Most Recent Platinum

[sillyrobo75]

 

Enjoyment/Rating: 7/10

Difficulty: 2/10

Time: aprox. 15 Hours

 

 

Got the plat for Maneater yesterday, pretty easy one, especially since after the 1st hour or so the game tends to become quite easy for the most part, pretty mindless, which I did not really mind, kinda what I wanted from a game with this premise, still, it did get kinda stale after a while. Also, the collectibles are really easy to get thanks to an in game ability, and there is only one grind trophy that I had to do after I beat the main story, took me about an hour or so to grind the last few levels I needed for that trophy. I played it on ps4, and the performance was quite bad at times, that is the main reason why my enjoyment playing this was not higher. Would not mind seeing more games with this premise.

 

 

[Valzentia]

 #57 - Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (NA)

Difficulty: The difficult games are in another castle/10

Fun: 7/10 until you play for 4 and a half hours straight. Then it becomes BORING/10

 

The last Hakuoki game I needed to plat to finish off all the US Hakuoki releases. These games are far more enjoyable in small doses, however my stupid ass decided to pull an all-nighter for the sole purpose of getting this platinum done as soon as I possibly could. I did get the platinum AND snagged myself one of the top 5 fastest completion times, so maybe it wasn't all bad...but because I was so mind-numbingly bored for the last two or so hours of game time, i'm going to swear off visual novels for the time being...

[Hanzoadam]

  #808 Ape Escape (PS5)

No Ape Can Escape!
Collect all other Ape Escape Trophies.

 

A blast from the past, I loved this game growing up, but it felt just so much longer as a child ?
Was the main game I was excited for, for new psplus, trophy list was easy, but wish it had a trophy for catching every monkey,

Will double up on the PS4 version at somepoint

 

  #807 Pretty Girls Breakers! (PS5)

 

 

    Breaker Master
Unlock all other trophies.

 

 

  #805 Memroies of East coast (PS4)  #806 Memroies of East coast (PS5)

 

 

Full of memories
Unlock all other trophies.

 

 

  #804 Pretty Girls Breakers! (PS4)

 

 

    Breaker Master
Unlock all other trophies.

 

 

  #803 Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold'em (PS4)

 

 

    Poker Ace
Unlock all other trophies

 

 #801 Wine Story (PS5)   #802 Wine Story (PS4)

    Sommelier
Is that you? (Complete all challenges)

[Waspfarmer]

#number 43 - assassins creed 3 remastered, cant explain what goes into this, had one hell of a journey , very chuffed  

[percy547389126yv]

#1,302 PS5 version of The Psychoduck

[Leon Castle]

#229 Tales of Xillia 2

28th Jun 2022

The Sequel to Tales of Xillia and is overall the 2nd Tales of mothership title that is a Sequel(the first being Tales of Destiny 2).

Favorite OST: If It's For You ~Song 4 U~ (Final Boss theme)

Waifu Platinum "Screenshot":

Took me some time to finish Tales of Xillia 2. But the world of Xillia will be missed.

[Kishnabe]

 Platinum #564: Shadow Warrior 3 (PS4)

 

Enjoyed the story. Combat got tedious, too many enemies even on Easy mode. 

 

Spoiler

Difficulty: 2/10 

Enjoyment: 7/10

Time: 11 hours

[DrBloodmoney]

  520

 658

 

Ghost Giant

A VR Narrative Toy box-Puzzle Game from Zoink, (creators of Stick It to The Man, Flipping Death and Lost in Random,) Ghost Giant came out in 2019, and while that places it at the later end of the initial wave of smaller VR games coming from traditionally non-VR gaming studios that accompanied the PSVR release, it bears all the hallmarks of that lose initiative.

At the outset, the player meets Louis - a timid yet precocious young anthropomorphised cat, who lives on a farm with his mother on the outskirts of an idyllic small town. The player's role is of a giant ghost, who seems to be birthed out of Louis's imagination, though as soon as he is, the sheer size of the player both frightens and excites Louis. 
Across 13 vignettes, the player helps Louis to solve problems and complete tasks, as he heads for the local town, picks up items needed for the (oddly run down) farm, does his chores, and prepares a surprise for his mother, who (initially) appears to be poorly.

The actual gameplay follows the the loose sandbox design that tends to favour VR, with the player able to manipulate different objects, and interact with them in various tactile ways which is always fun in a VR setting. Here though, (unlike something like Accounting+ or Vacation Simulator,) there is an element of point-and-click adventure game puzzle solving added. Because the player themselves is distinct from Louis, and not acknowledged or visible to any other characters, but Louis is the one actually engaging in the tasks, the players role becomes one of guide and facilitator - manipulating the environment and the characters around Louis in order to give him a path to success. 

These actions, (whether story critical or not,) are fun and varied - the environment is a bizarre mix of giant levers and switches, allowing Ghost Giant to spin houses around or remove roofs to see inside, and lots of objects can be picked up, played with, thrown etc. 
Each vignette lasts 10-30 minutes, and each has a variety of tasks to be completed by Louis, (with Ghost Giant's help,) and a variety of tertiary things to play with. Each also features a number of collectibles to be found, ranging from little caterpillars who hide in tough to find spots, pinwheels which can be found, help up and blown (the player actually leans in and blows, with the mic picking up the sound of that in game,) hats that can be placed on characters, or basketballs, which must be thrown into distant basketball hoops found hidden in the deep background of the scenes. (These are, by the way, oddly difficult to score - I'm no sportsman, but I can usually score a basket at least, though some of these took a long while to make the shot!)

