aquatorrent’s profile
Legends:
Never played = never checked or touched it at all
Unfinished = missed some achievements and/or meaning to go back to it later
Beaten = completed without 100% achievements that i won’t bother to get
Completed = 100% achievements, finished game with no achievements, or games that i am “done” with (not interested in playing further)
Won’t play = either have dlc achievements that i don’t have, has broken achievements, or games that i don’t dare to play (horror games mostly)
January Sum-Up
Sorry, I have been busy lately. And yep, I’m still on my wins/gifts this month. Unlike my previous expectation, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish them all by the end of the month.
a racing game with a longboard. control is different from other racing games and can take some time to used to, but once you get used to it, it is a relaxing game. don't think it's worth it to play until you reach that point, though. and there are 2 broken achievements.
nice portal-like game. i didn't know about the turing test before so i liked the dialogues, but the ending is just too disappointing.
a game that overstayed its welcome. i liked the mechanic at the beginning, but the end game is just a no.
and no, it's more of a "making potion" game rather than shop simulator game. you need to make a path with your ingredients to reach where the potions are.
just a mediocre rpg maker game.
a survival game with a lot of objectives. as someone who don't manage to play far into don't starve (my review), i still enjoyed this game since it's more guided and has objectives. the combat is stiff, though.
Cthulhu Saves the World
it's similar to breath of death vii (my review), but it's way longer than it should be. got bored midway but it is still a nice game nonetheless.
That’s all for now. I’m going to continue finishing my wins/gifts again this month.
See you later.
January Sum-Up
Still on my wins/gifts this month.
Legionwood: Tale of the Two Swords
This is actually a replay since I played it on rpgmaker.net years ago. I read that there are some improvements from that version and after playing a lot of RPG Maker games on Steam that are kinda different (most of them don't really evoke the old RPG feel to be honest), I decided to start this one again. I remembered this game to be harder - there wasn't this adventurer pack that gives OP weapon early game, for example. I had to grind for a bit before I could finish that first boss in the old version. I'm glad that they make it easier for Steam version, though. I'm not as hardcore as I used to be - in fact, I prefer easier games nowadays. All in all, I liked the game.
Now this is what you call a unique game. If you have played an MMO and had an experience playing with a healer, you'll get this. It's like playing an online game but it's offline, and instead of playing dps you are playing as a healer. And your teammates are a bunch of jerks. I just liked how it goes. I hope they make another game like this.
Phil Alone
It's similar to Twelve Minutes but worse. You are in a time loop and have to get out. The thing is, the answer is clearly everywhere - you just need to interact with every object in the room.
Dungeons of Dreadrock
Oh, I liked this one. It's a puzzle game disguised as a dungeon crawler game. Combat is passive and it's more about thinking of a solution to the puzzles rather than mindlessly beating your enemies.
Crown of Thorns
This game forces you to read a made-up bible. There are a lot of scriptures to fill the game lore (that you must read), and by a lot, I mean a lot. You'll get a wall of text almost every minutes in the beginning. I liked how they make it useful to finish the puzzles though, although revisiting the scriptures need some work.
Aaaaaah. I hate this game.
I liked the visuals (I'm a sucker for sprite graphics like this), and the game could be like my next suffering after Offspring Fling! (my review), which I liked, but sadly, it's not. I tend to rely on muscle memory for difficult games like this, but you need your mouse to aim. And with you having to move your mouse back and forth several times, I'll have to say sorry to my wrist. I had to stop playing once since it hurts and I don't want to damage it further. Also, it's hard to replicate your movements (can't rely on muscle memory that much here) because you need to aim with your wrist, and it tends to fail if you are on the wrong angle. Rip my wrist.
You did well, my wrist. I think it's best if I don't explain more. I don't want to recall the bad experience I had when I played that game.
Come to think of it, this might be in a similar genre of Phil Alone (my review) and Twelve Minutes. Maybe I just didn't like the genre?
This one is actually good, except that hints tend to be too vague, and it's tiring to replay the game from the beginning just because you die from trying out things. It takes a long time to get back to where you were. There are 2 episodes, but it seems that they didn't put much thought in the second episode - things are still vague, but it's mostly straightforward apart from the initial puzzles.
I grew up with time management games, so I liked it. The gameplay is similar to Rescue Team 5 (my review). I thought they were from the same developer at first.
Hmm I don't know what to say. It is bad and it is okay at the same time. The visuals are not good, but I am a sucker for quest-focused game, and this game is one.
Breath of Death VII
Oh, this one is nice. It feels like a retro JRPG game but with comedic take. I didn't get all of the references though since it seems to be for those who are familiar with older games.
I'm glad ZPE encourages me to try this one. I always wanted to try this game but decided not to since I didn't like roguelike. This game isn't roguelike at all (or even roguelite). You keep everything if you die. There is an in-game currency that is lost if you go to dungeon, but that will happen regardless if you die or not. Well, it's a Zelda-like, but instead of having upgrades from exploring secret areas, you need to grind a certain currency instead. I don't really enjoy the grind, but I liked the randomized dungeon design, and hey, bosses become easier if you have all upgrades.
Asfalia
It's a game aimed for kids. Iirc, it was supposed to be released as a full game, but it ended up released as a part 1 instead (hence the name inconsistencies on the store page - it was changed on release). As a standalone, it was alright as long as you don't mind the story (not that there are much to begin with). I like the sticker hunting aspect: you click on all objects to find a sticker. The rest is just a regular point-and-click that is simplified for kids.
It Lurks!
Dunno what to say about this one. It's an alright game, I guess. You explore a house, find zombies, and kill them in turn-based combat. It lacks some QoL though, and it's very short.
That’s all for last month. I’m still going to work on my wins/gifts this month. I hope I can finish it this month, but I know there will still be some leftovers that I need to clean up next month. At least I hope that I can manage to touch my non win/gifts PoP games later, though. It’s in the middle of the cycle already.
Anyway, see you later.
December Sum-Up
Happy new year! I’m getting lazier in making this. Maybe I should just stop…
An RPG based on saturday morning cartoons. It's okay but it has one broken achievement.
A short point and click that reminds me of flash games. Not sure if it's made in it but it looks really similar.
A horror RPG maker game with multiple endings. It's not scary but I like the puzzles.
