General Gaming ~*D1P's Games of 2022*~

[stepee]

37 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

@stepee - just posted my write-up for Devotion!

 

Sounds good! I really enjoyed Detention, so I’ve been meaning to play this at some point. Detention had amazing atmosphere.

[LazyPiranha]

Inscryption

Until Dawn

Miles Morales
Bloodborne
Mundaun

Castlvania Collection
Elden Ring
Evil Dead
Yakuza Kiwami 2

Splatoon 3
Hitman 3
Resident Evil 3

The Quarry

 

----------------------------------

 

Frog Detective 2 and Frog Detective 3

 

The lighthearted earnestness of these games isn't going to be for everyone. They're all short games, they don't really have much in terms of challenge for how to solve puzzles, etc.  That said, I wanted a funny, charming little break from the heavier stuff and I got exactly what I wanted.  Frog Detective 3 also features one of the funnier credit gags I can recall in a game.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Genesis Noir (PC - Game Pass)

If I had to use one word to describe this game, it would be "experimental".  Also "weird".  Maybe "experimentally weird".  Or "weirdly experimental".  You get the idea.  From a gameplay perspective, Genesis Noir is a relatively straightforward point n' click  adventure takes place across multiple vignettes that can be played in any order as there really isn't any connection between them.  As for what Genesis Noir is actually about, well...I'll just let the Wikipedia description speak for itself:

 

Quote

Genesis Noir plays as a metaphorical narrative between a film noir-style detective movie and aspects of the creation and potential destruction of the universe. It plays out the events of the Big Bang as a metaphor for a broken romance between No Man (representing time) trying to stop Golden Boy (representing energy) from killing Miss Mass (the mass of the universe).

 

Believe it or not, the game does a relatively competent -- if not entirely perfect -- job of actually executing that seemingly outlandish premise.  The main draw of the game will be its complete and total commitment to its black and white noir-ish motiff, naturally punctuated by a suitably noir-ish jazz soundtrack.  The gameplay in and of itself isn't particularly complex and while some puzzles may take a moment or two to figure out, none of them are especially head-scratching.  I think I do agree with the Rock Paper Shotgun reviewer who compared Genesis Noir to "an animated film, with bits where you borrow the main character in order to tackle strange, cosmic minigames".  

 

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the game takes a HELLUVA swerve out of nowhere in the last 20% or so into...I have absolutely no way to effectively describe exactly what happens during that part of the game other than to say that it would seem that whatever drugs the developers were taking at that point must've kicked in and they were damned good, whatever they were!  Seriously, you pretty much have to see it for yourself to fully understand (if that's even possible!) what I'm talking about.

 

As I mentioned to @crispy4000, Genesis Noir is very much the proverbial definition of an "acquired taste" and I do think it's worth your time to check it out, but if the first couple of chapters don't work for you, then I suggest you not bother with the rest.

 

Trek to Yomi (PC - Game Pass)

The main selling point in favor of Trek to Yomi is that its aesthetics are those of a side-scrolling Kurosawa film and make no mistake: those aesthetics are absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, the high quality of the visual and artistic presentation is about as far as I can go with significant positives for the game.  The actual gameplay loop never really rises above the level of "not broken" or "competent" and definitely skews closer to "tedious" or "underwhelming".  The narrative checks the boxes for just about every "samurai movie" trope you could possibly think of to the point where I'm convinced the developers actually used such a checklist.  Perhaps the most damning criticism that I can level at the game is that it overstays its welcome even though it's probably no more 5 to 7 hours long for non-completionist players.  There are definitely parts of the game that genuinely felt like pure filler and could easily have been trimmed to its overall benefit.  While it sounds like I'm being harsh, the fact of the matter is that Trek to Yomi isn't a "bad" game per se, but merely an incredibly mediocre one.  Sure, it might be worth a playthrough as a "palette cleanser" in between major releases -- especially if you already have Game Pass -- but your gaming time and budget is probably better spent elsewhere.

[X-pert74]

I beat the third and final path in Ys Origin. Glad that's taken care of.

 

Overall my thoughts are still the same as before, when I beat the previous two paths. I do think each of the protagonists has a fairly strong character arc, and I appreciate that story-wise, they all feel distinct from each other as far as their overall motive/journeys are concerned.

 

That said, I still don't think it was necessary to require players to beat the game 3 times to get the full story. 95% of the level design and boss encounters are the same in every single playthrough, so it's repetitive as hecc to play it that much to see everything. I'm glad it's over, and overall I would say I like the game... but that fact drags it down for me. Overall I would still consider my favorite Napishtim-engine game to be The Oath in Felghana.

 

Now... the next time I play an Ys game, it will be Ys Seven 👀 The first in a new style of Ys game entirely. Curious how I'll end up feeling about it.

[SaysWho?]

2022 Games

 

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Dark Souls Remastered (NG and 7/10s of a NG+ I think :p) 

The Forgotten City

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

L.A. Noire

Doom

Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!

