May 2025
Beaten -> Completed
Decided to take a break from my backlog and commit to completing a franchise I definitely enjoy. Luckily I had taken care of the large majority in past playthroughs, so it was mostly cleanup.
DMC1
First thing to note is that for some reason this is the only game of the collection that does not support cloud saves, so I had to start from scratch. Luckily I enjoy the game enough to play through it as much as is required. Mostly just had enemy files to cleanup and if you don’t know this is fairly RNG as you need enemies to do particular moves and they can be quite stubborn to do so even with being on certain difficulties.
DMC2
Despite being the worst game of the series, the achievements for this game honestly aren’t too bad. By far the worst one is bloody palace as it can take hours to complete and needs to be done in one sitting but as brain dead as this game is you can easily macro your super character to just spam bullets while you watch something.
DMC3
Probably the hardest of the bunch as DMD can be an absolute slaughter for certain levels (looking at you chessboard) and requires you to S Rank all levels at least once. Still a fun experience and got to experiment with other playstyles that I don’t normally partake in.
Deep Space Waifu-inspired bullet hell game. If you aren’t familiar with DSW, it revolves around typical bullet hell gameplay all the while flying over a giant woman whose clothes you can shoot off (or not if you are doing Gentleman mode). Succubus-Chan best to emulate that experience but ultimately fails in just about every way. Soundtrack just isn’t interesting and there isn’t an ounce of story or descriptions. Even the scenes are hidden away in a main menu option instead of in-level. Each girl has 3 short levels per layer of clothing instead of 1 well paced level. This wouldn’t be so bad if the levels varied more, but 90% of them have nearly identical enemies and patterns. On top of that there is little effort put into balancing the bullet hell mechanic where you can easily get impossible to dodge scenarios. All of this combined with the fact that it is far too expensive for such little content or quality.
Rating: 2/10
Recommend? No, not even as a replacement for DSW.
Last month I played a game that was very inspired by classic Zelda games. This month I somehow managed to pick another game that inspires another Nintendo classic, Super Mario 64. Not only does it have all the jump/flip/dive mechanics similar to that game, but your teacher is an aged near Mario lookalike (he even does a “whoo-hoo” sound much the same). The art style leaves much to be desired as it will look like a pretty generic 3D blobby game and most levels lack particular intrigue. However, the gameplay is mostly solid and if you can master the movement you can easily find game breaking routes similar to that of SM64. Enemies can be kind of frustrating, though you’ll barely interact with most of them (I do now have a new hate for moles). Some bosses in particular feel poorly implemented and lack good interaction.
Rating: 5/10
Recommend? Kinda. I’m not particularly into SM64 so I don’t quite have the same interest but the game does play fairly well for what it is.
Weirdly wholesome VN that has you serve a Kaiju princess on an Alien planet. Your task is to conquer the planet (and your Kaiju princess’s heart) lest she destroys it. Similar to the last game, this is a light time management sim where you have to better your stats, produce troops, conquer cities, and spend time with the Princess. If you manage time well enough early on then late game gets to be a breeze. I even forgot how to change soldier types after a while and didn’t need to do so until end game. Though this is fairly lewdy, there is just something heart warming about about a being that will destroy a planet with the snap of their fingers yet punishes you with a lack of snacks for a week (or something similar). In fact, the writing and progress you make with the Tsundere princess is shockingly great. Which makes it weird that you have interactions with other characters and almost makes me wish you had a choice to be more committed to one. That being said, they somehow drop the ball on the “final” antagonist as it’s the one you don’t really encounter much with.
Rating: 10/10
Recommend? Yes, so far my favorite of these Kaiju game with best girl.
