Madbuk's List of Unfinished Games

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #467 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut

I went into this game rather wary, because my previous experience with first person stealth (Metro: Last Light) was still fresh in my mind and I wasn't a fan of that game whatsoever. But I was also hopeful because this game seemed to lean much more into the stealth than Metro does, so I figured it'd give you more tools to work with. I am pleased to say that I enjoyed this game far more than I did Metro, and the stealth was actually pretty fun. It's not without its faults, though.

 

For a start, the skill tree system that arbitrarily limits what you can do feels totally unnecessary. This version, the Director's Cut, integrates the DLC into the main story and that DLC was perhaps the best part of the game because it's a self-contained mission so they make the skills less important, because you're not going to get a whole load of skill points to work with anyway (and there's even a trophy for not using any at all), and exploring the area for shortcuts or alternate paths to get past large groups of guards was very engaging - they accomplish a lot despite the DLCs areas being mostly a maze of hallways, whereas in the main game the areas felt much larger and more tedious to traverse than enjoyable some of the time. I can't really put my finger on what made the DLC levels stand out, but there was definitely something there.

 

The open world, much like the skill tree system, I could've lived without. I didn't find any of the sidequests or characters compelling and I'd rather have just done more stealth levels in the time spent travelling around the open world following objective markers from A to B. Speaking of characters, the ones in the main story were rather lackluster as well imo. I liked Malik, Jensen is decent, Sarif is kind of interesting, but the rest... ask me again in a week or two and I'll have probably forgotten everyone besides the 3 I mentioned (and Darrow). The story itself just feels really overdone at this point in terms of concept. Maybe it was original for the time it released, but by now there's been so much like it that going back just wasn't that engaging for me. The most interesting part of the narrative was Jensen's backstory. The game only feeds you crumbs, but those crumbs are tasty and I imagine Mankind Divided delves more into it.

 

I enjoyed this, in particular the gameplay, but I don't think I enjoyed it enough to go ahead with playing the sequel as well. Maybe some day - I do own the base game via PS+, but not the DLCs - but for now there are many other games I'd rather play instead. I'm still glad to have had this experience and it was refreshing to play this after slogging through Metro earlier this year. Faith in first person stealth has been restored.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut [+60] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #468 - Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

Finally, I have gotten around to playing this - I bought it during a PSN sale, which should give an indicator of how long ago that was considering it's a PS3 game. Everyone kept saying it was an awful game, and I was never in a drought of games where I felt the need to play it when there were so many other games I could be playing instead. However, at the moment I'm in the middle of a PS3 backlog cleanup event, and the options have started to get very limited, so I figured it was finally time to give this game a chance.

 

Overall... it's not as bad as people were saying? It's certainly not good - the combat is just spamming beatdowns, the map is terrible to try and read, and the story is very weak. But there's also nothing really wrong with it besides the map - the story is always weak in Arkham games anyway, so it fits in just fine. I had a surprisingly decent time with this game, all things considered, but it had definitely outstayed its welcome by the time I was doing my second and third playthroughs. Now the only Arkham game I haven't done is Blackgate on Vita... but did I like this enough to buy another version of it, at full price, to do another 3 playthroughs of...? Although it pains me to say it, because I'm so close to series completion, I think I'll have to pass. If it was free maybe, but it just wasn't good enough to pay money for again.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #469 - Furi

It was an absolute joy to revisit this game after all these years. The last time I played it was the last time I plat it - as my 200th plat milestone. It has been a game that stuck with me as one of my favourite indies ever since, because everything about it is just so good. The gameplay is satisfying and engaging, the music is great, the environments are beautiful, the story is decent enough... there's really not much to dislike about it at all, it's just one of those rare games where I have no complaints for it. Part of me was wondering if maybe my love for it wouldn't hold up, but I can say with certainty that the game is just as incredible as I remember it being.

 

Also, with regards to it being a milestone, coincidence caused this to be my 600th completion, which - while not a labelled milestone like my 200th plat is - is still pretty nifty. Let's hope that when PS6 releases, I can milestone it again with another port of it. I cannot recommend this game enough.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Costume Quest 2 [+18] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: Furi [+34] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Retail

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [+2] {-1%}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #470 - Raging Loop

Having heard mixed things about this VN before going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it ended up being a decent enough game. Certainly doesn't rank among the greats of the genre for me, but it's around the Zero Escape level in terms of quality. The characters are relatively interesting, and the main story was very engaging... for most of it. It outstays its welcome a little and the ending could definitely have had some trimming done, but I was never outright bored at least.

