Lurker > Simoun

Capping off 2020 for me will be Game #120:

Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders (PC)

Excellently executed, well-written. Great art and music. Hope the dev makes more games soon. Some pixel hunting though and shame as a lack of voice-acting albeit each character still had their own distinct personality via their speech patterns and mannerisms.

Some recaps for me this year:

Top AAA Games Played: Control, Doom Eternal, and Black Mesa (tied with Dying Light)

Top Indie Games Played: Ion Fury, Vaporum: Lockdown, and Lightmatter

Most Unique Game: The Textorcist - The Story of Ray Bibbia

Most Memorable Story: Sally Face, The Dreamfall Trilogy, and Dracula: Path of the Dragon

Worst Games Played: Daymare1998, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Cat Quest 2

Most Surprising Game: Manifold Garden

Most Disappointing Game: Carrion

Backlogs Beaten: Borderlands 2, AssCreed Odyssey DLCs, The White Chamber, Fatal Frame 2, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Metro Exodus, Operation: Winback

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

Scratches - Director's Cut (PC)

Oldschool horror point click adventure. Clunky interface does not detract from the fact that it was scary as hell, playing entirely on the Nothing is Scarier trope. But also, the reveal that the mystery was never truly solved. The Dark Fall creator had a hand in this so its no surprise. I should really get back to that series. I think I abandoned it because it was too fuckin scary.

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

Darksiders III: Deluxe Edition (PC)

As I said in my previous post, this game takes its cue from Dark Souls. Although at first I was going in to dismiss it as a clone, they took alot of liberties with the mechanics until ultimately I can no longer say its an outright clone. It's still lacking in the depth that other games have but it's got its own kind of charm going on. I do love being able to be a badass in a dark soulsy environment, and the exploration and environments are very varied and vast. Things you see in the distance always remind you that there's always something coming.

But. I can't explain, perhaps it is the lack of other things to do and potential. For example, there's only 3 stats in the game and 4 kinds of armors (5 with the DLC). There's only 4 kinds of weapons (8 with the DLC), no sidequests, no extra bits, the battle system is simple timing with dodges and punishing. But maybe that's a good thing ya know. I do miss the PS2 era action games where you're not bloated with all these extra 100% completionist BS. Which brings me back to my point about this series. Sell it at 30 usd, not 60. Have this game be represented properly. Otherwise, it'll just look like it pales in comparison to the greats it is forced to compete with like Dark Souls, which it totally isn't upon further inspection.

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

Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (PC)

After finishing the Warmastered edition of the first game ages ago, I was already in the middle of doing the 2nd one when the HD remaster showed up. I spent a long time "forgetting" that playthrough so I can replay it again with this one. I finished all the DLCs and gotten the most out of all the secret hidden stuff. I'm honestly neutral on this game series. On the one hand, it is good. However, the games are basically 30 dollar versions of 60 dollar games. Every single game from what I've seen is just trying to cash in on whatever is popular at the time. For the first it was Ocarina of Time. For this, it was God of War. The third one has a Dark Souls vibe to it and the 4th is your traditional top down shooter.

So what can I say other than this game is good. Just good, but not great. It hits alot of boxes, and sure I have been hankering for a circa 2000s 3d action adventure type. You just don't see much of those anymore. Sure, Death is badass, but it's just so generic at this point and only manages to scratch an itch for me that nothing special pops up.

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

Red Faction: Armageddon + Path to War DLC (PC)

And with this I'm done with the franchise. I know, it will never beat Guerilla. But Guerilla from experience was overrated. The sandbox was good for what it is but the game itself was stupid. Does that make this one better? Eh, so-so. It was clearly trying to cash in on Gears of War which would have been popular at the time. It's a shame though as it wasn't sophisticated enough to have a more mature plot. Probably the most annoying thing is that the protagonist has a nano repair thing and absolutely nobody bats an eyelash vying for it, much less that it could've solved the problem of the first level ages ago.

