Games Beaten 2022
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Wow, those are some bad design decisions. Weapon breaking at start of swing and random different weapon cadences sounds infuriating.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
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prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12305
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2022
First 20
21. Toree 2 (Switch)
22. #RaceDieRun (Switch)
23. Micetopia (Switch)
24. Tomena Sanner (Wii)
25. Contra ReBirth (Wii)
26. Unstrong Legacy (Switch)
27. Quarantine Circular (Switch)
28. Infernax (Switch)
I bought Unstrong Legacy on a whim, and it was quite a pleasant surprise. It is a very good, metroidvania-lite platformer available in the eShop for only $1.99. In it, you play as a video game villain whose evil lair was recently destroyed, and you have have to find your way back home, collecting cogs along the way. The graphics are very good, with graphics reminiscent of a ‘00s WayForward game. The platforming is challenging, and the game has some deeply hidden secrets. (Despite my best efforts, I finished the game with only 95% completion; so, maybe some of the secrets are too well hidden.) The game is dragged down a bit by its ho-hum soundtrack, lack of a map, and some intermittent, yet nonetheless, severe slowdown toward the end of the game. Still, it is way, way, way better than it has any right to be at only $1.99, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.
Quarantine Circular, by Bithell Games, is a sequel (prequel?) of sorts to Subsurface Circular. Like Subsurface Circular, it’s a “talking simulator” where you select dialogue options to progress the story, which involves communicating with an extraterrestrial life form offering a cure to a bacteriological plague. Unlike Subsurface Circular, Quarantine Circular has you approach the story from different perspectives, like Rashomon, and your dialogue choices impact the story much more. Still, the narrative isn’t as compelling in the narrative in Subsurface Circular, making this game, ultimately, a bit weaker. Hesitantly Recommended.
Infernax is a 2D open-world action-platformer that answers the question, “What is Castlevania II was awesome?” The game is very clearly a love letter to Simon Belmont’s least-loved adventure, and it follows the game’s aesthetics and format very closely. Specifically, you explore a mid-sized open world, delving into dungeons to obtain abilities and items that allow you to proceed in your quest. The game has several small villages, like the villages in Castlevania II or Zelda II, and the game has a day/night cycle, with certain events available only during the day or night. (The enemies are more powerful at night, and every time I saw the moon rising animation, I thought, “What a horrible night to have a curse!”) The game also has a hidden “morality” system that impacts both what side-quests and upgrades are available to you and your ending. (I am very thorough, and consistent; so, I received the “ultimate good” ending. I am tempted to go in the opposite direction on another playthrough to see if I can get the “ultimate evil” ending.) The game looks amazing, with detailed, extremely gory pixel art. (Seriously, it’s gruesome.) The soundtrack also completely rocks, accurately emulating the sort of music you’d expect in some of Konami’s best 8-bit games. The game is loaded with secrets, and has a tremendous amount of replay value. (From what I have read, the game has six different endings, and you need at least four of them to get the true ending.). My only complaint is that the combat is a bit too easy, and the game relies on cheap platforming deaths (i.e., enemies knocking you off small platforms) for its difficulty. Otherwise, I loved it, and I think anyone who enjoys Castlevania II and Zelda II even a little bit will really like it too. Very Highly Recommended
21. Toree 2 (Switch)
22. #RaceDieRun (Switch)
23. Micetopia (Switch)
24. Tomena Sanner (Wii)
25. Contra ReBirth (Wii)
26. Unstrong Legacy (Switch)
27. Quarantine Circular (Switch)
28. Infernax (Switch)
I bought Unstrong Legacy on a whim, and it was quite a pleasant surprise. It is a very good, metroidvania-lite platformer available in the eShop for only $1.99. In it, you play as a video game villain whose evil lair was recently destroyed, and you have have to find your way back home, collecting cogs along the way. The graphics are very good, with graphics reminiscent of a ‘00s WayForward game. The platforming is challenging, and the game has some deeply hidden secrets. (Despite my best efforts, I finished the game with only 95% completion; so, maybe some of the secrets are too well hidden.) The game is dragged down a bit by its ho-hum soundtrack, lack of a map, and some intermittent, yet nonetheless, severe slowdown toward the end of the game. Still, it is way, way, way better than it has any right to be at only $1.99, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.
