a lot. (11/15/23) [37/50]

50. Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow of Mystara (PS3)

Immediately after my second play through of Tower of Doom, I jumped into its sequel, Shadow of Mystara, and unfortunately I found myself very disappointed in the end. My biggest grip is the game literally takes 90% of the enemies and various other content in Tower of Doom and just recycles it in this game. And to make things worse, various changes they made to the gameplay either made no different in making the game more enjoyable and in some cases made it worse. The story and progression just felt less immersive and engaging than Tower of Doom too. I've certainly played worse beat em' ups, but overall I was just left very bored and disappointed by the time i reached the end of the game. It's obvious Capcom through this game together quickly and probably on a very limited budget, so they just recycled most of Tower of Doom again. While I can definitely see myself playing Tower of Doom again in the future, I've probably had my fair share of Shadow of Mystara for a lifetime. (11/15/23) [29/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 17, 2023, 03:15:49 pm
56. Mato Anomalies

I was looking through the list of games I finished throughout the year, and I think I can confidently say that Mato Anomalies is the worst. It had such a strong start. I felt like I was getting a Shadow Hearts setting (during the Asia segment) with a neat premise. The prologue and first chapter lead me to believe that this would be continue throughout the game. The game just didn't drop the ball in the second chapter. It threw the ball so hard it bounced back up and hit it in the face multiple times. This game was bad. The story tried to tie everything together nicely by the last chapter but by that point I was so beyond over it. I'm going to write a review here soon because I have a laundry list of things that this game did wrong.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on November 17, 2023, 03:41:23 pm
I made an effort to catch up last time, I think I got close, but then today I was 20 games behind again.  I've caught up to the point that I'm only 10 games behind now, but I'm going to try to finish catching up.  Who am I kidding, it's almost Thanksgiving week, I'm not gonna get anything written other than what I can get written today.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 17, 2023, 05:22:03 pm
Quote from: ignition365 on August 17, 2023, 12:48:04 pm
I hate how far off I got from keeping up with my logs.  I pretty much only come to VGC at this point to update this stuff.  I might look at making another place to post this stuff publicly and making it searchable so I can find reviews easier than digging year by year.

Another place within the forums, you mean? If you're ever wanting to find a specific review for a game, the forum search tool is quite capable. I searched for "100 Hidden Birds 2" at random as a game you finished earlier this year and found its attached post without issue. In fact, it's the only post that shows up in search results when searching that specific term while specifying you as the poster.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: undertakerprime on November 20, 2023, 03:10:01 pm
57. Blasphemous II (PS4)

I rarely buy a game anymore that’s not marked down, but I couldn’t wait for this one. Blasphemous is among my personal top Metroidvanias ever.

Overall thoughts:
Combat is MUCH improved over the first game. The 3 weapons offer much more variety and options for defeating bosses. I ended up using Veridicto (the big incense burner) most of the time due to its power and range. The rosary sword was useful against certain opponents. The sword & dagger were near useless, just too weak to justify using them.

The pixel art is still gorgeous. I miss the awesome pixel cutscenes, but I saw a making-of video where the Game Kitchen says they were expensive and time-consuming to make, so they went with the animation instead. However, IMO, the story, music, and overall atmosphere are much stronger in the first game. In this one, the bosses are not given quite as much backstory, thus making them less interesting. For example, basically all the backstory given to Orospina, whose design I find fascinating, is “she’s a demented murderer.”

Toughest boss by far was Eviterno. Took me maybe 15-20 tries to beat him, with judicious use of the time-stopping spell. In contrast, the final boss was far too easy. Endings seemed a bit short, and ZERO New Game+….very weird when the first game had 3 different new game options and multiple colors to unlock.

Definitely not saying this one is bad, far from it. I’m actually going to start another playthrough. I just think I prefer the first one.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on November 21, 2023, 01:54:39 pm
Finished The Callisto Protocol today.  What a resoundingly meh game.  It looks incredible, but so much of it just feels derivative of so many other games.  The biggest issues are the decision to put so much emphasis on the melee combat, which isn't very good,  and the total lack of enemy variety.  There are huge sections that were just ridiculously slow paced "stealth" against blind enemies.

It's not the worst game I've ever played, but you could save your time and play Dead Space, The Last of Us, or any of the modern Resident Evil remakes.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on November 22, 2023, 10:21:10 am
55. Torchlight II
The first ARPG outside of the Diablo franchise that I've played I think. It probably has more depth that I could see from a single playthrough on Normal. The fact that there are guns in it is interesting. I played the gun character that is supposed to use 2 pistols or a shotgun, but I ended up with a bow and a shotgun because early on the pistols were kind of bad.

There certainly is a difficulty curve and it is unlike Diablo in some ways concerning how damage is dealt. In Diablo II (which this game is more like), if you scaled up on the armor, there were rarely any instances where an enemy would do significant physical damage to you. The only monster in D2 that could one shot you with physical were the fetish monster class and usually only starting in Act 3. The skeleton ones could but in Act 1 their health is low enough that you would kill them first. In Torchlight II physical damage is more of a common thing to have to deal with. If you aren't scaling up your base armor, then you can get easily killed by common enemies in "Acts" 3 and 4. Elemental damage is typically avoidable if you are paying attention as it only comes as special or spell attacks from enemies. All enemies appear to do physical attacks by default.

There are some usability issues present. Even in offline games, the game can lag. It doesn't seem to be related to the amount of enemies on the screen. It makes it seem like you are playing online even if you are not. There are some inputs that are eaten in that your attempt to perform an action is cancelled. Such as trying to do weapon switch while the animation of the first weapon is still playing, this gets cancelled. Also there are times where you will use attack 1 instead of attack 2.

Then the other one which is you can get stuck on a certain enemy. The freedom of movement is not like D2 which has the same idea. Click on the enemy to attack it, click on the ground to move. But in T2 the hitbox for the enemy highlight is larger than what is drawn, so you can have the cursor over the ground and click but the monster is still highlighted. This means that instead of moving your character, you are attacking an enemy. Makes some unavoidable deaths if this happens when you are trying to retreat or get mobbed. Attempting any sort of run on Hardcore is a no-go for me while this issue exists.

I didn't really care for the story and in fact the cutscenes and the in-game quest/dialog didn't seem to match up. The beginning it shows the enemy to be an evil wizard or something, and the next time you get a cutscene you are following him like you do the Wanderer in D2. But then the end boss is a dragon. I must have skipped something or didn't read something, idk. The music was basically Matt Uelman ripoff music, which was fine to listen to but made you remember Diablo games.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on November 22, 2023, 03:22:03 pm
Quote from: dhaabi on November 17, 2023, 05:22:03 pm
Quote from: ignition365 on August 17, 2023, 12:48:04 pm
I hate how far off I got from keeping up with my logs.  I pretty much only come to VGC at this point to update this stuff.  I might look at making another place to post this stuff publicly and making it searchable so I can find reviews easier than digging year by year.

Another place within the forums, you mean? If you're ever wanting to find a specific review for a game, the forum search tool is quite capable. I searched for "100 Hidden Birds 2" at random as a game you finished earlier this year and found its attached post without issue. In fact, it's the only post that shows up in search results when searching that specific term while specifying you as the poster.
No, I was thinking more like designing my own website
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 25, 2023, 07:08:20 pm
51. Halo: Combat Evolved (XBOX)

I was never a huge Halo fan back in the early 2000s, but it's still a series I played quite a bit and have a lot of wonderful memories playing with friends and family. Funny enough, I actually played Halo 2 way more than the first game, but the first game still has a special place in my heart as it reminds me heavily of the early and mid-2000s when it was the biggest gaming franchise in the world. I hadn't played through the campaign of the first Halo in over a decade so I figured it was time to throw it in my XBOX and give it another go.


While I really like Halo CE, it's still a game that has some fairly annoying issues, specifically with the stage design in certain parts of the game which can be very frustrating to get through. I'm also not a fan of Halo making you backtrack through large portions of the game, and return to places you'd previously played through at some other point. It would be one thing if these areas looked dramatically different between visits, but they mostly look the same with maybe there being different lighting, weather effects, or time of day being the only thing that makes them slightly more distinct. Other than that, my only other complaint with the gameplay is enemies feeling like bullet sponges, even with weapons that they're weaker to. With those gripes out of the way, I have to commend the AI's intelligence which almost made you feel like you were up a competent real person and not just the CPU. Also, the games fairly generous amount of weapons are all fun to play around with. Luckily, weapons are mostly plentiful, and health kits are present at just the right times when you need them (not to frequent, but also not making you get through huge portions of the game with no health). Visually, the game looks pretty good other than a few semi bland, albeit creative looking environments, as well as the aforementioned reuse of a lot of areas. The audio is also pretty good, with entertaining and competent voice acting, as well as a very memorable OST. The final thing I wanted to mentioned was the story, which is pretty damn good and original. There are a few parts where the writing made me raise an eyebrow,  but overall it's still a refreshing story which I still find entertaining as hell. I may not be a Halo diehard, or someone who thinks this game is a masterpiece, but I can say with no hesitation that it's a must play and a game that encapsulates early 2000s gaming better than 99% of all other games made during that time period. (11/25/23) [36/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 26, 2023, 03:01:03 pm
57. Super Mario RPG Remake

Playing through this remake was a blast. It felt like I was looking at an old photo album combined with making new memories. This is a remake done correctly. The new features make this the definitive version. I doubt I'll partake in any post-game content, but knowing that it's there is another nice perk. I finished the game with all the usual secrets: Jinx is defeated, all hidden chests discovered, Culex is gone, composed all of the musical stuff at Tadpole Pond, and the list goes on. Not much else to say; it was a memorable game then, and it's just as memorable now with its glow up.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 26, 2023, 04:36:41 pm
Quote from: kashell on November 26, 2023, 03:01:03 pm
57. Super Mario RPG Remake

It felt like I was looking at an old photo album combined with making new memories. This is a remake done correctly.

In your opinion, is the Super Mario RPG remake an example of a game that anyone having not experienced the original would be fine to play with first? Or should they instead seek out the original SNES release to better appreciate the remake? For many years, I've been mildly interested in the game but have never owned (and perhaps never will) own a copy, much less the hardware to play it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on November 26, 2023, 05:10:43 pm
Quote from: dhaabi on November 26, 2023, 04:36:41 pm
Quote from: kashell on November 26, 2023, 03:01:03 pm
57. Super Mario RPG Remake

It felt like I was looking at an old photo album combined with making new memories. This is a remake done correctly.

In your opinion, is the Super Mario RPG remake an example of a game that anyone having not experienced the original would be fine to play with first? Or should they instead seek out the original SNES release to better appreciate the remake? For many years, I've been mildly interested in the game but have never owned (and perhaps never will) own a copy, much less the hardware to play it.

I've only just started into the remake, but everything I've seen and heard on it, it's basically just the original game, with a few minor additions to the UI and gameplay along with the visual overhaul that stays pretty true to the classic designs.  I don't think there would be any specific benefit of playing the original other than to just enjoy the classic visuals.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 26, 2023, 06:14:15 pm
Quote from: dhaabi on November 26, 2023, 04:36:41 pm
Quote from: kashell on November 26, 2023, 03:01:03 pm
57. Super Mario RPG Remake

It felt like I was looking at an old photo album combined with making new memories. This is a remake done correctly.

In your opinion, is the Super Mario RPG remake an example of a game that anyone having not experienced the original would be fine to play with first? Or should they instead seek out the original SNES release to better appreciate the remake? For many years, I've been mildly interested in the game but have never owned (and perhaps never will) own a copy, much less the hardware to play it.

It's a perfect example of this. The remake does everything the original does, but with added content that's all excellent.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 26, 2023, 08:44:40 pm
Well, I did it! With a little over a month to spare, I hit 52 games beat! I always feel a sense of fulfillment when I hit that magical number of games beat, knowing that I'm at least 52 games closer to playing and beating every game I own, plus many others. I don't know how December is going to go, but at the very least there is one more game I definitely plan on playing and beating, but it wouldn't surprise me if I round out this year at around 55+ games. But anyhow, let's get to my mini review of #52.


52. Sexy Parodius (Saturn)

I haven't played a Parodius game in several years, and I had a hard time remembering which ones I had played. To my delight, Sexy Parodius is not a game I've every played and at least from memory, it's the most fun game in the series I've played, which also includes games from its parent series, Gradius. Sexy Parodius is a slightly more risque cute em' up (hence the word sexy in the title), but is still fairly lighthearted and goofy like the other games in the series. Essentially you have you sandard cute em' up type enemies, plus some half naked anime wiafus to blast through, but nothing more than a PG-13 movie. The gameplay is Sexy Parodius is pretty good overall, although it is nothing groundbreaking from a mechanics or balancing point of view, but in the end its mostly serviceable. I've never been a fan of the Gradius style power up system and its tendency to screw you over, however it wasn't as bad as some other Konami schmup titles I've played that use this style. Of note, there are also fun level objectives that you can either pass or fail, and depending on the outcome you can play very different levels than the ones you would have gone onto otherwise. But I found the objectives a fun, unique addition to this game, that I wouldn't mind seeing in other shmups. Visually the game is very entertaining and fun. This game screams weird Japanese pop culture, and delivers it in a very brightly colored, vibrant setting. Audio is also surprisingly good with some catchy toons and entertaining voice acting; I had no idea what the characters were saying, but the delivery still made me laugh, especially when combined with the stage and level transition visuals. I'm always very pleased when I play a game I've never tried before that ends up being way better than I thought it would be and Sexy Parodius is certainly a prime example. (11/26/23) [34/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 26, 2023, 11:06:52 pm
53. Nights into Dreams (Saturn)

It seems like i'm replaying nights at least every other year. This is hands down one of the most special, important games ever made for me. It is one of a handful of games that instantly transports me back to being a 9-year old kid again without a care or problem in the world. I'm not under any illusion that Nights doesn't have some issues (particularly its gameplay), but overall, the game is one I thoroughly enjoy playing again and again for how it makes me feel. I also beat Christmas Nights while I was at it, which is especially nice during this time of year, for obvious reasons. Nights into Dreams will always occupy a very, very special place in my heart for the rest of my life. (11/26/23) [41/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 27, 2023, 08:12:25 am
I love it when games do that. That's how it felt when I went through the remaster of Mario RPG.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 27, 2023, 10:24:41 am
Quote from: kashell on November 26, 2023, 06:14:15 pm
Quote from: dhaabi on November 26, 2023, 04:36:41 pm
Quote from: kashell on November 26, 2023, 03:01:03 pm
57. Super Mario RPG Remake

It felt like I was looking at an old photo album combined with making new memories. This is a remake done correctly.

In your opinion, is the Super Mario RPG remake an example of a game that anyone having not experienced the original would be fine to play with first? Or should they instead seek out the original SNES release to better appreciate the remake? For many years, I've been mildly interested in the game but have never owned (and perhaps never will) own a copy, much less the hardware to play it.

It's a perfect example of this. The remake does everything the original does, but with added content that's all excellent.

Quote from: kamikazekeeg on November 26, 2023, 05:10:43 pm
I've only just started into the remake, but everything I've seen and heard on it, it's basically just the original game, with a few minor additions to the UI and gameplay along with the visual overhaul that stays pretty true to the classic designs.  I don't think there would be any specific benefit of playing the original other than to just enjoy the classic visuals.

