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52 games. 1 Year. 2016.

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PTAdrock

Neo Member
Claiming my place, I wish all of us the best of luck with this task.

4/52

[post=191061752]Game 1[/post]
[post=192129749]Game 2[/post]
[post=192251510]Game 3[/post]
[post=192795188]Game 4[/post]
[post=195404600]Game 5[/post]
[post=195404600]Game 6[/post]
 

Xion86

Member
52 games. 1 Year. 2016

Game 1:
b67KrXK.png


First game of 2016 completed! Well, this was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. Being a fan of the Diablo series, this was perfect for a free title, but the biggest plus point for me was having local co-op. I used the equivalent of a Mage class, local co-op with one other, and left the game open to the pubic for any two others to join in...and it was a blast! This was actually more challenging than Diablo, because it's a lot easier to die and you can't keep re-spawning, so you have to be on the ball. Visually it was fine and smooth to play, controls were spot on and there were plenty of levels and modes to keep you playing (ended up finishing all of the campaign levels of course). The game has a ton of gold as loot to pick up, but my only complaint was that you couldn't spend the gold to upgrade gear which had any real stat boosts, most were cosmetic. Apart from that, it's a hell of a lot of fun to play, action packed and great with 4 players.
7/10

Game 2:
9YZUs4a.jpg


I've had this sitting on my console since it was free to download via PS Plus and finally got round to playing it! Heard so many great things about Resogun and I was not disappointed. This can be picked up straight away with responsive and simple controls, stunning visuals, smooth gameplay fast paced and fantastic music and sound effects (glad it makes use of the Dualshock 4 speaker too). Finished all 5 levels a few times and tried out some other modes and the game was nothing short of addictive, played mostly local co-op as well (which I'm very glad it had). Can't really complain too much about this game, the only time I got annoyed was when a human would die without me realising why or being unsure where a keeper was. A gorgeous evolution of side scrolling shooters. 8/10

Game 3:
IhDviru.png


(HD on PlayStation 3) The last game of my Metal Gear Solid - The Legacy Collection play through. I had never played this on the PSP and I had already finished Phantom Pain. One friend did say it would be a bit odd going into this after Phantom Pain, but I got into it right away and loved it. Nice short missions, easy to pick up and play, I got to see what Mother Base and the Fulton was like originally and a bit of back story going into Ground Zeros and Phantom Pain! I honestly loved this from start to end, and the story was quite interesting. The tranquillizer gun was a bit OP but it did mean I got through the game to enjoy the story more (and I did finish Chapter 5 too!). Brilliant addition to the series, fantastic gameplay, nice RPG elements and so much content.
8.5/10

Game 4:
7ZB6HAZ.jpg


I only played Pokemon Red/Blue before, that was back at school, lots of fond memories there...but I never really picked up any of the later release until this came out on the 3DS. i decided to give X a go as it seemed like a pretty big release. It was pretty chilled out and fun to play through indeed! I didn't really swap out my teams too much, and usually stuck with the same set through most the game apart from 2 or 3 which I switched near the end. One thing I would say is I found that is was a bit too easy with hardly much skill involved to get to the end, usually just picked random damage related moves until I won. Visually the game looked great and controls were spot on. Doubt I'll be getting another Pokemon title until an open world NX game though...
8/10

Game 4:
ZqJqxso.jpg


I can't remember which of the Silent Hill game I played back in the day, maybe it was 3, but I picked up a lot of the PS3 Silent Hill titles to play before Silent Hills...well as that isn't going to happen, I decided to play through them now! Well I have to say, playing Silent Hill 2 HD edition made me want to savour every second of it, I honestly loved it from start to end and really miss this kind of horror/exploration game. It was hard to put down once I started, and quite rewarding when you figure out where to finally go next! My only two negatives would be that it's pretty damn dark at times and the game takes a while to get back once you exit out of the map or inventory, which can lead to you getting hit. The setting was eerie, music was great, it was good to play a decent horror title like this.
9/10
 

Hektor

Member
Game 1: Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the first Sin - 32 Hours
# Already finished the original Release two times, but it was fun playing the DLC for the first time in Singleplayer (I Had two play them in the original release on NG++). It's more souls so there isn't really much to say. Tho i think i prefer the original release a bit more, Dark Spirit Folorn, the even more recycled bosses and the new petriefied people were annoying.

Game 2: Ride to Hell: Retribution - 9 hours
# Opinion here

Game 3: Steins;Gate - 20 hours
# Great game, tho the True ending was completely unessecary. I think i have my share of VN's for this year now, save for DR3 maybe.

Game 4: Pony Island - 2 hours
# I'd say its impossible to write something about this game without ruining some of the experience in the process, therefore i won't bother and just recommend it to pretty much everybody. Just 5 bucks, yo.

Game 5: Apoptosis - 15 Minutes
# I was intrigued by the concept, but the execution was boring. I didn't expected the game to be fun, but the narrative just didn't carry it. Ultimately forgettable, tho i'm happy that games like this exist, even when they aren't very strong.

Game 6: Dragon's Dogma - 26 Hours
# I expected the game to be a biiiiit better, but i still thoroughly enjoyed most of it. Tho, i don't really wanna imagine how the game has been without fasttravel in the original release. *Shudders*

Game 7: Ryse: Son of Rome - 5 Hours
# The Graphics were nice. But i so totally can't stand the Batman Arkham combat system anymore at this point.

Game 8: Skyhill - 3 Hours
# Despite beeing a "rogulite" i'm already through with this game. Unlocked all Perks, the normal and the secret ending. Oh well. Enjoyable 3 hours i had with this game tho.

Game 9: Evoland 2 - 17 Hours
# I really recommend it. It's basically like Evoland 1, but as you can see much, much longer. Makes Evoland 1 look like a techdemo (which it kinda was)

Game 10: Shovel Knight - 5 Hours
# 'Tis was a fun game. But nothing too remarkable.

Game 11: Rise of the Tomb Raider - 15 hours
# Despite hating 2013 with a passion, i really enjoyed it for the most part. The Ubisoft-open-world kind of Hub-Levels and far to many shootouts soured the experience a bit, but it is ertainly a step in the right direction.

Game 12: XCOM 2 - 28 hours
# Will definitely come back some time later this month for a new playthrough. It's great.

Game 13: Firewatch - 3.5 hours
# Impressions here and here

Game 14: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - 9 Hours
# That ending was so bad. So, so bad. I'm so happy i stopped watching the anime years ago due to the filler. IT'S SO BAD.

Game 15: The Witness - 12 Hours
# To be fair, i used a guide at some parts because i really did not enjoy the position/perspective based puzzles. Did all the others without tho. Overall disappointing, there wasn't really anything to the game outside the puzzle, the island felt, like it's just... there and not like it had any purpose.

Game 16: SUPERHOT - 4 Hours
# SUPERHOT IS THE MOST INNOVATIVE SHOOTER I'VE PLAYED IN YEARS!

Game 17: Wolfenstein: The New Order - 10 Hours
# Am-m-m-m-mazing. Gameplay focused, yet still better written than most "cinematic" videogames. Just flat out shitting those in the face.

Game 18: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - 6 Hours
# Not as good as the former, amazing nonetheless. I would place both among the best shooters i've played in recent years.

Game 19: The Deadly Tower of Monsters - 4 Hours
# Fun little game. Progressing through it felt awesome similar to Grow Home. The idea of the game beeing a commented movie was awesome and well executed too. Highly recommended.

Game 20: Gravity Rush: Remastered - 9 Hours
# Fun game, liked the concept, but i expected a bit more, too much fighting.

Game 21: Oxenfree - 3.5 Hours
# Neat game with some really cool ideas, altho walking around dragged it a bit. Would still recommend.

Game 22: DEADBOLT - 5 Hours
# Fun game, surprisingly challenging, but always fair.

Game 23: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - 22 Hours
# The dark side will never lose, republican scum!

Game 24: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - 30 Hours
# KOTOR2 >>> KOTOR1

Game 25: Hyper Light Drifter - 5 Hours
# Too bad the steamoverlay didn't work for screenshots, because daaamn, does that game look impressive.

Game 26: Dark Souls III - 26 Hours
# Impressions here

Game 27: Quantum Break - 11 Hours
# A disappointment, really. The gameplay is good, but it's rarely there, most of the time is sucked up by reading thorugh emails, watching cutscenes, forced walking or live action episodes. Would be cool if the story wouldn't be so extremely straight forward.

Game 28: FFIX - 35 Hours
# Beautiful. Just beautiful. Must be really hard to not like this game, that's liek hating good food or sex.

Game 29: Ratchet and Clank - 11 Hours
# I kinda miss those games, mascot action/platformer have become so rare overall, it's a shame. But hey, this one was really good so no point in crying. Even got all the gold bolts.

Game 30: Severed - 5 Hours
# Neat game, altho a bit repetetive.

Game 31: Uncharted 4 - 11 Hours
# First Uncharted game i actually liked. That's something i guess. The shooting still sucked, but fortunately, there wasn't a lot of it compaired to the other titles. And the game was definitely better for it.

Game 32: The static speaks my name - 10 Minutes
# Eh, that was unsettling.

Game 33: DOOM (2016) - 10 Hours
# Thank you id. I thought the game is going to be a shitshow mix of wannabe oldschoolness and modern qte nonsense. But instead it's an amazing celebration of good, fast paced shooty shooty bang bang without any compromises. So good.

Game 34: Zero Time Dilemma - 21 Hours
# My mind was blown. Multiple times. 999 > ZTD > VLR

Game 35: FURI - 5 Hours
# Combat Yay, Forced Walking Nay

Game 36: INSIDE - 3 Hours
# Certainly not Tolstoy

Game 37: The Room II - 2 Hours
# Better than its predecessor in all aspects.

Game 38: 1979 Revolution: Black Friday - 3 Hours
# Impressions here

Game 39: I am Setsuna - 13 Hours
# Impressions here

Game 40: Dicetiny - 5 Hours
# The game idea itself is really fun, but the bad ai and too many pop culture and meme references drag it down.

Game 41: SOMA - 7 Hours
# Better than Amnesia, but not as good as Dead Space.

Game 42: Journey - 2 Hours
# Very LTTP. I kinda expected more from this game due to the love it got by other people. Not to say i didn't liked it tho. Wish we'd see more of original, non-competitive multiplayer games like this.

Game 43: This is the Police - 14 hours
# Yes, this is them.

Game 44: Planescape: Torment - 30 Hours
# Opinion here

Game 45: Grow Up - 4.5 Hours
# Opinion here

Game 46: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
# Still not a proper Deus Ex game. But at least a very good Stealth Action RPG.

Game 47: The Final Station - 4 Hours
# A fun, little survival horror game. Overall a bit too easy, but the presentation amde up for it.

Game 48: Attack on Titan / A.O.T. Wings of Freedom - 9 Hours
# On the one hand, it is the best spiderman game released in years, on the other it was so repetitive and idealess that there really isn't anything to write about.

Game 49: The Walking Dead: Michonne - 4 Hours
# Impressions here

Game 50: Digital: A love story - 2 Hours
# A very charming little adventure. Reminded me a bit of the movie Her.
I didn't really liked how the game consistet mostly of punching numbers into textboxes, but then again, i guess that was quite apt for the era it was emulating.

All in all, a very charming with a #HypeAF Soundtrack

Game 51: Don't take it personally babe, it just ain't your story - 2 Hours
# This game made me feel like a creep and being creeped upon. Creepy.

Game 52: Analogue: A Hate Story - 4 Hours
# A really neat, short VN. I like it when they have you actually engaging with the game in some form, rather than only offering text to read.

Game 53: Virginia - 1.5 Hours
# Impressions here

Game 54: Hate Plus - 6 Hours
# Not as good as Analogue, due to the game having less player engagement especially.

Game 55: Clustertruck - 4 Hours
# Impressions Here

Game 56: Steamworld Heist - 14 Hours
# Best XCOM x Worms crossover i've ever played. Amazing soundtrack as well.

Game 57: Steamworld Dig - 2 Hours, 41 Minutes
# 11 minutes less and i would've gotten the Speedrun Achivement, hmpf.

Game 58: Ladykiller in a Bind - 16 Hours
# Best being stepped on by Mitsuru simulator, 10/10

Game 59: Shadow Warrior 2- 16 Hours
# While i'm not much of a fan of the randomized, diablo-esque structure full of loot, the game perfectly nailed the gunplay, enemy variety and dick humor that i expected.

Game 60: World of Final Fantasy - 40 Hours
# This game is far too easy, and far, far too linear, but, BUT, BUUUUUUTTTTT, if this isn't the most charming game ever meant thne what is. I can't handle the kawaii

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfHRD7QDO8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coV4ns-Ro-0

Game 61: Tyranny - 23 Hours
# I liked it more than PoE as the pacing is "tighter" and the combat with the runecrafting spells a lot more fun, even if the main story isn't the most original one.

