Game 20: Pirate Pop Plus - 1/5 - 4:06 hours (25/04/2017)
There's actually no ending, but I've invested enough time in it to call it a day; reached level 7, bought all but some faceplates and screens from the in-game shop. It's a different take on the classic Pang, featuring random changes of gravity and the novelty of changing the parts of the virtual handheld used to visualize the game. It's not a bad game, problem is that it's very barebones: the whole game is one screen only, no different stages, no different modes, the characters are basically all the same, no intro, no ending. There's a serious drought of content and the only thingsa you can earn in the game, besides the characters, are cosmetic parts that don't change the gameplay at all. In conclusion the game's simply lacking.
Game 21: Fast RMX - 3/5 - more than 15:00 hours (27/04/2017)
Got 1st ranks on all Subsonic and a few Supersonic cups, conquered Hero mode on Subsonic, beat a bunch of time trials. The first takeaway is that on the big screen the game's amazing to look at, especially at higher speeds, Storm Coast in particular being a sight to behold. The commands are responsive and tight, also thanks to the customization options; the gameplay requires good reflexes more than anything, as there's pretty much no deeper strategy involved: there are no weapons, no tricks, no drifts like in Mario Kart, you just have to get on those boosts and don't crash. The only strategic choice, which is much appreciated and adds a bit of variety to the game, is the need to switch between colours to use boosts and jumps without being slowed down. The game when all is said and done is very enjoyable, but lacks variety or something truly unique, like F-Zero's cutscenes and lore, while instead featuring an incredibly pernicious rubber-banding, which makes truly a hard trial to win the last few cups of every speed class.
Game 22: Jotun - 2/5 - 4:48 hours (28/04/2017)
Reached the ending and very briefly touched on Valhalla mode, found all apples, statues and points of interest. Went in blind expecting a boss rush mode, got an action game with a few puzzles, some battles, lots of walking and just 6 bosses. The game is very pleasing aesthetically, with hand-drawn backgrounds and characters which feature fantastic animations; however after the first hour or so you already got down the structure of the game, that is, from a certain point of view, very repetitive: 5 worlds, each 2 levels featuring a secret apple, 2 divine statues and the rune, which is the main objective. The monotony is mildly alleviated by the levels being pretty unique in what you actually have to do in them, though it's mostly exploring and solving very boring puzzles. The fights with the giants themselves are pretty nice, but sometimes frustrating due to the difficulty and due to the very lackluster combat options. Beautiful but not that fun.
Game 23: Year Walk - 2/5 - 2:12 hours (30/04/2017)
Got both endings. The game is short and to the point, it doesn't offer much of a challenge but some points are rather obtuse because you're never really briefed on what you can and can't do control-wise. The atmosphere is there though, and so is the general creepiness of the theme and of the game itself. The whole secret ending is at times creepy and at times comical... I don't quite understand what tone the writers were going for. A simple but enjoyable game to try once and that's it, I can't see myself ever playing it again.
MAY
Game 24: A Bird Story - 1/5 - 1:13 hours (01/05/2017)
I cried because I'm an emotional dumbass, but the game is really cynical in the way it presents its story. It tries to make you care with cheap tricks, without putting in a real effort: the characters have no depth, the plot is basic and the sequences contrived, as if they were going for some fancy magical realism effect, having you go through weird mash-ups of nature and cityscapes. Actually, it's more like having you watch the character go around, because the game offers almost no interaction and nothing you'll do will ever alter the way the story progresses: the player input is literally unnecessary. Since the writing in To the Moon was pretty bad, this time around they solved the issue by featuring no dialog at all: the characters only "talk" through their actions and through speech bubbles with images inside. This is a story that could have been told through many different mediums, and certainly gaming wasn't the more apt.
Game 25: SUPERHOT - 4/5 - 4:30 hours (03/05/2017)
Finished story mode, put some time in the challenges and other side stuff. The main mechanic has never been seen in such a game, and works wonders, the devsmanaged to introduce things slowly, so that the, albeit short, game never feels stale. The meta narrative approach has been kind of overused at this point, but it does its job still, also you don't necessarily have to meddle with it if you don't want, especially since the levels offer high replayability and you can try different approaches thanks to the numerous challenges. SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years!
