Most Recent Platinum

[Revvie]

#339

 

Apex Predator
Obtain all the Trophies.

 

I climb high place. I jump. I am alive and very shiny thing have no painting?

(confused unga bunga)

[percy547389126yv]

#1,910 PS4 Japanese version of Pretty Girls Panic!

[percy547389126yv]

#1,911 PS4 Japanese version of Blackberry Honey

[Sgznr]

 #6 - FIFA 23 (PS5)

 

Accolade Collector

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Enjoyment: 5/10

Time: 73 hours

 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,912 Japanese version of Hakosan

[Stockton572]

#212

Norco

Platinum

 

I really recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of old school point-and-click adventures (it's currently discounted on the PSN Store). It's got a fantastic setting and a great story to boot. There are some combat sections that really just feel out of place, but it didn't deter me from wanting to see where the story ended. Played the game without a guide on PS5 (save for one puzzle that involved drones), sped through it on the PS4 with one, and now I gotta run through it again to get the platinum on the PS5 version (yes, there are missables). Number 213, here I come!

Edited January 16, 2023 by Stockton572

[Sgznr]

 #7 - The Medium

 

Completionist

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Enjoyment: 6/10

Time: 6 hours

 

[zizimonster]

 #140 Stray

[Gommes_]

                                                                                                      #157 The Last Of Us Part I

                                                                                      

 

                                                                                                             It can't be for nothing

                                                                                                   

 

Alright, my very first platinum fo the PS5! I’ve played The Last Of Us back then for the PS3 and thought that it was a good game. Not „the game of a generation“ good but good. So I never understood all the hype throughout the years.

 

Anyway, I had the chance to borrow this game from my brother in law and not pay 80 bucks for it. I just wanted to fresh up my memory and play something rather quick and graphically impressing. And what can I say? I ended up liking it a lot more! The characters felt way closer to me and I just liked how they behaved, talked and in general, how they were designed. The way how Joel and Ellie got attached to eachother was done beautifully. On top of that I liked the environments and the art style of the game.

 

Gameplay wise it is okay and I thought Part II was better in that regard. I didn’t like the ending in 2013 and I still don’t like it. Not from a story perspective but rather how it was executed. However, great (2nd) experience and a good PS5 game.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Gommes_
format

[da-Noob123]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:01 PM, Sora9427 said:

Platinum Trophy N.204 - Ratchet & Clank Into The Nexus

 

 

 

 The Pride of Fastoon
Collect every trophy in Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus.

 

Well, one of the First things i wanted to finally do and Play this year is R&C Rif Apart that i got months ago. But first there was one last stop before it, the Only Ratchet & Clank game i was missing, Nexus! And thanks to the PSPlus (Premium? I don't even remember if it's an extra or Premium feauture) i was able to play it and on Ps5! I have to say i'm surprised by my internet connection and the stream service, waaay better than expected, it always loaded no problem and never stopped, didn't feel much difference from the offline! 

 

Anyway as said i was missing only this Chapter from the last Ps3 "Trilogy" and it was about time to fix that. I expected it to be short, since both All 4 one and even more Q-force were indeed short ones, still i'm surprised i finished all the story in 2 days last weekend, even if i actually played 6-8 hours so not SUPER short, i'm just not used to ending a game in such time anymore  

 

The Story was pretty interesting, as said, a short and fast one but still nice to enjoy, same with the worlds, only 5 of them with 1 being an arena, still all of them Pretty nice, less the Swamp one but i never like swamps in any game anyway.

The Gameplay is, obviously, the main part of the game and it's fun as always, the weapons weren't as Amazing as previous games, still there are some nice ones and Thankfully it wasn't TOO much of a pain to upgrade them all.

 

The Plat is, of course, really easy, just gotta enjoy the game once remembering to use the "scary" weapon against every type of enemy and boss, not an hard task to remember, plus it's the best weapon in the game probably with how much passive damage and distraction it offers you wanna use it 90% of the time anyway. 

Aside from that, usual stuff collecting everything which with only 5 planets it results being super easy and fast and then buying and upgrading all weapons and Armor. Thankfully there is a good grind method for farming Bolts so buying everything is not that much time consuming, upgrading weapons, same it's more boring than anything since you have to repeat the Final Arena unless you wanna start a 3rd playthorugh which i kindly pass.

 

Overall i ahve to say i had a good time, i'm not used to complete games this fast but it's one thing i wanna do this year, working on some fast 10-20 hours titles i have since i have many and could clear out the backlog. This was also my First PS3 Platinum since GoW back in 2019 so 3 Years ago, Wow O.o 

I definitively liked the Streaming Via Ps5 thing so i'll play other titles with that for sure in the future! I would like them to add more titles every month there not only PS1/PSP ones.

 

I don't have a Screenshot sadly since it doesn't let you take them, it's literally like playing on Ps3, i could have taken a Photo but i forgot, oh well. 

 

Next is R&C Rift Apart Finally! Really curous about it since i've heard great things and it looks amazing! The plat there seems like it's basically gifted to you, i see it doesn't even ask for the 100% with stuff like the Gold Bolts not need for any trophies, oh well guess more time to enjoy the story!

So I got the platinum for Into the Nexus myself earlier this month and you basically typed everything for me. ?

 

I did Rift Apart in December '22 and you will have a good time with it. I personally plan to finish the last 3 R&C games I don't have through PS+ Premium streaming: Deadlocked, Full Frontal Assault, and All 4 One this year.

 

2 other games I am playing through Premium are Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and inFamous 2. I just started Sly 4 this morning and it's bringing a lot of memories back. The clinking sounds of bottles, that noise that plays when creeping up on an enemy, good times looking forward to completing the Sly series soon. But I only just started Sly because the last week I finished the last of inFamous games with number 2 being the last in the set. 

 

I have had a rocky relationship with the series since the first game - collecting those shards left scars lol. In 2 however, a video game saint made a UGC mission that auto collects all 305 shards in a matter of minutes instead of hours. This helped to make it a relatively stress free platinum. I found the game to be a little clunky here and there but nothing major. I enjoyed the story more than one in the first game. I really enjoyed the scene near the end of the game when Cole and Zeke reconcile, it was done perfectly and is proof positive that you don't have to have 4k, 120fps, see light through ear cartilage graphics and whatnot to tell a good story. 

 

Now, back to playing Thieves in Time. 