I don't know. I didn't seem to enjoy it. You play as 7 characters that comes from games in different genre but I found the game in the game part to be in low quality.
Another RPG Maker game. It's too short and combat isn't fun with its bulky enemies, especially with one that can reduce your HP to half with a single spell.
Yep, my christmas and new year holiday is mostly spent for this game. I like the darker take that this game has. 100%ing it can be a pain though since you have to spend hours fast forwarding the same dialogues for the first 8-9 chapters (there are 12-13 chapters total).
Another RPG Maker game. I like how they have a lot of casts and try to shuffle them all. Games like this tend to just shove a bunch of characters at you that ends to be forgotten since I already stuck with the first four characters, but not this game.
A short point and click game. I like how the puzzles don't tell you what to do and you have to figure out the rules yourselves from the given hints.
That’s all for this month. I also replayed Osteoblasts to get the achievements and try the new Hall of Doors update. I got too many wins and gifts from December so I’ll try to dedicate January to finish them all, although I still want to play some RPG Maker games from time to time… and then there’s also new PoP cycle for me to participate. Let’s see how it goes.
See you later.
November Sum-Up
This month is dedicated to finish my wins and gifts.
A nice short, pixelated horror game with some scary-looking enemies that will put you on an edge. Most of the game are just jumpscares, there is nothing that will make you awake at night (unless if you are not into pixelated gore).
A nice puzzle game with outstanding visuals. If you are a fan of walking simulators or want to try walking simulators with some gameplay, you might want to try this one.
A nice stealth game with short levels. I like the simplicity and I was craving for one after not enjoying Aragami 2 because of its long levels and annoying enemies that take time to revert back to their positions.
I don't know. The game feels like it's trying to showcase LGBTQ+ variety with the different characters. Strangely, there are no straight people as the main characters (or maybe there isn't any at all in the game? I'm not sure). The story is alright. I like the visuals though and the combat is quite unique, albeit repetitive.
I'm not good at beat 'em ups, but somehow I liked trying them. This one is nice, although it only supports local coop. I played it solo and it's doable in the easiest difficulty. It has some grindy achievements though.
I liked it. It's a 3D platformer with some exploration from time to time. The platforming sections are enclosed in places called Voids, making each level simple, different, and challenging. The exploration helps me to recover from the Voids since it can be tiring to keep on playing those (some of them can be challenging and taxing to finish, although I still enjoyed them).
The Whispered World Special Edition 
Played it becaue it's Silence's prequel. I didn't like it. The story is too basic and the point and click segments tend to not make any sense. I feel a bit conflicted about the ending too.
Whoa, the visuals are beautiful. They might not getting some love near the end but they are still great. The story is better than The Whispered World Special Edition since it tries to touch some emotions and flows better (especially because of the kid).
Kinda alright. The theme is about compromise but I just feel that it's too short and not memorable enough.
It's been a long time since I played the first one so I forgot some details, but it was as good as the first one. The pacing isn't as slow as the first one and it still has some gripping scenes. I think I somehow can symphatize what they are feeling too. My head hurts from all the stress that they are going through, hahah.
I always wanted to play a shop simulator and I suck at Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale so this one is a nice surprise. I liked the deckbuilding element when you are haggling with customers. I like that it's more about time management. Sometimes I felt that it can be too strict with time, though. I almost can't survive the first 10 days because of it. The game is quite relaxing once you know what to do, but there are a lot of things to learn.
Another beat 'em up. I just don't like the control scheme. Wanted to play it with controller but I am not comfortable to attack with my right analog stick, so I switched to keyboard. And man, enemies take too long to kill. I clicked so many times when I played the game - I just hope that my mouse isn't broken. Other than that, it was a nice one. I liked that it tries to compromise solo play by having all 4 characters switchable - you basically bring 4 characters on every playthrough. This one also seems to be geared more towards online plays. You can create lobby and wait for people to join, although it seems to be dead since nobody joined when I played (or maybe they just don't accept new player in the middle of the stage).
That’s all for last month. This month I’ll still be chipping away at my wins (got some new ones from November), and I still want to play some RPG Maker games. Not sure how it’ll go though, sometimes I hate my backlog.
See you later.
October Sum-Up
Last month marks the end of my Game Pass’ sub, so I’m back to my regular Steam backlog in the middle.
Monster Sanctuary 
GAME
PASS
I didn't expect that i will enjoy this one that much. I like how they make every monster unique - there is no best monster or worst monster (at least for pve), there is only monster that is good for this team and not. You need to throw 3 monsters in the battle and use the one with the same synergy - in addition to the normal healer, support, dps role, you also need to adjust their preferences. A monster that retain bleed stack will be best to be placed in the same monster that does bleed, and so on. The possibility is endless!
Btw, it also might be too hard to the very casual players in normal mode (I got stuck at the post-game fights and had to ask for a help and adjust my team), but there is a casual mode that you can try.
Kingdom of Aurelia: Mystery of the Poisoned Dagger 
It's a normal hidden object game. I like the steampunk setting, though.
Airoheart
I always enjoy Zelda-like games, even if it has a slightly worse quality than the original. This one might not have a lot of secret areas, but it has a lot of dungeons and long playtime. I liked the long dungeons, although it can be a cons for those who has a bad orientation since they don't have an in-game map for dungeons.
I thought this one is a deckbuilder! No, it's a solitaire game with a few tweaks. Did i regret playing it, though? No! I liked it. Some fights might rely on RNG, but I just like the design (and I also like these kind of solitaire games). The combination with RPG just make me like it even more.
It's been years since I have played To the Moon and its extra games, but this one still look similar from my memory. The theme might be confusing and irrelevant to some people, but it kinda touch me in the end.
It's a cute puzzle game that has some small exploration in between. Do you like the visuals? Do you enjoy easy puzzles? If your answer is yes to both, then you should try this game.
Disappointing… Even Kingdom of Aurelia: Mystery of the Poisoned Dagger was better than this. Some solutions just don't make sense and it doesn't feel like a HOG game due to the lack of it…
Man, I didn't expect such an old game to be this entertaining. I like the comic book storytelling. I also enjoy the story. The twist makes me confused a bit though but I still liked it overall. Puzzles are on the hard side for me (I got stuck a lot), but guides are abundant.
