Most Recent Platinum

[Moridin83]

 #222: Crysis

 

Continuing my trend of games I missed the boat on at their original launch, and probably should have stayed off the boat for, we have Crysis. It's pretty, and I know when it launched, it was essentially the definitive test of how state of the art your gaming PC was, but what else does it have going for it? In 2022 it's not the best looking game out (good, but surpassed by others). On Delta, it's more like playing Splinter Cell without a cover system than a traditional FPS. Try to fight 3 guys without surprise, or running and re-cloaking after each one? You're done. your armor is shredded, and you're dead. It has game design issues, such as having sprinting use the same energy pool as cloaking and armor, thus forcing even more frequent breaks to hide in the bushes and recharge your energy, and the most viable technique 90% of the time is to cloak and sneak past everyone. Tactically brilliant, but not much fun. I almost wish they hadn't patched the VTOL level back in, because that was one of the worst flight levels I have done, and almost certainly the absolute worst for a game that had you shoot while flying. The pacing was poor, with multiple areas where you'd kill the enemies then sit around with your finger up your nose until the game completed whatever scripted event it was doing, and at least in my copy, there were severe audio balancing issues from section to section, with overall volume and audio mix changing drastically within a single play session. I needed subtitles due to how inaudible the dialogue was at multiple points, and this has not been an issue in other titles or with my TV in General. Thankfully, it's a single playthrough plat, so total time spent on this clunker was a mercifully short 12 hrs or so.

[StraightVege]

Completion

 

  #295

 

When poorly implemented or overreliant on gimmicks, stealth can be among the most tediously irritating elements in a game. That's why I'm usually skeptical when I hear something features stealth gameplay, particularly a 2D side-scroller, where certain limitations apply. Thankfully, Mark of the Ninja puts every effort into being a genuine article stealth title, which I'd rank right up there with some of the best. It never gets lazy with its mechanics, offering plenty of carefully considered sneaking sections that are satisfying to solve.

 

As with most media which portrays ninja, Mark is firmly in the ultra cool, mythological category. These are indeed the superhuman martial artists who prowl around in the dark, wearing black pajamas, and assassinating their enemies with impractical swords. Perhaps even more than most, this game's ninja clan leans into the fantastical, considering that they've survived up to the present day (you're literally infiltrating skyscrapers in Mark), and they gain unnatural abilities via toxic tattoo ink. As the skin art is fleshed out with detail over time, the ninja becomes stronger and stronger.

 

Marked champions like these are created only rarely, as a last resort to combat grave threats to the clan, and their formidable powers come with a hefty price: the ink gradually warps their minds, transforming them into insane killing machines. Thusly, they are expected to honorably end their own lives after the mission is complete and the crisis averted. In this case, a heavily-armed mercenary group is waging war on the clan, so it falls to your tatted up ninja badass to put an end to the conflict, at the cost of own life. How this ultimately plays out is up to the player, but I will say that I quite enjoyed the conclusion and its twists.

 

While you are afforded the typical side-on view of the world you'd expect from a 2D action game, line of sight still matters here, because patrolling guards won't become visible on screen unless they're actually within view of your ninja avatar's eyes. Until then, you'll need to pay attention to other clues, such as the sound of footsteps or the shine of flashlights, to determine their locations. This makes for some wonderfully tense moments, as you lie in wait for that beam of light to face in the other direction, before making your move.

 

Even so, you maintain a substantial advantage over your foes, since the ninja might as well be Spider-Man—he's capable of crawling about on most surfaces, and swiftly striking from a large variety of concealed positions, then retreating back to the relative safety of the shadows. For instance, you can lean against closed doors to notice a soldier standing on the other side, and rapidly pull them through it to their death, with the press of a button. This disparity between you and your enemies only grows as the game progresses, with the unlocking of additional overpowered ninja tools and abilities. Truthfully, the game could stand to be slightly more challenging, but as a ninja power fantasy, it feels great.

 

There's also a sheer attention to detail in the animations and backgrounds that is very impressive, putting many other games to shame. This is one helluva stylish game, and I especially loved how the characters become black silhouettes when in shadow. It not only looks awesome, but also serves a useful gameplay function, letting you know whether you're hidden or exposed. Nothing is flawless, of course, and I did have a couple of issues with the controls when dragging bodies or executing targets.