 

 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,913 PS5 version of Round invaders Rush 2

[Sora9427]

2 hours ago, da-Noob123 said:

So I got the platinum for Into the Nexus myself earlier this month and you basically typed everything for me.

 

I did Rift Apart in December '22 and you will have a good time with it. I personally plan to finish the last 3 R&C games I don't have through PS+ Premium streaming: Deadlocked, Full Frontal Assault, and All 4 One this year.

 

Enjoy the games, all great titles you are playing  

And Especially Enjoy Deadlocked (Or Gladiator for me), Personally it's and still will be, even after Rift apart which i'm loving, the best R&C game ever! I'm super biased on saying this because i grew up playing it and it was a rite playing it on Co-Op every new Year for a good while with my cousins so ti always has memories for me, hope you can enjoy it as much  

[ZoKu08]

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

 

#308

True Wizard
Collect all the bronze, silver and gold trophie .

 

26.00%

Uncommon

[DrBloodmoney]

  549

 689

 

 

Heavenly Bodies

 

A co-op-first, objective-based QWOP-lite puzzle game from 2pt Interactive, Heavenly Bodies sees two couch-co-op players take the roles of two nameless astronauts on a space station. 
With their only communication to Earth being by way of diagrammatical instructions, on how to conduct various experiments, repairs, or maintenance to keep the space station running and further their scientific research, each level sees these two lonely players have to interpret the minimalist instructions sent to them via their communications panel, then enact them - dealing at all times with the perils, difficulties and often curiously amusing foibles caused by the lack of gravity. 

 

The actual tasks being conducted in each level may seem simplistic - operating a compression and crusher, for example, then sprinkling the crushed materials in planter pots, then watering them, or retrieving several parts of a satellite from crates, and assembling it - the absence of gravity, the odd control scheme, and the 2D plane make these seemingly simple tasks into puzzles all by themselves. While turning a wrench, for example, on Earth would be no big deal, doing so in a zero gravity environment, where the player must find a way to "lock themselves" to avoid simply spinning around along with the wrench, makes for goofy fun, puzzle solving... and occasional digital gymnastics as the player tires to hold all the required buttons in the right sequence!

 

I say the game is "co-op-first" for a reason. While Heavenly Bodies can be played entirely in single player, it is not a game that really should be. Like it's 2D, Space-based, psychedelic cousin Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Heavenly Bodies allows for single player play, but co-op cooperation is baked indelibly into the fabric of the design doc upon which it is crafted, and as such, solo play not only feels a lesser, less interesting, less fun experience, it actually feels somewhat antithetical to overall design of the game.

 

Each of the discrete levels - with bespoke environments and challenges, all conveyed through pictorial instruction manuals, the interpretation of which is al light puzzle in and of itself - is clearly designed with tandem play in mind, and moreover, almost every one of the most interesting and exciting parts of the campaign that I played, were parts that simply could not have occurred in solo play.

 

The gameplay is QWOP-style, with movements of each player characters arms tied to each analogue stick, "grip" for each hand tied to the shoulder buttons... and (as my sister and I did not realise until quite late in the game, and after becoming wedged in more awkward doorways than we could count,) additional shoulder buttons to bend knees - used to squeeze through tight spaces, or, in the case of good players, to "kick off" from a surface, to quickly float to another.

 

There are 3 levels of "difficulty", though the method of implementing these is a little unusual. Rather than making the tasks to be completed more or less complicated, the method of control of the player character is what changes... and I do actually recommend playing primarily in the "hardest" mode. 
(This is not game-flex, I assure you - there's a good reason! Two actually. Bear with me.)

 

In "Easy" mode (called "assisted") simply reaching out in a direction will "float" the character in that direction. So extending an arm left, will rotate them, or "kicking" legs alternately, will effectively allow them to "swim" through space.

 

In "Normal" mode, these same assistances exist, but have a slightly less effective momentum to them.

 

In "Hard" mode, however - called "Newtonian" - broadly realistic physics is used - a player cannot create motion where none exists, and must work to the Newton's Third Law - that each action will have an equal and opposite reaction. (thanks Applied Mechanics class!)

While this mode can be the more frustrating to begin with, my partner and I found, over time, it actually became the easiest mode to play in, simply because it is the only one where movement is truly "predictable". In the "easier" modes, if floating from one area to another, simply reaching out to grab something, will cause the game to try to "rotate" the player in that direction, potentially skewing the trajectory. In Newtonian, however, the trajectory remains true, and the player can therefore grab things, or impact objects, without fouling their path.

 

Not only that - the game actually becomes far more exciting and interesting as a co-op prospect in Newtonian mode - because the ability to simply "swim" back to safety is removed.

In Newtonian, simply losing ones grip, and floating out of reach of any hand-hold (even at glacially slow speed,) can be a death sentence for a player. This might sounds frustrating - however, it does make for some much more interesting scenarios.

For example, after loosing my grip when completing a space-walk, I assumed all was lost, however, as I slowly drifted from the station, I realised I still had a spanner attached to my suit from a previous objective. Waiting until the perfect moment, and throwing it directly away from the station, the force was JUST enough to send me drifting slowly back towards it.

In another case, when I became detached, it sparked a frantic scramble, as my co-op partner attached a line to her suit, jumped into the void, caught me, and we both pulled ourselves back to safety!

 

These moments - the victories, or the nearly-there-but-not quite moments were the absolute highlight of the game, and the clearest showcase for the gameplay the developer was intending - and they feel great. Playing in other modes (or, indeed, in single-player,) would likely remove a lot of this, and tend to make the game feel lesser - more a simple case of completing the tasks, being frustrated by the deliberately awkward controls, then seeing some credits.

It's also worth noting - I won't spoil anything here - but the very final moments of the game are a really fantastic emotional part. The lack of gravity that the entire game has been predicated on is used to really clever, winning effect, and the catharsis the moment causes - particularly in two-player - is on a level that rivals the (similar) moment in the movie Gravity!

The visual style is an interesting, quite unusual blend of "hard-science" realistic, (albeit on a simplified, 2D plane,) and artistic, almost sketch-book hand-drawn style in the space environments. 
Planets in the background, for example, have a "cut-out" paper-craft feel, with textures created using visible sketch-lines, and of course the actual characters are somewhat comical in their movements.

