Mitsukuni

April 2023

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

20 hours playtime, no achievements
# 27

It’s nice to revisit Pripyat (hypothetically) though this game is not even as half brutal as Shadow of Chernobyl but more open world. Stalker series is a rare occasion for me where I actually loved post-apocalyptic setting. Still I hate mutant monsters and anomalies though. These games are unique and immersive, and sadly there are no other game like them. So if you like the idea, you should play them. With a fair warning since they are far from casual games. It’s beautiful as it’s brutal.

Sakura Cupid

Sakura Cupid

8 hours playtime, 16 of 16 achievements (100%)
# 28

Another Sakura, another ridiculous story.

SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS

SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS

50 hours playtime, 50 of 50 achievements (100%)
# 29

I actually played this 1 and half year ago but there were a couple DLC achievements left and I got the DLC at Winter Sale, and finally played it.

Senran Kagura series is brilliant beat’em’up games (unless it’s a spin-off) and everything is brilliant; gameplay, artwork, music, voice acting, everything. Some lewd jokes are teenage-y but they’re fun as well. Every character is unique and almost every one of them is likeable (sorry Imu). Very fun games. Unless you have a thing against lewd games, I definitely recommend them.

SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest

SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest

26 hours playtime, 32 of 43 achievements (74.42%)
# 30

Continuing with my journey with Spellforce 3. This one is after the events of the main game. More RPG than RTS this time and pretty satisfying. Gameplay is more fluid than the main game as well. This time my favourite is Dark Elves, though I always liked them in the franchise. If you have an itch for fantasy / mythology RTS (like Age of Mythology) this game is definitely a great help to that. I feel like there were more dialogs than the first game though, hence the more RPG part. I would play a whole RPG Spellforce game like this, it was that good.

Now, it’s time for the other expansion.

SpellForce 3: Fallen God

SpellForce 3: Fallen God

22 hours playtime, 17 of 35 achievements (48.57%)
# 31

Out of the trilogy this one has the best story telling and character development, and it’s about trolls. Gotta admit though, it started so slow, I bored to death in the first 4 hours and thought about quitting several times, glad I didn’t. As a faction, they are painfully slow to play however trolls are hard to kill too, I guess that makes it balanced. There were little details that make the game even more fun, like trolls have their own vocabulary and they talk with a broken grammar. Also one of the main characters has intelligence stats greyed out but he was learning things with experience. You definitely feel that developers poured their love to this game and it was a community’s wish.

The story is very indirectly related to main game and it’s so good that it is worth to play the first two games just for this. Looking at the achievement stats, only 12% finished the story so gonna call this an underrated gem.

If you like RTS games, this trilogy is a must. You won’t regret it.

Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.5 Meakashi

Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.5 Meakashi

20 hours playtime, 16 of 16 achievements (100%)
# 32

Seeing things from another perspective… was a wild ride. While answering some questions, there were new ones that will be answered in the next chapters. I know the story from anime though but it was quite some time ago so I’m glad I don’t remember the details.

Great VN, great chapter. Greater with 07th-mod.

Shadows: Awakening

Shadows: Awakening

5 hours playtime, 1 of 45 achievements (2.22%)
# 33

Looks interesting from afar however it’s way too simple to be enjoyable. Game design-wise really lacks on the achieving part. Mixture of Trine and Giana Sisters mechanics is tempting but whole gameplay system feels boring after a short time. I expect some level of complexity from an ARPG title and the game screams like it's made for consoles, I bet you would even play this on mobile without any frustration.

Anyway, another good-looking but boring game to add to my history.

WitchSpring3 Re:Fine - The Story of Eirudy -

WitchSpring3 Re:Fine - The Story of Eirudy -

23 hours playtime, 12 of 12 achievements (100%)
# 34

One of the cutest games I’ve ever played. « cuteness overload »

It’s a little JRPG (technically KRPG since it’s from Korea ^^ ) with cute characters and plot twists inside plot twists. There are also three different endings, too bad there are no story related achievements. With a game like this there could’ve been plenty.

Even though it’s an indie title, every character has voice acting both in Japanese and Korean. English translation is mediocre but you get the point, if you know Japanese or Korean no problem though.

It has crafting, not just tools but also magic, training (be ready to see cute little push-ups) and fighting also increases your stats. Thanks to crafting, I was able to one-shot many bosses in the late game. :)

Soundtrack is great but artwork is godly, really liked it. The game’s physics engine sucks but you probably won’t mind it much, at least I didn’t.

While the game is cute, it can be brutal depends on your choices. I got the true ending but out of curiousity checked the bad ending and it was definitely not what I would expect. Length is satisfactory even though it’s kinda short for a JRPG title. Definitely worth to play. Awesome story, great lore you’ll pick up here and there, and an innocent romance journey for someone who lacks emotions as a deity.

Really enjoyed it. It was so cute. <3

Need for Speed: Undercover

Need for Speed: Undercover

15 hours playtime, no achievements
# 35

Story is meh but the ending sucks, soundtrack sucks, though it was still a fun to play arcade racing game.

Quake

Quake

13 hours playtime, 12 of 35 achievements (34.29%)
# 4 (Bonus)

Quake Mission Pack I is done.