52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[bikingjahuty]

3. Dead or Alive 3 (XBOX)

Despite how much I loved DOA2 on the Dreamcast growing up, I never once played DOA3 on the XBOX until this evening. While my fondness for DOA2 has faded in recent years, I still hold it in fairly high regard, especially with how impressive it was visually at the time it came out. DOA3 in many ways feels like an enhanced version of 2, rather than a sequel. The gameplay, while supposedly different than 2, feels pretty much the same to me. Visually, the game also looks pretty much the same despite being newer. If it weren't for the all new levels, more levels, and a few new characters, this really wouldn't feel like much of a sequel at all. But for what it's worth, most of the same things that charmed me in DOA2 did so in DOA3 too. I just wish DOA3 would have moved the needle a little more than it did to make it truly feel like the sequel I was hoping it would be. (1/3/25) [35/50]

[marvelvscapcom2]

3. Super Mario World [SNES] - Finished Jan 5th, 2025 (No Warps Or Shortcuts)




Review - I mean dawg, come on. It's super mario world lol. Now if I had to pick a game to show Aliens. To say. This is what gaming is. This is video games. Id choose this one and maybe tetris. The game is so accessible yet also a purist haven of collecting, secrets and later level difficulty. 

I love that its a game a 7 yr old can smile playing and a game a 45 yr old can smile playing. And that feeling carry over 3 decades. 

It used to be one of my christmas traditions. Id fire up the snes classic or my snes. And beat smw every Christmas. I wasnt alive to have played this game on christmas when it released. But I do it to try to feel what kids felt in the glory days. I havent done that tradition in years. But fired up some SMW and took her down

I have beaten this game maybe 7 to 10 times. And each time it doesnt lose its luster. The final boss is so fun. The level design is impeccable. It gives you just enough to plot your jump sequence but not too much to where it feels cruel.  Imagine a world where Bowser is called Tim the Tortoise. Ponder that. 

In general SMW is excellence in every way. The score is the John Williams of video games. The platforming is impeccable. And even with me trying to imply a very strict rating system. Its a flawless game. I cant name a flaw.  To me no mario side scroller has come close since and never will again.

Rating - 100/100


Time to beat - 5 or so hours.

[bizzgeburt]

02 - Slider (SEGA Game Gear)
Highscore: 95.330

https://vgcollect.com/item/8650

This is another game out of my Game Gear cartridge collection that I own for several years. I tried it once and almost beat it, but my handhelds screen gave up and had to be replaced (one of the best gaming investions ever for me).

Slider is a classic arcade/puzzle game where the goal is to turn all blue level tiles into red ones by stepping (sliding) over them to finish 99 levels filled with fast sliding, fireball-shooting or homing monsters and different types of tiles and traps.
Being able to shoot the enemies and even pick up different shots as pickups made playing this game a fun experience for me. Graphics are just fine for a GG game from early 92. Music gets kinda boring quite soon due to the fact that there aren't many scores in total and the ones given all seem kinda generic and yea ... boring. This doesn't affect the addictiveness of gameplay though. Every level has a password so progress can be 'saved'.
It took me three sessions of a few hours to beat this game. Some levels really are a pain in the rear but there's always a chance of getting a level-skip pickup if you're stuck.

I'm still grinding mages in Final Fantasy IV in daily hour shifts, so this game was another in-between ... more to come

PS.: don't consider this post a serious entry in this challenge. Most games I beat in one year was little over 30. But I'll submit as much as I can to give you guys my review of the games I finish this year. Nevertheless is this challenge a great way to keep on returning to my pile of shame

[dhaabi]

01. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories || PlayStation 2 || 01.02.25



As I near the end of my time playing through the Silent Hill franchise, the next entry for me to play was Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Before playing, I was aware that this entry is regarded as the franchise's first major outlier, though for what reasons I wasn't sure. Later on in the fifth paragraph, I'll be mentioning certain aspects about the game which some would consider to be a spoiler, so be aware of that.

In a way, Shattered Memories is not an original entry to the franchise as it's an re-imagining of the debut title. The same general plot revolving around Harry Mason exploring the town of Silent Hill in search of his daughter Cheryl exists, but the details regarding them and the events which occur have been altered. Now, Harry is plagued with a severely unreliable memory after a car crash, and he moves forward in a constant state of confusion. While wandering, there is a lot to explore and discover, including hidden memories which serve as the game's collectibles. Some of these items of interest seem to relate to Harry, though others don't and instead to Silent Hill townspeople on a general level. Nevertheless, they're presented like fragments of reality or possible one's perception of it, and how they're interconnected to tell a story is engaging enough. They all come in the form of text messages or voicemails utilizing Harry's cell phone, which is one of the game's major mechanics emphasized. I'll also now mention the game's point-and-click type interactions. They're sometimes a sort of puzzle, though they're mostly a means to introduce simple motions controls to access items, as the game was originally developed for the Wii.