 

I don't really have much to say about this one tbh. If you like the concept of Among Us this may appeal, but don't go in expecting anything groundbreaking. Presentation is pretty average and it has a couple of really good music tracks. It's a game I'd say is at least worth trying if you ever see it dirt cheap in a sale.

Spoiler

Retail

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [+2] {+3%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Raging Loop [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart [47] {Retail}

NEW GAME: Sonic Colors: Ultimate [47] {Retail}

NEW GAME: Tales of Arise [48] {Retail}

 

[AJ_Radio]

Furi is tough but it gives a huge sense of accomplishment when you finally pull it off. 
 

You briefly mentioned Deus Ex: Mankind Divided which is a game I haven’t gotten around to yet. Hope I haven’t already been screwed on the online trophies. I remember people saying they had trouble connecting online.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #471 - Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania

After being told for years that Monkey Ball 1 and 2 were vastly superior to Splitz and Blitz, I was eagerly anticipating this game ever since it got announced. I... don't quite get the hype really. It's certainly a very good game and I think I'd argue it's definitely a step up from Blitz (or, rather, Blitz was a step down since it came after), but the level design in Splitz felt a lot more diverse, challenging and interesting compared to what's on offer here. There are plenty of great and memorable stages, but there are also plenty of forgettable ones you'll finish in a few seconds and never think about again whereas I did Splitz 71 plats ago and can still vividly remember practically all of it.

 

One thing this game does do much better than Splitz and Blitz is offering unique challenge modes that use the core gameplay of Monkey Ball in a creative way. Like one mode which tasks you with avoiding every banana and reaching the goal, which can be quite difficult in some of the stages they've chosen for it. I loved doing those and it's a shame each challenge mode only has 10 levels each. It's a shame that it has all this fun bonus stuff... but also features by far the most frustrating and unfun minigames in the series as the remainder of its side content. In Blitz, you had to play each minigame 36 times, for a total of 360 minigame playthroughs, and I thought that was awful. But... looking back, yes it was bad, but the minigame requirements in this game are absolutely ridiculous by comparison. Having to do an 18-hole playthrough of Golf and finish on or below par took hours, and my successful attempt took 18 minutes (I have a video of it, hence why I know exactly how long it took), and 18 minutes is a lot to have to replay everytime RNG screws you over because the wind is blowing in an awkward way. Sometimes the wind makes certain courses practically impossible, which is just terrible.

 

The rest of the minigames besides Golf weren't any fun either. Billiards felt like they copied over the expert AI from Yakuza 3 where you just never get to have a turn unless you go first, and if you do get to go first you have to play perfectly or else the AI takes over and just wins, Tennis it didn't feel like you had enough control over how much power you're hitting the ball with, Flight has questionable physics, Baseball seemed RNG reliant, and the rest are all just mindnumbingly dull. It's a shame that my memories of loving the standard Monkey Ball gameplay of this 8 months ago when it released have been tarnished by these minigames that were so awful that I felt compelled to put it on hold all this time.

 

I'm really not sure I will ever stack this. I loved the main game, and if it was just that I absolutely would, but having to suffer through those minigames again just sounds absolutely miserable. Maybe someday I'll be craving some Monkey Ball and will be insane enough to start it up, especially since the PS5 upgrade is free and this series doesn't exactly get many entries (1 on Vita, 2 on PS4, 0 on PS3) to keep me occupied, but for now the memories of the pain these minigames inflict is too strong for me to even consider it.

 

Also, as a brief side note, I've decided to remove all of the PS+ games I currently have in my checklist in the Unstarted section. With the arrival of the new PS+ service, my list of PS+ games I want to play has skyrocketed and that section would just be ridiculous if I were to add all the new ones. So I'll just add any to this list as I play them, instead of all at once.

Spoiler

Retail

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania  [+4] {+19%} (COMPLETE!)

Tales of Arise [+12] {+17%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout [49] {Retail}

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #472 - Ape Escape

I have been interested in this franchise for years now. As a big fan of 3D platformers, I knew I would probably like it, and kept meaning to play the Ape Escape 2 emulation that PS4 released ages ago, but kept putting it off. I'm not sure why really, maybe I just kept holding out hope that Ape Escape 1 would also get a port/emulation/remaster so I could start from the beginning, even though this clearly isn't a story-driven game. Now that I have finally given the series a try... it was honestly even better than I had expected it to be.

