Messages

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 06, 2026, 07:30:47 am »

20. Azure Striker Gunvolt

I did not like this game.

I first played this ten years ago, if my Steam client is to be believed. I never got far into it, but I remember it looking cool, so I gave it another shot. This is a run'n'gun style platformer. And for a large part of the game, it was fine. Good even. I was running through the levels, shocking enemies, killing bosses, and I was having fun with it in terms of gameplay. But towards the end that all fell apart.

The ending, in particular the final boss, comes with an insane difficulty spike. Unreasonably so if you ask me. Not helped by having to redo the first phase of the boss if you die in the second phase, which you will do at least once due to a cheap one-hit-KO move, and many more times after because it's so hard. I was stuck on it for well over an hour and got so frustrated with it that I decided to quit the game there. And quitting at the final boss is something I almost never do. The only reason I ended up beating it is that I gave it one more shot today, and somehow the overpowered-mode triggered, and that pushed me over the edge. Why it triggered this time and not any of my attempts last time, I have no clue, but whatever. It was not fun nor satisfying to beat, and honestly ruined my whole experience with the game. Let me emphasize: I do not mind a run'n'gun platformer being hard. I loved Cuphead, for example. But this just flat-out wasn't fun.

I also did not like the story at all. Part of that is that it touches on themes rather bluntly that hit too close to home for me, so that's personal. But I also did not like some of the tropes that it pulled. A major one of which came after beating the final boss. Womp womp, bad ending! I haaaaaate that trope. I played through your game, in the normal way like any normal person would, I busted my ass at your final boss, and what I get in the end is a kick in the balls with a purposely terrible ending? With no hint whatsoever that I was supposed to do anything different? Piss off. Regular ending and then an extra good ending after that is one thing, but this trope I just hate in games. It feels like you're punishing me for beating your game.

Also, there was one trope that really got to me personally and I just need to address it. Not too get too real, but I really dislike the "crazy insane villain with multiple personalities" trope. Plurality exists. Having multiple consciousnesses in one body is very much a real thing. I happen to be friends with some systems [the term used to collectively refer to all consciousnesses sharing a body]. And they are lovely, wonderful people that care about their communities and that I love to be around. They are not crazy or dangerous. And I feel like this cliché can be outright harmful. This is not an exclusive thing to this game, not at all, but still.

In general, a large part of Azure Striker Gunvolt was fine, but the final boss really kicked out all enjoyment for me. Still, I can see some people enjoying this game. If you like Mega Man-style run'n'gun platformers and you like a major challlenge, you may like this. I know it has a fanbase. But for me, this is definitely one of my least favourite games I've played this year thus far.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 06, 2026, 06:47:34 am »

28. Picross 3D | 2010 | Nintendo DS (Played on 3DS) | 6/29:

     It seems like with any good picross game, you always get your money's worth. For $10 on a used copy, I got pretty much 400 or so puzzles I can solve with this game. I haven't completed all of them, but I can firmly say I've been addicted to Picross 3D in my downtime over the past few weeks.

Omg nice! I love Picross 3D, definitely underappreciated if you ask me. Glad you enjoyed it! I have the 3DS sequel laying around, I should really get to it sometime.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 28, 2026, 07:25:20 pm »

19. Star Fox (2026)

The new Star Fox! I have now finished four runs of the campaign on normal difficulty, and beaten every level at least once. I'm going to consider that fair to say I beat it. I was really excited for this game. It's so exciting to see the Star Fox cast again! And beating it now, I'm loving it.

To address the elephant in the room: yes, this is Star Fox 64 again. And yes, something original would've been nice. I did play Lylat Wars as a kid, and I have finished Star Fox 64 3D before. However, if you don't count Star Fox Zero, then the last time I seriously played through this campaign must be well over ten years ago at this point. I was still a teenager. So even if a lot of the set pieces and plot beats are familiar, a lot of it still felt fresh to me.

And I had a total blast playing through it. The game is so fun. Flying around, shooting the enemies, working out the different paths, it's a total blast. I remember struggling a lot with some of the final battles as a kid, but now, it was still a challenge, but a really friggin' fun one. I especially found myself enjoying the all-range mode dogfight moments a ton! To the point I hopped in for a few matches online, which I'm usually not into at all.

