Phyrexian Librarian's Card Catalog of Platinums

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Here's the problem with a backlog; half of it is games you played but never finished, half of it is games you bought but never played, and half of it is games you want to buy but can't justify spending money when you already own so many games. And that last category grows faster than your wallet. If you want to get anywhere, you have to organize and prioritize and focus. That's what this thread is for.

 

Goals:

• Play the few remaining PS3 games I have before the system shuts down entirely!
• Increase the completion percentage on my profile. 100% will probably never happen thanks to some truly BS trophies and DLC. So the goal is to hit 93%, then 94%, then 95%, and so on. This means starting with my lowest completions and working my way up.
• Clear out games I own but haven't played. This includes several games that I already platinumed on an old account; undecided if I want to play through them a second time.
• Finally start playing all the games I've missed out on.

 

Notes:

• Quality over quantity. I'm not buying a game I dislike for an easy platinum. That means no shovelware, no stacks, and probably avoiding genres I don't enjoy (fighting, sports & racing, horror, anime, yes anime is a genre of game fight me).
• Green games are games I'm definitely coming back to
• Red games are games I'm almost certainly never playing again, and the ones that will prevent me from ever having a 100% profile. Sigh.

 

Now Playing

???

 

Category 1: Started but not 100%

 

• Batman: Arkham City - An entire second playthrough, plus all the combat challenges and ranked maps
• Broforce - Requires PS+ (see Category 2.5)
• Crash Bandicoot - Time trials
• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortez Strikes Back - Time trials
• Final Fantasy VII Remake - Hard mode
• Galak-Z: The Dimensional - Requires PS+ (see Category 2.5)
• Rogue Galaxy - End-game dungeon grinding, and the insect minigame
• The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe - See you in 2033
• Yakuza 0 - 100% completion and an entire second playthrough

 

Category 1.5: Platinum but not 100%

 

• Concrete Genie - Requires PSVR
• Dishonored Definitive Edition - Dunwall Trials
• Grand Theft Auto V - 3+ more playthroughs of the Doomsday Heist
• Horizon: Forbidden West - DLC
• Nioh - DLC
• Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove - DLC
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Survival challenges

 

Category 2: Games I bought but haven't started yet

 

• Bioshock / Bioshock 2 / Bioshock Infinite
• Cult of the Lamb
• Hades
• Hob

 

Category 2.5: PS+ games I own on an old account.

 

To re-gain access to these, I'd have to pay for a second PS+ subscription until I clear them out. How many can I do in a single month?

 

• Broforce
• Galak-Z: The Dimensional
• Gauntlet
• Grow Home
• Gone Home
• Lords of the Fallen
• Resident Evil
• Super Time Force Ultra
• Unmechanical Extended

Edited July 7, 2023 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #107 - Titanfall 2

 

I am very open about not really enjoying FPSs, and also not being particularly good at them. I guess this is a good one though? The wallrunning is exciting and the titans feel fun to stomp around in, but the story is super-generic space army nonsense. It's just a thin excuse for the PVP stuff, which I suppose is fine.

 

Verdict: For FPS fans only

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #108 - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

 

Safe to say this game is literally unlike anything else I've ever played. It's not scary, per se, but it instills a sense of dread and fear that is both incredibly uncomfortable and thematically spot-on. Definitely follow the game's advice and play it with headphones, and probably go for a walk afterwards.

 

Verdict: Highly recommended.

Edited May 19, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #109 - Hollow Knight

 

This game is adorable, challenging, captivating, and an incredible achievement from an incredibly small team. A true mashup of Dark Souls and Metroidvania, with enough unique spins and concepts to truly stand out from an incredibly packed genre. The fact that so few people here own a PS+ free title suggests they were turned off the perceived difficulty. If that's you, don't be. This one is an all time classic.

 

Verdict: Highly recommended

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Latest 100% - Back to the Future: The Telltale Series

 

Oof, this one is rough, folks. Telltale has never been known for their stable game engines, it's always been the storytelling and the puzzles that gave them their good reputation. But they both suffer here, to the point where this might be the worst series they put out. Bad animations, terrible pacing, terrible voice acting (from Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd themselves, no less!), easily missable trophies, and soooo boring. If they were hoping to skate by on nostalgia alone, it didn't work.

 

Verdict: Skip it

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #110 - Subnautica

 

I've never played a survival game before, not even Minecraft. And what an incredible experience and wonderful introduction to the genre. The ocean you have to explore and survive in is vast, beautiful, detailed, complex, and once you go deep enough, utterly terrifying. Don't use the dev menu, the game really isn't that hard and it's a tragedy to miss out on it.

 

Verdict: Highly recommended

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #111 - DOOM

 

I have a very vivid memory of walking to my friend's house in 1994-ish, and walking home with ten 3.5" floppy disks containing Doom II. Over 20 years later, here we are again, back on Mars and back to killing every single demon in Hell in glorious HD and surround sound. It is truly, incredibly satisfying to cut a Summoner in half with a chainsaw, or rip out a Mancubus's eye and shove it down its throat, or wipe out an entire room of zombies in a single BFG shot. The movement is smooth, the guns are calibrated for maximum satisfaction, and the music... holy shit the music! This is a power trip in its purest form.