The overall effect is one that could feel dissonant, but actually, the cross-pollination of the more artistic, free-flow environments and the mechanical, technological foregrounds - coupled, of course, with the eerie, atmospheric and minimalist score -  makes for a really satisfying and evocative overall tone and tenor. The somewhat ridiculous movement of the player characters, and the awkward, often hilarious foibles they encounter in trying to do the simplest of tasks are funny, but the game never really feels "full comedy", because the tone still manages to convey the isolation, the gravity, the danger and the loneliness of space.
The silly movements and fumbling of the characters as they, for example, slowly edge their way along an antennae array, quickly becomes dire, and almost sad, when one loses their grip, and begins floating - just out of reach of their companion, and just beyond help - suddenly doomed to death in the void of space!

 

Audio is excellent - the score is a great one - creepy, minimalist and haunting - perfect for the combined danger, majesty and suffocating isolation of being alone (or alone together) in space. Sound effects are fine - the game is deliberately, almost hauntingly quiet a lot of the time, so the clinks and clanks of machinery being worked, or of the player characters shuffling and bouncing around the station are quite evocative... and the deafening silence of losing grip, and drifting into the void is oddly haunting and perfectly complimented by the careful lack of over-egging via the audio!

Overall, Heavenly Bodies is a fantastic little game - but one that really needs to be played a specific way: In co-op, and in Newtonian - to really shine. 
While I am generally the last person in the world to lean into the turgid, "play on hard for the real experience", type flexing, in this specific case, I do think that by not doing so, the game itself, and the ensuing experience is genuinely lessened.  

 

If you have a co-op partner, some patience, and the ability to think logically and enjoy some silliness mixed with some lonesome ennui, Heavenly Bodies is a perfect game to cater to you! 

 

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[DrBloodmoney]

  550

 690

 

 

The Entropy Centre

A 3D narrative Puzzle game and debut for Stubby Games, The Entropy Centre is a game with Portal - and specifically Portal 2 - firmly highlighted and bolded in its list of influences.

 

The player takes the role of Aria - an employee of the eponymous Entropy Centre. It is a facility on the moon, using scientific harnessing of the chaos and predictability of puzzle-solving to generate energy, which is used to "rewind" Earth in time after world-ending calamities, with a view to sending information of these calamities back to Earth-based scientists and world leaders, to then allow them to avert them,

Waking in her room to discover herself alone, and the facility in a state of disrepair and ruin - with a broken, scorched Earth visible in the distance, Aria, with the help of Astra - a chirpy, overeager AI contained within her signature time-rewinding tool, who's input is conveyed via vocal track and a series of emoji-style facial indications on it's LED screen - sets about to discover what has happened, repair the facility, and rewind Earth back to pre-destruction. 

When I began playing the game, I was immediately struck by how close its parallels were to its most obvious point of inspiration -  Portal 2.

The 3D puzzles are absolutely of the Portal style - block and gate puzzle design, using a single technical mechanic and an ever increasing level of complexity for the player to logic their way through using that basic premise (time-rewinding of object paths, in this case,) - but more than that, so many of the narrative and and tertiary elements seems Portal-like too. The "single person trapped in a decaying, abandoned facility", the stark, concrete and utilitarian design, the seemingly infinitely wealthy, and somewhat sinister "corporation experiment gone awry" element, the sentient AI guidance, the almost religious zeal the machines have for puzzling - everything seems like a Portal-wannabe... 
... and that is a potential avenue for disappointment. Portal 2 is an extremely tough act to follow.

However, what becomes apparent after several of the 15 chapters of the game progress, is that not only are the developers clearly aware of how closely their opening hours mimic Portal 2, but that this is both deliberate, and smart. That initial Portal-like nature is not simply copy-cat in nature, it is weaponised, and used as something of a bait-and-switch. 

 

To be clear - The Entropy Centre is a Portal-like in terms of gameplay, but in many design and narrative ways, it actually becomes one of the most effective and best Portal-likes, by only seeming slavishly devoted to its inspiration, at the outset. As it progresses it deviates from that source material in smart ways, and using the player-expectation that the initial comparison invites, as a springboard to counter-programme its own narrative in smart ways.

 

The corporation here, for example, is not actually evil or wicked - that notion is dispensed with pretty quickly. In fact, it is a genuinely benevolent thing, and the calamity that struck it is not a result of hubris or science run amok. It is simply a sad conclusion befalling a genuinely benevolent scientific endevour. 
It feels malevolent at the outset, because the players mind is immediately (and deliberately) reminded of Portal - they are placed in "Portal-mode", and so expect any corporation to follow the Aperture Science model.

In fact, the narrative elements are not treated like the potential Portal-retreading "not all is as it seems" mystery that the game, at first, appears to be aiming at... but in fact, as a genuinely clever exploration of a fun sci-fi premise, in a way that feels oddly fresh in videogames, simply because it isn't as cynical as we are pre-programmed to think it will be.

The first few chapters certainly lean into the notion that there will be some grand mystery and some hidden malevolence to uncover... but the game quickly dispenses with this, in favour of much more interesting and much less well trodden territory - simply commenting on the sad nature of inevitability of systemic breakdown - of the entropy effect - of the nature of hope, and delving into some of the more interesting conceptual elements that the game's wild premise invokes.

It becomes, instead, a curiously poignant, uplifting yet sad, hopeful yet wistful little tale of the unlikely friendship between a human and an AI, fighting valiantly, yet hopelessly, against an inevitable fate.

Gameplay-wise, The Entropy Centre leans heavily on Portal - there's common elements like lasers, springboards, boxes and floor switches making up the bulk of the puzzle rooms - however, like most good puzzle games, the central conceit is what gives the game its signature. In Portal it was the portal gun - in The Entropy Centre it is the time-rewind gun.

 

The time-rewind gun allows any objects to be moved, then "rewound" from a distance, along the path they initially took, up to 38 second into their past. The means, as a very simplistic example, if a corridor has three doors, each of which requires a floor panel to be operated with a box, the player can place the box on each door in reverse order of requirement, then "rewind" it remotely, from one to the next, allowing them to pass.

It's a simple premise but ,like all good puzzle games, the key to it working is exactly that. It is simple to understand, but the nuance and the determining factor between good puzzles and bad, is the many ways in which this mechanic is required to be used cleverly depending on the situation. Here, that variety is very good. Each of the 15 chapters has between 3 and 6 puzzle rooms, and despite the core mechanic never changing, very rarely does any single puzzle element feel like a repeat - and the smooth curve of compounding difficulty and extension of lateral thinking feels pitch perfect.

