52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

[telly]

Game 2 - Coffee Talk (PS5) - 6 Hours

I made a point to purchase as many "cozy" games as possible with some birthday money last year and here's a review of the first one I've finished!

Coffee Talk isn't  the most engaging of a game from a gameplay perspective. It's mainly just reading text boxes and occasionally choosing ingredients to make coffee, tea and other drinks. If you're the person who likes engaging core gameplay, this won't be for you. But, if you like something that's very chill, and engrossing in a narrative and atmospheric way, this game is great. It's the little things that make the atmosphere special. The rain falling outside of the shop (although it rains every single day which is a little off). The movements of the characters, the music and sound effects, all of it blends together into a game that puts you into a zen.

I enjoyed the game the most when I limited myself to just one night in the coffee shop play session. If I tried to play multiple nights in a row it became less entertaining. I also found that for a game where the story is the main attraction, it actually wasn't that interesting. Some compelling threads here and there, but mostly superficial storytelling without a lot of pizazz that would really make it great. Part of the problem is the character you play as, the barista, who has no stake in any of the stories being told, which means as a player your investment in what's going on is significantly diminished.

Coffee Talk isn't a game for everyone, but I still enjoyed my time playing it. It's a kind of game that I don't really play that often, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

[telly]

Game 3 - Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS5) - 3 Hours

A very pleasant, light platformer with a cute story and characters, solid gameplay, and some really nice music. The game has a really unique atmosphere with a mix of dreamy and unsettling music, characters and dreamy atmosphere that really contributes to the game's themes. I wish Klonoa's attack had a bit more range to it, but I found the challenge to be just the right level and it was fun to master the controls. Really not a whole lot more to say about this one. It's pretty short, and there isn't any replay value, but I did really enjoy my time with it.

[bikingjahuty]

9. Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5)

Having bought Cyperpunk 2077 (CP2077) on day one when it came out in 2020, I was one of those crazy people who stuck it out with the game despite glitches and game breaking bugs galore. Adding to the insanity of my perseverance even more, I purchased the game on the PS4, which was infamous for being the least optimized, poorest running, and most unstable release compared to all other platforms CP2077 was released on. The fact I was able to beat the game at all on the PS4 back in 2020 (I actually beat the game on 1/1/2021, but whatever) was a miracle akin to V dodging a cascade of bullets and coming out the other end unharmed. Maybe the craziest thing of all was I actually walked away from this early build of CP2077 on a console it probably should have never been released on to begin with, with an overall positive impression of the game. Sure, some of the bugs and glitches, and the fact there was terrible frame rate and pop in issues throughout certainly dampened my opinion of the game somewhat, but I still had a great experience by the time the credits rolled.


Hearing nothing besides how CDPR turned the game completely around and even made it way better with its expansion, Phantom Liberty, had be eager to replay CP2077 and see how much more I'd enjoy it now that the game was fixed and no longer borderline unplayable. Originally, I was going to review the base game of CP2077 and Phantom Liberty as one game, however after beating base CP2077 and completing what the internet tells me is the first 1/3 of Phantom Liberty, I just ddin't feel right lumping the main game and expansion together. Phantom Liberty, at least so far, is a very different experience in so many ways compared to the base game. Some of this, again so far (I haven't beat Phantom Liberty yet), is a good thing whole some I'm not quite sure about just yet. Either way, it just feels very jarring and shoehorned into the pretty solid, cohesive narrative present in the main game of CP2077. However, with that out of the way, here are my thoughts on CP2077 5 years since originally playing it.


CDPR has improved virtually everything in this game as of version 2.31. Almost every gameplay mechanic and system works way better, possessing a level of polish almost every feature in version 1.XX was missing. Stealth works a 100 times better, shooting is actually fun and effective now, hacking and completing missions or areas outside of the box now actually feels doable, and the leving/progression system is noticeably tighter and better thought out. Honestly, the only thing that still feels kinda crappy is driving, which obviously sucks, but it's a far cry from how almost everything in CP2077 was pretty busted back in 2020/2021.


The game offers an almost overwhelming amount of missions, side objectives, oddities to explore, and other fascinating things to see and do, that you'll rarely feel bored or underwhelmed by what CP2077 has to offer. Unfortunately, many of these missions do play out the same way more or less (break in, steal this, kill that guy), but luckily the writing does a fairly good job at spicing some of this side content up. Beyond just the combat and exploring Night City, there isn't a ton of more out of the box side experiences, which is a bit of a shame, but the core of CP2077 is so good now, that it hardly needs that side crap anyways.