Sonic Mania x2

God of War 1

God of War 2

God of War 3

God of War 2018

New Pokemon Snap

Resident Evil 2 Remake

 

RE2R is a replay for me, and I'm doing a second run with Claire at the moment. New Pokemon Snap... you know, I played the 64 version and had a lot of fun, and I can't quite put my finger on why snapping photos is so fun here? I guess it's discovering all the pokemon, discovering what you can get them to do, and the humor in the interactions between the pokemon. Either way, I quite enjoyed it, and it gives plenty of levels and variations to be worth every penny.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Four Last Things/The Procession to Calvary (PC - Steam)

I'm going to combine these two because they form the first and second installments of a "loose" trilogy of games by Joe Richardson (the final game "Death of the Reprobate" is "coming soon").  The only way to really describe this pair of VERY comedic point n' click adventures (man, I've played quite a few of that genre this year, eh?) would be that they're well and truly playable versions of Terry Gilliam's Monty Python vignettes.  The games use the art from Renaissance-era paintings to tell hilariously ludicrous, absurd stories that poke fun at organized religion, the wealthy and the powerful , and just about everyone else who sets themselves upon a pedestal.  Like the other point n' click titles I've mentioned in my write-ups so far, the puzzles aren't particularly complex or thought-provoking, but they are pretty damned entertaining and funny!  Both of the games are little more than a handful of hours long so you won't be making too much of a time commitment and the games certainly don't wear out their welcome in the least!  If you're even remotely interested in point n' click adventures and absurd/satirical humor, then you really do owe it to yourself to play this pair of gems!

 

And to whet your appetite, here are some screenshots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC - Steam)

Alright, let's get this out of the way up-front: I cheated the hell out of this game.  In fact, this is the exact trainer that I used.  And I make no apologies for that whatsoever!

 

You see, I don't have enough years left in my time on this Earth to "get good" at this game or any other game of this type, because -- let's face it -- I'm just not very good at video games at all.  You've all known that for just about as long as we've been posting together.  Hell, remember when I admitted that it took me about nine hours to complete the original Portal?!?  That tells you right there how utterly hopeless I am at video games which means that there ain't no way in hell that I'm going to even begin attempting to "learn" how to play a From Software title "the way it's meant to be played".  Sorry, but not sorry!

 

However, my gaming ineptitude shouldn't preclude me from experiencing the immaculate craftsmanship that's typically associated with a From Soft release and with that in mind, it's why I chose Sekiro to be the first of their games to engage with on the my own admittedly "questionable" terms and conditions.  And what an absolutely fascinating journey it turned out to be!  I think what drew me to Sekiro rather than one of the Dark Souls titles was the more relatively "simplistic" ARPG-style of Sekiro (fixed character with limited customization options) rather than the full-on RPG-style of Dark Souls (class-based character with significant customization options).  I also think the more fast-paced gameplay of Sekiro tipped the balance in its favor as well.

 

When I use the word "craftsmanship" to describe my experience with Sekiro, I genuinely do mean that with all the significance that its use implies.  I can honestly say that I cannot recall the last time I played a game that was so very "deliberate" in its approach to just about every facet of its component parts.  Simply put, nothing seems out of place or extraneous - if something is there, then it serves a well-defined purpose and doesn't simply exist just for its own sake.  For example, the gameplay environments themselves struck the perfect balance between being large enough to reward exploration and curiosity, but not to the extent where a player would feel short-changed if they decided to simply forgo that exploration and head straight to the objective.  My understanding is that Sekiro is more linear than the Dark Souls games so perhaps that's where this notion of mine has its foundation.  

 

As for the combat, what can I say about the combat that hasn't been stated by gaming writers and analysts vastly more eloquently than me...and I bet they didn't even have to use a cheat/trainer in the process!  Even though I was essentially playing with "God Mode" activated, I could readily see the high degree of care that went in to developing Sekiro's blisteringly fast-paced combat system and encounters.  What I do think my "dishonest" playstyle enabled was the opportunity for me to truly observe my opponents' tactics, movesets, and animations without the pressure of actually engaging in real combat with them.  That "no pressure" observation genuinely enhanced my appreciation for the sheer craftsmanship skills of the developers responsible for those combat encounters as nothing I saw struck me as being deliberately "unfair" or "cheap" but could be overcome with practice, patience, timing...and probably just a little bit o' luck   Heck, there were a couple of mini boss fights where I did turn the cheat off to fight 'em "fairly" and I did experience a wonderful feeling of triumph when I finally did beat 'em...after countless attempts over the course of many hours!

 

I well and truly did enjoy the hell out of my time with Sekiro and I personally don't feel that I short-changed or compromised my gameplay experience by using the cheat/trainer in any way whatsoever!  If anything, I had a vastly more pleasurable, satisfying time with the game as a god-like Sekiro than I otherwise would had I set my sights on attempting to play it the "correct" way.  I fully intend to play Elden Ring early next year to play a more "traditional" Souls-like game...naturally using this cheat/trainer, of course

[best3444]

More power to you, really. Is there a trainer for Demon Souls? Anyone know?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Just now, best3444 said:

More power to you, really. Is there a trainer for Demon Souls? Anyone know?

 

Trainers only exist for PC versions of games

[best3444]

3 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Trainers only exist for PC versions of games

 

Oh. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

SOMA (PC - Steam)

This one had been in my "definitely gotta play" backlog for a helluva long time, so when @Brick posted the Shocktober 2022 thread at the beginning of last month, that was all the impetus I needed to finally make good on my long-held intention. 

