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[Jack Videogames]

40:26h. Normal difficulty. Did all the sidequests but not the bonus dungeon.

Some heavy spoilers ahead. If you plan on playing the game, don't read the spoilered part.

Tales of Arise starts super strong, with a more adult, darker story (not like Berseria, whose "darker" story was more edgy than darker). Also, thanks to the Unreal Engine the game runs like a dream, easily mantaining 60fps on 4k in a 3070. Soon you also realize that the combat system has been vastly improved upon Berseria's; the fighting now feels much more responsive and it's also flashier, bordering on Diarrhea Christmas Lights at times. Also, the character roster is unusually strong for a Tales game; while there ARE some anime tropes and cliches in effect ("Hero of justice" main character, tsundere love interest, etc.) most characters are nuanced, mature adults, and the couple that are teenagers mostly look and act according to their age. Also, Alphen and Shionne have a suprisingly realistic relationship that makes them look like, you know, human beings.

Then, half of the game in, you finish what you thought was the main plot and the cast forgets they're in a Tales game and think they're in a Trails game instead; most of the second half of the game is spent listening to them talk and talk, with some dungeons here and there. Then you get to the Requisite Tales Twist and the 100% pure anime ending, which actually made me laugh at the anime-itis of it (Including a "you and I are not so different, but I have friends" speech, a Power of Friendship moment, and a fucking cherry blossom spirit bomb). At least this time we had an unambiguous good ending, something Tales likes to avoid, and the main characters kiss onscreen and tie the knot, something that's seldom seen in a japanese game and pretty refreshing!

I think this is likely the best Tales game, disappointing second half and all. I would have liked the game to be longer, particularly the first half, which is the most interesting part of the plot and ends way too soon.

My Score: ★★★★★

Original post

 

[jshackles]

Game 50 - Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - PlayStation 5 - Completed Oct 24th, 2021
I really really enjoyed this game. Not only was it a technical marvel, but it just felt like I was playing a Saturday morning cartoon. Obviously, the really big flashy setpieces this game has are second to none, but the gameplay was really good as well. I got all the gold bolts, all of the outfit pieces, basically 100% of the game (outside of a few random achievements). The story was the standout part of this game, it was big and the stakes were high and the characters were really well done here. This game is definitely in the short list for my "game of the year".

 

[jshackles]

Game 51 - The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes - Xbox Series X - Completed Oct 27th, 2021
I've played all of the other games in the series and really liked them, so I knew I had to pick up House of Ashes. While I didn't like the characters as much, initially, as Little Hope, they definitely grew on me and by the end I felt like this has been the best bunch yet. The game had a few throwbacks to the earlier titles in the series, which was a lot of fun as well. Without going into spoiler territory here, I felt like the main bad guys were really really well done and a good choice for this game and it's setting. The story was a strong point here yet again, I liked it better than the previous two games for sure. All in all, this is a wonderful scary game for the Halloween season.

 

[Jack Videogames]

18h-ish.

Now this is when the weirdness truly begins. JfA doubles down on the memes and weird references compared to the first Phoenix Wright. Some of them are OK, some of them are... exceptionally cringy or have aged very badly (In west Clownadelphia born and raised...). The cases themselves are not as strong as the ones in the first Phoenix Wright, and (particularly in the last case) you're prompted to do some nonintuitive actions to progress (such as, press first the fourth statement and THEN roll back and press the second one). Moreover, even though the game was only 4 cases, it was generally longer than PW, which means that the cases were longer - some of them overstay their welcome for a bit.

Nevertheless, this is a very important game in the PW universe, as it sets the dynamic between Phoenix and Edgeworth, does a lot of worldbuilding (expanding on Maya's and Miles' heritages, introducing other recurring characters like the Berry Big Circus and De Killer, etc.). Also, unlike the previous 3, the ending case has particularly strong storytelling, and the ending leaves a nice aftertaste.

My Score: ★★★★☆

Original post

 

[jshackles]

Game 52 - Ys IX: Monstrum Nox - PC GOG - Completed Oct 30th, 2021
This was, without a doubt, an amazing game. While I didn't care as much for the emo theme this game had (not nearly as much as the deserted island theme of 8) it definitely grew on me. I absolutely adored the characters in this game, every one of them was really well done and had perfect personalities. Since I played my first Ys game in the early 90s, it's weird to think that I've followed Adol's adventures for almost the last 30 years. The ending of this game was definitely bittersweet, but maybe more on the sweet side - I definitely can't wait to play Ys 10 when it eventually comes out.

 

[Jack Videogames]

30 min?

I sort of like fake-cute VNs and shocky stuff, and this one was cheap so I got it. Couldn't make it run in Steam, but the dev offers an alternate download if you get it in their page which is nice.

Wish I couldn't get it to work at all, though. The story is nonexistent, the supposed "gorey" stuff is sub-Happy Tree Friends level, and the gameplay... well, for the most part it's the ole "one choice kills you, the other advances the plot" kind of VN. I got a couple bad endings, managed to get a positive ending (The best I think) and got bored. It's not as bad as BAD END, but only because it's not pretentious - it's just bland as fuck.

My Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Original post

 

[Jack Videogames]

Around 20 hours. Trudged to the end of the game somehow.

This is a sequel to one of my all-time Kairosoft favourites, so I had really high hopes for it. Sure enough, the game starts fantastic; the townbuilding has been streamlined and it feels like you're never building unnecessary stuff, and getting new heroes and unlocking hero classes is incredibly satisfactory. Then, as usual, you send your heroes to do quests and defeat hordes of monsters, until the big boss comes and you defeat it and everybody congratulates you because you rule.

Then you move to a new region and do everything from scratch again.
Then again.
Then again.
For like 5 or 6 times.

Sure enough, you get some new buildings, new equipment and stuff, and your overleveled and overpowered heroes from previous regions eventually rejoin you, but the game still feels INCREDIBLY drawn out. This is a 4h game stretched for 20h by repeating its core gameplay loop time after time after time. If the game was only the first region, it would be short but sweet, but as it stands it's like watching a full, low-quality, filler season of your favourite anime.

My Score: ★★☆☆☆

Original post

 

[Jack Videogames]

15h-ish. All levels complete except for Champion's Road (I'm on it... honest...). I had already beaten this game back in the Wii U days of yore, but that was before I started backlogging so...

With every new gen, my preferences for new hardware change. I went from the Dreamcast to the XBox 360 to the PS4 and now though I have a PS5 I mostly play on PC. But there's a constant - I always buy Nintendo hardware. Granted, it's sometimes gimmicky, usually underpowered, always full of shovelware and kiddy stuff. Why I buy Nintendo then? Because of games like this.

Super Mario 3D World is to "pure" Mario games what Super Mario Odyssey is to Mario 64-style collectathons. It's the archetype, the game little 2.5D platformers dream to be someday. From the moment you hear level 1-1's theme, you know you're in for a treat of a game. Unconstrained by Super Mario Odyssey's need to offer exploration and discovery, Super Mario 3D World is pure platforming bliss, a game that could have been made in the golden Super Nintendo era if the technology had allowed. Pixel-perfect platforming, smart usage and positioning of powerups and collectables, and an extremely satisfactory gameplay loop to boot. Also, the levels have a perfect length, not too short like in Super Mario 3D Land nor too sprawling, and while the multiplayer component of the game is OK, singleplayer is where the game really shines, as it used to be back In The Day.

