Lurker > Simoun

Vanquish (PC)

Holy shit. Thank god this got a Steam release, and the retroactive recognition it deserves. To those unfamiliar, this game was made by Shinji Mikami when he was still in Platinum (he's in Tango now, who made Evil Within). Game is pretty badass, fighting things bigger than you and excellent shooting sequences. But it was way too short and ended on a cliffhanger. It was clear that a sequel was teased but I guess it never came to be. Oh well.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Bump
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

KCF0107 posted...

Hob was made by the Torchlight people. Interesting. It's been on my Steam wishlist for a year or two.

Yeahhh exactly! You think a studio of that fame would have promoted this more. But I guess they got sacked around the time of release.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

LordoftheMorons posted...

Simoun posted...

LordoftheMorons posted...

Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS)

Got the neutral ending. Might eventually replay for the other two, but not in the near future.

Is the neutral ending the most difficult?

Yeah. You have an invisible alignment score which ranges from -100 to 100, and you need to get between -8 and 8 to be neutral. The neutral route also forces you to do almost all of the side quests.

I didn't know Neutral First was a thing in an SMT game. If you can do it, so can I, I suppose. As I understand it, Neutral Paths require you to fight both the chaos and order leader. That must be some tough grinding.

Anyways, I just beat Hob (PC) and man I wanna love this game but I just end up liking it a little. It's a shame Runic Games is dead. They really had something here. But the weird controls, random crashes, and abysmal interface (let's just say, do not drop this game for a week and come back to it) kind of make me want to say there are better games out there like this, except there aren't alot of em. Best I can describe it is like a mix between Ori and Hollow Knight.

I didn't even know this game existed, that's how shameful the developers were about this; no news, no trope page. For all intents it should have. I only found out because it was on a gaming quiz.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

LordoftheMorons posted...

Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS)

Got the neutral ending. Might eventually replay for the other two, but not in the near future.

Is the neutral ending the most difficult?
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Q.U.B.E: Director's Cut (PC)

Now that's a good puzzle game. It deserves the reputation it gets for being a Portal alternative alongside Quantum Conundrum.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

The Last Door: Season 2 (PC)

This was long overdue like Owlboy. I finished the first season last year but couldn't finish this so easily. The reason? Scared the shit outta me! Cosmic horror is one of my weaknesses. Oh, and horror games in general -_-
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Finished Overcooked (PS4) with my bro today. Put it off for like a year because of that stupid final boss, but finished it when we realized the sequel is coming soon.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Owlboy (PC)

Finally. This has been on my desktop for 2 years now. I don't dislike it. The graphics are amazing, the story and dialogue very well-written. And the mechanics are very unique, especially the boss fights. I think what bogged this game down for me despite its short length is how the game cannot decide if it wants to be an openworld metroidvania or a linear action platformer. I remember several moments where I just don't know where to go and what to do. And it has a sidequests of sorts that invites backtracking and yet there is no teleport system in sight. Those are minor gripes though.

I think what I especially like is the writing. They didn't do the checklist of cliches a plot like this would've had. It goes off a few rails and it never gets dull. You can really feel each character's stake and mood, even the mute protagonist himself appears sympathetic. Truly a beautiful experience for me.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

The Spectrum Retreat (PC)

Meh. It was okay. What is up with all these Portal clones. I think the main problem is, they try so hard to make puzzling deep and entertaining in a way Portal's narrative style does it, but it never compares. I only powered through it because I was almost done with it by the time the monotony began to set in. At the very least it wasn't as boring as The Turing Test.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Ittle Dew 2 (PC)

Severely underrated Zelda clone. This is a must have for puzzlers. I love how they improved everything from the original, even adding secret dungeons and secret secret postgame content dungeons using unorthodox clues and environmental design that something just isn't right about the island. Also love the final final true secret boss That Guy (from Princess Remedy)
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Midnight Quest (PC)
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth (PC)

I'm done with this game. I don't think I can get past beating The Lamb. I've been playing this game for so long, it's starting to grate.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Just came back from my hong kong vacation. Cant wait to start knocking my backlog again
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

I always hated that rectal dungeon in the stick of truth, especially when you find the bird. I thought that was when it went too far
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Sonic Mania (PC)

I love it! Nostalgia and all that. I hate to recommend it to beginner sonic fans though. The levels feel like more difficult remixes of the originals. I'd suggest playing those classics first.

Awesome soundtrack! And a complete mystery why the Ice Cap Zone once again gets the remake shaft.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

That surfing kamehameha was great. I'm not even remotely a fan of dbz, but I won't deny that the Super arcs have been exciting to say the least.

Also I couldve sworn I had 5 noms hmmm

While I do not agree that there needn't be a KH2, i felt disappointed by the way it jobbed the org. KH2 is what ruined the series for me
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)

Just need to collect the 3 pre-darklight Boos and it's basically done. That was a harder game than I expected, which is great. But it did kind of got annoyingly padded in the last 2 mansions.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

XIII_rocks posted...

Simoun posted...

