Games Beaten 2026

[RobertAugustdeMeijer]

For Silent Hill 2, I think it's important to reinforce how much of a loser the main character is.

[TheSSNintendo]

1. Deja Vu: MacVenture Series
2. Deja Vu II: MacVenture Series
3. Earthworm Jim 2 (SNES/Switch Online)
4. Crash Banidcoot: The Huge Adventure (Gameboy Advance)
5. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Switch)
6. Lego Batman: The Video Game (Steam)
7. Ys III - Wanderers from Ys (SNES)
8. Suikoden II HD Remaster (Switch)
9. Technobabylon (GOG)
10. Crystalis (NES/Switch Online)

[marurun]

I love Crystalis but I got stuck bitd in the late game. There was a big boss I couldn't damage, and I didn't know what upgrade or item I was missing. From looking online it was Draygon's Dragon form.

[RobertAugustdeMeijer]

14: Rise of the Tomb Raider

While the Uncharted games will make you wish you were just watching a movie, Rise of the Tomb Raider makes you wish you were playing an Uncharted game. The "best" parts are when it mimics Indy's action sequences, which are competently done, but still aren't anything special. In between there is half-assed stealth, surivival elements, puzzles, side-quests, and shooting. Don't think too hard about any of the historical mysticism, as it veers between nonsensical and offensive. For what it's worth, you can collect a fair share of abilities and occasionally tackle a situation in a creative manner. But an immersive sim experience this is not.

3/10

[MrPopo]

I love Crystalis but I got stuck bitd in the late game. There was a big boss I couldn't damage, and I didn't know what upgrade or item I was missing. From looking online it was Draygon's Dragon form.

Yeah, Crystalis definitely is missing some quality of life to it. Switching weapons being so cumbersome combined with enemies on screen having a disjoint set of vulnerabilities can make combat a slog as you get later into the game.

[marurun]

I love Crystalis but I got stuck bitd in the late game. There was a big boss I couldn't damage, and I didn't know what upgrade or item I was missing. From looking online it was Draygon's Dragon form.

Yeah, Crystalis definitely is missing some quality of life to it. Switching weapons being so cumbersome combined with enemies on screen having a disjoint set of vulnerabilities can make combat a slog as you get later into the game.

Crystalis is a game that was so close to being truly incredible. A few quality of life updates would dramatically elevate the game. It could be a fun concept to revisit.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I love Crystalis but I got stuck bitd in the late game. There was a big boss I couldn't damage, and I didn't know what upgrade or item I was missing. From looking online it was Draygon's Dragon form.

Yeah, Crystalis definitely is missing some quality of life to it. Switching weapons being so cumbersome combined with enemies on screen having a disjoint set of vulnerabilities can make combat a slog as you get later into the game.

Crystalis is a game that was so close to being truly incredible. A few quality of life updates would dramatically elevate the game. It could be a fun concept to revisit.

Agree completely. It was sooooo close to being a true classic. Unfortunately, when they did revisit it for the GBC port, they made the game drastically worse. It’d be cool to get a modern remake, perhaps, which I think would work really well with a few tweaks.

[marurun]

Crystalis is a game that was so close to being truly incredible. A few quality of life updates would dramatically elevate the game. It could be a fun concept to revisit.

Agree completely. It was sooooo close to being a true classic. Unfortunately, when they did revisit it for the GBC port, they made the game drastically worse. It’d be cool to get a modern remake, perhaps, which I think would work really well with a few tweaks.

Yeah, the elemental swords already were pretty cool. A more modern take could really expand on elemental effects on the environment. And the music was SO good. Some modern takes on those tunes would be great. And the story, while maybe not as compelling by modern standards, is still some interesting world building.