Opaline
A generic RPG Maker game. Story is not interesting and mapping is too amateur for someone that has make a lot of commercial RPG Maker games, but I like the combat. It's like other RPG Maker games and not that grindy (I played on easy, though so that makes sense).
Dropped list:
Unsouled. Well, technically, I did beat the game, but it apparently give me a bad ending unless if I find all of its secrets. I just don’t like replaying it since levels can take a long time and I don’t really enjoy the fights. I feel like the boss fights rely too much on luck since I’m not fast enough to respond to their attacks (I literally just mashed buttons and hope that I dodged when the boss hits me). I keep on playing just for it to end, and once it ends, I don’t feel like redoing it anymore. The game is pretty short, though. It “finished” it around 4h, I think.
Sable. Curse my poor memory, I can’t remember why I dropped this. I think I just didn’t manage to figure out what to do next in the second town. I didn’t like walking simulator actually, but I just give this one a try since it looks great. Well, it was a good game, but I just think it’s not for me. I don’t like walking a long way to reach a destination and you need to find the destinations yourself in this game. Plus, you can’t instantly call your motorbike to your side.
The Good Life. I told you I hate walking simulators. This one isn’t, but it feels like one, minus the good-looking sceneries. Basically, you need to explore a very vast town to find the mystery surrounding towns and find quests. There is a feature to teleport between each area, but it costs money that can be hard to find. Speaking of money, you need to earn it and buy food to increase your hunger. Not to mention that time moves very fast. It’s hard to keep up.
I’m joining cj’s Monthly in a Month event this month. I just happen to have a lot of Humble Bundle games that I need to play soon (both from SG wins or gifts) and I enjoyed the Persona anime, so I just thought, why not?
See you next time!
September Sum-Up
Well, I was planning to end my subscription last month, but it turns out that the Game Pass app and the Windows Store has different expiration date, and I blindly followed the Game Pass’ expiration which was slightly longer. My sub was extended without me realizing it until one day before the Game Pass’ expiration date ends, so I have to stick for another month. Well, at least they have 2 new additions that I’m looking forward to play (which you can guess from the list below).
New Super Lucky's Tale
1000 of 1000 gamerscoreA nice collecthaton game. Levels are varied from each other so it doesn't feel repetitive, and the difficulty is easy enough for casual players.
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
675 of 1000 gamerscoreI didn't expect it to be this fun tbh. I only tried it since I was eyeing on it and it was about to leave the Game Pass. It's a turn-based RPG with QTEs on its attacks. The battles can feel slow because of it, but it's still fun nonetheless. What I liked the most is that you can customize the characters for different builds easily.
Tinykin
805 of 1000 gamerscoreAnother collecthathon. I think I might be starting to like them. This one is unique. You are a small kin going around in a huge house. The background looks like the house setting, but there are some stacks of objects to make it easier for you to traverse the area with your small size. You need to explore 1-2 huge rooms in each level, finish the quests, and find some collectibles to proceed. The bad thing is that it can be hard to 100% it since the game has no item tracker, but there are some video guides that can help you if you don't mind spending some time for it.
Bugsnax
1000 of 1000 gamerscoreThe only word that reminds me of this game is: gross. I know, the game looks cute and all (and it is). You are traveling to an island that has "food monsters" (aka living foods). It starts as a photography game where you can snap a pic of them to get their info, but it's more focused on catching the monsters at the end. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing the game, but I just don't like seeing some of the monsters. Imagine a carrot walking like a snake, a burger having legs that can bump you several meters away whenever they see you - I think I got PTSD from that. Moreover, the game took this "you are what you eat" motto… literally. Your body can literally change based on what you eat (yes, you eat the living monster food). Now, imagine again of you, but with a popsicle hand, a gummy body, a popcorn leg… okay, I'll stop there.
Again, don't get me wrong. The game is fun. See how I 100% it? That's because I liked it. But it ends up more creepy and gross than I thought. I'll still recommend it to people since it's really fun to play, but I don't think I have the courage to play it again… The game is more of a one time thing for me.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
290 of 1000 gamerscoreI was very excited when I saw V3 came on Game Pass last month. I heard that it can be treated as a standalone, and seeing that the game has always been more expensive than the other 2 (which is reasonable), I still can't justify a reason to get it, especially since I haven't bought the first 2 on Steam. FYI, I already played the first game and watched the whole anime ages ago so I already know about the lore to some extent.
Well, the game gave me so much despair - there are a lot of likeable characters in this game and they die easily… I don't think I ever felt this when I played the first game. The trials are fun and the twists always get me interested. I couldn't predict on who is who before the trial starts. I also liked how the game tries to guide your thoughts to understand the thinking process. There are some that I had to brute force, but it's not as much as when I played the second one (more on that later).
The last chapter kinda ruins it though. I don't like how the revelation came out to be, but since the game is kinda open ended, I'll just let it slide and forget whatever happened (and pretend that they are all having a happy ending). Plus, the last trial is stretching it too much.
Lastly, the game can be super grindy if you want to 100% it, so I hope you are not playing it for that… I wonder why they keep on adding these grindy minigames to a visual novel game…
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
360 of 1000 gamerscoreYes, I know it's weird that I played V3 before 2. I only planned to play V3 before, but I wanted to play more after what happened. Plus, I haven't played this game and only watched the anime, so I thought that was fine. I didn't realize how many spoilers that I got before I played it though…. The revelation at the last 2 chapters doesn't give as much impact as I thought since I already know who and what happened. All things aside, it was still a nice game. I didn't know who killed who so the other trials took me by surprise.
However, compared to V3, 2 is just… lacking. I know that it's weird to compare a third series with the second one, but since I heard so many backslash on V3, I thought that it was way worse than 2. The UI is the first one I noticed. It's hard to figure out whether it's the MC or the character in front of me that is talking. Plus, most characters are not likeable. They all seemed to be foreshadowed by 1 character with their craziness. The rest feels like extras with a unique trait in each of them. And then the trials. Unlike V3 that has a clear motives, this one is more… unrealistic. It's also harder to figure out what the game wants when the game ask me something since there are more than one evidence that can lead to the same answer. Well, if you manage to get past it, it's still an enjoyable game. It still gives that nice twist and surprise, but just don't expect too much.
