Arcesius' Pursuit of Completion

[NaseemJohn]

For downwell hard mode I’d say use laser or shotgun and try to keep as much health as you can for the last boss then you should get through with not much trouble. Fork and knife, Reverse engineer, gem vaccum, gem recharge and range upgrades are the ones I found the most useful. Downwell is a strange one cause I know some that say they found it very hard but personally i would rate it a 6/10 max, damn good game tho. 

 

I also noticed you added rive to your backlog. It’s a fun game at first but that quickly fades away due numerous failed attempts at humour, lack of enemy variety, random difficulty spikes, repetitive structure then there’s a few puzzles that require you to die over and over until you figure it out. I wouldn’t recommend but if on a sale for cheap then yeah it’s worth playing I guess.

 

Nex machina is an excellent one and I enjoyed everything except the small grind at the end for the platinum. 

 

Whenever you decide to do divinity 2 feel free to ask for tips or whatever if you need help. Heck I’ve been itching to play it again so if you’re interested I’d even be willing to play co op with you. 

[Arcesius]

On 11.8.2019 at 5:17 AM, NaseemJohn said:

For downwell hard mode I’d say use laser or shotgun and try to keep as much health as you can for the last boss then you should get through with not much trouble. Fork and knife, Reverse engineer, gem vaccum, gem recharge and range upgrades are the ones I found the most useful. Downwell is a strange one cause I know some that say they found it very hard but personally i would rate it a 6/10 max, damn good game tho. 

 

Yeah "keep as much health as you can" is gonna be the problem I'm sure ? But thanks for the tips! The gem vacuum + gem recharge is a killer combo, especially for Limbo and the boss. Let's see how much trouble hard mode gives me! You are right though, it's one hell of a good time! 

 

 

On 11.8.2019 at 5:17 AM, NaseemJohn said:

I also noticed you added rive to your backlog. It’s a fun game at first but that quickly fades away due numerous failed attempts at humour, lack of enemy variety, random difficulty spikes, repetitive structure then there’s a few puzzles that require you to die over and over until you figure it out. I wouldn’t recommend but if on a sale for cheap then yeah it’s worth playing I guess.

 

Aaaand I already took it off my wishlist ? I saw it mentioned somewhere and thought it looks fun, but I didn't do too much research.. I'll keep it in the back of my head in case I see it somewhere for 5$ or so. Thanks for the heads up, I really appreciate the feedback! There are too many great games waiting to be played. 

 

 

On 11.8.2019 at 5:17 AM, NaseemJohn said:

Whenever you decide to do divinity 2 feel free to ask for tips or whatever if you need help. Heck I’ve been itching to play it again so if you’re interested I’d even be willing to play co op with you. 

 

So, @Mori and I will probably play this in coop at some point, you are welcome to join if you're interested (it has 4-player coop, right?), I know you like this game quite a bit! But we are doing Helldivers first, probably starting this week. If you are interested in joining in on that as well, just send us a PM and we'll try to coordinate! Otherwise, I'll get back to you when we are ready to start Divinity 2  And even if you don't wanna join, I appreciate your offer! Will for sure ask for tips, thanks man! 

 

 

 

On a different note, I got the platinum for Hollow Knight this Sunday after a very, VERY frustrating morning.. I will try to write my review for tomorrow It should be a long one, this game deserves it! 

[Baker]

17 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

 

Aaaand I already took it off my wishlist ? I saw it mentioned somewhere and thought it looks fun, but I didn't do too much research.. I'll keep it in the back of my head in case I see it somewhere for 5$ or so. Thanks for the heads up, I really appreciate the feedback! There are too many great games waiting to be played. 

 

 

This is a mistake. The game is a lot of fun. The game isn’t hard by any means, well except one credit mode which would be near impossible if you can’t back up your saves. But I do recommend Nex Machina over Rive.

[Arcesius]

 Platinum #54 – Hollow Knight

 

 

• 100% Enjoyment: 10/10
• 100% Challenge:  7/10

 

Hollow Knight is the first game by Team Cherry, an Australian game developer trio that just freaking nailed their first project. It's for games like these that we should be grateful Kickstarter is a thing.

However, this is also one of those games that wants you to do a PhD on it to understand its lore (alternatively, like myself, you could also spend countless hours watching Youtube-videos and still not understand anything… So Hornet is NOT Void, correct? ?)… But don't let that scare you off. This game is a must-play, and I don't say that lightly.

 

 

100% Enjoyment

 

Let's discuss the negatives of the game first.

 

 

OK, now that that's out of the way we can focus on the positive aspects, starting with the overall atmosphere of the game. Somber music already accompanies the starting scenes, where we witness the arrival of our Knight to Hallownest, the location where the game takes place. And it is the music, not only here but throughout the entire game that I cannot praise enough. You can find recurrent themes linking characters together (such as Hornet and the Pale King), though the musical connection may not be obvious (but it is there). It is this kind of environmental and atmospheric storytelling that lets a player really dive into the gameworld, letting it seem consistent within itself.

