DrunkenEngineer's OCD Funhouse!

[DrunkenEngineer]

Welcome to my checklist!  This started out as a way to connect with the trophy hunting community, log my thoughts as I work through completions, and carve out order in my little gaming space.  I might share completions logged in other platforms if they are unique there, but otherwise we'll be focusing on PlayStation trophies. Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy!

 

Background

Spoiler

I was born in 1984 and have been playing video games since the late 1980s.  First the NES in 1987, then the SNES, Gameboy, IBM PCs, Apple IIe, Nintendo 64, PSX, Xbox, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox 360, PS4, and now PS5.

 

We had a NES before I can even remember, and a 486DX-2/33 IBM PC that I spent many an hour bleary eyed, blasting demons in DOOM, shooting down rebel scum in TIE Fighter, or trading barbs of insult sword fighting in MONKEY ISLAND.  Often I fought over computer time with my dad, as he needed it “for work” but was secretly booting up flight simulators and harvesting spice in DUNE 2.  I have highly suspect that my brother and I were a convenient excuse to get a NES so he could play Mario!

 

As I grew up, PC gaming became a larger share of my gaming time, but consoles never completely fell to the wayside.  Towards the end of high school and through college, console gaming began share more time with Steam and World of Warcraft.  I quickly fell into the trope of “PC Master Race” and amassed a reasonably large library on Steam, pretty much skipping the PS360 generation and playing the PC ports, except for a couple of console exclusives.

 

I juggle between two accounts - Steam and PlayStation. The PS4 (now PS5) is my first trophy tracking Sony console and I started playing it 1 year into the gen.  For a time in 2015 I bought both a Steam and PS4 copy of major multiplatform releases I enjoyed, either due to bad PC ports (Deus Ex Mankind Divided), or indecision between playing at a desk versus couch for games that played best with controllers (Mad Max, Witcher 3) or because my kitten (now cat) wanted to be on my lap (Fallout 4, Wolfenstein TNO).

 

That triggered some major weird obsessive-compulsive episodes having multiple copies of the same (unbeaten) games, but I focused on the copies I liked best (generally PC for performance issues) and slowly but surely chipped away at the PS4 trophies later when I felt like revisiting the games to quiet that little obsessive voice in my head. Games I disliked (Fallout 4) I didn't bother beating on either platform.

 

I tried to ignore my Steam account and focus solely on PlayStation for trophy/achievement hunting, and I found myself buying games on PlayStation that I already owned on Steam, for trophies, AND then completing both lists.  And that's OK!  I'm a completionist at heart and if I start something on the platforms I maintain, I'm going to give it my best attempt complete.  Double-dipping on both platforms will be reserved for those really special titles.  Let's get at it!

 

Checklist Goals

1. Prioritize multiplayer/online trophies
2. Increase overall profile completion percentage
3. Give your best attempt to 100% freshly added games
4. Share thoughts on other non-trophy games where appropriate

Completions 2021

Spoiler

Darksiders III

Star Wars Battlefront

Ratchet & Clank

A Plague Tale: Innocence

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Maquette

Grand Theft Auto V

GRIS

Mafia III

Rocket League

Deathloop

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Solar Ash

 

Completions 2022

Spoiler

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

The Last of Us: Remastered

Elden Ring

Super Star Wars

Dishonored: Definitive Edition

Maneater

Darksiders Genesis

Dex

Stray

Dead Cells

Doom (1993)

The Order: 1886

Slain: Back From Hell

Doom II (Classic)

Valfaris

 

Completions 2023

Spoiler

Middle Earth: Shadow of War

The Evil Within

Leo's Fortune

Ghostrunner

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Dead Space (PS5)

Alan Wake: Remastered

Super Time Force Ultra

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Alan Wake II

 

Completions 2024

Spoiler

God of War Ragnarok

Red Dead Redemption (PS4)

Evil West

Rollerdrome

 

Edited Saturday at 05:07 PM by DrunkenEngineer

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #16 + DLC 100% - Darksiders 3 (April 25, 2021)

 

 

The third Darksiders title, I recall it meeting mixed reactions upon it's release.  The series has progressed from a Zelda clone, to Diablo clone, and now we come to a Dark Souls clone.  A rather unremarkable one at that, but I found it to be a pleasant experience, but I would have reservations recommending to others.