If there's a couple blemishes I can find in this game, one would be how the difficulty curve is not much of a curve (Worlds 1-6 are on the easy side, worlds 7-8 are decently engaging, the secret worlds are challenging and fun, and Crown World is hell on earth) and the other would be how the game has been artificially lengthened by the developers by requiring you to beat it essentially 5 times, one with each playable character, to get 100%. I enjoyed this game immensely - but no way in hell I'm going to do that.

My Score:

Original post

 

[Jack Videogames]

2h-ish. Full plot spoilers in the text for whoever cares (I know I don't!)

No, I'm being facetious, of course. Unpacking isn't half as smart as it thinks it is. Masquerading as a plotless puzzle game, it tells the story of how a girl pursues her dreams of being a professional artist, then sees them quashed when reality gives her a dose of, well, reality, and is forced to work in some menial retail job while unhappily cohabitating with some damn MAN, until she returns to her parents' home to start anew, focus on her dream, and becomes a published author happily living with another girl, traveling a lot and adopting a baby. Woot.

The thing is, the way the game is structured I couldn't care less about miss artist. I don't know her name, her background, her voice or her face. I know she's a gamer and nerd and she apparently likes good coffee, but surprisingly this is not enough to get me invested. Without this investment, Unpacking is a mediocre 2h dime-a-dozen indie pixel puzzler. I'm going to be generous and assume there's something I don't get because the game is receiving rave reviews, but unless you have GamePass and you are looking for an effective insomnia treatment I can't really recommend this one.

Also, how can someone have so fucking many pairs of panties?

My Score: I don't get it.

Original post

 

[jshackles]

Game 54 - Shadow Complex: Remastered - Xbox Series X - Completed Nov 7th, 2021
This is one of my top 5 "metroidvanias" ever, and I always jump at the chance to replay it every couple of years. Now that it's basically an Xbox exclusive this generation (lol) I decided to install it and play through it yet again. I believe this is my first time playing the Remastered version on console, and it was generally a good experience. There are a ton of spots in this game that look really rough around the edges, but I mostly chalk that up to this originally being an Xbox Live Arcade game. The premise is still great, the movement and level up mechanics in this are fantastic. Just a really solid gameplay experience that doesn't overstay it's welcome.

 

[Wozzer]

More for the 52!



Gz on beating it, and coming into the final part of the year hopefully see a few more make it

As for myself, I'm slowly coming up on the 52. I think I'll make it with the amount of games I'm playing concurrently lol. Last two below, and full list here.

As for Game Club we're currently on;

 

[Psychotic_Mantis]

Main Post

Falling apart on updating my games on a regular basis. I hit 52 though and then some! Was happy to finally completely finish Oblivion as my 52nd game. I've put off finishing that DLC for years and years...

51. Halo 3 (Xbox One) - 8/10 - I enjoyed this way more than I felt I did back in the day. Also felt super short.
52. The Elder Scrolls IV: The Shivering Isles (Xbox 360) - 8/10 - Just like the base game. Solid yet very janky. Maybe I'll actually push into Skyrim now.
53. Castle of Illusion (PS3) - 7/10 - Decent update to an old classic. The last boss is annoying as hell though.
54. Not Not (Switch) - 7/10 - I think I got this from a free giveaway. Decent puzzle game but unlocking the final levels was straight bs.
55. Geki Yaba Runner (Switch) - 5/10 - Somehow pushed through on this one. Another free giveaway but it was punishingly difficult. It really wasn't worth it but I am glad to know that I did it.
56. The Quiet Man (PS4) - 5/10 - Strange game. You have to play it twice to know what anyone is saying...which makes zero sense. The combat isn't awful it’s just very basic. There isn’t much of a system and what’s there isn’t explained at all. Story made no sense either. All said, not sure if it is as bad as everyone claimed.
57. Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle (Switch) - 8/10 - Really solid puzzle game. Reminded me of Hitman Go. Cartoony, yet extremely gory.
58. Knack II (PS4) - 7/10 - Fun but it lacked the challenge of the first game. I felt it was really easy. Also...way longer than it needed to be.
59. Paw Patrol: On a Roll (Xbox One) - 6/10 - Son pushed me to get 100% completion while he watched. I feel like I need to count this one!
60. Up (Wii) - 6/10 - Another library pickup for the kids. Decent platformer with really slow moving characters. It maybe was 3-4 hours to finish.
61. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS3) - 8/10 - This game always starts as a 10/10 for me, then drifts to 9 and then after the Rex fight it drops to an 8. The cutscenes at the end are nuts and it just goes on and on. I got the point but he kept going. I still love it...but it needed some trimming.

 

[Jack Videogames]

2h-ish. Unlocked maybe 30 endings, including the "true ending", but I got bored before unlocking the Twist Ending.

I've been obsessed with bad endings and morbid twists since I was a kid and this was promising, what with the classic Capcomesque "This contains scenes of violence and gore" disclaimer. Truth be told, BET is actually pretty mild, with very little, very stylized bloodshed and no other objectionable content.

The premise is very original: the whole plot is driven by just four characters at first and you have to choose one of them to be your MC. While advancing through the simple story, you unlock "personality traits" for all the characters, which can be toggled on and off to change the way they interact with the plot when they're not the MC (For example: if the Minion has the personality trait "Hungry" he will always eat the Maiden, while he will actually listen to her if the trait is not turned on). By combining the characters' personality traits the story changes, but it always ends in a sad note. At first. Hence the name of the game.

BET isn't very long (Any given route can take a couple min to be read through) and once you know what you need to do it's actually pretty mechanical and there's no "challenge" to speak of. However, the game premise is cool and would be fantastic if it was used in a longer, more convoluted visual novel. I could easily see this being used in an Uchikoshi game, and that's actually pretty high praise coming from me.

My Score: ★★★☆☆

Original post

 

[Phase]

I'm almost there Wozzer !

But I just started Kotor 1 so...

 

[wyvern_bloodfist]

65. Smashing The Battle Ghost Soul
15 hrs. 16 mins. 20 out of 25

66. ERICA
02 hrs. 01 mins. 24 out of 25

 

[jshackles]

Game 58 - Sega Ages: Phantasy Star - Nintendo Switch - Completed Nov 27th, 2021
Amazing games are great regardless of how old they are, and the Ages version of Phantasy Star is a testament to that statement. Although the difficulty has been tweaked to be easier than the original release of the game (on account of lowered encounters and raised XP and money values) it definitely still kicked my ass at times. I absolutely loved that the game was offset on one side by a map and character stats - this gave this old game a lot of modern QoL features. I might have to pick up that Genesis collection now so I can play through the others, it's been entirely too long.

 

[Jack Videogames]

53:48h. Normal difficulty, 53/54 Side Cases completed (Juzo Amon can go fuck itself, honestly I've defeated all the Amons and this is the only one I've found impossible?)

I can't stand Yagami. I am aware most Yakuza protagonists are Mary Sues of a sort, but all of them have flaws that make them more likeable. Kiryu is an invincible god of street brawling, but also a book dumb, goofy, technologically impaired boomer which is chronically shy with women. Ichiban is an overconfident, barely functional schizophrenic that was abandoned by the world after 20 years in the clink. Yagami though? He's a fucking kung-fu detective lawyer who has to shovel fawning schoolgirls and 20-year olds out of his doorstep every morning. It's like Takuya Kimura himself designed his own OC when he was 13.

My wife watched me play for a while and we joked about how awesome he was. "Now he's the ultimate boxer, even though he hasn't boxed in his life" "Now he's the ultimate biker, even though he hasn't ever touched a bike" "Behold, the ultimate dog walker...". In the first game this was less pronounced because Yagami was fighting his own demons for a good stretch of the plot, which made him more likeable, and the "mortal wounds" mechanic made him look frailer than Kiryu, which gave him some personality of his own. Now that this mechanic has been done with he's as invincible as Kiryu but with a fraction of the charm.