 

This game has aged very well. The controls are great, the graphics are pretty good for the time, the story is a little more involved than I would expect from a PS1 3D platformer (though it's still not exactly the selling point of the game), the levels are diverse, the platforming is fun, all of the gadgets feel unique and have their own use... The only real flaw I could pick out for it is the music being pretty mediocre and forgettable, but that's not a huge issue. I also find the trophy list quite disappointing, you don't need every coin nor do you need every monkey, you can plat the game with around 50% completion which is just ridiculous, I really hope not all of these PS1 classics will be like this.

 

Definitely going to be playing the sequel in the future now, and definitely plan on stacking this with the PS5 version as well, but not immediately. Will be a joy to revisit whenever I decide to though.

Spoiler

PS+

NEW GAME: Ape Escape  [+17] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #473 - I.Q. Intelligent Qube

As PS1 is an era that I look back fondly on, but was too young to ever really expand past a select roster of games on it (Tomb Raider, Spyro, Crash being the main 3), I love that I can now experience classics that I missed with trophy support, and hope that Sony continues to support this unlike their PS2 efforts. Ape Escape was such a good game that I've decided to give all the current PS1 classics available a chance (which is only 5 at the moment, so it isn't much of a commitment tbf), and after looking at the options this seemed really strange and unique, and I can appreciate a good experimental game. Having played it... it's pretty interesting, and definitely has potential for a more complex modern revival.

 

I was not ready for how fast paced this game was going to get, I was expecting a chill puzzle game involving blocks, but by the time you get to stage 6 or so, blocks begin moving at some incredible speeds and it really requires all of your attention to avoid getting overwhelmed, because if you mess up, you suffer in later waves because the space you have to work with shrinks the worse you perform (and expands if you do a wave perfectly). It was actually surprisingly engaging, although it has definitely reminded me that my spacial awareness is rather lacking. The final stage takes away indicators from you and it became pretty difficult to keep track of where all your green cubes were active in relation to the black cubes, but it was a fun challenge. Movement could be a little wonky but it's nothing gamebreaking, you get used to it pretty quick.

 

This probably isn't going to be one I stack, unlike Ape Escape, but I had a decent enough time with it and have to give it credit for being unique, if nothing else. Let's hope the remaining 3 PS1 games can continue to impress, as I've actually never played any of these first 5. Might not jump into the next PS1 game immediately, but it's definitely in the plans.

Spoiler

PS+

NEW GAME: I.Q. Intelligent Qube [+19] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Retail

Tales of Arise  [+1] {+2%}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #474 - Tales of Arise

I absolutely loved this game. Coming from Zestiria being my last Tales plat, and absolutely hating my time with that one, this was a refreshing return to form that has me excited for the series' future again. It has my favourite Tales protagonist (Iron Mask), and all of the party members are very strong as well. The skits and campfire systems really help amplify the feeling of undertaking a journey with these people, and I think, compared to most Tales casts, this cast feels more grounded and 'normal', and I liked that dynamic a lot. The way that the relationship between the characters develops is so natural and well done. The main narrative itself, characters aside, is pretty interesting but nothing overly new for a Tales game. The characters are definitely what carried this for me, but the main plot wasn't bad either.

 

Combat wise... it's fun, it gives me Graces f vibes a little with the removal of the TP system and the way you can keep regenerating your BG to keep combos going, but the enemies are all so tanky. Made getting through some of the larger fields a bit of a chore, I don't recall mobs ever being this tanky in prior Tales games. Side quests were all pretty generic fluff, but thankfully they don't drag on too long. As a big appreciator of RPG towns, the towns in this game were pretty unique and varied, but there wasn't much to really explore in them which is a shame.

 

Honestly, my only criticism, as strange as it might sound, is that this game... is a little too good. It took 5 years for this game to release after Berseria, and whilst it is a significant step up graphically (and imo writing-wise)... would I rather 1 Arise-tier game every 5 years or 1 Berseria-tier game every 1-2 years? I think I'd go with the latter honestly. 1 Tales game per generation, 2 if you're lucky, just sounds insane. But that's the reality we live in with games these days, and Arise has set a new standard so there's no going back now. But hey, at least this game has a PS5 stack for me to do sometime during the (probable) 5 year gap before the next game, and I definitely intend to stack it.