The game is not fiendish in its difficulty, but dances along that difficult line between "too easy" and "I need a guide" very effectively - the player feels smart when they complete a puzzle, but not frustrated when they get stuck for a while, as the solutions are always well worked out, and sensible once solved.

 

The game does fudge its premise a little in places, but these feel generally for the better, and work to either keep the puzzles working well, or to keep the player's challenge in the solving of the solutions, rather than the enacting of them. One box type, for example, doesn't rewind in placement, but rather, rewinds between "collapsed" and "intact" - making for some clever puzzles - and while this does slightly fudge the fictional premise, there is at least pip service paid to justifying it... and it is forgivable, in the sense that the puzzle expansion allowed for by this is used effectively.

Also, while movable objects can be rewound up to 38 seconds into their past, this is 38 seconds of movement, not of basic time. As such, the player is never required to rush, desperately trying to enact a solution they have worked out within the 38 second window - in reality, they have as much time as they need to think about the solution... they simply only have 38 seconds of object movement to work with.

The specific, designed puzzle rooms are intercut, on occasion, by some more "action" section between - either where collapsing sections of the facility must be traversed at speed, with the rewinding mechanic used to repair or freeze in place collapsing elements to facilitate Aria and Astra's escape (usually from the rogue repair-bots, who are menacingly running amok in the centre - or where these bots must be directly fought, by rewinding their own plasma attacks back into them.)

These sections can be exciting, and even fun, but this is the closest the game gets to frustrating. Aria's tools for combat are not strong, and since being hit twice in quick frequency simply results in a restart, some of these sections can get a little irritating at times. When the collapsing facility sections work, they really do work - as a narrative and gameplay palate cleansers between the more cerebral, slower-paced puzzle rooms - but the mechanics are clearly designed more for slow, careful puzzle-solving than fast-paced action, and it does show.

There are a bunch of collectibles to find - specifically emails and records on the few remaining working desktop computers. These are well worth finding, and the player would likely want to find them all anyways, even devoid of trophies, as they contain some of the most interesting conceptual elements of the game's narrative. Most are fairly easy to stumble across - I found around 55 of the 70-odd in a blind playthrough - but a few are hidden in some clever spots within puzzle rooms, requiring secondary or esoteric use of the puzzle solution elements to access.

 

In terms of visuals, this is the area where The Entropy Centre most sticks to it's Portal 2 influences - the facility is certainly in the Aperture Science mould - all white concrete and geometric, brutalist design, overgrown with vegetation and crumbling into decay - but it does look good. As the player progresses through the facility, seeing more and more of the "working life" of its inhabitants, the visual story-telling remains strong, and for a smaller indie game, the graphical prowess is pretty impressive. 

There is a minor gripe - there is a slight "white outline shimmer" that can happen (no doubt as a result of minor pop-in on a white background) that can occasionally catch the eye when turning the field of view - though this tends to become ignorable (and was likely exhascerbated in my case, simply due to having recently played several games where "white glowing outline" is used as an indication of intractability in objects!)

 

The whole look of the game is certainly functional - for example, object being "rewound" show an orange or blue (Portal influence!) tracking line, giving an indication of where they previously were, to aid the player - but functionality is not in place of genuinely interesting environmental design. The facility is not wildly original in design aesthetic, but is it certainly interesting enough to keep the player wanting to explore it fully, seeing different areas is always welcome, and the game keeps up its end of the bargain on that front.

Audio is good - the narrative is told primarily via the interactions between Aria and Astra, and both voice actors do a great job. While Astra is (deliberately) somewhat grating in its unwavering chirpiness early on, and not every joke lands perfectly, many of them do, and actually, the curious friendship and relationship between the two principle characters becomes genuinely endearing as the game progresses.

Foley and sound effects are nice too - not stand out, but certainly functional, and in the action sequences, become quite a necessity, as collapsing structures are often first indicated by the crunching, groaning sounds of them ripping their foundations and snapping.

Overall, The Entropy Centre is certainly a Portal-like, and qualitatively, it is no Portal 2, however, of the many Portal-likes I have sampled, it is certainly in the top end of the pile, and arguably the best - aside from the king itself. The narrative is engaging, the puzzles are very smart, without feeling fiendish, and the dialogue, while not on the level of Portal 2, does outdo most other Portal-likes on console.

Fans of Portal and Portal 2 have quite a lot of games at their disposal to try and recapture that magic, and most are decent, if not "pretty good", but very few really hint at giving that same feeling, and overall level of polish. The Entropy Centre doesn't get there - but it's potentially the closest any Portal-like I've played has come.

 

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[Nelson_]

 #399 - LoveR Kiss

 

 

 

 

 

[Elvick_]

Platinum #266

LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin

Master of Spinjitzu
Collect all other trophies

 

Not the prettiest plat icon, but hey. This was fun, and didn't crash once. Probably helped that it was a handheld exclusive and not a sidelined version of console, which for some meant it's own thing and for later (better) ones a downsized port like Batman 3. I really liked this, it dropped down the level challenges to 5 and got rid of the ones where you had to do 3 things at once. Granted, that makes this easier, but it makes it more fun.

And, it lets the AI partner actually collect the stupid studs. I swear they did that on the early games and then just stopped doing it for some reason. It drives me nuts. Very handy here. You don't even have to BUY the stuff in the store to get the platinum. I did anyway since it was relatively easy to do in this so even if it did require that, it would've been easy. 

The story was pretty amusing, if a bit juvenile at times, but I had a few genuine laughs and overall was just amused by it all. They even did ingame cutscenes. I think this is one of the best LEGO games I've played on the PS Vita. Others being Legends of Chima and either Batman 2 or 3. I forget which is which honestly. 

As I recall the earlier Vita ports, Harry Potter excluded, felt more like mobile games in their structure. This still has that feel in terms of it's menu setup, but it doesn't have that cheapy top down stuff going on like I think the first Ninjago did. I know that Marvel had that (and crashed all the time). This didn't crash a single time. It actually felt really polished. Especially for a LEGO game. This felt like early LEGO games in how it was designed. The levels are pretty small, but I prefer that to overly drawn out level design. Music is good. I can't remember if the voice actors are the same as the show, but most sound like they aren't. But then I also haven't seen up to where this game would take place, lots of references to things I never saw. Still enjoyable though.