Also, the way he interacts with his prospective girlfriends felt extremely awkward to me; it felt like... well, like a 40 year old putting the moves on several 20 year olds. This never bothered me with Kiryu because Kiryu's girlfriends are more sexually experienced than him and he's an earnest, shy big oaf, but I found Yagami "smoothness" somewhat offputting, particularly in his interactions with Tsukino, which bordered on "stalkerish".

Ok, those were my reasons for removing a star from the total. With Yagami out of the way; Lost Judgment is a fucking good game. The plot starts weak (Trundling around Seiryo High almost made me lose interest in the game during the first 5 hours) but ends strong, with a clever mystery (Eurogamer and other "journalists" that cried about the role of sexual harassment in the plot can go fuck themselves; the real plot is much more interesting that a simple groping incident would have been) and a satisfying denouement, though some characters' decisions felt forced and antinatural (Why did Ehara accept Saori's appeal? His case was airtight!) . The side cases might be a bit weak, but some of the school stories are really fun (The boxing minigame was my favourite). Also, the combat is top notch, with one of the best final bosses in Yakuza history. Yes, I went there.

If for some godforsaken reason you happen to like Yagami, this may be your GOTY. I don't, and I enjoyed it a whole lot.

My Score: ★★★★☆

Original post

 

[tav7623]

Tried to update my post for the second half of the challenge with game #41 (11 games to go YAY!), but for some reason the browser (or something) decided it didn't like that so I'm now doing a new post which I'll use to post updates for my final push of the year. Also for the sake of completion here's the link to my original post covering games 1 - 26.


41. Carrion - Switch, beat the game on 12/2/21
I had previously heard about this game when it first came out (I think it was originally like a day one Xbox Gamepass release) and as a fan of horror movies I found it's premise (take John Carpenter's The Thing only instead of playing as the scientist trying to find/kill The Thing, you are The Thing and you are trying to escape the facility you are trapped in) to be quite interesting. Well I just recently picked it up digitally for the Nintendo Switch and overall enjoyed my time with the game even though it was a little frustrating at times going around in circles while trying to figure out where I needed to go next since this game doesn't have a map/waypoint system, which is kinda understandable since you are playing as the monster and wouldn't have access to one. One of my favorite things about the game (other than it's novel premise & dismemberment/gore/rag doll physics) was the music, though there was one track in particular that stood out in that sounded pretty close to The Prowler's Theme from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which felt a bit odd to me (and made me want to go watch it again).

42. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Switch, beat the game & got Scott's Ending on 12/2/21
I missed the boat on this game when it first came out (I was aware of it because I like old school beat em ups but had other things going on at the time), shortly after it got delisted I ended up watching the Scott Pilgrim movie and absolutely loved it. So when I found out that this game was getting re-released I ended up going with the LRG physical version of the game and I'm gonna be honest this game kicked my ass hard, hell I didn't realize until the final stage that there was a dedicated block button. In fact there were a couple of things I didn't know about the game (cause I went into my first playthrough pretty much cold/in the dark, in that the only thing I knew was that it was a beat em up based on a comic book that got turned into a movie) that I just learned like that the game actually had cheat codes (it's been a long long long long time since I even thought about cheat codes in a game) and multiple endings. Overall despite it routinely kicking my ass (and not having a theater mode for when you unlock the different endings) I did enjoy my time with the game and can definitely see myself popping this game back into my Switch from time to time.

43. Chip n Dale's Rescue Rangers (part of The Disney Afternoon Games Collection) - PS4, beat the game in about half an hour on 12/2/21
I grew up playing this game on the NES and have a lot of fond memories playing it (along with the first NES Ducktales game) and watching the cartoon as a kid, so a few years back when they ported the Capcom/Disney NES games (Ducktales 1 & 2, Chip n Dale's Rescue Rangers 1 & 2, Darkwing Duck, & Tail Spin) to the PS4 under the title of The Disney Afternoon Games Collection I jumped on it. Well since I was so familiar with this game (I used to play the ever living snot out of this game even though I at the time found it quite challenging) I didn't bother playing it (or any of the other games in the collection) at the time since I instead decided to focus on the new boss rush mode they included for each game (along with a Time Attack mode) in the collection. Since I'm on something of a "old school" kick I decided to it'd be nice to play all the way through this NES classic for the first time in years (the last time I did this was about 6 years ago on an original NES cart) before hopping back into more modern/recent games (next on the docket is finishing up DeathLoop & Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy) and honestly despite not havng played the game in years it all came right back to me pretty quickly so I was able to hit the most efficient path to Fat Cat's Casino & the final stretch of the game.

44. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - PS5, beat the game in approx 20 hrs on Normal Difficulty on 12/5/21
Like the movie of the same name I went into this game with very very low expectations (especially based on the game's character design which I was not a fan of), but came out the other end pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out to be. I especially loved this game's amazing soundtrack, not just the licensed 80's music but also the music composed/made specifically for the game. I also loved all the little easter eggs/nods to both the movies & comics not just scattered about in the environment and dialog but also with the unlockable outfits you can get for each member of the crew.

45. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate - PS5, beat the game's story & played several Klassic towers on 12/7/21
I'm a long time fan of the Mortal Kombat series going all the way back to MK 2 on the Sega Genesis & Ultimate MK 3 in the arcades and have played/beaten pretty much every mainline MK game there is (I haven't played any of the spin off games or MK vs. DC , but I've heard that outside of Shaolin Monks they all for the most part really suck) including this game when it first came out, with MK XL being my favorite of the recent trilogy of MK games (I love playing as Jason Voorhees, and was also a local 5 time MK X/XL Champ) starting with the 2010 reboot/remake. Well right around my b-day last year the game's developers & WB Games came out with a PS5 version of the game, since I already had the PS4 version (which I for the most part enjoyed enough to go for the Platinum Trophy) I got the PS5 version for free and with it I found out that not all of my trophies (only ones that did transfer over were mainly the Krypt & Training related trophies) including the Platinum from the PS4 version didn't come with it which really sucked. Since then I've slowly been replaying the game, jumping in when I needed a quick break from the current game I was playing or was just feeling pissed/frustrated and need to get out some of that pent up anger/aggression. Well today I decided it would be a good time to finally knock out the game's story mode (again) since I knew I'd be able to knock it out quickly (I cut like 4 ish hours by skipping the cutscenes as the story is still pretty fresh in my mind since I had revisited it prior to jumping into the game's Aftermath DLC story content) and it would also provide a good test game for the new PS5 M2 SSD that I just got, so all in all it was a win win imo.

46. Deathloop - PS5, beat the game on normal difficulty on 12/13/21
At first I was a bit intrigued by this game's concept, but the more I saw the more skeptical about this game I became. So when it went on sale for $30 around Thanksgiving I decided that at that price it was worth checking the game out. All in all I really enjoyed playing through the game to the point where I want to eventually try to uncover everything (as far as the in-game lore) in the game as well as earn the game's Platinum trophy which I'm about 19 trophies away from doing most of which consists of pulling off specific feats with the slabs & visionary kills.

