DrunkenEngineer's OCD Funhouse!

[DrunkenEngineer]

Yah, I said fuck it and just finished it off.  It will hang out in my rarest trophy milestone cabinet for a long time, and I’ve come this far without adding another layer of complexity by trying to time my milestones haha.  Important part is just getting them done!

 

Hah, I bet you’ll be grinding away at the platinum in short order if you do boot GTAV back up!  I couldn’t help myself - I said I’d do the online only right now and move on to the next online game.  But I’m still super glad it’s done.

 

Gonna be cranking away at Rocket League - looks like item trading is now gated behind a level requirement, so I have that to work towards.  On the side I’m playing Gris, a fantastic short indie that I have played on another platform and will be pleased to add the platinum to my collection.

[KindaSabbath]

Yo, definitely interested to see your review of Gris if you post one? It's a game I meant to pick up on switch when it released but never actually got around to it! It looks superb aesthetically/artistically.

[DrunkenEngineer]

15 minutes ago, KindaSabbath said:

Yo, definitely interested to see your review of Gris if you post one? It's a game I meant to pick up on switch when it released but never actually got around to it! It looks superb aesthetically/artistically.

 

Yeah every game I play on PlayStation I'll post a review for.  It's a lovely game that I 100%ed on Steam, so I'm looking forward to it.

[YaManSmevz]

37 minutes ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Hah, I bet you’ll be grinding away at the platinum in short order if you do boot GTAV back up!  I couldn’t help myself - I said I’d do the online only right now and move on to the next online game.  But I’m still super glad it’s done.

 

You might could be right! Worst case scenario it's a raised percentage, so I mean why not? Plus it really is a great game.

 

38 minutes ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Gonna be cranking away at Rocket League - looks like item trading is now gated behind a level requirement, so I have that to work towards.  On the side I’m playing Gris, a fantastic short indie that I have played on another platform and will be pleased to add the platinum to my collection.

 

Gris is a GREAT comedown/in-between game.

 

...but of course you already know that?

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #23 - GRIS (August 30, 2021)

 

 

Technically a 2D platformer, GRIS is more a surreal dream experience about coping with traumatic events. Each chapter of this lovely side scroller is themed around one of the five stages of grief, expressed through a gorgeous watercolor palette. Our protagonist, the eponymous girl navigates through each stage solving simple, but often clever, platform puzzles.  As cliché as it may sound, GRIS is more of an experience rather than a game. Abandon expectations of a frantic platformer or boss rush game; what difficulty exists is mild to say the least.

 

The Good

• There is no dialog nor text in the game. Color themes for each chapter and great use of the cinematic camera convey the story
• The soundtrack performed by Berlinist is evocative, haunting, and heartwarming
• Controls are tight and responsive
• Very relaxing to play; the perfect come-down game

The Bad

• The length; it took me only 4 hours to complete, including some secret hunting.  A couple more hours of playtime would have been welcome!
• Chapter select unlocks only after the playthrough is complete

100% Impressions

A couple of tricky trophies, but in general this is not an intimidating trophy list.  I've completed this on Steam, and was very excited to add the Platinum to my collection as it's just such a well done and unique game.  All trophies can be done in a single playthrough, and those missed can be easily nabbed in the post-game.

 

Everywhere that other indies fail at artistic greatness, GRIS succeeds 10 times over.  Play this game.

[YaManSmevz]

9 minutes ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Platinum #23 - GRIS (August 30, 2021)

 

Perfectly put! Gris is among the games that really opened my eyes as to how great these simple indie games can be. This game has such a wonderful entrancing quality. Short but sweet and nice while it lasted? great write-up!

[DrunkenEngineer]

13 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

Perfectly put! Gris is among the games that really opened my eyes as to how great these simple indie games can be. This game has such a wonderful entrancing quality. Short but sweet and nice while it lasted great write-up!

Agreed, GRIS is one of my favorite indies and I’m always on the lookout for more titles like it that dare to be adventurous, and succeed at it (something Maquette didn’t quite achieve). 
 