It's all helped by gorgeous modern visuals and the cinematic soundtrack, not to mention the extra story cutscenes and new dialogue. A divisive part of this game was the new character designs. Personally though? I LOVE them. Love 'em love 'em love 'em. It's different, it's cool, argh I love them! Playing through this game honestly gave me a whole new love for these characters, both the main cast and the supporting cast.

This game is great. I can see myself continuing to play it for a while to complete more challenges. Yes, it's Star Fox 64 again. How much of a problem that is, is entirely subjective. But I will say: if you've never played Star Fox before and you're curious about it, this is a fantastic entry into the series. Highly recommend it.

(Also, I'm having way too much fun with the vtuber mode. I have no idea why but simply seeing myself as a Fox McCloud vtuber is so much fun to me.)

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 23, 2026, 04:47:08 pm »

18. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled

Okay, to be honest: I have not yet beaten all the time trials or unlocked the "true" ending yet. But I beat the final boss of the Adventure Mode once and got to the credits, and I'm going to consider that beating it. Also because I don't want to play this anymore.

Pff, this game is polarizing to me. In multiplayer, it's a blast. I played it with friends once, and we had a great time. Races can be pretty exhilarating at times when you string good drifting and jumping together through tight turns. Can highly recommend.

The single player adventure mode though, I'm not sure I liked. It does not mess around: it's tough. But not in a way that I always found fun or fair. I moreso found myself getting easily frustrated. I honestly found playing through it stressful, and not in an enjoyable way. The bosses especially are just plain cheap. Tip: just having your boss racers endlessly throw shit behind them on the course is not good boss design. It's cheap and annoying. Also doesn't help that, even though I've now literally beaten the final boss, there are still turns in some tracks that are so tight that I have no idea how I'm supposed to take them. I just hit the wall every single time.

Also, there's two broader things in the game that bug me. First of all, the microtransaction-centric progression is awful. It's really annoying and distracting. It really has no place in a game like this. The fact it needs to ping a server after every single race alone, god that's so stupid. And secondly, I have to address the offensive stereotyping here and there. In particular characters like Papu Papu. I know he debuted in the 90s, but to be honest I still just found it uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, that's two for two Crash games I've played thus far that I'm iffy about. I did not really like the original Crash Bandicoot (N. Sane Trilogy version), and I'm not sure how much I liked this game. In multiplayer I've definitely had fun with it, but single player? I don't think the exhilarating race moments outweighed the frustration for me. Don't think I'll really come back to this one alone.

At least this game introduced me to the character Pura. I had never heard of her before, but I played the whole campaign as her. She's adorable.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 19, 2026, 08:13:30 pm »

17. Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator



Oops, I forgot to count this one earlier. Probably because I didn't beat this one solo, and I wasn't the one who came with it. And also, it depends on what you consider beating again. A friend once set up this game at the gamer space I go to every week, and now we play it there all the time and have done multiple successful runs. This game is sick as hell!

Artemis is a local multiplayer game, played on multiple computers over LAN. As players, we control a spaceship, tasked with taking out all hostile ships on the map, without dying ourselves. The trick is that every player takes on a different role, controlling part of the ship. And you all do your unique tasks on your own computer. There's the captain who's overseeing everything and deciding the strategy (also the only one without their own computer), someone at the helm steering the ship, someone at weapons controlling those, and then additional roles depending on your amount of players like science, comms and engineering. You have to work together to make everything work. Like, the captain may order to engage an enemy fleet, requiring engineering to direct more power to the weapon systems as the weapons player targets the enemy ships while comms tries to get them to surrender.

It's a total blast to play. It really feels like you're in a control room of a spaceship, it completely sucks you in. Especially by the tactical overview and view of the ship being shown on a big screen in the room, which really ties the whole experience together. It admittedly can be pretty daunting looking at it from the outside, as it can seem rather technical and some roles especially can look complicated. But once you're in and you've got the basics of your role down (helpfully explained by an experienced friend), it becomes totally manageable.

The game has ten difficulty levels and seven roles on the ship. Thus far, the highest difficulty level we've beaten in runs I've been a part of is level 6. I've also played three roles thus far: comms, science and engineering (I like comms the best thus far, though engineering is fun too!). There's plans to attempt difficulty level 7 though, and I'm excited for it! And I'm also looking forward to trying the other roles (though I can already sense that comms is really my thing).

