Main ListPrevious Listbold 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.
24.
Little Kitty, Big City (XS)
I had been very interested in this game, intending on getting it on Steam, but then I found out that it was going to be a day one on XGP game, so day one I downloaded it and played it. Short experience, quick 1,000 gamerscore, but well worth the time. Chill experience, decent dialogue, but the game does take a bit of learning of how the game expects you to do certain things, but that only really comes in towards the end or when working on straggler achievements. Very few technical issues with the game, map definitely could use some work, and some issues with traversal, but all very minor issues... and this was all at launch, I can only imagine the game will get even better.
Rating: Solid recommendation
25.
A Castle Full of Cats (PC)
I've been using Playtracker's backlog to roll me some puzzle games, so there will be a lot of puzzle PC games showing up on here I expect. This is one in a series of cat based hidden object games developed by a small indie team with a passion for cats. I have no clue if there is any form of order to be played or if the games relate to each other, but you've got a castle and each room has so many cats and undead/ghost cats to find, along with other things to look for/interact with to unlock other rooms to continue the game. Overall a real good hidden object experience, a step above the basic hidden object games even with its basic design.
Rating: Soft recommendation
26.
Wordle 3 (PC)
3rd entry in the Wordle series of games. More of the exact same gameplay, no new introductions or mechanics, just different words. I suspect the entire series is this way, not really worth your time.
Rating: Hard pass
27.
A Building Full of Cats (PC)
Oh look, another cat game. I have to imagine, given the smaller scope of this game that this is the first in the series of these cat games. Overall pretty good, but very basic and doesn't employ much, if any, of the exploration/unlocking of the Castle game. Still a decent game, but not as good as the Castle game. I'll give it a soft pass though, because it's short and isn't nearly as good as the other game.
Rating: Soft pass
28.
FIND ALL 2: Middle Ages (PC)
I actually really like the concept of the mechanics of this hidden object game. You start out with 3 types of objects you are looking for, as you find all of an object, the game gives you a new object. (i.e. find birds, find keys, find letters, etc). So rather than multiple levels, you've got your one level that you spend a lot of time in, really taking in the environment. The game takes it a step further by sort of interlocking all of the levels together, so as you finish the first level, a gate opens and you can slide the screen over to a new area that is essentially the next level. Additionally, as you find all of the objects in a specific area, the game lets you know there are no more hidden objects in that area by coloring in that area, so at the end the entire level if fully colored. All of the mechanics in this game work really well together and make for a great hidden object experience.
Rating: Soft recommendation
29.
Another Crab's Treasure (XS)
And.... fuck me, I'm like 20 games behind again... and it sucks because this was a good one and I would've had a lot to write, but I don't remember a ton about the game. Fantastic souls-like game, great dialogue if not frustrating, gameplay is good when it's not buggy (crashed multiple times for me, and had lots of situations where I had to leverage the in-game "cheats" accessibility options to rectify a bug, and some of the gameplay wasn't the most intuitive so I had a harder time until I figured it out. Also wildly disappointing that the "Dark Souls" mode they April Fools'd about wasn't real. All in all, a real good game that hopefully gets better as they do updates.
Rating: Solid recommendation
30.
Sonic Superstars (XS)
Continuing my bullshit Sonic franchise run, I played this one. A pretty by the numbers Sonic 2D game, iirc has the QoL infinite lives, so don't have to get frustrated trying to get through the more convoluted levels or boss fights. I feel like my experience with this one was pretty good despite itself, but it's still a Sonic game
Rating: Soft recommendation
31.
Zodiacats (PC)
Back on my Playtracker backlog dungeon BS. This is a simple jigsaw puzzle type of game, like those slider puzzles, except you don't slide, you just swap, which makes it infinitely easier. Enjoyable game, short, easy to just chill and play.
Rating: Soft recommendation
32.
Please Don't Touch Anything 3D (PC)
I think more Playtracker backlog dungeon BS. I played the original back in the day, but didn't do all of the stuff based on my achievement count, so this was enjoyable based on just giving it another go and following a guide. That said the game has one or two achievements that are just awful because they require you to make 0 mistakes through your entire playthrough, and I'm not about that. Matter of fact, I need to double check that I have the game marked as a game to essentially never come back to. Added some new stuff that wasn't in the originally based on it being 3D, some of which was frustrating, but all in all a good time, if not really worth anyone's time though.
Rating: Soft pass
33.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (XS)
First off, I hate that this game isn't Hellblade II: Senua's Saga, real dumb to keep the same alliteration, but change the order. Anyway, fantastic game, great like the original though the original is definitely a better game for so many reasons. I do truly hate how far out I write these things these days, though this one specifically I was so excited to play I binged it in a few evenings with the intent of getting through it with minimal interruptions, but it would've been nice to write up my thoughts after I was done instead of months later. Unfortunately, like the original, the game has no replay value, so while the game is great to playthrough, it doesn't have staying power, and it being on Game Pass will probably ultimately hurt Ninja Theory despite it being a great game.