Also Smev, expect me to be blasting you with Rocket League invites when I see you on. Outside of that, I reinstalled Mafia 3 and used a guide to downgrade it to the last version that unlocks trophies reliably. Kind of whiplash coming from GTAV but we’ll see if I can clean that trophy list up. 

[YaManSmevz]

5 minutes ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Agreed, GRIS is one of my favorite indies and I’m always on the lookout for more titles like it that dare to be adventurous, and succeed at it (something Maquette didn’t quite achieve). 
 

Also Smev, expect me to be blasting you with Rocket League invites when I see you on. Outside of that, I reinstalled Mafia 3 and used a guide to downgrade it to the last version that unlocks trophies reliably. Kind of whiplash coming from GTAV but we’ll see if I can clean that trophy list up. 

 

Hell yes?

 

Bro I impulsively bought the Mafia Trilogy upon release? Always wanted to play the first, got halfway through the second on the 360 and loved it, and... well as for the third, why not! I didn't realize 3 was buggy tho?

 

I've heard literally nothing good about Maquette and will be avoiding accordingly. I was convinced to pick up The Witness though, have you played that one?

[DrunkenEngineer]

38 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

Hell yes

 

Bro I impulsively bought the Mafia Trilogy upon release Always wanted to play the first, got halfway through the second on the 360 and loved it, and... well as for the third, why not! I didn't realize 3 was buggy tho

 

I've heard literally nothing good about Maquette and will be avoiding accordingly. I was convinced to pick up The Witness though, have you played that one?

I haven’t played The Witness but have heard nothing but great buzz. Gonna throw that on the wishlist!

 

Mafia 3 has a bug in the latest version where trophies that rely on some internal counter (get X kills, accrue Y money) reset when you turn the game off. You can put your console in rest mode and do one giant playthrough, but the fuckin’ game likes to crash. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[DrBloodmoney]

On 01/09/2021 at 6:13 PM, DrunkenEngineer said:

Agreed, GRIS is one of my favorite indies and I’m always on the lookout for more titles like it

Hey man - not sure if you’ve seen it or not, but have you checked out Child of Light?

 

That’s a game that Gris reminded me of a little - mostly in terms of aesthetics - though there is a whimsical tonal similarity too. Child of Light is a little more ‘gamified’ but I though it was great - has a heck of a soundtrack, and the game looks beautiful and works really well!

 

 

On 01/09/2021 at 6:23 PM, YaManSmevz said:

I've heard literally nothing good about Maquette and will be avoiding accordingly. I was convinced to pick up The Witness though, have you played that one?

 

Oh… Maquette was alright. It’s no The Witness (few things are) but it has it’s charm and it’s good points - it just trips over itself in some spots. It’s heart was in the right place though, and it has a hell of a soundtrack.

There’s definitely better 3-4 hour puzzlers out there (Superliminal, The Pedestrian, The Spectrum Retreat, The Turing Test) but Maquette does have some stuff going on that is unique and interesting… the mechanics just don’t always manage to keep pace with the metaphors it’s doing, but there are worse things a game can do. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[DrunkenEngineer]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:07 PM, DrBloodmoney said:

Hey man - not sure if you’ve seen it or not, but have you checked out Child of Light?

 

That’s a game that Gris reminded me of a little - mostly in terms of aesthetics - though there is a whimsical tonal similarity too. Child of Light is a little more ‘gamified’ but I though it was great - has a heck of a soundtrack, and the game looks beautiful and works really well!

 

Whoops, meant to reply much earlier to this!

 

I have not, but I’ll add it to the wishlist

 

I’ve been cranking away at Rocket League w @YaManSmevz ; only have a handful of legit trophies left!

 

I have also been working on Mafia III and am little disappointed that I misread a guide (really it’s that the popular guides are very vague) on how to keep only one Underboss alive, so I need to buzz through the game for a third time to get the platinum.  I’ll probably take a break from that for a couple of days; it’s a easy game but I’ve already done 1 play through back in 2018, and just finished all the DLC plus an additional play.

 

Been thinking about Deathloop…

[YaManSmevz]

58 minutes ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

I’ve been cranking away at Rocket League w @YaManSmevz ; only have a handful of legit trophies left!