We've had so much fun executing tactics, struggling to complete difficult runs, laughing our asses off at stupid events. If you've got a fun friend group who's down for this sorta thing, I cannot recommend it enough.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 17, 2026, 09:12:58 pm »

16. Snap & Grab: Episode 1 - The Penthouse



Okay, so this one opened up a new question for me. How do you include a game in this challenge that's released episodically, and of which not all episodes are out yet? I just beat every heist challenge in episode 1, beating it. Do I then just not count this until all episodes are released, whenever that is? And assuming I'll even buy them? Eh, whatever. I got a fair few hours out of this. I decided to count episode 1 in here for now, and if future episodes are released and I end up playing them, I'll add them to a total tally of Snap & Grab and then not count those separately.

So yeah, Snap & Grab! This is an indie game releasing in 5 episodes, with episode 1 having launched just last month. I had my eye on this because it seemed right up my alley. Set in the bright campy neon 80s, you play as Nifty Nevada, one of the world's most famous photographers and, unbeknownst to everyone, a master thief. You walk around the location taking photos of everything that's interesting. Things to steal, any obstacles in your way like guards or alarms, and ways you could take care of those obstacles. You then use your photos to plan out an elaborate heist, that your crew will then execute.

It's a really unique idea, and it's a lot of fun to play. Walking around, taking photos, trying out a plan, seeing where it goes wrong, and figuring out another workaround, it's a fun gameplay loop. Especially when you start incorporating steps not part of the mission so you can steal something extra. Every heist has multiple solutions, so you have freedom to try and figure out a solution in your own way. I'm also a sucker for the game's vibe of 80s neon camp. It's silly and it knows it, and its main character Nifty Nevada is a total queen. I will say, the game could do with some more polish. Graphically, some parts look a little rough. Especially the cutscenes when the heists play out have graphical bugs and oddities nearly constantly. And right now, one of the heist mission solutions appears to be bugged (I did it and did not get the stars for it, and I see reports of other players with the same problem). I'm hopeful that will get fixed with an update soon.

But all in all, I had a good time with this! If it looks interesting to you, I say check it out. It's a little rough around the edges here and there, but the core gameplay loop is fun and unlike anything I've played before. This is a small indie team that I think deserves support for this project. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for the next episodes, looking forward to see what planning heists can become when even more crew members become involved.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 13, 2026, 06:40:38 pm »

15. Pocket Mini Golf



Well, I kinda beat this one by accident. I got this game for free on Switch years ago. This publisher has given away a bunch of their games for free. I downloaded it and then never glanced at it again. But today a friend wanted to play it. So we played the multiplayer, about 15 minutes later I had beaten 50 stages, and that's when I double-checked and realised: yes, that was all the stages. I think I can consider this game beaten.

Not that it really left an impression on me. I mean, just look at it. I think you can tell how horrifically bland, basic and barebones this is. It controls decently, but that's about all I can give it. All the stages are just as bland and basic as the one in the screenshot. The presentation is the absolute bare minimum, not helped by the horrifically generic royalty-free mobile game ad-style music. In the multiplayer mode, you don't even have an option to play with a par. It's just about beating the stages as fast as possible. Which might take a bit longer than you expect because when trying to start a game, we had issues with the game disconnecting our controllers.

Granted, there is also a campaign mode which I did not beat, which does have a par, but it's the exact same levels. Just with a gem to collect in each one, which is used to artificially lengthen the game, because you use them to pay for continuing once you lose a level. So you know what, I beat every course in the game in the multiplayer mode, I'm gonna count that as beating it. Is anyone really gonna hold that against me?

It probably goes without saying, but this is not worth your time. Not in the slightest. Even if you like mini golf (which admittedly, I don't, but still), I fail to see any real value here. I'm no expert but there have to be better mini golf games out there. I remember Golf With Your Friends being all right, I don't know. A game beaten is a game beaten, but trust me: this is a waste of your time.

(And they have the gall to put a button on the main menu to buy DLC for this. People, your game doesn't look finished.)

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 11, 2026, 08:13:55 pm »

14. Donkey Kong Country Returns

After beating Kaze and the Wild Masks, a game clearly based on Donkey Kong Country, I realised that I had actually never beaten a Donkey Kong Country game. Even though I've owned Donkey Kong Country Returns since I was a kid. So I decided to play through it, and I'll say: damn I underestimated this game. It is hard. But also really good!

This is a really good platformer. The levels feel fantastic to run through when you get the whole sequence right. I'll say the controls could feel a bit loose at times, not helped by the roll being activated with shaking the Wii Remote, but I largely adjusted to it pretty quickly. But yeah, towards the final worlds this game can get legitimately hard. A lot harder than I was expecting. I easily racked up enough extra lives to get through the game, and levels are definitely doable, but in the final worlds I was burning a LOT of lives constantly. I quickly grew sick of the death music.