 

The Good

• Soulsborne combat which can be adjusted to more consistent with the previous titles with the "Classic" combat setting, which was added post-launch
• No more unlocking moves from a trainer as in previous titles
• Metroidvania style backtracking that was personally very satisfying.  Good use of fast travel.
• Gorgeous art style and color palette.  It's a vibrant game, and ran well on the PS5 in back compatibility mode, too.

The Bad

• Soulsborne style combat might be an unwelcome departure from series veterans
• No overworld map
• The story is....there.  Voice acting is hammy, but well performed.  Only so much one can do with the script.  As Harrison Ford famously said on the set of Star Wars, "you can type this s***, but you sure can't say it!"
• Loading times could be better, and there is often loading hitches mid map.  I understand this is pretty common with UE4 titles.

100% Impressions

Straightforward and easy with a guide.  I would highly recommend following the general path of two playthroughs - NG on an easier difficultly level, and an NG+ speedrun for the hard mode trophy.  Absolutely prioritize collecting the Luminous Visage collectible, which is a free level up.  There are 16 available in the base game, and 2 in the DLC Keepers of the Void.  They reset between play throughs, and I had no problem hitting level 100 by the end of my NG+ run.

 

The post-launch DLC Keepers of the Void is intended to be played along the campaign, but most walkthroughs and impressions I read were of endgame builds finding it very easy.  My experience was it was rather difficult, compounded with the fact I was hoarding lurcher souls for grinding out another trophy, and was likely under-levelled.  Recommend tackling this DLC at endgame in one fell swoop.

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[rjkclarke]

That is a nice write up for Darksiders III, reminds  me that I need to get around to starting it at some point. It is another one of those sorts of games I'm sure we all have in our backlogs that we just keep putting off, for no real reason. I like that you wrote up some things about the DLC too. Great run down though, especially the tips about some of the DLC and how to approach the trophies, I'm sure that is going to be very helpful for anyone that reads it.

 

I totally get what you mean too about having reservations about recommending it to others though, I felt the same about Darksiders II so I'd be surprised if III was that different, its one of those game series that I think, if you like it you like it, but therein sort of lies the problem, because its hard to sell them as anything other than what they are which is a clone of another series/ game type. Which is fine if that is what you go in expecting.

Edited April 29, 2021 by rjkclarke

[DrunkenEngineer]

Thanks for the feedback!  Yes, the Darksiders series is blatant in it's inspirations and really doesn't try to hide it.

 

Time for an update!  On paper I don't feel I got a whole lot of gaming time in this week, but made some significant progress.

 

Star Wars Battlefront 2015 

The Platinum/100% are mine!  I'll put together a write-up later, but for now just now I'm relieved to have this one off the plate, but still found the experience very satisfying as a OG Star Wars nerd.  More thoughts to come.

 

Rocket League

This has been my one "E" trophy rating, in which I unlocked one trophy in 2015 and for some reason never continued on.  Installed it this week and was immediately bombarded with tons of information on the title screen, and about a billion inventory item unlocks.  Curiously, I didn't get the Stocked or Car Collector trophies, even though the inventory indicates I should.  I've read it's pretty buggy, and took some steps to try and unlock it, but no dice.  I think the next step is to find a gracious player who would be willing to trade items back and forth until it pops.

 

I've only played a handful of online matches, and been spending my time in the exhibition modes working through the easily completed trophies.  I'd like to get the 100% on this title, but also am not in any fear of it suddenly going offline given the massive popularity.  I'll slowly be chipping away at this in tandem with other games.

 

What's next

I'm going to pick up Ratchet and Clank next and clean up those trophies.  I'm really interested in Returnal, but want to give it a week or so for the buggy trophy reports to settle.  Also, I like the idea of completing two (2) in progress games for ever one (1) new title I want to begin, so getting R&C cleaned up will give me the green light.

[AJ_Radio]

That avatar comes from an incredibly old game. Dune 2, although that may be Dune 2000. Played them both in my youth.

 

You got several games you can finish up relatively quickly. Heavy Rain isn't too hard, Kamikaze trophy will likely take some tries. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a huge time commitment, same with GTA V. Still need to get back to GTA myself to mop up some trophies, but I've already hung up the towel on getting that 100 percent in either version. I'm not willing to put through that kind of stress and coordination with having to deal with other players, so that will pass.

 

Mafia III will be annoying. Sadly a number of trophies are glitched and Hangar 13 never bothered to fix them. Were it not for the glitches and forced second playthrough I would of called this a decent game worth buying.