Quarantine Circular, by Bithell Games, is a sequel (prequel?) of sorts to Subsurface Circular. Like Subsurface Circular, it’s a “talking simulator” where you select dialogue options to progress the story, which involves communicating with an extraterrestrial life form offering a cure to a bacteriological plague. Unlike Subsurface Circular, Quarantine Circular has you approach the story from different perspectives, like Rashomon, and your dialogue choices impact the story much more. Still, the narrative isn’t as compelling in the narrative in Subsurface Circular, making this game, ultimately, a bit weaker. Hesitantly Recommended.
Infernax is a 2D open-world action-platformer that answers the question, “What is Castlevania II was awesome?” The game is very clearly a love letter to Simon Belmont’s least-loved adventure, and it follows the game’s aesthetics and format very closely. Specifically, you explore a mid-sized open world, delving into dungeons to obtain abilities and items that allow you to proceed in your quest. The game has several small villages, like the villages in Castlevania II or Zelda II, and the game has a day/night cycle, with certain events available only during the day or night. (The enemies are more powerful at night, and every time I saw the moon rising animation, I thought, “What a horrible night to have a curse!”) The game also has a hidden “morality” system that impacts both what side-quests and upgrades are available to you and your ending. (I am very thorough, and consistent; so, I received the “ultimate good” ending. I am tempted to go in the opposite direction on another playthrough to see if I can get the “ultimate evil” ending.) The game looks amazing, with detailed, extremely gory pixel art. (Seriously, it’s gruesome.) The soundtrack also completely rocks, accurately emulating the sort of music you’d expect in some of Konami’s best 8-bit games. The game is loaded with secrets, and has a tremendous amount of replay value. (From what I have read, the game has six different endings, and you need at least four of them to get the true ending.). My only complaint is that the combat is a bit too easy, and the game relies on cheap platforming deaths (i.e., enemies knocking you off small platforms) for its difficulty. Otherwise, I loved it, and I think anyone who enjoys Castlevania II and Zelda II even a little bit will really like it too. Very Highly Recommended
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
For reasons I don't understand Sony keeps launching the Horizon games right before other hotly anticipated open-world games; last time it was a Tuesday release before Breath of the Wild on that Friday, while this time it's a week prior to Elden Ring. It's unfair, as both of its competitors were games doing something different with the open world style (Zelda being an actual open world where you can rush the boss as soon as you get off the tutorial plateau, Elden Ring being open world Dark Souls) while the Horizon games are just extremely polished, not needlessly overloaded, and have robot dinosaurs. So I'm glad I had my vacation cap coming up, as it meant I felt no guilt taking the week off to make it through before Elden Ring arrived. And I just barely made it (my copy is on an Amazon truck as we speak).
Forbidden West picks up after the events of Zero Dawn. Aloy is seeking to mitigate some of the fallout of the events of the first game, and in the process is awakened to the fact that there is a new threat to the world. Cue another adventure of traversing gorgeous locales full of robo dinosaurs that need to be hunted, as well as some humans. Fortunately, the importance of the human enemies has been greatly reduced, and they only show up in a bare handful of quests (though there's a decent number of optional camps you can do for resources). The game's design ethos was "the first game, with a bit more". You have all the same tools as before, but a new weapon type that's unfortunately too awkward to be useful. You have a new grapple hook, which aids in traversal and can be used to pull objects for the puzzle solving segments. There are more robot types, and new elemental damage types. And you get an energy glider. So the same game, but more.
One major improvement over the first game is in the climbing. Now, the first game was built on the standard "find the spots painted differently so you know they are climbing areas" of games with climbing sections of the time. Then Breath of the Wild came out a few days later and you could climb any surface. It completely changed things and made Zero Dawn feel like a relic of a previous area. Forbidden West seeks to improve on that. Now, it isn't climb everywhere; instead what they've done is on the majority (but definitely not all) of mountains and cliffs there is a wide mesh of climbing hotspots that let you scale at nearly any point, while still hooking in to the existing animation system for the various kinds of climbing hotspots. So while Breath of the Wild is just the one climbing animation, here you will see Aloy go through a variety depending on the specifics of what's going on with the hotspots. It mostly works well, though occasionally you get stuck up because the game doesn't feel like the hot spot two inches to your right is something you can traverse to from the one you're on. But it was overall a solid solution for wanting to have rich climbing animation but needing more freedom. Now, the old world buildings still are based on fixed hotspots, but those are used as puzzle elements, so it's fine.
