September '19 Play Log I
So much for fall being less busy. The end of the year will also be the end of my current work contract. I’ve been head-hunted by recruiters which is good, but it means interviews and calls and whatnot are beginning. And at the same time, work is getting really busy due to due dates coming up that we can’t possibly meet. And a big boss will be in town next week so the pressure will be on. And working weekends have been mentioned (I believe my contract limits me to 48 hours a week so I should have an excuse to limit it which is nice). Also, I’m trying to get some home improvement stuff done before winter so there’ll be quotes and whatnot for that. So basically everything is happening at once. I’m already stressed out and it’s only just beginning :S. Anyway, on to the game related stuff.
Extremely difficult with a huge element of RNG. Basically it’s an RNG with fancy graphics. Unless you don’t mind repeating the same chapter over and over again and find most puzzle games too easy, I’d recommend avoiding this one.
Pros:
- Some aspects of the puzzles are clever, like having to focus on body language
Cons:
- RNG means that you can fail even on the more optimal routes, and have to restart long chapters, which means it gets repetitive
- Can’t save mid-chapter
- Extremely difficult
- The story (what I saw of it anyway) is fairly forgettable
- Achievements don’t unlock until the end of the chapter, which means you have to beat it
- Many achievements are mutually exclusive, so getting them all will mean replaying a lot
Verdict: 3/10
I had abandoned this one ages ago, and should have remembered why. Way too much RNG and repetition. Now the 1/35 is going to hurt my achievement score :(.
A cute pinball/RPG mashup that works fairly well. It has a cute story that’s rather enjoyable. Pinball isn’t generally my thing since I have bad reflexes, but I quite enjoyed this game.
Pros:
- Cute story
- Well voice acted
- The mechanics work fairly well
Cons:
- Achievement hunters be warned: the achievements are quite difficult, and there are some grindy ones
- I found myself never using the specials since I was saving mana for resurrecting my preferred characters
Verdict: 7/10
SG win on my ABC list. Also matches the PAGYWOSG theme. This is another one with very difficult achievements, and some are grindy. The arcade mode is way too difficult to get achievements on, but I really liked the campaign mode. It’s an unusual mashup of pinball and RPG, but it works very well. The characters are likeable and the story is cute. Not the kind of thing I’d usually go for (I have awful reflexes so I’m rubbish at pinball), but I’m glad I won it.
A thoroughly enjoyable atmospheric adventure game with a rather strange theme. Highly recommend.
There is a story but it’s not told with words. Unlike most wordless/textless stories though, it also lacks cutscenes. It’s one of those stories that’s never entirely clear, though on purpose. If you pay attention to what’s going on as you go through the game it’s possible to interpret. And if you can’t, there are explanations online.
Pros:
- I loved the unique art style
- I found the main character Six to be very endearing for some reason. This made a significant difference for me, especially later in the game.
- The sounds and background music are very well done, especially WRT enemies.
- The game is challenging but not frustrating, and has secrets to explore
Cons:
- There were one or two times where I had enemies appear grab me through walls
Verdict: 9/10
Absolutely adorable game picked for PoP from my wishlist unplayed list. I’m somewhat tempted to buy the DLC at full price now, while I remember the story. I won’t though, I’m too cheap :P. Not to mention I have enough to play. I ended up reading an interpretation of the story online as it’s not clear without really thinking about it, but I highly recommend the game.
I thoroughly enjoyed this game, and found it contained a surprising amount of story considering it lacks text or speech. Anyone who enjoyed AER: Memories of old will likely enjoy it. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy puzzle games and being able to explore.
Pros:
- Beautiful, colourful art style similar to AER: Memories of Old
- Puzzles were not too complex for the most part
- Tells a story via cutscenes at the end of each chapter
- Collectibles expand on the story, but are not necessary to understand it
- Plenty of nooks and crannies (many containing collectibles) to explore
Cons:
- Some of the collectibles are very well hidden - I can’t imaging many people would find them without a guide
- THAT EFFING BIRD IN CHAPTER 2. I was so happy with the finale. I found it discouraged exploration and made some areas frustrating as it gave me mere seconds to try and figure out the puzzle before dying
- Some areas, especially chapter 3 and later, are too dark. I understand the desire to make it atmospheric and realistic, but I found myself getting of the couch and up close to the TV to try and make out what was going on. I could have increased the brightness, but then non-dark areas look washed out.
Verdict: 8/10
An SG win I’ve been trying to get for a while. IIRC someone here told me I’d like it since I liked AER: Memories Of Old. I think I still prefer that one, but I did really enjoy this game and am glad I won it. I found the ending to the story… unexpected. I suspect a lot of people would have found it more obvious though, I’m not great at predicting these things. Or maybe I just don’t try… makes it more fun that way!
Quite difficult if you don't use the no hunger or casual mods. Entertaining for a while, but don't expect to get a huge amount of playtime out of it. The game consists of a new city area that clearly makes heavy use of assets from the two areas of the base game. It's basically half of the city and half of the country with a few new things thrown in.
Pros:
- As with the base game there are plenty of secrets to find
- There are no hunger and casual mods if you find survival too difficult/frustrating
- You can craft/find various weapons (also random clothing and bumper cars)
- Sugar makes anything edible
Cons:
- You get hungry extremely fast which makes survival quite difficult without mods
- The diagrams representing what you need to craft things weren't always clear in what it represented
Verdict: 7/10
Finally got around to playing this DLC that I bought during a sale at some point. Since I gave up on Gods Will Be Watching I’m using it as G for my ABC list. I didn’t like it at first but once I unlocked some mods that made it easier it was more enjoyable. Without mods I found you get hungry way too quickly. If you enjoyed the base game you’ll likely enjoy this too.
Recent Acquisitions
So basically I haven’t beaten as many games as I’d have liked, but I got some fairly lengthy ones. I think I may be turning into a collector. I want to play them all though! Realistically that’s likely impossible, even if I don’t like admitting it. I can still try though!
- RiME
9 hours playtime
31 of 31 achievements - State of Mind
0 minutes playtime
0 of 34 achievements - Pillars of Eternity
0 minutes playtime
0 of 48 achievements
On what difficulty have you played Gods will be watching?
I did my first run on easy and did most of the chapters on first try. Truth is, that on the original difficulty it was very challenging and it required some serious planning.
Only case with RNG was during interrogation section - you can’t influence the last spot in any way, so that was little bit frustrating.
Also, I didn’t found the story forgettable at all. ;)
I think it was original light. Maybe I’ll try again on easy and see if I can get farther then.