 

But musical themes are also used otherwise to evoke certain feelings in many situations. The most prominent and positive example I can recall is the humming bug Cornifer, a cartographer. See, in this game, you don't have a map from the beginning. Instead, the first time you meet Cornifer he'll hand you over an empty map, which then gets upgraded as you progress through each area. But whenever you enter a new area, you need to explore it blindly… Due to the intricate level layouts, now having a map often means not knowing how to return there in case of death, which can make you nervous and agitated… It is in this situation that hearing the distant humming of Cornifer can evoke a feeling of relief, knowing that he needs to be somewhere close, ready to hand you over a map in exchange for a couple of Geo (the currency in this game). I would always be so happy to hear Cornifer. ?

 

Let's move on. I don't think I need to mention how Hollow Knight does visually… But just in case: It is freaking gorgeous. I cannot recall a more beautiful game than this, with so much attention to detail, with rather simple character models on really complex backgrounds, which works very in favor of the overall look of the game while not overexciting the player. Each of the areas (and there are WAY more than I thought in the beginning...) feels unique. This is of course also thanks to the distinct visual details and enemies found in each area, from the rainy but noble City of Tears to the dark, claustrophobic and frightening Deepnest, filled with crawling enemies attacking from the dark. ?

 

And this ties to the next point… This game is HUGE. It starts off small enough, sure, but since it is a metroidvania, you'll soon start to find upgrades and powers that open up new paths. And lemme tell you, there are a LOT of those upgrades waiting to be found. I would often find myself trying to finish up exploring an area, knowing where I wanted to go next, only to stumble upon the next upgrade that now allowed me to, for example, bath in acid… Well, forget what I wanted to do, I just unlocked another 3 completely new areas ? I am not exaggerating, I was genuinely surprised and overwhelmed by the sheer size of Hallownest.

 

This is where I really need to mention something: If you pick up this game, please, PLEASE do yourself a favor and play blind… There are no missable trophies, and you won't regret it (well, except for one point, but more on that later… fucking Zote ?).

 

So what about gameplay? The Knight starts off with a nail ( = sword) that does a slashing attack. With time, you unlock up to three special nail arts that need to be charged before unleashing them, and three different spells, of which only one grants some invincibility frames. The consequence is that even though there are not different classes to choose from, there certainly are various viable playstyles. To complement the preferred playstyle, many charms can be found all over Hallownest of which only a handful can be equipped at any given time. So you could make your nail strike faster or stronger, run faster, heal for double health but at a slower pace, or have a useless flower shield circle around you. Finding synergies between these charms allows to find interesting and powerful builds (or, you know, meme builds if that's your thing).

Combat is fast and challenging, with overall about 42 bosses to be fought in this game and a ton of different enemies, varying in complexity. But you'll need to be on your toes at all times, since even the weakest enemies deal one mask of damage, and the Knight "only" has up to 9 masks of health (when fully upgraded).

 

 

Let's talk about value for a second. The game came out a while ago for PC, and has since seen three free expansion packs, which are all included in the PS4 Voidheard edition. At the laughably low launch price of 15$, this game is criminally undervalued. Myself, I got about 80 hours of gaming that are among my most enjoyable hours I spent on the PS4. In addition to being that fantastic, seeing that even at this price there are only about 14k owners on PSNP (counting NA and EU together) is pretty incomprehensible. ?

 

 

100% Challenge

 

Honestly if not for the Godmaster content, the third expansion of Hollow Knight, this game would be a 4/10 in difficulty, with only one of three trials found in the game being genuinely challenging. Most trophies are awarded for maximizing health and soul meters, killing certain bosses and simply finishing the game. The in-game bestiary needs to be completed as well, all travel stations need to be opened and 112% in-game completion needs to be achieved. Nothing too complicated. 

 

And then there is the Godmaster content, a series of five pantheons, i.e., boss rushes, that need to be beaten.

The first three pantheons are rather easy to complete and consist 10 bosses each, although each pantheon has a last boss that could not be fought in the main game, so those might be a surprise the first time around. However, Team Cherry also included the so-called Hall of Gods,a practice hall of sorts where each boss already encoutered at some point can be fought in isolation.

The fourth pantheon again consists of 10 bosses, but those are nine of the most difficult bosses of the main game, followed by the Pure Vessel, a more aggressive and faster version of the final boss of the game, which also deals double damage. This is the first real difficulty spike, as practicing Pure Vessel can take hours before it can be beaten consistently.