That's good news to hear. At some point, I'm sure I'll pick it up then. I generally prefer to play a game's original release, but I've settled for re-releases at times. One instance was the The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening remake also for Switch, which I don't regret playing first at all.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on November 27, 2023, 02:21:01 pm
Game 20 - Operation C (Switch) - 3 Hours

Beat this game without having to use any continues. For an early Game Boy game, Operation C has a lot of really great things going for it. For one, it plays beautifully, something that a lot of portable versions can't say. It plays like a perfect little mash-up of Contra and Super C including the controls and music. There aren't as many weapons, but the new homing weapon was my favorite and I preferred it over the spread gun. It isn't a very long game, at only 5 stages, but what is there was very enjoyable.

As a side note, I'm not sure how many more games I will be finishing on the Contra Anniversary Collection. I've tried the arcade originals of the first two Contra games and didn't really like playing them. I was also very disappointed to find that Contra Hard Corps doesn't allow for any button remapping. So other than Contra III I'm not sure if this collection will have much more to offer.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on November 27, 2023, 02:38:08 pm
34. Dodgeball Academia || PlayStation 4 || 10.30.23

(https://i.imgur.com/u4AqBQ1.jpg)

Looking to play something more casual, my attention came to Dodgeball Academia as one of PlayStation Plus Extra's catalog options. It's been a game I've known for a while by cover art alone, although I didn't know anything specific about it until I began my playthrough.

Before delving into the game's play mechanics, I'll briefly mention how Dodgeball Academia is a narrative-driven game. There is a good amount of lightheartedness written into dialogue and character personalities, but it wasn't enough to successfully gain any laughs or even much of a humored response from me. It was pretty clear shortly after I began playing that perhaps the story is directed towards a younger demographic. Nevertheless, the narrative is simple and inoffensive, although there may be some who'd want to skip the dialogue altogether, which is an option. Dialogue on its own moves along at a somewhat slow speed, which I only mention as an issue since voice acting isn't featured.

As the title name suggests, Dodgeball Academia is a action-RPG revolved around the sports game dodgeball. With both the player's and opponent's team each having health, the end goal is for one side to remain conscious while exchanging throws to attack another. While its core gameplay is simple in execution, its RPG mechanics allow for a straightforward game to become much more energetic and entertaining. Early on, opponents will demonstrate varying skills and battle techniques, such as lobbing the ball high, throwing the ball at a slow but high-powered velocity, or conjuring an onslaught of balls to target one specific opponent. In time, the player will also be able to perform some of these attacks, which require a special meter needing to be filled. Alongside special attacks, a standard charged attack, ball catch, and counter are also battle actions. At times, the player can even execute some atypical moves such as spinning throws, but the game doesn't provide a good job at explaining how those mechanics operate.

In addition to attack commands, many other aspects are present which provide a unique take on this classic game. For starters, the protagonist player-character will eventually accrue a party of six, with a maximum of three being allowed on the field. While most battles are 3vX, some are 1v1. With that said, there are times when party members will stand waiting along the sidelines to be sent to the playing field even in 1v1 matches, so there is a lot of variety in battles. Also, it is worth mentioning how, in many fights, even when a team player has been knocked out, they are not fully incapacitated. Instead, they may appear on the outer perimeter of the playing field behind their opponents, able to attack them from behind. Perhaps that is a standard dodgeball rule, but it felt new to me. Apart from the players, even the balls can change up battles, as some having elemental properties or lingering effects.

At a welcoming pace, matches gradually increase in difficulty. However, I found myself needing to heal after nearly every match, so perhaps I'm just not that good of a player. An infirmary is free to visit for a full-heal, in addition to healing items which are acquired liberally, although I rarely ever used them. Still, if players fail a match, the option to retry is always available. That said, maintaining health becomes much less of an issue toward the late-game once a specific piece of equipment is found that replenishes 75% health after each match. Early on, though, players should be expected to constantly be at full health, as, if you are tasked with being somewhere, there is almost always a scripted battle, no matter how minor the event is.

Toward the end of my playthrough, I felt quite overleveled aside from a few major matches where I seemed only at a slight advantage. As players progress further to end-game, most opponents come across existing as fodder only. But, even if one were to choose to ignore challenger encounters, the required path makes it almost guaranteed each time that you'll battle them anyway. Having mentioned a maximum party total of six by the game's end, I'll also mention here that there never felt like a reason to cycle through all party members. In fact, I almost exclusively played as the game's protagonist player-character. For a short while after each new member joins the team, I'd try to utilize them, but there never seemed like a good reason to do so since the protagonist is simply stronger. In some of the final fights, I'd simply use the protagonist's special ability to defeat everyone on the opponent's team in one swell swoop. Toward the end of my playthrough, I realized that there are Damage Taken and Damage Received settings available at a range from 0-400%, but I maintained the standard 100% even after learning about this option.

Being an action-RPG, it shouldn't come as a surprise that players explore a small sandbox world surrounding the game's central location. Another aspect I'll mention is that, in addition to the game's story objectives, side objectives are also available to encourage exploration. A dodge roll technique is offered as a fast means of traveling, but it isn't an effective way at all due to the likely probability that players will clash with environmental set pieces. In the game's latter half, there is a small section requiring some platforming while also utilizing this dodge roll mechanic, but it is brief and was fine to accomplish.

In short, Dodgeball Academia offered a decent experience while playing, but the game loop became a little too tedious. I think that there are a lot of engaging aspects introduced to dodgeball's straightforward rules, but I never felt compelled to utilize them all because I wasn't forced to experiment to reach the game's end.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on November 27, 2023, 11:34:40 pm
54. The Rumble Fish 2 (PS4)

I had never heard of this series until Limited Run Games announced a physical release of it. It looked interesting enough, and as a 2D fighting game from the 2000s, I was definitely eager to try it out. Unfortunately the game ended up being a lot less enjoyable than I was hoping. More than anything, Rumble Fish 2 is about a generic a fighting game as they come. There is very little in any way to make this game standout from the pack of other tournament fighters from this era. The visuals are a strange mix of cell shaded looking 2D character models and 3D backgrounds. This wouldn't be so bad if the stages had more going on, but most of them are pretty uninspired and forgettable for the most part. The audio is pretty good, but again, nothing special. Finally the gameplay, while serviceable and using a dynamic offense/defense system. I found the overall gameplay to be fairly bland and uninteresting. There was also a stiffness to it all that put me off slightly. I can understand why this game and series has mostly been forgotten unlike some of its contemporaries like Guilty Gear. Still, it might be worth a playthrough if you fancy yourself a fighting game fan. (11/27/23) [29/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on November 28, 2023, 12:18:13 am
32 - Spider-Man 2 (PS5 2023) - BEAT - Another really solid game.  I do think I'm sorta done with the Spider-Man games unless they do something really crazy and different for the next game.  It's not like any of them have been bad, gameplay and story is all fantastic, but three games, all set in the same city, even if they add a few more gimmicks or expand the New York setting abit more, I've had my fill.  I don't know, maybe in a couple years when it comes out I'll care, as I see the villain's that will be showing up and they'll be cool, but it's gotta do something very different.  Honestly, it has me excited for Wolverine, because I want to see them craft a different experience that has this level of gameplay and story quality to it. 

I also hope they give Miles a new suit for the next game, because they gave him a terrible one at the ending, out of nowhere lol Sure, you can change the suit after the final mission, but oof, it's awful, the brand deal thing with the shoes is super dumb.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on November 28, 2023, 08:08:33 pm
58. Shadow of Destiny - D Ending

Shadow of Destiny had me intrigued since about 2002. There was an advertisement for it on the back of Ephemeral Fantasia's instruction manual. I played the PlayStation 2 version about five or so years later. Honestly, I can't remember much about it other than the phoned in voice acting and the trial and error gameplay. I need to go back and read my review for it. Anyways, being a PSP fan I've always wanted to play this version. Not much was changed other than some names, new endings (which I'll end up watching on YouTube) and a more solid cast of voice actors. The script remained unchanged, which is fine, but the new voices behind the characters were effective. Otherwise, it was more trial and error gameplay trying to figure out how to stop Eike from getting killed over and over. As a result of my choices, I ended up with an ending that left me feeling rather meh. But, since the game on the whole is pretty meh, I doubt I'll replay it. Oh well. It was a nice way to take a break from story heavy RPGs. And when the game's big reveal did happen, I was surprised by all of the reveals.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on November 29, 2023, 08:53:46 am
Game 21 - Paper Mario (Wii U) - 24 Hours

The first Paper Mario to me seems to be overlooked considerably compared to it's bigger brother, The Thousand-Year Door. And while TTYD is almost a direct upgrade to the original in pretty much every way, that shouldn't mean that the first entry isn't worth playing.

It's worth recognizing the groundwork that Paper Mario 1 laid out for future games in the series, and it's really quite an impressive game. The visuals in particular are some of the most striking on the N64, and still hold up even to this day. I'd say Paper Mario is the best looking game on the entire system. It has gorgeous environments and beautiful animations that build a colorful and imaginative world. The gameplay set the standard for future games, implementing a fun turn-based system with action commands to either increase or take less damage, as well as an interesting badge system to customize Mario's abilities. Mario is also paired with a cast of colorful characters that help you both in battle and while exploring the world. The story, while standard and a little bland, does enough to move you along through the game and is overall pretty well done.

There were some aspects of Paper Mario that I thought could have been better. For one, I kind of despise most of the music. It all felt very superficial and oftentimes annoying. There were some good tracks though. For all of the whopping 8 characters that join you during your journey, they only have a small moment of character development when they join your party and then they never speak or do anything meaningful for the rest of the game. Limiting your progression to only 30 BP really stunted any chance at meaningful experimentation with your badges, which was disappointing.

Playing on the Wii U, I also really didn't like that the C-stick menu commands were mapped to the right stick. While this matches up with the N64's button layout, I was constantly moving the stick in the wrong direction on accident since you need to press the stick in an exact cardinal direction to make the right menu come up, and I would constantly mess up and pick the wrong menu because the Wii U analog stick isn't precise enough.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 03, 2023, 09:50:30 am
I was at a game night over the weekend where I got to partake in some of the new Jackbox games.

59. Dodo Re Mi

Jackbox has finally gone the way of Guitar Hero/Rock Band. Your phone is your instrument. Notes come down and you'll tap them in time to play the song with your friends. I liked this, although it wasn't as responsive as I would have hoped. Plus, you had to unlock songs. Neat animations, though. The plant is very Little Shop of Horrors.

60. Hypnotorious

Probably my favorite of the new games we played. You are given a secret role and need to sus out everyone else's. You're given prompts that you need to answer in character. There's always an outlier. I ended up winning so that was a plus. The brain avatars are adorable.

61. Tee K.O. 2

Ugh. I was not looking forward to playing this one since I never liked the first. But, played it we did. It's more of the same. You can alter someone else's doodle if you want. Yay?
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 05, 2023, 12:03:04 pm
35. Krispee Street || Mobile || 11.06.23

(https://i.imgur.com/hE9kKy1.jpg)

So, something I never thought I'd experience is playing a game through Netflix's mobile app, but that happened. Quickly looking at their library, I came across the hidden object game Krispee Street that is designed just like Where's Wally? books, so I decided to spend some time with it.

To explain the game mechanics for any unfamiliar to hidden object find-it games, the player is tasked with finding items. In the past, video games using this puzzle design rely on text only as clues, but Krispee Street maintains a visual approach which gives all the information players need to locate exactly what's needing to be found. Unlike a physical book which are generally large for this sort of puzzle activity, mobile screens are obviously much smaller, so players now are limited to only a portion of the static game stage as a time. Across the game's dozen stages, level design tends to become much larger and denser as players advance which adds a new layer of difficulty compared to hidden object books since the latter's layout can be viewed all at once.

At the bottom of the screen, the stage's lost items are present, with the player having the ability to cycle through them leisurely. To formally discover a needed item, the player must ensure it's actually selected and then hover over its stage placement. When an object is selected, a preview image is overlayed onto the stage, which is useful as it's scaled to size, even when the player utilizes the zoom tool. On that note, the zoom tool is a huge benefit as the player is constantly scanning through the environment, on account of there being countless tiny objects to find alongside a fair amount of medium to large items. Something I'll mention briefly is that, upon being found, most objects having simple animations, and some have sounds. It's a small feature, but I did find it to be helpful since not many items are in close proximity to others.

As I mentioned level design's increasing density and scale before, that also relates to stage difficulty. Unfortunately, I found difficulty to be inconsistent to what I was expecting. While difficulty gradually increases over the first half of levels become most challenging at the midway point or so, it sharply declines at its peak. After that point, I didn't feel that challenged at all. However, difficulty relates to one other aspect, which is the stage design itself. At times, a lot of the stage simply blurs together which is an intentional to confuse players. Perhaps the best example of this is in a space-themed stage, with the majority of lost items needing found having no background information whatsoever to rely upon and instead suspending in a black void. With the above screenshot in mind, it's greatly recommended to rely on all of the lost item preview icon's information such as surface color, surface pattern, scale, and, perhaps most important, other items. Removing any of those elements limits the player's understanding of where the item could be, which, at its worst, forces them instead to aimlessly skim through everything. That sort of challenge adds to the fun, though.

Over time, players will accumulate a resource I'll call flower points which allows the player to buy hint options toward finding the currently selected lost item. There are over 800 items to find, but I only relied on these tools twice and only after I had already found the lost item without properly discovering it so that I can understand how they operate. Accruing this sort of in-game currency throughout the entire playthrough, I wasn't actually sure what its purpose is until near the end. That said, I didn't want to rely on any kind of hint tools anyway because that defeats the entire purpose of these kinds of games, meaning I was quite persistent in finding every object on my own even in the most challenging of levels. If it takes a long time to find a specific item, so be it, because there is always something else to find, with the most expansive stage having over 150 objects to find to illustrate.

Alongside flower points, the second resource collected is coins which may be spent on a a gachapon-type section to gain cards which have different rarity types. In brief, the cards have no importance. They're accessed in a gallery of sorts, but there is no way to sort cards by name, rarity, or type of card; in fact, you can't sort them at all, and they're displayed in the order they've been collected in. Something I thought would have added more interest to this feature is for every card to have different rarity classes to encourage players to earn the most valuable, but it's clear that this section of the game was an afterthought. What's worst is the the cards aren't interesting and don't entice the player to actually scroll through the gallery. That coins are exclusively spent on gachapon cards is a poor attempt to provide more depth to the core gameplay.

Lastly, there are two other smaller gameplay modes: daily challenges and Zen Mode. For the former, a map from the dozen available stages is randomly selected each day, and players are tasked with finding a handful of random objects. Being timed, the goal is to complete the daily challenge stage fastest. This mode incorporates a leaderboard, so I found it to be okay feature. It's probably one that everyday players who've memorized each map love. For the latter, Zen Mode is what it suggests, being free-play mode. Random objects are shown one-at-a-time for the player to find, and it's never-ending. Players can skip an item if they wish, and they can toggle through each map. This mode is also okay, but it didn't interest me due to the lack of goal.

To my surprise, I had a lot of fun playing Krispee Street, and it comes highly recommended as a hidden object game. I found the core gameplay pretty addictive, honestly.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on December 06, 2023, 08:28:02 am
I finished The Quarry last night.  Not nearly as good as the previous big release from Supermassive, Until Dawn.  Even though this one has far more big name actors, the performances are generally worse, although a lot of that may be due to the writing.  Justice Smith in particular is bad.  It's like he's sleepwalking through the whole thing.  Skyler Gisondo is great, though.  And Lin Shaye and Lance Henrikson are pretty solid, even though they don't have nearly enough to do. 