Beacon Pines
1000 of 1000 gamerscoreIt's another visual novel. If you like to read books and interactive fictions, well, you'll like this game. You'll spend half of the time reading a book and half of it moving your characters to a certain point to talk. I was surprised that all lines are voice dubbed, tbh, and the voice dubber did her job well. The game feels like reading those CYOA book that require you to flip to a certain page to see what happened based on your choice - it branches itself at some point based on your decision, and you need to get info from all branches to figure out what happened. However, since there is only 1 good ending, it can feel odd sometimes. The epilogue has people know everything that happened despite it not being explained in the branch you are in.
Well, since I mistook my Game Pass expiration date, I joined some PA giveaways and won one of them, so I ended up playing a Steam game from my backlog.
Funnily enough, I got a feeling that I have played it in my phone years ago. Still, I don't remember most of it though so it's like a brand new experience to me. It's another Artifex Mundi game, so you know how it is. One achievement seems to be broken though (or maybe bugged in mine). I already tried to play the game several times but I still can't get that one.
The dropped list:
Aragami 2. I always wanted to play stealth game (used to play it in the past and enjoyed it), but Aragami 2 is just… too much for my completionist self. The map is just too vast so it can be hard to finish the level without being caught. I know that you don’t need to do that to finish the game, but I just can’t help myself doing it in a stealth game. At the end of the day, I ended up getting more frustrated with it and since I can’t seem to figure out how to eavesdrop in one of the levels without being seen, I decided to drop the game for my sanity.
IMMORTALITY. It’s a game that I wish I can keep on playing, but I just can’t. You need to spend hours to click an object in a video to find a new video clip until you find them all, in which you can finally start to watch the video and understand what happened. It’s a very tedious process. I just decided that it’s not worth it and dropped it until the game somehow decide to add an option to show all videos at once (which I doubt will happen).
Day of the Tentacle Remastered. I think I got spoiled by Game Pass games. I suddenly don’t find point and click games that attractive anymore, or maybe it’s just this game. I just don’t like it when I can’t progress the text and have to wait until the voice dub finish talking before reading the next line - it breaks my concentration. Plus, it can be hard to figure out what you are supposed to do - since I’ll have to use guide to finish the game with a story that I don’t find captivating, I decided that it’s not worth it.
Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch™ Remastered. I tried to like it, but I just can’t. The game has too many touch encounters with a high respawn rate. Plus, the combat is too weird. It tries to be a semi active turn-based with you able to walk and choose a command, but you can’t walk after you choose a command despite you having to walk to the enemy to attack several times. Plus, there is a mechanic where you need to defend if the enemy does something, and I can’t seem to do it fast enough with the control scheme. I might be more interested in playing it if the game is in an action RPG style with me slashing the enemies instead of giving command, or maybe stick with either a traditional turn-based style or make it a command-based like in Digimon World but with dumber enemies.
As for next month, I’ll be playing Game Pass games until my sub ends, and then switch to my Steam backlog. I would try more of the Game Pass’ recent additions if my sub doesn’t end this soon, but with my mood wanting to get back to my Steam backlog ASAP and tired from checking out games that didn’t work for me, I think I’ll play it safe this month.
August Sum-Up
Wait… It’s September already? Time flies so fast… This month is still Game Pass games, but since I have played most that I wanted to play, this month’s games are mostly either a flop or uninteresting, so I have been slacking off with playing.
SCARLET NEXUS 
GAME
PASS
495 of 1000 gamerscore
If you like to watch anime, well, you'll enjoy the storytelling. The story is told from two perspectives, and you get to control one of two characters per playthrough - you need to play the game at least twice to get the whole story. You can skip the last few episodes though since the story are similar for both characters. I hated the combat. Enemies are too bulky even at the easy mode, side quests are annoying despite the meager reward, and then the last few dungeons are too long for its own good. The only thing that keeps me going was the story because I liked the theme that much. I won't tell you what it is though since it's only revealed starting from the middle of the game.
AI: The Somnium Files GAME
PASS
880 of 1000 gamerscore
Okay, I didn't expect this. I thought it's some dark game like Danganronpa or Zero Escape. Well, it's dark, but it's full of jokes (porn jokes to be exact) to lighten the atmosphere. If you hate the jokes and unrealistic thing like someone beating up a lot of people that uses guns or fights being centered around porn mags, you'll hate it, but personally, I enjoy the comedic take on it. The song at the end of the game also leaves me wanting for more. However, I found it to be weaker than Danganronpa or Zero Escape. It's basically a visual novel - although there is a murder that you need to solve, you just need to watch until the murderer reveals themselves. The gameplay where you are going through people's dream to find clues are also too vague to understand. I had to do trial and error just to solve them.
Psychonauts 2 GAME
PASS
1000 of 1000 gamerscore
It's like the first game, but without the annoying platforming sections like Meat Circus in the first game. I enjoyed collecting all the collectibles, although I liked how they display the figments more in the first game. All same-looking figments are grouped up in this game so it can be hard to find the one that you are looking for if you miss some. Boss fights are still unique, but it's not as tricky as the first game. Well, I'm going to continue comparing this with the first game if I keep going, so I'll stop. If you haven't played the first game, it's a collecthathon game. It's fun.
Superliminal GAME
PASS
126 of 1000 gamerscore
It's short, puzzles are tricky, and you need to figure out how the mechanics work at every level. I enjoyed it at the first few levels, but it soon becomes annoying since I tend to not know what the game wants me to do.
Backbone GAME
PASS
430 of 1000 achievements
The first chapter is superb - the twist at the last scene really got me. The rest? Not so much. I think the game was rushed to completion, and the dev cuts corners. I don't mind that the game that has some clever puzzles in the first chapter turned into a whole visual novel style with bunch of dialogues and illusionary choices with walking in between, but the story isn't as engaging as I thought. It's enough to keep me going, but the ending pretty much disappoint me. The game keeps on building mysteries over mysteries, but everything isn't explained at the end.
Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom GAME
PASS
865 of 1000 achievements
If you didn't notice it like me, it's a children's game. The game was easy - you basically can spam your attack button to kill most enemies, although there are some enemies that can give you trouble if you are not careful. It still doesn't matter though since you'll just respawn in the same area if you die. The side quests also can be repetitive, especially since you only can take up to 3 quests at once. If you want to buy it for your child, beware, there is one dialogue that can be harmful - it talks about how everything will end if they die. It was passed on as a joke, but I figured it's better to let you know.