The story of CP2077 is pretty good overall. There are so many ways to experience this game differently depending on what back story you choose, what dialogue and action options you decide to make, what side missions you choose to complete, and so may other variables, CP2077 can almost feel like an entirely different game between playthroughs. Whle the middle 50% of the game mostly plays out the same, the beginning of the game and the ending can look dramatically different depending on your in game choices. While I'm not going to spoil anything, the ending I got during the playthrough blew the alternate ending I got doing my 2020 playthrough completely out of the water! And what's even crazier is there are even more ending I could see depending on choices I make. Combine all this with some excellent character writing, dialogue, and a pretty original, gripping plot and you have a video game that rivals many sci fi books and movies in terms of how interesting it is.


Still, with all that said about the story, it still has a few parts that aren't as interesting or great. The writing in side missions can outstay its welcome at times. And if I'm being completely honest, the dynamic between certain main and semi-main characters can sometimes feel all over the place, even when not talking dialogue options into consideration. Still, these are fairly minor gripes to what is otherwise a really enjoyable, well made story.


I honestly don't have a single bad thing to say about the visuals or audio in CP2077 on the PS5. The game runs silky smooth, even during more hectic sections of the game. The amount of detail in Night City absolutely makes it feel like a real living, breaking place. There are random allies you can explore that look completely unique even if there is otherwise nothing remarkable or noteworthy about it. Just the level of visual detail is off the charts in CP2077 and I can say with absolutely certainty that this is one of the best looking video games ever made. Audio is also amazing. Great soundtrack, nearly perfect voice acting, amazing sound effects of all sorts. The audio is legendary and needs to be heard to be believed!


While some of its flaws and shortcoming do hold this game back for me as being one of my favorite games of all time, it's still no understatement to say that CP2077 is one of the best games ever made. It's nothing short of incredible how much CDPR turned this game around in just a few years and delivered the title we had all hoped for back in 2020. But as they sau, better late than never. Now, I just hope I enjoy Phantom Liberty just as much, if not more, even though that game is quickly turning out to be a bird of another color. (1/25/26) [42/50]

[kashell]

9. Grandia II HD - platinum'd

My second platinum of the year, and one step closer to 150! Compared to the first game, Grandia II is the better title for the most part. I don't like how drastically and quickly Ryudo changes personalities, but otherwise the cast and story is a step forward in development with a more mature story line to match. I played the game on Hard mode, which was a new addition to this HD collection. Overall, it wasn't that much more difficult than the standard difficulty. The two toughest fights were the Body of Valmar and the final boss. The final boss was tough because its speed was insane. Spell after spell after spell. Thankfully, I held onto all my important items like feathers and SP restoratives. The game is a true classic, but this port? Man, what a letdown. First, there's the sound quality. Moving the cursor up and down has this laser beam "pew" sound and it is loud. There's no way to adjust sound quality, either. Music will fade out, and then restart. That's not a big deal but it's noticeable in an otherwise epic soundtrack. Then, there's the freeze-framing that happens when a battle ends. It looks like the game is about to glitch - the character that does the victory pose will often freeze for a split second before finishing said pose. However, the only time the game crashed on me was in a random dungeon when I was walking. Annoying? Yes. But, RPG 101: save often, and Grandia's full HP/MP/SP restorative save points are everywhere. I lost all of 10 minutes of game time so, not a big deal but still something that happened when I wasn't expecting it. This is my third time going through the game. First was on PlayStation 2 and it was a passable port. Second was on the Dreamcast and it's crazy to think that this original version is still the best version. Now, we have this HD port and while the game is still a lot of fun, it's probably the worst way to go about playing it.

[kashell]

10. Mega Man Zero 3

I ended up jumping into this instead of Advent, and I'm glad I did. This is still my favorite from this sub-series. The Recoil Rod is a lot more fun than the special weapons from the other games. It's not used as much as the saber or gun, but still a fun little trick weapon. I managed to keep an A ranking the entire time. I also managed to get most of the secret disks. I'll probably do another run through this year and go for the ones I'm missing while attempting to get an S rank.