Game 62: VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - 9 Hours
# Despite what the name suggests, it's a VN. Not the most mindblowing one, but pretty cute and fun.

Game 63: Orwell - 4 Hours
# Wasted potential. THe premise and concept is really interesting, but the game isn't doing a lot with it and stays a VN for the most part.

Game 64: Steins;Gate 0 - 30 Hours
# Not as high highs, but also not as low lows. Worthy seqel, even if not as mindblowing. It's biggest strength is the much better pacing

Game 65: Actual Sunlight - 1 Hours
# A very powerful videogame

Game 66: Final Fantasy XV - 32 Hours
# I agree very much with 99% of this post

Game 67 - The Last Guardian - 14 Hours
# Pretty much what you expect as a sequel to ICO and SotC, which is not a bad thing. Felt the game kinda dragged itself early on, could've used some more highlights there. The ending was amazing.

Game 68 - Dishonored 2 - 7.5 Hours
# Story so trash, balancing so non-existend, it became tactical speedrun action rather soon.

Game 69 - Icey - 2.5 Hours
# Member Stanley Parable? Member also how it was a chinese 2D Action game? Yeah, me neither, yet here we are.
 

jiggles

Banned
Archive Post

headerljo56.jpg

Game 1 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky [PC] ★★★★
I got two chapters or so in to this on Vita (which was honestly a better format for playing it on). Picked it up on Steam super-cheap a while ago and worked through it the past few weeks. It's really a very good JRPG. The battle system is a traditional turn-based affair with a slight tactical lean in that character movement and positioning matters. It reminded me a lot of Chrono Trigger's battle system, actually. Though if you're looking for innovation within the genre, you'll need to look elsewhere. It touches on basically every trope imaginable, but that can be forgiven given the game's age. Where it really shines is in its script. A sizable cast of fantastic characters and excellent dialogue elevates Trails in the Sky above its otherwise generic status and makes it unforgettable.
 

JPS Kai

Member
Claiming a spot. Finished 2015's with only a couple days to spare, so maybe this year I won't pick as many JRPG's.

#1 Undertale (PC, 18 hours) Normal, Genocide, and Pacifist Routes complete. Damn good game with some really interesting divergence.
#2 Her Story (PC, 4 hours) Had to bang my head against the keyboard for some sections but overall enjoyed piecing it together.
#3 Pony Island (PC, 3 hours) Subverted my expectations of a cute endless runner. 10/10, would send friends disgusting messages again.
#4 The Stanley Parable (PC, 3 hours) Ran through on my own a couple of times, glanced at a guide for the other endings. Wonderful bit of narrated fiction.
#5 Life is Strange (PS4, 9 hours) Platinum. Peaked off during Episode 3 and just got a little long-winded in some parts. Great soundtrack above all else.
#6 Resident Evil 0 (PS4, 7 hours) Played through on one difficulty plus finished up Leech Hunter mode.
#7 Megadimension Neptunia VII (PS4, 65 hours) Platinum. Somehow, the story just didn't really grab me.
#8 Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel (PS4, 12 hours) Platinum. Fun poverty fighter with no sense of balance or holding back on combos.
#9 The Witness (PS4, 30+ hours) Platinum. While some puzzles were strangely obtuse, others flowed incredibly easily.
#10 Layers of Fear (PC, XX hours)
Will update to discuss at a later date.
#11 Firewatch (PS4, 5 hours) 100%. Saw the story through to its conclusion, still wishing it had more than five bloody trophies
#12 Prismatic Solid (PS4, 1 hour) Pretty neat little shmup. More bullets on screen than any other shmup I've ever played, but these tentacle powers make the game pretty damn simple.
#13 Layers of Fear (PS4, 3 hours) A horror game so nice, I played it twice.
#14 Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4, 130 hours) Platinum. Preparation for DS3.
#15 Ray Gigant (Vita, 31 hours) Platinum. One of Experience's easier experiences
 

Teggy

Member
1. Emily is Away - 30 minutes
# Played on PC - finished 1/2. I tried to get a good ending but the game wouldn't let me.

2. Cibele - 1 hour
# Played on MAC - finished 1/6. Felt like I was invading someone's privacy.

3. Fire Emblem Awakening - 25-30 hours
# Played on 3DS - finished 1/10. Played on Normal/Classic but restarted battles a number of times to save characters, hence the approximate playtime. Strategically sacrificed a few characters during the last few battles but overall was happy with who survived and how I learned the game's mechanics.

4. The Witness - 34 hours
#Played on PC - finished 2/1 - A puzzle game with an amazing sense of exploration, and I don't even really like puzzle games. Making progress in this game always made me feel smart, and I found the solutions to be more and more clever as it went along. And oh boy is there a rabbit hole to go down.

5. XCOM 2 - 53 hours
#Played on PC - finished 2/13 - Absorbing, addicting and challenging. All of the different technologies had their place in battle and it was a joy to discover what worked best. A game that got me picking up other turn-based strategy games I wouldn't have given a second look at before.

6. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 - 10.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 2/23 - An FPS that's not really an FPS. The squad controls could be finicky and I would have preferred a bit more flexibility in the tactical view. However, watching a series of firefights play out while your teams stay intact can be rewarding.

7. Just Cause 3 - 30 hours
#Played on XBONE - finished 3/6 - An amazing, huge world filled with weapons to blow everything sky high while effortlessly traversing in your wingsuit. That is, if you don't mind the terrible frame rate and load times and getting caught on geometry all the time.

8. Tom Clancy's The Division - 90+ hours
#Played on XBONE - finished 3/11 - A lot of fun to be had in this loot shooter. The grind may eventually get to me, but I'm looking forward to the new content.

9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - lots (timer broke on Steam)
#Played on PC - finished 3/31 - The first time I tried finishing this game was last year, and I got distracted at what I thought was about 2/3rds through the game. It turns out I was maybe 2/5ths or even just a 1/3rd through. An enormous, amazing game. My only gripe being that exploring easily over levels you on content.

10. Fallout 4 - 31 hours
#Played on PC - finished 4/4 - All the fun of a Bethesda game with all the bugginess. I kind of hated the way the story turned out and that I felt kind of railroaded into it, although I think that a different playthrough might change that. No doubt it was fun to play.

11. Grow Home - 2.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 4/4 - Beat the main mission. Didn't like the controls enough to go hunting for all of the seeds.

12. Steamworld Dig - 4.5 hours
#Played on PSVITA - finished 4/13 - A reasonable diversion.

13. Ratchet & Clank (2016)
#Played on PS4 - finished 4/24 - The Ratchet games are some of all my all time favorites. I had a good time with this one, but something just didn't click. It might have been because of the way it was forced to follow the more streamlined plot of a movie.

14. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 17 hours
#Played on PS4 - finished 5/15 - Perhaps doesn't dethrone Uncharted 2 as my favorite game, but an immensely satisfying end to the Uncharted series, bringing the incredible storytelling established in The Last Of Us to Nate's world.

15. Fallout 4: Far Harbor - 15 hours
#Played on PC - finished 5/27 - More of Fallout 4, and that was really just fine with me.

16. DOOM (2016) - 17 hours
#Played on PC - finished 6/11 - Huge, winding levels and frenetic, satisfying carnage.

17. The Room
#Played on IOS - Truly impressed by the design of these multilayered box puzzles. Often left wondering "how did they do that?"

18. Inside - 5 hours
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 8/9 - Clever puzzles and one hell of an ending, but not groundbreaking.

19. Song of the Deep - 10 hours
#Played on PC - finished 8/12 - Surprisingly controllable for an underwater game, but it grew a bit stale, especially with the lack of boss fights or climactic moments throughout the game.

20. Deus Ex Go
#Played on IOS

21. The Turing Test - 7 hours
#Played on PC - finished 8/31 - Feels a lot like Portal without the humor. The puzzles are pretty good, but the story doesn't really pan out.

22. The Room 2
#Played on IOS

23. Hue - 6 hours
#Played on PC - - finished 9/6 - A decent little color-based platformer. I actually forgot that I had played it.

24. Blue Sheep - 2.25 hours
#Played on PC - - finished 9/12 - A nice looking game and an interesting idea. Absolutely awful execution.

25. Recore - 23.75 hours
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 9/22 - Extremely satisfying platforming, adventure and exploration. The overall design of the game, however, was a bit disjointed, with a number of bugs and terrible load times. A sequel could be something special, though.

26. Destiny: The Fallen King
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 10/6 - More Destiny, but with some welcome introduction of minor raid mechanics in the single player campaign. I'll need to grind to be able to play the next expansion, though.

27. Gears of War 4 - 10 hours
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 10/13 - Holds up well compared to the original trilogy, and a full package.

28. Monument Valley
#Played on IOS - finished 10/23 - Not super difficult, but an amazing thing to ponder on. I couldn't believe the brainpower that must have went into making some of these levels a reality.

29. The Room 3 - 7.5 hours
#Played on IOS - finished 10/25 - Not as mind bending as the ornate boxes from the original Room game, but a reasonably lengthy adventure with the right amount of challenge and some very clever and generally unique puzzles. Got 3 endings and used a guide to get the last.

30. TitanFall 2 - 6 hours (campaign)
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 10/28 - Surprisingly fun and unique for an FPS campaign.

31. Mafia III
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 11/6 - An impressive world was built for this game. The gameplay itself was tedious and repetitive, though.

32. Firewatch - 4 hours
#Played on PC - finished 11/7 - Mostly a walking simulator, with a compelling story and good perfomances. Not necessarily worth the hype.

33. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - 8 hours
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 11/11 - A better single player experience than I expected, but I wasn't compelled to put much time into the MP.

34. Dishonored 2 - 24 hours
#Played on PC - finished 11/15 - I loved the original Dishonored and this was a very worthy followup. Incredible level design and the option to play with a new powerset or one based on the original game, plus some very clever gameplay innovations makes this probably my favorite game of the year.

35. Watch_Dogs 2 - 38 hours
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 11/18 - A very pleasant surprise compared to the original game. Enjoyable characters, a welcome, humorous tone and missions that could be approached like you were a hacker instead of a one-man army.

36. Fallout New Vegas - 40 hours?
#Played on PC - finished 11/30 - Filled with enjoyable exploration and stories, but bogged down in the end by buggy program and clashing storylines.

37. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - 5 hours?
#Played on PC - finished 11/30 - An incredibly original twist on Fallout gameplay. I was very impressed by how fresh this DLC made the game feel even after spending so much time in the core game.

38. Hitman - 10 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/7 - I didn't put a ton of time in, but it's a great game. Playing as episodes came out would be the ideal to play, doing multiple playthroughs of each episode. I hope to do so for Season 2.

39. Oxenfree - 5.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/7 - I played most of the game in January and then just cleaned it up recently. There was some well done storytelling and clever dialog programming, but in the end I didn't enjoy dragging the characters across the map without some actual gameplay to along with it.

40. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - 28 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/10 - More modern Deus Ex and that's a great thing in my opinion. The small open world didn't work out quite as well as it could have but if you're a fan of the play-it-your-way and exploration of these types of games, it's highly recommended.

41. Shadwen - 11 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/11 - An odd stealth game where time only moves forward when you move or when you choose it to. The escort quest feature of the game is actually handled in a way that avoids frustration, but the game is held back by being essentially the same for all 15 levels, with not much in terms of gameplay or difficulty change.

42. Aragami - 9 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/13 - Challenging but fair, only marred by frustrating boss levels.

43. The Evil Within: The Assignment + The Consequence - 7 hours
#Played on PS4 - finished 12/17 - This game still gives me the creeps. Pretty decent DLC, having you play without weapons for the most part, and revealing what was going on with Juli Kidman during the game.

44. Refunct - 30 minutes
#Played on PC - finished 12/17 - A quick little first person platforming game. Fun for what it is.

45. Obduction - 15 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/18 - A great first person puzzle adventure game, made by the makers of Myst. Best to go in blind. The puzzles are clever yet logical, just like I like them.

46. Hook - 1.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/21 - A simple puzzle game that works sort of like pickup sticks.

47. Glare - 5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/22 - A very nice looking platformer that reminded me a bit of Ori in its gameplay and difficulty. The ending is very tough.

48. Unbox - 7 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/22 - What we've got here is an N64 collectathon platformer with better graphics. That's cool. But you play as a box. Have you ever tried to roll a box? That's not that cool.

49. ABZU- 1.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/22 - I swam around. It's pretty.

50. Deadly Tower of Monsters - 4.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/23 - This is a very fun little game. Not too difficult but it has a lot of humor and the way in which you climb the tower works very well.

51. Pony Island - 3 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/24 - Well that was something.

52. OneShot - 4.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/24 - This is a very unique thing. Worth a playthrough.

53. Valley - 4 hours
#Played on PC - finished 12/26 - I had a total blast with this game, what a cool surprise at the end of the year. Incredible fun platforming and pretty cool story as well.

54. Quantum Break - 8.5 hours
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 12/26 - Gameplay was fun enough, but I really hate ridiculous time travel stories.
 