Also, screw the Rocket Barrel stages. Oh how I wanted those to be fun, and sometimes they are, but other times they are the worst of life-burners.

But otherwise I must say that, in terms of level design, gameplay flow and challenge, this is without a doubt a fantastic platformer. I don't know why I've held off on this series. I think it's probably just that the Donkey Kong characters and world have never really appealed to me? I can acknowledge this game is great though. And I've heard that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is much better than this one. Maybe if I can find it for a decent price sometime, I'll pick that up.

For now though, I'm glad to have played this, including just for the fact I can say I've beaten a Donkey Kong Country game now.


No idea what I'll be picking up next. (I mean, I'm playing the newly released Snap & Grab right now, but that's releasing in episodes so I can't fully beat that yet). There's a bunch of games in my backlog I've felt like playing recently, we'll just see what I feel like next time I want to play something.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 03, 2026, 09:58:17 pm »

13. Kaze and the Wild Masks

And that's this one beaten. And I enjoyed it! This is a really good platformer! This game is often described as very close to Donkey Kong Country, and I think that makes sense. You have a simple but effective moveset, assisted by great precise controls, and you simply navigate the platforming challenges.

The level design is great, to a point that pretty much on your first run you can keep going and instinctively take on the challenges without stopping. Sure, you'll die a lot, but the respawning is so incredibly quick and the levels short enough that it really doesn't matter. I liked the large amount of variety. With different power-up forms and varied level mechanics, every level felt different.

The challenge was balanced quite well. Not once did I get frustrated, even if I had to retry segments multiple times. It's decently challenging, but I wouldn't call the game particularly hard. If you've played some really hard platformers before, I think you'll find Kaze to be on the easier side, at least if you're not going for 100% completion. But that of course doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

There's stuff you could criticise if you want to. The visuals, while definitely good and crystal clear from a gameplay perspective, I also wouldn't say are anything particularly standout. The plot is barely there, and yeah, as a whole the game doesn't really do a whole lot truly original. But not every game needs to. What Kaze and the Wild Masks does, it does very well. If you enjoy good platformers, especially DKC-style ones, I think you'll find enjoyment in this game.

Also, I think I should mention,

#X Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

I reached the credits, does that count? No, this is clearly an endless game that I can't count for this challenge. But I cannot not mention it, considering I've been absolutely in love with this game over the past few weeks. I've had time off work, and I've put SO many hours into Tomodachi Life it's not even funny. So yeah, can't count it, but at least it is another game played.


(Also also, I started The Legend of Zelda: Ocarine of Time 3D a week ago, but fairly quickly I put it back down again. I'm sorry, I know that OoT is considered a masterpiece, but I just wasn't really enjoying its gameplay. Not holding that against the game, just not for me I suppose. At least, not right now.)

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 20, 2026, 06:16:43 pm »

#12. Red Alarm



Well, I bought the giant red hunk of plastic that is the Virtual Boy shell for Nintendo Switch. It makes sense to then also beat a Virtual Boy game on it.

Firstly I'll briefly talk about the Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch 2/Nintendo Switch though (because when the hell else will I?). In case you haven't heard: Nintendo released an almost 1-to-1 recreation of the Virtual Boy, that you can put your Switch or Switch 2 in to play Virtual Boy games. Visually, it's a striking recreation of the original Virtual Boy. As a huge Nintendo fan, it's a perfect piece of decoration for on my shelf (not that I have any space on there, but still). I've only ever played a real Virtual Boy for a few minutes in a museum expo, so I can't speak for how it compares in terms of visuals, but playing Virtual Boy games on this thing with the Switch inside of it, the games are sharp and crystal clear, and the 3D is very effective. Is it still uncomfortable to play? Of course it is, though I've found that easily the best place to play this thing is at my standing desk. That way I can move the desk up so I can keep my back a little more straight when I'm playing it. Free tip if you have an adjustable desk.

