Gaming teaches us that every failure is a stepping stone to success. Vasharal’s profile

Last Update: 05/01/2024
Joined: 21/09/2022

ABOUT ME

My primary motivation for playing games lies in their narratives. However, I'm not averse to engaging with recommended titles or those renowned for exceptional gameplay. Once I'm captivated by a game, I channel my energy towards achieving a complete 100% in terms of Achievements.


This often leads me to invest more time than the average player in meticulously uncovering every conceivable hidden element, which encompasses pursuing side quests and addressing any remaining achievements, all before concluding the game by completing the main campaign. I hold no reservations about dedicating double the usual duration to a game if it resonates with me.

Unless a game's main emphasis isn't on its campaign and the campaign itself is uninteresting, I tend to avoid replaying games once I've completed the initial storyline.


I enjoy delving into games spanning various genres, including Strategy, RPG, Action-Adventure, Adventure, Shooters, Simulation, and even sports simulations. When it comes to game series, I tend to steer clear of sequels if I'm aware of the existence of a prequel or the initial installment in the franchise. I'm intrigued by a game's origins and its progression, making me open to experiencing titles from a decade or two ago.


Other links:

TalePlay
Playing Appreciated
Play a game you won on SteamGifts
Vasharal on Steam Vasharal on SteamGifts

HOWDY PARTNER!


A New Quarter. A New Challenge.

And I'm back with a new filled quarter of games that I want to play from my backlog, games I've beaten, yet not completed, and games that carried over from previous quarter. It's going to be busy quarter, but I'm looking forward to completing as many games as possible.

As the previous quarter, this is filled with both games won via Steamgifts, games Traded, and games that I've had for years in my backlog that I want to complete. I'll not pressure myself if a month is harsher than the others because, like March, I noticed that I had a lot of fun gaming compared to what happened in February.

My ultimate goal is to have fun and if I don't I'll ask myself, why am I gaming anyway?

Gaming is supposed to be fun, where you explore new worlds, new stories, and new ways to enjoy gaming. It's not about ticking off games, collecting trophies and hunting for collectibles.

APRIL - JUNE 2024


Unfinished Beaten Completed Backlog+ Library+ Wishlisted
17 2 0 ⇑ 35 ⇑ 43 ⇓ 987

Achievements Games Completed Average Completion Rate
⇑ 58 214 72%

Completed (214 Games)
Backlog (501 Games)

Challenge - Completed Games (9/30)

Completed this Quarter: 0

11% (2/19)
53% (10/19)
37% (7/19)

BEST SINGLEPLAYER THIS QUARTER

MOST EXCITING ADDITION

BEST MULTIPLAYER THIS QUARTER

WISH I PLAYED SOONER

    COMPLETED

    </li>

- Giveaway | - Trade | - Gift | - Bundle | - Other DDP | - Consoles | - Curator | - Pre-Pirated
24 days ago* 2 comments

QUARTER BREAKDOWN

MARCH



The Month of New Discovery


JUST CAUSE 2

Started the month by completing a leftover game, which is Just Cause 2. I was so relieved to finally complete this game after such a long time. Despite my struggles with the game to complete, I still stand by the idea that the game is fairly good and worth picking if you want to play an open-world filled with action and destruction.



Remember, that if you choose to be a completionist and you strive to complete this, it will eventually pay off.

128.9 hours
50/50
Screenshots

Verdict: Good

One of the best-looking games of its time and the largest open-world I've ever played. This game doesn't respect your time as a completionist. You're forced to grind 75% of the map in order to get this game completed. Although a fun game outside completion, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive in clearing out the map.


Verdict: Bad


Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure falls short of its potential as a platformer inspired by similar games. Unfortunately, it lacks the enjoyable and engaging elements found in its counterparts. With repetitive gameplay, lack of creativity, and a simplistic approach, it fails to captivate. While it might appeal to newcomers to gaming or young children without much gaming experience, I cannot recommend it to a wider audience.


THE ROOM TWO

After the completion of the first one the month before, I decided to give the 2nd one a shot. This time around, I started playing with my wife, but she gave up sticking until the end, therefore felt like I had to continue it myself. Still, it's a game, that I've not completed in March, despite being a short game. I got distracted with other games which I had a lot of fun. The game is not bad, but not great either. It doesn't seem to improve upon the first one, and in fact, it feels much less interesting that before.



