52 Games Challenge 2022

[Cartagia]

Here are the games I played in April!

Offworld Trading Company (PC) - This was fine.  I really loved the idea of an economics based RTS, but it was way too fast paced for what I was expecting.  I played a few games, won way fewer.

Yoku's Island Express (PC) - Beat on Apr. 17.  So, so cute.  Perfect length for the type of game and control scheme.  Could have easily have worn out its welcome with all the pinball.

World of Warcraft (PC) - I succumbed to the temptation after almost 8 years.  I'm having a blast because there is so much content I've missed.

Vampire Survivors (PC) - A perfect way to kill 15-30 minutes.  Way too good and fun for a $3 game.

[justin8301]

20. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS5) 5/2/22

GOD I FUCKING LOVE THIS FRANCHISE! Every minute of this game was just perfect, I didn’t want it to end. I know I have Lost Legacy to play, but there’s just something a little sad about finishing up Nathan’s story; I really hope they bring him back for a new game soon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdE1wT3NW_I/

[Cartagia]

20. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS5) 5/2/22

GOD I FUCKING LOVE THIS FRANCHISE! Every minute of this game was just perfect, I didn’t want it to end. I know I have Lost Legacy to play, but there’s just something a little sad about finishing up Nathan’s story; I really hope they bring him back for a new game soon.

I couldn't have been less excited when they announced part 4.  I just felt like they had a good run and were just trying to milk the franchise.

It's far and away the best in the series.  Couldn't believe it.

[undertakerprime]

20. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS5) 5/2/22

GOD I FUCKING LOVE THIS FRANCHISE! Every minute of this game was just perfect, I didn’t want it to end. I know I have Lost Legacy to play, but there’s just something a little sad about finishing up Nathan’s story; I really hope they bring him back for a new game soon.

I couldn't have been less excited when they announced part 4.  I just felt like they had a good run and were just trying to milk the franchise.

It's far and away the best in the series.  Couldn't believe it.

100% agreed.
Uncharted 4 seemed like it would be a cheaply-made money grab, and turned out excellent. For me, UC2 is just a hair better, but UC4 is right up there.

[kashell]

31. Mega Man X2

More like Meh-ga Man X2. SLAM! I gave it a replay just because. It's fine, but still my least favorite in the X series.

[gngtiger]

20. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS5) 5/2/22

GOD I FUCKING LOVE THIS FRANCHISE! Every minute of this game was just perfect, I didn’t want it to end. I know I have Lost Legacy to play, but there’s just something a little sad about finishing up Nathan’s story; I really hope they bring him back for a new game soon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdE1wT3NW_I/

Until then, there's always Tom Holland.

[kamikazekeeg]

13 - Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer - BEAT - It's May 4th, so it's Star Wars day and I figured I'd play something Star Wars, so I grabbed the PC version of Episode 1 Racer since it was on a very cheap sale.  I believe this is the original PC version, not that newer version they put out not that long ago that I think is console exclusive, which would explain a few wonky details, but I was surprised at how good it is.  Visually, a lot of the menu's and such look kinda rough, but they work, there's mouse support, and while it's all old school PC graphics, it's not unplayable.  The cutscene stuff is borked as it doesn't scale with you resolution, so on my 27" monitor, the videos are kinda like the size of my phone, if not smaller lol Not the best, but not unwatchable.

That being said, the gameplay is fantastic, it's smooth as heck, runs well, it's a real quality racing game, I was surprised at how much it holds up and it's neat playing this with a good controller and not playing on an N64.  From what I'm seeing, the updated version of the game on like Switch and I think PS4, does have improved, cleaned up, cutscenes, and maybe some improved menu and text stuff, but game wise seems about the same.  Definitely cool to be playing this again.

[ignition365]

Have only beaten like 8 games since finishing Elden Ring and now that my wife has her gaming computer, she's pushing to buy it again for PC and having us play through the game again... that's really gonna make me miss my goals if I fall into Elden Ring again.

6 games away from hitting 52, but things are going slowly.

[tripredacus]

7. The Long Dark

The presmise for this game turned out to be different than I had expected. I think I had watched some youtube videos for it a long time ago, or perhaps I have confused it with some other similar type games. It didn't matter so much as the mechanics are fairly interesting, however you could consider the game to be a walking simulator for a lot of the time since you can't really run and the more you carry, the slower you move. I almost died immediately, even on the easy mode it is very difficult at the beginning because you have to manage temperature without having any items or skills. Once I found my way to a house and got some items, the game got a bit easier.

