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Drayco21 · Dec 31, 2016

Rad, two years running now. I stopped updating my posts in the last thread, but still managed to get myself through it down to the wire.

Looking forward to starting out the new year.

The Scrivener · Dec 31, 2016

33/52 63%

3rd Year Running!

2014: Didn't enter.
2015: 18 games http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=145575535&postcount=279 Scruffy, unfinished mess, don't look!
2016: 25 games http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190965555&postcount=269 Tidier, but boring.
2017: Here we come! Will make nice with pics!

1. Minecraft Story Mode Ep1-Ep4. 3/5.
2. Her Story. 2/5.
3. Beyond Gravity. 2/5.
4. Tiny Bang Story. 2/5.
5. ReCore. 4/5.
6. Tulpa. 1/5.
7. Beyond Eyes. 2/5.
8. The Witness. 5/5.
9. Murdered: Soul Suspect. 4/5.
10. The Walking Dead Season 1 Ep1-Ep5. 3/5.
11. Ryse: Son of Rome. 3/5.
12. Shatter. 4/5.
13. Teslagrad. 2/5.
14. LostWinds. 3/5.
15. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. 5/5.
16. Refunct. 4/5.
17. SpeedRunners. 3/5.
18. Halo 1 (MCC). 5/5.
19. Peggle 1. 5/5.
20. Halo 2 (MCC). 5/5.
21. Tennis in the Face. 3/5.
22. Baseball Riot. 3/5.
23. LEGO Marvel's Avengers. 5/5.
24. Mini Metro. 5/5.
25. Star Wars Battlefront. 5/5.
26. Lumo. 2/5.
27. Gone Home: Console Edition. 2/5.
28. The Bridge. 1/5.
29. 10 Second Ninja X. 5/5.
30. Sky Force Anniversary. 3/5.
31. The Turing Test. 3/5.
32. Dear Esther. 4/5.
33. Hue. 5/5.

Putting these here for reference:
https://www.trueachievements.com/gamer/DocONally
https://truesteamachievements.com/gamer/Starman

Eggbok · Dec 31, 2016

Reserving!
Gonna actually attempt it this year, with the backlog I have I should hit 52 easily by the end of the year.

echoshifting · Dec 31, 2016

Yessss I'm in this year! 2015 was the year of my disgraceful defeat, 51/52 games completed, 2016 was my year in exile, watching training montages and playing Rocky games. 2017 shall be the year of victory.

Current Targets
Firewatch
Doom (2016)
Stardew Valley

Completed (all on PS4 unless noted otherwise)
1.

TP17 · Dec 31, 2016

Completed:

#/52

.

Good luck everyone.

wyvern_bloodfist · Dec 31, 2016

I'm in for another year; I'll add my Wife's list as well she wants to give it a go but she doesn't have a gaf account so two list from me this year

I've got this

* UPDATE: Just my list after all lol

she gave it a go at 12 games finished very busy woman she is, i'm very proud of her <3.

Game 1: Berserk Musou -
Time: 15 hrs. 17 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 2: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Eyes of Heaven -
Time: 12 hrs. 35 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 3. Aragami -
Time: 13 hrs. 10 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 4. DuckTales -REMASTERED-
Time: 2 hrs. 55 mins. Score: 12 out of 25 Points.

Game 5. Tekken Tag 2 Wii U Edition -
Time: 2 hrs. 3 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 6. Final Fight -
Time: 2 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 7. Art of Fighting 2 -
Time: 0 hrs. 55 mins. Score: 14 out of 25 Points.

Game 8. Spec Ops: The Line -
Time: 5 hrs. 14 mins. Score: 21 out of 25 Points.

Game 9. Super R-Type -
Time: 1 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 10. The Ninja Warriors -
Time: 1 hrs. 5 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 11. King of Monsters 2 -
Time: 1 hrs. 22 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 12. Final Fight 2 -
Time: 1 hrs. 32 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 13. Final Fight 3 -
Time: 2 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 14. Brawl Brothers -
Time: 2 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 15. Ninja Gaiden 2 -
Time: 1 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 21 out of 25 Points.

Game 16. Undercover Cops -
Time: 0 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 15 out of 25 Points.

Game 17. Checkers Deluxe -
Time: 0 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 18. Haunting Ground -
Time: 3 hrs. 05 mins. Score: 25 out of 25 Points.

Game 19. Resident Evil 7 Biohazard -
Time: 11 hrs. 05 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 20. Fate Extella: The Umbra Star -
Time: 12 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 21. Nioh -
Time: 75 hrs. 22 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 22. D & D Tower of Doom -
Time: 1 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 23. D & D Shadow over Mystara -
Time: 1 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 23 out of 25 Points.

Game 24. BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma -
Time: 1 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 25. ABZU -
Time: 1 hrs. 46 mins. Score: 24 out of 25 Points.

Game 26. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare -
Time: 5 hrs. 45 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 27. Sengoku Basara Yukimaru Den -
Time: 4 hrs. 23 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 28. BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extended -
Time: 5 hrs. 30 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 29. Mortal Kombat X -
Time: 4 hrs. 35 mins. Score: 15 out of 25 Points.

Game 30. Tetris Blitz -
Time: 15 hrs. 05 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 31.Guilty Gear Xrd : Revelator -
Time: 6 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 19 out of 25 Points.

Game 32. Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild -
Time: 66 hrs. 42 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 33. Gears of War Ultimate Edition -
Time: 12 hrs. 55 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 34. Imabikisou -
Time: 5 hrs. 35 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 35. Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate -
Time: 48 hrs. 03 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 36. Little Nightmares -
Time: 5 hrs. 27 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 37. Horiz-o-n Zero Dawn -
Time: 27 hrs. 32 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 38. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt -
Time: 77 hrs. 46 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 39. Nier: Automata -
Time: 28 hrs. 23 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 40. RiME -
Time: 5 hrs. 53 mins. Score: 25 out of 25 Points.

Game 41. Thr Last Guardian -
Time: 6 hrs. 23 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points.

Game 42. Tekken 7 -
Time: 6 hrs. 17 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 43. Deadlight Director's Cut -
Time: 5 hrs. 6 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 44. BlazBlue: Central Fiction -
Time: 3 hrs. 26 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 45. Sengoku Basara HD -
Time: 3 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 46. Sengoku Basara 2 HD -
Time: 3 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 47. Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes HD -
Time: 5 hrs. 35 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 48. Kamen Rider: Battride War II -
Time: 35 hrs. 08 mins. Score: 21 out of 25 Points.

Game 49. Kamen Rider: Battride War Genesis-
Time: 7 hrs. 18 mins. Score: 24 out of 25 Points.

Game 50. VIKINGS Wolves Of Midgard -
Time: 20 hrs. 21 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 51. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Time: 2 hrs. 10 mins. Score: 15 out of 25 Points.

Game 52. Street Fighter V -
Time: 9 hrs. 16 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 53. Guilty Gear Xrd -
Time: 6 hrs. 25 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 54. Shin Gundam Musou -
Time: 5 hrs. 22 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points.

Game 55. DOOM (2016) -
Time: 9 hrs. 14 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points.

Game 56. Resident Evil HD -
Time: 12 hrs. 59mins. Score: 24 out of 25 Points.

Game 57. Sengoku Basara 4: Sumeragi -
Time: 22 hrs. 52mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 58. Sunset Overdrive -
Time: 16 hrs. 49 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 59. Resident Evil Zero HD -
Time: 9 hrs. 26 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points.

Game 60. Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru -
Time: 34 hrs. 8 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 61. The Surge -
Time: 15 hrs. 42 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points.

Game 62. Inside -
Time: 2 hrs. 42 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points

Game 63. Limbo -
Time: 1 hrs. 42 mins. Score: 14 out of 25 Points

Game 64. Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen -
Time: 23 hrs. 33 mins. Score: 22 out of 25 Points

Game 65. ZENITH -
Time: 12 hrs. 13 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points

Game 66. Persona 4 Arena -
Time: 5 hrs. 42 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points

Game 67. Middle Earth: Shadow of War -
Time: 25 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points

Game 68. Little Nightmares Complete Edition -
Time: 3 hrs. 17 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points

Game 69. Yomawari Midnight Shadows -
Time: 8 hrs. 32 mins. Score: 17 out of 25 Points

Game 70. Assassin's Creed: Origins -
Time: 35 hrs. 21 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points

Game 71. The Evil Within 2 -
Time: 20 hrs. 36 mins. Score: 21 out of 25 Points

Game 72. SG/ZH School Girl Zombie Hunter -
Time: 8 hrs. 52 mins. Score: 16 out of 25 Points

Game 73. Hidden Agenda -
Time: 1 hrs. 15 mins. Score: 18 out of 25 Points

Game 74. Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2 -
Time: 5 hrs. 26 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points

Game 75. Final Fantasy XV -
Time: 25 hrs. 10 mins. Score: 20 out of 25 Points

Total 75 Games Completed

Qdor · Dec 31, 2016

I'm terrible at finishing games. I will give this a shot to break my bad habit of buying games and never even starting them!

KraytarJ · Dec 31, 2016

I hit 52 this year but stopped updating around February. Here's to a successful 2017!

Lilalaunebaer · Dec 31, 2016

This is the year.

Tried 2 years ago, but failed miserably and didn´t even try this year. Barely played anything.

January

Game 1: Pokemon Sun, January 7th, 58h

Pokemon, love it. Postgame done. Not interested in pokedex filling. Maybe in stars on switch in a year.

Game 2: Breath of the Wild, March 17th, 70+ hours

10/10. Goty. The world is huge, no pointers/question marks. Gotta find that shit on your own. Best discovery gameplay ever. I feel empty now.

Game 3: Nier: Automata, April 21st, 25 hours

All the endings. Route B was kinda boring for the first half. But after that just great. My emotions.

Game 4: Persona 5, June 3rd, 85 hours

Pretty good. Some frustrating bullshit instadeaths at a couple of points. I don´t care what anyone says. 8/10

Game 5: Yakuza 0, September 3rd, 58 hours.

Where has this franchise been all my life? I saw all the funny gifs and screenshots on gaf so i expected the goofiness but i didn´t expext the legitimately great story. Plus all the side quests. Ah my heart. I have Kiwami already laying next to me.

Currently playing: Uncharted Trilogy. Quit after 2 hours of 1. Fuck that game honestly. Level design - garbage. Enemy encounters - garbage. Climbing - garbage. I can´t believe sony actually had faith in this franchise after the first one. At least 2 is actually good.

JehutyRunner · Dec 31, 2016

I watched from afar last year, but this is it. I'm officially putting my hat in the ring. This is my first rodeo here, second in the Backlog Blitz. I can't wait to do this.