47. Luigi's Mansion 3 - Switch, beat the game in 18hrs with 100% Boo & Gem completion on 12/15/21
When it comes to the Luigi's Mansion games I for the most part like them, my favorite though is still the first game as I wasn't a big fan of the control scheme for the 2nd game and felt underwhelmed by the game cause it felt lacking in content. When they announced the third game for the Switch it quickly became one of the games (next to Mario Odyssey, Bayonetta 3, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and a few others) that got me to finally go out and get a Switch. Shortly after getting my Switch I picked up a copy of the game and for the past year and a half have slowly been working my way through the game while trying to complete as much of it as possible during my first playthrough. Well after having some issues with one of the bosses earlier this year I ended up taking a break from the game before finally returning to it this week where I finally broke through the g****** f***** boss fight to get into the last part of the game. Now that I've beaten the game I'd say that it's my second favorite game in the series (the first game is still my overall favorite) mainly because it kept the controls I didn't like from the second game (it's also why I was having such a hard time with one of the bosses), had more areas to explore than 2, had a pretty good soundtrack, featured some cool themed levels, but was imo lacking in the ghost department (6 basic ghost types, 15 boss ghosts, & 14 boos) compared to the number found (6 basic ghost types, at least 20 boss ghosts, & 50 boos) in the first game.

48. Tuff E Nuff - Switch (via NSO SNES Classics), beat the game on Normal on 12/17/21
After beating Luigi's Mansion 3 I was kinda aimless as to what to play next as there were a handful of games that I'd already started but was still a ways from beating (with the games I was "closest" to beating being Cyber Shadow & Bloodstained: CotM 2 both of which I was halfway through) and I ended up popping into the NSO SNES classics library which is where I came across this game, and decided to play it mostly on a fluke (the title & box art kinda caught my eye). Well lets just say that I did not like this fighting game, which was imo soo cheap (in matches everything typically goes in the CPU's favor even in instances where you & the CPU "hit" each other at the same time, 9 times out of 10 the CPU is awarded the hit while you get awarded damage, hell even when you are both 1 hit from death if you both hit at the same time the CPU is declared the winner) even on normal difficulty that it (imo) put Shao Khan's shenanigans in MK 2/MK3/Ultimate MK 3 to shame. In fact it was so cheap that just to get through the game's "story mode", which was pathetic in and of itself (this game's "story" makes the story of MK 1 look high end art/drama) I had to cheese the ever living f*** out of the game (we're talking trapping the CPU in the corner & spamming the f*** out of the low kick/low punch buttons) and even that wasn't always enough as the CPU despite spamming those buttons as quickly as possible would somehow be able to get out/get over you even if you hit them as they do it. I had more fun playing Cosmic Carnage (which is considered to be a bad fighting game) on the 32X (way back when) than I did playing this game.

49. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - Switch, beat the game on 12/18/21
I'm a big fan of Marvel (movies, comics, & games), but I hadn't really gotten into any of the Ultimate Alliance/X-Men Legends games prior to picking this game up. When I got my Nintendo Switch last year I decided that was gonna change and this game was among the first set of exclusive games I picked up for the system. Over the past year and a half I've been slowly playing through the game on Mighty difficulty only really stopping if I hit a section that was giving me fits or if another game caught my eye/attention. After having something of a Marvel weekend I decided it was time to finally finish this game off as I was it turns out already about 3/5ths of the way through the game and this time if I started hitting sections that were giving me trouble I decided I would break my personal rule of not changing to a lower difficulty mid game in order to finally get to the end of the game. I didn't have to wait long to do that as the final boss of chapter 6 (of 10) was repeatedly kicking my @$$. Overall I thought the game's story was okay as it was for most a good portion of the game essentially a playable retread of the Infinity Saga, but it did also introduce me to a couple of characters I wasn't really aware of (and some of whom I won't mention as they're not playable & play a role in the overall story) and was from a gameplay perspective pretty decent even though it was a bit more repetitive than I thought it was gonna be.

50. Assassin's Creed 3: Remastered - PS5 (via PS4 Backwards Compatibility), beat the game on Normal difficulty with 100% Main Story Synchronization on 12/20/21
I first played this game shortly after it came out on the PS3 and at the time thought it's story was okay (not good & not bad) & I really enjoyed the game's Colonial/Revolutionary American setting as well as the inclusion of naval battles.About 2 years ago I ended up picking up the remaster that included all the DLC & the side game Liberation when it came out on the PS4 as it had been years (at least 6) since I had last played it and was curious to see what changes they had made. All in all I feel like this is the best version of the game despite it having some flaws (mostly graphical in nature) and maybe I'm misremembering but I remember the opening third of the game really dragging on during my original playthrough, but this time through I feel like I zipped through it a lot faster. Overall most of my opinions of the original game haven't really changed all that much, I love the setting, I liked some of the changes they made to the game, and I still thought the game's story was okay.

51. Judgement - PS5 (via PS4 Backwards Compatibility), beat the game on normal difficulty on 12/25/21
Over the past couple of years I've started playing through the Yakuza games for the very first time and so far with 4 games (0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, & 6) under my belt I've thoroughly enjoyed playing through them so when it was announced they were doing a detective spin off game it piqued my interest. Though I wouldn't end up picking it up until last year and by that point I was starting to hit Yakuza fatigue (due to the series' fairly repetative nature) so I didn't get far into the game before deciding to take a break from the game. It's been almost a year since I started playing and like a good number of the games I've finished this year I figured now was a good time to finally finish it and funnily enough it ended up being quite timely as I just got the sequel Lost Judgement as a Christmas present this morning. As for my thoughts on the game well I for the most part enjoyed it from both a story & gameplay perspective though it did drag in parts and that Yakuza fatigue I mentioned earlier slowly started to creep up on me the further I got into the game so about halfway through I stopped worrying about doing the side cases & side activities (which I had been doing a lot of in the 4 Yakuza games I've played so far) so that I could focus on getting through the story. Which imo ended up being both a smart & dumb thing to do as it would have significantly lengthened my (imo) already lengthy playthrough (I put in over 25 hrs into the game and according to the final stats screen that pops up after the credits I only managed to complete 18% of the game), but it also made a number of the combat sections quite challenging as I hadn't earned enough experience points or done enough side cases to unlock certain abilities tied to meeting a set of requirements and led to a lot of retries, which was quite frustrating at times. Still I enjoyed playing the game, not enough to try to 100% complete it, but enough to be willing to revisit it down the road and to happily jump into the next game in the series.

52. Metroid Dread - Switch, beat the game on Normal difficulty in 7 hrs 7 mins w/49% item completion on 12/28/21 Ever since I played the first Metroid Prime game way back in 2003 (which was also technically the first Metroid game I played) I've slowly been playing through the other games in the series and over time become a fan with Fusion being my favorite 2D Metroid game. So I was excited to hear about this game, but decided to hold off on getting it and in a way it was a good thing cause I ended up getting the game as a Christmas present. Since Saturday I've been playing through the game and now that I've finally finished it I gotta say I really enjoyed it, though not quite enough to knock Fusion from it's pedestal as tge EMMI while terrifying didn't quite match the impact & terror that the SA-X had in Fusion. Overall this game is imo a solid entry in the series with the only things (as far as I'm concerned) bringing it down is that I feel that Nintendo could have done more with the game especially in terms of unlockables & modes which from what I can tell only consist of a new difficulty (hard) mode and artwork for previous games tied to 100% item completion for each area in the game & beating the game under certain time conditions. As far as the story goes I for the most part enjoyed it, especially some of the revelations there at the end and will definitely be interested in seeing how Samus's story progresses in future games. Also I do see myself returning to this game to try and 100% complete it as far as items & exploration goes though I don't quite see myself speed running this game any time soon.

 

[Phase]

Is GAF having issues with editing posts at the moment? I can't save any edits in my main post. Just finished my 52 and can't save the updates I want to make.

Wish it would tell me what the issue is, instead of just saying "oops, a problem." It isn't an image limit.