Partial SteamDeck Playthrough
Here I was minding my own business when a 100% Skyrim challenge arose. I took a day or so to contemplate, but even with a late entry I couldn’t back down from a good challenge. Lo and behold the deed has been done and I remain victorious in both in general start to end date and in hours to complete it. Luckily the game isn’t too terrible to do if you discount the usual bugs and a few potential lockouts. Basically play the game and follow the various quests, after you do all that go ahead and power level to get your Legendary Dragon. If you’re using controller, it should be noted you can’t Legendary a perk using the “Y” button equivalent as is shown. You have to use the space bar on your keyboard. It took me a while to figure out and even tried buying the Anniversary update thinking that was needed to do so… it’s not. Speaking of the Anniversary DLC, it requires you to download all of it’s content in-game which took about an hour of waiting only to realize it did nothing for my current needs. Maybe I’ll check out if any of that content is decent at a later date.
Rating: 7/10
Recommend? Probably the best way to play “vanilla” Skyrim. Otherwise, just play the original (if able) and mod to your heart’s content.
Played the demo for this back on Xbox Live Arcade and remember being off put by it. I think it only let you play the arcade mode in that so that may be why. Luckily there is a story mode in this game that has a vague Alan Wake flavor to it. Problem is, from the get go you are thrown into an ongoing story without any context of what’s happening. Characters you meet for the first time in the series act as if you’ve known them for quite some time, locations introduced without much prelude, and none of this is from the previous game either. Even with information you find out later, these initial encounters still feel very out of the loop and makes me think there was some comic or manual that was required reading (despite being a digital only game). For the most part the gameplay is much like the first complete with manuscripts (though done in a worse fashion), radio, tv, and the flashlight/gun combo. Oddly enough it misses minor mechanics like being able to flashlight without focusing. That being said, it does introduce several new enemies to vary the combat. Even after several chapters the game is VERY short in terms of story. What I did play of the arcade mode, it’s a pretty barebones score attack with small maps, not that I wanted to invest much time in them as of yet.
Rating: 5/10
Recommend? Maybe for those invested in the Alan Wake universe, despite the story having little to no effect on the series as a whole. Otherwise you can probably skip it.
Started this, I don’t know how long ago, but ended up dropping due to how much more complicated it was than previous Holy Potatoes games. Previous ones are simple management games but this plays much more similar to FTL. Since most achievements require you to 100% a level this game can be an incredible slog. This is mostly due to the incredible repetitiveness of encounters mixed with the length of the game can wear you out fast since most combat encounters often employ the same old strategy and any non combat encounters will typically be recycled. Without save scumming or reloading checkpoints, you’ll have to play the game at least twice to make various choices for achievements. Much like all Potatoes games, you will get a various gaming (and possibly other) references through each character equal to the percentage of starch in a potato. It’s pretty hit or miss but honestly the saving grace of these games though this feels weaker in this entry.
Rating 3/10
Recommend? Not really, it’s just too long and exhausting.
Bullet hell game that is related to Alltynex (I think?). Pretty fast paced and fun with the bonus of being pretty short. I’m not particularly amazing at these games so the fact that it lets you continue at the cost of your high score is very nice. The only real downside is that the screen, even when fullscreen, feels maybe too zoomed in. Other than that the game feels great and had an enjoyable experience.
Rating? 7/10
Recommend? Sure, why not.
It’s been a long time coming as I meant to play this years ago (and even years before that for the original). Yet, it was either not immediately available or pressing. Yet, between a pressing recommendation and the Okami 2 announcement I thought it was due time to see what that dog doing. Maybe due to my experience with MvC3 (and capcom affiliation) I was maybe expecting this to be more of a character action game. Color me surprised when it is largely a dungeon Zelda-like, though it is still very much a character action-lite. You’ll go dungeon by dungeon solving puzzles with recently gained abilities/brush techniques that can be used in world and in combat (though I often did not do the latter to other’s chagrin). Likely due to it’s limitations, a lot of brush techniques will often use very similar strokes with the slight difference of where it is being placed. Combat is largely small flat arenas where enemies have various counters. It’s a bit more in depth than you think but still limited. Bosses, like most Zelda/dungeon games, are very mechanic driven but mostly enjoyable regardless. Though this has the gameplay of other games, this game is stuffed full of charm between it’s unique artstyle an heavy use of Japanese mythology and folklore. Very specifically the Japanese mythological take is probably my favorite bit about this game. What really detracts this game is the incredibly slow start. The “tutorial phase” of the game is easily an hour and very little traction and then more than a few spots after that the game just kind of lets you wander trying to figure out what exactly you are supposed to do with nearly no assistance. On top of that, the game feels just a bit too long and at some point the rest feels kind of like DLC/Add-on content like they haphazardly combined two separate stories. It’s not terrible, it just feels a little.. off.