I think the main issues are that they doubled down on making some characters unlikable, as I found at least half of the main cast insufferable, and the fact that, unlike Until Dawn, which changes gears multiple times throughout the campaign, The Quarry is trying to tell one continuous story for 10 hours.  Also, Until Dawn starts with tension and conflict amongst all the characters from the prologue but The Quarry doesn't have that, so it takes a while (like almost half the game) before you start feeling any real tension or fear.  Once it does get going it is a pretty fun ride to the end, but it takes way too long to get there, and then the ending is incredibly abrupt for most characters' storylines.

You can get the same amount of solid gameplay experience from the studio's smaller "Dark Pictures Anthology" series, which are much shorter titles, and all the better for it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 06, 2023, 09:23:46 am
Quote from: Cartagia on December 06, 2023, 08:28:02 am
I finished The Quarry last night.  Not nearly as good as the previous big release from Supermassive, Until Dawn.  Even though this one has far more big name actors, the performances are generally worse, although a lot of that may be due to the writing.  Justice Smith in particular is bad.  It's like he's sleepwalking through the whole thing.  Skyler Gisondo is great, though.  And Lin Shaye and Lance Henrikson are pretty solid, even though they don't have nearly enough to do.

As for the game's writing, I think that it's a matter of loving it or hating it. I can certainly see the case for the latter, but I personally liked the authenticity of stupid, awkward teens brought out by the writing. I can't agree that Skyler Gisondo's performance is great, though—it's certainly fine, but he doesn't have any standout moments, really. As for me, Grace Zabriskie and Ted Raimi offer the best performances alongside Lin Shaye, but I wish that Shaye had been given more screen time. I also found it a little laughable at how much David Arquette was marketed despite the handful of lines he's given.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 09, 2023, 12:35:25 pm
While not a full game, I did finish the new DLC in Final Fantasy XVI.

More of the same. If not for my trophy OCD, I would have skipped this.

Hell, the "campaign" could have been included in the main game but SE is going to SE. Surprisingly, it didn't take me long to get back the muscle memory. But, getting back said muscle memory is emblematic of the game's biggest problem: repetition. Every boss fight takes too long to finish since every boss' HP is through the roof. At least Clive had the help of Jill and Joshua since they're so helpful in combat...oh wait.

There's not much else to say about this. The Buster Sword is a downgrade from the Ultima Weapon. The Bits appeared helpful but it's hard to gauge how effective they actually are since, again, bosses in this game have to be the biggest HP sponges I've ever seen.

That leaves the banger boss theme from the fight against Omega Weapon. Woo hoo.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 09, 2023, 09:02:09 pm
62. Mega Man Battle Network 3 - White Version

This will probably the last game I finish this year unless I decide to play something quick. I think I know why I had such a tough time getting through this one: I played the first two games too closely together. Battle Network was released in October of 2001. Battle Network 2 was released in June 2002. I didn't have to wait the eight or so months between releases. Also, Battle Network 3 didn't get released until June 2003. I kept hearing that BN3 was the best so my thought of blazing through the first two to get the third seemed like a good idea at the time. Oh well, lessons learned. BN3 is definitely the best I've played. The new options are great, but the overall gameplay loop is old hat all while the same three songs play on a loop. It gets tiring going here, then there, jacking in, jacking out, and getting caught up in random battles along the way. To add, you spend a lot more time in menus in this one. I'm sure I'll get the urge to continue with the series but I'm going to have to really wait before I jack into BN4.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 10, 2023, 06:46:18 pm
36. Whitewater Wipeout || Playdate || 12.02.23

(https://i.imgur.com/D1qalE6.gif)

To my surprise, I was recently gifted a Playdate (https://play.date). It's an interesting, little single-use gadget with an actual crank only meant for games to be played, unlike many other modern devices which have all sorts of other capabilities and functions. Included with the system itself, 24 digital games are included across twelve weeks which become available as virtual gifts waiting to be opened. One of the first two games is Whitewater Wipeout.

At its core, Whitewater Wipeout is a simple, arcade-style game with an emphasis on high scores and repeated playthroughs. As a surfer, the player's goal is to surf along a never-ending wave while performing spins. As momentum accumulates, the player is able to reach great heights which allows for them to not only be more daring, but to gain points. At first, only single rotations are possible, and barely at that. Soon, though, double-rotations become possible, which is the start to when combos may be achieved. However, it's possible to perform triple and probably even quadruple rotations, although the latter is based on assumption alone. When a combo begins, achieving the same spin count is necessary for the combo to be maintained, or else the combo will end.

Unlike what I said above about the wave being never-ending, that is not entirely true, because the whitewater will consume you. Always a short distance away, the whitewater is a constant threat of impending destruction, so players must evade it along the wall of the wave. What the game doesn't tell players it that you're not required to jump in the air with each upward motion to perform spins but instead can coast along the wall to regain distance from the whitewater. At first, it may seem impossible to outrun the crash, but finding the right up-and-down flow along the wall makes it so as surfing speed heightens.

In addition to the basic gameplay, smaller elements include soaring birds unable to be seen from the wave's base level. As one would expect, making contact with them adds a score bonus. Alternatively, sharks randomly appear throughout the lower portion of the water. Despite their supposed threat, they've not yet posed a problem for me during my time playing as they're uncommon, although I imagine they result in player failure. One other aspect is that, if moving too far down off the wave, you will crash. This, of course, is in addition to how players will most likely fail, which is crashing naturally if a spinning rotation isn't successful.

While not every Playdate game utilizes the crank, Whitewater Wipeout does. In fact, the crank is the only part of the system which is used for this game. That said, it's all about finding a good rhythm and reaching that understanding about how the crank operates. Since the crank is the Playdate's standout feature, Whitewater Wipeout is a good starter game offered to players. At first, though, it was very bad. For at least my first ten full times playing across 30 lives, I couldn't perform any kind of spin consistently. Then, the next day, I started recognizing the relationship between animations, crank positions, and cranking speed. Having the crank as part of the system controls is obviously unique, but I'm finding more fun in how it forces the player to adopt a new way to play, as opposed to the typical four-button, D-pad, and analog sticks format which most modern controllers utilize.

Overall, Whitewater Wipeout is a fun pick-me-up which offers engaging gameplay that's perfect for those with only a few moments to spare. An entire run can be less than a minute, whereas the oppose is that, I suppose, the game is technically endless. The high score leaderboards are daunting to see, and I can't imagine anyone being able to achieve those kinds of scores. Right now, the highest score I've achieved is 21,088 which is completely dwarfed to the all-time global high score of 2,094,948.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on December 10, 2023, 07:12:41 pm
35 - Death in the Water 2 (PC 2023) -  BEAT - While I'm not a big fan of straight up "horror" games, I'm not really looking for jump scares and all that, so what I tend to like is tension and atmosphere, and deep water stuff is usually pretty tense for me, it's why I enjoy SOMA or Subnautica.  This game is basically a "Wave" game, you get to a location, fight the creatures, complete the level.  I think overall it does a decent job, looks good, can be quite tense, it's all mostly real sharks and fish you fight, though there are Sirens as an added addition.  I kinda wish the game had more you do, objectives to accomplish, it could use some more weird stuff going on, maybe that's for a sequel if they make it.  It's a straightforward game, but I thought it was alright.  Ending ended abit weird, as you fight the final boss, and I had gotten it down to nearly dead, and then off screen I guess it died somehow as it kinda zooms away and comes back, and then there's just a text crawl that was like "There was a horrific shriek as it dies" and that wasn't in game lol An actual cinematic or something as a reward would've been nice.

But for a budget game, it's totally fine, the underwater aspect does a lot to exude dread, which was all I was really wanting out of it.  I'd recommend it if that sorta stuff creeps you out.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 11, 2023, 09:08:05 pm
4. LSD Simulator (PS1) - ABANDONED

I've known about this game for a long time, mostly as a collector's curiosity, but I finally decided to give it a try to see if it's very strange premise translated at all into an enjoyable experience. I can safely say, no, no it did not...


In fact, LSD Simulator might be the worst game I've ever played, which is saying a lot. For one, it's not a game at all. You are literally just wandering around various strange environments with terrible draw distance while the frame rate is constantly in the single digits. You can't do anything other than walk, run, and look up and down. That's literally it. You simply run into random objects or creatures and are then transported to somewhere else that is just as random, ugly, and unremarkable as the last place you were in. Nothing about the game will make you want to continue to see what will happen next after playing for 15 minutes. I played for nearly 3 times that and I honestly want that half an hour of my life back. Not to mention, the audio in this game feels like a form of water torture half the time. Literally nothing about this game is fun or entertaining, as a game should. Apparently that the game creator's intention, but being on a video game console, I at least expected a bit more out of this game. It just reminds me of some pretentious film or art project that people try and assign meaning to when there really is none. Whatever though. All I can say is I refuse to let this be the last game I play in 2023 lol. (12/11/23)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 11, 2023, 09:29:32 pm
Quote from: bikingjahuty on December 11, 2023, 09:08:05 pm
4. LSD Simulator (PS1) - ABANDONED

Literally nothing about this game is fun or entertaining, as a game should. Apparently that the game creator's intention, but being on a video game console, I at least expected a bit more out of this game.

LSD's outer packaging and even advertising campaigns boldly state "こんなのゲームじゃない" in full transparency, which translates to "this is not a game," so it's fair to say that you definitely went into it with the wrong expectations.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 12, 2023, 12:37:17 pm
55. Eco Fighters (PS2)

I actually just found out about this SHMUP a few weeks ago, but given it was created by Capcom in the 90s, it immediately had my interest. The game is pretty good looking visually, especially its cool modular bosses and colorful graphics. Audio is also pretty good and about what you'd expect from a Capcom Arcade game from this era. Unfortunately the gameplay wasn't as good as I was hoping. You're given a arm that you can swivel 360 degrees to destroy enemies in every direction. You can also swap out the shot type for the rotating arm too. However, in execution this works out way less ideal than in theory. For one, I found the arm rotated too fast to control effectively, or if i tried doing it slowly I'd get killed before it was aimed in the direction i wanted it to go. On top of that, half the weapons you can switch out were more of a hinderence than anything I found helpful at anytime during the game. In addition to this, there are so annoying balancing issues that are present throughout the game, that are made even worse by the aforementioned gameplay issues. Overall, I didn't completely dislike Eco Fighters, but it wasn't that great either. I'm glad I tried it out, but am certain I'll probably never play it again. (12/12/23) [29/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 12, 2023, 03:04:06 pm
56. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness (PS4)

One of my mains in Marvel vs Capcom 1 and 2 is Capcom's Jin, a character I had no idea where he was from, just that I really liked playing with him in the aforementioned fighting game. It wouldn't be until years after playing MvC that I learned he was included in a fairly obscure Capcom fighting game called Cyberbots. Being included on the Capcom fighting collection, I decided to give this game a try finally and see how it stacks up. Overall, it's a fairly entertaining game and has some really cool featured such as detailed destructible environments, cool mech designs, fun special moves, and a pretty good OST. Unfortunately the reason why this game isn't as well known most likely has to do with its gameplay which seems to lack really any polish for the most part, and is more or less a straight up button masher. While still fun to play it this way, it's easy to feel like you've seen everything there is to see pretty quickly in this game, making you wish you were playing another Capcom fighter instead. Cyberbots is no doubt fun and entertaining, but I struggle to call it some sort of hidden gem or anything like that. (12/12/23) [32/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 13, 2023, 10:12:47 am
37. Eggman Game || Browser || 12.03.23

(https://i.imgur.com/TIahGyg.jpg)

At random, someone I know sent me a link to play Eggman Game. So, I did.

In truth, there is little depth to Eggman Game, and I imagine many wouldn't even classify it as a game. Still, I'll explain what it is. At one side of the screen, an anthropomorphic cartoon egg stands, mouth agape. At the opposite side, a basket of eggs is set. At the top of the screen, the straightforward prompt "FEED EGGS" tasks players. So, naturally, players must feed the cartoon egg one inanimate egg at a time by dragging them. That one task alone makes up the entire gameplay.

Like many at this point would imagine without any additional context, the game is a joke. There is no reason behind why eggs are being fed to the titular Eggman, but we're doing it, nonetheless. Furthering some absurdist work even more so, a pop-up appears at random with accompanied speech stating "[random number] eggs," as if that's the player's score. However, that number is entirely arbitrary and devoid of all sense, as it fluctuates from highs to lows and no where close to the actual number of eggs which have been fed. The number appearing could relate to how many eggs are needing to be fed, but it changes too often for players to confirm that thought.

At one point early on once Eggman has been fed a few eggs, the basket becomes emptied. A different prompt then asks if the player would like the buy more. No matter what the player's written response is, eggs are gained.

I didn't anticipate for the game to reach a conclusion, but it does, unexpectedly. At some randomized point, "41 eggs" appears in the pop-up prompt, and the player is congratulated by Eggman dancing to the middle of the screen, pulling down his bottom half as if they're pants, and flashing the player. The game then resets.

Partway into my time playing, I realized that Eggman Game is part of a comedy sketch in Tim Robinson's comedy show I Think You Should Leave. I've seen the particular sketch featuring this non-game game but had completely forgotten about it, so playing Eggman Game was a fun reminder, with the quality of the game being objectively, yet intentionally, bad. Having since revisited the particular sketch, it's nice to see all the little details originally presented in the sketch preserved in this fan recreation.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on December 13, 2023, 10:52:48 am
Quote from: dhaabi on December 13, 2023, 10:12:47 am
37. Eggman Game || Browser || 12.03.23

(https://i.imgur.com/TIahGyg.jpg)

At random, someone I know sent me a link to play Eggman Game. So, I did.

In truth, there is little depth to Eggman Game, and I imagine many wouldn't even classify it as a game. Still, I'll explain what it is. As one side of the screen, an anthropomorphic cartoon egg stands, mouth agape. At the opposite side, a basket of eggs is set. At the top of the screen, the straightforward prompt "FEED EGGS" tasks players. So, naturally, players must feed the cartoon egg one inanimate egg at a time by dragging them. That one task alone makes up the entire gameplay.

Like many at this point would imagine without any additional context, the game is a joke. There is no reason behind why eggs are being fed to the titular Eggman, but we're doing it, nonetheless. Furthering some absurdist work even more so, a pop-up appears at random with accompanied speech stating "[random number] eggs," as if that's the player's score. However, that number is entirely arbitrary and devoid of all sense, as it fluctuates from highs to lows and no where close to the actual number of eggs which have been fed. The number appearing could relate to how many eggs are needing to be fed, but it changes too often for players to confirm that thought.

At one point early on once Eggman has been fed a few eggs, the basket becomes emptied. A different prompt then asks if the player would like the buy more. No matter what the player's written response is, eggs are gained.

I didn't expect the game to reach a conclusion, but it does, unexpectedly. At some randomized point, "41 eggs" appears in the pop-up prompt, and the player is congratulated by Eggman dancing to the middle of the screen, pulling down his bottom half as if they're pants, and flashing the player. The game then resets.

Partway into my time playing, I realized that Eggman Game is part of a comedy sketch in Tim Robinson's comedy show I Think You Should Leave. I've seen the particular sketch featuring this non-game game but had completely forgotten about it, so playing Eggman Game was a fun reminder, with the quality of the game being objectively, yet intentionally, bad.

That one egg was worth 40 eggs?
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 13, 2023, 11:33:20 am
Quote from: Cartagia on December 13, 2023, 10:52:48 am
Quote from: dhaabi on December 13, 2023, 10:12:47 am
37. Eggman Game || Browser || 12.03.23

That one egg was worth 40 eggs?

I didn't mention it specifically, but after the basket of eggs replenishes, you gain 80 eggs. The first egg that's fed to Eggman drops the total egg count to 40. You gotta love it.

