Gotta Play' Em All! Lengray’s profile
My backlog-killing strategy
• Be extremely selective about the games I add to my library.• Play newly added games as soon as possible.
• Choose the lowest difficulty setting on the first playthrough.
• Ignore achievements on the first playthrough.
• Drop a game if playing has become a chose.
• Keep up-to-date stats about the games I own.
July 2021
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Mindblowing! I just like everything about this game. The story, the characters, the vast zones to explore, the combat, they just all felt spot on and it has been a phenomenal journey. I'm looking forward to playing XC2 and the Definitive Edition of this game.
REVIEW Full review
REVIEW Full review
A pretty good title, with vibes from modern Tomb Raider games. The story is alright, the exploration is great (yet the map can be hard to read) but the combat is hit and miss, the enemy respawn makes no sense and most of the loot is useless cosmetic stuff.
Other games played
SteamThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition - Pinball FX3
SwitchAstral Chain - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Ring Fit Adventure
3DSMario Golf: World Tour - Mario Kart 7 - Super Mario Maker
June 2021
Once again, June was a good month though I don't have much more to report than what's shown below. I decided to play on the Switch differently and picked up Ring Fit Adventure which is a great way to exercise. It's surprisingly engaging and well thought-out. I've also been quite reasonable during the sales and only picked up 6 games, half of which are long VNs I'm looking forward to read over the next few months. How about you, fellow assassins? What gems did you add to your backlog?
A great installment! The design of the overworld and the dungeons is excellent and thankfully straightforward so I didn't need a guide to beat the game. The only downside was the endboss which is a massive difficulty wall compared to the rest of the game.
An excellent addition to an excellent game. It picks up where the main game concluded and is nearly as beefy. Lots of new deliveries to make, people to meet and I really liked how the narrative slowly comes together. I just didn't enjoy the (optional) races.
A very interesting VN mostly featuring female characters and androids. The plot and writing are very good and the central themes, while not unusual for the genre, are tackled with care and measure. I also really enjoyed the comic-like art style.
This could have been a great HOG if only the story hadn't been so far-fetched and the time travel so poorly executed. On the bright side, the graphics are beautiful, the puzzles are mostly original and the collectables easy to find.
Other games played
SteamPinball FX3 - The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
SwitchRing Fit Adventure
WiiXenoblade Chronicles
3DSBlazBlue: Continuum Shift II - Super Mario Maker
Do we need a 6th category to sort out our games?
Something has been bugging me lately and that’s how to sort out games that I’ve liked but didn’t see to the end because of difficulty or endless games I’ve enjoyed a lot but want to stop playing (and mark off the backlog).
I don’t like sorting them into the “unfinished” category because I reckon I won’t start these games again and the “won’t play” category seems too harsh. (I only use that one for games I dropped and didn’t like or games I have no interest in playing).
In the Excel sheet where I track my game stats, I’ve sorted those games into a “sufficient playtime” category which fits my needs but can’t translate on BLAEO.
Do you think a new category for those games is something we need or is it me being too particular about sorting out my games? Thanks for your input.
May 2021
For me, May was filled with Nintendo goodness and a lot of excess. I spent the vast majority of my time on Nintendo games and added quite a few to the backlog. I got all the remaining Yo-Kai Watch titles I didn't already have (all versions) to finish my physical 3DS collection and also purchased another two 3DS consoles (a second New 3DS and a New 2DS XL) as I love this system so much. Also, because I played a pinball game on Game Boy Advance (more about that below), I got the itch to start up Pinball FX3 and ... bought all the tables I didn't own. Yes, I was a weak but boy did that feel good to get all that! I also found it difficult to stick to one or two games at a time so that's something I need to improve in June. I hope you were more reasonable and focused that I was.
A superb platformer. The new 3DS mode is a bit easier than the original one but it was still quite challenging to beat all the regular levels. I really enjoyed how fair the game is. The levels are great and they are even better in 3D which is nicely implemented.
Definitely not for everyone, Eidolon is a mesmerizing game. It's slow and deliberate, its world is massive (and pretty much empty) but collecting memory fragments, depite costing hours of walking, is addictive. Full review
It's such a fun and silly game! The main "story" mode is quite short but the variety and quality of the minigames and the post-game challenges largely make up for it. It fully exploits the 3DS gyroscope and mic which felt refreshing.
A pretty good House of the Dead spinoff. The three tables are varied enough to maintain the player's interest for a while with many ramps, bumpers, extra "layers" and bosses. However, the physics are rudimentary and the ball has little weight.