Spoiler

Retail

Tales of Arise  [+35] {+81%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Bonus Post #3: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

I have been playing this on and off ever since playing, loving, and finishing the first game. This game was incredible as well, and Trails continues to be the pinnacle of the genre for me, but I do think that I enjoyed FC slightly more. FC felt more character focused, whereas the main plot really began to accelerate with this one. That's not to say that the characters get backseated here though, there are still many powerful moments between them in every chapter, and the higher stakes of this game were definitely interesting in their own right, but I think I just liked the laid back vibe of FC more.

 

The music is as fantastic as ever, Falcom never disappoints on that front, and the NPCs continued being a highlight, which isn't something you can say about most RPGs. There are two NPCs in this game that have an event at a specific point in the game, unrelated to any main or side quests, if you're in the right spot at the right time. And the third game, which I have now played the prologue of just to try it out, has those NPCs already and references this development between them. It's these small moments that make the world-building of this franchise so powerful, it's not just the main characters who evolve as the games progress, everything does, and there are plenty of examples of it. There's no other gaming franchise I can think of with this level of inter-connectivity between each game at the same scale that this franchise does, and I love it.

 

Because this is a PC game, it came with the inevitable chore of setting it up and getting it to work, and even when it did work I noticed some slowdowns every so often, just like FC, and during my brief taste of the third game the same issue was present there too. I'm certain it's just my PC though, since even browsing websites comes with slowdown these days... Due to this being a turn based game though, there are no quick reflexes required so these slowdowns weren't much of a problem in the grand scheme of things. Just something I have to live with if I want to play PC games I suppose. Ignoring those technical issues that probably aren't even the game's fault, the game itself works perfectly apart from crashing twice, so I can't be too harsh on it.

 

I'm running out of time if I want to finish this trilogy before Trails from Zero releases in September, but I'm okay waiting on Zero instead of playing it day 1, I'd rather savour and fully enjoy my time with this trilogy rather than rush through it just so I can play the new game the day it releases. I've still pre-ordered it to show support though, this series is far too niche for how incredible it is.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #475 - Sackboy: A Big Adventure

This was alright. It's definitely one of the better Sony IP games released in recent years, but it felt kinda slow, and I've come to realize I enjoy fast paced platformers a lot more. You can roll to speed yourself up, but you have to mash circle to do so which is very reminiscent of running in Rockstar games lol. Despite the relatively slow, breezy pacing though I still had fun with it. Levels were diverse, you got unique gadgets in certain levels that add fun gimmicks, there's some nifty music stages... It's just not going to be something that sticks with me, I think. It doesn't help probably that Crash 4 released the same year and blows it out of the water imo, Crash 4 was phenomenal.

 

It's something I could definitely picture myself stacking in the future if I'm craving some 3D platforming - it's not like we get many new releases in that genre anymore to play instead - but I'm in no rush to. I will say that I had a lot of fun with the knitted knight time trials though, if the whole game was like that this would've been maybe on par with Crash for me. Challenging, fast, and just pure platforming goodness.

Spoiler

Retail

Sackboy: A Big Adventure  [+8] {+15%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #476 - The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

I was a fan of Until Dawn, and similar styled games like Heavy Rain/Detroit/etc., but for some reason I just never paid much attention to this game even during sales. So thankfully PS+ has provided me with a chance to rectify that mistake and give this game a chance, and I'm glad I did. It isn't anything overly groundbreaking, it's somewhat predictable, but it's still an enjoyable time. I played it in co-op for my first playthrough and it was pretty interesting to go back and see what my partner was seeing during the curator's cut later. The characters are all fairly cliche and relatively undeveloped, but I think that's intentional in a game like this and Until Dawn, so I can't be too harsh on it for that.

 

One thing I did notice with this game is that every time I replayed it, it would get slightly buggier, to the point where on my 5th run doors would be invisible, I would see glimpses of out of bounds areas between chapters, dialogue wouldn't trigger right, etc. All fairly minor stuff though. Replaying also definitely needs a skip cutscene button for scenes you've already seen, much like visual novels have.

 

I'm definitely interested in checking out Little Hope at some point, but after 5 playthroughs of this I need a break lol 

Spoiler

PS+

NEW GAME: Red Dead Redemption 2  [+15] {+21%}

NEW GAME: The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! [19] {Digital}

NEW GAME: The Silver Case HD [26] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #477 - The Silver Case HD

I've heard positive things about this VN over the years, so have been interested in trying it out for a long time but I never saw it on sale at a convenient time until recently. Having now finally acquired and played it... it was alright. The characters all felt very one note and undeveloped outside of a couple of exceptions, and even those exceptions are nothing particularly special, but the main plot was relatively engaging at least. I do think it went a bit off the deep end at the end and could've been paced better in general, but at least it was interesting.