Floppy Knights GAME
PASS
900 of 1000 achievements
I always wanted to try a deckbuilder game - I like card games, but I noticed that most deckbuilding games have roguelike element in it, and I hated that so much. I was thinking to try this game out to try the genre, and much to my surprise, it actually don't have any roguelike element at all (yes, it seems I can't read the store tag very well). Anyway, the game is a mix of turn-based tactic and deckbuilding, and as someone who is bad at turn-based tactics, the difficulty is alright. There are some that give me trouble, but there are ways to build an invisible deck. I liked the challenge mode the most though. You are given a deck and an objective; and you need to figure out how to clear the objective with such limitation. It reminds me of those challenge puzzles in Yu-Gi-Oh! games, and I was hoping that the game has more of them.
OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition GAME
PASS
820 of 1000 achievements
The first time I know OPUS was from the android game, and I found it boring. I have been avoiding the series for a good while after that, but since I heard some good things about the game lately (especially with how it has a nice story), I caved in. Well, I didn't regret it. I almost cried several times while playing the game, and the ending… let's say that I used my tissues. The voice overs are surprisingly well done for an indie game. That and the music help to bring more emotion to the story. I kinda hated the gameplay though. The game has this traveling and resource management thing between the story, and most events are based on RNG - I had to use Alt+F4 several times just to get the best outcome. You can just ignore it, but my perfectionist self kicked in at the worst moment. The minigames also can be confusing - I was supposed to heard a song, but the song is either too low or not noticeable enough. I ended up guessing most of them.
Next, the dropped list.
OMORI. I heard the game has a good story, but it took so long just to execute it. I was waiting for the psychological horror to kick in, but it never comes. I was served with a full-fledged turn-based game instead, where you need to explore a lot of areas and fight enemies. The thing is, battles are slow - you need to wait for the attack animations and the character also has a slow walking speed in most areas. The game was good if you want to play turn-based game, but as for me, I was too tired of waiting.
Moonglow Bay. It’s cute, but that’s it. Time goes too fast, and with daily quests and you having to explore for your main quests, it’s hard to keep both satisfied. Moreover, the game can be boring and repetitive with you fishing and selling things. I stopped playing it since I don’t think it will get better - it’s a fishing game after all, you’re meant to relax and I was expecting things with more activities and time to do more things daily.
The Forgotten City. I actually liked the premise. You are stuck in a time travel loop and you need to figure out what happened to return to your world. It felt like Twelve Minutes, but better. Sadly, the game has some horror elements… It’s not scary - it’s just some skeleton going at you in dark places, but as someone who hates playing both, I just can’t stand playing it more, especially since I mostly played at night.
Myst. I heard good things about the game but I think I was too dumb for it… I can’t even figure out how to exit the first area…
UNSIGHTED. Although I liked action-adventure games, I prefer the ones with dash/dodge instead the one that rely on parry. Well, this one relies on parry to deal damage, and enemies deal a lot of damage even on easy. I figured that I will just not enjoy the game if I keep on playing so I dropped it.
Midnight Fight Express. I’m not sure what happened, but I played the demo and enjoyed it. However, I kept on dying when I played the full game now. I’m not sure if I’m just getting rusty or the game was getting more difficult. Enemies are bulky and I had to either rely on weapons (which might be hard to find) or wait for timings for enemies’ attack. Again, I hated parry-based mechanic, so I quickly dropped it after I died too much.
Well, I think some games that I dropped this month was mostly because I found it not interesting enough after I spent more time in it. Since Game Pass is a sub with a limited time, I decided not to dwell too much on games that didn’t satisfy me after some time has passed. I would surely give more time to play games like OMORI to the end if I own the game, but as for now, the time to enjoyment ratio wasn’t worth it (I was half asleep when I played it most of the time) so I ended up dropping bunch of them.
Anyway, I still have some Game Pass games for next month (already dropped one game as we speak…) but there are some new Game Pass additions that interest me, so hopefully they won’t disappoint. Fingers crossed!
Until next time!
July Sum-Up
If you read my post last month, you’ll see that I’m having a Game Pass subscription atm. Well, I still do, so this month will be dedicated to finish those games. I built some Steam backlog over this month though - I need to start picking them up once it is over. Anyway, I found a way to see all gamerscore based on my last playtime, so I’ll be incorporating it to the panels this time. I still won’t put my playtime though since I know that they are not reliable.
Life is Strange: True Colors GAME
PASS
900 of 1000 gamerscore
I never played Life is Strange before, but it felt like playing Telltale games with better graphics. You watch a scene and move around afterward. I hated the exploration part - the main character walks slowly and the game has a slow loading time in my device. I'm pretty sure it's because of my potato spec though. The story is nice at least. There are some story branching but I don't think it matters that much.
The Artful Escape GAME
PASS
800 of 1000 gamerscore
It's not much of a game. You walk and strum your guitar around. The scenery is nice, though. I still enjoyed it despite hating walking simulators because of its pacing. The sidescroller format works well since you only need to focus on one direction. There is a simon says minigame on each boss fights, but it's nothing too difficult.
Young Souls GAME
PASS
800 of 1000 gamerscore
I liked the adjustable difficulty. The game was too fast for me on the default setting so I had to lower it. It's a nice beat 'em up with cute visuals. There are a lot of weapons to adjust your build, and some bosses are challenging - you need to learn their attack pattern to win.