 

As I mentioned in that thread, I decided to play the game in its "Safe Mode" where the monsters can't actually kill the player character (but they can still attack).  The reason I decided to play the game this way is because a consistent theme from reviewers and players is that the actual interactive "gameplay" aspects of SOMA (the monster encounters) aren't particularly very good at all -- in fact, the words "annoying", "nuisance", "frustrating", "pointless", "exasperating", and "tacked on" are some of the most commonly used to describe the player's interaction with the creatures -- and they only serve to otherwise undermine the "true" psychological horror of SOMA which is the game's fantastically oppressive atmosphere of near-total solitude and its extremely "unsettling" (to say the least!) yet thought-provoking philosophical premise.  There is little doubt in my mind that the game would've been far better served if it had fully embraced a "walking simulator with mild puzzle-solving" ethos  and ditched the monster sequences completely.  Such a change would've allowed the player to become fully immersed in uncovering and understanding the spiralling descent of the inhabitants of Pathos-II without the distraction action-based interactive sequences that really added nothing to the overall narrative arc.  While the game's overall voice-acting is completely adequate, there were times when I felt that tone used by the player character's voice actor didn't necessarily match the particular situation which was a bit "immersion-breaking".  The game's superb use of audio logs, personal journal entries, text-based computer data files, drawings/schematics, etc. is more than up to the task of fleshing-out the tragic events that occurred on Pathos-II and created a greater emotional/narrative impression on me than the vocal interactions involving the protagonist. 

 

I know it seems that I have a fair amount of negative impressions of the game, but I can assure you that's simply not the case at all as these criticisms are relatively minor in the grand scheme of the game's overall presentation!  The philosophical questions about the nature of "identity" and "consciousness" raised by the game certainly deserve to be engaged with by as many players as possible and if you're looking for a gaming experience that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck as you sit in a darkened room wearing headphones, then SOMA is more than worth your time as it was mine!

[stepee]

On 11/5/2022 at 6:38 PM, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC - Steam)

Alright, let's get this out of the way up-front: I cheated the hell out of this game.  In fact, this is the exact trainer that I used.  And I make no apologies for that whatsoever!

 

You see, I don't have enough years left in my time on this Earth to "get good" at this game or any other game of this type, because -- let's face it -- I'm just not very good at video games at all.  You've all known that for just about as long as we've been posting together.  Hell, remember when I admitted that it took me about nine hours to complete the original Portal?!?  That tells you right there how utterly hopeless I am at video games which means that there ain't no way in hell that I'm going to even begin attempting to "learn" how to play a From Software title "the way it's meant to be played".  Sorry, but not sorry!

 

However, my gaming ineptitude shouldn't preclude me from experiencing the immaculate craftsmanship that's typically associated with a From Soft release and with that in mind, it's why I chose Sekiro to be the first of their games to engage with on the my own admittedly "questionable" terms and conditions.  And what an absolutely fascinating journey it turned out to be!  I think what drew me to Sekiro rather than one of the Dark Souls titles was the more relatively "simplistic" ARPG-style of Sekiro (fixed character with limited customization options) rather than the full-on RPG-style of Dark Souls (class-based character with significant customization options).  I also think the more fast-paced gameplay of Sekiro tipped the balance in its favor as well.

 

When I use the word "craftsmanship" to describe my experience with Sekiro, I genuinely do mean that with all the significance that its use implies.  I can honestly say that I cannot recall the last time I played a game that was so very "deliberate" in its approach to just about every facet of its component parts.  Simply put, nothing seems out of place or extraneous - if something is there, then it serves a well-defined purpose and doesn't simply exist just for its own sake.  For example, the gameplay environments themselves struck the perfect balance between being large enough to reward exploration and curiosity, but not to the extent where a player would feel short-changed if they decided to simply forgo that exploration and head straight to the objective.  My understanding is that Sekiro is more linear than the Dark Souls games so perhaps that's where this notion of mine has its foundation.  

 

As for the combat, what can I say about the combat that hasn't been stated by gaming writers and analysts vastly more eloquently than me...and I bet they didn't even have to use a cheat/trainer in the process!  Even though I was essentially playing with "God Mode" activated, I could readily see the high degree of care that went in to developing Sekiro's blisteringly fast-paced combat system and encounters.  What I do think my "dishonest" playstyle enabled was the opportunity for me to truly observe my opponents' tactics, movesets, and animations without the pressure of actually engaging in real combat with them.  That "no pressure" observation genuinely enhanced my appreciation for the sheer craftsmanship skills of the developers responsible for those combat encounters as nothing I saw struck me as being deliberately "unfair" or "cheap" but could be overcome with practice, patience, timing...and probably just a little bit o' luck   Heck, there were a couple of mini boss fights where I did turn the cheat off to fight 'em "fairly" and I did experience a wonderful feeling of triumph when I finally did beat 'em...after countless attempts over the course of many hours!

 

I well and truly did enjoy the hell out of my time with Sekiro and I personally don't feel that I short-changed or compromised my gameplay experience by using the cheat/trainer in any way whatsoever!  If anything, I had a vastly more pleasurable, satisfying time with the game as a god-like Sekiro than I otherwise would had I set my sights on attempting to play it the "correct" way.  I fully intend to play Elden Ring early next year to play a more "traditional" Souls-like game...naturally using this cheat/trainer, of course

 

I normally can’t progress in these games but Elden Ring was actually reasonably fair..as long as you don’t mind using summons for some of the boss fights. Even then, I did a lot myself too. I’d at least give it a shot without a trainer imo. 