 

The music was pretty good, the presentation on the other hand... was a bit lackluster since this was supposed to be a HD remaster? It felt like some characters look completely different in certain arts compared to how they do in other arts, almost unrecognizably so. It's not a huge issue because it's still made clear who's who by their names appearing as they speak, but it is a bit jarring. One thing I'll give this game a lot of credit for is for having a silent protagonist and justifying the decision to do so. Normally I absolutely hate silent protags, they come across as so awkward just standing there gazing out into the distance as characters around them openly converse with each other, and it's a big problem that I have with the Persona and Ys series. But here it... didn't really bother me that much? It's hard to say why, but it's impressive that it managed that.

 

Overall I'm glad I took the chance to play this just for the experience, but it didn't live up to the hype for me and I won't be racing to buy the sequel any time soon.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Red Dead Redemption 2 [+3] {+11%}

NEW GAME: The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope [+10] {+19%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

The Silver Case HD [+26] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #478 - Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones

After playing NftD2, I was somewhat interested in seeing where the story would go next, so I ended up buying this during the next sale it was a part of. And it's a good thing I did, because I found out today that the entire trilogy is actually delisted now. Overall I'd say it's a decent enough conclusion to the trilogy. It's nothing particularly special or noteworthy, but the story was some nice flavour to add to the gameplay. Which, again... really hasn't changed. Pretty sure some of these puzzles were just ripped right out of the first 2 games and copied in, and I'm getting very tired of seeing that from Mundi games. To the point where this might end up being my last honestly. It's the end of a trilogy so it seems like a decent enough jumping off point.

 

It's a shame, because this genre has a lot of potential but they only ever really release on PC, making it a very dry market on console. And I have to give Artifex Mundi credit for giving us some sips of water in this wasteland, but it sure would be nice for another dev to come and have a go and maybe have some creative new puzzles to solve.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Red Dead Redemption 2 [+3] {+5%}
 

Digital {Excluding PS+}
Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

Resident Evil 4 [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #479 - Ghostrunner

I played this game earlier this year and absolutely loved it, and had been looking forward to doing the PS5 stack whenever I found the time to do so among my hoard of other games. I've been slowly - very slowly - working my way through RDR2 recently, and it caused my monthly activity to take a massive nose dive, resulting in the worst month I've ever had as a trophy hunter. I decided I wanted to try and rectify this, but without playing shovelware. This seemed like the prime opportunity to get into this stack. It's short and very fun, the perfect combo for fixing the graph. 

 

I had a great time revisiting this and am very much looking forward to the sequel. Whilst it doesn't live up to Mirror's Edge for me, this is still a game I can absolutely recommend, especially if you enjoy fast paced platformers.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Red Dead Redemption 2 [+6] {+8%}

NEW GAME: Ghostrunner [+45] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

NEW GAME: Genshin Impact [+1] {-11%}

NEW GAME: Genshin Impact [+0] {-12%}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #480 - Red Dead Redemption 2

After playing Grand Theft Auto V, and hating every minute of it, I found myself in doubt that I would ever play another Rockstar game. But then I realized... Bully wasn't so bad, and L.A Noire was pretty mediocre but it wasn't awful either, so maybe I should give the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption 2 a try before it disappears off PS+. Maybe GTAV was just an unlucky accident. Having now finished this... I can't say it was worth the hours I put in, honestly.

 

The online is so blatant about how greedy Rockstar is, with events/missions usually paying a maximum of 0.3 gold for your trouble, and certain items costing 100 gold. And these events/missions aren't quick, they're involved and on par with mission length of the single player. It's quite frankly disgusting and predatory and since I did the online first, the game was already off to a bad start with me. Thankfully the trophies were easy and it was over with after 3 days of collectible grinding.

 

So then, with that done, I took a break before delving into the single player. Time passed, and I realized... this game was getting taken off PS+ very soon - September 20th. And so I rushed right back to it and have played nothing else since, other than my Genshin dailies and a brief break for Ghostrunner, and that looming deadlines might have harmed my enjoyment of the game a bit honestly, making it more stressful than it needed to be, but it was certainly a motivator. The story was pretty good overall - essentially everything about this game is better than GTAV - but I do feel it was a little overhyped. This isn't going to be a story that stays fondly in my memory that I regularly think back to and reminisce about like I do with other games, but it was nice enough for a first playthrough. My biggest complaint is how they treat the gang members - there are so many of them, but only a select few get their own missions to really introduce them, so even by the end of the game I still knew so little about several of the gang members because they just didn't get any time in the spotlight at all.