I'm in for another year.

Managed to complete this in 2014 and 2015 with exactly 52 games in each year. My gaming time is somewhat limited (two young children, demanding job) - at a guess, around 500 hours per year so I try to get a good mix of lengths and have multiple titles on the go at the same time depending on my situation / context (sit down console gaming is the most limited, longer titles can take me months to complete - Witcher 2 took 4.5 months in 2015).

2014 - 52 games - http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=103689224
2015 - 52 games - http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=190642512

2016:

Game #1: Jan 2nd - Emily is Away (PC) 86 minutes
- Nostalgia trip, charming.

Game #2: Jan 7th - Lara Croft GO: Cave of Fire (Android) ~3hrs
- Great, new enemy types make for some challenging areas.

Game #3: Jan 11th - Life is Strange (PS4) ~12hrs
- Really enjoyed this overall, great setting / atmosphere, fantastic soundtrack. Somewhat corny dialogue in places but didn't distract.

In Progress:

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4)
Final Fantasy VIII (PSX on PSV)
Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO)
Bayonetta 2 (WiiU)
Undertale (PC)
 
1 - Disney Infinity 2.0 - The Avenger's Playset
Wii U
Enjoyable enough for the most part. The open world is extremely barren and I can't help but wish it were smaller or entirely excluded - good luck getting around if you want to use a character that can't fly! Plus the final boss was complete nonsense. I feel like they wanted you to grind up a bunch of figures but we managed to squeak by just barely without. Overall kinda meh, but the variety of characters is fun to play with if you have the figures.

2 - Disney Infinity 2.0 - Guardians of the Galaxy Playset
Wii U
Better than the Avengers by a good amount. The hub world was worlds better, feeling closer to something from Mario or Sly Cooper than the sparse "open world" of the Avengers. The addition of platforming and minor puzzle solving makes things less repetitious, and the characters I used seemed to be more varied as well. Rocket, for instance, plays completely differently from any of the other figures I used in GotG or Avengers. Decent fun and a marked improvement!

3 - Disney Infinity 3.0 - Twilight of the Republic Playset
Wii U
Frankly this is what the playsets always should have been - a decently deep combat system while still being simple enough for children, a variety of missions (mostly combat, but also platforming and pod racing and space missions), and the ability to get tokens so you can play as any of the other Star Wars characters and not just the playset's main ones. Not to mention the locales are fun to explore and plentiful with locations from the movies, which is a blast. It could have stood to be longer, but there are enough side missions to keep us interested and the climactic final boss felt really, really good. Oh, and the frame rate issues from 2.0 have been improved drastically! Good on them.

4 - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
3DS
I got this game with the express intention of playing with a group of friends online, but when one of them lost their copy I ended up starting with randoms... and I had a lot of fun! Yes, there are points of frustration, but I feel like this game is best experienced with randoms - the sheer triumph of taking out a hard boss or getting through a tricky dungeon with random people who may or may not know what they are doing simply can't be beaten. It helps that the dungeons here are extremely well-designed. This game is truly a good follow up to Link Between Worlds, and frankly I think it got a bad rap from people who fundamentally misunderstand what it is supposed to be. Nintendo knows what it's doing when it comes to online-specific play, and this game demonstrates this wonderfully.

5 - Disney Infinity 3.0 - Rise Against the Empire Playset
Wii U
While still fun, this is definitely a step down from the action-heavy Twilight playset. The combat is slower and less precise, with gunplay that is basically identical to that of the Marvel sets in 2.0, and the characters overall are slower. This hurts in the equally-large hub worlds, but the idea is that you are supposed to use vehicles. Luckily, the vehicles are improved from before - they feel tighter, and feature mostly in Star Fox-esque rail shooter sections that are fun, if a tad imprecise. The story is also worse, since instead of being an original piece of content it seeks to follow episodes IV-VI, except minimized and adapted for the 4-character party. Overall still fun, but not nearly as good as Twilight.

6 - The Bridge
PC
An interesting puzzle platformer. Or... puzzle sidescroller? You can't jump, in any case. Still, reminds me a lot of Braid in presentation and storytelling, for better or for worse, but the level design isn't quite as solid. It's fun, definitely, but I had to grab a guide for the last puzzle (wtf was that last puzzle???) and the fact that you never really feel in control of your character hurts its overall feel. Still, a lot of solid puzzles and an interesting visual style; I'm glad I played it. If I'm really feeling into turning things in circles, maybe I'll come back to the "mirrored" remix levels some day. Maybe.

7 - Hatoful Boyfriend
PC
I've never really played a dating sim before, so I'm unsure what the "standard" is, but I was disappointed with the many structural issues of Hatoful. With no particular mechanics in place to assist, getting each of the endings requires a lot of seeing the same text. The stat system is arbitrary and only serves to create a few odd "true ending" gates where a final scene is locked unless you fulfilled specific requirements. The music is good, but is hurt by the fact that the majority of the game uses one tune that is always restarting, so the same few notes begin to wear on your nerves as you replay. And yet, despite all this, I adored Hatoful Boyfriend. Why? Because its writing is absolutely brilliant, especially in the "final" ending and how the game leads up to it. I would love to see a version of this game that has the gameplay aspect of it more polished, but damn if I didn't still enjoy what I got. Nageki best boyfriend.

8 - Mark of the Ninja
PC
As someone who usually has trouble enjoying stealth games, I really liked this one! The way it's set up emphasizes the puzzle element of stealth - you see all the parameters and it's up to you to parse them and find the solution. This combined with a very solid control scheme and lovingly-crafted animations makes for a quite pleasant game. My only strong criticism is that the overall story never really gave me a reason to care about the characters or situation, so it's a shame that some of the later twists fell a little flat on me for that reason.

9 - Counterfeit Monkey
PC
Absolutely fantastic game. I'm so glad I found it - it's a terrible shame that it seems to have had so little recognition on the internet at large. It takes a super neat concept and world builds the hell out of it, making both a fascinating place to learn about and a fun gameplay mechanic to play with. My only real criticisms have to do with some glitches with the death mechanic. Really, really great!

10 - Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star
PC
Unfortunately not quite as good as the first, but still quite solid and fun. I wish it had been more of a sequel to the first rather than a side story of sorts. I also wish it hadn't toned down the amount of gameplay so drastically - it's kinda the epitome of "visual novel" now. Still well written, though!

11 - Shank
PC
Downright solid! I enjoyed it most when it made it abundantly clear that it wasn't to be taken seriously. The platforming bits were pretty bad at times, but the core gameplay was fun enough to keep me coming back.

12 - Pony Island
PC
Way more adorable than I expected!

13 - Shovel Knight (Custom Knight)
Wii U
I was pretty amazed at how much Custom Knight was a new character of sorts. He's fun to play around with, too! There are a lot of little things in that customization aspect that I will probably come back to poke around with more later - the diagonal shovel dive in particular I can only imagine being very interesting to play with. I only wish there had been a special bonus at level 50 - since the upgrades are random, it was a bit of a letdown that there wasn't anything more once you maxed the amiibo out.

14 - INK
PC
Please imagine Super Meat Boy except instead of coloring the stage with blood you are coloring it in rainbow ink. And the stage is invisible. INK is a very fun puzzle/precision platformer that it's practically criminal that I didn't hear about it sooner. I only wish it had gone on longer... my playthrough only took a little over an hour and there aren't bonuses to convince you to go back and get the bandages - er, hearts. Still, frankly a sublime game and easily worth the five dollar buy-in.

15 - the static speaks my name
PC
Recommended by Extra Credits. Not sure what to think about this one. Interesting, to say the least.

16 - Kirby: Triple Deluxe
3DS
Second playthrough! Started because I just wanted something fun to play on the go and remembered this gem, and finished due to hype from the sequel's announcement. Still one of the best Kirby games there is, filled with charm, polish, and generally great design! Planning on taking down the Arenas and such as well, but this marks me finishing the main story.

17 - Disney Infinity 3.0 - The Force Awakens Playset
Wii U
Unfortunately very much the worst of the three Star Wars sets. It starts out solid, but ends up being repetitious, annoyingly fetch quest-y, and having a weirdly genericized version of TFA's story.

18 - Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Wii U
On the plus sides, it's absolutely adorable with some of the most pleasant art direction I've seen in gaming. On the minus side, the core gameplay... doesn't seem as good as its predecessor. Something about the controls and how the rainbow ropes works feels awfully sticky and slow in comparison to the more physics and momentum-based Canvas Curse. It also hurts for reusing its bosses... still, it isn't bad, and the little minigame-ish sections helped break up the game well for decent pacing. I just wish this clay had had a little more glaze.

19 - Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Wii
Finished up a second run of Extra mode! Still pretty darn solid, though not quite as tight as Triple Deluxe. I feel like the level design suffers for having to accommodate for multiple players - but on the plus side it's a really fun co-op experience!

20 - Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
3DS (Ambassador program VC)
Part four of my semi-impromptu Kirby marathon! While I still personally prefer the traditional level-based Kirby games, this as an adventure game is quite interesting. I'd like to see them do it again with the Super Star-style ability structure and maybe even switching abilities on the fly ala Milky Way Wishes. Playing this again I was surprised at exactly how short it was - without using a guide or particularly remembering much of where stuff was, I got through the final boss (and 77% collectables) in only about 6.5 hours. Which I guess is why they've stuck to the level formula! That plus the rather eclectic structure, since I found myself fighting the final "normal" boss second, which is weird.

21 - The Talos Principle
PC
Fantastic. Excellent storytelling and worldbuilding, with moments that absolutely floored me. The climax is probably one of the best in gaming and is set up brilliantly. I cannot recommend this game enough - the only flaw I can think of off the top of my head is that I personally hated the sigil puzzles, but that's such a minor complaint it feels petty.

22 - Hyrule Warriors Legends
(new) 3DS
This marks me beating the Legends Mode, but of course there are still literal hundreds of hours to pour into Adventure... and so far this is seeming like a clearly definitive version! I'm really impressed with how well the game scaled down to the 3DS, even if there are some unfortunate compromises in the visual and sound design. The new content is rad and the game is overall so, so good.

23 - LIMBO
PC
A replay! Forgot how messed up and gory this game is - I'm kinda appalled that the ESRB gave is a T. "Mild violence" my ass. In any case... still a fantastic game, with some of the best puzzle platformer level designs of the industry. I feel like the mid-to-late game switch from forest to mechanical levels and finally sci-fi shenanigans hurt the overall tone, though... the first levels and the interactions therein are much more emotionally impactful than the later ones.

24 - The Wolf Among Us
PC
My first full playthrough of a post-TWD Telltale game, and I enjoyed it immensely! I adore this world so much, and the format shone remarkably well - it definitely makes me want to go back to The Walking Dead, which I started a few years back but didn't get too far into. My only concern is if I decide to replay it - whether to finish up the Book of Fables or just for fun - I imagine the illusion of choice will be somewhat broken. But at least for my first playthrough things felt natural and like my choices really mattered through to the end!

25 - Neko Atsume
Mobile - iOS
Neko Atsume may not have a winstate, but I am totally counting "get a photo of every cat" as my personal credits roll. This marks that achievement - as of the March 24 update (which added the sweets-themed content), at least. Neko Atsume is a really interesting game - there's not much to the interaction, but it is a good vessel for interesting pictures and communication between friends. Also it's adorable, and is free! I honestly wish it had more f2p elements so I could throw some money at it without just buying gold fish. Definitely a neat example of a mobile game using the platform to its advantage!

26 - Monument Valley - Forgotten Shores
Mobile - iOS
Monument Valley is a gem - a lovely, gorgeous game that is just a joy to play through. Since I got into the game late and got it for free, I felt a duty to throw the devs some cash for their little DLC level pack, the Forgotten Shores, and I was not disappointed. Forgotten Shores is every bit as great as the main game, and actually manages to be even more beautiful and include ever more lovingly-crafted puzzles. There were a few screens that just had me in awe, and a few others that had me sitting for several minutes just trying to figure out how the movement made sense in some vaguely-Euclidean way. Forgotten Shores is a treat.

27 - Gunman Clive 2
3DS
In some ways an improvement over the first and in some ways a downgrade. While the new environments and variety of gameplay is a huge plus, as well as the obviously-longer campaign, it suffers from some obtrusive gimmicks and having too many moving parts that make the platforming worse and less precise. Of note is that I only played as Clive, but may come back later to try the other characters.

28 - Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
3DS
I enjoyed Risky's Revenge enough, but parts of it felt off to me. This game seems to have solved that problem! It feels better polished, better structures, and just overall a lot of fun! I enjoyed the Zelda-ish overworld-to-dungeon format quite a bit.

29 - Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
new 3DS
A game of high highs and low lows. I adored the plot, characters, and world - though all suffered from time to time. On the other hand, the quest structure is really poor and the map system needs a lot of work, making the time that I needed to spend grinding awfully painful. Still, I'm glad I stuck through it - despite feeling that the game needed to end about 10 hours earlier than it did, I generally adored the ending. I'd really like to see a polished up Xenoblade Chronicles 2! And X doesn't count due to shifting its focus so drastically.