January:

Game One
Call of Duty - Modern Warfare Remastered (PlayStation 4) - January 7
★★★★★ (5)

Game Two
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PlayStation 4) - January 9
★★★★ 1/4 (4.25)

Game Three
Firewatch (PlayStation 4) - January 10
★★★ 1/2 (3.5)

February

Game Four
FIFA 17 [The Journey mode] (Xbox One) - February 4
★★★ 1/4 (3.25)

Game Five
Gears of War (Xbox One) - February 7
★★★ 1/4 (3.25)

Game Six
Forza Horizon 3 (Xbox One) - February 9
★★★★1/2 (4.5)

March

Game Seven
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch) - March 14
★★★★★ (5)

Game Eight
Nier Automata (PlayStation 4) - March 28
★★★★★ (5)

April

Game Nine
What Remains of Edith Finch (PlayStation 4) - April 27
★★★★ (4)

May

Game Ten
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch) - May 2
★★★★ (4)

Game Eleven
Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain (Xbox One) - May 8
★★★ 1/2 (3.5)

Game Twelve
Ratchet & Clank (PlayStation 4) - May 13
★★★ (3)

Game Thirteen
For Honor (Xbox One) - May 15
★★ 1/2 (2.5)

June

Game Fourteen
Tekken 7 (PlayStation 4) - June 6
★★ 3/4 (2.75)

July

Game Fifteen
Nex Machina (PlayStation 4) - July 1
★★★ 3/4 (3.75)

Game Sixteen
Portal (PC) - July 8
★★★★ 1/2 (4.5)

Game Seventeen
SUPERHOT (PlayStation 4) - (July 31)
★★★★ 1/4 (4.25)

August

Game Eighteen
Horizon Zero Dawn (PlayStation 4) - August 6
★★★★★ (5)

Game Ninteen
Watch Dogs 2 (PlayStation 4) - August 9
★★★★ (4)

Game Twenty
Far Cry 4 (PlayStation 4) - August 10
★★★★ (4)

Game Twenty One
ABZU (PlayStation 4) - August 11
★★★ 3/4 (3.75)

Game Twenty Two
Virginia (PlayStation 4) - August 11
★★★ (3)

Game Twenty Three
Valiant Hearts: The Forgotten War (PlayStation 4) - August 11
★★★ 3/4 (3.75)

Game Twenty Four
Oxenfree (PlayStation 4) - August 12
★★★★ 1/2 (4.5)

Game Twenty Five
Transistor (PlayStation 4) - August 16
★★★ 3/4 (3.75)

Game Twenty Six
Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry (PlayStation 4) - August 16
★★ 1/4 (2.25)

Game Twenty Seven
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PlayStation 4) - August 24
★★★★ 3/4 (4.75)

Game Twenty Eight
Gravity Rush Remastered (PlayStation 4) - August 28
★★★ 3/4 (3.75)

Game Twenty Nine
Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode One, Awake (PlayStation 4) - August 31
★★★★ 1/4 (4.25)

Marceles · Dec 31, 2016

Going to give it a shot. My backlog is insane right now, I have to whittle it down

Synth · Dec 31, 2016

Gonna try again this year. Fell off pretty quick last year due to work, but I feel like I got through quite a bit in the second half of the year, but wasn't tracking at that point.

Completed: 0/52

Shortlist
Phantasy Star Online
Uncharted 3
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Street Fighter V
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Ori and the Blind Forest
Titanfall 2
Doom
Final Fantasy XIII-2

Shizza · Dec 31, 2016

2017-Q1 (Jan, Feb, Mar):

Game 1: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4) - 7 Hrs

I had this game on my Wii U for ages - from some random sale eons ago - but it wasn't until I got together with an old friend during vacation that I actually got a chance to play it (and on a different system no less). This game was quite a pleasant surprise, and I think another one that was recommended by GAF. I went into it totally blind, and it turned out to be a co-op metroidvania...NICE! Anyway, it was an all-around quality game, and I'd highly recommend it. The music was great, the artwork was great, the control was on point, and there were plenty of challenges to work through. I loved how it payed homage to video games of the past

the metroid statues where you acquired new abilities, as well as the posters on the walls of Mario, Luigi, Mega Man, and a few others.

In addition to being a great game on it's own, it was also a wonderful game to play with a friend. We enjoyed it enough to go back and 100% it. Great way to start this year's 52-game challenge.

Game 2: Super Mario Run (mobile) - 5 Hrs

This one seems to elicit mixed feelings among players, but personally I enjoyed it. The art is quite similar to the NSMB series, but they play-style differs in that it's an auto-runner and tapping the screen makes you jump. I felt that Nintendo did quite a good job of delivering a Mario title on a mobile device, while avoiding the pitfalls of playforming on a screen (as opposed to using a controller with dedicated buttons).

In addition to the standard Mario levels, the added content of world-building, as well as the 1-1 rallys for coins, creates a cohesive system that keeps you alternating between the different modes. For me, this is one of those games that I can get lost in and suddenly it's an hour or so later - a genuinely fun gaming experience.

Update:
I don't think this game has longevity, at least not to me. I definitely enjoyed it enough to get all of the pink coins. However, after reflecting on the game some time later, I don't really have the urge to revisit it (like I do for Super Mario World/Galaxy).

Game 3: Laura Croft Go (mobile) - 5 Hrs

Needed something to occupy me on the plane ride back from vacation. I'm quite the fan of puzzle games, and this one was a turn-based strategy type. Some of the puzzles are pretty easy; while others offered quite the challenge, and figuring them out was pretty rewarding. There's collectibles to encourage additional game-play, though the rewards are only unlocking additional costumes (so it was more of the challenge for completion that drove me). The game was only $1 on the App Store (though I think it originally debuted for more), and I fell like I got way more than my money's worth on this one. I enjoyed it enough to keep playing after I got home to go for a 100%.

Game 4: Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4) - 13 Hrs

I'm about an hour in and I'm really liking the game mechanics - shifting gravity and falling in style!

Update:
This game was a TON of fun. I love the cell-shaded aesthetic, and felt the comic book cut-scenes worked really well for this game. The characters and city were memorable and enjoyable. Most of all, I LOVED the game mechanics. Messing around with gravity to fly through the world was incredibly satisfying - from traveling around, to collecting crystals, to fighting enemies - it was just a bunch of fun. I thought the crystal as currency worked well, and liked how they directly added value to collecting them by enabling upgrades to abilities. The boss fights were great (except for an optional one in the lava cave area that drove me a little nutty - but I persevered). Really really great game, totally worth the price, and I can't wait to play the sequel!

Game 5: Pokemon Go (Mobile) - Ongoing: ~6 Hrs/Week

Started playing this last year, but I still come back to it every day, so I'll tally this year's hours at the end of the year.

Game 6: Candy Crush Saga (Mobile) - Ongoing: ~3 Hrs/Week

Started playing this last year, but I still come back to it one/twice a week, and I'll also tally this year's hours at the end of the year.

Game 7: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) - 12 Hrs

Nostalgia time! I love everything about this game and it's always a joy to revisit. The music - great; the sprite work - great; the puzzles and boss fights - also great! I love the variety of items, and how they serve multiple purposes, allowing for a dynamic play style. The world feels big with a variety of unique areas, yet has enough design and charm woven into it such that it doesn't feel barren. While the story isn't exactly revolutionary, it never loses focus and it does a great job tying the game together. I love the timelessness of this game, and how it's just as enjoyable to me now as it was 25 years ago.

Game 8: Trackmania Turbo (PS4) - 15 Hrs

It's like Hot Wheels for adults. I checked out a YouTube video of the gameplay before grabbing this on a PSN sale, and it still surpassed my expectations. This was another games that was just a whole bunch of fun to play. Depending on what medals you're going for, and how determined you are, I can see this game becoming a frustrating nightmare, hah. (Your trajectory is off by a tiny bit? crash. Your speed is off by a tiny bit? crash. Your drift isn't long/short enough? yup, crash!). That aside, I love a great challenge - and it certainly is. Although it was tough as nails at times, it never felt cheap - it was entirely my fault whenever I crashed (and not lag, bugs, or an evil CPU). As I got the feel for the game control down, it got easier and more satisfying. Great in short to medium bursts of time. I've gotten at least silver in the first 90 tracks, and I'm working my way through more every few days when I need a break from other games.

Game 9: ABZU (PS4) - 2 Hrs

So, I'm going to be honest - January has been amazing for games that I've played - and this game doesn't deviate from that one bit. It's Journey, but underwater. This is one of those games that you can come home - totally exhausted - and just chill the heck out with. I love the freedom of exploring, then add the vibrant colors and soothing music to that and it's just a joy to play. There were a few puzzles (like in Journey) that adds some variety to the game play. I loved the variety of pace in the game from

swimming up to a larger fish and grabbing their fin to go for a leisurely ride, to the fast paced underwater currents where you're swimming in and around schools of fish with the awesome music in the background.

And

the moment you step out of the water for the first time - it definitely felt odd at first, like "are you sure I'm supposed to get out??"

While it's very short in length, it felt just right. I whole-heatedly recommend this game if you enjoyed Journey!

Game 10: Limbo (PS4) - 3.5 Hrs

This game is a testament to how engaging a game can be based solely on game play. No story, no music (aside from ambient noise), no color (black and white) - and yet the environmental puzzles and platforming were on point. This was another one of those games where I would lose track of time and suddenly it was an hour later.

Game 11: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (WII) - 26 Hrs

I played Super Mario Galaxy for the first time last year, and I thought it was incredible - probably my favorite 3D Mario game. This year I took on Super Mario Galaxy 2, and it was more of the same (in a good way). I know it's been mentioned before that this one felt more like an expansion, rather than a sequel, and I agree. It didn't change the gameplay aside from adding Yoshi and a few new power-ups, but I don't think it needed to. I felt that the combination of new levels coupled with the familiar game mechanics and aesthetic delivered a second helping of a meal that I was craving.

I ended up getting all 120 stars

and then found out there is another 120 stars to get by revisiting all of the worlds to grab the new green stars - I will definitely come back for this challenge in the future.

Once again, the puzzles and boss fighters were top notch - sometimes requiring several tried to figure out the strategy and then execute it, but it always had that rewarding feeling after you do.

Game 12: Final Fantasy V (SNES) - 42 Hrs

Similar to the Mario Galaxy, I played the previous entry in the Final Fantasy series last year for the first time, and have been eagerly anticipating playing this one and the next. With Zelda coming out soon, it was a bit of a race against the clock to beat this one in time to play Zelda on release day.

Once again, the sequel felt just as good as the previous entry. The characters were endearing, the world was vast and varied, and the story was pretty good too (and I appreciated the twists that they throw in there

like Faris & Lenna being sisters, or Bartz father being one of the original warriors from the other planet

). I LOVED the job system, and the freedom in play-style that it offered. Being able to switch jobs (classes) on the fly meant that I could experiment with different strategies to defeat a challenge that gave me difficulties. The sprite work was incredibly detailed as you would expect in quality SNES games, and the music was great too (although I think some of the remixes were better in FFIV).

The battles were mostly great with a few gimmick-y ones. The final battle

specifically phase 2 - vs Neo Exdeath - rocked my world. I really had no big troubles progressing through the game until the last phase of the last boss. I think I ended up spending another 10 hours leveling up characters, their jobs, farming money for gear and consumables, researching strategies, and then trying several different ideas until I finally beat him.

It was such a relief when I finally beat him - not only because it brought the came to a close, but also because it was release day for Breath of the Wild, and I immediately started playing that one next. As a side note that ending might be the longest one I've ever seen. Great game, and I'm looking forward to FFVI later this year!

Game 13: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NSW) - 112 Hrs

I've been looking forward to this game since...2013? I forget when we first got the "Legend of Zelda Wii U" working title. I kept getting excited for it any time there was a chance we would find out more about it, and then we didn't...quite a few times...and then it was delayed...and then delayed again. I don't think I ever became uninterested in it, but I stopped getting excited for it. The bits and pieces of game play we saw looked great, but I kept my expectations in check until the reviews came pouring in - my goodness, instant hype.

I still had this nagging feeling that it might not live up to those expectations, but after the first night I knew it would. I don't think I've been this engaged in a game since WoW first released - that feeling where you don't notice time passing, and suddenly it's 4 hours later; that feeling where you just want to do "one more thing" and then it's another "one more thing", etc. Sure I've had this feeling in small burst from other games, but Saturday was the first time I've binged on a game to this extent in a LONG time. I love to explore - both in real life and in games - and that feeling is ever present in BotW. The ability to climb anything and use the glider further amplifies this - I would go so far as to say that without them the game would pale in comparison.

I was a little uncertain how I would feel about the weapons/shields/bows being able to break, but after some time in the game I think it adds to the experience. It really makes you try out new gear and chose what you use and when - saving the best gear for boss fights, etc.

I am thoroughly enjoying the stealthly play-style. I bought the full Sheika gear set (for added stealth), crouch-walking when coming up to an enemy for reduced noise, and using the bow to take them out from afar. I love being able to pick up arrows that missed their target (both mine and enemies). The stealth aspect also worked to my advantage in catching a horse. That horse was dope! A couple of times I died while I was off doing stuff away from the horse and he was always waiting for me nearby, except the last time - he is gone...sad times

In terms of progression, I am enjoying the game so much that I'm taking my time to savor everything the game has to offer. I'm compelled to seek out the array of collectables, and love that they serve also as a means to enhance your character or add more storage. I'm about 20 hours in and I've completed 20 shrines. I've started making my way to the first dungeon, but I'm in no rush to end this wonderful experience.