 

Having to replay certain story missions for gold medals is where the game really began to go downhill for me. It's just not a very replayable game whatsoever, seemingly every mission has to start and/or end with a 5-10 minute horse ride to your objective, which is fine on a first run because you get some nice dialogues during your journey, but it's incredibly boring on replays. And if you fail after that? Have fun redoing those same 5-10 minutes, listening to those same dialogues, just to have another attempt at whatever it was you failed at. It got so tedious.

 

But then on top of that, essentially every bit of optional content in this game is terrible. The strangers missions are good and entertaining, for the most part, but the collectibles are inane busy work, the animals are all dumb RNG fests, the challenges are made as vague as possible just to make it hard for the player to even know what to do (one of them was so bad that you had to either go through several UI screens or visit Social Club - an external website - to see what to do properly instead of it just, idk, telling you in the easily accessible challenge menu), some of the trophies are grinds for no apparent reason (get caught by 18 bears, survive, then kill them... why 18? Why not just once?), and in general it's just a complete slog.

 

But I had a deadline, so I got it done. And my god does it feel liberating to be free of it and be able to play something else once again. The world's my oyster, there's so much that looks appealing to me right now. It's a shame my final thoughts on the game ended up being negative overall, because that story run really was kinda fun.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Red Dead Redemption 2 [+25] {+55%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Genshin Impact [+1] {+1%}

 

[UltraDog177]

Just wanted to say it's good to see you progress through all these games and write your journey about it, even if I disagree with your take on the games or not

Hope you get your completion down one day but at the same time it's good to see you experience games that 5 months ago you would never even consider playing.

Edited September 14, 2022 by UltraDog177

[MidnightDragon]

I enjoy reading your thoughts on things.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #481 - TOEM

I had originally written this off as another quirky PS+ indie that wouldn't really be worth paying attention to - because PS+ has sure given me a lot of disappointing indie experiences over the years - but after seeing multiple people praise it, and because I was desiring something shorter after the lengthy RDR2 marathon, I decided to actually give it a shot. I'm glad I did - it's unique, and that's something I've come to appreciate from games, and it was short enough to not outstay its welcome despite its incredibly simplistic gameplay and story. I think this is exactly the change of pace I needed.

 

Exploring a monochrome world to fulfill people's photography requests on paper sounded pretty bland to me - mostly due to the monochrome part - but despite the lack of colour, they make each area of the game feel diverse, and I never found myself wishing the game had more colour. They wanted the game to be colourless, and worked around those limitations wonderfully. The story was nothing special, but it didn't really need to be.

 

Is this a game I would recommend picking up? Well.. despite the fact I did enjoy myself, I'd have to say no. It was a great "free" PS+ game, but it's too short (took 4 hours mostly guideless) and simple to really justify a £15.99 pricetag. Maybe in a deep, deep sale.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

TOEM [+38] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Bonus Post #4: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd

Confession time - I did not 100% this game, unlike the first two. So at first I was hesitant to even post about it because every other game I've ever posted here has been completed whether to plat or 100%, but this series means so much to me and I've posted about every other game so I figured it'd only be right. So why didn't I finish this? Unlike Trails in the Sky FC and SC, this game actually has achievements tied to nightmare mode, the hardest difficulty. I began it, and it seemed pretty doable really, but then I realized... I didn't just have to beat the game on nightmare - I had to finish the arena mode on nightmare as well, which is significantly harder than anything else, and for a couple Steam achievements I really just can't be bothered tbh. If it comes to PSN in the future, sure, but unfortunately I don't see that ever happening.

 

Confession finished, I have to say, this might be my favourite of the trilogy, and series in general. And, considering it's my favourite JRPG series and arguably favourite game series of all time, that makes it a strong contender for my favourite game of all time, but idk, I'd have to think a bit more on that because I've played many stunning games - the standouts just tend to be standalone (like Celeste or Genshin)

 

At first I was put off by the drastic change in structure compared to any other game in the series. This series is known and beloved in part because of the NPC interactions and how the world changes around you after every story event. Every NPC has their own life, they're all named, they all develop, and it really helps make this game universe engaging in a way no other franchise has managed for me. The thing about 3rd is, that outside of some very specific instances... there are no NPCs, or even towns. You're restricted to a single dungeon for the entire game, that you gradually delve deeper into to try and uncover its secrets and why you've been trapped there.