Twelve Minutes GAME
PASS
920 of 1000 gamerscore
The game used one of my favorite concepts. There is a trouble on your way as you go home and you must avoid getting killed within the next twelve minutes. If you die, you'll wake up from the beginning. You need to piece together some information in each loop and combine it to figure out the ending. However, the execution doesn't seem to be as good as the concept. I got stuck a lot and replaying was a pain since I had to go through the same thing over and over again. The ending wasn't particularly good either so I was pretty much disappointed.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games GAME
PASS
0 of 1000 gamerscore
This game is a combination of two games. I played the first one, 999. I regretted playing it so much - as someone who enjoys Danganronpa games, I liked this a lot. It's a combination of visual novel and escape rooms, and the story touch a bit of interesting topic that can make you shiver. I finished the game with coffin ending, and I was so invested in it and wanted to get all endings. I figured that I'll just buy the game on steam later so I could experience it to the fullest.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge GAME
PASS
455 of 1000 gamerscore
I wanted to see what the hype is all about. I wasn't good at beat 'em up games, though. I found it hard to finish it solo so I had to resort playing it in multiplayer. It's a good thing that the game is still new; a lot of people are still playing even if you don't find a friend to play with you. The game became fun when I played with more people, especially since I could just wreck stuff up without having a care of my HP or whatever. I found it hard to remember all the moves though. The game lists them all out at once and I was even confused when I saw other people keep on spamming their specials. It turns out that there is a button for that - one that I found by searching online since I couldn't manage to find the move list in the game.
The Pedestrian GAME
PASS
1000 of 1000 gamerscore
To my surprise, I enjoyed it more than I thought. Despite the 3D models, the game actually is played in 2D. Well, mostly. Ever see a street sign? Yes, the puzzles are there. The unique thing is that there might not always 1 street sign in the level and you can arrange them so that they connect to each other. I enjoyed playing it.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising GAME
PASS
760 of 1000 gamerscore
The game is good. You play as three people that can be switched anytime you want in an action RPG in sidescroller format. The game can be repetitive with the quests, though. You need to revisit the same dungeon a lot of times just to finish them all, not including the time that you need to revisit after obtaining upgrades. And by a lot, I mean A LOT. I think I explored the first dungeon more than 5 times. I felt that it's quite cheap to do with such a high price tag. The game also doesn't end here - it ends with some mysteries since it's a prologue to their main game, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. I was bummed since I couldn't see what happened to one of the main characters.
CARRION GAME
PASS
1000 of 1000 gamerscore
What a great stress reliever. You play as a monster that eat humans. Yes, that's it. Some humans will have weapons that give you trouble, but it's fun to play overall. It's played like metroidvania in a sense that you'll get upgrades that will let you to explore previously unaccessed areas later on.
Garden Story GAME
PASS
950 of 1000 gamerscore
Don't play it if you expect it as a zelda-like or farming game. It's neither. It's a quest-focused game where you do daily quests and beat enemies up in action adventure style. The combat is stiff though and the game is quite repetitive. The daily quests are pretty much randomized so you might get the same thing every day, and you need to do it if you want to unlock some upgrades. As someone who like quest-focused game, I still enjoyed it, although there are still times when I loathe it since I know that I could finish the game faster if not for the daily quests.
Chinatown Detective Agency GAME
PASS
275 of 1000 gamerscore
If you are planning to play it in Game Pass, don't. The game is very bugged on release, and the Game Pass version doesn't have all the fixes (which the steam version has). I can understand all the negative reviews on release - the puzzles didn't even have the solutions as it should be. The gameplay was nice though. The puzzles can only be solved by looking up online, and you need to understand what the game really asked for. There are some that can be very tricky to solve though, although the difficulty is toned down as you play.
Omno GAME
PASS
370 of 1000 gamerscore
Not sure what to say about this one. It has good-looking areas. You basically need to solve some puzzles in one huge area to go to the next one. It's hard to hunt for the collectibles this way though, and there are some areas that are too vast if you have to walk on foot. Moreover, it can take a while to figure out where some puzzles are.
Escape Academy GAME
PASS
935 of 1000 gamerscore
It's a game with some escape rooms. The difficulties are varied, although sadly, there weren't a lot of hints in the game. Got stuck on some of them, especially the one with big rooms since I didn't know where everything is. It's still a great game, though. There are ~13 escape rooms in total and it seems that they will release a DLC later. If you like Escape Simulator, this could be a good alternative. I still prefer Escape Simulator over this though. Some escape rooms in this game were timed, and I didn't like that.
Citizen Sleeper GAME
PASS
710 of 1000 gamerscore
I don't know if it's just me, but the narrative style reminds me of Shadowrun. There are a bunch of info dump being told at the beginning and it took me a while until I could understand everything. The game didn't let me to process it bit by bit though so I had to replay the prologue. Anyway, it was a unique game. It said that it mimics TTRPG, but I never played those so… don't ask me if it's true. You get some dice every day that you can use to do some action. Higher die increases your chance of success, and the lower one decreases it. I hated that you need to know everything to play it effectively though. My condition was deteoriated in my first playthrough without me knowing how to increase it - it turns out that I used my dice in the wrong place. So I restarted it from the beginning. It works well at the end though. I was enjoying it. There are a lot of reading involved, so beware.
As Dusk Falls GAME
PASS
1000 of 1000 gamerscore
Just like Life is Strange, it felt like Telltale games. It touches a unique topic, though. It starts when a robbery gone wrong, from two point of views. And then it tries to tell what happens 10 years later. It tells the trauma that the victim went through and how they cope with it. The how part depends on you, though. Your decision will hold some meanings to their end. I liked how you can replay the game from certain point in the timeline (not at the beginning of the chapter). However, replaying to get everything will still be boring since you have to watch the same cutscenes several times. Ah, and you need to get used with the animations. The game chooses to make them not smooth on purpose.
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition GAME
PASS
915 of 1000 gamerscore
A beautiful-looking metroidvania that focuses on platforming. It was an enjoyable game although I hated the boss fights since you need to remember where everything is to pass them - the "boss fights" are basically obstacle course and you need to run while avoiding the obstacles. You can lower the difficulty if you want, although I don't know if it will affect them.
Lake GAME
PASS
1000 of 1000 gamerscore
I used to commute long hours before covid strikes. I liked to space out while driving and looking at the scenery. This game provides a good alternative. You deliver some mails in a rural area that is surrounded by lake and greeneries. The game can be boring to some people though, especially since it's very repetitive. But if you like to relax and space out a little, this game can provide that little distraction.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps GAME
PASS
605 of 1000 gamerscore
The game has some boss fights this time. I was stunned with the visual improvements at the beginning - the first game was good, and this one was so much better. There are also more areas and content to increase your playtime. Although both are good, I still prefer the first one over this, though. Boss fights can be cheesed (and you probably will since they are very bulky and hard to predict), and some projectiles (I'm looking at you, light burst) was hard to aim with my 4-directional controller. By the time the ability was introduced, I wanted to switch to keyboard, but I didn't know the controls so I had to endure it.