One of the strengths of the Horizon games is they don't try to overload you with content the same way a Ubisoft open world game does. While you will have the same explosion of icons, the bulk of those are informational; either an indication this is where a particular type of machine is (for farming purposes to upgrade gear) or a fast travel spot. In terms of the box checking open world games do, Horizon really pulls back on it. There's a few different types of collectables, but it's a total of 30 across the entire game. There's a bunch of human outposts you can wipe out, but you don't really need to (the rewards aren't even worth much). So the distractions on your time tend to be the side quests available, and even those are handed out piecemeal. The game won't even let you know they exist until you get to the town where they appear (or when you revisit). It's a welcome change compared to something like Assassin's Creed Origin, where there was just so much shit for the sake of having shit and you don't even visit half the zones in the course of the game.
All in all it's a worthy follow up to a great first game. If you aren't completely soured on the concept of a straight open world game I recommend you give this one a try. The series has some really interesting stories to tell, and the dinosaur fights are a lot of fun.
1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
For reasons I don't understand Sony keeps launching the Horizon games right before other hotly anticipated open-world games; last time it was a Tuesday release before Breath of the Wild on that Friday, while this time it's a week prior to Elden Ring. It's unfair, as both of its competitors were games doing something different with the open world style (Zelda being an actual open world where you can rush the boss as soon as you get off the tutorial plateau, Elden Ring being open world Dark Souls) while the Horizon games are just extremely polished, not needlessly overloaded, and have robot dinosaurs. So I'm glad I had my vacation cap coming up, as it meant I felt no guilt taking the week off to make it through before Elden Ring arrived. And I just barely made it (my copy is on an Amazon truck as we speak).
Forbidden West picks up after the events of Zero Dawn. Aloy is seeking to mitigate some of the fallout of the events of the first game, and in the process is awakened to the fact that there is a new threat to the world. Cue another adventure of traversing gorgeous locales full of robo dinosaurs that need to be hunted, as well as some humans. Fortunately, the importance of the human enemies has been greatly reduced, and they only show up in a bare handful of quests (though there's a decent number of optional camps you can do for resources). The game's design ethos was "the first game, with a bit more". You have all the same tools as before, but a new weapon type that's unfortunately too awkward to be useful. You have a new grapple hook, which aids in traversal and can be used to pull objects for the puzzle solving segments. There are more robot types, and new elemental damage types. And you get an energy glider. So the same game, but more.
One major improvement over the first game is in the climbing. Now, the first game was built on the standard "find the spots painted differently so you know they are climbing areas" of games with climbing sections of the time. Then Breath of the Wild came out a few days later and you could climb any surface. It completely changed things and made Zero Dawn feel like a relic of a previous area. Forbidden West seeks to improve on that. Now, it isn't climb everywhere; instead what they've done is on the majority (but definitely not all) of mountains and cliffs there is a wide mesh of climbing hotspots that let you scale at nearly any point, while still hooking in to the existing animation system for the various kinds of climbing hotspots. So while Breath of the Wild is just the one climbing animation, here you will see Aloy go through a variety depending on the specifics of what's going on with the hotspots. It mostly works well, though occasionally you get stuck up because the game doesn't feel like the hot spot two inches to your right is something you can traverse to from the one you're on. But it was overall a solid solution for wanting to have rich climbing animation but needing more freedom. Now, the old world buildings still are based on fixed hotspots, but those are used as puzzle elements, so it's fine.
One of the strengths of the Horizon games is they don't try to overload you with content the same way a Ubisoft open world game does. While you will have the same explosion of icons, the bulk of those are informational; either an indication this is where a particular type of machine is (for farming purposes to upgrade gear) or a fast travel spot. In terms of the box checking open world games do, Horizon really pulls back on it. There's a few different types of collectables, but it's a total of 30 across the entire game. There's a bunch of human outposts you can wipe out, but you don't really need to (the rewards aren't even worth much). So the distractions on your time tend to be the side quests available, and even those are handed out piecemeal. The game won't even let you know they exist until you get to the town where they appear (or when you revisit). It's a welcome change compared to something like Assassin's Creed Origin, where there was just so much shit for the sake of having shit and you don't even visit half the zones in the course of the game.