Throughout Harry's journey, there are plenty of world-building details which Harry comments on and interacts with. While almost entirely optional, another mechanic introduced is Harry's ability to make phone calls, which there are over fifty to find that yield some sort of conversation or voicemail to occur. They're an interesting inclusion and, as suggested, sometimes required to progress the narrative, though they're largely irrelevant to Harry or the story. At the same time, different environments are introduced which veterans of the series will have never encountered. In smaller-sized places such as indoor rooms, there is usually some detail that's nice to inspect, though more open areas suffer from becoming an empty expanse with little to see.

However, where Shattered Memories differs most is in its approach to horror. Unlike previous entries, there is no combat whatsoever. Instead, there are chase sequences with monsters that trigger in the same way as with other games, when the fog world transforms into the otherworld. During these segments, the player is needing to reach some end destination while navigating open-ended routes. Generally, they're not complicated although it's certainly possible to become lost, or at least running in loops. Though checking the map is recommended, I found myself not really ever having the opportunity to do so as I needed to prioritize Harry's safety. While running, enemies will lunge to grab at Harry, and a quick time event appears to throw them off, and multiple enemies can attack at once. Over time, Harry's speed slows down which makes the task more difficult. Flares may also be found which wards them slightly, hiding in large environmental spaces like lockers is possible, and other environmental objects can thrown to the floor to interrupt the monsters' path too.

Meanwhile, the game's exploration segments will periodically transition to a therapist's office at certain narrative checkpoints. Here, the Psych Profile system is implemented, though it's never outright divulged. Through the game, all sorts of simple tasks such as answering questionnaires and completing a Rorschach test are introduced. While they seem like just another foreign game mechanic to set the game apart from its predecessors, they're actually a complex system that influences a multitude of details about the game, and they're entirely dependent on the choices players make. For instance, how Silent Hill is designed which determines what's accessible or not is a major variable. But this isn't the only system. Small ways such as how the player controls Harry also influences certain narrative events and details. In no way was I expecting this level of personalization prior to playing, and I found it to be the game's greatest strength.

Before playing, I didn't really have any expectations for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, though I was aware of its somewhat mixed reception. There are certain aspects such as the Psych Profile that I think are executed quite effectively and to the surprise of the player which easily invites multiple playthroughs. Still, it's a game that would have benefited from more development time toward puzzle and environment design. Also, my opinion of the game's genre is that it's completely removed from the survival horror genre and instead a straightforward adventure game with horror elements much like most modern horror games. This isn't a criticism, though—I'm ultimately fine with this departure as it works well for this installment.

[telekill]

First game completed of 2025 -- Astrobot (PS5)

The Astrobot series continues to be charming and nostalgic. While I have yet to find every bot, I'm nearing the 300 mark and decided to look at who all had been included. My favorite renditions are of course Uncharted and Resident Evil, but there are literally hundreds of characters from various games throughout Playstation's history. Too many of the Ape Escape monkey's IMO, but it is what it is. Oddly missing from the roster are any from Mass Effect, Final Fantasy 7, Assassin's Creed and even Sony's own Twisted Metal. Perhaps those will be DLC levels?

Regardless, a fun classic feeling platforming game with tons to unlock and explore. The kids are loving their playthroughs as well.

[dhaabi]

02. Titanic Mystery || Wii || 01.04.25



Despite owning Titanic Mystery, it's not a game I purchased nor ever had any desire to play. Years ago, someone else in the household bought it for some reason—I suppose to purposely buy shovelware that looked promising or, at minimum, to buy a game that's objectively so bad that it could somehow be construed as fun to play and make fun of in a group setting.