 

Circle has several functions mapped to it, including hiding behind objects, opening doors and dragging corpses, so it's easy to inadvertently haul bodies when you didn't intend to. You're basically forced to move them out of the way first. I also would sometimes attempt to take out a guard, only to harmlessly slap at the air instead, just because the game decided I was a hair too far away for the kill animation to trigger. Nothing major enough to ruin the fun, but marginally annoying to be sure. I don't like getting spotted for dumb reasons like this. I was somewhat disappointed with the various unlockable costumes, as well. They each bestow unique perks and downsides, but only a few of them were ever worth wearing over the default garb.

 

I think I've blathered on long enough. If, like me, you had a blast with stuff such as Tenchu, Aragami, or even Dishonored, there's a good chance you'll also love Mark of the Ninja. I wholeheartedly suggest giving it a try; don't let the fact that it's a 2D game by an indie development studio dissuade you. My thanks to @zizimonster, for their unending persistence in getting me to finally play this! Now, I think it's only fair that you play one of my favorite games in return, Blasphemous, and tell me what you think of it. ?

 

 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,328 PS4 version of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

[percy547389126yv]

#1,329 PS4 version of Rayland

[percy547389126yv]

#1,330 PS4 version of The Whiskey Story

[FFATMA]

#82 Sniper Elite 4 - 3.65% rarity

Absolutely loved this game, still have some DLC trophies to get and I'm going to enjoy every moment of that. My wife has been playing this co-op with me for the past few weeks and I think she's even more addicted to it than I am! Collectibles were a bit of a pain, but if you take your time and examine every bit of the maps, you can do them all pretty easily even without a guide.

Fun: 10/10

Difficulty: Maybe 3/10? The only trophy I really found a bit tougher was the one for surviving 12 waves in a survival match. It wasn't that bad though. Maybe people will find the Authentic Hardcore playthrough tougher but as long as you're patient and understand bullet physics, you should be ok.

 

[No longer here]

#164 - Risk of Rain 2

 

Rating/Enjoyment:  10/10

Difficulty:  4/10

Time: 25 Hours

PSNP Rarity: 16.88%

PSN Rarity: 7.5%

 

Now when I tell you this game is awesome...... there is no denying that, actually its an understatement! This game came outta nowhere because my friends and I wanted to play a game together that was so chaotic and with a "power fest" of abilities to use! Then this game came up and found out it was a rogue-like 4 player co-op experience that was fun from the get go! All the characters are fun and the satisfaction of killing enemies in a fast paced makes the gameplay extremely fluid and responsive. Never had any bugs in the game, except for some menu lag but that's really about it. It is an indie game and definitely looks like one from an outsider approach. However the game excels in the gameplay, music and cooperation which is more than enough to satisfy anyone's needs in a co-op game.I am giving this a 10 mainly because I never got bored and there are so many characters/builds I still haven't tried! Not to mention the game has an addictive gameplay loop, where you keep playing for hours wthout having to stoop. But by then with the amount of items you obtained you basically become a god in the game! Althought the maps be similar every run, the items and characters you play with always make the game unique. The game imo is a timeless classic of a co-op game and knows what audiences it wants to deliver to.

 

I can't recommend this game enough! One of the most fun co-op experiences I've had along with Deep Rock Galactic!

 

[aarnettbraun]

Life Is Strange: Remastered

 

 What if?

Unlock all other trophies from Life is Strange™ Remastered

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Time: 10+ Hours

 

Screenshot When Earned:

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by notandrebraun

[RedRodriguez87]

 

 #392: Great Success

 

This one came really quick too! Just like Ape Escape, I hadn't touched this game since it's very first Demo, so it's neat to finally play it all these years.

 

It's a fun puzzle game, though it plays best when using the D-Pad. What stands out to me is the OST. The trophy 

 

Isn't This Music a Bit "Too Epic" for This Game?

 

Is the most perfect trophy, because yes it is, and the game is all the better for it! A far cry from the music-less void of the demo.

[SirDave1988]

 # 136 + # 137

 

Syphon Filter (PS5 + PS4)

 

 

Excellent work, Agent!
Unlock all other Syphon Filter trophies.

 

Never would have thought that I'd earn a platinum in the original PS1 Syphon Filter game, an all-time nostalgic classic from my childhood. I always hoped that Sony would find a way to implement trophies into original PS1 games. While their solution isn't perfect, it's still great to see.

 

I was amazed at how much came back to me while I was playing this, it must be at least over 10 years since I last went through this but, like muscle memory, it came back to me really quickly. It also makes me realise how good my long term memory is haha.