 

The VR element works pretty well. Ghost Giant is a two-move-wand game, with one for each of Ghost Giant's giant hands, and so does occasionally suffer from the "jittering" that can happen when the VR gets confused - usually when both wands are too close to one another. Here, in fact, the problem seems a little more prevalent that it was in, for example, Déraciné or Accounting+, most likely because the colours chosen for both lights are too similar. (Ghost Giant uses red and pink as the  colours, which feels a little strange - surely choosing more distinct colours would have alleviated this issue to some extent?) However, this issue is mostly manageable, and the actual fidelity outside of this is pretty good. 

Ghost Giant is a game best played seated, and in each vignette, ghost giant himself is stationary, simple swivelling on an axis to view the whole diorama world. this swivelling is done in increments with a button push, and is quite intuitive - and that means at no point did I feel motion sick (an issue for me, as any regular Science Chum will know!) 
 

Visually, the game looks nice - the world is a highly stylised "patchwork and brick-a-brack" design, in some ways sharing some influence with Little Big Planet, though actually, the first game to come to mind was Deathspank. The extremely spherical, "small world" design of the landscape, coupled with the paper-craft decoration and 'junk-yard toy-box' style really felt an almost one-to-one with Deathspank's design - but in the VR setting, it is lent a different vibe. 

The characters of the world - all anthropomorphised animals of different species - look fun and silly - continuing the "toy-box" feel. Each looks and animates as if made from wood, like elaborately articulable marionettes, and the Heath-Robinson world design and comically rickety motion of vehicles and mechanics that is a Zoink staple, is present too - and fun to see in VR.

 

Audio is good, if not stand out - sound effects work very well, and the score is presently inoffensive, if not particularly memorable. Voice work on the various characters is well done, if pitched a little more earnestly than Zoink's usual fare. Some of the repetition of lines can occasionally feel a little overbearing - guidance of what the objective to a puzzle is generally comes from listening to what the NPC characters are saying to themselves, and this cycle can be a bit quick, with characters often repeating their lines on an endless loop quite a bit before a solution is found.
Louis's voice - certainly the most prominent in game - can feel a little too earnest for its own good at times - particularly to those coming to Ghost Giant after playing the more cynical, tongue-in-cheek Stick it to The Man or Flipping Death, and is clearly pitched at a younger audience...
...though whether the game actually is aimed at the younger crowd is somewhat debatable, given the narrative.

What feels a little odd in Ghost Giant's story, is when it gets a little dark. 
Generally, the game has the tone and feel of a younger child's game. As someone with a young son, I see a lot of the softly-educational games that get put on iPad for example, in which characters (usually Sesame Street characters in the Bloodmoney household!) will talk directly to the player, in a coaching, upbeat and encouraging way - and for the most part, that is the kind of game Ghost Giant feels like...
...except when it doesn't. 

There are a few small, throwaway lines in the early game, that hint that something more sad or sinister may be afoot - Louis lies a few times to different NPCs about where his mother is, or why she is staying home as he tends to the chores, and there are specific mentions by NPCs of Louis's family running out of credit at different shops... however, the tone remains light. Louis, especially, seems intent on keeping things easy-breezy.

Later, however, it is revealed that Louis mother appears to suffer from extreme depression, and is all but bed-ridden and crippled by it. Louis's relentlessly upbeat nature and precociousness is suddenly re-contextualised, and made a little sad in this context - he is covering for his mother, and trying to protect her, while his home life falls apart around the pair. During these more emotional scenes, the nature of Ghost Giant is revealed too - when Louis is forced to confront his mother's mental illness, the player shrinks, getting smaller and smaller, and less and less useful to Louis. The game sharply recontextualises the previous play as more a statement on neglect and the trials of mental illness on family life than a soft-educational tool.

Assuming Ghost Giant is the imagined personification of Louis's indomitable spirit, this can feel quite sad and poignant - though really, I do think the game fails to capitalise on this element terribly well. The sections where the  depression angle are dealt with are smart and respectfully done - and build to a genuinely smart message about hiding problems, vs. seeking help -  however, they are very fleeting, and can feel jarringly quick. 
When, near the end, Louis tries valiantly to cheer his mother up, these sections do work as puzzles, but because the game moves quite quickly, I think some of the pathos the player is supposed to feel is less effective than it should be, as they barely have time to really register it. They are likely still considering the recontextualisation of the previous game sections, while playing the current part. I think this could have been solved somewhat by simply lingering a little longer on those elements, and letting the moment sit, before racing forward with the puzzle-solving.

Having said that, there mere fact that the game does manage a "tonal switcheroo" is interesting and laudable, even if it doesn't quite stick the landing as well as it might have. Partly, I might be a little spoiled on this front, having played Doki Doki Literature Club+ so recently - that game pulls off its tonal switch with such flair, that it's tough for other games to measure up!

 

The fact remains, Ghost Giant is a short but very nicely design game, and the most important element of it - the fun of puzzle solving in a unique VR landscape - looks really nice, feels fun and tactile, and has some mild challenge while still being engaging, easy fare. It is good for the younger crowd, but with hooks for the adults, and manages to have a narrative that is deeper than it appears on the surface, with a genuinely positive and admirable message to it. 

Overall, that is more than enough to counter a slightly ill-paced reveal, or some mild technical issues.