Next is the dropped list.
Umurangi Generation. I thought I would like it since it was a photography game. I didn’t like that it was so focused on objectives. Why play a photography game if you have limited shots and a timer? You are required to photo specific things in each level, but some objects need a very precise angle to capture. Sure, you can finish the level without capturing it, but what’s the use of a photography game if I didn’t photograph everything? Once I think that, I ended up dropping it since I don’t want to frustrate myself over taking that one picture.
Undungeon. I said that Citizen Sleeper’s narrative was like Shadowrun, but Undungeon was way closer. I didn’t like the info dump as well, though. There are too many things that I need to learn for the worldbuilding. The dealbreaker was the combat. There are too many buttons that I need to learn and press, and some enemies are way too strong for me to beat. I also hate that enemies are getting stronger the more often I took damage. I couldn’t even fight properly since I hadn’t master the controls yet.
Raji: An Ancient Epic. I liked the Hindu mythology that was told on the side. The game also look beautiful, but that was it. The controls are off and the combat is wonky. You can try jumping on walls to deal damage, only to find that you aren’t close enough and didn’t do that, taking damage as a result. You can try to jump on the platformer sections, but your character doesn’t move to the direction that you register (pressing up and left will move your character to the northwest in varying degree, for example), so you fall off and die. I could stand the combat section a bit, but once I died too many in the platformer sections, I decided to drop it for my own sanity.
Katamari Damacy REROLL. This is the fastest game that I dropped, I think. You need to roll to walk, and I couldn’t seem to do it with a controller. I could do it in the keyboard, but I couldn’t seem to roll in the direction that I wanted to. I ended up dropping it since there is no point in playing the game if I couldn’t even master the controls.
LUMINES REMASTERED. This is also one of the fastest games that I dropped. Not out of spite, though. The game looks good. It’s like tetris, but instead of making a line, you are matching 3 of the same color. It just felt like an endless game so I decided to drop it.
Kill It With Fire. A game where you kill cockroaches. I thought it will be a great stress-reliever, but I found myself to be dizzy since I need to rotate the camera a lot just to find the tiny cockroaches behind objects. The game ended up boring and repetitive so I dropped it.
FAR: Changing Tides. The game was so-so. You need to operate a ship and keep it going. I hated the beginning since the ship walks very slow - I had to read some webtoons until something happened. The game starts to pick up its pace once you get more modules in the ship, though. I started liking it since I had more task to do and things to keep track of, but honestly, there isn’t much in the game. It still follows the same style of operating a ship and picking up supplies (and solve puzzles) from time to time. I ended up getting softlocked in one of the areas (got pitted against a wall), and I decided that it’s time to drop it.
I’ll still play some Game Pass games next month. I planned to play longer games this time since I already played most games that I want to play though. Hopefully I’ll get them done by the time my subscription is over.
Well, that’s all for now. See you later.
June Sum-Up
This month was purely dedicated to finish my PoP backlog and RPG Maker itch since last month since I didn’t get a chance to finish any. The rest of the month was spent playing game pass games since I couldn’t resist the offer.
It's a unique game where you explore someone's brain with your psychic powers. The visuals might have aged, but the gameplay is nice. I hated the platforming sections, though. The camera make them unbearable, especially at the very last level.
I was quite fond of the original game, so I thought of giving it a try. I made a mistake. I hated that there are cheap jumpscares that randomly spawn in an area. I'm just tired of getting a game over and reexploring everything again. Puzzles might be harder than the original game, but most are not that difficult if not for that jumpscares that instant kill you. One puzzle can be annoying to solve, though. You need to be able to differentiate 15 music notes, and yes, I'm tone-deaf.
A rougher product of the old zelda games (a link to the past, minish cap, etc). It focuses more on exploration and side quests without spoonfeeding you with the control nor the difficulty, but it's still fun if you just like to mash stuffs up. I dislike the long dialogues, though. I don't think it matches the gameplay.
Realm of Perpetual Guilds
The game is… alright. It's free and there is nothing worth to note. The dungeon designs are lazy and it can feel repetitive, but at least combat is balanced.
Banished Sir
I don't want to be a bad guy, but it feels like someone tries to make their first RPG Maker game and decide to sell it. The game is lacking in quality and there aren't anything worth noting compared to other RPG Maker games. Enemies are too bulky and you can even get less party member if you don't know what to do.
Alright, the rest below are from Game Pass subscriptions. I won’t put my playtime since I realized that they can be inaccurate sometimes. I won’t bother putting my achievements too since I’m too lazy to dig them up. They aren’t as easy to fill as Steam’s.
Death's Door GAME
PASS
I liked the music. I liked the fights. I liked the game. Fights can be hard but I enjoyed it. You can adjust the difficulty by buying or not buying upgrades, but even if you buy all upgrades, the last few bosses will still provide you with some challenge.
Pupperazzi GAME
PASS
At first I was confused about what to do, or what the game's objective is. Why you only got limited shots per day in a photography game? Why the game won't record all dog types that I have captured? I wanted to catch them all! But I eventually realized that the game is more about quests. You take photo of a dog that is doing something, and that's it. I eventually got obsessed and addicted solving quests after quests since I'm a sucker for quest-oriented games.
Nobody Saves the World GAME
PASS
You are nobody. Nobody can change into different forms. Each form can level up by solving quests. As someone who like quest-oriented games, I also got addicted with this game. Quests might be repetitive since it requires you to do a certain skill x times or even use a skill within a certain condition. You might be forced to clear dungeons based on what the quests told you, but it encourages me more to revisit the dungeons and finish the said quests. All quests aside, the game actually has a lot of areas to explore, different forms that have different perks, and many more. It's fun.
Donut County GAME
PASS
A fun and short game where you control a hole and put everything in it. Characters are cute and the dialogues are wholesome.
Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy GAME
PASS
Good story, bad at everything else. I just hated the boring combat. Enemies are so bulky and it takes a lot of presses just to use your comrades' skills. And then there are those QTEs. I don't mind QTEs, but the game forces you to watch unskippable cutscenes whenever you fail. One of them was too vague to finish. Well, on the good side, the story is good and fun. It's not based on the movie though and characters might talk too much sometimes.