The physics from Guerilla are here as well and its still fun but nowhere near as fun as the last one.

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

The Blind Prophet (PC)

Regardless of whether or not its a good pt-click, the art is great. Honestly, I'd read this if it were actually a graphic novel. It was ambitious for what it was---the kickstarter raised a total of 15,000 usd. It sort of petered out by the end there, but the ending was adequate. I hope they get to do a sequel sometime. It's so weird playing another indie game with a priest protagonist this year. The Apostle kinda acts and sounds like the Witcher.

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

Manifold Garden (PC)

Antichamber's distant cousin. Very beautiful. Puzzle-wise, if it was just all those cube puzzles, it would get boring and tedious fast. Honestly reminded me of the sour taste The Turing Test gave me, offering a "story" as something to motivate you through mundane looking puzzles. Instead here, the motivation is through the bottomless mandala rooms that are more aesthetic than environmental tbh. I always wanted to see what beautiful thing was gonna happen. The progression and the challenges felt right and despite the vastness of it, I was able to know where to go next easily...

...which is why to my utter surprise, I was taken aback when I was told that there were actually secret paths in this game. Hidden in the endless environments were doors that required backtracking and masterful knowledge of mechanics you would be encountering ahead of time. The knowledge of this 2nd path and its possible shortcuts amazes me which I'm not even going to try. The current puzzles were mindfuck enough for me. Never resorted to guides like some infamously hard games like Talos Principle, but this was more of difficulty understanding spatial structure that required me to step back and muddle over it a bit.

Minor gripe, a little annoying that when idle calming zen music starts to play only to disappear when you're moving again, letting you act in silence. Ugh. Luckily I didn't have to do this alot and the game flowed really smooth right up until the drug-induced ending.

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

ViolentAbacus posted...

Kentucky Route Zero (PC)

I really liked the beginning of the game. The atmosphere, the characters, the exploration, and the melancholy. Around the end of Act III and beginning of Act IV though my enjoyment took a deep dive.

Was it because of how that trucker was slowly being moved into the sidelines? I'm also playing it and was wondering because I'm in the middle of Act III and I'm 50/50 on this now

Also do you have the edition with all the middle stuff in between episodes

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

Wolfenstein: Youngblood (PC)

This game is the worst. I just powered through it because I just wanted something that wasn't a dungeon. I didn't think there was going to be a worse execution of FPS Open World than Shadow Warrior 2, but at least in that game it was "fair". This game tests you through weird design choices. Checkpoint starvation. Lack of an actual map. Crappy story. I mean, its killing nazis. How can you fuck that up. They were trying to go for some kind of depth at the beginning but it just spoiled itself by the end. The very 2nd major cutscene of the game and I could already smell the twist a mile away.

I think I read somewhere that MachineGames only bought the Wolfenstein license but didn't really care for the lore much. The New Order was where they just dumped all their amazing ideas. Then the rest were just standard crap as far as I'm concerned. And it's kinda sad because artistically and conceptually, they shine. The collectibles and aesthetics taking us into a nazi-dominated europe was still there, just as it had been in the previous games. But other than that, the game is mired by foolishness; trying to mess with a formula that works and making everything way more complicated than it should be.

It appears that Devolver Digital has learned their lesson as Shadow Warrior 3 is going back to that linear arcadey style the first one was known for. I wonder if Machine can do the same with Wolfenstein 3 and stop wasting time with these experimental spin-offs.

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

The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians (PC)

If I ever see another dungeon again it'll be too soon!!! Hello, I'm finally back with another beat game and this time its an obscure Grimrock clone made in 2015. I think this will be one of my sleeper hits of the year. It's very hard to appreciate this game unless you are a certain kind of gamer. The dungeons don't change much and they do it every 4-5 floors. The progression and battles are slow as molasses, looking like something out of a WOW Raid Boss with the icon queuing and cooldown timing. The story is laughably nonsensical and hell nobody's gonna play this game anyway so here's how it ends: The Final Boss says his life was tied to the dungeon and now that hes dead, so are you. Not even a comeback from the heroes as you cut to black and the credits roll. Seriously. There's also a serious lack of music. I think there's only like 3 tracks in the game not counting the title and the credits. There's no boss music, which means you'll be spending most of your fights even the epic ones (even the final one) hacking away while Haunting Exploration Music #3 plays in the background.