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[DrBloodmoney]

  518

 659

 

 

 

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

2017 saw the release of the seventh game in the mainline Resident Evil series, and the 24th(!) unique entry in the franchise overall. In terms of that mainline, it represented arguably the biggest divergence in style, gameplay and tone since RE4...
...and an INCREDIBLE return to form.

 

The series had been growing in scale and scope on a relatively steady clip since the original game. This was not always a negative, but the accompanying morph from Survival Horror to Action Horror in RE4, to pure Action in RE5, (and, if a rather more cynical, though not entirely unwarranted view is taken, Unintentional Action Comedy in RE6,) had largely shifted the series away from the core principles that so cemented the game in the zeitgeist in the first place, and invited the acclaim the series enjoyed. 

After the wild success of RE4, going bigger was, seemingly, the only avenue of evolution Capcom could think of for future evolution. Even as sales continued well, each compounding implementation of that ethos generally resulted in lower and lower review scores, less accolades and a steady dampening of fan enthusiasm. While I personally liked RE5 as a co-op cover-shooter quite a bit, it's inarguable that the general consensus was that it was inferior to RE4, or, at best, coasting on prior acclaim... but with RE6that bubble well and truly burst. 
RE6 represented a series nadir: the biggest, splashiest, silliest - and almost assuredly worst - of the mainline canon. 

I am neither the greatest apologist for RE6, nor its biggest detractor, however, I think few would argue that by that point, the core elements of what made the early games so revelatory - the small scope, claustrophobic and iconic settings, the metroidvania back-tracking and criss-crossing of established areas in search of keys, the curious and bizarre Heath-Robinson-esque architectural puzzles and the scarcity of ammunition, weapons and - crucially - enemies - had largely been abandoned. What took their place was an abundance of cover-shooting, Gears of War style hoards of enemies and Bruckheimer-esque action set-pieces, with the principle character more resembling the cast of a Marvel Superhero movie, or a Fast and Furious film, than a horror movie.

 

So what could Capcom do? 
Well, the only logical thing you can do, when going bigger isn't working any more. You go smaller. You go back to basics. That's exactly what they did, in some sense, but not only did they go small - they also went smart, and most importantly, they went different. 

RE7 pulls away almost completely from all the anchoring elements the series that had collected on its hull like barnacles, replaces some, jettisons others, and establishes itself as a new series baseline - doing exactly what RE4 did before it, but by almost polar opposite methods.

The game is a return in many ways - an iconic, small scope area, tension over action, small number of enemies, limited ammo / weapons etc, yet a refresh in others. Taking a first person view this time, a thoroughly different setting, and, crucially, drawing from a completely different suite of horror influences.

Virtually every previous RE game took its cues from one strain of Horror cinema only - Zombie movies. Though his name never appeared in any credits, George Romero was the defacto godfather of the series.  RE7, curiously, seems to take influence from every strain of modern horror cinema, except Zombie movies. 
The obvious primary sources of influence are clear - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead, Saw, Deliverance... however, there are oblique references to movies like The Shining, Seven, The Fly, .Rec, The Blair Witch Project, The Ring... even 1408 gets a nod at one point.

While that may not seem hugely original on its face - other games have been made that take influence from these sources, to varying levels of quality - in the context of Resident Evil, it feels revelatory. Finally unshackled from some of the most tired elements of long-running series - abandoning the confines of "Zombies" as a primary genre, and largely stepping out of the shadow of the convoluted narrative of the Umbrella Corporation, Wesker, and the pre-existing cast of characters, RE7 is able to apply a completely new coat of paint to the one area mainline Resident Evil never failed to deliver on, even at its darkest points - its core gameplay. 

Starting with a new protagonist - Ethan Winters - who receives a message from his lost wife, Mia, who disappeared from a "babysitting" job several years prior, he heads to a derelict plantation home in Dulsey, Louisiana, in the hopes of finding her. Within minutes, he finds himself in a desperate fight for survival and escape from a monstrous, cannibalistic family intent on torturing him to death, and keeping their hands on Mia... who appears to be possessed, or infected, with some kind of aggressive, parasitic entity. 

The basic gameplay is, technically, very "Early Resident Evil". The focus is on metroidvania exploration of a labyrinthine area - in this case, the numerous buildings and areas of the plantation home - however, because the setting is markedly different from any RE game to come before, even the elements that are a return to form, feel quite fresh and different. 
The Baker's home is designed beautifully, and is arguably the most iconic location the series has seen since the fantastic Police Station of Resident Evil 2. It is distinct and designed with an attention to detail that is almost absurd, and - importantly - architecturally sound. The temptation to favour gameplay over realism is avoided - the house does not feel overly large, or misconstructed - every room makes sense in the context, to the extent that the player can intuit where a room might be roughly, without having to rely on maps, and the space feels appropriate for the surroundings. Creeping around the main house, in search of keys and ways of accessing new areas all the while being searched for by the Baker family or the bizarre creatures who infest their home is incredibly fun, very engaging... and damned scary. 

That's right - scary. 
Scarier, in fact, than anything the series has offered before - including at its series height. Part of this results from the new perspective - the First Person view offers an immersive element that outstrips the previous 3rd person style - but it's not only that. 

 

Ethan, unlike most previous protagonists, is not a trained character. He isn't dealing with a situation he expects or knows anything about, nor is he equipped to handle it... and in a lot of ways this is mirrored by the player. Even a player well versed in the particulars of Resident Evil lore, is suddenly out of their element in the same way Ethan is. They are in a new perspective, a new type of location and facing new threats - ones that have little if any clear connection to those they have prior knowledge of.