Update:
I'm about 55 hours in now, and this game is looking to be my personal GOAT. This game has a wealth of gameplay options - the main story quests, a variety of side quests, general exploration, collectables, quick challenges found in the shrines, longer challenges in the divine beasts, and even just experimenting with the game's mechanics. I've now completed 50 of the shrines and 2 of the divine beasts - which I think puts me right around 1/2-way through the content (tbd!). I've successfully caught another horse and registered him this time with a stable, so we're buddies now. For traveling, I find myself warping for long distances, and running on foot for short distances (so that I can scout out areas or collect items). I still use the horse as a fun alternative to my exploration at times, but it's not the main method of travel that I assumed it would be. Somehow I accidentally mounted a bear - I think I was more surprised than he was!

Speaking on the game's engagement, I have to give it credit in particular for holding my attention in the Lost Woods - between a half-hour of getting lost just trying to find out what was in there, and then an hour of the Challenge of Wood (leading to the East Shrine), and an hour of tailing one of the young Korok dudes (leading to the Northwest Shrine) - and still I keep wanting to best these challenges, never looking for help online to get past them, and not wanting to quit and do something else.

Final Update:
At about 90 or so hours in, I was satisfied with all that I had accomplished, and set off for the final battle. At this point I had activated all the towers, defeated all 4 divine beasts, about 83 shrines, and collected 53 Korok Seeds. I had the master sword, 21 hearts, a stockpile of weapons, food, and upgraded gear.

The

Gatekeepers did a number on me, and being in the mood to finish the game I skipped them. I thoroughly enjoyed taking out the corrupted Guardians with the Ancient Arrows. The Calamity Ganon fight was pretty fun - and the help from the divine beasts was a nice bonus. It took me a bit before I realized that I had to shield reflect some of his attacks when he got below 25%. After figuring that out, it was a breeze to finish that part of the fight off. Then, much to my happy surprise, there was a fun FINAL BATTLE on horseback where I was shooting arrows of light at Ganon - good times, except for the odd time that my horse got stuck below Ganon's foot and I couldn't mount back up, so I finished it off on foot.

This game was such a pleasure, and absolutely worth the wait. I'm going to keep playing it to finish finding and completing the rest of the shrines, and side quests, and

the remainder of the 900 Koroks are gonna stay hidden, because I don't have time for that business, lol.

Will definitely purchase the DLC when it is released. Extremely highly recommended game!

Bonus Update:
After finishing off a few more games, I came back to Zelda for more! I'm at 112 hours in now, and I've finished all of the shrines, gotten nearly all of the gear (and upgraded it to the 3rd level). I think all that is left now is about 25 side quests, the 4th great fairie, and korok seeds (No, I'm not collecting 900, lol). I love this game, and can't wait to see where the DLC goes!

Game 14: Mega Man 3 (NES) - 6 Hrs

Before playing this game recently, I had memories of playing it as a child - but after playing it, I came to the conclusion that I hadn't played this before, since none of it was familiar - which leaves me confused to whether I was maybe remembering a different Mega Man game, or just imagining it?

Anyway, just like Mega Man 2, I felt that the game was an improvement on the former entry in the series. The stages were great as usual. The bosses seemed less exciting from a design standpoint, but the gameplay was definitely an improvement over MM2 (which was an improvement over MM1). I felt the music was good, but that MM2 & MM1's music selection surpassed it. Going back to gameplay, I have to give credit again to MM3, as it didn't feel like any encounters were cheap - and anytime I died it was on me. I really enjoyed trying out different abilities to find an enemy's weakness, and studying their movements to come up with a strategy to beat them.

I loved

the cameos of the MM2 bosses, after beating all 8 bosses from MM3. It's funny that it didn't dawn on me until maybe the 3rd one, and then in a moment of clarity, it was like "...wait, is that Bubble man?" followed by the next boss when "OMG, IT'S LEAF MAN, I KNEW IT!".

Later on in the Wily levels

I'm playing through stage 2, and I get to the boss room. I jump over something zooming across the floor...and then another...and then "OMG IT'S THE GOD DAMN YELLOW DEVIL". I'm not sure if I was used to the encounter from playing MM1 last year, or if it was genuinely easier than that one, but I nailed the encounter within maybe 10 mins, and man it felt good.

The remainder of the Wily stages were also good - the boss rush being easy when you know their weaknesses, and then the

Mega Man Clones fight was a little tricky at first, but I got through that pretty quickly.

All-in-all, another really great game!

Game 15: Shovel Knight (NSW) - 7.5 Hrs

I played this one when it launched on the Wii U, and loved it. So naturally, as a launch game for the Switch, with the added benefit of portability, I picked it up again. I was originally a bit concerned how a 2D side-scroller would feel when using the joy-con buttons instead of a connected D-pad. I ended up finishing Zelda shortly before a long weekend flight, so I decided to jump back into Shovel Knight on the trip, and ended up 100%'ing the game during travel time (using just the joy-cons). In my book, the joy-cons passed the test, and I don't recall any negative gameplay experiences coming from it - and I managed just fine on the

boss rush at the end

(which surprised me based on all the trouble I had with it the first time around on the Wii U).

All in all, the second time through was even better than the first, and I can't wait to check out the next two expansions!

---

Part 2: 2017-Q2 (Apr, May, Jun)
Part 3: 2017-Q3 (Jul, Aug, Sep)

IanVanCheese · Dec 31, 2016

I'm in baby, claiming a post for later.

Finished:

1. Manuel Samuel.

Flux · Dec 31, 2016

Claiming a post. I didn't keep track in 2016, but I think I would have come close. A good way to try to chip away at my backlog.

Finished:
1. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
2. Orcs Must Die!
3. UFC 2
4. Bastion
5. Beyond Good and Evil HD
6. Sleeping Dogs (Definitive Edition)

Malyse · Dec 31, 2016

This is going to be a best of 2016 list.

Malyse:

1/6 - Dragon Ball Fusions
1/25 - FE Fates Birthright (40:30)
1/29 - FE Fates Conquest (23:10)
2/10 - FE Fates Revelation (29:45)
2/11 - FE Fates DLC (7:41)
2/26 - Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni- (43:00)
Lavender
Her Majesty's Apathy Bomb



2016 - 19 games
----
Grovee
HowLongtoBeat
IGDB

ChrisD · Dec 31, 2016

So long as I don't have another death in the family or end up sick for nearly a freaking month again (that is, if I could get back to normal health from where I'm at now), 2017 will be my year... Of at least 39 titles, lol.. Still not sure I can make 52.

Malyse · Dec 31, 2016

Lackadaisicool · Dec 31, 2016

I'm in, fam.

Claimed

orthodoxy1095 · Dec 31, 2016

I'm here fam, and reporting for duty more on time than last year (think I started a month late). I actually completed the challenge last year, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can manage this time around!

2014 SUMMARY | 2015 SUMMARY | 2016 SUMMARY

Game 1: Mini Metro - 5 hours - Jan. 3
Game 2: Super Stardust HD - Jan. 20

To be finished:

Steins;Gate
Yakuza 0
Bioshock
Bioshock 2
Bioshock Infinite
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
Divinity: Original Sin
Driveclub
Bloodborne
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
#FE
Xenoblade Chronicles
Pikmin 3
Radiant Historia
Persona 3 Portable
Persona 5
The Talos Principle
Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Gone Home
Inside
Sleeping Dogs
Psychonauts

Benzychenz · Dec 31, 2016

1. Steins;Gate 0 - 40 hours - 8/10

2. Final Fantasy XV - 65 hours - 7/10

3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage - 4 hours - 8/10

4. Gravity Rush 2 - 45 hours - 8.5/10

5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 120 hours - 10/10

6. Pokemon Go - ??? hours - 8/10

7. NieR: Automata - 58 hours - 9.5/10

8. Pokemon Go Generation 2 - ??? hours - 7/10

9. Persona 5 - 160 hours - 10/10

10. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - 80 hours - 7/10

11. Metroid: Zero Mission - 6 hours - 8/10

12. Metroid: Samus Returns - 13 hours - 9/10

13. Ys Origin - 23 hours - 8/10

14. ARMS - 10 hours - 8/10

BraXzy · Dec 31, 2016

Claimed.

I got the 52 for the first time this year (2016) I don't think I'll manage it again but I'll keep track at least. Good luck folks!

Wensih · Dec 31, 2016

orthodoxy1095 said:
I'm here fam, and reporting for duty more on time than last year (think I started a month late). I actually completed the challenge last year, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can manage this time around!

CLAIMED

Look forward to seeing you here and in the 50 Books 50 Movies thread!

Jonathan_Nielson · Dec 31, 2016

Completed: 45/52

1: Fallout 4 - 27 Hours (PS4)
Finished: 1/13/2017
"A truly fantastic game riddled with bugs and performance problems. I'll probably replay it on PC to at least alleviate the framey nightmare that is downtown Boston."

2: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - 17 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 1/15/2017
"Really fun game, that probably is a few hours too long, though it's not too big an issue. Will likely go back for the Platinum soon."

3: Three Fourths Home - 2 Hours (Vita)
Finished 1/20/2017
"Deeply moving story-driven game that really caught me by surprise. It took about an hour to beat it, but I spent another hour, at least, going through all the extras. Truly excellent."

4: Xenoblade Chronicles - 63 Hours (Wii)
Finished 2/05/2017
"Never have I love/hated a game more than this. Incredible world, music, characters, and gameplay sit next to grim balancing issues and incredibly cringy writing and performances. Perhaps my favorite game ever that I absolutely couldn't wait to be done with. Weird feeling."

5: Actual Sunlight - 2 Hours (Vita)
Finished 2/06/2017
"Decided to play this while I waited for Nioh to be delivered and was caught off guard by it's emotional weight. It's a small, dialogue driven game with minor movements and choices throughout the world. It's a very impactful story about depression and suicide."

6: Wolfenstein: The New Order - 16 Hours (PS4)
Finished 2/18/2017
*Platinumed: 02/19/2017, 14 Hours*
"Always been a big shooter fan, but this game surprised me with just how fun its gameplay was, on top of an interesting story and incredible atmosphere. Both the lean and armor mechanics were interesting and well implemented. Pretty fun trophy list, too. Highly recommended."

7: Nioh - 46 Hours (PS4)
Finished 2/26/2017
"I've never played a Souls game before, so this was my first experience with the genre and I absolutely loved it. The setting and gameplay are truly fantastic and beating a game has probably never felt so good. Never tried cocaine, but I imagine beating a Nioh boss feels pretty similar. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a challenge."

8: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 158 Hours (Switch)
Finished: 4/8/2017
"An all-consuming, beautifully melancholic adventure. It's eaten almost all of my free time for the past five weeks. This game is an absolute must-play."

9: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - 9 Hours (Wii U)
Finished: 4/12/2017
"Occasionally moments of greatness, but it's largely spoiled by a remarkably sanitized feeling to the whole thing. I'd recommend to puzzle lovers, but otherwise I wouldn't bother."

10: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - 12 Hours (PS4)
Finished - 4/19/2017
*Platinumed 4/20/2017 - 8 Hours*
"Not quite as good as the base game, but more of good thing is great, in this case."

11: Super Rude Bear: Resurrection - 5 Hours (PS4)
Finished - 4/29/2017
"A tightly constructed, brutal platformer with a great twist. Also the soundtrack is really really good."

12: Pokemon Go - 100+ Hours (Android)
Put Down - 5/1/2017
"A really killer concept wrapped up in a pretty mediocre game. I enjoyed it enough to play over 100 hours and get to level 28, but overall I've finally put it down because of its issues."

