Zelrune

December 2020 report!!!

This month I got a bit done, stopped halfway with Hyperdimension Neptunia 2, I just had no motivation to finish it for some reason. Maybe next month.
I did Cjcomplex’s SG event, which helped me move along my backlog.

Finished - 6 games.
Bought - 6 games.

In other words, I’ve gotten nothing done this month. Nice.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone!!

Half-Life 2
I can't love this as much as I wanted to.

STEINS;GATE

5/10
33.8 hours
42 of 42 achievements

In STEINS;GATE you play as Okabe Rintaro, a self-proclaimed mad scientist who is eccentric enough to create a time machine with a microwave and a banana. He can now also send text messages into the past, creating different timelines. This, naturally, has consequences, some more severe than others. Unfortunately, by the time Okabe has figured that out, he has sent quite a few and needs to travel to alternate timelines to fix his mistakes.

While I didn’t particularly like or even enjoy STEINS;GATE, I will acknowledge it’s probably one of the most well made VN’s I’ve ever played. Okarin was too eccentric, and his personality is so difficult it got to the point where playing STEINS;GATE became too painful to play and I needed to set it aside for about a year.
Despite that, STEINS;GATE is incredibly well made. Despite the time travel theme, I didn’t notice any missed plot holes, and a lot of the science behind the game is really fleshed out. If time travel is your thing, go for it.

Half-Life 2
I liked the theme, not much the romance.

This World Unknown

6/10
10.1 hours
6 of 6 achievements

You play as Rhea, an incredibly normal girl born in a small, secluded village in the country of Aslande, who has been at war for centuries. Fortunately, your little village is far away enough from the fighting for it not to bother you much, unfortunately, most of the men in the village were called to fight, including one of your childhood friends. All you can do is your job as a nurse, help people get back up on their feet, worry, and pray for your friend to come back home and for a successful harvest come autumn.

While I did enjoy This World Unknown, I liked it more for its unusual point-of-view you don’t usually read about, rather than its romance. (Being an uneducated girl who can’t read or write, and themes such as PTSD, war, famine, disease, death, prostitution, religion, abuse, dismemberment without being gory.) Speaking of romance, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the four options you have available - Asa, Luca, Valerian, and “Garrett” - but considering the time period and the disappointing life expectancy I guess I shouldn’t ask for too much.

Half-Life 2
It was funny, but not hilarious. Still, a solid game that holds up well for it's age.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered

7/10
4.6 hours
58 of 58 achievements

In Day of the Tentacle you play as three characters, Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne. You must time-travel back to yesterday to stop Purple Tentacle from gaining arms via drinking contaminated water and attempting world domination! This, naturally, is more difficult than you would expect. Especially when the crystal breaks mid-transportation and sends Hoagie 200 years into the past, and Laverne 200 years into the future. Also, why is the IRS at the door? Doctor Fred? Doctor- HEY!

I very much enjoyed playing Day of the Tentacle Remastered. While a lot of people seem to be playing for the nostalgia factor, I don’t actually remember how this showed up in my library nor have I played it before. While I didn’t particularly like the music, the humor, some of the puzzles, and the whole situation you get yourself into is pretty funny. I can see why it has positive rating and I recommend you give it a go.

Half-Life 2
Excellent story, music and gameplay, truly impressed!

Finding Paradise

10/10
5.5 hours
1 of 1 achievements

In Finding Paradise you play and swap between two characters, Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts. You work for Sigmund Corp. A company that grants dying wishes. Imagine in your last breath, your biggest regret disappears, your wildest dream realized, your life completely re-lived and re-written, or just partially enough that you can rest in peace.
It’s time for you to meet your next patient, Colin. What story will you tell?

I am so impressed with Finding Paradise, I went in nearly blind and I was just blown away by the sheer quality. The music was heartfelt, the scenes were stunning, and the story was brilliant! Finding Paradise is actually a sequel of To The Moon, but both stories can be read alone. I also want to mention that this game is definitely meant to be played in one sitting, and takes about 5-6 hours to finish.

Half-Life 2
Heartwarming and Heartwrenching, loved every moment!

Rakuen

10/10
8.8 hours
15 of 15 achievements

Rakuen is the story of a little hero living in a hospital ward with his mother and many other patients. His goal is to help as many people as possible, and awaken the guardian of the forest Morizora to grant his wish and go to Rakuen, a magical paradise. To do this, the boy must traverse to a parallel fantasy world with his mother and search for lost people and items, and take on quests to bring everyone together again.

Rakuen is a heartwarming and heartwrenching story and I genuinely enjoy and recommend it. Tragedies told through the perspective of a child who got dealt with a bad hand by fate, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The music is memorable and the story is interesting and charming. I didn’t experience any bugs. A lot of work and love was put into Rakuen and it shows. Alt + enter to fullscreen! The window is very small!

Half-Life 2
Was a good break from the longer games.

Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard

10/10
1.3 hours
6 of 6 achievements

You are Detective Frog, called out onto another case because Detective Lobster is once again busy. Anyhow, you head out to Warlock Woods to find the Invisible Wizard and the culprit of who destroyed the parade and made a mess of the town!

Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard is very kid friendly and rather funny, also pretty short as it can be completed within an hour. For 100% achievements, two playthroughs must be completed. As an adult, I honestly find these Frog Detective games a rather nice break in between games, and I definitely recommend it.

39.0% (146/374)
21.1% (79/374)
23.5% (88/374)
15.2% (57/374)
1.1% (4/374)
Cece09

Woah for a moment there I thought I was looking at nins post, interesting seeing more people not really like steins gate. I haven’t finished it but I agree with what you said about it being one of the best you can get. Its a decent amount of length for its price, it has a nice art and has a unique way to it. It’s not just a romance game but has the guts to try and tackle time travel. Clearly it worked out well with how many they got including 1 being a spin off from the anime thats the 1st game… I enjoyed my time but it also probably doesn’t even hit top 10 and thats with me classing series as just 1.

I didn’t really like frog detective 2 but yeah its definitely a nice break between longer games. I think I’ve gotten so used to short games that now that I’ve tackled ni no kuni 2 and tokyo xandau i’ve realised how just long it takes. Like I’m putting in 10 hour days and I still failed to finish by the end of the year!

Zelrune

For sure. For me, STEINS;GATE was like, not liking an art style of a particular but popular well known artist but still acknowledging them as a master of their craft. I was honestly surprised I couldn’t find any plot holes with the time travel mess. A lot of my games were short this month but I just feel a bit burned out. Mentally, I feel like a cat whose owner put a harness on them to take them for a walk outside but ended up literally dragging them along.