Buuuuuut. Beneath the muddled veneer of this oldschool classic lies a gem. Yeah I can believe that. The design of the game---the way it autosaves every 5 minutes and gives you respecc points as rewards to secret passages---speaks experimentation. Each of the 3 classes has a 3-tree subclass which unlike every RPG ever, gives you a piddly amount of skills. Like, why would you ever take +3% Dodge or Haste. Because you have to. In this game, you are paced ever so slowly and even if you have the perfect build, there is no One Ability that's going to be the game changer. You're always going to have a hard time not unlike a Wizardry game in fact. You're always going to be plodding and trudging but you know what, it feel good when you beat it. Yeah, each of the 20 floors has a gimmick and a unique boss, forcing you to figure out its gimmick every single time.

And if you don't like the way it handles things. Just change the difficulty! Not only is this game flexible, its downright customizable. Every single aspect from the way you pause in real time automatically, to item highlights, to Enemy Difficulty and hell you can even remove enemies altogether and just play it like a maze game/puzzle fest. But I think one of the best things about this game for me is the way the map just flows together. The entire 20-level dungeon is one loading screen and eventually you figure out that each of the floors has hidden shortcuts leading to the other floors. It's so satisfying to just find that secret passage and complete that map.

Oh and there's also this amusing Treasure Hunt sidequest which spans 19 floors. You find a note that asks you to put it in a place which reveals another note which asks you to take it to the next floor, etc. I find it extremely satisfying to kill the secret boss bastard who's been sending these notes to me.

I would put it at Rank 10 of my Top 10.

And here's my ranking of Grimrock and its clones:

Legend of Grimrock 2
Vaporum: Lockdown
The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians
Legend of Grimrock
Vaporum
Operencia: The Stolen Sun

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

Winback: Covert Operations (PS2)

Another old lingering demon vanquished. I don't know how many people know this game exists, but it holds a very special place in my childhood. I could never beat it on the N64 and was so glad it came out when I first got my PS2 all those years ago. Something very interesting I discovered about this game recently helped me beat it at last.

This is a very annoying and very intriguing game. It basically invented cover-based shooting (later popularized by Killzone and eventually Gears of War) as well as laser-sighting from guns (popularized by RE4) in videogames. However, unlike every other cover shooter ever, this one actually encouraged you to only use it as a last resort. The true skill and difficulty of this game comes from being able to manually line-up a headshot, as well as retain aggressiveness throughout the shootouts. I've always been using the cover as it was safe but now that I knew how this game actually operated, things went by much more smoothly.

Other than the gunplay, there is barely anything else of note. Nigh barren environments, a nonsense series of events some people would call a story, and absolutely so bad its bad voice-acting. But its my childhood charm and now its beaten once and for all.

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

Underleveled posted...

I know most people are partial to Pirate's Curse, but RR is my favorite in the series.

That's good to know. It's got a certain charm to it. PC is my next game and yes I have heard alot of good things about it.

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

Shantae: Risky's Revenge (PC)

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

Wuppo (PC)

Very fun and cute experience. The worldbuilding and the humor makes you want to keep exploring. I hope there is a 2nd game with an even bigger scale because what exists now is just begging for secrets to be found. There are some here but it just makes you thirstier in hindsight.

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

Metro Exodus (PC)

I remember being excited for this. When I started it last year, I remember being engrossed in it. I loved the open-world aspect and the bond you shared with the Aurora crew. Then I guess I got burned out. I wouldn't touch it for so long sitting in my Desktop until today. By then everything I remembered what I liked about Exodus had gone and I mean, I was just glad to get this out of the way. Maybe I'll go back to find the secrets but it's just so annoying that I have to restart entire "Chapters" of open worlds to do it. Glad I went on hiatus exactly after those sequences.