I just found out that my fwb discovered a cyst in her 2nd ovary. So, shes on the meds and says she might have to remove that one too (her first is already gone). Now she's all psychologically warped about how the universe just wont let her have a kid.

And i cant even say how frustrating it is that im losing an fwb cos it makes me sound like a dick.

That's so sad

Not the you losing a fwb so much but not being able to have a kid. Really sad

Oh its not for sure yet. They detected a cyst and shes on meds right now so its basically playing the waiting game. We don't know if it's benign or not yet. But if its the latter, that's it the 2nd ovary's gotta go.

Her first one was a Tetranoma, they pulled it out and it was the size of a baby boy's head. This was 2 years ago.

My friend's staying strong, but she could lose it any moment.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Mac Arrowny posted...

Celeste is the only one I've played so far, and it's not good enough to be worth voting for (it was definitely good, but I didn't love it). Hopefully Octopath Traveler will surpass it!

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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

I just found out that my fwb discovered a cyst in her 2nd ovary. So, shes on the meds and says she might have to remove that one too (her first is already gone). Now she's all psychologically warped about how the universe just wont let her have a kid.

And i cant even say how frustrating it is that im losing an fwb cos it makes me sound like a dick.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Done with the sequel as well Dark Fall II: Lights Out (PC)

I intended to play them in order but I got stuck on the first one so I just decided to play the 2nd one concurrently. This one feels alot more like Myst for being able to traverse between worlds. It's alot less clunky than the first game but also stupider. It starts as a haunted lighthouse in the 1900s, then suddenly you find yourself in 2004 as a tourist trap lighthouse. But then later on you find out that the source of the ghost was...bs.

Eh, it was still fun though. Very Myst-like and appreciated.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Dark Fall: The Journal (PC)

Wow. I had to change the resolution to 640 everytime I loaded this up, but it was worth it. Damn fine horror adventure game and oldschool at that which means no jumpscares, no music. It's just you, the hotel, and fucking voices. It's one of those horror games where there's nothing in the rooms and you make up your own fear as you systematically case the place slowly, writing down anything important.

They just don't make games like these anymore.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

KCF0107 posted...

You are the first person I have seen be critical of it that didn't mention the supposed padding toward the end that makes it a slog to finish.

Oh. I just thought it was so obvious. I've never been so humiliated deep inside, expecting a huge payoff when I went through that bullshit Act 4. I was lucky enough to only have lost a fort thrice so other than the monotony of defending the same areas over and over, it was more or less just busy work.

I'm still more concerned about the scummy practices the game did, that every mechanic was "addictive" in a way that you had to use the market. And Act 4 was just a piece of that temptation.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Shadow of War (PC)

Wow. This game is absolute trash. Every single mechanic was designed by mobile game developers who feel it best to shoehorn some kind of P2W mechanic. It's a shame though as the Nemesis system is actually pretty good and the wars feel like absolute wars.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

redrocket posted...

Simoun posted...

Wtf was that cobra commander attacking Kentaro bullshit. I'm not familliar with the series but the scene made me feel like that bit in Wonder Woman where the general and poisongirl cartoonishly giggled at each other after locking the other generals in a room of poison.

I don't get this analogy at all.

I'm saying that the tone was changed. I mean Fist of the North star is suppose to be this badass show right? Why would you put a countdown clock sound effect in what would be an otherwise tense moment.

In the same way that in Wonder Woman, the tone was also weird and all over the place. You had a dramatic tale about this lady and a band of brothers fighting the good fight. And then you get a scene where 2 suppose-to-be-serious bad guys are laughing like a bunch of snively whiplashes after poisoning an entire room full of generals.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Wtf was that cobra commander attacking Kentaro bullshit. I'm not familliar with the series but the scene made me feel like that bit in Wonder Woman where the general and poisongirl cartoonishly giggled at each other after locking the other generals in a room of poison.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Just Cause 3 (PC)

Really more of the same, but a bigger better looking island and interesting bases that arent just "shoot everything that's red". I was getting bored halfway through until I played the DLC content which gave me a friggin lightning gun. As in, I can call lightning from the skies, and it was nigh rechargable. I would say it removed some of the challenge but really, who plays Just Cause for the challenge? You make your own stupid fun in this game especially with the tether system.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Celeste (PC)

I don't think I have the stomach to get all the hearts and strawberries so I'll call it a win on the main story, which was hellish enough. I love the feels and the metaphor, but I didn't expect the game to be straight up meat boy levels of pain.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (PC)

HOLY F. That was a ride. Momentarily sad that we're finally departing from the "campy classic" holmes in the last 3 games I played, and have now moved on to the "asshole holmes" of the modern era. This game significantly improves on its predecessors. No wonder it took 3 years since the last game to make. Graphics vastly improved. Gameplay elements improved. And those kickass credits.

It was definitely alot darker and introduced a villain that actually was a threat unlike the mysteries of the previous games. I also love how the game calls back to its predecessors by referencing things that have happened as if it wasn't ashamed that yes Sherlock did tangle with The Awakened, with Arsene Lupin, with Jack the Ripper.