 

Syphon Filter is a classic 3rd person shooter/stealth game from the future creators of Days Gone, from 1999, inspired by Metal Gear Solid, which released a year prior. While it doesn't quite hold up to the smooth gameplay standards of today, it still is enjoyable for the most part. The most memorable part for me though is the music/voice acting, the music especially is just so classic.

 

Really great to go back to this again and it shows how far video games have come in 2 decades. Will definetly do the future games in the franchise if they are put on the new PS Plus service.

 

 

 

Edit:- Earned the PS4 platinum as well today, shortly after the PS5 version yesterday, while the game was fresh in my head.

Edited July 14, 2022 by SirDave1988

[Valzentia]

 #65 - ARK: Survival Evolved

Difficulty: 2/10

Fun: 6.5/10

 

My very first ultra rare! I can see why it's an ultra rare platinum despite being so easy, though. The grind is hell and the game is crazy unstable even with the console commands and it really sours the game as a whole for me. It's a cool concept, but the execution leaves some things to be desired. Hopefully they can patch the pieces together, but i'm not gonna get my hopes up unfortunately, though considering this is my very first ultra rare it's going to be a special game to me regardless.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Valzentia

[Mariner1534]

#75: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5) - Master of Fate

 

 

Arguably one of the most-hyped Playstation games in recent memory, and I thought it was... okay. The original FFVII is one of my favorite PS1-era RPGs, and even though I went in with an open mind and the knowledge that Remake would be radically different in terms of both gameplay and story, I still definitely prefer the original so far. Probably my favorite part of the game was how well they recreated Midgar; they did an excellent job crafting the setting on modern hardware, and the final result is gorgeous. I'm not quite as positive on the rest of the game, though. The new combat system was fine - I liked how each character had their own distinctive style - but nothing too groundbreaking. I found a lot of the "in-between" stuff (like sidequests, navigation, puzzles, etc.) kind of boring, to be honest. Also, about the controversial story changes: without getting into spoiler territory, I thought that while I actually kind of like that they went in a different direction, I'm not super thrilled about the execution. Overall, just alright in my book, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the next installment.

 

The plat's not super hard or anything, but still decently challenging. You basically have to replay the entire game a second time on Hard mode, and certain chapters have to be replayed a third time for at least one trophy. Most of the difficulty really depends on how good you are at the combat and how well you prepared for the Hard playthrough (note that items can't be used on hard, and you lose most sources of MP restoration as well). Technically no missables due to postgame chapter select, though you may have to replay large chunks of certain chapters more than necessary if you're not careful - I wouldn't shame you for using a guide on this one. Honestly, the hardest part for me was just pushing through the repeat playthrough, since I wasn't exactly pumped to replay the game after finishing the story.

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Enjoyment: 6.5/10

Plat Time: 55 hours

[AJ_Radio]

Because I'm dreadfully behind in posting any of this year's platinum trophies that I earned, I'm going to cover every game I've done in 2022 in just a few short sentences.

 

Platinum #294: Yakuza 0

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 10/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 120+ Hours

 

Awesome game. Awesome story. Great open world experience. Highly recommend to ANYBODY remotely familiar with open world games.

 

Platinum #295: Yakuza Kiwami 1

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 75+ Hours

 

Weakest Yakuza game in the 'Origins' trilogy. Still the same great gameplay. Running a smooth 1080p/60 FPS is always refreshing.

 

Platinum #296: Thimbleweed Park

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 4 - 7 Hours

 

A throwback to the old point and click days of the 1990s. Ron Gilbert maintains the charm and integrity of the old LucasArts games. Recommend to anybody that loves point and clicks.

 

Platinum #297: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 - 25 Hours

 

A solid AA production action adventure game. Collecting all the orbs was a royal pain in the ass. Game is clunky on PS3. Enjoyed my time with the story and the gameplay.

 

Platinum #298: Trine 2: Complete Story

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 - 30 Hours

 

The final Trine game I had left to finish. Collectibles were horrible and too numerous. Decent puzzle platformer. Some tricky trophies. Multiple playthroughs to get everything.

 

Platinum #299: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 20 Hours

 

Another solid AA production action adventure game. Satisfying gameplay. Graphically dated, but it didn't matter as long as I had fun.

 

Platinum #300: Resident Evil HD

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 25 Hours

 

The big 300. This game sat on my PS Plus backlog for years. One of the best remakes I ever played. Capcom hit it out of the ballpark with this game. A must play for any horror fan.