 

As for this one, glad to hear it’s still satisfying with a cheat engine as this is one game I would like to play at some point with one as well!

[LazyPiranha]

Inscryption

Until Dawn

Miles Morales
Bloodborne
Mundaun

Castlvania Collection
Elden Ring
Evil Dead
Yakuza Kiwami 2

Splatoon 3
Hitman 3
Resident Evil 3

The Quarry
Frog Detective 2

Frog Detective 3

 

———————————————

 

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle R

 

I’m terrible at fighting games, but even with that in mind the fighting system in this game seems kind of mediocre.  It runs largely off of an auto-combo system which is fine but makes most things feel largely flat.  
 

The main reason to come to this game is the fan service and hoooooo boy the people who made this game must have loved Jojo because it has a level of detail to it that is truly impressive.  Tiny little moment are recreated with affection, each of the dozens of characters feel genuine to themselves with their look, mannerisms, and moveset.  Part of the remaster was also bringing in the latest set of voice actors from the anime to replace the voices that were in the game before the new series released.  
 

The downside of this is while they all now sound “right” if you’ve watched the show, they ditched the story mode from the original likely to cut down on the amount of work needed for the actors.  All you get is a series of preselected fights, some of which map directly the the story of the series and some of which are just fun mashups.  Jonathan meeting all of his descendants, Dio meeting other villains, it’s all fun but very surface level.  You also have a slightly weird breakdown when it comes to Diamond is Unbreakable where the show version skews towards the more modern art style but the game skews towards the older style, so a lot of the main characters look slightly off.  Josuke in particular looks very different from how he does in the show, Golden Wind and Stone Ocean look closer.  
 

If you want to spend some time in the world of JJBA it’s a fine way to do that, but if you’re deep into execution fighting games or looking for a deep story mode you’re out of luck.  
 

On a weird side note, the screenshot feature on this game at least on the switch is incredibly obnoxious.  Every shot you take has basically the entire bottom right of the screen completely covered with copyright stuff.  I wanted to take some shots because characters call out their moves and some of them are named funny things like “you shithead” only for it to be completely covered by legal stuff.  

[Brian]

Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope is a top tier sequel. It improves on everything from the first game. I never finished the first game due to the linear nature of the game and combat. 9/10 

[dualhunter]

Finished Return of the Dark Sorcerer which is a hack of Final Fantasy VI. It's basically like a remix of FFVI, most areas are the same but there a some changes and new areas. The world maps are completely rearranged and except for Mog all the characters have been replaced. Some of the new characters resemble the originals and some are from other FF games. So the main story was familiar despite the changes but some characters are found in different places in the second world. Overall it was an interesting experience but making changes to FFVI means many of them will make things worse. Lots of music from different games but again, at the cost of the original soundtrack. I missed a few things but I'm not sure if I'll bother with them or take advantage of the New Game + feature.

[LazyPiranha]

Inscryption

Until Dawn

Miles Morales
Bloodborne
Mundaun

Castlvania Collection
Elden Ring
Evil Dead
Yakuza Kiwami 2

Splatoon 3
Hitman 3
Resident Evil 3

The Quarry
Frog Detective 2

Frog Detective 3
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle R

 

—————————————

 

Metroid Dread

 

Slowly working my way through games I have backlogged for no real reason.  Metroid i at least have some excuse, when the game came out I beat a boss, lost the thread of where I was supposed to go, then put it down and just played other stuff.

 

Metroid Dread is a great game that suffers purely by comparison of being a semi-direct sequel to one of the greatest games of all time.  Yes, there’s no denying that Dread’s environments, music, and enemies are worse than Super Metroid’s, but you can lodge that complaint against essentially every other game ever made and still be right.   Is any story beat of The Last of Us going to have the same impact of being a kid and watching a huge ass Metroid sacrifice itself to save Samus AND give her a dope ass blaster than gives Mother Brain whiplash with every shot?  No, and it’s not even close.

 

There are two main problems with Dread; first it is all too similar and second it is far too bloated.  All of the areas, and there are several, feel the same flavor of weirdly industrialized interiors but with a different color filter.  This area is slightly blue, this one green, this one red, etc.  There doesn’t feel like any reason any of the enemies are where they are beyond occasionally an underwater enemy looks vaguely aquatic.  The bloat is less story and more items, I finished the game finding things naturally in my path and occasionally doubling back and ended up with less than 50% completion.  I have no idea why you’d want to get more.  Late game upgrades like super bombs have no real enemies to use them against and you’re already drowning in missiles and health, it feels like completion for completion’s sake.

 

Beyond that, the games difficulty and melee deflects liven things up, if the game were any easier the whole thing would feel weightless.  It’s exactly as long and as challenging as it needs to be in order to give you a concentrated bit of that Metroid feel without overstaying it’s welcome.  

[Biggie]

Finished GOW 2018. One of the very few games I’ve finished. Until now Spider-Man was my all time favorite with Uncharted 4 a close second. GOW is right up there. Fantastic fucking game. 

[best3444]

3 hours ago, Biggie said:

Finished GOW 2018. One of the very few games I’ve finished. Until now Spider-Man was my all time favorite with Uncharted 4 a close second. GOW is right up there. Fantastic fucking game. 