 

The multiplayer DLC, however, is a horrible grind that will take you 10+ hours of repetitive actions, and over twice as long if you try and do it legit.

 

Verdict: RIP AND TEAR your way through the base game, skip the DLC

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #112 - Erica

 

Sigh, at least the graphics are good. Is this what I get for saying I like game developers to take risks and experiment? A janky, gimmicky, boring attempt at a thriller like this?

 

This game checks all the boxes of stuff I dislike in games. Gimmicky controls (a phone touchscreen is bad, the DS4 touchpad is worse), the illusion of choice, bad writing, bad acting, you name it. This game takes the David Cage problem of getting a consistent performance from characters who have no idea what may or may not have happened earlier in the story, and makes it ten times worse by using actual humans.

 

Verdict: Avoid

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[Heather342]

On 08/04/2021 at 8:51 PM, PhyrxianLibrarin said:

 

Category 2.5: PS+ games I own on an old account.

 

To re-gain access to these, I'd have to pay for a second PS+ subscription until I clear them out. How many can I do in a single month?

I'm pretty sure that if your PS4 is set to primary for the account that has the PS plus subscription, then any other accounts that log into that console can still have access and game sharing even if the other account doesn't have PS plus. So I don't think you'd need a second subscription

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

8 hours ago, Heather342 said:

I'm pretty sure that if your PS4 is set to primary for the account that has the PS plus subscription, then any other accounts that log into that console can still have access and game sharing even if the other account doesn't have PS plus. So I don't think you'd need a second subscription

 

Unfortunately that's the reverse of my situation. I have a foreign account that I used to have a PS+ subscription for, and games on that account that I got through PS+. So in order to re-download those games at all, I'd have to re-subscribe to PS+ on that account first. That's in addition to the PS+ on my actual account.

[Heather342]

Ah ok, that makes sense. I wish you well with your backlog clean up ?

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #113 - Rogue Legacy

 

Gah! My thumbs! Roguelikes/lites are another genre I never really got into, although I see the appeal. The core gameplay loop (explore, get loot, die, spend loot on getting stronger, repeat) is very addicting and perfect for occasional gaming, as it can last you weeks or months. The main game is fine, the platinum is extremely rough, as you have to beat some crushingly difficult bosses, and then do a low-death run. This is the worst part; dying less actively breaks the gameplay loop, which makes the run terrifying. It's not more fun to win, it just feels even worse when you lose, and I think that's a bad experience.

 

Verdict: For roguelike fans only

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[DrunkenEngineer]

I'm really liking your concise reviews!

 

I see you have done a lot in GTAO, I have some questions about that, mind if I ask them here or would you prefer not to clutter up your backlog thread?

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

On 5/29/2021 at 0:21 PM, DrunkenEngineer said:

I'm really liking your concise reviews!

 

I see you have done a lot in GTAO, I have some questions about that, mind if I ask them here or would you prefer not to clutter up your backlog thread?

 

Yeah go for it, I guess, it's not like anyone else is posting here.

[DrunkenEngineer]

13 hours ago, PhyrxianLibrarin said:

 

Yeah go for it, I guess, it's not like anyone else is posting here.

 

Aww.

 

I guess my main question was, did you have to rely on randoms for the heists?  I see you (rightly) bailed on the CM and Elitist doomsday trophies; what was your experience working through the OG heist stack?

 

I've mostly been keeping to a solo lobby, grinding out ranks when I feel like it and have dealt with illustrious pubbies enough to know better...

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

On 6/2/2021 at 11:50 PM, DrunkenEngineer said:

I guess my main question was, did you have to rely on randoms for the heists?  I see you (rightly) bailed on the CM and Elitist doomsday trophies; what was your experience working through the OG heist stack?

 

Tell you what, why don't we do it this way!

 

Platinum #86 - Grand Theft Auto V

 

One of the defining games of the generation, a game this large can't be reviewed all at once.

 

Single Player - A bitter rivalry between two bank robbers, and a young criminal caught in the middle. Personally I really liked the story campaign, it's insane and silly and populates the gigantic world with real-ish people who you actually care about. Imagine a combination of Heat, Reservoir Dogs, Menace II Society, and Idiocracy. A-

 

GTA Online - The real game, as it were. A truly incredible sandbox that lets you do nearly anything. Run an import/export business, steal cars, run a nightclub, Ocean's Eleven your way into a casino vault, sell drugs & guns, dogfight other players, literally rob a sovereign nation, you name it. There's really no need to boost to level 100 artificially, GTAO is wildly addicting and a testament to the "earn money to buy stuff to earn more money" loop that Rockstar is so good at. I can't blame them for stretching this into three different console generations. A-

 

Heists - Rockstar wisely realized that the heist planning and setup and execution were, by far, the best part of the single player campaign. So why not put together a crew of your real life friends? These are an absolute blast to play from start to finish. Get a good boosting group here, randoms are still randoms and entirely unreliable. A+

 