 

Platinum #301: Team Sonic Racing

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 25 - 30 Hours

 

Wasn't a fan of this one. AI dumb as bricks. Grand Prix events were infuriating. Had to do three playthroughs on multiple difficulties. Some challenges were actually hard. At least I got this for free with PS Plus.

 

Platinum #302: Yakuza Kiwami 2

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 75 - 80+ Hours

 

A much better game than Yakuza Kiwami 1. Story and characters were on point. A solid way to end the 'Origins' trilogy in the Yakuza franchise. Recommend, though I advise at least experiencing the storyline in the first two Yakuza titles.

 

Platinum #303: Splatterhouse

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 20 Hours

 

Rare PS3 game. Only exists physically. Pretty standard run-of-the-mill hack and slash AA game of the era. Lots of blood and gore, I mean that literally. Doesn't shy away from violence.

 

Platinum #304: Horned Knight

 

 

Difficulty: 1/10

Excitement Rating: 1/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 Minutes

 

Throwaway retro style platformer. Garbage controls. Garbage gameplay. Garbage music. Only good for boosting your trophy count on the leaderboards.

 

Platinum #305: Gran Turismo 6

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 50+ Hours

 

Very good to close out the PS3 era. Solid controls and customization. The Senna DLC was very challenging. The trophy for grinding 7500 miles was time consuming. A good racer for anybody that loves simulation racing.

 

Platinum #306: Shenmue

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 15 Hours

 

Arguably a big influence on the Yakuza franchise. Several innovative features that wouldn't get implemented until years later. Good story. Good characters. A nice trip back in time.

 

Platinum #307: Shenmue II

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 15 Hours

 

Continues right where Shenmue 1 left off. Same good gameplay. New cast of characters. Great soundtrack. Easy and enjoyable platinum.

 

Platinum #308: Gravel

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 15 Hours

 

Pretty bland racing game. Forced my PS4 console into overdrive. Lucky it didn't damage the motherboard. Pretty run-of-the-mill trophy list. Would NOT recommend if you want a solid racing game.

 

Platinum #309: Undertale

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 5 Hours

 

A quirky retro style game. Offers a unique combat system that steers away from 'violence'. But can somebody please explain to me why Undertale is so awesome? Because I sure as hell don't see why it's so awesome. Being able to nab the platinum trophy without finishing the game is a big no-no.

 

Platinum #310: Minit

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 5 Hours

 

A small, quirky retro style game that is actually fun. Everything is set to one minute. Get various items. Beat a rather unusual boss. Quick and fairly easy with a video guide. Recommend for indie game enthusiasts.

 

Platinum #311: Blasphemous

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 20 Hours

 

A Metroidvania Dark Souls inspired game. Can be punishing to the first time player. Great themes and atmosphere. If you love Dark Souls and Metroidvanias, this game is a must have. Enjoyed this one from start to finish.

[da-Noob123]

OH MY GOD!!!!!! I finally finished Crash Bandicoot! 

 

This game has been so freaking infuriating I almost want to cry that I never have to come back to it. High Road gets a  bad rap and yes, it was definitely a tough level but, Stormy Ascent... I just beat it about 10 minutes ago and it was pure agony. High Road took me like 5 or 6 hours, this took me probably close to 15 hours. I just wanted to snap my controller at times but after 5 days in hell I made my escape and grabbed my platinum and 100% on the way out.

 

I will NOT be playing the sequels. 

[The Alchemist]

 #600: God of War - Father and Son 

 

This is one of the best games I have ever played. A true masterpiece, I loved every second of it. Now I just need to wait a few more months for Ragnarok ?

 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,331 PS5 version of The Whiskey Story

[xEl_Cidx]

 

 

Full Throttle
Unlock all trophies

[NullRay85]

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (PS3)

 

 

 

 #55: Master Thief  

Unlock all trophies for Sly Cooper's final outing... final? Really?

 

 

 Sly 3 is my personal favorite of the trilogy and I had great memories playing the co-op with my brother on PS2. It gets a reputation as the weakest of the trilogy (personally that goes to Sly 1) with the overabundance of mini-game segments, but it kinda made sense story-wise and I enjoyed them. The platinum was tough for a Sly game since the challenges were... challenging honestly and it took a few tries to beat them. I'm hoping PlayStation does something with the series' 20th anniversary with a new game or a Collection for PS4/PS5. That and I forgot to state that Sly Cooper is my favorite series under the PS roster.