[Note]

1. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (SAT)
2. Castle Crashers Remastered (NSW)
3. Soul Calibur (DC)



4. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

I still remember the first time I tried Final Fantasy VII. My friend was able to get a copy in the fall of 1997 right around the time of the game's release. We had made plans to hang out a few days prior and he called me up to let me know he would bring it over, which I wasn't expecting. At the time, the game was highly anticipated, so I was surprised he was able to get a copy. It was awesome to experience the first few hours of it! I would eventually get my own copy as a gift a few months later on Christmas Day. While I put a lot of hours into the game back then, I unfortunately had an unreliable third party memory card and lost my save file for a few different playthroughs. Due to that issue, I never finished it back then but at the same time, I didn't feel up to revisiting it for quite a while either. It's been quite a number of years at this point, and I was feeling up to revisiting Final Fantasy VII again. For this playthrough, I was determined to complete the game and I'm happy to say that I did so. I recruited all available characters, acquired all of their limit breaks, completed all available side quests, and defeated all the extra Weapons bosses.

FFVII differs from the earlier games as it takes place in a more modern setting, with a bit of cyberpunk influence, especially earlier in the game around the Midgar area, which is right up my alley. Squaresoft throws you right into the action here, with the game starting with the protagonist Cloud being on a mission for the group Avalanche, who is out to destroy a Shinra Mako energy reactor. Your first mission goes okay, but the second mission ... not so much. Cloud ends up falling down into Midgar and meeting Aeris, a flower girl. And from there, a great adventure begins. The characters you come across your journey to form your party are very memorable. To me, they're iconic actually. The character designs are superb and the group has a fun mix of personalities. The first portion of the game takes place all in the main city Midgar; however, after a good amount of hours, things open up and you get to explore the rest of the world. Gameplay wise, many of the elements found in FFVI on the SNES are present here, but I think they have been streamlined a bit. While there is still a lot going on with various gameplay mechanics, I think FFVII is a bit easier to approach. There is also a good amount of side quest content to tackle for veteran RPG fans. Back in the day, I was somewhat intimidated by the chocobo breeding and racing, but it turned out to not be so bad!

The graphics in Final Fantasy VII are of the early 3D era, but I think most of the elements hold up for the time. I am a big fan of the pre-rendered backgrounds, as I think it was a great way to handle the art in this era of gaming. The main nitpick nowadays is the character models for traversing towns and dungeons, as they're in a chibi style. I personally don't mind this, but I do think it's odd that the characters are styled much differently in the battles. However, this difference in style is fairly common during the PS1 days, as developers figured out how to transition into the 3D era. The graphics for the cutscenes still hold up IMO, and I think Square did a great job here. I remember always looking forward to reaching another cutscene back when I played it around release, as I thought they were very impressive at the time. When it comes to the soundtrack, the soundtrack is just amazing. Squaresoft really took advantage of the CD quality sound and included some very catchy tunes that work well with action packed sequences, while also including a variety of ambient compositions for some of the more relaxed or somber moments. One of the things that made me want to revisit this game is the soundtrack, as I would put it on in the background while I worked every once in a while and always thoroughly enjoyed it.

I do have some nitpicks to discuss. Other than the graphics issue I mentioned earlier, another in a similar vein would be the fact that the characters appear in different graphical styles in the cutscenes. In some cutscenes the characters look more like the character models in battle, and in others they look more like the chibi style. I guess this is because in some instances Square wanted the cutscenes to transition into the game seamlessly, but looking back on it, it seems inconsistent to me. The other nitpick I have is that while the pre-rendered backgrounds look great, it can be difficult to tell where you have to go in some areas. You do have the option to hit the select button which will place icons above entrance and exit points and your own character, but even with that on, there are a few places that are difficult to figure out where exactly you need to go to get to your destination.

Overall, I think Final Fantasy VII holds up very well to this day. The plot, gameplay, graphics, and soundtrack all come together to deliver a great and very fun package. I will say FFIV might be my favorite in the series, simply due to nostalgia and experiencing it very early on, but this one is definitely up there for me as well. I highly recommend it to RPG fans or those wanting to see the best of the PS1! I’m very glad that I can finally say I completed it! I now feel like I'm ready to try out the remakes at some point, and maybe a spin off game or two.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Partridge Senpai's 2026 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
* indicates a repeat

1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
2. We Were Here (Steam)
3. We Were Here Too (Steam)
4. Tales of Graces f (PS3) *
5. Retro Game Challenge (Switch) *
6. We Were Here Forever (Steam)
7. Tales of Hearts R (PSVita) *
8. Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (PC)
9. Mega Man 11 (PC)
10. Gravity Circuit (PC)
11. Mario Party DS (DS)
12. Ghost of Tsushima (PS5)
13. Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island (PS5)
14. Astro's Playroom (PS5)
15. Michael Jackson: The Experience (PSP)
16. Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5)