Rating: 8.5/10
Recommend? All in all an enjoyable experience and I’m very interested to see the potential of the next game with all of the modern capabilities at hand.
Rayman Legends
Steam Deck
Maybe due to some of the platformers I’ve been working on as of late, but felt like it focused on enjoyment over excessive challenge. Most maps are snack sized but flow incredibly well. Your goal is to save the Teensies hidden in each level all while scoring as many lums (currency) as possible. Though not always in plain sight, it’s pretty easy to find these with slight exploration and listening for their cries. This is all without ruining the flow of the game, for the most part. Motion for the most part feels good, though sometimes the normal walking felt slower than usual or would abruptly occur (I think maybe due to weird slopes?). Still level design feels great through most bonus modes outside of a select set of levels (that uses too much filter), race the clock, and bonus level bosses (which often require memorization rather than on the fly deduction). Past that, there is a 1v1 sports minigame and I “think” there is a minor co-op mode that lets a 2nd person assist in your levels but that’s something I more vaguely hearing about way back (and clearly refuse to look up as I type this).
Rating: 8.5/10
Recommend? Very much so. Despite some slight inconsistencies it is enjoyable from a general playthrough perspective, though a bit more annoying on the completions side.
Time: 21h
Ever since it’s announcement I had been quite skeptical of this game, seeming a much slower paced and ground based game compared to the high octane speed (though slightly problematic) based gameplay of Eternal. Though I was able to find a way to enjoy it in the form of shield dash cancelling most of my fears were relatively true. The game definitely is slower and requires a very specific, up and close, playstyle. Despite this, glory kills are nearly gone entirely to much dismay. I found a lot of the arenas a lot more flat and awkward with a bit of all too familiar enemy patterns yet chaotic. Even when you do enjoy the intricate base gameplay, it gets interrupted by the dragon and mech sections. While cool in concept these sections are quite basic and tiresome. What is even more egregious is the exploration. Many levels are too big for their own good both as just the doom slayer and especially in the dragon riding levels and it becomes a slog hunting for secrets that makes me long for linear based levels. Yet, even the linear levels have issues as there are far too many points of no returns (some of which are nonsensical) and there is no way to load a specific segment of a level like in Eternal. What’s more your save is dedicated to the difficulty of your choice. You can temporarily go to a lower difficulty for a level, but never permanently and sure can’t go higher. In contrast, the bosses are probably some of the best in the series likely due to the parry system as you get plenty of interactions rather than the typical back and forth or poorly implemented Eternal DLC bosses. My final note is that this game has a much more story focus meaning there are plentiful of cutscenes that I simply did not care about. I play to rip and tear, I don’t care about the reason why or what happens in between.
Rating: 6/10
Recommend? If you’re super into the concept for the Doom Slayer series of DOOM then you’ll probably like this, but if you want more consistent fast action gameplay… you might want to look elsewhere.