Despite the game taking place above ground, I wish it was still under. And really the final part of the game was a love letter to that. But it also told me that after 2 games of this, I don't think any more could be done with the formula. I'm glad Artyom's story is over though.

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

Puzzle Agent 2 (PC)

Lol. Did they run out of money or something? It was getting good, and then it just snowballed into some fantastic twist with little to no setup and payoff.

Can't believe I put this game off for a long time.

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

Vaporum: Lockdown (PC)

Back in 2017, my impression of Vaporum was that it was Grimrock but SCIENCE! It followed the same formula---a 10-storey tower of increasingly difficult oldschool RPG goodness. But that it was geared more towards combat than anything. It was cute. Admirable. But Grimrock was vastly superior.

Now the prequel dares to be formidable on its own. Huge levels and even though it's set in the same place, the game makes it look like there's more to the tower than going floor by floor. There were objectives that gave you a pseudo-opennes to it and even if it wasn't, the design flowed well that you knew where to go.

This time not only did they have an equal amount of puzzles and combat, but the puzzles themselves were quite devious especially if you're into spatial stuff. These aren't just your everyday push-block puzzles either. It's got some of the most inventive use of its own mechanics that I haven't honestly seen since The Talos Principle. I also appreciate that each puzzle (except the bonus ones) were still within confined rooms, furthering the theme of constriction that the tower always had, something that could contrast to Grimrock's already open areas.

I guess if I had something to say against it it would be that this time there isn't alot of combat going on. By the time I finished I had 400 ammo and a couple of cool shit I wanted to test my gear on only to find out it was over and that the 10th floor was actually a bonus puzzles floor. But that could easily be rectified by playing on a higher difficulty. All in all best sleeper follow-up to an somewhat forgettable indie I've played this year.

Oh and the story's still not as interesting. Which is fine. I don't really care about lore when it's for a game like this.

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

Jazz Jackrabbit (PC)

Thank you GOG for finally allowing me to play this game in its entirety. I have fond memories playing episode 1 over and over and I never thought I would see the rest of it in my lifetime. So is it a good game? It's got its flaws and after a few levels and episodes it started getting samey but what I really appreciate is the effort going into making sure that each of the 3-Planet episodes were distinct not only in design but each one had its own unique music, enemies, and layout. Imagine that, Epic actually putting in the effort to make something appealing.

Also extra hilarious is a name I never thought I would see. There in the credits receiving top billing is
Cliff Bleszinski lol.

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

Dying Light: The Following DLC (PC)

Can't say its better. They improved some of the monsters, but it's essentially the same but more horizontal instead of vertical. The game gives you a vehicle from the get go and encourages you to use it by way of having every single location veeeery far from each other. Would have been fine like a Far Cry game if most of the quests weren't Fetch Quests. It was okay in the original because it encouraged you to parkour and the tight spaces really made things interesting. But after mowing the same kinds of zombies the first 2 hours the novelty gets old real fast.

The dark twist was nice. Driving down and exploring the countryside was nice. But the whole forced mechanic of having to drive around and don't even get me started on how your car has 6 stats that each need to be monitored and constantly repaired. Just sounds like another layer of distraction. Ultimately, a beautiful game but kind of annoying in its mechanics.

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

Dying Light Enhanced (PC)

Wow what a trip. Was supposed to beat this right after I beat Dead Island ages ago, but my PC couldn't apparently handle it. I love the open world aspect, the zombie physics, and the parkour. I hate the grinding though. I wish durability wasn't a thing in this game and I could just enjoy the game without having to scavenge half the time.

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

Dracula: Path of the Dragon (PC)

Ah, Kheops Studio. Welcome back with this awesome point click adventure. I think this one is my favorite of the 3. It has nothing to do with the previous games, but it does something a little more different which was have a horror pt-click on the slow burn investigation side that is NOT a cthulhu game. It plays on established facts and then adds its own historical twist to it.