17. Control (PS4)

Not a PS5 game, per se, but yet another from the list of games effectively lent to me by the partner who sold me my PS5. I’ve really enjoyed the other Remedy games I’ve played (particularly Alan Wake last year), and I’ve only ever heard glowing praise for Control as well. I knew this wouldn’t be anywhere near as long, but after finishing Ghost of Tsushima last week, I was *so* in the mood for a game with a deeper story that was actually written well, and thank goodness Remedy were once again able to deliver that for me. It took me around 15 or so hours to beat (even platinum) the English version of the game on my PS5 playing the PS4 version. (And just for the record, this is gonna be another review that gets into spoiler territory with my notes on the narrative)

Control is the story of Jesse Faden. Arriving at a weird, huge building in NYC, this is where she’s been told what she’s looking for is located. She’s been hunting for her brother for the past 17 years, and here at the Federal Bureau of Control’s HQ, the Oldest House, is where he was taken. After being shown to the director’s office by the friendly janitor, she finds him already dead. He seemingly took his own life with a very strange handgun that Jesse quickly finds very useful, as a dead director is the least of the FBC’s problems at the moment. Strange humanoid monsters which Jesse dubs “the Hiss” are running amuck in the FBC. They’re thankfully being kept inside by an internal lockdown, but it’s only a matter of time until they get out. It’s up to Jesse to figure out just what’s going on here, stop the Hiss, and save her brother!

To a certain degree, I worry that even a primer as simple as that undersells just how well this game drops you into the thick of things. Upon picking up the director’s gun, the “Service Weapon”, she unwittingly accepts the role of the new director of the FBC, and it’s a role she has no interest in at all. All of the members of the FBC yet unaffected by the Hiss treat her with the utmost respect and trust as soon as they realize she’s the new director, but she’s never able to actually trust them in return. Who could possibly give such a level of trust to someone they just met, after all? The FBC is a giant bureaucratic nightmare of classified info towards the goal of protecting the American people (and, by extension, the world, in many cases) from mysterious happenings that have no reasonable explanation in our reality. In essence, it’s an organization whose expertise is lying, so why on earth would Jesse possibly take them at their word about personal things when their trade revolves around lying on a systemic level?

Control is ultimately a story about trust. The previous heads of the FBC, particularly the director and head of research, were people ruled by their distrust of others and trust only in themselves to get anything done. That’s how the FBC became so vulnerable to independent operators, high position as they may’ve been, doing such radical experiments that endangered not just the facility, but the entire world. Not just Jesse, but basically the entire main cast are people who’ve found themselves suddenly rudderless without the authority figures whom they’d trusted and looked up to for so long. Figuring out new relationships between one another and how to visualize your place in a world where you’re suddenly in charge is terrifying, and the Hiss is largely a personification of the alternative of simply giving up. The Hiss is all the voices that urge you to indulge simply giving yourself up to the doom the world seems mired in. It’s a simpler existence, but can you really even call it living? The fight against that force of nature, to find trust and faith in yourselves and those who came before you even if they’re no longer here is the theme at the core of Control, and Remedy has executed on it fantastically.

The story’s ending is definitely rather sudden and unceremonious, but I think that’s largely down to the biggest personal and thematic climaxes coming *before* the actual concluding event of the gameplay. It makes for a nice little bow on the end that still leaves you with the ability to mess around in the post game, and I don’t think the story is meaningfully lesser despite how very weird the story just cuts to epilogue after the final fight is over. The character writing is great, the pace of the story always feels quick no matter how many side quests you’re indulging in, and the resolution of everything felt super satisfying. Remedy is no stranger to great narratives, and this is definitely the best I’ve seen from their work yet (as limited as my exposure to their work admittedly is <w>;; ).