 

[marcincz]

Is GAF having issues with editing posts at the moment? I can't save any edits in my main post. Just finished my 52 and can't save the updates I want to make.

Wish it would tell me what the issue is, instead of just saying "oops, a problem." It isn't an image limit.

Same here. Few days ago I wanted to add new games, but couldn't.
30 k characters problem, probably.

 

[Phase]

Same here. Few days ago I wanted to add new games, but couldn't.
30 k characters problem, probably.

I have just over 17k characters, so not sure it is that.

 

[Jack Videogames]

51:22h. Game and postgame (Heatran questline, rematches with gym leaders and Elite 4). HoF team: Empoleon, Garchomp, Lucario, Staraptor, Electivire and Mismagius. Got bored and confused after a dozen fights in the Battle Tower with seemingly no progression.

Now this is more like it. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond isn't perfect at all. While it starts decently challenging as long as you don't overlevel your starter, the forced Exp. Share takes away all the challenge unless you like to juggle your Pokemon team - and them when you face the Elite 4 you will likely get a hefty dose of reality at least a couple times, since their teams are decently balanced and their mons cheat (I swear they cheat. My Garchomp had good IVs and EVs and was more than 10 levels higher than Cynthia's, and still got rolfstomped by hers).

The postgame is where most of the single player challenge is. Again, it's not hard by any means, but unlike the base game bullshit kiddy difficulty, it's enjoyable and unlike S&S it feels like Pokemon again. And really - that's all I ask.

PS: The way of getting legendaries is ABSOLUTE TRASH. I'm not going to grind Shards for 3h for each legendary mon.

My Score: ★★★★☆

Original post

 

[jshackles]

Game 61 - Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Nintendo Switch - Completed Dec 10th, 2021
Another eShop game I picked up during the Black Friday sales, and I'm glad that I did. Fun and challenging, with better tower options than the first game. I love that the Switch version has all of the heroes unlocked (as you progress through the story) rather than having to buy them individually for $1 each like the mobile versions. Fun leveling mechanics, and some levels that are just downright difficult. Overall, really happy with this and there is one more Kingdom Rush game on the Switch I got that I'm sure I'll play through.

 

[Wozzer]

A few more have beaten the challenge for 2021, added to the first post!

I'm at 49; should be able to hit 52 before the month wraps. I've done myself no favors this year, with a lot of large games like doing FF14 ARR through to Endwalker lol

 

[GametimeUK]

October

(53) 21st - Psychonauts (PC) ★★★★☆

Amazing game. Loved almost everything about it. A bit of jank stopped it getting the 5 stars from me. Milan level was one of the best in gaming.

November

(54) 1st - Left 4 Dead 2 (PC) ★★★★★

I could never get a group that could get past the mission where you fill the car with fuel. It was one of the earliest missions in the game and no matter how easy the difficulty was set to, the random groups I joined couldn't beat it. I got pissed off and quit for years. I just did that mission with bots and then blasted through the rest of the game coop. Amazing game.

(55) 11th - Forza Horizon 5 (Series X) ★★★★★

GOTY 2021

(56) 13th - Halo 4 (PC) ★★★★☆

Massively enjoyed this. Can't believe how low my expectations were. It obviously helped as this game exceeded all my expectations. I enjoyed parts of the story which were actually brilliant. A few things hold it back, but it's nowhere near as bad as I imagined.

(57) 17th - Dark Souls Remastered (Switch) ★★★★★

My fave game of all time. I took a trip to London and finished it on the train rides there and back (and playing at night in the hotel instead of sleeping). Made a lightning Zwei bit gauge build and spanked everything.

(58) 21st - Dead Rising (PC) ★★★★★

I've been wanting to finish this since launch. It never originally clicked with me. I wish I knew back in the day that you could play it like a roguelike. Die and start again with your characters progression intact. Well, I remembered a lot from trying again and again years ago (starting fresh after every death). I managed to do it in one run anyway. So fucking good.

(59) 21st - Dead Rising Case Zero (Series X) ★★★★★

So good in fact I remember seeing this game on a random top 10 list on YouTube ages ago. I'm glad I remembered about it as I fully enjoyed this game for what it is.

(60) 25th - 50 Cent BOTS (Series X) ★★★★☆

Backwards compat on Series X. Quote possibly the greatest achievement in the history of our medium. It's so batshit insane and unapologetically gamey. The best way to spend a weekend if you want a laugh.

 

[jshackles]

Game 63 - Guardians of the Galaxy - Xbox Series X - Completed Dec 17th, 2021
What a wild ride this game was! After the abysmal Avengers game, I had almost completely written this off as being terrible by association. Thankfully I listened to the folks in the GAF OT, and decided to pick it up during Black Friday for cheap. This game was a lot of fun - and the characters here are somehow even more charming than their movie counterparts. Rocket Racoon was easily my favorite character, completely sarcastic the whole way through but a good friend to Peter Quill. I hope they get to make a direct sequel to this one.

 

[jshackles]

Game 64 - Tales of Arise - PC / Steam - Completed Dec 19th, 2021
This game was absolutely incredible, easily my favorite game to release in 2021. Complex storytelling weaved with excellent combat mechanics that was good from the beginning right up until the very end of the game. My only real complaint is that the back half of the game was MUCH more story-driven then the first half, in fact I think the last 10 hours of the game for me were two dungeons and a dozen or so bosses mixed with all story segments. Despite that, this was an amazing game and a worthy entry into the Tales lineup. I've beat Vesperia, Berseria, and now Arise and I can confidently say that Arise is the best of the bunch (though it's a pretty stiff competition). There were times when I laughed out loud, and others when I shed tears. Getting to know the characters and their aspirations and hobbies was a fun ride. Kisara best girl, obviously.

 

[marcincz]

I can't editing my main post, so here are my games, from #53:

Game 53 - Galaxian (EC) - 08h 25m
Beat 29/09/2021 - my score: ★★★☆☆

Game 54 - Persona 5 Royal (PS4) - 183h 46m
Beat 14/11/2021 - my score: ★★★★★

Game 55 - Twelve Minutes (XBO) - 04h 51m
Beat 18/11/2021 - my score: ★★★☆☆

Game 56 - Backbone (XBO) - 06h 17m
Beat 21/11/2021 - my score: ★★★☆☆

Game 57 - The Medium (XBO) - 09h 16m
Beat 25/11/2021 - my score: ★★★☆☆

Game 58 - Bayonetta 2 (NS) - 11h 11m
Beat 02/12/2021 - my score: ★★★★☆

Game 59 - Psychonauts 2 (XBO) - 16h 27m
Beat 10/12/2021 - my score: ★★★★☆

Game 60 - Halo Infinite (XBO) - 17h 01m
Beat 13/12/2021 - my score: ★★★★☆

Game 61 - Guilty Gear Strive (PS5) - 08h 50m
Beat 19/12/2021 - my score: ★★★☆☆

Game 62 - Chorus (PS5) - 25h 46m
Beat 27/12/2021 - my score: ★★★★☆

 

[Phase]

Here are the rest of my completions, which will probably be it for this year. Made it to 58!


52. Star Wars Battlefront (2004) (PC) - 6hrs
I can see why this was so beloved. Wish I had played MP at the time, but the single player campaigns and galactic conquest are good fun.

53. Star Wars Battlefront (2015) (PC) - 8hrs
I don't understand how I miss games like these when they release. I guess I was busy in life, but damn this game is fun. Beautiful too. I'm sure at launch it was a different story, but the finished product is top notch.