13: Bayonetta - 13 Hours (PS3)
Finished - 5/4/2017
"Never have I played a game this committed to over-the-top style. Incredibly fun and engaging, with some of the best enemy design I've ever seen. It's technical performance holds it back in certain areas and some of those QTEs are truly terrible. Overall, loved it and I'm looking forward to playing the sequel."

14: Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number - 8 Hours (Vita)
Finished - 5/5/2017
"Not quite as good as the first game, but still really fun. The art, music, and overall style are absolutely incredible. I think this sequel lost some of the original's gameplay magic when it expanded it's levels and slightly randomized them."

15: Escape Plan - 4 Hours (Vita)
Finished - 5/7/2017
"Great style born from the art, animation, and sound design. The controls are so maddeningly difficult to manage that it almost sucks all the fun out of it. Ultimately, it's enjoyable, but it doesn't make it easy on the player to enjoy it."

16: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - 6 Hours (Wii U)
Finished - 5/8/2017
"Amazing art style. Total commitment to an utterly amazing aesthetic goes a long way. The gameplay is surprisingly fun on top of it all, with a lot of unique, fun mechanics blended in. It probably could have been a bit longer, which is something I don't typically say, but I really enjoyed it."

17: Fat Princess - 3 Hours (PS3)
Finished - 5/11/2017
"Fun art style, sound effects, and story. Gameplay is somewhat enjoyable in single player, but the single player is very very short. The little I played of multiplayer was not at all enjoyable. It feels like playing multiplayer Pikmin if each player controlled a single Pikmin. Overall, pretty okay, but not great."

18: Tokyo Jungle - 17 Hours (PS3)
Finished - 5/15/2017
"Weirdly compelling little game. I don't usually enjoy survival elements, but I think this game's unabated commitment to survival as the core mechanic makes it work. In general, I'm struggling to pin down what I really like about it, but I definitely enjoyed it overall."

19: Prey - 30 Hours (PS4)
Finished - 5/18/17
"Given the studio's pedigree, I knew I would love this game--and I did. There were some frustrating moments, but the amazing setting, atmosphere, music, and systems-driven gameplay are an extremely potent mix."

20: Bayonetta 2 - 10 Hours (Wii U)
Finished: 5/25/2017
"Once you get past the jarring fact that Nintendo published this game somehow, you can enjoy a relatively shorter jaunt of non-stop fun, as compared to the first game. Many aspects are improved greatly over the original, and while I still loved the game I can say that I did enjoy the first game a little more. Hoping for a possible threequel."

21: Beyond Good and Evil HD - 12 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 5/27/2017
"Had to see what all the hullabaloo was about, and I must say I was caught off guard by this game. The atmosphere and style are incredible, particularly for that era of game. That said, it is definitely a PS2 game what with it's nightmarish camera and clunky controls. Looking past that, I see myself joining the ranks of fans waiting for a sequel!"

22: Nintendo Land - 16 Hours (Wii U)
Finished: 6/1/2017
"Expertly crafted collection of some of the most interesting uses of the Wii U concept. Not every game is fun, but they all offer a window into how the Wii U might have been utilized, but almost never was. Also, that Metroid game is straight up awesome."

23: Twisted Metal (2012) - 7 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 6/2/2017
"A pretty good game buried under bad controls and fucking nightmarish level design in some missions. Also, the acting is straight up bad and the game just generally lacks polish. I'm interested to see if this series will live again."

24: Paper Mario: Color Splash - 32 Hours (Wii U)
Finished 6/9/2017
"A masterclass in visual and audio design, that is almost completely ruined by a few moments of intense frustration and bad gameplay design. Overall I enjoyed it, but it sure didn't make it easy at times."

25: Overwatch - 80 Hours Continuing (PS4)
"Finished" 06/12/2017
"A game of a generation that I will continue to play for a long time. Incredible characters and gameplay. Not much I can say that hasn't already been said about this achievement of a game."

26: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 9 Hours (Wii U)
Finished: 06/17/2017
"Unfortunately, I did not have much fun with this game at all. Despite its incredible art, music, sound design, and level design, the core movement and actions were very frustrating in their mushy-ness. I was sad that I spent way more time spewing curses at the controller than I did smiling at the wacky, beautiful game world. This isn't a bad game, by any stretch, but its moments of frustration outweigh the fun."

27: SteamWorld Dig - 4 Hours (Vita)
Finished: 06/18/2017
"While waiting for Demon's Souls to come in the mail, I picked up this game on Vita and I'm very glad I did. It takes everything I remember loving about those old Flash games about mining and gives them a fun little upgrade system wrapped in gorgeous art. One of the few games I've played recently that I wish had been longer!"

28: The Swindle - 23 Hours (Vita / PS4)
Finished: 06/21/2017
"This is a game I was looking forward to playing for some time, and I'm glad I was finally able to. This is a clever, charming little heist game. Unfortunately the experience is hampered pretty considerably by the unwieldy controls. You'll more or less be fighting them the whole time. Other technical problems abound, including an inhumane framerate in later levels on the Vita, as well as a few bugs. Ultimately, the game is worth playing, but don't play it on Vita."

29: Stranded: A Mars Adventure - 3 Hours (Vita)
Finished: 06/25/2017
"I needed a bit of a break from Demon's Souls, so I picked up this little platform on Vita, and I'm glad I did. It's simple and straight forward, but is well executed and doesn't overstay its welcome. Also, it's got a pretty fun trophy list for those who are interested."

30: The Unfinished Swan - 3 Hours (Vita)
Finished: 06/26/2017
"Continuing my streak of Vita indie games, I played the Unfinished Swan and loved it. The core mechanic is brilliantly unique and fun, and Giant Sparrow does a masterful job implementing variations on the theme. While the central mechanic of throwing paint blobs never changes, they way those paint blobs affect the world is constantly being thrown on its head. The writing, narration, and music are also fantastic. If you haven't played this game yet, I highly recommend taking a few hours to do so."

31: Demon's Souls - 40 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 7/3/2017
"Finally finished this beast of a game. While it certainly doesn't control as well as modern Soulsborne games, it's still a really solid game. This is continuing my streak of playing every Souls game not actually named Dark Souls XD. I've played Nioh, Demon's Souls, and some Bloodborne at this point. I'm quickly becoming a big fan of the genre."

32: Hue - 5 Hours (Vita)
Finished: 7/4/2017
"A phenomenal little puzzler with a really clever color-switching mechanic. I came for the puzzles, but the quality of the voice acting, writing, art design, and music all took me by surprise. Also, an indie Unity game that actually runs well on Vita! I highly recommend this game!"

33: Crash Bandicoot (Remastered) - 5 Hours (PS4)
Finished: 7/9/2017
"A great reminder as to why 3D platformers aren't a thing anymore, but it is a pretty good one, to be sure. The music and new art style are really really great, on top of some stellar animation. Overall, I enjoyed it and may even go back for the platinum."

34: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (Remastered) - 6 Hours (PS4)
Finished: 7/11/2017
"Definitely a more polished game than the first. The difficulty spikes have been smoothed out into a better curve, while the game overall is definitely more difficult. Level design is distinctly more creative and fun in this one as well. Overall, I'm enjoying the series so far."

35: Crash Bandicoot Warped (Remasterd) - 5 Hours (PS4)
Finished: 7/12/2017
"The best of the trilogy by a long shot. With far more variations on mechanics and level design, I feel the game could have actually been longer to flesh out some of these ideas more. Either way, the gameplay is the most satisfying in the series, even if it still definitely feels like a game from 20 years ago."

36: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Remastered) - 12 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 7/13/2017
*Platinumed: 7/13/2017 +2 Hours*
"A big step up for Naughty Dog at the time, and it shows in a lot of ways. Overall, the game isn't easy to go back to. The controls are often painful, and the camera is absolutely terrible. Despite all that, a fun game with incredible animation manages to shine through and left me looking forward to the sequel."

37: Jak II (Remastered) - 17 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 7/18/2017
*Platinumed: 7/18/2017 +2 Hours*
"This... is not a good game. The core game has changed drastically from its predecessor, and it's worse in almost every way. The game is so incredibly painful to play by today's standards, and the story/characters do very very little to make up for it. Visually, it's a huge leap forward from the first game, but you'll quickly forget about that as you're throwing your controller through the TV after the game robbed you of yet another checkpoint. Also, I never want to hear the word 'sector' ever again."

38: Jak 3 (Remastered) - 11 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 7/19/2017
*Platinumed: 7/19/2017 +3.5 Hours*
"WOW WOW WOW. What a turnaround!! Jak 3 is a masterful showcase in trimming the fat, and is a testament to how minor design changes can have drastic effects. The game content isn't necessarily easier than the second, but by actually giving out checkpoints more regularly, the game is infinitely more enjoyable."

39: Crypt of the Necrodancer - 10 Hours (Vita)
Finished: 7/30/2017
"This has quickly become one of my favorite games of all time and easily my top favorite rhythm game. The music is the driving force in this game and it is incredibly infectious. I found myself on several occasions bouncing my knee subconsciously, only to realize I was bouncing to last level I had played hours ago. I HIGHLY recommend this game."

40: Super Time Force Ultra - 6 Hours (Vita)
Finished: 8/3/2017
"A really excellent core mechanic wrapped in great art, audio, and fun characters. The game didn't grab me quite as much as I thought it would, but I'd chock it up more to my mood than to the game itself. It's a unique little game that is definitely worth checking out."

41: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 10 Hours (PS4)
Finished: 8/22/2017
"The first (maybe last?) Uncharted game without good ol' Nathan Drake leaves something to be desired. It is undoubtedly the best to play in the series, and the voice acting and writing are still phenomenal. The overall story left me missing the old gang, more than anything."

42: PLAYERUNKOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS - 120 Hours (PC)
First Chicken Dinner: 8/31/2017
"One of the best games I've ever played. Hands down. The tension and payoff are more extreme than most horror games, and its silly jankiness gives it a lot of charm. I will easily play another 100 hours of this at least."

43: Knack II - 14 Hours (PS4)
Finished: 9/7/2017
"A surprisingly good brawler, especially coming off such a lack-luster first entry. It definitely goes on a little bit longer than it probably should, but it's not terrible. Its greatest downfall is its absolutely abysmal writing. It's close to the worst writing I've ever seen in a game."

44: Ico - 7 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 10/17/2017
"A bit of a rough one to play in 2017, but the vision shines through despite the clunkiness. I'm not sure I particularly *liked* playing Ico, but it certainly gripped me. The old school saving and progress systems are really difficult to swallow, but the atmosphere is pretty remarkable."

45: Blur - 13 Hours (PS3)
Finished: 10/18/2017
"Blur is a game I had played at a friend's house 8 years ago and never forgot about. Going back to play it properly now, I can say that Blur is definitely a good game--but I'm not quite sure why it gripped me so much back then. Either way, I'm glad to have finally played it."

On Deck: God of War (PS3)

Infinite Xero · Dec 31, 2016

2015
2016

I seem to complete about 14 games every year so far. Maybe I'll reach 52 one day.

Game 0: Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4) ~12 hours
Date Completed: 12/20/16

I wasn't able to add this game to last year's list before the thread closed (I think I live in the past since it is still the 31st of Dec. for me) but I wanted to keep track of which games I've played so I'm adding this. I originally played Gravity Rush on the Vita and loved it and the PS4 version is even better. The visuals look so good and I prefer the PS4 controller as opposed to the vita. The game's story is good enough (was a nice memory refresh before GR2) to continue playing the game as the gameplay is Gravity Rush's best asset (apart from maybe art direction). "Flying" is so fun and the city isn't really large so you're covering large distances quite easily. The challenges were also a nice distraction from the main story. I enjoyed the overall game but would have liked combat to be more diverse. Hopefully that gets fixed in the sequel.

Game 1: Nioh (PS4) ~62 hours & 46 minutes
Date Completed: 03/02/17
Rating: 9.0/10

Great way to start the year with a game where gameplay is king. Story is well, not good, but game is very fun to play and that's all that matters. I don't think the game is that difficult to be honest, it just requires knowing enemy patterns (similar to Souls) and quick reactions as the game can throw a lot of enemies at you at times (akin to Ninja Gaiden). I'll be double dipping on PC when it's released.