Other games played
SteamCloudpunk - Pinball FX3 - The Elder Scrolls Online
WiiXenoblade Chronicles
3DSBlazBlue: Continuum Shift II - Super Mario Maker - Yo-Kai Watch
Game Boy AdvanceThe Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
April 2021
What a crazy month it was! Since many places are still shut and I had to work remotely, I spent a lot of time at home and played. In fact, I played so much that earlier this week, I buggered my right thumb and wrist after 4 hours straight using a controller. They were very painful and started to swell a bit but fortunately, my hand is fine now.
I played lots of different games and on different systems but most of my time was spent on Xenoblade Chronicles and The Elder Scrolls Online, which I modded to make it as close to an immersive single player experience as possible as I'm not at all into the multiplayer side of it.
My bet of not buying any games except for Humble Choice was called off by my kids as they wanted me to get more Switch games. And just like I did for the 3DS 2 years ago, finding good deals became a game in itself. I ended up getting Kirby Star Allies for my kids and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore and Diablo III Eternal Collection for myself.
What a great conclusion! I love everything about this game but what shine the most are the phenomenal story and the great NPCs. The tension build-up is excellent and I'm amazed at how this game made me feel truly happy, sad or angry. Full review
A cute and simple game to play. The graphics are very nice despite framerate drops in certain areas. There is a lot to do and customize but things tend to be very slow and a tad repetitive. The social components are okay but I expected a little more variety.
An excellent game! The small screen size and the limitations of the simulation don't stand in the way of a very pleasant experience. However, some conversations and story decisions are quite awkward. Full review
A simple and beautiful game. I adore the art style and how water is manipulated. It may seem short but was the perfect length for a game like this. The platforming provides enough challenge to make your feel how the protagonist struggles.
I enjoyed this HOG for the most part as the story is above average and some production elements, like the splitscreen transitions, are surprisingly nice. However, a stupid sliding puzzle which took me over an hour to solve and stalled the game.
The beginning was promising but things quickly became ridiculous, just like most HOGs. The mini games are easy and the hidden objects scenes require too many actions to uncover the actual objects.
It pains me to drop this game but the puzzles were becoming so convoluted and unintuitive that I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore.. The adventure is not compelling and revolves too much around puzzle-solving. I'll just move on to The Minish Cap on GBA.
I really tried to like this game but the controls are terrible. It's cute and some of the puzzles are interesting but movement is very imprecise! Take my word and ignore this one. There are much better 3D platformers to play.
Other games played
SteamEastshade - Eidolon - The Elder Scrolls Online
Ubisoft ConnectSteep
SwitchAnimal Crossing: New Horizons
WiiXenoblade Chronicles
3DSSuper Mario Maker
March 2021
In March, I mostly stuck to my objective to only play with a controller; the only exception was the second DLC for The Outer Worlds which is great! The result is a mix of genres and a few great games off my backlog. The most surprising one was definitely Eastshade. It's such a lovely title! Along with it, I managed to cross out another two games off my Tag Challenge list and for the first time in ages, my backlog has shrunk!
For April, I'm going to continue playing Xenoblade Chronicles, probably a few more unfinished games and whatever else I feel like playing.
This game is a superb fighter brimming with content! 28 beautifully animated characters, an extensive fully-dubbed VN-style story mode (which took me over 25 hours to complete), an in-game encyclopedia and much much more. Full review
Perfect companion to the main Wanderlust game, this story is shorter but a little less linear. It plays exactly the same but I felt my choices had more weight this time around. The writing is still great and so are the music and photos. Full review
A phenomenal experience in so many ways, I adore the core mechanic of getting inspiration from discoveries or relaxing experiences like tea-drinking and exploration is wonderfully done. However, Eastshade is resource-intensive. Full review
A great evolution but the rubber-banding sometimes spoils the fun. The high track count and their great design make it the meatiest version so far. I also really like the new items as you can finally defend yourself against the homing blue shells.
This game if very good for anyone interested in the occult, the Cthulhu mythos as well as dark and mysterious places. It does a good job of translating H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror but lacks the sense of loneliness in keeping insanity away. Full review
A very nice throwback to 90s gaming. There's much to love about this game and the easy difficulty setting (not so easy though) for those, like me, who only enjoy dying over and over for a little while. Full review
A game which starts off very well but eventually tries too hard to be badass. I enjoyed running up walls and jumping from building to building but the game is very uneven in many ways. The difficulty is all over the place and the story felt uninspired. Full review
A nice evolution from Punch-Out!! on the NES but still very limited in terms of possibilities and the game is too unfair to be fun for me. The gameplay ends up being a memory game to avoid opponents' special moves.
Other games played
SteamEidolon - FreezeME - The Elder Scrolls Online - The Outer Worlds
WiiXenoblade Chronicles
3DSStory of Seasons
Game Boy ColorThe Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
February 2021
Well, February was a good month but my plans got disrupted pretty quickly. My first intention was to continue playing Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii but I didn't. The reason is that after catching up with The Expanse, I really wanted to play a space game. I picked The Outer Worlds, the last game I bought in 2020, and it sucked me in for 53 hours. My second objective was to knock at least one game off my Tag Challenge list. I did try but after 41 hours, I'm still not done with BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extent!