All in all it's a worthy follow up to a great first game. If you aren't completely soured on the concept of a straight open world game I recommend you give this one a try. The series has some really interesting stories to tell, and the dinosaur fights are a lot of fun.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
-
Raging Justice
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1844
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:11 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Aragami 2 - PS 4
Gonna being a little ranty with this one. You have been warned. I used to dig the old Tenchu games and I hate how no modern game can give me that same fun. I also hate that hardly any one has even managed to evolve or improve the Tenchu formula in any way.
Why is it so hard to get a good modern Tenchu game? I think the only great ninja stealth game to come out in years is Mark of the Ninja. That game is a fucking masterpiece.
Aragami 2 is repetitive and boring. It doesn't have as many awesome stealth kills as the Tenchu games, nor as many fun ninja tools to use. It has like 3 or 4 enemy types that you kill over and over and over again as you play through the same levels over and over and over again. The game has an awful leveling system that makes getting new powers and abilities take FOREVER. Also, many of the stages are so frikking long. Trying to get the not detected badge in a large level that has over 50 enemies is a nightmare. That's like 50 opportunities to fuck up and get spotted and the distance you have to cover to navigate the larger stages in their entirety while also avoiding detection just drags the pacing down to a crawl. Would it kill the developers to maybe have one or two level checkpoints/save points? No, you have to do the entire damn level in one go and it you get spotted...fuck you player. Start the level over again because game devs are assholes.
Getting the all kills bonus is irritating too. Again FIFTY PLUS enemies you have to kill on some stages. Ugh. Jesus Christ, this is a stealth game not a beat 'em up. That's an absurd number of enemies to have to kill. Also, getting the no kills badge is fucking stupid, as you can literally just knock out every enemy instead of killing them, which means that doing a no kills run is EXACTLY THE SAME as doing an all kills run. Why are they two separate categories that players have to do in order to truly complete a stage and get the maximum amount of experience points from it? What's the point? All it does is add to the repetition of an already repetitive game. And why is this a thing in EVERY stealth game now. I don't want to be a goddamn pacifist. I'm sick of stealth games always trying to force players to finish stages without killing anyone. That's BOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God, why do game developers have to do exactly what every other game developer does. Do you guys have no imagination? No soul?
The rune system is crap. The game just keeps doling out runes with tiny little stat bonuses while also decreasing another stat. I found myself just ignoring them. The equipment system is pointless, as they offer no benefits unless you put runes on them. The dye system I couldn't give less of a fuck about. I'm so sick of game devs placing so much importance on players playing dress up. I don't give a fuck that I can change the color of my character's outfit, and I'm sure 90% of players feel exactly the same way. When I spend forty minutes looking for a hidden collectible in a stage I want it to be something FUCKING USEFUL, not some stupid new color scheme for my ninja outfit.
Combat is trash. It's a cheap, crappy ripoff of Sekiro, cause that what's every action game has to do now. Clearly the developers for Sifu got that memo. I'm not a fan of Sekiro's combat. So having a poor man's version of it in Aragami 2 is not appealing. This is a stealth game, so you should be avoiding combat any way.
The ninja dash/warp/teleport/whatever thing...it's basically the equivalent of the grappling hook in Tenchu (or the Batman Arkham games), is so inconsistent. There are times when the game just will NOT let you use it for no apparent reason whatsoever. Really frustrating when you get spotted and need a quick exit, or if you just want to get to high ground quickly BEFORE getting spotted.
The graphics suck compared to the original Aragami (which was also a shitty game). They completely dropped the original game's art style, which was literally the only interesting thing about that game.
The game has many performance issues as well, though I guess you can try the PS 5 version but I just stopped caring about the PS 5 when Sony decided that we couldn't back up our save files unless we pay for their stupid online service (just like the jerks running Nintendo). Bugs/glitches aplenty in Aragami 2
The only good thing about this game is the soundtrack. It's quite excellent and very much has a Tenchu feel to it. I could see myself interested in this game's OST.