 

Dude that was a blast the other day. Haha I felt like a little boy being called home by my mom for dinner or some shit when I had to log out???

 

1 hour ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

I have also been working on Mafia III and am little disappointed that I misread a guide (really it’s that the popular guides are very vague) on how to keep only one Underboss alive, so I need to buzz through the game for a third time to get the platinum.  I’ll probably take a break from that for a couple of days; it’s a easy game but I’ve already done 1 play through back in 2018, and just finished all the DLC plus an additional play.

 

Yo there's an odd dichotomy to that unintentional final playthrough, it's extremely annoying but at the same time it's kinda nice to know that there's only so many things you have to care about. Like it's nice breezing past majority of side quests and stuff like that just bein like "nope, don't give a shit!"

 

A rest will definitely do you some good, besides you got that shit in the bag?

[DrunkenEngineer]

5 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

Dude that was a blast the other day. Haha I felt like a little boy being called home by my mom for dinner or some shit when I had to log out???

 

It was especially dope when we popped the Squad Goals trophy back-to-back!

 

6 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

Yo there's an odd dichotomy to that unintentional final playthrough, it's extremely annoying but at the same time it's kinda nice to know that there's only so many things you have to care about. Like it's nice breezing past majority of side quests and stuff like that just bein like "nope, don't give a shit!"

 

A rest will definitely do you some good, besides you got that shit in the bag?

 

Yeah…I spent time on what I thought was my final play through absorbing the cutscenes in prep for writing a review - now it’s FUCK IT and skipping that shit.

[YaManSmevz]

1 hour ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

It was especially dope when we popped the Squad Goals trophy back-to-back!

 

We were on our A game for that one!! It's funny cuz we looked like a couple of studs even though we were coming off of a few brutal losses?

 

1 hour ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Yeah…I spent time on what I thought was my final play through absorbing the cutscenes in prep for writing a review - now it’s FUCK IT and skipping that shit.

 

How frustrating! I've had that happen before where a guide glosses over something critical or just generally doesn't explain something well, it's never a good time. You're practically there though, my dude. Shit, you could probably damn near nap through this playthrough!

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #24 + DLC 100% - Mafia III (September 17, 2021)

 

 

Trying more than to be "just another GTA clone", Mafia III pushes the storyline boundaries in a respectful way, leaning in to a representation of the American South that's often ugly, but well crafted.  An open-world game which lacks the depth of other crime titles, it's tuned to be a perfect length for campaign players but is really hampered by terribly bugged trophies and a convoluted roadmap to obtaining completion.

 

The Good

• Absolutely fantastic voice acting and story
• Shooting feels chunky with excellent sound effects and feedback
• New Bordeaux is a respectful homage to the Deep South in the 1960's
• Fun use of period-accurate licensed music

The Bad

• Driving mechanics are anemic, especially disappointing as there is no fast travel.  Leave the drive setting on "normal" to make it as inoffensive as possible
• Brute force application of post-processing effects result in off-putting graphics at times
• The gameplay becomes quite repetitive and you've seen it all once done with the tutorial sequences
• Buggy buggy BUGGY (see below)

100% Impressions

The trophy list is a mixed bag.  None of the trophies are mechanically difficult, and don't rely on collectibles (very atypical for an open-world game).  However, at best two playthroughs are required - one to flip informants and racket bosses, another to kill them all.  Underboss loyalty trophies are binary, and need to be rolled into one of the flip/kill playthroughs.  Playing the game in 2018 when it was a PS+ title, I followed a general outline of a flip informants & retain all underbosses run, which netted me the majority of the base list trophies.  Cue several years later, and I come back to clean this up, with also the DLC which is included for free after the rebranding of the "Definitive Edition".  The only thing "definitive" is it "definitely broke" a majority of the trophies.

 

At the time of this write up, version 1.12 bugs base list trophies that rely on tracking statistics, and will reset the count when exiting the game or shutting down the console.  A commonly recommended work around is to play one gigantic session, often more than 15 hours, to run through the entire game and preserve the counters.  Note that putting the console in rest mode will work, but the game is mildly unstable (supposedly really bad when it launched) and will often crash, ruining many people's progress.