Rating: Solid recommendation
34.
Botany Manor (XS)
I honestly don't know why I decided to play this game other than the fact that I wanted to play something during the day and needed something that I could play in front of my impressionable child... which pretty much leaves me with puzzle games and some racing games. Game gave me lots of Escape Academy vibes gameplay wise, not plot wise necessarily... so very escape room-esque puzzles. A fantastic experience and definitely worth the time for a chill escape game-ish type of game. No timers or threats, just puzzling goodness.
Rating: Solid recommendation
35.
Sudocats (PC)
Another playtracker backlog dungeon game. I love sudoku and cat games are neat... that said, this game doesn't meld with me, I can do numbers, maybe even letters, but images for sudoku just don't work for me, especially when some of the images look similar color-wise/shape-wise/etc. I powered through this game, but it wasn't really enjoyable, the concept just doesn't work well.
Rating: Hard pass
36.
Crime O'Clock (PC)
This one has interested me for so long, because it's a story based hidden object game that has detective elements. The game is actually quite good, but it's almost too slow of a game and has too much leading with the detective elements... and then the later levels get real convoluted and I wound up using a guide for some bits because even the hint system wasn't very helpful for the difficult to distinguish elements. Definitely leveraged a guide for the side-content. The game has tons of gaming pop culture references which varies from neat to wildly annoying. Story is hit or miss at times and doesn't exactly pay off in any grand way as the story is relatively by the numbers so you figure out what's going on pretty quickly. I think if the game just didn't waste as much of your time just getting through the game, it would be enough to give it a slight recommendation, but it's just too weighed down to be truly enjoyable.
Rating: Soft pass
37.
Kingdom: Classic (PC)
This one is the start of my delve into tons of backlog groups. Played this one at the behest of a group member based on it being one of their favorite games. I've overlooked this game a lot over the years but gave it a good try... and honestly it's quite the good game, it just takes quite a bit to learn the little systems of the game and to figure out what's the best plan to get through. Not sure I'll go back to get quicker runs or anything, but I enjoyed my time with the game. My first few runs weren't enjoyable and unfortunately I did have to look up guides to figure out how the game works, but once I understand and had a test run to figure things out I was able to get through in a single run once I understood things. Fun game, but definitely have to knock it points for that complexity.
Rating: Soft pass
38.
Cats Organized Neatly (PC)
This is essentially a resident evil inventory management game (a la Save Room) but with oddly shaped cats. Starts out simple enough, game is chill and enjoyable, but eventually reaches a point that it's actually quite tough to figure out the puzzles.
Rating: Hard pass
39.
Hidden Folks (PC)
Another hidden object game. For the most part this one was good, but once it got to the really large levels it lost its enjoyability. I love good hidden object games, but I hate having to slide around a big map and look for tiny details. Game has a lot of interesting mechanics and makes for a real good game and experience, but I wound up having to use a guide to finish out the larger levels because it's just impossible to keep track of everything reasonably.
Rating: Hard pass
40.
High on Life (XS)
Game was leaving Game Pass and decided it was time to give the game a go. I enjoyed the Rick and Morty style of humor back when Rick and Morty was new, but by the end of Season 2 I just kind of grew out of it and just don't enjoy it, both the humor and the randomness of Justin Roiland. That said, ignoring the awful dialog and stuff, this game does have really solid gameplay. Had it not been leaving Game Pass, I might have considered spending more time in the game to find all of the stuff, but as it is the game has missable achievements and once I miss a missable achievement, aiming for completion gets thrown out the window. It's close to a solid recommendation, but honestly, the dialog kind of ruins it. Though it is funny that they got the rights to some horrible films and you can legitimately sit in your living room and watch full feature length films inside of the game.
Rating: Soft pass
41.
Bramble: The Mountain King (XS)
Another game leaving game pass. This one I considered based on its short playtime and that I kept almost buying a physical copy when it went on sale. This game was pretty fucking awful. Just really didn't enjoy my time with the game, and really didn't enjoy the fact that from the start I knew I was going to miss out on an achievement based on needing to get through the game without dying... when I kept dying early on based on stupid tricky stuff that's hard to see and hard to know what to do without trial and error. Ignoring that, I really didn't enjoy the art style, some gameplay sections reminded me of Little Nightmares (which is a better game, but I still didn't enjoy that game either really), and the story just didn't really click with me, at least not in a good way. I think I had a lot of thoughts about my son while playing but not in a way that made me really feel connected to the game, if anything it kind of disconnected me from the game.
Rating: Hard pass
42.
Starting the Game (PC)
Apparently this game got banned from Steam at some point and to no surprise really, this game is awful in so many ways... and then right at the end there is a button to unlock all achievements based on the achievements not really working consistently, if that tells you anything about the quality of game and developer we're dealing with here. I've got no real good comments about this game other than it's a busted ass experience and really not worth the time... hence the steam ban.