What a fun time. Trying to knock off the LEGO games on the Vita. I still got quite a few left. The Hobbit is next. Then I got LotR, Star Wars TFA, and Jurassic World. And I -think- that's all of them. Going off the top of my head anyway. I just grabbed all the ones I had that weren't platinum'd. 

[kkulifay]

Assassins Creed - The Ezio Collection 

 

AC II:

Terrific storyline and the easiest to platinum. Used a helpful map online for the 100 feathers that made the collectible portion a breeze. The controls were awful!

 

AC Brotherhood:

Better level design, strong storyline and the addition of fellow assassins made it more interesting. First AC game to introduce 100% synchronization made the platinum more difficult. More specifically, the infamous tank and Da Vinci flying machine side missions made it annoying to synchronized if you screwed up due to the lack of checkpoints meaning you’d have to start over. However, if you master the “outfit change” glitch right before failing, you could essentially revert back to the last checkpoint, which was a huge time saver. 

 

AC Revelations:

Besides from the horrible DLC along with the Demond sequences, this was actually my favorite from the trilogy. The variety of bombs added a nice enhancement to Ezio’s arsenal that made combat extremely fun! It had the most action-packed missions that I truly appreciated. Constantinople was colorful, detailed, and offered a nice vibrant sandbox for the beloved assassin. 
 

Overall, I’m glad that I finally experienced The Ezio Collection. I couldn’t tell others that I was an AC fan without having these plats under belt. I’m grateful that I didn’t have to endure the MP trophies on the PS3 platform lol. Indefinitely caught a break there. 
 

Admittedly, I wish I didn’t play AC Unity and AC Black Flag beforehand. The controls and parkour in Unity was vastly superior so I’m glad Ubisoft evolved in those areas. Black Flag spoiled me with world design so I had to stop comparing when I was playing the trilogy. 
 

AC 3 will be my next AC game but I need a long break from Ubisoft, especially after getting 100% in Valhalla last year. What’s next? 
 

2022’s GOTY contender,  ‘Stray’ and my most favorite MP game of all-time ‘Modern Warfare II’. It’s difficult to concentrate on those trophies right now because DMZ and Warzone 2.0 is so frecking addicting with friends! Good hunting everyone!

Edited January 17, 2023 by kkulifay

[DEI2EK]

#86

Ratchet and Clank

Gadget Master

Played via streaming since I didn't feel like digging out my copy of the HD collection. Streaming was actually solid, had no issues. The grind for the million bolts was awful, but I enjoyed the game itself for the most part even if I wasn't very good at it.

 

 

#87

AC3 Liberation

Platinum Trophy

Should have listened to what everyone said and just avoided this, because it was easily the worst AC game i've played, the multiplayer was awful, the story itself inconsequential with nothing to hook you in, and very little side content. Urge everyone to avoid to this one.

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 114

Le Platinum Trophy

Cat Quest 

 

This game surprised me on so many levels. One that I picked up for $2 on sale might I add and this is definitely up there with one of the best indie games I've played and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

The game is extremely short but was the perfect length. I was about done with the game by the end and felt it didn't have much left to offer but it didn't overstay it's welcome, drive me to madness in a never ending grind. It listened to me and said, that's enough. The story was really well written with some twists at the end that were impossible to see coming. The graphics, though simple looked really nice, the colours popped and the lines were crisp. There was a lot of cat jokes that I expected would just become a drag to listen to but they were actually funny and fit the scenarios perfectly. I can't praise this game enough and on discount is definitely worth picking up. I'd probably even pay the $10 for it even though I finished it in a day, it's just that good. 

The game progressed at an enjoyable rate through being able to walk on water and when walking across a reasonable size map back and forth started to get tiresome then flying was unlocked though I did go through the side quests a lot parallel to the main quest but, the flying ability really changed the whole game. Getting across the map was a breeze and without it the game would have dragged on so much. 

The trophies were exactly how trophies are suppose to be. Clear all dungeons, progress through the story, clear side quests, level up, obtain all skills and finish main quest. All other trophies unlocked beside them and the only trophy I went a little bit out of my way with was levelling to level 99 but there was a quick way to level. 

This game is up there with the AAA games in terms of enjoyment and doesn't stick around so long that you get sick of it. 

 

Difficulty 1/10 

Enjoyment 7/10 

 

Get this Purrfect game now!! 

[DrBloodmoney]

  552

 692

 

 

System of Souls

 

A first-person 3D puzzle platform game from Chaotic Lab, System of Souls combines some of the basic elements of a "Portal-like" 3D cerebral puzzler, but mixes in some significant portion of 3D platforming and timing-based action, as the player traverses a super-clean, robotic environment of semi-augmented reality in a robot host, solving puzzles as a facsimile for recovering and repairing memories. The goal? To solve the mystery of how the player consciousness died in "real life", what the strange facility he finds himself in is, who all the robot hosts he meets along the way are, and what calamity resulted in this odd post-life world he inhabits.

Gameplay is System of Soul's strongest suit, so let's begin there. 
Puzzle-wise, it is a relative success - though it does tend to undercut the (genuinely smart) puzzle design, with its mechanical elements used to solve them. 

The actual design of the puzzles are good. There is no "hook" to System of Souls, per-se - where Portal has it's ubiquitous PortalGun, and The Entropy Centre has it's time-rewind hook, System of Souls simply makes use of its environmental elements, jump pads, boxes, switches, lasers etc, to craft it's puzzles - but there is pretty good variety wrung out of these elements throughout its 5-6 hour run time.

 

If System of Souls does have a signature element that makes it stand out from other Portal-likes, though, it is not so much in a narrative or gameplay specific, but rather, in a gameplay style. System of Souls, unlike most 3D puzzlers, leans quite a lot more than most on platforming and action elements in its solutions - and this is where the gameplay does break down a little.

 

I will freely admit, that I tend to prefer my puzzle games pure "cerebral" in nature - I find the best puzzle games work because once a solution is found, actually enacting it is simple - and if a solution requires significantly tricky mechanical or acrobatic gymnastic to implement, or very strict timing windows etc, then that is an indication that the solution is not the correct one, and a more clever solution is available. However, this is a personal preference, and the fact that it is not the case with System of Souls is not necessarily an objective negative.