54. Halo Infinite (PC) - 12th 20hrs
Really enjoyed the structured linear levels, but grew bored of the open world rather quickly. 343 finally made a Halo game that feels like Halo to me. Not as good as the original trilogy or Reach, but a solid entry far better than 4 or 5.

55. Halo 4 (PC) - 14th 4hrs
After dropping it on release, I decided to play through to the end for the first time. It was alright going in with lower expectations this time around, but there's still things I have issues with.

56. Halo: Reach (PC) - 15th 4hrs
Just as good as it was on day one.

57. Halo 3: ODST (PC) - 16th 5hrs
Another playthrough? Why not. It's wonderful.

58. Shadow Complex Remastered (PC) - 21st 8hrs
Very fun. Thanks for the recommendation jshackles Five dollars well spent.

 

[Jack Videogames]

50:08h. True Demon Ending. Normal difficulty with dips to Merciful to grind.

This was a fantastically PS2-era game. Apart from the graphics and the bangin' (Quality issues and all) music, SMT3HD shows its age in its merciless difficulty, even on Normal mode, and in the fact that you have to pay attention to the story to know where to go next, as there is no overworld minimap or "arrow" pointer. It's EXTREMELY easy to get lost and considering exploration is a constant attrition battle for the player, sometimes you feel like you're alone in a devastated, sad world where everything is out to kill you... wait, that sounds reasonable.

Once you get past the age of the game systems, though, SMT3HD is an interesting game. As a dungeon crawler, it's a mostly solitary experience, and your interactions with NPCs are limited. The game revolves around the MC and its relationship with the world. This means the supporting cast isn't as strong as in other game series that derive inspiration from Shin Megami Tensei, including spin-offs, but the MC manages to feel charismatic (even though he's mute and he looks like he's on a 90's punk band). So, while, the game isn't particularly strong narratively, it has you coming back. By the end of the TDE route you're a full-fledged villain protagonist who destroys all the hopes of the world, and everyone except for Lucifer hates you which is something most games aren't brave enough to do and deserves my kudos.

My Score: ★★★★☆

PS: I hope you appreciate the restraint it took to not mention Persona in this post.

...

Fuck!

Original post

 

[yamaci17]

15. Asssasin's Creed Valhalla - July 25th - 120 hrs 5/5 (85/100)

16. The Walking Dead The Final Season (PC) - July 30th - 10hrs 4/5 (75/100)

17. Spec Ops The Line (PC) - August 3rd - 11hrs 4/5 (83/100)

Well, huge update since this post!

18. Doki Doki Literature Club (PC) August 3rd - 4 hrs 4/5 (77/100)
19. Marvel's Avengers (PC) - August 7th - 14hrs 2/5
20. Crysis (PC) - August 9th - 8hrs 4/5 (84/100)
21. Crysis Warhead (PC) - August 9th - 8hrs 3/5 (67/100)
22. Crysis 2 (PC) - August 12th - 13hrs 4/5 (79/100)
23. Crysis 3 (PC) - August 13th - 6hrs 4/5 (82/100)
24. Psychonauts (PC) - August 15th - 12hrs 5/5 (85/100)
25. Diablo II: Resurrected Early Access Beta (PC) - August 16th - 17hrs 5/5
26. Mirror's Edge (PC) - August 19th - 7hrs 3/5 (68/100)
27. Mirror's Edge Catalyst (PC) - August 24th - 32hrs 4/5 (72/100)
28. Double Kick Heroes (PC) - August 26th - 12hrs 3/5 (65/100)
29. Blair Witch (PC) - August 30th - 7hrs 3/5 (69/100)
30. Twelve Minutes (PC) - August 31th - 13hrs 3/5 (60/100)

---

31. Psychonauts 2 (PC) - September 7th - 28hrs 5/5 (87/100)

what an experience! it picks up where the first game ended and keeps the same mystique and dialogue quality. expanded world, similar fun, wonderful job by Double Fine. one of the most remarkable games in 2021. they really delivered and managed to capture the same mystique they did back in 2005. I want to see more titles from them, with different storylines and characters however.

---

32. Carrion (PC) - September 10th - 6hrs 3/5 (68/100)
33. Gears 5 Hivebusters DLC (PC) - September 15th - 5hrs 3/5
34. Superliminal (PC) - September 18th - 3hrs 3/5
35. Night in the Woods (PC) - September 20th - 9hrs 3/5 (heart melting story, but gameplay loop was too boring)

---

36. Kena Bridge of Spirits (PC) - September 29th - 21hrs 5/5 (86/100)

i would say expert difficulty is worth it, especially if you're going to collect stuff. they become more meaningful, let you tank more damage and let you do more stuff with rots and so on. it also incentivizes you to explore the map so you're bound to find meditation spots, which boosts your health (no other mechanic or ability can increase your health) it is challenging and fun at the same time. normal and story modes were too easy and they don't incentivize the player to collect stuff. so collecting stuff can become meaningless and i dont like collecting meaningless stuff (like hats, but i can see the cosmetic appeal for some).

i just wish that there were additional achivements for expert spirit and normal difficulties. game is so much fun, it has puzzles and hard combats and chilling exploration. it manages to mix these aspects in a graceful and beautiful way that you don't even feel the transitions. story is decent, nothing groundbreaking.... the general structure of storyline can get a bit stale but it is understandable, they're not a huge studio so scope can only be so large this became one of my favorite games this year, i'm glad i gave it a chance and ember lab delivered.

---

37. Back 4 Blood (PC) - October 17th - 14hrs 3/5 (68/100) (unbalanced difficulties and weird gimmicky card system)
38. Black Mesa (PC) - October 21th - 22hrs 4/5 (84/100) (true to its core. enhanced. but nothing can top the original)
39. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (PC) - October 24th - 23hrs 4/5 (84/100) (a brilliant pick by the Game Club. such a fun visual novel. despite not being fond of such novels, i had great joy out of this one)
40. Celeste (PC) - October 31th - 7 hrs 5/5
41. Halo Combat Evolved (PC) - November 6th - 16hrs 4/5 (84/100)
42. Halo 2 Anniversary (PC) - December 2th - 13hrs 4/5 (82/100)
43. Halo 3 (PC) - December 6th - 12hrs 5/5 (85/100)
44. Halo 4 (PC) - December 8th - 9hrs 3/5 (60/100)

---

45. Halo Infinite (PC) - December 11th - 16hrs 5/5 (89/100)

I so so loved the story but that's a bit personal. Its nothing groundbreaking, and I'm pretty sure not everyone would share similar feelings with me. Maybe The Weapon just resonated with me, maybe I just fall too much for cute loveable AI girls. That's another debate. I will never not fall for her and type though. This game practically tries to fix the broken story path the 4 and 5 took. I respect them for that. I just didn't like the direction they took with the 4 and 5 and was happy that they decided to kind of ditch it.

In latest years, AIs in games became mostly a joke. AI in this game makes the combats much more meaningful and enjoyable. My K/D increased fairly after I played through the campaign on Heroic difficulty. I guess they did something really good there. The AI was also brilliant even in older Bungine Halo games, so I'm glad the tradition holds up. New gameplay mechanic additions surely spiced up the usual combat of older Halo games and once again, "combat" is evolved with a Halo game. There are similarities with Doom Eternal, but frankly, Doom Eternal is more about fast pace, non stop running and gunning. You can still non stop run and gun in Halo Infinite, but you have smarter and craftier enemies here, which makes Halo a much more enjoyable FPS for me. Amount of random combat interactions you can have in Halo Infinite may not be infinite, but surely there are many.