I briefly tried out all the games on Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics when it launched, but Red Alarm caught my attention. So I started to properly play it, and stuck with it until I beat it. This game gets a lot of flack (like most things Virtual Boy) for supposedly being disorienting, but I'll be damned. I'm a Red Alarm defender now. This game is good and fun. Flying around, dodging projectiles and shooting up enemies feels good. I like that you can quickly make your ship strafe in four directions to avoid projectiles, along with halting your flight or reversing if you want. It's less about wildly shooting and more about when and how to approach enemies. I hear many people online say the game is disorienting because everything is just untextured wireframes. I can't speak for what it's like on original hardware, but in the Switch shell, I did not have that issue at all. The 3D did wonders to show me what was what. Apart from that, it's about recognising shapes and patterns in the design of the level. Only very rarely did I get lost. I did use save states, but just to restart the boss when I died without having to replay the level first (I mean, I got to the boss which proves I can beat the level, so I think that's fair). It's a short game, only six levels, but it has some pretty good challenge. I liked it!

I will defend Red Alarm. It's a good game. Now, should you go out of your way to play it? Well I wouldn't say that. But if you have the ability to try this game out in 3D, I say at least give it a shot. It's genuinely pretty good.


#?. Donkey Kong Jr.
Oh, also just beat Donkey Kong Jr. on NES, which I was shocked to find I hadn't beaten yet so I just did. Though, can you really consider Donkey Kong Jr. beatable? Or is it endless? I considered Donkey Kong endless in my backlog, so I suppose I'll do the same for Donkey Kong Jr. and not count it here.

We'll see where I go from here. I started The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and I was enjoying that, though I'm also playing a LOT of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream right now. A game that's great fun but that cannot be beaten. So we'll see when I'll have my next game properly beaten.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 14, 2026, 07:50:50 pm »

11. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Holy crap this game is fantastic! I'm completely blown away! This is the first Ratchet & Clank game I've ever played, so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. But I had a total blast.

This game's presentation is downright fantastic. I felt like I was playing through an animated feature film. Seriously impressive stuff. The gameplay is a blast too. Shooting up enemies with a wide variety of weapons, quickly switching between them to stack attacks and control the crowds, it feels really freaking good. I honestly don't really know what to add. I just really freaking enjoyed it. May play through it again at some point (even though I say that more often and I rarely do, but still). I can genuinely highly recommend it.

Only thing I'll say is: if you want to get the most out of this game visually, I do recommend playing on PS5 or a high-end gaming PC if you have one. I played it on Steam Deck with mid graphics settings, and it looked good and mostly ran perfectly fine, but when things got really hectic it did stutter or drop frames here and there. Not a huge deal, but noticeable. I chose Steam Deck because it's the most convenient and comfortable (and I don't have a PS5), but perhaps I should try replaying this via my high-end laptop on my tv and see how that looks. I'm curious what that's like now.

I feel like all gamers have those special comfort games they play when life isn't at its best or maybe they just need to be reminded of simpler times. In my case, I felt like I needed both. I found out last week I'm getting laid off from a job I've had for 8 years. I don't work from some mega corporations where layoffs are the norm and the company is certainly small enough to where everyone is fairly connected to everyone else, even the executive management team. So the fact that I was one of about 40 people that were told we're getting let go soon came as a complete shock. This unfortunate news derailed my playthrough of Chrono Trigger, a game from a genre I struggle to get into even when I'm not dealing with life changing events. When I finally did feel like doing something other than frantically navigating a terrible job market, I decided to play a game I've thoroughly enjoyed since I was a young kid, and one that reminds me of those simpler times better than most.

Oh that sucks hard. I'm sorry to hear that. I do hope you'll find something new soon. And until then, that playing some of your favourites and sharing experiences at least helps a little bit.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 13, 2026, 10:41:23 am »

10. Anarcute

The devs of this game were like: 'What if we take the grim reality of protestors rallying together and giving their own life to overthrow an oppressive regime, and make it cutesy?'

In Anarcute, you control growing hordes of anarchist chibi animals to fight cops, break out your friends and free areas from the evil regime. It's so stylised and light on story that I'm not exactly sure how it wants me to interpret its political message, but it's clearly not at the foreground.

Gameplay-wise it's fun enough. It's straightforward and relatively simple. Beating up the enemies and clearing levels does feel good. Its short levels make it perfect for quick bursts. I played a few levels on the train after work every day, and it's perfect for that. Towards the end I could get a little bit tired with some levels, but overall I enjoyed my time with it.