 

A better way to handle this is to use a proxy server trick and force the game to an earlier patch, in this case 1.09.  I experienced a handful of weird bugs running this downgrade (odd textures, some crashing in the DLCs), but it's a helluva lot better than the alternative.  Note that the DLC (which can be tackled any time) are not subject to counter reset bugs, and those trophies are pretty straightforward.  Not wanting to risk it, I maintained the 1.09 patch for all my runs.

 

Most trophy guides, especially the one on PSNP, gloss over how to handle the "Just You and Me" trophy.  It's true that at it's root you should assign the districts to only one underboss, but if you don't divide the sub-rackets up to the other bosses (that you want to kill) beforehand, you run the risk of not running both underbosses off before the end of the game.  This happened to me in my "kill" playthrough, necessitating a 3rd playthrough for the platinum.  Very annoying.

 

All in all a reasonably fun open world, with some repetitive checklist gameplay marred by awful trophy bugs.  I can't really recommend it unless you have very strong feelings about the franchise; the technical aspects are enough alone to give it a pass.

[damcrac5]

You have made a ton of great progress.  Motivates me to open it up and go for more, lol.  I've read about the proxy downloads, but I haven't been bold enough to give it a go. How difficult was it to do on a ps5?

 

I actually don't have a reason to do so at this time. I'd consider it for Maneater since it is bugged but it sounds like tripwire is releasing a patch this coming week. Maybe Uncarted 4 to help with crushing, but I've got the first 3 games to get through first. 

 

Have fun with Rift Apart. I want to run it so badly but my affection to playing series in order has it a long ways off. Still on R&C 2, let alone the 4-6 titles after it with trophy support. Lol.

[DrunkenEngineer]

2 hours ago, damcrac5 said:

You have made a ton of great progress.  Motivates me to open it up and go for more, lol.  I've read about the proxy downloads, but I haven't been bold enough to give it a go. How difficult was it to do on a ps5?

 

It really was quite easy.  There is a thread in the Mafia 3 forum on how to do it, and the process applies to other PS4 games.  I did it on the PS5, and it was the same process.

 

2 hours ago, damcrac5 said:

I actually don't have a reason to do so at this time. I'd consider it for Maneater since it is bugged but it sounds like tripwire is releasing a patch this coming week. Maybe Uncarted 4 to help with crushing, but I've got the first 3 games to get through first.

 

I'm keeping my eyes peeled on that, as well.  I platted Maneater on PS5 when it dropped on PS+, and I had no problems with any of the trophies bugging out.  Little miffed that I read the DLC has problems, hope they fix that!

 

Yah, I'm looking forward to Rift Apart, I like having nice easy games between my frustrating clean up tasks.  Either I do that or go screw around on my PC library in between the big projects.

 

Once I clean up Rocket League (so so close, just need an Aerial goal and a couple of bot matches!) my next multiplayer clean up will be The Last of Us Remastered.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #25 + DLC 100% - Rocket League (September 18, 2021)

 

 

A surprise hit when it launched as a PS+ title in 2015, Rocket League can be seen as one of the legitimate founders of the modern e-sport scene.  Essentially it is soccer with RC cars, hosting a multitude of different modes with the most popular being the traditional 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 matches. A standalone game when it launched, the developer Psyonix has since been bought out by Epic Games and the game is sadly being turned into a F2P cash cow.

 

The Good

• Very rewarding skill curve - hitting that sick goal with an assist from your mate will get you leaping from the couch!
• Items and unlocks offer no competitive advantage - microtransactions can be safely ignored if you just want to play the game
• Catchy music between matches and on the menu screens, overall a nice and clean presentation with a popping color palate

The Bad

• I'm terrible at the game
• Microtransactions
• Trading requirements and restrictions seem to progress from season to season after going F2P; requires an Epic Games account for item trading

100% Impressions

I popped a single trophy in 2015 before putting it down.  Coming back as a trophy hunter cleaning up my profile, this game was easy once I settled in but still quite overwhelming at times.  The best advice I can give is to play it casually; you'll need to rank up your online career to unlock item trading, which is required to complete the trophy list in a reasonable amount of time.  I started out trying to do all the exhibition mode boosting with bots and worry about the most efficient way to work through the lists, which was supremely boring and not a good introduction to the game.