Mortal Kombat 9 (Vita)
0
0
1
6
Well… this goes to show that NRS has a long history of not having a decent handheld port of MK in their lifetime. The cutscenes look well enough, but even as you transition into the gameplay the characters turn straight into a horror flick. Suddenly characters all look 50 years older with random wrinkles and grey spots. Sometimes they even lose pigment in one of their eyes looking like they have gone blind and missing teeth. Simply to say.. It’s a mess. In overall combat you won’t notice it as much until you do an X-Ray and you see the blocky body parts interacting. The gameplay feels more or less fine, though I think there is some performance issues here and there. Yet, this is not all without benefit. This port has a unique challenge tower that takes advantage of the Vita’s touch screen and back controls and new costumes that aren’t in the original game.
Rating: 4/10
Recommend? Though I really like the new challenge tower and additional costumes, the game is just far too ugly and problematic to really recommend.
Lumines: Electronic Symphony
0
0
1
5
Rhythm puzzle game that has you drop 4x4 blocks of varying patterns to build a combination and score all while a soundtrack creates a visual effect on your board. Fairly fun overall as there is both mostly great songs and a fun yet simple puzzle system. Unfortunately the gameplay is a bit gated in that the main mode is Voyage. Voyage requires you to score and play levels back to back as difficulty increases. You must always start from the very beginning and try to make it to the end without letting the puzzle pieces reach the top. Each level has it’s own song and “skin” for the board. Upon completing a level, you can play that level specifically or in a custom playlist of unlocked songs if you want, but it won’t count for score nor can you unlock further levels. Needless to say if you are trying to unlock everything then be ready for the long haul as your eyes dry out, water up, strain, and begin to twitch as there is a lot of content and frantically try to stop your blocks from towering up. A slight saving grace is that technically you can continue after dying at the cost of making your high score forfeit. It may not be much of a loss for some, but for some reason I put off going this route until I reached the last quarter of the levels. Needless to say I needed to rest my eyes after finally finishing it all.
Rating: 8/10
Recommend? Though stuck to an obsolete (yet personally favored) handheld, it is very enjoyable and do recommend getting it whatever means necessary. I only wish there was an alternative to Voyage mode to unlock songs as I did not enjoy repeatedly starting from scratch.
You make it sound so easy to 100% Devil May Cry. xD Impressive!
I suppose it’s because most of it is just me playing the game without much mind to the achievements. I’ve always loved the various approaches DMC has had for replayability. Granted the next few entries get much harder and I think this may change when I finally do 4, 5, and the reboot…
Many thanks regardless, I quite enjoyed it.
I suppose it’s because most of it is just me playing the game without much mind to the achievements.
That’s the best way because when you concentrate too much on obtaining it you can get stuck and frustrated! That’s what happens to me. xD
I have yet to play the whole series. A long time ago I played the third one… or was it the fourth? o_O Anyway, the camera was slightly frustrating but it was overall fun. Then I got the reboot and I really loved it! Need to get back to it soon.
Have fun!
Congratulations on all your assassinations!!!! ᓚᘏᗢ
Someone pressing you to play Okami? That’s crazy, couldn’t be me. Also saying the tutorial beginning is 1 hour was v generous of you since it’s technically 2-3 and the game doesn’t let you go off on your own until you reach the plains.
Real talk though I’m super hyped for Okami 2, they even got the same director as the OG Okami, Hideki Kamiya, who I have recently learned recreated the Clovers studio, and directly from the wiki (with an interview source!) “Funding for Clovers was provided by Kamiya and Koyama without any outside investors, and Kamiya planned to only take investment funds to finance specific games rather than the studio to maintain its independence”
It has been sometime since starting Okami so I am very much miscalculating the tutorial time plus after a while it just kind of feels like “well this is just the game.” So I’m sure I just got used to it and compressed the time frame in my memory.
Yeah, Hideki Kamiya is kind of a badass/crazy guy. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Okami, Viewtiful Joe. Just a crazy list of games he has worked on, not to mention his infamous social media interactions. It’s my hope that if Okami 2 succeeds that he will be given freedom within Capcom to develop some of the other titles he has worked on in past. Hopefully Okami 2 is everything you hope it will be.
Thanks for the congrats. ^_^