Congrats big boy

For anyone wanting context, here you go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0OSfbPJFa4).
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 13, 2023, 09:35:36 pm
63. .hack//Outbreak

I was able to knock out one more big game before the year's end. The third entry/disc in .hack continues with all of the good, bad and ugly since the start. This time, the only new additions are a new server, new Grunties to race, and the ability for Grunties to hop from portal to portal in a field. Kite also learned a new Drain ability that ups the chance of rare items. And I guess there's Terajima Ryoko joining Kite's list of friends. Otherwise, same old stuff. And once again, I don't mind. I can put my brain on the shelf while I go through the motions when the story isn't developing. Speaking of, I feel like I have more questions than answer this time. I hope the final entry wraps it up all nicely, but that's another game for another time. I need to figure out what to play going into the new year!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 14, 2023, 11:51:00 am
38. The Most Searched Playground || Browser || 12.12.23

(https://i.imgur.com/P2NGFVn.jpg)

The other day, I saw that Google had another interactive game titled The Most Searched Playground available on their homepage. After realizing it was a simple hidden object game, I decided to spend a few minutes playing.

To be brief, The Most Searched Playground references some of 2023's top worldwide searches to be used as a hidden object game. Despite the game's short length and basic gameplay, I had hoped that there would have been a little more depth to it, but that isn't the case. In fact, The Most Searched Playground isn't even particularly fun to play but instead quite simple even for something as straightforward as a game of its genre. For the majority of objects, finding them doesn't offer any challenge, which is partly due to how the large map is divided into districts of sorts. So, to check off well over half of the items, all that's required is to skim through the list of objects to find and to casually glance at the map. For many of these objects, they are a focal point to the illustration, so there is seldom any requirement to carefully inspect through the map's finer details which would instead offer some degree of a challenge. Alongside many objects being focal points, there are more than several which can be found even fully zoomed out as they act as monumental landmarks. In total, I would estimate that only about 6 or 7 objects weren't in plain view.

On the list of objects to find, a brief description as to what the object is pops up but disappears quickly. Only after finding all five objects in its section does this information reappear, and when that happens, more information about each object is given along with a few hyperlinks to Google search results pages or YouTube links. Some specific object information is in the form of charts which show comparison data to similar queries, but one or two aren't complete. For instance, one object to find is this year's most searched for Pokémon, Pikachu, which includes a chart graphing data of the three runner-up electric rodent Pokémon search trends. While that is interesting to see, the chart completely ignores Pikachu's data, so there's no actual visual information to compare that data point, meaning its relationship to Pikachu is worthless.

Despite the game being short and simple, I noticed a constant problem with clicking an object—or any part of the map, really—and it automatically zooming in instead of being controller by the player. This is complemented by any hidden object successfully being found yielding a forced zoom-in, which always inconvenienced me as I'd have to zoom out and regain my visual understanding of the map. There is also a button to mute audio, but there is none.

Overall, The Most Searched Playground offers a sub-par experience for a game of its genre. Had the majority of items offered some degree of challenge to find, it'd be different, but obviously that element is going to define the success of this type of game.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 16, 2023, 11:58:29 am
39. Casual Birder || Playdate || 12.13.23

(https://i.imgur.com/3d6vI3Z.gif)

Continuing to play through the included games in Playdate's library as they're unlocked weekly, I was interested in playing through the adventure style game Casual Birder. I had seen some brief gameplay along with thoughts for it prior to my playthrough, so I was hoping for it to be as good as I thought it'd be.

As the game begins, you play as the unnamed protagonist who's new in town and is pretty much regarded as an all-around loser, made fun of by kids and adults both. In fact, there's a running joke how he's a kid lacking any real-world experience, when in fact he's 35 years old. Regardless, you as the player-character get talked into taking photos of the area's birds which is a serious hobby among the townspeople. In fact, the annual bird photography contest is upcoming, although it's revealed how, in recent years, it's become besmirched by a local gang of sorts who roam the streets. Perhaps it was actually our intention to document birds when we moved into town, as the details regarding our motive isn't really ever explained, or perhaps I'm just forgetting, which means—either way—it's not that important.

While the story itself is serviceable, the dialogue is a case of love it or hate it. Dialogue has the qualities of adult child speech, which the protagonist is a grown man who doesn't feel like an adult and it's brought out by his speech and field notes he writes for each bird documented. There are many instances where text is formatted in ways such as, "Ummmmm haha idk...," which is an actual line. To describe it in a less degrading way, dialogue is written as wholesome "adulting" speech, which isn't a stylistic choice I connected with.

Apart from the game's writing, the gameplay itself adopts a classic adventure formula in which the player needs to achieve minor accomplishments to unlock new areas and items to be used in specific ways at specific moments. Casual Birder is nothing out of the ordinary, but these types of games are fun for what little is offered. None of the roadblocks to reach the story's conclusion felt obtuse, although one did require more thinking than I anticipated—or perhaps it was just a moment of myself not reading into the finer details provided through NPC dialogue. As we're tasked to photograph birds, the D-pad is used to move the camera's point of exposure while the Playdate's crank adjusts the camera's focus. During a few instances, the camera would be selected to take a shot, but the subject wouldn't immediately appear at all, even as a blur. During those moments, the focus settings would need to be adjusted for the subject to appear normal. Of course, this wasn't a major issue as it was solved with a simple follow-up action, but it is worth noting.

In total, there are 27 birds to find. About half are easy to locate and photograph, with around ten at most requiring thought and more player involvement. For about five or so, unlocking their conditions to come out of hiding were genuinely difficult to solve, as certain tools or items must be used. The player never knows which bird is where or what some of the requirements are to unlock them, so finding every bird becomes a little bit of a guessing game, or, for those keen on trying out every possibility while inspecting the environment with a careful eye, a lot of investigative thinking. At around twenty birds photographed, I used a guide to find the remaining ones. Even though a guide was used, documenting all 27 was enjoyable. With that said, it's worth mentioning that not every bird needs to be photographed for the story to conclude. And, after the credits end, the save file can be loaded only one action away from initiating the end sequence, so it's easy to go back and explore the town environment.

To be brief, Casual Birder offers a bite-sized adventure experience of about two hours, which I feel is a genre greatly suited for the Playdate system. Its gameplay is fun enough, although I imagine there are many who won't connect with the story and writing elements.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 17, 2023, 06:57:17 pm
5. Yakuza (PS2) - ABANDONED

I decided i was finally going to jump into the Yakuza series after putting it off for a very long time. I debated doing this since I only have the first two Yakuza games on the PS2, and not their "vastly superior" remakes on the PS4. I decided to just give the older versions a shot despite what many online say about ignoring the PS2 games and just playing the Kiwami games instead. I played Yakuza on the PS2 for a little over and hour, and while there were some things I was liking about it, I was mostly struggling to stay engaged. I really want to like this series and get into it, and I figured the best chance of this happening is if I just play the better remakes instead of settling for the older PS2 versions. Once I acquire the first Kiwami game, I'll jump back into these games, but for now the PS2 version is going back on the shelf. (12/17/23)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on December 17, 2023, 08:15:28 pm
I played 2 on ps2 after kiwami, it is a good choice to wait. 
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 18, 2023, 08:36:14 am
Here's a list of games I dropped this year.

1. Avalon Code
2. The Caligula Effect: Overdose
3. Jeanne d'Arc
4. Shadow Madness
5. Octopath Traveler II
6. Hollow Knight
7. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - iOS version
8. Indivisible
9. Radiant Silvergun
10. Lunar Knights
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on December 19, 2023, 10:00:43 am
56. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1

I completed my first ever JRPG-type game. I didn't get to do everything there was to do in the first playthrough, there were some items and quests left before the ending. I had to use a walkthough at some point, primarily just the item location list portion because the *pedia in the game is not that great to use. It lists dungeons and what monsters are in them, and then the monsters and which items they drop, but no option to search by item. There are also no sorting options in any of the inventory or store screens, so it was just faster to have a the drop list up on another screen. I didn't use the walkthrough portion of it, but I did read what the requirements for the "Good" Ending were, and made sure the Shares were at 20% for each CPU and that others were at 0. Now there is a new game+ type thing, but basically you just load your save game from the last game and you start over... BUT you have to change all of your equipment and set up the skill assignments again.

I got over-levelled mid-way through the campaign because I stopped focusing on the story events and started trying to get the items for the recipes. So aside from bosses and the colosseum, I ended up at a point where the normal monsters would either miss or do 0 damage. I did some colosseum stuff and in there you can fight level 999 monsters, but you obviously can't do anything there. The game only goes to level 99 by default but with DLCs you can get to 999. I only have 2 of the DLCs so that also may be why I couldn't finish all of the quests.

The gameplay is fine, there were no bugs. Music was ok. All the characters being anthromorphised game consoles or game companies... or games were neat. Like Lastation is Playstation, Compa is Compile Heart, and there there was Tekken. Not sure who CyberConnect2 was supposed to represent. Lots of in-jokes and a few laughs were had. Played with Japanese dialog and English sub-titles.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 19, 2023, 10:58:00 am
40. Pick Pack Pup || Playdate || 12.18.23

(https://i.imgur.com/wCClEpD.gif)

As a match-three puzzle game, Pick Pack Pup is the first Playdate game which I wasn't sure if it'd offer a worthwhile experience. Still, I set out to play it.

In spite of its simple gameplay and straightforward genre, I was pleased to see that there is a lot of variety throughout Pick Pack Pup's stages. Sometimes, the goal is to pack a certain number of items in larger groups greater than three. Other times, the goal is to move product as fast as possible, such as shipping a high number of one type of item in a short span of time. There are also unusual objectives such as having shipped boxes comprised of three or more like-items align the entire playing field perimeter. Partway into the game, a trash compactor which destroys the bottom row of items is introduced that sets off automatically every twenty seconds. It's also worth mentioning how, for the game's chief gameplay, the crank isn't used at all but instead the D-pad.

Along the above mentioned, plenty of other smaller objective types task the player which are varied enough to require different types of strategy and play. At times, the player's approach to solving the puzzle requires methodical thought, whereas other times it's about quick reactions under short time constraints. Like many puzzle games, forming combos is paramount. Depending on the task, this is sometimes easier said than done, because groups of items do not automatically exit the playing field once combined. Instead, the field is cleared all at once upon the player's input. So, it is easy for the player to be barred from forming groups and to be left with isolated items, since grouped items cannot be moved.

Something of a surprise while playing is that there is actually a Story Mode comprised of thirty stages. It is in this mode where stages have the most variety because objectives widely differ from another depending on what the company you work for is wanting in that moment. It wasn't until after I had tried out all of the game's modes did I realize that Story Mode stages can be replayed, which I didn't think to be true. This availability isn't explained nor seems apparent, but all that's required is to use the D-pad while hovering over its menu selection. With that explained, there are four other modes available: Infinity Mode, Chill Mode, Danger Zone, and Time Attack. Unfortunately, none of these additional modes feel as substantial and interesting as Story Mode, at least for me. Instead of the player beating a set objective, these modes instead are all about personal records. If one were to hand off the Playdate to someone else, I could then see these other modes being fun to play since a competitive element would be introduced.

Having mentioned the Story Mode, they are simple yet offer a casual, lighthearted tone. The context regarding us as the player-character is that we work for a shipping fulfillment center similar to real-world Amazon. In fact, by the game's end, it's quite apparent the game is specifically referencing Amazon due to narrative events. At that time, there is also a jab at SpaceX, so no billionaire is safe from this game's ridicule and distaste for the ultra elite. Simply put, Pick Pack Pup is complete with an inoffensive anti-corporate tone as it highlights the faults with capitalism and consumer culture. Instead of animated cutscenes, narrative is told in the form of a comic book in which the crank scrolls through its panels. While the crank isn't used elsewhere, I was glad to see it incorporated somehow.

While Story Mode is serviceable while offering the most fun puzzles, I found Pick Pack Pup to not be as timeless as some other games within the puzzle genre, although it is much more in-depth than its match-three sub-genre contemporaries. I can't see myself really going back to play this, but I could be wrong. Like I mentioned above, the idea of competing with a second player by taking turns seems like it could be a little fun to pass some time.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telekill on December 20, 2023, 08:32:14 am
With so little time left in the year, I was lucky to have finished Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS5). I really enjoyed the replay, reminding me of the smaller details of the story in time for the sequel to release. The lion's share of my completions were definitely retro collections. I expect that trend to continue as I expand out in the Jurassic Park collection and the Tomb Raider Trilogy remaster collection next year. First off, the list of 27 completed games:

Completed: 27
Sonic Origins Plus (PS5)
 - Sonic 1 (Genesis)
 - Sonic 2 (Genesis)
 - Sonic CD (Sega CD)
 - Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Genesis) [Counting as 2 games]
 - Sonic 1 (Game Gear)
 - Sonic 2 (Game Gear)
 - Sonic Chaos (Game Gear)
 - Sonic Triple Trouble (Game Gear)
 - Sonic Spinball (Game Gear)
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (PS5)
TMNT Cowabunga Collection (PS4)
 - TMNT 2 (NES)
 - TMNT 3 (NES)
 - TMNT 4 (SNES)
 - TMNT HH (Genesis)
 - TMNT (Arcade)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS5) -- [Counting as 2]
 - Main Game
 - Hearts of Stone
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
Texas ChainSaw Massacre (PS5)
Tomb Raider 2013 DE (PS4)
Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
Jurassic Park (Game Gear)
Carrion (PS5)
Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Collection (PS5)
 - Jurassic Park (Genesis) - Completed both Grant & Raptor scenarios
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)


Next up is what I'm planning to play in 2024. It will be a much lighter year.

Planning to Play in 2024:
God of War Ragnarok (PS5)
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (PS5)
Tomb Raider Trilogy Remaster (PS5)
Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Collection (PS5)
 - Jurassic Park Rampage Edition (Genesis)
 - Jurassic Park (SNES)
 - Jurassic Park 2 Chaos Continues (SNES)
Resident Evil 5 (PS4)
ICO (PS2)
Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection (PS4)
 - Uncharted 2 (PS3)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on December 20, 2023, 09:55:02 am
Game 22 - Kardboard Kings (Switch) - 4 Hours

Karboard Kings is one of the more interesting games I've played this year. At it's core, you assume the role of a business owner attempting to ressurect your father's trading card game store, which is all centered around the hot new game called Warlock. The funny thing is, you never actually play Warlock yourself! This game is all about making a profit by adopting the buy, low, sell high core mantra of a business management sim... just with trading cards. I was quickly sucked in by a charming aesthetic with beautiful cards and appealing graphics set to a delightful soundtrack. In the first few hours, you feel like a wheeling dealing machine as you hunt for cards online and put them in your shop to rake in the cash. There is also a reputation system anchored by a supporting cast of fun interesting characters that will ask you to buy or sell specific cards for them, or ask you trivia about the game. Your reputation increases your customer base, but increasing rep means you can't rip people off and put profits first, which was a nice balance. The game has a binder that you can fill in with cards from each new set as it releases, which adds a fun collectable challenge too. You can also host drafts, clearance nights and tournaments which really make you feel like a card store owner.

What holds the game back somewhat are its length, features, challenge, and story. Trying to tame and master an ever-changing market sounds interesting at first, but the the training wheels never really come off over what is a brief 4-hour main campaign. You have access to a news feed that will tell you exactly which kinds of cards will be going up and down, and it will always be right. While you do have do to some long-term investing (for example, buying a card that is banned so you can sell it when it becomes unbanned), you will pretty much always know what to do for the following couple of days which removes a lot of the agency of the game. Also, I found that pretty much every card will go up in price eventually, so if a card dips before you could sell it, just hold on to it and it will eventually go up again or at least break even. This removes a lot of the risk-taking thrill of the game. You would think there would be some really interesting psychology mechanic with your customer base regarding purchasing decisions but they will buy/reject your cards at random and you have no feedback to build off of to make your shop better. On that point, it would have been really nice to be able to unlock some physical upgrades for your shop rather than cosmetic plants and rugs. Only 6 slots to sell cards with no room to expand was disappointing, for example. Lastly, the dialogue was trying way to hard to be funny and just came off as awkward, and the story was kind of bad; it was over so quickly I didn't believe that I finished the game.