There is also a sense in which the most frightening elements of previous games have been distilled into RE7. The "unkillable, constantly pursuing" enemy (like Tyrant in RE2, or Nemesis in RE3,) is back, this time in form of Jack - the Baker family patriarch. "Daddy", as he is referred to. 

The extreme limitation on ammunition is back - but this time, in addition to enemies taking random amounts of ammo to kill, they also respawn in a lot of cases, making "clearing out" of areas feel impossible at times. 

 

The criss-crossing metroidvania nature of the puzzle solving also brings back that most exquisite of RE-style anxiety - the knowledge that the player left enemies alive in a room they must now return to. Knowing that one must run the gauntlet - make it through an area they barely survived the first time, to reach a certain door or room is something RE has always played with, but rarely since RE3 has it been terribly effective. Once the series became more action oriented, the fear of being out-matched and out-gunned was lost - it's hard to feel powerless with so much ammo and weaponry that carrying it all is the primary issue!

All of this, added to the simple fact that RE7 is almost entirely divorced from the canonical lore with which the player is likely familiar, makes the whole game feel much more alarming and anxiety inducing than it has in years. For the first time in a long while, even the veteran RE player is left not knowing what to expect. 
This is driven home early, with the unusual setting, but cemented when - some 30 minutes into the game - a wholly Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre-inspired dinner scene with the family is delivered. This scene is outrageously disgusting and unnerving, fantastically well done, and completely unlike anything the series offered prior. 
Capcom makes its point right then... this is not your father's Resident Evil!

The narrative is relatively sound - I won't do spoilers, but the general premise is both smartly divorced from the pre-existing lore, but with just enough little references to keep it within the same universe. It's a tight, and fairly small story - limited in scope, but all the more "real" feeling as a result. There are - admittedly - a few elements that can feel a little rote or not quite sensible upon repeat playthroughs and close examination, (generally around the eldest son character, Lucas,) however, these are fairly minor issues, and not jarring within the context of a first playthrough. (Indeed, some of these Lucas-focussed elements are, troublingly, expanded on in some of the DLC, and explained away, to... pretty absurd results, which is unfortunate, but largely  irrelevant to the narrative of the main game.)

In terms of the visuals, RE7 is really operating at the top end of the PS4's capability. While I wouldn't necessarily consider it the pinnacle (The Last of Us 2 probably takes that mantle,) I do think its worth noting that RE7 is the first PS4 game I have played on my PS5, where I routinely forgot it wasn't a current Gen game. (I'm aware a PS5 version has since released, and can only assume it is even better looking, though there was no issue with it anyways!)

The dilapidated house is detailed and incredibly immersive. Decay and rot feels like it seeps through the pores of the house, rather than simply being painted on top like a veneer. The unique enemies and characters are distinct and horrifying, and the "mob" enemies - this time mould creatures, rather than traditional RE "flesh-monsters", are creepy and beautifully designed - slithering and writhing forms that are hypnotic in their grotesquery. 
Indeed, the game pulls no punches with its enemy design - aiming for disgust, and hitting the mark most of the time. A particular stand-out is the family matriarch - Margarite - whose elasticated limbs and mound of insectoid larvae that encrusts her crotch like a maggot farm are the stuff of nightmares, and as sickening and repulsive as they are detailed!

The game - like most RE entries - uses sound very effectively - the distinct shuffles and clickety-clacks of a crawling moulded, or the wet splatter of a vomiting "bloater", or the hollow-boned crunch of a moulded being "birthed" from the floor are all distinct, and instil their own unique anxieties, but more than that, the game knows exactly where to put a squeaking floorboard, or a pipe clunk, or a door squeal to deliver the maximum level of tension... without feeling the need to constantly pay it off with a firefight. 

In fact, the number of actual enemies faced in RE7 is almost assuredly the lowest of any RE game... but don't let that fool you into thinking that makes the game less tense. The whole game operates on the principle of unrequited anxiety - of building compounding tension without adequate release, and the sound design is a major factor there. 

While previous RE games shared that excellent foley work, one area RE7 is a huge step up is score. The game weaponises silence a lot - there is not a huge amount of scored sections, but when there is, it is excellent. The credits sequence and intro make use of a very effective, evocative rendition of the old nursery rhyme "Go Tell Aunt Rhody"... and it gives the game a thematic audio-signature that is quite unlike any of the previous games, and more specific than any previous one too. 

The game is relatively short - as with most early RE games, it can be completed in a matter of a few hours, once the path through the game is known - however, this is not a negative at all. RE games are like a Tardis - they feel much longer from the "inside" than the "Outside". Before the game can be "seen" in its entirety, and the path established, the first blind playthrough will often take a dozen hours or so to finish. 
This is generally a strength of the games - the smaller scope means more detailed environments and closer attention paid to architectural verisimilitude - and here, this is no exception. Probably the biggest thing lost in RE5 and RE6 was that detail. As the games expanded, they became wearied feeling... like butter spread across too much bread, as Bilbo Baggins might put it. 
By returning to the smaller scope, that tight design and detail returns with a flourish it hasn't seen in years.

 

Something I don't often choose to do, is delve into specific DLC in these reviews, if I've played it as part of the original ranking. I only do if it's as part of a mini review, done afterwards.
With RE7, I really do need to touch on it though. (I almost wish I did play the game as the DLC was coming out, as each of the packs added here would easily warrant a bit of discussion - but part of me is glad I didn't, as if I had, there would be more writing on this one game than any other three games combined!)
There is a huge amount of DLC in RE7 - more than any previous Resident Evil game - and frankly, more than most single player games ever get.