30 - Mushroom 11
PC
An interesting take on the puzzle platformer to be sure. Just moving through the world is very satisfying, but on the other hand it falls into a common problem a lot of one-note puzzle platformers do - they end up becoming too difficult for their own controls and becoming frustrating near the end. In here it's especially difficult as your movement is inherently randomized to some extent, thus making certain "standard platformer challenges" incredibly frustrating as the RNG rolls against your favor. Still, definitely a neat little play! Excellent visual design too, to be sure.

31 - Disco Zoo
Mobile - iOS
Another mobile game without a proper winstate, Disco Zoo is a surprisingly decent idle game! The actual way of getting animals through 5x5 battleship-style puzzles is fun, and the animals themselves are cute and whimsical. It could definitely stand to have some kind of upgrade system or something to keep gameplay varied, though, as the actual idling portion is pretty boring. Its spot on this list marks me getting every animal type from every biome, making me more or less done with the game until future updates.

32 - Dropsy
PC
While I'm not generally a big fan of open-world game design, Dropsy was still a joy to play. The lovely game concept of just wanting to make everyone happy combined with highly pleasant visuals and lovable characters make for a very fun experience, and the way the game communicates with you purely through visuals is very interesting and serves to make the game feel like no other. Definitely a recommendation to anyone who likes point-and-click adventures!

33 - Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix
PS3, via 2.5 HD Remix
KH2 was already my favorite game in the series, but playing through it while now having a better idea of how the combat actually works thanks to watching speed runs makes it just that much better! A lovely ARPG with an excellent system, fun story, and just all around one of the best games on the PS2.

34 - Kirby: Planet Robobot
(new) 3DS
While I feel like this suffered from having a little bit too much reused from Triple Deluxe and Return to Dream Land, and the 3D making the frame rate suffer sucks, this is still a great game! The Robobot armor is fun, and the game design overall is every bit as good as Triple Deluxe. It's hard to say which I like better, and which is thusly my favorite Kirby game...

35 - Rhythm Heaven Megamix
3DS
Delightful! As a big fan of the Rhythm Heaven series, this is certainly a great bang for my buck! The combination of old games being remastered and new games makes for an experience that is much longer than your average Rhythm Heaven, and the story mode is fun and silly and just pleasant. A must-have for any fan of rhythm games!

36 - Affordable Space Adventures
Wii U
Remarkably fun co-op game! I played with one other person and had a blast. Would definitely recommend, and I'm super glad I got a chance to try it with the Indie Bundle.

37 - 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
DS
Almost as good as I remembered! Still a very compelling story, but the fact that it demonizes a mental condition so hard near the end is pretty hard to ignore on further analysis. The puzzles are still great, and the gameplay still suffers from repetition due to the game's multiple ending setup. As a fun fact, I didn't know prosopagnosia was a thing until I played this for the first time, and after I learned about it a lot of things in my life started to make more sense.

38 - Axiom Verge
PC
Bloody fantastic. Easily one of the best Metroidvanias I've ever played, and quite possibly the best 2D Metroidvania I've played. It's like a modern take on Super Metroid, where traversing the mazelike environment feels incredibly rewarding and just fun to do. Happy to say I didn't have to pick up a guide once for the main story - though I got close near the end. On the inverse side, though, it does desperately need some better hint system for powerups - I would have loved something ala Prime 3 where it puts dots on your map to help you out near the end.

39 - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix
PS3, via 2.5 HD Remix
A lot better than I remembered! While it's still not quite as tight an experience as KH2, the command deck is a lot of fun and the different abilities you get are really interesting and unique. It's only really held down by some oddities as far as level progression - I had to grind for 2/3 of the final bosses - the weirdness/randomness of how skills work, and the sometimes lackluster world design that feels like it was made for a larger movement repertoire ala DDD. Still, overall probably the 2nd best KH game.

40 - Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
3DS
While the characters of VLR still don't hold a candle to 999's excellent cast, playing through this a second time makes me appreciate even more the excellent gameplay/story integration throughout. Additionally, the fact that VLR is less of a standalone story hurts less now that ZTD is officially released. And now it's time to finish this trilogy, and I am incredibly excited...

~

Continued in part two.
 

PTAdrock

Neo Member
[post=191044952]Claim[/post]

header.jpg

Game 1: Fallout 1 PC - 44 hours 1/52
Yup, going to start this off with the beginning of games I received from the steam sale. It is a bit dated so if you love your graphics you can just give this a pass. Fallout is a strategy RPG with sandbag elements. The storyline is pretty deep but it is only as deep as you want to dig. Because of the amount of stuff you can do, you may end up missing something which could have filled in a hole somewhere. I liked the exploration element in this game. Wandering the wasteland hoping for random raiders to attack just so I can pinch things and sell them for caps never gets old. That being said, I hate how currency is handled in this game. Caps is pretty much money, so when you go to buy something you can choose to just foot the bill in caps if you don't want to trade your gear. you can only increase by one at a time or select the "all" button to add nine hundred ninety nine. This means that if you want to buy something for six hundred and you want to pay in caps only, you either overpay or subject you mouse to clicking torture. Balancing is a bit of an issue later on when some weapons or tactics become pointless end game. You only really need your mouse to play it, which can be good and bad in some cases. The game does have a funny way of not telling you important things about your character but then sings other things out loud. I can not tell you the number of times I have been killed or damaged from things the game decided not to tell me. There is a pretty obnoxious bug within the game still. Make sure you make several save files. The bug in question can screw up you game, that may result in you starting the game over again. Without wishing to spoil, I'll just say you should look up that bug before you really dive right in. If you are looking for an older game to add to your conquest, hopefully this game makes your list.
 
OP

Game 1 - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (Vita)
Definitely not my favorite Danganronpa experience. This felt like it took me forever to get through even though the overall game itself isn't very long due to the short bursts I had to play in. I'm not sure how popular the side modes are but the lack of anything like school/island or the Monomi modes disappointed me quite a bit.
 
I'm a list virgin so let's do this

1. Blackwell Legacy - Approx 2 hours - Finished 1/1
Playing the Steam versions for the first time. I fucking adore this series even if it is a bit simple, and the first game sets up the overarching story beautifully.

2. Blackwell Unbound - Approx 2 hours - Finished 1/1
Same as above. Less well developed but I do enjoy Unbound more than Legacy and Convergence.

3. Blackwell Convergence - Approx 2 Hours - Finished 2/1
One thing that really annoyed me was the constant back and forth to the PC. Come on Rosa, get a phone.

4. Blackwell Deception - Approx 3 Hours - Finished 4/1
It's a shame that whole Gavin subplot was dropped from Epiphany. I was impressed by the huge leap between Convergence and Deception. The art and pacing are so much better this time around, and the progression for Rosa is about what you'd expect for someone in their third/fourth(?) year of spooky detective

Next up - Blackwell Epiphany before I tackle my 3 new games for January. Stopping and starting Brutal Legend and SMT: Strange Journey a lot. Will probably spend my lunch hour grinding Sector Carina
 

felsparks

Neo Member
As someone who's mostly a lurker, I wouldn't mind trying this out for once. Claiming my main post here.

I did keep track of how many games I completed last year, and it was only 21 total, the last being completed right on December 31st. I kinda doubt I can get even close to 52, but I think I'm going to try.

Going to do my best to add time played to each, but if it isn't kept track in-game or say via Steam it won't be added most likely.

Completed 00/52:

Game 01: TBD- 0h0m
(Comments go here)
 

pots555

Member
Game #3: The Order 1886 on PS4. Around 8 hours to beat it.
I did not like this game very much. The graphics are truly amazing, but that's about it.

Up next: Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Xenoblade Chronicles X. I might also start the Back to the Future game.
 

LocarionStorm

Neo Member
Claiming my post. I managed over 52 in 52 last year and plan to do it again!

Completed:

1. Plug & Play - PC - 15 min - Started Jan 8, Finished Jan 8
A small interactive animation more than a game, but it did succeed in giving some weird vibes. Picked it up for next to nothing in the Steam sale because it looked weird and I knew I would only get 15 mins maximum out of it. I guess this animation is more of an interactive modern art installation at a college art museum or something.

2. Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Cursed Emerald - PC - 25 min - Started Jan 8, Finished Jan 8
I downloaded and played this free interactive story without knowing what I was getting and I feel like I am still unsure of what I was supposed to glean from it after having finished it. This situation may not be the experience's fault but is likely - at least partially - my own misunderstanding. It simply did not 'click' for me.

3. Batman: Arkham Knight - Season of Infamy - PS4 - 1 hr 45 min - Started Jan 17, Finished Jan 17
The Arkham Knight season pass did not turn out to the smartest of my purchases as the non-AR challenge mission content ended up lacking in length and quality. This last chunk of missions were all enjoyable and variable with some set pieces that really played up the character of each of the villains. I liked that it provided some "closure" on villains that have shown up throughout the other 3 Arkham games - if only the missions were meatier.

4. Taco Master - Vita - 2 hr - Started Feb 1, Finished Feb 1
This game pick-up was mostly just to farm some trophies and have a brain dead game to play while watching videos, streams, or TV. The game is actually well put-together for a mobile game port and has some character. It's nothing fancy and not a very good game (sometimes worsened by the touchscreen not keeping up with detection). Thanks for the time waster suggestion, Greg Miller.

5. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - Vita - 9 hrs - Started Feb 2, Finished Feb 5
Got this kart racing game quite along time ago for free from PS+ and as I am on an extended trip out of town, finally sat down and dove into it while watching streams and TV at night. I'm glad that I did - it's a very well crafted kart racing game and a really well made Vita game (though there are some frame drops). I finished the World Tour and Grand Prix on Medium/Normal/B-Class difficulty and will probably poke at it a bit more over time. The game is not anything special, just a really solid title.

6. Smart As - Vita - 25 hrs - Started Apr 2014, Finished Feb 6
Another PS+ game that has sort of languished on my Vita. I've played it off and on throughout my time having the title and fully intended to platinum it while trophy hunting. Well, I finally did just that and in doing so, played the game to a state that I'm satisfied as stating as complete. It's a solid brain training title that utilizes all of the different capabilities of the Vita. The whole brain training craze that came about due to the DS is an odd gaming fad that I was on board and Smart As delivered in that aspect.

7. Entwined - Vita - 1 hr 30 min - Started Feb 7, Finished Feb 7
Continuing along the PS+ backlog, Entwined ended up being a short sweet game. I played through all of the story mode and it was a mellow experience that I could see obvious challenge available if I wanted to pursue the challenge mode. The game is kind of a mellower single player co-op Super Hexagon and for that, it excelled.

8. LEGO Jurassic World - Vita - 12 hrs - Started Feb 11, Finished Feb 16
This game was the second LEGO game that I have picked up and played through 100% on the Vita. The handheld versions of the LEGO games tend to be a bit more manageable in terms of time comments, though that comes along with smaller levels. I enjoyed going through the Jurassic Park movies again and enjoyed my time with the game overall. However, it reminded me why I think the Star Wars and superhero LEGO games work better - familiarity and easy-to-understand division of abilities.

9. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire - 3DS - 17.25 hrs - Started March 14, Finished April 3
The Ruby and Sapphire generation are my favorite generation of Pokemon games other than the originals. I had already played through Omega Ruby and wanted to replay the series and round-out my complete Pokemon collection on my Omega Ruby save file. In order to do so, I had to own Alpha Sapphire to capture additional legendary Pokemon. The Pokemon formula while largely only slightly changed since the original games is timeless and continues to get better each generation - I look forward to Sun and Moon later this year.

10. Hexcells - PC - 3 hrs - Started May 3, Finished May 4
This game is a follow-up to the Hexcells games that I drove through previously. It's an elegant, no frills puzzle game that only asks for you to use your logic without guesswork to solve the numeric puzzle. It was a great way to breakup my time of trying to focus on my work. The mental workout was great but not unfair by any means.

11. The Beginner's Guide - PC - 1 hr 20 min - Started July 3, Finished July 3
This one is going to take a while to process and digest. The narrative told through the exploration of the game projects ended up being more about the narrator than the game creator and I was not expecting this turn towards the end. The story made up by the narrator connected with me but the story that actually exists around the narrator did not - at least not yet.

12. They Breathe - PC - 25 min - Started July 3, Finished July 3
A very short indie game that was developed as a student project, this title provided an experience that was both unique and oddly discomforting - as it was likely intended. Drowning was captured fantastically by playing this game. It's a journey that you are supposed to not enjoy.

13. The Walking Dead: Michonne - PS4 - 3 hrs - Started July 4, Finished July 7
I have become a sucker for Telltale games even though I have large reservations about their game engine inefficiencies and lack of meaningful innovation in gameplay. The fact that Michonne takes place from the perspective of a mother makes it unique among many games and I liked the short and sweet dual stories with connections to each other. However, the episodes were very short compared to the regular Walking Dead episodes. I think I would appreciate Michonne's story more if I read the comics, but alas, I do not.

14. Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell - PS4 - 4 hrs 30 min - Started July 7, Finished July 9
I had previously thought about picking up Gat Out of Hell during a Steam sale but lucked out and got it via PS+. It's just more of the same map clearing as there has been in Saints Row 3 and 4. The gameplay has now gotten quite old but it was a nice lazy game to play while watching some streams. I was going to platinum it, but it's unlikely given the time commitment still needed to do so.

15. Her Story - PC - 2 hrs 30 min - Started July 23, Finished July 23
I had started this experience once before but I restarted from scratch as I did not remember too much of the story to ensure that I could understand the rest of the story as I completed it. The story telling was pretty good and piecing things together was interesting. However, I would not call this game but rather an interactive experience - similar to the Telltale Games. It was alright, but not something that resonated enough with me to call it superb.

16. Shadow Complex - PC - 6 hrs 30 min - Started Aug 5, Finished Aug 13
Ever since the release of Shadow Complex on the 360, I have been wanting to play this Metroidvania game. However, I had to wait until it was finally released on the PC finally. I enjoyed the game quite a bit even though on the normal setting it was a bit easy. The game map and traversal was fantastic - though I would have preferred that the hookshot would have been introduced earlier and played more into the game. Fun experience while it lasted and would like to see more games like this one. Oh, and the story is cheesy as all hell.

17. Dota 2 - The International 2016 Battle Pass - PC - 90 hrs - Started May 16, Finished Aug 14
Although this entry is not a game in the strictest sense, the Battle Pass can be seen as a season of Dota 2 play for me. This is the second such Battle Pass but the first where I actually completed all 4 of the quest paths. I noticed my quality of play declines while chasing quests but I have learned to care less about wins or losses - for the better or worse. Dota 2 is a game that keeps on giving and the cheap entry price for the Battle Passes will keep me with more overarching quests to do in the future.

18. Volume - Vita - 8 hrs - Started July 4, Finished Sept 18
The experience offered in the gameplay of Volume is polished, focused, and enjoyable. I greatly appreciated the design of both this title and Thomas Was Alone by Mike Bithell and company. The games were fun and engaging without being frustrating. Volume's aesthetic and pertinent plot make it important to me beyond the gameplay factor. Additionally, it was the perfect title to have for on-the-go on the Vita.

19. Destiny: Rise of Iron - PS4 - 2.5 hrs - Started Sept 21, Finished Sept 25
I have to admit that the story quests that I have completed in order to complete the campaign of Rise of Iron were pretty good - particularly the final one's boss fight. However, it is disappointing how so very short it was. I am beginning to explore the significant non-campaign-based quests and have been enjoying these as well. Hopefully the additional content is expansive enough and of a good enough quality to justify the money I spent on this expansion.

20. Trauma - PC - 50 min - Started Oct 8, Finished Oct 8
This game was a small one that I'm not quite sure where I got it - probably some indie game bundle. I really did not "get it" either. It was an odd, short experience with a disjointed story. I do not think I have much more than that to say regarding it - just another game in my Steam library that I have completed.

21. Inside - PC - 3.5 hrs - Started July 10, Finished Oct 9
One of my favorite games of the year for sure, but also a game that I feel that I'll have to digest over the coming months. I collected all the secrets and saw both endings - with both adding significant meaning to the themes and story of the game. Game play was sublime and carefully crafted and a notable 'rush' was obtained from the simple but unsettling enemies as well as the helplessness of the character from a control standpoint. Simply superb.

22. Actual Sunlight - Vita - 1 hr - Started Oct 13, Finished Oct 13
While this game was quite short and more of just a visual novel, the themes were extremely well represented and discussed. It is probably the most dark and depressing game that I have ever played - and unfortunately, it connected to me because of this fact. An "enjoyable" experience from start to end and the game effectively communicated regarding its subject matter.

23. Towerfall Ascension - PS4 - 3 hrs - Started March 2014, Finished Oct 15
For this entry, I am considering the completion of the game to be the completion of the main quest mode's story line. I ended up initially starting it solo but knocked most of it out in 2-player mode with a coworker. Towerfall is easily my most favorite local multiplayer game and the quest mode is pretty fun as well. The game is simply just quality and solid all around - particularly the mechanics.

24. Hitman GO: Definitive Edition - Vita - 3 hrs - Started Oct 15, Finished Oct 16
I don't think it is fair to say that I played this game. However, I did complete it as a cheap trophy hunt. I found the mechanics to be much simpler and not as enjoyable as Lara Croft GO. I look forward to playing Deus Ex GO because the formula that the developers at Square Enix have formulated with the GO series is fantastic - each title does feel like its namesake series but in a simpler, board game fashion.

25. Battlefield 1 - PC - 6 hrs - Started Oct 21, Finished Oct 31
This completion is a completion of the single player campaign. I very much enjoyed the vignette-style that DICE went with here and think it works well to capture many different battlefields and aspects of the war. It was great to revel in the return to a historical setting. I would have liked to seen a portion that was told from the other point of views (like the Germans), but the varied missions were still fun and the stories had more weight than the super soldier that is so common in FPS campaigns now a-days. The opening of the game was the best portion by far though - fantastic opening to a game.

26. Hue - Vita - 5 hrs - Started Dec 10, Finished Dec 11
The superb art style of Hue stands out immediately and makes the game what it is - partially because of the focus on color in the game play. The puzzles were generally progressively more difficult and were never frustrating while maintaining a solid level of challenge. The music was forgettable but fitting. For a small indie platformer, Hue managed to keep me engaged long enough to finish and it did not overstay its welcome.

27.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
Here we go again.

  1. Hearthstone: League of Explorers DLC
  2. Street Fighter V
  3. Theatrhythm Dragon Quest
 

Midn1ght

Member
Let's try again

2015


Game #1 : Grow Home
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Rating: 8/10 - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Ubisoft Reflections
I Loved Grow Home, the controls are a little annoying in the beginning but when you're getting use to it and starts acquiring more abilities, this game is actually really fun to play. It looks beautiful, the music fits perfectly the world you're into and going higher and higher is just really fun to do. Beautiful and surprising experience.

Game #2 : Cart Life
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Rating: 5/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Richard Hofmeier
Played some hours a few years ago and thought I would give it another try since it is probably the only game my very low spec laptop can run. The idea is cool and the characters are very likable and they go to dark places if you fail to make them successful. I gave it a 5 because I found the game real hard and it has bugs that ruins your progression.

Game #3 : Her Story
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Rating: 9/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Sam Barlow
Her Story was a fantastic experience. Some might not like the lack of gameplay (you only type, click and watch videos in this game) but being myself a fan of games like Dear Esther, Thirty Flights of Loving, Firewatch,.. this game was just right in my alley. If you like mystery murders stories and games that let you have your own interpretation at the end, this is the game for you. Great job by Sam Barlow and amazing performance by Viva Seifert.

Game #4 : Waking Mars
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Rating: 8/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Tiger Style
Here's another game that my laptop could run so I gave it a try and boy I was not disappointed. You are a scientist on Mars forced to explore caves and find your way out by growing plants and leveling up the biomass. When I think about it, it's not so different than Grow Home but here you're going down while also trying to unlock some mysteries about an Alien life form. Real Cool !

Game #5 : The Plan
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Rating: 5/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Krillbite Studio
Free, have 1 achievement and last for about 5 minutes. You're a fly, you go up, you're Done ! Some will find the meaning of Life in those 5 minutes, I didn't. Easiest and quickest 100% game ever and the perfect one to play if you're short of 1 game here at the end of the Year.

Game #6 : Firewatch
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Rating: 8.5/10 - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Campo Santo
I really enjoyed this one, the dialogues and the 2 actors who are delivering them are among the best you'll find in any video games. The style and graphics are gorgeous although let's be honest, the PS4 version still needs a patch or two to be perfect. I wish it was longer but it was still a great experience and probably deserves another playthrough.

Game #7 : The Swapper
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Rating: 7/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Facepalm Games, Curve Studios
Still going through games that my toaster laptop can play, I replayed The Swapper after beating it last year on PS4. My playthrough was faster this time around as I remembered many puzzles but still got stuck in 2 or 3 rooms. Love this game, the atmosphere, The subtle music, the gameplay mechanic. Such a clever game.

Game #8 : A Bird Story
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Rating: 8/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Freebird Games
From the developer who gave us To the Moon, A Bird Story is short interactive story about a boy and a bird. The game is 1 hour long but manage to tell so much without any actual dialogue. It is superb and managed to hit me right in the chest way more than To the Moon did. Brilliant work !

Game #9 : Nihilumbra
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Rating: 7/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: BeautiFun Games
This game was alright, it's a fun platformer with color mechanics. Each colors give different powers to use and find your way out of troubles. It's short and I didn't particularly enjoy the voice talking to you through the entire game. Not bad at all overall and there's a new and harder mode available when you beat the game which is always cool.

Game #10 : Papers, Please
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Rating: 9/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Lucas Pope
Played this one a few years ago but went through it again for the achievements and greatly enjoyed my time just like the first time. It's grim, dark, challenging and really funny at times (Jorji might be one of the best NPC in history). Fantastic Game !

Game #11 : Spirits
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Rating: 7/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Spaces of Play
Finally went through the final achievement almost 3 years after giving up on it. Thanks Youtube. Spirits is a quiet little game where you need to help little spirit guys find their way out using the different power they have. It's relaxing and zen but can also be very frustrating if you're after perfecting levels.


Game #12 : Super Meat Boy
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Rating: 8.5/10 - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Team Meat
Replaying this one PS4 still feel like the perfect game to justify smashing a controller on the wall. This game is hard, and so much fun. The game is also filed with content and a Dark World that will drive you mad. And the Kid. The Motherf***ing kid. I love this game.

Game #13 : Never Alone: Foxtales
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Rating: 5/10 - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Upper One Games
Got this on sale on psn and I'm glad it was cheap because this must be one of the shortest DLC I have ever played. I went through it in roughly half an hour and it wasn't so good. This time around you can swim and go under water (but you can also die in some water part for some reason). The control is still clunky and the "puzzles" really simple. The visuals are pleasant at least.

Game #14 : Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
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Rating: 8.5/10 - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Crystal Dynamics, United Front Games, Eidos Montreal
3rd playthrough for this game after the PS3 and PC versions and still loving it. The definitive edition comes with nice improved graphics and better framerate. Strangely enough, I've never been a big fan of third person linear adventure games and didn't enjoy Uncharted 1 and 2. Tomb Raider however was definitely a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to try the latest entry one of these day.

Game #15 : Journey
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Rating: 6.5/10 - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Thatgamecompany
There's definitely something mesmerizing about Journey, this game is beautiful to look at with a very nice spirit and absolutely gorgeous music. And yet, I'm not the biggest fan of Journey. It's short and has minimalist gameplay, it's a little boring. I get the praise and I'm very supportive of developers who work on this type of games. Journey just didn't hit any sweet spot with me.

Game #16 : Always Sometimes Monsters
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Rating: 7/10 - Platform: PC - Developer: Vagabond Dog
 
Alright, I'll just do this because it's fun to make lists. No way am I gonna get to 52 games.

1. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
 

FluxWaveZ

Member
Game 2: Aviary Attorney [PC] — ~6 hours [Finished: January 2]

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It wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and it does it well. Aviary Attorney is a game that takes a lot from Ace Attorney, but is good in its own right. It actually managed to capture the levity of Ace Attorney writing, which was surprising to me. The aesthetic took a bit to grow on me, but it did, and I ended up appreciating it. I felt it was a bit predictable at spots but because of how some of its fundamental mechanics diverge from Ace Attorney, it surprised me a lot at points, and it proved to me that we need more games like it and Ace Attorney out there. Unfortunately, as of this writing, the game is actually incomplete, and I reached a path during the final chapter of the game where the screen just came up and said something akin to, "This part is unfinished! Please wait for it to come out or go back and try another path." That really left a sour taste in my mouth and I think I'll wait a while until I go back to it, but I enjoyed Aviary Attorney up until then.

Original Post
 

ReBirFh

Member
Let's see if this year I will play more games than read about then.

Completed:

1. Game of Thrones - Chapter 1 (02/01/2015)


In progress:

1. D4 - Dark Dreams Don't Die
2. Technobabylon
3. Jurassic Park
 
Ok, I'm fucking doing it this time! This is my year dammit.

claimed!

Game 1: Forza Horizon 2 Presents - The Fast and The Furious
Am currently playing Forza Horizon 2 normally but being a big Fast and Furious fan I decided to give this little DLC a shot. I thought it was well put together, the car selection definitely screams fast and furious (where the fuck was Brian's STI?) and the missions were just normal races. I think it would have been amazing if they did races and scenarios based on each movie. I love Forza Horizon 2 so much that even though this is a bit of a weaker standalone it was still fun because to me it was more Forza Horizon 2.