 

But the main platinum breaker is of course the fifth and last pantheon, the Pantheon of Hallownest. In there, you will be fighting all 42 bosses found in the game IN A ROW, but either stronger versions or with modified arenas to make the fight harder. There is a bench to heal up every 5 bosses, but sitting on it won't save the game. It's dying and starting all over again. This is most certainly an endurance test, culminating in the three bosses Nightmare King Grimm, Pure Vessel and Absolute Radiance, powered-up version of King Grimm, The Hollow Knight and The Radiance, respectively.

  

 

Those three bosses alone need hours and hours of practice, as they all deal double damage and are incredibly fast. Now imagine getting to this trio after having spent 45 minutes beating the other 39 bosses (of which many are no joke either… I'm looking at you, Markoth and Zote ?).

 

Personally, I spent

• About 5 hours practicing Absolute Radiance. It took me 2 hours alone to beat her for the first time.
• About 5 hours practicing Pure Vessel and Nightmare King Grimm
• About 3 hours practicing all other bosses
• About 8 hours attempting the Pantheon of Hallownest.

 

So remember how I mentioned regretting saving Zote before? That is because in the last group of five bosses, Markoth is followed by Grey Prince Zote, which gotta be the biggest troll boss in the game. Not saving him in the main game makes him not appear in the pantheon… How often did I wish I had let him die, lemme tell you! ?

 

But even though this seems to be an unsurmountable challenge at first, it is certainly doable with practice. You'll get very consistent with enough practice. During my last five attempts at the pantheon, one run ended with Markoth, but I reached the final boss the other four times. My nerves didn't play along during three of those runs, and I choked during the very last phase of the fight, which felt incredibly cruel and left me shaking in disbelief. But like with all other challenges, it's only a matter of perseverance, of not giving up. And in the end, I once more climbed the stairs to the final boss, I kept my cool, and I finally ascended the pantheon, destroying Absolute Radiance. 

 

 

Team Cherry, Silksong is a no-brainer pre-order. What you have accomplished here is astonishing. Well done. ?

 

 

 

 

I hope this was not too long But now you might be asking… Only a 7/10 then? And there is where subjective quantification comes into play    

I need to scale the ratings of the games I play to fit my personal experience, that is, I need to compare them to other games I've played. Hence, if Crypt of the NecroDancer is a 10 (it isn't yet since I haven't gotten to the hard part yet, but I trust the public opinion on this one), Trackmania Turbo a 9 and Super Meat Boy a 8, then Hollow Knight is a 7, offering a similar challenge to Furi. I might need to come up with a more rigorous approach than this or start using half marks, but you get the idea   

 

[S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y]

Awesome Review, for one of the best indie Games! 

 

I hope you will play the second Stack also

[Inuty]

14 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

 

 

 

This is where I really need to mention something: If you pick up this game, please, PLEASE do yourself a favor and play blind… There are no missable trophies, and you won't regret it (well, except for one point, but more on that later… fucking Zote ?).

 

In addition to being that fantastic, seeing that even at this price there are only about 14k owners on PSNP (counting NA and EU together) is pretty incomprehensible. ?

 

 

So remember how I mentioned regretting saving Zote before? That is because in the last group of five bosses, Markoth is followed by Grey Prince Zote, which gotta be the biggest troll boss in the game. Not saving him in the main game makes him not appear in the pantheon… How often did I wish I had let him die, lemme tell you! ?

 

 

Team Cherry, Silksong is a no-brainer pre-order. What you have accomplished here is astonishing. Well done. ?

 

 

First Statement: I agree with you, it is an absolute joy to Play the game blind.

Second Statement: I guess that´s sadly because of the difficulty of the game and People don´t want to hurt their 100%. I didn´t beat the platinum yet but I will eventually in the future

Third Statement: I don´t know if it´s true, but I read that you don´t Need to fight Zote even if you save him. But only if you not beat him in the small house with the shrine (hope it´s true )

Fourth Statement: I agree totally. One of the best games I played in the last year so far!

 

Congrats for finishing it  

[Mori]

Nice review, would read again. 10/10

 

I think the player base on here is so low because of no auto-updates. Seeing youtube videos with over one million views on HK gives a more optimistic view.  Though, yes its still an underrated game. The price tag is simply ridiculous.

 

Silksong 100% pre-oder/day 1

[Briste]

I picked up this game at @Jens recommendation. Between his recommendation and your review, I'm really excited to get to it. I'm feeling like this will be a winter game for me so I'll probably play this in the January/February time frame. I love the metroidvania types. Awesome review and I look forward to reading about your next Mount Everest game  

[Arcesius]

18 hours ago, S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y said:

Awesome Review, for one of the best indie Games! 

 

I hope you will play the second Stack also

 

Thanks! It definitely is one of the best indie games... I already owned it since release, no idea why it took me so long to get to it... 

 

Hmm I don't have an NA-Account... Stacking is not for me I have no problem playing a game I liked again even if I already have the plat. This is one that I'll for sure play again at some point! I hope you'll get back to it as well! 