Before describing gameplay, I'll first mention that Titanic Mystery does offer a narrative to follow, although I began skipping over most of it about a quarter-way into my playthrough. In short, one hundred years have past since the Titanic's shipwreck, and the centennial celebration has led for the creation and passage of the Titanic II. Aboard the ship, all of its guests and crew members are descendants from the original passengers of the Titanic. Shortly after the voyage has begun, though, it's revealed through found notes that someone aboard has hidden a bomb, and this person repeatedly leaves the player-character follow-up notes that more-or-less repeat the same sentiment each time for the majority of the game: that the terrorist is a passenger and that we'll figure out their identity as scattered diary pages are discovered all throughout the ship that can only be collected after hidden items are found. If not, the bomb will detonate. Simply put, it's a real never-ending effort for quite some time, and that the terrorist plans to abandon their attack once puzzles are solved shows quite the dedication they have toward the end goal. Alongside the terrorist's notes, the found diary pages were written from a guest aboard the Titanic, but I wasn't invested in this sub-plot. All of the game's dialogue and found notes are voiced, which was one of the game's fewest strengths, though voice work itself isn't particularly strong.

Concerning gameplay, it is chiefly characterized by hidden object puzzle-solving. In short, gameplay is terrible. Instead of crafted puzzles with items strategically hidden, items are instead littered about. Some items are quite obvious to find, but others are far in the background at such small sizes where they can't be discerned. No matter where they're located, items are presented with low resolution as bitmapped images, so understanding what they're supposed to even be becomes a challenge in itself. What's worse is that the experience is made much more irritating as a result of some items needing to be clicked on with certain unspecified precision, so formally finding them becomes an issue as players will either be unsure if it's the item they're needing to find at all or if they just mis-clicked. The play experience is even worsened as the game advanced, as areas are revisited 2–4 additional times. Fortunately, though, items to find and items shown on screen are randomized, so it doesn't always feel as if the same stage is being replayed (at least not entirely replayed.)

Alongside the main objective, there are also more traditional puzzles which appear periodically to solve. Unlike the hidden object puzzles, there is actually a good variety in puzzle type presented in this section, although the quality of them also vary considerably as some are elementary while others prove to be challenging. For some, the means to solve them are convoluted with broken systems resulting in failure even if the player action is done correctly. Fortunately, though, all of these secondary puzzles can be skipped entirely, which I did take advantage of on occasion after some annoyances. There is a penalty for taking such action, but it's not one I imagine many players would care about, as it relates to the player's high score that's determined by player completion time. Should the player desire, these puzzles can be revisited from the main menu.

Unsurprisingly, Titanic Mystery is an all-around bad game, and I can't in any way recommend to others to play it. I was taken aback some when finding out later on that the game received a modern port for Nintendo Switch.

[kamikazekeeg]

4 - Get To Work (PC 2024) - BEAT - I'm generally not the person that wants super hard experiences, I almost always play games on normal difficulty, I almost never play on whatever the hardest difficulty is, I don't replay FromSoft games to make them harder and harder, and I don't often play rage games.  There have been exceptions, such as Jump King, which I did for the art and it had a very straightforward control scheme (Still quite hard, still haven't been New Babe + yet), and I played a good few hours of Pogostuck, but that game was too hard and I dropped it.

This game won me over because I saw someone playing the opening area while blasting the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 to 4 playlist on Youtube lol

It's fun, basically you are a guy with multiple rollerblades on him, sliding up ramps and platforms as a metaphor for getting a job and climbing the business hierarchy.  It's goofy, but the game is entirely built around controlling your momentum, either leaning in to speed up, letting go to slow yourself, and grabbing if you need to stop.  It feels really good to get around and I think it offers a lot of leniency a lot of rage games don't do, like when you are done with a section (There's...6 or 7 separate zones I think?), you never return to the previous zones.  You can certainly have really bad falls that cause you to lose tons and tons of time, but it's never returning to the beginning of the game or previous zones.

I still have to beat the bonus endgame, which I will eventually, but I had fun with this, took me around 6 and a half hours to get through, Upper Management/Vice President was brutal, but I had a good time.

[bikingjahuty]

4. Silent Hill 2 (PS5)

Being a huge fan of the original, I picked Silent Hill 2 remake up the day it came out in October despite knowing I was too busy with studying to play it until weeks or months later. Well, that time passed, as did the holidays, and I finally got around to playing a game I was very excited for, especially after finding out Konami did an excellent job in remaking the original classic. After beating SH2 remake I can full heartedly agree with all the positive reviews and press this game has received.