The last thing I will add is that the game is better played on PC rather than the Switch. It wasn't really modified for a controller so there's a lot of dragging a cursor over to select options in the game when many of the buttons (that go unused) could have suited just fine.

In summary, Kardboard Kings is an innovative, charming and adorable lite business sim, that I really enjoyed, even though I feel like it could have been so much more.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 20, 2023, 02:45:30 pm
64. World of Horror

I've finished enough scenarios and seen the good ending a few times, so I think I can consider this complete. That said, I plan to replay it again next October (along with Ikai) because it's a solid, spooky, and creative title. The way it captures the essence of Junji Ito, H.P. Lovecraft, super-retro presentation, rogue-like, and classic turn-based RPG is splendid. The way the frights and creeps are described with the written word and detailed yet pixelated presentation makes the "horror" aspect miles above things like modern Silent Hills and Resident Evils. I just wish there was a tad more leniency with the randomness. It can feel like you're on a momentum-filled run and then BOOM, something causes it to spiral (IYKYK) downwards. Still, that same gameplay loop makes it perfect for quick romps. I have a lot more to discover, but like I said, that's for next year. For now, I plan to get a review going while everything is still fresh in my mind.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 20, 2023, 07:04:51 pm
41. Cube Escape: Seasons || Mobile || 12.19.23

(https://i.imgur.com/ZYXODUD.jpg)

Having known about the Cube Escape series for perhaps five years now, I've only ever seen extensive playthroughs online for most while not having played any myself. I knew they were accessible on the Google Play Store but contained ads which is why I've avoided playing them myself, but I decided to finally try the first entry Cube Escape: Seasons to see how inconvenient those ads actually were.

Adopting an escape-the-room style take on the puzzle genre, Cube Escape: Seasons requires players to interact with the environment, changing the one room available to them in subtle ways by collecting items and having them connect with others. Of course, as a puzzle game, the criteria to progress are not all that simple or straightforward. At times, you as the player may have an idea as to what to do to achieve the next major step, but the action to reach that goal is a tad cryptic, although not always. It's also worth pointing out that the game and its sparse narrative are divided into four sections spanning two decades, in which player action changes the outcome for sections taking place later in time.

With that understanding, the entire game across all four sections takes place in one singular room, although its form and some of the items within it change. It's an interesting design choice because many larger puzzle elements such as the fireplace and sink are present in all four sections but are not all used. So, some interactive set pieces seem to exist to have the player think in novel ways, or simply it is done to confuse the player. Nevertheless, despite the limited size of the room you're in, there are numerous items to interact with to help you make sense of this strange void which seems cut off from the outside world aside from one window that felt both taunting and threatening.

Admittedly, I did need to reference a walkthrough at two separate points of the game where I found myself stuck for prolonged periods. For the second instance, it was a moment of myself knowing what to do but not how to trigger the event. This is in spite of having watched full playthroughs many years ago, as I had only retained a loose understanding of the narrative which is already a little vague. I'll mention the topic of ads now, since it is important to address. For at least a year or two, I knew most of the free Cube Escape games were free with ads on this digital storefront. What was an incredibly fortunate surprise, however, is that each of these games can be played without ads, so long as the in-game hint system isn't used. Numerous walkthroughs exist elsewhere online, so finding any answers outside of the game itself is never difficult.

While I believe the puzzle design is consistently strong, there are two aspects I wish were changed. First, as I was playing with a mobile device, I found one puzzle involving clock hands to be quite tedious as the wrong hand would often be selected, which meant that I'd have to cycle through the entire clock again while hoping the correct hand would move. For problems like these with touch screens, the issue may be due to finger size, screen sensitivity, or simple mis-clicking, but none of those reasons were the case; instead, the clock hands' movement was just inconsistent. Second, I wish the few musical puzzle elements maintained their sound upon moving about the room. One puzzle requires playing music and then walking away (and it's at the very end), so I wasn't expecting that kind of step to be taken and was confused. Needless to say, this was the aforementioned puzzle where I didn't know how to trigger an event.

Apart from its gameplay, Cube Escape: Seasons's limited text and instruction commands a dark atmosphere with themes of mental illness and murder throughout. An opportunity for a second chance arises somehow, through the form of altering the timeline itself. I'm not quite sure where to mention this so will do so here, but I must mention how excited I was at the references to TV show Twin Peaks. At the very beginning at the menu screen, somber piano keys play over strings, taking the same tones with a simplified melody clearly written with "Laura's Theme" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woUt7wPe8Ow) in mind. Twin Peaks is referenced in countless other works across all sorts of mediums, and it's always a treat to see when previously unaware.

All things considered, I'm definitely looking forward to play through more games within the series. Puzzle games like these often test a player's imagination and creativity to reaching obtuse solutions which I'm not the best at and will reference a guide if enough time has past, but the experience is often rewarding, and Cube Escape: Seasons is no exception.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: Cartagia on December 22, 2023, 02:16:53 pm
I beat Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia this morning.  It's a remake of the second game in the franchise, Fire Emblem Gaiden.  I really like the dual campaigns, but I felt like maybe they weren't super well balanced, with one half feeling way easier than the other.  It was still a fun playthrough, with only a couple of difficulty spikes, and those were pretty easily mitigated through a tiny bit of grinding.  It's still got that tinge of over-melodramatic anime storytelling I don't love, but it is a good game overall.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 22, 2023, 06:45:45 pm
42. Yakuza 5 Remastered || PlayStation 4 || 12.19.23

(https://i.imgur.com/cLfFjoF.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/jcyC76f.jpg)

Slowly but surely, I'm continuing to play through the Yakuza series, having just finished the main story to Yakuza 5 Remastered. Quite honestly, I'm surprised I've now beaten four already in a two-year span.

Like its predecessor, Yakuza 5 is broken into multiple sections each with a different character serving as the playable protagonist. Overall, its narrative is successful and is perhaps the best it's been since the second entry. Of course, its drama complexities pervade every plot progression point, but I love how the series continues to incorporate characters who wouldn't be expected to be involved as part of the story. In fact, they're just just present but a part of the main cast, even. Just like previous entries, the narrative is melodramatic in its twists and turns, but it's obviously what series fans enjoy as it makes such a memorable impact.

To be brief and not so detailed, narrative events revolve around the Tojo Clan of Tokyo having major power struggles with the Omi Alliance of Osaka. As should be expected, plenty of secrets and hidden truths slowly become known only for them to be proven wrong, time and time again. While franchise protagonist Kiryu is again present, the game seems to focus on everyone but him. Actually, I felt that not a lot of time is devoted to the characters themselves on an individual level but instead to the connecting problem which brings them together. Of the five playable characters, it's interesting how only two are directly connected with the yakuza having been members or ex-members, whereas the remaining three all somehow manage to end up being a part of the conflict. One playable character doesn't even have combat, which I thought was actually a bold and fun decision. There is also a new playable character which is something I think the franchise struggles with to a degree, with this instance being one I feel is not nicely woven into the overarching narrative.

Something needing mentioned is that, as the fifth entry in a series that's known for its abundance of available content, Yakuza 5 arguably suffers from too much content. First, it should be known that much of the direct story path to the game actually involves combat or combat-comparative sequences. To accommodate for that, four of the five playable characters each have their own unique and expansive gameplay modes separate from general sub-quests. While some of this is optional, not all of it is. While I have no issue with the content itself, I feel as if it could have been integrated differently, more separate from the narrative path. Of course, I understand why this sort of content was introduced and fully welcome it, since this is the fifth entry in a series where gameplay is largely the same across all entries. That each of these characters are developed even more than what's provided along the main story is enjoyable to see, because they each have lives and interests outside of the yakuza. But, personally, I feel as if the core gameplay being at the center-front should be the main attraction without question, as I imagine that's why most players gravitate to the games. So, more or less, I feel as if these non-narrative elements need to exist as secondary ones, not primary.

As for the combat gameplay itself, it is largely the same with minor tweaks. However, unlike before, combat is not loaded with brief cutscenes preceding but instead in real-time. Some may say that it's a favorable change, but I feel opposite. Because of this change, a huge portion of the game's snarky, personable banter full of stupidity and humor is lost. There is some brief dialogue spoken from anyone hassling the player-character, but since it's not text, much of the pompous, hotheaded characteristics from NPCs is lost on those who can't comprehend Japanese since the spoken dialogue is untranslated. For me, a lot of the game's personality was lost from this single change, and it was made worse battle dialogue from enemies has a short pool of options, whereas the text box dialogue in previous entries were much more unique. Outside of street battles, boss encounters are noteworthy. Yakuza 5 is surely a product of its time, as short action sequences relying upon QTEs break up player action at regular intervals. They provide a fun look at the brawl from a cinematic point of view as sequences are thrilling, but they're not challenging gameplay elements.

While Yakuza 5 has both its strengths and weaknesses, the former certainly outweigh the latter. I've not yet finished my time playing through the game due to its available content that I'd like to experience, so it will be some time before I carry on with the franchise. Playing the main Yakuza games in order of release, I'm excited to play the prequel entry next.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 22, 2023, 08:33:16 pm
43. Cube Escape: The Lake || Mobile || 12.20.23

(https://i.imgur.com/hfULiZh.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/GPNYqZM.jpg)

Hoping to move through the Cube Escape series at a quick pace, only one day passed since beating Seasons before I continued onward with Cube Escape: The Lake.

Fully following the same format as its predecessor, The Lake takes place in a cabin at Rusty Lake which the player-character has only just discovered. Being mostly empty, the cabin contains several locked doors to cabinets and the lake. Fishing supplies are scattered which allows the player to cast a line out into the lake, reeling in whatever the waters offer us.

Essentially one-quarter in length than Seasons, progression is simplified since there are only so many possible interactions. Still, I found myself confused by one mirror puzzle. It seemed as if I was needing to recreate the given code comprised of unknown symbols but in a mirrored fashion, but that actually wasn't the required action to take. Looking back, perhaps I could have solved this step of the game on my own had I devoted more time to it and gave a thorough analysis of the puzzle at-hand, but perhaps not.

Apparently there are two endings, which I achieved the alternate one. Using some knowledge from the previous game, I entered a code which is hinted at to gain a variation to another item that's acquired. In short, they are interchangeable to the game's end puzzle and, depending on which item is selected, results in one of two endings. Being blunt, both endings are quite abrupt which took me for a surprise.

While the first game offers plenty of dark themes, nothing ever made me feel vulnerable. However, this game is opposite, as I actually got a sudden chill when trying to interact with a new element. That said, nothing about the game felt too horrific, at least in tone. Unlike Seasons, The Lake offers little to an explained narrative. Events seem to happen simply because they help build the overarching Cube Escape lore. Still, as I continue to play through the series, I'm hoping some sense can be gained from this game. There is no explanation as to who we are, what year the plot takes place in, or what the effects are from the game's canon ending, so hopefully some playable events unfold in later entries which answer those questions.

With two games completed and the sequel being a shorter experience with nothing new regarding gameplay added, I'm hoping that some new gameplay element, however minor, is added. A more captivating narrative would be welcomed, as well.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on December 23, 2023, 03:10:21 am
37 - The Finals (PC 2023) - ENDLESS - Put a few hours into this (Would've been more, but the servers are getting the crap beat out of them today, so it's barely working), but I think this is overall a pretty decent F2P shooter.  I was put off abit with the game when it was shown they were using AI stuff for the announcers, and it's pretty noticeable with how stiff and lifeless they sound most of the time, but I did want to give the game itself a fair shot, even if I will never like seeing AI used like that in games.

The positives is that it has some of the best destruction we've seen in a game in years, feeling like we are back in that earlier Frostbite era of Battlefield games where you could bring buildings down and spread a lot of havoc to people inside structures (Which makes sense, these are ex-DICE devs).  Gameplay is solid with some realistic weapons, so weapons have kick and such, and there's a lot of good mobility going on.  I'd probably commend the visuals, but I'm playing everything on low to run it well lol

Negatives are that there aren't a lot of game modes, there's only two normal ones, an objective defense mode, and then what is kinda like a kill tags mode, but you have to deposit what you've picked up.  Not sure I like the deposit mode, though it has an extra team in play.  Balance is all over the place I feel right now, I kinda question the heavies health pool, how fast melee weapons can melt people, and then like I picked up the auto-shotgun for the heavy, got into a fight with another heavy, put a full mag of shotgun blasts into them from point blank range, no more rounds, then used quick melee strikes (Which are way weaker than an equipped melee), and still didn't kill them.  Also feel like mobility could be a tad better despite what I said, like it's very fast paced despite the very slow TTK, but it's not as good as say Apex Legends.  That might also just be due to me having 150 hours in Apex and my brain every so often is like "Why am I not sliding when I land or why can't I climb up this high wall?" lol

I'll probably keep playing for a bit at least, this is the first time in awhile I've played a more small scale multiplayer game, I don't really play these sorta "arena" type fighters anymore as I prefer multiplayer games with more people and scope in them, though they could totally add more players in maybe a new mode eventually, because a lot of these maps are fairly big I feel. Also too large at times when you team respawn and you are across the map and it's gonna take like 30 seconds to a minute to even reach the cash box as it's being captured.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 23, 2023, 11:38:14 am
44. Cube Escape: Arles || Mobile || 12.22.23

(https://i.imgur.com/7vzGLmJ.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/e8LcXgy.jpg)

In my first review for series, I mentioned that I've watched full playthroughs of each game in the Cube Escape series. While playing through Cube Escape: Arles, however, I can't say I remember anything about it. I'm still playing each game without remembering anything about the puzzles themselves, but this may be the first instance where everything is actually new to me, meaning I may have not watched footage for it.

Playing as artist Vincent van Gogh in year 1881 at his home, I was interested in how this fictional story would play out in context to other games in the series. In the end, I don't really anticipate these specific events to have some deep connection to the others, though. Nevertheless, I'm beginning to understand what this unnamed shadowed presence is, given what is known about van Gogh's mental instability and finality, which is perhaps why this game was created and is formally a part of the series. On that note, I'm now realizing I've yet to mention this presence in any previous review. In each game so far, some dark entity gazes upon you as the player-character from afar through mirrors, entryways, and windows. Is it a force come to claim us in our depression? Is it some manifestation of our suicidal thoughts? Is it us? Perhaps it's all of the above. At this point, I can't be entirely sure, but it must be some culmination of those three possibilities.

As the third series entry, Arles finally begins to feel more complex, as puzzles aren't all just about interacting with an object using the right item selected. This time, symbols need to be decoded, and a puzzle involving the deduction of numerous items' weight actually required me to gather a pen and paper.

With one-third of the series now completed, my interest is still being held. If there is any real disappointment I have, it's in myself for not being able to overcome every puzzle on my own. I've relied on guides for only a handful of specific moments, which, in hindsight, two or three of them feel like challenges I could have solved eventually. Still, I did better this time playing Arles than in the two previous games.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 23, 2023, 05:33:35 pm
57. Resident Evil 4 (PS5)

Out of all the RE games I've played and beat over the years, Resident Evil 4 is the one I remember the least. I beat it back during the summer of 2005 on the Gamecube, and while I remember a handful of things about it, I actually don't remember much about it other than it was pretty fun. Still, I have always had mixed feelings about the 4th game in the series since I blame it for RE radically changing from survival horror to action horror with an emphasis on the action. Going into the remake, I figured I'd enjoy it once again, but be left with a preference for the older, survival horror style games, which also includes the remakes of 2 and 3. I am surprised to say that while yes, I do prefer the classic survival horror gameplay of the original 3 games plus 0 and Code Veronica, I actually liked RE4:Remake more than any other RE game I've ever played with the exception of REmake for the Gamecube.