The main version of the game is called Wintermute and is the campaign. It is 5 parts but part 5 is not released yet. I know from (spoilers) that the second two parts you play as the person you are trying to find in the first part. Part 1 is the most enjoyable to me. Part 2 is where the problems start. By this point you end up with enough clothing to stay relatively warm, and have found enough to repair what you have. But you also end up finding most of your tools and then it become inventory simulator. You don't technically need many of the tools like the crowbar or hacksaw. These are heavy. You need a climbing rope and it is the heaviest. So you decide if you want to get rid of stuff. You can't get rid of the rope, can't get rid of the clothes, the next heaviest thing is water, can't get rid of that. All the food and materials you picked up have to go.

Part 2 is much more sparsely populated with locations compared to part 1. There is a lot of walking to do. Part 2 all comes down to fighting a bear. You see it in cutscenes, the other person you meet talks about it. Until you get to a point where you have to get parts from radio towers, you get the idea that you have to avoid it and the game makes it clear that it can't be killed without a special weapon. And this is true, except when you get this weapon (its heavy too) you can't actually kill the bear then either. Because the encounter with the bear is completely scripted and it is a situation that you cannot play the game any other way than the way the developers intended. You can encounter the bear 2 times during regular gameplay. At the 2nd tower you go to, he will be there. There is some game logic involved that can be exploited and can be done at one of the towers but not the other. That logic is, the bear will spawn if you haven't gotten the part from the tower. So the goal is to get the part and not play the mini-game with the bear.

On the 2nd tower I died many times due to the minigame. You have to use the spear in a quick-time event against the bear, then click very fast to "win" the encounter. But you can't actually click fast enough to do this, so you have to change the accessibility option to do it. If you time it wrong, lose or the bear hits you before you can engage the mini-game, you will be mauled and likely die. If you manage to engage the minigame but don't fill up the bar, you will live but only get about 5-10 seconds to attempt to heal but since the game is not paused when you use inventory window, you can die in a menu. And then there is an unskippable animation of the bear attacking you. This was already frustrating enough, but I decided to try again. The goal is to not attack the bear and to get the part. I did this successfully on the 2nd tower by running (you can move faster) and using the terrain to escape. The bear's pathing is limited to where a person is supposed to be able to go, but like any 3D game a player can get around onto parts of the map they aren't supposed to go. After a certain distance the bear will despawn. Then it respawns at the last tower. The tower at the north side only has one approach point to it and unlike the other, the bear spawns between the player and the tower. So there is no way to escape the bear and get the part and run away, the terrain does not allow for this type of movement.

So that was enough of the campaign for me. I had read that when you complete the radio tower parts quest you'll be forced to fight the bear again, where it moves you into a cave with no inventory or light and you will be forced into a stealth mission to find the spear and then kill the bear. I wasn't interested in doing that either. However there are other game modes, most notably the survival mode that looks interesting and I may try out some day in the future.

[tripredacus]

8. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

I have recently come to the realisation that I may not have ever played Civilization IV. I certainly had played II back in the 90s, and III when it came out. Having the Limited Edition, which is a large tin container in a time when I remember there being many other PC gamese released in tin containers. I had not originally bought it for myself, but as a present for my cousin on Christmas only to find out he had already gotten it! So I kept it and do remember playing it but not to the degree that I can remember how to play it to this day. Is it really true that I had not played any version of Civ IV prior to now? I even look at my collection here and see two copies, the US version and an EU version I most certainly haven't played.

In any case, Beyond the Sword (BTS) is a self-contained expansion. I suspect the other add-ons such as Colonization are the same way. Initially I was confused why Steam listed them as separate games and not DLC. Now I know. BTS is heavily customised/modded versions of the base game. The first scenario I played was more along the lines of a squad-based tactical thing on an alien planet. It was fine but wasn't what I was really expecting. Then I tried another scenario that actually used the main game mechanics. It was completely foreign to me, which is why I think it is quite possible I never actually played Civ IV to begin with.

And that is a bad thing, as BTS is not the ideal entry into the game since it is modded and also does not have any sort of tutorials to use. I know the general way to play the game but the combat was causing me major issues even on Settler difficulty. So I decided to shelve BTS until some other day in the future when I can play Civ IV proper first to know how to do it. I have queued up Minecraft Story Mode but likely won't get to starting that until next week.

[gngtiger]

8: Rhythm Heaven Megamix completed 5/6/22

I finally got a perfect in every mini game (even Lockstep, which wasn't easy!), and that was when I considered myself done with it. I haven't done every challenge train challenge, or bought every bonus collectible, but I still consider myself done with it. Buy this game before the eShop closes! (Or buy a European/Japanese 3DS and a physical copy of the game that way).