[DrunkenEngineer]

11 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

That avatar comes from an incredibly old game. Dune 2, although that may be Dune 2000. Played them both in my youth.

 

You got several games you can finish up relatively quickly. Heavy Rain isn't too hard, Kamikaze trophy will likely take some tries. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a huge time commitment, same with GTA V. Still need to get back to GTA myself to mop up some trophies, but I've already hung up the towel on getting that 100 percent in either version. I'm not willing to put through that kind of stress and coordination with having to deal with other players, so that will pass.

 

Mafia III will be annoying. Sadly a number of trophies are glitched and Hangar 13 never bothered to fix them. Were it not for the glitches and forced second playthrough I would of called this a decent game worth buying.

The avatar is from Dune 2, correct.  One of my favorite games from my childhood, as well.

 

GTA V and RDR2 are going to be significantly long projects when I decide to tackle them, especially online.  After Battlefront and the boosting required, anything is possible if I decide I want it bad enough.

 

I've been thinking about Mafia III - I see there is a way to downgrade the version to a pre-glitched state so that's an option.  The second playthrough is really irritating, though.  If you check my trophies you'll see I did a no-kill playthrough the first time, so the road to platinum for me is pretty straight forward.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #17 + DLC 100% - Star Wars Battlefront (2015) (May 1, 2021)

 

 

Battlefield + Star Wars = Battlefront, right?  Not quite, and this erroneous expectation was chiefly why fan reaction was so divided when the game launched.  Hype levels were unreal as Star Wars Battlefront (not to be confused with the circa 2000's series by Pandemic), developed by DICE and published by EA, was timed to release with The Force Awakens, and indeed there was a media marketing blitz of all things Star Wars.  Growing up as a huge fan of the original trilogy (but young enough to have missed them in theaters) I had to get this game.

 

The Good

• One of the most faithful reproductions of the original trilogy in video game form.  The production values are outrageous.
• Gunplay feels like a natural extension of DICE mechanics familiar to Battlefield players, but simplified and made much more accessible.
• Feels like running around in the 1990's Kenner re-release action figure playsets.
• Satisfying leveling and unlock system, and no MTX.  Was one of the last "season pass" style games.

The Bad

• "Simple" gunplay is off-putting for many, and the lack of a class system was really unwelcomed by Battlefield veterans
• Launch content was very limited to only a handful of maps, with minor variations applied to different game modes
• DLC maps in a separate playlist, no private servers
• Long grind to max level, and an absolutely dead player base now

100% Impressions

I played this from December 2015 to March 2016 - right before the first DLC dropped - before burning out and shelving it.  This was my first console based shooter since the original Halo, and so I was really engaged in learning how to actually play with a controller.   I stuck around far longer than my peers, who mostly dropped off within a month or so of release.  Right before Battlefront 2, the DLC season pass was made available for free, so I hopped back in and checked it out.  Even then, it was very hard finding matches outside of the core game modes, and half the DLC playlists were dead.  Played for a month, got burned out again trying to maintain my K/D, and back into the nether it went.

 

Getting scared by server shutdowns on some single player titles, I revisited Battlefront in March 2021 to get the 100% before EA made that decision for me.  Even in the best of times many of the trophies come by slowly (the AT-ST trample trophy is infamous), and so this task would have be absolutely impossible without a Discord group I saw linked here.

 

https://discord.gg/Battlefront2015

 

Absolutely this group made the Platinum/100% possible.  If you have this game in your backlog and you've yet to start it - be very wary.  While no rumblings have been made about shutdowns, this game is on life support and I'd expect the next Battlefront title to signal it's death knell.  It's very unforgiving for new players, and even I had a bad time coming back in March until I had caught up to the end-game meta.

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #18  - Ratchet & Clank (PS4) (May 11, 2021)

 

 

This is a bit of a hard one to write up, as I hopped back into it almost immediately after finishing up my previous 100% title, and didn't give the journey enough time to breathe.  I have no previous experience with the Ratchet & Clank franchise as the PS4 is my only Sony console post-PS1.  What I knew of R&C was it had a pretty good pedigree as a Sony-exclusive title, was developed by Insomniac who have moved on to more "prestigious" titles (sort of like Jak & Daxter --> Naughty Dog), and involved platforming and shooting mayhem.  Let's dive in.