In terms of DLC philosophy, I actually really like the method chosen here. Rather than adding significant content to the base game, or adding superfluous multiplayer (both RE5 and RE6 has multiplayer add-ons, neither of which were particularly engaging or interesting,) with RE7, there seems to have been a deliberate decision to try and recreate other game genres, and use them to put a spin on the existing mechanics. 

"Not a Hero", turns the existing mechanics into an Action Shooter, more in the vein of RE5 and RE6, but with RE7's perspective and pacing. It is fun in terms of gameplay, but does seem to fundamentally misunderstand what was so good about the return to form of the main game - and adds some narrative elements so absurd and ridiculous that they - unfortunately - actively undercut the main narrative. (I, personally, chose to view these as flights of fancy - a non-canonical fever-dream in the mind of a delirious Lucas, rather than actual canon!) This is - without question - the worst the DLC offers, and best ignored.

"Nightmare" mode is the RE7 take on a Call of Duty: Zombies style survival mode. It works fairly well, though the balancing does feel a little haphazard, and could have used a bit more finessing.

"Jacks Birthday" adds a high-gloss, psychedelic UI and silly, fun, time-and-score based arcade-style mode, which turns the games horror tone into something more akin to Lollipop Chainsaw - and while (deliberately) undercutting the horror elements, is actually a ton of fun as an independent game.

"Ethan Must Die" randomises elements of the main game, adds additional traps, and streamlines the narrative into a single-life rogue-like. This works quite well, however, the problem with RE as a rogue-like, is that there isn't the plethora of systems required to make it feel truly variable. The mini-game requires Ethan to move through the house, towards a set boss at the end. Because the only random factor is the pick-ups, and the path through the house remains static, once that path is worked out, it becomes a simple battle against RNG to make it there with the right ammunition to defeat the boss.

"Bedroom", takes cues from Puzzle games, narrowing the scope to a single few rooms, with multiple items to investigate in order to escape. This is great, and really works very well.

"Daughters" removes the combat also, but rather than focussing on puzzles, instead takes cues from something like SOMA or Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, essentially functioning as a horror Walking Sim. This also works very well, and is arguably the most well done additional narrative the suite of DLCs has to offer, as scant as it is.

"21" goes completely off the reservation mechanically. It takes the more Saw-style elements of Lucas's story as trappings, but turns the whole thing into an (oddly complex, and quite fun) card game. It certainly feels like the outlier in the whole package - I like card games, but they are by far the most out-of-the-norm the DLC gets, and not necessarily something an RE fan would be guaranteed to enjoy. It is, however, an oddly well made thing, and rewards the time investment required to learn the nuance of it.

The most narratively substantive DLC, "End of Zoe" - in which the player takes the role of Jack Baker's un-infected brother, a pugilist tank of a man maned Joe, as he rescues main narrative character Zoe from the swaps around the Baker home - is well done, and a fun, Stealth Action take on the game... though - full disclosure - the final trophy, for completing it on the hardest setting is the stuff of nightmarish frustration, and the only point in my entire saga with RE7 where it felt fundamentally unfair in it's challenge! 

These DLCs are generally somewhat throwaway - at least in regards to the main story narrative, and certainly lesser than the phenomenal main campaign, however, the absurd abundance of them does mean those seeking the S-Rank will likely spend more time on them than the game to which they belong. They are good - but not as good as the main game, and so the completionist among you should bear that in mind.

 

Overall, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard is, quite simply, a phenomenal Resident Evil game, and a hell of a game generally.

It does that thing that is hardest to do - revive a long-running, tired franchise, and bring it back to life - but does so the most difficult (and most admirable) way possible... by returning it to its roots, without going "retro". It feels both old and new at the same time - a perfect mix of traditional RE elements with new ones, and re-sets the baseline for the series, both tonally, and qualitatively. 

 

I genuinely believe that Resident Evil 7 is now the best entry in the franchise - even eclipsing the original, and fantastic remakes, of RE2 and RE3 - and that is something virtually unheard of in franchises with this much baggage under their belt.  It's the stunning, surprising, lavish and meticulously crafted return to form that the series sorely needed, firmly re-iterating Resident Evil as one of the kings of gaming Horror, rather than simply the elder-statesman it had been in danger of becoming.

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[DrBloodmoney]

  523

 662

 

Agent-A: A Puzzle in Disguise

A simple-but-stylish point-and-click first-person Adventure game by Yak & Co, Agent-A: A Puzzle in Disguise originally debuted on iOS in 2015, with a port to Android the following year, and console ports, including the PS4, coming later - in 2019.

 

Taking the role of the eponymous Agent A, the player finds themselves on the secret island lair of notorious evil-doer and member of crime syndicate HAVOK, Ruby LaRouge, who after blowing up Agent-A's boss, is enacting her schemes to take down the agency Agent-A works for, and escape.

The gameplay is similar in style to Artifex Mundi's stable of breezy Picture-Hunt / light-puzzle games in terms of interface. There is generally less focus on discrete puzzles, (and an absence of the hidden object sections,) and more focus instead on the idea of escape rooms, puzzle-boxes and more traditional long-form adventure game fare.
I would hesitate to call any of the puzzle elements of Agent A particularly tricky, it does feel like a step beyond Artifex Mundi in that regard. While nothing is fiendish, and solutions make logical sense (as compared to some of the more esoteric or baffling puzzle solutions traditional point-and-click adventure games can get into,) there is much more reliance here on remembering long codes, or patterns or clues - and playing with a notepad, (or, on PS4 / PS5, with liberal use of the screenshot function,) is much more of a necessity than in any Artifex Mundi game. 

