Dec 2022
“Embrace your dreams … If you wanna be a hero, you gotta have dreams.” - FFVII:CCR
Hmmm… thought I’d have more to say…
Beat some games, successfully avoided most purchases from the Winter Sale. Good luck to the new year(?).
Seems good enough.
10/10
Cyber punk point and click adventure that really exceeded any expectations I had for it. You play a struggling journalist who is visited by a particularly unique sentient AI robot that asks for your help in a missing persons case. The game is, at times, dark but largely light hearted and comedic. The sprite work is beautiful. Voice acting is more than excellent with a wide variety of internet stars taking roles of all sorts of characters. Puzzles and interactions are fairly logical and offer multiple ways to approach any one situation and similarly this can affect your relationships with others (no dating though). Each character you meet is not only well written but are all for the most part likable.
Recommend? Very much so. Above all else… don’t forget the milk.
4/10
A platformer with a bit of a unique mythological setting. It does not have terrible interesting gameplay though that does not mean it cannot get challenging. Each segment of gameplay has you take on about 4 levels before facing the boss level. There isn’t any combat per se, but using your teleport ability can vanquish some enemies (essentially telefragging them). Some of the levels can feel a little ridiculous when trying to quick time or aim your teleportation. As well, MSpaint art can be a little confusing on what is safe/background versus platforms.
Recommend? It’s not a terrible game, but it just didn’t capture my interest. No.
7/10
Action side scrolling game where you take on a samurai like character who must vanquish an evil king after being defeated by said antagonist. Combat is fairly simple and straight forward, but the spice of it is between picking up/unlocking new weapons and the puzzles involving platforms/your bird which you can control. You unlock more weapons by getting xp. This can be done by defeating enemies, picking up orbs, and dependent on things like which exit you take (more flags = more points). However, the weird thing is that you don’t actually commit the xp until you exit to the title screen either by losing all your lives or selecting the menu yourself. This theoretically means you would/could beat the entire game without really unlocking anything until you get to the menu. As someone who binges games this was very nearly the case and I was confused why despite all the levels I had unlocked nothing, seemingly.
Recommend? Yes, despite the minor grievance, the game is fairly enjoyable and has a fun boss battle awaiting you at the end.
8/10
Somehow the best Dead Island game in the series despite not having typical Dead Island gameplay. Though it appears to be a beat ‘em up, it is more of a runner rhythm game where you must swap from one to three lanes and choose and time your attacks depending on the enemy coming your way. Why do you run down these infested and dangerous streets? Simply to save your cat that was stolen for an unknown reason while you were gaming from the safety of your own home.
The sheer depth in the ways you can combo enemies, setup enemies/items to fly into each other, and diversity of enemies made this a weirdly enjoyable spin off. It does take a bit to get used to, but once in the rhythm the game flows particularly well. The one downside is that failing an earlier combo in a particular way could leave a somewhat immediate consequence past the initial failure. (i.e. an explosion enemy may need a previous enemy to be thrown at them, thus missing the previous enemy ensures you will get damaged by explody boys/girls.)
Also main character is voiced, and somewhat modeled, after Jack Black.
Recommend? Yes
7/10
Truly the definitive way to experience Dead Island thus far. Just about every aspect where DI1 failed, this game improved. Story is much more engaging, medkits are a more consistent resource, main missions are varied and far less fetch quests, even more skills, etc. Easily the best quality is that it imports your DI1 character allowing you to keep all of your skill points so there is no slog to grind back up. Oddly enough, even coming in with a high-level character levels do not take long to obtain.
Recommend? Frankly, play this instead of the first game.
7/10
A weird silly little point and click adventure with a unique world and inhabitants. The art may be simple, but the voice acting is fairly solid with light hearted yet dark humor scattered throughout.
Recommend? Yes.
Steam Deck
10/10
Metroidvania that has a Luchador/Hispanic theme. It is very much inspired by other beloved titles and parodies many many more. Much like the original it is still very much a great game that I am reminded how much I enjoy it each edition/time I play. If you have experience the original you will be surprised on how much the STCE actually adds/changes. First it addes two whole new areas, some new enemies, variants on existing enemies, and a new boss that is integral to the story. This not only adds new content, but changes up the progression from the original story/route as well. With new areas comes two new abilities which includes a sort of super/hyper mode for your character to deal out serious damage.
Recommend? If you haven’t played the original, this absolutely works as your first go to for the series. If you have played the original edition, this is a great way to replay the first while creating a fairly fresh experience.
