Main Post

Game 42: Assassin's Creed: Rogue

After I finished Valiant Hearts, I realised I still have a few other Ubisoft games sitting in my backlog since a Uplay sale earlier this year, so I decided to give Rogue a go. I think this one is quite an interesting case, standing as the (originally exclusively) last-gen AC offering in 2014, and as a counterpart to the current-gen Unity, released at the same time. I'd like to reiterate that I really did not like my time with Unity, and that, above all, it felt like a chore. At the same time, I knew that Rogue was modelled more closely after Black Flag, which I had a blast with.

Ultimately, I now feel that Rogue is pretty much a mix of Black Flag and AC3, perhaps fittingly so, since it serves as the final game in the North American trilogy. In fact, the gameplay is almost exactly the same as that of Black Flag, with a few minor changes (the home base is replaced by renovations, there are no underwater sections, New York as a single larger city replaces the three smaller ones from Black Flag, etc.). In addition to the obvious similarities to Black Flag, what made me think a lot of AC3 were the overlap in story and setting, since Rogue effectively serves as a direct prequel to 3. In fact, I find it quite commendable how Rogue ties all the post-Ezio games at the time together, even , which I thought was a nice touch.

Overall, Rogue being so similar to Black Flag, I really enjoyed myself while playing it, but at the same time, I feel like the experience wasn't anything beyond something to kill time with. However, I do want to commend the game for not making the same mistakes as Unity (which was a real fear I had, since they were developed more or less in parallel). Collectibles and side objectives, while still ubiquitous and mostly pointless, are much more manageable in Rogue than they are in Unity, and as a result the map feels a lot less cluttered. This, in turn, allows you to focus your attention on the game itself, on sneaking into settlements and outposts, on sinking or capturing enemy vessels at sea, or on following the main story. Furthermore, the economy is balanced much more fairly in Rogue. It's not great, either, since you get way too much gold if you open up all the revenue sources, but at least the game doesn't make you feel that you're supposed to grind for or buy gold in order to unlock everything.

The main story is fairly average, and barely serves to set up the different scenarios and keep the game flow going, but this is something I've come to expect from the franchise in general. One thing that always bothers me is that there is way too little characterisation going on, and visual expression often serves as a replacement for actual character development. You're given very little reason to care about the protagonist, or your allies, or your assassination targets, for that matter. At first, I figured that the game would start off slow until , but even afterwards, not much is done with the setting or the characters. A big part of why I liked the Ezio games so much is that I liked Ezio, and that I felt he was a decently-crafted protagonist, which has mostly been missing from the more recent entries in the series.

In a way, I feel that the side objectives are almost more interesting than the main game, and I often felt that the main mission got in the way of my exploration (though not nearly as much as the dreaded present-day sequences (I'm beginning to wish there was an option to disable these, altogether)). The most fun I had with the game were probably some of the uncharted areas, as well as the native pillar locations, because they allow the game to channel its very best Uncharted impression with its platforming and mild exploration. Of course, ship combat is still every bit as entertaining as it was in Black Flag, as well.

As a final note, I found that the game was quite short. Even after completing just about everything outside of some minor things like the fleet campaign, I'm barely clocking in at 21 hours, which is not only shorter than the (admittedly horribly bloated) Unity, but also much shorter than the predecessor it emulates (which kept me occupied for around 35 hours without the DLC).

My Thoughts on Titan Souls:

41. Titan Souls (PC) - 4 hours 48 minutes
# The Ludum Dare version of Titan Souls appeared on my 52 games list in 2014. I really enjoyed these short creative bursts that were accomplished in 72 hours and a lot of 2014's list was comprised of games created during game jams. I stopped adding these to the list because a lot of these games would later be expanded upon and placed on Steam (Titan Souls, The God Will Be Watching, Sun & Moon, Please, Don't Touch Anything, etc.) rendering the game jam version more of a working demo than the final product. Titan Souls maybe was better as that game jam game. While one can see Dark Souls' challenge and Zelda's 2D aesthetics imbued in Titan Souls, Shadow of the Colossus seems to be the overriding influence; however, the the homage does not work in favor of the game as I just reminisced about playing SotC rather than being actively engaged or engrossed with Titan Souls. I really do appreciate the effort that went into expanding and creating the new titans in the game; however, by expanding the content of the game, the flaws and tedium of combat become more evident. Much of the combat felt like an 18th century gentleman's duel, and most of my accomplishes in the game felt, much like in those duels, like luck.
Status: Beaten - 10/30/2016

Master Post

Click to expand...

Game 65: Clustertruck (PC) | 10 Hours | 10/08/16 | 4.5/5

At first glance, ClusterTruck is a dumb game. You start a level on a truck, you jump on the series of trucks in front of you until you eventually get to the goal banner. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to be basic youtuber or streamer shlock, and really, it fulfills that duty well. However, when you really get down to it, it's a god damn great game.

As a level based first person platformer, the main meat of the game is found in its level design, which is on the whole fantastic. I made the decision to play the game through without the use of the multiple purchasable powerups available and feel the game was better for it. You'd think the level design would be disrupted by dumb truck physics but aside from one level, they're not. Every world has a different setting (forest, steampunk, laser) and every level in every world has its own creative gimmick they employ, adding a ton of variety to general truck jumping.

My only gripes are a lack of player shadow (makes long drops harder to judge where you're landing) and a lack of customizable controller options (aiming your camera is important, so having the option to map jump to a shoulder button would be nice). Beyond that it's great and I look forward to more trucks in my life.

Click to expand...

Game 66: Manuel Samuel (PC) | 2 Hours | 10/15/16 | 3/5

Manuel Samuel is a silly game. It's a basic adventure game with a fun gimmick. Single button presses confirm single actions so something like walking is done by alternating shoulder buttons for leg strides. This becomes more complicated as it goes one depending on what you're doing, sometimes it's good (driving a car, manually of course) sometimes it's not so good ( )

This also bleeds into the humour of the game, which is also hit and miss. If you like the idea of Death's main motivation for anything he does in the game being him wanting to do a kick flip on a skateboard, then you're in luck. Others might want to steer away, but for the most part I thought it was alright. It's nothing too special, but if you want a silly two hour game to play then it's good, maybe on a sale even.

Click to expand...

Game 67: Thumper (PS4) | ~10 Hours | 10/29/16 | 3.5/5

Thumper is an odd game. It's an abstract, psychedelic rhythm game where you're some space beetle on a trail in its quest to battle large spooky floating heads or something. The game has nine levels, each with anywhere between 10-30 or so stages, so it has a decent length.

While the game describes itself as a rhythm game, and indeed it is, sometimes the rhythm gets lost and it becomes more pattern recognition more than anything. The game is fairly difficult and sometimes it just isn't worth actually hitting things and going for score, so it's easier to just opt for survival, doing the bare minimum to get to the next level. When I did this, I felt I was missing the rhythm part of the game which brought the game down. However, when I do feel the rhythm and it does click, that's where the game truly shines.

Thumper is a pretty good game. It was worth it to finish it just for the final stage of the game. That has a beautiful level of fuckery that I can get behind.

Page 1 (Games 1-57)
Page 2 (Games 58-64)

OCTOBER END (9 games completed, 64 games total)
Monster month, 9 full games completed, pretty much 1 from each of my active systems save for the Nintendo 3DS. At this rate, after a slow start, I think my GAF-record of 76 (twice) may be toast when I get a lot of Thanksgiving / Christmas days off in the remainder of the year. In November, looking to finish Penumbra, Stick it to the Man, Silent Hill Shattered Memories, Persona 3 Portable and Hot Shots Golf.

Game 56: Fat Princess (PS3) - October 3 - 15 hours
Fun multiplayer to the point where I did not mess with the solo campaign, which is very, very unlike me. Great little characters running about, decent enough strategy, simple controls. My girls when they want snacks come up to me and go "Cake, please!" now. This and the Vita match-three game make a good little series, underrated games.

Game 57: Boiling Point: Road to Hell (PC) - October 6 - 21 hours
Another excellent Ukrainian open world shooter, STALKER-like gameplay in a corrupt, Columbia-like setting. 6 separate factions to play for or against, red herring quests all over the place, there was a ton to do even if I largely made sure I had just enough for good quality weapons and went after the main quest. Loved the family aspect of the main quest, even if it got nutty in the final parts. Going after Xenus II and Precursors if I can find them.

Game 58: Alice: Madness Returns (PS3) - October 8 - 18 hours
A perfect example of a game that improves upon its predecessor in every way. I thought the original Alice was okay, but Returns is huge step up. Alice looks and animates well enough, but the real star of the game is the Wonderfully re-imagined Wonderland itself. The out of Wonderland level opening vignettes were cool, wish they could have been longer. My 16th Platinum trophy after some post-game hunting. It's a shame Spicy Horse couldn't bring us some more in the same vein.

Game 59: Styx: Master of Shadows (PS4) - October 13 - 22 hours
Underrated stealth game, and it's not hyperbole when I say it has arguably the best gameplay in the genre outside of Thief itself. Styx is a murderous bastard, so killing fits here, but combat is a death sentence outside of 1-on-1, as it should be. Hiding spaces, using the darkness and your dexterity to your advantage, it's all here. An absolute classic.

Game 60: Home (Vita) - October 16 - 4 hours
An quick adventure game with simple puzzles and an inventory, in full pixel graphics, found it worked out rather well on the Vita screen. A labour of love, even if you sniff out things early (hard not to), it's still well worth the play through. Had a bug preventing me from finishing, and had to do the entire game again. With a longer game, it would have been a sticking point, but not here.

Game 61: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS) - October 22 - 65 hours
The turn-based TO/FFT gameplay is just about perfection for me, this is more of the same and that's ideal. Perfect handheld setup, jump in and do a fight whenever you wish. The story doesn't compare to the aforementioned classics, but it is better than FFTA and adventurous Luso is a far superior lead than the insufferable Marche. Why Square doesn't have a team cranking out a new title every 3rd year or so is beyond me.

Game 62: Painkiller: Battle out of Hell (PC) - October 23 - 5 hours
10 level expansion that I found to be of a higher quality than the base game itself. People Can Fly picked right up from the ending levels and kept the momentum going, an excellent old school shooter throughout.

Game 63: Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore (PS2) - October 27 - 2 hours
Not a fan of the series controls, but for 99 cents, why not? Beat the story mode with Tina and Bass, fiddled about a bit on other modes, and that's about it. Hard to keep going when I have SFIV installed.

Game 64: Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (Vita) - October 30 - 13 hours
A Smash Brothers clone featuring Sony characters, and I actually preferred this to the Nintendo games. Some questionable roster choices (Two versions of Cole, but nobody from Final Fantasy?!) don't really hamper things, as everybody was fun and easy to use. Beat the short campaign with everybody, my favourite was Big Daddy from Bioshock. Wouldn't mind a Vita/PS4 sequel with some different All-Stars.