 

That said, my recommended order of operations:

1. Follow the tutorials, do the training missions
2. Hop in to a casual online standard 3v3 playlist until you get your feet under you.  Try to have fun!  Playing with friends is even better.
3. Once you have hit high enough rank to item trade with others, then consider popping over to the the bot exhibition boosts.  Most of those trophies unlock quite quickly as a clean up activity.

Some of the trophies benefit from boosting, especially the Club DLC, but most everything can be done solo and unlock naturally.  I wouldn't recommend people just add this game just for the trophy stack, as I ended up paying real money via the Rocket Pass Premium to speed up the leveling grind.  It's also not a long trophy stack, with help from friends I completed in 18 hours according to the PSN profile time tracker.

 

If one has been putting off a trophy clean up, now is as good a time as any to get it done!  Otherwise this game wasn't really my jam and I don't plan to revisit; there are other multiplayer games I'd rather play.. My largest gripes can really be narrowed down to F2P mechanics and if those don't bother you, have at it!

[DrunkenEngineer]

A little update as we move into the back end of 2021!

 

I’ve popped trophies in both Deathloop and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.  Completing these will keep me busy through the first half of October I’d expect.  My plan at the moment is to tackle The Last of Us Remastered multiplayer and/or Red Dead Online, to clean up another two multiplayer titles off my list!  We’ll see if I push forward with the RDR2 platinum when I tackle the online - after playing a lot of open world, long games I might need a little time away from something so large.

 

Of course this plan is subject to change based on other life interruptions.  I sprinkle in gaming time on other platforms, and with Battlefield 2042 coming out soon there is a chance that will peel some of my attention away.  However, I know I can wrap up at least one of my multiplayer lists before that launches towards the end of November.

Edited October 2, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[Shrooba]

Rift Apart is an awesome game! Definitely a great addition to the Ratchet & Clank series; I love it's use of the PS5's seamless loading and integrating that within the gameplay itself as you traverse through dimensional portals, it's insane how far gaming has come! That'll keep you occupied through October for sure, alongside Deathloop which I've heard a lot of great stuff about! It seems to be quite the wacky game, and that's always a great premise to have being a fan of the Borderlands series, I love me some wacky! ?

If I may add, great work on Rocket League! One of my IRL friends loves that game, and I can tell it takes lot of time to get a game like that to 100%, so great work!

[YaManSmevz]

On 9/25/2021 at 0:23 PM, DrunkenEngineer said:

Platinum #25 + DLC 100% - Rocket League (September 18, 2021)

 

 

Hell yes?

 

Great write-up, you nailed the good and bad quite succinctly. It's a shame our hours are so opposite, had a lot of fun playing with you. All I've got left is to finish leveling up my tires (just 65 more centered balls to go...) and I can join you atop the Rocket League heap?

 

I own physical copies of TLOU and Red Dead (goes to show how long ago I bought them) and they still intimidate the shit out of me. I'll be excited to hear about your progress on those!

 

3 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

I’ve popped trophies in both Deathloop and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. 

 

I've been telling myself I don't mind not getting a PS5 right away, but comments like these chip away at me, man???

[DrunkenEngineer]

So I finished up Deathloop and have just been dragging my feet on producing a review.  I think it’s because I just didn’t give it enough time to breathe; I finished it in something like 25 hours which is very quick for an Arkane game, and a lot of the side content isn’t tied to trophies, or really any sort of story outcome (a major gripe of mine).  It’s a very cool game that I think ranks as Arkane’s “sell-out” game.  A “10/10” it most definitely is not.

 

On 10/2/2021 at 11:13 AM, YaManSmevz said:

I own physical copies of TLOU and Red Dead (goes to show how long ago I bought them) and they still intimidate the shit out of me. I'll be excited to hear about your progress on those!