RE4 Remake is a phenomenal game all around. It maybe has some of the best pacing of any RE game I've played. On top of that the gameplay is very addictive as it takes a third person, over the shoulder view which lends itself perfectly to how the game throws enemies at you, as well as the amazing boss fights. As I said, RE4 started the trend of making the series more about action than horror, but I still have to give RE4 credit for having several genuinely creepy sections of the game, most notable where you first encounter the regenerators. My only real gripes with the gameplay are how bullet spongy the enemies are, which makes sense for a few types, but particularly the infected humans are still human and a well placed headshot or 2 should be enough to take them out. Instead, I'm emptying 4, 5 and sometimes even more bullets into their head to take them out which just seems excessive for standard difficulty. While it's the antithesis of the survival horror part of the series I enjoy more, I also found the frequent ammo and item pickups to be a fun mechanic, as was collecting things like gems, shooting various things to complete challenges, or going after the games optional bosses to unlock various things. The game just has so much content that I really never felt bored for nearly the entire game. Storywise, RE4 is right up there with the best in the series, and while i do lament the lack of the T-Virus and everything that goes with it, the Los Plagus is just as interesting and cool in its own way. Visually, the game looks pretty damn good, and while not the best looking PS5 game I've played, it still doesn't skip a beat visually for the most part, and there is a ton of detail to be seen in nearly every place you find yourself in. The audio is also great, mostly due to the excellent voice acting and dialogue. The OST is pretty good, but I found it to be far less noteworthy than the aforementioned voice acting, or the sound design that can really oput you on edge. As I said before, RE4 Remake was a very, very welcome surprise and it honestly changed my perception on the it and the more action focused games that followed. Admittedly, I've never played RE5 or RE6, but at least now I can go into playing them knowing that I may not be getting the more resource focused, horror atmosphere of the older RE games, but for what they are, they can still be fun and enjoyable. Still, I am left with a feeling of deep satisfaction following my completion of RE4, and I'm actually a little sad it's over. (12/23/23) [43/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 23, 2023, 07:54:44 pm
45. Cube Escape: Harvey's Box || Mobile || 12.23.23

(https://i.imgur.com/kWao55J.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/72ujgpe.jpg)

For those who've played the Cube Escape games in order of release up until the point, the fourth entry's title Cube Escape: Harvey's Box may leave you pondering. Knowing that titular Harvey is a pigeon, I was curious to see what kind of atmosphere and mood would be established while playing.

Almost immediately, it was abundantly clear that this game's puzzles have much more variety and depth. There are two noteworthy examples, with the first being a music sheet puzzle requiring notes to be transcribed while being familiar with sheet music note placement, meaning anyone who doesn't have that knowledge must refer to resources explaining it. Next is a game of dominoes which has already been completed but is needing each individual piece to be put back in its place, as if to recreate the game already played.

Not wanting to divulge more about this game's other puzzles, I'll only mention the game's degree of difficulty regarding the two aforementioned ones. For the former sheet music puzzle, I had a lot of fun with it, and it required me to again rely on pen and paper. On the other hand, the dominoes puzzle was a little overbearing. While the game dominoes is simple to understand, this puzzle is more of a matter of testing patience than testing intellect. I spent around twenty minutes—perhaps even closer to thirty minutes—on this puzzle alone. With perhaps thirty spaces total needing filled, only one is revealed to guide the player. But, in spite of that inclusion, it is actually little help, as there are numerous possibilities which seem correct but aren't, with only one actual answer being correct. There isn't a good way to keep track of possibilities previously tried, so it's easy to repeat the same mistakes. For this specific puzzle, I actually did rely on the in-game hint system, because I was only wanting a few spaces revealed indicating where to place dominoes specifically, instead of finding an online guide where the entire answer would be shown.

Soon after, another puzzle stumped me. I understood what the pieces to the puzzle were, only I didn't understand where to apply that information. While not mentioning it before, The Lake featured a part of the environment needing clicked, only it was not noticeable to me at all. Another one of those instances occurs in Harvey's Box, and it's at the end of the game. In both games, the smallest indention in the wall is present which signifies an item in-hand being able to interact with it. If these spaces were even marginally larger, I feel as if I could have solved through both problems on my own. Along those lines, I'll also mention that one puzzle requires long-pressing the interactive item as opposed to simply clicking it. Throughout the first four games, this sort of mechanic hasn't been utilized before, so it was not immediately apparent as to what action was needed.

Having finished Harvey's Box, I'm left thinking that it's an odd but amusing game set in the Cube Escape universe. As we know that Harvey makes an appearance in Seasons, the Harvey's Box's given timeline of 1969 aligns to the events which take place in Seasons. I can imagine that there are some who don't see the importance Harvey's Box may have in the grand scheme of the series, but I think it gives a brief yet thought-provoking look at who Seasons's protagonist, whose exact identity is unknown to us, is.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 24, 2023, 07:31:00 pm
46. Cube Escape: Case 23 || Mobile || 12.24.23

(https://i.imgur.com/pXhky61.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/hDYqxxS.jpg)

Well, the more I continue playing though the Cube Escape series, the more sure I am that I actually haven't watched playthroughs for all nine games years ago. I realized this almost immediately upon starting Cube Escape: Case 23, which made me feel a little more excited as to what's to come.

As vague as the first four Cube Escape games are, that was certainly not the case for the Case 23. Broken into four chapters like Seasons, Case 23 is, comparatively, a narrative-dense experience. Before each chapter, there's actual narration, although it's brief. In one instance, there's even a short conversation. Involved in a murder investigation case, a detective named Dale serves as our playable protagonist. At the crime scene, he wonders what this mysterious place referred to as Rusty Lake actually is. Across each game so far, brochures for Rusty Lake are often present, pinned to bulletin boards. It's the same brochure each time too, simply reading "Mental Health & Fishing."

Spanning four chapters, Case 23 offers a plentiful amount of fun puzzles that I was able to clear almost all on my own. Generally, their level of difficulty is about on par with those from previous games. Although, perhaps puzzles were less obtuse, or maybe I'm growing accustomed to this type of puzzle-solving. Like the last two games, I needed pen and paper on-hand, which I'm greatly enjoying.

Trying not to divulge much about this aspect, I was not expecting the ending's sudden panic, literal escape-the-room puzzle which was actually stress-inducing. Despite the game's level of forgiveness at this part, it actually managed to noticeably quicken my heart rate. I don't know if a game's ever had that effect on me before, so that's commendable.

While I wouldn't necessarily say that the quality of the series has improved with Case 23, I'm even more excited about the games going forward, hoping that more of its lore is explored.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on December 26, 2023, 10:14:45 am
57. The Simpsons Road Rage
Since my Xbox 360 isn't working, I figured I'd try xemu. There must be some trick to making an ISO of an Xbox game, since it came out too small and/or xemu didn't think it was a game. So then I tried the PS2 release. Good to know my PS2 can still read DVD games, that it works in general (including the controller) and the memory card.

I'm fairly certian I may have played this before, but perhaps I'm thinking of Hit & Run. It seems like a Simpsons remake of Crazy Taxi. The drivable Springfield is cool. I did play it for some time, but the aspects of "beating" this game look to be more than I want to bother with. The novelty wore off quite fast. Having a timer on the Road Rage portion is OK but the missions are not something I care about to do. The manual says you beat the game when you get to $1m and considering I only got to $30k in an hour, I was looking at a tedious grind if I wanted to try beating it. I'm just not that into it.

58. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
I had made some inquiries to get an Xbox 360 and Japanese PS2 recently but I had been holding off just in case emulation would work. I found PCSX2 to be somewhat confusing when it came to the BIOS files. Because these disc-based emulators do not come with them, and the ROM packs on Archive have everything in them. I did manage to figure out which one to use to represent a Japanese PS2. Making the ISO worked fine as well. However the issue here ended up being two-fold. First the resolution that the emulator ran at seems incorrect as all of the text was blurry or had artifacts. Once the game actually loaded, there were a ton of texture glitches and I just knew that this wasn't going to be worth the effort to emulate. So I will go about and buy myself a Japanese PS2 instead and try this again in the future.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 26, 2023, 10:47:13 pm
58. Resident Evil 5 (PS4)

Riding my RE4 Remake high, I decided to take a leap forward into the RE series and see where the mainline story went post RE4. I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, in fact, replaying RE4, remake or the original, has been the textbook definition of a backlog game for me for over a decade, as were its various direct sequels. Well, I finally got around to the infamous RE5, the game that many fault as the point where the RE series really lost its way. Of course, I tried going into it with an open mind and hoping that most of its many criticisms were exaggerated by the internet, and the game was in fact highly enjoyable when played in the right frame of mind. Nope!


While I do feel like some of RE5's criticisms, particularly the "game breaking" Sheva AI has been greatly exaggerated, I actually think RE5's biggest crime is how 90% of the game doesn't feel like an RE game at all. Even when compared to the more action focused RE4, RE5 just feels like some generic 2000s third person action game that RE references were thrown into via cutscenes and journal entries found throughout the game. Beyond these things and a few of the bosses, I honestly didn't feel like I was playing an RE game in any way. There are no puzzles, 90% of the enemies are human enemies, most of which never do anything to indicate they have the Las Plages parasites in them, item management of any kind is almost non-existent, and doing things like punching boulders, shooting people on dirt bikes from the back of a truck, and the whole co-op gameplay mechanic completely took me out of the RE experience. Speaking of the co-op, it was pretty much a superfluous feature that did nothing to enhance the gameplay or make things more fun. In fact, all it did was make the game harder by having to babysit Sheva while she used up too much ammo and healing items, all while she offered nearly nothing to the game's story. The game's story is honestly the highlight of RE5, and while not the best in the series, it was at least decent and at least ties up some loose ends in the franchise while also providing some much needing context that bridged classic RE with the newer titles. Beyond that, the audio was fairly generic for the most part, and the voice acting was a mix of bad, decent and good. Finally, the visuals were pretty good for a game released in 2009 on the PS3/360, although there was a major lack of enemy variety and the atmosphere that nearly every other RE game I've played had was pretty much non-existent. Again, this was certainly not a horror game, and did little to feel any different than some forgettable generic action game from the time RE5 came out. Sadly I can't say RE5 is the worst RE game I've ever played, but it is certainly the worst mainline RE game I've ever played. Unfortunately I still have RE6 to play, but I'll save that for another time. I need to take a break from the RE series again for at least a few months until I'm ready to get back on the horse. RE4 Remake inspired me to play more RE titles, while RE5 makes me weary about playing any of the ones I've yet to try out. God help me. (12/26/23) [27/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on December 27, 2023, 09:34:32 am
Game 23 - Castlevania: Circle of The Moon (Switch) - 9 Hours

It felt really good to play a Metroidvania again, this time from the well-beloved Castlevania franchise. I haven't played one of these since Symphony of the Night maybe 10 years ago, and I've never played the entries on the Game Boy Advance. I found this collection to be a great way to play these games just like the other Konami collections. This version has some additional helpful tools you can turn on, for example, in this game you can tell which enemies will drop cards for you to collect.

I found the first Casltevania game on the GBA to be excellent, despite being released very early in the system's life span. Later GBA entries in the series would up the flashiness and visual spectacle, but Circle of the Moon still brings a lot to offer to the table with crisp, clean graphics, excellent controls, impressive monster design and gorgeous music. It's a simple game, but a damn effective one. The card system is the new spice added to this game which adds a new magic element to your gameplay and RPG decision making and I experimented with all the ones that I was able to pick up while playing. The addition of a run button was a nice bonus as well. While the story isn't anything amazing, and I wish enemies would drop items a bit more frequently, I really enjoyed my time with it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: tripredacus on December 27, 2023, 10:11:58 am
59. Evoland
The second Evoland was good and I did finish it but not 100%. This first one is really cool in the beginning, as you unlock different functions over time to reflect how an RPG evolved over time. It starts at 2D style like on a Game Boy and not at text based like on a computer. Overall it is fine up until a point where you unlock fireballs. Then there is a tedious movement puzzle. And the controls are not quite as responsive or smooth as I would like. It is evident even earlier that there is some sort of sliding that happens when you move. I'm not going to bother doing a platforming puzzle where you end up dying every 2 seconds. So I guess I didn't get out of the tutorial for this one.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 29, 2023, 01:05:37 am
59. Sonic Superstars (Switch)

After deciding a needed a break from Resident Evil, I decided to start playing one of my Christmas presents, Sonic Superstars. I've been a longtime Sonic fan, ever since the early 90s when I played the original at my cousin's house at the tender age of 4. While I have mixed feelings about many of the sOnic games released over the last 20-years, it's still a franchise I have a ton of love for and is a series that hits my nostalgia button in a way few other franchises can. I was really excited about Sonic Superstars when it was first announced since other than the 3D characters models and stages, it looked and felt like a classic Sonic game. Oh, for the record I'm not a huge fan of most of the 3D Sonic games (ie. Sonic Adventure, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog), but am really into most of the 2D and 2.5D titles.


I guess I'll start with my least favorite part of Sonic Superstars, the graphics. While they are fine for what they are, and at times can be fairly charming, the whole time I was playing Superstars I was wishing the game was done in gorgeous sprites in the same way Sonic Mania was. The characters, the enemies, the bosses, and the stages all seemed to suffer somewhat because of the 3D graphics, but for what they were, they still had a charm to them. Beyond the 3D graphics, I loved the cutscenes, both the illustrated ones and the ones that used the 3D character models. The audio in Superstars is excellent. The OST fits in perfectly with some of the best Sonic games I've played and there are several tracks that I found very catchy. Other than that, you have your basic Sonic sound effects, and thankfully there is no voice acting to be found in this game. Gameplay is mostly good, however my mileage varied depending on what stage I was playing through, or what boss I fighting. Superstars had some of my biggest highs for a Sonic game, but also some of my lowest lows in terms of my enjoyment. I loved several stages, while several I really didn't care for due to their flow and design. Likewise, a few of the bosses were among the most enjoyable to fight in the entire series, while others brought me within an inch of throwing my controller across the room given how chreap and poorly designed they were. Overall though, the game is pretty fun and I'd say is about average when it comes to gameplay in a classic style Sonic game. While I wouldn't necessarily rank Sonic Superstars in the upper echelons of my all time favorite Sonic games, it's still way more enjoyable than several I've played over the years, including a decent amount of the 2D titles. For what it's worth, I'd say anyone who's a fan of classic 2D Sonic should definitely play this game. Just don't expect it to be as good as Sonic's glory days on the Genesis, or even Sonic Mania which as far as I'm concerned is just as good, if not better than the games from the Genesis era. (12/28/23) [35/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kamikazekeeg on December 29, 2023, 04:39:49 am
38 - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (PC 2014) -  BEAT - This was one of those games that I picked up the original release on PC forever ago, put like 10 hours in, never hit the "end" lol RNG would wreck me every time before I got through a run.  Not this time though.  Just grabbed this version for the heck of it, this is a remake of the original, new art, all sorts of content, and while I did "beat it", this game is functionally endless and there's more content that unlocks upon finishing a run.  I'm not huge on the whole roguelite genre, I've played a number of them, but they are a decent enough time to screw around in.  My annoyance with this game is that it's hard to tell what everything actually is item wise and there's an absolute ton of items in this game.  A guide in the game would've been nice.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on December 29, 2023, 08:58:39 am
Game 24 - Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Switch) - 11 hours

In what is probably going to be the last game for 2023, here's a review of Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance. I found this game to be in some ways an improvement over Circle of the Moon but a letdown in other ways. Where this game excels is it's graphics and environments. They really pushed the GBA hardware in interesting ways and there are some fantastic monster designs and gorgeous creepy environments. The monster design is as great as ever, with a plethora of bosses to fight, though there are a few too many "giant" walking boss monsters that feel like filler after a while. The different spell books you can unlock add a lot of variety to your subweapon and they are all visually stunning. Overall, Harmony of Dissonance brings a visual spectacle while still being a fun game to play.