Like the original game, the remake is an outstanding example of survival and psychological horror. The game is wrapped in layers of depth from the main character, James' psyche that manifest in form of the once quant town of Silent Hill turning more and more into a horrific nightmare filled with equally horrific monsters. The presentation of all this in the remake lacks a tiny bit of punch and impact of the original, but not by much. The game looks both gorgeous and horrific at the same time, and SH2 remake does a masterful job at unnerving the player with its visual presentation. In fact, SH2 remake is the creepiest game I've ever played, in no small part because of the graphics and visuals. More than the visuals, however, the audio in this game are absolutely perfect. Everything from the soundtrack, to the unnerving noises and sounds you hear throughout the game, to the no longer ridiculous voice acting from the original all equate to a flawless auditory presentation. Part of me misses the borderline bad voice acting from the first game, but SH2 remake does offer its own charm in being a competently voice acted, and it definitely helps deliver the more serious nature of the story and plot. Perhaps the biggest improvement over the original SH2 is the remake's gameplay. While there are some annoying sections, enemies, and bosses that may have not been designed as well as they could have, overall the gunplay, layouts of the areas, puzzles, and controls are very good for the most part. This isn't something I can necessarily say about the original whose gameplay felt pretty clunky and stiff. With all that said, the real question is whether I prefer the original or if the remake has trumped it. Even though its by a very thin margin, I do prefer the remake slightly more, mostly due to its improvements in gameplay. I'd absolutely love to replay either, however seeing how despite being based on the same story and premise, the two versions have their own distinct feel and identity and do satisfy in different ways, while offering enough that is different to really make both an enjoyable experience. (1/7/25) [43/50]

[kamikazekeeg]

5 - DayZ (PC 2018) - ENDLESS - Put enough time into this over the past week to count it, I got in the mood to attempt the Deer Isle adventure, it's a big mod map that got a big update sometime last year.  I think it's one of the coolest maps in the game, I know Namalsk is kinda the big favorite for mod maps, but I like the scale, the locations, and like Namalsk, there's a big adventure to be had. 

You have to pick up gas zone gear to get a special capsule at one corner of the map, then go to another location on an island to get a keycard, then make a huge trip to a bunker high up in a mountain to get a special staff, to then use the capsule to cause a smoke creature to appear and with staff in hand, get teleported to an ancient temple, to then progress through a very challenging temple, to get a hammer part to connect to the staff (It's Thor's hammer), and then you need to put together a special cold suit after leaving the temple and go all the way to the further corner of the map, where you have to use the hammer to get into another temple, and then progress through that temple to get a keycard, and then take that keycard, your cold suit and your gas zone gear, to go to an abandoned aircraft carrier to get the best weapons in the game...it's a lot lol

I'm up to the first keycard and heading to the bunker lol It's a very longwinded thing and it takes many, many, hours to do.  I'm playing on pretty low pop servers (Two characters currently to try and do it), as I don't care about fighting anyone, but dying has caused me to restart it a few times, probably put at least 20 hours into it so far as it can be hard to get certain parts sometimes (Full NBC gas zone kit doesn't always work out).  I actually started yesterday on a server that has a viral mod, so I run the risk of getting infected by I think the zombies that sometimes throwup blood, but I did stumble across an antivirus, so I'm safe from it, but that adds a nice bonus challenge since I'm basically just doing PVE.  There's only only a couple places I might meet the couple other players I've seen on the server, and I just left 3 of those spots, and heading to probably the last and most popular soon next, but should be okay.

So easy to just lose hours in this game just traveling, can be very chill like that if you don't have to worry about the cold or food or an illness.

[marvelvscapcom2]

4. The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom [NS] Finished Jan, 8th 2025



ZOTY

Review - Where do I begin. Zelda Echoes of Wisdom is bascially a love letter to fans. It's got elements of Zelda of before with new reimaginings of Modern day puzzles.  Tri is truly a beautifully designed sidekick and everything annoying Navi wishes it was.  Navi looks in the mirror and wishes it was Tri lol.  The personality bubbling within this game is warm as can be. 

Playing as Zelda is a fresh idea and the battle elements being unique to her give players wishing for change in the franchise that change. Never does Zelda feel like Link with a pink dress on.  They didnt copy and paste the entire bag.  Zelda is her own beast and rightfully so.  This game gives Princess of Hyrule her own badassery in the way peach has gotten with showtime and super princess peach in the past. But ramps it up 2000. 


From the dialogue. It paints Zelda as not a damsel but as a heroine. And this will come back to bite the game later. Not enough to hurt it. But noticable.

But before I get into that.  I will say. Zelda is incredibly designed. Not derivative. And overall a excellent heroine. And in her simplicity comes complexity. The world is booming with life. The colorful characters really sell the journey and theirs more memorable moments to count. 

SMALL CONS

Slight spoilers here. So dont read on if you dont want that.