Main post
End of October update

Game 37: Muv Luv | 10 hours | October


It was decent. Not much else to say. Mainly have to get through this one to get to good stuff. (Muv Luv Unlimited and Alternative)
--
Game 38: Eiyuu Senki: The World Conquest | 50 hours | October


This game was a breaking point for me. I've been playing a lot of anime/tropey/fanservice heavy games all year to the point where I've gotten sick of them. The gameplay itself was great though. You're conquering the world starting from Japan and recruiting historical characters from different countries. (Although they were all made female and have really fanservice-y desings. Napoleon, the character in the image I used, is one of the better designs.) The combat felt like a simpler turn-based version Megaman Battle Network's combat, which I really liked.

I wonder if the Civilization series is any similar, gonna have to look into those.
--
Game 39: Journey | 5 hours | October


My Playstation Plus subscription was going to end soon and I didn't plan on re-subbing. So I wanted to play some of the free games before it did, Journey was the only one I managed to get through though.

I loved it. I went in with high expectations from all the good things I've heard about the game and it definitely delivered. Few games can make me play through them a second time in one sitting.
--
Game 40: Final Fantasy X (HD) | 45 hours | October


This is now my favorite Final Fantasy. I made an LTTP thread on it: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1175004
--
Game 41: Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel | 6 hours | October


The weakest DLC in the series but I still really liked it. I don't really care for the pvp additions which probably leads to this opinion. It was a great content drop for people who like pvp. I just hope the second DLC is way more pve focused.
--
Game 42: Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition | 8 hours | October


I kinda did a speedrun/replay of this right after finishing the DLC since I never visited the painted world in this game. It was a pretty interesting experience.. After having played DS2, DS3, and Bloodborne, going to back to Dark Souls feels really janky. The level design and all that is still great as always, I'm just missing some of the additions from the later games.

I'm really hoping they do another version of this game. Be it a remake, remaster, "scholar of the first sin" version, whatever, and add in omni-directional rolling/dodging and other improvements made since then.
--


So there's only two months left and I have 10 games to go, hm. Not sure if I'll make it.

Picross 3D - ★★★★
I think I spent like $8 on this and it lasted me 50 hours over the course of four years. It definitely becomes rote after you learn the tricks, but breaking blocks and solving little math puzzles remained satisfying throughout.

Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword - ★★★
There's not much more to it than "Punchout in Feudal Japan". It's fun for a couple hours which, luckily, is how long it lasts.

Resident Evil 4 - ★★★★★
RE4 might be Neogaf's favourite game, so you know the deal.

Devil Daggers - ★★★★
It's an FPS in which the only goal is to survive as long as you can. I put 9 hours into the game and seem to have plateaued at scores of around 210 seconds (the world record as of writing this is 914). One thing that's cool about it is that the enemy spawn order is fixed, so how well you do is based almost entirely on skill. And the skills you have to hone are movement and crowd control. There aren't any health pickups or different weapons or anything, so you just have to move and shoot. It's simple and it works really well. The audiovisual presentation is just awesome. The ominous sounds set the tone, but they also serve a mechanical purpose, allowing you to locate enemies on the map without looking at them. Highly recommended for $5.

Odallus: The Dark Call - ★★
I'm all about 2D action platformers, but this one just bored me. I found most of the levels to be tedious, especially the puzzle sections. Stuff like, hitting switches to open doors that reveal switches that open doors that reveal switches... , or making a 1-in-3 choice three times in a row (not a legitimate puzzle). The music is pretty dull. I expect to be pumped up by the soundtrack with these types of games, but most of the themes have a glum vibe. The game is also pretty janky. I ran into a number of bugs and the camera constantly snaps into place at weird times. Disappointing.

Castlevania: Bloodlines - ★★★★
Speaking of music that pumps you up, I'm now obsessed with this track. I'm a fan of Castlevania, but this is the first pre-SotN one I've played. One thing Bloodlines definitely has going for it is variety. I really didn't know what to expect when entering a new room, aside from probable death. It's really difficult. Maybe even bullshit-level difficult, but I kind of liked that. The game is full of ideas, not just with level design and enemy behaviour, but also visuals. There are a lot of graphical flourishes, like water reflections and pseudo-3D effects, that must have been technically impressive at the time (and still look cool today). I think I'll go back and play some more classic Castlevania now.

Dougalism - Progress 50/52

Game 44: Victory Boxing : Champion Edition (PS1) - 1/10
Middleweight champion of the world. This really has aged terribly.

Game 45: Beyond: Two Souls (PS3) - 9/10
A better game than Heavy Rain but I still preferred the story in Heavy Rain

Game 46: NBA Jam Extreme (PS1) - 10/10
I don't remember the AI being this cheap in T.E on the SNES, also the loading times are crazy bad.

Game 47: Short Peace: Ranko Tsukigimes Longest Day (PS3) -11/10
Stylish but short with an amazing Akira Yamaoka soundtrack.

Game 48: The Getaway: Black Monday (PS2) - 13/10
Either this was a huge step back from the original or my memory is awful. The camera is really bad.

Game 49: Saints Row IV: Re-Elected Edition (PS4) - 30/10
Felt more like an expansion pack rather than a new full game.

Game 50: Saints Row IV: Enter the Dominatrix (PS4) - 31/10
Not very good at all, still it was a least short.

Wow that really was a month full of not that great games.

October Update

Game 33 - NBA 2K17: The Prelude ★☆☆☆☆
A glorified free demo that is so scripted as a story to a point where nothing actually matters. Gameplay feels weird and as someone that likes the 2K series it actually diminished my interest to get NBA 2K17 quite a bit (I ended up buying it regardless...)

Game 34 - Grand Prix Rock'N Racing ★★★☆☆
The game has it's quirks for a low budget title but that nails some of the old Spectrum and early PC racing computers with a isometric view and low quality graphics. The handling isn't perfect and is definitely weird that is easier to drive a car with medium upgrades than totally upgraded, but as soon as you understand the quirks the game actually becomes competitive and a blast to play for leaderboards (very empty) or with friends in split screen multiplayer.

Game 35 - FIFA 17 ★★★★☆
Didn't found The Journey particularly interested in continuing to play it but career mode against AI has been the best FIFA since 2010 FIFA World Cup. Still a lot to go to be a great experience against AI (especially regarding opponent AI and tactical dynamic AI) but this is the first FIFA this gen that I can easily consider it a great game. It isn't perfect, some changes to FUT make me happy that I'm not interested anymore because they were made to force you to spend real money on the mode. Still on the pitch FIFA 17 is by far the best game EA has released this gen (A 4,5 star to me)

Ladekabel said:

October:

Game 43: Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim (PC): Another adventure with Adol. My second Ys game was as enjoyable as my first. Although a little bit easier and a tad more linear. My enjoyment with the game wasn't affected by that at all though. The combat system is fun. Graphics are what one should expect from a portable game which got its resolution upped. The exception are some of the character illustrations and the animated cutscenes which seem like they are at their original resolution and look pixelated. Music kicks ass. Bosses are fun with the exception of one. What disappointed me though was that Adol didn't change appearence upon equipping new armor or shields even though that was in Oath in Felghana.

Game 44: Mafia 3 (PC): Mafia 3 is a tough one for me. I should hate it. It is "Open World - The Game". Most of the main missions feel like side missions where you have to go someplace, kill/destroy someone/-thing until enough damage is done and a guy comes which you have to kill or hire. In order to unlock collectibles on the map you have to find collectibles. And on the top the AI is braindead. I should really hate. But I really like Mafia 3. It is the first game I played where racism is handled without the inclusion of elves or dwarfs. The soundtrack is fantastic. The shooting and stealth mechanics are fun. The orchestration of cutscenes is great. It has one of the best characters of the year. And although most of the main missions are samey, the ones where you have to go against a big fish of the mob, are pretty great. Graphically it looks okay to nice in a few spots. I should hate Mafia 3, but I love it.

Game 45: Rez Infnite (PS4): I always wanted to play Rez. Didn't have a Dreamcast, didn't knew it existed on PS2 and on the 360 I never came around buying it. After having finally played it, I must say... I fucking love Rez. Most of my love comes for the style. I don't know what to say more. My favorite part is Area X. It looks fantastic and single-handily makes me want to buy a PSVR.

Currently playing: Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of Forgotten Past (3DS), Until Dawn (PS4)

Click to expand...

October update.

Index

53. Downwell (PS4, 2016/10/16, one DS4 charge)

The game was on sale and I wanted it mainly for Vita, so thanks to cross buy I now triple dipped. Quick go on PS4 to check out the port, I was instantly hooked again and a complete revisit happened. The rust came off quickly. Downwell is really a timeless classic, lovely arcade romp, always fun and super satisfying. Next year I'll try to beat the game on Vita.

54. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (Steam, 2016/10/20, 5.8 hours)

I haven't played this classic in years, but this pirate point'n'click adventure is still amazing. The game is so much fun: the puzzles aren't impossible to figure out, lots of humor, witty wordplay, great characters and cute little story. I didn't care at all for the Special Edition remade graphics and used the original pixel-art in my play through.

55. The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition (Steam, 2016/10/31, 7.4 hours)

This is a big step up over its predecessor. They improved pretty much everything: art, humor, characters, animation, locations, voice acting, all the things. Unfortunately also the puzzle difficulty, I remembered a lot and still got stuck a couple of times. The way how certain puzzles span over all available locations requires serious mental gymnastics. Monkey Island 2 is holding up nicely and is still very dear to me.

56. Dying Light: The Following (Steam, 2016/11/01, 21 hours)

This DLC is a pretty substantial expansion. It added another third of additional playtime for me. The excellent melee and gunplay remained the same, but most of the vertical parkour is replaced by vast cross country offroading. Your vehicle becomes another RPG element in Dying Light's already loaded open world. It helped to keep things interesting, even after combined 66 hours of zombie bashing, looting and extensive side questing. I was kind of surprised how the story ended. The base game and this DLC should be considered as one release. I enjoyed the whole ride a lot: siick, wicked, start to finish.

edit: final update

46) Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariendel 10/22

Rather happy to have played this a few days ahead of time via Microsoft’s glitch in the system that opened this DLC up a few days sooner. The exploration and overall scenary was a standard Dark Souls 3 level, nothing was very overwhelming and if anything the amount of navigating where one bad roll or getting knocked down by an enemy resulting in instant death was a chore if anything, in particular one part where there are a couple of lance throwers that can knock you to your death. The items for me were rather useless in the game sadly so from an exploration standpoint, it wasn’t essential to go around area to area in this map and go out of your way to find something.