I think where this game falls short is it's controls and music. For all the flashy graphics and monster design, the music is kindof awful. It's like bad Game Boy music, and doesn't live up to the high standards of games previous. I found the game to be a lot floatier and less precise than Circle of the Moon, though I got used to them eventually. I didn't like that your subweapon and spellbooks can't be used simultaneously, you either have to pick one or the other, which was different than the DSS system in Circle of the Moon.

It's funny how many Konami games I've actually beaten this year between Castlevania and Contra. I'd say this year was a great gaming year for me and bring on 2024!
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 29, 2023, 10:58:36 am
65. Mega Man X4 - X, PlayStation Version/Vita

One more for the road, I suppose. For real, this time. I can't go a full year without playing my favorite Mega Man game, ever. There's nothing new to report. I have this game just about everywhere in my game library and decided to a quick run through with my blue brother X.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 29, 2023, 10:59:53 am
What a year. Not just in terms of life stuff, but in terms of games. 2024 has some major, major shoes to fill.  Bring on the next one!

EDIT: I tried copying and pasting my final lists but it won't let me. Oh well.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 29, 2023, 02:47:17 pm
Quote from: kashell on December 29, 2023, 10:58:36 am
65. Mega Man X4 - X, PlayStation Version/Vita

One more for the road, I suppose. For real, this time. I can't go a full year without playing my favorite Mega Man game, ever. There's nothing new to report. I have this game just about everywhere in my game library and decided to a quick run through with my blue brother X.


I go back and forth as to whether I like X4 more or the first game more. They're both incredible and the best of the X series imo.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 29, 2023, 05:53:45 pm
47. Cube Escape: The Mill || Mobile || 12.27.23

(https://i.imgur.com/YxD0EVF.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/h7Ex5jf.jpg)

Because of the narrative-dense experience that Cube Escape: Case 23 offers, I was greatly looking forward to Cube Escape: The Mill. After a few busy days, I was finally able to continue playing through the series.

With the above comment in mind, it's worth noting that the "narrative-dense" descriptor should be taken lightly. Much of the series remains cryptic through its dark, supernatural themes. So, any amount of detail provided is welcomed to help make sense of the obscurities presented thus far. Moving on, it's difficult to say that the overall narrative was developed, but players do witness certain actions which introduce more questions than answers. Some explanations are given yet are still unclear as to what exactly is going on involving memories, souls, and those who cross paths with Rusty Lake. At this point of the series, players have only been introduced to a few characters including Mr. Owl, detective Dale Vandermeer, and the murdered woman, alongside their involvement throughout the story is expanded upon in this entry to a degree.

In writing this review, I've realized something I've not yet mentioned that's important to each entry: the titular cube, or, rather, two cubes. Throughout each game, two otherworldly cubes of some unknown power appear. Often, they're used to progress through puzzles, being used as keys to advance through certain roadblocks. In most of the games, obtaining each cube and utilizing them as intended ends the playthrough in its abrupt fashion. The Mill is no different, but this entry gives players a much clearer understanding and explanation as to what the cubes actually are.

Generally, puzzles were easy to follow, although some points left me stumped. Puzzles tend to fall back to the simple adventure style gameplay with two items being needed to interact with another. So, there are few actual puzzles which are self-contained, including the above tooth puzzle.

Like the previous entry, The Mill presents a more in-depth look at the ambiguous events happening at Rusty Lake and those connected to it. Many details remain vague, so I'm hoping for more snippets of explanation as I'm now two-thirds complete with the Cube Escape series.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on December 29, 2023, 10:18:12 pm
I'm behind again on my notes... ugh.  I'm going to make an effort to finish up before 2024... maybe.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 29, 2023, 10:20:13 pm
60. Sonic CD (Switch)

Growing up, I wasn't even aware of Sonic CD's existence until years later when I began collecting video games. Funny enough, most of the online collecting/gaming circles I was a part of talked about Sonic CD like it was the best of the classic Sonic games, and was some unsung masterpiece that was let down by being released on a failed Sega add on console. I first played Sonic CD over 10-years ago with much enthusiasm, only to fond the game to not only be the weakest of the classic Sonic games (not including spinoff titles or handheld games), but fairly underwhelming overall. I decided to revisit Sonic CD to see if maybe my opinion of it either improved or decreased over the years. Unfortunately, it's about the same.


Sonic CD is not a bad game, it's just fairly underwhelming compared to Sonic, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 + Knuckles. My main issue with Sonic CD is the level design which with a few exceptions and certain sections of the game's stages, do not have a good flow to them and will pretty much just have you bouncing randomly around a stage. Speaking of the stages, I never found any of the stages in Sonic 3 to be that memorable, and even with the time travel gimmick that changes the appearance of the stage you're in and its music, none of them really jumped out at me as memorable unlike the other classic Sonic titles. The presentation overall in Sonic CD is a bit of a mixed bag, but overall I'd say it's a prety good looking Genesis game, but again, it falls short of the other Genesis Sonic games of this time. Finally, there's the game's OST, which is without a doubt the best part of Sonic CD. And despite saying this, I have to say once more, compared to the original 3 Sonic games, the OST just isn't as good, despite being great in its own right. I know a lot of people adore Sonic CD, and while I can acknowledge it's a pretty fun game in a lot of ways, I still find it the weakest of the mainline Genesis Sonic titles. (12/29/23) [31/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: kashell on December 30, 2023, 10:30:59 am
Quote from: bikingjahuty on December 29, 2023, 02:47:17 pm
Quote from: kashell on December 29, 2023, 10:58:36 am
65. Mega Man X4 - X, PlayStation Version/Vita

One more for the road, I suppose. For real, this time. I can't go a full year without playing my favorite Mega Man game, ever. There's nothing new to report. I have this game just about everywhere in my game library and decided to a quick run through with my blue brother X.


I go back and forth as to whether I like X4 more or the first game more. They're both incredible and the best of the X series imo.

Mega Man X is indeed very special. If not for X4, it would also be my favorite.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 30, 2023, 11:50:06 am
48. Lost Your Marbles || Playdate || 12.29.23

(https://i.imgur.com/aaUdXsl.gif)

Continuing onward with Playdate's included bundle of games, I was unsure what to think about Lost Your Marbles. Prior to playing, it was the first game available to me that I wasn't at least somewhat familiar with.

At its core, Lost Your Marbles is an open-ended text adventure game, although one that incorporates the Playdate's crank considerably throughout its actual gameplay. Through a series of event, protagonist Prota temporarily loses all of her "emotional and objective reasoning and knowledge which [she] already knows." The story's exposition is a little far-fetched but but comical and sufficient enough. In reaching the game's conclusion, however, this part of the narrative isn't really revisited, which came across as poor writing. I would have liked to see how the problem is solved, but it's dully explained.

Utilizing the crank, gameplay is minimal but works well to break up the story points. Throughout the narrative, Porta is required to make a decision but, because of her temporary lack of rationality, has difficulty in doing so. So, as the game's title suggests, players are presented with a marble being rolled about a playing field with structures and obstacles which is a metaphor for Porta losing her marbles, so to speak. Instead of controlling the marble itself, though, the crank controls the camera angle which affects the marble's momentum. Navigating through the obstacles and narrow passages, the player must break one of several targets which serve as possible responses to the decision in question. For instance, when asked which kind of paper Porta would like to choose, I saw options for plastic sandwich bag, parchment, and thick stock paper. No matter which option is selected which is demonstrated by a light bulb shattering, the narrative moves forward, doing its best to understand your, at times, nonsensical answers. That said, there are never any wrong answers, as the story will always move forward without any penalties.

To better explain end results, one of the game's first tasks is to create a poster for a lost dog. While my playthrough ultimately yielded less than efficient choices (in fact, none of them were rational if one was actually hoping to find a dog), the end result is still fine. With the above image in mind, my personal narrative moved forward with a "HELP" poster of an up-close dog printed on parchment paper which the game compares to a scroll which a spell would have been written on in ancient times. Does this convey the same message as a traditional lost dog poster? Will it help you find your lost dog? To a degree, yes, with other means to go about the action perhaps being much more likely to yield promising results, but everyone who interacts with Porta and her decision-making goes along with it, trusting her.

Throughout the entire game, Lost Your Marbles offers lighthearted humor. Admittedly, I did not think the game would be as fun as it is upon first starting, but I appreciate the open-ended dialogue depending on answers. Even if the player is wanting to select specific answers, it's difficult to do so due to the game's purposely challenging controls in maneuvering the marble. Additionally, the world-building adopts a care-free attitude aided by silly anthropomorphic characters like a cactus.

While I only played the game once, it offers a considerable amount of replayability as events can occur differently with varying dialogue. At first, I wasn't sure if the narrative path taken is actually determined by selected answers or if the path is predetermined with only minor dialogue being different. By the game's end, though, it certainly comes across as the former. Between story points, a town map appears which shows the player's movement from one point to another. In my playthrough, only about half of the map's landmarks were visited, meaning player choices do matter.

In the end, Lost Your Marbles provides an amusing, short experience, but one I don't find myself revisiting to read other dialogue options. This is especially so because it isn't guaranteed which options you select as they're determined by the controller marble falling on targets which are difficult to precisely strike. Perhaps some time long from now, though.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: realpoketendonl on December 30, 2023, 03:08:40 pm

Hadn't been updating in a while (my bad), so figured that at the tail end of 2023 I'd add the final 3 games I've beaten this year.

Splatoon 3
Splatoon 3's story mode offers some fun, but it's clearly mainly there to train you on how the game works before the big multiplayer stuff. And you know what, seen through that lens it does it well enough. It's not a big campaign that's worth praising or remembering, let alone a game seller on its own, but single player is not really Splatoon's point as a game either. And as a side mode, I liked it fine. Splatoon 3 in general is a game I enjoy when I play it, but I rarely find myself picking it up out of the many options I have. That's definitely a taste thing though. It's a really fun multiplayer game and totally worth a look if it looks interesting to you.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
I do have the Ultimate Edition, which has bonus side campaigns and extra content, but thus far I've only beaten the main game. And I gotta say: I loved it! It's a fantastic game with tight and fluent gameplay, really fun levels, and absolutely gorgeous visuals. Not too confusing or cryptic either: if you look around in the levels and talk to everyone, you'll get through it no problem. I only once briefly needed a guide for one step in a level, which for me says a lot. It's the first Shantae game I've ever beaten, but I can totally see why this series gets the love it does. Highly recommended!

Kao the Kangaroo (2022)
The 2022 revival of this classic series, but the first one in the series I've ever played. It was fun! It was admittedly pretty easy and pretty short, but I don't mind either of those things. The level design is really solid, with plenty of fun platforming, a handful of different mechanics to spice things up, and I quite liked the combat too. Punching stuff just feels good. Oh yeah, and Kao's just pretty cute. That also helps. I did have a few technical problems and bugs, but nothing game breaking or experience-ruining, and I always have problems with PC games so it might just be me. This game is nothing revolutionary by any means, but not every game needs to be. If you're looking for a light, simple 3D-platformer, this will do it.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: telly on December 30, 2023, 06:04:58 pm
Total Numbers
Total games played: 40
Total games finished: 24, or approx. 2 per month
New /replayed: 31/9
Games released in 2023: 4 (counting Casltevania, Contra, and Mega Man collections as one each)

Play Time
Longest game played: The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) - 46 Hours
Longest game beat: Also Zelda TP
Shortest game beat: Mom Hid My Game! (Switch) - 2 hours

Average to finish a game: 17 hours

Games Played per Platform
Switch: 24
PS4: 7
Wii U: 5
PS1: 2
PC: 1
SNES: 1

Genres
2D platformer: 10
RPG: 5
Action: 5
Party: 4
Strategy: 4
Action-Adventure: 3
Tactical RPG: 2
Puzzle: 2
Exercise: 1
Survival horror: 1
Simulation: 1

Developers
Nintendo: 13
Konami: 8
Indie: 8
Capcom: 3
Ubisoft: 3
Square Enix: 2
Sega: 1
Rare: 1
Naughty Dog: 1
Rare: 1
Santa Monica Studio: 1


Top 5 Best Games Finished in 2022
1. Subnautica (PS4)
2. Inscryption (PS4)
3. Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
4. Pikmin 4 (Switch)
5. Luigi's Manion 3 (Switch)

Top 5 Worst/Most Mid/Most Disappointing Games Finished in 2022
1. Mom Hid My Game! (Switch)
2. Mega Man Battle Network (Switch)
3. Kardboard Kings (Switch)
4. Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4)
5. The Messenger (Switch)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 30, 2023, 06:23:41 pm
49. Crankin's Time Travel Adventure || Playdate || 12.30.23

(https://i.imgur.com/4veGzb1.gif)

Before the Playdate released, I became aware that Keita Takahashi would be involved with a game exclusive to the system which was Crankin's Time Travel Adventure (CTTA). While there is no one game worth wanting to warrant purchasing the system altogether, it was the game I was most looking forward to playing.

In short, players control the titular crank-operated, nap-loving robot named Crankin. Each stage which acts as a new day, a letter addressed to you is opened which mentions the plans for your date with Crankette, meeting at 3:00pm. However, each day also begins oversleeping and waking up right at 3:00pm. Alarmed, panicked, and hurried, Crankin rushes as fast as he can. However, that's easier said than done, as the time looms above at the corner of the screen.

Making excellent use of the system's crank, CTTA operates entirely with it across all gameplay including the main menu. At first, I thought that cranking accelerated time, but that turned out to be wrong. Instead, time moves forward on its own, with cranking propelling the player forward and backwards depending on which direction the crank is rotated. This is crucial to understand because there are environmental obstacles between Crankin and Crankette. For example, two obstacles relating to another are butterflies and flowers. To avoid the former which will trigger a stage fail, players must stop at the flowers while bent down to smell them which allows butterflies to fly overhead.

Since there is no way to reverse time, and with Crankin always waking up at the exact moment they're to meet their date, the player will always fail despite clearing the stage. When finally reaching Crankette, sometimes mere minutes late but sometimes even hours, she will not be happy and isn't afraid to bring out her emotions. At times it's only a dismissive pout, but Crankette isn't afraid to kick Crankin to the ground, performing a triumphant suplex grab, or act in some other violent manner. Whatever her action, she's intent on using negative reinforcement to teach Crankin about honoring meeting times. Even when meeting together with Crankin out of breath, movement can be reversed, so some moments are fun to rewind again to laugh at Crankette's action and Crankin's suffering. There is a lot of small detail in these moments such as facial expressions and body animations, and it's executed strongly. Being the machine Crankin is, receiving the usual physical blows from Crankette sometimes mean his body even collapses. While you sometimes feel bad for him since you obviously know the trials he's gone through only to be rejected, it's always funny.