 

Break out TLOU and we can tackle the MP together!

[DrunkenEngineer]

Platinum #26 - Deathloop (October 15, 2021)

 

 

An attempted progression of the studio's immersive-sim formula that began with Dishonored, iterated upon in Prey and finally distilled down into something unfortunately less than the sum of its parts.  It is as if a cover band produced their own Arkane's Greatest Hits Volume 1, as Deathloop feels like a shallow imitation of the previous greats.

 

The Good

• Wacky alt-1960s aesthetics and well-acted voice work
• A full suite of Dishonored-inspired powers to be unleashed
• Invasion mechanics
• No save-scumming capability, "perfect" gameplay is deemphasized

The Bad

• Dull itemization and little tangible rewards for exploration
• Thin veneer of choice that ultimately results in one method for breaking the loop
• No meaningful NPCs or sidequests - anything that isn't Colt is to be shot, stabbed, or maimed

100% Impressions

The gameplay will have you looping over and over again as Colt, picking from 4 zones and progressing through 4 times of the day.  When the day is done, or you die, you start the loop over. In between zones you can adjust your loadout and choose items to infuse (preserving them in a permanent state between runs).  Much like recent roguelites certain resources are carried over between loops, as well as all the clues and story beats uncovered.  Every loop you attain more and more knowledge of the nature of the island with a culmination of killing all 8 Visionaries in one loop.  Sadly, there is only one method to do this, and you must uncover all the story beats to trigger this final quest line; there isn't freedom to find your perfect loop.

 

Colt is constantly being invaded by a pestering Julianna, either via an AI or player.  Once per map that has a living Visionary (boss), Julianna can invade.  She wins by killing Colt 3 times, while Colt can either kill Julianna, or hack the escape route and make a clean break (leaving map goals unfulfilled).  Sounds familiar, right? Because it's basically Dark Souls invasion mechanics ripped whole cloth.  This setting between AI and human can be toggled, and I think it's very important leave the PvP toggle on, at least until the story is beaten.  The game is balanced around Julianna invasions as Colt, as the fodder enemies serve as distractions while Julianna is the real threat.

 

Trophies mostly come naturally, are not missable, and involve using your slab powers, killing a Visionary in a unique way, or progressing the storylines.  Trophy guides tend to give this game a pretty easy ranking, which I found somewhat deceptive.  There are two trophies in particular ("Ghost at the Feast", "Quantum Solution") that can be tricky with instant-fail conditions.  That being said, a typical loop of the entire island can take 30 minutes at end-game, so trophy clean up really takes no time at all.

 

Deathloop feels like Arkane's sell out game, with streamlined features that I can only guess are publisher directed, remote-work caused, talent turnover generated, or some combination thereof.  The tone of this review might be overly negative, but because this game could and should have been so much more and I have high expectations of the developer.  I still enjoyed my time with it, and hope for DLC content or any other reason to revisit, but it is best skipped by most folks unless they are Arkane super-fans.

Edited October 26, 2021 by DrunkenEngineer

[damcrac5]

1 hour ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Platinum #26 - Deathloop (October 15, 2021)

words

Currently on a waitlist for this game from my local library.  Heard some good things about it and figured I'd give it a shot on a guest account to decide if I like it or not.  At the least, I haven't seen a review that didn't like the game, but some have considered a very good game.  With a free 3 week rental no reason to not. 

 

I mainly want to make sure that I am playing games released for the PS5 and not strictly from my backlog, or else I should have just purchased a PS4, lol.

[YaManSmevz]

On 10/24/2021 at 7:43 PM, DrunkenEngineer said:

Break out TLOU and we can tackle the MP together!

 

Hell yeah, I'm with that!?

 

Great write-up, dude! I really liked how delicate you were in expressing your disappointment. A shame how this game seemed to be everywhere for a moment, only for peeps by and large to eventually be like "it was good, but not quite great."

 

Actually to be fair I only know what you and the good Doctor had to say about this game, but frankly it's all I need! Regardless, it definitely bumps Dishonored and Prey up in my backlog!

Edited October 26, 2021 by YaManSmevz