Open world is not a slog to go through. Its fairly short and not dragged out. It just takes some worries away, gives you some time to reflect on the story bits you've experienced and move on. That's about it. At least that's how I experienced it.

Overall, this was the best game I've played in 2021. I just loved it so much. Personal GOTY!

---

46. Halo Reach (PC) - December 13th - 9hrs 4/5 (83/100)
47. GTA Vice City Stories (PC) - December 19th - 14 hrs 4/5 (80/100)
48. Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures (PC) - December 22th - 12hrs 3/5 (65/100)
49. Metamorphosis (PC) - December 23th - 3 hrs 3/5 (65/100)

I'm almost there!

 

[jshackles]

Game 65 - Captain Commando - Xbox Series X - Completed Dec 25th, 2021
I had my daughter and her boyfriend over for Christmas, and after opening presents we decided to fire up an old beat-em-up on the Series X. We landed on Captain Commando because it was four players co-op and just wacky fun. We of course laughed about all of the game's stupid names, like ShitStorm and Scumocide. Anyway, this game is classic and was a lot of fun playing through on Christmas morning.

Game 66 - Wizards and Warriors - PC / Retroachievements - Completed Dec 25, 2021
Speaking of games that remind me of Christmas morning, none other comes to mind besides Wizards and Warriors. This was the very first game I received as a Christmas present, I believe it was 1987. I haven't played this game in years, but my wife picked me up a copy from eBay that included the old manual. After reading through the manual I decided to fire this up in Retro Arch (since I don't have a convenient way to play NES cartridges) and blew through the whole game in about an hour. I still remembered most of the game's secrets. Had fun unlocking a few achievements along the way was well!

 

[jshackles]

Game 67 - Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony - PC / Retroachievements - Completed Dec 26th ,2021
I somehow never played this game when it originally came out for the PSP. My loss, because this game was actually pretty fantastic! Although obviously quite dated (being 15 years old or so) I had a really fun time playing through this game all the way to the end. It's basically a Diablo clone similar to the PC Dungeon Siege games, but the controls were actually pretty good and well mapped for the PSP's button layout. Lots of quests (and side quests) accompanied by cool retro achievements for each. Lots of secret areas to explore. Lots of fun loot and cool abilities. Only big turnoff was the companions AI being braindead, but otherwise a really great game!

 

[marcincz]

Game 62 - Chorus (PS5) - 25h 46m
Beat 27/12/2021 - my score: ★★★★☆

Suprisingly good game and my 2021 goty, so far. I would like to see more games like this title in the future.

 

[Cryio]

At this point, I can't wait for 2022 to start and for me to properly chart everything I play/replay.

 

[Wozzer]

Another two to join the Hall of Fame first post for beating the 52;



And one of them there includes myself! A final tally for the year at 66;

Has been a great year for games, and awesome to see all the prior year users that beat the challenge have managed it this year too!

 

[tav7623]

I did it (for the first time since 2014)! here's the link to my posts with all the games I finished and/or put in over 10 hrs of online play into this year.

1- 26
27 - 40
41 - 52

 

[Wozzer]

I did it (for the first time since 2014)! here's the link to my posts with all the games I finished and/or put in over 10 hrs of online play into this year.

1- 26
27 - 40
41 - 52

Grats, and added to the first post!

 

[bender]

Just a shout out to Wozzer for this thread. It's my favorite thing on GAF.

 

[Psychotic_Mantis]

Main Post

Hoping to knock another game or two before year-end but I figure it is unlikely.

62. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (3DS) - 9/10 - Fantastic old-school Zelda game. I enjoyed this more than Seasons and the final dungeon with linking the games was pretty cool. I highly recommend playing both of these games. I think they are just as good as Links Awakening!
63. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Wii U) - 10/10 - Wanted another replay as I continue to work my way through all Zelda games. I know about the cut dungeons and the length but the charm of this game makes up for all of it. I really wish we could get a return to 'Toon Link'! Love this game.
64. Erica (PS4) - 6/10 - Average FMV game. The acting was decent but the story was a mess. I have no clue what the heck was going on.
65. Penguins of Madagascar (Wii) - 5/10 - I think I need to stop letting my 5 yr old pick out games for me to play at the library. Easy game and it's only a few hours long but there is no saving mid level. Not much of a challenge and the MGS stealth type stuff is brain-dead. You can basically walk in front of the bad guys and not get caught.
66. Medal of Honor (PS3) - 7/10 - Decent military shooter but extremely short. I legit think I finished this in 3 hours. It plays well and was fine but it also feels like any other military shooter I have played in the last 5-10 years.
67. Portal: Still Alive (Xbox 360) - 8/10 - Love Portal and never attempted the challenge of Still Alive. The base game is still perfection and I can almost beat it all under an hour. The Still Alive levels were alright. I didn't find them especially challenging and since there was no dialogue or story it just felt kind of lame. I did not like the Advanced Chambers at all.
68. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (Xbox 360) - 7/10 - Better than I expected with all of the criticism. Definitely doesn't touch the original games but it was still a decent time. Extremely short and you can definitely tell it was originally a mobile game. It's better than most Sonic games but that isn't saying much.

Hoping to knock out Outer Worlds before year-end but I doubt it since I am only on the second planet.

 

[yamaci17]

Wow even though I play a lot of games, this will be a tough challenge

We're already 6 monts into the 2021 and let's see how i stack up. Admittedly, i've been studying and working in the same time so my total games played should be much lower than before...

Spoiler: All completions!

1. The Medium (PC) | Febrary 3rd - 23hrs | 4/5
2. Worms Blast (PC) February 28th - 10hrs | 3/5
3. Command and Conquer Remastered Collection (PC) March 2nd - 25hrs | 5/5
4. Godfall (PC) | April 3rd - 9hrs | 2/5
5. Red Dead Redemption (Xenia-PC) | Apr 29th - 45hrs | 5/5
6. Red Dead Online (PC) | May 15th - 90hrs | 3/5
7. Heavy Rain (PC) May 18th - 13hrs | 4/5
8. Abzû (PC) May 27th - 2.5hrs | 4/5
9. GTA Liberty City Stories (PC) - June 22th - 13hrs | 4/5
10. GTA III (PC) - June 24th - 18hrs | 5/5
11. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (PC) - July 3rd - 52hrs | 5/5
12. Catsperience (PC) - July 5th - 3hrs | 1/5
13. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition DLC - Sam's Story (PC) - July 5th - 10hrs 3/5
14. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition DLC - Two Colonels (PC) - July 7th - 3hrs 3/5
15. Asssasin's Creed Valhalla - Main Game %100 (PC) - July 25th - 120 hrs 5/5
16. The Walking Dead The Final Season (PC) - July 30th - 10hrs 4/5
17. Spec Ops The Line (PC) - August 3rd - 11hrs 4/5
18. Doki Doki Literature Club (PC) August 3rd - 4 hrs 4/5
19. Marvel's Avengers (PC) - August 7th - 14hrs 2/5
20. Crysis (PC) - August 9th - 8hrs 4/5
21. Crysis Warhead (PC) - August 9th - 8hrs 3/5
22. Crysis 2 (PC) - August 12th - 13hrs 4/5
23. Crysis 3 (PC) - August 13th - 6hrs 4/5
24. Psychonauts (PC) - August 15th - 12hrs 5/5
25. Diablo II: Resurrected Early Access Beta (PC) - August 16th - 17hrs 5/5
26. Mirror's Edge (PC) - August 19th - 7hrs 3/5
27. Mirror's Edge Catalyst (PC) - August 24th - 32hrs 4/5
28. Double Kick Heroes (PC) - August 26th - 12hrs 3/5
29. Blair Witch (PC) - August 30th - 7hrs 3/5
30. Twelve Minutes (PC) - August 31th - 13hrs 4/5
31. Psychonauts 2 (PC) - September 7th - 28hrs 5/5
32. Carrion (PC) - September 10th - 6hrs 3/5
33. Gears 5 Hivebusters DLC (PC) - September 15th - 5hrs 3/5
34. Superliminal (PC) - September 18th - 3hrs 3/5
35. Night in the Woods (PC) - September 20th - 9hrs 3/5
36. Kena Bridge of Spirits (PC) - September 29th - 21hrs 5/5
37. Back 4 Blood (PC) - October 17th - 14hrs 5/5
38. Black Mesa (PC) - October 21th - 22hrs 4/5
39. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (PC) - October 24th - 23hrs 4/5
40. Celeste (PC) - October 31th - 7 hrs 5/5
41. Halo Combat Evolved (PC) - November 6th - 16hrs 4/5
42. Halo 2 Anniversary (PC) - December 2th - 13hrs 4/5
43. Halo 3 (PC) - December 6th - 12hrs 5/5
44. Halo 4 (PC) - December 8th - 9hrs 3/5
45. Halo Infinite (PC) - December 11th - 16hrs 5/5
46. Halo Reach (PC) - December 13th - 9hrs 4/5
47. GTA Vice City Stories (PC) - December 19th - 14 hrs 4/5
48. Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures (PC) - December 22th - 12hrs 3/5
49. Metamorphosis (PC) - December 23th - 3 hrs 3/5
50. Sigi A Fart for Melusina (PC) - December 24th - 1 hrs 1/5
51. Cthulhu Saves Christmas (PC) - December 26th - 7 hrs 3/5