Game 2: Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) ~51 hours & 58 minutes
Date Completed: 04/09/17
Rating: 9.5/10

So Nioh was a great to start the year where gameplay is king, but Horizon has it all. Great gameplay, story, characters, adventure, etc. This is my game of the year so far (unlikely to change) and I'm having problems finding any flaw with this game. Looking forward to the DLC later this year.

Game 3: Persona 5 (PS4) ~139 hours & 55 minutes
Date Completed: 09/13/17
Rating: 8.5/10

Basically my entire summer (and then some) was spent playing this. Having only played P4:Golden, I think P5 is the best in the series. Everything streamlined MUCH better and navigation and game knowledge is more accessible. That said, this is still a very long game. I got the Platinum which probably several more hours to playthrough, but i think this game is at least +85 hours on non-trophy hunting playthrough. Anyways, the characters are overall solid although some are underdeveloped (Haru) and others poorly written (Akechi). I've always found the best part of Persona games to be the dungeon crawling (which seems to be opposite of most player) so having large segments of dialogue was a drag at times. The story is better (less predictable) than P4:G although I kinda preferred the story in P4:G for some reason. This would probably rated higher if this year wasn't arguable my favorite year in gaming and if the game wasn't so long. It would be nice in future games if you could skip the waiting period between completing a dungeon and the deadline for completing the dungeon. Anyways, still a good game. Best girl is Makoto, Futaba, and Haru in that order.

Game 4: Hellblade (PC) ~12 hours
Date Completed: 10/07/17
Rating: 7.5/10

I was hoping this would be a spiritual successor to Heavenly Sword but I was wrong. The gameplay was a lot more simplified and less fun than HS sadly. The story isn't as good either, but Senua's journey and experience is more engaging than Nariko in HS and the overall presentation is very impressive for a non-AAA game. Hellblade also has some really impressive narrative moments within Senua's psyche and those are the best parts of this game. I also really liked the side stories narrated by Druth(?), the lore stories were neat. The most disappointing part of the game however is

the final boss fight which wasn't really a boss fight. I was hoping to fight Hela after all the hype throughout the game but was greeted with swarms lesser enemies whom I had to let beat me after 10 minutes of non-stop fighting.

The game also needed more enemy variety but I kinda understand why there are so few when the game overall is fairly short. Ninja Theory still has some good will with me, but their games really need to focus more on combat/gameplay. They spend too much focus on non-gameplay elements which really undercuts their games as a whole imo as gameplay is kind and should always be the priority. Anyways, I look forward to their next project.

Game 5: Cuphead (PC) ~12 hours
Date Completed: 10/19/17
Rating: 9.0/10

This was a great game to play after coming off the story focus, less impressive gameplay in Hellblade. This was pure fun and the artstyle and music is really cool. This was also the first game I was able to play on laptop because of the non-demanding graphics, although I still played with a controller and wouldn't recommend playing with a kb (although I never recommend kb anyways, kek).

Game 6: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) ~9 hours
Date Completed: 10/29/17
Rating: 8.5/10

I've played like every Uncharted game despite not really being a fan of the series (largely due to lackluster gameplay). With that said, this is by far my favorite Uncharted game and where the series should go imo. Bit-size Uncharted is the best Uncharted. Not too many gun battles, stealth is more applicable, and the exploration (chapter 4) is nicely sized with things to do. I also much preferred this cast to Nate and Sully or Sam. Chloe and Nadine's dialogue is more introspective and wittier. Chloe also has less "oh no, no-no-no" ledge breaks moments. The story was also more grounded which helped greatly (never liked the supervillians empires in Uncharted). The diverse locations and settings were great and the graphic seem even better than UC4 somehow (could be the HDR). The only part of the game I didn't like was

Sam joining the story/crew. He seem to be just thrown in just cause and didn't add much to the cast. I also really hated his dialogue and voice acting in general (first time I've ever not liked Troy Baker VA). The writers made Sam so whipped/weak it was cringe.

Anyways, I hope future Uncharted games are like this if they continue the series.

Game 7: Quantum Break (PC ~11 hours
Date Completed: 11/05/2017
Rating: 8.0/10

Finally got around to finishing this game which was surprisingly short. The TV episodes were "okay" I guess. Nowhere near good, but they weren't bad either. The gameplay mechanics were neat, although I felt kinda OP/unchallenged for most of the game. The story itself is also decent and I even began to care about some of the characters (Beth Wilder in particular). The ending was also surprisingly not dreadful and I thought they ended it in a good way. Although, one thing I still don't understand story-wise if

Paul's character and why he felt he needed undergo the Lifeboat plan when Jack was able to somehow quickly figure out that the CFR could be used to the fix the fracture in time. I would have thought Serene would at least try it out in some timeline but I guess not.

PC performance on the meanwhile is pretty bad with upscaling off. Fortunately, my 1080 Ti was able to play the game mostly between 50-60 FPS with upscaling off and disabling some other settings.

Game 8: Gravity Rush 2 (PS4) ~11 hours
Date Completed: 11/24/2017
Rating: 6.5/10

Pretty disappointed in this one. Probably the first game I played of 2017 and it took me this long to chug through it. That's mostly because I was trying to do all of the side missions in the game and 99.99% of the side missions are pure trash and a waste of time. After returning from a long break, I decided to just ignore the side missions (except the costume ones) and focus solely on the main story. This made the game much more enjoyable. The addition of "styles" had was neat but I felt they were largely underwhelming as was combat in general. Traversal also didn't feel as good as GR1, but I think that's because of the larger open world. Story wise, the game goes in a direction I wasn't expecting and this was the best part of the game but after completing this game I have no longer have any interest in the series.

abd · Dec 31, 2016

Reserved

Hawk Fan · Dec 31, 2016

I'm in for 2017! Made it in 2016 but see room for improvement in the type and quality of games I finish.

A Link to the Past · Dec 31, 2016

2016

nooo

I failed to get the first page lol

Ah well, at least I'm in the low #s on the second page. All righty, gotta set up now! Completed two games in the last few days of 2016, counting them for 2017.

January: 10

Game #1: Picross e7 (3DS) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #2: Severed (3DS) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #3: Infectonator 2 (PC) - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Game #4: Gunman Clive 2 (3DS) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #5: flOw (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #6: Hitman GO (Android) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #7: Inside (Xbox One) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #8: Event[0] (PC) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #9: INK (PC) - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Game #10: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) - ★★★★★★★★★★

February: 10

Game #11: Monster Manor (3DS) - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Game #12: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #13: Refunct (PC) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #14: The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth Plus (PC) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #15: The Witness (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #16: Manual Samuel (XB1) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #17: Dragon Quest Builders (Vita) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #18: DJMax Portable 3 (PSP) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #19: Doodle God (Vita) - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
Game #20: Banjo-Kazooie (360) - ★★★★★★★★★★

March: 8

Game #21: The First Skunk Bundle (Wii U) - ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Game #22: Donkey Kong Jr. Math (NES) - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Game #23: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #24: Titanfall 2 (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #25: Atari Flashback Classics vol.2 (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #26: Atari Flashback Classics vol.1 (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #27: Plumbers Don't Wear Ties (PC) - ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Game #28: Galaga (NES) - ★★★★★★★★★☆

April: 5

Game #29: Wario Land 3 (GBC) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #30: Tingle's Balloon Fight DS (DS) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #31: Bye-Bye, BOXBOY! (3DS) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #32: Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #33: Clicker Heroes (PC) - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

May: 9

Game #34: Where's My Mickey? (Android) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Game #35: Bangai-O Spirits (DS) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #36: Honeycomb Beat (DS) - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Game #37: Spotto! (DS) - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Game #38: Teeny Titans (Android) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #39: Solitaire: Decked Out (Android) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #40: What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #41: DuckTales (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Game #42: DuckTales 2 (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★☆

June: 2

Game #43: Dragon Quest Wars (DS) - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Game #44: SUPERHOT (PC) - ★★★★★★★★★★

July: 0

August: 3

Game #45: Death Squared (Switch) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Game #46: Nidhogg II (PS4) - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Game #47: Persona 5 (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★

September: 1

Game #48: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Entrance Randomizer (ROM hack) - ★★★★★★★★★★

Platform totals:

PlayStation 4 - 11/10
PC - 8/10
Nintendo 3DS - 5/10
Nintendo DS - 5/10
Android - 4/10
Game Boy Color - 3/10
PlayStation Vita - 2/10
Xbox One - 2/10
Wii U - 2/10
NES - 2/10
Switch - 1/10
PlayStation Portable - 1/10
Xbox 360 - 1/10

Hikami · Dec 31, 2016

Completed it in 2015 and 2016. I'm in again.

1. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

2. Nier: Automata

3. Dark Souls III: The Ringed City

iSnakeTk · Dec 31, 2016

Fuck it! I will try it this year.Still have my backlog on 360.

JaCy · Dec 31, 2016

I barely got to 20 games in 2016, this year I'm going to try for it!

Claimed

Game 1: Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
Platform: Wii U
I finally finished after two years, I got to the Triforce pieces bit and had no idea that they made it easier than the GC version.

Game 2 - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Platform: Wii U
Very fun game, if not short. For some reason not being able to jump made the game feel weird.

Game 3 - Dragon Quest VI
Platform: DS
I bought this on launch day in the US (2/11!), and while I've enjoyed every other game in the series that I've played (half of all the numbered titles). This one was probably one of the dullest games I've ever played, I really didn't find it all interesting.

Game 4: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Platform: PS3
I've played all the mainline series up until this one, and it's easily the best one. I haven't finished Into the Nexus or the PS4(going to soon though!)

Game 5: InFamous 2
Platform: PS3
I thought the first one was okay, nothing special. The sequel though? Its one of my absolute favorite PS3 games.

Game 6: Steamworld Dig
Platform: 3DS
Took me a while to get into, but once it did, I finished it in two sitting, though it is short

Game 7: Rain
Platform: PS3
I've been interested it since it was announced. While I enjoyed it, I felt it dragged on near the end.

Game 8: Resistance: Fall of Man
Platform: PS3
Decent game, though the graphics have aged. Hard to believe how long it came out.

Game 9: Steamworld Dig
Platform: PS4
I liked the game so much I played it again on the PS4.

Game 10: Puppeteer
Platform: PS3
I really didn't like the first half of it, which is why it took me a few years to finish it. The second half is great though, I finished it in a few days.

Game 11: Minecraft Story Mode Episodes 6-8
Platform: Xbox One
I liked the episodic theme better then the main story, especially episode 7.

Game 12: Quantum Break
Platform: Xbox One
I liked the time theme and gameplay, characters not so much.

Game 13: Infamous: Second Son
Platform: PS4
A step down from the second game, especially Delsin who is extremely obnoxious and annoying.

Game 14: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Platform: PS4
While I enjoyed it, the walking speed killed some of it. Definitely not repayable imo.

Game 15: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Platform: 3DS
Its a bit shorter then i remember, then again its been years since I last played it, still the GOAT though.

Game 16: Tales from the Borderlands Ep.1-5
Platform: Xbox One
Quite easily, one of Telltale's best games.

Teggy · Dec 31, 2016

1. Gravity Rush - 14.25 hours
#Played on PSVITA - finished 1/2 - Characters are pretty charming, but combat was a bit repetitive and the story kept asking more questions without offering many answers. At least there will be a sequel.

2. Tormentum - Dark Sorrow - 4 hours
#Played on MAC - finished 1/3 - A pretty short and easy adventure game with some disturbing imagery and a decent story. Choices in the game provide for some fairly clever but minor story effects.

3. Kirby: Planet Robobot - 11 hours
#Played on 3DS - finished 1/10 - A cute and clever game with a ton of content if you want it. I got a little tired of it toward the end and didn't bother getting all the collectibles, but all the additional modes you unlock after finishing the game make this a lot of bang for the buck.