With each and every planned date, it's fun to see the ridiculous obstacles making the already-late Crankin even more so. As mentioned, Crankette is someone who values their time, so players will generally hurry through stages to the best of their ability. Early on, I was greatly surprised at the cranking speeds which some stages require, because they seem far more intense than one would imagine the Playdate to withstand, but issues with the crank or system never became an issue.

As for the gameplay, there is a lot of trial-and-error, but it's designed in a way that doesn't feel taxing. Instead, each run is a learning experience as players gain new information while learning environmental cues. Stages slowly become layers with multiple types of obstacles, requiring the player to strategically wait, reverse moment, and speedily accelerate all at the perfect moment. Each and every obstacles has its own timing to consider, and it's quite common for numerous types of obstacles to overlap or quickly follow another which tests rhythm and focus. As an action-puzzle game, CTTA offers strong stage design as a stage must be completed before moving onward. It's a game which forces players to overcome their obstacles both physically and mentally.

Regarding the game's other aspects, sound effects perfectly complement the time-shifting mechanics, with its distorted pitches across the entire spectrum of highs and lows. Its echoed melodies seemingly stretch out along what sometimes feels as some boundless void. What background music there is players like a wind-up music box, although it abruptly halts, transforming into some nightmarish dissonance.

Undoubtedly, I can say that CTTA has been the most unique puzzle game I've personally played, and it highly benefits from Takahashi's simple art style. When I finished playing, I realized that stages can be revisited at the stage start screen by cranking in reverse. When this is done, specific stages can be selected alongside best time scores being shown, so the game offers arcade-like replayability. In the end, CTTA demonstrates a lot of personality in its relatively short playtime
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 30, 2023, 09:45:37 pm
61. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES)

I never owned an NES growing up until years later in the late 90s when i bought one from a neighbor at a garage sale. However, I still played quite a bit of NES at friends, neighbors, and family's houses during the early and mid-90s. One of my favorite games to play when going to my cousin's house, or my next door neighbor's house growing up was TMNT 3. Funny enough, I barely played TMNT 2 during the 90s, since for whatever reason everyone I knew that had an NES owned the 3rd game and not the 2nd. On a side note, no one I knew owned Turtles in Time on the SNES, and it wouldn't be until the 2000s that i'd play that gem for the first time. But anyhow, TMNT is still a pretty enjoyable beat em up for the most part. It's gameplay is pretty simplistic with pretty much just a ground attack, jump attack, and a special you can do by holding attack and jump at the same time. One thing about TMNT 3's gameplay I seemed to have forgot was just how freakin hard this game gets just 3 levels in. I don't know how many times Bebop forced me to use a continue, and then after that it sure as hell didn't get any easier. A lot of the games difficulty is due to how cheap the enemies can be and how they default to swarming you, far more than I can recall most other beat em' ups doing from this time period. Visually, this is a pretty solid looking NES game, far from the best, but still good for what it is. The OST is TMNT 3's strongest asset imo. Most of the 90s TMNT games had really good OST's and 3 is no exception. Overall, this is definitely one of my least favorite TMNT beat em ups, but it's still a mostly enjoyable game that was a fun little trip down nostalgia lane for someone who never owned an NES during its heyday. (12/30/23) [30/50]
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 31, 2023, 10:51:53 am
50. Rusty Lake Hotel || PC || 12.30.23

(https://i.imgur.com/kTjAbRX.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/KvL8cnf.jpg)

Six games deep in the Cube Escape series, I technically needed to break from the main collection by playing Rusty Lake Hotel. With a developer post (https://steamcommunity.com/app/532110/discussions/0/217691032444112309/) in mind, some of the side games are recommended to play between the mainline ones, with the post recommending for all of the games to be played in order of release. It's also important to note that, moving forward, the remainder of the games will be played on PC through Steam since only the main games which are a part of the collection are free. I wasn't wanting to pay for mobile games, which is another reason. I can't remember the last time I used Steam, although it was perhaps in early 2016. I didn't even have it installed on my machine, but I digress.

Unlike the more escape-the-room approach to the puzzle genre, Rusty Lake Hotel is more of a free-roaming game all throughout the titular hotel. Since the genre has slightly shifted, the puzzle aspect instead relates to gathering items in a certain fashion to meet story point criteria. Relating to the game's open-ended structure, the narrative can be progressed in a number of ways, although one particular path is the best, as it will allow you to gain optional items alongside required ones which, if everything is collected, will open the possibility for the secret ending which apparently relates to a puzzle in the next Cube Escape game. In general, puzzles adopt the more basic design of having items interact with another to unlock new ones or to continue the puzzle, but some do have a self-contained nature. Ultimately, the goal is to collect ingredients for dinner meals across five nights. I was actually able to fully complete the game without any guide apart from one single puzzle requiring the transfer of liquids from one container to another with precise measurements—a logic puzzle, more-or-less.

As a confirmed prequel to the events of Cube Escape, Rusty Lake Hotel delves into the secrets of Rusty Lake and the hotel which stands at its center, the aptly named Rusty Lake Hotel. Featuring a cast of anthropomorphic characters (or are they people who've turned into animals, or more simply people represented as animals?), a group of five social elites have been summoned to the hotel for what comes across as a bougie gathering. I'm not quite sure exactly who we play as the protagonist, although it's someone related to the hotel staff. Nevertheless, there is a connection between the guests, the hotel, memories, and possibly mental health.

To my surprise, the game features voiced narration alongside dialogue. I did notice grammatical errors such as incorrect casing and written text which varies from vocal dialogue. Another issue requires some brief explaining: because you only spend time with each guest only once and they relate to certain ingredients needed to progress, it's important to reference your recipe notes to see what's already been collected. While the game can be completed without the optional materials, it's obviously best to obtain everything. However, once you're in the actual lodging corridor, you're unable to review your recipes and must backtrack down to the lobby to view that information, which is inconvenient. Load screens from lobby to kitchen and lobby to dining room felt unnecessary unnecessary, as they're just another room situated on the same level and should be no different from moving about one side of the room to another. Lastly, at one point, the game glitched and reported I had one certain ingredient instead of the one I actually held. Then, when the dish was prepared, the game progressed with that incorrect detail as ingredients were cooked.

Looking back at my entire express with the series, I believe Rusty Lake Hotel was the first entry I watched a playthrough for. It's one I was perhaps most familiar with, perhaps in part to its more character-focused narrative. While I wouldn't think to have preferred the mobile ports, I think that actually is the case. I'm not sure if the games were originally developed simultaneously for mobile and PC, but there may have been minor bug issues fixed in the Cube Escape Collection compilation since I haven't any any kind of performance issues with them. That said, Rusty Lake Hotel has some hiccups, but the puzzle and story elements maintain the same quality they've held thus far.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 31, 2023, 03:46:43 pm
51. Cube Escape: Birthday || PC || 12.31.23

(https://i.imgur.com/4MgSf4E.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/lPmc2gg.jpg)

After detouring slightly from the main series by playing Rusty Lake Hotel, I was curious to see how the series would resume upon playing Cube Escape: Birthday. I was especially curious because of the order which the developers encourage players to experience the collection of games.

With the knowledge gained from Rusty Lake Hotel, the understanding of what Rusty Lake actually is continues to become clearer but still vague. Ascending an elevator that's below the lake, detective Dale states, "I cannot feel my body anymore. I can see memories captured in little cubes." Soon after, he's told how "the past is never dead, it is not even past." With the game taking placing in 1972 in a frame narrative, its events are set in 1939 during Dale's ninth birthday as he experiences a traumatic, life-changing event. Even with these time stamp details briefly supplied, time is beginning to not feel linear, which makes things a little confusing but definitely still engaging.

Previously, I've mentioned the cubes which are paramount toward the narrative and puzzle completion, but I've not yet differentiated them. For a long time, it seemed as if there were only two: black and white. This far along, I'm beginning to understand what they represent and how they're obtained, although details are never outright explained. However, there apparently is a third type of cube introduced in Birthday, the blue cube, although I'm even less sure of the details surrounding it.

Generally, puzzle design is to be expected. There is some variety which is welcoming, although the game leaves the entire problem-solving experience to the player. So, for puzzles which require holding the mouse down which is not typical, they are not transparent enough for players—at the very least, me—to discern in the moment. One puzzle involves ordering symbols in numerical order 1-6, although it was not apparent to me because of an unrelated clue to another puzzle also involving numbers directly above it alongside color differentiation which was unclear. Toward the end, I had a few steps remaining to reach the climax. Across many sections of the game, puzzles can be solved in any order, so the most challenging ones for me were all that remained as I moved from screen to screen interacting with what seemed like everything without promising results. In hindsight, aspects of puzzles across every game will simply be overlooked, as the player will notice them but not recognize them as parts of the solution, and it's a fault I've experienced plenty throughout the series thus far.

This far along the series narrative, I'm quite invested in how indirect and ambiguous its strange storytelling is, with Birthday expanding on certain elements quite a bit. I know that there's plenty of discussion devoted to these games which I'm sure was compelling to be a part of during each game's time of release. While I'm eager to read these past discussions, I also know that there's much more to experience ahead, so I'd rather not be spoiled and experience what I can on my own until it's all over.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: dhaabi on December 31, 2023, 07:07:16 pm
52. Cube Escape: Theatre || PC || 12.31.23

(https://i.imgur.com/qDayA8S.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/FqEmJry.jpg)

With each Cube Escape game finished, I eagerly await the next. The penultimate game Cube Escape: Theatre has arrived, meaning what's to come and its ending sets up the scene for the final entry.

Ascending the lake once more through the elevator, Dale reflects on his memories and how they're changing. In this moment of thoughtfulness, Dale is taken back to only one year ago where he's attending a theater performance at a bar. Is he physically taken back, or is this all a mental experience? To be honest, I'm really not sure, as the world's undefined rules could easily warrant either. In this moment of time, we learn how Dale has connections to the murdered woman shown in Cube Escape: Case 23, whom we now know as Laura. It's also made apparent how, like others before her, Laura made plans to visit Rusty Lake for mental health treatment.

As the game moves forward, we're introduced to six plays about the past, present, and future. Truthfully, there is little added to the history of Rusty Lake and those with ties to it, but what is shown is appreciated. For a majority of performances, though, I struggled to understand their deeper meaning. Knowing what we know from Rusty Lake Hotel alongside a secret detail found from Cube Escape: Birthday, we know that performances representing the past these are strictly reenactments played by unknown actors. I suppose nothing is out of the question, though, but it's what I'm assuming given known information. By the end of all six performances, we learn how extracted memories creates a corrupted soul, "one of the six stages of the wheel." In most if not all games, dark figures which I've mentioned before stare at the player-character from a distance, sometimes attacking. Even now, I have questions: are they the evil within us, manifested into the physical realm? Are they us, having become evil? While the term "stage" makes it seem that it's temporary with other phases following, I'm not too sure. The term could instead mean an end outcome, one of six.

Apart from the narrative, puzzle design remains constant, although more puzzles requiring that the mouse be held down appear. With the few but sizable amount of these puzzles, I really should anticipate them when I've become stuck, but I still haven't yet. On the other hand, my preferred puzzle design which has puzzles be self-contained and not having items interact with another in the right way are also represented to a fair number. So, I would say that the puzzle variety is perhaps strongest throughout Theatre.

As I continue playing through the Cube Escape series, it's become apparent how this is not quite a story about the murdered woman. Really, I think the central focus is on Dale. Perhaps because it's the second-to-last Cube Escape entry, Theatre is the first game out of the eight so far to end on a "to be continued" screen. However, I'm not sure if that really means anything considering how interconnected each game is within, in addition to how every entry only adds to the entire plot, albeit in a non-uniform way. While only one mainline game in the Cube Escape series remains, many more exist outside of it to form the larger Rusty Lake universe. Up next is one of the prequel games.
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: bikingjahuty on December 31, 2023, 09:04:29 pm
Well that's a wrap for 2023! I was hoping to play another short hgame or two before the end of the day, but the wife and I have plans for the rest of the night that leave little room for gaming. Beyond reaching the 52 game goal again, it was a successful year from a quality perspective too. Sure, I played some stinkers this year, but overall, I feel like I played some outstanding games this year. Here is a breakdown of the best and worst games I played in 2023.


Best Games of 2023 Played
1. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (PS5)
2. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)
3. Resident Evil 4 (PS5)
4. The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS4) and Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS4) - TIE
5. Nights into Dreams (Saturn)


Worst Games of 2023 Played
1. LSD Simulator (PS1) - I didn't beat it, but I'd have gone insane if I'd played it another minute. One of the worst games I'bve ever played
2. Raycrisis (PS1)
3. Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (PS1)
4. Wayne Gtrezky 3D Hockey (N64) and Golden Axe III (Genesis) TIE
5. Raiden (PS1)
Title: Re: 52 Games Challenge 2023!!!
Post by: ignition365 on January 16, 2024, 10:38:32 am
So I'm posting this super late, but I'm finally getting around to finishing up writing stuff for last year and building my final stats.

Main List (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,12127.msg199078.html#msg199078)

It's the end of the year, so time to build that final stats post.

Top Games played released in 2023

Top Games played NOT released in 2023

Top Games played overall in 2023

Honorable Mention

Console breakdown
Platform   Count
PC      22
XS      17
X1      12
PS5      11
360      10
NS      9
PSX      7
ARC      5
GBA      5
NES      5
PS4      5
SNES   5
GEN      4
GB      3
N64      2
ZX      2
3DS      1
DOS      1
GBC      1
GG      1
PCE      1


Platform with the Most Beat Games: PC really had a commanding lead this year.  Between Steam Deck, setting up my curator account, and working on backlog stuff in a primarily Steam group, it had a heavy push this year.

Platform with the most unfinished titles: Again I didn't really keep track of abandoned games like last year, I really need to make an effort of keeping track of that somehow... but I think PC probably wins that, as I actually did real good finishing up console games that I started this year.

Current v. Retro v. Mobile/Handheld v. PC v Arcade: 54 - 37 - 11 - 22 - 5. (I am considering anything not PS4/X1/NS/PS5/XS to be "retro").  I considered making ZX and DOS under PC, but I kept it retro, so despite PC's big numbers, modern gaming still has a commanding lead, even retro smashes PC.  I added Arcade as a separate one this year, because I actually played a few arcade games this year and they definitely aren't all retro or modern.

Game that ate up the most time: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hands down, it had roughly 200 hours logged.  I was thinking about Saints Row because it had nearly 100, but then I remembered TotK came out this year.

Quickest game beat: Another 100 hidden game, 100 hidden birds 2.


Game per year list
2023 Goldeneye 007
2022 Pupperazzi
2021 Cats in Time
2020 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered
2019 Control
2018 Hexologic
2017 Need for Speed: Payback
2016 Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice
2015 Need for Speed
2014 Sakura Spirit
2013 The Typing of the Dead: Overkill
2012 Double Dragon Neon
2011 WWE All Stars
2010 WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2011
2009 WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
2008 Call of Duty: World at War
2007 WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008
2006 Call of Duty 3
2005 Banjo Pilot
2004 Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure
2003 Sonic Pinball Party
2002 Lilo & Stitch
2001 Konami Krazy Racers
2000 Batman Beyond (GBC)
1999 Twisted Metal 4
1998 Twisted Metal III
1997 Goldeneye 007
1996 Twisted Metal 2
1995 The Adventures of Batman & Robin
1994 The Adventures of Batman & Robin
1993 SegaSonic The Hedgehog
1992 Batman: Revenge of the Joker
1991 Batman: The Video Game
1990 Batman: The Video Game
1989 Batman: The Video Game
1988 Karnov
1987 Trojan
1986 Batman