 

It's fantastic you beat it because now you can really understand and enjoy Ragnarok. 

[Biggie]

24 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

It's fantastic you beat it because now you can really understand and enjoy Ragnarok. 

Yeah. That ending was 👀

[dualhunter]

Finished Landstalker. I heard about it back when I played Alundra when somebody recommended it. It was an earlier game by the same dev on Genesis and is similar but simpler. It was enjoyable but I don't think I'd have liked it on Genesis. The game is rotated so that it's diagonal and that can make movement a pain at times. On the Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics version you have save states and rewind so it's much easier to enjoy.

 

Also finished Toejam & Earl.

[Phaseknox]

I finished Dragon Audit, it was a comedic and cute little third person point-and-click style adventure game. It’s primarily an interactive story with some key item puzzle solving throughout. It’s extremely low budget and was made by only a few people, but I found charm in it and enjoyed it for the most part. It’s kind of an anime style romantic comedy, and the humor is funny most of the time. The key item puzzles aren’t very challenging, but still somewhat clever and fun. The problem is that it’s extremely short, and the story is incomplete. It only took me a couple hours to finish, and it ends before the story is concluded as if it’s going to be continued in a sequel which I don’t think that there’s going to be. I enjoyed what there was of the game as I liked the story, characters and humor, but unfortunately there’s just not enough of it and it ends before the story is over. It feels like the first episode of an episodic game, but it’s not an episodic game as far as I know.

 

2022 games

Far Cry 6

Light Fairytale Episode 1

Light Fairytale Episode 2

Raging Justice

Tormented Souls

Eight Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Warhammer: Chaosbane

Fuse

Antiquia Lost

Shenmue

Alice: Madness Returns

Bloodshore

Darksiders III

Itadaki Smash

Gemini: Heroes Reborn

Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip

Ion Fury

Mayhem Brawler

Saints Row

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars

Dragon Audit

[Phaseknox]

I finished Ys: Memories of Celceta, and it was a decent action RPG for the most part. It originally came out for Vita nine years ago so it was dated from a technical standpoint, but I still found charm in its somewhat rudimentary graphics and design structure. It basically looked and played like a PS2 JRPG, so I enjoyed its somewhat throwback feel. It felt a bit bloated having six playable characters each with more special attack options than were necessary, overly long/repetitive levels and an overabundance of materials to collect for armor and weapon enhancing that was pretty much unnecessary. The story was only ok, I didn’t find it all that interesting and it was a bit drawn-out. The characters were appealing, but there were more than needed especially considering that you could only have three in your party at one time. While it took me 30 hours to finish, I would have preferred it to be shorter since the story, character interactions and levels dragged a bit at times. It was entertaining enough to finish, but I enjoyed Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana a lot more overall. While similar in a lot of ways, I found it to be a significantly better game.

 

2022 games

Far Cry 6

Light Fairytale Episode 1

Light Fairytale Episode 2

Raging Justice

Tormented Souls

Eight Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Warhammer: Chaosbane

Fuse

Antiquia Lost

Shenmue

Alice: Madness Returns

Bloodshore

Darksiders III

Itadaki Smash

Gemini: Heroes Reborn

Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip

Ion Fury

Mayhem Brawler

Saints Row

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars

Dragon Audit

Ys: Memories of Celceta

[SaysWho?]

Stray - Stray was an adorable game. At its core, it's a simple platformer-puzzle game, with cute ways to utilize the cat (rubbing on NPCs and making them happy) and sneaking through areas like barred doors and holes in the walls. It's around 6 hours in length and is a mostly relaxing game. There are a few times when you'll have to sneak around enemies or "kill" enemies using a light, but even then, it's not intensive or anything.

 

Enjoy the atmosphere of this one. My gripe is the ending. I think the ending itself actually does some cool things and earns its conclusion, but there are a couple things that left me disappointed, mostly 

Spoiler

not seeing a reunion or hearing a "meow" from your colony. The entire time we were playing, we were hoping to reunite with the feral colony you loved on at the beginning, but they're never referenced again.  

However, the "sky" opening up and killing the Zurks and enemy robots while the characters you met look up in amazement? Lovely. And B-12's sacrifice (but possibly not considering the last second) was emotional.

 

2022 Games

 

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Dark Souls Remastered (NG and 7/10s of a NG+ I think :p) 

The Forgotten City

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

L.A. Noire

Doom

Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!

Sonic Mania x2

God of War 1

God of War 2

God of War 3

God of War 2018

New Pokémon Snap

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Stray

 

 

On 11/16/2022 at 7:32 PM, Biggie said:

Yeah. That ending was 👀

 

Sweet, that means you got the real ending.

[stepee]

 

Ghostwire

Steel Assault

Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom

Star Wars Fallen Jedi

Life is Strange True Colors

Metroid Dread

Metal Slug 2

Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle (played through em all)

Mafia Definitive Edition

Elden Ring

Dying Light 2

Horizon: Forbidden West

Kirby: GOTY Edition

Goblin Sword

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Oli Oli World

Sonic Colors

Pokemon Legends

Mail Mole

Grapple Dog

Megaman x4

Megaman x7

AC Valhalla (incl  paris and ireland dlc!)