Here you're asked to juggle between puzzles, but they are much more simplistic. I've either got the gist of it, or the game is struggling from making interesting and complex puzzles as the first did.


Verdict: Good

Skull and Bones has the potential to be a great pirate game. With an emphasis on combat and customization, this game could go toe to toe with Sea of Thieves if the developers would listen to their audience and provide quality-of-life improvements, gameplay elements, and more simulation/sandbox features.


A BIRD STORY

After finishing To the Moon, I decided to continue playing this franchise even further, so my next objective was A Bird Story. It was a much shorter, sweeter story, that for some reason, didn't feel like it was connected with the rest of the games. No old characters were present, but the story was fairly good for what it was. The game told the story of a boy that was fairly isolated and only had connections with her mother, but barely got to be around her as she would spend most of the time working. You find at some point in this story a pigeon or a wood pigeon and after noticing it's injured, you take it home by not noticing it entered your backpack.



The game focuses on telling the story that comes after. It shows the relationship and bond the boy and the pigeon make and what sacrifices the boy must make. It's a fantastical story, filled with imagination and sad moments, but fairly touching and interesting, which I recommend after playing To the Moon.

1.8 hours
1/1
Screenshots

Verdict: Very Good

A Bird Story tells a sad, yet wonderful story about a boy nurturing a pigeon. The story resonates very close to my heart, because I own a parrot as bird and a while back I took into care a wood pigeon that was sadly hit by a car. Although I had to give it to wildlife-trained professionals to assist the pigeon back into full health, I don't know what has happened to it ever since I gave it. I got no contact from the veterinarians.



GANG BEASTS

I've played this game many years before with my wife, but never really owned this game. A few months ago, I won this game via Steamgifts and decided to revisit it and play something together with my wife. We both had a lot of fun and it was just as hilarious and fun as we remembered it. We laughed out heads off and despite not playing for a long time, I don't regret buying a copy for her to re-try it.



The game is not recommended for playing solo. It does have waves and such and completion can be done for the most part alone, but the real fun lies in playing with your friends. Sadly, the game feels fairly dead, and would be nice to see maybe a sequel for this. Luckily there's other similar games that I look forward to play with my wife and see if they hold up just as fun.

2.8 hours
19/19
Screenshots

Verdict: Very Good

Gang Beasts is a very good and fun party game. I have had a blast playing this game with Arrmeya and despite being a simplistic fighting game you'll laugh so much you'll either have a headache or a stomachache. It's hilarious and I highly recommend it playing with your friends.


Verdict: Good


One of the best-looking games of its time and the largest open-world I've ever played. This game doesn't respect your time as a completionist. You're forced to grind 75% of the map in order to get this game completed. Although a fun game outside completion, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive in clearing out the map.



HELLDIVERS 2

After having a blast playing Gang Beasts, we decided to play something more serious together and that was Helldivers 2. It's as good as other people say. It's goofy, with a lot of hilarious and cringe-worthy dialogues, but with a good feel during combat, an interesting loop system, and a lot of fun to explore. Each world feel vastly different and unique, with its own biomes and environments, worthy of exploring, despite feeling somewhat similar. You fight two cations, the bugs and the robots, and they both carry their weaknesses and strengths very interestingly.



You can play this game solo, but due to its difficulty and the fact that you're pressured by time, it's difficult to get all objectives in time. It's a fun game worthy of experiencing and despite not writing a review for the game, I highly recommend playing the game if you have at least a friend to tag along in your journey.



DRAGON'S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN

This game I've beaten many many years ago. Possibly by the time it came out. I didn't own it, so I pirated before, but bought it as I made up my mind to never pirate again and play only original games. With the release of the sequel, I decided to try the game a few days before the release. And to my surprise, the game is as good, yet flawed, as I remember it to be. It was really nice to revisit the game in it's former glory, despite the eye-sore when it comes to the old graphics, I think the game holds up quite well.



As the release of Dragon's Dogma 2 approached, I have decided to postpone playing the prequel and jump straight into the sequel. Luckily, despite the several lore elements of how an Arisen is formed and the Dragon itself, there are no connections between the two games whatsoever, and can be played without even playing Dark Arisen.