 

 

18 hours ago, Inuty said:

Second Statement: I guess that´s sadly because of the difficulty of the game and People don´t want to hurt their 100%. I didn´t beat the platinum yet but I will eventually in the future

Third Statement: I don´t know if it´s true, but I read that you don´t Need to fight Zote even if you save him. But only if you not beat him in the small house with the shrine (hope it´s true )

 

Maybe that's a reason, although I don't really see many high completion profiles on this page, and those who aim for 100% mostly have harder games on their profiles It would be a pity to skip this one because of the trophy list though, what a game... 

 

The second point is actually easy to find out... Grey Prince Zote is part of the third pantheon as well, so if he doesn't show up there, you're safe! And man, I really hope you are right and you get to skip him... ? It's not so much that he is difficult, it's more that he comes after Markoth, and he sure is annoying. In my opinion, Markoth is the most difficult boss due to how inconsistent my fights were with him... But maybe that's not the case for you  

If you decide to go for the pantheons and need any tips (charm-setups or whatever), don't hesitate to ask! 

 

 

18 hours ago, Mori said:

Nice review, would read again. 10/10

 

I think the player base on here is so low because of no auto-updates. Seeing youtube videos with over one million views on HK gives a more optimistic view.  Though, yes its still an underrated game. The price tag is simply ridiculous.

 

Silksong 100% pre-oder/day 1

 

Haha thanks dude  

You're absolutely right, it's at least great to see HK videos getting so many views... I guess the game came out on PC and Switch so much earlier than PS4 that many players simply played it there and didn't bother getting it for the PS4 as well.. A pity, really! 

 

 

17 hours ago, Briste said:

I picked up this game at @Jens recommendation. Between his recommendation and your review, I'm really excited to get to it. I'm feeling like this will be a winter game for me so I'll probably play this in the January/February time frame. I love the metroidvania types. Awesome review and I look forward to reading about your next Mount Everest game  

 

I hope you won't be disappointed! (I'm sure you won't, what am I talking about.. ?). I can see how it is a great winter game... You won't wanna stop playing it, so cold and rainy weather is the perfect excuse for staying home  

 

Thanks man! My next Mount Everest... It could be The End is Nigh, depending on how difficult it turns out to be, or Trials Fusion.. Let's see!  

Edited August 15, 2019 by Arcesius

[Inuty]

3 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Maybe that's a reason, although I don't really see many high completion profiles on this page, and those who aim for 100% mostly have harder games on their profiles It would be a pity to skip this one because of the trophy list though, what a game... 

 

The second point is actually easy to find out... Grey Prince Zote is part of the third pantheon as well, so if he doesn't show up there, you're safe! And man, I really hope you are right and you get to skip him...  It's not so much that he is difficult, it's more that he comes after Markoth, and he sure is annoying. In my opinion, Markoth is the most difficult boss due to how inconsistent my fights were with him... But maybe that's not the case for you  

If you decide to go for the pantheons and need any tips (charm-setups or whatever), don't hesitate to ask! 

 

I have finished the 3 pantheon and Cant remember fighting hin. So i guess its ok  

 

thanks, if i have Problems i will Come for advise but i dont think i will tackle it in the near future

[ZoutjeNL]

Wow great review! Really inspires me to play it! Even though it might be too difficult for me. I love some challenge from time to time like the Dark Souls games however this seems like another category. Just looking around at some votings it averages around a 9-10. a 7 for you probably means a 10 for me ? I always really liked the dark and unique artstyle of this game. Some indie games definitely deserve more recognition. 

[Arcesius]

20 hours ago, ZoutjeNL said:

Wow great review! Really inspires me to play it! Even though it might be too difficult for me. I love some challenge from time to time like the Dark Souls games however this seems like another category. Just looking around at some votings it averages around a 9-10. a 7 for you probably means a 10 for me ? I always really liked the dark and unique artstyle of this game. Some indie games definitely deserve more recognition. 

 

Thanks! I guess my bias shows in the review, but it's just such an amazing game... ? Don't let the challenge put you off! Most of the game is really not that challenging, only the very last post-game content is an enormous difficulty spike. But certainly doable! 

 

 

 

On another note... I already made a Status Update with this, but @Mori and I are currently playing Helldivers, you know, saving Super Earth and all. The game is really fun, and since there isn't any "campaign"-structure, you can just join a session, do a planet and leave... Or play planet after planet and watch time fly by ?

 

Now, there are a couple of trophies that require four players, and before we resort to the boosting sessions we though we'd ask around and see if anyone would be interested in joining us. If by any chance you would be interested in joining some session, just let me know! It shall be a blast! 