[bikingjahuty]

10. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (PS5)

When it comes to substantial bonus content and large expansion for games, I rarely complain or think the base game would have been better if the expansion never existed. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is no different in this regard, however I do feel like its inclusion, should you choose to play it, feel fairly out of place and jarring shoved within the CP2077 narrative. Taking place during the events of CP2077, and even offering up an entirely new ending should you make certain decisions towards the end of Phantom Liberty, the game really throws things askew plot and storywise from the main game. Base CP2077 is built upon Johnny Silverhand becoming imbedded within your psyche and your struggle to remove him and survive becomes just as much your story as it does his. However, in Phantom Liberty, Johnny almost takes a back seat to some of the new characters plot threads that have far less to do with him and his past and more to do with the what's going on with these new characters. In a lot of ways, regardless of what path you decide to take in Phantom Liberty, it undermines the story already established towards the beginning of CP2077 and abruptly ends a lot of the threads that game was established, which mostly all get resolved by the ending of the base game.


So in a way, choosing to play Phantom Liberty is done so at the expense of the main plot and story, even though it does do its best to tie into it and resolve certain problems that arise within case CP2077. What this all means for me is that I didn't care for the story Phantom Liberty had to tell even though I did find myself interested and even intrigued at times by what was happening throughout most of it. Again, Phantom Liberty just felt bluntly shoehorned into the overall story of Phantom Liberty, like someone who managed to bash in a square peg into a circular hole.


My issues with the story aren't the only problem I had with this game. While far more minor, I didn't care that much for Dogtown, the new main area offered in the Phantom Liberty expansion and where the bulk of that game takes place. Beyond it giving me some strong Escape from LA vibes and also being reminiscent of Kowloon City which was essentially an independently ran anarchy city nestled nearly Hong Kong during most of the 20th century until the entire city was eventually demolished, there wasn't really anything that interesting about Dogtown that made it stand out heavily from other parts of Night City you'd already seen. Sure, some of the building looked post apocalyptic as they sat there in a mid state of decay, but upon closer inspection, their layouts and features were just like any other place you'd already been in the base game. While you can venture out back into the rest of Night City whenever you want, the main story of Phantom Liberty as well as the new side missions offered to you nearly all happen within Dogtown or at least right outside it. Otherwise, this game, including Dogtown, look just as good as the rest of CP2077.


Phantom Liberty's gameplay is more or less yanked right out of the base game of CP2077, with a few noteworthy exceptions. For one, Phantom Liberty leans way more into action than the base game, almost becoming an action game first and an RPG second. The reason I won't say that, however, is the inclusion of Relic abilities and points which give the main character, V special abilities not offered in vanilla CP2077. Otherwise, you'll be leveling up the same and putting points into various character attributes like Agility or Tech. Because of the greater emphasis on action in Phantom Liberty, there is way more ammo and weapons just lying around, which you'll absolutely need given how much shit you'll be shooting in this expansion. In fact, the first third of Phantom Liberty is so action packed that I almost forgot I was playing CP2077 for a minute. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, although it does contribute somewhat to the jarring tone and plot shift I mentioned earlier.


Audio is still top notch in Phantom Liberty. The voice acting from the new characters introduced in this game is at the same high caliber seen in the base game. While my connection and investment in the new characters wasn't as strong as it was with many characters introduced in base CP2077, that had nothing to do with the voice acting or the performances given in Phantom Liberty whatsoever. Music and sound effects are mostly just lifted from the main game, which is by. no means a bad thing given how good that all was there.


While playing Phantom Liberty was something I always intended to do whenever I got around to replaying the base game again, one of the biggest selling points of Phantom Liberty was the proclamation of it "fixed" the ending of the base game. To be clear, the base game has five endings if memory serves me right, so I guess it's more accurate to say Phantom Liberty offers an additional sixth ending. The ending I got in Phantom Liberty was more a conclusion to the events of Phantom Liberty rather than a definitive ending to the story of CP2077. I did watch the definitive ending that is offered in CP2077 and found it to actually be less satisfactory than most of the endings in the base game. This is saying something since one huge thing is never fully resolved in the base game's ending and most are all somewhat bittersweet if not mostly negative. The same is true in Phantom Liberty's conclusive ending which just made me feel kinda depressed and unfulfilled. Obviously, this is more of a subjective thing, but I really feel like I was sold a false bill of goods with the internet collectively saying the ending of Phantom Liberty was so much better than the ones in base CP2077. It isn't and neither are the endings that just loop back into the events of the main game.


I feel like I had a lot of negative things to say about Phantom Liberty, but at the end of the day, it's still a game based on an already great game. While it does fall noticeably short in various areas compared to base CP2077, I would say that it's still worth playing through to make your own opinion on. Just be prepared for the game to shift tonally in a pretty sudden and jarring way if you decide to play Phantom Liberty. (1/28/26) [38/50]