Depending on the specific chapter being played (there are 5,) the gameplay tends towards similarity to either Artifex Mundi fare, or the gameplay on show in the (excellent) iOS series, The Room. In fact, the feel of the gameplay is very much akin to what an Artifex Mundi inspired single-player answer to Clever Play's co-op sleuthing game Operation Tango might be... though the best chapter (chapter 3) is actually a single, large puzzle box type affair, and shows some real chops from Yak & Co. with regards to puzzling ingenuity, creating a matryoshka of a puzzle box that rivals the best ones in The Room series. 

The tone of the game is rooted firmly in the James Bond / Man from U.N.C.L.E / Get Smart milleu. It's a fun, colourful game, not high on tension, and while it is not particularly aiming for laugh-out-loud comedy, but there is a fun playfulness to the caper, with Agent A making occasional jokes in her responses to trying different incorrect items, or in some of the visual gags. Nothing ever drew a genuine belly-laugh, but there were plenty of smiles at the knowing nods to classic espionage TV fare.

The art-style is simple and effective - similar to the low-poly look of co-op sleuthing game Operation Tango, or a 3D version of (also spy-themed,) Counter Spy. (Apparently, this style of visuals is very appealing to the light-tone spy genre!)

It looks fine for the most part - Agent A has a fairly workman-like quality to the in game visuals, and I don't think it measures up to either of those games in terms of overall art, but it is a pleasing style and tone for the light romp the game is. There is clear, visible artistic lineage to the game's origins on iOS - it moves and feels like an iPad game, and the inventory, for example, is particularly large - clearly designed for use with a swiping finger. Little has been done to translate the UI to console, but it never really hinders the game, except in the (rare) instance where more items are in Agent-A's possession than can be accounted for on-screen, and scrolling through them can feel a little awkward. 

 

The actual control of the game is a little slow as compared to how it would be on iPad - like Artifex Mundi games, it relies on using the analogue stick to control a "mouse pointer", however, the areas of effect are large and forgiving, allowing the player to move around fairly briskly around the nicely designed lair and surrounding island.

What looks less good is character models - they are flat screen stylised characters, and fit with the aesthetic, but in this case, they are combined with a sort of pixellated additional style layer on top, and it tends to just take away from the broader style, rather than add to it. 
In truth, I though they simple looked of lower quality than the rest of the game - a fact clearly exhascerbated by the translation to the big-screen. I assume this is an artistic choice, rather than a genuine graphical flaw, but it's not one I was personally wild about, and I do think it gives a cheapening effect to what is generally a nice, clean visual presentation.

Audio is fine - there's nothing here that is stand out (good or bad.) The ambient music is tone appropriate and unobtrusive, and the (fairly minimal) voice acting is fine - in line with a Saturday morning cartoon fare, and does the job.

The game is not particularly replayable - the narrative remains static, though some effort has gone into allowing replays to have SOME value, as certain "gating" puzzles are given random solutions, and not able to be memorised from one playthrough to the next.  The method of obtaining these solution codes remains the same each time, however, meaning running through the game a second time still requires most of the game to be played in full.  This is a requirement, trophy-wise, given that there is a speed-run trophy, which while not super-stringent, does require the player to be pretty switched on.

Overall, Agent-A: A Puzzle in Disguise is not the kind of game to do anything particularly unique or original, but it is a perfectly solid example of a modern, light adventure game, with a crisp, nice look and puzzles that are engaging and varied, if not terribly difficult. 

It's a game unlikely to draw in anyone not already a fan of the genre, but for those who enjoy the output of Artifex Mundi, for example, Agent-A: A Puzzle in Disguise is close enough to that style to comfort, while being different enough to satisfy.  

 

(For original review and Scientific  Ranking see HERE)

[erwint0920]

 #55 - Life is Strange: True Colors

Well, after my yearly "I'm bored of gaming" fase which year only lasted two months (so far), I'm back to gaming and trophy hunting again starting with Life is Strange: True Colors.

 

This is only the second Life is Strange game that I have played after the original Life is Strange. But regardless this is definilty my favorite Life is Strange game that I have played (again only the second). If episodes 4 and 5 had been like the first three episodes that probably wouldn't have been the case, those episodes were still good don't get me wrong, but Life is Strange 1 would probably still have been my favorite but episodes 4 and 5 were simply amazing and saved the game for me. Also I don't know what I did wrong but literally no one supported me during the final meeting except for Steph.

 

Now that I'm finally back to gaming again I got quite some work to do, since I have plenty of games sitting here collecting dust. I had this game here for months same for multiple others including PS+ games, I got F1 22 arriving on friday.

 

I'm going to play F1 22 first but what I'm gonna do after that is a complete mystery at this point.

Edited June 28, 2022 by erwint0920

[rjkclarke]

Platinum #357

Black Mirror (PS4)

 

 

 

Every Trophy accomplished
Accomplish all Trophies and complete the game

 

 

I hope you have appropriate medical insurance Black Mirror, because...well, without being too crass – I’m going to absolutely tear this game a new bottom-hole with this review! Time to go to the emergency Clannad playlist, to keep myself relaxed for this one!