DRAGON'S DOGMA 2

The sequel made me realize how much I love this franchise. It's such a good game to explore, get lost, and test your blade, arrows or magic against foes. This game offers such a big leap in what the previews game was that it makes it seriously difficult to even consider completing Dark Arisen, yet I want to, for the sake of nostalgia and completion.



It is a game I gladly sank 50 hours and I will gladly sink much more. Despite it's technical flaws in the main city, the game run very well for me and I can't recommend it enough.

49.6 hours
18/54
Screenshots

Verdict: Excellent

Dragon's Dogma 2 is an impressive game and by far one of the best games I've played in 2024. I'm excited to explore and complete this game and share more if ever I change my views on the game. I only wish it would get the fixes in performance it deserves. Other than that, I'd avoid taking people's complaints on the matters they don't understand because except for Denuvo and microtransactions, the game is a gem.



Games Completed this Month

24 days ago* 4 comments

QUARTER BREAKDOWN

FEBRUARY



The Month of Grindy and Mundane Completions


ICE AGE SCRAT'S NUTTY ADVENTURE

Despite having a great start of the year, I feel that February could have started and stayed a lot better. I started Ice Age Scrat's Nutty Adventure which I won via Steamgifts, but to my surprise, it was one of the poorest platformer games I ever played. Completing it was more boring than I hoped for and despite being glad I completed it, I wish I wasted time playing other games from my backlog.



At the end of the day, I believe this game was solely dedicated towards children and/or players who are new to gaming as it offers simple and easy to do control, with overall little improvements until the end of the game.

14.4 hours
36/36
Screenshots

Verdict: Bad


Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure falls short of its potential as a platformer inspired by similar games. Unfortunately, it lacks the enjoyable and engaging elements found in its counterparts. With repetitive gameplay, lack of creativity, and a simplistic approach, it fails to captivate. While it might appeal to newcomers to gaming or young children without much gaming experience, I cannot recommend it to a wider audience.


SKULL AND BONES

After considering something different I found out that Skull & Bones was finally released. Not being sure if I wanted to play this game and spend £50 on it, I quickly picked up the trial that offers you 8 hours to test out the game. By my surprise, the game isn't as bad as most people claim it is. Is it worth £50? No! Absolutely not, but it's not a bad pirate game. I have no intention to play it any time soon on the Ubisoft platform and will buy it on Steam when it launches with a proper discount. The game is gorgeous but lacks attention to details in dialogues and characters, which Ubisoft lost complete touch with that ever since Assassin's Creed Syndicate and other titles released during that period.



What I'm looking forward from this game is more content, the liberty to move freely on the ship at least, customization of ship members outside of their outfits, treasure hunting, and more quality of life improvements to make the title be worth £50 and be considered a quality AAA, because the AAAA is far-fetched.

7 hours
12/50
Played on Ubisoft Connect

Verdict: Good

Skull and Bones has the potential to be a great pirate game. With an emphasis on combat and customization, this game could go toe to toe with Sea of Thieves if the developers would listen to their audience and provide quality-of-life improvements, gameplay elements, and more simulation/sandbox features.


CHAMPION OF ANDIA

I got this game for testing a few days before by a solo developer to see how the game was. Initially, it was a request to feature it on my YouTube channel, but I refused as I didn't find the game fit for what I am posting there. The game is rough on the edges and needs a lot of time in development to be considered finished. It has potential but lacks a fast-paced combat from the type of arena combat. It's very weighty and slow.



The game needs a lot more work for me to be able to fully review it. For a solo, beginner, I believe that it's admirable work. I can't review games the same was as when a team of experienced people are making a game or a large company the size of thousands with a well known publisher.

1.1 hours
None
Screenshots

JUST CAUSE 2

Last game played in February and one of the most tedious and boring games to complete in all my few years of completionist. You're required to do mundane tasks over and over again, clearing bases, villages and towns/cities. It is a game that I wish it offered something more interesting on the story department, but that area fails pretty easily. The visuals are still something that I personally think holds up the game well. Animations can be a bit strange, but overall, not a bad looking game for it's time.