[moonlightvalkyrie]

Finally! I have finished a game after a while (I have been vigorously working on finishing Miitopia and the game is seriously torturing me at this point lol)!

5. The Stanley Parable (PC)

This is the original. I actually got the Ultra Deluxe edition recently and I am just as entertained as the original. I have also legitimately earned the Go Outside achievement, so I was like you know what? Let's get it completed! I am hoping to pick up the pace soon!

[kashell]

32. Demon Gaze II

Wonderful dungeon crawling RPG; a massive improvement over the first one - which is saying a lot because the first one was solid. The highlight was the cast. Instead of generic classes, your team consisted of actual characters. I'm really excited to write a review for this.

[telly]

Game 5 - Mega Man Battle Network 2 (Wii U) – 22 Hours

I will always have a soft spot for the Battle Network games, even though I will fully admit that the series is far from perfect. One of the things that I love about these games is the combat, and Battle Network 2 is no exception. It’s such a fun combination of strategy regarding your chip selections combined with and fast paced combat requiring quick reaction times, special awareness, utilizing combos, and there’s pretty much nothing like it. This game however being only the second in the series, is missing a lot of the gameplay features that I loved from later installments. Not having NaviCust and Full Synchro is a real bummer. You get some different “styles” that you can equip to change how Mega Man plays but you can only hold two at a time which was disappointing. I like that you can upgrade your buster just through powerups you find in the overworld however. From what I've heard this game has a lot of exploitable aspects of the gameplay that people enjoy but from a casual perspective I think the later games have a better experience with more to offer.

Speaking of the overworld, I’ve always loved MMBN’s setting. I think it’s the coolest idea with a lot of potential. As a kid I would always dream about this series providing a fully explorable internet world with a myriad of things to do rather than… just featureless web of interconnected pathways and maybe a couple shops or other Navis dotted around. Oh well, not really a fault of this game in particular. In fact, this game really isn’t too different than any of the others with regards to its setting. I did like a lot of the puzzles that were involved with boss stages, particularly KnightMan. The music was also pretty good, but some of it gets very repetitive after a short time. Using one song for the entire internet world is just one example.

The one area that these games always struggle with is the writing and story, and this game is no exception. I love that the main villain only shows up once over the course of the story, and you just get a text dump about his motivations and backstory AFTER you’ve already beaten him. Really great. The writing is very basic and uninspiring, and these games struggle a lot with character limitations when naming and describing chips and other features of the gameplay which has always been a bit of a nuisance. On that note, this game has some more “adult” concepts than I was expecting, like alcohol and religious references. I wonder if the Wii U version has some modifications that I don’t know fully (I do know that there are some special chips in this game that you could only get via trading which was a nice touch.)

Overall, when I hear people talk about the best MMBN game, it's usually either 2 or 3. Personally, I think 3 is way better, but they're all pretty comparable experiences, barring the 1st game. I will always enjoy playing this series and I might boot this up again later to try and find some more secrets and round out my chip collection.

[kamikazekeeg]

14 - Evil Dead: The Game (PC 2022) - BEAT/ENDLESS - I'm a big Evil Dead fan, specifically Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, the series was fun also, so getting the first major game since the Xbox/PS2 days is pretty great and I think they did a lot to nail the feel of the series.  Visually looks great and runs well, tons of blood, and the idea of it is pretty cool.  The main game is asymmetrical multiplayer, 4 survivors exploring an open section of a map to find parts of a map that leads to the Kandarin Dagger and pages of the Necronomicon, which then lead to a fight to take out the Dark Ones, and then keep the book safe for a certain amount of time.  The other side is one play playing as Deadite, who in spirit form (Handled like the first person camera view seen in the movies) flies around, setting traps, putting out minions, and can fight directly by possessing minions, players who are too afraid, or by summoning an elite like Evil Ash or Knowby's wife in all her terrifying, floating, grossness lol

I'm counting this one as "BEAT/ENDLESS" as it also has a couple singleplayer bonus missions that you can probably get a few hours out of, 5 of them currently, which let players unlock a couple outfits and the rest of the characters, Ash, Pablo, and Amanda from the series, and then Arthur.  They are pretty cool actually, I wouldn't mind them adding more, even for just general challenges or such, the Arthur one is super busted difficulty wise.  The rest were fine, but this one was rough with no checkpoints and honestly felt abit unfair, especially having to fight the Pit Demon and Evil Ash with very limited health items at the end.

I've only played a little multiplayer, but I can see some casual enjoyment out of this stuff.  I like this setup more than like a game such as Dead by Daylight, where all you do is hide and work generators, you got some regular action and stuff to do along with progressing the objectives.