 

 

 

P.S. Detroit review coming very soon. Will keep this one short since I usually don't write about the plot and there isn't much more to this one than that  

Edited August 20, 2019 by Arcesius

[det_gittes]

Hey, that was a great review of Hollow Knight (I only got to read it now), I haven't played it yet but I definitely will. However, I would be curious to know how you compare HK to Dead Cells, which was also highly praised on release - are these games even comparable? Also, I can't wait till you start playing Trials Fusion, I've been playing this game for about 10 months or so fairly actively, consider it one of the best games I've ever played and I find it fascinating to see how differently people approach it - I believe there are very few insanely dexterous people with ultra-quick reflexes who can finish it fairly quickly but for most people a huge deal of patience and perseverance is necessary to get through all of the challenges for the meager silver trophy. Personally, I belong to yet another group (I would imagine this group is not so small) of people who just concentrate on steadily improving their skills by playing custom tracks and I will get back to cleaning up a few pesky challenges when I feel I'm ready (e.g. one of the most infamous challenges is Top Roach, which is about a fault-less run on one of the extreme tracks with a lesser bike - when I first passed the track with a better bike I was in the range of ca. 300 faults, I tried it again a few weeks ago and I got 6 faults with a slower bike - I am sure I would get it if I started grinding it now but - as I get disheartened quickly - instead, I will just enjoy custom tracks for a bit more and try again in a month or so). If I were to offer you some advice about Trials Fusion, it would be to go beyond the trophy requirements - play custom tracks from Track Central (the hub for custom tracks) and see how your skills slowly (or quickly) improve - it's one of the most rewarding feelings I've had in video games.

[Arcesius]

1 hour ago, det_gittes said:

Hey, that was a great review of Hollow Knight (I only got to read it now), I haven't played it yet but I definitely will. However, I would be curious to know how you compare HK to Dead Cells, which was also highly praised on release - are these games even comparable?

 

Thanks a lot! Glad to read you'll play it as well... If it's not obvious from the review and me repeating it already almost 100 times, it's a fantastic game that I cannot recommend enough

 

I don't think it can be compared to Dead Cells though... They are both indie and have gotten great reviews, but similarities end there... But I can quickly tell you how my time with Dead Cells was! I only started writing reviews in this checklist a couple of months after getting that plat... 

 

So I pre-ordered Dead Cells as well because I had heard so many great things about it. It was my first rogue-like experience. Let me say that I platted the game before the first big update, that means, there was no custom mode in the game yet. For the first couple of runs, while I was getting used to the game, trying to advance further and further, I really loved it. Combat is fast, the areas are varied, littered with unique enemies... and of course unlocking new weapons really encourages (and forces) experimentation. It really was a blast, and in my opinion very well put together as well.  You'll need a couple of runs to really get used to the game, but with time you'll know what areas can be done fast, which require a slower pace, where to look for shops, what items to purchase, etc... 

 

But then I beat the game eventually, and went on to get the platinum. With higher difficulty modes, not having the option to lock garbage weapons was a real pain. Crypt of the NecroDancer has that option, and Dead Cells added it later with the first big update, but I had to endure certain runs where I would't see a single weapon I liked using. And man, the game really is tough in 3-4 cell mode.. Since you need to play the game in five different difficulties, it got a bit tedious as time went on... 

 

I'm sure custom mode is great for the game, and kinda gets rid of the only "problem" I had with Dead Cells. However, I also hear that the latest update introduced new areas and enemies that are a total pain to deal with... ?

 

 

 

1 hour ago, det_gittes said:

Also, I can't wait till you start playing Trials Fusion, I've been playing this game for about 10 months or so fairly actively, consider it one of the best games I've ever played and I find it fascinating to see how differently people approach it - I believe there are very few insanely dexterous people with ultra-quick reflexes who can finish it fairly quickly but for most people a huge deal of patience and perseverance is necessary to get through all of the challenges for the meager silver trophy. Personally, I belong to yet another group (I would imagine this group is not so small) of people who just concentrate on steadily improving their skills by playing custom tracks and I will get back to cleaning up a few pesky challenges when I feel I'm ready (e.g. one of the most infamous challenges is Top Roach, which is about a fault-less run on one of the extreme tracks with a lesser bike - when I first passed the track with a better bike I was in the range of ca. 300 faults, I tried it again a few weeks ago and I got 6 faults with a slower bike - I am sure I would get it if I started grinding it now but - as I get disheartened quickly - instead, I will just enjoy custom tracks for a bit more and try again in a month or so). If I were to offer you some advice about Trials Fusion, it would be to go beyond the trophy requirements - play custom tracks from Track Central (the hub for custom tracks) and see how your skills slowly (or quickly) improve - it's one of the most rewarding feelings I've had in video games.

 

I am really looking forward to starting this one as well.. I really should finish Downwell, but I have been playing Helldivers for the past couple of days and didn't get back to it yet... And then I would like to do The End is Nigh because I think it will take less time than Trials, and at least put some more time into Crypt of the NecroDancer... I want to at least beat the fourth zone and get a all-zones run done with 2-3 characters before I start something new (for short sessions). 