Mind Scanners GAME
PASS
After finishing Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy, I don't think I'm ready for another story-heavy game. I thought Mind Scanners wasn't one, but it still has a lot of texts to read. It consists of some minigames that you can play to cure a patient's sanity. Using a machine to trigger the minigame too many times can remove the patient's personality, though. There is another machine that can prevent it, but I found that I kept on forgetting to use it since the indicator isn't obvious enough. The game drags too long for me - I was getting bored after playing it for a while. The story has a lot of moral choices and different endings that you can choose, although I don't think it matters much except for sating your curiosity.
Last Stop GAME
PASS
Again, I didn't think I was ready for another story-heavy game, but I started this one anyway since it was short. Got hooked for it until the end, especially regarding one story. The game has 3 stories, separated into 6 chapters, which are told from 3 different people and focused on different topics. Everyone will then meet each other in the final chapter to conclude the story. To be honest, the story might not make sense since it covers a lot of alien topic but didn't explain it in detail. I'm more interested in the essence of the story, though. The first story is so heartwarming about people who are becoming close to each other. I didn't like the second story since they make me hate the protagonist rather than liking her. The third one is alright.
A Memoir Blue GAME
PASS
It's beautiful. You need to figure out how to proceed the game yourself most of the time, but sometimes the controls are a bit off. The game is way too slow for my taste though, and I hated walking simulator. This isn't one, but it feels like it due to the lack of gameplay and beautiful scenery.
Kraken Academy!! GAME
PASS
It has a nice concept. You have 3 days to save 4 spirits and prevent a calamity from approaching. You can revert the day to day 1, which is usually be done after you save a spirit, to gain more access to other areas and meet new people. The game becomes a bit repetitive towards the end, although it's still alright.
Gorogoa GAME
PASS
A puzzle game in a layered comic book layout. You need to connect 4 pieces of paper together to proceed the game, although the way you connect them isn't as obvious as you think. It's a nice "think outside the box" type of game. It's short too.
Echo Generation GAME
PASS
A turn-based RPG game mixed with QTEs. You have some skills and most skills will require you to execute a QTE, which is unique to each skill, to land a crit. The game can be grindy if you allocate the stat wrong, and it can take a long time to backtrack if you don't know what to do.
Bloodroots GAME
PASS
Pick up items, use them at enemy to kill them, and chain combos. You die in 1 hit and so is your enemy. It's mostly a fast-paced game where you need to be careful of enemies' attack and time your attack right, and then memorize your move if you fail. The game can be challenging at times, to the point where I fed up with it, but it was still satisfying whenever I cleared each area.
On top of those, I also played A Story Beside to explore all endings. I liked some of them, although others can be repetitive since the changes are minimum. I still had a good time with it, though.
I also played Data Hacker: Corruption. I saw my friend got 100% achievement 2 months ago and asked for their advice, and they said that they didn’t experience the bug that I got, so I ended up playing it and… the bug is still there. Kinda glad that it’s not fixed tbh. I’m not sure if I could stand playing that horrible game again. Heck, I don’t even know what to do to finish everything that the game has to offer past the place where I got the bug.
As for game pass games, I dropped What Remains of Edith Finch. I’m just not a fan of walking simulator and didn’t realize that it was one. Got stuck on the tree branch at the beginning and decided to stop playing it instead of wasting more time playing a game that is not for me.
I also dropped TUNIC. It’s too difficult for my taste. Enemies attack too quickly with hardly any room to attack. I wanted to git gud, but the game doesn’t seem to allow me to. There is this one enemy that even can one hit me. I’m not sure I could learn its attack patterns that way. I could just turn the invicibility mode on, but I don’t think I’ll enjoy the game with that. I appreciate it if the game has an option to lower the damage and attack speed of the enemies, though.
This month will be dedicated to game pass games too, so hopefully it won’t bother you too much.
Until next time.
May Sum-Up
I don’t have much time to write these days, so the update was a bit late.
Dragon Caffi
A quest-based game for those who like repetition. I liked it although imo, there are some qol fixes that needs to be done.
A nice and cute photography game. I liked it.
A horror RPG Maker game. I liked that despite using limited lighting, areas are still easy to traverse.
This one is about fixing stuffs! It's too bad that there aren't many items to fix on the main story progression, although they make it up with the optional side jobs (that almost give no value to the game… at all). Don't get me wrong, though, I did those a lot of times. Fixing stuffs aside, the game is fine.
Been a while since I played a fighting game, and it was so satisfying. My hand was a bit sore from playing it, though. The game was good, but there is this learning barrier where you need to read a guide to figure out characters' skills, especially for some with skills that has special effect.
For a free game, it was a good horror game made with a lot of effort. I liked the voice dubs and artful graphics. I hated the limited lighting, though.
I liked the dialogues. It's more lively than other games with straightforward protagonists and the like.
A short puzzle platformer game. It has twists, but I don't think all the basis is covered.
A fun turn-based exploration game, but 100%ing it is such a grind and boring.
A nice interaction fiction game. Either you like it or you hate it.
You watch several survelliance cameras and decide whether to tinker their live or not. It's unique. I liked the execution.
The game has nice visuals, but I kinda hate the stealth section. You can remove it by wearing a certain item, but your walking speed becomes too slow because of it. And yes, I don't like the slow walking speed either.
Another cute photography game. I think I have become addicted with this genre. They are so fun to play.
This one has quests that require you to take photo of some objects.
A story-heavy RPG Maker game from the creator of World's Dawn. They made such a great story. There are also a lot of effort put into this one compared to other RPG Maker games. Check the game's trailer to see whether you'll like it or not.
Didn't know that Nerdook has games on Steam. I used to play their flash games and liked them a lot. Their games usually have unique and easy-to-learn gameplay, and short length. This also follows the same formula.
I think that’s all I played this month. Most of the game came from Cjcomplex’s Monthly in a Month event and gifts, so I didn’t manage to finish my PoP games. Don’t worry, I got them done already, but that’s for next month’s post. As for this month, I decided to revisit some games that I have played, mainly RPG Maker games. I might play other RPG Maker games too while I’m at it. I haven’t got a chance to play them last month.
| 622 | games |
| 23% | never played |
| 0% | unfinished |
| 2% | beaten |
| 71% | completed |
| 4% | won't play |