Board 8 > Post Each Time You Beat a Game: 2019 Edition Part II

(+) Yeah! (+)

It is really simple. Just post each time you beat a game throughout the year and the platform you played it on. Do not hesitate to add some discussion in regards to the games you or others beat.

At the bottom of this post is a link to a Google word doc that you are free to edit to immortalize your gaming accomplishments. Feel free to tinker with your color and font options, but do know that users are supposed to be in alphabetical order.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VY5zHA1uwxve8-WqiA58BYH1qZFdBxTU1IvZ3W4OSWs
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imo hot garbage is when calling something garbage is still too good
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Yeah but I typed garage as in where you park a car

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Kairo (PC)
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Nancy Drew 23: Shadow at the Waters Edge (PC)

Ohh fuck this game, but in a good way. Sudoku and Picross puzzles. Actually scary shit happening. And not so annoying minigames. The story was intriguing all the way until the end, and I can forgive some of the annoying stuff like one particular character, the scary ass music that went on short loops, and that one unskippable chore minigame you had to do thrice.

I was really dreading this one since I started the series. Glad its over.
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Overlord II (PC)

Improved upon the first game in many facets, but I don't know, maybe I slightly prefer the first one due to a greater sense of accomplishment at the end.
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Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches (PC)

Mercifully the recent update allowed for fast travel, which trivialized backtracking for the most part. I would call this game sort of like a sillier more domestic version of Myst. It was mainly a scavenger hunt where you could substitute a crib with a picture of one, or a starling with a weathervane. There was this whole ghost story on top of it but the supernatural elements were severely downplayed. Unlike most pt-clicks, I do appreciate the mechanic of not having to pick something up unless you required it because it made sense in this game as a clueless house sitter. I would imagine though how annoying it would have been before because of the lack of a fast travel.
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Strange Telephone (PC)

A nice short distraction played in the vein of Yume Nikki without all the backtracking. I got all the "effects" and the endings.
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Nine Survive (PC)

Hilarious game version of Glengarry Glenn Ross
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The Librarian (PC)
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I Became A Dog 2 (Android)

When I played this game a last year or was it the year before that, I wasn't expecting such a dark tale in the guise of a rather easy adventure puzzle game. But here we are again and while the plot is just as twisted, it is rife with the same grindy mechanics that plagued the previous part. The first time it was clever, now it' s just annoying. Using ads to increase game longevity. The developer should have more faith in his work that people will want to replay his game for the other endings without having to grind or watch ads.

I don't care if its free. That's just bad design. But it's still a better implementation than Photographs.
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The Room: Old Sins (Android)

Would've finished this ages ago but my phone broke last year.

I like the return to form to the first game but it was a little annoying by the middle part.
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Iconoclasts (Switch)

A game with a good start and surprisingly satisfying finish, but during the middle I hated it and almost dropped it.

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Traps N' Gemstones (Android)

100% all secrets and gems and for what, a No Ending? I should've just stopped when I beat the main content. It was a nice distraction metroidvania though, better than most. And so rare its on the mobiles to boot.
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Sonic the Hedgehog (3DS) [Game Gear]

Short and okay. My first real experience with Sonic so I'm curious how I'll feel about the things I didn't like when (if) I play more.
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Nancy Drew 24: The Captive Curse (PC)

Keeps getting better and better. Better animations, better environments, better music. The finale was kind of chilling to me--its the petty crimes that seem the most psychotic.

I am now approaching the first Nancy Drew game I have already played in the past. I thought about this long and hard and have decided I will traverse them again. It's been so long anyway I think it deserves a revisit.

Oh and random trivia, this is actually the earliest Nancy Drew game that is still available as a physical copy.
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The Order: 1886 (PS4)

I remember this being mostly panned way back, but I always had mild interest in it, and when it was $5 on PSN several years ago, I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did because that was great! Being more narratively-focused, it does have some interactive and pacing issues when not engaged in combat.
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Linelight (PS4)

I've played quite a few puzzle games this year, but this is firmly entrenched as the second best after The Talos Principle. I was surprised at the wealth of mechanics and how well they used and combined them. I have played through so many excellent games this year that I might have to do Top 10 or so topic towards the end of the year.
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Hyper Light Drifter (PC) is interesting.