The land of Ariendel looks fantastic and the whole lure behind it is pretty neat and it has a solid buildup of a story between a witch and a humble lord and then you find out what that is in reference to and you can start to piece it all together. The bosses you fight were well done, but in particular the final boss of the DLC was fantastic, arguably one of if not the best boss fights in Dark Souls 3 as a whole. I wish I could have recorded my reactions when the swerve of all swerves came in. But the satisfaction was all too sweet when finally downing the boss. The DLC is worth it for the final boss alone, that's how amazing it was. A good 35 minutes of trial and error alone that I may never be getting back but damn. There was a specific low that I achieved and a specific high I achieved all at once, just so damn good.

We're talking Bloodborne Chalice Dungeons style of fired up after beating this boss.


47) Gears of War 4- 10/12, 10/23-10/29

Beat Gears of War 4 Campaign on Friday, was a decent campaign but I think I enjoyed Gears 3 the most of the 4 games. I would probably rank it:

Gears 3
Gears 4
Gears 2
Gear 1

(I did not play Judgment besides the initial hour and if it is a pure challenge mode, count me out)


It really does feel more of the same which can be good or bad depending on how you view it. The countless hoards of enemies really began to take it's toll as someone who played the Gears series from Feb to October, including the last 3 in a 4 month span. There just wasn't enough variety in the amount of enemies that came on down to stop you so it felt a tad bit repetitive but the series suffers from this throughout so I can't fault GOW 4 necessarily. As with Gears 2, the best part comes at the very end with the armored robot fight which you can't help but just say out loud "Could this please have been in the game sooner!" I liked the new characters but there was zero resolution with the side antagonist of the game nor was there any repercussion at all for her actions throughout. She felt pointless in the grand scheme of things to be honest, you didn't get enough time to hate her or connect with the character and she came off as a clueless clown if anything(Trying my best to not spoil, people who played GOW 4 will know what I am talking about). No slap from Cait, no Marcus telling her to go shove it, nothing.

I loved the reunion of the GOW 3 crew but you can't help but feel your female companion throughout the series got a raw deal and it felt like The Coalition could not pay the actress enough money to get her involved Hardly any kind of connection of what Marcus dealt with post GOW 3 which kinda sucks. You know the father/son connection but it's hardly jumped into. Same with Del's background, not much with him either. Wish more time may have been spent to flesh out the 3 new characters and their background, even if in flashback fashion.

The collectibles felt useless to get as per the norm but they're there for something I guess. The new guns relatively sucked(Buzzkill, Dropshot), particularly the guns the big dudes use that can 1 shot you(I'll get to that in a second)....it's the range that didn't do anything for me. Lancer, Enforcer and Hammerburst were my 3 go to guns throughout the entire campaign.........with the occasion shotgun and sniper here or there. Pistols felt pretty useless....maybe it was just me but some guns had a few seconds of unresponsive controls, like I would shoot with full ammo and it would take a few seconds to get out. Especially the slab pistol, holy fuck does that thing feel awkward But I remember that being a weird pistol from previous titles.

As always with the series, the Bro/Swarmak fight sucked giant dick since it got frustrating on hardcore difficulty with the numerous of one shot KOs that can happen which was a big problem I dealt with throughout. Whether it was that new mine sweeper big gun or the bullshit weapon of the series, the torque bow that became more of a nuisance due to the one hit KO ability from enemies than how good it became. There were too many times I would spent so much time going through swarms of bullet sponge enemies only to get caught by a well placed grenades(The grenades have so much range in this game, is it just me? It's like The Coaliation said to Naughty Dog they will 1-Up them in the ridiculous grenade radius mentality in 2016) that 1 shots me and I have to restart all over, so frustrating.

The amount of new enemies was rather well done, few have their gimmicks and boy are they bullet sponges but still much appreciated with the variety. The game did try and do a Tower defense ploy in the game which works well but the lone problem being you cannot replace an already established turret or hazard on the field which means if it has ridiculously low health, it's done for since you cannot fix it and given you get 1-2 of these per wave, it sucked to not have the chance to take the turret out, maybe get some money back out of it and invest it to something else.

The AI still blows in the game, but they are still better than what GOW 1 and GOW 2 proposed. The characters still take 20 years to try and revive you and more times than not the enemy gets smarter to go and stop you and kill you which is frustrating. I think Kait has succeeded Dom in dumbass AI of the series, she got taken down SO MANY TIMES by the snatchers and pouncers, good lord. I had to run and stop her from causing a mission failed. Wait what am I saying, Dom has to be the worst AI I have ever played with in a video game before, that's not even exaggerating. The Bromak exclusive fight in GOW Ultimate Edition....need I say more?

This game had very few glitches, maybe 1-2 early on but I gotta give credit where it is due, this had been a series for me that was littered with glitches and for The Coalition to clear up on these, is a big kudos to them, very pleasantly surprised. I still don't get the decision to bar you from getting ammo you saved in a previous room by locking up doors and also punishing you for carrying a buzzkill or what not by dropping it for a pre-rendered cutscene but that's a series constant.

The ending felt kinda abrupt and I still think more could have been done to flesh out the ending but maybe that is just me.

Altogether a solid entry in the series, I have not played Horde mode or multiplayer, might be something I go on to do in a future date.


48) The Walking Dead: Michonne- 10/29-10/30

Also played The Walking Dead: Michonne over the weekend, shame it was only 3 episodes as I thought it was rather well done and honestly for me, it got right into the action and did more in 3 episodes than TWD Season 2 did in five. I just hope and wish the characters in this 3 episode series matter in the grand scheme of things which I somehow doubt they will. Very pleasant surprise, worth a playthrough for any TWD fan and Telltale fan. Glad I only paid a couple bucks for it via the PSN Sale. There are still big technical issues with the game and it actually froze my game up towards the end which sucked since I had to redo about 5-6 minutes worth of the very end. Acting was solid and I also think the villains are right up there in TWD series from a Telltale aspect, really hated one of them which is mission accomplished for me.

Game was constant action throughout, I just really enjoyed it and it had a nice theme going on with the main character that admittedly might have dragged on a bit longer than one would have liked but I get where they were going.


A great October altogether, 7 games finished and I have 48/52 down with 2 months left to go! I believe I can do it!

Original Post - Part 1
Original Post - Part 2
Original Post - Part 3

#44: Blek: ~5 hours

Click to expand...

Blek is a puzzle game unlike anything I've played before but it's amazing in its simplicity. There's 80 levels with patterns of black and coloured dots, draw a line of any length and when you let it go it repeats. If your pattern touches all the coloured dots before it hits a black dot you win the level. Later levels introduce some complications but it remains pretty simple. It also gets brutally hard and I couldn't have finished a handful of levels without a walkthrough. But definitely give it a shot.

Preview: Up to the shark tank in Resident Evil HD, playing Kingdom Rush on iOS

OT

Finished up dear Esther On the Xbone. I had a fun time just walking around the island and exploring what I could. This is clearly not for everyone. I need to hurry this up or I will not make 52!!

10h-ish. This is a fully linear story, so no progress note is necessary. Wild spoilers ahead.

This is one of the games/novels that everybody should read totally unspoiled, for full effect. This is of course a pipe dream in this day an age, even though the devs do a pretty OK job of hiding the true nature of Higurashi in the game listing in Steam. I actually read through this one completely spoiled, so I thought it was not going to be worth my time.

It was. Even though I knew about the twist, the fact that 75% of the game is your typical Visual Novel fare, with the demure waif and the cheeky tomboy and the obligatory dangerously underage girls, makes you dread the moment when everything goes to shit. It's a different sort of paranoia, but it's also pretty effective. I wanted the ability to make choices, to steer the story in a non-catastrophic direction, but, of course, that chance never came.

Luckily there was the Higurashi afterparty to "cool down" things a bit.

Updated OP

7h-ish. Lived to coronation thanks to a careful combination of paranoia queenly savoir-faire and raw magicks . Got the ending. Frankly, with how hard it was to get it, I'm counting it as a win.

Long Live the Queen could be called "Trial and Error: the Game". The premise is simple: you have a princess to raise so she can become the queen. The catch? Everybody and everything is trying to kill you. Your stats dictate whether you pass the game internal tests. The game helpfully points out which stats would have helped in a particular situation, so you're expected to retry (or reload a save) and try again.

There is no single way to pass a "test". To use the most famous (or infamous) sudden game over as an instance, you receive a box of poisoned chocolates. You can notice something is amiss with them if you know enough about Trade (they're not the product that trader usually carries) Intrigue (you correctly guess they might be poisoned) Court Etiquette (you notice the packaging is far too lavish for a lowly trader) and even Dog Handling (your doggo sniffs the poison and gets upset) and, of course, Poisons (you get poisoned but manage to save yourself)

This is both the biggest strength of the game and its biggest flaw. Do you want to minmax a warrior princess that swings a giant sword and directs armies like a brilliant General? Well, too bad, enjoy your deadly candy.

Still, LLTQ is really fun, and seeing Elodie bite the bucket can produce a certain morbid pleasure - but you also get to care about her enough to try and give her the happy ending she deserves.

Updated OP

Original Post - Part 1
Original Post - Part 2
Original Post - Part 3
Original Post - Part 4

#45: Resident Evil HD Remaster: 14.7 hours

Click to expand...

I've only ever played Resident Evil 4 so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Resident Evil 1. What I got was in retrospect far more similar than I expected, with the game still focusing on collecting knick-knacks to jam into slots (and I don't mean that in a bad way). Obviously there's less emphasis on combat, and the combat system that's in place boils down to "aim straight/up/down and pull trigger". Combat mostly exists to make you manage health and ammo. On that note ammo is limited but not too tight, I found overall it struck a nice balance. Health was a different story I had an item box full of healing items by the end. I also like tying the ability to save to a consumable item a lot more than I expected, it really makes you think more about when to retreat to save your progress and when to risk the dangers of pressing on.

The voice acting is awful, but not always awful enough to be enjoyable which is annoying. I also have a few niggles with the games structure, there were a few moments where I hesitated to save to conserve ink ribbons and then got locked in a room I was ill-equipped to survive. Oh and fighting crows is the most annoying thing ever. But yeah, still a fun game despite those problems.

It's also worth pointing out that I played with the non-tank controls. If given the choice I would have liked to try the original controls out but I didn't remember that I was supposed to until about 4 hours in when it would have been a huge pain to switch. While there are a lot of places where it would have made a difference the fixed camera angles and change in perspective when you move screens means that you generally want to just hold one direction down anyway.

#46: Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power: 4.7 hours

Click to expand...

There was a lot of fuss kicked up about Trine 3 but I don't think it's bad at all. It's too short yes, the story ends abruptly and without resolution and after 3 introductory levels for each character there are only 4 levels with all of them in play + the final boss level. There are a series of smaller single character levels to help pad the game out a bit and while it all works together well it does fall a little short.