My biggest disappointment is that I did not complete this game 100% in February, despite leaving this game at 60% completion, the 15% grind took me more than half of month pushing myself through the struggle to get it all done, to no avail.

109.2 hours
47/50
Screenshots

Verdict: Good


One of the best-looking games of its time and the largest open-world I've ever played. This game doesn't respect your time as a completionist. You're forced to grind 75% of the map in order to get this game completed. Although a fun game outside completion, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive in clearing out the map.



Games Completed this Month

about 1 month ago* 10 comments

QUARTER BREAKDOWN

JANUARY



The Month of Racing Games


THE ROOM

Started the month with a very well-crafted puzzle game, called The Room. My wife and I really enjoyed spending time together playing The Beast Inside, a few days before, by the end of December, so we were thirsty for more puzzle and detective games. So, we picked this one. Had great visuals and it intrigued us all the way with the contraptions and puzzle elements. It did make us wonder what we needed to do next multiple times, but we always figured out what to do.


2.7 hours
5/5
Screenshots

Verdict: Masterpiece

The Room is an excellent puzzle game that delivers on a fun and great experience. I can't wait to get into the sequel and see what those puzzles will do for me and maybe my wife as well. It's something I highly recommend to people that love to play puzzles and by far is one of the funnest to complete.



NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED 2012

January has been a fairly fast-paced one, where my main objective was to play and complete Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012 as a challenge for TalePlay. It's more a personal challenge as I had this game on my backlog for quite some time and wanted to give it a fair shot. I've managed to complete it on the 16th of January 100%, with all in-game achievements acquired.



Was great to experience an NFS once again as I used to play all of them up until NFS The Run. Sadly, the franchise took a downhill turn in quality with each title going from Undercover onward. The reboot or remake didn't stand a chance against the original. A lot of gameplay features were removed, especially one of my favourites, tuning your char's performance and visuals. Yes, sure, we have performance, but it used to be more of a visual matter in older entries. You could see changes happening to your car and it's kinda sar that these have not been implemented. Still not a bad game.

43 hours
None
Screenshots

Verdict: Decent


I wanted to like this game a lot more, but honestly, it's not as good as the original was. Maybe it's the nostalgia, but it was also the elements that were missing from this. I wish they would bring back the formula that made Underground, Most Wanted (2005), and Carbon successful back. It's not by all means a bad racing game, just not up to par to even older entries like Undercover or The Run, in my honest opinion.


TO THE MOON

Just to cool off after intense races, I managed to spend some time with my Steam Deck. Something I normally don't do nowadays for some reason. The game ran perfectly fine on it and due to no support for any screen size, I decided that Steam Deck will be the best option to play this game on. Very unfortunate that it doesn't have proper Linux clousd save support. Yet this game was really pleasant to complete on the Steam Deck.



After completing it, I can say that I really am looking forward for A Bird Story, a game I'll be playing in February.

10.1 hours
1/1
Screenshots

Verdict: Excellent


I think To the Moon is a great visual novel, walking simulator game that tells a beautiful love and tragic story of a dying man wishing to go to the moon. I am captivated by the story and can't wait to see the next adventures of Dr. Neil Watts and Dr. Eva Rosalene. I highly recommend this game!


UNPACKING

Switching back to my PC, I decided to give Unpacking a quick try after getting it via Humble Choice. Great thing that I did because I was honestly quickly bored with the repetitive gameplay. The visuals are the things that brought me in, and in hopes that the whole organizing will be something I'll enjoy, I quickly realized that by the time I reach the end, I lost my will to get to the end, but I pushed through and completed it.



Thanks to The Crew, I kept myself active and have a pretty decent time to kill. Luckily it's a short game, yet I can't recommend it if you are impatient or want more out of it..

3.1 hours
25/25
Screenshots

Verdict: Decent


Overall, I think Unpacking was a gorgeous and relaxing game I enjoyed, despite my criticism. I think it's art style and sound design are amazing and are what will drive many people to try this game. I don't think it's worth the price it's asking originally for the sheer amount of stuff you can do and how repetitive it can feel after a while.


