madbuk

Progress Update: #435 - Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren's Call I played the first NftD years ago (so long ago that I've doubled my trophy count since then lol) and I remember being rather underwhelmed. It wasn't a bad game, but it was a bit too easy and that made it rather boring, so I never proceeded to play the sequels. I was looking through PS Now's games though and saw this, so I figured I'd give it another chance as I do like the genre. This was definitely a step up from the first game, it's still very much on the easy side but there were some moments where I actually had to think about what to do, which was great. The story seemed like a bigger deal this time whereas it was just kinda there in the first game. This even threw out sequel bait that made me interested in playing the third game at some point. The art was good, as expected from games like this, and the music was pretty good too. Voice acting wasn't great, but it was serviceable. I might try out some of the other games from this publisher on Now before my sub ends, but it won't be right away (and unfortunately that doesn't include NftD3)

#434 - DmC Devil May Cry I began this game years ago back when it was on PS+, but ultimately ended up dropping it because... honestly, I can't remember why. This is a solid game and I had a fun time going back to it finally. Combat is satisfying, there's plenty of varied attacks, it's decently challenging at times, and the platforming in between fights is nothing hard or thought-provoking, but it's a great way to break up the pacing and reduce the repetition. The story isn't anything special or memorable, but that may be a result of me spreading it out over 6 years, or me not having played any other DMC game for full context of the characters, but that's okay. The gameplay made up for the lacking story. The platinum for this required 6 full playthroughs, and so did the DLC, which sounded overwhelming at first but it actually ended up being rather fun, like Resident Evil trophy lists each run was just slightly different, whether it be your goal, or specific modifiers, or the enemy waves, which made all 6 engaging in their own way. I can't see myself stacking this on PS4, 6 playthroughs may have been enough for me, but... never say never. It would probably be fun.

Progress Update: #434 - DmC Devil May Cry I began this game years ago back when it was on PS+, but ultimately ended up dropping it because... honestly, I can't remember why. This is a solid game and I had a fun time going back to it finally. Combat is satisfying, there's plenty of varied attacks, it's decently challenging at times, and the platforming in between fights is nothing hard or thought-provoking, but it's a great way to break up the pacing and reduce the repetition. The story isn't anything special or memorable, but that may be a result of me spreading it out over 6 years, or me not having played any other DMC game for full context of the characters, but that's okay. The gameplay made up for the lacking story. The platinum for this required 6 full playthroughs, and so did the DLC, which sounded overwhelming at first but it actually ended up being rather fun, like Resident Evil trophy lists each run was just slightly different, whether it be your goal, or specific modifiers, or the enemy waves, which made all 6 engaging in their own way. I can't see myself stacking this on PS4, 6 playthroughs may have been enough for me, but... never say never. It would probably be fun.

428 Shibuya Scramble is a great VN that frequently gets overlooked.

#433 - Metro: Last Light I really wasn't a fan of this one. I want to give it the benefit of the doubt and say that starting with LL instead of 2033 diminished any enjoyment I could've gotten out of the story, and that the bugs are a PS3-specific issue and fixed in Redux, because I know a lot of people who are big fans, but... if 2033 was so essential, why did they release Last Light on PS3 without the prior game? I also found the environments all very samey and bland, which is understandable considering it takes place in the apocalypse, but it doesn't make for an interesting game. The trophies were all very finicky and unclear - the requirements for Shadow Ranger and what can mess it up vary depending on who you ask, there's no tracking for gun kills, and Ranger Hardcore hides information from you that the main character should have access to - how many claymores you have, for example, you have no idea. You can only carry 5 maximum though, can Artyom really not count to 5? The DLC was all pretty bad and uninteresting as well, thankfully most of them were short though. I am glad to be done with this game after 7 years of it being in my backlog, but I definitely don't forsee me playing the others in the series.

Progress Update: #433 - Metro: Last Light I really wasn't a fan of this one. I want to give it the benefit of the doubt and say that starting with LL instead of 2033 diminished any enjoyment I could've gotten out of the story, and that the bugs are a PS3-specific issue and fixed in Redux, because I know a lot of people who are big fans, but... if 2033 was so essential, why did they release Last Light on PS3 without the prior game? I also found the environments all very samey and bland, which is understandable considering it takes place in the apocalypse, but it doesn't make for an interesting game. The trophies were all very finicky and unclear - the requirements for Shadow Ranger and what can mess it up vary depending on who you ask, there's no tracking for gun kills, and Ranger Hardcore hides information from you that the main character should have access to - how many claymores you have, for example, you have no idea. You can only carry 5 maximum though, can Artyom really not count to 5? The DLC was all pretty bad and uninteresting as well, thankfully most of them were short though. I am glad to be done with this game after 7 years of it being in my backlog, but I definitely don't forsee me playing the others in the series.

If you mean the motivational part yeah that was chapter 3. Insane.

#432 - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls This is the Danganronpa game I knew the least about going into. I had heard that it's pretty bad, and knew some things about the main villains/cast, but other than that it was relatively blind. Overall... it might actually be my favourite? Sure, the combat is very basic, but it's functional and satisfying and what more do you need really. There's just a certain vibe this game had, walking a fine line between feeling cheap and feeling big budget, that works really well. I can't put into words just how cozy it felt to play. The story is surprisingly dark. I realize that Danganronpa 1 and 2 weren't exactly rays of sunshine and happiness, but there were certain parts of this one where I was questioning how this game didn't get outright banned, it gets so messed up. It's well written though, and nothing felt like out of place shock value, it all served a purpose. The bonus tie-in novel wasn't as engaging as Danganronpa IF was in Danganronpa 2, but it was still fairly solid. To say more would be going into spoilers but this is definitely not a game you should overlook if you enjoyed the first two Danganronpa games, even if it does have completely different gameplay.

Progress Update: #432 - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls This is the Danganronpa game I knew the least about going into. I had heard that it's pretty bad, and knew some things about the main villains/cast, but other than that it was relatively blind. Overall... it might actually be my favourite? Sure, the combat is very basic, but it's functional and satisfying and what more do you need really. There's just a certain vibe this game had, walking a fine line between feeling cheap and feeling big budget, that works really well. I can't put into words just how cozy it felt to play. The story is surprisingly dark. I realize that Danganronpa 1 and 2 weren't exactly rays of sunshine and happiness, but there were certain parts of this one where I was questioning how this game didn't get outright banned, it gets so messed up. It's well written though, and nothing felt like out of place shock value, it all served a purpose. The bonus tie-in novel wasn't as engaging as Danganronpa IF was in Danganronpa 2, but it was still fairly solid. To say more would be going into spoilers but this is definitely not a game you should overlook if you enjoyed the first two Danganronpa games, even if it does have completely different gameplay.