The other big problem people had was the move to 3D and I have to disagree with that one. It makes the game feel very different but I think it works, it's still Trine but it's fresh. I thought that Trine 2 started to feel a little stale so it was okay by me. Trine 2's problems were compounded by problems I had with the skill tree being a bit silly so I didn't mind that it was gone either. Trine 3 is more tightly designed for it.

#47: 140: 0.8 hours

Click to expand...

A minimalist three level long platformer where the hazards shift to the beat. That's about all I can say about it, if you haven't watched the trailer do that and you'll know exactly what the game is. I had a lot of fun though.

#48: Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II: 12.1 hours

Click to expand...

At it's best, Jedi Knight is a good but ultimately inferior sequel to Dark Forces. The weapons don't feel as good, and the grenades are way harder to use properly. There's a lot more falling down pits in the level design too.

At it's worse Jedi Knight is a terrible lightsaber battle game. The system is advanced for its time but it's still just a melee weapon you can occasionally block shots with. The lightsaber duel boss fights are easily the least fun part of the game especially since there's not a lot of feedback on how you're doing. I didn't find much use for my Force powers either because it's easier to just shoot people.

#49: Duet: 3.9 hours

Click to expand...

Duet sounds like a simple concept, dodge the falling blocks. But it has a devious twist, you control two dots on the opposite sides of a circle. By rotating your dots you can dodge things, but if you rotate too far you'll just hit the other side.

The game has a ton of very short levels (10-20 seconds) and they have to be that long because it can be very hard to react to things as they come. It's always technically possible (after you learn the new mechanics) but it requires you to focus on what's coming instead of what you're trying to dodge so in practice I died a lot and trial-and-errored my way through most of the game.

I didn't finish everything in the end. There are 3 main story modes which all have unique levels and then a few small sets of challenge levels. I didn't finish the last four challenge levels which are extra long and have blocks that turn invisible, but I gave them a try.

#50: Fortix: 1.8 hours

Click to expand...

Meh. I played Lightfish earlier in the year and I much preferred that as a Qix clone. Fortix has extra mechanics in that your primarily obstacles aren't the roaming dragons but turrets that fire bullets at you when you venture into open space. There are points you can segment off in order to destroy the turrets and instead of having to capture a certain percentage of the map by sealing it off you just need to capture the fortresses. While this still lends itself to a certain amount of strategy it's too easy to just edge your way around the things and be done with it. That's also possible in Lightfish but the level design is more interesting and you have a bit more freedom to make a run for it. Lightfish also revolves around scoring points instead of just completing the level, and the points increase non-linearly with area encouraging you to make as big a box as possible.


#51: Kingdom Rush: 44+ hours

Click to expand...

I've held off on it for ages because I keep compulsively coming back to it but I'm finally going to write about this even though I haven't quite finished the post-game.

This is a really good tower defence game (and free on iOS to boot!). There are a lot of interlocking mechanics and you really have to pay attention to all of them in order to win. There are a fairly standard set of towers (High rate of fire, anti-armour, melee, and splash damage) but they all have a lot of versatility via upgrades. Each tower can be upgraded 3 times and the fourth level of each branches to two possible options, one of which is more specialised than the tower has been until that point. These towers also have 2-3 cooldown and passive abilities that you can then start pouring money into unlocking and upgrading.

For example your basic archer tower splits into a very high rate of fire ranger tower that can unlock poison shots and a periodic damaging snare that affects a wide area. But the archer tower can also be upgraded to a sharpshooter tower that has a much longer range but fires slow and powerful shots. The upgrades for this tower are instead a powerful shot that has a chance to one-shot and an area of effect attack. While they can fulfill both roles one of these towers is specialised in dealing with large powerful enemies and the other is better at crowd control.

This branching philosophy sort of extends to the levels as well. Each level has three modes: In the normal mode it's a fairly standard ~15 wave tower defence level with 20 health. These levels are rated from 0-3 stars depending on remaining health as you would expect. But once you 3-star a level you unlock two challenge modes, one with 6 difficult waves and restrictions on how far up the passive upgrade tree (which I'll mention in a second) you can be and another where you get 1 long wave and entire tower types (usually the ones you've been basing your strategy for the other modes around) are disabled. I actually ended up liking the challenge modes a lot more because they're shorter and tighter than the main versions of the levels.

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph there's a second upgrade system in play. Using the stars gained for completeting levels (3 for the main mode and 1 each for the 2 challenges) you can unlock passive upgrades for your towers (and the spells I'll mention next). This is probably my least favourite part of the mechanics because it's pretty mindless but it is there.

On top of your towers you have two other tools at your disposal, heroes and spells. There are three heroes to choose from (more if you pay for them but they're apparently overpowered so fuck that) that give you a free roaming unit to move on the map. They get experience when they attack and level up, gaining strength and extra abilities. But more importantly you have spells, which are special targetable abilities that are on cooldowns. With one you can summon two melee units to the map to tie up enemies and with the other you can rain meteors on a location to kill things. Later in the game timing these well is crucial because the levels are designed around you having them, and it makes this game a lot more hands on than most tower defence games.

After you beat the final boss a whole bunch of extra levels open up and these levels can get really hard. Many of them are very tightly designed, requiring to use fairly specific setups and all of the extra tools at your disposal in order to survive some of the waves. These levels are organised into 1-3 level mini campaigns that often have a handful of unique enemy types so the variety from level to level increases further at this point.

Overall I'm glad I put so much time into it (so far) and I'm keen to see what the sequels bring because I hear that they change it up somewhat. Oh and I almost forgot, there's a premium currency that you can spend on one time buffs but you get a ton of it for just playing the game and why the fuck would you use such a thing in a game like this anyway.

#52: The Maw: 3.6 hours

Click to expand...

This is a charming but somewhat flawed 3D action adventure game. You play as an alien prisoner who has escaped from a crashed prison ship with the titular Maw, a purple blob that eats things to gain their powers (how original). But unlike Kirby the Maw grows larger after consuming large amounts of matter which gives the game a sense of progression despite not affecting the gameplay apart from the ends of levels being gated by it.

The game itself is sort of Banjo Kazooie-esque but the collectible doodads are tasty animals that you feed to Maw in order to make him grow big enough or gain the right power to unlock the exit. For instance in an early level there's a barrier made of man-eating plants and you must progress by figuring out how to cool down a flaming lizard monster so that Maw can eat it and gain its fire breathing powers.

I'd say the game's main flaw is that it can drag a bit at times. The main character can't move very fast and the spaces you play in are pretty big. But overall it's enjoyable while it lasts.

#53: Pokemon Sun: 57 hours

Click to expand...

I'm calling it quits after reaching the Battle Tree, I didn't do any of the Ultra Beast quest or catching the Tapus but I feel like I've gotten my fill of the game. I beat the league with a team of Decidueye, Mudsdale, Lycanroc, Muk, Araquanid, and Kommo-o. Grimer was a huge surprise in the early game, what a fucking monster and it's a great shared experience to bring it up to people and have them emphatically agree. But in the end my favourite team member is my Araquanid, who is now pretty high up on my list of favourite Pokemon.

Anyway I freakin' loved this game. It was easily the most challenged I've been by Pokemon in a long time because I had the Exp Share off and Set mode on for almost the entire game. I had to turn Exp Share back on at the end of the game because I was so severely underleveled and it made the Pokemon League an incredibly tense and rewarding experience. The Totem battles are also a great addition that can be a really nightmare at times (Mimikyu is a beast at +1).

I really enjoyed Game Freak's emphasis on making Pokemon feel like a bigger part of the world. With Pokemon wandering around everywhere, and the addition of Ride Pokemon which needs a little work but is a much better concept than HMs ever were. The game also feels a lot more JRPGy, which can be a bad thing because it feels very linear and restricted at times but it also does a lot of good. If they're willing to let players stray from the path more in future while keeping the story-focused feel I think it could be a good change.

Something that's probably worth noting is that while Generation VI got me to breed a whole stack of competitive Pokemon that I never used, it was the closest I'd ever gotten to getting into the scene. Gen VII on the other hand has scared me all the way back off of it due to a number of quality of life regressions. In addition to that the new communication features (Festival Plaza) are trash and I hope they don't come back.

#54: Toki Tori 2+: 10.5 hours

Click to expand...

What an amazing game.I'd been told that it was open world/Metroidvania esque with only two actions (tweet and stomp) and some songs. But what I hadn't realised was that the songs don't help you advance, they're just quality of life tools. Every puzzle in the game is solvable right from the start with the two buttons you have, you can go anywhere, the only roadblock is whether you can figure something out yourself or need to be taught how objects interact in a more controlled environment first.

#55: Puzzle Agent 2: 3.7 hours

Click to expand...

It's more Puzzle Agent. The good things about the original (atmosphere, voice acting, narrative) remain good and the mediocre things (the puzzles themselves) remain mediocre.

Preview: Picross e7 came out Chibi Robo is on hold. Thinking of starting up Mass Effect 3 on PC now.

OP

Game 48: INSIDE (PC) 05/11/16 - 05/11/16 3.1 Hours
To be honest, I'm pretty speechless about the ending and really confused about the story. Although the game is short, the puzzles were mostly simple and easy to figure out besides trying to find the orbs to unlock achievements which I didn't complete. I had all kinds of different emotions going through myself while playing this game. I believe the game it is a must play because the game is very artistic and beautiful but it is short.

Game 00: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice DLC (3DS) 04/10/16 - 06/11/16
The game comes with 3 DLC cases that are released weekly after the official release date of the game, that's why it has taken me so long to complete all the DLC cases for the game. The 1st two DLC cases are very short but the 3rd DLC case is pretty long, much like a proper episode/chapter in the game. I would say only the third DLC case was worth the purchase but I'll pay anything to Capcom to keep supporting Ace Attorney in the west. I didn't really enjoy the 1st two DLC cases that much because they're more like comedy skits than actual cases but the third DLC case I really enjoyed. They brought back a lot of old lovable characters and I got a chance to face Edgeworth as a prosecutor in court once again.

Original Post

Game 31: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (3DS/Wii U/PS4/X1/AFTV) - 8 Hrs 12 Mins (11/6/2016)

#Having already beat this game last year on Wii U and getting a code for this game via Nintendo Indie Humble Bundle, I decided to do a 100% run. Definitely a fun game even if the final dungeon was quite a pain. I liked the pirate gear more than I did Shantae's transformations in the older games. The soundtrack was amazing as always and the game was definitely worth playing again. This made me remember how much I loved this game last year.