 

But then it will be time for Trials Fusion! I am definitely not one of those "ultra quick reflexes" gamers... I'm sure that it will take me a very long time to get this one done, but as you say, I can bring up patience and perseverence... Needed to for other games as well  

 

Thanks for the advice though, I'll check out Track Central for sure! And it really speaks for the game being a blast if you are still playing it actively trying to improve your skills  Keep at it, and good luck when you go back to attempting the challenges! 

[Mori]

20 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Thanks a lot! Glad to read you'll play it as well... If it's not obvious from the review and me repeating it already almost 100 times, it's a fantastic game that I cannot recommend enough

 

Hollow Knight is currently on sale, so attention everyone: buy the game!

[det_gittes]

29 minutes ago, Mori said:

 

Hollow Knight is currently on sale, so attention everyone: buy the game!

So is Dead Cells, which is why I asked  But I will probably end up getting both ?

[Arcesius]

On 8/21/2019 at 2:10 PM, det_gittes said:

So is Dead Cells, which is why I asked  But I will probably end up getting both ?

 

I would get both if I were you ? Dead Cells is really a lot of fun! 

 

 

Well, I hope you all listen to Mori and buy Hollow Knight ? Personally, I'm glad to see Enter the Gungeon included in this new sale, and while I'm at it, I'll also get the Immortal: Unchained Stormbreaker DLC. By the way, either that or Death's Gambit should be my next "longish" game... I think I'll tackle Immortal: Unchained first, but let's see... There are two other Soulslikes coming out very soon (The Surge 2 and Code Vein), so I need to put some space between all three games or I'll have an overdose ?

 

Anyone can comment on whether Velocity 2X is worth it? I have it on my wishlist, but I'm not sure it's something I'd enjoy.. and in particular I'm not sure if it's something I should prioritize above the other great games I can't wait to play, but it's being offered for 7€ right now... ? 

 

 

Anyways, this comes a bit late, but here it is. I kept it short as to avoid spoilers (but put some in spoiler tags). It seems that the length of my reviews correlates with the challenge rating ?

 

 

 Platinum #55 – Detroit: Become Human

 

 

• 100% Enjoyment: 7/10
• 100% Challenge:  1/10

 

Detroit: Become Human is more an interactive movie than it is a game, and as such explores topics such as artificial / real emotions and free will, all while confronting the player with difficult choices with sometimes devastating consequences. Three plot strands are explored from the perspective of three completely different characters, but they eventually come together to tell a cohesive and complete story about freedom, discrimination and the will to live. 

 

 

100% Enjoyment

 

Ever since I played the demo of Detroit: Become Human at Fantasy Basel (yeah, the Swiss Comic Con... there is such a thing ?), it kinda stayed in the back of my head. I never got around to buying it, but with it being offered on PS+ I had no excuse. And while it's not the type of game I usually like to play, I am glad that I gave this one a shot.

 

This time I think it is important to not only talk about the game itself, but also about how I went about playing Detroit: Become Human. This game is all about the plot and narrative, with little gameplay that really only amounts to making choices or completing some easy QTEs. It resembles a very long interactive movie, really, and so I decided to treat it as such.  

Thus, my girlfriend and I played the game together, passing the controller between chapters and making decisions together whenever there was time to discuss. And as TV shows like to do, we would also call it a night on a cliffhanger every now and then ? I was surprised that my girlfriend couldn't then wait to get back to it the next day. We both wanted to know what would happen next, and how our choices would play out.

The characters, both android and human, all have their own consistent personality, and are relatable in one way or another. Their stories progress at just the right pace, though there were some scenes where I thought that the actions leading there should have been played out more extensively. 

 

Mind you, like with any other narrative-focused game, the first playthrough was completely blind. We played on experienced mode, which by what the game told us would mean that certain actions and choices would have heavy consequences, though I'm not sure if playing on beginner just makes QTEs easier, or if the outcome of certain actions changes as well… 

 

So how was our playstyle? Well, without discussing specifics to avoid spoilers, let's just say that we got "SURVIVORS" at the end of the game… that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about what kind of choices we leaned towards ?

 

More specifically, at the end of our first playthrough this had happened:

 

Connor:  

Spoiler

He obviously became a deviant, helping Markus in his quest for freedom by infiltrating the Cyberlife facility and recruiting the androids. His relationship with Hank improved over time, and he even chose to save him over chasing an escaping deviant. He further showed empathy by letting the Tracys go at the strip club and not killing the Chloe at Kamki's. His actions turned Hanks opinion of androids around, and they both stayed friends at the end of the game.
Also, he only died twice (unlike in the subsequent playthrough )

 

Markus:

Spoiler

Learning from Carl that violence is not the answer, Markus refused to fight back against Leo, which led to Carl dying in his arms. Even after being falsely accused of murder and being attacked in Jericho by the FBI, he led a peaceful demonstration trying to free the androids from the recycling stations. He also kept pissing North off by choosing pacifistic actions, but she fell for him and became his lover anyways. Markus succeeded in his mission, and managed to keep Simon, North and Josh alive until the very end.