The Aragami series sucks. Both games are trash. Go play Mark of the Ninja instead, the best ninja stealth game ever made. I wish someone could somehow convert that game into a 3d, experience because nothing in the genre these days be it Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun or the Aragami games manages to be as fun as Mark of the Ninja. That game just left a large shadow that ever other stealth game since has been stuck in. Ugh, what a chore finishing Aragami 2 was.
Gonna being a little ranty with this one. You have been warned. I used to dig the old Tenchu games and I hate how no modern game can give me that same fun. I also hate that hardly any one has even managed to evolve or improve the Tenchu formula in any way.
Why is it so hard to get a good modern Tenchu game? I think the only great ninja stealth game to come out in years is Mark of the Ninja. That game is a fucking masterpiece.
Aragami 2 is repetitive and boring. It doesn't have as many awesome stealth kills as the Tenchu games, nor as many fun ninja tools to use. It has like 3 or 4 enemy types that you kill over and over and over again as you play through the same levels over and over and over again. The game has an awful leveling system that makes getting new powers and abilities take FOREVER. Also, many of the stages are so frikking long. Trying to get the not detected badge in a large level that has over 50 enemies is a nightmare. That's like 50 opportunities to fuck up and get spotted and the distance you have to cover to navigate the larger stages in their entirety while also avoiding detection just drags the pacing down to a crawl. Would it kill the developers to maybe have one or two level checkpoints/save points? No, you have to do the entire damn level in one go and it you get spotted...fuck you player. Start the level over again because game devs are assholes.
Getting the all kills bonus is irritating too. Again FIFTY PLUS enemies you have to kill on some stages. Ugh. Jesus Christ, this is a stealth game not a beat 'em up. That's an absurd number of enemies to have to kill. Also, getting the no kills badge is fucking stupid, as you can literally just knock out every enemy instead of killing them, which means that doing a no kills run is EXACTLY THE SAME as doing an all kills run. Why are they two separate categories that players have to do in order to truly complete a stage and get the maximum amount of experience points from it? What's the point? All it does is add to the repetition of an already repetitive game. And why is this a thing in EVERY stealth game now. I don't want to be a goddamn pacifist. I'm sick of stealth games always trying to force players to finish stages without killing anyone. That's BOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God, why do game developers have to do exactly what every other game developer does. Do you guys have no imagination? No soul?
The rune system is crap. The game just keeps doling out runes with tiny little stat bonuses while also decreasing another stat. I found myself just ignoring them. The equipment system is pointless, as they offer no benefits unless you put runes on them. The dye system I couldn't give less of a fuck about. I'm so sick of game devs placing so much importance on players playing dress up. I don't give a fuck that I can change the color of my character's outfit, and I'm sure 90% of players feel exactly the same way. When I spend forty minutes looking for a hidden collectible in a stage I want it to be something FUCKING USEFUL, not some stupid new color scheme for my ninja outfit.
Combat is trash. It's a cheap, crappy ripoff of Sekiro, cause that what's every action game has to do now. Clearly the developers for Sifu got that memo. I'm not a fan of Sekiro's combat. So having a poor man's version of it in Aragami 2 is not appealing. This is a stealth game, so you should be avoiding combat any way.
The ninja dash/warp/teleport/whatever thing...it's basically the equivalent of the grappling hook in Tenchu (or the Batman Arkham games), is so inconsistent. There are times when the game just will NOT let you use it for no apparent reason whatsoever. Really frustrating when you get spotted and need a quick exit, or if you just want to get to high ground quickly BEFORE getting spotted.
The graphics suck compared to the original Aragami (which was also a shitty game). They completely dropped the original game's art style, which was literally the only interesting thing about that game.
The game has many performance issues as well, though I guess you can try the PS 5 version but I just stopped caring about the PS 5 when Sony decided that we couldn't back up our save files unless we pay for their stupid online service (just like the jerks running Nintendo). Bugs/glitches aplenty in Aragami 2
The only good thing about this game is the soundtrack. It's quite excellent and very much has a Tenchu feel to it. I could see myself interested in this game's OST.
The Aragami series sucks. Both games are trash. Go play Mark of the Ninja instead, the best ninja stealth game ever made. I wish someone could somehow convert that game into a 3d, experience because nothing in the genre these days be it Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun or the Aragami games manages to be as fun as Mark of the Ninja. That game just left a large shadow that ever other stealth game since has been stuck in. Ugh, what a chore finishing Aragami 2 was.