Game 32: Persona 3 Portable (PSP/Vita) - 69 Hrs 9 Mins (11/11/2016)

#Long time coming, but I finally beat this game after getting it last year. I ended up having to replace my Vita in the time it took me to beat this game. I liked some things like the characters and story better than Persona 4 Golden, but this game definitely is being held back by feeling slower and harder to find things like social links. Doesn't help this version of P3 had very little in the presentation, but I can see that with the limitations of the PSP. Still, this was an amazing experience and it makes the wait for Persona 5 that much harder!

Game 33: My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (3DS) 15 Hrs 58 Mins (11/12/2016)

#Nice easy game to relax with. Not as good as some other picross games I've played, but was a nice thing to get with My Nintendo points since there's no much else there. I'd say the Picross 3D games are way better in terms of content and difficulty. Overall, this was still a decent game that I could relax with.

Game 34: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Vita/PS3) - 69 Hrs 26 Mins (11/19/2016)

#One of the best JRPGs I've played of recent memory. Took me almost a year to beat it, but I finally did! The main thing that would have pissed me off if I beat it earlier is the cliffhanger ending. Good thing I've already got and just started Cold Steel 2 today. The characters were memorable with great dialogue and the world building in this game is awesome as well. Combat has enough depth behind it to keep me interested with all its systems and such. Outstanding OST too! Makes me eager to get into and, hopefully, beat Cold Steel 2 this year as well.

Game 35: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II (Vita/PS3) - 72 Hrs 15 Mins (11/27/2016)

#I liked this one better than the first Cold Steel in some ways and other ways, not so much. The first one felt like it never really took out except in intervals of the chapters and near the ending. This one seemed to be more interesting and intriguing far as the plot went. At least this one didn't leave off on a major cliffhanger like the first one. I feel some characters that weren't a focus in the first game got some much needed focus in this game. The ending of this one dragged even more than the first game though. Most of the stuff like music was still good and I liked the tweaks to the battle system. Overall, I'd say this series has been great for me and I can't wait for Cold Steel III when it comes out!

It's been ages since I posted a monthly update, but I just hit 52 games! http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=190948724

Fallen abit behind in my posting here! Trails of Cold Steel II, Dragon Quest VII, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Shining Soul, and MM Battle Network 2 are the last 5 games I've beaten! Which just so happens to brings me up ta 52! ...but my personal challenge is 52 rpgs so I'm not quite there yet!


Games Beaten: 52 / 52
Total Playtime: 1058:17:00
01 - 27
28 - ??

6:38h. 40% of all items collected.

The best word to define Metroid Fusion is "clunky". Clunky controls, clunky plot, clunky story progression, clunky mechanics, clunky difficulty curve (the game is piss easy until more or less - then it suddenly becomes challenging) ...

It's still pretty fun to play, mind, but those shortcomings make it a less than stellar experience in my opinion.

Updated OP

∞h. All circuits 1st placed in all modes.

Mario Kart 8 is one of the best games I've ever played. There it is. It has everything - it's fun, vibrant, fast, good for both multiplayer and singleplayer... and even the DLC has a reasonable price. The WiiU didn't have many games, but gems like this made it a worthwhile buy.

Updated OP

Master Post


Game 46: SteamWorld Dig - 4 hours, 15 minutes - October 29, 2016
I hate platformers. I've made that fairly clear throughout my time here on GAF. Not because I dislike the game type but mainly because I am absolutely terrible at them. But on the other hand...I love mining games. So what happens when you combine mining with platforming? Well, I guess you end up with a game that I really rather enjoyed. This is in fact probably one of the first platformers that I've really gotten hooked on. Hooked meaning that thing where you stay up about four hours past when you intended to fall asleep trying to finish a game you started on a whim. The "story" as it were is pretty unimportant, but the mechanical progression that the game gives you via adding new things steadily is just great. There's a real positive momentum to the game that I appreciate as so many games in recent times have bogged me down with what felt like poor difficulty and mechanical curves.
Should I play SteamWorld Dig? Without a doubt I'd give it a try, especially if you're a mining addict like me. Image & Form have done a lot to make me a fan.

Original Post - Part 1
Original Post - Part 2
Original Post - Part 3
Original Post - Part 4

#46: Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power: 4.7 hours

Click to expand...

There was a lot of fuss kicked up about Trine 3 but I don't think it's bad at all. It's too short yes, the story ends abruptly and without resolution and after 3 introductory levels for each character there are only 4 levels with all of them in play + the final boss level. There are a series of smaller single character levels to help pad the game out a bit and while it all works together well it does fall a little short.

The other big problem people had was the move to 3D and I have to disagree with that one. It makes the game feel very different but I think it works, it's still Trine but it's fresh. I thought that Trine 2 started to feel a little stale so it was okay by me. Trine 2's problems were compounded by problems I had with the skill tree being a bit silly so I didn't mind that it was gone either. Trine 3 is more tightly designed for it.


Preview: Finished the Kingdom Rush campaign but I'm an idiot so I'm working on the post-game levels which are brutal.

Master Post


Game 47: Battlefield 1 - 23 hours - October 31, 2016
Although I joined later in the life of the series, Battlefield is a series of games that's quite dear to me. I first played a Battlefield game when I played Bad Company, a game I put 56+ hours. I then played Bad Company 2 which saw me getting even more engrossed, putting over 142 hours into it. 1943 was a fun diversion, and Battlefield 3 was a solid follow-up that I enjoyed (62 hours) even if the Premium model ultimately killed my enjoyment. But Battlefield 4 came along and I just did not enjoy it. The launch was bad of course, but I didn't even join then, I joined months later and still didn't love it. When the DLC was all made free a month or so ago, I returned and I still didn't enjoy it that much and found it nearly impenetrable. All of that was a prologue to say, I've been around the Battlefield block a bit. And Battlefield 1 is pretty great. It's not perfect. I think that ultimately while moving, the campaign ends up being a let-down (particularly mechanically). But the multiplayer is pretty fun, and Operations is a new standout to the franchise. I'm very interested to see where the game goes from here.
Should I play Battlefield 1? Yes. Ultimately it's more of a WW2 than WW1 game, but it's a solid addition to the series and one of the best FPS this year. It might not be the height that was BFBC2, but it shows promise.

Almost There

October

36. Toki Tori 2+ / 10 hrs

I finally went back and completed this gem of a game from the beginning. Fantastic puzzler.

x. Hexcells / 1 hr
x. Hexcells Plus / 7 hrs
x. Hexcells Infinite / 6 hrs
x. SquareCells / 4 hrs

I decided to exclude these from the count because I've beaten them before. I just want more!

37. LOOP / 8 hrs

This is a solid if uninspired and repetitive puzzle game.

38. Mafia 3 / 40 hrs

Utterly fantastic presentation, story and characters....way too much filler. I'm still glad it exists.

39. Rusty Lake's Cube Escape series(9 games) / 8 hrs

I'm counting this series of flash/mobile games as one whole since they took a solid amount of time, and led to my interest in the larger series.

40. Rusty Lake: Hotel / 3 hrs

More of the same sort of escape room gameplay, with some fun art and Twin Peaks vibe being the main draw.

41. IMSCARED / 3 hrs

Very clever little game with some fun twists and turns.

42. Rusty Lake: Roots / 6 hrs

More polished than Hotel, I burned through this series and enjoyed every minute. The gameplay is nothing amazing or innovative, but its solid. The art is again the real draw here.

43. Lumino City / 6 hrs

The art is the draw here as real. This was a fun adventure game in the Humble Bundle that I wasn't expecting. Worth the play.

44. The Last Door CE / 4 hrs

I enjoyed this, but the only real standout memory is the fantastic soundtrack. I am still looking forward to playing the second season however.

45. Oxenfree / 5 hrs

I found this to be a real gem. This will be in my top ten for sure. It worked far better than I thought it would from hearing about it on podcasts and reviews. I enjoyed this a great deal!

46. Odallus the Dark Call / 5 hrs

I love games in this retro Castlevania style, and this is a pitch perfect version. Well balanced and fun.

November

47. Owlboy / 11 hrs

I really enjoyed my time with this game, although by the end I was disappointed that it wasn't really a "Metroidvania" at all. Loved the story and characters and graphics though. Most of the gameply was solid as well.

48. Xanadu Next / 26 hrs

Falcom does it...or did it again. Thank you XSeed, as usual. God, Falcom's older titles are pure perfection. Top ten.

49. Full Bore / 10 hrs

I returned to this game after getting stuck on it years ago. I restarted and focused on pure progress. I got stuck again near the end. Really, some of these puzzles are pretty difficult, and required. I broke down and used a walkthrough, because after a week of not playing, I was about to shelve it again. It's a really good game, but in many ways my mind doesn't grasp the harder puzzle rooms.

49 games / 1105 hrs

Think I'm gonna try and do one of these next year, and force myself to not buy games until I've reached it. My backlog is ridiculous!

Original Post - Part 1
Original Post - Part 2
Original Post - Part 3
Original Post - Part 4

#47: 140: 0.8 hours

Click to expand...

A minimalist three level long platformer where the hazards shift to the beat. That's about all I can say about it, if you haven't watched the trailer do that and you'll know exactly what the game is. I had a lot of fun though.

Main post

35. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice - Turnabout Time Traveler
★★☆☆☆ - 5 hours - Completed 10/5/2016
An unexciting and predictable DLC case that sadly falls flat in all its attempts at fanservice.

36. Thumper
★★★☆☆ - 6 hours - Completed 10/22/2016
If there were ever a game for which that venerable term "visceral" actually applies, Thumper is it. You will feel every rhythmic action, turn, and crash due to the game's superb audiovisual design. Unfortunately, the level design becomes quite repetitive and often leads to more frustrating than fun gameplay.

37. Kingdom Rush
★★★☆☆ - 3 hours - Completed 10/22/2016
Enjoyable enough to scratch my tower defense itch for a few hours.

38. Dark Souls III - Ashes of Ariandel
★★★★☆ - 4 hours - Completed 10/27/2016
Aside from a great main boss encounter and several intense new enemies, this DLC doesn't quite reach the overall highs of the base game. Still, I found it to be gripping in the ways this series tends to be. I mean, it's fucking Dark Souls.

39. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
★★★☆☆ - 21.5 hours - Completed 10/31/2016
Playing Skyrim for the first time in 2016 didn't impress me as much as I'd hoped, but I expected that. What it offers has been done (much) better by other games since, in my opinion. But I enjoyed it enough to see the main story through, and the Dark Brotherhood questline was pretty fun, too.

40. Hitman: Season One
★★★★☆ - 10 hours - Completed 10/31/2016
The seemingly endless amount of shenanigans possible in this reboot is truly amazing. My respect for Hitman only grows the more I play the game and watch others play it. I must say I'd prefer greater polish and more levels, but I suppose those are things to look forward to in Season Two.

41. Aragami
★★★☆☆ - 6.5 hours - Completed 11/5/2016
It's alright. Solid stealth mechanics, decent level design, boring mission objectives, frustrating boss encounters.