You may be aware of my personal challenge to refrain from buying any game except for Humble Choice and looking at the 14 games I added this month, you may think I've failed. I came quite close but there is a twist to the story. The day the new Artifex Mundi bundle came out, I was really tempted to get it. I told my kids about it (my daughter loves HOGs) and my son said to me: "Look Daddy, I'll give you 5 euros out of my pocket money to get the bundle and I'll trade it to you. I offered him 4 TF2 keys so he could sell them on Steam and make a little profit. He agreed and I activated 8 new games into my account :) The rest are just trades I've made on Steamtrades.
For March, I don't have a definite list of games I want to play but I'm going to make it "Couch March" and exclusively play from my couch. My computer is hooked to my TV so I'll only play Steam games with controller support, my Nintendo consoles (SNES Mini, Wii, Switch, DS, 3DS) and my emulation handheld (Pocket Go).
Stay safe and keep playing. Lengray out :)
The Outer Worlds is undeniably a superb action RPG. While far from perfect, it suffers the most from the constant (and unfair) comparison with Fallout: New Vegas which it doesn't intend to be a successor to.
This game is exactly what I was looking for: a streamlined Fallout-like experience with a good story, great world-building, gorgeous places to visit, lots of quests to do and interesting characters to meet (and sometimes kill). It's never the most important feature of a game but the graphics are outstanding. Landing on Terra 2 for the first time and looking up will put a smile on your face. The attention to details, from the scientists' consoles to the vegetation is superb. Everything in this game looks just right. The main quest and the side quests are very good too and allow quality role-play as choices really matter. Another remarkable aspect is the humour, especially in the dialogues. Whoever wrote them should get a free shipload of gourmet saltuna as they made me chuckle more than once. I also really liked the companions and their stories, though I tended to team up with the same pair for most of the game. The combat is fine but it's definitely not the core of the game. Finally, exploration is okay too but there is not much to see or find off the beaten paths.
The game is a bit too easy on normal so you might want to crank up the difficulty to hard pretty quickly. There's also a lack balance between weapon wear and ammo. By the end of the game, I had more than 5k rounds for each weapon type (there's ammo literally everywhere, even in the toilets) but I had to repair my weapons whenever I had the chance as they degrade very quickly with use. I was also swimming in money (I never had to save up for anything) and hoarded medical supplies just for the sake of it. Maybe the problem is not so obvious on hard difficulty.
First, I highly advise using the minimal HUD mod from Nexus and tweaking to your liking. I love to immerse myself in games of this genre but the floating quest markers and that compass with enemies shown on it were very distracting. Having to look things up on the map and figuring out where the enemies are is so much better! I also experienced a few CTDs and disabling the Steam overlay fixed the problem. Finally, my opinion above is also valid for Peril on Gorgon which is an excellent expansion. I can't wait to play Murder On Eridanos due for release in a few weeks!
This review on Steam if you want to mark it as helpful.
Finally released on the SNES Classic Mini after being cancelled in 1995, this game is bad and has little to offer.
I really enjoyed playing the original Star Fox back in the day, even with the slideshow-like graphics and low difficulty. It was revolutionary in many ways and a totally new experience for me. The sequel looks the same and piloting this iconic ship again was fun for 5 minutes. That's it.
First, the game is extremely short. There are like 5 or 6 "levels" which don't last more than a few minutes, the bosses die in seconds and the "strategy" element they introduced is very weak and simplistic. After what the first game had offered, I don't know who thought it was a good idea to make a sequel like this.
★★★★★
10 hours - 30 of 30 achievements
A solid sequel that never gets boring but which sometimes has questionable dialogue choices.
The first game in the series felt a tad too conventional and the story dragged on a little at times. This second game is much better in that regard. New things happen all the time and the plot takes unexpected twists and turns to stay interesting. Despite guessing very quickly who the climax will be about, the progressive development of the main villain and the work on the secondary characters is excellent. Being friend or foe is a fine line. The action scenes are not the core of the game but are still very well implemented and feature alternative ways of taking down opponents.
I felt that when you fail, the game sometimes takes you quite far back. Some dialogue choices (and one in particular) felt strange but what bothered me the most is the very end and the choice you have to make.
This review on Steam if you want to mark it as helpful.
| 1226 | games |
| 63% | never played |
| 7% | unfinished |
| 20% | beaten |
| 10% | completed |
| 1% | won't play |
- Favourites 21
- Rated 5★ 106
- Rated 4★ 172
- Rated 3★ 58
- Rated 2★ 13
- Tag Challenge #1 12
- SG wins 45
- Endless 5
- Dropped 9