What is an objective negative, however, is the way in which the action elements of System of Souls are implemented - as they have a tendency to invoke frustration. There are multiple puzzles that require long strings of actions to be undertaken, where any failure at any point will require a full restart, or at a minimum, walking back to the start and redoing the whole sequence - and because some of these require quite exacting platforming, or quite strict time-sensitive manoeuvring (for example, over/under laser-grids etc.) there is clear potential for frustration, if the same tricky section is failed multiple times, requiring the same long-but-not-difficult sequence to be repeated every time. 

 

The platforming and gravity-model of the game is consistent, but quite "floaty" and sometimes difficult to accurately gauge. 3D platforming in 1st person view is tricky at the best of times, given that the player doesn't have the full view of the character's body - but in System of Souls this can be particularly irksome, as often these tricky sections of platforming must be performed while carrying an object (usually a block) - which floats and rotates in front of the character's vision, taking up over 50% of the screen, obscuring their view of the environment they must traverse... and most frustratingly, which can easily be dropped, if the object is accidentally pushed by any environmental element.
This results - relatively often - in doing long section of platforming involving critical timing, to move a box from one precarious platform to another... only to either fall into water and restart, or - worse - to succeed in the traversal, but have the block "slapped" out of the player's grip, by an adjacent wall, and watch it drop into said water at the last jump. 

These elements are not complete deal-breakers - as said, the game's puzzles are smart, and fun to solve - but it does tend towards one of my most irksome annoyances in puzzle games: knowing what the solution is, but simply getting stymied and frustrated by mechanical elements when implementing that solution.

Narratively, System of Souls is a curiosity, but something of a disappointment, all told. The actual narrative conceit - an "uploaded consciousness" trying to solve the mystery of their own murder, by reconstructing their own memories - is a good one, and the basic premise of the world is sound, but unfortunately, the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. 

 

Occasional "break" levels - in actual "break rooms" - happen periodically, where the player can talk to various other uploaded consciousnesses inhabiting robot bodies, each of whom tends to one of a few "archetypes" giving their views on the ecological disaster and hubris that led the the requirement for the mass uploading. These are purely in text form, with no vocals, are quite long, (often 30 or 40 button-presses each to read the entirety,) and are not terribly engaging. It's hard to tell if this is primarily an issue of translation, or of writing (both are, I think, an issue,) but the result tends to leave the player cold, and don't invite a lot of emotive connection.

 

The actual solving of the players mystery murder happens in portions, at the end of discrete chapters, and these are not much more engaging really. Some limited visual stills are used - which is fine, the game is, after all, a smaller budget indie - however, the writing is not very engaging here either, and that's something that is not a result of budget.

The gameplay culminates in a finale that uses some fairly clever combined puzzle and action elements, and is quite unique as puzzle games go, and for that System of Soulsdeserves credit, but the narrative culmination shortly thereafter is fairly underwhelming (in both it's possible ending paths,) and so tends to leave the player with the memory of the puzzles, and not much more.

Visually, System of Souls does look nice. It's a very clean, very stark and minimalist puzzle environment - unlike something like Portal 2, or The Entropy Centre, System of Soul's environment is not subject to any decay, and everything looks pristine - but there is some nice flourishes. Reflective surfaces and lighting look cool - and I will say, while it causes significant mechanical and gameplay frustrations at times, as it affects the players ability to accurately "place" a box in a specific position, the way held objects "float and spin" does look pretty neat and cool.

 

The design of the robots and the non-puzzle environments are fine, but not particularly interesting beyond that, and not terribly original. Unlike The Entropy Centre, (or even some other Portal-like games, like The Spectrum Retreat,) the environments do not really engage the player with much "environmental story-telling" - rarely is there enough uniqueness or interest to really further the narrative through design.

 

Audio is fine, where it is present - the lack of any voice work does hamper the narrative a bit, and keep it at a distance - that's not always a massive detriment (Norco, for example, to be reviewed soon, has no voice work, and is one of the most engaging narratives I've ever played,) but here, there isn't the level of writing to counter that detachment.

Overall, System of Souls is a perfectly serviceable 3D puzzler, and one that has some pretty good puzzles throughout its length, but those are sometimes undercut by it's mechanics, and the narrative it is undercut pretty critically by the shortcomings in its writing.

It's not a game I would tell people to avoid - indeed, for the puzzle game fan, who has already played and beaten some of the better examples of Portal-likes, there is some good meat here for the solving - but as a narrative game, it falls short, and so it is hard to recommend to the non-puzzle-enthusiast.

 

 

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[DrBloodmoney]

  553

 693

 

 

 

Treasures of the Aegean

 

A 2D, parkour-adjacent, fast-paced platformer/puzzle time-loop game from Undercoders, Treasures of the Aegean is exactly the kind of well-polished, well-constructed, thoughtfully made indie gem one hopes for every time they take a punt on, and boot up a relatively obscure, under-played title!

 

Taking the role of Marie Taylor, a Lara Croft-like explorer and the "action" side of a two-man treasure-hunting team, the player heads to Santorini, to investigate an ancient Minoan civilisation. When an earthquake erupts, driving a long forgotten piece of land up to the surface of the aegean sea, they head into the reclaimed land, searching for clues at to the fate of the civilisation that seemed to simply vanish from history several thousand years prior.
What they find, is a huge swathe of the forgotten culture's ruins, complete with loads of treasures to find, secrets to unlock and ancient puzzles to solve... but within 15 minutes of arriving via helicopter, the ground begins to erupt, and the volcano blows - taking not only Marie and her partner, but a sizeable chunk of the planet with it!

 

Suddenly Marie finds herself back in time, the evening before, ready to explore the volcano again... and must continue doing so, on repeat, until she discovers a way to avert disaster, learn the secrets of the Minoans, and escape the time-loop.

Gameplay wise, Treasures of the Aegean is pretty fantastic. The entire volcanic island is free to be explored from the outset, complete with all its puzzles, and moving around it is fast, satisfying and extremely fun. Marie moves quite fluidly - Treasures of the Aegean is not a precision, pixel-perfect platformer, but rather, a fast, seat-of-your-pants adventure - and the speed with which a player can run, slide, leap and swing around the various cavers and ruins in the island is impressive, smooth and fluid.