Base Game: 9/10
DLC: 7/10
Steam Deck
While I was looking for games that might be perfect for my Steam Deck, I thought I would test out this game which I had beaten before. To my surprise at some point they not only added achievements but a whole DLC on top of that. (They also had a limited time sale of a Sugar Plumps plush but I could not justify the $30 purchase unfortunately). So, while I waited for the Winter Sale, I did a fresh playthrough to get the base game achievements. To my displeasure it turns out the DLC has you play through the base game (again) but with a slight alternate path in that it adds a Holiday catalogue and a different friend that talks with you along the way. Still it is a decent game and I did enjoy the new friendly encounter.
Recommend? Base game, absolutely. DLC? Honestly, a bit pricey for the small addition it makes. Hopefully it goes on sale in the future and make sure you space out your base game play versus the DLC (as Sugar Plumps is just the superior friend and you must experience her).
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FFVII:CCR
PS5
69h
10/10
I was a little bit nervous about this remake as the original was such an important game for me and Zack Fair has been my favorite character of all time. Though I felt they would be fairly faithful to the original, I was feeling a bit lack luster towards the new Zack voice actor (comparing him to the first). Despite this, replaying it was such a cathartic experience as it unlocked memories and still held very much the same weight as the original, with some slight infractions. In case you are not aware, CCR takes place before the events of the ORIGINAL FFVII and follows Soldier member Zack Fair as he pursues his dream of becoming a hero!
Unlike FFVII Remake, CCR keeps the story beats 1 to 1. Though this may leave some of the newer fans in confusion, it is so important to keep this story the way it is as it is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking. A lot of the CG cinematics are also ported straight from the original, but upscaled to the newer resolution. Past this, there are actually quite a number of changes made. This includes many quality of life changes including the ability to sprint, skip cutscenes, target lock, a new stance, etc. All of the models have been remade and have a more realistic look than their PSP variants. Environments have also been entirely remade and given much more detail, creating beautiful landscapes, vibrant cities/towns, and lush lands. Many of the interactions that were previously only text are now fully voiced.
It’s hard to admit that this game truly outdoes the original by so much, but I can’t help but turn away at some of the changes. Young Zack and other models occasional have a weird facial structure during certain moments that kind of give them slightly bulging jowls. Zack’s chin also appears to be a little bit more sunken in. Angeal’s beard on his in game model is much more filled in compared to his cinematics which looks really weird and jarring. The new VA for Zack other than being different from my preference occasionally has odd inflections which changes the tone/reaction of some scenes to my distaste.
Recommend? If you have never experienced Crisis Core on the PSP, you absolutely MUST play this game if given the chance. It’s story is amazing, gameplay is at least competent to great with most action JRPGs and Zack is simply the best.
GoW:Ragnarok
PS5
58h
9.5/10
Holy heck what an absolute stellar experience. Following the Norse story from the 2018 game, this continues the journey Kratos makes with his son as they continue to deal with the Norse pantheon as well as dealing with the prophecy the learned at the end of the last game. This game improves on the previous title in just about every single way and hits each one out of the park.
First, the combat is so much more fleshed out giving a wider variety of moves and upgrades to each weapon. Fists at base value have been toned down a bit with various moves being scattered between shields, but the new fighting mechanics more than make up for this as well as work directly with fist tech ability. Overall combat flows so well, though it can be challenging to say the least. Enemy and boss variety has been immensely improved upon as there are just so many more unique and varying battles. Some of the boss battles are even some of the best the series (or many other games) has ever had. The voice actors absolutely deliver their lines with expertise and emotion, completely creating and fleshing out each character seeming as real as the person reading this right now. The story is a bit more complex than the last, but all of the arcs do intertwine in a sensible way and not only connect to the story as a whole but the overarching themes they have in common. It has absolutely empowering, beautiful, and sad moments alike that truly astounded me.
The world is massive with every realm being accessible and huge areas both on the main path and side giving a chance for hours of adventure. Speaking of side areas, there is plenty of side game and post-game content that never feels recycled or tiring in the slightest. Puzzles utilizes many of your items and can offer genuine time to think, though the game doesn’t seem to want you to engage in such actions. This being one of the only real problems that I had with this is that in almost no time at all does the game basically spell the solution out for you, and repeatedly at that. I understand that some appreciate this feature, but I wish it was something I could have abstained from as it was frustrating for the game to tell me what to do rather than let me figure it out.
Recommend? Very much yes. I’d absolutely recommend this to anyone who has played the 2018 title. Even if you have not played the rest of the series, I would tell you to play the GOW(2018) just so that you can play this. It really was just a great experience through and through.
Didn’t know they added achievements to Little Inferno. Time to play once more I guess. :) I hope there are no DLC achievements though.
There are.
But hopefully you enjoy your next playthrough as much as you did your last!
I probably will, it’s a fun game. :3
Yep, really ruined the puzzles, or rather what were supposed to be parts of the game requiring you to think. :I
It really is such a shame as this was very near a perfect game. Hopefully they will patch in a toggle for such things… but I’m not going to hold my breath.