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Raging Justice
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1844
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:11 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Infernax - PS 4
This already got a fantastic write up. I don't have much to add. The game is basically Castlevania II: Awesome Edition
I highly recommend it. It's great when the indie scene takes an old game or idea and actually improves on it...most of the time it seems like they mess up the original's great formula or simply don't get why it was great in the first place. These guys though, have taken a rather controversial game that some people were very disappointed with, and made it better
This already got a fantastic write up. I don't have much to add. The game is basically Castlevania II: Awesome Edition
I highly recommend it. It's great when the indie scene takes an old game or idea and actually improves on it...most of the time it seems like they mess up the original's great formula or simply don't get why it was great in the first place. These guys though, have taken a rather controversial game that some people were very disappointed with, and made it better
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion for Switch. Thank God for unlimited continues. Oh, and the ability to play in Tate Mode on a system I can rotate 90°.
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prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12305
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Raging Justice wrote:Infernax - PS 4
This already got a fantastic write up. I don't have much to add. The game is basically Castlevania II: Awesome Edition.
I’m glad you really liked it too! What ending did you go for?
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elricorico
- 32-bit
- Posts: 232
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:02 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2022
1. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond (NS)
2. Metal Slug 3 (XBO)
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
5. Arc the Lad (PS)
6. Rayman Origins (PC)
7. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC)
Another PC freebie(this time from the Epic Store) that I had been a bit interested in before. This is a puzzle adventure where the main gameplay gimmick is asymmetrical play of two characters on screen using on controller. Left stick and one trigger to control one of the brothers, right stick and a trigger to control the other. They must work together to cross a number of locations, solving puzzles and avoiding getting killed by the various creatures they come across.
This was a short game, I took less than three hours to hit the ending. I also found it pretty easy, there were very few deaths in the whole game(I think I only counted 4), and there is no cost to dying as the checkpoints seem to be very frequent. The game is really about telling a story, themes of dealing with loss, cooperating, and overcoming fears seem to be the key messages that the makers are trying to tell.
I enjoyed the game and found the pure story was a good one, but that the locations used to tell it seemed like they were thrown together because they seemed cool without considering any logic around how these locations would have existed so near each other without them all being overrun by some of the creatures. You definitely need to accept that this is very much written like a fairy tale and you aren't supposed to think about the world(and some of the actions that creatures take) making any sense. It doesn't harm the puzzles in any real way, but I did find it a little disruptive to the flow.
The game gave me vibes of Ico and Journey at times, both games I consider excellent. While Brothers doesn't quite reach their lofty heights, I do think that it was a solid experience and worth a shot. Even if it isn't as good, it is very short and simple, so you'll probably know if you like it or not by the time you've played an hour.
2. Metal Slug 3 (XBO)
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
5. Arc the Lad (PS)
6. Rayman Origins (PC)
7. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC)
Another PC freebie(this time from the Epic Store) that I had been a bit interested in before. This is a puzzle adventure where the main gameplay gimmick is asymmetrical play of two characters on screen using on controller. Left stick and one trigger to control one of the brothers, right stick and a trigger to control the other. They must work together to cross a number of locations, solving puzzles and avoiding getting killed by the various creatures they come across.
This was a short game, I took less than three hours to hit the ending. I also found it pretty easy, there were very few deaths in the whole game(I think I only counted 4), and there is no cost to dying as the checkpoints seem to be very frequent. The game is really about telling a story, themes of dealing with loss, cooperating, and overcoming fears seem to be the key messages that the makers are trying to tell.
I enjoyed the game and found the pure story was a good one, but that the locations used to tell it seemed like they were thrown together because they seemed cool without considering any logic around how these locations would have existed so near each other without them all being overrun by some of the creatures. You definitely need to accept that this is very much written like a fairy tale and you aren't supposed to think about the world(and some of the actions that creatures take) making any sense. It doesn't harm the puzzles in any real way, but I did find it a little disruptive to the flow.
The game gave me vibes of Ico and Journey at times, both games I consider excellent. While Brothers doesn't quite reach their lofty heights, I do think that it was a solid experience and worth a shot. Even if it isn't as good, it is very short and simple, so you'll probably know if you like it or not by the time you've played an hour.