I wouldn't say this is a must-play, but it's worth a look on sale if it sounds interesting to you. Tip: the game is available on a bunch of platforms, but I got it on itch in 2020, in a massive charity bundle against racism. So if you bought that bundle, you have it already

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 17, 2026, 04:51:00 pm »

9. Just Dance 2024 Edition - Dance with the Swan Story mode

Compared to the story mode in Just Dance 2023 Edition, this is essentially same thing, different time. See here. This story mode just has a couple of songs that I don't like as much. (Thankfully, the other songs in 2024 Edition do include some bangers.)

2025 Edition doesn't have a story mode anymore, so I'll just be counting those as endless games that I see as ineligible for this challenge. Reportedly the developers stopped doing it because they felt it wasn't working that well. Which I agree with, but with 2024 Edition, that leaves the story on a bad note with the villain winning, which I find hilarious.

That's it really. I'm working on games with more legitimate campaigns, I swear, those just take a little longer.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 14, 2026, 04:48:26 pm »

8. Just Dance 2023 Edition - Enter the Danceverses Story mode

Yes, you read that right. Story mode. Just Dance 2023 Edition, for some reason, has a story mode. I play a lot of Just Dance, and I mostly consider it an endless game and thus ineligible for this challenge under how I'm counting it. But this is an official story mode, and if that's the case, I'm gonna treat it as such.

There isn't that much to it. It's a set of seven songs with routines that, when played in order, tell a simple story. You're a player joining the dancer Wanderlust to recruit other dancers and defeat the evil Night Swan. Specifically, the seven songs covering this story are:

• Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
• Witch by Apashe feat. Alina Pash
• Physical by Dua Lipa
• Rather Be by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne
• Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
• Majesty by Apashe
• If You Wanna Party - a Just Dance original song

I like these songs, and the routines and visuals are well done and fun to dance to. And Night Swan, admittedly, is serving. But does this story mode add much to Just Dance as a whole? Not really.

I do really love Just Dance as a whole. I've been playing it actively for months now. It's really fun! I love many of the songs in it, with the subscription service Just Dance+ you have hundreds to choose from, most of them with fantastic visuals supporting dance routines performed by real talented dancers. The routines are varied and great fun. It's not easy either: many songs take quite a bit of practice and skill to master, and it feels great to hit that Megastar rank. Many songs will really make you work up a sweat too. As someone who struggles with exercising regularly and who does not feel comfortable at the gym, this has been a great way for me to get more moving and exercise in.

However, the story mode, while harmless, is also superfluous. I'm mostly just wondering whose brilliant idea it was to say: "You know what Just Dance needs? A story mode!" Just Dance 2024 Edition had one too, and it's mostly just a tad distracting when you select a song in the regular game mode that you don't realise is part of the story mode and you're suddenly thrown into the middle of a plot. I had that with Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson, which is a part of 2024 Edition's story mode.

I still love Just Dance tho. I feel like many gamers tend to look down on it, but it's a series that has a lot of love put into it, and that's great fun alone and an absolute blast in a group. I doubt I'll specifically come back to the story mode often, but I'll definitely be playing a lot more Just Dance in the future.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 11, 2026, 06:34:23 pm »

7. Rayman Origins [GOG / Steam Deck]

Game number 7 down: Rayman Origins. Bought it for a few bucks on GOG and played it on Steam Deck. The first Rayman game I've ever beaten. And I liked it!

I gotta admit, it took a while for me to get into it. In the first bit of the game, I found it a tad dull. The platforming takes a bit to get interesting. But as the difficulty increases and you get more abilities, it becomes pretty fun! Smoothly running through a difficult segment perfectly is pretty satisfying. Especially near the end it can take a couple of tries, but it has an extremely forgiving checkpoint system and unlimited lives which is hugely appreciated. It's all tied together by worldbuilding that clearly isn't even trying to be realistic or cohesive, as long as it's creative, and I appreciate that.

There was one thing I gotta say I didn't like, and that's the sound design. It's annoying as hell. The soundtrack and sound effects are nothing but kazoos, jaw harps, and high-pitched voices going DOOOBEEEDABEEE DOBADABWAAAAA DOOOBAAADABWAAA. I did not enjoy it. Eventually I got to the point that I could tolerate it, but it was always present and always annoying.

But apart from that, I enjoyed this game a lot! I played a few levels on the train every day, and it's perfect for that. I got it on GOG for like 2 bucks on sale, and at that price? It's a steal! If you like 2D platformers, I think you'll really enjoy this game. (Just check your tolerance for Minions, Chipmunks and toddlers going BABABABABABABABABABABABA first.)