 

Let’s get the most obvious thing out of the way first – Black Mirror fails on so many monumental levels, that it’s pretty tough to account for every single one. For my money though – the most egregious one of all, is that it could not have done a worse job as a reboot.

 

Here’s the thing – for those who aren’t aware, I’ll catch you up to speed, Black Mirror is in fact a reboot. Yes, whilst it’s sometimes referred to as Black Mirror IV, this is indeed a reboot, and prequel of sorts. Where this game falls down, is that instead of generating new interest in the series, (a series I’ve always wanted to, but never played) all it generated from me was a want to play the previous games.

It is impossible to deny that the lore and the world itself of Black Mirror is in fact, actually a rather interesting one. It taps into some interesting and not too often explored aspects of Celtic legends and mythology, so to see it manifested in a game like this was a real shame. Yes, there is some bad mispronunciation of Gaelic here and there, but that’s pretty forgivable.

 

Where does this one fit in? Well, Black Mirror, released in 2017, being developed by KINGArt Games, is probably easier defined as a graphic adventure, instead of the point-and-click lineage that it hails from. Set almost a century before the events of the original Black Mirror trilogy. You take the role of David Gordon as he travels to his ancestral home in Scotland, as you eventually unravel the secrets of Sgathan Dubh castle, and “The Gordon Family Curse.”

 

All that sounds quite interesting – and as a premise, it absolutely is. Where that unfortunately falls down, is the execution.

 

As I said, the premise of the game is most definitely a good one. I actually think the story itself is Black Mirror’s strongest feature. I found it intriguing the whole way through, but sometimes that isn’t quite enough. The characters are as a general rule well fleshed out. They’re unsettling in a way where you almost instantly know something is “off” about them, you just can’t quite figure out exactly why. The two leading characters David Gordon and  Dr Leah Farber are both quite compelling, and the growing fondness between the characters as they slowly grow to understand one another, was actually very well written I thought.

 

On paper at least – Black Mirror SHOULD be the love child of Silent Hill and Broken Sword, I certainly think that’s what it is trying to be. If it was that, I’ve no doubt I would have loved it. In reality, a lot of what it is trying to achieve falls incredibly flat.

 

Take the lighting for example. It is an element of the game that is actually very well done, or at least, in a sense it is. KING Art Games clearly had the intention to use natural light as much as possible. That’s something that’s admirable considering the game is set at the start of the twentieth century. There wouldn’t be much light. That aspect feels realistic, but that does not translate in any way towards good gameplay.

There are certain sections in the game where there is absolutely no light at all, and as the camera seems to like changing angle of its own free will, you’ll end up spinning yourself around constantly just looking for a hotspot to interact with.  I quite literally had to set the brightness of the game up to the highest setting to see anything, and even then it still felt too dark.

 

The visual design of Black Mirror is, again, a tale of two halves. Great area design, paired with character designs, that don’t quite marry together well.  

 

The mansion is very well designed (what you can see of it anyway). There are lots of small attentions to detail that you really appreciate from both a design perspective and as a player. Often times there are small objects near the doors that denote exactly where the door leads, which is a handy visual cue, as the game doesn’t contain a map. For example, outside of the hallway leading to the kitchen, is a table with a cloche on it, reminding you that it leads to the kitchen.

 

There isn’t anything bad per se about the character designs – I actually think as a general rule they’re rather good. I just don’t feel as if they fit in with everything else – the character designs themselves feel a little like a mixture of those found in Telltale games, mixed with those in Dishonoured. The issue with that is that in Dishonoured and Telltale games, everything else has that uniformity to their art-style (and if it doesn’t there’s usually a good reason). Whereas in the case of Black Mirror. It has these quite stylised character designs, in settings that are trying to look as authentic as possible, which doesn’t quite work like it should. It ends up feeling a little jarring.

 

Like with everything in this game, the audio is a rather mixed bag. The sound design is pretty decent, in so far as the foley work goes. I don’t think it’s fair to say the soundtrack is bad, because it absolutely isn’t. It’s actually very good in a few places; the song in Gaelic that plays over the credits was actually pretty calming.  

I just thought it plays a little too much into stereotypes for its own good. I almost think the composer was thinking: “Scotland....Scotland, what do they have in Scotland?.... AHH THAT’S IT! BAGPIPES, EUREKA! We’ll have as many of those as we can get please.” Somehow a fairly miniscule section in Yesterday: Origins managed to feel more authentic (to my ears at least) than the majority of Black Mirror.

 

Some of the voice acting was a genuine delight though. Megan Maczko was particularly good as Dr Leah Farber, she did a wonderful job of nailing the subtler elements you find in a person’s English accent when the person has Austrian heritage. She really brings a lot of depth to that character; she seemed to really grasp what made that character tick. Her organic change from austere scientist to caring and concerned friend was so well performed by her, a real personal highlight for me.  

 

Now we come to the biggest problem of all – the gameplay. It’s really tough to say anything good about this – and to be perfectly honest, I’m not going to try to. I cannot understand the logic behind creating a game in this genre, one that is widely known for rich puzzles I might add – and then failing to really add very many puzzles at all. What there are, are quite miniscule, and would barely constitute as a puzzle in any other game. It was such a baffling inclusion. I’m not saying every single game has to have hard puzzles, but it would have felt nice to get that satisfying feeling you obtain when solving a trickier puzzle, that point-and-click adjacent games tend to do so well.  