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure for PS4 on Normal as Salvador.
It's literally the same as the original Borderlands 2 DLC release, albeit with a few changes. For one, you start at Level 1 and the enemies and gear is adjusted as such. Speaking of levels, the cap is 17 on Normal and 35 on True Vault Hunter mode, with no Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. There's also a ersatz Golden Key system, various Lootapults and you can spend Seraph Crystals and Eridium at the Seraph Vendor and Crazy Earl's Black Market at Flamerock Refuge, respectively. Also Marcus appears in Flamerock to serve as an additional shop. There's a host of other differences.
It's literally the same as the original Borderlands 2 DLC release, albeit with a few changes. For one, you start at Level 1 and the enemies and gear is adjusted as such. Speaking of levels, the cap is 17 on Normal and 35 on True Vault Hunter mode, with no Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. There's also a ersatz Golden Key system, various Lootapults and you can spend Seraph Crystals and Eridium at the Seraph Vendor and Crazy Earl's Black Market at Flamerock Refuge, respectively. Also Marcus appears in Flamerock to serve as an additional shop. There's a host of other differences.
Re: Games Beaten 2022
1. Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PC)(Action Adventure)
2. The Citadel (PC)(FPS)
3. Gothic 3 (PC)(RPG)
4. Witchaven (PC)(FPS)
5. Unpacking (PC)(Puzzle)
Unpacking is going to sound like an unusual idea for a puzzle game: you unpack boxes and try to put away personal items for a woman over a 20 year course of her life, every time she moves. Each section is a new house or apartment, where her things must be pulled out and out away in areas that make sense. Sometimes the space will frustrate. Sometimes the items will confuse. Sometimes you'll sit there and admire her Nintendo DS collection. I'm not kidding, she builds up a nice Nintendo collection of games, and apparently the GameCube through off some of the younger folks playing the game when it released last year.
All of this is set to moody music that helps you zone out but also conveys the sense of the move. Sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's sad. As you go, you learn that by studying her belongings and where things go, you are getting a narrative of her life. You see her awards and passions evolve, you see relationships develop and fail, and you see a life lived, all without text or voice over. This is a game that conveys a story purely through gameplay, and as simple as the premise is, it works out to be surprisingly stimulating.
And all of this is presented with gorgeous digital artwork reminiscent of mid-90s video games. Unpacking is a simple game to play, but it's a lovely game to look at and listen to. And it also has some interesting secrets hidden throughout, such as letting you play music on stereos and pose action figures for fun. I found a lot to enjoy with the game as a result, both with forming an idea of this person in my head as well as relaxing with the gameplay.
It's a short experience, but one I wholly enjoyed. Unpacking is a delightful game.
2. The Citadel (PC)(FPS)
3. Gothic 3 (PC)(RPG)
4. Witchaven (PC)(FPS)
5. Unpacking (PC)(Puzzle)
Unpacking is going to sound like an unusual idea for a puzzle game: you unpack boxes and try to put away personal items for a woman over a 20 year course of her life, every time she moves. Each section is a new house or apartment, where her things must be pulled out and out away in areas that make sense. Sometimes the space will frustrate. Sometimes the items will confuse. Sometimes you'll sit there and admire her Nintendo DS collection. I'm not kidding, she builds up a nice Nintendo collection of games, and apparently the GameCube through off some of the younger folks playing the game when it released last year.
All of this is set to moody music that helps you zone out but also conveys the sense of the move. Sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's sad. As you go, you learn that by studying her belongings and where things go, you are getting a narrative of her life. You see her awards and passions evolve, you see relationships develop and fail, and you see a life lived, all without text or voice over. This is a game that conveys a story purely through gameplay, and as simple as the premise is, it works out to be surprisingly stimulating.
And all of this is presented with gorgeous digital artwork reminiscent of mid-90s video games. Unpacking is a simple game to play, but it's a lovely game to look at and listen to. And it also has some interesting secrets hidden throughout, such as letting you play music on stereos and pose action figures for fun. I found a lot to enjoy with the game as a result, both with forming an idea of this person in my head as well as relaxing with the gameplay.
It's a short experience, but one I wholly enjoyed. Unpacking is a delightful game.