It can only get better from here!
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Sebastian Castellanos (The Evil Within)
Joel (The Last of Us)
Bryan Mills (Taken)
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Seconding that Mario Rabbids game. But I think Luigi is just broken. I get that its for kids but a sniper unit that can move and attack on the same turn is exploitable

I love Snipperclips. It's so adorable and everything works towards the notion that you're just up to no good. The puzzles, the facial expressions your guys make with every motion. Its perfect with friends
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

I love Sword Man. I know Tengu looks so badass but its a bit expected and one dimensional

Sword Man is the only honorable robot master. He comes in and tells you Nothing Personal in that sophisticated british accent and proceeds to throwdown. Brings down huge rocks. I dunno, something about him I just like
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Guns, Gore, and Cannoli 2 (PC)

Wow. This is the closest thing to a Metal Slug reboot I swear. The first game was about run and gun about mobsters and zombies. But this game adds Nazis into the mix, and even more impressive boss battles. It even feels like an homage to Metal Slug seeing as the final boss is a Multi-Stage UFO Boss Battle.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Guns Gore and Cannoli (PC)
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

KCF0107 posted...

Day of the Tentacle Remastered for PC

I'm not sure there have been many 90s point-and-click adventures that I haven't liked, but I feel like I've only played some from the same 3-5 companies.

Have you played Thimbleweed Park? It's the perfect throwback for you. Albeit, the ending was a bit too...meta?
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Dead Island: Riptide (PC)

Nice "expansion pack". It still had that horrible fetch quest progression but at least the backtracking hell was only isolated within the first third of the game. Another thing about the original I hated was that the premise was zombies invading a tropical island resort. So when you reached the city and everything after, it felt like it was no longer that. This one at least maintains some semblance of tropical island at least.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Finally finished Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper (PC)

Misleading title really. It was more of a CSI version of events than any kind of direct encounter. I like how the game actually takes the historical facts seriously, and doesn't sensationalize the more controversial parts of the event such as the government coverup conspiracy and the lettters. It offered a more realistic progression of who might Jack be.

Sadly though, I would still prefer the previous game if I had to choose. This one while intriguing, had less integrated adventure gaming puzzles and more running around talking to people; which is to say not bad but I wasn't expecting it, not after the awesome time that was the previous game.

Also, I guess few can say that they've played 2 Jack the Ripper games in a single year.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

I don't like how Bleach treats the "dust away" effect where they show that the character had actually gone behind whoever fired the shot. Dunno about the anime, but the manga had alot of that nonsense.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Dead Island - Definitive Edition (PC)

Pretty good. I think I'd still prefer L4D. Not so much the grinding was tedious but the fact that every quest even the sidequests were basically fetch quests.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

paperwarior posted...

Quell Memento (Vita)
Now that was long overdue. Turned out I was pretty close to the end.

I LOVE Quell. I'm glad you were able to finish it. I cried a little when it was over. There wasn't really a story, but the journey of the old man was touching.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

finished A Way Out (PS4) today with my bro. I know about the studio's previous game so I pretty much knew about this one's final choice. I didn't expect it to be a Versus finale though. That was good. Both endings are really powerful and touches the heart. It's a nice story, and certainly better than anything David Cage attempt at storytelling.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

KCF0107 posted...

Boring is obviously in the eye of the beholder, but the first episodes tend to be a tad slower in the pacing department is because it is necessary for world-building and establishing characters, even in licensed games.

I suppose. It's just, I wish they just had some kind of recap mechanism.

Shadow Warrior 2 (PC) is done. And Holy shit its terrible. On paper it sounds great. It's Borderlands with ninjas, cyberpunk, and demons. But the system is broken as shit. A third of the way I found a rare sword that I just never let go of until finding the plot sword which was the only thing stronger. The sword abilities that cost mana in the last game cost NOTHING in this game and so its very easy to just spam them over and over.

In addition, you also have infinite stamina for dashing, double jumping, and running, essentially making this game a boon for speedrunners, but not someone who expects the followup to the excellent reboot that was the first game. There are missions where I just breeze through the objective slashing things with my infinite sword skills and it felt more boring than your usual Ubisoft game. The writing has also suffered imo. Good job retconning and refastening the plot from the first game however, whereas in the first game every piece of dialogue was informative in some way, in here it was just to make Lo Wang an edgy immature asstard.

First Wolfenstein now this. What other crappy sequels to awesome games will I play next
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Surprising. I started that game a long time ago but couldn't bring myself to power through episode 1. Why does every episode 1 have to be so boring and slow.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

No problem :) We're patient
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

So its "tommorow" now lol
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Aaaand I finally beat Leapin' Lava Meltdown in Yoshi's New Island (3DS). 2 years since I got this game jeez!

I still prefer the original on the SNES though. The 3ds levels were a bit too close up that sometimes it was just confusing to puzzle how to 100 percent a level. Still, both games prove very hard and it frustrated me as much as the original did
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

That One Level (Android)
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Shadow Warrior 2013 (PC)
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.

Sherlock Holmes Nemesis (PC)

Entertaining! Crossover with Arsene Lupin. A case where absolutely nobody dies. But the next one will be the exact opposite...
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.