42. Dead Space 2
★★★☆☆ - 6.5 hours - Completed 11/12/2016
More or less on par with my memory of my experience with the first game, which is to say I enjoyed the combat and atmosphere.

I had a dip a few months ago, but I'm still going and I'm definitely going to make it. 47 games beat. Just need to do another big update of 13 games. When it's all said and done I can see myself going beyond 52 even.

this is now Main Post #2 since I ran out of room in the first one.
Click here for Main Post 1


Game #34 - Resident Evil Remake Remastered
Time: 12 hours

Strange case with this one as I started really disliking it for the first few hours, with its frustrating outdated controls (even with the new type of controls) and outdated systems like the limited inventory, but once I got used to it and into the groove I got really into it. Level design is still top notch, the stuff they added compared to the original (I mean the actual original original not the gamecube remake) is staggering, the visual and sound design are fantastic, so in the end its a great game that suceeds despite its glaring dated flaws. Made me want to play more RE games so I guess it suceeded.


Game #35 - Marvel Heroes
Time: A Lot. 200 hours? 300 hours? who knows.

Putting this in here since its my prepetual game I play for hundreds of hours every year, and this year was no exception. I was going to leave this one and the next for last, as my 51st and 52nd games since you dont really finish them but I have more time in them than every other combined, but since im going to "fail" the challenge anyway, I might aswell list them now. The other being...


Game #36 - World of Warcraft Legion
Time: All the time.

I had been away from World of Warcraft for a year and half before resubbing shortly before Legion came out, as the last expansion prior did nothing for me and I barely played it. So much in fact that I was sure for the first time I wasnt going to get a WoW expansion. Oh how wrong I was. Fast forward to today, I have now been subbed for 5 months and counting (the longest in years) and still loving every minute of it. Amazing job on what will probably end up being my favorite wow expansion yet, they delivered on everything they promised, from casual friendly content, new content delivered constantly, a new class, new systems that keep you playing, a refocus on 5 man content, everything I wanted out of WoW basically.


Game #37 - Dungeon Fighter Online
Time: 61 hours (for now)

Another in the "you dont really finish it" genre, this caught me by surprise. Super fun side scrolling beat em up mmo, with a ton of different classes and moves per class, some super flashy special moves, and fun gameplay. Gets a little repetitive but it encourages playing multiple classes (especially with a fatigue system not letting you grind out 1 character non stop) and a reasonable F2P model, DFO ended up being one of my favorites of the year. Ive put it aside for now (without reaching max level with any class unfortunately) but I will get back to it for sure.


Game #38 - Fran Bow
Time: 8 hours

Easily one of the best point and click adventures Ive played in ages. Imagine a David Cronenberg version of Alice in Wonderland, it goes from creepy and disturbing to magical and fantastical to utterly bizarre. Great story depending on how you view the events, good puzzles that arent too cryptic, good lenght, amazing visual design. Fantastic all around, highly recomended.


Game #39 - Elder Scrolls Online Gold Edition
Time: 215 hours (and counting)

And the surprise of the year goes to ESO. Decided to give it another try during the recent free weekend after not having enjoyed it much in beta, and got completely hooked. The class system is fantastic once I wrapped my head around the fact that any class can be anything and use any weapon. The zones are great and the quest design and writing are a notch above your usual mmo (some quests rival the best stuff in most rpgs really), capping off with a fantastic last zone. The dlc is super substancial, the paragon-style system of getting account levels are you rech max level is a fantastic way to make you want to keep playing, and a great help to your alts. I could go on and on about this game, it totally blew me way and im still not anyware near done with it. Forget Legion, this is my GOTY.


Game #40 - Eternal Card Game
Time: 43 hours (and counting)

Hey another game that doesnt actually end. Anyway, absolutely fantastic trading card game that is basiclaly Hearthstone with MTG rules (aka more complex). Super generous F2P systems, lots of modes to play, particulry single player modes, fantastic card designs, just overall a really well made card game, probably my favorite out there. Will come back to this a lot I think.


Game #41 - Message Quest
Time: 1 hour

Super cute puzzle adventure game with a sweet story and charming art style. The puzzles are quite simple and the game is very short (finished it in one sitting in about 1 hour) but its well done and has a ton of heart. Oh and the "simlish" style voice acting is great too.


Game #42 - The Silent Age
Time: 2 and half hours

Another shortie, this time a more traditional point and click adventure, but a pretty cool one. The story is a cliche mystery but its well done enough that I forgive its lack of originality. The puzzles are actually quite easy which I liked, as most objects you pick up have logical uses and are usually not far off the solution. Some might not apreciate that but as someone with a apreciation for the genre but little patience for the more obtuse ones these days, this was right up my alley. Great art design and good vocie acting / soundtrack plus the short run time make this a very easy recomendation to fans of the genre, especially since everyone and their mother probably has it from all the bundles it was in.


Game #43 - Lilly Looking Through
Time: 2 hours

Lilly is another short point and click adventure / puzzle game, this one with a very minimalistic approach as most of the time you dont actually control Lilly, you click things on the screen and she goes to them and does whatever she has to do. The puzzles are fairly simple throughout, although near the ends there are some head scratchers. Great 2D artwork but theres little story, what little there is is very abstract with Lilly chasing her brother who was kidnapped by some sort of magical scarf...yeah its weird. Overall its ok but it didnt do much for me, I feel there are much stronger short adventures games around (like the previously mentioned silent age for example).


Game #44 - Detective Grimoire
Time: 2 and half hours

Nice surprise with this one as I expected another point and click adventure but what I got instead was a Phoenix Wright style murder mystery / investigation. Great art style, great voice acting, cool little story. Its a little light on puzzles and its mostly just dialogue and clue matching but I really enjoyed it. Theres a sequel teased at the end which im afraid will probably never happen which is a shame. Easily recommended.


Game #45 - The Begginer's Guide
Time: 82 minutes

The "follow up" to The Stanley Parable, at least developer wise, unfortunately is nowhere near as interesting as the first one. I dont have a problem with interactive narrative games, or walking simulators, whatever you want to call them, but I tend to be very hot or cold about them. I lovedThe Stanley Parable, Gone Home and Jazzpunk (I almost wouldnt put Jazzpunk in here, since it had a fair bit more gameplay than the rest), but for example I hated Dear Esther. I wont go as far as to say I hate Begginer's Guide, in fact I was quite enjoying it in the first 20 minutes or so, but then it stats getting unconfortable, and either it was going to be based on a real story, and that would be awkward, or it wouldnt, which would just be pretencious. So it ended up just being pretencious and heavy handed, much like I thought Dear Esther was in my opinion. I know a lot of people like Dear Esther and disagree its pretencious and the same will apply to this one, and thats fine.


Game #46 - Three Fourths Home
Time: 1 hour

A short visual novel about a struggling 20 year old coming back home to Nebraska. The whole game (both the main game and the epilgue) is one long phone conversation between the character and her family, mostly her mom, as she drives back home during a thunderstorm. The subject matters actually hit a little too close to home for comfort in all honesty, but its very well written and the minimalistic art style works great. Its very short so if you are into visual novels (which im usually actually not) I would recomend it.


Game #47 - Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Time: 4 hours

One of the best, if not the best point and click adventure ever is still just as good as I remember 20 years ago, except now it looks all pretty. I actually remembered most of it which surprised me, so I finished it a bit faster than otherwise. The remaster looks fantastic, the writing is still too notch and the puzzles are great and logical for the most part. Great voice acting rounds up one of the all time greats, highly recommended for fans of the genre.


Game #48 - The Flame in the Flood
Time: 7 hours

Fantastic little gem of a game. Finished the campaign but theres a endless mode if thats your thing. Great game, easily top 10 of the year for me, and finally a survival game made for me. Not too hard, not too cryptic, I loved the art style, the soundtrack is fantastic, its not very long (7 hours with about 4 or 5 deaths), had a nice checkpoint system and has a nice sense of progress unlike more survival games I tried. Top notch all around, get on it if you got it from the humble monthly.


Game #49 - Shadow Complex Remastered
Time: 5 hours

One of my favorite metroidvanias in years, and its still as good as I remember. Its not very long but it feels longer than it is because you get new weapons and upgrades at a breakneck pace, visit a ton of loctions (the map is huge) and are always on the move and constantly in action. The story is whatever but thats not ehat you come to these games for anyway. Completionists will probabbly bleed out 1 or 2 more hours out of it.


Game #50 - Among The Sleep
Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Among The Sleep is a short (you can finish the story in less than 2 hours, and theres a prologue which takes about 20-30mins) horror game where you play as a baby trying to check on your mother with your teddy bear friend. I liked it, quite a bit in fact, some "stealth" sections are kinda annoying but not too much, its not very scary, more creepy especially the sound design which is fantastic. The actual creepiness comes from the theme since its . I really like the art style as it fits the tone they were going for, its cartoony but it can get creepy when it has too, especially the "slender" style monster. As I already mentioned the sound is fantastic, and the gameplay, sicne you play as a baby, is actually qutie novel. Cool stuff.


Game #51 - Broken Age
Time: 10 hours

This one turned out to be a bit of a bummer, as I loved the first part, but the second part fell apart for me. Call me dumb, or maybe these games are just not for me anymore at least hard ones), but the puzzles in part 2 went completely obtuse for the most part, employing not just weird solutions but stuff I dont like about point and click adventures like timing based puzzles and randomly wanting you to click the same location again for no reason even tho you were done with it, or you would think. Story wise its quite imaginative (if, again, even that becomes a bit of a mess in part 2), and the art and voice acting are great. I still enjoyed it but, yeha, that part 2 brought it way down from a possible classic in my opinion.


Game #52 - Toren
Time: 2 hours

Very strange game which tries to invoke the japanese style abstrct / cryptic storytelling (much like a Ico or the Souls series) and for the most part suceeds, even if the story is a bunch of incomprehensible gibberish (you know, much like those japanese games lol). I actually really liked it even if I think the game itself isnt very good. The graphics are kind janky but I really like the look and rt design, the gameplay is trash but I like the ideas they use, yeah its a weird game overll. I would still recommend it since its short enough, just as long as you go in expecting a super janky affair. It has heart tho, Ill give it that.


Game #53 - Pony Island
Time: 2 hours

Holy shit.... holy shit. Easily one of my favorite games of the year, and thats all I'll say. Actually ill say another thing, it had one of my favorite moments EVER in a videogame. Holy shit Pony Island what?


Game #54 - Devil Daggers
Time: There's no time in hell

So yeah, this is a good example of how you put games in this thing. It doesnt end, and you literally seen all the game has to offer 10 minutes in, if not earlier. What does it matter if you played 1 hour or 10 hours of it? Anyway, that little tidbit aside, holy shit this is awesome. Super addicting wave based first person shooter, with the biggest "just one more run" feeling ive had in ages. Great art style, FANTASTIC sound, super fast gameplay. It knows what it is and what it wants, and it executes it perfectly. Great stuff.