Game 2: Killer is Dead
Fun little action combat game, the mechanics were cool and I found it really interesting that there was no way to jump but the action was still or I should say "could still" be as frantic as it was. I liked how it did not overstay it's welcome but damn is the story confusing, weird and awesome? I think haha. Didn't really care for any of the gigolo missions or any of the side quests as I didn't see it adding much value to the game.
 

Shizza

Member
My backlog has become unruly over the past 1.5 years between not having much time for games due to studying for/taking my Architecture Exams, buying games on sales that were too good to pass up, and receiving them as gifts. This year I intend to actually play games instead of just collecting them ^_^

Part 1 - Games 1-15
Game 1: Magic: The Gathering: Puzzle Quest (Mobile)
Game 2: Swords & Poker Adventures (Mobile)
Game 3: World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor (PC)
Game 4: Never Alone (Wii U)
Game 5: Xenoblade Chronciles (Wii)
Game 6: Ittle Dew (Wii U)
Game 7: Kirby & the Rainbow Curse (Wii U)
Game 8: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
Game 9: New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)
Game 10: Gunman Clive (Wii U)
Game 11: Teslagrad (Wii U)
Game 12: Lego City Undercover (Wii U)
Game 13: Thomas Was Alone (PS3)
Game 14: Sonic Generations (PS3)
Game 15: Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U)​

Part 2 - Games 16-30
Game 16: Super Mario Bros 2 (NES)
Game 17: The Last of Us (PS3)
Game 18: Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge (Wii U)
Game 19: Nano Assault Neo (Wii U)
Game 20: Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Game 21: Monument Valley (Mobile)
Game 22: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Game 23: Art of Balance (Wii U)
Game 24: Swords & Soldiers II (Wii U)
Game 25: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)
Game 26: Midnight (Wii U)
Game 27: F-Zero (SNES)
Game 28: F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GBA)
Game 29: F-Zero: GP Legend (GBA)
Game 30: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)​

Part 3 - Games 31-45
Game 31: Star Fox Zero (Wii U)
Game 32: Journey (PS3)
Game 33: Mega Man (NES)
Game 34: Star Fox Guard (Wii U)
Game 35: Super Mario RPG (SNES)
Game 36: Unfinished Swan (PS3)
Game 37: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)
Game 38: Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
Game 39: Affordable Space Adventures (Wii U)
Game 40: FAST Racing NEO (Wii U)
Game 41: Candy Crush Saga (Mobile)
Game 42: Pokemon Go (Mobile)
Game 43: Metroid Zero Mission (GBA)
Game 44: Super Metroid (SNES)
Game 45: Kung Fu Rabbit (Wii U)​

Part 4 - Games 46-55
Game 46: Final Fantasy IV (SNES)
Game 47: Drop it! (Wii U)
Game 48: Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (NDS)
Game 49: Animal Crossing: Wild World (NDS)
Game 50: SteamWorld Heist (Wii U)
Game 51: Bit.Trip Presents... Runner 2 (Wii U)
Game 52: Blek (Wii U)
Game 53: Pumped BMX + (Wii U)
Game 54: OlliOlli (Wii U)
Game 55: Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)​

***

Stats:
Total Games: 55
Total Time: 1,200+ Hrs

Top 5 Games (by playtime):
1. Pokemon Go: 250+ Hrs
2. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor: 140+ Hrs
3. Mario Kart 8: 107 Hrs
4. Xenoblade Chronicles: 82 Hrs
5. Candy Crush Saga: 60+ hrs

Top 5 Games (by enjoyment):
1. Chronotrigger
2. Yoshi's Woolly World
3. Super Mario Galaxy
4. SteamWorld Heist
5. Metroid Zero Mission

Top Platforms (by number of games played):
Wii U: 26
PS3: 7
SNES: 6
Mobile: 5
GBA: 4
Wii: 2
NES: 2
NDS: 2
PC: 1

***

Final Thoughts:
I'm surprised at how much time I spent in mobile games.
I'm also surprised at how lopsided the platform distribution ended up.
The challenge was amazing at keeping me focused on working on my backlog, and I got to experience so many fantastic games this year.
I'm down for this again next year!
 
Going to have a try at this - want to start being more involved on the board.

Game 1 - The Talos Principle, Road to Gehenna - 8 hours

Bit of a weird start to this year. I really enjoyed the main game, wanted to beat the expansion before moving on to Life Is Strange. Wish I hadn't, as I just got tired of doing the same sort of puzzles. I can remember the exact moment I decided I'd had enough - getting the star on World 4, Press and Jam. Worked out exactly what I needed to do to get the star, set it all up and got to the fan. Realised the fan didn't have the actual fan component, so went to get it. By the time I got back, was unable to complete the puzzle and so had to restart it all again. Literally thought I don't have time for this, so just went online for the last few puzzles.

I actually still like the game, just think I should have had a break. Still nothing better than leaving a puzzle you'd had problems on for a couple of hours, coming back to it and solving it in 2 minutes, first attempt - looking at you Ray Trivia. Liked the story and the use of the forum in the expansion, but preferred the themes in the main game.

Game 2 - Life is Strange, Episode 1 - 3 hours

As Chloe would say, hella good. Feels very much like a first part, setting up the characters and mechanics, so very interested to see where it takes th characters. The main idea - of rewinding time - plays really well into the type of story, as I loved seeing what might happen after an event, then going back to see the other side. I think this might bite me on the arse later on though - I like to make the morally 'right' choice in games, but you can't really see far enough into the future for that and it would be great if the designers showed the right choice leading to bad consequences for others around you.

Music deserves a special mention - it has some awesome songs throughout. Only downside is that sometimes I'd worked out things before Max and it gets annoying when she doesn't realise what is pretty obvious - that
Chloe's dad is also the security guard she had a run in with - she's seen he's got a map of the school, with surveillance cameras, his ID card with picture and still is like 'wow, Chloe's dad is a security guard?

Game 3 - Life is Strange, Episode 2 - 3 hours

Again, really good. I'm enjoying the school life more than the supernatural elements - much more interested in Kate, Victoria, Nathan and Max's relationship than I am in the tornado and the connection with Max's powers. Really like the events in this episode and really hate Victoria at the moment - the way they talked about Kate made my skin crawl. Music is still really good and I love the fact this is a game where you can just sit at points and think about what's been going on!

Only bugbear this time was the teacher - when
a student ran into his class and told them something was happening outside he let the class leave?! As an actual teacher, it completely threw me out of the moment. Although, talking Kate down was one of the tensest experiences I've had - knowing my power couldn't work and then hearing her discuss the things I'd done was brilliant.

Wonder what game will be next?

Game 4 - Life is Strange, Episode 3 - 3 hours

Oh my God. I'm not going to write too much here, as I don't want anybody to accidentally click on a spoiler for this game in a random thread, but this game. This game! I haven't sat with my mouth open at the end of a game, chills going up and down my neck since the end of Journey. I can't say enough how much I like this game - if it continues at this level, then it might well be one of the best games I've played in a long, long time.

Game 5 - Life is Strange, Episode 4 - 3 hours

This is almost like a game of two halves for me. The first half, dealing with the emotions between Max and Chloe were incredible. Moments of that first chapter will stick with me probably for the rest of my life - I've never been so conflicted by a game in ages, if ever. The second half, however, became more like a game - sorting out clues, working out evidence, trying to find out how Rachel Amber went missing - it was good, but I was more interested in the story of Max and Chloe than of Rachel. This made it feel a little bit empty, although the reveal at the end was pretty awesome.

Game 6 - Life is Strange, Episode 5 - 3 hours

Again, fairly like Episode 4 for me. The whole story behind Rachel Amber still doesn't grab me and so the first portion of the game was interesting, but not as good as the sections regarding Max and Chloe. I think the issue is that not only were Max and Chloe interesting, relatable characters, but I've played lots of games where I've had to solve a missing persons case in one way or another. Playing a game about teenagers chatting and dealing with real-life issues - not so much.

Game 7 - Tearaway Unfolded - 9 hours

Slow burner on this one - started off wondering why I couldn't jump and enjoying the world but felt it was going to be a simple palate cleanser after Life is Strange. By the final third, the game steps up and has gone from a simple platform game to a quite trippy experience as you journey 'Between The Pages' - would recommend as it's another game that left me smiling!

Game 8 - Lifeline - 3 days, but really about an hour! iPhone

Had heard about this before and decided to get it when it was the free App of the week - glad I did. Premise is that you're in contact with a downed astronaut on a moon who needs your help deciding what to do. The catch is that he will sometimes be busy - for example, sleeping - so you won't hear anything from him for a few hours. Gets pretty gripping at the end but I would have preferred more puzzles that required you to research stuff outside the game - there's one at the start. Got a good ending in first try as well!

Game 9 - Grim Fandango Restarted - 6 hours, PS4

I'm not sure if this one counts or not, as I completed the original about 15 years ago - some puzzles I remembered, other ones I'd forgotten. Was really interesting to play it again particularly with the Director's Commentary - just seemed like a lot of love went into the game. Still funny after all these years but more poignant than I remembered.

Game 10 - Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald - 30min, PC

Easy one to up the game count - also quite a funny game. Loved the bits with the phones and thought it was an interesting look 'backstage' as it where.

Game 11 - That Dragon, Cancer - 2 hours, PC

Just finished this and I don't even know where to begin. Father of a 5 year old and a two year old and I was a mess for large portions of the game. Spent a lot of the time whispering 'I'm so sorry' to Joel and his family whilst crying- I want to write the company just to say thanks for seeing this project through.

Don't think I'll play a game like this for many a year, if ever. It's not a 'good' game by our current metrics but I think it might be an important one that shifts our idea of what a game can be.

The final picnic at the edge of the world destroyed me - you have all the bubbles and pancakes you want, Joel. Have them all.

Shit, tearing up again

Game 12 - The Silent Age - 2 hours, iPad

Had played the first part of this game a while ago and saw the second half was now up on the Apple Store. Fairly decent but nothing special - the second half in particular feels almost like the company ran out of money and just finished the thing, as it seemed like it would go a lot further than it did. Still, quite a pleasant game.

Game 13 - The Witness - 35 hours, PS4

I'm not completely finished with this game, but I've completed all the lasers and successfully - after far too many attempts done the challenge. Will go back at some point - probably with a guide to see puzzles I've missed but done with it for now. Great game, felt like it challenged me in many different ways and loved the feeling of going to sleep and then waking up with a solution.

Game 14 - Gravity Rush Remastered - 15 hours, PS4

Enjoyable. Seems like a short way to describe a game but it's fairly perfect - first time in a while that I've played what felt like a game from my childhood - collecting gems, completing challenges and a storyline being there but not massively important. Was nice after some of the heavy hitters I've been playing recently and felt like a plate cleanser in a way.

Game 15 - Unravel - 7 hours, PS4

Loved this game. Felt like I was playing through some of the most beautifully designed levels in regards to art design for a long time. Yarny is a great character as well and the ending reminded me of one of my favourite games of all time -
Journey, with the idea that you've pretty much passed on and then get to do pretty much a flying mechanic with the lights
. Really made me smile at times -
Bucket Head Yarny was a great idea!
Really feel like it was made by a small group of people who had something they needed to say.
 
Game #1: Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright
- Platform: 3DS (Physical)
- Completion Date: 3rd January
- Completion Time: 17:56 (Started in 2015)
- Rating 8/10

Game #2: Xenoblade Chronicles X
- Platform: Wii U (Physical)
- Conpletion Date: 3rd January
- Completion Time: 52:33 (Started in 2015)
- Rating: 10/10

Game #3: Undertale
- Platform: PC (Digital)
- Completion Date: 3rd January
- Completion Time: 5:21
- Rating: 10/10

Game #4: Guitar Hero Live
- Platform: PS4 (Physical)
- Completion Date: 5th January
- Completion Time: ~10:00
- Rating: 6/10

Game #5: Indivisible Prototype
- Platform: PS4 (Digital)
- Completion Date: 5th January
- Completion Time: 0:34
- Rating: 7/10

Game #6: 1080
- Platform: N64 (Physical)
- Completion Date: 17th January
- Completion Time: 5:00
- Rating: 6/10

Game #7: Pokemon Snap
- Platform: N64 (Physical)
- Completion Date: 18th January
- Completion Time: 2:00
- Rating: 7/10

Game #8: Super Hexagon
- Platform: iOS (Digital)
- Completion Date: 18th January
- Completion Time: 2:00
- Rating: 6/10

Game #9: Banjo-Kazooie
- Platform: X1 (Physical)
- Completion Date: 24th January
- Completion Time: ~10:00
- Rating: 8/10

Game #10: Never Alone: Foxtales
- Platform: PS4 (Digital)
- Completion Date: 29th January
- Completion Time: ~1:00
- Rating: 7/10
 
Link to OT: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190927712&postcount=33

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Game 4: Mega Coin Squad (PC)
Finished 1/3/2016
Time to complete: 2 hours as per Steam

Adult Swim Games' run as a God-Tier publisher of indie games continues unsullied - MCS was great fun! The goal is to collect X amount of coins in each stage; level structures are pre-defined but have procedurally generated elements. Each stage has a "bank" where you can deposit the coints you've collected at any time. If you take a hit while carrying coins, you lose a large amount of the loot you're carrying.