On initial runs, the player likely has no real idea what to do first - or indeed, what might be the overall flow or objective of the game -  but as they progress, this makes itself known pretty quickly. 

There is a single-screen, pictorial "tableau" that the player can reference - and which shows at the end of each run - representing their progress across all runs. This starts as blank, but slowly fills out with each piece of information discovered by the player, and with each little puzzle element they solve. At first, individual pieces of information may seen sporadic and unrelated, but as more and more free-form exploration is undertaken, and more info discovered, it becomes clear that this is not only serving as a record of discovered information, but as clues - both as to what still needs to be solved, and how to solve it. 

If two of three items relating to a particular puzzle are found, these will be contained in the same section of the tableau, and therefore gives hints, not only how many there are out there, but which area and mechanisms they affect, and what part that plays in the overall puzzle of the island. 

Some collectibles are related to these puzzles, and some are simply collectibles - however, "simply collectibles" is not really apt in the case of Treasures of the Aegean, as even these have a genuine, gameplay-critical reason to be hunted. With each collectible found, an hourglass on the tableau is filled, and Marie will have more time on the island in future runs, to explore, to puzzle solve, and eventually, to complete the full suite of puzzles required to change the ultimate fate of her, the island and the world!

What makes the game feel so satisfying is the realisation - which comes after some few runs - that the entire island is a single, unified puzzle, which could really be solved in any run - if only the player knew exactly how. The result is, that every small victory - every little tertiary puzzle, every collectible, every new area explored - feels like another step towards unlocking a grand mystery... one that is staring the player in the face the whole time.

Once this fact becomes apparent, there is immense satisfaction in every run - filling out little bits more on the map, discovering little new secrets, adding to the tableau, collecting treasures to increase the time in future runs - it really never feels like a single run is ever a waste... and even if one somehow is, the actual gameplay mechanics of simply moving around the environment are so damned fun, that it wouldn't really feel that way anyhow!

Each time Marie lands on the island in a new loop, she begins at a different place on the map, and while the island is vast, exploring is a pleasure, not a chore, primarily because of two things: it feels great to move around with the excellent movement model, and every place to go has multiple paths to get there. There is a map (a good one, filling out in an interesting way as Marie explores, where places discovers in the present loop are sketched in grey, which them become proper, colour additions in the next, allowing the player to keep track of not only where they've been overall, but where the've been specifically in the current loop,) however, despite the labyrinthine nature of the island, and the size of it, it never feels like constantly consulting the map is a requirements, because the paths are so open. A quick consult to gauge rough location is generally enough to allow her to sprint, leap, swing and jump her way in the rough direction, without fear of running into dead ends. 

Visually, Treasures of the Aegean is tip top. The art-style is one pretty unusual in videogames - certainly, I cannot recall having seen it done before. It is comic-book style, (which is not unique,) but specifically European comic book style, (which, as far as I am aware, is.) The visuals are straight out of Hergé's Tintin, or Uderzo & Goscinny's Asterix and Obelix books - a bright, colourful, broadly drawn, yet finely detailed and slightly exaggerated sketchbook style, and looks fantastic.

The comic book stylings are not simply dressing for the platforming either - cut-scenes are presented as stills from comic books as well, text is stylistically identical to the lettering in European comics, even the timer clock looks like a "settings" yellow box in a comic. Everything, down to the expressions on the faces of characters pretty much perfectly mimic those in any Tintin book, complete with a slight overlay texture used to mimic the printing press ink-dots of comic pages. 

The flat-plane 2D environments look lifted directly from one of Tintin's adventures, and the style is both aesthetically pleasing, and beneficial to the gameplay - the simply, bright colours allow all objects and environments to "pop" and be traversable and intelligible even when moving at breakneck pace - as the player will have to - either due to running from danger, or to solve the islands mysteries in time, before the cataclysm happens!

Audio is good - there is no voice acting, but sound effects are good, and the music is actually really excellent. It's evocative and mysterious, yet swashbuckling and fun - a perfect fit for the Indiana Jones style adventure, and really lends the game a lot of help in maintaining its dangerous-yet-fun romping tone effectively.

The narrative is relatively simple, but works well, with enough detail to remain interesting, but not so much navel-gazing that the lack of voice work becomes an issue, and the game clearly knows it's biggest strength is in its action and parkour. Sections between runs are short, but memorable due to the art and character info. 

There are a few short sections that cut in after certain numbers of loops, wherein some incidents from Marie or her partner's past are learned (and in some cases, played,) most notably ones where they interact with some of the game's nemesis characters - the usual treasure-hunting filmic staple of course... another, less historically minded or altruistic team of explorers hell bend on discovering the same secrets for different reasons!

These sections are probably the least fun straight sections of gameplay - they are the only ones where Marie's path is set, and where failure results in repetition (in the main game, falling from too great a height, or being shot results only in a loss of loop time, not death,) but these sections are mercifully short, and not really particularly irksome anyways. Really, the worst thing that can be said about them, is that the player likely wants to get back to the island, for some more exploring!
 

Overall, Treasures of the Aegean is a fantastic little game. It's not long - completion of the entire game is unlikely to take a player longer than a day or two, and a full, 100% run would follow shortly thereafter, but it really cannot be overstated how welcome the level of polish and finesse to be found here is. 

The game is exceptionally well constructed, never wastes anything, and is predicated on a movement model and mechanical design that genuinely rivals - and often exceeds - the sense of speed and fun found in much higher budget, much bigger games. The puzzles are good, the level design is impressive, and the visuals - and indeed, the whole presentation - are a joy to see.

 

 

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[DrBloodmoney]

  554

 694

 

 

Faraday Protocol

 

A 3D alien-technology-themed puzzle game from Red Koi Box, Faraday Protocol sees the player take the role of an alien archeologist on a remote planet, who has discovered several ziggurats of unknown origin.
Entering one, and finding a piece of alien technology - a Bia-Tool - they discover they are able to manipulate the flow of energy within different alien artefacts, which can be used to traverse the many layers of "testing chamber" in the ziggurat, all the while learning the origin, ands interacting with the sentient AI guardian of the facility - the rather GladOS inspired and curiously cold and malevolent - IRIS. 