Game #55 - Assault Android Cactus
Time: 2 and half hours

Great dual stick shooter that I was loving until the last couple of bosses really bummed me out and put a damper on the whole game. Still, the gameplay is great, theres a lot of characters to unlock, the art is super stylish and cute, I love the way the levels morph as you play them, and for people like to replay games for score and whatnot, the game has you covered both in the campaign and in the extra modes like infinite or boss rush. I wish the campaign was longer tho, it could use with about 3 more zones at least because what they had going there was great. Oh well.

Main Post

Click to expand...

Game #18: Rayman Fiesta Run (iOS).
Completion Reached: Beat all the levels, except for Nightmare Mode.

Rayman Fiesta Run is the sequel to Rayman Jungle Run, the first Rayman autorunner released for mobile platforms. Fiesta Run plays identically to its predecessor but has more level variety, more costumes and more microtransactions. If you enjoyed Jungle Run you'll definitely like Fiesta Run. Level design is very good (probably better than in Jungle Run) but the microtransactions are more intrusive. Overall, a fun game.

Click to expand...

Game #19: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U).
Time Played: 38:06 hours.
Completion Reached: Cleared the game and most sidequests (even the figurines!).

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is a HD remaster of the Gamecube classic title and the 3rd Zelda game I beat this year, in preparation for BotW! TWW is, gameplay wise, a pretty standard 3D Zelda game, keeping the same style from its two predecessors. However, it's also unique thanks to 2 main features. One is the graphical style, a cel-shaded cartoony look that greatly differs from the more realistic approach found in OoT and MM. Although it was initially hated by fans, the art style is so expressive and pretty that it's now loved pretty much universally. The second unique feature is the overworld design. Unlike previous titles, the overworld is a big ocean with small islands scattered through it. You also explore it by sailing, which creates a very different feel of adventure from past titles.

The HD remaster brought a few changes to the game, mainly focused on reducing tedium. For example, there's a Swift Sail that lets you move faster through the overworld, some animations have shortened length and stuff like that. The remaster also boasts a new lightning engine which gives the world a really nice look. I think there are also new skyboxes and weather effects which are really cool. Overall, this game is recommended for fans of adventure games. The original game was already really good and the remaster only makes it better!

Click to expand...

Game #20: Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (3DS).
Time Played: 77:11 hours.
Completion Reached: Cleared the main story and did most of the post game stuff (except for the Battle Maison).

Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (and Omega Ruby) are remakes of the GBA games Ruby and Sapphire, bringing all the new features added to the franchise since they were released (or most of them at least since there are no clothing options here). Pokémon games usually follow the same type of progression or ideas so I can't say much that I didn't say when I talked about X/Y earlier this year. The games do add a few new features though like the DexNav that makes hunting Pokémon easier and more fun, flying through the overworld with Latias/os and other cool minor stuff. There's also an increased effort in making story and cutscenes "cooler". Overall, I had a lot of fun with the remake and would recommend it to Pokémon fans. Episode Delta (a postgame quest) is definitely one of the highlights of my Pokémon playing experience.

updated post

Game #46: Yomawari: Night Alone (Vita) - 5 Hours
Cute and short survivor horror game where you play as a young girl trying to find her missing sister. Most of the game has you running around town avoiding enemies by either running by them or hiding behind bushes and large signs. While you do get to pick up some items to help you evade ghosts, I never really found any use for them. While the game seems really simple, there are plenty of enemy types with unique properties to them, for ex: enemies that go after you if they sense your flashlight, enemies who sneak up on you if you have your back turned, and etc. Only real problem with the game is its definition of a quicksave. In most games quicksaves let you save temporarily (meaning a one time save that deletes itself after you load it once) so you can exit the game and continue later. With this game, quicksaves doesn't do that and only serves as a "checkpoint" for when you die.

Game #47: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) - 105 Hours
-Phew- I been chipping away at this game all year long and I'm finally finished with the single player content. I really enjoyed this game a lot even at times it could be the most frustrating thing ever just because I die in a string of attacks. That feeling you get when you defeat a new monster never gets old. Game was overwhelming at first, but I took my time and learned things little by little which paid off in the long run. I know there is a ton of stuff to do in multiplayer but im about burned out at the moment.

Game #48: Cat Girl Without Salad (PC) - 1 Hour
A Humble original that came with one of the Monthly Humble Bundles. Its an interesting shoot em up where your weapons represent different genres of gaming. For instance, theres a rhythm game gun where you attacks vary in power based on well you can play Dance Dance Revolution. Another where you shoot out Megaman clones who can jump on enemies. The game is fun although a little bit too easy as someone who is usually terrible at shoot em ups.

Game #49: Keyboard Sports: The Last Tribute (PC) - 1 Hour
Another Humble original, where you use your whole keyboard to move your character around dodging things. You will spend most of your time with this game replaying the final stage and getting as far as you can. It would of been nice if you can toggle on and off what the actual keys are as the game only shows you the shape of the keyboard but not what the keys are. I do hope they make a more flesh out game with this, it would be neat to see what ideas they can come up with.

Currently Playing:

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE: Haven't pick this game up again yet, im getting my tv delivered next so hopefully I can continue this game soon

htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary: About halfway through the game, not sure if i want to finish this game due to how awkward the controls are for me.

Culina: Hands in the Kitchen Just started. This was a game i backed on kickstarter. Its basically a restaurant management game combined with Persona's social links.

Rhaknar said:

Strange case with this one as I started really disliking it for the first few hours, with its frustrating outdated controls (even with the new type of controls) and outdated systems like the limited inventory, but once I got used to it and into the groove I got really into it. Level design is still top notch, the stuff they added compared to the original (I mean the actual original original not the gamecube remake) is staggering, the visual and sound design are fantastic, so in the end its a great game that suceeds despite its glaring dated flaws. Made me want to play more RE games so I guess it suceeded

Click to expand...

Yeah I had that same initial reaction of "What the fuck is this?" that went away once I started getting into it

Original Post

54) Mass Effect - 9 hours - 11/12
I had played through most of this when it came out on the 360 but never finished it. When the trilogy was put on EA Access last week I decided to start a fresh playthrough to get ready for Andromeda. The gameplay was definitely clunky and nowhere near as fun as 2 or 3 but the story was soooooo good and I'm really glad I played through it. I managed to blast through it pretty quickly thanks to just doing the story missions and ignoring pretty much all the side content. I'll probably slow down and enjoy my playthroughs more with 2 and 3 since they've held up better.

Game 27: Rhythm Paradise Megamix
3DS - 16 hours - Beaten 02/11/16 - ★★★★☆
Pretty conflicted on this game. The Rhythm Heaven gameplay is as great as it's ever been, and some of the new games are really great (Blue Bear <3), buuuuut, the story really drags it down and kills the pacing, navigating from game to game is a massive pain compared to the amazing simple menu of the previous titles, and there's way too much grinding for coins needed if you want to buy everything.
Weakest in the series easily, but I'd still recommend it.


Game 28: Dragon Quest Builders
PS4 - ~40 hours - Beaten 13/11/16 - &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733;
Well this game surpassed expectations. Who knew a JRPG with Minecraft mechanics would work so well. It was a lot of fun building your base up, completing quests for villagers, upgrading your equipment etc, and I even enjoyed the boss battles. I hated the way the game was broken up into chapters when I had to leave everything behind at the end of the first, but I grew to love it by the end, it's like four little RPG campaigns which was neat.
I actually went and got the platinum, which was fairly simple. Basically just have to get the challenges for each chapter done which is good enough gameplay that you should do anyway, then the cleanup at the end took under 30 mins.
Highly recommended and am excited to see how a sequel improves on it (and I don't even want multiplayer for this kind of game).

OP

Going to try and squeeze Dragon Quest II in quickly before Pokemon Sun.
Should also be able to add Pokemon Go shortly, Pokedex is at 136, just need a few of the rare spawns to show up...

20h-ish. Got both the Ten Year Ring and became King of Dragon Pass with Peace clans in Normal difficulty. Wild dragonspoilers ahead!

KoDP is an one-trick pony, but it does its one trick extremely well. The first time you play you're likely to play a War clan, or to try to apply modern, realistic morals to the Orlanthi customs. If so...
It's highly likely that you will need a couple or three failed sagas to realize that you must think like an Orlanthi. Keeping slaves? Not necessarily bad. A young lady became eligible for marriage? She will marry whoever the ring chooses. A Peace clan means you must never raid, right? Enjoy being picked on by every other fish in the bowl. Surely you must vanquish your ancestral enemy, right? Every battle must have a way to win!
Once you realize you must change your mentality, KoDP becomes a game of luck and trial-and-error that expects you to savescum and try different approaches to problems from a different time and reality. It never fails to surprise and amaze - even if sometimes can irk you when everything's going swell and then your King dies on a heroquest, your neighbours attack and free all your thralls, the Beastfolk tell you to fuck off and a Chaos creature kills half of your tula.

Updated OP

Original Post

During October I completed two games

My progress for this challenge is 52/52

1. Disney Magical World 2 – Finished on October 22 – 40 hours, 24 minutes

Game was pretty fun. At some points it felt like a mix of the charm and focus on crafting stuff from Fantasy Life with the world building of Disney characters thrown in the mix. I really enjoyed my time with the game, especially with how easy to follow that everything was. You have items to create and you know exactly what you need and if you don't have those items, the game does a great job of giving you a general idea of where to get them. It isn't out to deliberately make things tedious on you. There are still some stickers to get in the postgame and some episodes that I still want to finish.

2. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice DLC (Turnabout Time Traveler) – Finished on October 29 – 11 hours

This case was cool but I think I liked the DLC from Dual Destinies better. The case seemed simpler and easier and a lot more straightforward. Not necessarily a bad thing but the culprit and the twists all seemed really obvious to me. Still very enjoyable and a bit more fan service with the characters involved and the zany antics this case entailed.

original post

Click to expand...

Game 47: Gargoyle's Quest (GB) - 4 hours

The decent Ghoul's and Goblins presentation and precise controls still make this a decent platformer. However, the RPG elements really are more like a gimmick nowadays, dragging the experience down. There's really no need for it and both going through the world map and random encounters serve no purpose that would really feel like you're accomplishing anything. Particularly since you get so little lives, there's quite a bit of grinding, but no real progression, since there is no EXP.

Game 48: Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (DS replay) - 5 hours

I guess that's why you gotta be careful buying games used. My cartridge led to several freezes and the game not being recognized. Other than that, the original RE is fun and DS is probably the best version gameplaywise, but it really can't compare to what came after.