 

Kara:

Spoiler

She escaped with Alice without injuring Todd and soon befriended Luther, who quickly became part of the android family. With the help of Rose they managed to get into the bus station undetected, trying to cross the border to Canada. There, she was confronted with the biggest dilemma... But in order to save Alice from yet another dangerous night, she kept the bus tickets that she found on the floor. Those belong to a human family, which shouldn't be targeted by the police anyways. This way they managed to cross the border and got the opportunity to start a new life as a free family ?

 

Things needed to go a bit differently during the second playthrough... 

Spoiler

 

We needed to chose violent actions (because trophies). And even though we had already seen much of the pacifistic path, we really didn't enjoy being reckless and aggressive  Every time we needed to piss Hank off was like a stab to the heart, but Connor needed to stay a machine and true to his mission, so he felt way less relatable than during the initial playthrough. We saw him die a total of 8 times.... ?

 

We couldn't bare seeing Alice suffer… so we mostly played that Kara-path like during our first playthrough, but had them captured in Jericho. Even though they were brought to the recycling station to be destroyed,  Alice, Kara and Luther all managed to escape the recycling station.

 

As for Markus, his path is the least problematic to play more violently, since there are less emotional choices to make than for the other two characters.

 

 

All in all, it was really interesting to see how many options we had to choose from, how differently scenes could play out and also how many paths we hadn't explored yet after two drastically different playthroughs… ?

But I'm also happy that even with a blind playthrough first, I only needed a second one plus partial chapter select. Otherwise I'm sure it would not have taken much longer for me to get bored with the game.        

 

 

100% Challenge

 

Really not much to say here. I know that some ratings also account for missable trophies, multiple playthroughs or collectables, but my own rating is only about challenge... a concept totally absent from this game. It really doesn't get easier than this ?

 

We were thorough enough during our first playthrough that we found all but two of the magazines we actually could have found (some only show up after making some specific choices), so that even the only collectable trophy wasn't too tedious. Let's just be happy that there is no requirement to open up every single path in the flowchart ?

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by Arcesius
Spoiler-tags sometimes just don't open.. why???

[Baker]

I’ve played Velocity 2x on my test account when I was subscribed to Ps Now and I didn’t really like it. Only played about 30 min orso so maybe I should’ve spent some more time with it. I might pick up Hollow Knight because of all the good things you’ve said about it but it will disappear in my backlog for a good while. I won’t be joining in for Helldivers, I only got one month of plus and I want to tackle my backlog first so I just don’t have the time for it. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by The Tick

[Arcesius]

It seems like the spoiler-tags in the Detroit: Become Human review are not working properly... I had this happen once before and somehow managed to fix it, but this time I've been trying everything I could think of, and I just don't get them to work... Any ideas? ☹️

 

Other than that, I unfortunately don't have a new review, but it is still time for a quick update: 

 

 

Update 

 

Magicka 2

Well, it took three separate sessions, but we finally beat the game! It is just so ridiculous... If you ever try this one out, don't go in expecting something serious. Every single conversation, every single item, every NPC encounter is a joke. The game is just a comedy show from start to finish, but it manages to stay fresh throughout the campaign. Friendly fire is enabled by default (cannot be switched off) and core to the experience of the game, which often results in hilarious team-kills... If you ever pick this one up, do it only if you can play it coop

 

Now that we have one playthrough done I will be getting some miscellanious trophies on my own and try to beat the Trials and Challenges on the highest difficulty (Bananas) to get better gear, which we will need for a second campaign playthrough on Bananas difficulty. Apparently that is best done in coop as well, so it should still take a while for this plat to pop... Damn you responsabilities and everyday life! ?

 

 

Helldivers

This one is by the same developers that developed the first Magicka (and Gauntlet)! But it plays completely different. There is no campaign here... Start the game, pick a planet / mission from your ship, choose your loadout and 15 seconds later you already landed on said planet and find yourself shooting extraterrestial bugs. Simple as that... No plot, no cutscenes (there is one cutscene after winning a war, but that's pretty much it), just pure fun. 

 

Honestly, though, I am not sure I would enjoy this one as much if I was playing it alone. Sure, it is very easy to just join an ongoing game with a couple of randoms, and there are communication emotes available that are more than enough to make yourself understood, but I found the couple of sessions I've played with @Mori way more fun than joining random sessions.  