 

R&C is just a nice palate cleanser of a game. Nothing hard, nothing serious about it.  I wouldn't say this is a Sony exclusive that people should absolutely play, as I found it pretty shallow, but what you see is what you get and I don't regret spending some time on it.

 

The Good

• Very accessible 3rd person action-adventure gameplay, has an all-ages approach to content
• Sardonic dialogue that, again, has an all-ages approach.
• The Groovitron disco-ball is a seriously fun piece of kit; the dance animations are amusing
• PS5 performance patch for 60FPS
• Variety of weapons that are all very viable.

The Bad

• It's not a deep game, which I guess really isn't much of a criticism?  I'm having a difficult time really reflecting on this title as it was just so non-offensive in any manner.
• I found the menus a bit fiddly to navigate around.

100% Impressions

This was free on PS+ and I ran through the first time in 2018, without a guide.  Two playthroughs are required for the platinum, and the only trophy you really have to be mindful of is the Groovitron one - I'd recommend using a checklist for that.  I did on my NG+ run, and the trophy popped maybe a 3rd of the way through, so progress does carry over between NG and NG+ (but supposedly resets if you try for another NG+).  The NG+ run was moderately tedious as I had to be very mindful of leveling up weapons, and swapping out once maxxed out, to minimize farming in the end-game.  I still had to spend about 30 minutes of bolt farming to get enough required for the very last weapon upgrade.

 

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[DrunkenEngineer]

A brief update.

 

I haven't booted up my PS5 since finishing up Ratchet & Clank - I took a brief hiatus to play some Steam games and ended up revisiting Wolfenstein: The New Order and cleaned up all the Steam achievements (its one of a handful of games I own on PC and PSN).  Since it's fresh in my mind, I'll be producing a retrospective on it biased more towards my PSN trophy hunting experience.

 

Next I'm going to take the plunge and start cracking away at Grand Theft Auto V (PS4), since we now have a launch date for the PS5 version in November, and I could expect support for the PS4 version to begin to change at that point.  I don't expect to make linear progress here, and will likely be sprinkling in Rocket League, Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and The Last of Us Remastered when I need breaks.  I considered buying Returnal but I think I'll press forward with my trophy backlog cleanup project.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #6  - Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4) (August 5, 2019)

 

 

The linear, single player first person shooter is absolutely my jam, and Wolfenstein: The New Order (TNO) is one of the best recent representations of this less popular genre. Bethesda-produced shooters in particular have a strong, obvious pedigree, and TNO is no exception.  Expect strong Half-Life vibes that rewards exploring, massive attention to detail like newsclippings detailing the major events of this dystopian timeline, and other neat easter eggs.  It's also a completely competent shooter in it's own right, with very satisfying gunplay and excellent, chunky sound effects.

 

The Good

• Amazing world-building; it's like the Man in the High Castle but on steroids
• Who doesn't love to kill Nazis?
• Runs at a rock solid 60 FPS.  One of the first games to offer a dynamic resolution to hit a target FPS, very cool from a technical standpoint.

The Bad

• You have to press Square to collect ammo/health/weapon pick ups!  Sacrilege!  This can really interrupt the flow of a hectic gunfight.
• This is not a super fast-paced, DOOM-like shooter.  It rewards methodical positioning and cheap leaning tactics, especially on Uber, which isn't always welcome.
• The laserkraftwerk (this game's "gravity gun"/unique weapon) is amazing, but overly reliant on charging stations sprinkled throughout the level.  Collecting ammo pickups would have been better, as I found myself constantly running back to charging stations and always being "topped up".  I constantly used the weapon, however.

100% Impressions

It's a very straight-forward platinum, and can be done in a single playthrough if you start on Uber difficultly.  Half the trophies are related to unlocking perks through gameplay, and they are easily farmable by restarting from the latest checkpoint.  Nothing is missable as there is a chapter select so you can freely go back and snag collectibles, farm perks, etc. and your progress will carry over globally.  The biggest roadblock for me was Uber difficultly, which as someone who primarily plays shooters on KBM, was a bit of a struggle.  Also, be warned that there are no save slots, so if you choose "new game" it will completely wipe your progress.  There is a branching timeline path in Chapter 1 that requires it to be played twice - again, do not select "new game", rather just replay the chapter and make the opposite selection for the trophy.  The trophy guide here on PSNP will steer you right.

 

Criminally underrated, this is an absolute must-play for shooter fans.