Sifu

Toree 3D

Toree 2

Klonoa 2022 remaster

Klonoa 2 remaster

Sonic Adventure

Sonic Triple Trouble Remake

Saints Row

Splatoon 3

Bright Memory Infinite

Plagues Tale: Innocence 

Gotham knights

Sonic Frontiers

 

Keeping my list up to date with GK and Sonic! GOW2 should join next week. GOW2 is coming up and might get another 2 or 3 in before years end. We will see!

[LazyPiranha]

Inscryption

Until Dawn

Miles Morales
Bloodborne
Mundaun

Castlvania Collection
Elden Ring
Evil Dead
Yakuza Kiwami 2

Splatoon 3
Hitman 3
Resident Evil 3

The Quarry
Frog Detective 2

Frog Detective 3
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle R
Metroid Dread

 

———————————————

 

Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

 

 

I am a huge Phoenix Wright mark, I’ve played all the games, most of them several times, and it’s one of the few series I will buy day one without hesitation.  If you’ve ever played one of these games, you know exactly what you’re getting and the series has overall done an exceptional job of giving people exactly what they want.  
 

The only criticism I would have is negated by this

being a compilation of the two games, the first of the two games in the series just… ends.  All the other Ace Attorney games, even though they have an overarching plot between them, at least have a cohesive game specific plot, but the first Great Ace Attorney feels exactly like a halfway mark and it would be incredibly unsatisfying to have just that as a single game.

 

The new characters are fun and charming, puns are just as bad as they’ve ever been, the cases are just the right amount of comically absurd, and everyone talks themselves into a corner where they inevitably confess to everything.  

[dualhunter]

Finished Supraland.

[LazyPiranha]

Inscryption

Until Dawn

Miles Morales
Bloodborne
Mundaun

Castlvania Collection
Elden Ring
Evil Dead
Yakuza Kiwami 2

Splatoon 3
Hitman 3
Resident Evil 3

The Quarry
Frog Detective 2

Frog Detective 3
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle R
Metroid Dread

Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

 

———————————

 

RE Village Shadows of Rose DLC

 

This is bittersweet in a lot of ways.  Shadows of Rose, if Capcom plays it straight, can easily be seen as a farewell to the Winters for the time being as it places everything in a nice place where you don’t feel like they left the threads hanging needlessly while also leaving enough space to continue on with Rose from here.

 

As someone who genuinely enjoyed Ethan and found him one of the more charming RE characters of the past fifteen years or so, this is a bummer.  It’s doubly disappointing when this also almost certainly bodes the end of first person RE games.  RE7 was exactly what the series needed and it made the hoary old series come to life.  With the success of RE2’s remake, Capcom seems perfectly content to bury this new style of RE game and continue pumping out RE4 clones of varying quality until the hit another wall creatively.  So far the worst they’ve done is RE3 remake which was simply decent, but we’ll see how far this road takes them again.

 

 

[Brian]

Evil West - 7/10 - it’s full of jank and weird design decisions but it’s still a fun romp. Definitely wait for a good discount or Game Pass

[Phaseknox]

I finished Valkyrie Elysium, and it was a somewhat average linear third person action hack ‘n slash game. There are only a few levels and enemy types which are recycled throughout. The story and characters are only mildly interesting, and the graphics are somewhat dated looking. It looks and plays like a PS3/Xbox 360 generation game. The combat is fun and is primarily what kept me playing until the end, but the game overall is lacking in a lot of ways.

 

2022 games

Far Cry 6

Light Fairytale Episode 1

Light Fairytale Episode 2

Raging Justice

Tormented Souls

Eight Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Warhammer: Chaosbane

Fuse

Antiquia Lost

Shenmue

Alice: Madness Returns

Bloodshore

Darksiders III

Itadaki Smash

Gemini: Heroes Reborn

Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip

Ion Fury

Mayhem Brawler

Saints Row

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars

Dragon Audit

Ys: Memories of Celceta

Valkyrie Elysium

[stepee]

Adding Evil West, GOW2, and Shredders Revenge to the list! GOW2 is of course some of the best gaming out there.

 

Evil West I think I liked a little more than @Brian , it’s definitely a 7/10 kind of game but for me I’d put it closer to an 8 like if I were using the old school ign scale Id give it a 7.9 or something to show it just being under a 8 for me. I think about how much fun I had a decent amount after beating it which is a good sign. If they just toned down the sponge on enemy’s I really think it would be a 8/10, there’s a lot of fun to be had but also with some frustration.

 

Shredders Revenge is weird because it’s a 90s throwback but the graphics are still the highlight for me. I just love how the game looks, it’s like if System 32 was a home system. I would love 500 more games that look like it. I find it okay as a beat ‘em up. I might be unfairly comparing it to SOR4 since that is one of the best beat ‘em ups ever, but that is what my bar is right now and it’s not as good. I found it harder to really juggle the environments strategically and just being a shorter game that encourages replays for unlocks works better for this type of game. 

 

Ghostwire

Steel Assault

Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom

Star Wars Fallen Jedi

Life is Strange True Colors

Metroid Dread

Metal Slug 2

Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle (played through em all)

Mafia Definitive Edition

Elden Ring

Dying Light 2

Horizon: Forbidden West

Kirby: GOTY Edition

Goblin Sword

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Oli Oli World

Sonic Colors

Pokemon Legends

Mail Mole

Grapple Dog

Megaman x4

Megaman x7

AC Valhalla (incl  paris and ireland dlc!)