Minor spoilers ahead


One of the more potent gripes I have. Is they give you the sensation that Zelda is the hero. In every way she transcends the franchise archetype. They make the character feel and play. Independent and bold. The whole game. Only for the end. The literal final boss of the game. They by FORCE make you into Link's damsel. Link's foot stool. Just completely throw you into his shadow and make you his proverbial play thing. Tehe. Give your weapons to link. You upgraded them the whole game. But hand them over. Link is gonna save the day. And why??? Link has his own shit. And even if he didnt. Womp womp. Zelda is the priestess. The all magical one who saved Hyrule from like a dozen rifts. I wont get to deep into the why. Because I want low spoilers in my reviews. But man. Why on earth would they make you lead all along. Then play second fiddle to Link right at the end. I liked the tandem. I wish they gave link his own supplies. I shouldnt have to give up my entire life progress for links ego. Made me feel like a 1950s housewife lol.


I know it sounds like im angry at the game.  But the contrary.  This critique is small. And more like a pet peeve. Otherwise the game is stellar in every regard. The scores give chills. The play style is wonderfully creative. And the puzzles kept me charmed and entertained without being too stubborn or brutal.  The animals. Smoothies. The environment and especially the echoes. Are so glorious. It makes it so theirs no one way to play. I found myself using water blocks to ascend. Some may use beds as steps. Use ice blocks. Concrete. It's unique and one of the best Zelda games ive ever played. Im so bewildered with it that I clapped at the credits


A masterpiece.

Rating - 95/100

[bikingjahuty]

5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

After the panic inducing stress fest that was Silent Hill 2 remake, I felt like I needed to play something way more casual and lighthearted, so I decided to pick up a game I've somehow never actually played despite how much of a fan I am of the franchise.


Mario Kart Wii was way better than I expected it to be. Having dumped hundreds, if not thousands of hours into Mario Kart 8, it's been hard going back and replaying some of the older titles just because of how incredible 8 is. I was really surprised by how much fun Mario Kart Wii is despite it definitely feeling less refined than 8 in multiple ways, but it was still an incredibly fun and charming game. The gameplay, while not tight as a drum, is still very good. If not for some wonky physics on the 150cc races and the motorcycles being a bit awkward, the controls and gameplay are very well done. The levels, both original and ported over from older MK titles, are mostly all excellent with a few exceptions too. I'm also a fan of how a lot of the game and its content requires it to be unlocked through playing and winning various cups at differ cc levels. Visually, Mario Kart Wii is ultra vibrant, colorful, and just has incredible stage art that makes this game very appealing to the eyes. Even though the Wii was a significantly under powered console for its time, it still stands as a very good looking game and one I'd barely change anything about. Finally, the OST is also top notch as one would expect with some very catchy tracks, as well as tracks from older MK titles that are just as good as ever. Even in a world where we have Mario Kart 7 and 8, I can absolutely say this game is worth owning and playing even still. (1/8/24) [39/50]

[kashell]

3. Chrono Trigger DS - Float Away

For the last month or so, I've been doing a New Game Plus run on Chrono Trigger; a game I've played close to a hundred times. I decided to finish the game for a first time with the adorable Float Away ending where you use your Epoch to battering ram into Lavos and skip part of the fight. I still ship Lucca x Crono instead of Marle x Crono, but there's no denying that this is a cute and heartwarming ending. It's not my favorite, though. That will come when I reboot the game and head through the Black Omen to take down Queen Zeal.

[realpoketendonl]

Aight, 2025 challenge let's go! Here to set up my base post

Really happy with my 2024 result. 29 games beaten in total, 26 of which for the first time. And played some absolute gems. I doubt I'll hit that number again this year, as I've got a pretty busy year ahead of me, but nevertheless looking forward to what games I'll be playing this year!

Beat:

• Gori: Cuddly Carnage [PC/Steam Deck, GOG]

(Purple = started it last year or earlier)
(Orange = already beat it before)

[realpoketendonl]

1. Gori: Cuddly Carnage



GORI CUDDLY CARNAAAGE! He's a cat on a hoverboard fighting unicorns!

Hot damn. What a game to kick off the new year with! I started this game in December, but I just beat it, and I absolutely love it. Gori: Cuddly Carnage a fast-paced hack-'n-slash in which you play as a cat on a hoverboard, grinding along rails and taking out hordes of zombie-unicorns and horrific corrupted toys. It's ridiculously over-the-top, with the corrupted toy-enemies exploding in puddles of blood and your hoverboard cursing constantly. And that's how I like it: wacky, over-the-top and wild. That's not all the game has going for it though: its gameplay is also fantastic. Being a hack-and-slash, of course the game is fast-paced. But being on a hoverboard gives it a whole new feel. It becomes a lot more about zipping around your enemies, taking out the right ones at the right time and using your movement to your advantage. It's slick as hell.