Faraday Protocol is a curious game to be reviewing in the same batch as System of Souls, because while they do both have some good and some bad elements, they are almost the polar opposite of one another in terms of qualitative elements. While System of Souls has strong puzzle design, but undermines it with some mechanical eccentricities that don't always work, and has a narrative that is deeply explored, yet underwhelming in nature... Faraday Protocol is the opposite.
It has no issued with it's mechanics, but has a decidedly dull and uninspired puzzle design, and while its narrative is genuinely fascinating, it almost criminally under-utilities it, only very lightly exploring the genuinely interesting concepts it is predicated on.

Narrative-wise, it is difficult to really delve into without spoilers, however, I will say this - the actual concept for what the ziggurats are, what IRIS is, who the player is, and what the history that lead to the state of the game are genuinely smart and clever. However, the game really doesn't give any of the information away during the bulk of the gameplay. Instead, the ending of the game is home to a massive info-dump conversation, during which all this fascinating lore is dispensed: clinically, concisely, and without much in the way of nuance, exploration, or time to resonate. 
The result is, a lore that could, in all seriousness, have supported an entire, lengthly trilogy of games... is blurted out in a five minute exchange as the game is ending.

 

It's disappointing in the extreme - and a little unforgivable, given that for the majority of the game, the player is not only completely at a loss as to what the narrative is, and so devoid of information that the game tends to feel like nothing but puzzle-after-puzzle. Without narrative at all during the bulk of the game, they are likely unaware there even is this massive backstory to appreciate. They are only finally given it... just in time for it not to matter.

 

Gameplay-wise, Faraday Protocol is genuinely disappointing. The hook of the puzzle design is the transfer of energy - the player finds specific "totems" of different colour types, which operate different mechanical elements - and some will be charged, and some not. By "sucking up" the energy from charged ones, and transferring it to uncharged ones, they can manipulate the environment, and traverse the puzzles.

It's fine as a mechanic - not original, but one that is broad, and has scope for lots of good puzzle design - and at the game's outset, if feels like the game is going in that direction. After a few quick, easy puzzles, the game begins to get quite tricky, and simply determining what each totem does is fun and satisfying... 
...but then a strange thing happens. 

Around the half-way mark in the game, the variety and compounding elements of the puzzles just seem to.. stop. 

 

There is a particular type of puzzle prevalent in games - commonly known as the "lights out" puzzle. You know this puzzle. Trust me. Virtually any gamer will be familiar with it, whether they are a puzzle game fan or not, as it makes its way into many games. Essentially, the player has an array of "lights", and turning one off, turns other surrounding ones off. Each one affects different numbers of others, and the goal is to either turn "all on" or "all off".

In the early parts of Faraday Protocol, these puzzles feature occasionally in the puzzle rooms... which is fine. They are a perfectly good staple puzzle type. However, around the half-way point, it really feels like the game runs out of ideas, and virtually every puzzle from that point on becomes essentially a variation on that same type. 

It is a strange, disappointing thing, as the puzzles seemed, prior to that, to have a steady rate of new elements, but for whatever reason, this become the dominant (indeed, almost only) element to the second half of the game, and while there's nothing wrong with that kind of puzzle when used sparingly, it is arguably one of the least interesting puzzle types generally - and not a strong one to lean on for so much of the game.

In terms of visuals, Faraday Protocol is, unfortunately pretty weak. The main issue isn't anything technical or graphics related - graphics are fine for a lower-budget 3D indie, and there are no real technically hiccups here - but rather, in terms of art-design. 

The style is clearly taking significant inspiration from ancient Egyptian mythology (not for any particular narrative reason, as far as I could tell, but purely stylistically,) and while this does have the laudably and beneficial advantage of making Faraday Protocol stand out a little in the crowded marketplace of 3D trial-based puzzle games, it's not a particularly pleasant style to work within.

It is very dark, with black obsidian the standards background, and the overuse of gold as the accent colour tends not to lend the air of magnificence (as was the undoubted intent,) but rather to make the whole ziggurat feel like some odd cross between the Luxor hotel, and Trump Tower. 

 

It's clear the game wanted to distinguish itself from the 3D Portal-like pack - a sub-genre that can feel artistically derivative, given how many are some variant of "sterile, white / light grey, and mechanical" - and in that regard, it is a good thing, but the specific artistic palate of Faraday Protocol isn't a great alternative.
The heavy black is not just an artistic, preferential negative for me - it is also somewhat antithetical to the game function - dark black and gold are not colours easy on the eyes for long stretches, and in a puzzle game, where pouring over an environment looking for little details and changes is a staple of the genre, it becomes a burden. 
There is, as it turns out, a real, very clear and technical reason why so many 3D puzzle games share a broad colour-palate... and Faraday Protocol makes the best case for the ubiquity of it, by not using it.

Audio is pretty standard - the environment sounds are suitably alien and strange, and sound effect do help in the solving of puzzles - particularly when the rooms are large or labyrinthine, and knowing exactly what each mechanism has done is not obvious. Voice acting is okay, but not great - the protagonist, who is of alien species, speaks in what we recognise as a heavy Russian or eastern European accent, which is odd - but then, who is to say what an alien would sound like - and IRIS's voice is suitably sinister, but never reaches a tenth of the personality of her inspiration - GladOS.

Overall, Faraday Protocol is a bit of a whiff - it's a puzzle game that starts fairly strong, but seems to get bogged down on a single puzzle variant, and never really iterates past a certain point, the difficult and relatively ugly visuals don't do it any favours, and the lack of good narrative doesn't help to propel the player forward once the puzzles drop the ball. 

The narrative premise does turn out to be interesting, but its wildly misused, and only becomes apparent long after the game has run out of gameplay steam, resulting in a disappointing "could have been" feeling to the whole affair.

 

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[NorthPaul93]

11 hours ago, Nelson_ said:

 #399 - LoveR Kiss

 

What's going on in this pic??

 

[blacklight-nero]

 #417

 

 #416

The gameplay for Pyre didn’t at first appeal to me but everything else did and as someone who thought that I wouldn’t like Transistor’s gameplay either and ended up loving it, I’m not surprised that I ended up liking this game as well very different game but also very enjoyable to play another Supergiant great. 

 

As for Inked it was a nice short game with a decent little story, the puzzles were very easy to figure out, But It’s the hand sketch visual style that appealed to me the most it was a nice game very good.

 

?

Edited January 17, 2023 by blacklight-nero