Game 26: Ronin - 3/5 - 7:00 hours (04/05/2017)
Completed the game with all skill points. I love the premise of the game: a turn-based stealth-action game, not something you see everyday; however this is one of the most passive aggressive games I've ever seen. The game goes great lengths to intentionally annoy you, going as far as saying "hint: the hints cannot be deactivated"... that's funny? No it's not devs, as is not fun to make the game nigh impossible to beat if you invest your skill points unwisely; fortunately that wasn't my case, but I've heard many struggling with that. The game is hard, sometimes borderline unfair, it doesn't do a good job explaining what you can and can't do, a fact that reflects in how the turn-based combat gets needlessly complex: why can't you move but only jump? Why can't you strangle like out of combat? Why can't you get up from ledges? So many differences between the stealth and combat phase are never explained, as is never explained the behaviour of civilians, how enemies reload weapons, what's a lockdown and how does it work, trhe whole part about pausing out of combat , and so on. That's too bad because the art and premise of the game are good, however you can feel the devs half-assed many parts of the game, like the menus, which are completely unresponsive when using a controller, yet very basic and boring, or the story, which is basically a very brief Kill Bill-like afterthought, that they expand upon with a DLC comic. The game needed less edge and more love, still it's enjoyable if you're up to the challenge.
Game 27: Power Hover - 3/5 - 4:18 hours (04/05/2017)
Reached the credits, got all batteries, tried the challenges, haven't perfected the boss stages though. The minimalistic graphics manage not to be monotone or boring, to the opposite of what usually happens, thanks to an art direction which is always on point and varied. The music fits the atmosphere and aesthetic quite nicely. The gameplay is basic but addicting, mainly due to the well balanced difficulty, which never makes the game frustrating to play, also thanks to the rewind and life mechanics, that are well working additions. The controls, which are minimalistic too, can sometimes be not up to par though, mainly when you get on and off rails, and when you loop inside or outside pipes: the way the direction you input changes halfway throws me off every single time.
Game 28: Abzu - 4/5 - 5:36 hours (06/05/2017)
Got to the ending, with all achievements unlocked. This is a very relaxing game, one that doesn't make you feel anxiety, but constant marvel for the underwater world. It's a simple game, with very little to do, but there're lots of little details you can find to pierce the lore together or just to have fun in the ocean, ad just when you finally feel the structure is getting repetitive, the game throws a curveball at you and subverts your expectations for the final three chapters. The graphics are a fantastic artistic showcase of what you can do without going all out in the technical department and the soundtrack features exceptional moody tunes. The ending leaves basically everything up to interpretation, but that's the whole point of the game: to have an immersive sensory experience and get what you want out of it.
Game 29: Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist - 2/5 - 3:18 hours (06/05/2017)
100% the game with all achievements. It's basically a little more interactive The Stanley Parable: the humour is the same, the quirkiness of the setting is the same, but there are collectibles along the way to find, even though they're completely optional. It's an interesting meta take on the relationship between user-experience and developer intent in a game, repurposed as a very self-aware stage play. The game is nice and to the point on the first playthrough, but has some replay-value as well, giving you new stuff to do on the following playthroughs, like searching for hidden stuff or listening to weird, fun, in-game recordings. A curious free experiment.
Game 30: Metrico+ - 3/5 - 4:12 hours (10/05/2017)
Finished the main mode, found all collectibles, tried one time trial. Such a weird product: a puzzle platformer that gets inspiration from infographs. The presentation is very cut and clean, the sound department forgettable, the gameplay very confusing at first. However after one initial bad start you get to slowly understand the rules governing this minimalistic world, and you begin to have fun experimenting to find the appropriate solutions, which aren't all that hard once you get into it, aside from a few ending puzzles. The game does a good job to make you understand things without explaining much, and also manages to keep the player's attention by introducing a new main mechanic with each new level. The story is non-existant and the few cutscenes and ending mean little without a context that was never built around the main character. Still a competent pastime.
Game 31: Murdered: Soul Suspect - 4/5 - 11:42 hours (14/05/2017)
Got through the story, got 222/242 collectibles, don't intend to get the rest because one investigation scene got bugged and I can't get a clue, which is a shame, because I really wanted to 100% this one. This is a rough gem, unjustly panned by critics: a PS3-era game with the more conservative and linear structure of PS2 games, which is perfectly fine by me. The story is competent enough to make you care about the ending and the characters are all pretty nice, you can easily get in their shoes; the ending isn't obvious at all, in fact the game tries to deceive you twice, and I was honestly surprised by the last few twists, because I thought I had everything figured out since the beginning. The world is filled with collectibles that add to the lore and backstory of the game and characters, offering a nice reward so that it doesn't feel like a chore to find them: it's genuinely fun. The investigative gameplay is quite shallow, but still passable; however sometimes you get penalized unfairly for your decisions, as the game is very vague about some clues and questions. I liked the ghost part of it all a lot, and the first half of the game in particular is a blast. I recommend it despite the mediocre critic reviews.