Edited August 28, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[DrunkenEngineer]

Oh my, it’s been a grip since I gave an update.  Shortly after my last visit I dug in to what I hope is my most daunting trophy project with GTA Online.  I’m happy to report that I’ve unlocked 100% of the online trophies for the game, including the DLC heists.  I still have a good deal of work to do to get the 100% on the entire trophy list, but I think the worst is behind me.  A full write up won’t come until I get that sweet Platinum trophy.

 

I redeemed A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS5 version) as a nice palate cleanser and earned the Platinum trophy there.  I also own this title on Steam, and was very happy to revisit it on console.  A write up will be forthcoming.

 

When there are lulls in my trophy progress I intend to produce write ups of games previously completed.  This was the case with Wolfenstein: The New Order; I finished that several years ago but revisited my Steam copy so a write up was timely.

 

Now I’m continuing my journey to unlock all online-required trophies on my list with Deus Ex Mankind Divided Breach Mode.  Following a guide it’s been uncomplicated, and made me excited to revisit the single player for the 100%.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #19  - A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS5) (July 27, 2021)

 

 

An ambitious AA game from an unlikely studio, A Plague Tale: Innocence was a sleeper hit in 2019.  One part The Last of Us, a little Dishonored (RATS!), and a smattering of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, this is a linear third-person adventure game with limited combat and heavy emphasis on stealth and environmental puzzles.  You play as Amicia De Rune, traveling through plague-ridden 14th century France with her brother Hugo uncovering a mysterious rodent conspiracy.  The story isn’t the most creative, and really lifts a lot of story beats from the games mentioned earlier, but it all comes together in a very satisfying way.

 

The Good

• Fantastic graphics with a solid 60 FPS performance.  Unbelievable how so many rats can be rendered on screen.
• The English voice-acting w/French accents isn’t as cringe-worthy as expected.
• Great attention to detail with the collectibles giving background to the state of late Medieval Europe
• The DualSense implementation has a gliding pulse of the triggers when sprinting and low and steady rumble when rats are around.  Very surprising that a third party developer would put this much effort into a previous gen remaster.
• The music! Very emotive use of strings.

The Bad

• Equipment upgrades do not persist globally during Chapter Select
• Auto-aim can be finicky, resulting in many a whiffed rock-to-the-head sling shot on a rushing guard

100% Impressions

Another very straightforward platinum trophy, with or without a guide.  While all the collectibles can be gone back to in Chapter Select, be aware that the equipment upgrades do not.  For example, if you select any early chapter to replay, your equipment upgrade progress reflects where it was when that checkpoint was made, and only gets updated when you clear the stage and move to the next.  The most “difficult” trophies involve upgrading your sling and equipment, which share resources.  Prioritizing the pocket upgrade ensure no resources go to waste, and I found plenty enough to get both crafting trophies in a single play through, but you have to be diligent about sniffing around.  The issue with crafting progress is only applicable if one isn’t able to unlock both crafting trophies in a single play through.

 

Support this studio and buy this game!  I’m very excited to see a sequel in the works.

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[damcrac5]

Great reviews on your games so far. Hope more people can give them a read. Plats you have that I hope I can get down the road are Witcher 3(awaiting ps5 upgrade), Titanfall 2(I really enjoyed the storyline), and Maneater (who doesn't like playing as a shark!)  

 

I'm a sucker for a 100% account. It is one of the reasons I move to playstation in 2014. Couldn't get rid of a couple games on my Xbox account.

 

Good on you for going after the multiplayer trophies first, they cam be a bit daunting. Hence why I don't have Ghosts of Tsushima on my backlog list yet. Though with them releasing Legends as a stand alone product along with the director's cut, one can hope that the PS5 list won't have the Legends trophies tied to it. One can hope!

[DrunkenEngineer]

Thanks for checking in, and the kind words.

 

Witcher 3 is fantastic, and I plan on getting through the DLC (already played on Steam), Titanfall 2 has a deceptively tough Platinum (“Becomes the Master” is no joke), and Maneater is very easy!

 

I hear you on the 100% - my Steam account has several unobtainables, and doesn’t have near the community around achievement hunting as PlayStation has for trophies.  I’m sure that’s true for Xbox, as well.  What I appreciate most about trophy/achievement hunting is it acts as a directed roadmap on just playing games.  At this point in time, I have way more money to buy games than I do time to play them, so having a workflow to enjoy my hobby definitely helps.  It’s also enabled me to meet some really great people I wouldn’t have otherwise.