 

Make no mistake though, the DNA of the series is still very much there - the turn-based combat is roughly the same as the past two games except with much more options and various mechanics that make manipulating turn order more vital than it ever has been, and due to the fact this is a third game in a trilogy, your characters are obviously much more powerful than they once were and the enemies have also gotten much stronger to match. But outside of combat, the beautiful character moments and writing are all still there - after every floor of the dungeon, the main plot gets some more development (it reminds me a lot of Chain of Memories in that regard), and there are doors you can find along the way that act as side-stories for specific cast members that are all wonderful and perfect examples of why I adore this franchise so much.

 

While this is the end of the trilogy, it obviously isn't the end of the series because Zero/Azure and Cold Steel exist, and this game sets up a lot of plot threads that get used in Cold Steel, which was nice to see. But along with all this setup, it also provides a very fitting and memorable end to the trilogy itself, much, much moreso than... some other gaming trilogies I could mention. They got the balance of preparing for the future and wrapping up the present absolutely perfect, and it makes me excited to start Zero (which releases later this month), and to replay Cold Steel 1-4 which I definitely plan on doing once Zero and Azure are both done. I haven't decided yet how I'll go about doing that - on Steam for new stacks, on an alt account to plat them all again, or just a breezy NG+ run of them all on my main account that already has all 4 plats, but that's a decision to be made much later next year.

 

I cannot express enough how deeply in love I have fallen with this trilogy of games, and it's very bittersweet to have reached its conclusion. On one hand, I don't have to endure PC gaming anymore and can stick purely to console, but on the other... I'll probably never experience anything as powerful again. It more than justifies its glacially slow paced start with so many payoffs for sticking with it, and it's a crime that console gamers won't get to experience it. But on the bright side, we do have Cold Steel, and we'll be getting Zero/Azure, and whilst Cold Steel isn't quite as amazing as this trilogy has been, it's still a remarkable saga of games that I can absolutely, wholeheartedly recommend.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #482 - Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea

After being surprised by how much I enjoyed Ayesha, and after disliking Escha & Logy, I was torn on whether I would ever round out the trilogy by playing this too. I decided I should at least do it to provide some closure and I did enjoy Ayesha a lot so maybe E&L was just a rough bump on an otherwise pleasant road. I'm glad I did ultimately decide to play this, because while it doesn't hit the heights of Ayesha for me, it was a solid game and, as a standalone product, a better one than E&L.

 

The trouble comes in the fact that it isn't really a standalone product, it's the final part of a trilogy. And with that context in mind, it is a very underwhelming conclusion. Unanswered questions, teases that go nowhere, cameos that serve no real purpose, the premise of the trilogy not being fully utilized... after having just played Trails in the Sky the 3rd, which was the best conclusion to a trilogy I could've asked for, this just felt particularly bad, so maybe it was unfortunate timing on my part to play it so soon after such a high high. There's honestly parts of this that feel like a set-up for a fourth game that never happened.

 

I liked the revamped alchemy system in this, it's not a whole lot different but the way you use skills was redone in a much simpler way, whilst still requiring some thought as to which order to apply skills in to maximize your chain bonuses. The combat... it's turn-based, and that'll always be a bad thing for me, but thankfully all the animations are pretty swift so the lack of a turbo mode barely even crossed my mind while playing. The removal of the time limit was much appreciated, made it a pretty chill experience which feels fitting for Atelier since the plots - in my experience - are always very low stakes and laid back, which isn't a criticism. It's refreshing from so many other JRPGs where you have to go kill god or whatever or save the world. The stakes were higher here, maybe because it was the ending of the trilogy, but still nothing too wild.