Especially at the beginning, it captures the sense of mystery that came with playing obscure late 80s/early 90s games that you didn't have the manual for. With a bit of adventure book thrown in. With better art direction and gameplay, obviously. I like the map.

The combat is almost exactly what I would want if I were creating a game.

The art direction is gorgeous.

Downsides:

There are no controls for cutscene volume, only for in-game music and sound effects. i thought the game was intentionally trying to destroy my ears until i realized those sliders did nothing.

It kinda sucks that the basic premise is never really explained, so if you view it as a puzzle/adventure book/old game it is way more satisfying.

In that vein, i held off from looking up any guides as long as i possibly could while still having fun, especially at the start. Eventually I had to look up the location of two switches to be able to progress, but by that point i understood the core gameplay loop, i just didn't realize where the one hidden passage i needed was.

The one thing I'd change about the combat and controls in general is that it seems a little too eager to punish button timings. That is, if you press a button to attack or dash just a bit too early, it blocks off some frames where you can't do anything but walk slowly. I guess it's good for rewarding skill, but i'm not sure if it is necessary.

There's obviously a huge amount of optional content i haven't gotten to, but I worry it'll require a lot of looking up guides. I didn't intentionally skip anything, but i still only have 2 out of 20 doodads (or whatever) to enter some doors and I'm not sure how to make progress.
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Tag.

Still playing games really slowly.
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14. Chrono Trigger (DS)

I did a new game+ and got all the endings.

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KCF0107 posted...

The Order: 1886 (PS4)

I remember this being mostly panned way back, but I always had mild interest in it, and when it was $5 on PSN several years ago, I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did because that was great! Being more narratively-focused, it does have some interactive and pacing issues when not engaged in combat.

I agree 100%, people gave this game too much flak. It was a little short, and I'd probably be unhappy if I had spent $60 and was expecting uncharted 3 levels of quality and length, but it's not a bad game.
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Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy

Didn't know this was made by the people who made Return to the Mysterious Island until the familiar interface showed up. The game was ambitious, and intriguing, but half of it was blatantly chores and the final part was suddenly timed and that ending. It's like the game didn't know what it wanted to be: a Myst clone? A fun adventure? A serious murder mystery? So this game decided it was gonna be all of that, which made the tone weird.
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The Lion's Song (PC)

Visually striking and engrossing adventure game that is really unique with it being centered around multiple people struggling in their respective fields (music, painting, and mathematics) in early 1900s Austria.
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RHEM I SE: The Mysterious Land

Holy shit that stressed me out. It's even more intricate than Myst. When I went into this, I didn't know about the special extra puzzle. Apparently, the extra reward is an item that's gonna be used in the 5th game. The ambition on this developer is uncanny!

He updates his first game 15 years after the fact, puts it on Steam, then also reworks his other 3 games so they could all have the medallion pieces for his eventual 5th game. Masterpiece.
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Stasis (PC)

Wow.

I haven't been this shaken since Spec Ops: The Line. This game is basically what would happen if Dead Space 2 dropped the action and just went straight up depraved. Both games already have similar elements: a Self-Surgery minigame, an infection concerning monsters and mass growth, betrayal, dead babies and children---and this game goes one step further by having a child die before the protagonist's eyes...his daugher.

And you know that part at the end of Dead Space 2 where Isaac is saved on the last minute? I always thought that was a cop-out. Without going into spoilers, let's just say this game's ending did it justice and played the whole thing straight. I've only ever seen a similar premise pushed in SOMA, but even that game had its fun moments. Stasis was a stab in the gut, and the rest of the way it was just twisting all the way inside.
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Spyro Reignited: Spyro 1 (PC)

I can finally finish this game (and its sequels soon). 100% all gems. I couldn't beat Gnorc all those years ago, but thanks to the magic of mouselook, I finally got my closure on the first try. I know mouselook trivializes most of the first game but I don't care. I expect the next 2 games will be hard still especially those fucking minigames. Also, the flying levels are still tough and took the most of my time in this playthrough.
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Super Mario World (SNES)

Replay.
I played this with a friend via SNES Switch Online.
We found all 96 exits.
One of my favorite games of all time and I was happy to have played this with someone online.
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Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)

Replay.
Played this with a friend via SNES Switch Online.
Got all the Heart Stars.
I was Kirby and he was Gooey.
Game is a lot more fun with multiplayer.
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The Boogie Man (PC)

Another good game.