Many might not appreciate the linearity of this game, the amounts of reading required, and the fact that you only really get to meet him by the end. But I felt it a refreshing pace, not just from the trilogy but for Dracula games in general. I find the setting unique as it was exploring Dracula's possible existence in a time when no one's heard of him yet and the novel had just come out so there was this air of mystery on whether or not Dracula was real and I myself was uncertain.

I think that does it for this series. I heard that there's 2 more games in the series, but they stink. So...knowing me, I'll probably get to them when I can lol

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

I finished Soda Dungeon 2 (Android) the other day. Unless you have a boner for efficiency puzzles, I would say pass on this. It looks better, but it's the exact same game. They give you all these things to build and unlock, but its really just the same classes, the same format. The boss fights were even more boring than the last one, as I managed to kill them on the first run, most of them. The game tried hamfisting a paper thin plot and I just couldn't care. I only finished it because I needed a phone game to entertain me in those 15 minute intervals on a normal day. Should've just stuck with that metro line game.

Today I finished Dracula: The Last Sanctuary (PC) the second game in the Dracula franchise. This game is awesome. It's basically Castlevania 2 meets Myst. It's a game that tries to take itself seriously, but fails from the limitations of its engine specifically the 3d cutscenes, but boy are they a joy to watch. They're certainly better than most cutscenes of this era. I could talk about the solidness of the puzzles and the flow of it all; the way you returned to Dracula's castle from the first game and explored areas and setpieces that you couldn't before. And despite revisiting sewers between levels in the first disc (just take the trams Seward), it didn't feel like padding as there were twice the inventory items and twice the puzzles to deal with. But that's boring.

I wanna bring up the silly moments as there is a ton of it here. That Dracula had in his hunt for Mina, operated a theater in London "hiding in plain sight" and when you infiltrate it, you have to go up against his T-Posing mechanical double. The fact that Dracula's plan was to mug you in this theater by gaslighting you into thinking you were back in his Castle only to give up after the first minute of interrogation. Oh and I love that moment in the final tower where you tore a hole through one of Drac's minions with a cannonball. What the fuck.

Did I mention this game has quick time events? In 2001.

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

Dracula: The Resurrection (PC)

I went and got myself the Dracula trilogy on GOG. This series always fascinated me. I have had no other prior knowledge on the specifics except that it was at one point bundled with American Mcgee's Alice. I chalked it at the time to an FMV/Cutscene Adventure game of which I loathed. But as it turns out, it was just a really well-polished Myst clone with great-for-its-time graphics. Those CG Titties on Dracula's Brides amirite? All in all, a pleasant experience. Can't wait to play the second game now.

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

The Long Reach (PC)

Great 2d horror game. Point-click adventure at heart with some stealth elements, however it just feels different from all the other horror games in this style. The game is quite short (for what it is. It's about 5-8 hours), and doesn't pretend that this is actually a game in disguise. All the puzzles made sense and I found it brilliant how the logic of a pt-click adventurer was actually explained in-game. But most of all the horror was equal parts implied and equal parts gore.

I haven't seen the concept of hallucinations done in this manner since the Chzo Mythos. The music is excellent, really sets the tone, and the dialogue system is interesting because of the kind of assholish character that you play. He's not a snarky witty protagonist. He's not a brooding clever genius. He's not even some edgy asshole who's in the wrong genre. You're playing as an everyman who's just fucking sick of the shit that's been happening to him.

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

Trine: Enhanced Edition (PC)

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

Inmost (PC)

Went into this expecting your traditional metroidvania with nice graphics. Seriously, there only seems to be about 2-4 colors at any one time and yet the art is beautiful and flows well with the world. There was also an unexpectedly long animation sequence both in the beginning and end which really punctuates the thing as an art piece. It took awhile to figure out but the story is rife with symbolism and is actually about grief and pain and dealing with it. Domestic Violence. Child Abuse and Neglect. Bullying leading to suicide. It's a really dark, interpreted. Honestly, I don't really understand some of it but I got enough to stop and thinking about life and shit.