Doomsday Heist - On the other hand, Rockstar learned all the wrong lessons for this content. Incredibly long missions, boring and vague objectives, one-dimensional characters, and a truly shocking increase in difficulty compared to everything else. Missions involve you literally killing hundreds of infinitely spawning enemies with high powered weapons and a tendency to insta-kill you. The fact that this DLC got trophies, and the Casino Heist didn't, is a legit tragedy. D-

 

Verdict: Highly recommended

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #115 - This War of Mine: The Little Ones

 

This is the kind of experiment I'd like to see more of. Survival games like this were really big in the Flash world circa the late 2000s, but usually had zombies as the enemy. A game where you guide the civilian survivors of a civil war, inspired by the real-life siege of Sarajevo, is a fresh spin on the genre. It's an intentionally slow game that really causes you to feel the terrible monotony and dread that war puts you through. Once you have enough food and water to survive, you just have to wait until people stop shooting.

 

Verdict: Recommended

Edited June 11, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #116 - Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 1 and 2

 

Not gonna lie, I'm not really into the old-school Castlevania linear side scroller games. But it's very cool to see a game with 2020 art direction and 1980's graphics by choice. And by CotM 2, you have a batch of levels with many branching paths, each of which can only be entered by a specific combination of characters. It's a testament to how good at level design the team is. But the game is short, there isn't really too much to say about it.

 

Verdict: For NES platformer fans only

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #117 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

 

I mean, it's no Symphony of the Night, despite being nearly identical gameplay-wise. The difficulty is all over the place, great bosses next to horrible bosses. The grind is extreme, 90% of the items you either never need or are objectively worse than the stuff you get for free, so the crafting is totally irrelevant. And when you stop using sprite-based art, it's really hard to figure out the hitboxes, which is kind of important! I love Metroidvanias, but I'm starting to think this is a genre that should have stayed in the past.

 

Verdict: For Metroidvania fans only

Edited August 16, 2021 by PhyrxianLibrarin

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #118 - Ghost of Tsushima

 

Sucker Punch clearly had an image of the game they wanted when they made this, and that image was a still frame from a Kurosawa movie.

 

This game is an experiment in a lot of ways, and it feels like it. I love the use of diagetic elements in the world; instead of following a compass in the UI, you follow birds and foxes and the wind. There's usually no HUD to get in the way of the gorgeous visuals. The story of a samurai questioning his legacy and his family, and compromising his "honor" to save the people he swore to protect, is surprisingly powerful from start to finish. I spent the first 8-10 hours getting my ass absolutely handed to me in the combat, and it wasn't until a few important upgrades later that it clicked for me.

 

If you're willing to stick through the first few incredibly rough hours, it will pay off in a huge way. 

 

Verdict: Recommended

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #119 - Untitled Goose Game

 

It's fun to do bad things. If you're having a stressful day, turn off your brain for a few hours and terrorize the British countryside.

 

Verdict: HONK

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

Platinum #120 - Kentucky Route Zero

 

Critics love this game. They called it one of the best of the decade. They said it was "transcendent." And it is, in a sense; it transcends video games so much, I'm not even sure it counts as a video game anymore.

 

As an experiment in storytelling, it's beautiful and sad and a true work of art. The tale of the mysterious surreal caves and highways under Kentucky, and the people who travel them, is heartbreaking and inspiring. The music and art style are gorgeous and tragic, the constantly shifting perspective and internal dialogues involve you in the inner thoughts of dozens of characters, and the writing is some of the best I've ever seen in any medium. IGN called it a "poetry generator", which seems pretty apt. It's the video game equivalent of watching Twin Peaks or reading Achewood.

 

As a game, on the other hand, it's pretty blah. This isn't a point & click adventure game; it's a visual novel. Your main input involves walking slowly to another character, pressing the only input available, and selecting dialog options. The option you choose doesn't change anything about the story, it just bends the narrative to whatever you selected. It's slow and plodding on purpose, and so many characters dump walls of text on you, they all start to blend together by the end. 

 

Verdict: For pretentious arthouse gamers who brag about playing games before they were mainstream

[rjkclarke]

On 01/07/2021 at 8:49 PM, PhyrxianLibrarin said:

Verdict: For pretentious arthouse gamers who brag about playing games before they were mainstream

 

I'll be honest, that made me both laugh out loud, and make me want to play the game... Whilst I wouldn't quite describe myself that way... I'm sure there are plenty of people who would.

 

Nice write up though, I enjoyed that. Kentucky Route Zero, now looks very interesting after reading that.. I've seen the game on sale quite a lot and never had any sort of indication as to what it was. I'm glad you were completely fair in how you critiqued that too. You didn't sell it as anything other than what it was, I can deal with some fairly mediocre - or even fairly non existent gameplay, if there is an interesting story to be told or some nice subtext to be unearthed. So I definitely think I'll have to get around to checking  this out at some point in the future.

[wafflestomper810]

Would Yawgmoth approve of your list?

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

@rjkclarke Oh don't get me wrong, I mostly mean that as a compliment, I'm describing myself as well. KRZ is a big win for the games-as-storytelling crowd, as it's the kind of story that really wouldn't work as a movie or show or book.