 

Multiplayer trophies are indeed my main priority right now, but I’m not going to burn myself out on those.  I like the idea of hitting them when I’m motivated, but otherwise working on other trophies.  No matter what I do it contributes to my goal of a high completion percentage profile.

 

In other news, Mankind Divided Breach Mode is complete, and I’m going to push forward and get the 100% trophy list.  I already have a good deal of the base game trophies done, and was about halfway done with a NG+ run focusing on collectibles when I put it down in 2016.  So I’m finishing up that run (pretty easy with max augs), then I’ll do the two story DLCs, and finally a hardmode speed run that should pop the platinum!

[rjkclarke]

Congrats on that 100% in Breach mode by the way. That's impressive! I really ought to go back to that myself, it does look a bit ugly on my profile sitting at 88%. I just couldn't really get that much enjoyment out of it, the brief foray I actually had into it. I definitely think I ought to go back to it though. Be nice to have 100% in both Deus Ex games, as I really love that series. 

 

I enjoyed your write up of Plague Tale as well by the way, really interesting stuff. - I'll try and make a mental note of some of the suggestions in that write up for whenever I manage to find a lesser spotted PS5.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Thanks!  You have done all the tough trophies for Mankind Divided.  There is a very good guide on Breach Mode on playstationtrophies.org that pretty much holds your hand, I think you could clean up your trophy list relatively quickly.  From the PSN profile tracker it took me 14 hours to get all Breach Mode trophies from scratch, FWIW.

[DrunkenEngineer]

I finished up Deus Ex: Mankind Divided a couple of days ago;  I’ll get a review produced shortly.

 

I made some general edits and formatting to the OP.  Part of that is the addition of a wishlist.   I own those games on other systems, and either have unlocked 100% of the achievements, or was interested in doing so .  Since I want to focus those efforts on PlayStation, I’ll pick them up when they go on sale and work through them.  This is not a priority, and I want avoid the trap of amassing a giant backlog.

 

I’m considering retiring the “Now Playing” and “Up Next” section of the OP so I can be more flexible in how I work through my profile, while adhering to my checklist goals.

[damcrac5]

Congrats on another completion!  I've been tweaking and modifying my post more than I probably should, but I find it entertaining to try to improve it.  Avoid the giant backlog, lol.  I can't keep mine in check, adding over 8 titles so far this month and it's not even half way over.  Up Next ideas never seem to work out for me.  I always find something else that peaks my interest by the time I completed a game.  Was supposed to do Zero Dawn or Spider-Man after Fallen Order, but Ratchet and Clank caught my eye, and now I've got to make some progress on them, lol.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #20 + DLC 100%  - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (August 9, 2021)

 

 

Square Enix...what did you do?  The follow-up to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, DXMD is an immersive sim/stealth action game that was somehow thought to compete with other contemporary heavy hitting AAA gaming franchises, and had a large marketing campaign to match.  Who here remembers "Aug Lives Matters", and the furor that caused?  Who bought this game thinking it was a first person shooter and was sorely disappointed that you were expected to sneak around, read ebooks and newspapers, and engage in sidequests purely for worldbuilding? Lots of people did, and felt like they were sold a bill of goods.  DXMD didn't live up to the publishers sales expectations, and was quietly taken out behind the wood shed and shot.  Square Enix tried to present this game as something it most definitely was not, and the results should surprise no one.

 

I love this game.  I really do, and so the treatment it received and the legacy it left behind really bothers me.  This series, Dishonored, Half Life 2, are all coming from a shared lineage of strong narrative focused first person action games.  And so the fact it was stuffed with MICROTRANSACTIONS, and a live-service game mode, is all the more bewildering.

 

The Good

• First-person Metal Gear Solid
• Prague hits a high bar for hubs in semi-open world games
• Lots of player choice to approach obstacles (do I climb that air vent?  Cloak past the guards? Or just go loud?) 
• Michael McCann is back to provide the soundtrack
• Cool new augments that you'll probably ignore if you want to be a stealthy sneak thief!
• Breach Mode is an interesting concept, and as an excuse for more of the gameplay it's completely fine

The Bad

• Story is very obviously the middle-part of an intended trilogy, so more narrative threads are began rather than concluded
• Can be very very short if exploration and side quests are skipped
• Microtransactions (thankfully completely tacked on and can be ignored)
• Doesn't iterate much from Human Revolution

100% Impressions

You know how pretty much every retrospective up to this point has said "very easy, probably don't need a guide"?  That's not the case here.  The modern Deus Ex games have very complicated roadmaps for trophies and achievements.  Your journey will be rife with a missed collectible, and whiffed alarm that triggered off screen, ruining your "Foxiest of the Hounds" streak, or a knocked out guard who glitches out of the airshaft you so lovingly stuffed him in, dying and spoiling your no kill run.