The game itself, refreshing. One of those tiny person one hop body jump affairs. The game made it so that you were this insignificant underdog just trying to get through. Anything could kill you but it wasn't that kind of game and actually signalled you to persevere what with the easy way you respawned and the almost inconsequential manner that it moves the game forward not resetting your progress. It's a very endearing tale and I suggest it.

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

Creaks (PC)

Platform puzzling with charm. It's one of those nobody speaks games where you suss out the world by observing stuff. It's decent, but the main star of the game has to be the music. Everytime you're halfway into a proper solution, the music brightens up a bit, as if its rewarding you for doing a good job. As a result, there is less trial and error at times save for a puzzle or two, and the plot flows really well. I do appreciate the ambiguity of it all. Reminds me of neverending story.

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

Dreamfall Chapters (PC)

Beautiful. A word that I rarely use, reserving it for something I just find that speaks to me on a deep level (not just for games). Like any episodic game, it took awhile to get the ball rolling but once it did, it was like a book I could not put down. It is 3 in the morning as I type this for chrissake. I'm so glad I didn't decide to put this off and finish it next year.

This game does alot of things a TellTale game would do but dare I say better...? I particularly liked how the decision-making as a feature was downplayed. Sure, there were some tough choices, but the game never messed with the flow of the narrative. TT games always seemed to make it all about the choices and the impact. Here, it was very much about the journey. You could say it was The Longest Journey---ahehehe.

Speaking of which, while I verily recommend this game to anyone looking for a wonderful fantasy narrative experience, there is a bit of a rub. To enjoy this game, you absolutely have to play or at least watch a playthrough of the first 2 games. They are essential. Chapter provides a summary but really it doesn't do the games justice. If you've seen me rant about the 2nd game especially and how much it sucks for all its own non-narrative issues, you might just wanna watch a playthrough. I usually abhor it when a sequel mildly brushes in references to its predecessors in an attempt to woo fans. But in this case, the brushes felt natural. Familiar. Connected. It goes hand in hand with the themes of rebirth and fate and dreaming. It just works.

I think this is the first game where despite lacking in gameplay and puzzles for what it is, very much just enjoyed the plot that I wish the gameplay wasn't included at all. I wish it could've just been a walking sim with some good ol dialogue trees and observational wit. For what it is though, it has its fair share of issues from the very limited Unity engine, but nothing as egregious as the original Dreamfall.

I'll say it again, I can't believe Dreamfall was made and then abruptly ended and only given closure 10 years later. Chapters picks up immediately where Dreamfall left off. That's the infuriating part. But 10 years for a small studio to produce something graphically superior even on modern systems is a feat in itself. Masterful. Beautiful. 8/10

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

Oneiros (PC)

I'm starting to see a pattern to these indie first person games where the protagonist has amnesia. I wanted to love this game mainly because while it did have some stock puzzling and it was short, it was extremely well done and it had its own personality. But then it sort of just ran out of steam like the last game I played and just bizarrely ended it without a resolution. Copped out. 4/10

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

Wow I've been wanting to beat that game for ages. Someday.

The Puzzle Box Society (PC)

lol its a game with 2 reviews on Steam. 1 good and 1 bad. So what is it? Well, it's a hybrid of Thief Simulator and a room escape game. There's no stealth or time pressure, but the infiltration aspect is there. Story seemed like a deep excuse to just do a couple of puzzle rooms. I think the dude released it too early as honestly it was getting good. I didn't mind the repetition because of it. It was okay. 4/10

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

Note sure if serious but I wrote a blurb about LA Noire a few pages ago. My personal opinion was that it was okay, but the end was kinda ruined (in presentation. the ending was fine).

Its the inconsistency of it.

Case of Distrust made me feel like what LA Noire should've been. Dialogue dripping with wit and investigative spirit since the moment you start talking to your cat.