The gameplay is really solid too, and the rhythm of the gameplay loop is so good that I just couldn’t stop playing it until I’d done darn near everything I possibly could X3. It’s a third-person shooter much like all of Remedy’s games, but they’ve given it a really cool twist this time around. It’s a somewhat linear game, but it’s got some metroidvania-ish aspects to its design in how often you go to and from areas in the same department as you gain higher clearances. I’m honestly really impressed at just how much faith they have in the player to navigate the Oldest House and find side quests all on your own through natural exploration rather than guiding you by the nose via waypoints and quest markers. The main map is fairly tricky to read, and you’ll need to use signs around the building to navigate much like you would in a real life building. It works a lot better than you think, and level design is definitely something this game excels at.

Despite Jesse’s primary weapon being a gun, it’s not any ordinary gun. The Service Weapon is an Object of Power (OoP, in the game’s own lingo) that changes shape depending on its user. This means that not only can it change form mid-battle to fit the kind of enemy you’re using it against, but it also doesn’t need ammo in the first place. Ammo for the Service Weapon just recharges over time, so once you’ve emptied your clip, you just wait a bit for it to recharge, and you can resume blasting at your leisure. What to do while you wait to resume blasting? Well, that’s where your powers from the other OoPs you find over the course of your adventure come in. You’ve got a speed dodge and a telekinetic shield, but the best of Jesse’s OoP powers is easily the telekinetic throwing she can do. The launch power is super intuitive and feels awesome to use too, because you don’t need to aim at an item to grab something and hurl it. You *can* pick up specific things if you want, but even just tapping the launch button while aiming at nothing in particular will have Jesse automatically pick up a suitable crate, shelf, or chunk of wall from nearby for you to hurl at your horrid foe. This back and forth between the ammo for the Service Weapon and the ammo for your special abilities gave combat such an awesome tempo to it that it was always fund finding a new combat area to test my mettle in.

There isn’t an incredible variety of enemies, and a lot of the extra forms for your service weapon end up being a bit useless (grip and charge were the only two I got any use out of), but even just the increasing strength in enemies winds up pushing you to vary up your strategy up to the point that I never really was bothered by a lack of tons of enemy types to fight.Control is not a particularly easy game, at the end of the day, and letting your guard down in the early or late game is a great way for your very limited health pool to get mulched down in a second. You’ve got such great ranged ability and movement that this is hardly Dark Souls in terms of difficulty (even if I do wish the checkpoints were more frequent in some areas), but this is definitely a game that less experienced players in this genre will likely struggle a bit to play on default settings.

Thankfully, this game actually has really great accessibility options for catering the gameplay to your skill level. Not only are the options for holds vs. toggles for your weapons very well implemented (a nice thing to see for once in forever), but you’ve even got options to make all enemies die in one hit and/or just make Jesse invincible. Something I appreciate in a well written game is the ability for the gameplay to not *have* to get in the way of someone who wants to play it, and despite the somewhat unpolished areas in the larger gameplay loop, I’m glad to say that Control is a game whose narrative is not at all locked behind difficult gameplay if you don’t want it to be~.

Control also has a really nice aesthetic approach, too. The Oldest House is brought to life fantastically with the brutalist approach to architecture they’ve used for its interiors. It meshes really well with the vibe of chaos that the Hiss’s destruction brings, and the game ends up having a very novel visual design as a result. People are modeled very well too, with characters having good lip sync to suit their excellent voice performances. Enemies are also very cool and uncanny too, and my only minor complaint is that I wish the lesser Hiss had more obvious ways of telling them apart rather than often rather minor clothing differences. My one *major* complaint with the aesthetics, and the whole game frankly, is that the Astral Spike enemies are *horrid* seizure machines (as I nicknamed them), because they both emit light and move extremely erratically. This makes them invincible, living strobe lights that you can do nothing but run from, and it really sucks that a game that otherwise has such good accessibility features has such a glaringly awful bit of needlessly hostile visual design.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. Despite some wrinkles here and there, Control is a great game! It’s really well written, and the tempo of gameplay (both for the exploration and combat) is excellent too. It’s not my new favorite game ever, but it’s a very well executed experience that I enjoyed my time with a lot. It’s after playing this that I can easily understand how Alan Wake 2 got so much praise, because if Remedy were already going *this* strong back then, I can only imagine how much better they got at it in the intervening 4-ish years.