4. Steamworld Heist - 13 hours
#Played on 3DS - finished 1/11 - A fun little turn based strategy game. Liked it a lot more than SW Dig. Plenty of replay value past the story.

5. Shovel Knight - 10.5 hours
#Played on 3DS - finished 1/13 - Brutal. Can't believe I stuck it out.

6. Shadowrun Returns - 14 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/15 - I've heard this is the weakest of the series, but I wanted to play it as it wasn't very long. It's also a big achievement for me to actually get through a turn-based RPG. The story was pretty good, but it was very linear for an RPG.

7. Resident Evil Revelations - 7 hours
#Played on PC - finished 1/19 - A fairly fun trip into the RE universe. You could feel the portable roots from the level design.

8. Resident Evil 6 - 21.5 hours
#Played on PC - finished 2/7 - My least favorite Resident Evil game. Often felt closer to Call of Duty than to RE.

9. Dino Crisis - 10 hours
#Played on PSVITA - finished 2/14 - It's a PSX game with tank controls, so it holds up about how you'd think. Glad I played it, though, as it's been in my backlog for a good 15 years when I owned it in its original disc format.

10. Nier - 24 hours
#Played on XBOX360 - finished 2/22 - Gameplay was ok, but reading up on the lore was the best part of the experience. Looking forward to the sequel.

11. Wolfenstein (2009) - 8 hours
#Played on XBOX360 - finished 2/27 - Another intriguing game by Raven from right before they stopped making their own games. Not as good as The New Order, but a game worth playing. Performance on the 360 was a little disappointing, though.

12. Hollow Knight - 32 hours
#Played on PC - finished 3/13 - A really well designed game, made more impressive by its tiny dev team. I finished it, but I wanted to throw my controller at times. This doesn't make it a bad game, it just reminds me that there's a certain difficulty level that's not fun for me.

13. Nier: Automata - 36 hours
#Played on PC - finished 3/22 - Finished routes A through E. Gameplay was a bit better than the original, but the real reason to pick this up is to see how the story turns out.

14. Styx: Shards of Darkness - 14 hours
#Played on PC - finished 3/23 - Better than the first, still needs work on jumping physics. Recommended for stealth game lovers.

15. Kingdom Hearts Final Mix - 27 hours
#Played on PS4 - finished 4/4 - Finally finished this game after originally starting it some 15 years ago. Not a perfect game by any means, but the Disney charm goes a long way.

16. Horizon: Zero Dawn
#Played on PS4 - finished 4/30 - Best story in a video game in a long while combined with a huge, beautiful world. Combat system is unique and flexible.

17. What Remains of Edith Finch - 2 hours
#Played on PC - finished 5/1 - An interesting little thing. $20 seems a bit of a stretch for what you get.

18. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - 35 hours
#Played on iOS - finished 5/29 - Finally finished, after trying on so many platforms over so many years. Glad to have experienced it.

19. Prey (2006)
#Played on PC

20. Mark of Kri - 9 hours
#Played on PS4 - finished 6/13 - A pretty unique combat system with optional stealth. An updated version of this formula would be interesting.

21. I Love You To Bits
#Played on iOS - finished 6/19 - An adorable, clever point and click adventure.

22. Metroid: Zero Mission - 6 hours
#Played on Wii U - finished ? - NES Metroid has not aged well, so it was nice to be able to finally play the first Metroid in some form. The new section at the end of the game wasn't great.

23. Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero
#Played on Switch - finished ? - I would have preferred a more traditional Metroidvania layout, but revisiting levels again wasn't too bad. Enjoyable gameplay except for some questionable sequences at the very end. Solid humor.

24. Prey (2107) - 25 hours
#Played on PC - finished 6/27 - Arkane delivers another solid game with level design worth exploring and choices worth making. Will likely be on my GOTY list.

25. Resident Evil VII - 10 hours
#Played on PC - finished 6/30 - This game had me on edge long after I stopped playing. Creepy as hell. The back end of the game wasn't as strong as the initial half, but it was effective as a horror game and felt a lot like the old Resident Evil design.

26. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

27. Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry

28. Kamiko

29. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

30. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies - 57 hours

31. Layers of Fear (XBOXONE)

32. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)

33. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PC)

34. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PSVITA)
Finished 9/11

35. Destiny 2
#Played on XBOXONE - finished 9/16

36. Metroid: Samus Returns - 16.25 hours
#Played on 3DS - finished 9/27

37. Cat Quest - 6 hours
#Played on PC - finished 10/4

Ice9 · Dec 31, 2016

Reserving.

My backlog has grown to an unhealthy level, and anything that can help me reduce it is welcome.

Bootador83 · Dec 31, 2016

1: SteamWorld Heist

A cross between Worms and Xcom, I didn't enjoy as much as Steamworld Dig and I found the first world a bit slow. However about 1/3 the way through it just clicked and loved every minute of it from then on. Only criticisms are really the game doesn't really require you to think too much about party setup and you get quite overpowered late on.

8/10

Blindy · Dec 31, 2016

Claimed. Made 54 in my 1st year on this, want to shoot higher

January:
1)

Currently Playing:
Psychonauts(PS4)

Arondight · Dec 31, 2016

Reserved
This will give me something to keep track of throughout the year.

Starting with:
The Last Guardian
Rise of Tomb Raider
Gears of War 4

Games Completed 0/52:
1: [Game Title] - Duration

grtkbrandon · Dec 31, 2016

I'll claim this post! Maybe this will be a good reason to at least play some of the games I've purchased on Steam but never actually installed.

1: Grow Home - 3 Hours
I just picked up Grow Home during the Steam Winter Sale. I was listening to Giant Bomb and Brad reminded me that I should play it. I'm glad I did! While I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as Brad, I think the game is charming and really relaxing to play. The controls are unique but not frustrating, and it's relatively short which means it doesn't overstay its welcome. Overall, well worth the $3 I paid for it.

2: Deus Ex: Human Revolution - In progress

3: Pokemon Sun - In progress

4. Dragon Ball Fusions - In progress

5. Titanfall 2 - 6 hours-ish
I really wanted to get into Titanfall 2's multiplayer but the PC player base seems to be largely dead. Attrition games still has a few thousand players, but I don't see much action in the way of just pilot vs. pilot. Anyway, the campaign in the game is pretty interesting. I recall a lot of people mentioning its high praise, but after completing it, I don't really get it. It has some moments that briefly introduce unique mechanics, only to have them taken away. Very cool set pieces, though.

6. Overwatch - 100 hours
I bought Overwatch maybe a month or so ago and have been going at it pretty hard. I have huge qualms about the way it handles its competitive mode, which is why I'm probably going to put the game down. Losing more points than you win is a huge bummer. Gameplay is fun, but it makes me want to just reinstall TF2.

piratepwnsninja · Dec 31, 2016

1: Grim Dawn - 43 hours
Well, it's Grimdark Titan Quest, for sure. I don't know that Crate learned many lessons from Titan Quest, which was still a good game mind you as was this, but it kind of just ends with little fanfare and there is a lot of arcane usability that could be much better. I know a lot of people say it's the "true sequel" to Diablo 2, but I wouldn't go that far. It's a top tier loot ARPG, for sure.

2: The House in Fata Morgana - 35 hours
So I've finished the game, clocked in at 35 hours, and I've had some time to collect my thoughts. I am going to keep this as spoiler free and short as possible, while trying to get across my feelings for this game.

I have to start by stating that The House in Fata Morgana is the first Visual Novel I've really played...at least the first one I've played to completion. If you count Phoenix Wright (the first game), I guess I played one back when that was released in the US for the DS, but I never finished it. Regardless, I admittedly took in a lot of preconceptions to what a VN was. It was going to have waifus, it was going to have schoolgirls...all the stereotypical things one thinks when they haven't really researched or played one. I wondered just how much "game" was there. I'm a game designer by trade. Interaction of systems is generally a cornerstone of an experience for me. So yeah, The House of Fata Morgana had a lot going against it in terms of perception for me going in. When I finally emerged from the experience, there was but a single word I could pin on the entirety of it.

Perfection.

Apart from being a game designer, my original collegiate focus was creative writing. I'm definitely able to enjoy great works of fiction. I also tend to surrender myself to anything I am giving myself to. I allow myself to become emotionally invested because I personally get more out of any media when I do this. So despite some bias going in, I knew I had to leave a lot at the door in order to do this. I approached as the name suggested I should, a novel.

Let me get this out of the way early. If you aren't interested in reading, this game isn't for you. You have to read, and a lot. I mentioned this took me 35 hours to complete. Now, that's all the endings and dead ends, and some of it is idle time where I had to step away, but I'm a greater-than-average speed reader and it took me greater than 30 hours to do. It has visuals, sound effects, and music. Some light animation. There are points where you have to make choices, though few and far between in most cases. There are no stats, no inventory, no puzzles. It's a long choose-you-own adventure book. I, however, struggle to say that, as it belittles the experience, and use it only as a means for understanding what someone would be getting themselves into.

As I mentioned, I want to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, so I'll only speak in vague terms about the story itself. The Steam page says its, "A gothic suspense tale set in a cursed mansion. "The House in Fata Morgana" is a full-length visual novel spanning nearly a millennium that deals in tragedy, human nature, and insanity." This is definitely accurate, but there are a couple of things I'd like to expand upon, more in reference to the subject matter.

First, the story itself doesn't just make a great Visual Novel, at least as much as I understand them. This is honestly going on my list of favorite fictional works. I read quite a bit, and I do have a level of leniency on things that others sometimes don't. I mean, one of my favorite books of all time is The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. Not just favorite YA novel or whatnot, but favorite. I'm just stating this to set your barometer for whether or not you'd agree with my tastes. But this VN tells a tale so engrossing that I couldn't stop thinking about it any time that I had to step away from it. It's tragic, it shows people at their worst, and has long stretches of depressing narrative beating your over the head as it were a sledgehammer of vileness. Some of the twists you see coming, and it makes things all the worse since figuring out the twist isn't doesn't damper anything, but instead just creates more pain as you watch it the light on the freight train of sadness just get closer and closer. I mentioned that give myself up to anything I am experiencing. I outright admit that I cry at things, though when it comes to games, there aren't too many that have made me. The House in Fata Morgana didn't only make me cry, but at certain points, turned me into a sobbing, messy puddle of a person. So to say it affected me would be an understatement.

Another topic I'd like to bring up is the care in which it handles very sensitive subject matter. While I'm not going to go into specifics, as that would ruin critical emotional beats, The House in Fata Morgana tackles certain, we'll say, "High Risk" topics with care and grace that is not only rarely seen in games, but rarely seen in media in general. There is little to nothing that is presented for shock value, as other works are more than guilty of when these things are used. Here, instead, they are made part of the emotional core of a character, and the writers go to great lengths to show the internal and external effects of each subject they breach.

Wrapping up, this game totally threw my preconceived notions for a VN out the window. No waifu focused, half-nude schoolgirl stuff here. Just an incredibly told story, crafted incredibly well with layers upon layers of tragic, heartbreaking narrative that build to an amazing end. Again, if you don't want to sit down in front of a PC and read for 30+ hours, this isn't for you. But if that doesn't bother you, and jumping into a VN is something you might want to do, while my limited experience with them doesn't allow me to recommend anything else, this is certainly one I can say was a great jumping on point for me, instantly propelling itself into my pantheon of best games and fictional works.

3: Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild - 110 hours

4: Shovel Knight - 6 hours

5: Persona 5 - 130 hours

sixclaws · Dec 31, 2016

Reserving.
I want to actually make a good dent in my backlog, since I think I only beat like 15 games in 2016. Played way too much Overwatch.

1: Virginia (Steam) - 1.5 hours
Really loved the art style, but the constant story cuts and the last third of the story really soured my opinion of the game.

2: God Eater Resurrection (Steam) - Not sure on hours
Well, technically only beat the main story for God Eater 1, haven't finished the extra content added in Resurrection and Burst. God Eater is a really fun Monster Hunter clone, now if only the Steam version had working 4 player coop......