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

A Case of Distrust (PC)

If only LA Noire was this good.

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

You Are Empty (PC)

So I would have forgotten about this game had I not seen a recent youtube video on it. Seeing as I had a cd of it from a bargain bin ages ago, I decided to run it myself lol. It's one of those post-half life FPS wannabes with an unheard of studio and janky enemies. There is alot to hate about this game. You can't run. There is no ammo in the environment save for the first 3 weapons. The enemy AI is simple. There are no boss battles. But all it certainly has a charm to it. And all those design choices seem to evoke the survival horror aspect of this game with an emphasis on the horror. Not the zombie kind but the desolation and the hint that something has gone wrong.

I do like how I was never really lost in this game. I just kept powering through even though the world seemed vast, which is honestly a step up from other FPS' at the time even such greats such as Singularity and Half Life 2. Now this gem can rest in peace.

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

The Textorcist - The Story of Ray Bibbia (PC)

Oh my god. Sleeper hit game of the year for me. It's Touhou Teaches Typing. Its binding of isaac with words. I spent 2 months stuck on that one boss before I finished it all tonight. There is an alternate control scheme that suggests its possible to move and type on the fly, which I totally did not do because that would be insane. The music is awesome. The bosses are awesome. The story actually had some effort in it and I was invested. And the pixel graphics were top notch.

I only complain about how you can't stage select until you finished the game. Beating bosses a certain way unlocked some items you could use at the cost of lowering your score. This would've helped me train for a certain boss. It was a feature easily implementable but sadly did not. I was stuck with this one boss for AGES, trying to get his pattern down and typing at the same time. I could have easily done both, but not together. It was easy for the first few stages touch typing. Then the Latin started coming in and I shit my pants.

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

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (PC)

Its pretty much Donkey Kong Country in everything but looks which is excellent. There are 20 levels, but each one has an altered version and those additional 20 levels did not feel copied at all. In addition, the overworld was like a puzzle in itself with tons of collectibles. I know the original game wasn't exactly praised, but I might play it in the future if only because I'm curious. I also appreciate the modern design features such as infinite lives, checkpoints that go easy on you by teleporting you to the next one should you choose, and a mechanic where Laylee flutters about if you get hit the first time. No more waiting for those noisy ass DK Barrels amirite? Some people were annoyed by that but it was fine for me.

As I was thinking about what to say about this game while playing, I was going to mention how the levels were a tad easy and not up to buff with a DK game, which in all honesty was welcome. It did have its shitty parts, but they were brief and sometimes saddled with the acquisition of a collectible.

And then I got into the impossible lair. And that was Rare back in errr rare form. That was not fun at all, but extremely satisfying to beat. And of course, there is an achievement for beating it without getting hit. Marvelous.

I feel like if they were going to make a sequel to the series, it should be with this spin-off. Though the levels were polished and the music spectacular, I feel like many more could be done. For one, actual boss battles instead of just the finale. More variety for the levels and I would welcome the altered states if they used it again.

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

Carrion (PC)

Wow. It's been a full four years since BUTCHER. Okay, so its great. I love it. It's The Blob/Thing Simulator and you got these cool powers and everything's gory and. Well.

BUTCHER had depth. Boss Fights. Gory situations. Atmosphere. This game while innovative was just a bit shallow to me, focusing more on puzzling which I didn't mind tbh but I expected something else I guess. The pacing was weird; it didn't seem like this facility cared that this thing was free as it wasn't escalating threats against you. There wasn't even an epic-level boss fight. Once you got a certain ability, even the toughest mooks were a piece of cake. Not to sound callous but I just expected a bit more from the devs.