Sounds basic enough, but the rub is you can earn "gems" at the end of each stage by doing the following: A) beating the stage under a clear time, B) not taking a hit, and C) banking the entire level goal in a single shot. Doing all three of these things at once is incredibly addictive, and incredibly rage-inducing (but still fun).
 

Intel_89

Member
Main post

Game 02: Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam [3DS] (25h, didn't get everything in the game)

4*

After the letdown that was Dream Team Bros. I wasn't sure that slapping Paper Mario on a new M&L would work but surprisingly it did. The plot is regular Mario with really sparse new stuff thrown in but the little tweaks like fast text scrolling and running gives the game a much quicker pace (these would do wonders in DTB). The combat is as good as ever and it looks great, the giant papercraft battles are a nice distraction that don't get enough time to get stale which is a good thing.
 

chixdiggit

Member
I'm down.

1. GTAV PC: Waited to play this on PC. It was worth all the hype. Dabbled in the multiplayer but the campaign was amazing.

2. Undertale: Meh. It was OK but completely underwhelmed from all the GAF hype.

3. Life is Strange: Holy Moly was this awesome. Great story that had me interested the whole way. Superb.
 
Main post


Game #1: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA, Konami, 2002) - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Overall I liked it well enough, but I hated it for a number of reasons. Poor level design, bad hitboxes, horribly tedious (my pride forced me to not use a walkthrough for a while, so I was lost trying to figure out where to go next for hours), and it was really, really easy. The only difficult part was the aforementioned confusing castle layout, and while this can be a problem in any Metroid-style Castlevania, it seems to be at its worst here. I saw the credits; did not get 100% map completion, nor did I get all of the furniture to the best of my knowledge.
 

Smilax

Member
I'll claim this spot!

9/52 Games Completed

Currently Playing: You know, i'm just going with the flow at the moment.

Completed:
Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed
Jan 5 2016
Play Time: 12 Hours
My Thoughts on Sonic ASRT

Sonic Generations
Jan 7 2016
Play Time: 5 hours
Thoughts on Sonic Generations

Sonic Adventure DX
Jan 8 2016
Play Time: 9 hours
My Thoughts on SADX

Azure Striker Gunvolt
Jan 29 2016
Play Time: 7 hours
Thoughts on Gunvolt

Left 4 Dead 2
Jan 16 2016
Play Time: 12 hours
Thoughts on L4D2

Cursed Sight
Jan 31 2016
Play Time: 3 hours
Thoughts on Cursed Sight

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Rev.
Jan 31 2016
Play Time: 8 hours
Thoughts on NUNSR

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Feb 21 2016
Play time: 13 hours
Thoughts on NUNS 4

Letter Quest: Grimm's Adventure HD
Mar 3 2016
Play time: 5 hours
Thoughts on LQ:GA HD
 

dickroach

Member
Game 1
Shovel Knight
(Wii U)
I played most if it in December, but just got through the last couple of stages/bosses last night. I never was a huge Mega Man fan (too hard), but I loved this game. I got everything except for all the little music sheets, missing 8 of those. I'll come back to Plague of Shadows eventually, y'know, if they don't release Tinker Knight DLC. (5:22:39 according to the game clock)
 

Bowlie

Banned
Game #01 - Detective Case and Clown Bot in: Murder in the Hotel Lisbon [PC] (6.3 hours, finished in January 3)
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I came to this game knowing it was a detective game, in which you solve crimes in a similar fashion to Ace Attorney (gather evidences, question witnesses and then go to the trial phase), so my expectations were fairly high. Unfortunately, the game does not deliver a fragment of the same feeling I had with those games.
The main character acts like a bad-mannered teenager, saying things like "you're not my boss!", calling a female character that has affairs with other characters a slut, ending sentences with BAM!, and telling offensive blonde or spaniard jokes. And the audience (think Super Mario Bros. 3; this game is like a stage performance, with curtains closing the scene at the end of each act) does not help by clapping and laughing at every one of those moments, like I should laugh with them. Things like the DLC Alley and the Bar GAF are unpleasant as well.
The puzzles, the most important part in an point'n'click game, are extremely easy and straight-forward. The only times I had to think were when the text provided wasn't good enough to jump to a logical conclusion. It has nice and detailed scenarios that are connected to each other, but it also gives a taxi cab so you can fast travel. The world is only 5 scenes big (not counting interiors), there's no reason to do it. Unfortunately, the only good parts of the game are the soundtrack, composed mainly by classic jazz, and the interrogation scenes, that stand out in this otherwise average adventure.

Original Post
 

Axass

Member
Game 1: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - 4/5 - 04:24 (03/01/2016)
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Game 2: The Swapper - 3/5 - 09:42 (24/01/2016)
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Game 3: The Witness - 5/5 - around 70:00 (23/02/2016)
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Game 4: Gone Home - 3/5 - 03:12 (24/02/2016)
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Game 5: PixelJunk Shooter - 3/5 - 05:18 (01/03/2016)
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Game 6: Grow Home - 4/5 - 06:42 (03/03/2016)
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Game 7: Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - 3/5 - 02:30 (09/03/2016)
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Game 8: The Fall - 3/5 - 04:12 (14/03/2016)
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Game 9: Demon's Souls - 5/5 - 85:32 (25/03/2016)
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Game 10: Never Alone - 2/5 - 05:30 (27/03/2016)
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Game 11: Hyper Light Drifter - 4/5 - 11:12 (24/04/2016)
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Game 12: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - 3/5 - ??:?? (25/04/2016)
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Game 13: XCOM: Enemy Unknown - 5/5 - 25:00 (26/04/2016)
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Game 14: Stealth Bastard Deluxe - 4/5 - 06:42 (01/05/2016)
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Game 15: Bulb Boy - 2/5 - 01:42 (16/07/2016)
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Game 16: Mini Metro - 3/5 - 04:06 (25/07/2016)
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Game 17: Tembo: The Badass Elephant - 4/5 - 06:42 (08/08/2016)
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Game 18: Sin & Punishment: Sucessor of the Earth - 3/5 - 01:40 (28/08/2016)
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Game 19: Another Metroid II Remake: The Return of Samus - 5/5 - 08:09 (05/09/2016)
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Game 20: Mark of the Ninja - 4/5 - 13:24 (15/09/2016)
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Game 21: The Beginner's Guide - 2/5 - 1:37 (23/09/2016)
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Game 22: Yoshi's Woolly World - 4/5 - 37:45 (26/09/2016)
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Game 23: Undertale - 3/5 - 7:48 (11/10/2016)
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Game 24: Splatoon - 3/5 - ??:?? (24/10/2016)
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Game 25: Paper Mario: Color Splash - 4/5 - ??:?? (13/11/2016)
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Game 26: Sin & Punishment: Successor of the Skies - 2/5 - 08:17 (13/11/2016)
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Game 27: Link's Crossbow Training - 2/5 - 02:48 (24/11/2016)
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Game 28: The Room Two - 4/5 - 03:54 (27/11/2016)
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Game 29: Stacking - 3/5 - 07:42 (29/11/2016)
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Game 30: Tiny Thief - 4/5 - around 04:00 (30/11/2016)
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Game 31: Strider - 4/5 - 07:53 (05/12/2016)
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Game 32: Ori and the Blind Forest - 4/5 - 07:19 (07/12/2016)
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Game 33: Bastion - 3/5 - 08:24 (13/12/2016)
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Linkyn

Member
Main Post

Game 01: The Witcher.

Not much to say, really. I knew what to expect going in, but it was still very enjoyable. As annoying as some of its gameplay design is, quest progression often feels like actual problem solving, especially in chapters 2 and 3. I still ended up skipping through most of the dialogue in the epilogue (hearing
de Aldersberg's doomsday prophecy
2-3 times feels like more than enough already). Completion took me a bit longer than anticipated, because I combined it with the literature (and fell pray to some mild grinding ambitions). I don't think I changed anything major with this playthrough, so I'll likely keep my old master save to do transfers to the sequels. Now, I'm going to give myself a bit of breathing room before getting Assassins of Kings started (I think I'll give a few smaller indie titles a spin for now).

At any rate, that's 1 / 52. So far, so good.
 

Dr. Buni

Member
Game 2: Metal Gear Rising: Revegeance [PC] - 13,6 hours played.

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So I finally finished this game. I own it since 2014 but I kept procrastinating... Anyways, yesterday I started it all over again, in an easier difficulty setting and I progressed smoothly through the game. It's a real good game, it's easy to understand why Platinum has so many fans.

Metal Gear Rising has a decent story for a hack 'n' slash. I like some of the ideologies presented by the characters, even if some of them can be quite controversial. The gameplay is fantastic, but also quite hard in harder difficulties. Not so much in the beginning, but I think it's impossible to beat bosses like Jetstream Sam or Senator Armstrong without knowing how to parry perfectly. That might be a great thing for others, but I am not quite sure how I feel about it. Expecting a mechanic to be mastered by players is fine, but making bosses impossible to beat in different ways? I don't know about that. Fortunately the easy difficulty setting exists for noobs like me.

Also, the soundtrack is ridiculous good. Seriously.
 
Original post

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1. Yakuza 4 (PS3) - 15:39 (14:40 in 2015)
Story completed on Normal. 20.65% game completion.

Hopefully the first of many catch-up games I play this year!

My only real goal for Yakuza 4 was to have a higher game completion than I did for Yakuza 3, where I managed to finish the story with something like 16% of the game complete. I managed this time, but only barely--21% isn't much of an improvement. But to its credit, Yakuza 4 is a huge game. So much of it is deliciously mundane, too: playing all the arcade machines at Club Sega, going out with hostesses, and trying everything on the menu at every restaurant in Kamurucho are amongst the challenges you need to complete to reach 100%. Obviously, you need to be very dedicated to achieve that ultimate goal.

The minigames and side stories also offer a valuable counterpoint to the noir soap opera dramatics of the main story, which is just as complex and intense as Yakuza 3's plot (and I assume all Yakuza games). Having four protagonists this time around allows the game to play with differing perspectives into the same central plot and also gives you different fighting styles to master. They also have distinct personalities that inform their Kamurocho experience. Saejima doesn't do karaoke. Akiyama's the only one who can train hostesses, since he owns a hostess bar. Tamimura can respond to crimes he hears on the police scanner. The slight differences mean Yakuza 4 squeezes a lot more out of Kamurocho than you might think, given that it's been the setting for every Yakuza game to date.

You have to be prepared for a lot of cutscenes at times, and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief at times (seriously, how many low-life gang members and yakuza are there just randomly trying to beat up passers-by?), but if you can handle all that Yakuza 4 offers one of the best crime stories in video games today. Oh, and a whole lot of pleasingly brutal fisticuffs along the way.
 
Claiming a post.

Game 1: Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin - 39 hours
# 11/01/2016 - I actually ended up enjoying this more than Dark Souls 1, still have the DLC to play through but the base game is all done.

In Progress: MGSV.
 
Claimed:

Game 1: Game 1: Kings Quest Episode 1 Duration Played: Story Completed: 4 hours.
I stumbled across this title by mistake; King’s Quest: Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember. The first chapter was released free as part of Decembers PS+ program. I’m extremely glad that I stumbled across this title, having grown up playing several playing a various classic adventure games: Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max and some of the more recent Telltale games.

The game its self has a very charming Disney-esque art style and even more charming setting. Set in the kingdom of Daventry, you play as Graham a eager young man who dreams of becoming a knight of the king of Daventry. You must help this ditsy soon to be knight pass many challenges and along the way encounter many entertaining and hilarious characters. This game is certainly not lacking in the laughter department. The challenges and solutions were not to too difficult but enough to not feel I was breezing through the game.

I highly reccomend this game to anyone, especially those who downloaded it through PS+ and has it sitting in there backlog.

Big props to The Old Gentlemen.
 
I'm going to try this. I have many more half-finished games I could post but I haven't decided what I want to play next so its just these two for now. I'd be happy to complete 30 or so games this year.

Game 1: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS4) - Duration Played: Story completed, ~3 hours
I have to give the game credit, it really tried to keep its core mechanic (controlling 2 characters) varied for both gameplay and story purposes. There is some clunk and perhaps over-simplification of the controls but for the short title it was I never got frustrated. Thematically the game surprised me a bit [story spoilers].
It has some darker scenarios in it (example: man attempting to hang himself) and some pretty intense moments (example: brother dying). I actually got up while playing to grab the game case just out of curiosity to see what ESRB rating it had (its T-rated).
While I may not go on to remember the game for its gameplay, I think the story and tone will stick with me. Worth picking up on sale if you want an adventure you can finish in an afternoon.