3: Ys 1 (Steam) - 6 hours
Finally beat my first Ys game, despite picking up all the Steam ports Day 1. Interesting game, but the combat and the fact that without a guide I'd never have figured out certain sections means I didn't quite like it as much as I expected. (Side note: There is a bug in the Steam version which causes boss fights to be harder if you have your refresh rate higher than 60hz.)

4: Refunct (Steam) - 20 minutes
A really short but fun first person platforming game.

5: Yakuza 5 (PS3) - 59 hours
A good entry in the Yakuza series, but really suffers from bad story pacing. Every time it felt like the story was starting to ramp up, you switched to a different o-playable character and the story slowed to a crawl until it got interesting again and then you switched again. Surprised this one had that issue, since Yakuza 4 also had multiple characters but I don't remember it having the same story pacing issues. Side note, meant to only do the storyline as I wanted to beat this before Yakuza 0 came out, and instead ended up doing almost all the side content.......

6. Overwatch (PC) - way too much time
Not actually done playing the game, but considering I've put at least 30 hours and we're only 1.5 months into the year, pretty sure this game should be here.

7. Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile) - ???
Pretty fun mobile version of Fire Emblem, just wish the story stuff was actually there outside of maybe 10 lines per chapter. Also after a certain point if you don't have 5 star characters you can't complete some maps.

8. Sniper Elite 3 (PC) - 9 hours
Playing through in coop was fun, but the difficulty spikes were insane and the checkpoint system was terrible.

9. Breath of Death VII (PC) - 4 hours
Small, decent parody of Dragon Quest.

10. ABZU (PC) - ~4 hours
Gorgeous looking game. I'm a real sucker for underwater games.

11. LIT (PC) - 1 hour
Didn't enjoy it that much as a puzzle game.

12. Loot Hero DX (PC) - 2 hour
A very simple side scroller action clicker type game.

13. Tap Heroes (PC) - 6 hours
Clicker game.

14. Plantera (PC) - 6 hours
Clicker game.

15. Nier: Automata (PC) - All main endings 45 hours

16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) - over 40 hours

17. Persona 4 Golden (VITA/Playstation TV) - 102 hours

18. Kamiko (Switch) - 39 minutes (Yamato Route)

19. Heroes of the Storm (PC) - 30 matches

20. Dying Light (PC) - 24.5 hours

21. Magikarp Jump (Android)

22. Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire (Android)

23. Tekken 7 (PS4)

24. Killzone: Shadow Fall (PS4)

25. Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PC)

26. Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4)

27. Splatoon (WiiU)

28. Dead Rising 3 (PC)

29. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)

30. Rocket League (PC)

31. Copoka (PC)

32. MANDAGON (PC)

33. What Remains of Edith Finch (PC)

34. Flower (PS4)

35. Destiny 2 (PS4)

36. SteamWorld Dig 2 (PC)

37. Destiny 2: Leviathan Raid (PS4) *for the amount of time I've spent playing and beating this I could have beaten like five other games....

38. Scanner Sombre (PC)

39. The Unfinished Swan (PS4)

daebo · Dec 31, 2016

Reserve

I've failed many times over the last couple years. But, I've actually beat 4 games in the last 6 weeks of the year... Hope to keep that ball rolling. I'm putting FFXIV as my number 1 - and continuing time growing. I'll start fresh for 2017.

2017:

1: Final Fantasy XIV - DURATION PLAYED
When playing with friends, kind of my favorite game ever.

2: NAME - DURATION PLAYED
# INSERT INFO AND COMMENTS HERE

3: NAME - DURATION PLAYED
# INSERT INFO AND COMMENTS HERE

II-Vanguard-II · Dec 31, 2016

II-Vanguard-II - 25/52 games

Games

1: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
2. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice
3. Mega Man
4. Mega Man 2
5. The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 1
6. Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition
7. Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban
8. One Night Stand
9. Night in the Woods
10. Rise and Shine
11. SUPERHOT
12. Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary Edition
13. Persona 5
14. Persona 4: Golden
15. Gears Of War 2
16. Kingdom Hearts 2
17. One Piece: Pirate Warrior
18. Drakengard
19. Overwatch
20. Valkyria Chronicles
21. Gears of War 3
22. What Remains Of Edith Finch
23. Dark Souls 2
24. Destiny 2
25. Severed

Icelight · Dec 31, 2016

Going to give this a try this year and see how far I get.

I mainly play JRPGs so...probably not far

LordKano · Dec 31, 2016

I did 35 games last year, I wonder how I'll make this time.

I'll start with less time, as I won't be able to play anything until the end of the month.

mrgone · Dec 31, 2016

2016's challenge ended early!? I just finished dumping my spreadsheet into post-able text and found out the hard way that the old thread's closed. On me for leaving it to the last day, but it's like completing a marathon and finding out everyone's gone home.

So here's my 2017 post, I guess.

daemissary · Dec 31, 2016

I'll try! I've been slacking recently so I could use the motivation.

Finished: 1) Assassin's Creed 2
2) Batman Arkham Asylum
3) Walking Dead Season 1
4) Bastion
5) Tales from the Borderlands
6) Resident Evil 7
7) Mirror's Edge Catalyst
8) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
9) FTL
10) I Am Setsuna
11) Mass Effect Andromeda
12) Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls
13) Ori and the Blind Forest
14) Walking Dead Season 2
15) Walking Dead: Michonne
16) Walking Dead: A New Frontier
17) 999
18) Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
19) Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
20) Destiny 2
21) Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
22) Uncharted 4
23) Until Dawn
24) Nier Automata
25) South Park: The Fractured But Whole
26) Persona 5
27) Assassins Creed Origins
28) What Remains Of Edith Finch
29) Dreamfall Chapters

Currently playing: Horizon: Zero Dawn, Tales of Hearts R, Wolfenstein 2

Upcoming: Doom, Watch Dogs 2, Hitman, Batman Arkham City, Superhot, Danganronpa V3, Undertale, Steins Gate

LiquidSolid · Dec 31, 2016

Currently Playing

Final Fantasy IX (PS4)
Pokemon Black 2 (DS)

Updates
Games #01-15

Beaten

Steins;Gate (PSV) - 17/01/17
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII (PS4) - 27/01/17
Gravity Rush 2 (PS4) - 07/02/17
Game of Thrones (PS3) - 10/02/17
Tales from the Borderlands (PS3) - 15/02/17
Resident Evil 7 biohazard (PS4) - 24/02/17
Steins;Gate 0 (PSV) - 25/02/17
Life is Strange (PS3) - 28/02/17
Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - 11/03/17
Final Fantasy XV: A King's Tale (PS4) - 14/03/17
NieR: Automata (PS4) - 24/03/17
Alone With You (PSV) - 27/03/17
Batman: A Telltale Series (PS4) - 28/03/17
Gravity Rush 2: The Ark of Time - Raven's Choice (PS4) - 29/03/17
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (PS3) - 02/04/17

Glass Rebel · Dec 31, 2016

Very likely won't even come close to finishing this because I am taking part in the 50 books & 50 movies challenge which is my priority but here we go.

Currently playing:

- Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition

Beaten:

1.

Desi · Dec 31, 2016

Think I stopped at 28 in 2016. back in for 2017

orthodoxy1095 · Jan 1, 2017

Minishdriveby said:
Look forward to seeing you here and in the 50 Books 50 Movies thread!

Cheers mate. Hopefully it'll be another good year of completing fun stuff!

data · Jan 1, 2017

1. F.E.A.R. - 7.9 hrs (PC) ★★★
# This game holds up very well except for the HID thing that reduces your FPS to a crawl. There was a lot of attention to detail, and the bullet time mechanic is really fun if you combine it with the shotgun and just splatter enemy after enemy. Grenades were also satisfying to use in this game for some reason. It's also not too scary, just enough that you're a bit nervous at times but not so scary that I had to take breaks every 2 minutes. Story was sort of weird. I couldn't really follow it.
JAN 11

2. Life is Strange - 17 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# Man, this was one hell of a ride. I'd say chapters 1 to 4 is a rollercoasting going up, and then chapter 5 is where the rollercoaster goes down really fast. The writing was really cringe-worthy, I felt like at times it was subtracting from my enjoyment. It could be funny now and then but most of the times it was just bad. Majority of the text messages were really well done though, they feel like it would legitimately be what people would say in text. The bottle collection part was terrible tho. And the faces were really awkward. It felt like there were only 3 emotions: lips smiling, lips neutral, lips frowning. Besides those things I feel like this is a pretty good game. It's just one of those experiences I don't think I'll ever have again.
JAN 12

3. Tower of Guns - 43 mins (PC) ★★
# So, I really like the foundation this game lies down. I like that it's not scared of overpowering you or anything, but the game looks pretty bad and boring and the gameplay could be more refined. I'm very interested in their sequel to this though.
FEB 10

4. Blue Estate - 3.6 hrs (PC) ★★★
# A pretty fun rails shooter, the dialogue was funny at times and I liked that it didn't take itself seriously at all. Some things were quite annoying though, like the chihuahua and Tony's hair interrupting you in the middle of the action. Might replay it, but probably not soon.
FEB 14

5. SUPERHOT - 3.6 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# It's the most innovative shooter I've played in years.
It's decent, I like that it does something new, but I really wish they didn't put in the focus or whatever it's called mechanic. The last part of the mission was a REAL pain to finish but was pretty satisfying to finally get it. Seeing your replays in real time is a pretty cool thing. Game's just well designed all around and stays true to its aesthetic throughout the entire game.
FEB 14

6. eden* - 7.7 hrs (PC) ★★★
# It's decent, most of the start and middle did not get me very interested, I quite liked the end though. Lots of nice music, though the MC character design is pretty bad.
FEB 15

7. To The Moon - 5 hrs (PC) ★★★
# It's not as good as I was expecting it to be, especially the first hour, which I found to be a drag. The music and writing are quite nice though and the more you play the more you find yourself liking it.
MAR 5

8. Game Corp DX - 2.6 hrs (PC) ★★
# It's sort of entertaining. No depth at all though, or replayability. It's also really easy.
MAR 5

9. DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin - 59 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# Pretty great game, it's just Dark Souls without a world that's as connected and with teleporting at the start. I like all the areas, the gameplay is pretty great, like Dark Souls, and I've not noticed the worse hitboxes at all. Though it really is difficult, it feels like most bosses were made for summoning someone, or I just really suck. I think I had to summon someone for most bosses of the game. Had a lot of fun though.
MAR 25

10. Hollow Knight - 32 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# This game is great. It's really fun, the atmosphere, music and characters are all really well done. The challenge is good too, as long as you stay to the main things needed for the non-true end. A lot of the optional content is insanely hard (Fool Trial, False Champion, etc) and I dread even going further. The optimization in this game is absolute dogshit though. It has constant framedrops and hitching. I might try to go for the true end when it's WAY better optimized, cause it seems like the issue gets worse the more completion you have. And it's really buggy too.
APR 1

11. Turmoil - 4.8 hrs (PC) ★★☆
# It's pretty fun for a few hours, but I was hoping it wasn't level based.
APR 3

12. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 3 Full Burst - 12.5 hrs (PC) ★★☆
# It's alright. But the last few fights are the most unfun shit I've probably ever done. It's pretty okay when it sticks to being a musou-light or just 1v1 battles, but when it tries to push some boss fight on you it turns to shit.
APR 7

13. Devil May Cry 4 - 10.3 hrs (PC) ★★★
# So, I've never played a DMC game except for 1 and that was at a very early age. I really liked Nero, his grab ability was really fun and it made it so I would never have to walk much and could just grab whatever enemy I wanted. I really liked the first half except for the dumb anima thing. Then you got to play as Dante... and I liked it a bit less. The game never really explained how he plays, it literally just is all the missions in reverse. And I found myself just using the swordmaster style exclusively since it worked best for me. He wasn't as fun to play as Nero. But overall I enjoyed my time except for mission 19's dice game. I like the boss rush, the dice just ruins it.
APR 9

14. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 - 23:22:07 (PC) ★☆
# One of the best parts about gaming is playing a game that you can tell was made with love and care. This game isn't that. It is a bad game. I can see why this game would be entertaining to some, and I did have some fun while playing it, but the game has so many dumb design choices. The plans system is stupid. Difficulty spikes left and right. I can't be bothered to write much more about this game to be honest.
APR 10

15. Deadbolt - 8.2 hrs (PC) ★★★
# I really liked the music in this game. And the story that's there is kinda cool. Game is pretty challenging and fun.
APR 11

16. Samorost 2 - 1.2 hrs (PC) ★
# No indicator of usable objects. Stuff is hard to make out from the background. Very precise timing. The last mission requiring me to fill up the fucking balloon several times because I didn't click on the taxi first to lower it. Just no.
APR 13

17. Pony Island - 2.5 hrs (PC) ★★☆
# It was interesting enough. I didn't like the pony minigame very much and thought it dragged on. The only part I thought was really good was the third core. The rest was pretty meh.
APR 15

18. Bayonetta - 12.3 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# Man, that was one heck of a ride. The game feels really good to play, I really like that you can practice combos during loading screens and the little drawing after showing you a new enemy. Though the bosses, instant death QTEs, button mashing torture attacks really detract from the game, would've been 4 stars otherwise.
APR 18

19. Costume Quest - 7.5 hrs (PC) ★★
# I like the idea. But the combat system just brings the game down. I wish it was more faster paced without the stupid timing crap. I feel like it would be a really good game if it were standard turn based combat with more skills.
APR 20

20. Alpha Protocol - 11.3 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# This game was really fun for me. The game basically made me feel like a god because I was just killing everyone who came in my way. Kinda like a John Wick game. The game doesn't take itself very serious either, it's pretty silly most of the time. I'll probably replay this sometime.
APR 22

21. Resident Evil: Revelations - 9.9 hrs (PC) ★★★
# First Resident Evil game. Expected it to be scary, it really wasn't. At the beginning there were like one or two spooky moments. The gameplay was really stiff, if the aiming were better I would've liked it more, I still enjoyed my time with it though, except for the bosses, the boat and helicopter sections.
MAY 2

22. Resident Evil 4 HD - 23 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# Yeah, this is a great game. The first few hours I wasn't really feeling it, but about 5 hours in it finally clicked. The shooting is really enjoyable for some reason, even though the controls are so darn stiff, there's just something satisfying and fun about it. I was expecting Ashley's part to be really boring, but it was actually quite spooky and had a nice atmosphere. I didn't have much fun with some bosses (the two giants in particular) but the rest is just really great. There's just so much game to play.
MAY 20

23. Sonic CD - 2.7 hrs (PC) ☆
# Piece of shit game. And Metallic Madness is a piece of shit level. 2D sonic sucks. And so does Sonic in general.
MAY 21

24. Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.5 Meakashi - 8.9 hrs (PC) ★★★★☆
# This chapter may be my favourite out of all the Higurashi chapters so far. The beginning was a tad quicker to get going this time, too. It was nice seeing all of it fit together. But in the end I'm left even more confused about it all.
MAY 25

25. Cave Story+ - 8.6 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# This was quite charming and fun! A little bit frustrating at times, too, but I do appreciate the challenge that is there, and it's satisfying to finally get a boss' attack paterns down. I liked what story there was and the characters looked pretty cute. There's lots of optional stuff to get making it enticing to do a replay, which I will do in the future, for the other endings and weapons I didn't get.
JUN 26

26. Fatal Relations - 2 hrs~ (PC) ★
# Shizune will be remembered.
JUL 22

27. Dead Rising 2 - 18.5 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# I really like how silly and over-the-top this game is, though it really is very stiff. It doesn't help that you need to unlock moves by leveling up, and some of them you get really late and most of them you won't unlock most of them in your first playthrough. The story was fairly alright. It did drag on though. I didn't dislike the time limit as much as I thought I would. The bosses were really bad in my opinion, especially since you don't get good moves that help you so much when you encounter them the first time... I'll probably replay this in the future. It was quite fun despite how aged it felt.
JUL 28

28. Titan Quest Anniversary Edition - 39 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# This is the best ARPG I've played so far. The only bad things I have to say about it would be nitpicking, such as not enough storage to store your weapons and stuff like that.
AUG 18

29. The House in Fata Morgana - 27 hrs (PC) ★★★★☆
# This visual is not as good as everyone made it up to be, only because they were so darn fervent about it and made it seem like the best piece of writing that will ever exist. But it is a very good visual novel, one of the best I've ever played. It is the most unique one I feel like I will ever play. It's very slow, but necessarily so, otherwise the game wouldn't have had as much of an impact. The art is quite nice, though I wish there'd been more backgrounds. It apparently has 62 tracks even though I got quite tired of a few songs because it felt like they kept playing them. Some songs' vocals are quite distracting (and weird)... and bring you out of the experience. Though it gets better the further you progress into the game. The ending was nice, and made me feel emotional to have such a happy end after what seems like such a long and tough journey. Novectacle has definitely made me a fan and I will be looking forward to their other games.
SEP 3

30. Grand Theft Auto III - 14.6 hrs (PC) ★★☆
# Mainly played this one out of nostalgia, it really doesn't hold up that well. Limited car selection, the radio has a pretty small selection of songs, BS-tier missions, and not much to do and nothing to spend your money on except for guns and armor.
Atleast the PC version is really stable and has decent controls for such an old game. I never had the game crash and it ran fine at 1080p with some widescreen fixes.
SEP 3

31. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 15.2 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# Woah, going from 3 to this one you really can see just how much they improved. It's insane to think this came out just one year after GTA 3. They fixed most of the annoying things from GTA 3 and added a bunch of shit more. Vice City is also a really cool place to roam around in especially with the 80's songs. Though most of the side missions are just straight BS and the asset missions, too.
SEP 6

32. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - 36 hrs (PC) ★★★★☆
# This game has a really silly story, and it really fits the game. It's almost like a Saints Row game compared to Vice City. I didn't appreciate the story at all when I was a kid due to skipping everythin and just doing random shit but now I've replayed it, it's really good. And the PC version is pretty good with the Reborn mod.
SEP 8

33. Grand Theft Auto V - 35 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# I didn't really enjoy this one as much as SA, it has a way bigger open world and stuff but it just doesn't feel as fun. Driving is great for the most part but I really wish you could drift easier. And I wish racing/car tuning was more fleshed out. It really should let you select any car as your main car instead of having to lose your cars because missions force you to use other ones. And modding cars is so barebones, too. It should've had decals and all that kind of stuff. Trading stocks is also really annoying to get to, I don't want to click 5 times every time I want to view my investments. Also, this is the only game where I can't remember any of songs/radio stations. I didn't like any of the protagonists and the story was just okay most of the time. Still a good game though.
SEP 14

34. Paint it Back - 36 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# It's a pretty great game to play while listenin to music or when you don't have anything to do. Lots of content. The song it plays gets really annoying so I muted that very quickly.
SEP 19

35. Just Cause 2 - 18.8 hrs (PC) ★★★
# Torn on this one. First of all I want to say that the scenery looks really nice in this game. The gameplay is just okay, I was expecting something better. It felt very stiff and most of the time I was fighting the hook mechanics. It also has the worst driving I've ever experienced, but that doesn't matter because most of the time you're not on foot but in a jet in my case. Until you have to do driving missions. I don't like the shooting mechanics either. It just feels off, and I hated pressing C to zoom in. Having to pay for black market items also is just a weird design choice. It just limits you that much more. And the heat is just way too extreme way too quickly. Getting 100% on places really messes with the game's pacing, since you have to look around for a part box that's quite hidden most of the time. Most of the missions aren't really that fun. Overall it's okay, nothing really offensive that sticks out. It's just a bit better than average but doesn't excel in anything, in my opinion.
SEP 22

36. Hexcells Plus - 14 hrs (PC) ★★★
# Not too much to say about this one. It's pretty relaxing, but it really does require a lot of you with the later levels. I had many times where I just felt like it would be impossible without guessing. Overall I prefer picross than this minesweeper-esque sort of puzzles.
SEP 26

37. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - 40 hrs (PS4) ★★☆
# This is my biggest disappointment of 2016. I was going to choose between this or Disgaea 5, I'd heard a lot of praise for this game and I figured I should try a Digimon game out. The franchise was never really any part of my childhood so I had no nostalgic connection to it or anything like that. I quickly realized I'd made a mistake. The game is so average. It forces so much story onto you which I could not give less of a shit about, I just wanted to raise my digimons and level them up but the game really doesn't give you that much of an opportunity to given how it restricts access to higher level areas until you progress the story. This is not at all helped by the fact that the localization is really poor. There are some good looking areas in this game but mostly you will spend your time in samey looking digital areas which are pretty boring visually. I also started hating the combat system just because of combos. I have no idea what they were thinking here. Why give me a sudden 10 second unskippable animation in the midst of the battle? It just fucks up with the pacing. The final boss was a snooze too. What the hell was up with that. Oh and... the character designs for the girls. Ugh. Why did all except for one need to be sexualized? Isn't this a series aimed at children??? Everything about this just screams low budget. It doesn't feel like any love was put into it at all. I have played parts of it on my vita via remote play and it was more bearable on that so maybe I should've gone that route instead of choosing 60fps for a turn based JRPG. Overall I got my money's worth, I guess. I will never be playing this again, that's for sure. The sequel does not seem to be much different and even reuses the same areas. So I guess I will be signing off on this "Digimon Story" series until they make a Persona rip-off with an actual budget.
SEP 30

38. Super Mario Run - ? hrs (Mobile/Android) ★★☆
# Not too sure why I bought this. I played the free levels and didn't think they were that fun, I was expecting the paid levels to be a step up or something, I guess. It's just average. The visual design and sound is pretty neat but there is barely any content. Most of its length is just replaying stages. The bubble system is something I really didn't like, so many times I'd just fall back into a pit or something.
OCT 2

39. Hyper Light Drifter - 9 hrs (PC) ★★★★
# I have to say, I don't understand the story here at all. I have no idea what's going on except you're killing stuff and collecting purple shards and stuff... but maybe that's for the best? I like what I have seen and it's all mysterious and cool-looking, who knows if I'd even like the story if I knew what was going on. It's a really pretty game and while I thought the gameplay was a bit clunky at the beginning, it really does feel way better once you get some upgrades and begin getting a feel for the game mechanics. There's a lot to explore and a lot of challenges (albeit those are a bit less fun) and the bosses are really hard until you begin getting a feel for their patterns and then you finally beat them and it's pretty satisfying. The final boss had a really cool and ominous design, too. The music is good, but not that much of a standout. Most of the time I didn't really notice it was there. There was nothing really bad about this game for me, the difficulty except for the very beginning which made me feel a bit overwhelmed, quickly began feeling just right.
OCT 3

40. Bioshock - 12.5 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# I really loved Rapture. It really looks cool and it's fun to just explore around, and it manages to look great with its artstyle even with dated graphics. The gameplay is alright. not really anything to write home about but it is fun for the first 3/4 of the game, the gameplay started dragging a bit for me after that point. Also, I had some weird sound issues and the mouse movement felt iffy.
OCT 5

41. Orwell - 4.5 hrs (PC) ★★★☆
# Not really into politics or anything, and most of the game probably went over my head, but the music was nice and the visual design was neat. I liked the twist at the end.
OCT 11

42. D: The Game - 2.3 hrs (PC) ★☆
# This game is so fucking slow. It's infuriating. It has a nice atmosphere, but it's not really scary at all. And then the tense feeling goes away when you realize the game doesn't try to scare you. The game also falls apart once you get to the rotating room. The infuriatingly slow gameplay and multiple rooms you have to go into in different orders just makes the game fall apart to me and it's not enjoyable anymore. The twist was also cringeworthy, and both endings were just lame.
OCT 14

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