52. Batman Arkham Origins (PC) - December 29th - 27 hrs 4/5

my journey ends, batman's journey begins. i couldn't find a suitable time to play this game since its release and after the peak city/asylum games, i didn't bother much given it was a origin story. but i still had fun, its a fun game. just that it does not have the same rocksteady magic

I thank the wozzer and all the other members for contributing and creating this little fun challenge community. it has been very helpful to clear my backlog but a mountain of games still awaits!

 

[jshackles]

Game 68 - Parasite Eve - PC / Retroachievements - Completed Dec 29th, 2021
This game is a solid Christmas pick for me, and I usually find myself playing through it around December. The last time I played through, this game (actually all PS1 games) didn't have support for Retro Achievements, so it was fun going through and doing the extra challenges here. I had to level up quite a bit to beat a lot of these bosses without using magic powers and just rely on standard attacks. The game has a lot of EX mode achievements as well, so I guess next time I decide to play through it I'll be able to mop up the rest of those. Still an amazing game, great characters, fantastic music. Way better than the second or third games in the series.

 

[Pantz]

Ahhhh! Hold the door please!

I slacked off on my updates and got it all caught up now. Should be done with 52/52!
A little disappointed, I wanted more completed. Quite a few of them are Forza Horizon 4 DLC, which feels a little cheap, but they did all take a fair number of hours to complete.
Original post

Anyway here is my 52 rearranged from favorite playthrough (top left) to least favorite (bottom right). *Not necessarily representative of quality, just generally how I enjoyed these particular playthroughs.

 

[marcincz]

Currently playing RE8, but probably finish for a few days and this title will be my first in '22.

See you guys in 2022 thread, happy new year and completed 52 games in next 52 weeks.

 

[jshackles]

Game 69 - It Takes Two - Xbox Series X - Completed Dec 30th, 2021
My son and I have been playing through this game for the past couple of weeks - ever since it was announced as the Game of the Year at the Game Awards. It played like a LEGO game but with these kind of Pixar visuals. Lots of level variety and really fun parts, but was bogged down by several other parts that were... not great. The final level, for example, was pretty bad. Overall though, we had a good time playing through the game and figuring out the puzzles. The story was cheesy but entertaining. We kept thinking the whole thing was a giant fever dream. Some parts were very Brave Little Toaster-esque. Recommended if you have someone pretty decent at playing platformers to co-op with.

 

[BusierDonkey]

Well I think I'll call this year done. I might run through a couple NES games today and add them in.

Ended up at 91 games for 2021, totaling about 2005 hours total. A good number of old 8/16-bit games in the lot but plenty of 20+ hour long games. Also a few 100+ hour games this year. Forza Horizon 5 takes the most-played crown for me this year with 266 hours total so far.

Looking forward to next year's games!

 

[Phase]

Well I think I'll call this year done. I might run through a couple NES games today and add them in.

Ended up at 91 games for 2021, totaling about 2005 hours total. A good number of old 8/16-bit games in the lot but plenty of 20+ hour long games. Also a few 100+ hour games this year. Forza Horizon 5 takes the most-played crown for me this year with 266 hours total so far.

Looking forward to next year's games!

 

[GametimeUK]

December

(61) 26th - Halo Infinite (Series X) ★★★★★
(62) 30th - Returnal (PS5) ★★★★☆

December is a wrap. 62 games done. Happy new year. Halo and Returnal were awesome.

 

[jshackles]

I'm also done for this year, with a total of 69 games this is the most number of games (by quantity) of any year I've done the challenge - beating my previous record of 67 games I set in 2015.

This has been my 8th year attempting the challenge since my first year in 2014 - and my 7th time actually completing it (in 2019 I only made it to 43 games but I played a TON of really long games that year including 200+ hours in Assassin's Creedy Odyssey including about a hundred hours in it's DLC). Dragon Quest Builders 2 took another solid 90+ hours of my time that year, and I even wrote at the time "If I fail to complete the challenge this year, I'm going to place the blame squarely on this game." So, I guess it was that game's fault.

Past challenges:

• 2014 - 63 games
• 2015 - 67 games
• 2016 - 54 games
• 2017 - 52 games
• 2018 - 52 games
• 2019 - 43 games
• 2020 - 59 games
• 2021 - 69 games

Since I started doing this, I've finished 459 games! This challenge has been a huge part of my life for the better part of a decade. It's fun posting to the thread about the games that I've finished, and seeing what others are playing and enjoying as well. Everyone here is a superstar, even if you didn't manage to complete the challenge. It's fun being part of this community and I'm looking forward to joining everyone again in 2022!

 

[BusierDonkey]

I'm also done for this year, with a total of 69 games this is the most number of games (by quantity) of any year I've done the challenge - beating my previous record of 67 games I set in 2015.

This has been my 8th year attempting the challenge since my first year in 2014 - and my 7th time actually completing it (in 2019 I only made it to 43 games but I played a TON of really long games that year including 200+ hours in Assassin's Creedy Odyssey including about a hundred hours in it's DLC). Dragon Quest Builders 2 took another solid 90+ hours of my time that year, and I even wrote at the time "If I fail to complete the challenge this year, I'm going to place the blame squarely on this game." So, I guess it was that game's fault.

Past challenges:

• 2014 - 63 games
• 2015 - 67 games
• 2016 - 54 games
• 2017 - 52 games
• 2018 - 52 games
• 2019 - 43 games
• 2020 - 59 games
• 2021 - 69 games

Since I started doing this, I've finished 459 games! This challenge has been a huge part of my life for the better part of a decade. It's fun posting to the thread about the games that I've finished, and seeing what others are playing and enjoying as well. Everyone here is a superstar, even if you didn't manage to complete the challenge. It's fun being part of this community and I'm looking forward to joining everyone again in 2022!

The biggest reason I love this thread every year is that it reminds me that at least some people here actually play games