Sifu

Toree 3D

Toree 2

Klonoa 2022 remaster

Klonoa 2 remaster

Sonic Adventure

Sonic Triple Trouble Remake

Saints Row

Splatoon 3

Bright Memory Infinite

Plagues Tale: Innocence 

Gotham knights

Sonic Frontiers

TMNT: Shredders Revenge

Evil West

God of War 2

[Phaseknox]

I finished Roki, it was a charming and cute point-and-click adventure puzzle game based on Scandinavian folklore.

 

2022 games

Far Cry 6

Light Fairytale Episode 1

Light Fairytale Episode 2

Raging Justice

Tormented Souls

Eight Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Warhammer: Chaosbane

Fuse

Antiquia Lost

Shenmue

Alice: Madness Returns

Bloodshore

Darksiders III

Itadaki Smash

Gemini: Heroes Reborn

Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip

Ion Fury

Mayhem Brawler

Saints Row

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars

Dragon Audit

Ys: Memories of Celceta

Valkyrie Elysium

Roki

[Brian]

GoWR - Kirby is my GOTY but this is a close second. Where I found Horizon Forbidden West to drag on and lose my interest due to the sheer size, GoWR, an equally large game, is able to strike a balance where I felt engaged throughout it. It’s really impressive. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

God of War Ragnarok - PS5

 

Far Cry 6 - PC

Spider-Man: Miles Morales PS5

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch

Super Smash Bros Ultimate(Adventure mode) - Switch

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project - NES

Batman: Arkham Origins - PC

The Quarry - PS5

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - PS5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge - PC

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim - PC

God of War Ragnarok - PS5

 

11 games, but 110 books(I'll likely add on a couple more by the end of the year). Guess I know where my priorities lie these days.

[stepee]

Adding Lunistice which I beat last night and continued playing because you unlock Torre, speaking of, @crispy4000

 

Basically if this looks fun to you:

 

 

Then probably check it out.

 

Solid 6.5 or whatever you would score a fun but simple and brief indie 3D platformer. Not as good as Mail Mole or Toree but it’s definitely a lot of fun imo and I do love how it looks and the themes chosen.

 

Ghostwire

Steel Assault

Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom

Star Wars Fallen Jedi

Life is Strange True Colors

Metroid Dread

Metal Slug 2

Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle (played through em all)

Mafia Definitive Edition

Elden Ring

Dying Light 2

Horizon: Forbidden West

Kirby: GOTY Edition

Goblin Sword

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Oli Oli World

Sonic Colors

Pokemon Legends

Mail Mole

Grapple Dog

Megaman x4

Megaman x7

AC Valhalla (incl  paris and ireland dlc!)

Sifu

Toree 3D

Toree 2

Klonoa 2022 remaster

Klonoa 2 remaster

Sonic Adventure

Sonic Triple Trouble Remake

Saints Row

Splatoon 3

Bright Memory Infinite

Plagues Tale: Innocence 

Gotham knights

Sonic Frontiers

TMNT: Shredders Revenge

Evil West

God of War 2

Lunistice

[SaysWho?]

God of War: Ragnarok on the PS5.

 

Sense of Discovery

Spoiler

 

When I was going through Svartalfheim and then got to Alfheim, I got an idea -- or thought I did -- of how God of War: Ragnarok was going to handle exploration. Besides some secrets in the more linear 8-10 hour games, they were not known for discovery. They had some secrets -- particularly one really cool one I remember in Pandora's Temple in the first game -- but this wasn't some Red Dead 2/Witcher 3 series where you're trying to get lost in the world and stumble upon cool things by accident.

 

 

God of War 2018 changed that. The Lake of Nine was fantastic level design that changed based on where the World Serpent was, with this decently sizable world which shed some of itself and opened up new areas to discover, including in areas you may have already visited. I enjoyed looking at the map and going, "Huh, there's a beach there. I wonder if I can dock," and before you know it, you discovered a secret area with a cool runic attack you can earn through puzzles.

 

For Ragnarok, I first noticed that the worlds had their own wide areas to explore, but I wondered if they'd try to replicate the Lake of Nine stuff. And in some ways, they did. Svartalheim is more straight-forward, but Alfheim changes as you free the Hafgufa, which allows you to get to more areas and leads to a calmer, truly beautiful world.

 

 

The Lake of Nine is really cool to see in its frozen form, taking the "same" world but making it feel like a new experience. But Vanaheim and the Crater are totally the bee's knees.

 

 

First you lose a character in a strangely emotional scene even though you didn't really know him well. But after the mission, once you're being led to that character (which now you know is important considering how important the previous scene was framed), you're thrust into this violent world with explosions and dragons flying around and attacking you from afar. The whole damned thing is optional, just as the Forbidden Sands are in Alfheim! And the more you do, the better the world becomes, from the rivers flowing with water again, to yes, discovering previously inaccessible areas, to the dragons not rampaging the crater anymore. 

 

And there's more! The day/night cycle opens up new areas. You're hunted by an enemy that takes multiple fights to beat, and either its blood from its wound leads you to her lair, or you may stumble upon it prior to fighting her. Hell, one of the biggest surprises was exploring the area and stumbling upon the fucking wishing well! Did NOT expect something like that since stumbling into the optional area was crazy enough. Hey, I'm at one of the shop locations and I hear grumbling, wtf there's a fire troll there on the battlefield!