The 3rd in Uri's Strange Men series. And I mean, I was expecting of course a return to horror. But I wasn't expecting a thrilling mystery that not only manages to tie the first and second (which is such a stretch if you've played that) game together somehow, but do it in such a way that made everything tense despite the lack of a supernatural element. There were times when the voice acting was weird but those talking bits were the strongest parts matched by the complete lack of any music used in the game. It's so refreshing to see a game that doesn't artificially dictate the mood based on how it sounds. I'd put this game as one of my def faves this year. Only thing though is the ridiculously specific set of actions you need for the best ending.

And with this, there's only 1 game left in the series. I hope its just as good.
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Spyro Reignited: Spyro 2 Ripto's Rage (PC)

2nd one down. I can finally put this to rest. Now I really know the mouselook trivializes everything, including the minigames. I'm not ashamed to admit it but if I couldn't do it 20 years ago on a console, then I probably can't ever do those sharp speedboost turns or the dorky flying missions.

I'm also starting to see Insomniac's inspirations for what would be Ratchet and Clank later down the line. Playing this kind of makes me want to go back to that trilogy as well. Well, maybe not the first game that was bullshit hard.
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Super Metroid (Switch)
73%, about 11 hours.

Sengoku (PS4)

Through Arcade Archives NeoGeo, short beat-em-up through five stages and a final boss. It was decent.

Tacoma (PS4)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78015200
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Yoku's Island Express (PC)
Took a weird concept (pinball Metroidvania) and showed it works. I liked how it mostly plays like one giant table of pinball.
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Steve Jackson's Sorcery 1 (Android)
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Super Mario World (nintendo switch)
much shorter game than i remember. dunno if i cba with special stages.

Stunt Race FX (SNES)

Ancient replay via Switch.
Yeah, the frame rate is in this game isn't exactly the greatest and it probably never was to begin with when the game first came out. It didn't bother me that much and I still had fun with this game growing up.

I find this game very charming to me still.
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Batman: The Enemy Within (PS4) - Platinum'd

Wanted to play something easy and I saw that this was on sale. I got the first one for free last year and enjoyed it so figured I'd play the sequel too. Was pretty fun.
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oops I posted in one topic and not the other one

Pic-a-Pix Color 2 (Vita)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78019266

Doodle Kingdom (Vita)

Unlike the other Doodle games, they decided to add an endless runner to this one for whatever reason and it's completely boring and only serves to extend the amount of time it takes to get all the trophies. The core game is expanded and is still good, though.
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Sorcery! 2: Khare, Cityport of Traps (Android)

This is peak interactive fiction. I hope I did it right for the third one.
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Virginia (PS4)

This started out intriguing then kind of went nowhere then kind of went somewhere
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Yakuza 0 (PS4)

An amazing game and the best of the Yakuzas I've played so far. I'll continue on with the series once the remastered collection comes out, but I'll continue with Judgment in the meantime.
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Valkyria Chronicles (Switch)

I enjoyed this game about a dumb anime war, despite it sometimes being rough around the edges (specifically, the one inch high edges that your characters constantly get stuck on).

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Nancy Drew 25: Alibi in Ashes (PC)

The first ND game I'm playing in this marathon that I've already played in the past. It stands particularly well, and I still hold it up as one of my top ten. I love this one specifically because it's one of the few ND games to have procedural investigation not unlike a crime show. The vendetta is also personal, and not as goofy or unrealistic. And finally, there aren't alot of puzzles that artificially kept the game at roadblocks.
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Spiderman (PS4) - Platinum'd

Another game that I wanted to play and saw was on sale. I got the version that included all of the DLC so I went ahead and got all the trophies for it. Overall pretty solid game, the open world sections felt like Infamous and the combat felt a lot like the Arkham games, which are both great. They did a pretty good job with Spidey's banter in this game too.
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15. Dragon Quest 4 (DS)

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Spyro Reignited: Spyro 3 Year of the Dragon (PC)

Oof this one took awhile to 100% I also never realized that I never actually beat this game all those years ago, as I do not recognize some of the late levels. Overall, it was a nice way to cap off Insomniac's original trilogy and I can finally put my childhood game to rest.
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