Rating: Hard pass
43.
The Bookwalker (XS)
Another game leaving game pass. This one looked mildly interesting and the more I delved into the game the more interesting it seemed... so much so that I went out of my way to 100% the game. I'm still not entirely sure of the premise, but sounds like big deal about original novels being kind of extinct, so all books are written from stripping old books, there's ways to jump into books (the whole premise of the gameplay), and laws regarding such things. Lots of stuff I didn't quite follow the sci-fi nature of, but sure lets suspend our disbelief. Game has a turn based RPG style combat but lots of walking around and talking a la classic RPG games. Lots of good scenarios and dialog going on in this game. Overall an enjoyable experience.
Rating: Soft recommendation
44.
Forza Horizon 2 Presents: Fast & Furious (360)
I had actually started this one way back when it released, but never finished the 360 version of the game. I'm reminded how limited this game was compared to FH2 overall and if I'm not mistaken, limited compared to the X1 version of this game. Overall a straight forward enjoyable experience, though I will say it has more content than required for the 100% as the game leverages the same types of content that FH2 has, but none of it is necessary (boards, blueprints, etc). Unfortunately probably the best F&F game to date.
Rating: Soft recommendation
45.
Sokocat - Islands (PC)
Won this one on Steamgifts and decided to play it for some reason... I really don't recall, might have been playtracker backlog dungeon, might have been something else, but it did work for one of the backlog groups requirements for the month so I used it for my goal that month. Sokoban style game. Like most puzzle games, starts out easy and nice and enjoyable but quickly devolves into a tough experience. I love me some good puzzle games, but I don't enjoy puzzle games that get overly complex or hard too quickly or games that overstay their welcome. It's definitely a personal preference thing.
Rating: Hard pass
46.
WWE '12 (360)
I had started a sort of WWE franchise run, mostly just picking up the Smackdown franchise forward hitting the ones I missed and the ones I played on PS2 that I could play on 360. I stopped at this one because the controls changed or it left the Smackdown branding, I have no clue, but I stopped at this one and had a continuous hard time picking it back up. I finally rolled it in backlog dungeon and got myself through it, it helps that WWE's product is quite good right now so playing this feels good right now? I still very much want a WWE game that basically allows you to play through all events of the past 40 years, I get the complexity preventing that from ever happening, but I'd be ecstatic. The problem I have with this one for instance is that the story mode is A) fictional, and B) takes place over the course of multiple years (where you hit WM32 multiple times) so it doesn't quite hit the same when I look stuff up and find that events, factions, and situations never ever happened... minimally I wish each game had a story mode (secondary) that included all of the storylines of the past year (that includes the folks still on the roster at game's release, sure). I jumped into '13 for a minute following this one just to check what's what and if it's next for me... it's not, I already did all to do, so next is 2k14 the start of the 2k series. That all said, the original storylines in this actually are pretty good and the gameplay is still fun.
Rating: Soft recommendation
47.
There is No Game: Jam Edition 2015 (PC)
Your basic There is no game experience, is this the original game? I have no clue, but it's still short and enjoyable.
Rating: Soft recommendation
48.
F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch (XS)
Game was leaving game pass and heard good things about it... I'll try and not take it too personally the issues I had with the game, because they were definitely Xbox's fault, not the game itself. While playing the game, my kid hit the reset button on my modem, so we lost internet for like half an hour. Since internet was lost, Xbox disconnected and decided to not reconnect at any point, during that time I earned 7 achievements, but it only queued 5 so 2 unmissable story achievements were missed and I beat the game later on and have those two achievements missed. I kept launching the game hoping it would queue and unlock, but it never happened. I would've 100%'d this game for sure had it not happened, and I nearly abandoned the game once I realized, but I was like fine I'll ficking finish the game, because maybe it'll queue... again it never did. Overall a good game though, solid gameplay, would've loved to been able to explore it more, but just couldn't bother knowing I'd have to start 100% over to get the missing achievements. Art is pretty good, though it is nearly giving me furry vibes, especially with Lady Q and that's a we bit unsettling. Unfortunately I can't give it the full recommendation because of my experience, but I know it's a good game and I won't "pass" on it because I do understand it deserves better.
Rating: Soft recommendation
49.
Cyber Hook (PC)
First in the series of a bunch of PC backlog group games coming. I can enjoy precision platforming games, but I'll never 100% them because I don't have the patience for it, and this one is one of those horrible precision platform games that doesn't just let you play through the game, it expects you to minimally earn so many stars from beating levels as efficiently as possible. If the game didn't require the minimum stars I'd probably enjoy it more. I nearly abandoned the game more than once because of it... but on the other hand, since it's stars and not having to beat every level, I was able to skip one of the worst levels in the game by earning enough stars without beating the level... so it worked out. Eventually I sort of got gud and learned some tricks to make the levels easier, but hot fuck do you have to 3 star a lot of levels to be able to just beat the game. Really an awful experience that setup.
Rating: Hard pass
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