 

One of the puzzle types takes the form of seeing ghostly events play out (if you’ve played The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, you’ll know what to expect,) and having to discern the relevant information from them. A good idea in theory, in practice not so much – these are poorly explained, and contain fail states that can put you as far back as ten or fifteen minutes of gameplay if you’re unprepared for them and die. In a game that has almost as much time in loading screens as functional gameplay, this becomes impossibly frustrating.

 

I think even if you played this on PC or a PS5, the loading screens would still be an annoyance. This game must be so poorly optimised to need so many. I’m really not exaggerating either. There’s a set of corridors in the game, where you’ll spend thirty seconds loading in, walk forward for ten seconds, then have at least another thirty loading into the next area. It is so unbelievably immersion breaking.

 

Oh I’m not done digging this game out quite yet – this game performs worse than almost any other game that I’ve played on the PS4. Quite frankly it plays like a low budget PS2 game – not the charming kind either. I’m not the sort to get offended by occasional frame drops, but this game is absolutely littered with stuttering and jerky movements from the characters, who are already animated quite poorly to begin with.

I actually laughed out loud during a cutscene, where one of the characters is on the floor (although he was visibly floating ABOVE the floor) with blood across their middle, not dripping, not pooling, BUT FLOATING. Yes, you read it right folks, the blood was just floating. I audibly said out loud to myself “Yes game, that’s how blood works.”

I could see how this would be a little more functional with a mouse, but with a controller finding the desired hotspots to interact with is a nightmare, as David controls, and moves like a person learning to play QWOP for the first time, it's bothersome at best.

 

So here’s the burning question, would I recommend Black Mirror? I absolutely would not.  I don’t even have to think about it, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever played or anything that extreme. But all I came away thinking was “How did you manage to get what could have been something so much more, so very wrong.” There are probably several dozen games that are point-and-click or point-and-click adjacent that I’d recommend to people before ever playing this one. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Infected Elite]

Platinum #155: Capcom Fighting Collection 

 

 

I found a little tip that helped with the Red Earth endings. As for characters, i didnt realize i needed each robot type for CyberBots but that was easy using save states right before you die. Save. get hit die. continue and swap machine on final boss. Took like 15min to go through all bots.

 

Surprisingly i enjoyed the 2 games i thought I'd dislike the most in Red Earth(WarZard JP), and Cyber Bots. That being said, for whatever reason in 1 game there was 1 enemy that always gave me trouble. Not that she was hard but she just had a weird attack pattern: Tessa. Gem Fighter Mini mix.

 

As for the Collection as a whole: 9/10, absolutely great set. 

 

Now, my fave character for SF is and always will be Cammy White. As for Darkstalkers.... I'm leaning towards Morrigan, but Felicia is pretty closely tied.

 

Anyways that's it. Highly recommend. 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,303 PS4 version of Sixty Words by POWGI

[XIIDoomsdayIIX]

#126 - Sword art online RE: Hollow Fragment.

 

 

 

#127 - Sword art online: Fatal Bullet.

 

[Jamescush147]

Platinum 334

The Director
Earn all trophies in Metamorphosis

3.23% Ultra Rare

 

Platinum in 2 days, 9 hours

 

Was waiting for my Limited Run Games edition to get here before starting this.

Already played and finished the original version and now I've finished this version. This time in a new costume.

So for this version of the game I'm only the second Plat earner. Cool!

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Jamescush147

[Valzentia]

 #58 - Jak II (PS4)

Difficulty: Debug menu/10

Fun: I have no idea/10

 

I literally just used the debug menu because I am lazy. I also just had a dentist appointment today, so i'm tired as all hell too.

[percy547389126yv]

#1,304 PS5 version of Sixty Words by POWGI

[Infected Elite]

 

Platinum #156 : Jak II PS4 (Debug Mode PS5)
Done Done Done
For excellent and dedicated field work in the field of battle for completion

[MrGarland]

On 6/27/2022 at 7:48 PM, ShinigamiSensei- said:

#207: NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH

 

Wizardry Whiz
Awarded for becoming a master magician.
Congratulations! You truly are a whiz at wizardry! 

 

Now i'm ready for Ni No Kuni 2 (i read is a harder game than the firs one), let's go! 

Don't worry, it's not. Unless we're talking about the Solosseum because that's where things get hard and boring.

[NonGone]

#1 (On this profile, anyway) - MGSV: The Phantom Pain.

 

Also a fastest to 100% time (59h 47m), and 1 day before the servers closed.  Woohoo!

 

Next up, ALSO MGSV: The Phantom Pain, on PS4

 

[Intoner_Zero]

#167- A Plague Tale: Innocence

 

Not much to say when others have more or less said their points long before, of which I lean toward highly favorable concerning the whole game. I'm also one of those dorks who put the audio in French for the immersion experience.

And whenever I wasn't playing, Rats by Ghost was living in my head rent free. (/◕ヮ◕)/

[percy547389126yv]

#1,305 PS4 version of The Basketball B

[matrelli01]

# 12 Project Cars 2 (my 2nd Ultra Rare plat)

 

 

Probably one the best sim racing game on PS4... The level of details about the set up of the he car is simple incredible!!!

Despite this the plat is quite simple, everything can be set up to the lowest difficult. Only getting the racing licenses is really terrible: you have to complete 350 online races for the veteran license...

Edited June 30, 2022 by matrelli01

[randotrophy]

 

Dancing in Moonlight

 

Plat# 10

Enjoyment 8/10

Difficulty 2/10

 

I loved this game way more than I thought I would, going to take a little break before going into persona 5 dancing