Post two, here's the original.

55) Mad Max - 15 hours - 11/13
I'm of two minds when it comes to this game. I really enjoyed the story and some of the main missions, but I really didn't like how it made you grind for everything from upgrades to scrap to health. I ended up doing what I usually do in most open world, Ubisoft games which is do the absolute minimum upgrading and then force myself into an insane difficulty curve in the latter half of the game because I'm so under-powered. In addition, right before the final mission it tells you to go ahead and upgrade Max and the Magnus Opus as much as you can for the final showdown so I threw most of my remaining scrap into Max upgrades thinking I'd be fighting wave after wave of enemies. Bad decision because the final mission is almost all vehicular based and I didn't have the necessary upgrades to take on the heavily armored cars. I ended up making it through somehow but it didn't feel as good as it should have because of how I had to do it.

56) Dead Rising 3: Season Pass - 7 hours - 12/7
Dead Rising 4 coming out made me want to jump back into 3 and finish all of the DLC episodes. I really enjoyed Fallen Angel because the main chick is badass and I had forgotten how much fun this game is. Plus it seemed like they threw a ton of fun weapons and combos at the player so I never had to resort to some of the more boring weapons like a regular baseball bat.

57) Battlefield 1 - 6 hours - 12/18
Decided to blast through the story this weekend and while I liked the structure of having different stories with their own arcs, I felt like they were all a little too short and under-developed to really hit home. There were some cool set pieces and the Lawrence of Arabia missions with Zara was probably the highlight but there just wasn't enough there.

58) Titanfall 2 - 6 hours - 12/18
Wow, I had heard all the positive impressions but I was blown away by the story. Not only was the narrative itself pretty compelling, but the gameplay and levels were some of the most fun I've seen. This is right up there with some of the Halo for best FPS campaign for me.

OP

Game 49: Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories (3DS) 07/11/16 - 07/11/16 1.25 hours
This is a detective-themed Visual novel from the people who made some of my favourite games on the Nintendo DS, Hotel Dusk and Last Window. This game is short and it really ends on a cliffhanger twist and I really want more of it. I'm hoping they'll continue the game in some way.

Game 50: Severed (3DS) 07/11/16 - 14/11/16 8 hours
Another awesome game from DrinkBox Studios who also made Guacamelee! which I also enjoyed a lot. This is an amazing game, this is DrinkBox's take on into the dungeon crawler genre and they did a fantastic job. I have this as one of my GOTY candidates, it is a must play game if you can get your hands on it.

2h-ish. Voiced version.

This is the story
of a girl whose heart was standing still
and a boy whose breath was being stolen away,
both of whom die.

This is a story...
...which didn't click with me at all.

Touted as one of the saddest games ever, for some reason Narcissu left me indifferent. I'm not trying to seem tough - I cried with Kana Little Sister, which has a similar premise. I think it's because Narcissu is relentless: from the first minute, you know both the boy and the girl die. You do not get a choice. You do not get time to get to know them. You meet them, they go on a road trip, have a couple misadventures, then die. It felt like I missed the first 10h of the game.

At least it was short and the music was good.

Updated OP

Master Post

Click to expand...

Game 68: 100ft Robot Golf (PS4) | ~3 Hours | 11/03/16 | 3/5

Much like any good headline, sometimes a game title will give you all relevant information of itself with just its title. This is clearly one of those games. It is golf, you are a giant robot. You run around sinking holes in various places with various hazards. The game is very wacky. You can be five dogs in a robot, or just the skeleton from Roundabout but giant. It is a wacky game.

As far as gameplay goes it's alright, it's golf and golf is golf. When you learn how to shoot and realize balls travel further then you aim (while vice versa when putting) you can play the golf game. Most of the time the game asks for how fast you can get it in rather than least amount of shots so you can be fairly wacky. The story is short and wacky, but has some replayability in getting higher score for customization options. Couple that with multiplayer (both local and online) and VR compatibility and you'll get out of it what you put in, really.

Click to expand...

Game 69: DOOM (PS4) | ~11 Hours | 11/07/16 | 4/5

Doom is good, as most of you know by now. Rip and tear etc etc. Gameplay is fun and solid. Movement is fun and no reloading gives the game a fast pace. Guns are good and satisfying to shoot, I enjoyed the shotguns and the chaingun the most. Level design is good as it compliments the movement and is loaded with secrets that make exploring worth it. There's a story, it's there if you want it. If not, you might wait a bit in some random room listening to an info dump and will be returned hastily back to demon murdering.

My personal main gameplay gripe are the bosses. Even on normal, they just feel like bloated bullet sponges that just take too long to die. Especially the boss that just has a shield up nearly all the time. When you have a chance to strike, you get one round and then continue jumping around until it dies. It's rather boring, unlike the rest of the game.

Click to expand...

Game 70: Small Radios Big Televisions (PC) | 2 Hours | 11/09/16 | 3.5/5

This is a weird 'point and click'. Not a point and click in the traditional sense but a puzzle game where the only gameplay mechanic is poking and clicking. It has a loose story told pretty much exclusively through radio conversations, essentially people used a kind of VR technology to experience new things, but people were able to corrupt the cassettes the VR thing runs on and create fucked up imagery that made people go nuts.

That bleeds over to the gameplay, which is primarily comprised of searching through areas to find tapes, and searching through tapes to find constructs to open doors in real life. There puzzles are alright and are generally fair, aside from one puzzle near the end that was just silly. Beyond that, the aesthetic is really pleasing from graphics to sound, and when you get into the corrupted cassettes they can be really eerie and off-putting in an enjoyable way. So yeah it's pretty ok for what it is.

Master Post


Game 48: SteamWorld Heist - 11 hours, 56 minutes - November 2, 2016
Since I enjoyed SteamWorld Dig so much, and it was a "free" PS+ game, I decided that I should try to pay Image & Form back. So I picked up Heist, thinking that since I love turn-based strategy, I would love it. And overall, I really did love it. The mechanical side of the game is really quite well put together, and has a similarly excellent flow to what Dig had. There's a steady enough flow of new character types and abilities, new weapons, new enemy types and different map layouts (yay procedural generation), that everything feels fresh all the way through. The world of the game itself has tons of charm and character to it, with the music being a particular standout in my mind. My only complaint was that the final few missions were pretty annoying on the hardest and average difficulty, and made me feel like I needed to go back and grind out some earlier levels to get better abilities, stats and weapons to finish them. But I was super lazy, so I just bumped the difficulty to nothing so I could finish it. That issue aside, I cannot wait to see what Image & Form does next.
Should I play SteamWorld Heist? Yes, if you like turn-based games, you should like this!

Updated Main Post

Stopped the main post at #52 as I hit a character limit.

51. ReCore - XB1
Finished Main Story: 10/16
Time Spent: 10ish hours
Rating 3.5/5

Completely understand why some people don't like this game, but I think it's a fun game for what it is. The $40 pricetag also made it easier to enjoy probably. Doing the sidequests all along the way also helps prevent some of the frustration many had with the endgame. All of this said while I enjoyed myself, I likely won't ever play it again.

52. Alan Wake
Finished Main Story and Two Story-based DLC: 10/16
Time Spent: 10ish hours
Rating 4.5/5

Got this free with Quantum Break and finally got around to playing it as my "Halloween-themed" game. Great game. The story-writing, etc was superbly done and some of the best I've seen in a video game. Really hope now for a sequel like so many here. (Oh, and hey, completed the challenge!)

53. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Finished Main Story: 11/16
Time Spent: 15 hours
Rating: 4.5/5

This was on one of my all-time lists of wanted to play but never touched. First time I've ever played through any type of Mario RPG before on any system. (Started Paper Mario on Wii VC but quit around the halfway mark). Really enjoyed the game.

54. Gears of War 4
Finished Main Story: 11/16
Time Spent: 14 hours
Rating: 5/5

Was back and forth on buying this game but bit the bullet. Man, so glad I did. This is easily my favorite Gears game. The campaign both in gameplay and story is so much better than previous ones IMO. Also, this is the first time I ever tried Horde mode, and boy is it addicting! Will be playing this game off and on for quite some time.

55. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Finished Main Story: 11/16
Time Spent: 4 hours
Rating: 4.5/5

The only other two Fry Cry games I've played are 4 (which I loved) and Primal (which I just thought was mediocre). This game was near the level of 4. Love this style of gameplay, but the tongue-in-cheek story and references to chessy 80's shows/cartoons/movies/etc is outstanding.


Completed the challenge two years in a row now......good times agian.

Master Post


Game 49: Never Alone - 2 hours, 30+ minutes - November 2, 2016
I don't believe that I've played another game this year that has left me with such negative and positive impressions of it. Generally, when I say I'm "conflicted" on a game, I can pretty easily come to a determination of whether I really enjoyed or would recommend a game. But Never Alone has left me really quite conflicted. By no stretch of the imagination have I ever been among the champions of the "Gameplay First!!!" crowd, as very often I'm satisfied with minimal gameplay elements. The problem with Never Alone's gameplay though is that it takes what should be very simple platforming and makes it messy. In many spots the controls feel extremely janky and in other spots, the simple gameplay somehow ends up feeling like a chore (particularly towards the end when the mechanics have outstayed their welcome). And yet, even with the "eh" gameplay, there's still a lot to love about the game. The art style is rather beautiful, the atmosphere it creates is great, and the story is simple but effective. I thought the added video clips would be a crutch or a distraction, but actually they're a nice addition to the context. In fact, I think a lot of games would benefit by giving their otherwise useless in-game collectibles a purpose out-of-game with some developer logs. Overall though, the most compelling thing about the game is simply the offering of a genuinely Native American experience, something that feels pretty powerful, and that I hope more marginalized groups get to do someday.
Should I play Never Alone? Be aware of the gameplay limitations going in, but yes. Everyone should give it a try if they're interested in the cultural exploration and willing to cede gameplay mechanics for that.

OT

Man I am cutting this close. I need 9 more games..... Anyway

Finished up Layers of Fear. This was a really fun Horror story driven game. I love the horror genre in games and this was up there. I may pick up the DLC for this. Lots of creepy jump scares and atmosphere.

Also went back and finished Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX. yet another great entry into the series. It was fairly easy and is great for people new to the series. Like all others I will go back and try my hand at the harder settings down the road.

The List

Just finished the year out with Titanfall 2. I beat RE5 and RE6, and wanted to beat RE4 as well but it just didn't work out that way. I'll save RE4 for next year's challenge, and probably spend the rest of the year relaxing with Overwatch and TF2 MP.

Finally Done it.

Master Post

With Xanadu Next finished, I managed to complete 52 games this year =D
I still gotta finish trails in the cold steel and other couple of games so I expect to finish almost 60 games before the year ends.