Game 32: Psychonauts [replay with friend] - 5/5 - 28:00 hours (16/05/2017)
Completed everything in the game, achievements included. The game's a slow burner, the first level is arguably the less inventive and more boring of the bunch, especially since it's platform-heavy, something in which Psychonauts doesn't shine: the controls aren,'t the most precise ever. After that though, you get quickly engrossed into the whimsical plotline, absurd characters and relaxing camp life, that brings you back to childhood summers. The humour is great, on par with some of Schafer's best works, and there's plenty of it: every time you finish a level there are new convos to be had, new scenes to be seen, new character interaction to be witnessed. The levels themselves are crazy, they manage to keep the basis of the game's gameplay while expanding on it with their unique twist: obstacle course, pinball/racing, shooter, rampage, adventure and so on. Exploring the levels, and the hub in particular, to find the many collectibles is fun, especially thanks to the rank system that rewards you for your efforts with actual gameplay improvements, but they definitely went overboard with the figments. This game holds up, it's a fantastic entry in the 3D action plattformer genre with a great sense of humour.
Game 33: Rive - 3/5 - 4:24 hours (21/05/2017)
Finished the campaign, tried the challenges. First of all the main character is the most unsufferable sod I've ever played, he never shuts up, he's constantly not funny, spouting pop references, boastful and tries to get the world record for fourth wall breaking in a game: it's ironic that the devs put an annoying robot as the foil of the player, yet the main character is even more annoying. Put that blemish aside, the game's got a nice rhythm: you never stop for too long and the shooting never gets boring because it has an amazing feedback and the gameplay keeps changing. The enemies and environments are too much on the samey side though and there's really little reason for the mission based structure in the interconnected locales of the ship, as you are forced to go straight where the game wants anyway, it could have just been a long corridor and nothing would be lost; I appreciate the context provided though. Just don't have the same character in the next game please, or at least have him be quiet.
Game 34: Contradiction: The All-Video Murder Mystery Adventure [with friend] - 4/5 - 13:00 hours (30/05/2017)
Found the culprit! The case presents many interesting threads, developed with care, and the characters are all pretty unique and well characterized (Jenks is amazing), brought to the screen with good, over the top acting. The filming is appropriate and the locales chosen are all beautiful and cozy. The story has a few loose threads in the end, but it's clear the devs are trying to get out a sequel where they'll explain what's missing. The gameplay itself revolves mainly around the titular contradictions, while the exploration and use of items is kept to a minimum and is very simple, as far as the investigative parts go, though, everything works flawlessly and you never feel cheated by the game (aside from the place you have to use the torchlight in: that was bullshit). A nice throwback to the FMV games of yore, with an innovative indie after-taste.
JUNE
Game 35: Mega Man Legends - 5/5 - 13:59 hours (03/06/2017)
Finished the adventure, got all buster parts, special weapons, special items, done all sidequests. This game's such an incredible time capsule: the voice over, the excellent facial animations, the elaborate cut-scenes and the use of cell-shading graphics, while nothing special now, were majestically ahead of their times in 1997 (!!). The game's actually still heaps of fun now, it holds up beautifully: no quest markers, rather short but full of content and certainly not streamlined or straightforward, features a huge interconnected system of dungeons that you access from several above ground entrances, a rudimentary morality system that has you get darker if you do bad things and lighter with good deeds, an arsenal of different weapons that you have to rebuild finding their pieces around and that you can upgrade, a charming cast of characters, a persistent world that you can affect with your decisions and last buy not least mastodontic bosses. A game that has rightly reached cult status.