 

We managed to get most of the trophies done already, with the exception of reaching a certain level and killing a ridiculous amount of enemies... Luckily it is easy (but slow) to farm kills AFK, so I might do that once everything else is done. I also have yet to participate in a successful defense mission, but those pop at random times and only last for two hours, so you need to get lucky to see one while you are online... I hope to see one soon. Oh, and some DLC trophy for fully upgrading all weapons and stratagems is also going to be quite the grind... 

 

 

Downwell

I could be writing a review of this game... But nope! The other day I came home from work and had the best run on hard mode so far. I reached the boss with 6 HP and during the boss fight even managed to upgrade my total health to 7 HP. Somehow during the third of four phases I choked, took tons of damage and even forgot to collect oxigen, which also cost me 1 HP.... Still, I got through it and reached the last phase with 1 HP left. I thought that was impossible to do, but somehow I managed to avoid all of its attacks. I kept shooting my laser (strongest weapon in the game) into his giant eyeball, the boss did his double-fireball attack three times, I didn't get hit... I knew I was a couple of shots away from killing it.... when suddenly his upper jaw gently touched my character, ending my run. ?

 

I had flashbacks to Hollow Knight, where I also chocked multiple times right at the end of the run.... This should have been it!! Dammit! The game is fun and addictive, but that choke took most of my motivation... ?

 

 

 

Maybe it's good that I'll be anyways gone over the weekend, it's still warm enough to do some hiking in the mountains  I'll come back with new motivation and a clear head! 

Edited August 29, 2019 by Arcesius

[Mori]

I enjoyed playing HD with you, too and while the grind will take some time and we probably will play some more Sessions together, I am looking for to play Diablo 3 with you in the future.

 

Regarding Downwell... well it sucks, but like I've said before, you'll get it done soon, for sure.

 

Btw. The spoiler tags are fine on my end. 

[HusKy]

I saw you played Unravel 2 and have the plat.

 

How was the game in terms of difficulty? Did you play with your girlfriend? Did she handle the game alright?

I need a game to play with my gf and U2 is on sale right now for 5€.

 

[AnEldritchThing]

Downwell is one of those games I just cannot for the life of me get a hang of. I had a lot of fun playing it but I can barely break through the 2nd level. Good on you for going for the Platinum for it.

[Arcesius]

47 minutes ago, HusKy said:

I saw you played Unravel 2 and have the plat.

 

How was the game in terms of difficulty? Did you play with your girlfriend? Did she handle the game alright?

I need a game to play with my gf and U2 is on sale right now for 5€.

 

 

I actually did! I played with her once through the game, the levels are fairly long, so we did 1-2 per session. We both thought it was a lot of fun, and she handled the game alright I'd say

 

But, we really only played once through the game together for fun... I got all the trophies (speedruns and no-death runs) solo... it was faster that way, and my gf doesn't have the frustration tolerance it requires to attempt something over and over ? To be fair, she is also not that interested in gaming, so one playthrough was enough for her. 

 

I feel that getting the plat solo is easier anyways. Most speedruns are fairly easy, and I got them on my second attempt or so. Only one of them required a few attempts.. I don't remember how many, but I'd guess 7-8 attempts at least. Since there is no in-game timer, I created my own splits (https://ylorant.github.io/splitty/) and raced against them. That way it was really fun

 

If you want a score... Maybe a 5/10? Definitely not among the harder games I've completed

 

Oh and I have a couple more games on my profile that we've played together, just in case you need some inspiration! 

 

 

 

31 minutes ago, GameMatter said:

Downwell is one of those games I just cannot for the life of me get a hang of. I had a lot of fun playing it but I can barely break through the 2nd level. Good on you for going for the Platinum for it.

 

Are you talking about normal or hard mode? Somehow I got through normal mode in a couple of hours, that wasn't too bad. I haven't been playing this lately, not since that time described above, where I chocked at the very end of the game, but man, getting there is just not easy at all. And I agree, the second zone is the hardest for sure. Although, whenver I get through it I then manage to screw up at Aquafier (stupid piranha fish...). 

 

I'll finish up Magicka 2 in the next couple of days and then I'll try and go back to Downwell after the short break, hopefully I will get it done soon  

Edited September 5, 2019 by Arcesius

[AnEldritchThing]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

 

Are you talking about normal or hard mode? Somehow I got through normal mode in a couple of hours, that wasn't too bad. I haven't been playing this lately, not since that time described above, where I chocked at the very end of the game, but man, getting there is just not easy at all. And I agree, the second zone is the hardest for sure. Although, whenver I get through it I then manage to screw up at Aquafier (stupid piranha fish...). 

 

This was on normal. I just cannot click with this game despite many, many retries. It seriously made me reevaluate my gamer cred. ?

[HusKy]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Oh and I have a couple more games on my profile that we've played together, just in case you need some inspiration! 

 

Ok, I bought the game. It's only 5€ and I really liked the first one too.

 

What other local coop games would you recommend from your list?

So far we have played A Way Out, Overcooked 1 and 2 and Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time.