Edited July 14, 2022 by NullRay85

[Leon Castle]

#230 Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

5th Jul 2022

The 6th main title in the AC and is both a Prequel and a Sequel to Assassin's Creed III. This was the last AC to have anything to do with Desmond Miles and his ancestors(at least as main characters). Black Flag also happend to be the only one I did the Multiplayer in(did only play the "story" mode of the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed Revelations and played a bit of the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed III to see if it works).

 

#231 Assassin's Creed Rogue

11th Jul 2022

Set between AC IV and AC III and before AC Unity while the present day might be set at the same time as AC Unity. The first AC where the MC is a Templar(but overall 2nd since you play as Haytham Kenway for a bit in Assassin's Creed III)

[rjkclarke]

Platinum #359

The Artful Escape (PS4)

 

 

All Done
Unlock all trophies

 

I’ll give you fair warning here, it would probably be almost infinitely harder for me to try and find something I found negative about The Artful Escape, than to just explain exactly why I thought it was brilliant (spoiler free as always, of course).

I loved almost everything about The Artful Escape, so I feel quite fortunate that negativity won’t be rearing its ugly head once in this review.

 

I played this game at an almost perfect time; I was practically offended by the lack of creativity on show in Black Mirror. As it turned out, this was a game I didn’t realise I NEEDED to play.   Experiencing this game almost directly afterwards was so gratifying to see such a fantastic piece of art never once get in its own way, just content to be exactly what it needed to be.

 

So without further ado, I’ll put on an obligatory pair of glasses – when you see how many people wear them in the game, you’ll know why. Nevertheless, I think there’s a truly special time to be had, so let’s get into it!

 

Released in September of 2021 (and ironically probably the most recent release I’ve played in some time) developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by Annapurna Interactive.  The Artful Escape is a visually stunning platformer with a number of light rhythm and puzzle elements thrown in for good measure. It feels wrong to deconstruct The Artful Escape like that, but believe me; it’s far more than it initially appears from that descriptor.

You take the role of creatively unfulfilled folk musician Francis Vendetti, nephew of  the famed folk music sensation Johnson Vendetti (who casts an impossibly large shadow over Francis’ career) on the eve of his debut concert, with some large shoes to fill, resulting in a journey through the Cosmic Extraordinary, aboard the good ship Cosmic Lung. Meeting a plethora of colourful and interesting characters along the way, voiced by some real acting greats, such as Jason Schwartzman, Carl Weathers, Mark Strong and Lena Headey to name just a few, and they are all excellent characters and performances to varying degrees.  

No, I didn’t trip and fall into a tab of acid, that is indeed unusual, but more than anything, it is the beginning of an amazing, yet important journey, for both us as players and Francis as a protagonist (if you let it be, that is).

 

The Artful Escape is, in reality, one of those video game situations where the gameplay is an accompaniment (appropriate wording considering the musical trappings) more than it is the lead vocal. The story and the sub-textual (and sometimes more overt) prevailing message, are the real main event. Something which – if you’re open to them, will likely resonate with you more than you might initially expect.   

It must be said – gameplay being a slightly lesser focus here, is no bad thing at all and I’ll get to the “why” of that shortly. I’ll level with you here I’m going to be fairly free flowing and unstructured (more than usual at least,) because like quite a few games I’ve played recently, this game is a phenomenal example of almost perfect symmetry between the games core components.

 

An aspect of The Artful Escape that I truly think works phenomenally well is its universal appeal. Yes, on the surface, it is a game about a struggling musician searching for creative freedom, and a desperate inescapable and unwavering need for his own artistic expression. Yet, it’s also a fascinating exploration of how genuinely freeing it is when – as a creative – you’re truly given that independence to express yourself exactly the way you feel is best for you. That is something that can be applied to all areas of creativity, the written word, painting or drawing to not even scratch the surface of the sheer amount of inner gifts that we all possess, which can and do exist within all of us.

 

I’m sure many of us, at some point in our lives; we’ve all heard the words “Be the best you, that you can be” or words to that effect. I really do feel that the message The Artful Escape is trying to convey, could genuinely inspire people to do just that, and I really hope that it does. It is so easy to become disillusioned, like Francis and fold in on yourself creatively, but this game, whilst fiction, of course, shows us that the creativity, and satisfaction that it gives us is always lying dormant somewhere, and that it can be one of the most liberating feelings when we discover, what exactly that is.    

 

Interestingly, I don’t feel as if your music taste really holds much relevance over whether or not you’ll have an enjoyable experience with this game. Whether you like the type of music Francis struggles to connect with, or you live for screaming guitar solos (I’m partial to both by the way). I think so many of us – on some level – can understand and appreciate how truly wondrous it can feel to be creatively fulfilled, yet also how crushing it can feel, not to be.