Game 36: Bayonetta [replay] - 4/5 - 10:?? hours (15/06/2017)
Simply finished the game once more, skipping most of cut-scenes. I re-played the game on the Wi U, while my first playthrough was on PS3, so I definitely felt the improvement in framerate and loading times. The combat, which is a mix of character action (DMC in particular, for obvious reasons) and versus fighting games, feels very deep and rewarding if you master it, however it can sometimes be a little too much all at once, especially due to the many weapons and their combinations. The art direction of the game is insane and the enemy are great design-wise, while a little confusing to read (and in that they feel alien-like as angels should feel), the constant excalations and climaxes are breathtaking and don't leave a momement of boredom, actually sometimes you wish the game was a little less exhausting and more evenly paced. What I definitely and without a doubt dislike about the game are the sudden death QTEs and how they affect the rating you get at the end of the level tremendously in comparison to their actual worth: they are as cheap as they get, often popping up during a cutscene, while you're completely focused on what's happening on screen and don't expect to be forced to intervene. The story is nice but nothing exceptional and surely a tad confusing for the first half. Anyway, the game is as good as I remembered and I must say that the graphics also hold up.
Game 37: Star Fox Guard [with friend] - 3/5 - ??:?? hours (20/06/2017)
Framed the culprit of the attacks and saw the credits, but haven't finished all the extra missions yet. Let's start exactly from that, the way to unlock the extra missions is maddeninig: the game forces you to accumulate minerals to level up and gain access to them, however even after having completed the campaign, having replayed several missions and having fought online I'm still at level 37, meaning that I still have 13 missions! It's preposterous to lock part of the meat of the game behind such requirements, a way to lengthen the playtime artificially which has the opposite effect on me: making me want to stop playing. That aside the game is very fun in little doses, the enemy variety is unexpectedly huge (wish I could say the same about the maps) and the security cam mechanic works flawlessly, highlighting for once the Wii U gamepad features. The missions don't offer much diversity though, even if the extra ones try to shake things off, the main objective always being to destroy all the combat class bots before they hit the base; the bosses are cool but there are only three of them. The online stuff doesn't really offer much, unless you simply like seeing the numbers that identify your rank go up: there are no leaderboards or such as usual per Nintendo. Innovative and unique tower defense that falls short on replayability and has an unlock system that seems to have been thought up for a FTP game.
Game 38: Windosill - 2/5 - 25 minutes (24/06/2017)
Got to the end. You can see this was a mobile game: it's all about that tactile interaction with the weird items and environments, however the impact is a little lost while using a mouse on the computer. More than a game, it's a quirky pastime.
Game 39: klocki - 3/5 - 50 minutes (24/06/2017)
Completed all the puzzles. The game does a good job of slowly but steadily introducing new mechanics till the end, mixing the gameplay constantly. However the vast majority of the puzzles don't involve much of a challenge nor are too original and the game's very short.
JULY
Game 40: Missing Translation - 2/5 - 1:18 hour (04/07/2017)
Finished and got all achievemets. Short freeware puzzle adventure, not really that much content there: three themed series of 25 puzzles each, plus one optional lore-related task. It's a serviceable game to pass an hour without thinking too much, there's a hidden language in the game, but it's not really used for anything but one thing.
Game 41: Metroid: Other M - 3/5 - 13:49 hours (09/07/2017)
100% the game. It's clear the devs wanted to take the cinematic AAA route, problem is the story is unimaginative (it's Alien) and full of holes (who the fuck was the traitor?!), the scripted dialogues are terrible and the dub mediocre: it lacks every single element that would make an AAA cinematic game stand out. Speaking about gameplay, everything's too linear, the first person/third person switch is too cumbersome and not fun, the need of waggling for a task requiring precision such as dodging is bad design, the map is confusing as hell, using only featureless blocks to show rooms and it's different from the mini-map (!!!): a huge step down from the Prime orographic one. That said not everything's bad: the more action oriented gameplay works and searching for hidden stuff is still very fun, also due to the linearity of the quest, the backtracking is kept to a minimum (but they killed speed runs and sequence breaking, which the series is known for), the bosses are fun and in good quantity and the post-game content is also a plus. Presentation is competent but not as inspired as the Prime environments, also there are far too many unskippable cutscenes, oft one after the other. From a lore standpoint this game is basically the assassination of the character of Samus: what was a strong-willed woman, working alone to fight back against unspoken horrors is transformed into a whiny and scared baby, willing to upstand the dumbest of orders (Samus now that our friend has almost been killed you can use the grapple beam, even though you passed in front of several grapple points up to now that I didn't allow you to traverse). Of course painting a deeper character through dialogues and self-reflections should be incentivized: that character however was the opposite of the Samus Aran we'd grown to love, it'd been better if they created a new one and gave her those features. Team Ninja bit off more than they could chew, they tried to make Metroid into something that is not to appease western AAA tastes, and in doing so they strayed too far from the road: this is a good game, just not a good Metroid one.