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

Metamorphosis (PC)

Very interesting premise and levels and it felt like more could be done but after the initial shock of crawling around like a bug in weird places, it just never goes further. It was getting really interesting too then it went all arthouse abstraction. Like, the appeal of going in a place that's familiar to you but different because of your size was what the appeal was all about and I just felt like going to the "Bug Worlds" was not just a waste of time but an utter bore. It would be nice though if these zones were interesting to look at but they felt vapid and no one really had anything interesting to say. And the last few levels were just littered with stupid puzzles. The game had some choices in there but only the end really mattered. No I never read Kafka, but I bet he'd be rolling in grave if he knew this game existed.

I'm actually gonna go ahead and say that this is not the first game where you crawl around like a bug through some mystical means and yeah Bad Mojo is still the better game that does this premise properly. This game is adequate at best.

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

metaIslug posted...

It's very nice. Great soundtrack especially

Oh god yes, I think I'll acquire the OST myself. Such a great way to remix a game.

I just went ahead and finished the 3rd game myself.

Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PSP)

It was nice to finally have an attack button again (but no doubt I do love the ramming system mainly for its creative boss fights). Overall I would say it was great. A few things lost from its predecessors, but a few things gained. Game's always had great boss fights and this one's no exception, providing a real challenge at times. The music has suffered though. Or rather, the first two in their remake are just really a tough act to follow. I'm also mired by alot of grinding here. It's most especially glaring by the final boss where I literally had to spend hours getting that HP increasing potion in order to tank the final boss. I don't mind the repetitive gameplay loop of having to whack monsters silly; that's always been an Ys staple I guess, but I wouldn't have minded a few puzzles instead of the completely combat-focused accessories you acquired.

Probably my biggest praise is on the stellar voice-acting. Words flowed well and spoken properly, giving me a front row seat to the tale. As cliche as the story is by today's standards, I wouldn't have minded it if only to listen to these people express themselves taking the whole thing seriously.

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

Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter (PSP)

Holy crap, that was amazing. Improved everything from the first game and tied everything together so nice. While the first one felt it wasn't sure of itself and it was awkward at times, I feel like II hit the ground running as I could not put it down. A very good JRPG and I didn't know what I was expecting.

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

Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished - Omen (PSP)

Finished the first game of the duology. Lots of interesting stuff here, but man alot of them required a guide for me and that final boss was just insane.

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

Suikoden (PS1)

Lots of early jrpg weirdness. Definitely on the easy side. Not as politically heavy as I thought it would be.

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

Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP)

I dont know why this game gets alot of praise in the series. I think the first was actually better, but it may just be how this game has aged. They made alot of improvements tbf, but like the last game, the end was severely rushed and padded in unusual places.

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

Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP)

Fucking grindy ass game. Full of backtracking and padding too. Went and did the bonus dungeon as well. Never touching a JRPG for awhile, maybe >_>

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

Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time (PS1)

Yep yep just churning out the nostalgic games here.

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

XIII_rocks posted...

Not for me - I think I hit the loop less than 10 times. I set a goal for myself and if I accomplished it I ended the loop before time ran out. Or I died.

And I never felt like I was backtracking. I felt like I was making constant progress. You will have to revisit areas sometimes multiple times but I never once felt like it was a chore.

Sounds great. Thanks for the info!

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

Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (PS1)

All coins, at least Silver time in all levels.

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

XIII_rocks posted...

Covered already in the appropriate topic, but:

Outer Wilds

I've been meaning to get started on this. But I gotta ask, is the time limit/backtracking annoying as fuck?

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Ms Pac-Man Maze Madness (PC)

Another childhood demon knocked down. I genuinely loved this game back then. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who's into Pac-Man as it is more a Pac-Man game than the actual Pac-Man World games because of its fixed perspective and light puzzle elements.

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

Pac-Man World (PS1)

This was hard. Like "How could a kid do this?!" Hard.

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

Gex: Enter the Gecko (PS1)

Woot, good ol classic platforming. Not the worst I've played. The levels weren't memorable but the design was alright and the music was still amazing. Biggest gripe in this game is the fucking camera. There would be times where the angle just changes by itself even when there's no logical reason to. I guess this was like one of the first 3d platformers so I can forgive it.

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