THE CREW

With the announcements of the closing of the servers of The Crew, I quickly repurposed my month to fit in this game. Despite being busy with these two massive titles, I've given other smaller titles a shot as well, such as To The Moon a fair shot over my Steam Deck as well The Room puzzle game alongside my wife, which has been a blast.



It's a shame that this game has to close. The single-player campaign was really entertaining and I managed to get to Level 52 by reaching credits. I highly advise anybody owning this game, giving it a shot before 31st of March, when the servers closes and the game becomes completely unplayable. I got the game back in the Steam Summer Sales in 2023, without knowing that this game would shut down. I'm glad that I gave it a fair shot without spending too much time. I might revisit it before it closes to play a few races here and there and take a good amount of time playing it as I didn't get this game for free.

22.5 hours
None
Screenshots

Verdict: Very Good


Underrated racing game. It might not be perfect in many areas, it offers a vast, very detailed open world, with awesome visuals, tuning that I wish Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012 had and a large variety of race modes.


Games Completed this Month

3 months ago* 0 comments

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


New Year. New Way to Game and Build a Backlog.

I've made a decision to take my posting here more seriously, committing to sharing updates at least once every month about what I'm currently up to. To kick things off, I've resolved to break my addiction to buying bundles and cluttering my gaming library with titles I'll never get around to playing. Instead, I'll be selective, acquiring only the games I genuinely want to play. Any surplus titles will either be traded via Steamtrades for games on my wishlist or gifted through Steamgifts to individuals who have a genuine interest in playing them. This initiative extends to my Steam Group, TalePlay.

Additionally, I've taken a step back from partaking in three amazing Steamgifts groups to give me more focus on TalePlay and be more intentional with my Steamgifts wins, allowing me to focus on my backlog and play the games I've purchased either through bundles since 2019 and games on sales, as well, games that I've left unfinished and couldn't be bothered to uninstall from my computer.

Furthermore, I've decided to share more of what I'm engaging with in my backlog. Here's an overview of my plans for January through March and how I intend to address my backlog moving forward.

What is your New Year Resolution? What plans do you have for 2024?

JANUARY - MARCH 2024


Unfinished Beaten Completed Backlog+ Library+ Wishlisted
9 1 9 ⇑ 63 ⇑ 107 ⇑ 1042

Achievements Games Completed Average Completion Rate
⇑ 653 204 72%

Completed (204 Games)
Backlog (450 Games)

Challenge - Completed Games (9/30)

Completed this Quarter: 9

54% (7/13)
8% (1/13)
23% (3/13)
15% (2/13)

BEST SINGLEPLAYER THIS QUARTER

MOST EXCITING ADDITION

BEST MULTIPLAYER THIS QUARTER

WISH I PLAYED SOONER

- Giveaway | - Trade | - Gift | - Bundle | - Other DDP | - Consoles | - Curator | - Pre-Pirated
4 months ago* 2 comments

Does BLAEO show Delisted games? Just got one game and can’t add it to any list sadly. 😞

2 hours
76/76


7 months ago* 2 comments

As I’ve been checking people’s profiles, I came across three things I’d like to ask.

  1. What does ABC stand for? What event is that and what do you put in there?
  2. What does Batch stand for? As previous question what do you put in there aka what events? Some have some weird numbers and I’d like to understand it better.
  3. Do you have hidden lists and if so, what do you like to add there?

Thank you for answering!

9 months ago* 8 comments

I’ve taken a little bit of time to update my completed section starting from the year 2000 up to 2023. It took some work, but it was worth it. What cool stuff do you like to do with your lists and does anyone know what’s the limit of lists you can make?

9 months ago* 8 comments

April 2023

I’m surprised how good this game is, playing now the DLC, Undead Nightmare. I highly recommend it.

51 hours
23/91
Played via RPCS3
Played on Playstation
I've got 10 games I've got to beat/complete from PlayStation 3 and older, so I've got a nice goal ahead of me.
8% (1/12)
8% (1/12)
83% (10/12)
about 1 year ago* 6 comments

October 2022

Currently this month’s objective progress so far.

50% (1/2)
50% (1/2)
15.4 hours
40/40
Played on Steam


96.2 hours
39/50
Played on Steam


over 1 year ago* 4 comments
Statistics
2738 games
85% never played
5% unfinished
2% beaten
8% completed
1% won't play
Lists