ParkestNight's Starkest Lights

[ParkestNight]

Platinum #256 - Chicken Police

 

In a world where anthropomorphic characters have the heads of animals, Chicken Police follows a pair of detectives, Sonny and his ex-partner Marty. After being approached by a mysterious cat woman to take on a case, Sonny seeks out Marty for one last case before retirement. I liked the narrative, point-and-click gameplay, and the noir setting is cool, too. The voice acting and music suit the atmosphere well.

 

Chicken Police was my personal sleeper hit last year when it was made available on the PS Now library. If you didn't play it then, I'd definitely pick it up on a sale.

 

                                                                                  

Platinum #257 - Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

 

This is the "new" PS4 version of the game released after Mediatonic was acquired by Epic Games. I believe the save data is stored server-side, which resulted in an auto-pop.

 

                                                                                  

Platinum #258 - Destiny 2

 

The save data for Destiny 2 is also stored on Bungie's servers, which resulted in the auto-pop of this PS5 version of the game. The difference in terms of performance alone is enough for me to recommend moving onto the PS5 version of Destiny 2 ASAP - no more waiting forever for the inventory and activity/destination to load.

 

                                                                                  

Platinum #259 - Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

 

The Legacy of Thieves Collection consist of the PS5 remasters of Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy, which I've already covered here and here, respectively. The remasters are improved as you'd expect - better graphics, smoother and faster performance, etc. The only strange thing is that the entirety of Lost Legacy's trophy list is considered DLC for Uncharted 4, resulting in a single Platinum for both games. Other than that oddity, it was an absolute joy to revisit Nathan and Chloe's stories once more.

[ParkestNight]

Platinum #260 - Horizon Forbidden West

 

Note: I am referring the PS4 version for this write-up

 

Story:

The story picks up six months after the conclusion of the first game. Aloy is searching for a copy of the GAIA system, which takes her into the region known as the Forbidden West. Aloy finds herself caught between a war between the Tenakth tribe and the rebel faction led by Regalla. To make things worse, an antagonistic group of futuristic humans make themselves known. Aloy barely escapes from them, but not before seeing a girl who looks exactly like herself. Aloy must save the rapidly-declining world whilst ascertaining the identity of the arrivals from the stars.

 

Honestly, I did not like the plot of this game - the whole "futuristic humans from outer space" angle was so absurd I couldn't believe what was happening even as it unfurled in front of me.

 

What was even worse is Aloy's character development; Aloy mostly lacked personality in the first game, but in Forbidden West, she's just kind of a jerk. Does she have reason to be? Sure, but I was expecting more in terms of character growth.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The gameplay is mostly the same as in the first game, so I'll just point out some notable inclusions.

 

Firstly, to give credit, Guerilla did greatly improve upon melee combat (one of my gripes from the first game). My only nitpick about melee combat is that some of the stealth attack animations, while flashy, are too long.

 

Forbidden West also features a bit more customization choices for Aloy, from colouring her armour to having face paint. My favourite inclusion is the flying mount, though I wished it was introduced earlier in the game.

 

It's a big game, so there were some long loading times, but otherwise I thought it looked good considering the age of the PS4 hardware. I played the game Day 1 so I experienced quite a few bugs, like falling through lowered bridges, summoned mounts running into walls/other obstacles and becoming unmountable, and scripted events not occurring (i.e. in cauldrons), etc.

 

DLCs:

The Burning Shores DLC is not available on the PS4 version, which I thought I'd point out.

 

Conclusion:

Overall, I liked this game less than Horizon Zero Dawn - which was personally disappointing for me given how much I loved the first game. Thankfully, the game has since been added to the PS+ catalogue, so I would encourage players to take advantage of their membership. Otherwise, I'd suggest purchasing on a steep sale.

 

                                                                                  

Platinum #261 - Saints Row: The Third Remastered

 

The PS5 stack of the PS4 version I completed earlier. 

 

                                                                                  

Platinum #262 - Astro's Playroom

 

This absolutely adorable and cheerful game was my first PS5 game meant for the current generation (i.e. not a remaster). I enjoyed this game so much I even did the speedrun trophies that are not required for the Platinum. It comes preinstalled with the PS5, so I'd 100% recommend playing this short experience.

 

                                                                                 

Platinum #263 - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

 

I was told the best way to play this game was with headphones, but I confess to muting the volume pretty earlier on - there is a near-constant swirl of whispering voices used to simulate Senua's mental illness to the player which is just creepy. It gave me the heebie-jeebies, so I opted out. That being said, the gameplay itself is pretty basic, but the story is quite short so it doesn't overstay its welcome.

[ParkestNight]

Platinum #264 and 265 - Life is Strange: True Colors (PS4/PS5)

 

I'll fully admit I rolled my eyes quite a bit upon Deck Nine revealing that empathy was the protagonist's superpower; however, I was pleasantly surprised upon playing the game. The overall plot was decent, the graphics (especially for the PS5) was great, and I especially loved the

Spoiler

LARP session

I wish there was more variation in location, but I suppose it did make sense for a more intimate story. The game is currently on the PS+ catalogue, so I'd definitely give it a whirl if you like TellTale-esque games. The only reason I did the PS4 and PS5 versions back-to-back (other than genuinely enjoying the game) was that I wanted to get the most out of the game before taking advantage of a tradeback promotion at GameStop.

 

                                                                                 

Platinum #266 and 267 - Outriders (PS4/PS5)

 

A third-person shooter where you fight aliens (well, I guess technically your faction are the aliens) with powers in addition to weapons. The story is just whatever, but I enjoyed the game otherwise. I imagine the game would be 100% more fun with friends, but for those of us who play solo (regardless of whether or not by choice) it is still possible to earn the Platinum. This game has since been added to the PS+ library, if you're at all interested.

 

Also, like many always-online shooters, the save data is saved server-side, so you can auto-pop the Platinum by loading your game on your other platform. If you want to auto-pop, I'd earn the Platinum on the PS5 version, then auto-pop the PS4 one (as the PS4 version performance-wise is nearly unplayable).

 

                                                                                 

Platinum #268 - Spiritfarer

 

On paper, the gameplay isn't what I usually enjoy: I don't like item management, relationship management, and building, but Spiritfarer makes all these factors more palatable by simplifying the process to reduce tedium and grinding. The story (the protagonist's and that of your passengers) are quite relatable, too - some of them definitely hit close to home for me personally. Spiritfarer is also on PS+ and I'd 100% recommend it.

 

There are no DLC trophies, but the developers have supported the game by adding new locations and characters. As such, trophy hunters who played the same closer to its release had less requirements to meet to earn the Platinum.

 

                                                                                 

Platinum #269 - Ghost of Tsushima

 

I already earned the PS4 version, but at a certain point Sony stopped offering free PS5 upgrades to their first-party games. I purchased the special edition (with the steelbook), so I was a bit disappointed at this new policy. As a result, when Ghost of Tsushima hit the PS+ library I just loaded my PS4 save, auto-popped, and then went about my way.

 

                                                                                 

Platinum #270 - The Artful Escape

 

A short experience (also available on PS+) that hits on the theme of individuality and following one's own path, but I thought the story was great. The art direction is wonderful, but ironically, for a game that focuses so much on music, the music is very repetitive.

 

                                                                                 

Platinum #271 - Shadow Warrior 3

 

A lower-budget game inspired by Doom and Asian culture/mythology, the result is repetitive gameplay and a protagonist that tries way too hard to be funny; however, the game is somehow still enjoyable. It helps that the game is a shorter experience, but I would only purchase this game on a steep sale.