Game 2: The X-Files: Resist or Serve (PS2) - Duration Played: on-going

Game 3: The Order 1886 (PS4) - Duration Played: Story completed
Started this in 2015 and finished over the last 2 days. Visually astounding though so much of the game has a dark look and I really wanted to see more sections in daylight. When I booted it up again after the long break I looked away from the screen to talk to some friends I had over because it looked so good I thought a cutscene was starting to play. Later on that night I stepped away and my sister says "aren't you going to stay and watch the cutscene?" before realizing I was just idling behind a wall. It looks that good.

Gameplay isn't the most impressive. The shooting is solid and there are some interesting guns though most don't meaningfully expand gameplay options. Gameplay scenario design has some poor encounters as well. Story starts out slow but had my attention and interest by the end. Seems like a story that would benefit from a sequel. Lack of content and interesting gameplay kills any replay value for me but I'm glad I played it through once.

Game 4: Gravity Rush HD (PS4) [Replay] - Duration Played: Story completed
I played the original of Vita and already 100% the remaster last year but did a shorter replay the last week or so. I didn't collect many items and only upgraded skills related to movement and not attack power. I had more fun with the combat this time around and had to be more careful. The last 3 missions in the game are rough without upgrades though and some boss attacks are 1-hit kills. Sure I'll play it again, it really has become a favorite of mine.

Game 5: Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4) - Duration Played: Story completed, 71% according to game
Played about 1/2 of this game last year and returning to my hard-mode play through was a bit annoying at first but once I got used to the controls again I enjoyed it. This game is pretty huge and I was impressed by how large but well-crafted the game world was and despite its size it was never frustrating to navigate.

Gunplay was actually very responsive and fluid. On hard mode I still felt I could break out of cover and carefully fire some shots to push enemies back. The AI is solid too and will retreat if you pressure them. It hit the right difficulty for me in most firefights. The puzzles in the game are surprisingly nice too and remind me a lot of Tomb Raider Anniversary at times though its a shame that some are locked away in secret tombs. The platforming is a step up from Uncharted but the move to climbing-focused from the traditional Tomb Raider careful jumping is a bit disappointing.

On the other hand I had some issues with the game too. XP and leveling system felt completely pointless and by the end I would quickly open the menu and develop weapons/assign skill points without reading anything at all. The impact most abilities had on gameplay seemed minimal. The amount of collectibles is kind of ridiculous and while I like the level design in the game I don't really get a desire to explore from it. The story as presented is pretty simple and I can't imagine how all those text logs I was constantly picking up expand on it.

Finally the action. Tomb Raider may have too much action in it. It was starting to become funny how often I was escaping a building, falling, sliding down slopes, and watching other horrible things happen to Lara. Most accompanied with QTEs as well. The final moments of the game
unfold with QTEs which started disappointing but I forgive it for the last QTE being a dual-pistol wielding Lara, which made me smile ear-to-ear.
Overall though I'm very impressed with this reboot and really want to give Rise of the Tomb Raider a try now.
 
Posted earlier but just making sure that i reserved a post.
Completed: 1/52

Game #1: Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater- 14 hours 36 minutes
Ive played this game before and its one of my favorites of all time, 9.5/10 would be a 10 if not for the EVA escort mission.
 

Megatron

Member
Overall I liked it well enough, but I hated it for a number of reasons. Poor level design, bad hitboxes, horribly tedious (my pride forced me to not use a walkthrough for a while, so I was lost trying to figure out where to go next for hours), and it was really, really easy. The only difficult part was the aforementioned confusing castle layout, and while this can be a problem in any Metroid-style Castlevania, it seems to be at its worst here.

.

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I'm in for this year. Backlog is gigantic...

Backlog



Game 1: Shadowrun: Dragonfall Director's Cut (21 Hours)
Huge improvement over the first one. Well-written story and engaging tactical battles make this one a must play for fans of CRPG's.

Game 2: Metal Gear Solid 4
What a clusterfuck that was. I knew going in that this probably wasn't for me but I wanted to see it for myself. Besides, it was only a couple of Euros on PSN.
I just don't understand what people see in Kojima. The story is just insane and presented in these overly long infodumps... and then the actual plot is full of scenes either so full of pathos that I coud hardly stand it or full of jokes for 5th graders (diarrhea guy... really?).
When there was gameplay it was ok, I guess. I liked how Kojima tried to evoke the feeling of an actual battlefield in Act 1 and 2, however the limitations of the hardware let you see behind the curtain a bit too quickly...

Game 3: Dead Space 3

Sort of a mediocre finale for the series. The shift from horror to action is not appreciated, the slow movement doesn't go along well with the hordes of enemies. Also I played this coop and it felt tacked on a lot of ways... too bad. I hope there's a Dead Space 4 one day that is more like the first one...

Game 4: Tales from the Borderlands Episode 1
What a charming start to the season. It feels as if Telltale really got the Borderlands world and inhabitated with really interesting characters. Having two unreliable narrators telling their version of a story may be an old trick but it's one that is working really well. Liked it a lot better than some of their other efforts in the past (WD S2, Back to the Future,...) Hope the quality of the other episodes is similar.

Game 5: Tales from the Borderlands Episode 2

Game 6: Tales from the Borderlands Episode 3

Game 7: Tales from the Borderlands Episode 4

Game 8: Tales from the Borderlands Episode 5
Wow, the best Telltale game in years. Great dialogue,and especially great characters. Feels as if Telltale has a far better grasp at Borderlands than Gearbox has of its own franchise. I also want to emphasize the great use of licensed music which gave a great atmosphere boost to certain scenes. I hope I'll see the characters again soon and that Gearbox paid close attention to what Telltale did.

Game 9: Titan Souls

I liked the idea better than the actual game, but I still enjoyed. Some of the bosses were quite cool. However, some felt really cheap and other sI defeated by luck. I think that traditional bosses with a health bar would have worked better than some of these one-trick-pony scenarios. Hopefully a sequel expands on the ideas.

Game 10: Okami HD
The best Zelda game without any elves. Stunning visuals, really cool painting mechanics. Too bad that the game poses no challenge at all. Still, highly recommended even if it's quite the time investement. Played for about 36 hours and skipped a lot of the side quests,

Game 11: Undertale
For a good part of the game I thought that this is not quite the masterpiece it is made out to be. But that's purely subjective of course and probably mainly has to do with the fact that the themes of loneliness and social awkwardness don't resonate that well with me anymore. Had I played this when I was 20, my view on it may be a bit different. The last 30 minutes or so were undeniably fantastic though and throughout the game there were always great moments, especially the
TV shows
, which were hilarious.
All in all, I still really liked this and I am also glad that we are at a point in talking about the medium where it's not just gameplay or graphics you can criticize but also the topics it deals with.

Game 12: Legend of Grimrock
I was a console kid in the early 90's so I have no nostalgia for this subgenre of CRPG's. I rather wanted to try this as a gateway into some of the classics. Worked out really nice. I enjoyed the game a lot. I dug the focus on puzzles, felt like a genius when I figured some of them out. Combat is boring though, very samey. You walways dance around your enemy hitting him from the side/behind until he explodes.
Funny thing to stress the retro charme: this was the first time in 10 years or so where I had to activate the console to get on. There's a particular puzzle where you have to place some objects somewhere. One of them is a skull, an item sometimes found in the earlier levels, but not on the one I was the moment. So instead of hours of searching through old levels I used the console to spawn a skull right in front of me.
While this is certainly bad game design (it doesn't tell you to hold on top a skull) it was the ultimate throwback to RPG Gaming of times past. Looking forward to part 2, which is also in my library.

Game 13: Infamous 2
Very mediocre. Core gameplay wasn't very exciting, controls were subpar and the story was horrible and there wasn't even an option to skip the nonsense cutscenes. Expected more. Meh. I liked the setting though. More games should be set in New Orleans or fictional versions of it.

Game 14: Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm
Really neat campaign. Great mission design, wish we had more RTS campaigns like that. Though I wish they had taken a closer look at their audience. If you play through this campaign you're likely to have played Wings of Liberty. So why not make the missions more complex early on. I want to control 3 bases and fight 4 battles simultanesously. Even in the last missiion you don't control your allies. As great as the missions were they all felt easy and small.

Game 15: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Considering playing through Borderlands 2 with a friend was one of my favourite gaming experiences of 2015, we didn't enjoy this one all that much... The missions lacked oomph, the O2 thing felt unnecessary and the moon looked mostly boring. I just hope that Borderlands 3 is a thing and that it will be everything Destiny promised. This one felt like the direct-to-video prequel/sequel no one actually wants. The only thing I want to have in the next installment is the ability to boost jump. Quite fun.

Game 16: Xcom: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within
This is is the story of Emma Miller. Emma was a nice girl, a bit tomboyish. Not always the most popular one, but she had good friends and enjoyed her childhood. Emma also always had a thing for explosives and she liked adventures. When Emma turned 19 she decided she would join the army in order to serve her country and to fire up some bigass rocket launchers. Then the aliens came...
Long story short, she and her squad were sent to a harbour that was alien-infested. The encounters there were hard, Emma lost a lot of health. Eventually they found a big ship full of these creatures and decided that they would use the radio of the ship to order an airstrike. While the others fought off the aliens, Emma made her way trhough the ship to the radio. At this time, she was almost dead. She wanted to be home in the safe embrace of her loved ones. She called the airstrike. Everyone ran like hell to get away from the blast radius. Some of the aliens followed them and they were quickly coming closer. The squad wouldn't make it. Except when....
Emma stopped, picked up her rocket launcher and waited for the aliens to come to her. Then she did the heroic thing.
Her loss meant the continuation opf the Xcom-project, which would (months later) beat the aliens altogether. We will always remember Emma.
Xcom is one of the best games I've ever played and is full of these emergent stories. Play it if you haven't. But there will be some hard decisions.

Game 17: Anno 2070
So, I stopped this game 2 missions before the very end, but I'll still count it as beat. It would just have been a waiting game, forwarding time until you can produce enough of the new thing your citizens crave. So while the campaign is disappointing, the core gameplay remains strong and mostly unchanged from its predecessor Anno1404.
The few changes they made didn't turn out so well, unfortunately. You know have to have enough power to produce and you have to be environmental. Both is achieved by simply placing some more buildings on the map and doesn't require any strategy. Also, there's more focus on combat which has never been a good idea for this genre. It's still one of the best city-builders/economic sims out there though and I'm looking forward to a coop-game that I'll be starting in a week or two.

Game 18: Fallout 1
I'd lie if I said that this was easy to get into. While most of the mechanics are pretty simplistic, the game doesn't really communicate them. It also doesn't really communicate the story. You either find it or you don't. However, there's something about the absolute freedom you have and the various ways you can approach your quests. The wasteland is definitely worth a visit, but be prepared to get lost and die many cruel deaths. The final sequence was also probably one of the most gruesome things I ever saw in a game and reflects the hard journey of the protagonist in an excellent way. I'll try out Fallout 2 later this year now that I know better how the game works.

Game 19: Orcs must die 2
Fun little indie game, a mix of Tower Defense and (a very simple) Hack'n'Slay. Not very deep, but certainly entertaining in coop.

Game 20: Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin
Yes, it's worse than the first one. Some of the areas feel bland, the change in atmosphere is disturbing and most of the bosses are way too easy. However, the mechanics are still absoultely great, there's just no better melee combat out there. And while Dark Souls 1 had some really bad levels (Lost Izalith!) Dark Souls 2 never goes that low in its level design. It never reaches the heights of Anor Lando or discovering the elevator back to the Firelink but it's a competent sequel that hopefully soon will be overshadowed by Dark souls 3. Haven't beaten the DLC's yet, which I will change soon. My buddy is playing the game too and we want to Coop the new levels. I read some of the comments earlier in this thread about this topic and I will count them as separate entries. They seem to each be about 5 hours long, which is the size of some AAA games as well so I don't really see the problem.

Game 21: Hotline Miami 2
The change from a mostly melee-based game to a shooter-based one makes some of the levels much more frustrating and tedious. And too often the right solution is to stand next to a door, shoot one bullet to alert the enemies and then just mow them down as they come inside the room. But when it clicks it clicks and I still had a lot of fun with it.

Game 22: Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Sunken King

Game 23: Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Old Iron King

Game 24: Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Ivory King
3 exceptional DLC's that got progressively better and have way cleverer level design than in the main game. Masterpieces.

Game 25: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Movie Tie-In with a combat system about as shallow as in the Assassin's Creed games. The traversal parts are fun though. In the end, not a very remarkable game with zero ideas. How I wished the 2008 reboot had been a success that Ubi Soft could've built upon, Now we'lll likely never see another game in the series again....
 

Wozzer

Member
Did it last year, ready to go again. Reserved! :)

Completed in 2016;

#1 - Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
#2 - Life is Strange: Episode 2 - Out of Time (PC)
#3 - Door Kickers
#4 - Life is Strange: Episode 3 - Chaos Theory
#5 - Sound Shapes (PS Vita)

Reviews to come...
 
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