 

Side Quests and Post Game

Spoiler

 

But there's more! I wasn't expecting a boss fight to end the Odin's Ravens quest. I wasn't expecting a NEW area of Helheim to open and then find fucking real Týr (which is accomplished through notes/lore you pick up and isn't given to you as a quest marker). I wasn't expecting to search for that undiscovered marker in Muspelheim and find another optional boss -- arguably the hardest in the game, but there's more disagreement in this game as to what's the hardest -- just pacing back and forth and ready to destroy me. 

 

 

A lot of the sense of discovery naturally meshes with side quests because what you discover off the beaten path is going to be something optional. The fact that, even after discovery, I still wasn't expecting how some of these side quests would evolve. Odin's Ravens were basically collectibles in 2018 but still cool since you felt Odin was watching you even though you could never see him. Here, you still get that, but now there's a story behind them and, for me, a surprise boss at the end. 

 

I thought 2018 did a good job adding some father-son lessons into its side quests; trust is an issue that's explored in at least several of them. In this game, there are several series of side missions that I feel explore the side characters. In Svartalheim, many of the side quests I did in the north expanded on Mimir's path. In Vanaheim, many of them explored Freya, and in the Crater, many of them expanded on Faye. 

 

Post-game really nailed it. I remember really enjoying the Arkham post-game worlds, particularly City and Knight, because it felt like the world kept going even as the main story ended, which doesn't always happen. God of War Ragnarok got this right: you have the remnants of Asgard -- the side missions and Gná herself -- still trying to fight for Odin even after the main battle has ended. Lúnda takes over for Brok and Sindri post-game. Thrúd wants to make her father proud, and you see a little cool scene with her in Midgard at the end. As mentioned, you get to free the real Týr and watch as he goes world to world and sees the changes since he's been imprisoned.

 

I dig stuff like that. I'm not against the game putting you back before the final boss or simply finishing the side quests you missed, but I do appreciate the work that goes into making the world feel as if it's changed and evolved since the endgame.

 

Bosses

Spoiler

In God of War 2018, the Valkyries and the Muspelheim trials were the areas that really made me appreciate the combat more than ever. In this game, the Muspelheim trials did so again, but the Berserker battles were really epic! I did NOT find the multi-berserker battles to be the hardest compared to the King and Gná, although they were definitely tricky and required several attempts! 

 

In general, I think Ragnarok did a good job on getting back to what made something like God of War 2 stand out: a good mix of big and smaller bosses. You have your demons and drakes and dragons, you have your trolls, you have your berserkers, you have your demons, and it's more of a variety than the Valkyries and troll mini-bosses from the first game (even though the trolls really weren't designed to be bosses in 2018, they felt like mini-bosses). 

 

2018 did have a whole set of valkyries, however, so they had many optional bosses even if they were differentiations and evolutions of each other, so I paid more attention to what main story bosses were in this game. Many were memorable for different reasons, some were clever (Thor "killing" you, Grýla's cauldron, Heimdall's ability to read your movements), and it was that good mix of bosses who were closer to human-sized and bosses who were big and imposing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In fact, in regards to Heimdall, I feel I wasn't using the spear much at first, but the Heimdall battle makes you use it, and you start to appreciate its speed, its ranged attacks, and its versatility. It ended up being a great weapon and a wonderful way to introduce players to the spear if they hadn't used it much up to that point.

 

Grandeur and Atmosphere

Spoiler

 

My opinion of God of War 2018 is that it's a terrific game. I did think that it felt a bit smaller to me even though you travel to plenty of realms and encounter large enemies, which I think is partially due to the one-shot camera keeping it more personable and intimate between you and the characters. You never saw Thor or Odin or the pantheon in Asgard, so while you encountered enemies, it didn't feel as much as a Norse adventure quite yet. Part of that is likely due to the fact that I was not as familiar with Baldur, Magni, or Modi, however! Whatever the reason, I didn't view that as something "bad" with the game, just different.

 

 

Ragnarok felt a bit more like a grand adventure by opening up the realms that were inaccessible in 2018 (which, again, I didn't view as a negative and the story reasons did give Odin a presence despite not physically being in the game). It also opened up the number of bosses and Norse characters you met, and it opened up the kinds of characters you met. For example, there was something quite magical about meeting Ratatoskr.

 

 

Or encountering his personality squirrels along the way. Angrboda and Jötunheim felt otherworldly and peaceful, an interesting sight considering all the either risque or gory sights we've seen in the series so far. The Spark at the End of the World was a stunning sight, both due to the events with Surtr and the boss that followed. Then you had Asgard's imposing sight and its cast of characters.

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the Asgard sections quite a bit for this feeling, especially since you're actually able to spend time with the Norse gods and see what makes them click; they separate themselves with their wall as much as the Greek gods do from Mount Olympus. 

 

All in all, I loved the game and have the urge to replay it early in the new year despite how much is in the game.

 

2022 Games

 

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Dark Souls Remastered (NG and 7/10s of a NG+ I think :p) 

The Forgotten City

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

L.A. Noire

Doom

Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!

Sonic Mania x2

God of War 1

God of War 2

God of War 3

God of War 2018

New Pokémon Snap

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Stray

God of War: Ragnarok