If you haven’t felt either feeling, perhaps playing The Artful Escape might inspire to seek that feeling out, because take it from me, The Artful Escape captures that feeling as well as almost any piece of media I’ve ever experienced has managed to.

 

Something The Artful Escape leans into very heavily is self expression, and interestingly the game gives us as players enough of a feeling of agency to decide what that truly means to us as individuals – at least I think it does anyway.

Later in the experience you’re given the choice to customise your appearance, once you’ve established your new “persona.” I think this can lead to several different choices for us as players, either you embrace what you think Francis might do himself, which is perfectly valid, or Francis’ persona becomes a truer version of you, yourself. This was the direction I took, perhaps to exorcise some of my own creative daemons; Fancis became me, well me, rocking as close to a Gibson J-200 (one of Tom Petty, my favourite musician’s preferred guitars) as possible.

 

I mentioned earlier, how the gameplay is more of an accompaniment than the main attraction. Well, much like it is in music, an accompaniment is still wholly important. I one hundred percent feel like if the gameplay was anything more than it is, the game would suffer immensely as a result. You can shred your (essentially magical) guitar at will, manipulating the environment in the process; you can run, jump and slide too. Boss fights and “Jam Pads” take the form of the Simon Says style memorisation game that many of us will be familiar with. All of that sounds simple, and it is simple – but by being so, it is exactly what it needs to be.

 

I absolutely believe this was a deliberate choice, the simplistic gameplay allows you to focus on everything else to such an intensified degree.

 

Had the gameplay been a little more complex, it would have been far harder to take in how breathtakingly beautiful each of the games locations are. The Artful Escape is absolutely awash with bright and colourful scenery and fantastical creatures that could only be conjured by someone’s imagination (perfect for the setting). It is an absolute visual spectacle. Each location is distinct and memorable in its own way, a constant reminder that you are on a journey.   

 

The soundtrack provided by Johnny Galvatron and Josh Abrahams is honestly breathtaking. I do not use the “G” word lightly, believe me – but the way the gameplay, the visual and the audio elements meld together are nothing short of genius. I have been listening to the soundtrack the whole time I’ve been writing this review, and I have had goosebumps several times, as the memories of those locations came flooding back. The Artful Escape has become one of my favourite game soundtracks of all time, and I don’t see that changing any time soon, it has a real almost ethereal power to it.

 

There have been several times playing this game, where I felt huge waves of emotion just wash over me, almost relentlessly. It is more of a “wow that’s powerful” way, not an “I am overcome with such deep sorrow” kind of way. There is something almost magical about the way Francis slides down ravines, manipulating the environment as he wails away with his guitar to his heart’s content. Every little thing you do, feels like it’s directly affecting the world, and it’s a real sight to behold.  

 

I never expected a video game to be able to capture that absolutely euphoric feeling of inner peace and fulfilment, that you get in that moment (however brief it might be) that you are doing exactly what you want to be doing, and that no negative feeling in the world could take that away from you. That, ladies and gentleman, is an immensely impressive thing to be able to achieve, I just can’t overstate how much that wowed me. It is a rare and powerful thing, and I will forever be grateful to this game for reminding me of just how satisfying that can feel.  

 

Asking myself the rhetorical question of whether I recommend this seems redundant. Of course I recommend this game, incredibly highly in fact. The game is a very short experience, but it’s likely one you won’t forget in a hurry either. This game is going to stay with me for a long while; if you let it be, whilst it might be a little short,it is an absolutely beautiful experience. Yes, the trophies are easy, yes the rarity is high, but I feel like you’re massively missing out on an absolutely wonderful time if you skip over the game because those particular factors are a problem for you. This game is a genuine contender for the best game I’ve played this year, and in a sea of really great games, that really is something!

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by rjkclarke

[percy547389126yv]

#1,332 PS4 version of The Jumping Burrito

[V-Trigger]

#73 - Ratchet e Clank

 

 

 

 

[voodoo_eyes]

#604 - Return: One Way Trip

 

 

Expected more from this. Excessive back-and-forth with a mandatory second playthrough that adds nothing to the game. Also, you can only run once you're 2/3 through the game.

 

 

Enjoyment: 6

Difficulty: 3

[Marvy_G23]

#551

                                          

[PixieHime]

200th Plat! The Whiskey Tale ? Yay me! *does my happy dance* ?