I may still be a bit overhyped, but I could see this becoming one of my top 10 favourite games of all time. I'm dead serious. I wouldn't expect it to get to quite that level for others, but it's just the perfect game for me. As a massive lover of hack-and-slashes and of silly, over-the-top, campy madness, this game was just amazing. I'm not even kidding when I say I felt more badass playing this than Devil May Cry 5. It's available on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC (via GOG, Steam and Epic Games). PLEASE go check it out and give it some love. It really deserves it.

[dhaabi]

03. A Dark Room || Browser || 01.07.25



By chance, I found myself introduced to A Dark Room while reading about another game which references it as inspiration. After interacting with it for a minute or two, I was curious enough to see what more of the game would play like as it expanded, and I quickly became captivated. Much of what this game offers benefits from a blind playthrough, so those curious may be inclined to skip the fourth paragraph below in particular.

What A Dark Room is exactly is never outright explained, and the experience is heavily dependent on player self-discovery. Be that as it may, online discussion describes it foremost as an incremental game that's completely text-based, devoid of graphics of any kind. Beginning with only a smoldering fire to tend to, players control the unnamed protagonist who, in time, slowly builds up resources from at first one person to eventually a sizable community. During this section of the game, the player is constantly juggling how resources are managed by allocating each villager a role to assume. One item will often require another to be obtained, and at a much higher rate too. For instance, the cost of gaining 1 Cured Meat is 5 Meat and 5 Wood. As the campaign progresses, these resources can be upgraded to increase their efficiency and yield output. However, action cannot be taken freely. Instead, each action is given a cooldown period while villagers who supply resources only complete their work once a predetermined amount of time has past.

During this time, a variety of events may trigger randomly. A fire may become uncontrollable, destroying one of the village's huts. A thief may be apprehended, with their fate being left for you to decide. Plague may overcome your people, decimating upwards of 90% of the population. Additionally, certain events also bring the possibility of player perks which influence other aspects of the game mentioned below. I don't imagine most playthroughs to experience all of these encounters (especially in regards to the events which offer perks as a reward) as I only encountered several of many, so these randomized events introduce a lot to to the campaign while making each playthrough different from another.

After much time has past and micromanaging has been done, players will eventually discover there's another genre of gameplay to experience. Alongside the resource-gathering and community-building aspects, A Dark Room eventually unveils its RPG random battle and exploration mechanics which utilize text characters that represent the world map and enemies. At first, exploration is limited as players map out the world with each new step, though the distance players can travel slowly increases alongside the supply capacity of health and water--two vital resources which must be maintained. The player's main focus while exploring should be monitoring these resources, as exhausting them completely will respawn you back to the village with the inventory of items you took and gained all being removed, and any portion of the map that was revealed reverts back too. Much like the resource management aspect of the game, combat and battle actions are dependent on cooldown meters. What may seem like an approachable challenge is often not as actions taken from both sides of battle are greatly influenced by accuracy. Eventually, combat becomes much more involved and even strategic as players accrue an assortment of weapon types which can be used in conjunction with another, each with their own cooldown meter.

With its minimalist text-based design, A Dark Room is able to focus on the each of its genres' fundamentals in a way that felt rewarding. Naturally, this is achieved through what's visually conveyed such as with the cooldown meters, even in spite of the game's lack of traditional visuals. Of course, sound complements text, though its use is subtle. My favorite example of sound is through the game's very first interactable component, the fire itself which lights the introductory cave. As time progresses, the fire will die back down to a quiet set piece, though using 1 Wood (an entirely expendable resource) lights the flames ablaze once more to a roaring crackle. I'm not even sure if maintaining the fire is required, but it seemed like some symbolic mechanic to manage that represents the start of this adventure, nonetheless. The burning flame especially interests me, because it changes over time yet isn't portrayed visually in any capacity. Only its sounds and text descriptions bring it to life.

Discovering A Dark Room organically by chance brought me the totally rare experience of playing a game on a whim and becoming totally engaged with it, only to then find out its popularity and critical reception. Perhaps it was just the game I was needing to play for my current mood, but A Dark Room is the best game I've played in the last few years.