 

I'm not sure how many more of these games I'll end up playing now that I've wrapped up the Dusk trilogy. Would be a nice place to leave it on - these aren't bad games at all, but they also don't seem to be particularly memorable and there are so many other games I have available to play instead and Atelier is always so expensive. I do at least intend on playing the first Ryza though, to get a sense of how the series has evolved. Could be a fun series to revisit once every year or two maybe instead of abandoning it completely.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

NEW GAME: Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea [+39] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: TOEM [+11] {+16%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #483 - Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter

I first played this a few years ago and enjoyed it a lot - moreso than Crimes & Punishments - but after having stacked both games now... I think I'd put C&P slightly ahead of it. It was a bit of a weird decision to make this a sequel to Testament instead of C&P, but doing so led to some interesting things so I can accept it. I think I ended up enjoying the puzzles and minigames in this one more than C&P, but it's a tough call, but the stories of the cases themselves range from being pretty bland to outright forgettable, with the exception of a very strong final case (that's significantly shorter than the other 4...) Unless I'm just dumb it never feels like there's a clear culprit and you just have to guess out of multiple very plausible options to see which the game considers canon, and maybe that's why Chapter One ended up taking away the ability to check your conclusion and had no "canon" culprits or solutions - because any of them could reasonably be valid, so why not just let you craft your own story.

 

Revisiting this duo of games after playing Chapter One has certainly been interesting, and made me appreciate even more the things that Chapter One did get right (which certainly wasn't everything.) Definitely interested to see what they do with the next game, which is both a remake (of a game I never played) but also a sequel to Chapter One. I hope they can thread the needle between being faithful and being an interesting followup, because the original was made before CO and thus obviously wasn't intended to be one.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles
NEW GAME: Final Fantasy VIII [+7] {+11%}

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope [+12] {+58%}

 

Retail

NEW GAME: The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero [+8] {+11%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

NEW GAME: Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter [+25] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: DmC Devil May Cry [51] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #484 - Devil May Cry

Recently I went and mopped up DmC Devil May Cry that had been sitting unfinished on my list for years. I ended up thoroughly enjoying my time with it, and decided I should give the originals a go as well despite knowing that they're quite different. Now that I've finally gotten around to it, I can safely say that although I still prefer DmC, I had a lot of fun with this and would absolutely like to do the rest at some point. I was concerned at first because I had watched gameplay footage and it looked slow and the fixed camera angles seemed annoying, but it works so well when you're actually playing it.

 

In many ways this feels like a Resident Evil game with all the elements I dislike about those games (intentionally stiff combat, inventory management, sparse resource preservation) removed so all that I'm left with are the elements I enjoy (the item-based puzzle solving, the very atmospheric residence wandering, the environmental designs, the way all the levels/areas combine into one large world and journey even though they're technically split up by missions) mixed in with combat that I actually look forward to instead of dreading and some fun, but underutilized, platforming elements. It certainly felt a lot more linear and signposted than a Resident Evil game, but I don't know if I'd necessarily consider that a worse (or better) thing, just a different priority the game is going for.

 

I'm glad I decided to give this a shot and look forward to continuing whenever I find the time to, since I've got a few other games to prioritize atm. 

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}
Devil May Cry [+34] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #485 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

After having disliked/had lukewarm impressions towards ever Ratchet game since Crack in Time, I was very hesitant going into this game and was expecting something mediocre and forgettable. I am happy to say that this was by far the most enjoyable Ratchet game since Crack - Rivet is a great new character, it doesn't outstay its welcome, the plantes are nice and varied.. my biggest criticism is how bad the plat is. I got 100% of the collectibles because it feels wrong to play a Ratchet game without doing so, but the plat doesn't need you to at all. The plat barely asks any completion of the player at all, making exploring for secrets kinda pointless.

 

This game has definitely made me more excited for the potential future of this series than I previously was, and I'm glad I decided to give it a chance to win me over.

Spoiler

Retail

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart [+47] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #486 - The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

I am so glad this is over. The first playthrough (if you ignore the initial disaster that resulted in a corrupted save near the end) was enjoyable enough and arguably better than Man of Medan, but every subsequent run was pure tedium and completely unenjoyable. Seeing the exact same scenes, over and over and over, doing the same QTEs, etc... these games just severely lack in the QoL department compared to traditional VNs and honestly this might be the last one I ever do. They're just slogs, and whilst the initial playthroughs are good, they're nothing that I would be super upset about missing out on either tbh. I don't really have much to say about this, the characters were a marginal improvement over MoM's but were still all relatively shallow and the main plot has its moments but was still pretty unremarkable.

 

On a side note, it's games like this that make me consider retiring this thread. I just don't have much to say about it, and it leads to me procrastinating on posting instead of moving onto my next game because I know I'll struggle to find anything to even post about, and whilst games like this aren't super frequent, they do come around every so often. Maybe I'll just stop doing the "progress update" thing in the spoiler section each time, it doesn't take long but the time spent on it adds up and idk how much it really adds.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope [+9] {+23%} (COMPLETE!)