 

And you know what...that's ok!  Enjoy your first playthrough, try to do it blind, and then follow a guide for the rest of the trophies.  There are minimum 2 playthroughs required for the Platinum; no sense in rushing through it.

 

Warts and all it is a worthy successor to the immersive sim genre, and folks who enjoyed Human Revolution, Prey, Dishonored, et al. should give it a shot.

Edited August 28, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[rjkclarke]

6 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

I love this game.  I really do,

 

That seemed like the most fitting quote to pull from that.... So do I - and hopefully so would anyone else that might play it as a result of your review.

 

That was a fantastic read!! You got across perfectly - how if something glitches on you, usually you don't care all that much, because you're having so much fun playing the game, and mercifully  it isn't that long, so you wouldn't have to re-tread too much progress. I like the fact that your The Bad section, is not really a section of bad things just a few missteps on Square Enix's part -  they seem to be pretty good at missing the bar with what people actually want in modern titles. If I was doing a bad section I'd mention length too, because I wish there was more of that world to explore. Thankfully at least some top notch DLC exists, so there is more.

 

I'm glad you put this up, because it's got me a little more pumped to get those pesky Breach Mode trophies  that I have left. Any extra Deus EX playtime can't hurt - I might do another playthrough whilst I'm at it.

It's more the fact I have to create an alt account to get the trophies done that puts me off.. But I do have a friend who doesn't have the trophies either, so maybe I'll ask him if he wants to send me some challenges.  I've checked out the guide you recommended me further up, so a bit of hand holding in Breach mode can't hurt, right??

 

Great write up though, I really hope some people take the plunge and play it after reading it - because I think it's such a worthwhile experience.

Edited August 16, 2021 by rjkclarke

[DrunkenEngineer]

2 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'm glad you put this up, because it's got me a little more pumped to get those pesky Breach Mode trophies  that I have left. Any extra Deus EX playtime can't hurt - I might do another playthrough whilst I'm at it.

It's more the fact I have to create an alt account to get the trophies done that puts me off.. But I do have a friend who doesn't have the trophies either, so maybe I'll ask him if he wants to send me some challenges.  I've checked out the guide your recommended me further up, so a bit of hand holding in Breach mode can't hurt, right?

 

I’m also working through DXMD on Steam (read my background section of the OP for more details on my broke brain) and just did the challenges without a partner; the dailies also counts towards the trophy.  That said, I’d love to help you out if you need it, any excuse to play more DXMD.  Hit me up on PSN if interested!

[YaManSmevz]

Great review! I've been eyeing these games for some time, they're always on sale for super cheap! Guess I'll have to check 'em out?‍♂️

[rjkclarke]

4 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

I’m also working through DXMD on Steam (read my background section of the OP for more details on my broke brain) and just did the challenges without a partner; the dailies also counts towards the trophy.  That said, I’d love to help you out if you need it, any excuse to play more DXMD.  Hit me up on PSN if interested!

 

That sounds great - I'd love a hand with some of those send a friend a challenge trophies;  but I don't want to put you out or anything, if you have to reinstall the game or anything (I do haha, haven't touched it in a looooong time) , don't worry about it too much. I didn't know the dailies counted towards the trophy, that's good to know. I'll send you a friend request later, if that's alright... It'd be great to have them both at 100% instead of me just looking at it sideways any time I'm on my profile because the second one is sat at 88% ?- be nice to have that series definitively finished, at least until they hopefully release another game or port to PS4/PS5,  Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War (I can dream right? Although Invisible War might be a fever dream/ nightmare ?)

[DrunkenEngineer]

The game is still installed, no worries there. Sure, send me a friend request - always happy to have more friends. 

[DrunkenEngineer]

A ton of titles on my wishlist are currently on sale with pretty big discounts.  Not sure what to do here, do I embrace the giant backlog or engage in ascetism?

 

Decisions, decisions...